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Most nights it closes at 11pm. Our daughter never stayed that late but in Europe it’s common for kids to be up that late.  No extra fees.  They even have dinner together in the buffet so you can eat out without the kids!

I don’t see a problem with that. They will not kick you out of the restaurant for attire!

It will be interesting to see if your cruise is more “American” due to sailing from NY.  I would think so but who knows! Enjoy!

There were 2 elegant nights on our 7 day cruise but not everyone dresses up.  There were a lot of people in our restaurant on elegant night that were dressed nicely but informal.  More like going to church. Anything goes really. 

I just sailed this ship RT from Rome with my 3 kids (13, 11, 8 ) the main embarkation is in Genoa so it was very easy to get on and off in Rome.  Our boarding time was 4:15 but we got there around 3 and I wish we got there sooner but there was a lot of traffic getting to the port.  We are temporarily living in Rome so we are accustomed to the Italian lifestyle so this review is from that stand point.  If you are not comfortable on a large ship with people of all nationalities and many languages, then I would not sail on this ship or another foreign ship. 

We we were very happy with the ship overall. Our cabin steward was great.  We had a balcony family room at the back - more rocking than I thought back there! We did not have the inside room.  The kids liked the bunk beds with the privacy curtain and the balcony was a very good size with 4 chairs and a small stool. Attached are pictures of our room - 12344. The door by the front is the one that leads to the interior family cabin- which we didn’t book. 

The food was ok.  We stuck mainly with the buffet but did the restaurant one night.  Didn’t work out well for us since the kids didn’t cate for the food.  The Buffett was crowded but I liked that they have table drink service. 

The shows were good. You do need to do a free booking on the MSC app which was easy since the shows do fill up. You can do this up to 10 min before show starts. This way you just walk in, otherwise you have to wait and see what seats are still free. 

We we had issues with the ore ones internet package.  It wouldn’t work.  They said it’s a common problem. I had to rebuy it and then they credited the charge it was a pain so I wouldn’t prepay again!

my daughter liked the junior club. She stayed on the ship at a few ports. My teen didn’t go the the teen club at all. It’s ages 12-17 and the guy in charge said that quite a few of them smoke and there were more older kids so never went. 

Unfortunately my oldest ended up with strep throat on day 5 of the cruise. So we saw the ship Dr!!! Very quick and easy.  We had to pay and will get reimbursed from our insurance. 

Overall a nice ship and I didn’t experience the staff to be anything other than very nice and accommodating!!

My TA has been on hold 30 -60 min every time he’s had to call. Unfortunately there were errors in our booking and every time MSC “fixed” them a new error appeared.  I was annoyed so I can only imagine how annoyed the TA was since he was the one on hold.  It took several weeks of him calling to finally get things fixed.  Crazy!!!

30 minutes ago, thetaro said:

MSC's system is just garbage. They should probably fire the whole IT team and build everything from scratch. 

 

Try this email:

MSCExistingReservations@msccruisesusa.com

 

They fixed a bunch of website and account issues for me. Phone customer service is totally useless.

Thank you!   I’m sending them a message now but I’m not holding my breath!

This is not our first time on MSC but it may be our last!  Has anyone else had major issues checking in on-line for their cruise?  I'm on the Meraviglia that leaves Rome on FEB 17th and it's been one thing after another.  The TA I booked thru has been on the phone countless times with MSC for them to fix errors.  It seems that once MSC fixes an error, a new one appears.  ie., a child changes from "F" to "M", or it says I haven't paid for the cruise.  I have entered and re-entered our passport info countless times.  It seems when MSC "fixes" something the info I had already entered disappears.  My member status is also messed up.  I'm listed as classic on the MSC app but the MSC website shows black.  My TA said I had to contact MSC directly and of course MSC is giving me a run around.   I guess I'll just stick with the classic and maybe I can show them a print out or screen shot of the black status.  Here's hoping the cruise goes is better than MSC customer service!!

Good to know.  Thanks for the correction.  So it’s USA, UK and Ireland. 

Yes- in the Main dining room. If you are American you have to book your cruise thru an American agent though.  Just being American is not enough. 

I am sailing in mid FEB on the Meraviglia with my 3 kids (13, 11, 8).  Can anyone tell me what their usual kids activities are?  Will they allow my 11 year old in the teen area with her older sister?  I know my 13 year old won't go into the teen area without her 11 year old sister but I read that you needed to be 12.  Not sure how strict they are with this?

Thanks!

15 hours ago, CCJack said:

I agree.  providing tap water and ice at the tables is an inexpensive thing for the cruise line to do and they prevent really making people mad.   Cruise ships are a diverse group of passengers and many will not be used to paying for water.  Especially since all other lines provide water even when cruising in Europe.  

Tap water and ice is only a big thing in  America. Most European countries do very little to no ice and drink bottled water.  MSC has a large european segment that they cater too and Europeans are used to paying for water when they eat.  To try and cater to Americans, MSC provides free bottled water in the dining room.  You only need to book thru an American agent or the American MSC site to get the free bottled water.  They will bring out additional bottles as you use them up.  You may need to ask though.  We had no issue with this.