Just back from mervigrila, 1st cruise with MSC and probably the last

I have put a full review on. Here are the highs and lows

Highs

Drink package excellent and as long as your not a beer drinker most things included

Ship very clean

Steak restaurant excellent

Bar staff generally nice

Cabin very clean

Sonar circ show very good

Lows

Food in main dining room terrible, staff miserable and unhelpful

Entertainment okay at best

Reception staff rude and unhelpful

Ship feels very crowded especially in the evenings around atrium and shops

Any questions feel free to ask. Stayed in an outside cabin on fantasia package.

Did you go to the buffet? I heard, surprisingly (to me at least) that the food is actually better there. What specifically made the MDR food terrible? Did you go to the other cirque show also? Did you eat at any other specialty restaurants? What'd you eat at Butchers Cut?

Did you go to the buffet? I heard, surprisingly (to me at least) that the food is actually better there. What specifically made the MDR food terrible? Did you go to the other cirque show also? Did you eat at any other specialty restaurants? What'd you eat at Butchers Cut?[/quote

 

Ate in buffet breakfast and lunch. Was okay but very repetative considering an Italian ship was not impressed with the pasta dishes. MDR food just terrible tastless or sometimes just inedible, no presentation and staff unpleasant mostly. Ate at italian and again not impressed portion sizes tiny ( if you decide to try dont have the fish) and staff again unpleasant.

Did both circ shows and preferred Sonar to Viaggo, had meal with Viaggo and was okay. Had steak at Butchers Cut it was fabulous and choclate dessert was lovely.

There used to be 7 courses, MSC listened to complaints about having too many, reduced them down and people still complain, yes they serve small portions but that does not mean that you cannot ask for more. we have noticed sometimes that the crew can be affected by how the ship is run depending on which Captain they have! we have just returned from Preziosa our 5th MSC cruise where the crew were friendly and happy and always greeted people with a smile.

There used to be 7 courses, MSC listened to complaints about having too many, reduced them down and people still complain, yes they serve small portions but that does not mean that you cannot ask for more. we have noticed sometimes that the crew can be affected by how the ship is run depending on which Captain they have! we have just returned from Preziosa our 5th MSC cruise where the crew were friendly and happy and always greeted people with a smile.

I appreciate that you can ask for more than one course, which I did on one occasion and the look thar I got from the waiter as if I was the greediest person in the world. This however was not the main issue it was the quality, or rather lack if quality of the food. I am not that a fussy eater but I would not eat some of the food, tastless and no presentation. Not all of the staff were miserable main issues for me was the MDR and reception staff.

we have noticed sometimes that the crew can be affected by how the ship is run depending on which Captain they have! we have just returned from Preziosa our 5th MSC cruise where the crew were friendly and happy and always greeted people with a smile.

That has been our experience, too! We were on Magnifica last year. The captain was an amazing guy and took time out to attend the Black Card event - a first for us, and we've been to a number of events. The vibe onboard was great; we put that down his running of the ship.

To the OP ............. sorry to hear that your MDR experience was not good. We had the opposite reaction from a waiter when DH enjoyed a meal on one of our cruises. He insisted on getting DH a second helping. From then on, he had a second helping ready at every dinner - whether DH wanted it or not!

I can't put my finger on it (as I've said before) but Meraviglia does not quite feel like any other MSC cruise experience we've ever had. It's the one ship I wouldn't consider doing anything less than YC on.

Where have you cruised before?

Where have you cruised before?[

 

Italy, Spain, Greece Canaries , Egypt, Bahamas and Caribbean . Have been cruising on a regular basis for the last 6 years I have never got off a cruise ship that I said I wouldn't go back on or try anothe ship in its fleet. This company is just not the right fit for me I think.

That has been our experience, too! We were on Magnifica last year. The captain was an amazing guy and took time out to attend the Black Card event - a first for us, and we've been to a number of events. The vibe onboard was great; we put that down his running of the ship.

 

To the OP ............. sorry to hear that your MDR experience was not good. We had the opposite reaction from a waiter when DH enjoyed a meal on one of our cruises. He insisted on getting DH a second helping. From then on, he had a second helping ready at every dinner - whether DH wanted it or not!

 

I can't put my finger on it (as I've said before) but Meraviglia does not quite feel like any other MSC cruise experience we've ever had. It's the one ship I wouldn't consider doing anything less than YC on.

Hope it's not the same on Bellissima when she sets sail

Hope it's not the same on Bellissima when she sets sail

I didn't like the ship's layout. Bellissima is going to be very similar. It just seemed that everything was packed around the Galleria area. Others liked it - it didn't appeal to me. I prefer the other class ship set-ups.

I had no issues with the MDR on a recent Meravigllia cruise. The portions were just the right size for us to be full at the end of the meal.

The staff don't necessarily fall all over themselves like they do on US based ships but I rather liked that. I always called my waiters by name and always had a good experience with them.

About asking for extra. If I didn't finish all lf my meal my waiter always wanted to know if I wanted something else from the menu 😀

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I have put a full review on. Here are the highs and lows

Highs

Drink package excellent and as long as your not a beer drinker most things included

Ship very clean

Steak restaurant excellent

Bar staff generally nice

Cabin very clean

Sonar circ show very good

 

Lows

Food in main dining room terrible, staff miserable and unhelpful

Entertainment okay at best

Reception staff rude and unhelpful

Ship feels very crowded especially in the evenings around atrium and shops

 

Any questions feel free to ask. Stayed in an outside cabin on fantasia package.

did you cruise on any mega ship which is not feels very crowded?

did you cruise on any mega ship which is not feels very crowded?

After reading posts by polperro prior to this cruise, he was unhappy re dining times from the beginning and there is no way he was going to enjoy this cruise no matter what.

After reading posts by polperro prior to this cruise, he was unhappy re dining times from the beginning and there is no way he was going to enjoy this cruise no matter what.

Probably, but very strange to go on cruise with 6000 pax and complain about crowds...:*

That's something I often wonder too. How can you expect a ship with nearly 6K passengers not to be crowded?

Passenger space ratio is a much better predictor of how crowded a ship will feel. MSC has passenger/space ratios which make it feel more crowded than ships her same size (or larger). This is made worse by the fact that MSC offers kids sail free thus packing in more people per cabin. It's the same reason many carnival ships feel crowded. Profit model.

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I loved this ship. The staff in the MDR are so friendly. Our waiters were brilliant and the rest always had time to say hi and talk to our daughter. We always got offered more food if we finished our meals or if we didn't eat much we got offered a different meal.

To sat the entertainment staff are ok at best is harsh. We thought they were incredible. They would go out of their way to find us at night for a chat, so nice. And the evening shows and discos were really entertaining.

Only time the ship felt crowded was at night time but it never bothered us because most people were having fun at the promenade which is the best area in the ship. But sure you can't please everyone!!

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Passenger space ratio is a much better predictor of how crowded a ship will feel. MSC has passenger/space ratios which make it feel more crowded than ships her same size (or larger). This is made worse by the fact that MSC offers kids sail free thus packing in more people per cabin. It's the same reason many carnival ships feel crowded. Profit model.

 

 

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The passenger space ratio on MSC ships is within the industry standard and comparable with mainstream ships of same size. MSC Fantasia and MSC Splendida have the greatest passenger to space ratio in the fleet and even more space than some Celebrity ships. I sailed the MSC Meraviglia this summer and found the ship crowded on the pooldeck but that was due to the fact that I think too much space of the pooldeck is reserved for Aurea Guests. Inside I did find the public areas of the ship very spacious and roomy. My impression is that mainstream ships will feel crowded in the peak season regardless of the line. Last summer I sailed the Jewel Of The Seas on a Eastern Med cruise and I can tell that the pooldeck was extremely busy and crowded. No chance of getting a sunbed after 09AM on seadays.

https://www.cruisewatch.com/top-10/ships-space-ratio/

Yeah I don't know anything about space ratio predictors. What I do know is that I'm just off the ship and the only problems I had was not with children, but with ill mannered ( mostly Italian) adults.

The passenger space ratio on MSC ships is within the industry standard and comparable with mainstream ships of same size. MSC Fantasia and MSC Splendida have the greatest passenger to space ratio in the fleet and even more space than some Celebrity ships. I sailed the MSC Meraviglia this summer and found the ship crowded on the pooldeck but that was due to the fact that I think too much space of the pooldeck is reserved for Aurea Guests. Inside I did find the public areas of the ship very spacious and roomy. My impression is that mainstream ships will feel crowded in the peak season regardless of the line. Last summer I sailed the Jewel Of The Seas on a Eastern Med cruise and I can tell that the pooldeck was extremely busy and crowded. No chance of getting a sunbed after 09AM on seadays.

 

https://www.cruisewatch.com/top-10/ships-space-ratio/

I don't disagree with the above statement, MSC is certainly within the industry standards. However; I feel this link paints a more complete picture since it accounts for max berths per cabin (i.e.-kids sail free).

http://www.cruisemapper.com/wiki/761-cruise-ship-passenger-capacity-ratings

Both of my MSC sailings felt much more crowded than my jaunts on radiance class. Some of the crowded feeling I experienced might be due to personal space differences between cultures also.

Happy sails :)

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Thanks for the feedback.Very uncharacteristic for the reception staff to be rude and unhelpful.

So the food maybe hasn't improved then!

I have to say that when we ordered a couple of starters, the waiters looked at us very oddly & it wasn't just the one time either.

We found the portion sizes small, the food wasn't presented nicely & was quite often lukewarm.

The desserts were what saved the MDR experience, they were all fantastic! They were the same in the buffet.

As the OP said, the reception staff were certainly brusque & not very welcoming.

I would try MSC again but would go Yacht Club.

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Had three occasions to go to reception/customer service. Found them most helpful and attentive each time. Hit and miss I suppose.