MSC Meraviglia Review

4.0 / 5.0
838 reviews

Truly loved the boat and cruise up until I got food poisoning from the buffet

Review for the Bahamas Cruise on MSC Meraviglia
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wiseways
10+ Cruises • Age 60s

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Sail Date: Nov 2022

From the beginning - The embarkation was a bit problematic in that the luggage drop was swamped and the ship wasn't ready when they had people arrive so there was some significant waiting of about an hour before boarding. The actual check in was quick and easy. Not a big deal. The rooms weren't ready until 2ish, but they had a spot forward on deck 6 to store luggage which was convenient. We took swim suits in a backpack with us as we paid for the thermal spa cruise pass. The thermal area was very nice and enjoyable, with few people the first day. It should be noted that the spa was closed on the Ocean Cay day for maintenance, so the pass is only good for 3 days on a 4 night cruise including embarkation day. After enjoying the spa, we were able to get into our room after grabbing the stored luggage. At 4:45 the safety briefing was presented not the room TV and a quick automated call afterwards showed it was completed. We then were required to go to our emergency station (D for our room) and they checked each cabin card there to make sure everyone showed. The dinner was ok, but very slow in coming. The ship was about half full so we were surprised is was so slow. After dinner we went the Broadway Show, and did that each night. The performers were excellent in my view. There were two shows each evening except for one and that was the Rock and Roll show which was the best in my view. Nassau arrival and departure was painless. We've been there many times and stay on the ship - the latter of which is beautiful. Its newness really shows and it's really fun to just walk around. I was disappointed in the casino as craps is my only game and there was no table. Also, on this cruise, there was no formal night, not sure why. The afternoon of the last day we had lunch at the buffet and dinner at the restaurant. My wife and I had slightly different lunches and the same dinner, so it was easy to determine that it was the hamburger at the buffet that gave me food poisoning, but the action didn't start until well after dinner (though I noted right after eating the burger that "it didn't sit right"). I'll save you the gory detail, but the "action" started at 11pm and went on until 6 am. The latter time was the morning of disembarking. Our room steward was kind enough to let us remain in the room and the ship provided a wheel chair to get me out of there as I was totally spent. The exit process very easy, though I'm not sure people got out of my way due to kindness or the potential of impending danger. Overall, it's great boat. They do have a variety of food issues to work out and hopefully they'll do it before somebody else has the same experience I did. I felt bad for the room steward not that there was anything to clean - my aim and timing were fine, but due due to the smell of the room. The balcony was really nice in the morning with coffee, the entertainment good. I was surprised nobody reached out to find out more about the food poisoning and where and when it occurred. I had more detail about one of the probable causes in the handling issue. In a separate area, the accounting of the bill was truly odd. We were hit with the tip fee for the cruise the first afternoon shortly after embarkation which seemed rather premature. They also used minuses and plusses with no real purpose which was confusing on a refund for the kayak trip on Ocean Cay due to excessive wind. Also, skip the kayak guided trip on Ocean Cay as you can see everything on this .7 by .7 mile island from shore or from the boat.

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