MSC Meraviglia Cruise Reviews - Reviews

A week ago, I sailed on the MSC Meraviglia from New York. The listing originally was a 8 day 7 night trip to the Bahamas. Prior to the trip, I checked the weather and it stated that it was going to be in the 70s. We anticipated warm weather so my mom and I packed up our suitcases in accordance with the weather. The night before the trip, we suddenly received notification that the ship will be rerouted. The message sent by MSC stated this: “this is to inform you that we have significantly altered the itinerary of your cruise due to adverse weather conditions expected across Florida and the Bahamas during the week ahead. Heavy rain is expected across most of the destinations that we planned to visit, as well as wind gusts surpassing 40 knots which would render our maneuvers to enter destination ports unsafe.” The message goes on to state that we would be sailing to New England and Canada instead because it would be “safer”. Upon receiving the news, my mom and I were obviously very upset and enraged. We scrambled to repack our entire suitcase. We took out all our warm weather clothes that we originally packed and replaced them with winter clothes such as sweaters, jackets, and thick pants. Why would you tell people this the NIGHT before? This had everyone scrambling. Onboard: Food: The food on the ship was mediocre at best. They made the same stuff to eat most of the time and there were not many food options. The bread was generally very hard and tasteless. Regarding dining options, 3 meals were included every day. (breakfast, lunch and dinner, not including specialty dining which of course you had to pay for). The main buffet area was where I ate most of the time. Food was free here but drinks you had to pay for such as soda, juice, alcohol, etc.) They provided hot and cold water, but bottled water we also did have to pay for as well. Aside from the food, the second concern I had was regarding the staff. Staff members would constantly swarm around you and try to get you to buy the drink packages. Activities: The activities on the ship you also had to pay for, for the most part. They did have a couple of free shows at the main theater, the Broadway Theatre. My mom and I decided to go bowling which ended up being 30 dollars for 30 mins. The other activities such as rollercoaster, flight simulator, F1 racing, etc. all ended up being kind of pricey so I opted out of those. Excursions: Due to the itinerary change, we ended up going to Boston, Portland Maine, and St. John’s Canada. The ship docked in Boston for THREE days. This is outrageous. On top of this, these are all places that I have already been to so I was unsure if I wanted to leave the ship and explore these places but ultimately I decided I would at least go to one of the destinations so I could at least do something while I was on the cruise. I decided to go to St. John’s. I visited the excursions desk on the ship so that I could see if there were any available tickets for the shuttle bus (the bus that would take us on a tour of these destinations). I greeted the staff member at the desk and informed him that I was interested in going to St. John’s. He was extremely dismissive and rude. He said to me “why didn’t you come earlier? You should have come earlier because now there’s barely anything left” in an extremely nasty tone. I ended up not going to any of the excursions. It was also FREEZING cold every single day. Staff: The staff members were the worst part. I did not have a good experience with any of them. Aside from the staff from the excursions desk, I felt hostility from other staff as well such as the front desk staff, staff from the shops onboard and the photography staff who were outright racist to me by speaking Chinese to me assuming I did not know english. I would also like to point out that the majority of the people on this cruise were predominantly asian. It is extremely disgusting the way Asians were getting treated. The staff were only interested when they wanted your money. Also, when we were leaving the ship, the staff members kept forcing and rushing me to get off even though there was still lots of time. In conclusion, this was my experience aboard MSC Meraviglia. I did not feel valued or appreciated as a customer (especially being an asian female) that paid my own hard earned money for my mom and I to go on this cruise. I have sailed with multiple cruise companies (Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian) and I have not had a problem with any of them. They were wonderful and extremely pleasant in every way unlike MSC. I do not recommend this cruise line to anyone. Do not sail with this company, especially if you are a POC like me. They will treat you horribly. Instead, take your money and sail with a company that actually cares about you, and not just your money.

Extremely disappointed with MSC and how they handled the cruise route change due to a storm. My 5 friends and I were supposed to go to the Bahamas for 7 days on the MSC Meriviglia. We got an email around 10pm the night before departure when we were driving from North Carolina to the NYC port and making an overnight stop in DC. 15mins away from our stop in DC we get the email saying the whole course has now been changed to go to Canada (1day), Boston (3days), and Portland (1day). The email said if we were not happy with this change we can call MSC to cancel. I called MSC and got on the phone with someone named Mitchel after a 20 minute wait (the wait however was understandble). She explained to me that if I wanted I could get back my full refund, I would first get my port fees and taxes back after which I'll get the rest of the amount in cruise credit and as soon as I get the cruise credit email to call MSC and ask for them to refund my cruise credit on my card. We told her we would call back and just needed a minute to think. When we finally decided that with a suitcase full of swimsuits and shorts we won't be able to make it through the cold weather as the cruise now had a cold weather route, we called again to cancel. On this call we were told that they just got orders from their supervisors that they can only give back the port fees and taxes and the cruise credit would not be refunded back to our card. We will get cruise credit that will be valid for 1 year. Now, we are all college students and had saved up for this trip, we don't have the flexibility to go again with the same people or at all back on this cruise. Therefore, after much discussion we decided to go on the cruise and buy some jackets on the way. At night we also realized that one of my friends is an indian citizen and she dosen't have the paperwork to go to Canada. She had everything she needed for the Bahamas but it was impossible to produce paperwork for Canada overnight so we tried calling them again from our stop in DC to check if she can maybe get on the cruise and not get off at Canada however by 12am the office was closed and no one picked up. The cruise was chcecking in at 11am in the morning. We woke up at 5am to start driving to NYC and called the office at 9am as soon as they opened to ask if she could board the cruise and not get off at canada. They told us that we won’t know if she can board the cruise until we actually go to the port and ask the port authorities there which is absolutely RIDICULOUS. This meant we would have to park in NYC (we had reseved and paid for our parking beforehand for the 7 days) then uber to the port ask them if we can get on and if they said no we would have to uber back, lose our parking money and drive all the way back home from NYC. That is exactly what ended up happening. They did not give us any information on whether she could board and after reaching, they told us she couldn't so we didn't have an option but for all 6 of us to not board the ship. When we told the port authroties what happened and how much we had to travel and suffer, they also tried to argue with the MSC employees there but no one listened. MSC decided to change course at the last minute, told us we would get our money back and then changed their minds at the last minute, after which they wouldn't even tell us if we can board the ship until we get to the port! After all this and losing so much money we called MSC asking for a full refund since we were willing to go however due to them not giving us time to prodcue the right paperwork and them not giving us any information till we reached the port, we had to drive 500+ miles and pay $200+ for parking. They refused to give us our money we spent over an hour on the phone and it was like talking to a wall, one of my friends started crying because of all the money we lost and the amount of trouble we had gone through at that point. After all this they still haven’t refunded a single penny and are asking us to wait for 1-2 billing cycles to get any money back! When we asked to speak to supervisors, they said its not possible but after persisting we were told we would get a call back in 24 hours and absolutely nothing came out of it. We still haven’t even received a confirmation email saying we are receiving the cruise credit or any refund back. This whole thing was absolutely traumatizing and has caused us so much mental distress.. will NEVER TRAVEL WITH MSC.

Over run with one very large group of rude,obnoxious passengers who yelled at each other across the ship, in the buffet, in the shows and in all venues. They had to be told to be quiet in the shows because their talking was so disruptive and disrespectful of the performers and other passengers. They pushed into lines and into elevators without letting others in or out. They overtook the buffet and took mounds of food, all the utensils and mugs, sat in the buffet area for hours playing cards and Mah Joong. No teabags after breakfast, others said these people took handfuls of teabags and put them in their bags along with the mugs and incredible amounts of fruit. Very few places on board were without this group yelling across the room. If you could find a quieter spot, the cruise was a lot more enjoyable. I liked my solo cabin, it was comfortable for one and had enough space. I wish there was an outlet nearer to the bed, and I would book it again. I don’t spend a lot of time in the cabin on any cruise. The bathroom was the same as in all my previous MSC cabins. It was clean and the general areas of the ship were clean, except the buffet which had hordes of people. The food was only okay, absolutely no variety on the buffet and in need of seasoning. I enjoyed the entertainment and the activities.

Overall, I had a wonderful vacation on MSC. Love the ship loved the activities and enjoyed the food. A wonderful experience for the price.

This is gonna be difficult, I am a periodic cruiser, maybe 10-12 cruises over 30 years+. Everything from 4-5 days to 14 days all over the Atlantic. Really really was looking forward to the Yacht Club experience this time around, hoping to recapture the magic of cruising in the 80’s. Well all I can say is that the YC is a nice way to hide from the chaos of a somewhat frustrating run cruise line. We were expecting a wonderful leisurely 6 day cruise to Bermuda to complete a long awaited genealogy trip documenting a family member planted there. Instead we spent 6 days going in circles through crappy weather stopping at some southerly ports that have absolutely no interest to us especially in rainy weather. We only just had boarded when everything went completely sideways, no Bermuda no advance notice, lousy weather which didn’t help either of us from a comfort standpoint, just 6 miserable days with sea sickness, absolutely no appetite, couldn’t tell you much about the food cause we both were too uncomfortable from the rough seas to eat or really go anywhere or do anything! So like I said I haven’t even able to process the last week very well, I feel compelled to let the ownership know something but I can’t even organize my thoughts regarding what the last week has been like. We are just happy to be home right now and will update regarding my attempt to see the managements position.

I have no idea where to begin. Our first cruise with MSC and the worst cruise ever. Just Steps away from getting on the ship, we were given a piece of paper stating our new itinerary. Understood the cause was weather however there was NO previous alert to the possibly of reschedule and was told I couldn't even with travel insurance. (HELLO MSC "MSC and me/email") Instead of Bermuda, MSC takes us to the crappiest ports. Our room smelled like sewage and bathroom was not cleaned, shower smelled like BO. Customer service is in front of a vocal/band stage. Try reconciling over that.... Food, Entertainment boring so needs improvement. When we could utilize the hot tubs, they were just warm. Majority of the bartenders need a mixology/barista class . The mega sale was a stampede of pushy line jumpers. Not too hard to figure that out MSC. Inside pool closed on a 55-degree weather sea day...the outside pool was opened...really MSC. Never been told NO so many times. Outcome of daily disappointments. A Simple point of fact MSC, TRY ETIQUETTE

the receptionist lost the form I have apply for became a member and have the chance to collect points. in some of the shops in the cruise customer service is really poor Excellent entrainement, and great service from Fahal and kristin from the olive restaurant

Overall this cruise was a good value for the money. There are a few areas that could be improved. If you are lookingfor an cheap but good cruise MSC is for you.

Love MSC they are our go to cruise company. The ships are amazing very clean and beautiful. The staff are amazing. The people at the service desk were not helpful except for a few great people.

I had a great cruise! The ship is gorgeous. Next cruise soon!

Overall was good , my main dining was good and the service was great. The only thing I was a little disappointed was my dining time was late and we ask for early. The cabin staff was very nice and friendly too.

Overall had a wonderful time, Ship is Beautiful and kept clean, staff work hard to please everyone. Lots of food, but main entrees not the quality it was in 2019. Please bring Captain Stefano back. in 2019 when we missed a port due to rough seas we were compensated generously. We also missed Ocean Cay as it was not Complete, received monetary compensation, 20% off next cruise and he added a port.

A lot of fun. Hard to meet people on the cruise do to a lot of language barriers. Staff was friendly and helpful.

Worst Cruise experience ever. Will never cruise with MSC again.

The cruise was fine/ we didn’t have the best weather so spent alot of time inside.

The Cruise was ok MSC are quite a good cruise company and some really good crew, some quite ignorant. Some good musical entertainment throughout the ship. Food was a bit hit and miss when it was good it was good, we missed out saint John and Halifax due to a storm on the east coast, we went to Corner Brook instead.

I'll never cruise on MSC again. Not an exciting ship.

Food was bland, boring, usually cold at the the buffet. Also no gluten free station. I had a limited timeframe in one restaurant to have gluten free, then at the main dining room I had to have the supervisor come to me daily with the menu, which offered very little choices. After I chose something he would have to go to the original restaurant that had a half hour window, and pick it up for me. All and all a very disappointing dining experience. Whirlpool on our deck was usually inaccessible due to the temperature been eratic, at times only 29 degrees. Shows were always booked, lineups everywhere, entertainment such as House of Houdini where they charged eighteen dollars extra definitely not worth the added charge. We missed two ports because of weather, Cornerbrook didn't have much to offer. Then to top it all off, both my husband and I contracted covid, so we spent the last two days of our cruise in our room. As I mentioned above this trip was so disappointing on so many levels! Overpriced in every department, truly a terrible waste of money, and one that I wish we could take back. Our cruising days are done.

Good scores for hard working service staff. Failing score for poor management.

Overall, we had a good cruise with MSC, it was our first time cruising with the company. We love their itinerary. I think they definitely need to work on the menu and presentation of the dishes at the Ocean Cay restaurant. Also, the steaks at the butchers cut restaurant was bland have no taste or too salty, we went there twice and both time was disappointing.