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Live from MSC Meraviglia Sailing from Barcelona 7/7/17 with lots of photos!


kikki21
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Hi everyone - I'm kicking this thread off ahead of the holiday & giving you a bit of background to the trip.

 

I booked this holiday last year with my ex. We split up a few months after booking it but I kept the booking & was determined to go on this trip for several reasons.

 

I had been looking round for a cruise around the Western Med & originally was quite keen on sailing NCL Epic again but me being a bit of a bargain hunter, I looked around for some better value & came across the Meraviglia!

 

Ooh a new ship!!! [emoji8] I love new ships!!!

 

I looked at the cabin categories & totally loved the look of the duplex suites. Unfortunately, MSC wouldn't allow us to book one for 2 people but we were allowed to book the S3 category - large angled suite with hot tub on the balcony! SOLD! [emoji4]

 

I couldn't believe the value for money this cruise represented with all of the spa stuff included & the included drinks package compared to other cruise lines & it counted as a suite & there's a hot tub on the balcony!!!

 

So with all the changes to my life, having this holiday was very important to me.

Plus I haven't been to quite a few of the ports so Marseille, Genoa & Valletta are new to me which is exciting. I've always concentrated on the Eastern Med for cruises so this will make a change.

 

I will be taking lots of photos with my iPhone & digital camera.

 

This review will also include our adventures in Barcelona both pre & post Cruise as we are flying in on Wednesday this week & then having a weekend in Barcelona after the Cruise before we fly back home again. I really dislike flying straight back home after a cruise so having a few days post cruise helps the post cruise blues.

 

13aac5190731aecfad87aa32d846fb0d.jpg

 

Who are we?

 

I'm an experienced cruiser but never sailed MSC before. My real name is Monika & I'm 48.

My other half is my fiancé Stephen. He's 51 & been on 3 cruises previously. Only 1 with me when we had a short break on P&O's Britannia in May.

 

He certainly loves cruising & is really looking forward to the spa & to the included drinks package. He needs his coffee in the morning & he loves chocolate & cake so I think we will have a problem onboard lol! [emoji23]

 

So who is Kikki?!

 

8cb5761e895bfcec973a7eeb8baa8c68.jpg

 

Kikki is the name of our gorgeous black & white 14 yr old cat [emoji192]

 

So I had better get back to my packing - love to travel but hate packing!

 

 

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Can't wait for the review kikki. In particular interested to see how the MDR are after the initial couple of weeks. You're Aurea arent you? Which is the same as us so I'm interested in how the My Choice dining works for you and what the Top 19 sun deck is like ( I have managed to find just one pic of this so far). Have a great time and hope it's everything you expect!

 

 

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Can't wait for the review kikki. In particular interested to see how the MDR are after the initial couple of weeks. You're Aurea arent you? Which is the same as us so I'm interested in how the My Choice dining works for you and what the Top 19 sun deck is like ( I have managed to find just one pic of this so far). Have a great time and hope it's everything you expect!

 

 

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Hello Rossco - indeed that S3 goes under the Aurea experience. I should think that we'll make use out of the sun deck as we are right under the bridge - it looks like a great area but we will find out!

I sure hope it's a good Cruise - thank you!

 

 

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*eats popcorn while waiting*

 

 

 

Thanks and look forward to it!!

 

 

 

Not too many days to go!

I'm still packing - not too much to do now apart from tidy up my entire wardrobe from the bed lol! [emoji23]

 

 

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Glad to see you're practising on your phone, Kikki ;p

 

 

 

I have a new iPhone that I need to get charged up & using before I go Bea - I'll be posting off my phone which is what I normally do anyway when I'm away so like you say may as well get practicising!!! [emoji3][emoji13]

 

 

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All printed off - I think I checked in via the app but not done the photo bit as yet! Also tonight "has been the pain of new shoes " omg to be a woman can be sooooo painful!

[emoji151][emoji15][emoji38]

 

 

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Looking forward to hearing about the MDRs Kikki and the sun deck (hope it's available to Fantastica customers if we pay). Have a good trip x

 

 

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I will post MDR menus [emoji4] I love food photography too. Italian food is one of my favourites & my fiancé's too!

 

 

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Morning all - the 48 hr countdown has begun. This time on Wednesday we will be on board a plane to Barcelona. The first real excitement got to me this morning when I thought I'm going to have a different view every day of this holiday near enough.

I hope my first suite experience won't be my last either! [emoji15]

Anyway onto finishing up my packing & starting on the cosmetics & toiletries which normally weigh a ton!!!

 

 

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Thanks everyone - well we have sort of officially signed off work today - we both work for ourselves & apart from a few things to do tomorrow then that is it and we can try and start to relax.... the Mr is now very excited & has also started packing - he is much more relaxed about it than me, I have done some last minute online next day delivery shopping as you do! :rolleyes:

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It's the last day before the holiday, it's finally here, months of waiting & anticipation & just a few final things to do!

I've honed some of our original plans in ports although I'm still debating what we do with our short port call in Naples.

If we were in port all day then it would be a no brainer, we would be across the sea to Capri!

We were debating whether to go to Herculaneum but I'm not sure whether to leave it as we would like to come back to the region for a land based holiday in Sorrento & to have all day to get there & back for a more relaxing experience.

So maybe we will take a walk around Naples - I may want to go back to Da Michele!

 

 

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Kikki I've been to both Pompeii and Herculaneum before and by comparison Herculaneum is much smaller and doable in a short space of time. It's also better preserved in some ways. I'll be taking the kids to Pompeii on our stop using the bus/train as they've never been and I think they'll be more impressed by the scale. If you did consider Pompeii there is a very good app called Pompeii a day in the past, that has self guided tours based on how much time you can afford.

 

 

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Kikki I've been to both Pompeii and Herculaneum before and by comparison Herculaneum is much smaller and doable in a short space of time. It's also better preserved in some ways. I'll be taking the kids to Pompeii on our stop using the bus/train as they've never been and I think they'll be more impressed by the scale. If you did consider Pompeii there is a very good app called Pompeii a day in the past, that has self guided tours based on how much time you can afford.

 

 

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Thank you! [emoji4]

We have both been to Pompeii but not Herculaneum & I have heard that Herculaneum is smaller & more preserved.

We're quite relaxed about this so we shall see what happens in Naples!

 

 

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So the taxi is ordered for the morning - early early! Argh!

We weighed our cases this evening - not good at all.

Cue frantic chucking out & repacking.

Argh! [emoji31]

Now had dinner & chilled out a bit with Prosecco.

Didn't help myself by switching over my iPhone from 6 to the 7.

Note to self: do not add to the stress, the evening before the holiday!

 

 

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Best of luck with the new phone, Kikki. I learned tons about my phone as I went along! I started out very ropey, though! :rolleyes: But then, I went from IOS to android! Your transition won't be so severe.

 

Safe travels tomorrow - hard to believe you're boarding on Friday, finally, after all the weeks we've been sharing the excitement of boarding Meraviglia. If you have half the enjoyment we had, you'll have an amazing time.

 

Looking forward to reading your views - particularly as it's your first with MSC. For us, it wasn't a typical MSC cruise - Meraviglia is a totally different experience from what we're used to.

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Best of luck with the new phone, Kikki. I learned tons about my phone as I went along! I started out very ropey, though! :rolleyes: But then, I went from IOS to android! Your transition won't be so severe.

 

 

 

Safe travels tomorrow - hard to believe you're boarding on Friday, finally, after all the weeks we've been sharing the excitement of boarding Meraviglia. If you have half the enjoyment we had, you'll have an amazing time.

 

 

 

Looking forward to reading your views - particularly as it's your first with MSC. For us, it wasn't a typical MSC cruise - Meraviglia is a totally different experience from what we're used to.

 

 

 

Cheers Bea!

The weeks really seem to have sped right up since you were on board! And now we're here, well nearly!

Just morning stuff to pack & saying bye to our 2 puss cats [emoji80]& off to the airport we go.

 

I'm glad MSC aren't that dressy dressy as I had to take some dresses out of my case that were particularly heavy - not sure you can travel light for a cruise. Struggled with the 20kg allowance!

 

This phone is fine - I just need a back case for it - good excuse to buy one at the airport if we have time.

East Mids is my local airport & I prefer to fly from there when I can but it will be busy tomorrow morning as just checked the flight schedule!

 

 

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