I’m writing this review for the October 18th Canada and New England sailing from New York City. This was our seventh MSC cruise, and fourth sailing in the Yacht Club. If you look at my signature on the discussion forums you can see my other reviews where we’ve previously spent an enjoyable two weeks in a Seaside Yacht Club interior, so had no hesitation booking the same type cabin for this 10 day cruise. Due to sailing late in the season we didn’t feel the need to spend additional money for a balcony cabin. We became a bit concerned after reading the horror stories from the October 8th Canada sailing, but with MSC’s last minute port staff reorganizing and terrific weather it proved much more favorable for this sailing.

We flew into Newark airport a day before sailing and used a GoAirlink NYC shuttle for transport to the Chelsea Pines Inn in the Chelsea area of Manhattan. Uber was a consideration, but our 9am arrival and trip into the city made traffic a concern so we settled on the $18 per person fixed fare of the shared shuttle. Unfortunately on our ride they took several last minute bookings and severely overcrowded the very tight seating of the van. In fairness my son used the same service for the next sailing and had a very good experience. Paying the premium for a Manhattan hotel was worth it for the ease of getting to the NYC landmarks we wanted to visit. The 30 room hotel has typically small NYC rooms that were clean, the bathroom and shower was large. No elevator was available for those on the upper floors. Their communication was good and our request for a first floor room was honored. Rooms facing the street are noisy, request a room facing the rear garden area.

Meraviglia slipped back into NYC early, about 1am, and we figured it was in an effort to improve upon the dismal embarkation of the previous sailing. All passenger e-tickets stated a 1pm embarkation time and we were torn whether to arrive early or later in the afternoon, in the end we decided not to ask for a late checkout and to get to the port about 11:30am. We found no lines and the port operating normally. I spotted a Yacht Club sign near the terminal entry doors and bypassed the porters heading towards the table staffed with MSC butlers in their typical uniform. The beginning of strange new YC procedures started quickly as we were almost immediately asked what dining time we preferred. Then as group of about 10 YC guests we were then escorted to the security check point that was already moving smoothly, then on to the YC check in area which was the same room NCL uses for the Haven passengers. Regular passengers were already boarding and after a snack and a Prosecco a group of about 20 was escorted onto the ship and into the YC area. We dropped our carry-on bags at our cabin then headed to the YC restaurant for a quick lunch before going out to explore the ship. It was a very easy embarkation, and looked to be so for most passengers. Read more