MSC Cruise

~The Bahamas~

Matt’s Take

“A beautiful ship, lacking a service soul.”

Heather’s Take

“More like MSFlee”

Our Accommodations

Ship and Amenities

MSC MERAVIGLIA

Where They Really Vow2Wow:

Clean, ships with fantastic tech, quite a bit of visual variety. Flashy staircases and an LCD screen ceiling.

A modern experience with surprises around every corner.

New, clean rooms with great views.

The pools were a good size with indoor and outdoor options.

Sails from New York City

New York City (Brooklyn), New York - Port Canaveral (Orlando), Florida - Nassau, Bahamas - Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve, Bahamas - New York City (Brooklyn), New York

5642 Passengers

1608 Crew members

They Could Vow 2 Improve:

The food stood out as sub standard. The specialty restaurants left a lot on the table. We even had to leave one experience after the entree was terrible so we ordered a lobster tail (an extra charge). When that came it was just as bad. Rubbery and flavorless, the staff admitted they wouldn’t pay for that either.

The shower emitted a smell and we heard others complaining about the odor as well. At times it was very potent and we had no remedy for the smell. I would even try pouring a little coffee down the drain before a shower.

While pools were adequate in size, the indoor pool was shutdown on day two due to human contamination.

Making dinner reservations can be frustrating. We had to wait until we were onboard and then had to spend the beginning of our cruise in a very long line to get reservations. Without reservations you could not get in.

Cabin bathrooms are pretty small and could benefit from more space.

Even our excursion had issues. We bought the excursion to Sun Key in Nassau and when it was time to return from the island, the ferry broke down. We had to take an alternate boat back to the ship.

Entertainment

Activities on land an sea

Where they Really Vow2Wow:

There are enough activities on board to keep everyone entertained throughout the journey.

There were a lot of small pop up events. We took advantage of Karaoke and had a blast.

If you like shopping on board, the options for upscale jewlery and clothes were plentiful. That is an area where MSC did shine.

Where they could Vow 2 Improve:

The actual shows didn’t appeal to either of us and had a flat feel. There were a lot of similar themed events that lacked spark for us. It felt very circus themed. It looks they have since added some additional entertainment that might spruce up the lineup.

As mentioned above we did buy an excursion in Nassau and were surprised to find that the beach was maybe 100’ with few amenities. We chose to instead use the plentiful chairs along the main path to relax for a few hours.

Food and Drink

Options for dining and snacking

Where they really Vow2Wow

There wasn’t an upside to the food onboard. The pizza and Caesar salad were the only things that we could count on throughout the trip. We ate our weight in each.

The food we bought on the excursion to Sun Key was a head above the food on the ship. A simple Caribbean Jerk Chicken and rice was a needed break from the blase of the ship dining. We even interviewed the chef and that can be found on our youtube channel here.

Where they Could Vow 2 Improve:

We should have known we were in trouble when on day 1 there were no condiments on board. None, just dry hamburgers with fries. It wasn’t until day 3 that condiments were available. Even after they were available, it was like the staff were rationing.

Breakfasts were very continental breakfast style. The food wasn't much better than any cafeteria. We found that if you wanted the sit down experience at the included “restaurants” that it was really just the same food from the general dining area repackaged. After spending time waiting in line and having a set time for meals, we just opted for the general dining area. Many days it was difficult getting a tray, silverware or coffee mugs. We were told beforehand that MSC was known for their coffee. Most of the coffee was no more than ok. It almost seemed like they were adding more coffee grounds to the last brew and double brewing. One cup of coffee tasted like coffee flavored dishwater.

For lunch we just ate pizza and Caesar salad for nearly every meal. We sampled some of the other dishes, but none were better than pizza. We did eat lunch at Hola! The Mexican restaurant for lunch one day. It was ok and definitely better than the caf, but nothing to write home about.

We had most dinners at the restaurants that we paid extra per meal. During the week we ate at the Ocean Cay seafood restaurant to great disappointment. We had paid for the dining experience. After Heathers dinner was substandard, she opted to pay for a lobster tail. When that arrived, it was rubbery and flavorless. The staff even admitted that they wouldn’t eat it. Like many other patrons in the restaurant we left early after speaking to the manager.

The Butchers Cut was by far the best upgraded restaurant experience with a decent steak and we didn’t have any issues with service. The other dining experience that was good, but not exceptional was Kaito Teppanyaki. The sushi was good but some of the sides were just ok.

Service

Staff Stories

Where they really Vow2Wow

We had very few “excellent” interactions with staff. Many of the staff members seemed to just be happy enough to exist, with little interaction with the guests.

Our best interaction, was in the photography services area. A fantastic staff member helped us to get the impossible app working on our phones. It was noted that he was basically tech support for the app.

Where they Could Vow 2 Improve:

More positive attitudes would really help the guest experience. It was a real mix of personalities. Some extremely helpful, others quite standoffish.

We had quite the experience on Ocean Cay where the staff sang an inappropriate song asking that we get out of the way of their golf cart.