MSC Meraviglia - September 17-24, 2017 - Trip Report and Review

MSC Meraviglia - September 17-24, 2017

Western Med, Roundtrip Genoa

Trip Report and Review

A little background for new friends... We are seasoned cruisers and frequent visitors to Europe. We have nearly 50 cruises on 9 lines...with many trips in the NCL Haven and MSC Yacht Club.

The Meraviglia was a ship we wanted to sail on from the moment it was announced. The trip evolved with another couple, who would be sailing Fantastica... so we chose an Aurea Suite, rather than Yacht Club, in order to not be separated from them.

We are adventurers, so the ports are the main reason we travel... we enjoy the cruise ship, but not as the destination.

I'd like to share our voyage, day by day. So many ship and food pics have already been posted, so I will focus more on our experiences... rather than chronicle crowds and pictures of appetizers.

I'll drop a summary here...but hope to post an enjoyable pictorial of our trip.

I wanted so much to love this ship. It is breathtaking in design and well thought out for the needs of 5000+ passengers. Of course, we read all the reviews...and can sort out the drama from the reality... but many complaints are sadly accurate.

No problem...I repeat, no problem we encountered spoiled anything for us...and no issue could not be easily resolved.

Some little things will surely be fixed by the cruise line, as time goes by. The food, overall, needs a serious look and revamp.

The service and staff were outstanding.

OK...we begin.

Meraviglia - Day minus 2 - Genoa

Plans were to fly into Genoa 2 days ahead of the cruise and tour Genoa one day, and spend a full day in Cinque Terre the next. There were no non-stop flights from NYC to Genoa, so we booked JFK - Paris and Paris - Genoa...with sufficient time between connections.

As I secretly feared...that didn't work.

Incoming flight at JFK was 90 minutes late...and our flight was delayed almost an hour after leaving the gate due to ground traffic. (sigh).

As we landed in Paris...our connecting flight was taxi-ing away.

No other flight available to Genoa for the rest of the day... After a frantic map session with an Air France agent... we found an immediate flight to Florence... which we grabbed.

In Florence, I rented a car and we drove to Genoa...to save the day....an easy 2.5 hour drive. We lost the sightseeing time for the city... but were in place to still save our day in Cinque Terre.

We stayed at the Best Western Moderno Verdi... classic city center hotel. Clean, friendly and a great included breakfast buffet.

We chose this hotel primarily because it is right across from the Brignole train station, for easy transfer to Cinque Terre.

We had a late snack in a local cafe, rather than a big dinner... and settled in for the full day planned in Cinque Terre

<more to follow>

Meraviglia - Day minus 1 - Cinque Terre

We simply love Cinque Terre and have been there many times before; we wanted to show our friends the best of the villages. We planned a full day there. Brignole station allowed me to book express trains directly to and from one of the towns.

Normally, you go to either Levanto or La Spieze, and then take local trains between the towns.

Booking in advance on Trentalia, we had an express train to Monterosso al Mare

The largest of the five towns...with the best beaches. Summer is gone, but the beauty is still there.

We shopped in the old town, then returned to the train station for a local train to Manarola.

Local tickets are 4 € per person and are good for one trip. (If you visit CT for the day and want a pass, 16€ gets you an unlimited local train day pass.)

Our mission in Manarola was to walk as far out on the Via dell'amore (the walk of love) and place a lover's padlock like a couple of kids. (you can look up the tradition).

The path originally stretched between Manarola and Rio Maggiore, but was destroyed in a rockslide several years ago. A small portion is rebuilt outside of Manarola

There is a small cafe at the end of the existing path...to rest and relax.

Mission accomplished...padlock is there for eternity with our initials on it.

Back down the Via and to the train station for a local train to Vernazza, our favorite town.

A town with a natural harbor and a small beach... a single main avenue stretches from the train station to the water. As you may know, no cars are permitted in the five towns...so lots of walking.

\

 

We went to one of our favorite restaurants. Il Gambero Rosso, and had a nice lunch...

 

 

\

After strolling and shopping, we headed back to train station... booking with Trentalia got us a direct train from Vernazza right back to Brignole station

We went back to the hotel to rest and change... then headed out to the Piazza Columbo to sample the night life.

A late dinner at Osteria della Piazza yielded one of the finest pizzas in recent memory...

Back to the hotel, to pack and be ready for the morning...and boarding the Meraviglia.

<more to follow>

Meraviglia - Day 1 - Genoa - Embark

We got to sleep in and have a relaxing breakfast at the hotel before getting a cab to the cruise port.

I was worried about needing two cabs...but many taxis are minivan style...so we fit 4 adults plus luggage no problem.

(well.. it was a bit of a squeeze, but we did it.)

We arrived at the port at around 1130...with no crowds at all. Luggage was taken right at the taxi stop and we had a short stroll to the check in area.

The port is smack downtown and should be easy to reach from any part of the city. For those flying in the same day (see above for a good reason not to...), the Airport is only about 15 minutes away.

First impressions of the ship are breathtaking.... the design is stunning and the ship sparkles at every turn

 

We dropped our carry-ons in the cabin ( no problem even at this early time)... and took a walk around the outside

Main pool--

Aft pool--

Indoor pool--

I stopped at the desk outside the Sportsplex on Deck 16 to sign the release and get the wristband for the water park.

The Promenade is the central area of the ship...the place to shop, eat at the Specialties and have fun with the many themed events.

It is the main thoroughfare to get from Forward to Aft

I found it curious that the Jean Philipe Chocolat Shop occupied such a large square footage... and had no included offerings...even coffee was for a fee and not covered by any plans.

Clearly a pure franchise... but some great stuff.

As we explored the Promenade, there were crew at almost every location to explain the venues.

I had some minor concerns about dining times and reservations that needed to get resolved.

1. We had booked the Chef's Table online, but no way to specify the day and time; we wanted it for a specific date.
   
2. Our friends were Fantastica and we were Aurea... we needed to get us both in the same dining room at the same table.
   
3. We purchased the Tryptic (3 specialty meals) but could not link both couples and could not book the same time slots.
   

Amazingly, we had all this resolved within 5-10 minutes.

A rep in Eataly sat with us and resolved the Chef's Table booking, as well as edited all the specialty bookings to have all of us at the same time.

Right across the way, there was an "open-air" office for Main Dining...and the gentleman fixed our dining so that we had a table for 4 in Panorama at the desired time.

<boom> ..just like that, all issues were solved,.

Nice way to start...

We went back to our cabin to rest and change for dinner... We always start a cruise in the MDR.

We had a forward facing Aurea Suite, cabin 10008.

Details on our cabin are in this separate thread:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2549132

The hallways to the cabins are a bit clinical and could use some art or color...

Tomorrow, we dock in Naples...

Thank you for the review! Great so far!

Following! Great review so far - thanks computerworks!

Really enjoying your review!! One day we'll do a Med cruise.

Thanks for the report.

Can't wait to read more.... I am very interested in hearing about the ports and any excursions or otherwise that you went on.

Nice! Thanks

Meraviglia - Day 2 - Naples

Naples is an unusual port with a fairly late arrival and short stay. Sad about that, since the area is so rich in attractions: Pompeii, Herculaneum, Capri, Sorrento and Amalfi.

Our plans were to go to Capri for the day.

Having been here before, and looking at the time in port... and remembering late or cancelled ferries to Capri due to weather, etc... it was clear that a trip to Capri on our own would be too risky and stressful.

The ship had an excursion to Capri that would, by definition, guarantee a safe return to the ship...so we booked that.

With the afternoon arrival, we decided to take our Aurea-included massages in the morning.

Not a couples massage, so we split up to our respective areas.

They offered a 25, 35 or 55 minute session...which I found odd. The choice was a no-brainer.

After that, we got ready to meet the excursion in the Meraviglia Lounge; we had docked well before 1 p.m.

Thrilled to see Vesuvius lurking in the distance

It was a short walk from the ship to the high-speed ferry... and a nice smooth ride over to Capri.

The ferry lands in Marina Grande....with several thousand of your fellow tourists. This day had MSC and a Costa ship in port...so quite the crowd

This is the spot to pick up the small boats if you want to visit the Blue Grotto...

The tour had small buses waiting at the Marina...and took us up to Anacapri as the first stop.

There were multiple buses and it didn't matter which one you boarded for any part of the excursion.

Anacapri was really crowded...so we snuck away for a quiet lunch at a rooftop restaurant.

After the required shopping, we boarded the bus down to the upper town of Capri.

There is great shopping and many cafes in the Piazzetta of Capri...we had free time, then a ticket back down to the Marina on the Funicular.

There was a meeting time for the ferry back to Naples; seeing the line for the tram, we chose to return early and have a limoncello in the Marina, before boarding the ferry

After sailaway... it was down to Butcher's Cut for dinner.

We sat "outside" with a great view of the Promenade...right from our table.

 

Of the three Specialty restaurants, we found Butcher's Cut to be the best of the bunch.

The service was over the top excellent. The limited "package" menu was indeed limiting, but you could have purchased or "up-ordered" from the rest of the menu for a fee...we chose not to.

Overall, the food was good...the included steak was average. From experience, I did expect better for a Specialty venue...but we were quite satisfied with the meal.

The pool deck was quiet after dinner, but the White Party changed all that later in the evening.

We danced a bit, but did not make a night of it.... since we had a big day planned in Sicily.

Next stop... Messina...tomorrow

Am loving this thread!

Thanks for the review. we are sailing on the Meraviglia March 2018.

Please come back! :loudcry: you almost convinced me to book mega ship :rolleyes:

Please come back! :loudcry: you almost convinced me to book mega ship :rolleyes:

Still here.... not going away.

Trying to get at least one "day" per day posted... thanks all for following.

Meraviglia - Day 3 - Messina

We glided into Messina nice and early...good for us, since we had ambitious plans for the day.

I have always wanted to visit Castelmola, the hilltop town above Taormina. Our traveling friends wanted to visit their cousins in Giardini Naxos, a seaside town below Taormina.

...time for a rental car.

The ship docks literally a few steps from the city streets. We had booked a car with Sicily-by-Car, who had offices just a few minutes from the main gate, just down the road on Via Vittorio Emanuele.

As with most small car rental companies in Italy, we filled out more paperwork than it took to buy my house...but we were quickly on our way, jumping on the Autostrade and heading South.

A little less than an hour's drive got us in the area of Taormina.

(..that "1 hour, 42 minutes" on the map was for the round trip, not each way)

We kept an close eye on Mount Etna as we drove ... expecting only normal oozing smoke.

The route to Castelmola is a winding mountain road that spirals to the top... being a spirited driver myself, it was thoroughly enjoyable...

Nearing the top, the town of Taormina became visible below...

Etna...was still smoldering

The closest you can get by car to the hilltop town is about a 9 minute walk away... there is a car park at the Hotel Sophia.

You could drive to the Piazza and drop folks off...then go back to park at the hotel.

We parked and walked to Piazza San Georgio for a nice brunch on the overlook.

Finishing up, we now drive to Giardini Naxos and meet the relatives.

A pretty resort town with beaches lined with hotels and restaurants

We went to a great seaside restaurant for an full afternoon meal... in authentic fashion, the kitchen just brought out plate after plate after plate, as we relaxed and talked with the cousins.

At one point...it got a wee bit too authentic...

All fresh... just picked