Post Mortem Meraviglia Review—First Timer MSC!

[Cruzinforpeace***]

37 minutes ago, Match Game 72 said:

Thank you for sharing your experience. I appreciate all the photos, too.

Like you we have a 17 year old son. He makes the same face in pictures, too!

Don’t you love that face!  Drives me crazy, this age.😖

[Cruzinforpeace***]

Another quiet place I found was the “lounge area” by the elevators on deck 13 in the center of the ship.  I believe every deck may have this lounge area or perhaps it’s unique to the Aurea cabin floors?  Either way, probably nothing stopping anyone from taking a “quiet time” break here.  The seating was quite comfortable.  

[Cruzinforpeace***]

Good morning Nassau!  We were there literally at the “crack of dawn”.  It was a beautiful start to a beautiful day.  

 

 

[Cruzinforpeace***]

[Cruzinforpeace***]

The weather was a fantastic 75 degrees and mostly sunny!  I first spent some time walking on the deck for walkers/runners since the weather was gorgeous, hid a cruising duck and then we headed off the ship. 

We  spent our day in the port area and ventured out into the main street in Nassau.  Did some bargaining in the straw market which was fun.  Bought some cute souvenirs.  Never felt unsafe and saw police as well keeping an eye on things.

[Cruzinforpeace***]

Our Straw Market “bargains”.

[Cruzinforpeace***]

More Nassau…

[Cruzinforpeace***]

As I’m writing this review I’m looking outside.  Boy I miss my cruise!

[Cruzinforpeace***]

Back to the Bahamas!  My husband and I dropped my son off back at the ship, grabbed some lunch in the buffet and headed back out to the Junkanoo Museum right inside the pier area.  We learned a lot about the costumes and the history behind the whole thing.  Very interesting and not what I expected. I thought it was a Mardi Gras thing. I was wrong. It was all about the oppressed class of the Bahamas expressing themselves in the midst of very difficult times.  The costumes are pretty darn amazing and so colorful.  The festivities take place around the Christmas holiday.    The museum admission was $11 per person.  It took about 20-30 minutes to get through it.  Not very big but very interesting.

[Cruzinforpeace***]

 

 

[Oceans 818]

Thanks for the great pictures and review. We sailed the Meraviglia out of Port Canavaral, Dec./22. I absolutely agree with you on the public areas are quite loud. That ceiling though is something to behold! We've been looking at sailing out of New York, so I appreciate your review.

Just an FYI the market area in Miami with the ferris wheel is called Bayside Market. Bayside is where all the boat tours of Millionaires Row etc sail from. You can purchase those tours right there or book them in advance.Definitely interesting to wander around. We took the free trolley from the port to it and back when we were doing a B2B in December. The trolley stop was quite a hike from where MSC docks but it was worth it. It runs every 15-30 minutes. I believe it stops near the Carnival docks.

Sorry you missed visiting Ocean Cay, it's a beautiful island, with nice beaches to relax for a day.

Edited February 14 by Oceans 818
correct error.

[Cruzinforpeace***]

7 hours ago, Oceans 818 said:

Thanks for the great pictures and review. We sailed the Meraviglia out of Port Canavaral, Dec./22. I absolutely agree with you on the public areas are quite loud. That ceiling though is something to behold! We've been looking at sailing out of New York, so I appreciate your review.

Just an FYI the market area in Miami with the ferris wheel is called Bayside Market. Bayside is where all the boat tours of Millionaires Row etc sail from. You can purchase those tours right there or book them in advance.Definitely interesting to wander around. We took the free trolley from the port to it and back when we were doing a B2B in December. The trolley stop was quite a hike from where MSC docks but it was worth it. It runs every 15-30 minutes. I believe it stops near the Carnival docks.

Sorry you missed visiting Ocean Cay, it's a beautiful island, with nice beaches to relax for a day.

Yes!  That was the name of it!  Thank you for filling that in😀 and the extra info.

[Cruzinforpeace***]

Bye bye Bahamas!  It was a beautiful visit.

[Cruzinforpeace***]

So by this point in the cruise I realized it was fruitless to fight the noise.  We got all dolled up for the White Night and party (earplugs in my purse on standby).  It was SO much fun!  After dinner my husband and I saw a few people taking photos in the hallway with all the bottles and decided to “strike a pose.”  Then we headed up to the pool deck for a really fun White Party (earplugs in place).

 

[Essiesmom]

Could you give us a mini-review of the cruise from your teen son’s point of view?  EM

[Cruzinforpeace***]

17 minutes ago, Essiesmom said:

Could you give us a mini-review of the cruise from your teen son’s point of view?  EM

Well, he usually hates pizza but on the MSC MERAVIGLIA he loved it!  Oh, he also loved the french fries.  He said the pancakes were “just ok”.  He liked the free ice cream.  He thought the kids program was “ok”.  He’s at a weird age at 17 so too old to enjoy the true kiddy stuff and too young to drink and gamble. He thought the Formula One simulator was too difficult to “steer”.  He had to use “google translate” to communicate with a few kids up in the kids program which was something “novel” for him. He loved Miami. He was truly thankful we purchased the “browse and stream” internet package for him during this cruise.  Although he seemed bored at times we literally saw him at breakfast for a few minutes and then next at 12am (other than the 2 port days) so he must have had some fun.  He’s just too cool to show it.

I know everyone was waiting with bated breath for that review (lol).

 

PS you have to remember this is his 18th cruise.  He’s been cruising since he’s 2 years old.  He’s seen it all (lol).

 

Edited February 14 by Cruzinforpeace***

[Cruzinforpeace***]

It was time to turn around and head up north (boo!) but the sea and the ship did not disappoint.  The sea was as smooth as glass and the weather was still warm so we were ready for more fun and relaxation.  

A morning walk on the ship run/walk track and then off to “Arts and Crafts”.

 

[Cruzinforpeace***]

We colored and cut and pasted paper and created a “mosaic” in Arts in Crafts.  I’ll be honest.  I thought this was a stupid craft project at first but after getting into it I was OBSESSED. I started my project during the morning session and was so sucked in that I returned for the afternoon session to complete it.  I even got my husband into it.  He joined me for the afternoon session AND he brought his project home to finish.  He made me buy markers and another coloring book when we returned home!  We have a new hobby😀

 

Chavela and Alejandro did a great job keeping the art supplies stocked and kept the atmosphere light and fun.

[Cruzinforpeace***]

We also tried Hola Tacos for lunch (to go) and it was really good.  We shared a chicken burrito, guacamole and tres leches for dessert.  Huge portions.  

[Cruzinforpeace***]

I was invited to the Voyager’s Club welcome back party.  Gold status transferred from Celebrity’s equivalent program.  It was a simple party (free drinks) with a flashy video that I’ll admit made me a little teary eyed.  It was corny but very effective.  

 

They had the dance instructors perform an impressive dance number and the cruise director and captain spoke for a few minutes.

 

 

 

Only thing I didn’t think was not too “hygienic” were the potato chips in small communal bowls.  Can anyone say “norovirus”?  
 

[Cruzinforpeace***]

Our waiter and staff in the Panorama Dining Room were so great.  They even made special napkin displays and did tricks!

 

 

 

[Cruzinforpeace***]

They even sang everyone a “thank you,

goodbye song” as we came into the dining room on our last night. 🥲

 

 

 

 

Edited February 16 by Cruzinforpeace***

[Cruzinforpeace***]

We felt the shows were amazing and perfect for this type of ship and cruise line.  Being that they have an international passenger population, they were all musical review type shows.  The singers and dancers were really top notch and so very talented.  We throughly enjoyed all of the “free” musical shows.  They performed a 70’s show, a Broadway Show, an International show and a farewell show that had a mixture of styles.  Who ever produced these shows did a great job as well.  These shows were cohesive and the musical arrangements were creative and well suited for the singers. The dancers were well coordinated and very professional (Broadway level). The costumes were also  beautiful and artistic.  My only criticism was the level of the sound. WAY too loud and did a disservice to the singers whose voices were distorted from the excessive volume.  I learned after the 70’s show (the first show) to bring my earplugs and not to sit in the front next to the speakers 😉

 

Edited February 16 by Cruzinforpeace***

[JamieLogical]

I am aboard the Divina right now for my 5th MSC cruise, but the first four were all in the Meraviglia. What I will say is that Divina has all the things we loved about MSC minus the noise of the Meraviglia. It is awesome and we are loving it. If you get a chance to sail the Divina in the future, definitely do it! Also, the cabins have more storage than the Meraviglia, so you would appreciate that. Six drawers in the closet and two more in each nightstand.

[Cruzinforpeace***]

44 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

I am aboard the Divina right now for my 5th MSC cruise, but the first four were all in the Meraviglia. What I will say is that Divina has all the things we loved about MSC minus the noise of the Meraviglia. It is awesome and we are loving it. If you get a chance to sail the Divina in the future, definitely do it! Also, the cabins have more storage than the Meraviglia, so you would appreciate that. Six drawers in the closet and two more in each nightstand.

I just hate to fly for a cruise but I may consider it just for the noise reduction and storage😀