Questions about MSC Meraviglia West Caribbean itinerary during X'mas

[will88]

I'm considering MSC Meraviglia West Caribbean itinerary (Cozumel, Roatan, Costa Maya, Ocean Cay) during X'mas, seems like reasonable price (for X'mas time for sure!) for a pretty new ship with some reasonable activities, but I'm completely new to MSC (sailed RCL, CCL, X, NCL before), so I wonder if anyone can answer my questions?

1. From reviews it sounds like there are 2 shows for Cirque de Soleil each night, and it costs money to book the show? How much? (I must say I'm surprised since none of the other lines charge for their main shows).

2. Other than Cirque de Soleil, any other good shows (variety, comedy, magic, Escape Room/puzzle type, etc)? Sadly MSC website didn't mention any for the ship.

3. It has the typical pingpong table? I think it has tennis court too but minigolf etc?

4. I saw bad reviews about service slow/lacking, but all reviews were Mediterranean. Is this ship still in Europe and not repositioned yet? So I won't really know how it's gonna be like for the Caribbean itinerary (or the service crew would stay the same anyhow, thus the same quality)?

5. How slow was the internet? MSC said packages are for social media and chat, what about Youtube/other streaming?

6. How do you like it compared to the other lines, specifically in the area of entertainment, food, and fitness center? I heard it's X > RCL > NCL > MSC = CCL (both budget lines).

7. Any tip for booking dining (early or late or any time?), shows (book online asap?), etc?

I know it's a lot of questions, feel free to chime in only on those you know/care to answer. Thanks a lot!

[dexddd]

Other lines do charge for some shows.  NCL on the BA and newer class ships have for fee shows.  The ones on Mera are either with or without dinner with the without dinner being with a drink for the Cirque shows.  The prices for each are $42 or $18.

 

[will88]

20 minutes ago, dexddd said:

Other lines do charge for some shows.  NCL on the BA and newer class ships have for fee shows.  The ones on Mera are either with or without dinner with the without dinner being with a drink for the Cirque shows.  The prices for each are $42 or $18.

 

Thanks! I haven't ever gotten charged for the main shows on other lines though. There might be for fee shows, but those are not the main attractions - if I had to pay for them why don't I just go to the show on land? Of course $18 for a Cirque show is quite discounted, perhaps they want to control the attendance with the fee.

[Essiesmom]

I have been on three MSC ships and on each there has been a show in the theater every night.  It is mostly music and dancing, with some acrobats and jugglers.  There is also live music in venues around the ship.  There are no comedians as probably half of the guests will be from Europe and humor doesn't translate well through other languages and cultures.  On my Armonia cruise recently there were approx. 1900 guests and 900 were not from North America.  Deck plans show sportsplex on deck 16 which would include basketball.  It appears to be indoors.  No mini-golf that I could find.  Dining choices depend on the experience you choose.  If you book Bella or Fantastica, you will be assigned early or late seating, fixed seating.  Booking the Aurea experience, you will have anytime dining.  Yacht Club has its own restaurant.   EM

Edited September 10, 2019 by Essiesmom

[will88]

5 minutes ago, Essiesmom said:

I have been on three MSC ships and on each there has been a show in the theater every night.  It is mostly music and dancing, with some acrobats and jugglers.  There is also live music in venues around the ship.  There are no comedians as probably half of the guests will be from Europe and humor doesn't translate well through other languages and cultures.  On my Armonia cruise recently there were approx. 1900 guests and 900 were not from North America.  Deck plans show sportsplex on deck 16 which would include basketball.  It appears to be indoors.  No mini-golf that I could find.  Dining choices depend on the experience you choose.  If you book Bella or Fantastica, you will be assigned early or late seating, fixed seating.  Booking the Aurea experience, you will have anytime dining.  Yacht Club has its own restaurant.   EM

Thanks for the info! I remember I quite liked the fixed seating (my CCL/X cruises had those but not RCL/NCL), but fixed time is better than any time usually (due to the lengthier wait time for any time dining).

[CruisingFox27]

Cirque isn't the main show, it's a specialty show, the main shows in the theatre are free. The Cirque show tickets include a cocktail or meal depending on the package purchased.

 

The Wifi Social package only includes social media and chat, other packages are available, a standard and premium. Speed is often dependent on the location your sailing at the time. We've never had issues with speed or connectivity in the Caribbean. It's not super fast broadband but it's not dial up slow either.

 

We've never had issues with slow or poor service, some reviews need to be taken with a pinch of salt and others it's personal perspective.

 

We've never had fixed dining but I believe there are 3 sittings on Meraviglia.

[dexddd]

6 hours ago, will88 said:

Thanks! I haven't ever gotten charged for the main shows on other lines though. There might be for fee shows, but those are not the main attractions - if I had to pay for them why don't I just go to the show on land? Of course $18 for a Cirque show is quite discounted, perhaps they want to control the attendance with the fee.

I guess I was not considering the Cirque shows as really main shows, more like specialty shows.  I'm used to NCL where they have the main shows and then they have other, for fee shows which often include a meal.

 

The MSC shows are true Cirque shows vs. the ones on NCL are knock-offs (if that matters to anyone, that wasn't something I knew but someone gave a whole history).  With an included drink I'm excited not to have to spend $150 per person like in Las Vegas.

 

MSC seems to be copying some things from NCL and other lines with the specialty restaurants and shows for fee.  I even got a survey today asking many questions about what we like in terms of specialty restaurants. But I guess NCL is getting back at them by copying their new ships that are coming out.

 

 

[Essiesmom]

I just got that same survey today.  I think they used google translate to get it into English...  EM

[will88]

@CruisingFox27 @dexddd Thanks! I guess in terms of audience/theatre size + dinner option Cirque is a specialty show. I'm just used to that the headline shows prominently displayed by a cruiseline should be the main show, and should be in main theatre and free. Like the broadway(-ish) shows on RCL. But Cirque is indeed different - despite being the main attraction for the entertainment on the ship, it might not have been designed to cater to all passengers.

[nednrom]

1 hour ago, will88 said:

@CruisingFox27 @dexddd Thanks! I guess in terms of audience/theatre size + dinner option Cirque is a specialty show. I'm just used to that the headline shows prominently displayed by a cruiseline should be the main show, and should be in main theatre and free. Like the broadway(-ish) shows on RCL. But Cirque is indeed different - despite being the main attraction for the entertainment on the ship, it might not have been designed to cater to all passengers.

 

 

We have booked the Meraviglia X-Mas cruise this year.  The reviews indicate that there are Broadway caliber shows every night one of which is an opera which might be replaced when she arrives in the Caribbean since most Americans don't like operas.  The two cirque venue is different than the theater where the nightly shows are held.  They are all free.  NCL also has a dinner theater for a fee.  

[dexddd]

15 hours ago, Essiesmom said:

I just got that same survey today.  I think they used google translate to get it into English...  EM

That is what I was wondering as well.  A couple questions I was like, what are they asking?  They were almost comical like being a personal question.  

[Essiesmom]

8 hours ago, nednrom said:

 

 

We have booked the Meraviglia X-Mas cruise this year.  The reviews indicate that there are Broadway caliber shows every night one of which is an opera which might be replaced when she arrives in the Caribbean since most Americans don't like operas.  The two cirque venue is different than the theater where the nightly shows are held.  They are all free.  NCL also has a dinner theater for a fee.  

I doubt they remove the opera, as they will still have a large proportion of passengers from Europe.  Our Armonia cruise had 1100 North Americans and 900 from Europe.  And I cringe every time someone calls shows Broadway calibre.  I have seen many Broadway shows, having lived and studied in NYC, and the shows are more like a Las Vegas revue.  I realize that there are NCL ships that have a full Broadway show, but that is not the norm.  EM

[will88]

On 9/11/2019 at 12:06 AM, nednrom said:

 

 

We have booked the Meraviglia X-Mas cruise this year.  The reviews indicate that there are Broadway caliber shows every night one of which is an opera which might be replaced when she arrives in the Caribbean since most Americans don't like operas.  The two cirque venue is different than the theater where the nightly shows are held.  They are all free.  NCL also has a dinner theater for a fee.  

Thanks for the reply! In the end we decided to book a different one with a very similar itinerary (Carnival Glory), even though we like Meraviglia too. I couldn't find any description of the shows on Meraviglia except for the Cirque ones, so I wasn't sure if the quality of the shows would be good. I don't think any ship at this price point can offer a (different) Broadway-caliber show every night, unless you're talking about one Broadway-calibre show that gets repeated every night. Still, Meraviglia does have a lot to offer.