We get cruise line excursions all of the time except when we were in St. Kitts. We hadn't seen anything we were interested in. There were a lot of non cruise excursion drivers when we got off. We took an island van tour. It was 1/2 the price and covered a lot more than the cruise line tour. It was very good. We saw much more of the island. We got back to the ship in plenty of of time
I hear amazing stories about non cruise sponsored excursions all the time but especially after this cruise I wouldn’t recommend paying for one in advance (which you didn’t you found it once you were off the ship.) The main issue with this cruise was that it was late to port without 24 hours notice and a lot of secondary excursions have a 24 hour cancellation policy for a refund. I think a lot of cruisers figured we would have at least 24 hours notice if we were going to be late or skip port but in all our experiences it’s usually a last second decision so people were up in arms because they were out so much money. Obviously with a cruise ship excursion if the ship is late or cancels a port you get that full refund.
Hey! I briefly met Gary at the concierge desk when we discussed having couples shirts, and then I got home and had a suggested video pop up for your first Meraviglia video and I was like "holy crap that's Gary! I met him!" and now I'm mad I didn't get to meet you as well, Laurie! You two seem like so much fun!! Loving these videos - Yacht Club was indeed amazing! Totally agree with the entertainment review - dancers were great and singers were meh except for Francesca (the long hair brunette). I found another Meraviglia video and it looked like the entertainment shows had a completely different cast just a few months ago. Then I was able to find one of the creative team members in Instagram and it she was posting about how that cast had JUST learned those shows in like a week. So I chalk some of the roughness up to that. Also the previous cast had an amazing opera soprano, but the new replacement doesn't have the chops to sing those songs. Anyways, glad you had a good time as well!
What a small world (or in our case….ship!) Francesca was fabulous. We only saw the “Journeys” show in the Broadway Theatre so Im unsure of how their voices blended in the other shows. The singers in the Carousel Theatre shows were amazing though. I definitely thought it was more the material and not the talent. We are so happy to be new MSC CRUISERS. So pleasantly surprised by the quality customer service and everything both the ship and the line had to offer. Stay tuned for more content on this cruise.💖
Great review! Did you happen to try the coffee in The yacht club? We sailed in January and the coffee we had in yacht club was the best coffee I had ever had.
Oh yes we had it every day and it was amazing if you like strong European style coffee!!!! I (Laurie) loved it but it was a little too much for Gary. He likes plain flavored (french vanilla, Hazelnut) coffee for breakfast.
We LOVED being in the Yacht Club on the MSC Meravigila! It made all the difference. We were able to afford it because we made a very low bid on a suite in the Yacht Club and got it! We lucked out, folks. Hope you can too!
Not only that didn't everyone get a ship board credit we were on the same cruise a week later we had no problems with weather and we love the YC always sail with them going back in August for a back to back great ship great crew in the YC club Thanks for the great video
We were on Eclipse last month and were in Canaveral for only 6 hours, 2-8pm as scheduled, and people still paid for transportation to Disney and tickets. They didn't get there until 4pm and had to leave by 6pm. Spent crazy money to basically go on only one ride and hit the restroom. So dumb.
Hi. When we were on the NCL Haven they were checking your card at the door, checking your card whenever you ordered a drink, etc. It was really annoying. Do they check everyone in the YC every time you want to get in or ask for something as well?
No. So that basically was what the watch was for. Once we were in the Yacht Club no one ever checked. Im sure there were sometimes I forgot my watch but after 2 days everyone recognized us.
Also, sorry, didn’t finish my thoughts. Yacht club guests get the highest tier drinks package so there is no reason to scan a card for a drink as if you are in the yacht club you automatically get whatever drink you want included.
Sorry 1 more thought🤪🤪🤪. We stayed in the Haven before and will try and make more comparisons in a future video but, I think we both decided we liked the Yacht Club better,
@@laurieGaryCruise This is going to sound stupid, but a wristwatch, or some sort of special watch they give you as an I’d? At the Haven it was just a key card.
@@TOhara-eb2lp Yes a wrist watch. We show it in our first video. We got a key card as well but the watch was just easy to wear and not even think about and when we walked around the ship we were able to have it scanned for purchases or when we drank outside the yacht club they automatically knew via the wrist watch our drinks were included.
I'm a 1st time cruiser and would like to be able to drive to the port. I live in PA. Which cruise line would give me the most bang for my buck, do you think?
@@christinag5979 i think MSC gives the most bang for your buck but if you are trying to avoid children….Princess would be my 2nd choice because they have tons of On Demand movies included and if you sail on a Princess Plus package the wifi and drinks become incredibly cheap comparatively.
I have been disappointed with the quality and price of a few excursions through cruise lines. My family has had a better experience booking excursions off the boat and paying less. Sometimes we decide we only want one or none at all once we start our cruise so for us it has been better to wait.
Glad you’ve had a good experience and been able to save. We too have had some really bad cruise excursions…….but overall we personally just feel more relaxed on a cruise excursion.
I know I am being very picky, but if you are going to serve something as exotic as escargot, then call it such. Snails remind me of the critters slowly crawling across the garden path. I don’t care for lobster-I never have-as there isn’t any flavor without adding some type of sauce. Now, dried octopus served with Greek Ozu is nice. I don’t recall if they had much flavor, but after a couple of shots of Ozu, I didn’t care. Opa! I have had some bad experiences with ship-approved excursions, but then again, I have heard horror stories about DIY excursions. You may be better off staying on board depending on where you go ashore. So, tell me, Gary. You are a steak aficionado. I have the absolute worst luck getting a tender and flavorful steak. There could be 50 diners in a restaurant that order a steak exactly as I do, and every one of them can cut their steak with a fork. Mine, not even with a chainsaw. What is up with that? Bone marrow?? I’m a former crime scene investigator with training in anthropology, and I must say that bone looked suspicious. LOL, LOL You have made me leery about watching any aerial show on a cruise ship. I understand that even an energetic dance routine incurs some risk of injury, but now I will have to be prepared to offer trauma care if I attend an aerial show. “Excuse me, sir, is that bone sticking out of your leg painful?” No worries, you can still contribute because bone marrow is on the menu tonight, and I understand the chef is running low on supplies. Larry from Texas
I am sitting here laughing out loud about the BONE MARROW for AERIALIST comment!!!! Getting a good steak on a cruise ship is very hard. The best we've ever had was in THE HAVEN restaurant on NORWEGIAN ESCAPE but that was pre pandemic so who knows how their steak is now with all the cost cutting......however, if you are ever in NYC our favorite steakhouse is KEENS! You can never go wrong with them. I will have to try octopus with Ozu! Neither Gary nor myself can relate to you not liking lobster! Have you ever had MAINE lobster!?.....In Maine? Maybe it's because by the time your lobsters get to Texas they lost their luster?
![25 Things Cruisers MUST Know Before Your First MSC Cruise [MSC Cruise Tips 2024]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/k0NLxi5ZzMI/mqdefault.jpg)
The live music makes that show.
We get cruise line excursions all of the time except when we were in St. Kitts. We hadn't seen anything we were interested in. There were a lot of non cruise excursion drivers when we got off. We took an island van tour. It was 1/2 the price and covered a lot more than the cruise line tour. It was very good. We saw much more of the island. We got back to the ship in plenty of of time
I hear amazing stories about non cruise sponsored excursions all the time but especially after this cruise I wouldn’t recommend paying for one in advance (which you didn’t you found it once you were off the ship.) The main issue with this cruise was that it was late to port without 24 hours notice and a lot of secondary excursions have a 24 hour cancellation policy for a refund. I think a lot of cruisers figured we would have at least 24 hours notice if we were going to be late or skip port but in all our experiences it’s usually a last second decision so people were up in arms because they were out so much money. Obviously with a cruise ship excursion if the ship is late or cancels a port you get that full refund.
Hey! I briefly met Gary at the concierge desk when we discussed having couples shirts, and then I got home and had a suggested video pop up for your first Meraviglia video and I was like "holy crap that's Gary! I met him!" and now I'm mad I didn't get to meet you as well, Laurie! You two seem like so much fun!!
Loving these videos - Yacht Club was indeed amazing! Totally agree with the entertainment review - dancers were great and singers were meh except for Francesca (the long hair brunette). I found another Meraviglia video and it looked like the entertainment shows had a completely different cast just a few months ago. Then I was able to find one of the creative team members in Instagram and it she was posting about how that cast had JUST learned those shows in like a week. So I chalk some of the roughness up to that. Also the previous cast had an amazing opera soprano, but the new replacement doesn't have the chops to sing those songs.
Anyways, glad you had a good time as well!
What a small world (or in our case….ship!) Francesca was fabulous. We only saw the “Journeys” show in the Broadway Theatre so Im unsure of how their voices blended in the other shows. The singers in the Carousel Theatre shows were amazing though. I definitely thought it was more the material and not the talent.
We are so happy to be new MSC CRUISERS. So pleasantly surprised by the quality customer service and everything both the ship and the line had to offer.
Stay tuned for more content on this cruise.💖
Good video!
Thank you so much!
I’ve sailed in the yacht club a few times before never disappointed! Sailing again in October
Awesome! We weren’t disappointed either!!!!
Another great review. Sounds like you are having a great time. Yacht Club is the best.
Yes yes yes!!!!💖🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻
Great review! Did you happen to try the coffee in The yacht club? We sailed in January and the coffee we had in yacht club was the best coffee I had ever had.
Oh yes we had it every day and it was amazing if you like strong European style coffee!!!! I (Laurie) loved it but it was a little too much for Gary. He likes plain flavored (french vanilla, Hazelnut) coffee for breakfast.
We LOVED being in the Yacht Club on the MSC Meravigila! It made all the difference. We were able to afford it because we made a very low bid on a suite in the Yacht Club and got it! We lucked out, folks. Hope you can too!
So glad you enjoyed the video….and yes….we got so lucky with our Yacht Club upgrade.
so happy this accout reached 1K followers! This is the best cruise account !
Thank you to our #1 fan!!!!💖
Not only that didn't everyone get a ship board credit we were on the same cruise a week later we had no problems with weather and we love the YC always sail with them going back in August for a back to back great ship great crew in the YC club Thanks for the great video
We had a great time too and would definitely cruise MSC again!
What cruises have you been on with better gyms? It's super impressive for a discount line
@@jojosadventureagency I think every cruise Ive been on has a better gym: Princess, RCL, NCL, and Celebrity.
We get the ones from the cruise
We were on Eclipse last month and were in Canaveral for only 6 hours, 2-8pm as scheduled, and people still paid for transportation to Disney and tickets. They didn't get there until 4pm and had to leave by 6pm. Spent crazy money to basically go on only one ride and hit the restroom. So dumb.
@@paulras01 unhinged!!!
Do you sign up for all the shows, restaurants, spa, etc. at the YC concierge desk right after embarkation?
@@michelehaase5197 yes
Congrats on 1k followers.
Thank you so much!!!!
@@laurieGaryCruise Welcome.
If you’re in the YC, do you get any discounts at the specialty restaurants?
@@michelehaase5197 no but there’s discounted packages. We got the 3 restaurant package. Also, the Carousel theater was free.
Hi. When we were on the NCL Haven they were checking your card at the door, checking your card whenever you ordered a drink, etc. It was really annoying. Do they check everyone in the YC every time you want to get in or ask for something as well?
No. So that basically was what the watch was for. Once we were in the Yacht Club no one ever checked. Im sure there were sometimes I forgot my watch but after 2 days everyone recognized us.
Also, sorry, didn’t finish my thoughts. Yacht club guests get the highest tier drinks package so there is no reason to scan a card for a drink as if you are in the yacht club you automatically get whatever drink you want included.
Sorry 1 more thought🤪🤪🤪. We stayed in the Haven before and will try and make more comparisons in a future video but, I think we both decided we liked the Yacht Club better,
@@laurieGaryCruise This is going to sound stupid, but a wristwatch, or some sort of special watch they give you as an I’d? At the Haven it was just a key card.
@@TOhara-eb2lp Yes a wrist watch. We show it in our first video. We got a key card as well but the watch was just easy to wear and not even think about and when we walked around the ship we were able to have it scanned for purchases or when we drank outside the yacht club they automatically knew via the wrist watch our drinks were included.
We don’t like the MSC excursions at all. But we usually just do stuff on our own at most ports.
Did you partake in the spa?
@@michelehaase5197 yes. It’s in our last video in our MSC series. Check it out.
I'm a 1st time cruiser and would like to be able to drive to the port. I live in PA. Which cruise line would give me the most bang for my buck, do you think?
@@christinag5979 i think MSC gives the most bang for your buck but if you are trying to avoid children….Princess would be my 2nd choice because they have tons of On Demand movies included and if you sail on a Princess Plus package the wifi and drinks become incredibly cheap comparatively.
I prefer a cruise line excursions
🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻
I have been disappointed with the quality and price of a few excursions through cruise lines. My family has had a better experience booking excursions off the boat and paying less. Sometimes we decide we only want one or none at all once we start our cruise so for us it has been better to wait.
Glad you’ve had a good experience and been able to save. We too have had some really bad cruise excursions…….but overall we personally just feel more relaxed on a cruise excursion.
I know I am being very picky, but if you are going to serve something as exotic as escargot, then call it such. Snails remind me of the critters slowly crawling across the garden path. I don’t care for lobster-I never have-as there isn’t any flavor without adding some type of sauce. Now, dried octopus served with Greek Ozu is nice. I don’t recall if they had much flavor, but after a couple of shots of Ozu, I didn’t care. Opa!
I have had some bad experiences with ship-approved excursions, but then again, I have heard horror stories about DIY excursions. You may be better off staying on board depending on where you go ashore.
So, tell me, Gary. You are a steak aficionado. I have the absolute worst luck getting a tender and flavorful steak. There could be 50 diners in a restaurant that order a steak exactly as I do, and every one of them can cut their steak with a fork. Mine, not even with a chainsaw. What is up with that?
Bone marrow?? I’m a former crime scene investigator with training in anthropology, and I must say that bone looked suspicious. LOL, LOL
You have made me leery about watching any aerial show on a cruise ship. I understand that even an energetic dance routine incurs some risk of injury, but now I will have to be prepared to offer trauma care if I attend an aerial show. “Excuse me, sir, is that bone sticking out of your leg painful?” No worries, you can still contribute because bone marrow is on the menu tonight, and I understand the chef is running low on supplies.
Larry from Texas
I am sitting here laughing out loud about the BONE MARROW for AERIALIST comment!!!!
Getting a good steak on a cruise ship is very hard. The best we've ever had was in THE HAVEN restaurant on NORWEGIAN ESCAPE but that was pre pandemic so who knows how their steak is now with all the cost cutting......however, if you are ever in NYC our favorite steakhouse is KEENS! You can never go wrong with them.
I will have to try octopus with Ozu!
Neither Gary nor myself can relate to you not liking lobster! Have you ever had MAINE lobster!?.....In Maine? Maybe it's because by the time your lobsters get to Texas they lost their luster?