My First MSC Cruise – My Honest Review

This week i had the opportunity to sail on MSC Meraviglia from Barcelona to Genoa. I have sailed on many cruiselines before but never MSC so I wanted to find out for myself what the MSC brand was all about.

As I stepped onto the ship my first thoughts were how stylish this ship actually was, the decor throughout was extremely classy and with a very glitzy feel to it. She really did had the wow factor .

I was allocated an accessible balcony cabin , number 13073 on the Aurea experience which also included the ALL Inclusive drinks package. My cabin was beautiful and very well designed for wheelchair users as you will see from the pictures. Balcony size was impressive with ramps and the bathroom very accommodating with shampoos and shower gel provided in a dispenser. I dropped off my case and went to explore. Please note that if you are on deck 12 upwards there is an overhang so sunshine on your balcony will be limited.

Spacious Balcony in accessible cabin 13073

Meraviglia is the first of the Meraviglia class of ship that MSC have built with the following Meraviglia calss ship due for her Maiden voyage in March 2019 which will be the Bellissima sailing out of Barcelona.

If you have sailed on MSC before you will know how beautiful these ships actually are in their design especially with the Swarovski staircases being the main attraction in the central Atrium and wow I have never quite seen anything like it. Totally stunning and quite unbelievable . the whole ship just oozed pure class throughout.

Stunning Swarovski Staircase

Meraviglia is a large ship and accommodates 4500 passengers but you will never get lost as the ship is filled with interactive maps and boards like the one below to help you find your way around.

MSC Meraviglia has the longest outdoor pool at sea and i loved the design of the pool together with the comfy double beds on the edge of the pool. Pool towels are in your cabin for pool use too. Entertainment by the pool is great and throughout the day. The staff really go to town in involving you in keep fit, pool games and the most popular seemed to be the quiz where a logo appeared on the screen and we all had to guess what the logo was. So if you are into lively music and fun games by the pool with staff on hand to bring you a drink then this is the area to be.

Outdoor Adult pool

If you prefer a quieter area then there is also a stunning smaller pool at the back of the ship on deck 14 plenty of sunbeds and overlooks the back of the ship for a more quiet lazy day with fabulous views.

Quieter pool area at the back of the ship deck 14

Following in Jane MacDonald’s footsteps of last year I sampled the many bars on board. The All Inclusive drinks package is very much recommended and great value if not included in your package as an addition at £27 per person per day and includes beers, house wines and non branded spirits. I have to say though with an array of cocktails to choose from the BBC Cocktail is an absolute must which includes Baileys, Rum and banana. What I also thought was a nice touch is that in the buffet restaurant on deck 15 you have a buzzer at each table and a bar menu which you press and a waiter will come to your table for your drinks order immediately . The food in the buffet restaurant offer a wide selection of foods for adults and children and is open for 20 hours a day if you ever feel peckish throughout the day and night.

Buffet Restaurant buzzer

You will also find wash basin booths on entry into the restaurant too which I quite liked too.

Wash Basic Booth outside buffet restaurant

Also on deck 15 and at the back of the ship is for kids and like me for big kids too. with a fabulous waterpark featuring two waterslides and plenty of sunbathing areas for mums and dads. Here you will also find the F1 Simulator, Flight Simulator , basketball court and 4D cinema. Apart from the basketball court the others are chargable and are open from 6pm until midnight for you to use. Although I didn’t have time to experience these a colleague of mine did and loved it. The 4D cinema was totally interactive and great fun.

Formula 1 Simulator

Flight Simulator

4D CInema

In the evening you have an abundance of bars and restaurants. Included in your holiday you have the buffet restaurant and the main dining room to choose from each evening. The menus in the main dining room catered for all and you could choose as many of the starters main courses healthy eating options as you could manage and never a problem. The waiters are very eager to help throughout the evening, the service in here was exceptional. Also note that if you haven’t paid for the drinks package then water is chargable at dinner. Tea and coffee after dinner is of course included.

I also got to try Teppanyaki, a speciality dining restaurant and for 48 Euros you could have the emperors menu which included fish, sushi, steak. wow this experience was so far the best I have had on any ship I have been on. I think it even bettered the Crown Grill on Princess which was my favourite. Although I will be experiencing Qsine on Celebrity and Wonderland on Symphony this year but at the moment this was a sure fire winner for me. Totally interactive where the food is cooked on a hot plate in front of you. The chef chatted to you and was fun and explained the whole process of what he was doing and the food he was cooking. The atmosphere was amazing and I really had an amazing time here. Definitely recommended.

Teppanyaki

Teppanyaki

Teppanyaki

After dinner it was then time to explore the ship. I guess in all honesty I found more to do in the evening on this ship than I have on any other in the evening. The nightlife on board goes on until at least 1am in the morning .

Great music, dancing, parties which are themed, Karaoki , quizzes, live bands the list goes on and on. There is so much to do it is difficult to decide and all of this doesn’t even include the Broadway style shows in the theatre or the piece d resistance Cirque De Soleil. You can pay to have dinner whilst you watch the show but we had already eaten . Having not seen this show before I didn’t really know what to expect but I was impressed. The production for this was fabulous.  Only a 45 minute show the dancers and acrobats were totally awesome, a definite must see on board.

The ship was filled with many different nationalities of course and one question I am asked is the languages on board. Being honest with you English was the language mostly spoken on board and the only time I heard Any other languages was when by the pool when the entertainment team were explaining the rules of one of the pool games.

MSC are bring more and more British elements to there ships especially next year as MSC sail out of Southampton .

I guess i could spend all day talking about his ship, so much to cover regarding my experience on board.  If you really want to experience this yourself  then I have added a link to the Meraviglia and Bellissima sailings for next summer.  Maiden Voyage sailing from Southampton on the 4th March 2019. Click on the link below.

Bellissima Sailings 2019

MSC have excelled themselves and I have been totally impressed , the bigger ships are not for everyone I appreciate that but if you want a stylish classy fun filled experience then Meraviglia Class for me is a definite choice.

Would I sail on MSC again and the answer is definitely yes. I am looking at Seaside Class for next year to see how it compares to a Meraviglia Class Ship.

Anything you need to know please do email me or call me and I am happy to answer any further questions.

Until we speak again Holly 08004086114

 

 


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