Covid test MSC Meraviglia

[Wannacruise81]

Are all passengers covid tested at the pier as well during embarkation?

[GA Dave]

4 minutes ago, Wannacruise81 said:

Are all passengers covid tested at the pier as well during embarkation?

As of the latest cruise, yes.  We were on our January 9 cruise.  MSC has stated that they are announcing revisions to their health and safety protocols on Feb 25, so we will see what they are doing going forward.

 

[jamon]

be interesting to see what they do////

[Elkins45]

I'm on the fence at the moment about booking May 1 on the Divina. I would hate to get all the way to the pier and get turned away, so I think I'll wait to see what happens with the day-of testing.

[Wannacruise81]

On 2/22/2022 at 2:12 PM, GA Dave said:

As of the latest cruise, yes.  We were on our January 9 cruise.  MSC has stated that they are announcing revisions to their health and safety protocols on Feb 25, so we will see what they are doing going forward.

 

Did you still have to take a covid test 48 hrs before the cruise as well?

[pr8hd]

2 hours ago, Wannacruise81 said:

Did you still have to take a covid test 48 hrs before the cruise as well?

 

Yes.  Nothing has changed with testing requirements.

 

Aannnd....   It's long past COB in Europe.  Nothing new from MSC today as promised. . . . (how surprising 😐)

[kym05]

I think allot of people want to like MSC but they seem to just not get it. Yes I understand us Americans are spoiled, but bad customer service, is bad service anywhere. It's unfortunate because they have a great product and the potential to execute it. They need to hire the right people with a good sense of customer service and knowledge. Implement a company wide training on great customer service. And continue to produce those beautiful ships that we all are attracted to. I've been on three MSC cruises so far going on my 4rth and only one was close to being perfect. Great YC staff,  but the overall employee attitude on the ships is not good. This coming trip will be my first US MSC cruise so I am keeping my fingers crossed and hope for the best. I also hope they get rid of the mask mandate and pre test at port before my cruise in March!

[Markanddonna]

I think their IT is the biggest problem. IT affects customer service on board and the precruise experience. So many of us experience the same type of wonky IT, like info "falling off your reservation." I still can't access my account because it has my name as Jane Jane Doe instead of my middle name. They told me it would be fixed in a month...four months later, guess what?  Of course, still the same.

[blueslily]

Sailed on the Seashore out of Miami in early February. Had a great time. No major issues. Tested at home before going to Florida and at the cruise terminal before boarding. Super easy. When I read stuff on here, I shake my head. I guess it's true that people who complain are louder than people who are happy with an experience. I enjoyed the cruise and am up for the next. Testing at the terminal was super easy. I'm not sure what all the fuss and worry is about. A simple test is not going to keep me from cruising. 

[dexddd]

2 hours ago, blueslily said:

Sailed on the Seashore out of Miami in early February. Had a great time. No major issues. Tested at home before going to Florida and at the cruise terminal before boarding. Super easy. When I read stuff on here, I shake my head. I guess it's true that people who complain are louder than people who are happy with an experience. I enjoyed the cruise and am up for the next. Testing at the terminal was super easy. I'm not sure what all the fuss and worry is about. A simple test is not going to keep me from cruising. 

Where do you live?  If I lived in Florida or could easily drive to port, sure, not much fuss.  But for us, just to get to port costs more than cheapest trip on a seven night MSC cruise.  The risk of denied boarding weighs in people deciding to cruise and grows as costs to get to port grow.

[abe3]

1 hour ago, dexddd said:

Where do you live?  If I lived in Florida or could easily drive to port, sure, not much fuss.  But for us, just to get to port costs more than cheapest trip on a seven night MSC cruise.  The risk of denied boarding weighs in people deciding to cruise and grows as costs to get to port grow.

That’s what travel insurance is for.  
 

insurance is very inexpensive and worth the cost. 

[Elkins45]

5 hours ago, abe3 said:

That’s what travel insurance is for.  
 

insurance is very inexpensive and worth the cost. 

Can’t get insurance unless you book way in advance. For example, I’m thinking about booking a cruise in early May but I haven’t done it yet. I doubt coverage that would pay for my travel expenses would be available if I booked this close to departure. Most require you to buy before the final payment is due unless I misunderstand the process.

Edited February 27, 2022 by Elkins45

[abe3]

1 hour ago, Elkins45 said:

Can’t get insurance unless you book way in advance. For example, I’m thinking about booking a cruise in early May but I haven’t done it yet. I doubt coverage that would pay for my travel expenses would be available if I booked this close to departure. Most require you to buy before the final payment is due unless I misunderstand the process.

Not true. You usually can book insurance 14 days prior to your trip. 

Edited February 27, 2022 by abe3

[CampNCruise74]

On 2/22/2022 at 2:07 PM, Wannacruise81 said:

Are all passengers covid tested at the pier as well during embarkation?

Everyone at the pier was tested on our Divina cruise on 2/24 it of Miami   It took a very long time.

[blueslily]

On 2/26/2022 at 7:04 PM, Elkins45 said:

Can’t get insurance unless you book way in advance. For example, I’m thinking about booking a cruise in early May but I haven’t done it yet. I doubt coverage that would pay for my travel expenses would be available if I booked this close to departure. Most require you to buy before the final payment is due unless I misunderstand the process.

 

I bought insurance for my NCL cruise two weeks ago just 2 days before the sailing. Easy peasy. 

[blueslily]

On 2/26/2022 at 11:55 AM, dexddd said:

Where do you live?  If I lived in Florida or could easily drive to port, sure, not much fuss.  But for us, just to get to port costs more than cheapest trip on a seven night MSC cruise.  The risk of denied boarding weighs in people deciding to cruise and grows as costs to get to port grow.

 

I do not live in florida. Man, if I did, I would probably cruise even more.

 

To help with concern about testing positive, testing before that moment can be done. But, to each their own. I try to keep my anxiety level down. Many cruisers were concerned about getting a negative test as we sat at the terminal waiting 15 minutes for the results. Makes sense. It was so much fun to see people get cleared and celebrate as they walked out of the COVID test area. People were just so happy to be cruising again. I had a plan B for my vacation just in case. Again, we all manage things differently. Loved cruising when everyone else cancelled. Awesome experience. 

Edited February 28, 2022 by blueslily

[Morgsmom]

On the Mera yesterday at Port Canaveral all guests were COVID tested before boarding. They indicated that this might be changing soon.

[jamon]

did you dh find out how many cruisers on his cruise starting 2/27/22

[Gatrcruzer]

I can definitely see why people would be hesitant to book a cruise if they could be turned away at the port, particularly if they need to travel long distances, and perhaps end up in another country where they would need to pay to quarantine. On other boards I have seen folks come up with plans B and C if they test positive, but I think you would need to be okay with those options. Many of us have limited vacation time windows and limited funds for travel, so how much risk do you want to take? I think everyone needs to make their own assessment of the situation and come to their own conclusions. That said, I feel really fortunate to live in Florida because for us it would be very easy to turn around and drive home to quarantine if we are doing a Florida-based cruise; however, I'm not yet ready to book a cruise out of a foreign country.

 

Just want to say thanks to all of those who are posting about Meraviglia and current cruise policies, procedures, and situations. We are hoping to be onboard later this month, so are grateful to stay apprised of what to expect. Thanks especially to Morgsmom who has been passing along information from her husband's voyage! 

[tkwbear]

I boarded the Meraviglia yesterday and still got Covid tested. It’s odd that they didn’t ask for my  2 day old Covid results before they tested me again. They did ask for the proof once I was cleared to check in.

 

There are about 1K aboard.

 

 

[PhotoFlo]

On 2/28/2022 at 10:43 AM, jamon said:

did you dh find out how many cruisers on his cruise starting 2/27/22

We had 1217 passengers 2/27