My View: A Merry Meraviglia Christmas in a Fantastica Balcony

[APDMOM]

Arrival Views:

 

I have never seen a solar powered buoy before:

 

Churning of the waters as we slow down to turn:

 

The Tug Boat helping us along (I am not even pretending to claim I know what that means - I just know it came along port side a few times, then would back off again):

 

My first and favorite view of the lighthouse and island:

 

This little boat was still in pretty calm seas when we arrived, but within an hour it got much more rough:

 

Those look like pretty awesome Jet Ski’s - may have to book one for June!

 

The people movers/trams/trolleys (Don’t know what the official name is):

 

[APDMOM]

Admission:  That was just the opening teaser for Ocean Cay

I will have to close it out for tonight.  The cruise is almost over, but I feel like I am only halfway done with this review.  

 

I will need to organize the Ocean Cay photos by categories so that it is clear what part of the island I am highlighting.  So, it will take a bit of legwork - which will have to happen when we get home.

 

I also have plenty of cabin and ship photos, which I will post from home.

 

Thank you for reading along and for patiently waiting for my posts about Ocean Cay.  I am sitting on my aft balcony one last time and seeing the tug coming along to lead us out.

 

Happy Cruise Dreams!

[perfect match]

Just caught up with your awesome review! Glad you were able to dock at Ocean Cay. ☀️ 

Enjoy the rest of your cruise. I’ll be patiently waiting for the rest of your review once you’re settled in at home. 😀

 

 

[APDMOM]

Home!

We are home after quite the eventful start of the day... missing luggage, found luggage, scenic tour to pick up said luggage.  😁 All of the details coming later.  Thanks to DH driving the 5.5 hours home, I am just about done with organizing Ocean Cay, so here goes my best effort to make sense of the island for you.   

[CONCH65]

Thanks for your amazing MSC reviews. They are motivating me to buy a new camera before we sail the Seaside again in 2 weeks..

[APDMOM]

Ocean Cay Overview:

I am posting two maps.  One is from the island, and one was delivered to our stateroom.  You may notice that some of the names are different on the two maps.  Pineapple Beach is one of them (not noted on the stateroom map).  I will reference the island map for most of my posts, which is the first one below:

 

Map that is delivered to your stateroom:

 

The island, as seen from the ship:

 

 

 

 

[APDMOM]

Ocean Cay:

 

I am going to get the ‘bad and ugly’ out of the way so that we can enjoy the views of the pictures I took...

 

This is undoubtedly a beautiful island, though still a skeleton of what it can become.  The trees and vegetation are in the process of adjusting to their new environment and there are some plants and trees waiting to be rooted - it almost looks like a nursery on one part of the island.  Knowing a bit about the history of what MSC is doing with this “man made” island, it is definitely expected to take time.

 

Even though the island is still a work-in-progress, I am glad MSC opened it up this month.  It is certainly worth the stop and a pleasure to experience.  That is, if you can be flexible and understand that it is not ‘done’.  It is just ‘ready’ to enjoy.

 

There are a few things that they will definitely have to improve. 

1.  One is the lack of a food truck at Bimini Beach or North island while the Yacht Club area (just about 100 feet away) has 2 food trucks.  This means that if you are at Bimini Beach, you have a 10-15 minute walk across the bridge to get to a food truck.

 

2.  A second area for improvement is the limited island transportation.  There is not near enough space on the shuttles for this size ship.  They really should reserve them for people with mobility challenges at this time, until they can accommodate more passengers per shuttle.  There are no signs on the maps that show the shuttle stops either.

 

3.  A third concern is that MSC holds off on communication with passengers until you are on the ship and clear into deep sea waters.  On the second day of the cruise, we got a note that our excursion on Ocean Cay had been cancelled - no explanation.  I had a suspicion that the Pedalo Rentals were not going to happen, as none of the first videos or photo’s about Ocean Cay featured them.  Clearly, MSC knew prior to our cruise that they did not have the Pedalo’s available yet.  At least they gave us a refund in the form of onboard credit, but I do not appreciate the lack of transparency.

 

4.  The WAIT... We docked around 7:30 a.m., but they unloaded all the food and island goods first.  The ship was not cleared to disembark until about 10:15.  I have been to 5 private islands for ships and it never took longer than an hour to clear for disembarkation.  Hopefully, this will improve as they become more efficient with the process of “getting the island ready” for us to enjoy.

 

[APDMOM]

On to the positive!

 

For the most part, I am going to let the pictures do the talking.  I will highlight some observations about the different beaches. When you look at the map, I will be posting the pictures of the beaches, going in a clockwise direction around the island.  I will also post the map every time with the highlighted beach outlined.

 

Lighthouse Bay:

This is the obvious and common first stop, as it leads to the Lighthouse.  We got here early and it was not busy yet.  However, it did not look like the best option for a swimming area.  They also did not have as much seating available when we arrived here.

TIP: This is a good beach for a ship picture, especially if you walk to the end and take the picture from the path to the lighthouse. The best time for a picture is in the afternoon, when the sun will not be behind the ship.

 

 

From the ship:

 

 

On the beach:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[APDMOM]

Sunset Beach:

This beach has large stones/rocks up to the waterline.  Once you enter the water, it is better.  I saw several people snorkel here and it was not too busy when I walked by.  If you choose this beach, you will probably need water shoes or some tough feet.

 

Walking toward Sunset Beach:

 

All the Food Trucks look the same:

 

 

After a while, all the bars start looking the same too - and I did not even buy a single drink 😂

 

 

 

Large Stones on the Beach:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[APDMOM]

Paradise Sands: (Did I mention I took “too many” pictures?)

This is a beach for adults only (16 and over).  It is therefore ideal if you want to escape “the littles”.  I love kids and work with them every day, but I like to get away from them on a cruise overrun by kids with parents whose “parenting skills” are on vacation too. This beach was not busy at all when I was there (around 11:30 a.m.):

 

 

 

 

The Wedding Pavilion Area:

 

 

View from the Wedding Pavilion to Paradise Sands

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Clear water:

Bathrooms by the wedding pavilion and paradise sands:

 

 

Edited December 30, 2019 by APDMOM

[APDMOM]

“The Wild” - An area still in the making:

 

 

 

 

 

Plants and trees waiting to take root:

 

 

 

[APDMOM]

Nature Area: (I am guessing it is not done yet😁)

 

 

[APDMOM]

South Beach:

This is the busiest beach.  The edges (closer to Paradise Sands on one side and closer to the bridge on the other side) were a bit better, but definitely too busy for my taste.  It is on a lagoon, so it is safer for kids, with no waves noted on this visit.  If you are an avid swimmer, you can swim across the ‘lagoon’ to Pineapple Beach, as I saw 3 people were engaged in during our visit.  I was tempted to join them but had too many personal belongings to take care of.

 

 

A trolley stop by South Beach and the Spa area:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Looking over at Pineapple Beach

 

 

 

Sea life:

 

 

 

 

You can see it got busier, as more and more umbrellas showed up:

 

[APDMOM]

The Bridge that connects South Beach with North Island:

 

The Bridge as seen from South Beach:

 

 

 

The Views toward the lagoon:

 

 

View toward the Sea:

[APDMOM]

North Island:

North island consists of 3 areas - one of the is for yacht club guests only.  The other two included Pineapple Beach and Bimini Beach.  I suspect many people thought you could not cross the bridge unless you stayed in the yacht club.  This is not true, as two of the beaches are open to everyone.

 

 

On North Island - Ocean House Beach (Yacht Club Area):

Yacht Club only.  The area is not closed in yet (like I have seen on Labadee where the whole area is fenced in for suite guests).  There are two paths with signs that show it is for yacht club only, but if you walk ‘in the wild’ rather than following a path,  you would not see if you enter the area by accident.  This may sound strange and you may wonder why you would not follow a path.  This is because not all the paths are paved yet and it is easy to miss the path.  A lot of space is still undefined.  Of course, I can read a map so I did not ‘accidentally get lost’ to the yacht club area, tempted as I was to get close up pictures.  😄  So, here is my ‘distant’ view of Ocean House Beach Area:

 

 

 

 

”The Wild” path that leads to the Yacht Club area:

 

[APDMOM]

On North Island - Bimini Beach

This was my favorite beach and the spot where I chose to take a quick swim.  The water was fairly cold, but refreshing.  As mentioned before, the only bad thing about Bimini Beach is that it has no food truck.  However, it is the least crowded and the water is beautiful.  The lagoon area by South Beach was crowded and a bit more milky.  While swimming at Bimini Beach around 12:30 p.m., there were only 3 to 5 people within ~20-foot radius of me.  It was ideal.

 

Very close to Yacht Club:

The View toward the wedding pavilion:

 

The View toward Yacht Club area:

 

Cabanas 1, 2, and 3 are closest to the Yacht club and the bar:

 

 

 

Look at all those empty loungers:

 

 

 

Conch Shells right by the waterline:

 

 

The water was a bit cool, but refreshing:

 

A rocking chair by the bar:

 

Look at that beautiful water:

 

My personal favorite area - by Cabana number 11.  There is a shower right behind it too:

 

 

 

 

 

Love, love, love this beach!

 

 

Edited December 30, 2019 by APDMOM

[APDMOM]

Undefined Space on North Island:  Also a work-in-progress

 

View from the Ship:

 

View toward the Sea:

 

View toward the ship:

 

View toward Bimini Beach:

 

View toward Paradise Sands and the Wedding Pavilion:

 

View toward the far end of South Beach:

 

View toward South Beach:

 

View toward Pineapple Beach:

 

Edited December 30, 2019 by APDMOM

[APDMOM]

On North Island - Pineapple Beach (This just makes me want to watch “The Nemesis” episode on Chuck 😂)

Pineapple Beach faces South beach and the ship.  It was a bit more busy than Bimini Beach, but still nice.

 

 

The first cabana when you cross the bridge (#17)

 

 

Cabanas 17 & 18:

 

A view of Pineapple Beach from the far end - very quiet on this end: (You can see the bridge in the far back)

 

The bar at Pineapple Beach:

 

Interesting seating at the bar:

 

[APDMOM]

Crew Cove (For Crew Only):

 

 

[APDMOM]

Seakers Family Cove:

(My guess is that this is an intentional play on words  - seakers vs seekers - and hopefully not a typo 😉)

This beach was closed - no swimming allowed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[APDMOM]

Lunch on the Island:

During the announcements on the ship, it was emphasized several times that the meals on the island are more like snacks and that if you want a substantial meal, you are recommended to return to the ship.  Although the meal was indeed limited at Sneakers, it was still what I would consider a full meal.  The lines for hot dogs and hamburgers were long (2 lines in Sneakers), but they seemed to move fairly fast.  There are some salads, fruit, and dessert snacks (cookies, brownies, etc).

 

Seakers Food Court:

 

 

The line for Burgers and Hot Dogs:

 

Buffet Salads and Desserts:

 

 

 

[APDMOM]

Food from the Food Trucks = FREE

There was much speculation on the boards about there being an up-charge for food from the food trucks.  This is currently not true.  The food from the food trucks is free, but limited to hot dogs, hamburgers, and small snacks.  All the food trucks are the same.  I hope, as the island grows and improves, they will have more variety and better locations for the food trucks.

[APDMOM]

The Shopping Area:

I personally think the shops were over-priced.  It seems they are run by MSC and the price tags are the same as the ones in the onboard shops.

 

 

 

There is a coffee/ice cream shop called “Smiling Fish” where I wasted >$6 on a vanilla coconut iced latte.  It was a really small cup for the price (No more than 12 oz) and it was not sweet at first.  It also tasted very watered down - hardly a ‘coffee’ taste.  When I got about halfway through, it was sweeter.  I realized the “barista” (loosely using this term) had not even stirred the drink and all the vanilla syrup was in the bottom.  I was not a ‘smiling fish’ at all when I tasted that drink. 🤔  Don’t waste your money here until they improve and figure out how to make an iced latte.  Just spend your $6 at Jean Philippe 😉

 

 

 

There is a small artisan market where it seems like locals have their display of handmade goods.  I would have loved to support them, but did not find anything practical I could use.

 

 

 Springer’s Bar:  (Looks like John McEnroe was already here) 😂

 

 

 

The Wifi Works!  

TIP:  You can use your iPhone from the Ocean Cay wifi to message your family on the Meraviglia ship wifi.  

DS and DH went back to the ship early and I was able to contact them this way.  Ocean Cay wifi is included in the wifi package you purchase.

 

[APDMOM]

A few more views on the way back to the ship:

 

 

 

 

 

[APDMOM]

Calling it a day for now... Tomorrow, I will close out our day at Ocean Cay and start posting the dailies and ship pictures.  Happy Cruise Dreams!