Meraviglia Live Review November 13-17...4 Night Getaway in the Yacht Club

[CruisingFox27]

17 minutes ago, Morgsmom said:

Just to confirm, there is NO coffee maker (Nespresso) in the YIN on the Mera? insert frowny face

Although it's a while ago and my memory does play tricks, I'm sure we had a coffee maker in our cabin on Meraviglia. 

 

Sometimes people ask for them to be removed to create extra space on the dressing table, could it be that it hasn't been replaced? 

Edited November 14, 2022 by CruisingFox27

[PTC DAWG]

Nice review, Bride and I are on this ship 7 day Jan 22…she will like the F1 challenge..

[Georgia_Peaches]

Yesterday afternoon we tried out the spa’s thermal suite. We’ve always enjoyed the thermal suite on NCL but weren’t too impressed with MSC’s version on Seashore. I’m happy to say we like Meraviglia’s much better. The suite is well light and seems over all to either be laid out better or perhaps a little bigger. There are only 3 stone loungers but there are other loungers in a relaxation area and in a salt room. A few observations:  1) the floor is wet with no sign of anyone keeping up with the water…step carefully!  2) the robes provided in our room run small. I’m not a terribly big person and my robe barely met in the middle. So much for my morning doughnut. 😂

Last night we spent some time outside of YC but skipped the theater show and opted for some live music on deck six instead. We also caught a ceiling show on the promenade…very cool. 
 

Dinner in YC was my least fav of any night thus far on MSC. We had prime rib and shared lobster ravioli. Neither were very warm and both were lacking flavor. Sorry, no pics of the food last night. We went to dinner at 8 and the restaurant closes at 9. Not sure if that was part of the problem. 
 

After dinner we went to the champagne bar before heading to the casino. At the champagne bar There are at least 5 different bubble options with one being true champagne that are included in the YC drinks package….so no up charge for us there. If one doesn’t have the premium package, champagne by the glass wouldn’t be included at the champagne bar. 
 

Lady Luck paid is a little visit last night in the casino which made up for the deposit we made the night before.  Casino as a whole, like the ship vibe itself was very quiet. Although allowed, there was no smoke last night. 
Today is Ocean Cay….

Edited November 15, 2022 by Georgia_Peaches

[Georgia_Peaches]

19 hours ago, mawvkysc said:

Thanks so much for the review. For non YC what time is first seating? I’m wondering if it’s earlier since the time change. 

Checked it out last night on our walk about. First dinner seating was at 6 pm. They had sort of a procession line of wait staff greeting guests at the entrance of one of the MDR’s.  One server was actually strumming a guitar singing “Take it Easy” by the Eagles. Looked like fun!

Edited November 15, 2022 by Georgia_Peaches

[coscab]

Loving your review, feel like we are there, have a wonderful day on Ocean Cay.

 

[Georgia_Peaches]

44 minutes ago, coscab said:

Loving your review, feel like we are there, have a wonderful day on Ocean Cay.

 

Awe, thank you!  Heading out soon. Weather is beautiful today and not very hot. 

[hamrag]

14 hours ago, CruisingFox27 said:

Although it's a while ago and my memory does play tricks, I'm sure we had a coffee maker in our cabin on Meraviglia. 

 

Sometimes people ask for them to be removed to create extra space on the dressing table, could it be that it hasn't been replaced? 

Yes, we did also in our YIN on Mera.

 

And we asked for it to be removed, freeing up so much space on the counter area, so that's a very good point. Just ask, they would source one for the cabin I'm certain.

[GA Dave]

23 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Like you, gg we have spent a lot of time on NCL both in and out of the Haven. Our 2 YC experiences on MSC have us doubting/wondering if we will do another NCL…especially with current pricing. Met several NCL folks yesterday who are MSC converts. Sea class ships are awesome!  
 

thanks for following along! 😊

Hi Peaches.  As you can see in my signature, I am definitely one of the NCL Haven to MSC YC converts!  Looking forward to my YC cruise this Thursday, as well as in December, January, March and Mera's 11-day reposition cruise in April!!! 

[Georgia_Peaches]

1 hour ago, hamrag said:

Yes, we did also in our YIN on Mera.

 

And we asked for it to be removed, freeing up so much space on the counter area, so that's a very good point. Just ask, they would source one for the cabin I'm certain.

Honestly, we haven’t missed it because as you say, it takes up a lot of space which is at a premium in YIN. 

[Georgia_Peaches]

Sitting on Ocean Cay and have to say, it’s just beautiful!  YC area is very quiet with lots of empty loungers and umbrellas for shade. We snagged 2 loungers on the hill next to Ocean House in the shade of some awesome palm trees. 
A minor irritation about ocean cay is that you have to log out of the ship’s wifi in order to set up island wifi. I say a minor irritation because I was several cocktails in when I set up the original account and couldn’t remember my username or password. And if you’ve done MSC before, you can’t use past usernames. I guess I should say I got an error message when I tried. I think I used to be much more tech savvy before retirement. Now there seems to be less of a need to keep such technical know how clogged up in my brain 🙃. 
We walked from the ship to the YC area instead of taking the shuttle. The walk took about 15 minutes. Have to say, with the ship at half capacity the island feels pretty empty. 
 

some differences between this visit and our last when on the Seashore:

1. We walked off today without a butler escort ( which was just fine)

2.  We set up our own chairs/towels (which was just fine)

3.  Had to go In search of water (a little annoying)

 

[Georgia_Peaches]

1 hour ago, GA Dave said:

Hi Peaches.  As you can see in my signature, I am definitely one of the NCL Haven to MSC YC converts!  Looking forward to my YC cruise this Thursday, as well as in December, January, March and Mera's 11-day reposition cruise in April!!! 

Yes!  I’ve followed your remarks on NCL over the years. You have quite the line up on the books!  We have a Celebrity Mexican Riviera cruise set for March and I’m seriously wondering if we are going to be disappointed after being pampered in the YC.  

[hamrag]

16 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Honestly, we haven’t missed it because as you say, it takes up a lot of space which is at a premium in YIN. 

Indeed it is, and your photo reminded us of just how snug! Our first YC was in the YIN on mera, and our booking in a couple of weeks is the first time back in a YIN after 5 or 6 cruises in YC1 Deluxe Suites! 😔

 

Like yourself, we recognise the cost benefit of such, and our 'Luxury Suite' is the YC enclave, which is incredibly fabulous! Our YIN price for the 14 night Antilles cruise from Barbados was incredibly low, so no regrets.

 

Maybe they'll offer us an upgrade upon boarding.....!

[kernie968]

Thank you for your review. I am looking at dates to book a YC inside, but would love to know if the beds separate into two singles?

[GA Dave]

14 minutes ago, kernie968 said:

Thank you for your review. I am looking at dates to book a YC inside, but would love to know if the beds separate into two singles?

Yes, they do.  They can separate them and push them against the opposite walls, with the end tables between them.

[hamrag]

43 minutes ago, GA Dave said:

Yes, they do.  They can separate them and push them against the opposite walls, with the end tables between them.

In that layout, it gives much more room to move down the middle of the two beds.

[RudiRatlos]

5 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

the robes provided in our room run small

The butler may be able to give you better fitting ones.

[Georgia_Peaches]

Lunch on Ocean Cay was my favorite yet!  DH had the lobster roll while I had the steak salad. Both were so fresh and delicious. Lunch Service was great as well. I will say that if you order a frozen cocktail expecting it to be frozen, you will be disappointed. They don’t really have the capability for frozen drinks and should really just advertise their cocktails as “on the rocks”. I also want to mention that we took plenty of tip money with us today but not a single chair side drink service was offered. Maybe because we were on the hill?  Or maybe we just looked like we needed to dry out a bit 😜. Anyway, it didn’t deter from our enjoyment… just how it was. 
 

After a few hours on the beach we called it a day and walked back to the ship, dropped off our bag, and headed to the thermal suite for a steam. 
 

Much of this evening’s entertainment revolves around the bonfire and light show on the beach so we had an early ish dinner and headed to the TSL for some drinks and conversation. 
 

Overall another great day!  I continued to be impressed by the level of service from all of the crew. They really go the extra mile. 
 

Tonight’s dinner was surf n turf. I had beef filet and salmon while DH enjoyed the grilled turbot. 
 

[svmodi]

On 11/14/2022 at 12:10 PM, Georgia_Peaches said:

Thank you!  Yes, complimentary soft serve is available at the main pool grill. It is not self serve and comes in a cup, no cones. But looked good!  We strolled through the buffet and noticed an ethnic station with Indian cuisine. Some options were vegetarian. 

Good to hear. I had read that the ice-cream was included with the drink package. Glad to know that it is complementary. My DH and daughters will love that. They are ice cream aficionados.

[Georgia_Peaches]

Last day of our getaway and we’ve set up shop on the pool deck with a view of lighthouse beach. We snagged an available cabana for $34.99 for the entire day complete with a bar set up (water, beer, soda). While I enjoy the YC pool deck, shade is not so easy to come by. There are 3 cabanas and 2 of them are reserved for the Royal suites so I felt lucky to get the last one. 
 

[mafig]

Enjoying your review.

 

Sent you an email.🙂

[Georgia_Peaches]

18 minutes ago, mafig said:

Enjoying your review.

 

Sent you an email.🙂

Thank you!  Will check when I get back. Phone isn’t connecting to my email. 🤬

[svmodi]

For the Himalayan Bridge course, do you know what type of shoes are required? Do they require close-toed shoes? 

[Georgia_Peaches]

3 minutes ago, svmodi said:

For the Himalayan Bridge course, do you know what type of shoes are required? Do they require close-toed shoes? 

They do, actually. Although I haven’t noticed anyone checking. 

[Georgia_Peaches]

Just got to see the first daylight sail away of the cruise. Pulling away from Ocean Cay is fascinating (to me) because the water is so clear you can actually see the cut away that was dredged in order to make the port. 
 

I wasn’t sure I was going to like an over night at Ocean Cay but it has turned out to be one of my favorite aspects of this cruise. Originally, all aboard was scheduled for  11:30 but it was changed to 12:30 with sail away at 1. We got off the ship to walk the entire island. Boy have we been missing out by only going to the YC area!  Today we discovered the lighthouse bar, which was wonderful!  Also, the spa area of the island is adults only and has lovely views. 
 

MCHO (my crazy humble opinion) and random thoughts about the island:

 

1.  Ocean Cay is the best private island for its layout, facilities, and pure beauty. 
 

2.  Even at full ship capacity, there’s no way you couldn’t find a great spot to relax. 
 

3. The canned music piped throughout the island via the Bose speaker system is absolutely dreadful!  
 

4.  Save for the Ocean house restaurant, the YC section of the island is the least appealing area and will not be where we hang out on our next visit. 
 

Upon returning to the ship we headed to deck 19 for a bite to eat. I had a Greek salad with chicken (and dressing) while my other half had a cheeseburger. The captain delighted us all with three loud blasts as we sailed away. 
 

 

[graphicguy]

Thanks for your review of Ocean Cay.  Have heard it’s great!