Live from MSC Meraviglia Sailing from Barcelona 7/7/17 with lots of photos!

[kikki21]

So you would go again? Would you do Aurea again? Thanks for the awesome review. We are on Seaside in December and trying to get excited about it!

 

 

 

The Aurea package was good, we enjoyed the perks of priority embarkation, the sun deck, the spa & the included drinks package. It was lovely to sail in a suite even though we didn't have suite benefits.

I think if I sailed MSC again then I'd be looking at Yacht Club.

 

 

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[kikki21]

Thanx kikki, I can see where ur coming from, as I said earlier I've never been on msc before, been on 2 American lines which where fantastic, hope they sort the food out and the children running around, ur thread has been great thanx again

 

 

 

I've sailed on big ships previously & not had the issues we had on Meraviglia - it's like she is still shaking down & hopefully things will improve!

 

 

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[kikki21]

Thank you so much for such a great review. I simply cannot believe those plates were allowed to leave the galley. I think we are going to move forward with doing our Iceland cruise on NCL and wait and book a shorter cruise - probably from the states - for our first MSC cruise.

 

 

 

It just got to be a joke with how the MDR plates of food came out - the best plate of food I had all week was off the ship!!!

 

 

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[kikki21]

Wow, this is so disappointing the food looks awful. I really wouldn't even want to taste it. When we sail on Belissima my husband will be thrilled as it will be the buffet every night unless things improve! I know that not for quite some time but I am not sure MSC can get the MDR right with what I read and see on CC.

 

 

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The food doesn't taste that bad in the MDR but sometimes it is too heavily seasoned but then I don't use gallons of salt on my food but at least try to serve it hot!

Cold/lukewarm pasta is not good!

The desserts were in a different league thankfully & we soon learned how to order if we wanted to eat a decent amount of food!

 

 

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[kikki21]

Thanks Kiki. I'm in the same cabin as you but on opposite side & down a deck. I think you thread has really helped real in my expectations and I will probably have a better cruise for it.

 

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I had high expectations for this cruise & they were definitely knocked down.

Outside in the public areas, Meraviglia is a stunning ship but it's like they haven't put the bells & whistles on her for the cabins. Even the YC cabins looked somewhat muted, although bathrooms looked better.

And hopefully your room will get more sun as less affected by the bridge overhang!

 

 

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[kerryincork]

Let's hope so (re sun). I am hoping all the trouble you had in MDR is settling issues and will improve once the staff are more experienced. The same with the technology issues.

 

I worked in maintenance for years and the most likely time to have issues is when equipment is new. That's why I like to let everything bed-in before I cruise 😀

Well I have 7 weeks to go so I am hoping some of the issues will be resolved.

 

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[kikki21]

So our 3rd & final leg of our holiday ends up in Barcelona - we got off Meraviglia around 10.30am - they didn't seem to be in a massive hurry getting everyone off & there were plenty of cases left at the baggage claim area.

We joined the very long taxi queue to get to our next destination but the queue is well managed & within 20 mins we were in a taxi & on our way.

I picked the Europark Hotel as it is in between La Sagrada Familia & Passeig de Gracia, we got a great offer via Voyage Prive for a superior room with breakfast.

 

 

Our room wasn't ready till 3pm so we spent some time chilling out on the 8th floor terrace - there is also a pool but sadly Barcelona weather was unusually cloudy today with a few specks of rain but still pleasantly warm.

 

Our bellies started to rumble a bit so we went to explore - there is a market very close by that is a smaller & less busy version of the Bocqueria.

 

We ended up walking down past one of the Gaudi houses.

 

 

The architecture is stunning everywhere you look!

 

 

Our destination was actually on Rambla de Catalunya - a place called Cachitos - I had been there before & the food is great as is the decor.

 

 

It's industrial but funky

 

 

 

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[kikki21]

 

I ordered vanilla, strawberry & coconut sangria, it was strong & delicious!

 

 

 

Lots of yummy things on the menu.

 

 

Real food - Iberian ham on crisp bread & soft goat's cheese with honey & truffle!

 

 

Meatballs & croquettes!

 

 

Mini burger - we demolished all of the food & satisfied went back to the hotel to find our room was finally ready!

 

 

 

 

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[kikki21]

It's a very stylish hotel!

 

 

Lovely main room.

 

 

 

And bathroom!

 

We loved it & had a very relaxing afternoon which was much needed after the port intensive itinerary.

 

I had researched some restaurant options for dinner & found 9 Nine was literally around the corner from the hotel. We got there for about 8.30pm & were told to come back at 9.30pm which was no real hardship so we found a bar & had a drink!

 

 

A very unusual bar indeed!

 

We returned to the restaurant & had a fantastic meal, I was stuffed at the end of it, real food yay! Hot food yay!

 

 

 

 

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[kikki21]

 

It's a set menu for evenings & weekends so for 33 Euros each which is a huge bargain, you get a glass of cava,Catalan bread with tomato.

 

You choose 3 tapas to share between you, a main course each & a dessert each plus you get 2 glasses of wine each - amazing value!

 

 

Our tapas dish garlicky prawns - delicious

 

 

A selection of cold meat cuts.

 

 

We actually ordered the wild mushroom croquettes but got the egg dish instead & kept it, it tasted amazing eggs, potatoes & truffle on top mmmm!

 

 

The Mr had the sea bass & said it was delicious, one of the best fish dishes, he had ever had.

 

 

I had the lamb shoulder which was melt in the mouth tender but I struggled to eat it all as the portion was HUGE!!!!

 

 

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[kikki21]

 

The Mr has the chocolate lovers dessert which was a perfectly gooey chocolate fondant & I had the Mille feuille - you nearly had to roll us back to the hotel!

 

 

We are just going to chill out over the next few days, hopefully catch some sun & enjoy Barcelona [emoji4]

 

 

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[Beamafar]

If there is an asterisk it means that it isn't included in the classic/deluxe drinks package but it is included if you have the premium package.

2 ** means that the item is not included in any package!

 

Just to clarify:

If there is one asterisk, it is included in the deluxe package!

The deluxe package is now the former premium package: 'ALL-INCLUSIVE DELUXE DRINK PACKAGE'.

'Allegrissimo' (the classic package) is now known as 'ALL-INCLUSIVE RESTAURANT & BAR DRINK PACKAGE' and includes everything without an asterisk.

Items on the menus with 2 asterisks are not included in any packages.

[kikki21]

Just to clarify:

 

 

 

If there is one asterisk, it is included in the deluxe package!

 

 

 

The deluxe package is now the former premium package: 'ALL-INCLUSIVE DELUXE DRINK PACKAGE'.

 

 

 

'Allegrissimo' (the classic package) is now known as 'ALL-INCLUSIVE RESTAURANT & BAR DRINK PACKAGE' and includes everything without an asterisk.

 

 

 

Items on the menus with 2 asterisks are not included in any packages.

 

 

 

lol yes that's what I meant - so many package names that you can get confused.

For us with the Aurea package anything without an * we knew we could have without a charge.

As Bea confirmed earlier the service charge is 10 Euros per person per day.

 

 

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[Beamafar]

lol yes that's what I meant - so many package names that you can get confused.

For us with the Aurea package anything without an * we knew we could have without a charge.

 

It used to be simpler - just 'Allegrissimo' and 'Premium Allegrissimo'! Now, they are 'All-Inclusive R & B' and 'All-Inclusive Deluxe' respectively. The new names only came into being this Summer.

 

Add to that, the names are different when the currency onboard is US$. It used to be 'More-for-Less Classic' and 'More-For-Less Deluxe'. Now they're known as 'All-Inclusive Classic' and 'All-Inclusive Premium' respectively.

 

Notice how 'Deluxe' is now used to describe the previous 'Premium' in Europe - yet it's swapped from 'Deluxe' to 'Premium' for the US market!! How's that for confusing the issue!!

[edspec]

I'm wondering if the sloppy food presentation was due to the tech issues? If the kitchen isn't getting the orders in a timely/correct manner I would guess they're scrambling to even get the food on the plates.

[kikki21]

I'm wondering if the sloppy food presentation was due to the tech issues? If the kitchen isn't getting the orders in a timely/correct manner I would guess they're scrambling to even get the food on the plates.

 

 

 

It could be that but the food looked the same on every night we were in the MDR whether it was a slow night or slower night. And again the food was lukewarm & well at times near enough cold!

 

 

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[kikki21]

Brace yourselves - MSC have sent me a questionnaire about the cruise via email! This could be very interesting indeed!

 

We have had a lovely chill out day around Barca - got up late, substantial breakfast till 11am, cooked on the terrace for a few hours then got ready to go out to one of the Gaudi houses & now chilling out with a glass of sangria before we head out for a tapas dinner!

 

 

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[LUGI]

So. After a few days I finally have Internet working.

[LUGI]

Just shortly: The Suite 12010 is okay, but beware they don't change the water in the hot tub anymore. You are stuck with the same water for days. Yuck.

Food is terrible, the Aqua Park is great, Cirque du Soleilnot worth the extra money in my opinion. Thanks for your help and great review.

In the Aqua Park they no longer enforce the blue wristband rule. The tube slides are from 42 inches. The baby slide grom 91 cm, the bowl slide from 48 inches.

Our balcony gets some good amount of sun. Lugi

[LUGI]

The Sun Deck 19 is not crowded.

[Cafedumonde]

Just shortly: The Suite 12010 is okay, but beware they don't change the water in the hot tub anymore. You are stuck with the same water for days. Yuck.

Food is terrible, the Aqua Park is great, Cirque du Soleilnot worth the extra money in my opinion. Thanks for your help and great review.

In the Aqua Park they no longer enforce the blue wristband rule. The tube slides are from 42 inches. The baby slide grom 91 cm, the bowl slide from 48 inches.

Our balcony gets some good amount of sun. Lugi

That is very gross. Will they drain it if you ask?

[LUGI]

No. 😡😱

[LUGI]

[LUGI]

The balcony at the moment live from Genova.

[LUGI]

The balcony at the moment live from Genova.