Read the reviews and was concerned, but it was great!

[FLCruZar]

After reading so many negatives I was not sure what I was in for...  spent 7 day’s Mediterranean inside cabin and was quite pleased with the Preziosa.  We have been on Disney, NCL, Celebrity and Royal so we could compare. Yes there were multiple languages for all announcements- but one of those was English. The food could sometimes be cold at the buffet, but I would get something else - never went hungry and loved the pizza.  Beds were super comfortable. TV was limited, but not a deal breaker. Dining room staff was fantastic dishes were hit or miss. Pool areas were great, bar staff great.  I look forward to sailing again someday.  Went in with low expectations, but was very pleased!  

[Cruiser Bruiser]

1 hour ago, FLCruZar said:

After reading so many negatives I was not sure what I was in for...  spent 7 day’s Mediterranean inside cabin and was quite pleased with the Preziosa.  We have been on Disney, NCL, Celebrity and Royal so we could compare. Yes there were multiple languages for all announcements- but one of those was English. The food could sometimes be cold at the buffet, but I would get something else - never went hungry and loved the pizza.  Beds were super comfortable. TV was limited, but not a deal breaker. Dining room staff was fantastic dishes were hit or miss. Pool areas were great, bar staff great.  I look forward to sailing again someday.  Went in with low expectations, but was very pleased!  

Thanks for posting. I'm glad you had a pleasant time. I was on Magnifica last August, and I had the same impressions about the dining room staff and the pools. I'm on Preziosa in September. Sound like I can expect more of the same.

[shukapaw]

Thanks for sharing your experience.

 

~Brian

[Tapi]

Our first MSC cruise (Divina in the Caribbean) was just ok, but our Mediterranean cruise aboard the Meraviglia exceeded all of our expectations and proved all negative reviews wrong. We have nothing but wonderful things to say about that cruise. 

 

Glad you enjoyed the Preziosa. 

[BermudaBound2014]

1 hour ago, Tapi said:

Our first MSC cruise (Divina in the Caribbean) was just ok, but our Mediterranean cruise aboard the Meraviglia exceeded all of our expectations and proved all negative reviews wrong. We have nothing but wonderful things to say about that cruise. 

 

Glad you enjoyed the Preziosa. 

 

How would you compare states side with med on MSc? I’ve often thought MSc might feel more authentic across the pond. 

 

 

[BermudaBound2014]

On 10/7/2019 at 7:12 PM, FLCruZar said:

After reading so many negatives I was not sure what I was in for...  spent 7 day’s Mediterranean inside cabin and was quite pleased with the Preziosa.  We have been on Disney, NCL, Celebrity and Royal so we could compare. Yes there were multiple languages for all announcements- but one of those was English. The food could sometimes be cold at the buffet, but I would get something else - never went hungry and loved the pizza.  Beds were super comfortable. TV was limited, but not a deal breaker. Dining room staff was fantastic dishes were hit or miss. Pool areas were great, bar staff great.  I look forward to sailing again someday.  Went in with low expectations, but was very pleased!  

 

I think expectations are the key- that and not running into any issues that require guest service assistance. Your review of the food jives with the majority. Glad to hear you had good dining room staff- that doesn’t always appear to be the case. 

[Tapi]

2 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

How would you compare states side with med on MSc? I’ve often thought MSc might feel more authentic across the pond. 

I think that MSC’s operations in the Mediterranean run more smoothly. It’s their “turf”. Starting with the check in process in Civitavecchia, everything just seemed to flow much better than what we experienced sailing out of Miami. Some things that I noticed:

 

• Smaller groups of passengers embark and disembark at each port of call. Because of this, the organized chaos normally experience when all passengers are embarking at the same port was greatly minimized. 
• MSC’s clientele hails from many nationalities, and in the Mediterranean, it feels like it enhances the overall experience and contributes to the atmosphere. And even though there are so many nationalities, fellow passengers seemed to interact and flow much better, In Miami, it feels like MSC is trying to cater to Americans while still catering to their international clientele, but it just doesn’t seem to flow as well. Many of the complaints generated are because of this. There’s friction, Americans complain because MSC is too European, and Europeans complain that MSC has been watered down in the USA,
• Cuisine seemed better for our taste in the Med. Out of Miami, we found ourselves eating pizza frequently because we couldn’t find something that was more appealing. Entrees seemed generic and repetitive, maybe a failed attempt at appealing to Americans while still appealing to other nationalities as mentioned above. In the Mediterranean,  we found more authentic and flavorful cuisine from more varied ethnicities, 
• We thought that the crew was much friendlier and accommodating in the Med, Out of Miami, it seemed like it was harder to get crew members to help us. 

We did consider that the Meraviglia was a much better ship than the Divina which may have also contributed to our different experiences. Also two years went by between our first and second cruise, so maybe some of the positive tweaks we experienced may have been systemwide. 

[perakcruiser]

13 hours ago, Tapi said:

We did consider that the Meraviglia was a much better ship than the Divina which may have also contributed to our different experiences. Also two years went by between our first and second cruise, so maybe some of the positive tweaks we experienced may have been systemwide. 

I don´t think so. The Meraviglia is just the best ship, the only way that you can ruin your cruise there is by finding reasons to visit the guest service as often as possible ☺️

 

13 hours ago, Tapi said:

Americans complain because MSC is too European, and Europeans complain that MSC has been watered down in the USA

Yes, this is a neverending story for sure. But from a neutral position I would say that MSC also would have lowered their theater program away from expensive opera to simple music without the Americans.

[travelberlin]

I am glad you had a good time. The Preziosa is a beautiful ship. How was your inside cabin? Would you book again an inside cabin? Did you have the Bella or the Fantastica experience?