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CRUISE REVIEW
MSC MERAVIGLIA Eastern Caribbean cruise Winter 2025 by Richard H. Wagner |
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This was a 10-night cruise to the Caribbean from New York's Brooklyn Cruise Terminal. There were four posts of call: Puerto Plata (Dominican Republic); San Juan (Puerto Rico); St. Thomas (US Virgin Islands) and St. Maarten.
MSC Cruises is a young cruise line compared to the other major cruise companies. It is a subsidiary of Mediterranean Shipping Company. While this giant cargo ship company had previously dabbled in cruising, it went into cruising in a big way with the creation of MSC Cruises in 1995. Since then, MSC Cruises has rapidly expanded, building a fleet of increasingly larger ships so that it is now the third largest cruise company. The line is well-established in Europe. In recent years, it has turned its attention to the North American market, basing some of its largest ships in the United States. Inasmuch as the American market has some different expectations than European markets, MSC has been adapting its approach to cruising on the ships based in U.S. to North American expectations. While progress has been made, my experience on this cruise was that achieving parity with the other major cruise linesthat serve the U.S. is still a work in progress. The Ship. Meraviglia was built in 2017. It is an impressive ship. Her exterior is somewhat box-like - - a characteristic it shares with many modern cruise ships - - but the vast expanse of white trimmed with black livery creates the impression of a large, mighty ship. Heads turn when Meraviglia enters the harbor. At over 171,000 gross tons, Meraviglia is a very big ship. On this cruise, the ship was very stable, with little movement, despite some stormy weather. The interior is eye-pleasing. (see our picture tour). The decor is upmarket contemporary if somewhat like a Las Vegas casino. On this cruise, the ship was clean and looked well-maintained. Passengers who have sailed with other cruise lines will recognize some familiar features. For example, running down Meraviglia’s center line is a multi-deck high mall with shops, bars and eateries similar to the Royal Promenade on Royal Caribbean’s Voyager and Freedom class ships. MSC has taken this feature a step further by having video screens running along the ceiling of the promenade (the “dome”). These are used to display colorful programs such as projections of some of the decorative features of the great buildings of the world. Along the same lines, the sophisticated Sky Lounge overlooking the main outdoor pool area is reminiscent of the Viking Crown Lounge on some of the older Royal Caribbean ships. Meraviglia can carry some 5,000 passengers. The mere fact that a cruise ship carries a lot of passengers does not necessarily mean that it will feel crowded or suffer the problems of overcrowding such as long waiting periods. The reason lies in a concept known in the cruise industry as “passenger flow.” Passenger flow refers to how the passengers on a ship distribute themselves over the various venues on a ship. A ship has good passenger flow if the passengers are able to distribute themselves so that they are not all trying to be in the same place at the same time. This is why when you cannot simply add more cabins to the design of a small ship and expect it to be able to deliver a satisfactory cruise experience. You also have to increase the number of entertainment and dining venues so that any one time a portion of the passengers will be in each of the various venues. Of course, since nobody wants to spend all their time in the same place, the ship has to have sufficient elevators, stairs and corridors for the passengers to move easily from one venue to another. I have now been on over 85 cruise ships. In my view, Meraviglia has moderately good passenger flow. I saw two problems, however. First, a large part of Meraviglia’s public area is outdoors. In nice weather, passengers can and do enjoy her outdoor pools, hot tubs and deck chairs. However, on this cruise, Meraviglia was sailing from New York during a particularly cold winter. As a result, during the first and last few days of the cruise the passengers were forced to distribute themselves among the various interior areas and the one covered pool area. This led to crowding. Second, passengers on Meraviglia essentially have two choices for complimentary dining - the buffet and the main dining rooms. The other dining venues are extra-tariff. Often the charge is fairly nominal but if free food is available, people tend to gravitate toward the venues that are serving it. Consequently, there were lines for the main restaurant and difficulty in finding a seat in the buffet at popular dining times. A complicating factor with regard to passenger flow is the fact that a not insignificant part of the space on Meraviglia is devoted to the MSC Yacht Club. This is a luxury ship-within-a-ship area with its own bar, restaurant and leisure facilities. This area is only open to those passengers who book the Yacht Club. As a result, the bulk of the passengers are confined to an area smaller than the ship's gross tonnage figures would suggest. In general, although there were often lines on Meraviglia, the waiting periods were not usually long. Embarkation and disembarkation went quite quickly. Similarly, the service in the main dining rooms was also rapid. But this speed cames at a price. While rapid, the service was somewhat reminiscent of a productions line where the objective is to move the item (in this case, the passengers) along the line quickly. However, mistaking rapidity for efficiency denies passengers one of the traditional joys of cruising - the ability to relax in a luxurious setting. Obviously, if the service is slow, people will complain. The solution is not to hurry the passengers along but to either restrict the number of passengers carried or to build sufficient facilities so that passengers can be served in an environment where they can relax. Service Traditionally, service in Europe is more reserved and distant than in America where customers are used to having a more open, friendly relationship with those who are waiting on them. On the first few days of this cruise, the dining room staff appeared to be following the European model. However, as the cruise wore on, many became more open and friendly. I had a very good experience with my cabin steward who was courteous, respectful and who kept the cabin clean and supplied with towels and other amenities. My traveling companions sailing in different staterooms, however, reported that they rarely saw their steward and that items such as bathrobes and wash clothes only appeared sporadically. The Food On this cruise, the food was inconsistent. Some dishes were excellent such as the filet mignon served on the second night in the main dining rooms. The penne pasta dish - - one of the items that appeared on the dinner menu each night - - was also a reliable choice. However, some other items ranged from being disappointing to terrible. Indeed, one of my traveling companions became sick after one dinner. We are not just talking here about rare and exotic dishes but such staples as chocolate ice cream. It was crystalized and tasted of artificial sweetener. Perhaps the waiter had brought the sugar-free version, so the next night we made it clear that we wanted regular chocolate ice cream. Again, it was the same. Along the same lines, my traveling companions found the lobster tough and overcooked. The “Belgium waffles” were reminiscent of something that comes out of a toaster. As mentioned earlier, Meraviglia has several extra-tariff specialty restaurants. One evening, we tried the Butcher's Cut steakhouse. The service was good and the atmosphere was much more relaxed than the main dining rooms. But the food quality was only on a parr with the better dishes in the main dining rooms. Entertainment The production shows in the Broadway Theater were traditional cruise ship production shows with singers and dancers performing an array of popular songs. These were energetically and professionally performed. A visiting stand-up comic performed on nights when there was no production show. Extra-tariff shows were presented in the Carousel Lounge. Activities were traditional cruise ship fare including trivia contests, bingo, dance classes etc. There was no cultural enrichment. Communications While most of the passengers on this cruise were from the United States, there were a significant number of Europeans and French-speaking Canadians. Nonetheless, in contrast to MSC's practice in Europe, the announcements onboard were only made in English. |
Above: A balcony stateroom.
Below: A breakfast omelet in the main dining room. 
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Cruise review - - MSC Cruises - - MSC Meraviglia - Eastern Caribbean