Meraviglia this Sunday

[JamieLogical]

28 minutes ago, pamelanj said:

Oh no, we used a legit car service that we have used for years. It was more money than paying to park but the stress free ride was worth it to us.  

 

Did everything go smoothly for you with embarkation? How are you liking the Meraviglia so far?

[sammee]

2 hours ago, pamelanj said:

Oh no, we used a legit car service that we have used for years. It was more money than paying to park but the stress free ride was worth it to us.  

I don't blame you, I have one guy I used for local parties and gatherings, but he retired.I used to be a dispatcher back in the 90s. We had it going on than, but not like we do now. Technology made it easier.

[pamelanj]

3 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

 

Did everything go smoothly for you with embarkation? How are you liking the Meraviglia so far?

Hi!

 

I replied and  POOF!

 

Embarkation was painless. The longest part was security line. After that the aurea line was quick. We started security line at noon and were in our rooms at 1230!

 

We are enjoying ourselves on the Mera. I do want to share my thoughts but will probably wait until we get home.

 

I read your posts and it looks like you are having fun on your trip, too.

 

i hope this post makes it…😊

[kurtp13]

Are dining table assigned so you just walk to a table on the nights that follow the first night

[Essiesmom]

50 minutes ago, kurtp13 said:

Are dining table assigned so you just walk to a table on the nights that follow the first night

If you are Bella or Fantastica dining tables are assigned for dinner and you just go to that table every night.  Breakfast is open seating, as is lunch if it is served in the MDR.  On ships based in the US MDR lunch is only served on sea days.  EM

Edited February 15 by Essiesmom

[AmbitionatBay]

On 2/15/2024 at 8:44 AM, pamelanj said:

Hi!

 

I replied and  POOF!

 

Embarkation was painless. The longest part was security line. After that the aurea line was quick. We started security line at noon and were in our rooms at 1230!

 

We are enjoying ourselves on the Mera. I do want to share my thoughts but will probably wait until we get home.

 

I read your posts and it looks like you are having fun on your trip, too.

 

i hope this post makes it…😊

@Pamelanj - I am interested in how your cruise went. Did you have another thread that I could get the link to where you posted about the trip? We are contemplating going on the Meraviglia doing Aurea on March 17 to the Bahamas.  Wanted YC interior but they were sold out.  Dining and check in has me stressed.  Hoping to hear good news from you!

 

[JamieLogical]

2 hours ago, AmbitionatBay said:

@Pamelanj - I am interested in how your cruise went. Did you have another thread that I could get the link to where you posted about the trip? We are contemplating going on the Meraviglia doing Aurea on March 17 to the Bahamas.  Wanted YC interior but they were sold out.  Dining and check in has me stressed.  Hoping to hear good news from you!

 

 

If you sail Aurea, you will get priority check-in and my choice dining. What are you specifically stressed about?

[Beamafar]

11 hours ago, AmbitionatBay said:

@Pamelanj - I am interested in how your cruise went. Did you have another thread that I could get the link to where you posted about the trip? We are contemplating going on the Meraviglia doing Aurea on March 17 to the Bahamas.  Wanted YC interior but they were sold out.  Dining and check in has me stressed.  Hoping to hear good news from you!

 

@AmbitionatBay  You didn’t manage to have an alert sent to the person you quoted (you can see that the username is not highlighted in blue).  Possibly because you used a capital letter when the name isn’t capitalised.  It’s case sensitive. 

 

For future reference , you get a dropdown menu to choose the CC poster’s username that you wish to alert;  that way you know that it’ll be done.  

[pamelanj]

21 hours ago, AmbitionatBay said:

@Pamelanj - I am interested in how your cruise went. Did you have another thread that I could get the link to where you posted about the trip? We are contemplating going on the Meraviglia doing Aurea on March 17 to the Bahamas.  Wanted YC interior but they were sold out.  Dining and check in has me stressed.  Hoping to hear good news from you!

 

Hello!

 

I did not do a proper trip review but I am happy share my impressions of Mera Aurea.

 

We liked the Aurea perks such as the private deck area, the spa pkg and the priority embarkation.  Being you are going in March you have a better shot at more nice weather days.  
 

We did not do any specialty dinners except Holas for lunch twice. We really liked it.

 

Being NCL cruisers we appreciated the anytime dining with Aurea. We never waited for a table and always got a table for two which is our preference.

 

We didn’t do any shows but did enjoy musicians we listened to by bars some evenings.

 

If you have any questions, I’m happy to answer. 😊

[AmbitionatBay]

1 hour ago, pamelanj said:

Hello!

 

I did not do a proper trip review but I am happy share my impressions of Mera Aurea.

 

We liked the Aurea perks such as the private deck area, the spa pkg and the priority embarkation.  Being you are going in March you have a better shot at more nice weather days.  
 

We did not do any specialty dinners except Holas for lunch twice. We really liked it.

 

Being NCL cruisers we appreciated the anytime dining with Aurea. We never waited for a table and always got a table for two which is our preference.

 

We didn’t do any shows but did enjoy musicians we listened to by bars some evenings.

 

If you have any questions, I’m happy to answer. 😊

Thanks for the reply!  We are Platinum on NCL and love the any time dining which is why we are looking at Aurea.  Glad to hear dining was not a hassle and we also want a table for 2.  How was the food? We will def try Holas- love Mexican food. will also skip the specialty dining most likely. 
 

Thermal suite will be nice on first sea day till we get to the warmer climate.  We also enjoy music at various venues. 
 

Def think we will love priority embarkation. I have read horror stories about the lines. What was your check in time and how long did it take to get on board? How was disembarkation? We usually do self assist.

 

Thanks so much for sharing your experience!

 

 

[pamelanj]

52 minutes ago, AmbitionatBay said:

Thanks for the reply!  We are Platinum on NCL and love the any time dining which is why we are looking at Aurea.  Glad to hear dining was not a hassle and we also want a table for 2.  How was the food? We will def try Holas- love Mexican food. will also skip the specialty dining most likely. 
 

Thermal suite will be nice on first sea day till we get to the warmer climate.  We also enjoy music at various venues. 
 

Def think we will love priority embarkation. I have read horror stories about the lines. What was your check in time and how long did it take to get on board? How was disembarkation? We usually do self assist.

 

Thanks so much for sharing your experience!

 

 

Hi again.

 

We are also platinum on NCL. Did you do the status match? We did and got gold on MSC.

 

We are low maintenance people but we did notice the service on MSC seemed like NCL of the past. Not knocking NCL. We are booked for June with them in our first Haven experience.

 

We received a lot of nice “gifts” in our cabin. I am not sure which were due to Gold or which were Aurea. We got Prosecco and chocolate covered strawberries, dark chocolate, a lovely reed diffuser (spa scent that we love), lightweight backpacks. My husband ordered additional entrees and while we were prepared to pay $5, we never did.

 

Another nice thing is bottled water! We always bring metal water bottles and fill them on NCL. We barely used them as water bottles were plentiful and part of the drink package that we bought with Aurea.

 

This was the first time we ever went on a cold weather cruise (we do NY in Summer or FL) and I was so nervous! We had a great time even when we weren’t in the sun. We make our own fun! 
 

The food in MDR was good. DH loved every meal. He said his steaks were perfect. If I look back a few weeks post trip I think my faves were lobster and the shrimp and grits. I don’t eat steak. We aren’t buffet people but on this trip we did hit up the pizza several times. The only crummy meal I got was soggy fish and chips one day for lunch. Not a big deal. I would say the food is comparable to MDR on NCL except service better on MSC.

 

We went to the spa at 9 each morning but once. We did make reservations while there on sea days. It was not crowded.

 

The private island was beautiful! We really liked it. We did not hang out in the main area and when we walked it, it was crowded. If you don’t care about the buffet, I suggest doing the less crowded beaches that have a bar and a little food truck.

 

Gambling was good. Didn’t lose our shirts!

 

Very clean and pretty ship. Our ship was 80% full per staff we spoke to…

 

Embarkation was easy peasy! We got there right before noon and were in our cabin at 12:30! Longest part was security and then you go to the left for the Aurea sign and that was minutes.

 

I think NYC port pick up is easier and we would probably choose to walk off with our luggage next time. Those who did that were off by 730 am. Looking for luggage was a bit chaotic but still ok.

 

i hope I covered everything. Feel free to ask more! 😊

[AmbitionatBay]

51 minutes ago, pamelanj said:

Hi again.

 

We are also platinum on NCL. Did you do the status match? We did and got gold on MSC.

 

We are low maintenance people but we did notice the service on MSC seemed like NCL of the past. Not knocking NCL. We are booked for June with them in our first Haven experience.

 

We received a lot of nice “gifts” in our cabin. I am not sure which were due to Gold or which were Aurea. We got Prosecco and chocolate covered strawberries, dark chocolate, a lovely reed diffuser (spa scent that we love), lightweight backpacks. My husband ordered additional entrees and while we were prepared to pay $5, we never did.

 

Another nice thing is bottled water! We always bring metal water bottles and fill them on NCL. We barely used them as water bottles were plentiful and part of the drink package that we bought with Aurea.

 

This was the first time we ever went on a cold weather cruise (we do NY in Summer or FL) and I was so nervous! We had a great time even when we weren’t in the sun. We make our own fun! 
 

The food in MDR was good. DH loved every meal. He said his steaks were perfect. If I look back a few weeks post trip I think my faves were lobster and the shrimp and grits. I don’t eat steak. We aren’t buffet people but on this trip we did hit up the pizza several times. The only crummy meal I got was soggy fish and chips one day for lunch. Not a big deal. I would say the food is comparable to MDR on NCL except service better on MSC.

 

We went to the spa at 9 each morning but once. We did make reservations while there on sea days. It was not crowded.

 

The private island was beautiful! We really liked it. We did not hang out in the main area and when we walked it, it was crowded. If you don’t care about the buffet, I suggest doing the less crowded beaches that have a bar and a little food truck.

 

Gambling was good. Didn’t lose our shirts!

 

Very clean and pretty ship. Our ship was 80% full per staff we spoke to…

 

Embarkation was easy peasy! We got there right before noon and were in our cabin at 12:30! Longest part was security and then you go to the left for the Aurea sign and that was minutes.

 

I think NYC port pick up is easier and we would probably choose to walk off with our luggage next time. Those who did that were off by 730 am. Looking for luggage was a bit chaotic but still ok.

 

i hope I covered everything. Feel free to ask more! 😊

Wow- thanks for such thorough information!  You are making me feel better about trying MSC. We have never sailed in colder weather either.  We have only sailed in summer to Bermuda on NCL out of NYC.

 

Yes, we did status match and got gold.  I did read about the “gifts” in the room.  Very nice touch.

 

Private island looks amazing. Will take your advice and walk around a bit.  I also read to make reservations at thermal spa only on sea days.

 

I think we are going to book it tomorrow.  We aren’t usually last minute with this stuff but we are looking for some fun in the sun during this dreary month of March in upstate NY.

 

I will let you know if I think of anything else.  Thanks again!

[pamelanj]

28 minutes ago, AmbitionatBay said:

Wow- thanks for such thorough information!  You are making me feel better about trying MSC. We have never sailed in colder weather either.  We have only sailed in summer to Bermuda on NCL out of NYC.

 

Yes, we did status match and got gold.  I did read about the “gifts” in the room.  Very nice touch.

 

Private island looks amazing. Will take your advice and walk around a bit.  I also read to make reservations at thermal spa only on sea days.

 

I think we are going to book it tomorrow.  We aren’t usually last minute with this stuff but we are looking for some fun in the sun during this dreary month of March in upstate NY.

 

I will let you know if I think of anything else.  Thanks again!

Sounds like you are feeling what I felt. We booked our 2/2 cruise ~a week prior. We are spontaneous people but since this was a new line to us, I was nervous!!!

 

A good friend of mine said it best, you aren’t at work! Truly, how bad would it have to be to HATE it. 🤣

 

We didn’t know what to expect and reading some comments made it scarier. But then I remembered that we have had many great NCL cruises and some people have complained where we were perfectly happy.

 

I hope you have a great time! 😊

 

 

Edited March 5 by pamelanj

[AmbitionatBay]

On 3/4/2024 at 8:37 PM, pamelanj said:

Sounds like you are feeling what I felt. We booked our 2/2 cruise ~a week prior. We are spontaneous people but since this was a new line to us, I was nervous!!!

 

A good friend of mine said it best, you aren’t at work! Truly, how bad would it have to be to HATE it. 🤣

 

We didn’t know what to expect and reading some comments made it scarier. But then I remembered that we have had many great NCL cruises and some people have complained where we were perfectly happy.

 

I hope you have a great time! 😊

 

 

All booked and documents printed!!  Fingers crossed all goes well.  Definitely beats being at work - lol