Meraviglia, Baltic Cruise Review

[CruiserG79]

Hello all,

just came back today from the Meraviglia Baltic Route and would like to leave a short review and i am ready to answer some questions here too.

 

Since i am from germany my english might not be the best, but i am trying 😉

 

First of all... We (my GF and i) really enjoyed the cruise and there wasn't much to complain. So maybe this review will help some people that are not sure of booking the Meraviglia in the future. Since i was quite sceptical from what i heared and read about it, i can say that i was very sceptical... That soon changed!

 

Oh... And one interesting fact about the "mysterious" drink package 431 i can maybe solve completley (i have read much about it here, but nothing that specific i can tell now). We booked the cruise early, so at the time we booked there was still the old package coming with Aurea category (drinks valued up to 10 €). When we entered the cabin the first day we had a letter on the bed explaining, that we booked the old package still and the bar menu may have changed, so we might not get everything from the time back now, when we booked, but that they are going to honor it and we would still get everything they have now up to a value of 10 €. And best of all... There was a list coming with it, with all the drinks we could get for free. To bad i forgot to take a picture from it.

 

So no one really has to worry about it. It worked perfectly and we got everything we wanted for free without someone every questioning it, including every draught beer and the beertails in the Brass Anchor Pub (great place to be btw). Didn't try bottled beers there, or anything on the right page on the menu though.

 

To my short review:

 

Yes, it was crowded. No, it didn't feel too crowded after all. Even at the both days on sea, we always managed to get a quite place at some part of the ship. Since we didn't use any of the pools, i can't tell much about the possibilities of getting some space there, but that might be tricky especially at the sea days. It looked quite full. Nothing that had an impact on us though, i wont take that into the review in any kind of way.

 

The food was quite good up to really tasty. No disappointments for us. We tried the buffet restaurant and had the main dinner in the Panorama restaurant. If you are as lucky as we are, you get a place at the huge panoramic window in the back and your main waiter is Arsana. He was awesome! A big thank you to him for the great service and nice conversation.

 

The staff was great too. We didn't have any problems and if there was an issue or we had a question it was solved immediatley and flawless.

 

We booked two excursions: Metro Tour in Sankt Petersburg (awesome and really worth the money) and the Highlights of Helsinki when we have been in Kotka. My personal opinion: Do not book it! We have visited a modern steel sculpture and the rock temple church. Then a scenic drive and we had one hour of free time, that was it. Try to get a transfer to Helsinki and do everything on your own, or take another Helsinki excursion. Maybe they are better.

 

The entertainment was good overall. There was always something we could do on the ship and the shows in the evening been really good. One little disppointment there: It was just singing and dancing (except from the "magician" on the first day). No acrobatics... I think they are covering that part now with Cirque du Soleil (we have seen Sonor and we liked it much!). When we have been on the Preziosa last year, the shows been more different.

 

Since i don't have much more time right now i am going to stop here for now. Might add more tomorrow and answer questions then, if you have some.

[dexddd]

Thanks for the review.

 

Your English way better than my German.

[Belliniginfizz]

Thanks for the review - we are on the Meraviglia out of Kiel next Saturday, so I’ve been on the look out for reviews!  It’s good to read a positive review, when there are so many negative ones.

 

Out of interest, were there any specific areas of the ship which you found were frequently quiet?  The crowds are the one thing which concern me - last time we cruised with MSC we were Aurea so had access to the quiet sun deck, but to get a family cabin on Meraviglia, we are Fantastica.

 

 

[portofrome]

Thanks for your review!

[CruiserG79]

1 hour ago, Belliniginfizz said:

Out of interest, were there any specific areas of the ship which you found were frequently quiet?  The crowds are the one thing which concern me - last time we cruised with MSC we were Aurea so had access to the quiet sun deck, but to get a family cabin on Meraviglia, we are Fantastica.

 

 

In the daytime you can usually find a very quiet place in the Brass Anchor Pub or the Sky Lounge. We didn't go there in the evening though, since we spend most of the time on the plaza, or at the Casino Bar (look out for the barkeeper Roger there, you can greet him from Mr. Karsten, i think he will remember 😉 ).

 

Hope you have a great time there!

[APDMOM]

21 hours ago, dexddd said:

Thanks for the review.

 

Your English way better than my German.

That is exactly what I thought when I was reading the review... Wish my German were as good as OP’s English 😂

 

@CruiserG79 Thank you for your review!  Well done!!!  We look forward to boarding Meraviglia in Miami. 

[Mickey Flood]

Great review. Dankeschon.

[OceansOfTravels]

Thanks for taking the time to type out the review. We are considering a cruise on the Meraviglia for January 2020. Could you tell us a little about your stateroom and how you liked it, maybe try to compare it to other MSC ships? Or just illustrate the positives, negatives, and maybe add some tips? Thanks so much!!

[Informatics Nurse]

Thanks for the review. I'm debating between this ship and the Poesia for Norway. Thank again for the post!

[CarrieAP]

A big thank you for sharing your experience! We are on this cruise next May so interested in hearing all about your trip. 

[CruiserG79]

On ‎7‎/‎29‎/‎2019 at 3:22 AM, OceansOfTravels said:

Thanks for taking the time to type out the review. We are considering a cruise on the Meraviglia for January 2020. Could you tell us a little about your stateroom and how you liked it, maybe try to compare it to other MSC ships? Or just illustrate the positives, negatives, and maybe add some tips? Thanks so much!!

We've been in an Aurea Balcony Cabin on Deck 13 at the front of the ship (we could partly see into the bridge from there and they even greeted us from inside there). It was the last cabin before the suits started.

 

The cabin was nice, clean and cozy. Compared to a balcony cabin on Preziosa it was almost the same. Just a bit less room for placing our stuff, but it was more then enough for us still. There have been complaints about the cupboards because the doors been a bit... well... difficult to close (i think something wrent wrong during the construction there), but that was just a very small issue.

[maryann2]

Thank you for taking the time to do this review. I will be on the Meraviglia next month Copenhagen to New York so 16 days.

We have a large roll call but so far no M&G is arranged by MSC.

We are hoping to get together at sailaway. Can you recommend a bar or area outside that we can meet?  Or a bar or lounge inside that we could meet at another time.

Thank you.

[Beamafar]

4 hours ago, maryann2 said:

Thank you for taking the time to do this review. I will be on the Meraviglia next month Copenhagen to New York so 16 days.

We have a large roll call but so far no M&G is arranged by MSC.

We are hoping to get together at sailaway. Can you recommend a bar or area outside that we can meet?  Or a bar or lounge inside that we could meet at another time.

Thank you.

 

Are you looking for one that will be 'open' as in serving drinks at the time?  M&Gs (that roll-call members organise) are often held in the mornings when few bars are open, which is why I ask.  There are a couple of venues that would be suitable for a group meet-up, such as the Studio & TV lounge or the Champagne Bar, but neither have the bar open in the morning.

Edited August 9, 2019 by Beamafar

[maryann2]

14 minutes ago, Beamafar said:

 

Are you looking for one that will be 'open' as in serving drinks at the time?  M&Gs (that roll-call members organise) are often held in the mornings when few bars are open, which is why I ask.  There are a couple of venues that would be suitable for a group meet-up, such as the Studio & TV lounge or the Champagne Bar, but neither have the bar open in the morning.

No doesn't have to be a bar open, just a place that can hold a large group.

So you would recommend the Studio & TV lounge or Champagne bar?  What deck are these lounges on?

Thank you for your help.

Also which deck /area would be best for sailaway.

[Beamafar]

19 minutes ago, maryann2 said:

No doesn't have to be a bar open, just a place that can hold a large group.

So you would recommend the Studio & TV lounge or Champagne bar?  What deck are these lounges on?

Thank you for your help.

Also which deck /area would be best for sailaway.

 

The Studio is on the mezzanine overlooking the Galleria on the opposite side to the Brass Anchor Bar.  They're both on deck 7, with the Champagne Bar being aft of the Galleria.  Here they are on the deck plans:

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm afraid I can't advise re sailaway as I don't remember much about the open decks (we were in YC), sorry!

Edited August 9, 2019 by Beamafar

[maryann2]

Thank you for your help.

[Beamafar]

You're welcome!  Hope you have a wonderful cruise.  We're embarking Meraviglia in New York 10 days after you disembark for her second visit to Canada, then staying on for her repo to Miami.