Semi-Live MSC Meraviglia 11-night Caribbean round trip from NYC (Jan. 15, 2024)

[JamieLogical]

I have found in the past that the dessert area doesn't open for the late night buffet until 10:00. On many nights I have seen people start lining up before 10, waiting for them to remove the ropes in front of that area.

[PistolPete13]

Day 3

 

No cohesive narrative for this next post, just a series of random thoughts as I get settled in and get used to the MSC experience.

 

Overcast , windy, and chilly is the weather forecast for today unfortunately.  Was able to catch the complimentary show last night in the main theater, Encore.  A musical greatest hits medley from various Broadway shows.  The performance was great and the set was only 45 mins so even if you don’t like it you’re not trapped there.

 

The main theater seems to run 3 shows a night at 7:30, 8:30, and 9:30 seating times.   There are several other productions going on that have a small charge, $18 I think, but they also include a drink.

 

So after another breakfast with NO HOCKEY PUCKS, I hit the gym for an hour and then got ready for the day.  I didn’t mention that the Meraviglia has a cover pool area.  It was perfect for the cool conditions of the day and I was surprised it was not more packed.  Speaking of packed, my cabin steward said there were a little over 4700 passengers for this trip.  I believe the full capacity is around 5500 but not positive right now.

 

That being said, I did not feel it’s been crowded so far even with all the cold weather keeping most everyone indoors.  I didn’t see any crowding at the various venues and bars.  Quite a contrast compared to the NCL Prima and my experience onboard her.  A good example was the show in the main theater.  I didn’t have a reservation but was still able to walk up, get checked in 15 mins before showtime, and still find a decent seat.  On the Prima, if I didn’t book as soon as I boarded, forget it.

 

My stateroom.  I got an inside stateroom for this trip and it’s large compared to the NCL Away class insides and comparable to the new inside rooms on the Prima.  The bathroom is a bit tight but the shower is roomy and takes up most of the space.  Excellent water pressure and no sewage smells!  Pro tip, if your bathroom smells like a dump, pour some water into the drain on the floor behind the toilet.  The trap could’ve dried out an allowed the wonderful smells to permeate into the bathroom.  There is another similar drain in the shower but I assume most people will shower and keep that trap filled.  Not everyone will miss the toilet enough to fill the trap behind it with liquids, although I’m sure some have tried.

 

The ship is still fairly new (2018 built) and from what I can see, everything is in excellent condition and nothing feels worn out.

 

What’s next?  The food!  Prior to my sailing, I had read a lot of complaints about the food.  The term bland was used a lot.  Well so far my experience cannot be called bland judging for the amount of water I’ve been guzzling after dinner.  Maybe MSC has taken the complaints to heart and decided to invest in a salt mine!  What I did find lacking was variety of things in the buffet compared with what I remembered from my NCL trips.  Aside from the rotisserie station alternating between beef, chicken, and pork offerings, the rest of the stations have been the same items for the last 3 days so far.

 

Granted the increase of food prices plays into things I’m sure.  The salad station was a bit disappointing.  The only choices aside from lettuce was tomatoes and a few items that I can’t recall right now.  I had to hunt around other stations to fill out some of the veggie items.

 

Soon enough the Florida coast was on the horizon and we arrived in Port Canaveral.  From that I can see this is basically a provisioning stop with an endless line of trucks unloading.  I believe we parked in Dock#10 next to the Disney terminal.  This is the same terminal NCL used for the Bliss four years ago.

 

Not much more happened for the rest of the day.  I met my first cruise character at lunch and saw her again at dinner.  This person set up camp on a 4 top by herself and filled the table with plates.  You can tell her demeanor was not happy and she proceeded to tell everyone within earshot how she has been onboard since late November because MSC refused to grant her a refund for several trips and she is basically hate-cruising right now to use up the funds.  This sounds like an absolutely awful way to spend almost two months on a cruise!  I wonder if she has the Internet package that she’s willing to sell me for cheap…

 

[PistolPete13]

Day 4

 

Sea day!

 

 

Day 5 Cozumel

 

For some reason I think ship excursions are not very popular with MSC.  My original snorkel excursion was cancelled and a combo snorkel/beach excursion was substituted (no discount, lol).  I found the average prices for the excursions to be similar to what NCL ones costs IF you factor in their constant promotional discounts.

 

Our catamaran boat had seating for 160 but we had only 13 people on our tour.  I was very fortunate this wasn’t cancelled at well!  Turned out to be a great trip with some of the best visibility under water that I had ever seen.  This is probably my fifth or sixth time snorkeling and I decided to hide a breakfast bread roll in my pocket to see if I could attract some fish.  Well, this worked out a bit too well as I was instantly swarmed by the critters.  Some even startled me by taking a liking to my fingers, ouch!  Keep this in mind if you decide to try this same trick.

 

There was a decent current in the water apparently and this tired out a lot of swimmers.  The boat crew actually had someone in the water to watch out for us the entire time which was reassuring.  I’ll have some good underwater video footage to post once I get to time to edit things.  Just don’t mind the muffled screaming when the fish swarmed me.

 

The second half of the excursion we pulled up to a beach for about an hour.  Not much more to say, it was a beach.  Had a chance to practice treading water again, and nope, I still sink like a rock.

 

For Cozumel, our ship berthed at the pier south of the main one.  There were four ships in port that day including RCL Harmony of the Seas, Princess Ruby(?), an older Princess ship and a Carnival.

 

So far this trip I have been very good at avoiding people and crowds so no snarky observations so far…

[PistolPete13]

Day 6 Costa Maya

 

The last time I was here was in January of 2020.  Wow, four years later a lot more development has happened in the port area.  There are three sites with Mayan ruins that are reachable from the port.  I had been to two of them and was going to hit the third one this time around to complete the trio.

 

During the bus ride I learned that there is a new rail line in the process of being built by the government.  It runs north to south originating from Cozumel and another popular destination north of that whose name I can’t think of right now and I’m without Internet.  Anyway, there was construction trucks everywhere and we even passed the clear cut in the jungle where the rails will be laid down soon.

 

As a result of the anticipated increase of visitors via land to the pyramids, the government has allocated a bunch of money to “spruce up” the archeological sites.  When I got to this new site, it was swarming with construction activity with workers climbing all over the pyramids and fixing up a lot of the stones with new mortar.  The site was also packed with tour groups and it felt at times to me like trying to navigate Grand Central terminal in NYC during rush hour.  Four years ago things were so quiet and peaceful it felt otherworldly in the midst of these ruins.  Unfortunately things change even in a few short years.

 

Now about the people, ugh.  I’m a photo person and I’m not shy about racking up a ton of photos for later editing and posting.  But I’m a total amateur compared to my fellow selfie loving travelers.  It seems that everyone is only concerned about getting a photo showing that they was there vs. trying to listen to the guide and learn something.  OK, enough social commentary, I’m becoming a grumpy old person in real time here on Cruise Critic.

 

So my trick of hiding my camera under a layer of gaffers and blue painters tape was a failure.  Two guides had their eyes visibly open wide when they saw my camera and came up to me to compliment me on it.  I guess these folks see dozens of cameras a day and my attempts to hide it wasn’t fooling anyone dammit.

 

After the tour I spent about an hour at the port to take advantage of the free WiFi to catch up.  They had a huge pool with a bar that a lot of people seemed to be enjoying.

[PistolPete13]

Day 7 Sea Day

 

Heading back north now.   Next stop, the MSC private island of Ocean Cay.  So I’m more than halfway through the cruise and here are my thoughts on MSC and some comparisons to NCL when applicable.

 

- The ship itself is beautiful.  I spent the morning walking around taking photos and the details are a feast for the eyes if you’re into that stuff..  I see crew constantly working to clean and keep things in shape.

 

- All the crew I’ve met have been great and seem to be happy.  During my last two NCL cruises the cabin crew specifically seemed to be a bit overworked and worn out.  My steward works from 8AM until at least 9PM but I think they get a midday break because I saw him in Costa Maya during the middle of the day.  I had a longer chat with the head waiter at the buffet (I know right?) and he had been with MSC since 2008 and traveled all over with them.  The US is a new market for them and they’re still learning what the expectations of people here are.

 

- Maybe they’re learning the market too well based on the food in the buffet.  I had read the complaints about bland unseasoned food but this was definitely not that case for me. I found things overly salted, especially the bacon!

 

- The assigned dining time and seating was a bit off putting for me at first especially since I’m pretty antisocial and loved the anytime dining with NCL.  But it turned out that my table mates were an interesting bunch and I looked forward to hearing about that they did each day.  Seems to be I’m the weirdo always seeking out active excursions constantly when most people are content to do NOTHING but sit on a beach.  Hmmm.   Nothing wrong with that!

 

- Service charges are $16 a day and will be charged to your on board account about midway into the sailing.  Not sure if they was a way to prepay for this like with NCL because I was locked out of the MSC website soon after I completed check-in 30 days before the sailing.

 

- Entertainment.  The more comprehensive shows have a fee of $12 or $18 and usually include a drink.  I’ve been going to the complimentary shows in the main theater and I’ve enjoyed the variety so far.  So far I’ve seen a Broadway musical medley, an excellent singer, and a combination vaudeville and magic act that I was hokey at first but won me over at the end.

 

- Chair hogs.  We’ve haven’t had too many good outdoor pool days so far thanks to a massive cold front.  Things only warmed up when we reached Cozumel and Costa Maya.  Now today after leaving Costa Maya it’s way too windy and chilly on most of the outdoor spaces on the ship in the morning.  No lounge chairs we even put out except at the very back of the ship due to the wind.  I need the hoodie and we’re still south of Florida.  Is this typical for winter sailings?  Temps in NYC are barely getting out of the teens right now so I guess it is possible.  On the two days that you could sit out, I haven’t seen any evidence of chair hogs like with NCL.  I’m the first person on the buffet at 6AM so I’m able to scan the chairs for hogs before and after breakfast at 7AM

[JGmf]

Following-along @PistolPete13.  Living a close 2-ish hour drive to NYC, I'm very interested in your continuing comparison to NCL.  Was similarly interested in @JamieLogical's impressions after their first sailing.

[sammee]

I'll be on her Friday, my 2nd time on her. I sailed last May and had a great time. It's gonna be different with the weather, but still a cruise.

[Anastas617]

14 hours ago, PistolPete13 said:

- Chair hogs.  We’ve haven’t had too many good outdoor pool days so far thanks to a massive cold front.  Things only warmed up when we reached Cozumel and Costa Maya.  Now today after leaving Costa Maya it’s way too windy and chilly on most of the outdoor spaces on the ship in the morning.  No lounge chairs we even put out except at the very back of the ship due to the wind.  I need the hoodie and we’re still south of Florida.  Is this typical for winter sailings?  Temps in NYC are barely getting out of the teens right now so I guess it is possible.  On the two days that you could sit out, I haven’t seen any evidence of chair hogs like with NCL.  I’m the first person on the buffet at 6AM so I’m able to scan the chairs for hogs before and after breakfast at 7AM

I can't seem to sleep in when I'm on vacation, so I was always one of the few at the breakfast buffet when it opened and also one of the first to grab a lounger on the Horizon deck during my sailing this past July. That being said there always seemed to be available space, though admittedly I was done with my lounging time by 11:30am.

[gizfish]

With regards to the two shows in the Carousel Lounge that have a fee, it is $12 per show if purchased before sailing and $18 per show on board.  There is some sort of discount if you have purchased a dining plan. The shows are both cirque style, one being about Houdini, and the other being a rock music show.  The rock show was really, really good.  I thought the Houdini one was just meh.  You get to choose a drink from two signature drinks (a mocktail is also available) at each show.  I have heard they leave additional drinks out during the shows, so some people have reported having addition drinks.  But I have no personal experience with that.  

[AlmiranteChurruca]

Enjoying your very comprehensive (and hilarious) review very much. Maybe while still onboard you can do some research on the topic of the main dining room being open or not for lunch on embarkation day. I have already read quiet a few comments with the answer being a resounding "NO", but I am still not really sure about that info. My doubts arise from the fact that I have cruised several times with MSC (European itineraries only) and the MDR room has always been open upon embarkation. It is also true that the crew will always direct everybody to the buffet, but having previous knowledge me and my party have always taken the path to the MDR and have always enjoyed a nice and relaxing meal there far away from the buffet madness. Wondering if maybe rules are different for US itineraries.One very clear example of different onboard policies within the same company would be the 5$ surcharge for a second entree which, so far, does not apply in Europe. On my last Xmas World Europa cruise I could order as much and as many times as I wanted to. May sound silly to many, but how the cruise kicks off on its very first day is most relevant to me and I regard that very first relaxed onboard meal as a most rewarding part of the overall experience.

[JamieLogical]

1 hour ago, AlmiranteChurruca said:

Enjoying your very comprehensive (and hilarious) review very much. Maybe while still onboard you can do some research on the topic of the main dining room being open or not for lunch on embarkation day. I have already read quiet a few comments with the answer being a resounding "NO", but I am still not really sure about that info. My doubts arise from the fact that I have cruised several times with MSC (European itineraries only) and the MDR room has always been open upon embarkation. It is also true that the crew will always direct everybody to the buffet, but having previous knowledge me and my party have always taken the path to the MDR and have always enjoyed a nice and relaxing meal there far away from the buffet madness. Wondering if maybe rules are different for US itineraries.One very clear example of different onboard policies within the same company would be the 5$ surcharge for a second entree which, so far, does not apply in Europe. On my last Xmas World Europa cruise I could order as much and as many times as I wanted to. May sound silly to many, but how the cruise kicks off on its very first day is most relevant to me and I regard that very first relaxed onboard meal as a most rewarding part of the overall experience.

 

I have sailed on the Meraviglia out of US ports four times (one out of Port Canaveral and three out of NYC) and I am 110% positive that no MDRs were open on embarkation day for any of those sailings. Trust and believe that, as a cruise veteran on other lines, my first instinct is always to make a beeline for the MDRs for embarkation lunches to avoid the insanity at the buffet. I did find that on three of my four Meraviglia sailings, Hola! was open for embarkation day lunch, so I was able to avoid the crowds that way. Unfortunately, on my most recent sailing, since muster and sail away were so early, Hola! was not open for lunch and I had to join the cage match in the buffet.

 

Edited January 24 by JamieLogical

[cruiseny4life]

13 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

Unfortunately, on my most recent sailing, since muster and sail away were so early, Hola! was not open for lunch and I had to join the cage match in the buffet.

 

1 hour ago, AlmiranteChurruca said:

It is also true that the crew will always direct everybody to the buffet, but having previous knowledge me and my party have always taken the path to the MDR and have always enjoyed a nice and relaxing meal there far away from the buffet madness.

Pete, please excuse my brief interlude to ask a separate but related question of the MSC faithful. On embarkation day, does The Yacht Club provide lunch or do these passengers need to join the uhhhh "cage match" going on at the buffet?

[AlmiranteChurruca]

22 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

 

Pete, please excuse my brief interlude to ask a separate but related question of the MSC faithful. On embarkation day, does The Yacht Club provide lunch or do these passengers need to join the uhhhh "cage match" going on at the buffet?

Short answer, yes, it does provide lunch. YC is another world altogether. Miss it. 😢

[JIMESOPUS]

14 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

 

Pete, please excuse my brief interlude to ask a separate but related question of the MSC faithful. On embarkation day, does The Yacht Club provide lunch or do these passengers need to join the uhhhh "cage match" going on at the buffet?

No " cage match " for you. We were escorted through the ship and went to the Top Sail Lounge, then our butler walked us to the cabin, giving us a brief tour of the YC and the cabin, making sure everything was OK she left. From there we went to the restaurant on deck #18, the YC grill on deck #19 appeared to be open but it was raining and nobody was there.

We will be heading back to the YC next January

[Turtles06]

On 1/20/2024 at 1:18 PM, PistolPete13 said:

My assigned dinner table mates have been a fun and diverse group. Makes the 90 minute dinner service fly by. 

That’s great to hear. (Assigned dining is certainly a major difference between MSC and NCL!) Did you have any choice in the assigned dining time, or in the size of your table?   Do you happen to know if a couple could request (and be given) a two-top? 

 

[cruiseny4life]

@JIMESOPUS and @AlmiranteChurruca - thank you both! Phew and now we're back to the Pete show!

[EllieinNJ]

The first thing we did when we embarked the Miraviglia in October was go to the MDR to change our dining times.  There was a very long line and two people sitting by the DR entrance changing reservations but I did not see anyone going into the DR to eat.  We were there waiting on line at least 45 minutes.

[nferr]

14 hours ago, gizfish said:

With regards to the two shows in the Carousel Lounge that have a fee, it is $12 per show if purchased before sailing and $18 per show on board.  There is some sort of discount if you have purchased a dining plan. The shows are both cirque style, one being about Houdini, and the other being a rock music show.  The rock show was really, really good.  I thought the Houdini one was just meh.  You get to choose a drink from two signature drinks (a mocktail is also available) at each show.  I have heard they leave additional drinks out during the shows, so some people have reported having addition drinks.  But I have no personal experience with that.  

 

It's $5 with a dining plan. 

[poohdreaming]

9 hours ago, AlmiranteChurruca said:

Enjoying your very comprehensive (and hilarious) review very much. Maybe while still onboard you can do some research on the topic of the main dining room being open or not for lunch on embarkation day. I have already read quiet a few comments with the answer being a resounding "NO", but I am still not really sure about that info. My doubts arise from the fact that I have cruised several times with MSC (European itineraries only) and the MDR room has always been open upon embarkation. It is also true that the crew will always direct everybody to the buffet, but having previous knowledge me and my party have always taken the path to the MDR and have always enjoyed a nice and relaxing meal there far away from the buffet madness. Wondering if maybe rules are different for US itineraries. One very clear example of different onboard policies within the same company would be the 5$ surcharge for a second entree which, so far, does not apply in Europe. On my last Xmas World Europa cruise I could order as much and as many times as I wanted to. May sound silly to many, but how the cruise kicks off on its very first day is most relevant to me and I regard that very first relaxed onboard meal as a most rewarding part of the overall experience.

 

100%+ no MDR rooms are open on the 1st day of the cruise. I guess this is different than Europe or other places other than USA. I believe the $5 surcharge for a second entrée started later. On my previous cruise with MSC, it did not started this at all. I guess it was to prevent cruisers from wasting a bunch of food. This part depends on how people look at it. Some like it and some does not. For example, if s/he is not full or wanted to try another entrée.

[poohdreaming]

7 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

That’s great to hear. (Assigned dining is certainly a major difference between MSC and NCL!) Did you have any choice in the assigned dining time, or in the size of your table?   Do you happen to know if a couple could request (and be given) a two-top? 

 

 

It really depends on level. By level, I mean like Bella, etc. If you selected Bella, you are only assigned one dining time I believe. If others, you can choose.

[Essiesmom]

6 minutes ago, poohdreaming said:

 

It really depends on level. By level, I mean like Bella, etc. If you selected Bella, you are only assigned one dining time I believe. If others, you can choose.

BElla and Fantastica have assigned dining.  Supposedly with Fantastica you can state an early or late preference but it is not guaranteed.  There is a place to go on boarding to request a change.  EM

[Fogfog]

@Essiesmom  Have meant to tell you-- I love the humor in your signature!🛳️

[JamieLogical]

10 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

That’s great to hear. (Assigned dining is certainly a major difference between MSC and NCL!) Did you have any choice in the assigned dining time, or in the size of your table?   Do you happen to know if a couple could request (and be given) a two-top? 

 

 

As others have said, dining time/preferences are dependent on your experience level. YC can eat in the YC restaurant. Aurea has anytime dining in a specific restaurant or section of an MDR depending on the ship. Fantastica can state a preference of early or late dining when booking, though nothing is guaranteed. Bella does not get preference. As got a two-top, it's unlikely you will be assigned one of Fantastica or Bella, but you can always try to get moved to one once onboard.

[JIMESOPUS]

@PistolPete13 Welcome home Pete

[PistolPete13]

I’m back!!!   Right now on Staten Island ferry. 
 

Went from MSC to NYC Waterway ferry to Staten Island ferry. Three boats before 8am. 
 

Where is my longshoreman membership application.