JAGR

Masters of the Sea - MSC Grandiosa:

We were just on Meraviglia. For the Carousel shows, you are checked in at the door by ushers with iPads. You must have a paid reservation in order to get into the show. They close the access ten minutes before the show, so don't be late.

There's been quite a few posts on this, Jim. Cliff's Notes version: Meraviglia came into Canaveral on the 13th after a transatlantic crossing. This is where the chain of events started. The13th was the the start of a 3-day cruise. It was fully booked at 4400 passengers. There was the inevitable delay boarding since the ship had to be inspected and cleared fro travel. Some new crew members scheduled to board were not allowed on board due to a paperwork snafu. I'm not so sure that the delay in debarking was not that passengers would not get off, but that they couldn't get off, since your account has to be settled in order to get by ship security. So, you have a ship that went from 1100 passengers to full, and boarding was delayed. There were system glitches with billing that caused delays in debarkation. That carried over to the 16th and the 7-day cruise, which had the delayed boarding. Passenger count was back down to less than 1500, and after the hectic first day, things turned around. We were on the week after, and everything was fine. Check-in to on board was less than a half hour. You should be all set when it's your time.

Cabana situation is extremely limited (unlike Seashore, and more like Seaside). There are only three cabanas. They are on the starboard side, and all have the wicker sides and fairly open roof like those on Seaside. Two are reserved for the Royal Suites (15008 and 15011), so that only leaves one to book. It was always reserved, so we didn't bother to ask about booking. Sorry, but I don't even know if you have to pay for that one.

We went with starters and desserts last week. I really enjoyed the snails, the bleu cheese soufflé and the Crêpes Suzette!

Last week on Meraviglia, the Concierge specifically said that our Diamond dinner could not be used at the Teppanyaki restaurant. We didn't buy the package, but a couple we were talking with mentioned that they got the dining package and did go the Teppanyaki route, saying they had to pay the extra $10 each.

$550 US total for the week for the two of us was definitely worth it!

Actually, I mentioned to him that I loved the Butter Chicken that was on the menu. He thanked me for that and asked what other dishes I liked Rogan Josh, any kind of curry, and anything with paneer cheese. Saw him the next morning, and he asked what I would like to try. Since lamb was on the menu for that night, I asked about the Rogan Josh, and he made that lamb stew for us. Later, he made a paneer mutter dish with English peas instead of Indian peas. Very good dishes. We were lucky to have a chef from Punjab province on board.

This is the Yacht Club menu. There is no upcharge in YC. I think I read it was $20 in the regular dining rooms.

Sorry! Hamrag qualified what I did not put clearly. One set of seven different menus for a week. Plenty of choices. Lunch menu had at least three starters, four mains, and four or more desserts. Adding in the Health Choice options, dinner menus typically had five starters, six mains and eight or more desserts.

The one elegant night was on our first sea day (Wednesday). No other formal night, but there was an "Italian Night" on our last night. They had some red and green napkins, but the waiters were not wearing red, white, and green cumberbunds or ties, like on past cruises. Favorite dishes would be hamachi carpaccio with avocado appetizer, surf and turf, lamb, sea bream, and any dessert!

As I said, I asked at the Concierge desk to get on the list first thing. Roughly, the rate is $39/person per night. Concierge said that I was number one on the list and not to unpack. Said they would know at closeout. We were assigned our new room at about 3:15.

They call it a service charge on MSC. If you pre-purchase, there is no service charge. Anything bought on board would have an added 15% added service charge.

From our experience last week (two adults only), I think I can answer your questions for the most part. 1. I would pre-book for all adults and kids. For us, prepay tickets were $12 (US) per person per show. There were a number of kids at the two shows we went to, and they seemed to enjoy themselves. Booking on board was at least $16 (US dollars, as is all pricing on Caribbean cruises for anything) 2. They won't refund. There are kids cocktails (mocktails) as well as adult drinks. There are bar employees who would control kids "accidentally" getting alcoholic drinks. 3. I don't think you can just walk in. There are four ushers or so that check that you are ticketed and allowed entry. Can't see them letting you in. I will say the shows are kid friendly (and PC) For example, one of the songs in Age of Rock is "Satisfaction" The lyrics are changed to, "I can't get no satisfaction, I can't get no satisfaction" from the original, "I can't get no satisfaction, I can't get no girlie action." My recommendation. Pre-pay for the tickets and save money. Instead of waiting in line at reception on deck 5, there is a desk next to reception (starboard side) that is dedicated to Carousel. There you can arrange show date and time (8 or 10). There is no ticketing per se. When you go to the show, you give your cabin number, and they check on the iPads. Further advice: 1. They will not let anyone in after ten minutes before show time. 2. Even though it says you can't bring in a drink, if you have a drink plan you may want to do that. The specialty drinks aren't that good, and you can drink what you like. They did not stop anyone bringing in a drink.

Last week, Houdini was on nights 2 through 4, and Age of Rock on days 5 through 7. Two shows each night at 8 and 10. Given the costuming and acrobatics set up, I would bet that they would stay with a non-rotating schedule.

To clarify the reference of Captain Giuseppe Gazzano to Sydney Greenstreet for those of you who have never seen "The Maltese Falcon," Two pictures of the Captain bookend Sydney.

That matches our experience on Meraviglia last week. Meraviglia does have the port and aft underwater view channels, but they are only useful during the day, and were not always on.

Answers in your text.

You'll enjoy it. Be sure to tell you butler you are a first-timer! He/She will make sure you are taken care of.

Public Areas: Overall very nice. Very walkable, and most things in the center of the ship. Nice thing was the lack of hard sell of specialty dining and spa. Usually that's a downer, but if you act like you are waling in Mexico, and just keep saying, "No, gracias," or, "No, thank you." they are not pushy. Shows: Carousel productions were fantastic. Well worth the $12 prepay cost, not necessarily the $16 on board. The included drink wasn't that good (e.g., who likes a weak Bombay and Tonic with whole peppercorns and mint?). Upside is despite the fact that they say you can't bring in a drink, we and others had no problem doing so. Stage productions were good, but there they do enforce the no drink policy. Bars and Lounges outside YC: I know this will come of to some as, "Here is the crying of the lush," but I do like wandering the ship, and occasionally, thirst will strike in the need for like a water, say, or a soft drink, even. 😉 It may be because the passenger count was low, a number of the bars were not open during regular hours. The Champagne Bar was only open from 6:00 or so, and not every night. The Brass Anchor (primary sports bar outside of the smoky Casino Bar) did not open until 4:00, even on football Saturday. (Go Bucks!) Cabin: We booked an interior, and when we boarded, I went to the Concierge Desk to ask about a paid upgrade since I knew cabins were available. We ended up getting a Balcony for a very reasonable price (about a fourth of the total bid guidelines for the offer they email you before the cruise). Very comfortable and spacious room and balcony. Worth the upgrade to have DW happy enough that I could sleep with out hearing crying, and did not have to keep sharp objects away from her, or sleep with one eye open! The Most Important Factor - The People of MSC: This to me is where MSC shines. On walkabouts throughout the ship, almost every staff member I saw gave a warm greeting. When I got my morning coffee and sat, a waiter would come by asking if I needed anything, and would ask how the cruise was going. Over the years, I have learned a few simple phrases in foreign languages, like hello, good morning, thank you, etc. Luckily, those came in handy on this cruise. A simple good morning in Tagalog to a Filipino server, for example gets them excited. A thank you in their language to an Indonesian server is priceless to them. Overall, everyone we came in contact with was overly friendly, from the Captain on down. Some Standout People: 1. Captain Giuseppe Gazzano: Former Carnival master. Reminded me of Sydney Greenstreet (I know, showing my age!). He was all over the ship! Saw him daily in the YC area, but saw him walking the Galleria almost every day, popping into the restaurants and stores, and just talking to people. Amazing fellow! 2. YC Pool Attendants (James and Romeo): Constantly friendly, outgoing and smiling. Both bent over backwards to make sure you had anything you needed. 3. YC Lounge Butler (Kimberly): Constant smile, can do attitude and superior service. 4. YC Waitress (LaToya): I joked with her about getting married (DW gave her blessing). Her service was on point, and the running humor was fantastic. Experienced cruisers will understand this. She has a black tie, not a gold one, and was still the best server I have had on any ship. I made it my mission to let the Maitre d' (George - very good as well) and YC Director (Allesandro - also very good) that LaToya needs the Gold Tie. 5. (Top Sail Lounge bartender) Daryl: Very outgoing. Service on point. Takes time to talk with you. One negative People Comment: It is not a game breaker, but one pet peeve I have is personal solicitation by a server. On MSC, employees get a chance for extra time off if their names come up in a positive way in the post-cruise survey we get. Most of us who sail MSC know that, so it bothered me a bit when one server we had contact with only two times openly asked DW and I to put his name on a survey. That just guaranteed a big NO from us. Overall, a fantastic cruise! Can't wait until early next year for another MSC cruise. For those of you sailing YC or who are Diamond, I will close with a summary of some of the changes/idiosyncrasies we saw on this cruise versus or last: 1. Despite being Diamond, my initial cruise card was Classic. Reservation showed Platinum. Took a minute to correct that at the Concierge desk. However, that mistake may have led to other issues or differences from the last cruise. 2. No sparking wine or strawberries in the cabin. Got the strawberries on day three. Got the Prosecco dropped in the room on the last night. 3. On Seashore, there were different treats every night (definite overkill). On this sailing, we got macaroons one night. Butler said they stopped the daily treats. That may be our butler though, because others we met said they got something each night. 4. No gift in room. Asked butler and on the last night, the left two drawstring totes. On Seashore, they gave the nicer collapsible backpacks. No biggie, just a little cheaper. 5. No chocolate ship anymore (although Seashore gave them out two weeks ago to friends. 6. Actually, not chocolate gift was given. On our Seashore sailings, all YC guests got a small box of Venchi chocolates. Not on this cruise. Eventually, out butler gave us two Voyager Diamond Chocolate bars on the day we were leaving. He "found" them. 7. No escort off the ship offered by butler, who saw us leaving the room (In all honesty, we told him day one that we were low maintenance and could find our way to venues). Concierge saw us and asked us to wait for a butler to leave the ship. These issues above were minor. I only list them so people know that benefits are changing and this will continue. Change is inevitable. The overall MSC product is great.

Just off the MSC Meraviglia seven-night cruise. Our eight booking with MSC (all YC), and this was overall one of the best cruises we've been on! The caveat is that this review reflects the experience of one couple on one MSC cruise on one week. If you have sailed MSC more than once, you know that inconsistencies in service and other experiences is a hallmark. In the real-time reviews people posted, you may wonder if they were on the same ship ("Best Cruise Ever", "Worst Cruise Ever", "I'll Never Cruise MSC Again", and "Booked Two Future Cruises While On Board"). I think all of the people posting were reporting honestly on their experience, probably tempered by their expectations and probably influenced by an event or two that stood out. We last sailed MSC in Feb/March on a B2B on Seashore, so my observations may reflect on comparisons between them. The Ship Overall: Our first time on Meraviglia (most of our experiences have been on Seaside class), and it is a beautiful ship. I met a number of people who favor this ship, and I can't blame them. Like all MSC ships, it is clean and shiny. It looks like half the crew run around with cloths to wipe things down. Standouts are the the two-story atrium walkway (Galleria) with its colors and light shows, the Carousel Lounge with no bad seats, and the Aurea Spa (perhaps the best spa afloat). Negatives (I will grant they are personal, and things I disliked may be preferences for others) are the resumption of smoking being allowed in the Casino meaning you walk a gauntlet going to the Carousel Lounge, and the complete separation of the YC restaurant from the Top Sail Lounge. I prefer having the restaurant open to the lounge like on the Seaside class. To me, it's nice to have live music while dining. Anyone who has sailed YC on MSC knows what the generic canned music is like! Embarkation: Smoothest ever. Our check-in window was 10:00 to 10:30. It seemed like all 1400-1500 were given the same window, but it went smoothly. We got to the tent at 10:12, and were sitting with champagne in the Top Sail at 10:38. I know you are thinking, "A bit exact on the times, there, John." It's an engineering thing!😌 Yacht Club Areas: I won't mention the open area lacking between the Top Sail Lounge and restaurant again. Oops, guess I did! The YC areas are very good. DW is a sun worshiper, so she prefers Seaside class, but after all was said and done, the glass roofs did not stop her from getting a tan. Plenty of open seating on the Sun Deck, and the staffing was more than adequate. For the Sun Deck bar, I prefer the Seaside class since you can actually get a seat at the bar, which I've always liked. Pool is adequate size but would be small if we had over 120 in YC, I think. Top Sail Lounge and restaurants seem larger than Seaside class, but I think it may be an illusion because of the way space is used. That, or the lack of an open area between the restaurant and Top Sail Lounge, but I wouldn't want to belabor that point! 😉 Food: For eating, we left the YC only once for our Black Card dining at the Sushi. I have to admit I'm not terribly fond of the one-week menu they instituted early this year (especially on our B2B earlier) but there is enough variety. That, and the executive chef as introduced to us early in the week, and when I mentioned a preference for Northern Indian cuisine, he arranged that for me twice, asking only for a notice by lunch of that day. I will say that one advantage with the preset menu, is that they can show you menus for the entire week, allowing you to determine when you may want to try and venture out for meals somewhere else. Some things to note: I get up early, and discovered that they have coffee in the buffet area as early as 5:30 or 6:00. Breakfast and lunch service in the YC dining room is efficient, and fast. Dining is a bit more measured, but the servers seem to sense when you are done and bring things out in a timely manner. DW is a late riser, and she reports that the Sun Deck buffet and made-to-order station are great for breakfast. Lunch is good either in the restaurant or the Sun Deck. The only thing I found was that the fish dishes in the Sun Deck buffet were a bit dry and over cooked. The exception is the tilapia and red sauce. Overall, good variety, and you won't go hungry. To be continued....

After last week, I can add clarification. On the App, you sign to messaging, and then can designate who you would like to chat with. They also must be signed in and show as willing to communicate with the others in your group. Just did it with DW and I (I tend to roam the ship, and she tends to stay put on the sun deck), and it worked well for messaging IM style.