razzzbere

Can anyone recommend a pre cruise hotel for our trip from Kiel?  We will be flying into Hamburg and staying two nights before our cruise.  There will be 8 of us, 4 adults and 4 teens.  Thanks!

Hi Beamafar,

Enjoying your review!  We are 2 families that will be on the Armonia to Cuba Dec. '19.  I hope Captain Scala is still on the Armonia, he was great on the Divina!  

I have to tell you that I like my cheesesteaks w/out cheese and I'm a Patriots fan!  LOL  I'm from Mass and my husband is from PHilly...i'm sure the US people on here will understand!

Again, thank you for your review!

Thank you so much for your review! We will be in the YC in May, got such a great deal we couldn't pass it up! Last year we did the Divina in an Aurea corner suite...another great deal! I swear they make the best drinks on this line!!

Following!

Loved the fact that we didn't have to wait in the huge long line to get checked in.....then as soon as they started boarding we were able to go on the ship.

Thank you for the recommendation for Marvyn's tours. We leave Saturday on the Divina and I just haven't been able to figure out what to do in Jamaica. I just emailed him this morning expecting it to be too late. Within 2 minutes I had a response and we're booked! And the price is amazing!

You are very welcome, I found them on CC of course!🙆

DAY 3 OCHO RIOS

Today was my birthday so I booked a private tour with Marvyns Paradise tours for our group.

We got off the ship pretty easily and found our guide Dolton amidst the taxis at the end of the pier.

Dolton was extremely friendly and even gave me a birthday hug!

We had a nice clean van to travel in and were given cold bottles of water. We had planned to go to Dunn's River Falls first. My husband took the three kids to climb the falls and the rest of us walked up and down taking pics. Such a beautiful spot! After the climb my daughter got her hair braided and then we walked back to the parking lot via the little shopping village. So sad that they harass you so much...I would have stopped to look but the natives are like vultures and it doesn't leave a good impression at all.

We found Dolton and he took us to lunch as we were starving! We went to Scotchies Jerk Hut. Cute little outdoor restaurant. They took our orders right away, for $10 ea. we got chicken or pork jerk, rice n beans & festival bread. Beer of soda as well. Yum!! Dolton showed us the area where they cook and gave us a little history of the place.

After eating we went to the Bambu Blu beach club for some sun, swimming and cocktails. It wasn't too busy here and we had a nice time in the water.

It was almost time to go back to the ship, but we had to do some shopping! I asked Dolton if he could take us to a local grocery store instead of the typical gift shops. This is a great thing to do if you want coffee, rum, festival mix, rum cakes...without the hassle of crazy vendors...I highly recommend it!

We got back to the ship in plenty of time to jump into the pool and cool off before dinner.

We had a great time with Dolton and for $22 /person it was a bargain to have him drive us around to the sites for a stress free day. (ps. it does cost extra to get into the Falls, but you just give Dolton the money and he gets your tix, no waiting in line!)

The second sea day was also formal night, so for the rest of the day we pretty much swam in the indoor pool, drank and just relaxed before we had to get ready for dinner.

On the way to dinner we stopped and had our formal pics taken on the crystal stairs and with a backdrop...quick and painless.

Dinner that night was very good, I had lamb chops and my husband had duck...service was good as well.

We went to the show with the kids that night. The captain showed off his language skills and welcomed everyone in almost every language you could think of. This captain is quite a character....I believe he is moving onto the Seaside soon.

This show had dancing, singing and acrobatics....I didn't love it, but we didn't hate it either.

After the show the kids went back to our room and we went to the casino for a bit...a woman won $3000 on a slot machine!

Day 2 Sea Day

How nice to wake up and not have to do anything today! This is why I love room service! It came promptly at the time I ordered it for and we took our time enjoying the view and eating. The coffee was very good and I love pastries...the kids and my husband went to the buffet and brought back some other stuff too. Our plan for most of today was to enjoy the pool! We ended up getting a table near the indoor pool....it was less crowded and we enjoyed the bar service there. We felt like we were outside as the roof was half open. The hot tubs weren't too crowded and the temp was perfect...the pool was refreshing as well. There was music and games going on it the outdoor pool area, but then a huge black cloud came out and it started to rain....everyone ran inside, we were glad we already had a table! It didn't last long tho.

Lunch at the buffet......ugh......holy crap was it busy!!! We walked the entire buffet and could not find a table....period! They really need to do something about this....maybe have two separate buffet areas at either end of the ship?

We did end up getting food and stood at a bar type table...7 of us crammed into a space for 4....its too bad, because I thought the food was very good. Great pizza, typical burgers, hot dogs...but then interesting international foods and salads, meats, cheeses, kids area, desserts......excellent pastas!!! They even had a section of food for the Weight Watchers group...everything was marked with points...I thought that was great for them. Anyone who says the food on this cruise line in inedible is crazy IMHO.

I just thought of something that I am curious about, the two chairs in the living room... Were they still in front of the tv? Or were they back to blocking access to the balcony? I moved them in front of the tv for easier movement in the living room.

They were in front of the tv...but then they blocked the fridge....grrrr....

End of Day 1

After dinner we did some more ship exploring, checked out the casino....so nice that it is non smoking!

We didn't go to the show that night, it was Italian singing, figured the kids wouldn't care for it, besides the fact that it had been a very long day and we were all pooped!

Back to our cabin we went....I forgot to mention that we did have some gifts in the room. A basket of fruit, a bottle of champagne and a MED by MSC room diffuser which I am using at home right now and it smells wonderful!

To me room service for breakfast is a huge perk so I took advantage and placed my order on the card for coffee and pastries to be delivered in the morning.

I do have to say that the internet really sucks at the front of the ship, hopefully MSC will do something about that because when you purchase a package, you expect it to work....it was fine mid-ship, but not so much in our cabin.

I have to say that the bed was very comfortable...we like a firm mattress and slept like babies.....the kids not so much. The pullout couch is on the small side and every night they were fighting over the covers, pillows etc. It was so nice to have a door to shut ...lol.:p Goodnite!

Since you are your own Travel Agent, I am wondering if there was any special recognition or perks.

Not sure if you are traveling on TA rates or as a regular cruiser.

I am traveling on Divina in September as a regular passenger, and was just wondering if they should know whether or not I am a TA, too. Or if it will make a difference

I made sure that my BDM knew that it was my 1st trip with MSC and I asked if I could get a tour of the Yacht Club. She sent us a bottle of champagne in our cabin and I did get that tour, altho I had to make it happen by being persistent at the front desk.

Day 1 cont.

After the muster drill we went back to our room for sail away with our friends.....we had champagne and chocolate covered strawberries compliments of our travel agent (me!) It wasn't quite dark yet, but it's always nice to sail out of Miami.

At this point I thought for sure we would have met our room steward, but no such luck.....not that we needed anything, we're just used to meeting them

I hate to say that that night was kind of a blur, it had been a very long day......we spent some time unpacking and getting sorted out....found the pools, kids club, restaurants, shops etc. Lots of walking, especially since our cabin was at the front of the ship....but...for the size, it was totally worth it!

Dinner that night was in the Black Crab. We could show up anytime as we had open seating....we just went to the desk, showed our key cards and were shown to our table. We had the same table for the 7 of us every nite and the same waiters....they were really nice and recognized us every night. They even remembered to bring assorted sodas for us and bottled water. Plenty to choose from on the menu, great bread, excellent pastas. Soups were a little odd looking, like watery clam chowder. I had lamb that night, my husband had duck....I thought the food was good and the portions were fine, not small like some say. I actually gained weight on this trip!

Here is my post with all the pictures of the fantastic room. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2497474&highlight=11010

I'm not sure yet....those pics pretty much summed it up, the only difference was our beds were pushed together, great cabin!

I hope we left 11010 in good shape for you! We had it the week before you did and absolutely loved the setup.

Funny that you said that! Our cabin was perfectly fine, but our friends in 10007 had a broken pull out couch, they were told that the prior family had 3 kids! :p

Ok, here goes. I'm going to try to be as detailed as possible so this will be long, but hopefully not boring!

Day 1

My family of 4 set sail with another family of 3 ....we arrived at the Port of Miami around 11a.m. via Uber from our Miami hotels. Great, inexpensive way to get there!

A porter took our bags right away and we walked over to the tent that said Yacht Club & Aurea guests. We were Aurea so we were told to bypass the line going inside the port and take the 2nd door down....they checked our tickets and we basically walked right up to a ticket window to get checked in.

Ask questions if you have any.....not all of the staff here know exactly what they are supposed to do, like tell you where to wait or provide a map.

We waited a little while since the ship was not ready to receive guests, they did have juices and water for everyone.

After about 30 minutes we were allowed to board the ship. After reading about how busy the buffet would be now, we decided to find our way to the Sports Bar. We walked by the famous crystal staircases and commented on how gorgeous the ship was. Cleanest ship I have ever been on!!

We were alone in the Sports Bar, odd at first, but once we sat down and a waitress came over we realized how great it was to be away from the crowds and relax.

The menu is on the smaller side, but the food was very good. Great fish and chips, wings, salads, burgers, etc. Cocktails and mocktails for the kids, a great perk of the Aurea package. I think the kids drank more than the adults! I highly recommend the Mojito Zero!

The Sports Bar is a long room, very clean and comfortable with a 2 lane bowling alley and televisions on the walls. We ate here a few times to avoid the craziness of the buffet, more on that later!

After lunch we set out to find our cabins. 10007 & 11010. We were on opposite corners on the front of the ship...awesome cabins if you can get them as there are only a a few available....we were lucky! 350+ sq. ft 2 room cabins with a long narrow deck.

The first room had 2 chairs, coffee table and a pullout couch, TV, fridge, 2 closets, plenty of drawers, sliders to the deck and entrance to the bathroom with tub.

The second room was heaven....a walk-in closet w/safe, TV, desk, king bed, end tables, full length mirror, dressing table w/mirror and hair dryer. The best part was all of the windows, it was gorgeous! And yes, a real door to close between the rooms!

Lots of room to move around...we really loved this cabin and are spoiled now as the price was so low compared to other cruise lines.

Before we knew it we had to go to the muster drill, yes you need to bring your life jackets! It was nice to be able to sit in the Luna Lounge and just wait for it to be over, not a big deal at all.

Stay tuned.

Thanks so much for your review, we are cruising on the Divina in 3 days, May 6th. This will be our first time and we have a 2 room suite w/Aurea package....so excited to try MSC!

Unless something changes between now and then, the Aurea package includes non-alcoholic drinks, smoothies & gelato for the kids. Mine are 9 & 11 and can't wait for our cruise in May 2017!

Hi,

Thank-you to all who replied. I would have been fine w/o the Aurea experience, but ended up booking two adjoining suites, 9010 and I think 9008...so two tubs and one balcony. Cheaper than the YC option. In the future I will be booking balconies, so using your suggestions. Looking forward to this cruise. We've done DCL for many years, and had the Allure booked for spring break, but the Dreamwork's character parades weren't doing it for me, or the constant hard sell I read about on CC. Hoping we love this so we can do some of the Med or longer cruises.

Enjoy your cruise.....looks like you got a corner suite? We'll be going on the Divina in May and have 11010, can't wait!

This is not true. As I stated above, there are cabins for 2 with tub/shower combo available on decks 8 & 9. they are:

 

Divina cabins with tub/shower.

 

 

 

8112 8113 8114 8115 8116 8118 8119 8120 8121 8122 8123 8124 8125 8126 8127 8128 8129 8130 8131 8132 8216 8218 8220 8221 8222 8223 8224 8225 8227 8229 8234 8235 8236 8237 8238 8239

8240 8241 8243 8245 9128 9130 9131 9132 9133 9134 9215 9219 9221 9222 9223 9224 9225 9226

 

Most are Bella, some are Fantastica experience. If a tub is that critical and they don't see the value in Yacht Club, they should check these out. EM

I only looked at the aurea cabins and higher....if the OP is OK with downgrading to those categories then he should be able to get the a tub. I guess the OP is the only one who knows exactly what he/she wants and they need to convey that to the agent.

From what I can see, the only way you are going to get a tub is by getting a suite or higher, as in yacht club. Unfortunately, not all of the suites have balconies, but floor to ceiling windows instead....contact me if you would like more info. Good luck!

Thanks for you're review so far, nice to have some good words! My neighbor is on the ship with you and she posted that they were having a great time. Sorry about your issues in San Juan, we took the shuttle last spring and had no problem, I guess you just never know. Enjoy the rest of your trip!

Thanks for your honest review...looking forward to the rest of it.

Good spot for lunch or a snack is the Sports Bar on Deck 7. Wings, Burgers, Cheese Sticks, Reuben, Hot Dogs, Cheese Sticks etc. Now no charge... used to be $$$

 

 

 

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Hi Freddy,

Any chance of getting a pic of the Sports Bar menu? Just wondering if they took the prices off the menu so that it will be permanently no charge. Thanks!

Thank you!