7 Things I Disliked About MSC Meraviglia

Zahi Merz
Dec 6, 2021
7 min read

If you follow my socials, you may have noticed that I recently sailed aboard MSC Meraviglia. She is the first member of the Meraviglia class which was introduced in 2017. She is currently sailing from Port Canaveral. Not the newest ship or class but, can definitely hold her own against the newer ships out there.

If you have been wondering what MSC has to offer or what is like to sail aboard a European cruise line read on. This is my list of the 7 things I disliked. * This list was created based on what I experienced*

Facts:

Total guest capacity: 5,655
Length: 1,036 feet
Gross Tonnage: 167,600
Decks: 19

Best for: Families, multigenerational groups, couples, solo travelers, and international travelers.

Not for: Those who prefer a small-ship experience or travelers who are nervous about a more European-style approach.

Highlights:

MSC Yacht Club
Plaza Meraviglia with LED Ceiling
Atrium with Swarovski crystal staircases
Jean-Philippe Chocolate Factory
Jean-Phillipe Crepes & Gelatto

Overview:

MSC Meraviglia is the flagship for the MSC Meraviglia class of vessels. Her sister, MSC Bellissima, debuted in early 2019. The ship is the first MSC vessel with an indoor promenade, Plaza Meraviglia, that runs the length of the ship. MSC being an Italian line, has been working hard to become one of the major players in the North American market. There are things you may find a bit different from the other major cruise lines. For example, MSC books their cruises by experience: Bella, Fanstastica, and Aurea. This is different than other mainstream cruise lines. Make sure you understand exactly what your package covers and what it doesn't. If you're not sure of what each experience covers, reach out to MSC or a travel advisor who is familiar with the MSC brand.

Each experience offers a level of service. Bella being the entry level experience, is your very basic cruise experience without any perks. It is also the most economical fare. This is great for cruisers who don't want added expenses like drink or dinner packages. Aurea, also know as the wellness experience offers a few more perks as well as access the thermal spa (adults only). You decide what your cruising experience will be.

My thoughts:

Now that we are past the holiday, I figured I can dive into my thoughts of MSC Meraviglia and MSC Cruises. First, let me start by saying that we were given an amazing opportunity to sail their ships. As a travel agent, looking for the best for my clients is a priority, so my plan of action was to find everything that was wrong with this cruise line and ship.

If you have ever looked up reviews for MSC, it is difficult to find a glowing one, so I made it my mission to find out why. I will share a list my disappointments on this post with a follow up of what I loved about MSC. So keep an eye out for that one! Here it goes: 7 Things I Disliked About MSC Meraviglia.

Disappointing:

Let's start with their website(s). Both websites whether consumer or travel agent (TA) sites are not user friendly. While I was able to manage my booking from the TA site to some extent, when I tried to manage it from the consumer site, it was somewhat difficult. My booking # wasn't found if I logged in. The booking was found on a different page. It was confusing. This is one complaint I heard throughout the sailing from other cruisers. Online check-in and pre-cruise purchases should be easy to manage on the site.

Communication between MSC, passengers and TA's needs work. As a TA, I should be made aware of any changes that may occur. Itinerary changes and such should be made known to us to make sure we keep our clients up-to-date on their sailing. The same goes if I were just a passenger. My itinerary changed quite a bit and I was never made aware. Same ports of call, just different days and an overnight stop turned into one day and a new port of call was added. This did not affect my experience since I was sailing to get the MSC experience however, clients tend to make their cruise choices based on ships and itineraries. We need to be kept in the loop. I finally got a notification when I got to my cabin on embarkation day. Better late than never I guess. 🤔

The Embarkation process, MSC chooses your check-in time. I believe is to avoid over crowding at the terminal and to keep social distance. When I booked my cruise, my embarkation time was 11:00am, great! I love boarding early! There was a change to my embarkation time to 4:00pm without any notice, again. I did not realize that my time had changed until I was at the cruise terminal and I looked at my boarding pass. Luckily, I was able to check-in and the staff was great. The actual embarkation process seemed a bit chaotic but that comes with the excitement of finally getting to board a cruise ship.

*At the time of my booking, I was not allowed to pick or change my check-in time*

Status match program, MSC does something different. If you have loyalty cards with any other cruise line, hotel, or tour operator, you can join the MSC status match program when you join MSC Voyagers Club. They will match your current loyalty points and this comes with some perks. I did not use the status match program but, a fellow agent did and she received none of the perks. When she asked at guest services, she was told that it was due to Covid safety protocols. Not a personal experience but I did hear this complaint from quite a few people around the ship. If this is something that it is being advertised, it should be honored in my opinion or, at the very least make a statement somewhere stating that these perks may not be available at this time for whatever the reason may be. Cruisers are loyal to their brand as long as their brand is good to them. Food for thought.

Drink package: I decided to pre-purchase their easy drink package. I love specialty coffees and sparkling water, which are both included in the easy package. I should've been able to use it everywhere around the ship, except specialty restaurants or the chocolate factory and gelato place, cool, great, I was aware of that. One night, I was at one of the shows at the TV Studio Lounge (not a specialty), and I ordered a drink which I was charged for. According to the waiter, my package did not cover my drinks at that venue. I happened to ask another staff member a few days later and was told that I should not have been charged. Not sure the staff is all on the same page. Something they need to make clear to everyone so there isn't any confusion as to where your drink package can be used. It is a very uncomfortable feeling not knowing what venues my package covered.

The mini bar/room service: I chose the Fantastica experience which offered *free* room service. This is something that still has me a bit confused. The mini bar is not something I haven't seen before. Some of the other cruise lines have mini bars as well. It is just like a hotel, you take something from the mini bar, there will be a charge. What confused me was being charged for drinks ordered from room service. Again, easy package, free room service, but the one time I ordered a beverage I was charged. I asked why? Just out of curiosity, and was told that ALL beverages via room service had to be paid for. With the exception of the coffee that I ordered to be delivered every morning. My other option if I did not want to leave my cabin, was purchase from the mini bar. Needless to say I made sure to stop by a bar and grab a bottle of sparkling water or a cappuccino on my way back to my cabin.

*Tip: If you bring certain things on board that need to be refrigerated, you can ask your room steward to empty your mini bar for the duration of your sailing. I bring my own creamer and always bring water bottles back to my cabin and put them in the mini fridge*

*Tip: On your way back to your cabin, as long as you have a drink package, stop by a bar and grab a bottle or 2 of water to keep in your mini fridge.

Wristband: Once you board the ship, right past security, you are given a wristband. All I was told was keep it on at all times during my sailing and on debarkation day it had to be returned. Ok, no issues there. I thought it was a contact tracing devise, as part of the new safety protocols. Did not think anything of it. It wasn't until I was at my cabin door when I heard a family talking about the wristband. I learned that I was able to open my cabin door with it. Fast forward to a few days later, and a waiter let me know that I was able to use my wristband as my sail card. 🤯. This may not be a huge deal to some. However, I recently read another TA's review and she had no idea what this wristband was for. She thought it was just big brother watching your every move. Letting passengers know ahead of time would clear up any confusion regarding these wristbands. I would go as far as saying that mailing them to sailors ahead of time, with some information on what the function of this gadget is, would be a great way to avoid any confusion and make checking in a much smoother process. Something like Princess medallion or Virgin Voyages wristband. Just a thought if anyone at MSC is reading. 😉.

I know, I know, some of my disappointments may be nitpicky. But I did warn that it would be a list of dislikes based on MY experience. Let's keep in mind that some of the items on that list may be helpful for future cruisers!

Want to know what I loved about MSC Meraviglia? Stayed tuned for my follow up post!