APDMOM

Let’s just say, if I am on the ship tomorrow night, no testing is required 😄 Will let you know if they even ask for any proof of anything.

Quick notes before I explain the title: I will post as ‘live’ as possible between events on our cruise. If you are not into the ‘details’, I will post “TIPS” in bold red so that you can skim-read. I will try to post menus and dailies at the end of each daily rerport for anyone interested. If you have questions or requests, I will try my best to find answers. We are NOT Yacht Club, so I will not be able to help with any questions about that. About the Mazda It has been 1,057 days since our last cruise! “You know what” interfered with that, but it also brought us some new adventures. Due to our addiction to travel, we made a plan and bought a landship in August 2020… our Mazda CX9. We had many fun adventures during the 1,057 days ‘in exile’, some of which I will share at the end of this trip report for anyone interested. BUT NOW, we are able to cruise again and we are about to board this beauty. Ironically, our last cruise was also on MSC Meraviglia. So, we will leave our landship behind in Port Canaveral to regain our sea-legs. Come Cruise Along!

Checked our already booked Spring break cruise. It is hard to compare apples to apples since our category shows sold out. The price for one deck higher is now $636 more on the Black Friday special, but includes 2 perks we did not get when we booked (drinks & wifi). If you usually get the drinks package it may be worth some savings. When I log in to our cruise, the cost of the Easy Plus shows $357 per person... Since we do not buy the drinks package, I am happy with the price we paid. My motto is to book when I like the price, then reprice or cancel and rebook if the price drops later. 🙂

Thank you! Had so much fun reading about your trip. 3 days until we board 🙂

@coscab… In case you missed it, no more testing required unless your cruise visits Colombia! 💃🙂

Thanks for sharing all the helpful information, @tbmrt! We will report from our Thanksgiving experience in 2 weeks. 🙂

@Vonnah At which port did you board? With our cruise coming up in 2 weeks I am getting nervous about the home proctored test. We board in Port Canaveral.

Correct... or enhanced driver's license, which they had. I should have clarified that.

US citizens cruising from US ports on closed loop do not need a passport. I had read the same thing about 'requiring' a passport on MSC prior to our friends' cruise. They did not have passports. At the port, they asked for their passports and they told them they don't have any. MSC accepted the US drivers licenses. Also see post number 16 in this thread.

Hope they will restart the Cruise Critic parties again soon. Looks like they are still 'paused'.

I just saw a video that said it is $60 per day, so the pre-cruise sale of $130 per week for our cruise is a great price!

Put it in your carry-on anyway. I had a heat pad in my checked luggage once and it was not a fun walk to the 'naughty room'. Better to have it in your hand luggage 🙂

I recently read that they allow home proctored tests on this thread: 🙂

Also... We found the Meraviglia room service coffee to be the best free coffee at sea - but I know coffee is a matter of taste. 🙂

The Marketplace Buffet layout can be a bit confusing. There are several stations that repeat (like the Ethnic station and wellness station, bread, etc.). However, there are some unique offerings that do not always repeat. So, I recommend walking all the way around to look at all the food stations to see what they offer. The back of the Marketplace is also usually much less crowded.

Love the thermal area on both Meraviglia and Seaside. I am still trying to decide if it is worth the $130 for one week on oue upcoming Meraviglia cruise, as I had a GREAT deal for 14 days on Seaside, but it is an amazing experience! Never was crowded when I went - I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it, as I am a type A (maybe double A) person and have difficulty relaxing and not thinking of 'what I may be missing while sitting in this hot tub". 😄 LOL!

Is anyone from US boarding in New York? Not an expert either, but I would make an educated guess that the main inspections will be where the first turnaround is - new passengers from a USA-based passenger manifest as well as crew paperwork inspection. If that is Miami - just go with the flow and be prepared for delays.

After reading just about every post in this thread, I believe it comes down to timing. It was poor timing, with Coast Guard inspection and first cruise out of US after European season - it seems to be common across cruiselines. I am really sorry for those who had this bad experience on a first-time MSC cruise. We have cruised Carnival, Costa, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, NCL, and MSC. Our favorite line is MSC because of the value for our family (DH and DS are 100% convinced, I am still sort of 'undecided'). So, please do not let this post-TA experience be the deciding factor for whether you cruise MSC. We are booked on Meraviglia for Thanksgiving. We are grateful for the amazing prices, which allowed us to book 2 aft balconies for 3 of us (cheaper than 1 balcony on RCL or NCL). I will post my trip report on Cruise Critic (hopefully live). In the meantime, here are my trip reports of our past MSC experiences... Thanks to the OP for warning me about post TA cruises.

Love this! Hope to cruise with you sometime. You are spot on! I am just thankful I can cruise. I am thankful for everyone who shows up to work... from Circle K to Aldi to MSC. 🙂 I feel like taking a second job (even though I don't need it) just to fill those holes from people not willing to work, or quitting because of the "entitlement mentality" driving them away.

😆 Not so much "brave" as unfortunately bound by our school schedule. Both DH and I work in the school system, so we have limited 'other' time to take off. I am 'selfishly' taking 4 days off for a birthday cruise in January. Of course, we always have our balcony to escape to on school breaks. We cruise any break we get when we can afford it.

Love this! Thank you for sharing. I think we will get along very well. 😁 Looking forward to our Thanksgiving cruise on Meraviglia. Note to self to avoid post TA cruises, but will still see the glass “a little over half full”. …I always have my balcony to go zagging.

Good thinking! We will be doing our spring break cruise in March on Seascape. We loved Seaside - our favorite ship to date.

Echoing others… Please post reports from inaugural cruise. If anyone will be doing a vlog, please share your platform and channel name here. I would love to follow along! 🙂

Bimini Beach was quiet and great for swimming when we were there in 2019. You can see pictures and more details about the island here (Starting at post 131) - the link should take you to the right page in the trip report:

We board on the 19th 🙂