cruiserzockel

We were in a front facing SL suite on Viva 6 - 16 Nov. Happy to answer any questions about the suite and suite amenities.

Breakfast and lunch were in Cagney's. The menus were the same everyday. 

and another quickie........does the gym have changing rooms, or are your forced to 'drip' back to your cabin passing all those people who bothered to dress up on elegance night :')

I'm sorry I don't know. Two of our party used the gym but they changed in the cabin. The gym seemed to be busy a lot of the time and I dont remember seeing lots of people dripping back to their cabin:'). Towels for use in the gym and pool are provided in your room.

I willbe traveling this weekend on msc meraviglia— and have following questions -

1. What are the internet packages costs?

2. Which show is better - cirque viaggio or sonor?

 

We had the most expensive internet package (think it is called "streamer") which cost 69.90€. You could connect 4 devices to this. As there were 4 of us using the one package (including 2 teens:D) we did use it all up by the middle of the week. You could top it up at a cost of 15€ (although I cant remember how much GB or MB this would give you). It seemed to be a good deal and we were going to do this but in the end we didn't as we just used our 4g when in port or near land.

We only saw viaggio so I cant compare the two, sorry. But we all really enjoyed it. Maybe someone else on here has seen both shows and would be able to give you a comparison? I think you may be able to find them on You Tube

Does msc app work before boarding, tobook excursions, internet package, etc etc?

 

No, prior to boarding you cant use the app to book excursions (although I think you could see what excursions were offered), or book your internet package or make any dining reservations

Not much feedback rolling in.......anyone out there with kids who have sailed this cruise recently?

 

 

Hi

We only did the one MSC excursion - Rome on your own which was basically only a coach transfer from the port to Rome and then we wandered around on our own. It suited us perfectly as we knew where we wanted to visit. It was organised really well and was very convenient.

Regarding Barcelona, our kids are older (teens now) so we visited Sagrada Familia, wandered round the gothic quarter,shopped and ate tapas :).

But we did visit Barcelona before many years ago when our children were probably only about 4 and 5 years old. I remember we did the HOHO which was a great way to see the main sights and get a feel for the city, visited the Nou Camp, went to the Miro museum (one was doing Miro project at school at the time :)) and also visited Poble Espanyol (an outdoor museum with different Spanish architecture and demonstrations of old crafts eg glass blowing)

I've been using my APP for Months since booking the Cruise, and it's been pretty cool. How exactly does it work while you're onboard? We are from the US, so I will not have my WiFi browser on. I'm just getting the Social package for Facebook, etc......

On board you could view the daily schedule, keep track of your onboard account, it had an agenda where you could view your theatre bookings (I guess if you had dinner or spa reservations they would appear here too). Weather and itinerary were also available.

There seem to be 2 Cirque shows - can you advise which one you saw and whether it was very 'loud'. Travelling with elderly mother!

We saw Viaggio. I don't recall that it was especially loud (I was travelling with teens tho:)). The music complemented the acts so it all fitted together

Did you need to book the cirque shows before you boarded? Thanks

We were fortunate to have the cirque show included in our cruise price so we had a voucher in our room when we boarded the ship. We had to take the voucher to the theatre and book the day and time we wanted (think we had to do this between 9am and 3pm so did it on the second day and had a choice of day and time slots).

We are traveling to basically the same ports. Did you do the excursions through the ship or can many of them be done on your own and if so which ones are easiest?

We caught the MSC shuttle bus from the ship to the centre of Marseille (think it was about 12€ return). It was very convenient and we didn't have a wait at either end. Once in Marseille it was easy to walk around the port area. We caught a local ferry from one side of the port to the other (2€). We also went on the mini train up to Notre Dame where the views were amazing. There were also amazing views of the coastline on the journey. There was a very big queue to board the mini train at the time we went (about midday) but later on there were no queues so I would recommend waiting until the queues go down.

In Genoa we caught a taxi into the old port area. We made the mistake of not asking the price first and ended paying double what we paid to return to the ship. So confirm price first. I think it would be possible to walk from the ship to the old port but it looked like you would have to cross some main roads.

Our two teens went to the aquarium and loved it. We wandered around the town and it was great. Very easy to see all the main sights and well worth visiting. Picked up some local pesto from the market too.

For Rome we did the MSC Rome on your Own tour which was basically a coach transfer to the city from the port (about 1.5 hours). As it was New Years Day the trains were not very frequent so we felt this was the best and safest option. It worked very well and was hassle free.

We then walked from the Spanish Steps to Trevi fountain, Pantheon, Piazza Navona and then on to the Coliseum. We caught the metro back to the Spanish Steps from the Coliseum and had lunch near the Spanish Steps. It was all really easy to do and we had a great day.

In Palermo it is a short and easy walk from the ship to the town centre. We only pottered around here for a few hours to get a feel for the town. Again it was very easy to wander about on our own but we probably missed a lot of very interesting sights and facts by not going on an organised tour.

We stayed in Barcelona for a few days before the cruise and would recommend a visit to the Sagrada familia. It was fantastic. We booked a time slot in advance and did a self guided tour with headphones. It was very enjoyable and informative and one of the highlights of the whole trip.

I hope all of this is helpful. If you have any more questions please ask and I will try and help:)

Did the Buffet have any Asian or Indian food? Trying to stay away from too much pasta......which I happen to love.....lol. Was the indoor pool warm enough to swim in? Our kids are bummed that we are cruising the Western Mediterranean the first week in April....and too cold for the awesome water park slides. Did they have the rope bridge open? Do you have to have a certain internet package to access the MSC for me App?

 

 

You did not need an internet package to access the MSC for me App. It worked really well too

Did the Buffet have any Asian or Indian food? Trying to stay away from too much pasta......which I happen to love.....lol. Was the indoor pool warm enough to swim in? Our kids are bummed that we are cruising the Western Mediterranean the first week in April....and too cold for the awesome water park slides. Did they have the rope bridge open? Do you have to have a certain internet package to access the MSC for me App?

 

Hi, yes the buffet did have an ethnic station which changed daily, sometimes thai, sometimes indian or Chinese. As this station was in a corner it did sometimes get quite busy. A tip for the buffet - if it is busy head to the very back of the ship where it is much quieter, there are some tables outside too which were lovely to sit at.

The indoor pool was warm enough to swim in, bring flip flops. There were a few brave souls in the outdoor pools too as they are heated. You should be fine in April.

The rope bridge was open and was great fun.

Glad you enjoyed your cruise. How was the weather temps in the Med at this time of the year?

 

 

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hi

The temperatures were in the mid teens centigrade mostly although Palma was much warmer (late teens).

There was a bit of rain on the day we were in Rome but only for an hour or so.The night that we were meant to be leaving Rome the wind picked up a lot and the Captain delayed our leaving port for 24 hours because of the sea conditions.

Hope this helps please ask if you want more info

Hi cruiserzockel, could you tell me if they had a White Night or a themed night

 

Thanks!

Hi

Yes they had a white night and also a 70s/80s night and a tropical night. Not many seemed to dress up for tropical night but quite a few did for white night and the 70s night

Returned yesterday after a weeks cruise on MSC Meraviglia, 2 adults and 2 teens. We had two ocean view cabins on deck 8 fantastica experience.

We embarked in Barcelona (had 2 nights there before the cruise) and visited Marseille, Genoa, Rome, Palermo and Palma (rearranged as Malta was cancelled due to bad weather in the med).

We really enjoyed the cruise, the staff were great especially our restaurant waiter and cabin steward, food was very good and plentiful, enjoyed the shows (especially Paz with flamenco dancing, Virtual and Cirque de Soleil).

If anyone has any questions, please ask and I will try and help :)