Back from Meravigilia - High Level Notes

[lifeasme123]

We boarded the ship on June 26 in Naples. Below are some highlight/notes.

 

Embarkation

When we entered the terminal to check in, there was no one there to guide passengers to the appropriate check in lines. We stood in this very long line. Few minutes later, my DH walked around - just to peek around. He found (3) check in lanes with 2-3 passengers in them. We quickly jumped over that line. This part was a breeze. We were assigned group boarding number 9.

 

You then are directed to go to another level to sit and wait to board. There was no concept of standing in line. Everyone just pushed their way in.

 

It was a frustrating experience, especially for those who believes in forming and standing in a line.

 

The Good

 

• Both DH and I are engineers and were impressed at the "smart" technology.
  
  • There is a display above (outside) the cabin door. It has (3) light indicators to let the cabin attendant know:
    
    • Left = If you are in the room or not
      
    • Center = Make Up the Room
      
    • Right = Do not disturb
      

    [*]A/C auto turned off if the balcony door is open.

    [*]We liked that we can book restaurants and shows on the TV in our rooms or at the digital signage around the ship.

    [*]We loved that there is a display with all the shows and times for the week. This helps to plan the week, and not have to wait for the daily calendar to come out.

  [*]We liked the idea to use the kiosks to activate our card for onboard spending. There was never a line and easy to do. In the past, on RCCL and Celebrity, this somehow tend to get messed up and I find myself standing in the long lines at guest relations to take care of this.

  [*]Shows were very good! We saw the magic shows and the beautiful "musicals".

  [*]It seemed like they were passing out champagne and drinks just about every other night. :-)

  [*]I have never seen this before - the sofa turns into a bunk bed, instead of the traditional sleeper! Really cool. It takes up no additional space like the sleeper would. Note this is one for room where there are (4) people, like my cousin's family. In my cabin, we had (3) and the sofa sleeper turned into a twin size bed.

  [*]Butcher's Cut Restaurant - yum!

  [*]The waterpark was a blast for all - adults and children. We had fun on the himalyan bridge, tubing and Sugar Bowl.

  [*]For small size photos you do not have to come back and pick them up later. It prints on the spot. You will need to come back later for the medium and large size prints.

  [*]I liked that passengers embark and disembark at any of the port on the itinerary. When it came to mandatory safety drill, not everyone is participating in it. Additionally, the shows are not as crowded.

  [*]We thought the drinks were inexpensive compared to what we paid for Royal. As a comparison, daily all inclusive price on MSC is 26e, whereas it is about $60/day.

  [*]It's cool that they gave out a free photo for certain nights. That was nice of MSC.

  [*]MSC gives more gfits/benefits for Black member than Royal does for its Diamond + members. We got free photos, free drinks at the Black Party, Chocolate ship, Bag, slippers to go with our robes.

  [*]MSC also gave free digital of the ship to download.

 

The Bad

• Although it is a "smart" ship, there were downfalls.
  
  • This may be due to user error, but I could not find a way to view account spending on our TV. To get an itemized list of our spending, I have to stand in that long line at guest services.
    
  • Every time you take a picture, they give you a "photo card". Why not use our cabin card for this? In the end, we had (7) photo cards to view our pictures. We lost one of them, which had the pictures from embarkation date.
    

  [*]Is there a curfew for young children? (4) nights in a row the cabin next door - their children (about 8-10 years old) were running up and down the hallways, slamming the cabin door at 2-3am! I barely got any sleep those nights.

  [*]Useless Voyager Club Representative.

  [*]As a Black card member who achieved this status through a match, I have no right to complain. However, for those who achieved this status the traditional way, it is a shame that MSC does not offer an onboard representative to help with issues. I spent about 7 hours standing in the line over the course of our trip.

  [*]Booking for US and Europe are on different system platforms that do not talk to each other. One of our cabins we booked was an oceanview fantastica, but was upgraded to Balcony Bella. They would not give us our drink vouchers or allow room service because it was a "bella" cabin. Even thought I printed out the documents to show we have the fantastica experience, the ship cannot honor it until they confirm with seaside office. That took 5 days!!! So by day 6 they gave us the vouchers. What a waste!

  [*]Buffet is not open 24 hours. The only place open (complimentary food) after 10am is the pizza place at the pool. And they serve only pizza.

  [*]Speaking of buffet - OMG! People do not know how to stand in line and just push you out of the way to get food. It's a BUFFET - the food will be replenished!

  [*]Very limited Officer presence.

  [*]First cruise ever where our young daughter did not like the kids club. There is the language barrier as the staff mainly spoke in languages other than English. We will be on MSC Seaside in Jan 2018 so I hope this will not be an issue.

  [*]Kids Club: Junior Master Chef - they should be ashamed calling it this! What a waste of money.

Tip

• If you plan to participate (regardless of your age) in any of the activities in the water park, then get your blue wrist band (more like a ribbon) first. Go to the "stand" in front of the soccer field, sign your waiver and get your ribbon. I saw too many people turned away because they did not do this, and then yelling at the staff because of this.
  

[scottygirl]

Thank you for your report. We are on the Seaside in March 2018, can't wait to hear about your experience in January.

[riclop]

Thanks for sharing.

[easyboy]

Thanks for your objective review.

[mirp]

Thank you for the detailed information. Very useful.

 

 

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