Meraviglia & MSC general questions

[alserrod]

One question about dinner...

 

Having MDR time by 20:00 I do not know if 21:15 show is strongly soon and I should have to plan for 22:30.

 

If it is affordable to go to 21:30 show it will be cool. Ending by 22:10 or so and we could go on party. Otherwise it means to wait somewhere for almost one hour.

 

Edited April 2 by alserrod

[JamieLogical]

4 hours ago, alserrod said:

One question about dinner...

 

Having MDR time by 20:00 I do not know if 21:15 show is strongly soon and I should have to plan for 22:30.

 

If it is affordable to go to 21:30 show it will be cool. Ending by 22:10 or so and we could go on party. Otherwise it means to wait somewhere for almost one hour.

 

 

MDR dining times and main theater show times are coordinated so that you should be able to eat your full meal and then see a show or vice versa.

[alserrod]

Just now, JamieLogical said:

 

MDR dining times and main theater show times are coordinated so that you should be able to eat your full meal and then see a show or vice versa.

 

Yeah, I guess so.

 

Issue is:

 

Option 1, dinning at 18:00, show at 20:00. This is, 2 hours later

Option 2, dinning at 20:00, show at 22:30, this is, 2,5 hours later

Option 3, show at 21:15 (it ends by 21:50), dinner at 22:00. This is... just 10 minutes later

 

2,5 hours after dinner seems to be quite late

 

 

[JamieLogical]

I am not sure what the current dining/show schedule onboard is, but looking at some of the Dailies from one of my recent sailings, here were the times:

 

First Seating:

Waves - 17:30

Panorama - 18:00

L'Olivo/L'Olive - 18:30

 

Second Seating:

Waves - 19:30

Panorama - 20:30

L'Olivo/L'Olive - 21:00

 

Show times were at 19:30 and 21:30. Dinner in the MDR usually takes about 1.5 hours. The shows are 45 minutes.

[Homosassa]

On 4/1/2024 at 9:13 AM, NJsharon said:

 

 

Both myself & my daughter like to dress up a bit for formal night, but I know she would hate to be out of place, so have to think about that.  Shame it is disappearing. 

 

Thank you!

 

 

 

Dress up by all means.

 

MSC has many international guests that believe in dressing for dinner. They also wear a level of "casual" dress throughout the day that looks like the country club casual that is required on a casual night.

 

One can easily pick out the US citizens used to "freestyle" standards.

[Anastas617]

9 hours ago, alserrod said:

One question about dinner...

 

Having MDR time by 20:00 I do not know if 21:15 show is strongly soon and I should have to plan for 22:30.

 

If it is affordable to go to 21:30 show it will be cool. Ending by 22:10 or so and we could go on party. Otherwise it means to wait somewhere for almost one hour.

 

Current show times on Meraviglia are 19:00, 20:30 and 22:00.

 

When I was seated at a full table in the MDR this past cruise, it was 50/50 if I would have made the 20:30 show when seated for 19:00 dinner.

 

My previous cruise I was seated by myself and told the waiter I'd like to make the show and never had a problem being finished with plenty of time to get there.

 

So, in my experience, 90 minutes can be a tight window, but asking the waiter to help "move things along" is beneficial depending on seating arrangements. 

[amberjohn]

Hello,

   We will be sailing out of NY on the Meraviglia in October. I have been watching numerous videos and reading up on the ship.  A few answers I cannot seem to find anywhere:

1-We love to get one meal to try and one backup meal in case we don't like the 1st meal (we eat both meals).  I have read/heard that MSC doesn't have a traditional Main Complimentary Restaurant, that they charge for any dinner after the 1st entree?  Is there any truth to this?

2- Can you request just a table for two at dinner?

3- If the lines are as terrible and disorganized and I have heard, is there a time you can go to the meals (buffet) and the lines will be short? 

4- I have read conflicting reports on complimentary drinks at meals. They all state that you can get tea, coffee and water but some also say you can get lemonade and flavored waters?

5-Are there any smaller venues to get complimentary foods?

6- Port Canaveral is one of our Ports.  Does MSC have any shuttles (for a fee) to the Theme Parks.

 

Thanks

[Anastas617]

20 minutes ago, amberjohn said:

Hello,

   We will be sailing out of NY on the Meraviglia in October. I have been watching numerous videos and reading up on the ship.  A few answers I cannot seem to find anywhere:

1-We love to get one meal to try and one backup meal in case we don't like the 1st meal (we eat both meals).  I have read/heard that MSC doesn't have a traditional Main Complimentary Restaurant, that they charge for any dinner after the 1st entree?  Is there any truth to this? Yes. They charge $5 for additional entrees in the MDR. (Though if you dislike an entree they may just replace it for you. I've never disliked anything enough to not eat it so have never asked.)

2- Can you request just a table for two at dinner? What experience are you? Bella you get no choice and Fantastica you can choose preferred time slot (early/late). As far as requesting a table for two, you would need to check with the Maitre D' and see if they can accommodate you; I would do this as soon as you are on board (I think they will be at one of the restaurants on Deck 6?)

3- If the lines are as terrible and disorganized and I have heard, is there a time you can go to the meals (buffet) and the lines will be short? I've had good experience at the buffet going after 7pm for dinner and before 7am for breakfast. I rarely go to buffet at lunch, I go to Hola! tacos, the MDR or I'm on an excursion. EDIT: I should also note that the majority of people never walk to the back area where there is usually less people.

4- I have read conflicting reports on complimentary drinks at meals. They all state that you can get tea, coffee and water but some also say you can get lemonade and flavored waters? Can't help there as I only drink coffee, water and alcohol on cruise.

5-Are there any smaller venues to get complimentary foods? Outside the buffet in the pool area there are spots to grab quick eats like pizza, burgers, fries and hot dogs. Brass Anchor Bar has a very small and cheap menu of food and Hola! Tacos is cheap (a la carte or $18 AYCE). But MDR, Buffet and that mini-buffet near the pool are the only complimentary options.

6- Port Canaveral is one of our Ports.  Does MSC have any shuttles (for a fee) to the Theme Parks. I've seen excursions listed that don't include the hefty park tickets and it's a good drive from Port Canaveral. I'm sure others can tell you their experiences with this.

 

Thanks

Comments added in Red

Edited May 14 by Anastas617

[Illbcruzn4life]

On 4/1/2024 at 9:58 AM, alserrod said:

 

You can

 

1- Just pay the price for any game/slot/...

 

2- Buy credit for them.

If you buy credit you will have extra money as promotion but it is not refundable. In that case it will go to YOUR card (not to your daugther's card). She will be able to use it providing you are who pays.

 

 

 

can they keep grack of your playing with the band and not having your card inserted?

[alserrod]

1 hour ago, Illbcruzn4life said:

can they keep grack of your playing with the band and not having your card inserted?

 

 

you do not have to leave your card inserted.

for instance, you wanna go bowling, you pay (WITH YOUR CARD) for 30 minutes and leave them playing

[NJsharon]

On 4/2/2024 at 8:45 AM, JamieLogical said:

I am not sure what the current dining/show schedule onboard is, but looking at some of the Dailies from one of my recent sailings, here were the times:

 

First Seating:

Waves - 17:30

Panorama - 18:00

L'Olivo/L'Olive - 18:30

 

Second Seating:

Waves - 19:30

Panorama - 20:30

L'Olivo/L'Olive - 21:00

 

Show times were at 19:30 and 21:30. Dinner in the MDR usually takes about 1.5 hours. The shows are 45 minutes.

 

Thank you, that helps. 
We are Fantastica & hoping for earliesst dining! Fingers crossed.

[NJsharon]

On 4/1/2024 at 1:43 PM, noshoobie said:

We have cruised twice with MSC on a casino comp cruise. Both times we were comped a bella inside cabin but were upgraded to a balcony. The comp also included free drinks while playing in the casino. We will be cruising on Meraviglia again the end of April and were not upgraded this time. We loved the Meraviglia and can't wait to be sailing on her again! We are from South Jersey and take a train to Penn Station then Uber to Red Hook. Parking at the pier is $45 a day!

 

@noshoobie
How did you get upgraded to a balcony?
Did you pay for the upgrade, called to ask for comp upgrade, or did they just automatically contact you?
I was comped for interior bella. Got upgraded to interior fantastica for free. Then called & asked how much to upgrade to oceanview & got Oceanview Fantastica for $425 extra. I would love to get balcony though!
Thanks!

[brovol]

On 3/31/2024 at 6:06 AM, NJsharon said:

 

 

Okay, looked at the links, which were very helpful, just left me with a few more questions!
Have you ever received a free cruise through another casino on MSC?  Thinking a lot of these experiences might be different then for me, as that is what I will be doing.  Not sure the Yacht is an option.
For the dining package, do you know the rough cost for the 1 or 2 specialty meals?  I can't book it yet as I will be completing our booking this week, so no reservation number.
I will probably do the non-alcoholic beverage package as I rarely drink.  What is the cut off for the kids drink package, do you know?  My daughter will be 19 then, so thinking it is 12 & under or 16 or under?
Oh & I am Gold on NCL (7 more points for Platinum!), but that is 68 reward points, so don't think it translates well (if the points count the same), as I would be the base level with MSC.
Thank you so much!
 

 

 

 

I am new to MSC too, and have a Seashore cruise booked for next year.  I did the status match, because wife and I are platinum on both Princess and Norwegian.  We got matched to Gold with MSC.  Even though the Voyager benefits don't seem nearly as good as other cruise lines, the discount for cruise bookings more than makes up for it.  We got 10% off our booking; 5%, plus an additional 5% for booking it so early.  I had already booked our cruise, but as soon as I got the status match my TA confirmed the reduction in price.  It was over $600 for our YC suite.  You can pay for a lot of the silly perks the other cruise lines give with the cash savings. And you only need the silver voyager status to get that.  You will have that for sure.

[noshoobie]

4 hours ago, NJsharon said:

 

@noshoobie
How did you get upgraded to a balcony?
Did you pay for the upgrade, called to ask for comp upgrade, or did they just automatically contact you?
I was comped for interior bella. Got upgraded to interior fantastica for free. Then called & asked how much to upgrade to oceanview & got Oceanview Fantastica for $425 extra. I would love to get balcony though!
Thanks!

It was automatic.