My family had a great time on a 7-night MSC cruise aboard MSC Meraviglia! The cruise left from New York City on a Sunday and stopped in Florida, the Bahamas, and MSC’s private island, Ocean Cay. The cruise was an easy family getaway from NYC, a wonderful escape from the cold weather, and provided everything our family could need for the week! We went on our cruise over Thanksgiving week, which also happened to be over my son’s 2nd birthday. The ship was at maximum capacity, with about 5,400 passengers on board and 2,000 staff. Because it was over Thanksgiving, there was an abnormally high amount of kids and teenagers on the ship, which was great for me because I didn’t worry about bothering anyone with my two small kids.
Cruising with Kids: A Stress-Free Family Experience
The best thing about this cruise for our family was it was very kid friendly. They had a free kids club, even for babies, that we used almost every day for our 2-year-old boy and 5-year-old girl. Our daughter had a night out that was a magic show in the theater, and I think she loved getting some independence away from mom and dad! We spent the sunny warm days at the pool or off the ship, and spent the cold days at sea at the indoor pool. As with many vacations, a lot of the time was spent eating, thinking about eating, or planning your next meal. Luckily, the food on MSC cruises was delicious and plentiful, with an emphasis on an accessible variety of options! From frozen yogurt with sprinkles to late night pizza in the buffet, we loved the food and drinks on our cruise to the Bahamas on MSC Meraviglia! Between specialty restaurants for an extra fee, to the included buffets and sit down restaurants, it can take some trial and error to find what works best for your family. Here is a break down of what my family enjoyed eating and drinking on our 7-day cruise on MSC Meragivlia:
Breakfast on MSC Meraviglia
For the first few days, we had breakfast in the buffet. This was crowded and fine, with a big variety. We preferred to eat breakfast in the sit down restaurant, L’Olivo D’Oro, and enjoyed almost everything on the menu! We also had free continental breakfast room service included with our room, which we used for the first day and enjoyed, but our kids need to eat more anyway so it made more sense for us to spend more time getting more food out.
Lunch Options for Families
The best part about lunch is they serve many great options like pizza, chicken tenders, and french fries at a poolside buffet station. It was super flexible, which helped with nap schedules and pool breaks.
On the day we stopped at Ocean Cay, they set up a very nice lunch buffet at the outdoor onsite pavilion, so we easily grabbed plates and beers and ate with our toes in the sand.
Another option for lunch is the buffet where they also serve breakfast and dinner. However, lunch doesn’t start until noon, which is unfortunately baby’s nap time. I would assume lunch should start at least by 11:30am, so that was a surprise and challenge for us to wait until noon for lunch to start.
Dinner: Main Dining Rooms and Flexibility
I don’t have a ton of experience on cruises, so I really enjoyed how there was a designated table and time for my family to have a sit down dinner every night. You are assigned to one of a few different restaurants, including Waves and Panorama, and seating times vary between 5pm – 9pm. It is very flexible so you can ask to be formally moved to a different time recurring, or wait in a standby line and they seat everyone after the reservations have gone in. This meant that if we were out on a day adventure exploring at a stop, we didn’t have to rush back to our designated dinner time. We could easily wait for the closest time that worked for us, no problem. We moved our designated time to 5:30pm for our small kids, and got to know our waiters very well, who were a married couple from the Philippines. Our dinners with them were one of the highlights of our trip!
Specialty Dining (Extra Cost, Totally Worth It)
There are also five specialty restaurants if you want to pay an extra fee. We went to the taco restaurant on Thanksgiving, and enjoyed the teppanyaki restaurant, which was fun, interactive, and a hit with our kids. There is also a steak house, sushi restaurant, and seafood restaurant, but I was intimidated by those for my kids, plus there is already a great diner included in the cruise that we loved! If you want to go to a specialty restaurant, make a reservation at least 2-3 days in advance. If you don’t see times on the app, ask them in person and maybe you can go back the following day.
Drinks: Packages, Cocktails & Where to Sip
We purchased two easy plus packages before our trip, but it looks like MSC has discontinued this drink package. This included drinks up to $10, so I was excited for the frozen strawberry daiquiris, margaritas, Negronis, vodka or tequila with soda, Prosecco, wine, and variety of beer. The cheaper more basic drink package only included Heineken as the beer. Kettle One was my liquor of choice for the week, including salty dirty martinis. My drink package also included a bloody mary bar at the breakfast buffet, or mimosas in the sit down breakfast restaurant. I enjoyed wine at the dinner restaurants, and Irish Coffee for an energy boost. I paid a $4 upcharge once for an espresso martini which was very yummy. I also paid extra for sake at the teppan restaurant. The package was such a deal that MSC has discontinued it, and I think they now only offer one drink package instead of tiers.
We also bought the minors package for our 5 year old daughter, so we could freely order her juice and water bottles. Our two-year-old didn’t need a drink package.
My favorite place to hang out with my husband and grab a drink was the Sky Lounge! It was conveniently located right next to the kids club on the 18th floor, so we could easily drop our kids off and pop over to grab a Prosecco and watch the sunset. I enjoyed the live jazz, as well as watching the nightly dance parties happening on the pool deck below.
Celebrating a Birthday at Sea
Since our son turned 2 during the cruise, we pre-ordered a birthday cake through MSC. The staff brought balloons, sang, and made it a fun, festive memory.
Cruise Dining Tips for Families
- Try sit-down breakfast to avoid buffet chaos
- Bring snacks for young kids – lunch starts late
- Specialty dining is great, but the included meals are solid
- Flexible dinner times help accommodate naps and excursions
- The drink package is worth it if you enjoy daily cocktails or specialty drinks
- The kids club gives you free time to enjoy a drink or quiet meal
Final Thoughts: A Foodie-Friendly Family Cruise
We loved our 7-night cruise on MSC Meraviglia! The highlights of our trip were the waterslides, kids club, and the married couple who were our waiters for our sit down dinner every night. It was fun to people watch and see many family reunions enjoying a get together. I enjoyed strolling under the sky dome with my family, with salty hair and sandy bathing suits, enjoying trivia and some ice cream.
Places Megan Goes 