Meravilgia final grades

[M2ice]

Thoughts and grades on recent Meravilgia cruise.

 

Have been on well over a hundred cruise over the last 30+ years and think I have a pretty good feel for what is out there.

 

We cruise to relax,  see new places and meet new people,  have little to no interest in production shows, bingo or art auctions and there for will not be reviewing that type of activity.   I have a fine eye for detail and while I will list some positives and negatives it is the entire experience that is being rated.   One good experience generally doesn't make a cruise, but one bad one can ruin it.

 

I expect  the cruise line to safely transport me in a comfortable manner,  provide me with a choice of activities to pass the time and provide a enjoyable dining experience taking into account that they are cooking for thousands.   Really pretty simple

 

There seems to a lot of confusion on some boards about grades.   Things like "everything was A+", really?   After more then 100 cruises I can very safely say I have never been on one that is  all "A+".  There are always positives and negatives and it is the balance between them that counts.   There is also always room improvement.   A+  implies that there is noting that can be improved.  again really?

 

In my opinion  two  of the  deciding factors on how enjoyable a cruise is are the weather and the other passengers.  Items pretty much out of the lines hand.

 

One final note,  this sailing should be highly rated across the board.  The ship has been back in service for several months to "work the bugs out" and we were at something like 15% capacity.   If they can't get it right now what is going to happen when it 100% capacity?

 

The grades I use are

 

A -Exceptional 

B-Very Good

C-Average,   based on what you would find on the other mid market cruise lines.

D-Below Average 

F-Very poor and unacceptable 

 

Grades

 

Embarkation C

The covid testing was a mess and then  our agent at  check in says.   "This is my first day on the job,  I really don't know what I'm doing"  This is with half a dozen other agents standing around doing nothing who could of been shadowing and giving a hand.

 

Ship B-  It is a good looking ship,  no doubt.   Has some design flaws,  all of the public restrooms are poorly marked and hard to find.  The two story picture windows on deck 6 and 7 are about useless as they are covered up with lighting fixtures,  photo stands and desks.  Ship was clean,  top of life boats was not,  but I would expect nothing less with 15% load factor.   

 

Ocean Key  A- Generally great,  what a "private island" should be.  Not a mis placed water park like COCO Key is now.   One big drawback.  The island is large and to get around there is a series of concrete walk ways.  These are also used by a lot of service/repair/transportation carts.   On our walk around the island we had to get off the path to allow cart passage many times.   The entry to the lighthouse had 5 carts lined up that we had to walk around,  looked like the golf course starter shed. 

Every walking/biking trail I have been on has a sign "NO motor vehicle"

 

Cabin C  Nice color pattern.   No power by bed,  lack of storage,  small balcony,  good AC.   Overall comparable to the other newer chips.   

 

Staff B-  Staff was relaxed, friendly and always available.  But to be expected with the passenger load.   Way better then our Divina cruise a couple of years ago 

 

Ship Management.  C-  One request to speak with a manager that was ignored.  Bars often out of items,  cranberry juice, white wine, some brands of beer.  Plenty of staff, but a lack of direction.  This ship is weak on policy and procedures.  

 

Food  D  We had only one meal in the dining room that was complete.    All other were problematic.   Badly under cooked pork,  with no follow up by management.   Very bad sauce on Eggs Benedict,  no plan on salt and paper,   other then to ask, wait while the food cools and maybe not get it anyway.   Same with butter.   The buffet was decent for breakfast but that is our second choice by far.   After trying the MDR 3 days we just gave up.  This is after we were placed in the center of the dining room one morning.   Only 2 other tables in use in this section and all three are crowded together,   I have 2 people at other tables that are less then 3 feet away. addressed it with the head waiter and he just blew it off.    Lets see how this works,  I can't sit at a bar stool with friends of my choosing,   but the you can sit me within 2 feet of people who I don't know?   

 

Voyagers club  F   Wife made 5 phone calls and two email to get "matched" from our RCL Diamond.   The end result,  a gold room key  Period.   Didn't receive one other benefit.   Completely useless.

 

Website/Customer service.   Need I even go there.   

 

Tracker bracelet.   F.   I'm not a container full of auto parts that my buyer needs to know the status off.   I pretty much let mine in the room.  IF you think this is for you benefit good luck,   this alone will make me question if I want to sail with them again.   

 

 

Summery.   We had great weather and met some very interesting people so we had a good time.   The price we paid  was a great value.   The out island is worth a trip on it's own if you do the over night.

 

Other wise will not sail with them again.   There are better run ships/companies.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Oxo]

M2ice, very detailed review. Like you, we have been on over 100 cruises. We first sailed on the MSC Lirica back in Jan 2006. We still cruise MSC. We have no favorite cruise line.

 

This year we are cruising RCI Oasis B2B, MSC Seashore B2B. NCL Breakaway B2B, NCL Prima 2x and Celebrity Apex. So, no favorites.

 

You are spot on with your comments.  We feel that MSC has the poorest selection/quality/preparation/presentation of food when compared to the other cruise lines.  If you ask to speak to Management,  it is almost impossible. Training is a problem as many are lost to provide a valid answer. 

I could site examples.  However,  it is in the past. 

 

MSC ships are very clean, price wise reasonable, we like their entertainment,  ports of call and never go hungry. 

 

Like you said,  there is no cruise that is A+.  We accept the short comings, unless it really affects our cruise.

 

We love the mirrors on the MSC ships. This way we see people we know and who look exactly like us! LOL

 

STAY SAFE AND HAPPY CRUISING! 

[M2ice]

We too like the mirrors,  but the people in them look old and chunky,   and have gravy spots on their shirts.

[Paphillyguy]

One thing I agree with you is the F for the website.  I cruised recently on the Seashore and had a different experience.  

[Oxo]

26 minutes ago, Paphillyguy said:

One thing I agree with you is the F for the website.  I cruised recently on the Seashore and had a different experience.  

That is true. No two cruises are alike. Another point is that no two people see the same or experience the same thing(s.)

 

Stay Safe and Happy Cruising!

[JT1962]

Thanks for the review. I was on the Meraviglia for a week on 1/23 and had a great experience. The only issue I encountered was entering a credit card on the website and was able to do that once onboard.  I was able to get Voyagers Club Diamond Staus matched from Hilton Honors Diamond and received all of the rewards with no issues.
 

This was my 20th cruise, but first on MSC. It was the nicest & largest ship I have been on. Food is obviously subjective, but I found the food very good and equivalent to or better than what I have experienced on Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Holland America and others. I do wonder what those that find issues with the food on a cruise ship normally eat when not on a cruise. As long as I am not cooking, I am usually happy with it. 

[Oxo]

57 minutes ago, JT1962 said:

Thanks for the review. I was on the Meraviglia for a week on 1/23 and had a great experience. The only issue I encountered was entering a credit card on the website and was able to do that once onboard.  I was able to get Voyagers Club Diamond Staus matched from Hilton Honors Diamond and received all of the rewards with no issues.
 

This was my 20th cruise, but first on MSC. It was the nicest & largest ship I have been on. Food is obviously subjective, but I found the food very good and equivalent to or better than what I have experienced on Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Holland America and others. I do wonder what those that find issues with the food on a cruise ship normally eat when not on a cruise. As long as I am not cooking, I am usually happy with it. 

As you said, Food is subjective!

Your opinion is valid as your tastes are different than ours. We cruise as you can see our posting on the cruise lines you addressed. We have been on many different MSC ships cruising in the Caribbean and Mederterainian.

We honestly believe MSC needs to improve the food. Even MSC Management agrees that MSC needs to improve in the area. 

We will provide a review after we complete our MSC Seashore B2B cruise in July.

Stay Safe and Happy Cruising! 

[jamon]

JT1962......did they have a diamond event with officers and on what day and time???? and were you able to get a reservation for the included speciality free meal???  thanks

[Fla Mike]

Thanks for your honest review.

Pretty much the same on our Feb 13 sailing.

 

As much as our Nov Divina cruise was awesome, the Mera was... Meh.

Lovey still says the Divina is the best looking ship she has been on!

 

Agree about the COVID testing, a complete cluster.

 

Booked an almost free Carnival cruise for May,  not that I'm expecting much, but the food WILL be better, then, back to the real world with a Celebrity cruise in November.

 

 

[JT1962]

1 hour ago, jamon said:

JT1962......did they have a diamond event with officers and on what day and time???? and were you able to get a reservation for the included speciality free meal???  thanks

They did not have a special Diamond event with officers, that I know of. They were only about two weeks after the large number of Covid cases onboard. They may have re-instated the event now.

 

I did get the free meal and chose Butcher’s Cut. I called from my room and made reservations (although they were really needed with less than 600 onboard). I was able to choose an appetizer, steak or entree and dessert from the Dining Experience section at the top of the menu below. All items were very good and the steak was excellent. 
 

[M2ice]

13 hours ago, JT1962 said:

Thanks for the review. I was on the Meraviglia for a week on 1/23 and had a great experience. The only issue I encountered was entering a credit card on the website and was able to do that once onboard.  I was able to get Voyagers Club Diamond Staus matched from Hilton Honors Diamond and received all of the rewards with no issues.
 

This was my 20th cruise, but first on MSC. It was the nicest & largest ship I have been on. Food is obviously subjective, but I found the food very good and equivalent to or better than what I have experienced on Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Holland America and others. I do wonder what those that find issues with the food on a cruise ship normally eat when not on a cruise. As long as I am not cooking, I am usually happy with it. 

Don't really think that badly uncooked pork is subjective.   Along with other preparation errors that we saw at all most every meal.   That is a operational error that shows a lack of policy and procedure.   Which  was present thought out the ship.   We like to get a Pina Colada once a day for an island feel.   One day it has a cherry, pineapple slice, straw and pineapple leaf highlight.   The next none of those,  just the drink period,  not even a straw.    I know some are going to say,  what difference does that make?    The problem is that is the same employee who it running the dishwasher behind the bar,  is he adding the right soap,  or for that matter any soap?   Is he checking  that the mixes are not expired? Is the ice bin being clean properly?   Sadly I doubt it.   

[MechE31]

What is your definition of undercooked pork? The safe temperature for pork was changed in 2011 to 145 deg which is still pink. 

[M2ice]

Mine was blood red.  Not pink.   Generally don't carry a meat thermometer with me on cruises as I would expect the galley to have one and know how to use it.  Which they clearly didn't

[rkacruiser]

9 hours ago, M2ice said:

Mine was blood red.  Not pink

 

That is unacceptable for me.  Some pink?  Ok.  Blood red?  No.  Trichinosis is unlikely any more.  But, why take the chance?  There is even some chance with "pink" but it is very, very  small.  

[M2ice]

This is an example of things looking nice but a lack of policy and procedure or training.   It was evident throughout the ship.   Another example was the blackjack table.  sometimes when you sat down the dealer squirted hand cleaner in your hands.  Other times they offered it but it was your choice and then sometimes it was not even offered.    

[BikiniBlonde]

Ocean Cay has at least one paved pathway clearly marked “pedestrians only.” I do not know if there are others, but I walked the path from just past the shops to the open air restaurant at the other end, and didn’t see a single golf cart. Later, from the vantage of my balcony, I did see a golf cart or two loaded with passengers, traveling slowly behind a single pedestrian who was  walking in the center of the golf cart path. Very patient drivers. 

[Elkins45]

My opinion of MSC is very strongly influenced by their very favorable pricing for singles. I think a solo cruiser maybe pays 10% over the couples rate. On all the other cruise lines it’s at least 70% and most are 100%. The food would have to be horrible for me to justify paying 2X for a different cruise line.

 

When I’m cruising with my wife I don’t have to worry about it because she’s a gambler. She has at least three different cruise lines throwing free cruises at us all the time. But when I’m going by myself then MSC is absolutely my first choice. I just wish they would station a boat closer to me than Canaveral. I would love to see them sail out of New Orleans.

[JT1962]

1 hour ago, BikiniBlonde said:

Ocean Cay has at least one paved pathway clearly marked “pedestrians only.” I do not know if there are others, but I walked the path from just past the shops to the open air restaurant at the other end, and didn’t see a single golf cart. Later, from the vantage of my balcony, I did see a golf cart or two loaded with passengers, traveling slowly behind a single pedestrian who was  walking in the center of the golf cart path. Very patient drivers. 

This was my experience in January as well. There were paths marked pedestrian only and I saw no golf carts on those paths. I saw multiple people walking on the wider cart paths with carts having to wait for them or maneuver around them. It reminded me of the people in my neighborhood who walk in the street, rather than on the sidewalks, then look irritated when a car comes down the street.

[Oxo]

1 hour ago, Elkins45 said:

My opinion of MSC is very strongly influenced by their very favorable pricing for singles. I think a solo cruiser maybe pays 10% over the couples rate. On all the other cruise lines it’s at least 70% and most are 100%. The food would have to be horrible for me to justify paying 2X for a different cruise line.

Very interested in your comment: Paying 2x?

Do you cruise other cruise lines?

What cruise line charges 2x more for what?

I am not trying to flame or disagree with you. I'm just very interested in your statement as it seems like you have had some expensive experiences.

Stay Safe!

[JT1962]

2 hours ago, Elkins45 said:

My opinion of MSC is very strongly influenced by their very favorable pricing for singles. I think a solo cruiser maybe pays 10% over the couples rate. On all the other cruise lines it’s at least 70% and most are 100%. The food would have to be horrible for me to justify paying 2X for a different cruise line.

I agree. It was nice not to have to pay a solo supplement on my January cruise. I was able to cruise without paying the same rate as 2 people in the cabin.  The best deal I had gotten previously for solo was 175% of the normal per person double occupancy rate on Holland America. Carnival, Royal Caribbean & NCL have some solo cabins, but they are usually very small (100 Sq ft) and the rates can actually be as much as, or more, than paying the 2 person rate for a regular cabin.

[Elkins45]

6 hours ago, Oxo said:

Very interested in your comment: Paying 2x?

Do you cruise other cruise lines?

What cruise line charges 2x more for what?

I am not trying to flame or disagree with you. I'm just very interested in your statement as it seems like you have had some expensive experiences.

Stay Safe!

On all the other lines I’ve cruised (Celebrity, Princess, Carnival) the rates are based on two people per cabin. If you select one person the rate doubles. You don’t pay two taxes and port fees but other than that you pay the same as two people.

[Oxo]

29 minutes ago, Elkins45 said:

On all the other lines I’ve cruised (Celebrity, Princess, Carnival) the rates are based on two people per cabin. If you select one person the rate doubles. You don’t pay two taxes and port fees but other than that you pay the same as two people.

Thanks for the clarification! 

Enjoy MSC.

STAY SAFE AND HAPPY CRUISING! 

[M2ice]

On 3/4/2022 at 9:45 AM, MechE31 said:

What is your definition of undercooked pork? The safe temperature for pork was changed in 2011 to 145 deg which is still pink. 

Guess I could of had the girl with the thermometer at the entrance to the dining room check it for me.

[psmarkle]

On 3/3/2022 at 2:07 PM, M2ice said:

We too like the mirrors,  but the people in them look old and chunky,   and have gravy spots on their shirts.

We must have been on the same cruise...saw the exact same passengers!! LMAO!!