For my parent’s 50th Wedding Anniversary they wanted to have an amazing trip with my family and my sister’s family. So 9 of us boarded the MSC Meraviglia (with matching shirts of course) where no one had to think about cooking and cleaning the whole week. That’s what I think vacation is all about!
This was mine and my sister’s family’s first cruise so my opinions here are not comparing it to anything else.
We departed out of the NYC (the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal) and stopped at three different ports – Port Canaveral (Orlando), Ocean Cay (MSC Private Island) and Nassau, Bahamas.
Disembarkment: Brooklyn Cruise Terminal
The cruise terminal is 1.5/2 hours from our home and with 9 of us that would mean 2 cars, NYC traffic, parking fees and tolls. So we opted to have private transportation to and from which was one of the best decisions. It ended up costing us about $120 with gratuity a person for both ways and we didn’t have to worry about traffic etc.
Getting on the Ship:
This was actually better than expected. We had a certain time from to board and the line was long but moved quickly. I used my passport and my husband and kids used their birth certificates. I would suggest getting passports if going on a cruise. It makes the whole process quicker and seamless.
Once on board we went to our rooms, put down our carry on luggage (checked bags were by our room within 2 hours). Then headed to find something to eat.
Food:
The complimentary restaurants and buffet were actually good. I liked the food and the variety. The buffet had their staples, also a kid section with kid friendly foods and desserts and other areas that were always changing. I never felt like there wasn’t something to eat.
Buffet:
Go on non-peak hours. It gets busy and hectic if you’re eating during peak time. For breakfast I say go before 8am for lunch after 1pm and dinner go after 6:30. You can also pop in for quick snacks.
Complimentary sit-down restaurants:
When booking you can choose a dining time in the restaurants. They will assign you a time and then you have the same table for the whole week. If you’re not there by 15 minutes after your assigned time they will give your table away.
There was only one day I didn’t eat there for dinner. There were themes each night but also had a few of the same items each night like salmon, penne pasta, chicken etc.
I only went to the restaurant once for breakfast and it was really good. The eggs were better than the buffet.
On sea days they have an amazing Bruch that we ate at each sea day. There was never “not enough food”
There are also specialty restaurants to dine in as well. Sushi, Mexican etc. You could buy a package or make a reservation. We did. not use these options.
Pools:
The ship has 4 pools. An adult only, outside pool, inside pool and an exclusive club pool. They are small but didn’t seem too crowded. There are also many hot tubs to enjoy as well.
There are plenty of tables and sun chairs whether you like to be in the sun or shade. There was also so many fun games, DJs, dance lessons and different events at the outside pool.
Kids Activities:
There were definitely kids on the cruise but it was definitely less than I expected.
My kids are 8 and 10 and my nephew is 12 and they loved the cruise. There is an “arcade”, which I put in quotations because there are not many games (games do not give out tickets) There is a flight and roller coaster simulator, a 4D movie as well as a Race car simulator in addition to the arcade. We purchased a fun pass before boarding the boat which was the best deal. It was $80 for $140 worth of usage. The roller coaster simulator was $10, Flight simulator $15 etc. The arcade games were $2-3. A piece just to give you an idea.
They also have kids clubs for different ages where you can drop your kids off or they have events around the ship. We actually didn’t even venture up there. So I can’t really comment.
There is a water park with water sides, wading pool and fun climbing items. My kids spent a lot of time there. There is always a ropes course as well that’s fun for all ages (You do need sneakers, a t shirt and longer shorts to go on. The harness cannot be touching your skin.
I felt comfortable letting my kids stick together and go to the arcade or explore the ship with each other. They just had “check in” times when they did.
Entertainment/Shows:
Each night there is a show in the theater with three different times. 7, 8:30 and 10. We reserved tickets the day we got there for each 8:30 show and if you need to you can change times. Make sure you bring your key card for each person going to the show for them to scan.
The shows were fine. Typical of what you would think of on a cruise. There was singing and dancing nights, 2 magic nights, a comedian and a variety show.
There were also so many programs going on around the ship, live music, quiz shows, karaoke. You will never be bored!
Rooms:
We had a room with a balcony on the 9th floor.
This was a great spot. We didn’t have an obstructed view as the life boats were below our vision line and the overhang was above enough that we it did not hinder the skyline either.
We had a queen bed and our sofa was made into bunk beds for the kids already when we arrived.
There is a hair dryer already in the room but it is in the desk drawer not the bathroom.
If you have a a balcony just remember to keep the hall door shut while you have the balcony door open because it does create a huge vacuum.
The rooms were very nice and clean. Our housekeeper was the same one for the week and he was amazing. We tipped him some during the week then left a larger tip at the end. He was always asking if we needed towels etc.
Ports/Excursions:
Port Canavaral:
We decided to stay on the boat during Port Canavaral. We frequent Florida and have already been to Kennedy Space Center recently so we took advantage of the small crowds and relaxed and played on the boat.
Ocean Cay:
This was my favorite port. It is MSC’s Island that they are reviving into a beautiful spot.
The water is beautiful and warm. One thing to point out is that the first beach you come to when getting off the ship is first come first serve with chairs/umbrellas and other lounge equipment.
My sister had reserved an umbrella before getting on the cruise but to get that we would have had to go to another beach (walk or take a golf cart shuttle). We opted to stay that the first beach because it was so beautiful.
They had food trucks and a buffet on the island for complimentary lunch which was fine.
We did make our way back onto the boat late in the afternoon to get out of the sun and cleaned up. We ventured back out to watch the sunset as well as watch the lighthouse show and dance in the beach party.
It was a really fun, relaxing day.
Nassau:
At this port we decided to take an excursion for the “Dolphin Encounter” the kids were really excited.
The Excursion time was 11:30-4:30. We thought we were going to have an awesome day relaxing at the lagoon, have our time with the dolphins etc.
This was not the case. Even though our time was 11:30 meeting in the ships theater no one came until about 12:30. We then proceeded to disembark and had about a 30 minute ferry ride to the lagoon.
By the time we got to the lagoon it was 1:15 and we had our encounter at 2. We quickly dropped our stuff, then walked to the dolphin encounter 15 mins early like we were instructed then waited another 30 mins for our trainer to come.
The encounter itself was so fun. In groups you hop into the water waist high and the dolphin will swim up to you, kissing, dancing and giving you hugs one by one. The whole interaction was maybe 10 mins but it was worth it to see the smiles on the kids faces.
After the dolphins we sent the kids to play on the water floating course while I waited to purchase pictures of the dolphin encounter.
I wanted to make sure they took advantage of lagoons amenities since we only had about an hour left until we had to grab the ferry back.
The whole thing felt rushed. The excursion description was worded like we had plenty of time to relax on the lagoon and swing in hammocks etc. But it was not. The food line was long and not moving so we bought snacks at the gift shop just as we were were about to board the ferry.
We loved the dolphins and we will never forget it but I wouldn’t do that excursion again.
What to Pack and What I Wish We Had Packed
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- Magnetic Hooks – there is limited hanging space in the bathrooms and the rooms are small so since the walls and ceilings of the rooms are metal these hooks were amazing to have. The magnet swivels so you can hang on the wall or ceiling and they held up really well for bathing suits, hats etc.
- Lanyard/Wristlet for Key – I thought of bringing one then forgot to actually bring it. Our key card already had a hole in it for a hook but others brought lanyard with a clear pocket that it could be scanned through without taking the card out.
- Magnetic Motion Light – With cruises you need to have your key in the slot for the lights to be able to work. So we brought our rechargeable magnetic motion light to stick on the wall in the bathroom for nightly bathroom runs. It worked great. We also use these in our closets at home and when there is a power outage.
- Waterproof phone case/belt bag – Perfect for the beach to protect your phone or use the belt bag to wear your valuables into the water or pool!
- Sunscreen – This goes without saying but the Bahama sun is no joke! We love this stick one for reapplication on faces and it doesn’t melt if it’s in your car or beach bag!
- Sunshirt – Like I said the sun is no joke. I had everyone wear a sunshirt in the ocean and at the pools.
- Beach Blanket – We didn’t have one and wish we did. Since the chairs and umbrellas on the islands were first come unless you reserved, I wish I had brought a large sheet or foldable beach blanket. We just had our towels to lay our stuff on or sit and then they were sandy when we wanted to dry off.
- Reusable Water Bottle – You can fill them up at the the water machines in the buffet area. (I also brought drink mix-ins like these for electrolytes as well as giving the kids something other than water.) We love this water bottle everyone in the family has one. You can sip or chug!
- Extension cord/outlets – I think we had one outlet in our room. So we brought one of these so we could charge devices etc at the same time. Just make sure it’s non surge.
Shop all these items and more in my Cruising Favorites on Amazon!
Would we cruise again. Absolutely. Would we take this same cruise again. Absolutely. Since this was our first cruising experience we didn’t have anything to compare it to but we had so much fun and would love to do another again.
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