Meraviglia or RC Independence of the Seas?

[parrothead0918]

Greetings to all.  Was going to book a cruise on the IOS when a Meraviglia cruise came to my attention and intrigued me. Have cruised on IOS, but never cruised MSC and know nothing of Meraviglia.  Which would you choose if ports were not important?

[Gatordad1967]

That is a silly question without background information.

 

[parrothead0918]

13 minutes ago, Gatordad1967 said:

That is a silly question without background information.

 

Thanks for your thoughtful reply.

[rikitikitavii]

28 minutes ago, parrothead0918 said:

Greetings to all.  Was going to book a cruise on the IOS when a Meraviglia cruise came to my attention and intrigued me. Have cruised on IOS, but never cruised MSC and know nothing of Meraviglia.  Which would you choose if ports were not important?

If you have been on IOS, go ahead, let your hair down and give Meraviglia a go. MSC offers several pricing options to fit any budget.

There are many youtube videos of Mera, these should help you decide if it would work for you!

[papcx]

2 hours ago, parrothead0918 said:

Greetings to all.  Was going to book a cruise on the IOS when a Meraviglia cruise came to my attention and intrigued me. Have cruised on IOS, but never cruised MSC and know nothing of Meraviglia.  Which would you choose if ports were not important?

Hi there.  I've cruised Indy twice and Meraviglia.

 

We've cruised a lot of Royal, and a few MSC.

 

We'd go Meraviglia no doubt.

[parrothead0918]

3 hours ago, rikitikitavii said:

If you have been on IOS, go ahead, let your hair down and give Meraviglia a go. MSC offers several pricing options to fit any budget.

There are many youtube videos of Mera, these should help you decide if it would work for you!

I am leaning towards it.  thanks

1 hour ago, papcx said:

Hi there.  I've cruised Indy twice and Meraviglia.

 

We've cruised a lot of Royal, and a few MSC.

 

We'd go Meraviglia no doubt.

Thanks.  Just what I was looking for.  Appreciate your reply.

 

[parrothead0918]

3 hours ago, rikitikitavii said:

If you have been on IOS, go ahead, let your hair down and give Meraviglia a go. MSC offers several pricing options to fit any budget.

There are many youtube videos of Mera, these should help you decide if it would work for you!

I think we are going to do that.  We have been on IOS and the thought of branching out sounds exciting. Just saw so many bad reviews we were just wondering. Thanks for your reply.

 

Edited March 18, 2023 by parrothead0918

[heatherb1958]

Done countless cruises on Independence out of the UK and USA from Europe to Transatlantics and the Caribbean . We have done one Meraviglia cruise 7 nights out of Barcelona . 

What you will miss is cafe promenade and Sorrentos , what you won't miss is the pizza, MSC do pizza much much better and make there own Mozzarella onboard . The only place to get late night food on MSC is the buffet or room service but the buffet is open long hours . 

MSC do a production show everynight .

Speciality restaurants are  cheaper than RCI though beware if you buy a dining package with  MSC it is not a la carte but choices from a tasting menu . 

The activities staff are  more engaging on MSC, I love how they get guests up to dance .

The ships are stunning and beautifully kept , never seen ripped furnishings on an MSC ship but felt like I needed to get my sewing kit out on Anthem recently  😔.  

Both ships have a central walk through but Meraviglia has a mezzanine floor with restaurants and a British pub, very popular with hubby .

Between the 2 ships it would be down to number of nights and price to help me personally decide. 

 

 

 

[Fla Mike]

We have been on Indy four times in the last few years and Mera once last year.

 

Mera is without a doubt an absolutely beautiful ship, spotless.

The Sky lounge is fabulous, think of it at night as a low key Viking Crown.

 

If you like the Royal Promenade on RCL, you will be blown away with the Galleria.

 

All that said, the service was, and if you read the recent reviews downright awful.

Our Divina cruise was on of the best we ever sailed, Mera, the worst.

But we are giving them one more try in November. 

 

I say go for it, if the price is right.

[parrothead0918]

1 hour ago, heatherb1958 said:

Done countless cruises on Independence out of the UK and USA from Europe to Transatlantics and the Caribbean . We have done one Meraviglia cruise 7 nights out of Barcelona . 

What you will miss is cafe promenade and Sorrentos , what you won't miss is the pizza, MSC do pizza much much better and make there own Mozzarella onboard . The only place to get late night food on MSC is the buffet or room service but the buffet is open long hours . 

MSC do a production show everynight .

Speciality restaurants are  cheaper than RCI though beware if you buy a dining package with  MSC it is not a la carte but choices from a tasting menu . 

The activities staff are  more engaging on MSC, I love how they get guests up to dance .

The ships are stunning and beautifully kept , never seen ripped furnishings on an MSC ship but felt like I needed to get my sewing kit out on Anthem recently  😔.  

Both ships have a central walk through but Meraviglia has a mezzanine floor with restaurants and a British pub, very popular with hubby .

Between the 2 ships it would be down to number of nights and price to help me personally decide. 

 

 

 

Thanks for the detailed comparison.  Helps considerably.

[parrothead0918]

1 hour ago, Fla Mike said:

We have been on Indy four times in the last few years and Mera once last year.

 

Mera is without a doubt an absolutely beautiful ship, spotless.

The Sky lounge is fabulous, think of it at night as a low key Viking Crown.

 

If you like the Royal Promenade on RCL, you will be blown away with the Galleria.

 

All that said, the service was, and if you read the recent reviews downright awful.

Our Divina cruise was on of the best we ever sailed, Mera, the worst.

But we are giving them one more try in November. 

 

I say go for it, if the price is right.

good to know.  Leaning towards MSC and knowing whatever "shortcomings" that may exist is helpful to avoid a surprised disappointment.

[perakcruiser]

Meraviglia is a masterpiece you can book without thinking. Don´t think you will find any "shortcomings".

 

But the older and smaller Lirica- and Musica-class ships maybe not suit everyone. 

[parrothead0918]

59 minutes ago, perakcruiser said:

Meraviglia is a masterpiece you can book without thinking. Don´t think you will find any "shortcomings".

 

But the older and smaller Lirica- and Musica-class ships maybe not suit everyone. 

Now I am getting excited to book and see it.  Thanks for your input.

[bundtkate]

I've been on both ships and would definitely choose Mera all else being equal. As everyone has said, the ship is stunning and while I will happily eat too much Sorrentos after wandering out of the Pub at 2am on Indy, it doesn't even come close to MSC's pizza. I'd find excuses to wander by the buffet at random hours just to see if there was a fresh one coming out. Yum. No fresh mozz on board when we sailed, but it was very shortly after the restart so I expect a lot was still ramping up.

Contrary to some more recent experiences (I was last on Mera in Sept 2021), I found the service to be exceptional. There would be times we'd be wandering around and a crew member would just show up and hand DH and I Heinekens or mimosas depending on the time of day. Now this was just after the restart so saying the ship was "below capacity" would be an understatement, but I think it goes to show the crew really are committed to showing you a great time and will do everything they can to deliver given the resources they have. I understand staffing is an issue of late so that may explain some of the less than stellar reports of late.

Mera does have a bit less going on than Indy in some ways. There isn't an ice rink, the waterslides are kind of hidden away in a place I never managed to visit on our 7 day cruise, and the shows were not quite my cup of tea. This is all stuff I'd normally partake of on RCI, but I didn't really miss it on MSC. MSC's island, Ocean Cay, is also a bit different from RCI. I love both Coco Cay and Labadee, but I personally like Ocean Cay even better. There's no water park, not a ton of shops, and no pool with a swim-up bar, but the island has been beautifully built out and landscaped with plenty of pleasant places to sit and watch a sunset. A lot of plants were new when we visited so I'm sure it's even better after nearly 2 years. I'm looking forward to our next visit in 2024 so we can see how it has changed. There are also many sailings that stay late at Ocean Cay allowing for stargazing in addition to sunset watching.

 

I've been on 4 RCI cruises (Freedom, Indy, Oasis and Navigator twice) and MSC only once (that was Mera) so I'm obviously an RCI fan, but I think our Mera cruise was probably DH and my favorite so I'd never hesitate to recommend it.

[parrothead0918]

2 hours ago, bundtkate said:

I've been on both ships and would definitely choose Mera all else being equal. As everyone has said, the ship is stunning and while I will happily eat too much Sorrentos after wandering out of the Pub at 2am on Indy, it doesn't even come close to MSC's pizza. I'd find excuses to wander by the buffet at random hours just to see if there was a fresh one coming out. Yum. No fresh mozz on board when we sailed, but it was very shortly after the restart so I expect a lot was still ramping up.

Contrary to some more recent experiences (I was last on Mera in Sept 2021), I found the service to be exceptional. There would be times we'd be wandering around and a crew member would just show up and hand DH and I Heinekens or mimosas depending on the time of day. Now this was just after the restart so saying the ship was "below capacity" would be an understatement, but I think it goes to show the crew really are committed to showing you a great time and will do everything they can to deliver given the resources they have. I understand staffing is an issue of late so that may explain some of the less than stellar reports of late.

Mera does have a bit less going on than Indy in some ways. There isn't an ice rink, the waterslides are kind of hidden away in a place I never managed to visit on our 7 day cruise, and the shows were not quite my cup of tea. This is all stuff I'd normally partake of on RCI, but I didn't really miss it on MSC. MSC's island, Ocean Cay, is also a bit different from RCI. I love both Coco Cay and Labadee, but I personally like Ocean Cay even better. There's no water park, not a ton of shops, and no pool with a swim-up bar, but the island has been beautifully built out and landscaped with plenty of pleasant places to sit and watch a sunset. A lot of plants were new when we visited so I'm sure it's even better after nearly 2 years. I'm looking forward to our next visit in 2024 so we can see how it has changed. There are also many sailings that stay late at Ocean Cay allowing for stargazing in addition to sunset watching.

 

I've been on 4 RCI cruises (Freedom, Indy, Oasis and Navigator twice) and MSC only once (that was Mera) so I'm obviously an RCI fan, but I think our Mera cruise was probably DH and my favorite so I'd never hesitate to recommend it.

Thanks for the info.  I am more confident than ever to try something new.

[CruisingNole]

I suggest you read reviews of Mera from January 2023 - present.

[parrothead0918]

2 hours ago, CruisingNole said:

I suggest you read reviews of Mera from January 2023 - present.

Thanks.  Generally I give greater consideration to more recent reviews, however like to go back a year to see trends, repeat pros and cons.  

[mizLORInj]

Thanks to everyone for all the responses (even though I'm not the OP).  Great info.

 

I've cruised a lot on various lines, and want to check out MSC for myself--especially their private island.   😃

 

 

[Buckeyefrank100]

On 3/18/2023 at 12:25 PM, parrothead0918 said:

Greetings to all.  Was going to book a cruise on the IOS when a Meraviglia cruise came to my attention and intrigued me. Have cruised on IOS, but never cruised MSC and know nothing of Meraviglia.  Which would you choose if ports were not important?

We just got off the Meraviglia and took the same approach...  bad reviews?  How bad could it be?   Well we won't be back on MSC again, regardless of pricing.  We ran into most of the issues that plagued the other posters...  buffet stations closed... long buffet lines.... poor selection of food at times.... drinks and mixers out at various bars and not restocked..... no beer at the beer and wine bar the last day...  long lines (30 minutes most times) at bars...

[Buckeyefrank100]

3 hours ago, mizLORInj said:

Thanks to everyone for all the responses (even though I'm not the OP).  Great info.

 

I've cruised a lot on various lines, and want to check out MSC for myself--especially their private island.   😃

 

 

Their private island is beautiful but make sure you know what you're getting into on the ship.

[Buckeyefrank100]

On 3/18/2023 at 5:31 PM, parrothead0918 said:

good to know.  Leaning towards MSC and knowing whatever "shortcomings" that may exist is helpful to avoid a surprised disappointment.

Their shortcomings are their food and beverage services.  The reviews are not wrong.

[Buckeyefrank100]

On 3/18/2023 at 4:11 PM, heatherb1958 said:

MSC do pizza much much better and make there own Mozzarella onboard .

 

 

 

On our sailing I didn't see fresh Mozz anywhere for the entire cruise and their pizza wasn't all that great.  Almost every time we got pizza, we had the option of pizza with crust and cheese (no sauce) or pizza with crust and sauce (no cheese).  And the flavor wasn't there for me either.

[Tierun]

Funny I also just got off Mera and had a totally different experience. I only went to the buffet a few times and the lines were shorter and selection seemed better at the far aft stations. Even the pizza was better back there. The bars were somewhat limited, but I had the same experience with even longer waits on Carnival Celebration. 
 

I sailed Indy last year and found the ship very lackluster compared to newer vessels. MSC is very quirky, but it can be a nice experience if you know how to work through the quirks. We were a group of 20 mostly young early 20 something’s and all enjoyed themselves. The food was better on Divina last year, but not inedible. This was the first time I wasn’t able to get a peach daiquiri at all, but there were other things in abundance. Also drink prices are cheaper than RCCL.