Short review of Meraviglia

[nautica34]

Sailed on Meraviglia a couple of weeks ago from Marseille to Genoa,  Cittevecchia (Rome), Palamero,  Malta and Barcelona.  This was my 3rd MSC cruise (Sailed Divina and Seaside previously). While Meraviglia is a beautiful ship I much preferred Seaside. Maybe I'd feel differently if I sailed Seaside 1st. 

Enjoyed the LED dome displays, the shows and the very hard working staff.  Attended the Cirque show Sonar which was good but not great (personal preference). Fortunate to see it as a lot of the Cirque shows were cancelled throughout the cruise including the earlier show the night I saw it. I purchased the ticket in advance online but still had to reserve once on board.  Reserving was the show required lots of patience.  Got in long line 1st day to reserve only to be told to return the next day as they didn't have the schedules. Returned the next day,  line was shorter only to find out the systems were town. Returned later that afternoon to a very long line which meant systems were up. Waited over an hour to finally get a reservation. Felt bad for the 2 staff members handing all the people in line. The line was consistently long every time passed there. The day was supposed to attend the show it was cancelled which meant having to wait in a lengthy line once again to reschedule.  Bottom line, have lots of patience and time. The shows in the main theatre were very good and flowed better than the shows on Divina and Seaside (loved all the shows on both ships). Unlike the shows on Divina and Seaside there were no stunts, acrobatic, etc. Music on Decks 6 and 7 at where the shops and dancing were was very loud! 

The MDR was open for lunch daily which was a nice change for a port intense itinerary. Had lunch there a couple of times as well as all dinners. Menu was limited on selections,  especially the everyday items. There was no butter/margerine or olive oil for the bread. Received butter 1 of the 3 night's I requested it. Very minor issue. Brought butter from the buffet the remaining night's.

Overall it was a good cruise.  Thanks so much to everyone that helped with questions leading up to sailing.

[portofrome]

Thanks for your review!

[Tapi]

Welcome home! Were you onboard the week of November 18th? What you describe sounds like what we encountered during our cruise concerning technical issues and cancelations with Cirque. 

 

I waited to book our shows until we got on the ship and I’m glad I did. I downloaded the MSC for Me app and used it to book the shows as soon as we boarded the ship. I confirmed my days and times without having to stand in line. From what I saw, those who had pre-booked online were given a card that they then had to take in person to the desk by the reception or to the Carousel Lounge. The lines seemed particularly long in the afternoons when a new batch of passengers boarded the ship. Seems like boarding passengers would rush to get their times confirmed as soon as they boarded, but there would be no lines in the morning. 

 

We had booked both Sonor and Viaggio but because of the technical issues, our Sonor performance was canceled and an automatic refund was issued. Thankfully Cirque engineers were boarded in Barcelona and the technical issues were resolved in time for our Viaggio performance which we had booked for the end of the week. 

 

After seeing those long lines for pre-booked passengers, I’m grateful that I waited to book until I got onboard and that the app made it so easy to get my show times confirmed. I didn’t have to deal with the aggravation that you describe. 

Edited December 4, 2018 by Tapi

[nautica34]

Tapi,

 

We were on the same cruise, boarded 2 days earlier in Marseille. 

 

Glad you didn't have to deal with the Cirque lines. We weren't given a card once booked. Tickets were delivered to our cabin day of. I wasn't aware engineers boarded in Barcelona. Sawyer Sonar that night. Maybe that's why the 1st show was canceled. Did you like the Cirque show? 

 

Did use the app to book all the theater shows. 

[nautica34]

Tapi,

 

Did you happen to attend the Ventriloquist show in the main theatre? If so, do you remember his name? 

[Tapi]

1 hour ago, nautica34 said:

Tapi,

 

Did you happen to attend the Ventriloquist show in the main theatre? If so, do you remember his name? 

The ventriloquist was on our first night when we boarded in Civitavecchia. Unfortunately we didn’t go to his show that night as we were pretty tired so I don’t remember his name. 

[Tapi]

6 hours ago, nautica34 said:

Tapi,

 

We were on the same cruise, boarded 2 days earlier in Marseille. 

 

Glad you didn't have to deal with the Cirque lines. We weren't given a card once booked. Tickets were delivered to our cabin day of. I wasn't aware engineers boarded in Barcelona. Sawyer Sonar that night. Maybe that's why the 1st show was canceled. Did you like the Cirque show? 

 

Did use the app to book all the theater shows. 

I liked Viaggio! I think it was a good show! I really liked all the visual effects. But it did feel a bit watered down when compared to Cirque du Soleil shows that I’ve seen on land. I thought that it didn’t have as many impressive acrobatics. 

 

One thing that I wish I would’ve done is to check my seat assignments in advance. Out seats were literally all the way in the back at the cocktail tables, against the wall and in a corner, so we had a sideways and somewhat obstructed view of the performances which took a bit away from our enjoyment. But even with that, we still enjoyed it.

 

I did use the app to reserve all shows. I really enjoyed using it for everything. I believe that it simplified things and it made it easier to keep track of all activities onboard. 

[Sandypaws21]

Thanks for the review.  We are on the Meraviglia from 17th January and I was planning to pre-book the Cirque show.  It would appear that it might be better to wait until we are on board?  Also, we fancy trying a couple of the speciality restaurants - the steak house and Italian one.  Are we better pre-booking those or again just waiting until we are on board?

[hamrag]

6 hours ago, Sandypaws21 said:

....we fancy trying a couple of the speciality restaurants - the steak house and Italian one.  Are we better pre-booking those or again just waiting until we are on board?

 

On board is fine, we never saw them busy....and Butchers' Cut is superb!

[electro]

Can you tell me what times the early dining times were?

Thank you

Lois

[Tapi]

5 hours ago, electro said:

Can you tell me what times the early dining times were?

Thank you

Lois

If I recall correctly, they offered early dinner with a fixed time at various restaurants. One was at 530pm, another at 600pm and another at 630pm. We had open dining and that was served beginning at 600pm at the Panorama restaurant. 

[Até]

15 hours ago, Sandypaws21 said:

Also, we fancy trying a couple of the speciality restaurants - the steak house and Italian one.  Are we better pre-booking those or again just waiting until we are on board?

Purchasing the pre-bookable "tasting menu" meal on line will save you the 15% gratuity that you will be charged if purchasing on the ship.

[Sandypaws21]

15 hours ago, hamrag said:

 

On board is fine, we never saw them busy....and Butchers' Cut is superb!

Thanks for that.  Loving the sound of Butcher's Cut!

[Sandypaws21]

7 hours ago, Até said:

Purchasing the pre-bookable "tasting menu" meal on line will save you the 15% gratuity that you will be charged if purchasing on the ship.

Thanks for the suggestion - I will look into that.

[Jimbo59]

MSC is charging 8.99 euros per person for the shuttle in Barcelona. Taxi for up to 4 people is 8 to 10 euros.

[Jimbo59]

In Marseille MSC is charging 15.99 euros per person. Taxi is 15-20 euros each way.

[Esperanza7]

1 hour ago, Jimbo59 said:

In Marseille MSC is charging 15.99 euros per person. Taxi is 15-20 euros each way.

Jimbo 59, is the 15.99 euros per person return or just one way? Can you book one way? We are embarking/disembarking the cruise in Marseille, so looking at the options. Do you by chance know where in the centre of Marseille the shuttle goes to? Many Thanks 🙂

[Jimbo59]

It is round trip, to the old port. But I think it is only for passengers staying on the ship.

[dundeelass]

1 hour ago, Jimbo59 said:

In Marseille MSC is charging 15.99 euros per person. Taxi is 15-20 euros each way.

Hi  there, I’m still on ship too. RIP off , by the way if you came to see the masterchef at sea I’m the woman from Scotland that won it. Lol have to say, this has been o e of the worst cruises with msc I’ve been on, what about you guys.

[dundeelass]

23 minutes ago, Jimbo59 said:

It is round trip, to the old port. But I think it is only for passengers staying on the ship.

 

23 minutes ago, Jimbo59 said:

It is round trip, to the old port. But I think it is only for passengers staying on the ship.

You can walk to entrance point and get a free shuttle into town, msc do t tell you that tho, runs most of the day. Did this everytime I’ve been here. Decided to stay on ship today tho.

[Jimbo59]

1 hour ago, dundeelass said:

Hi  there, I’m still on ship too. RIP off , by the way if you came to see the masterchef at sea I’m the woman from Scotland that won it. Lol have to say, this has been o e of the worst cruises with msc I’ve been on, what about you guys.

In what way is it bad? We are traveling with three teenagers and they are loving it.

[Jimbo59]

Our teenagers love the water slides, shows and other sports activities. We have dinner in Olivo D’oro, excellent waiter service, food sometimes very good, sometimes needs improvement.  Overall the ship is beautiful, and  similar to Royal Caribbean - the focus is the indoor shopping mall. We liked the Seaside better because of the extensive outdoor spaces.

[dundeelass]

I have lots to compare it to maybe that’s why. Prices have gone up by 100 percent  in the Jean Phillipe. In six weeks. Shows are same old same old. Attitude and and general food. Won’t be back on msc if you paid me. Total waste of vacation time for us, but each to their own I guess. 

[dundeelass]

I agree ship is beautiful   But what it lacks in service and activities does not make up for it being nice to look at for me.

[Jimbo59]

3 minutes ago, dundeelass said:

I have lots to compare it to maybe that’s why. Prices have gone up by 100 percent  in the Jean Phillipe. In six weeks. Shows are same old same old. Attitude and and general food. Won’t be back on msc if you paid me. Total waste of vacation time for us, but each to their own I guess. 

Maybe they only change the shows twice a year. We never buy anything on the ship except for internet. The charge by the amount of data is much better than by the minute as on most other cruise lines.

Five of the six in our group are vegetarians, so for them food is ok to very good.

 

I personally prefer Holland America.Classical music concerts every night, much better food than MSC, smaller ships, generally better service.