Meraviglia Review - Oct 8 - 18th from New York

[QueenofEverything]

Sorry for the delay in posting this.  DH and I have both been sick since we got home with some nasty respiratory infection.

I’ll start by saying this was our 25^th cruise (including 3 river cruises) on 11 different cruise lines.  We have enjoyed all of them, of course some more than others.  This was our second MSC Cruise, we were on the Seaside last summer, and have another on the Divina scheduled for January.

 

The Good

 

Always good to start on a positive note. 

The Crew -  Outstanding.  I was a little concerned because I had read many reviews on the Meraviglia in Europe and the crew was described as tired, unhelpful and unfriendly.  That was the exact opposite of our experience.  The crew was the best part of the cruise.  Without exception, they were friendly and very anxious to make sure we were having a good time. Guest services especially so considering they usually were dealing with unhappy (and sometimes rude) people.

The Ship – Absolutely beautiful.  We were most impressed with the constant cleaning.  With so many people on a cruise with very little outside activity due to the weather, the inside was really busy.  It is amazing that they were able to keep it so clean.

The Shows -  Yes, they were hokey.  All cruise ship shows are hokey.  The talent was excellent and so many dancers!  I don’t think we have ever seen so many dancers on a ship before.  We especially liked the opera and the flamenco/salsa production.  The rock show was fun.  Didn’t go the first night because we were so exhausted from the insane embarkation.  Also did not go to see the magician, he was there two nights.  I think the last night’s show was cancelled because it was so rough, it was supposed to be Italian music.  We were a little surprised at how different the shows were from the Seaside last year.  We went to both Cirque shows and enjoyed them both.  I liked Viaggio better and my DH liked Sonar better.  I would strongly advise the show and drink as opposed to the dinner and show.  The stage is round and surrounded by chairs for the show and drink package.  The tables for the dining are further back.  We did not have any problem getting the days and times we wanted onboard.  I also advise purchasing your tickets in advance.  They told us that they assign seats first to Yacht club and second to those who purchased online.  Our tickets to both shows were outstanding.  I really liked that there were assigned seats so there is no reason to get there early and stand in line.  The tickets are delivered to your stateroom early in the morning on the day of the show.   

 

The Not So Good

 

Food – Probably the worst of our 25 cruises.  Overcooking was the biggest problem.  I really wanted to like the pizza, but it was just meh.  Crust was good but really skimpy on the toppings.  It was fun to watch them make their own mozzarella in the buffet and it was really good.  There was a big selection of food in the buffet, but not many entrees.  Other than the daily carving, the few entrees they had were over cooked and mushy.  Most items were lacking in seasoning.

Organization – It was better than many reviews have stated, but still needs work.  Sometimes the right hand does not seem to know what the left hand is doing.  Lots of confusion about our minibar and it’s inclusion in our drink package.  We never got our robes and slippers (Aurea), even after requesting them.  I was not overly happy with the cabin steward because I felt like he didn’t do much.  We asked for ice daily and that seemed to really confuse him.  Sometimes we got it, sometimes not.  Usually if we specifically asked for it that day.  I think some it was him just not understanding.  I decided to cut him some slack after he told us he had 21 cabins to service.  That is a ridiculous number, especially considering how many languages he was probably dealing with.  He certainly seemed eager to please.  We also never really got an explanation as to why they cut short our Quebec visit.

 

The Truly Horrendous

 

Embarkation – Not going to go into all the gory details as I think this has been documented well on CC.  Looking back on it what is truly upsetting is the danger of it.  There were huge numbers of older people on this cruise and to be jammed up in one line after another for 3 ½ hours is unforgivable.  When someone fainted, they finally let one of the lines into the UNUSED waiting room with chairs inside the building.  Everyone was having to wait outside, standing.  If the fire marshal had shown up, he would have shut the whole thing down. I don’t know who was at fault – MSC or the port.  I suspect both.   They obviously did learn something, because disembarkation was a breeze, a very pleasant surprise. 

 

Edited November 3, 2019 by QueenofEverything

[QueenofEverything]

I forgot to add how much we enjoy the variety of passengers on MSC cruises.  Sitting at dinner you can usually pick out at least 3 languages being spoken at tables around you.  The announcements in multiple languages can be fun as well.  We were in Cirque when the captain announced that we would have rough weather overnight and the next day.  The show had just started and the poor guy onstage was trying to stay in character, but by the time they made the announcement in the 5th or 6th language, they just pulled him off and started the show over.  

[omarchs]

Thanks for the review and hope you are feeling better!

 

We were on the following trip and the germs were still alive and well. The whole ship was coughing away from day 1. We were shocked at how few people were using the sanitizers/washing stations going into the Marketplace and no MSC staff were proactively spraying despite all the coughing.

 

We survived until late in the trip and had to both visit the doctor for the same nasty infection once home.

 

 

[sfaaa]

I actually was glad to leave the ship with all the coughing people around especially at buffet. No one I saw was covering his/her mouth coughing which really turned me off. Many just ignored the buffet staff reminding them to wash/sanitize their hands. And of course the usual filling up contaminated bottles at drink stations. Ate at MDR as much as I could as a result. Still caught a mild case of cough despite the precautions I took (washed hand, used wipes and trying my best to stay away from coughing people).

[April42749]

3 minutes ago, sfaaa said:

I actually was glad to leave the ship with all the coughing people around especially at buffet. No one I saw was covering his/her mouth coughing which really turned me off. Many just ignored the buffet staff reminding them to wash/sanitize their hands. And of course the usual filling up contaminated bottles at drink stations. Ate at MDR as much as I could as a result. Still caught a mild case of cough despite the precautions I took (washed hand, used wipes and trying my best to stay away from coughing people).

Talking about filling up bottles:

On NCL and CCL they tell you...don't....use a cup and transfer the water to your bottle.  On all those ships the spigot is high enough that you could easily put a bottle under and fill it...without even being near the spigot.  It's really overkill..but...I don't make the rules.

On the Meraviglia the spigot was much lower so you couldn't fit your bottle.  We saw people manipulate their bottles so that the spigot actually ended up inside the bottle along with those who just pushed their bottles so the mouth touched the spigot.

They really need to put up signs....maybe a picture of a bottle in a circle....with an X thru it so people (of other cultures?) don't do this.

[QueenofEverything]

Unless they station someone there to police it, people will ignore the signs and do as they please

 

Edited November 4, 2019 by QueenofEverything

[sfaaa]

1 hour ago, QueenofEverything said:

Unless they station someone there to police it, people will ignore the signs and do as they please

 

Even if MSC puts someone there, the ignorant ones will likely just shrug and ignore the staff. You almost have to go with the RCCL practice where drinks are filled and handed out by staff so no one gets to touch the drink station. That would be the ideal solution.

[cruiselife4me]

Thank you so much for your review.  I appreciate it. I leave on a Seminar at Sea (for travel agents) Nov. 17th and  I’m a little worried about  the food! I’m bringing wipes to stay healthy. 
thanks!!

[firstcarib]

We took wipes & used them all around our cabin-especially the TV remote & telephone-but both of us still got awful coughs/respiratory infections-& they lasted ages!

I think using the stairs/handrails doesn’t help, when you see so many people coughing/sneezing then holding on to the rails?  

You can’t really wipe these down yourself each time!
Yeeuk -a good reason to take the elevators??( but get someone else to press the button!!)