MSC Meraviglia Review
New Year's cruise - a bit better than expected
Rating by category
Additional details
This was our 3rd time cruising with MSC, but our first cruise since the pandemic, and our first time cruising during the holidays.
We've been on 10+ cruises overall, with Royal Caribbean and Celebrity as well. We chose MSC for the pricing and the fact it's free for kids under 12.
My expectations were frankly quite low. I was expecting worse, based on other reviews and the fact we were sailing during the busy holiday period. From what I understand, we had better weather on this sailing than the previous week, and we were able to dock at Ocean Cay - they weren't able to dock the previous week. On another December cruise there were major issues and delays caused by an accidental death. I guess we were lucky on this sailing?
Cabin Review
Our cabin was on the 14th deck, with a balcony. The service was pretty good - I've had worse on other ships for sure. Our room attendant was fairly easy to reach. We had to ask him for pool towels as none were provided in the room. Not sure if this was the usual procedure, but this wasn't clear.
No towel animals or chocolates on the pillow, for those who care (was certainly not a deal breaker for me)
Port Reviews
Belize City
Awesome guided tour to visit Mayan ruins - only issue was the long tender. Getting back on the ship took forever!
Costa Maya
The tourist area near the port in itself was well worth the visit.
Cozumel
Lots of interesting shops and restaurants, the vendors can be a bit pushy but that's true of most ports, I guess.
Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve
Beautiful small island with lots of beaches to choose from.