Ottawa_Cruiser

I believe on an 11 night, you will have two formal night (we had one on our 8 night sailing). Many people did dress up, but I also saw a man go into the MDR on Gala Night wearing cargo shorts and a t-shirt. MSC indicates that dressing up is however you feel dressing up is. Hubby and I did dress up because we don't do it often. As for the table at dinner, you and your friends can have a table just for you.

Our dining time and MDR was printed on our card. We requested early and were assigned 8:30pm. We changed it after our first meal, as we were asked to do (I tried to change it before, but they need to see who shows up for their seatings). The only other time they could assign us was 5:30pm. We took it, as 5:30 is better for us than 8:30.

I always really appreciate reviews of ships, so I decided to review my sailing on MSC Meraviglia. It was my first time on MSC, having previously cruised NCL many times, Carnival once and Princess three times. Admittedly I was very concerned reading some of the reviews, until I came across @JamieLogical review on her semi B2B. Her review really assured me that we would likely be just fine. Embarkation We were on the second sailing out of Brooklyn. The weather in NYC on April 29th was awful. Hurricane style winds and a lot of rain. This certainly didn't help with traffic or embarkation. We had a 10am check in time, so we called an Uber from the L Hotel at 9:30am. This hotel is just under 3 miles from the cruise terminal. What should have been a 15 minute drive was about 40 minutes. I understand we are some of the lucky ones, having heard others spend 90++ minutes going 3 miles. We arrived at the terminal at 10:20am and there was confusion as to where our bags should be dropped. Bag drop was away from the doors and over to the left if looking at the cruise terminal. In pouring rain, it wasn't fun making the trek there with our luggage. Once we got that sorted out, we were through security within minutes. We were given boarding card 4 after check in, which also went very smooth. From arrival at the terminal until our first step on the ship was one hour - so we were onboard at 11:20am. As soon as we were onboard, we checked to ensure our Visa was registered (it was) and we activated our cruise cards. We then made all our reservations for our shows, including Rock Circus and House of Houdini. We made the reservations for the theatre shows on the screens located by all the elevators. This was very easy. We made the reservations for the paid shows at Ocean Cay restaurant, also very easy. We then decided to get our first few drinks at Edge. After the drinks, we headed to the buffet for lunch. Lunch was quite good, I loved the pizza. After lunch, we wandered around exploring the bars and ship. We were supposed to sail at 3:00pm, but at 3:30pm we were still having luggage loaded onto the ship. We eventually sailed just over an hour late. I had heard that someone passed away in the terminal (though I am unsure if there is truth to this). Our embarkation was excellent as we had an early check in time. If you didn't, it was a disaster. I hope that this process has been refined for future sailings. Ship The Meraviglia is a stunning ship. By far the most beautiful ship I've sailed on, green and orange carpet aside. LOL. The layout of this ship is fantastic and we got our bearings on the first day! When we sailed the NCL Joy in late October 2022, I think I only got my bearings on Day #5. There were plenty of elevators, not just AFT and FWD, like many NCL ships. We never had an issue finding loungers by the pool in Horizon (Adults only). However, there were plenty of loungers always available away from the pools, if you prefer a quieter space. Food My hubby and I never do specialty dining. We have always found the food in the MDR on other ships more than good, so we would rather spend our money on other things. This was a trip without kids, so we never made it to the MDR for breakfast, or lunch for that matter. To be honest, I found the times for these meals at the MDR quite limited compared to other cruise lines. The food in the MDR was good (not the best I've had at sea, but far better than most all inclusives I've been to). I only had one meal that was terrible (chicken and waffles). The filet mignon and lobster on gala night was great, as is some of their pasta and salads. The buffet was good too. Breakfast remained the same daily, but lunch changed, as did dinner. The meat and cheese selections are wonderful and you must try the fresh mozzarella! Dinner in the MDR was often wrapped up within an hour for three courses and the staff were also fantastic. Bars One of our biggest worries about booking this cruise were the complaints about long waits at bars (20-40 minutes). I will tell you we NEVER experienced this. In fact, most times we had drinks within a few minutes. We do tip $1 for every round we order. At the pool bar, adults only, if the waiter saw my drink was getting low he'd often yell "mama - want another one?". The service from the bar staff was top notch. Our favourite bars were Edge and Brass Anchor. Shows (Theatre and Carousel Productions) We made an effort to see all the shows at the theatre and they were all very good. However, the true stars of the show are Rock Circus and House of Houdini. These are Carousel Production shows and are $12 per person if booked in advance or $18 if booked on board and they include a drink (alcoholic or virgin). Both of these shows were just incredible. If you choose to see just one, I recommend Rock Circus. This is by FAR the best show I have seen at sea. Cons The only thing that put a little damper on this cruise was the large group of Asian travellers booked through Jupiter Legend Travel. I believe there were between 1800-2000 on board. This group was the most unhygienic and they didn't believe they needed to line up for anything (buffet, theatre shows, embarkation/debarkation, elevators, etc). I never got a whole piece of fruit or watermelon on this sailing as they would empty the bowls, even if only a few of them were in line. I saw one lady TOUCHING all the kiwis to find the perfect ones. Sometimes what should have been a 2-5 minute wait in lines resulted in 20+ minutes because they would just jump the lines. In North America, you best learn the customs of lining up and waiting your turn. Overall Rating MSC is a solid 8/10. For the cost, you really can't go wrong. My husband and I paid just over $1,000 CAD each for 8 nights and this included the easy plus beverage package and wifi. I'm happy to try and answer any questions.

I had this issue too. I’m Canadian, so was logging into the Canadian site. When I tried the US site, it worked. Agreed they have the worst website!

Great review so far! Love the French 77 tip (I saw it on the menu and was willing to pay the upcharge), but subbing with sparkling wine will be just fine for me. Also, a cruise ship with chips??! I always bring my own.

Someone on Seascape (I think) confirmed this is the case now...which is awesome! And hello fellow Canadian! See you on the 29th.

Almost died laughing that you had a few mimosas before you remembered your job interview. I hope it went well! A true sign you're in vacation mode when you almost forget about the interview. 🥳

@JamieLogical so glad to hear he's doing much better today. Enjoy! I'll be keeping a close watch on this thread for your live review.

Sounds great so far! I hope your hubby is feeling better today! I know migraines well and they are awful.

That bundle packing is incredible! Wow. I’m definitely going to try that. Safe travel tomorrow!

Thanks for this! Great info. Our information package indicates its drinks up to $10, so I do hope they honour it. We will have a great time regardless though.

Great review so far, thank you!

Following as we are sailing on Meraviglia later this month. I know our confirmation indicates up to $10, but I am also aware that despite this another cruiser had issues.

Love the hair!!

From my research, water, coffee, tea, iced tea is available 24/7 in the buffet. The Gala menu does include lobster, however, I am unsure if you can get a second without an upcharge.

@JamieLogical Looking forward to your live blog. I've always enjoyed your posts/reviews of NCL ships and much like you, we are taking our first MSC cruise in April.

We are booked for our first MSC cruise too, but on Meraviglia. Can't wait. I hope you have a great cruise!

You're welcome! Enjoy your cruise!

It's for sure. MSC will port in Brooklyn, NY at Red Hook.

I can see this on my MSC for Me app. Navigate to your profile, then to "My Cruise", scroll down to "My Cruise Info", then "included with your cruise package". These items should be listed in there.

This is excellent!! Glad they do what NCL has done for ages.

@APDMOM Wow!! What a wonderful review you've done. We are sailing on Meraviglia on April 29th and are very excited. It'll be our first time cruising with MSC, though we are avid cruisers with NCL.

I am loving your review! Thank you so much for taking this time from your vacation to do a live review.

I am not sailing Seascape, but you're sure making me want to! What a beautiful ship. Great review. I am really looking forward to sailing on Meraviglia.

This is a great thread! We are sailing April 29th on Meraviglia.