GA Dave

Hi Jamie! Sorry I have not bumped into you and your husband yet! I have been enjoying this longer cruise on my favorite ship and getting so spoiled “up front”. Here are a few photos of food for me so far.

I have sailed in YC on Meraviglia four times since last October. I have always been able to do Facebook Live videos using the included package, as well as doing FaceTime with my adult kids back home. As mentioned, occasionally the signal gets a little weak during "prime time", but the signal seems better in the YC than other areas of the ship as well.

Hi Jamie! I am getting into overdrive for the reposition cruise as well! Most of my pre-packing tasks are already complete and I am having a hard time focusing on work this week! 😄. My plans include picking up my rental car Friday afternoon right after dropping off my dog at his vacation spot, then going wheels up early Saturday morning so I can actually be in Cape Canaveral by noon and spend the afternoon doing the town. Dinner will be at Grills at Port Canaveral. Hope to see you around the ship! Just look for the bearded guy with the rabbit ears on for our Easter sailaway!!

I like the YC interiors on Meraviglia. Perfect for a solo like me.

I prefer the deck 15 Yacht Club Deluxe Suites with the forward-facing balconies if I can afford to do those, and then any of the four YC Interior cabins on deck 16 which are just steps to the side door into the Top Sail Lounge if I am "roughing it". 😄

On my recent Meraviglia cruise (Jan. 19 - 22), there were four younger men who somehow found their way into the Top Sail Lounge. They were ordering drinks like crazy at the bar and were very loud and obnoxious. Someone must have said something to the YC Director because he went over and asked to see their cards. When he saw they were not YC cruisers, he quietly asked them to leave. They did not respond well so he told them he would give them a bottle of champagne to leave, or he could call Security if they liked. They took the bottle and left. Did not see them again for the rest of the cruise.

I was on the second sailing after the pandemic on Meraviglia (August 2021) and have been on eight MSC cruises since then. All but one was in the YC. For me as a solo, the prices have skyrocketed. I was able to book a YC Deluxe Suite for less than $200/day back during the restart, but now the pricing I am seeing for June through September of this year is $550 - $600/night. I was told by one of the Future Cruise Consultants onboard the Meraviglia back in November that MSC was going to be getting rid of their reduced solo supplements starting in mid-2023. It sure seems like that has come true.

Once they clear Security, they will stay to the left like you will for the YC check in area. Their check in will be close to where YC check in is, at the far end of the terminal building.

If you are flying into NY for the cruise, the best place to stay is near the airport and then Uber, Lyft, cab or towncar service to the port the day of the cruise. The area around the port is very industrial.

I have found that I split my time pretty equally between the YC facilities and the general areas of the ship, whether I am in an interior or a Deluxe Suite. The only time I feel the balcony is really necessary is on longer cruise, like my eleven-night coming up in April.

My YIN on Meraviglia back in November. This was 16006, right down the hall from the Top Sail Lounge. I was in 16012 this past weekend and it looked exactly the same.

I cruised on Meraviglia back in October on a completely sold-out cruise in a basic interior cabin. I knew going in that it would not be anything like my YC cruises, so I tempered my expectations to what I had paid ($223 for three-nights). I had a great time. Met some wonderful people during my four-hour wait on line to get on the ship, ate mostly at the buffet, got off early at Ocean Cay and got a nice Adirondack chair with an umbrella, took part in all the events in the Galleria, etc. For that money, I will do it over and over again. It's less than the cost of staying at a Motel 6 and it comes with food, entertainment, etc. The photo is my dinner the first night in the buffet. I thought it was really goods.

I save all my cash on cruises for the crew. If I cannot afford the $2.28 fee, I should not be cruising.

My card I used this past weekend charges the foreign transaction fee. It came to a charge of $2.28. I just don't worry about it. Much less stress than waiting in the Customer Service line to put cash on my account.

Those lines move pretty quick as there are two complete serving lines. I found the food very good there back in October for an island buffet.

On USA-based cruises, most passengers tip for good service in cash. I always tip my Butler, Junior Butler, Sommelier, Servers, Bartenders, etc.

We did the turn in the turning basin at the dock this past Friday on Meraviglia. They had no issues at all as the seas were almost dead calm (0.2m) and the wind was 3-5 mph.

You can buy the dining packages as soon as you board. I know on Meraviglia, you can go to the Ocean Cay restaurant on deck 6 and buy the package, then make your reservations for all of the restaurants right there.

As mentioned above, you need the ship wifi package in order to use the wifi system on the island. You also have to make sure you log off the ship's wifi before you leave the ship, or you cannot access the island's wifi (many people make this mistake). As a note, I have used my AT&T International Day Pass on Ocean Cay and had a better signal from that than the wifi system while on the beach.

Jamie, As an experienced NCL cruiser and now a huge MSC fan, I would highly recommend that you go Yacht Club if there is any way you can do it. I have found the MSC YC to be a superior experience to the NCL Haven experience and it is much more reasonable. Everything is included in the YC fare, from premium drink package to 2-device wifi per person to an exclusive beach and restaurant area at Ocean Cay. The YC crew is just amazing and has met or exceeded my expectations every cruise. Example: This past weekend, I was on Meraviglia as a solo. I commented to the Sommelier how much I enjoyed the very high-end Italian wine he chose for me for dinner. When I returned to my cabin later that evening, there was a full, sealed bottle of the wine in my cabin for me to take home.

This.

I do not believe the dock is long enough for a ship like Meraviglia or Seashore and an Explora ship. If you look at my zoom picture attached, Meraviglia extends the full length of the current dock. They may decide to extend it in the future, but as others have mentioned, I am not sure how they would handle the Yacht Club beach if a regular ship and an Explora ship were there at the same time.

My cruise on Meraviglia is going to Aruba and Curacao. I'm really looking forward to those.

Yes. They listed the times and places.