jenngirl
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Posts posted by jenngirl
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18 hours ago, cruizinisthebest said:
Scheduled to be on Meraviglia in a couple of months. I'm already bracing myself for the terminal chaos I see reported often. As well as the not-so-good food. I'm glad to be pleasantly surprised. Thanks for the information.
Hi! Please know, I’m not saying that you are going to face all of these experiences. It was just what happened to me and people in my group and people I spoke to onboard. It’s things that people should be aware of. I hope you honestly have the best cruise and you are so surprised! I went in wanting it to be the best cruise ever and I hope that happens for you!!
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1 hour ago, Essiesmom said:
I am so glad to see you refuting the ‘ultimate authority’ blogger. I am so tired of reading posts that say ‘this is what I experienced and you will find the same’. Though I have not sailed Meraviglia, I have sailed Divina, Seaside, Seashore and Armonia. I found the cabins (except on Armonia) larger than the standard cabin on any other cruise line I have sailed, and I have sailed many. I agree that storage is a bit sparse, but have never had a problem fitting a suitcase under the bed. If it doesn’t slide easily, lift up the bed a bit. Or slide it under open. Or maybe it’s a sign you are packing too much, especially if you know there will be three sharing the cabin. EM
Hi! I actually never said you’d find the same thing if you went in my blog post and I think I’m far from an ultimate authority- I do this to help people learn more information. I actually wrote in there that is my experience. Isn’t that what any blog or forum on here is about? To share your experience about something. Not everyone has a great experience and not everyone has a terrible experience. It’s a service- services are never rendered the same from person to person. I spoke more about things onboard like places and events that happened. It’s something that I wanted people to be aware of if they sailed and it’s something that could pop up, so why not be prepared. I hope it doesn’t and it was a fluke of a cruise on my end but it’s a possibility that it happens. In terms of the suitcase, it was actually only half way full- I’ve sailed on many cruises and a packed suitcase has fit under the bed before so it’s just something I wanted people to be aware of. Again, maybe you have a different suitcase that’s fine- but ours didn’t fit.
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Hi Everyone!
I am posting this to help people before sailing on the MSC Meraviglia. I hope this is ok that I am posting this here. I like to post my blog posts here because it is all cruise related topics and I figure who else would appreciate them.
I sailed on the MSC Meraviglia and these are just some of the things I found onboard. It's not to say that everyone will have these experiences, but it's just things I noticed.I hope this is helpful to anyone sailing on the MSC Meraviglia! 🙂
https://thehappiesttravels.com/2024/01/11/5-things-to-know-before-sailing-on-the-msc-meraviglia/
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20 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:
It always interests me what non-New Yorkers are interested in when visiting NYC/Northern Joisey.
I am actually from NYC so sometimes I forget the experiences that people love flocking to because I live here. I agree too tho! I tried to offer suggestions that were close to lodgings and the port in case people weren't willing to travel but that still offered some type of New York/New Jersey experience. 🙂
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Hi Everyone,
I just posted a new blog post about places to stay and things to do when sailing from New York/New Jersey, including New York, where the Carnival Venezia leaves from. Hopefully this can help some people plan their trips!
Thanks-
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Hi Everyone,
I just posted a new blog post about places to stay and things to do when sailing from New York/New Jersey, including New York, where the Joy will be leaving from. Hopefully this can help some people plan their trips!
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Hi Everyone,
I just posted a new blog post about places to stay and things to do when sailing from New York/New Jersey, including New Jersey, where the Symphony will be leaving from. Hopefully this can help some people plan their trips!
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Hi Everyone,
I just posted a new blog post about places to stay and things to do when sailing from New York/New Jersey, including Brooklyn, Manhattan and New Jersey. Hopefully this can help some people plan their trips!
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Hi Everyone,
I just posted a new blog post about places to stay and things to do when sailing from New York/New Jersey, including Brooklyn, where the MSC Meraviglia leaves from. Hopefully this can help some people plan their trips!
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5 hours ago, njhorseman said:
Thanks, but you have incorrect daily parking rates at all three cruise terminals. Manhattan and Brooklyn are $45 per day and Cape Liberty is $30 per day.
Further, parking reservations are now taken for many embarkation dates at both the Manhattan and Brooklyn terminals, and for some cruise dates the reserved parking for cruises longer than 7 days only costs the 7 day rate of $315. For example parking for a 10 day cruise that would cost $450 based on the daily rate would only cost $315 at the reserved parking rate for certain dates.
Thanks for the heads up on the pricing. I had prior pricing so I made those changes to reflect the updates. I appreciate it! You of course can make reservations for lots of them now like you said. I know some people don’t make these decisions until last minute so it was more of just a generic statement that I wanted to put out there. We love when there’s a discount for parking! Wish everyone did it! Thanks again!
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Hi Everyone,
Just put a blog post together about information you should know if you are sailing from the New York/New Jersey ports, including the Cape Liberty Cruise Port. Hopefully this answers your questions about location, parking, transportation and which cruise lines sail from which ports.
Hope you enjoy and that this helps!
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Hi Everyone,
Just put a blog post together about information you should know if you are sailing from the New York/New Jersey ports, including the Brooklyn Cruise Port. Hopefully this answers your questions about location, parking, transportation and which cruise lines sail from which ports.
Hope you enjoy and that this helps!
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Hi Everyone,
Just put a blog post together about information you should know if you are sailing from the New York/New Jersey ports. Hopefully this answers your questions about location, parking, transportation and which cruise lines sail from which ports.
Hope you enjoy and that this helps!
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Hi Everyone,
I sailed on the MSC Meraviglia in July and put together a blog post about things to do in Orlando. I hope this helps someone if you aren't sure how to spend the day. Enjoy!
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On 8/7/2023 at 4:11 PM, newone17 said:
Hello,
sorry to be so annoying, but did you have a chance to check the daily planners for the internet "browse" package price? I'm still thinking that buying on board is cheaper than buying before through their website. I'm not sure if i need it - never got one before, managed to be on "real vacation" 🙂 - no news, no communication whatsoever. Now, on the first after-pandemic cruise, all of a sudden I'm thinking about it)).
thank you,
Hi! No worries. I am so sorry. I just took a look and this is all it says on the paper for the Internet package. Ours came free with our booking but I would have probably gotten it to stay connected to others on the ship and people at home. There is a 3 day package mentioned in what I’m included which could be a choice! Hopefully, this helps!
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Hi Everyone,
Here is my review of the MDR meals on the MSC Meraviglia and the menus for each night.
I was just off this ship last weekend so these menus are updated.
Hope this helps!
Thanks!
https://thehappiesttravels.com/2023/08/06/msc-meraviglia-main-dining-room-review-menus/-
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On 8/1/2023 at 9:56 PM, oceans.calling said:
Also just off the Meraviglia 7/30. We were able to put all 4 suitcases under the bed without issue. We, grandparents with twin grands, also had no problems but that could be because we only book YC. Have done 7 MSC cruises and have 7 more booked until 2025, 5 of which are Meraviglia ex NY. Our favorite ship without having to fly. 👏🏼.
Oh wow, we were on the same sailing! Yes, we usually put our suitcases under the bed and we tried the first day but they got stuck halfway through and wouldn’t go. That’s awesome that you’ve had a great experience with it.
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On 8/1/2023 at 9:34 PM, lcpagejr said:
Nice review... However, I find it interesting after cruising 20+ times....you decided on a MSC cruise especially with family. As a seasoned cruiser...Im sure you've reviewed and read past experiences other cruisers had on MSC (outside YC). So many inconsistencies. I have to assume it was likely due to proximity/convenience to where you live? But RCL also cruises out of the NY area.
I too tried MSC (Seaside) in 2018 after 20+ cruises.... However after carefully reading numerous reviews and comments on cruise critic....I got 2nd thoughts and hedged my bet by booking Yacht Club.... Best decision I made and my observations of other areas of ship confirmed my decision! My experience was so positive we went on Seaside again in 2019 also in Yacht Club. MSC has beautiful ships but they still are far behind the other main stream lines for a consistent and a minimal issue(s) cruise!
Hi, thank you! Yes, it was a few things. Of course I’ve heard the reviews before but again, I did travel with a large group and this is what they wanted to go on so I figured we would try it out. We’ve been on Royal and Celebrity out of NJ, NCL out of NY so yes a lot is proximity as well. We tried to bid on YC but we didn’t get the bid so unfortunately we had the regular experience. I’m not doubting that the YC was a totally different experience. We’ve done the Haven on NCL and that is definitely a different experience. But, MSC left a lot to be desired. I’m not saying people don’t love this ship or the staff, but it seems our experience was vastly different.
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7 hours ago, Frode said:
Thanks for a great review
Thanks for your great, extensive and honest review 🤗
Thanks so much for the kind comment! I appreciate it and hope it helps! 🙂
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4 hours ago, JamieLogical said:
@Anastas617 Thank you for your thorough review! Glad you enjoyed your first MSC sailing and are planning to sail with them again. Your experience seems a little more in line with what I experienced on my April sailings than what @jenngirl experienced and gives me hope that maybe things haven't gone rapidly down hill since then. I guess I will find out for myself in September. I do think one major advantage I will have over both of you is that there should be far fewer children onboard.
Hi @JamieLogical. It's interesting to see everyone has different experiences, which I totally value and appreciate. I did enjoy Hola as many of you did too! I actually went for lunch on our final sea day and it was very good! We did the tacos and the quesadillas. I agree with all of you about the Queso Fundido (I was waiting for chips with it and we ended up just ordering separately). I also though the spa was a great experience.
I will be honest, I've watched many things about MSC cruises and was surprised to see those few items of uncleanliness like the dirty napkins and plugs. It's possible as you said there were just too many people since it's summer so some things fell through the cracks and you'll be going at a time where more people are in school.
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2 hours ago, bermuda triangle said:
So helpful thank you! Did she call the main phone number for making a reservation? I was told to fill out form by them and that the special needs department doesn't have a phone number 🤷♀️. The email address I was giving by TA ismscexistingreservations@msccruisesusa.com
was there a second email address you would suggest?
Thanks so much!
Laura
So when I called to follow-up for special needs like the CPAP and she called for the baby, it was the main number. She sent two or three emails before anyone answered. My tip for her and what we did as well is if they don't answer you and you need to bring things, print out the email so you can show you reached out and no one answered so you can show them at the pier. I checked back and saw that she emailed that same address, but I want to say there is also a special needs email address too! If I were you, I would do both!
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2 hours ago, Illbcruzn4life said:
Curious to know why you didn't put your suitcases under the bed, or at least 2 of the 3?
I wonder if you had the same cabin steward as we had on our cruise. We were in 9181. Never met him or saw him til the last night when we came back from dinner.
He was not on par with any room stewards I have ever had in 40 cruises.Hi! Believe it or not, our suitcases didn't fit under the bed. We tried and they just didn't go underneath- they stopped halfway under the bed. We use 29" inch suitcases so I'm not sure if it's just our suitcase or if the beds are lower, but we usually put one suitcase under the bed on every trip.
I believe our steward's name started with an E. I only saw him the first day during the muster drill and then after that we kept seeing different people around. It was quite strange. But I agree, I've been on 20 cruises and it was not quite the same type of room service I've had before. Maybe I was spoiled but back in 2019 I was on Freedom of the Seas and we had the best room steward ever. He knew our names, was always around, we even took selfies with him. He was such a nice guy. Didn't feel the same way on this sailing.
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59 minutes ago, Morgsmom said:
Thank you for the review. I'm not sure that I'd downgrade a cruise line for lack of availability of Chicken Tenders. In addition, if it rains on Ocean Cay OF COURSE people are going to flock back to the ship. That's no one's fault and I'm sure two gangways were open but it's just more people than can be processed in a few minutes.
I definitely didn’t downgrade them because of their lack of chicken tenders. I just added that point in there since you never know who is reading and if you have kids especially, that might be something important to you. I sailed with 5 kids and it was something that was noticed.
In terms of Ocean Cay, I didn’t think we were going to walk back onto the ship like nothing was wrong. But, there was no organization whatsoever. It was a mob of people pushing and shoving to get back to the ship and the crew just watching. Fine I can stand there and wait to get back on. But there were people in wheelchairs, with walkers, baby carriages that the crew straight up said had to wait. They were more concerned about stopping the line every 2 minutes to tell people about sea shells than to address the issue of people.
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21 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:
Food is subjective and I have read frequently that many people who have sailed other cruise lines aren't fans of MSC's food. I liked it very much and I hope that your negative experience with it was just preference and not a reflection of a decline in quality since I sailed in April.
As for the cabin, while the bathroom is small, I found it serviceable and INFINITELY better than the Emerald Princess, which I sailed in December. That was definitely the worst cruise ship bathroom by far. It was teeny tiny (definitely smaller than the Meraviglia bathrooms) and the tiny shower had a cloth shower curtain instead of a door. Within seconds of getting in the shower, the curtain was just physically stuck to me. The shower curtain and I became very intimate. My husband just gave up altogether, showered with the curtain open, and just put towels down on the floor.
As for storage, there certainly isn't a ton of it, but I found it to be plenty of space for my 10 day sailing. No less storage than I am used to on the NCL Breakaway and Breakaway Plus class ships. Why didn't you just put your suitcases under the bed?
I am worried that you said you didn't receive nightly turndown service. That was one of my favorite things about MSC in April: that they were still servicing rooms twice a day when the other big three lines had cut out turn-down service. I am going to be VERY disappointed if this is the case on my September sailing.
I was shocked to see your photos of poor maintenance and cleanliness. That was very counter to my experience in April when my husband and I joked that they kept the ship "Italian Grandma Clean." It seemed like I couldn't walk 10 feet without tripping over someone cleaning. I will be sad if they are no long living up to the high standard I expect after my previous sailing.
I agree that food is subjective and many of these things depend on who is working onboard at the time and things like that. Please don’t get me wrong, I am usually the positive person in the group who will look past things and I am just grateful to be on vacation. But they are things I just wanted to put out there from our experience.
I was actually concerned as well that we didn’t receive nightly turndown service. It was something totally new for me. Like I said though, a cousin on another deck did receive it one or two nights and a rowel animal so I’m not sure if it’s just an inconsistency between room stewards.
We were three adults in the cabin, not two which might have made the experience a bit tighter. Our suitcases didn’t fit under the bed. We always put them there on every other cruise we’ve been on but it wouldn’t fit underneath the bed here. Not sure if these beds are lower to the ground or anything. They also didn’t fit in between the sofa and the closet.
I was shocked as well at some of the poor maintenance. That’s why I took photos of everything to show rather than just say since I know this could be subjective as well. That was just a few things I found. My bedspread was dirty, there was a layer of dust on the counter, a lot of mugs were dirty at the buffet.
I am definitely not trying to sound picky by any means. Like I said, a lot of variables influence peoples experience onboard and this was just mine. In ocean cay, when we couldn’t get back onboard we were talking to other guests and they had similar experiences too.
5 Things to Know Before Sailing on the MSC Meraviglia
in MSC Cruises
Posted
Hi! We all have different experiences and I am so happy you had a great experience onboard. I see you mentioned that you had room service twice a day. That’s actually something I didn’t have. There wasn’t room service twice a day, our waited told us he didn’t have time to bring coffee with dessert the first few nights, meanwhile we were the first people in the restaurant. I am by no means saying I’m an ultimate authority on this it’s just I had a different experience this time around! Im glad to see you had some great experiences onboard.