MSC Meraviglia Review
“All the places” is where MSC needs to look for help!
Review for the Bahamas Cruise on MSC Meraviglia
@ArnieATL
10+ Cruises • Age 40s
Rating by category
Cabin
Family
Value for Money
Embarkation
Dining
Public Rooms
Entertainment
Fitness & Recreation
Service
Additional details
Sail Date: Jan 2023
Cabin: Deluxe Balcony
This was my second MSC cruise (Divina was first), and my 17th cruise overall. The ship is stunning, very modern, clean, and in great condition. The service left a bad taste in my mouth overall, the lines for the bars were the worst I’ve seen in any of my cruises, and the lack of communication about key things you need to know are the biggest issues. I will get into those areas as I review further.
Embarkation: This process was relatively smooth, we arrived at the port at 10:30AM and walked directly to security screening. The port security employees (not MSC) had some very bad attitudes. The check-in process is similar to that of cruises 10-12 years ago (as with nearly all MSC processes, broken and out of date). Many duplicative stops along the way and you get a different version of ‘what happens next’ from each person. The biggest confusion is the cruise card activation. I was handed a very wordy, yet uninformative sheet telling me I had to go link my credit card to the cruise card at a kiosk even though I did that online and in the app. Moments later I got a charge from MSC for $250. When I went to the kiosk I was unable to do anything as the kiosk said I was already linked, so it was a waste of time. The sheet says you don’t need to activate if you aren’t going to spend over the $250 in authorized charges, but all the employees and announcements said you have to go to the kiosk.
Bars: The bars like the rest of the ship are beautiful, and there are a ton of them. The issues are the bars are understaffed, inefficient, and out of nearly all the basic needs of the bar. Examples of what we were told they were out of throughout the cruise at various bars around the ship (Champagne, Prosecco, strawberry daiquiri mix, pina colada mix, Rum, cranberry juice, limes). The shortest wait for any drink was 10 mins, with the longest wait exceeding 40 mins. Many of the fares on this itinerary had the drinks included, it seems that MSC is using the “out of” to limit the consumption and cut costs. Additionally, short staffing the bars during the busiest times will discourage people from waiting, and limit the output of beverages. The MSC theme song “All the places” appropriately describes where you have to go onboard to get a drink.
Cabin Review
Deluxe Balcony
Fantastica Balcony #9148, clean, modern. Comfortable bed and sofa, sliding balcony door (no bungee needed :), bathroom is pretty tight with limited storage, and the bathroom door blocks the cabin door from opening with a very poorly designed overlap. The closet is very small with 2 small drawers and 3-4 usable shelves. The blow dryer is in a hidden camouflaged drawer in the desk/vanity area of the cabin. Balcony is very small, you can fit 4 people out there to see the light show on the island, but it’s a tight fit, you cannot sit in the chairs and open the door without having to move the chair forward. The view on this balcony set was partially obstructed by the life boats, this is not advertised. You cannot see down to the water off the side of the ship, you can only see out to the life boats. This room was in the “set in” section of the ship where the superstructure comes inward.
Port Reviews
Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve
Ocean Cay was gorgeous again, very clean and well kept. Drink service at the bars is staffed and supplied from the ship, so unfortunately was plagued by the same issues as onboard drink service. Most bars didn’t open until 10:30AM and closed at 3PM, and several of the bars were not open and the ship sailed at 90% or higher occupancy (4100 pax). The bar nearest our cabana was staffed at 9AM for prep work and opened at 10:30 AM with prep work still going, no ice, no limes, and no vodka. The ice didn’t show up for the beer bins until after 12PM. The buffet line at lunch was so long they had staff discouraging us from waiting and directing us to the food trucks. This was a much faster option. Our group rented a cabana, we were assigned to ‘South Beach’ #34 and it was very nice and enjoyable with a view of the lagoon. What we were not told is the beach closed at 4:30PM and we were asked to leave our Cabana ($250). Thankfully we got out there at 9:30 AM, but there was no indication that the beach closed at 4:30PM for an overnight call with all onboard time of 11:30PM.
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