Meraviglia - Food Quality

[sagosto63]

I've been on Carnival/Princess but the last 8 cruises have been on RC and mostly Oasis (preferred). The editor review for dining is good but many user reviews are really bad. And, the price point is concerning given how nice the ship is. What am I missing?

[perakcruiser]

Mera is surely one of the nicest cruise ships around. 

 

Food is fine, the bad user reviews can be ignored completely. Certainly some dishes rock, some dishes fail, as I first time MSC cruiser you will probably order some dishes that sound good, but are not. And their hamburgers and hotdogs are something I personally totally dislike, but with 1 billion other options, that is not a problem at all. 

[sfaaa]

Pasta and pizza are always good. Other food is so so but plentiful. You certainly won't starve.

Edited July 5, 2022 by sfaaa

[dexddd]

Sailed Mera in late September.  No food issues.

[GonzoWCS]

Thanks for the answers here.

 

Cheers

[Gatordad1967]

Food is as good or at times better than every mass market cruise line.  Their pizza has no rival on the sea.

[tweety33]

Hoping they have good coffee & chocolate croissants in the morning. Anyone seen them?

[perakcruiser]

They do have. A lot of sweet breakfast pastries, we like them. 

 

Coffee depends. The free coffee is OK, the paid coffee is great. 

[sfaaa]

MSC is the only mass market cruise line I know that uses catering coffee urns and not food service coffee machines at buffet drink station. Many times, the urns would quickly run out or the coffee gets cold in them. Not sure why MSC does thing this way.

[JT1962]

I sailed on the Meraviglia in January and thought the food choices & quality were very good. They usually have a few less options on the menu than other lines, but you can order more than one item from each section. I had more trouble narrowing down what I wanted between 2 to 3 different items rather than finding something I was interested in.

[rkacruiser]

Pizza and Risotto are well prepared with so many variations of Risotto.  I thought the food to be very good.  Is it different from some mass market vessels?  For some, probably so.  A pasta dish with a sauce made with Pesto was a new one for me.  It was very good.  

[GonzoWCS]

2 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

Pizza and Risotto are well prepared with so many variations of Risotto.  I thought the food to be very good.  Is it different from some mass market vessels?  For some, probably so.  A pasta dish with a sauce made with Pesto was a new one for me.  It was very good.  

Yum Yum

[SuellenDM]

If you have any food allergies and/or celiac disease and send the form you can down load to corporate you will be shocked at all the attention given to this in dinning room. They will bring menu for next night and there's something you would really like your designated representative will talk to chef and see if he can adjust recipes. Often he could! 

[eagletwo]

We have sailed MSC twice. Both times in YC. We are booked on Meraviglia October 23rd in a Premium aft balcony. Food was good in the YC, not great. Having been on 6 Princess ships, food and buffets have also been good. Never been wowed by food venues on any line we have sailed so far. I hope we enjoy the MDR on the Meraviglia. 

[Nunagoras]

On 7/6/2022 at 9:08 AM, sfaaa said:

MSC is the only mass market cruise line I know that uses catering coffee urns and not food service coffee machines at buffet drink station. Many times, the urns would quickly run out or the coffee gets cold in them. Not sure why MSC does thing this way.

Actually those "catering coffee urns" MSC uses for included coffee are the same Lavazza "machines" RCI used on the Oasis class in Europe (bear in mind I'm comparing Europe to Europe; not Europe to US). That kind of coffee is pretty much usual on most mainstream breakfast buffet on land hotels Europe wise. Some hotels will have the newer machines that makes pretty much every "specialty coffee" drink out there. That included coffee is usually decent if available. MSC's paid coffee is usually great though.

[Nunagoras]

On 7/5/2022 at 4:49 AM, sagosto63 said:

I've been on Carnival/Princess but the last 8 cruises have been on RC and mostly Oasis (preferred). The editor review for dining is good but many user reviews are really bad. And, the price point is concerning given how nice the ship is. What am I missing?

1st of it all: Welcome aboard the MSC's CC boards.

 

Taste is certainly subjective, on that only you can rate if it's good or not. General sense of quality is objective and can be measured by the ones whom have the skills to do so. Having been a market analyst for several years, I think I have some skills to do so, IMHO. So, here it goes my humble analysis:

 

MSC; like Carnival, RCI, and even Princess to an extent is part of what we can consider the baseline mainstream cruise market, or if you prefer, on European Hotel Industry words, it is something like a 4 star land hotel in Europe. Food on those ships will follow most likely the 4 star hotel industry included breakfast or other meals European standards for 4 star venues, with the obvious needed adaptations due to the confines a ship demands from the providers. That said, and as per my personal experience, both MSC and RCI the unique lines I've travelled follow mostly the same standards (bear in mind I'm comparing Europe sailings only; not Europe vs US sailings). There are obviously some details that are different: MSC tends to the "Mediterranean comfort food" dishes, while RCI tends more to the American ones. And of course nobody wins against an Oasis class ships due to the amount of space available there... Oh, well: MSC will compete at that league from late this year on with the World ship class...

 

That said; and taking an Oasis class ship as example; I'd say:

 

Breakfast and lunch buffet: Similar quality. Oasis has some more options, but it is larger ship.

Dinner buffet: By design MSC buffet is far inferior because Europeans want a served dinner as a social event more than just a meal to be had. Buffet is seen as a "last opportunity to eat" if one fails its allocated time slot at MDR or elsewhere.

MDR Breakfast and lunch: Similar quality. MSC is somewhat more refined on the options. Portions are also smaller at MSC but that is OK on me, so I give a slight edge to MSC.

MDR dinner: Similar quality even though desserts tend to be far better at MSC. You'll find less entertainment from the waiter or other crew members at MSC. Dinner is held like a family dinner that can last for 2 hours. Maybe they have that sorted out to a faster pace on US sailings. Portions are smaller, but you can ask for more food, that's OK on me. I'll give a slight edge to MSC due to the desserts, the not on your face service, and the usually quieter ambience during the dinner time.

 

Hope to have helped a bit and have a nice day!...

[gizmoe]

We've been on two MSC cruises and loved their food.  Pizza and Italian dishes are the TOPS of any cruise line.  People will complain about anything, but I would ignore it and enjoy the great food served on board.  We avoid the buffets and utilize the MDRs and the specialty dining  offered.

[perakcruiser]

1 hour ago, gizmoe said:

We've been on two MSC cruises and loved their food.  Pizza and Italian dishes are the TOPS of any cruise line.

And the Mozzarella for obvious reasons 🙂 

[sfaaa]

8 hours ago, gizmoe said:

.  We avoid the buffets and utilize the MDRs and the specialty dining  offered.

MSC has delicious fresh pizza at the buffet.

[skyking]

I thought the food on the Meraviglia was fantastic and comparable to all other cruise lines. 

 

The one thing I was a little disappointed about was the lack of option in the buffet area. 

 

We are booked on the Meraviglia again, can't wait to be back onboard this beautiful ship. 

[rkacruiser]

The Chef, at least in YC, prepares some unusual and delicious Risottos.  

[Gatordad1967]

On 7/16/2022 at 7:49 AM, perakcruiser said:

And the Mozzarella for obvious reasons 🙂 

spot on there.  Love their Burrata

[Gatordad1967]

On 7/16/2022 at 2:48 PM, sfaaa said:

MSC has delicious fresh pizza at the buffet.

no  better pizza on the ocean

 

[Oxo]

On 7/16/2022 at 6:30 AM, gizmoe said:

We've been on two MSC cruises and loved their food.  Pizza and Italian dishes are the TOPS of any cruise line.  People will complain about anything, but I would ignore it and enjoy the great food served on board.  We avoid the buffets and utilize the MDRs and the specialty dining  offered.

Only if you like BLAND food! On the Seashore B2B.Tried 5 steaks medium rare, all were tough.

Butcher Cut sirloin, MDR filet Megan  NY Strip and  Chateau Brion.

[GonzoWCS]

15 minutes ago, Oxo said:

Only if you like BLAND food! On the Seashore B2B.Tried 5 steaks medium rare, all were tough.

Butcher Cut sirloin, MDR filet Megan  NY Strip and  Chateau Brion.

Wrong ship we are on Meraviglia here.

 

Cheers