JAGR

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.

Sounds great! Everything was open in the spa when we were on last week.

It was a perfect number! Plenty of room on the ship, and even YC was very open.

Sorry, I couldn't find a weekly pass or daily rate. They did mention a daily rate of $40., but that struck me as high. Hopefully, someone will have more information.

Will do!

The fee is based on two people per cabin as a cap.

Your mind is not failing you! On the Seaside (pre-COVID), it was held in the theater since no actual "cooking" was done. Audience members took a short food knowledge quiz, the emcee drew names and I recall people were put into teams of two. @Vonnah was probably referring to the other game show they had MasterChefs Junior at Sea. Not sure if they kept one or both programs since COVID. Don't recall seeing it the program when we were on Seashore earlier this year.

Yes, unless you need a bag tag or two. The rest is good back up if the account for purchased items is incorrect, but I just keep my email and the attached paperwork on my phone.

Sorry, but if you do meet with the director or another officer, can you get an estimate of how many passengers they expect next week? Thanks

Thanks!

Curious. We are on next week. When did you get your letter regarding liquor and pillow choice for YC? I haven't got anything yet, but I'm hearing the butlers aren't always getting people's responses to the questions.

You are an erudite person, so I must ask why you deliberately edit my original message? It would be of interest to many people, but as I said it would be especially important to a Meravglia passenger. Yest, it would also be of interest to anyone embarking on a ship arriving into US waters from a foreign base, but the person I was responding to the person that had no clue about the sailing or the international situation.

I would think someone from the isles could get by with a sporran!

I'm curious about how boarding went on the 16th, since I'm on the week after.

Technically, you do have to pass immigration when you get of the ship. You should also have gotten your new cards (if needed) before you debark. When you come back, you can bypass the check-in process since you are already checked in.

Actually, I hope not! Our cruise next Sunday on Meravglia is 7 nights, as is the 16th. I'd hate to miss a few days at sea!😉

You are kidding aren't you?? The post would have been of great interest to the audience the OP intended it for: those of us sailing on Meraviglia on the 16th, 23rd, etc. If you are not sailing the Meraviglia in the near future, and don't know where she was sailing, you can exercise your right to not read it. Looking forward to your review of your next cruise! Not!

Sitting as a twosome is never a problem in YC.

I DO like having a nice cup or "iced coffee" with me during a show. What a great idea!😉

It's because you are MSC's favorite patron and are a walking billboard for the company! 😉 At least that's better than your downgrade debacle!

I think "signature" drinks are kind of like the practice they have of having a limited number of drinks at YC, Diamond, and Welcome Back parties. Just mass produce some drinks, and reduce labor costs for bartenders and servers.

We are on the week before, Oct 23rd through the 30th, so we technically miss Halloween on the 31st, but I assume they'll be celebrating the week we are on as well.

Per Cruiseradio site, Cocktails include Bombay Tonic, Vodka Red Rooster, Virgin Mojito, Rosemary Gimlet, Tiki Mule, and Paloma Fizz. I'll know next week and weigh in with my opinion.