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

AeroXWD · December 15, 2019

A little before 8 o'clock we went for dinner

Sorry for the blurry picture

Tonight's menu

I had the beetroot and asparagus baked tart for starter (good)

Paccheri pasta with pine nuts, pesto and cured speck for my main course (very good)

Schwartzwalder cake for dessert

dexddd · December 15, 2019

Yep, at GC YC tent on left side at front of line. Just walk up and in you are. They usually have a butler or two walking farther out you can snag too.

AeroXWD · December 15, 2019

After dinner we went to promenade to have a look at the different shops

Went to check out the mini-market on the way there and purchased some small necessities

Jean Philippe looking pretty empty at 21:00

Only a few patrons at Hola! Tapas at this hour

And then made it to the casino

Two minutes after sitting down at the slots, a casino manager (?) came around and informed me that I was over halfway to receiving a 30% discount on a next cruise (1200 dream points needed). We didn't have much luck this night, so left the casino after just a half hour.

21:45

She was feeling tired, but as I suffer from "lakenskrekk" (Literal translation: Fear of the (bed) sheets), I went to the TSL

I also tried the Yuengling lager, which I wrongly assumed was a Chinese beer.

The TSL was very quiet, so I had a walk around the ship and had a peek into the lounge overlooking the main pool

Not many people milling about on the lifeboat deck

The outside portion of the Carousel lounge

Did you know the hallway carpeting is in different colors depending on which deck you are on?

For example teal and light grey on deck 9

Yellow and grey on other decks, and maroon and grey on some decks. YC has grey and orange carpeting, but with a different pattern. Of all the hallway carpeting I've seen at different hotels I've stayed at and other ships (from pictures), Meraviglia's are the most unappealing I've seen. Not exactly a deal breaker, though.

00:25 and most passengers have gone to bed for the night, and I finally overcome my fright of the sheets and return to the room for a good night's sleep.

NayRN · December 15, 2019

I enjoy an occasional ice-cold Yuengling! While it’s brewed in America’s oldest brewery in Pennsylvania, it is not sold in all states. I have to drive to a neighboring state to grab one (or go on a cruise). 🍺

mafig · December 15, 2019

WHAT in the world is "traditional cured speck?"

~ off to Google I go~

Edit: It's like bacon, or pancetta. Who knew? Did anyone?

Edited December 15, 2019 by mafig

Frode · December 15, 2019

3 hours ago, AeroXWD said:

Quote

"In total there were five ships at GC that day, with two Carnival ships at anchor at the other side of the island."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I checked it up 😀 Those were the 5 ships in George Town that day (Wednesday 4th December)

Edited December 15, 2019 by Frode

NayRN · December 15, 2019

12 minutes ago, mafig said:

WHAT in the world is "traditional cured speck?"

~ off to Google I go~

Edit: It's like bacon, or pancetta. Who knew? Did anyone?

Nope! I Googled it as well!

Frode · December 15, 2019

Hello again fellow citizens (I'm a Norwegian myself - living in Sweden, though). Now we've seen the back of your wife (or maybe she is your fiancee or your girl friend 🙄) quite many times - and even your hairy legs 🤣
When will you give us a nice photo of the two of you love-birds...together?! Really looking forward to that! 🥂
I said it before - thank you for your very nice pics and interesting, short comments 👌

Edited December 15, 2019 by Frode

AeroXWD · December 15, 2019

1 hour ago, mafig said:

WHAT in the world is "traditional cured speck?"

~ off to Google I go~

Edit: It's like bacon, or pancetta. Who knew? Did anyone?

1 hour ago, NayRN said:

Nope! I Googled it as well!

I had to google it while studying the menu, along with several other menu descriptions throughout the week. One night, while looking over the menu and googling different items, a man from the neighboring table told me that if there wasn't anything on the menu that I fancied, there was a "secret menu" consisting of french onion soup and a couple of other items that I could order if I wanted to.

1 hour ago, Frode said:

Thanks! I saw the Nieuw Amsterdam sail away sometime between 10 and 12:00, so I wonder what happened. The waves were a bit rough that day, so maybe she just had to move her anchorage? While I could see the Carnival Paradise and Sensation on the other side of the island from the pool deck, I never saw the NA again.

1 hour ago, Frode said:

Hello again fellow citizens (I'm a Norwegian myself - living in Sweden, though). Now we've seen the back of your wife (or maybe she is your fiancee or your girl friend 🙄) quite many times - and even your hairy legs 🤣
When will you give us a nice photo of the two of you love-birds...together?! Really looking forward to that! 🥂
I said it before - thank you for your very nice pics and interesting, short comments 👌

I apologize for all the pictures of my hairy legs and even more so for the pictures that include my bare feet!

Although we met others that assumed we were on a honeymoon, while we live together we aren't engaged or married as of yet. Maybe I'll post a photo later, but no promises!

AeroXWD · December 15, 2019

05.12 - Thursday - Cozumel

I awoke at sunrise and went out on the balcony to watch and take some photos. One of the highlights of being on a cruise was being able to see so many sunrises and sunsets - I never tire of them.

07:00 Carnival Sensation or Paradise in the distance, I presume. Not exactly beauty queens, neither on the inside nor outside.

07:20

After that, I went back to bed to sleep for a little while longer, and awoke again just as we were starting to dock in Cozumel, alongside Celebrity Infinity.

Look at the color and clarity of the water! I just wanted to dive in!

Also, does anyone know what the red flag is for? I presume it's to see the wind direction, but I'm just guessing.

Looks like the crew were having a safety drill or something

Norwegian Sun if my memory serves me right

A look at some of the aft suites of the Infinity

Helipad and disembarking passengers from the Infinity

For a 19 year old ship, the Infinity looks really good IMO. She's only around a year younger than the Carnival Paradise, but looks much newer. Anyway... We went to the TSL to grab some breakfast this morning.

Many ships in Cozumel this morning.

The presentation of the small dishes they had in the lounge were excellent, and they tasted good as well. My girlfriend preferred to eat breakfast here. We were planning to have lunch while in Cozumel, so a light breakfast was perfect.

Edited December 15, 2019 by AeroXWD

Happy Cruiser 6143 · December 15, 2019

Actually, only the bottom one is a suite. That's one of two penthouses, each taking up half of the back of the ship. Best cabins at sea! Those other ones sticking out are family view cabins with great balconies.

AeroXWD · December 16, 2019

8 hours ago, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

Actually, only the bottom one is a suite. That's one of two penthouses, each taking up half of the back of the ship. Best cabins at sea! Those other ones sticking out are family view cabins with great balconies.

Thanks for the clarification! I just assumed they were suites based on those massive balconies. If I had one of those large balconies I don't think I would see much of the rest of the ship.

perakcruiser · December 16, 2019

14 hours ago, AeroXWD said:

Paccheri pasta with pine nuts, pesto and cured speck for my main course (very good)

I am missing the magic word GRAGNANO* on the menu. And this in the YC!

Maybe because it is a US sailing and the Americans anyway would not valuate? Or they stocked up overseas? But where to get Paccheri there? Questions over questions, you should really have asked ;)

*) Not a brand, but he Pasta city of Italy, famous for the best pasta available. Usually MSC happily emphasizes the dishes where they treat the passengers with Gragnano pasta.

AeroXWD · December 16, 2019

05.12 - Thursday - Cozumel

We had a leisurely morning, and weren't off the ship before 11:40, but we didn't have any big plans for the day other than to walk around a bit and have lunch.

The Meraviglia and what looks to be one of her tenders judging by the size, named Celebrity Infinity

Mexico likes its flags huge

To the right, outside the frame: A steady line of tourists taking picture with the Cozumel sign

We sat down at the Agave cocktail bar and decided against common sense to not order any of its specialties, but a Dos Equis, while we used their WiFI. We had 6GB included on the ship, but we had already used up 4GB by this time, so we welcomed any place that had Wifi.

We wanted lunch, but it was a little too early after breakfast, so we agreed that we would come back in a little while to eat after walking about some more.

After an hour and a half, we returned to the square. After seeing a place on the corner with a lot of customers, and with still no customers at the Agave bar, we tried Frida's restaurant instead.

13:50 - Nachos and guac with hot sauce in the background. It was decent.

Infinity isn't looking that small from this angle, but is clearly no match when it comes to size against the Meraviglia

Our room, 16005.

Tents providing refreshing towels and beverages

The red(ish) carpet was rolled out for yours truly

For us, or for me at least, this cruise wasn't that much about the itinerary or the ports (although I was looking forward to Ocean Cay), but just relaxing on the ship. Moreover, in the months leading up to the cruise, I was busy at work and with other obligations so I didn't have much time to research what to do in each port. I didn't want to pay the extortionate prices that MSC charge for their excursions, and after a poor excursion to Saona Island in the Dominican Republic the year before, I swore to do proper research before booking a tour. After just 3.5 hours on Mexican soil, we were back onboard.

AeroXWD · December 16, 2019

36 minutes ago, perakcruiser said:

I am missing the magic word GRAGNANO* on the menu. And this in the YC!

Maybe because it is a US sailing and the Americans anyway would not valuate? Or they stocked up overseas? But where to get Paccheri there? Questions over questions, you should really have asked 😉

*) Not a brand, but he Pasta city of Italy, famous for the best pasta available. Usually MSC happily emphasizes the dishes where they treat the passengers with Gragnano pasta.

I'll happily listen to a waiter go through every minutae detail of the food I'm being served, but I'm not one to question what I'm being served.😂 I appreciate good food, but I think you have all guessed (correctly) that I'm not the world's biggest foodie 😁I just assumed they made the pasta onboard?

Frode · December 16, 2019

Nice location of your YC cabin 👍

You making me curious, though 😄 What is meant by the red lines at the photo?

Edited December 16, 2019 by Frode

AeroXWD · December 16, 2019

35 minutes ago, Frode said:

Nice location of your YC cabin 👍

You making me curious, though 😄 What is meant by the red lines at the photo?

Sorry, that's what happens on a Monday morning on the bus without having had any coffee. I meant to illustrate those cabins that have a support pole just ever so slightly obstructing the view. I wouldn't necessarily avoid those, but if a neighboring cabin is available, I'd rather pick one without. On deck 16, both 16003 and 16009 have that pole.

perakcruiser · December 16, 2019

3 hours ago, AeroXWD said:

I just assumed they made the pasta onboard?

They do this sometimes (in the YC certainly much more often) and then they write happily "fresh pasta made on board" in the menu. Paccheri is a pasta shape that is usually dry pasta and not fresh made.

Anyway, this dish looks so delicous, it makes me more want to book YYC than any other perk :D

Just like the MSC superclassic "pistachio-crusted rack of lamb with cherries", but that is available also outside the YC with Aurea on some ships. And for cash on others.

Fogfog · December 16, 2019

Great review. TY for the pics and tips

AeroXWD · December 16, 2019

05.12 - Thursday - Cozumel - cont.

16:15 and back at the serene One Pool deck in the afternoon sun with a glass of prosecco

Most people are back onboard both the Infinity and Meraviglia, but there is still a steady stream of passengers who wanted to maximize their time in Cozumel. All aboard time is 17:30 for us.

16:55 and thirsty for a Heineken on draft

My favorite time of the day - relaxing on the pool deck in the afternoon sun with a cold beer and a book.

17:43 and the sun is starting to set

Norwegian Escape and a Carnival ship

18:20 and I have the deck pretty much to my self

18:37 and I'm back in the room watching the last light with a beer from the minibar I presume, before taking a shower and getting dressed

For some reason I took a photo of the room at 18:40 as I was on my way from the balcony to the shower

Today's planner

- - -

Tonight was Italian night (menu can be seen on Host Jazzbeau's post here)

Beef carpaccio with parmesan shavings, mesclun salad, extra virgin olive oil, and aged balsamic vinegar. I had to google what mesclun meant, and apparently it's just another term for a mixture of young salad greens. They didn't mention the carrot in the menu description though. I thought it was good.

Filet Mignon with Porcini mushrooms - "beef tenderloin in a creamy mushroom sauce with roasted rosemary potatoes".

Although the sauce wasn't as creamy as advertised, the beef was very tender and cooked to a medium rare, just as I requested. One of the better entrees.

Lemon delight, which was a sponge cake with limoncello cream, for dessert accompanied with...

A glass of Limoncello

I had originally wanted to order the berry fruit crumble or the tiramisu which I had seen on the dessert menu each night, but after seeing that almost everyone around us ordering the lemon delight, I thought they knew something that I didn't, and ordered it anyway. I should have followed my intuition, because it was merely OK, and that's a low bar for a dessert. It looked nice though, and I was full anyways.

After having finished my dessert, I went to the bathroom for a few minutes, and when I came back, our waiter for this night was just finishing talking to my girlfriend (We had had different waiters on most nights, but had had this particular waiter once before as well). The waiter had apparently asked her to mention his name to the restaurant manager and to tell him that he had done a good job. Right after that, he put down a three-tiered petit fours and said "enjoy", but we were completely full and didn't even touch it. It might not have been his intention, but I felt as if he tried to "bribe" us into putting in a good word for him. Had it been any of the other waitstaff, I would be happy to do so, but he was the sole exception to good service we had in the restaurant, so no can do. I don't mean to sound harsh, and he was probably tired and perhaps worried about not getting a new contract, but while everyone else were so good at their jobs, he just wasn't.

After dinner we went to the casino to cash in our dream points into freespins, as we had agreed to end our gambling careers for 2019 (I had jokingly said I wanted us to get matching MSC Casino caps so we could wear them back home, but she didn't find it amusing. Neither did she appreciate my joke of packing the pair of unused baseball caps with awful fit and a resort logo on them we received as a gift at a resort last year).

Although titled "Rising Fortunes", this is a misnomer.

After saying farewell to the casino and our favorite bartender there, we went up to the TSL for a night cap. I could see multiple ships ahead of us, and checked which they were.

NCL Escape and Adventure of the Seas ahead.

Happy Cruiser 6143 · December 16, 2019

8 hours ago, AeroXWD said:

05.12 - Thursday - Cozumel

We had a leisurely morning, and weren't off the ship before 11:40, but we didn't have any big plans for the day other than to walk around a bit and have lunch.

The Meraviglia and what looks to be one of her tenders judging by the size, named Celebrity Infinity.

Actually, if you're not in a suite, you'll have a much better experience on the Infinity. No crowds and long lines.

starfish the second · December 16, 2019

subscribing thinking of doing this cruise in Nov

Até · December 16, 2019

20 hours ago, AeroXWD said:

Also, does anyone know what the red flag is for? I presume it's to see the wind direction, but I'm just guessing.

I've seen two explanations, not sure which is correct. Some say it is a "red bravo flag" indicating they have a fire wire tow cable set up in case the ship needs emergency towing from the pier. Others say it is there to warn any small boats not to cross too close to the front of the ship because there is a large bulbous bow hidden just under the water's surface and a large overhang above that could catch a tall mast.

AeroXWD · December 17, 2019

12 hours ago, Até said:

I've seen two explanations, not sure which is correct. Some say it is a "red bravo flag" indicating they have a fire wire tow cable set up in case the ship needs emergency towing from the pier. Others say it is there to warn any small boats not to cross too close to the front of the ship because there is a large bulbous bow hidden just under the water's surface and a large overhang above that could catch a tall mast.

Thank you for the explanation!

AeroXWD · December 17, 2019

06.12 - Friday - Sea day

We slept late, and when we woke up she went to the TSL to fetch us some breakfast to take into the room.

The day was primarily spent on the One Pool Deck, just reading a book and watching the ocean

We went to the Aqua Park and tried the water slides after signing the waiver, but we only tried each slide once before returning to read. It was fun to try out, but not the most thrilling of rides. Queues were minimal.

17:00 - Had an afternoon snack

Alone.

17:15 - Lots of people taking pictures of each other from the aft with the sunset in the background

Many people were sitting at the tables around the aft pool deck bar watching the sunset. It's a nice area, and much more quiet than the main pool where there is always some noisy activity like quizzes, games, etc. I know many people like the entertainment, but I prefer peace and quiet.

As it was our last sea day, we had decided to finally try the thermal suite at the spa. Before embarking, my girlfriend thought she would be at the spa every day, but the time just flew by. I refuse to be inside a dark cave when the sun is still out and the weather is warm, so we had a drink on our balcony until the sun had set. Unfortunately, being December, the sun sets quite early, although much later than it sets at home at this time of the year.

Daily hairy leg picture. I wish the balcony furniture would recline, and it would be nice to have a small table on the balcony as well, but at least we had a footstool.