MSC Meraviglia Cruise Reviews - Reviews

Excellent ship, super services in all areas, more that clean

Don't go into a MSC cruise expecting anything like other cruise companies sailing out of the USA. We asked the service staff about they lack of appeal to American preferences on food and maybe they could adapt it a bit. And they said it came from above that "the American ls can adapt to us, we aren't adapting to them" pretty much sums up our experience with MSC

VERY PLEASED WITH STAFF SHIP AND OVERALL ACCOMODATIONS. WILL DEFINATELY CRUISE WITH MSC AAGAIN

Unbelievable! As first time ever in a suite. I don’t think we can go back. The food, service, accommodations were top notch.

Overall a great first experience on MSC! There was so much to do onboard that we did not even get to do it all. The food and service were both very good and we loved the destinations. We would definitely recommend.

Although we had a better experience & better itinerary on the MSC Armonia in December 2018, MSC is still our favorite cruise line. We cannot wait for the MSC Seashore in May 2022. Hopefully, cruising will be back completely at that time. I believe the COVID restrictions & the time of the restart effected this cruise, although many of the changes we loved!

We got a great deal and more than our money's worth. Loved the ship decor and staff were wonderful.

We had a great relaxing time(much needed after the last year). Enjoyed the private island both times. The ship is very beautiful and had a great time exploring all it had to offer. This was our 50th cruise and would rate the ship in the top 10. We would sail on her again.

overall, we had a great time on the ship and staff was very attentive. food was good and plentiful, however, choices were limited in the buffet. we had a great time during our excursion in cozumel, snorkling with stingrays, starfish, tropical fish, turtles and even a barracuda! (Thankfully, I was not in the water at that time). at costa maya, we went to maya luna a private resort where we had this area all to ourselves and attentive hosts who cooked up a delicious lunch and provided snacks. a nice getaway from crowds

Not as many activities as other cruise line but you can’t beat the price.

Had a fabulous time on this ship and can't wait to return.

Very nice. Staff made sure everything was sanitized. Very friendly staff.

This is an in-depth review of a 7 nt Carribean cruise I just took (Oct 2nd) with my wife for our 33rd Anniversary on the MSC Mereviglia. We decided to sail with MSC for the 5th time back in January 2021. Unfortunately, the CDC's COVID restrictions caused the booking to be canceled in April, so we rebooked for Nov 2nd and received a complimentary Balcony upgrade by using our cancellation credits. I'd first like to say that my wife and I are avid cruisers. We're loyalty club members with 5 cruise lines, and we've sailed across the globe on over 60 cruises to date. There are times we cruise to experience a new ship, and times we sail to experience new ports. This cruise was definitely selected for the ship and not the ports. My goal is to highlight various discrepancies and to unbiasedly share the good and bad aspects of our cruise. I must start with the bad because there is far more than the good. INTERNET SERVICE---- Buy the full week package online before departure or you will pay dearly for not doing so!!! To have full streaming service for both phones and my laptop, we forked out $330!! Ouch!! This was the 1st time I've seen a cruise ship offer full streaming internet service, but my gosh....that's expensive by anyone's standard!! The pre-boarding online price was a supposed $77/pp, but that was most likely for 1 phone. Anyhow, I decided to take the hit because the ship's itinerary had us on their private cay for 2 full days. The internet package included wifi hotspots on their cay so I figured that our usage would justify their absorbent cost. WRONG!! The wifi hotspots on Ocean Cay were sketchy at best. We sunbathed on several beaches around the large Cay, but no matter where we settled, the wifi signal was weak. I must admit that the signal onboard was always solid. That was great because there were several huge MLB and NFL games that the ship's bars and lounges didn't broadcast?? I had to watch them on my laptop (SMH). Why does every cruise line struggle with this issue? They refuse to carry any other sports programming in their bars and lounges besides ESPN and ESPN2? Hundreds of sports-crazed men gathering around a bar or lounge for a big sporting event usually causes a ton of drinking...$$$ ching ching??? I don't get it. They're loosing out because most patrons don't buy into the crazy drink packages that cost upward of $400 pp. Sit a bunch of men at a bar for 3 hrs and you'll undoubtedly make a HUGE profit!! FOOD PACKAGES ---- This was by far the most troubling issue we experienced. The passenger capacity on the Mereviglia is 4500. We sailed with a passenger load of 1400. It honestly felt as though MSC was attempting to use clever schemes to make 1400 passengers spend what 4500 passengers normally would. Unfortunately, schemes like the food package weren't very clever. Basically, for an additional $230, a party of two could eat for 3 nights at 3 different specialty restaurants. A $75 additional cost per night for what we assumed would be FULL/BETTER meals sounded pretty reasonable. It ended up being a complete ripoff, and an insult to not only us but several passengers we spoke with. There's a steak restaurant (Butchers Cut), a seafood restaurant, and a sushi restaurant included in the package. Here's the catch. Specialty restaurants have been around for a good 15 yrs now and every cruise line uses them to not only provide more onboard eating options but more importantly, more onboard revenue options. It's a good formula and most cruise lines do it well. Historically, we'd spend an extra $50-$70 for a meal, but the meal would include big portions, anything on the menu, and great food quality. MSC COMPLETELY blew it on all three fronts. The portions were tiny. So tiny in fact that we had to go to the buffet afterward, and we're not big people or big eaters. Additionally, if you had the package, you were restricted to a very limited menu. If you choose to upgrade from a filet mignon to a T-bone for example, be prepared to pay an additional $60 pp!!! I complained about this issue on the 3rd day to the ship's asst guest relations manager Sheila Diamond. 3 days in, no shore excursion, spa, casino, or drinking charges yet, and our tab was already over $800!! Her customer service response was quite extraordinary!! It may have been the best we've ever seen on a cruise ship! She provided Champagne, chocolate strawberries, a huge seafood platter, wine, bathrobes, and over $200 in onboard credit!! In our eyes, Mrs. DiamonO redeemed the entire company with her amazing customer service. She single-handedly salvaged our 33rd Anniversary Cruise and we could not be more grateful OVERALL---- There were other minor issues that are worth mentioning before concluding. The sand on their Ocean Cay beaches has a very pungent odor of sulfur dioxide (rotten eggs). The Buffet pavilion on the Cay is the only major eatery beside the food trucks that serve burgers and dogs. If the ship docks in at 9am and departs at 11pm, you would think that they'd have the Buffet Pavillion open for lunch and dinner. It closed at approx. 2pm and forced you to wait in long lines at a few scattered food trucks, or go back on board to eat. Minor, but I'm sure that will change as capacity increases. The ship is beautiful, and the sanitary protocols they've put in place are very thorough. Temp checks every day, hand washing before entering the buffet, etc. As of October 2021, masks are still required in public places when you weren't eating or drinking, but the staff never over-enforced the mask-wearing requirements. MSC usually outdoes all other cruise lines with their pizza (being an Italian cruise-line), but the Mereviglia didn't hit their usual mark on this stapled item. Lastly, our ports were Ocho Rios, and Nassau. Ocho Rios has always been a dangerous port and Nassau has always been a safe one. That hasn't changed. I would say this. With the desperation the pandemic has caused everywhere, don't go onshore in Jamaica unless you're booking an excursion provided by the cruise line itself. Nassau is totally safe. Can't go wrong with a pleasent 15 minute walk to Junkanoo Beach CONCLUSION------ We recognize the enormous financial challenges that all cruise lines are facing. They'll need to cut corners, adapt, and find new ways to operate if they're going to remain solvent. The problem is that they'll need to find ways to do this without appearing to operate in an underhanded or deceptive way. If someone's recovering from a devastating injury, you can't expect them to be in full form as soon as they come back. They have to work through some obvious kinks, but We'll continue to sail with MSC and we're confident that as they come back into full service, they'll find their sea legs.

We just got off the Meraviglia and couldn't be happier. Temperatures checked before entering the buffet then mandatory hand washing. Buffet was totally safe not like another cruise line we were on last month. Everyone wore masks everywhere except when eating or drinking. The remote was cleaned and in a envelope and masks were in our room. A great experience hope our next cruise on a different line is as safe.

very nice and relaxing (our choice). We only got off the ship at the private island (for Covid safety - and been to the ports many times).

It fell good to cruise again after the Imposition from the COVID, MSC did a fantastic job of safety and be concerned for the passenger as well as the crew. Hand sanitizer through the entrance of every rooms as well as taking the temperature of every passenger every morning.

Had a great time. It was a mellow cruise. It is definitely different than a carnival cruise.

MSC appeals to us since we cruise with children. We book the yacht club so I can have more intimate service while still enjoying the benefits of larger ships to keep our children entertained. The yacht club is simply amazing and the staff went above and beyond to exceed our expectations. The food was amazing, service top notch and the ship was clean.

Everyone’s expectations and experiences are viewed through their own filters. My group of 8 loved it!

Overall a great experience. Ship was stunning and the crew were 1st class. Embarkation process was quick and seamless. A 30 minute embarkation window was provided to us and getting from the curb to on board the ship took no more than 20 minutes...probably closer to 15. Overall cleanliness was remarkable and it felt as if they were taking great strides to keep all of the passengers safe. The ship was at 1/5th capacity, masks were required indoors, all adults were fully vaccinated, a negative Covid test result no older than 48 hours was required and there were daily temperature checks. They also required that everyone where a smart bracelet that monitored your movement on the ship for contact tracing if someone did test positive on board. Felt as if every safety precaution imaginable was being taken. Food was hit and miss...some days it was fantastic and other's just ok, but not nearly as bad as the reviews I've read. The buffet was great quality, but limited variety due to the amount of passengers (only 1200 on our cruise). Pizza was as good as advertised. We also paid for the teppanyaki bar one evening which was a lot of fun and the food was very good. The bartenders were great, but selection also somewhat limited due to the amount of passengers on board. We looked forward to the beer selection in the pub, but it only had a small selection available. If you are a beer drinker and don't enjoy Heineken, it may be a long week for you, haha. The champagne bar however had a marvelous selection and our bartender Yohan took amazing care of us throughout the cruise. They also had an extensive spirits and cocktail selection. Entertainment was the one thing I found lacking on the Meraviglia. Cirque du Soleil which is normally on board was not available on our cruise. The Broadway Theatre (free) had the same performers each night which were marginal at best and the shows were unimaginative and lackluster. The dancers were great, but the singers...especially the men left something to be desired. There was an illusionist one night, but we were seated to the side and could see how the uninspired tricks (e.g. sawing his assistant in half...yawn) were done. There was also another venue, the Carousel Lounge which was available for a nominal fee...($10 and it included a drink I believe) and we heard the entertainment was much better here, but we never made it over to a show. Debarkation was pretty typical, but no complaints at all. Once our group was called, we were off very quickly. They also have an option to get off when you would like if you choose to carry your own luggage off. This was our first MSC cruise and we didn't know what to expect based off of mixed reviews. Overall we had a great time and had very few complaints. The ship itself is my favorite one I've ever been on. Just absolutely stunning and easy to navigate for the size. Would absolutely cruise with MSC and on the Meraviglia in particular again in a heartbeat.