After cruising on the MSC Divina a couple months earlier, we tried cruising on the Meraviglia; in fact we booked three more cruises on the newer, larger Meraviglia. Especially with the cancellation policy allowing cancellation just 48 hours before sailing we felt quite comfortable. Upon arrival everything was very simple and we were on the ship very quickly without a hitch. From the earlier MSC cruise we learned to set up a credit/debit card upon boarding since we were denied usage on the earlier cruise even though we had sufficient on board credit. (They charged full gratuities early on.) I had to choose a specific amount instead of having them simply charging the final amount as their system couldn't seem to do that, and I couldn't do this online prior to departure. I didn't understand why there was a foreign transaction fee there in Port Canaveral and I may have just applied cash instead.

The Meraviglia was such a beautiful ship with many unique features. Our balcony room was just fine and well attended to by our room steward. Food service was somewhat lacking. After eating in the buffet a couple of times we decided to to not ever go back. There was great indifference by crew in serving, cleaning as well as preparation. The restaurant wasn't much better. I ordered an omelet with ham and cheese and received one with mushrooms, peppers, spinach, and onions but no cheese and couldn't find any ham but it was hard to tell. I sent it back and received another much the same. The next day I ordered eggs with cheese (a menu item) and side of bacon. My wife complained when I found large pieces of paper dividing the bacon. I knew that was a mistake, and after that everyone received crumbled bacon instead of strips. There was only one server in the evening who seemed to understand what we wanted, but that didn't always make a difference. It seemed difficult to fight their system.

Just outside the buffet there was a soft-serve ice cream station, one of my favorite features on Carnival. It was not self-serve so guests requested a cone or cup of ice cream at the counter. I never saw much activity there and never more than one of the three machines in service. After I got a cone and sat down, my wife decided to get one, too, and watch the large outdoor screen on deck. There never seemed to be much there other than warnings about Covid mask requirement. As we left I went back for a cup of ice cream and after I got the server away from her phone and received the "Really!!" look, I received my cup of slop, i.e., mostly melted ice cream in the bottom of the cup. My wife mentioned that she, too, received that attitude when she pulled the server from her phone. Another place where we never wanted to come back! Read more