Cruise on MSC Meraviglia
In late 2018 I accepted an invitation from MSC Cruises to experience one of its most modern ships, MSC Meraviglia as it sailed around the Western Mediterranean.
What follows is an account of the different aspects of the ship that I enjoyed during the few days I was onboard. To be fair, the ship is so huge that I literally didn’t have time to try out many of the features available to its guests. Far from aiming to do a comprehensive review of MSC Meraviglia, I hope these lines can convey an idea of how is it like to sail on this amazing ship.
The Ship
MSC Meraviglia is a really large, modern ship.
It was launched in 2016 and had its maiden voyage the following year.
For some time, MSC Meraviglia was among the world’s five largest cruise ships, and, although some larger ships have since come into service, it remains among the top ten of the ranking. It is capable of carrying some 4,500 passengers and a crew of 1,500.
Happy to report, though, that those large numbers are perfectly compatible with a great passenger experience as you will see in the next passages!
The Itinerary
MSC Meraviglia at port in Cagliari, Sardinia
On this cruise MSC Meraviglia followed a clockwise route around the Western Mediterranean. Starting from Genoa, sailing down the Italian coast to Civitavecchia, near Rome, then on to Palermo, in Sicily, Cagliari (Sardinia), Palma (in the island of Majorca), Valencia, Marseilles and back to Genoa.
We boarded the ship in Palermo, so did not do a full circle, but spent 4 nights onboard, which allowed us to check out quite a few highlights, including the exclusive Cirque du Soleil show and several of the dining venues onboard.
The State Rooms
One question I get often is whether it feels crowded in cruise ships of that size. And to be honest, this is something that never ceases to amaze me, because the answer is a resounding No! How do ship designers manage to create this sort of hotel-like conditions? this is a question I don’t have an answer for. But from a traveler point of view staterooms onboard MSC Meraviglia are very comfortable and don’t feel tight when it comes to space.
I have been on premium, smaller cruise ships before and the stateroom at MSC Meraviglia stood well the comparison.
It was all very modern, as you would expect of such a new ship, and spotlessly clean. We had seaview veranda.
As it was going to be my birthday during the cruise, there was also a bottle of champagne and some chocolate and strawberries waiting for me, which was a very nice detail!
Facilities
Like in most modern cruise ships, the pool deck is one of the central spots on the ship. Even if it was early November, the weather was pretty warm when we left Palermo, so the open deck pools were quite busy!
As you would expect, there are also other smaller pools, a solarium and an indoor gym all around the pool area.
One of the things I liked about MSC Meraviglia (and I think it is a feature of most, if not all, MSC ships) is the way the space is structured around a central gallery that allows you to walk pretty much unimpeded from stern to bow, with most of the services easily accessible alongside. At the centre is a wide plaza that acts as a central hub, linking also several floors of the ship.
Although the glitter and bling that you find in some of these areas (including a rather generous use of Swarovski crystals) are not exactly my cup of tea, this layout has quite a few advantages, for example, it makes it very easy to orient yourself when walking around the ship and it gives you a sensation of space. Despite the large number of people onboard, you rarely feel a sensation of crowdedness.
I particularly liked the minimalist, simple, modern lines of the bar at this central plaza. Its sea-facing windows are also great if you find yourself in the need to do some work while sailing!
The central gallery is really the core of the ship. Most of the shops and specialty restaurants line it and this is where invariably you are going to find yourself again and again.
The vault, lit by thousands of LED lights, produces quite amazing displays. If the themes at normal times can already be quite elaborate, including the ship’s very own interpretation of Michelangelo’s Sixtine Chapel frescoes, it is something to be seen when one of the regular sound and light shows are performed.
The central gallery is also the setting for all sort of shows, from the purely audiovisual, such as this one about roaring dinosaurs, all the way to full theatrical performances that passengers are invited to join somehow.
Passengers looking for some pampering can visit the Aurea Spa (most treatments are charged aside, though).
A couple of other elements of the MSC experience that are worth mentioning here.
The MSC for Me app, that lets you check in and book a number of experiences and activities throughout your trip. Something quite handy in such an entertainment-packed ship as MSC Meraviglia (more on this soon!)
The ship is also fitted with the Yacht Club area. This is, in fact, a more exclusive area within the ship that provides are more secluded, upmarket experience for those passengers looking for a more premium experience, yet, still willing to enjoy the advantages of a larger ship, such as the Cirque du Soleil shows, etc.
Shows & Entertainment onboard
In fact, if there is an aspect of the cruise experience where MSC really stands out and it is possibly a differentiating factor, this is the shows and theatrical performances onboard.
MSC Meraviglia has actually two theaters, one where the ship’s excellent theater company performs.
The other one, at the bow of the ship, is a smaller theater specially designed to accommodate the performances of the Cirque du Soleil. The Montreal-based arts company has an exclusive partnership with MSC Cruises to develop shows that are specifically designed to be performed at sea.
Ship’s Company Show
Although the Cirque du Soleil gets most of the attention and it is, indeed, a remarkable feat to have such a top-notch artistic company onboard, I would like to share some words also about the ship’s own theater and music company.
There are several shows every day, we attended pretty much all of them, and always had a great time!
Cirque du Soleil
One of the highlights of the cruise for sure.
MSC Meraviglia was the first cruise ship to host a Cirque du Soleil performance at sea. As you might imagine, the very intricate, complex acrobatic moves of these artists have an extra degree of complexity when performed on a moving surface, such as the ship. Although you can hardly feel the movement in a ship such as MSC Meraviglia, there is still movement and when success depends on millmetric moves, this is no small issue.
The Cirque performs in a specially designed stage, that is located in the center of the room, with spectators seating in tables all around (you can eat and drink during the show).
There were two different shows on offer, which are called “Viaggio” and “Sonor” (we watched the latter) on MSC Meraviglia at the time of our cruise. But far from being a one-off thing, the partnership between the Cirque du Soleil and MSC means that new shows are going to be introduced on other ships of the fleet.
You can learn more about this through this article that I wrote when I visited the Cirque’s HQ and training centre in Montreal to learn more about how this cooperation with MSC Cruises is unfolding.
No need to say that these shows have all the spectacularity and excellence that are the hallmark of the Cirque!
Eating & Drinking onboard MSC Meraviglia
Quite a few options to eat onboard MSC Meraviglia.
The simplest and most casual one is the buffett. Here I would higlight the pizza, that was really good and varied (as expected in an Italian-owned ship!)
There are also a couple of large restaurants at the bow of the ship.
These are large and with high turnover, nevertheless I was quite impressed by the level of service and the food. Let me remark that these are not specialty restaurants that you need to book in advance, you just show up and you get seated almost immediately.
The service was impeccable and the food and drink great.
We also tried one of the specialty restaurants, the Kaito Teppanyaki, as you may have guessed, specializing in Japanese cuisine.
This was also an amazing experience (and not just because of my “surprise” birthday cake). Not only the food was great, but the chef turned out to be a proper artist, and was able to entertain us all while he was cooking.
