MSC Meraviglia – Ropes Course and Waterslides

In January 2019 I took a Mediterranean cruise onboard the MSC Meraviglia. In this post, I will be talking about my experience on the ropes course and the waterslides. You can find my full ship review here: MSC Meraviglia, ship review.

Both the ropes course and waterslides are free to use.

Ropes Course

The ropes course onboard is known as the ‘Himalayan Bridge’ and is made up of 12 parts. Up to 30 passengers can be on the course at once and there are two paths to take over each section. To begin with we thought that there might be one easy and one hard option but most seemed pretty hard to me!

If you’re not already subscribed to my YouTube channel please do: Emma Cruises.

Where is the Himalayan Bridge?

The Himilayan bridge is at the back of the ship, partly over the aqua park. At some points, you will be on the ropes course above a swimming pool which only adds to the fear factor! I’ve read that the course is actually 200ft over sea level although I can’t confirm on deny this one.

When is the ropes course on the MSC Meraviglia/Bellissima open?

The opening times vary depending on where you are during the day. If you’re at sea or docked the opening times will vary but the ropes course seemed to be open more than shut. If the weather is bad the ropes course will close. That said, we had some really strong winds during our cruise and the ropes course didn’t close. That just adds to the scare factor I suppose!

Did I enjoy it?

I’ve actually cruised on the MSC Meraviglia before but didn’t go on the ropes course. Partly because I was too scared and partly because I didn’t have any willing friends to come with me. On my recently MSC Meraviglia cruise, I had two friends who were only too happy to come on the course with me. My friend Vicky even let me attach a go pro to her head. I did enjoy it.

Does it cost anything to go on the ropes course on the MSC Meraviglia/Bellissima?

No, it doesn’t cost anything to go on the ropes course.

Do you have to sign a waiver to go on the ropes course on the MSC Meraviglia/Bellissima?

Yep! Before you are allowed to go on the course you have to go inside to the Sportsplex and sign a waiver. When you do so you’ll be given a wristband and this will show the people who are working the course that you have signed the waiver. You have to do the same for the waterslides.

You can take off the wristband and get another one if you don’t want to keep it on. We just resigned the waver.

Would I recommend it?

Yes absolutely! The only thing I would say is that because the course is a circle once you are halfway around the only way to get back is carry on the course. Bear that in mind if you are likely to chicken out halfway through! That said, plenty of children were on the course and they seemed to find it really easy.

Waterslides

There are three waterslides onboard the MSC Meraviglia and Bellissima. I tried all three! For the first two waterslides, you’ll need to sit on a rubber ring (collected from the bottom and carried up with you). These slides are pretty tame and good fun. On the third you don’t need a ring and slide down with your hands holding your head, you come out into a big toilet bowl shape.

How tall do you have to be?

Anybody over 4ft tall can ride the waterslides. There are no age restrictions.

Will it be too cold to use the waterslides in winter?

No! I used the waterslides in January. It certainly was ermm… refreshing but LOADS of fun. Check out the video below. The water in the slides was actually heated but it really was the cold air that was the difficult part. I’d definitely still recommend it though. You can run to the hot tub straight afterwards!

A bonus of using the waterslides out of season is that there are no queues, nobody else is mad enough to do it.

MSC Bellissima

The videos of the waterslides and ropes course above were filmed onboard the MSC Meraviglia. They are almost exactly the same onboard the MSC Bellissima but do have a slightly different design. Check out the video below by my friends Gavin and Luke which shows the Bellissima versions.