MSC Meraviglia Embarkation Day | Brooklyn Terminal | Boarding Day | Check in process | Lunch Buffet

I enjoyed my cruise vacation with MSC Meraviglia to Bermuda, sailing out of New York Brooklyn cruise terminal. However, passenger flow is an issue, with many public spaces so crowded.

1. How to get there - Brooklyn Cruise Terminal:
Brooklyn's terminal is difficult to reach, particularly if you don't have a car. Anyone venturing to the port from Manhattan will need to take the subway, followed by a ferry — not an easy feat if you're toting luggage. If you take a Taxi and Uber, it is not cheap. Everything is more expensive after the pandemic.

2. Embarkation day check in process:
The ship departs at 3pm and the required check-in time is 9:30am. On the embarkation day, I noticed that lines snaked outside the terminal and down the sidewalk in front of the building. I arrived there at 8:45am and check-in actually started at 9am. I finished my check-in process within 30 minutes. However, I had multiple passengers throughout my voyage tell me that they waited between two and three hours in line to board the vessel. It's unclear whether the terminal is ill-equipped to deal with passenger flow for such a large ship or if MSC hasn't quite brought its embarkation processes up to speed.

3. Boarding process:
During the check-in, you will be provided a physical Boarding number card. I was assigned boarding group #4 since I arrived so early at 8:45am (while the ship departs at 3pm). A couple sitting next to me in the waiting room got the boarding group #21 because they checked in late at 10am. If you don't have priority boarding privileges, either through a high loyalty status tier or a Yacht Club booking, expect the boarding process to take a while. I waited almost 2 hours in the waiting area before boarding. Boarding actually started at 11:00am and your boarding number will be called.

4. Welcome lunch buffet at Deck 15:
The lunch buffet on the embarkation day is overcrowded. It is difficult to find a table during peak hour since so many cruise passengers got on the vessel at the same time frame. MSC Meraviglia is one of the largest cruise ship with MSC Cruise lines, with space for up to 5,655 people at capacity. On the plus side, you'll have great views of the Statue of Liberty as you sail away, assuming the weather isn't rainy or foggy.

Overall, MSC Meraviglia is a beautiful ship with great food, shows and public spaces, but it has a few pain points.