Trip report of MSC Meraviglia YC Dec 1-8. 2019 sailing incl. Ocean Cay

AeroXWD · December 12, 2019

After breakfast - reading a book while watching the ocean.

Aftenposten newspaper

Went to have a look around the ship to see if the main pool was crowded or not. Didn't look too bad (taken 10:30).

Went back to the YC pool deck and got some lunch

After lunch, it was time to get the first drink of the day - pina colada

And a while later, one of these conoctions. Jamaican Paradise or something maybe?

One of the things I wish were different on the Meraviglia is the wind deflectors, seen above. I'm sure they help with the wind, but they also block out sun. As winter-pale Norwegians, we want to get a little tan while in the carribbean (and we noticed we weren't the only ones, moving loungers as the ship/sun moved).

Sailing off the coast of Cuba

mafig · December 12, 2019

Beautiful pictures...

AeroXWD · December 12, 2019

Continuing the first sea day...

At 17:00, most people had left the sun deck, with just me and a few other people left. This was the day that it was the most "crowded", although crowded would be the wrong word. There were several empty loungers even at peak times, and I saw that they had more loungers in one of the lockers in the event that every sunbed was taken.

Before I forget, I only saw five or six different children in YC, and they were well behaved.

Around 17:30, I left the pool deck and took a walk around the ship

Chairs are starting to appear for tonights movie under the stars (I think they played Aladdin that night)

There was as always people at the bar at the aft pool

Looked nice to swim in the large pool at night

The indoor pool was busy this evening (17:32).

shukapaw · December 13, 2019

Great review so far. Thanks for taking the time to write this up and post all the photos. Looking forward to more!!

~Brian

2013cruiser2013 · December 13, 2019

Loving all the photos. What kind of camera were you using? I especially love the night scenes leaving port.

Edited December 13, 2019 by 2013cruiser2013

AeroXWD · December 13, 2019

14 minutes ago, 2013cruiser2013 said:

Loving all the photos. What kind of camera were you using? I especially love the night scenes leaving port.

I only used my phone, a Samsung Note 10 aka Rainbow Smudge Magnet

AeroXWD · December 13, 2019

At around 19:30, we went to dinner to the YC restaurant. I didn't take a picture of the menu, so I don't recall exactly what I ordered.

I have no idea what this is, but I recall it was good (although not as good as last nights vegetarian ceviche)

I then did the mistake of ordering the Black Angus filet from the "healthy selection". This was the poorest meal of the whole week. It was perfectly edible, but nothing more.

I see that I had something red in the glass. Since I never got to know the wine menu, I just asked to try a different wine each of the first nights.

Dessert was good.

By now, I think you have all figured out that I don't work as a food critic. I'm generally easy to please, but this night's main course was substandard. Still, it wasn't so bad that I complained. Service was as it was most nights: Excellent.

After dinner, we decided to donate some of our hard earned money to MSC through their donation center AKA the casino.

We had a chat with one of the bartenders, Roger (who was great and very friendly throughout the week), and checked what was included with YC. Anything $12 and below.

Favorite slot machine. I still have Anita Ward - Ring My Bell in my head.

After wasting enough money for the evening, we just had a walk through the ship before retiring to our room.

Atrium pretty quiet at 00:30

Tested the priority elevator

Also tried the panoramic elevator, but for best views I suggest taking it in daylight.

MSC must have skimped on the artwork in the stairwells. I know art is subjective, but when you walk down the stairs, you'll notice the same pieces on several different landings. Although the ship is beautiful, I found the artwork on board to be pretty underwhelming.

Daily program, information on the next morning's balcony wash, and our Cirque Du Soleil tickets (included in our fare)

Pravin or Rishi had also given us macaroons and chocolate covered strawberries, as well as the nightly small chocolates on the bed.

AeroXWD · December 13, 2019

03.12 - Tuesday - Ocho Rios

Awoke at 07:40 while nearing Ocho Rios and made a cup of Nespresso to take out on the balcony.

Here you can see the black window trim on the bridge that must have been applied fairly recently, and in line with the Grandiosa.

08:40

Some friends who had been on Seaside had suggested we head to Dunns Falls, and that was our plan, but at the last minute we opted to just go ashore and walk to the beach.

After saying no thanks for the fiftieth time to both joints, bracelets, junk and other offers. We never felt unsafe, but it was pretty tiresome having to navigate every hawker in Ocho Rios.

Beautiful water and beautiful ship

We paid the small entrance fee and walked a short stretch up the beach

Took a little swim in the shallow warm waters.

After about an hour and a half, we decided to head back to the ship.

Clean white hull

Not all balconies are created equal.

There was a sign for YC priority embarkation, but the sign was apparently only for decoration, as people were turned away and told that it was only for crew. Perhaps they should have removed the sign?

We were back on the ship in a few minutes at most, so no big deal. Encountered a man in the line ahead of us with a "beer clock" (It's five o'clock somewhere) around his neck that must have been very thirsty in Margaritaville during his short stint there.

Went back to the room to change before lunch and to tend to some e-mails (TSL through the door ahead).

The YC restaurant lunch menu - I chose the crispy cod fish bites and braised beef short ribs. The biggest lunch I've had all year.

Very good, although I didn't eat all the fennel

Short ribs with onion rings, mashed potatoes and BBQ-sauce. It was also very good, but I barely managed to finish it was I was too full. Prosecco in the glass.

Went to change again, and headed up to the pool deck for a midday drink, trying to get my money's worth back from MSC.

Frozen margarita and a paperback

Went to have a look at how the rest of the ship was on a port day. The magrodome was open (which I don't think it was during the previous day at sea).

14:32

14:35: A steady stream returning to the ship

Checked out the water slides - no lines whatsoever

Unused space

Aurea sun deck before returning to home, sweet home, the YC enclave.

Edited December 13, 2019 by AeroXWD

Frode · December 13, 2019

1 hour ago, AeroXWD said:

After saying no thanks for the fiftieth time to both joints, bracelets, junk and other offers. We never felt unsafe, but it was pretty tiresome having to navigate every hawker in Ocho Rios.

* We did have the same bad experience at another Jamaican port, i e Falmouth 😵 (not during a MSC cruise, though).
* Thanks for all your pictures which really are of a very high quality 😀 (I was thinking you were using professional equipment as well as a large portion of Photo Shop; and to learn that you had a Samsung mobile phone only surpriced me a lot).
* The vessel - at your pictures - mostly looks abandoned. I never seen so few people onboard a cruise ship 😎

Edited December 13, 2019 by Frode

dexddd · December 13, 2019

Yeah, the wristbands should have gold lettering. That is odd.

Many complained of no shade on Divinia and little on Seaside in YC so here they made shade.

AeroXWD · December 13, 2019

1 hour ago, Frode said:

I've only had the phone for a month, but I've found it to be pretty capable. Although no match for a good camera on closer scrutiny, especially in the dark, its good enough for my needs that I don't need to carry around a DSLR. I actually thought the photos looks pretty poor when uploaded here compared to when I selected them on my monitor. I guess CC compresses the pictures quite a bit.

The only times I saw a lot of people were at peak times on the main pool deck; the buffet restaurant on embarkation day when I toured the ship; and the muster drill. Other then that, it didn't seem crowded.

20 minutes ago, dexddd said:

Yeah, the wristbands should have gold lettering. That is odd.

Many complained of no shade on Divinia and little on Seaside in YC so here they made shade.

We received wristbands with the YC logo when we got to Ocean Cay, but they were "dummies" that couldn't be used for anything except identifying us as YC-passengers to the crew at OC. I actually prefer the incognito-bands, I just thought it was strange that we saw a good mix of the two types.

On the deck-plan, there is an area aft of the glass roof that is labeled as Solarium, but that's where they put the smoking tables. Some other passengers put sunbeds in the area between the cabanas and the storage lockers/staff door so they could be in the sun after getting the OK from the staff (at first they mentioned fire-safety, but as long the loungers didn't block the doors they were OK).

Edited December 13, 2019 by AeroXWD

tcmagnum · December 13, 2019

19 hours ago, AeroXWD said:

Wonderful pictures!! Makes me very excited for our Feb cruise.

Looking forward to the rest of your review...

AeroXWD · December 13, 2019

While docked in Ocho Rios, I sat in the hot tub for a short while. It was dissapointingly cool throughout the week, but it was almost never empty.

When asked if I wanted something to drink, I didn't turn down their offer

At 18:00, after a brief nap on deck, I went to the room to shower and get dressed

The pool deck is a really nice space, but not utilized in the evenings

Our 21:30 reservations for Cirque - Sonar. When booking at the Concierge, we were told to just meet up at the desk at around 21:20 and we would be escorted to the Carousel lounge. But before Cirque, we had to get dinner.

Tonight's menu was the Menu nr. 7 (according to the thread on YC dinner menus)

I chose the smoked and cured duck breast with roasted green asparagus, mushroom salad and balsamic reduction for starter. It was served cold, which I didn't expect, but it was OK.

The pistachio-crusted rack of lamb with bacon potato mash, maraschino cherries and gravy for main course.

I thought this was pretty good, and I liked the combination with the cherries. My girlfriend had the fettuccine Alfredo with parmesan crisp, and it was her favorite main course of the cruise. I tasted it as well, and I think it's one of the best pasta dishes I've tried. Now I have two recipies I want to try to recreate: The vegetarian ceviche, and the fettuccine Alfredo.

For dessert, I had the chocolate and coconut verrine (I had to google what a verrine was after I had ordered it)

Yummy.

After finishing eating, we had a half hour before we were supposed to meet for the show, so we went to the TSL for a drink.

I apparently felt the need to take a note that the piano player was good in the TSL. We went to the concierge desk immediatly after this screenshot, and waited a few minutes for a butler to escort us and another group to the carousel lounge.

The butler called on the priority elevator as they do, and escorted us to the entrance of the carousel lounge (which also had a YC priority line in case you managed to navigate there by yourself), and shown to our seats.

As they didn't want photos to be taken during the show, I only have this photo (taken after the show was over) of the lougne.

I was impressed with the show. I thought the violinist before the main show was good, but the acrobatics and especially the beatboxer were the highlights. I also thought the venue was good, with the use of the LED screens and hidden stairs etc.

Our tickets were included in our fare, but if I had known it was going to be this good, I would have gladly paid for it.

As tonight was "white night" (which I didn't participate in), I just wanted to have a look at the party on the main pool deck.

We went to the casino to donate to MSCs treasury instead, feeling bad for MSCs finances after having had many included drinks this day

After that, I checked out the library and even found a few books in Norwegian.

The atrium deserted at 00:26

But there were people on the aft deck at the white night after party

Information for the next day (and I think there was an invitation to a cocktail party for the YC-guests at TSL for the next day or so in that envelope, which we didn't attend)

Our butler had stocked our minibar with a lot of beer. In total, 7 Coronas and 3 Budweisers when counting those on the desk as well.

Edited December 13, 2019 by AeroXWD

skings · December 13, 2019

I have Samsung 8+ maybe I will upgrade before my TA on Mervaviglia next April. Would save room not packing DSLR

Your review with photos is entertaining and informative. Thanks for posting 😀

bigblue1952 · December 13, 2019

Great review. We will be on the Meraviglia in October and love your pics of the ship.

Preziosa · December 13, 2019

we Will Be on Meraviglia the 5. Th of april 2020. It is Our second trip on her.

AeroXWD · December 13, 2019

04.12 - Wednesday - George Town, Grand Cayman

Berefore going to bed the night before, we made an order for room-service breakfast for the next morning. At 7:43, Pravin delivered our food

Breakfast on the balcony overlooking Seven Mile Beach

Wednesday's daily planner

We hadn't made any special plans for this port, and I had barely bothered to research anything. Our friends had recommended going to Stingray City, but I wasn't too interested. I just wanted to go to a beach, and during my 3 minute google search during breakfast I discovered the Royal Palms Beach Club which seemed to get OK reviews, so we planned to go there.

We went to the concierge desk where a butler was going to escort us to the tender. When we were waiting for an (priority of course) elevator, the butler didn't want those of us who didn't have an excursion to go into the elevator. Another guest that didn't hear what she said asked us why were we denied entry to the elevator, and I repeated what she just said. This annoyed him, as he had been told his excursion was cancelled due to heavy seas, but apparently other excursions where still going ahead. Anyway, he went to the concierge, and within a minute another butler followed our two non-excursion groups to the tender. There was room in the elevator, so I don't know why the excursionists were prioritized, but as we had no schedule to adhere to, it didn't matter to me.

Once ashore, we took a cab/minibus to RPBC and paid our entrance fee. We got first-row loungers just in front of the restaurant and settled down for a relaxing day at the beach.

10:15

I was a bit restless from not having had a decent workout, so I went for a run up the beach.

After 2kms, I was starting to feel the heat and lack of water, so I turned around and headed back.

A HAL ship (Niewu Amsterdam perhaps?) leaving

Meraviglia received company from Liberty of the Seas

The waves were fairly strong, and I had a good time watching grown men and women fall when trying to enter or exit the water, but it was nice to swim even though the water was pretty unclear.

At 13:00, the beach was getting pretty crowded, and a large Italian group decided to put their loungers right in front of ours, not leaving enough space so you could walk between the rows. Furthermore, the music had been playing all day long, so we decided to start to head back to our sanctuary on the ship. (Rant/ I have never understood why so many people want to listen to loud music by the beach or by the pool from loud speakers, especially during daytime. Why not use ear/headphones? /rant over)

When we exited the beach club, a waiting taxi was trying to fill its seats for return to the port. The driver told us to get in, and when I asked her where I should sit, not finding any available seats, she told me to just sit on a 5 cm wide ledge behind the front seats (which I would do if I were the size of a mouse, but I'm not). I was about to protest, but she had already put the van in gear and was speeding to the port, so I just squatted the whole 10 minute ride. I haven't been this uncomfortable in a long while, but at least I saved a few dollars.

The ship from where the taxi dropped us off.

dexddd · December 14, 2019

22 hours ago, AeroXWD said:

While docked in Ocho Rios, I sat in the hot tub for a short while. It was dissapointingly cool throughout the week, but it was almost never empty.

When asked if I wanted something to drink, I didn't turn down their offer

At 18:00, after a brief nap on deck, I went to the room to shower and get dressed

The pool deck is a really nice space, but not utilized in the evenings

Our 21:30 reservations for Cirque - Sonar. When booking at the Concierge, we were told to just meet up at the desk at around 21:20 and we would be escorted to the Carousel lounge. But before Cirque, we had to get dinner.

Tonight's menu was the Menu nr. 7 (according to the thread on YC dinner menus)

I chose the smoked and cured duck breast with roasted green asparagus, mushroom salad and balsamic reduction for starter. It was served cold, which I didn't expect, but it was OK.

The pistachio-crusted rack of lamb with bacon potato mash, maraschino cherries and gravy for main course.

I thought this was pretty good, and I liked the combination with the cherries. My girlfriend had the fettuccine Alfredo with parmesan crisp, and it was her favorite main course of the cruise. I tasted it as well, and I think it's one of the best pasta dishes I've tried. Now I have two recipies I want to try to recreate: The vegetarian ceviche, and the fettuccine Alfredo.

For dessert, I had the chocolate and coconut verrine (I had to google what a verrine was after I had ordered it)

Yummy.

After finishing eating, we had a half hour before we were supposed to meet for the show, so we went to the TSL for a drink.

I apparently felt the need to take a note that the piano player was good in the TSL. We went to the concierge desk immediatly after this screenshot, and waited a few minutes for a butler to escort us and another group to the carousel lounge.

The butler called on the priority elevator as they do, and escorted us to the entrance of the carousel lounge (which also had a YC priority line in case you managed to navigate there by yourself), and shown to our seats.

As they didn't want photos to be taken during the show, I only have this photo (taken after the show was over) of the lougne.

I was impressed with the show. I thought the violinist before the main show was good, but the acrobatics and especially the beatboxer were the highlights. I also thought the venue was good, with the use of the LED screens and hidden stairs etc.

Our tickets were included in our fare, but if I had known it was going to be this good, I would have gladly paid for it.

As tonight was "white night" (which I didn't participate in), I just wanted to have a look at the party on the main pool deck.

We went to the casino to donate to MSCs treasury instead, feeling bad for MSCs finances after having had many included drinks this day

After that, I checked out the library and even found a few books in Norwegian.

The atrium deserted at 00:26

But there were people on the aft deck at the white night after party

Information for the next day (and I think there was an invitation to a cocktail party for the YC-guests at TSL for the next day or so in that envelope, which we didn't attend)

Our butler had stocked our minibar with a lot of beer. In total, 7 Coronas and 3 Budweisers when counting those on the desk as well.

Not seeing any pringles.

AeroXWD · December 14, 2019

7 minutes ago, dexddd said:

Not seeing any pringles.

The only snack in the fridge was a tin of chocolate covered peanuts which wasn't restocked.

BermudaBound2014 · December 14, 2019

These are wonderful photos! I dismissed mera because her passenger/space ratio is so poor, but these photos have encouraged me to take another look. The one pool area with all the shade looks perfect for me. In some ways, this YC area looks better designed than some of the other builds. Thank you for sharing.

mafig · December 14, 2019

WAFFLES??????

How were the waffles?

On Seaside we avoided them because we were told they were frozen, then popped into a toaster.

Did you get the impression yours were like that?

Happy Cruiser 6143 · December 14, 2019

1 hour ago, mafig said:

WAFFLES??????

How were the waffles?

On Seaside we avoided them because we were told they were frozen, then popped into a toaster.

Did you get the impression yours were like that?

I had been told the same thing. Just off Seaside. My friend ordered them one morning and they were definitely not the frozen variety. My question would be whether or not they use real maple syrup.

AeroXWD · December 15, 2019

9 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

These are wonderful photos! I dismissed mera because her passenger/space ratio is so poor, but these photos have encouraged me to take another look. The one pool area with all the shade looks perfect for me. In some ways, this YC area looks better designed than some of the other builds. Thank you for sharing.

Most of my time on board was spent in the YC-enclave, so I can't properly speak for the experience of the passengers in the rest of the ship, but I wouldn't hesitate to book a cruise in a Fantastica or Aurea cabin on the Meraviglia based on this cruise. I don't know if the ship was full, but I don't think there were that many cabins in YC available at least based on my research a week ahead of the sailing.

I'm going to post a summary review/conclusion at the end at this trip report, but spoiler alert: We thought it was excellent value!

AeroXWD · December 15, 2019

7 hours ago, mafig said:

WAFFLES??????

How were the waffles?

On Seaside we avoided them because we were told they were frozen, then popped into a toaster.

Did you get the impression yours were like that?

5 hours ago, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

I had been told the same thing. Just off Seaside. My friend ordered them one morning and they were definitely not the frozen variety. My question would be whether or not they use real maple syrup.

I saw the waffle iron (if that's what it's called in English?) behind the buffet at the YC pool deck, so I just assumed they were made onboard.

I'm not usually a waffle-at-breakfast kind of person, so I'm not sure I'm the best person to judge the waffles, but I thought they were OK. I have certainly eaten better waffles, but they were pretty similar to the ones I had at the Loews hotel on South Beach. They would probably have tasted better if I had eaten them fresh, instead of letting them steam off beneath the metal covers when I took a quick shower before breakfast. (We had ordered our breakfast for the timeslot 07:45-08:00, and the food arrived at 07:44, just four minutes after my alarm).

As for the syrup - I have no idea, sorry. In Norway, our waffles are pretty different, and not usually eaten with maple syrup, but rather with a jam, sugar, sour cream, or even brown cheese (:/).

AeroXWD · December 15, 2019

04.12 - Wednesday - George Town, Grand Cayman (continued)

After getting out of the taxi, we went to stand in line to get into a tender back to the ship

The line to get in to the tender dock. Although the line was long, it moved quickly, and we were through in under 10 minutes.

Rishi noticed us, welcomed us back, and escorted us past the lines to the tender. At the front of the line in the picture above, a woman was upset that we were allowed to sneak past and said something like "I was first, why do they get to go onboard before me?", to which Rishi explained it was because we were YC-pax. It's slightly uncomfortable, but it beats standing in the line.