FTLcruisers

They won't repeat a show. Usually they bring on entertainers at some of the ports for a bit of local flavour. They also usually have a few extra classical musicians and operatic singers and have a series of 4 or 5 classical concerts.

thanks - this doesn't sound bad at all - looking forward to sailing the Divina again.

Marianne

what will they do for entertainment on the Divina's grand voyage at the end of April?

Marianne

I was going to say the same thing as the last few posters - give yourself time to relax. When we first started cruising, I hated days at sea - I wanted to be off doing something some place. Now I enjoy those days since I've learned it's ok to relax. So don't feel you have to do something at every port and don't feel you have to participate in every activity on the ship.

You'll find cruisers are very friendly - not sure what it is about putting thousands of people together on a ship - so don't be shy about talking to other people. Share a table at breakfast or lunch if the buffet is crowded or talk to someone sitting next to you in the theater. Any kind of question (and a smile) will break the ice very easily. After 60+ cruises, we have formed many friendships with people from all over the world - some of those started out with just 'hi, where are you from?'.

Enjoy your first cruise.

Marianne

Sandeman's tours are at 11AM. Once you are on their website, you will see that information and be able to register (no cost). If you don't register, you can still show up. Not sure why they use the registration - maybe just to determine whether anyone is interested.

Marianne

Hi Marianne thanks so much for that information. i will check it out. I did one of those free tours in Prague last year, it was great.

 

lsad18

we have used Sandeman's in several cities and have always been happy with the tour. Hope it works out for you - enjoy Copenhagen, it's a great city.

Marianne

taxi would have to go out of the direct route between the airport and cruiseport to go to Total Wines - so if you don't mind paying a few extra dollars for the cab ride, that's the way to go.

Marianne

I just did a google search and there is a bus service:

http://www.thefloridaexpressbus.com/destinations/port_everglades.html

Never used it but you might want to check it out

Marianne

if the timing works, you might try Sandeman's New Europe free walking tour (tour is free, you tip what you feel appropriate at the end) http://www.newcopenhagentours.com/. We used them in June of last year and had an awesome guide - saw a lot of Copenhagen in a few hours and certainly learned a lot.

Marianne

I have used drinks vouchers on all my MSC sailings.

 

They are purchased on board and there are regional variations in pricing.

 

Annie

I was able to purchase them online - I filled out a form and then a MSC rep processed the order and sent me an email confirmation. Did the same for an excursion.

Marianne

We usually take the 'free' walking tours in any European city they are available and generally tip between 5 and 10 euros per person.

Marianne

Cruise lines will do whatever they feel is best to keep their passengers safe. They are not going to take any chances with crew or passenger safety nor do they want anything to happen to their multi-million dollar ships!

We cruised the Baltic right around the time when all the stuff was going on with Putin and many folks on our cruise did cancel either for safety concerns or not wanting to support Putin's regime. We had no issues nor did I think we would. We also were in Athens and Barcelona during some civil unrest and had no issues in either city. In Athens, the cruiseline did cancel a walking tour that would have taken us near the protests.

You must make a decision based on your comfort level. Also, you must realize that, unfortunately, it seems there is always something crazy going on in some part of the world so it may not be any better on a future date.

We will be on a TA from Miami to Rome in May and I have no concerns about our safety.

Marianne

Thanks guys. I think we'll definitely do an excursion in Tunisia to ensure we feel safe. I've heard that the Bardo Museum is better than Carthage, and we only have time to do one or the other with an excursion. At Naples, we want to travel to Sorrento, as that's where we got married in 2012. The price of making our own way there isn't any cheaper or faster than taking the ships excursion, so we're thinking of booking the excursion just for the coach ride to Sorrento, and then ditching the group until the end and rejoining the coach again to get back to the port. We don't want a guided tour, we want to go and visit places that are sentimental to us from our wedding and honeymoon instead.

you might research transportation from Naples to Sorrento instead of using the ship's excursion just for transport. You would probably have more flexibility on the time you can spend in Sorrento.

As to your original question - as most people said, it's all a matter of comfort - we used ship tours on our first few cruises in Europe but now we are so much more comfortable with private tours. However we sometimes will still will do a ship's tour - example is we will be stopping in Cadiz and want to go to Seville. We plan on using MSC's tour because of the distance from the port. On all our other stops, we'll be doing private tours.

Marianne

also a nice butterfly and nature conservatory which the kids might enjoy.

keywestbutterfly.com

also the US Coast Guard Cutter Ingham Maritime Museum

uscgcingham.org/#_=_

Marianne

Thanks for all the replies. When I saw that they were adding more parking spaces at Port Everglades I assumed I might have a problem finding a spot. I'm sure that's possible but it doesn't sound like anyone here has had that problem yet.

The Oasis will be at terminal 18 which has its own parking lot which always has plenty of spaces and is only a very short walk to the terminal.

Marianne

My stepdaughter got married on a Carnival ship. On the last day of the cruise, my new son-in-law made a deal with the photo gallery manager to purchase all the photos that had been taken for one set price. He was able to convince them that since they would only be throwing the photos away anyway, that it was worth it to get some compensation for them.

you said it - both have pros and cons. We've done more than 60 cruises and prefer having the same waitstaff each night and also getting to know a small group of guests well by sharing dinner with them each evening. If that is what you like, than traditional dining is for you with the con being that you have to eat at the same time each night.

If you want the flexibility of eating at a different time each night, then my time dining is for you. From what I understand, you can request the same waiter each night. You can also ask to be seated with others if you prefer.

Really a personal decision.

Marianne

We just automatically used our TA since we always do but I believe with MSC it is better to book directly with them. I was able to access our cruise but I was listed as a 'male' and could not change it to female - I called them and they told me my TA had to call them to make that change. I understand them not wanting to talk to me about other issues related to my cruise but that seemed like something that my TA shouldn't have had to get involved with. Oh well, next time we'll book direct.

Marianne

Annie - I'm on the cruise with you and have been able to fill out the forms for shore excursions and beverage packages and submit them through the MSC website.

Marianne

I also recommend Bernard's Tour in St Martin

Marianne

I thought it was cute that she selected the cruise line where she could have someone to dance with!

Marianne

we had a balcony on our last Alaska cruise and thought it was a waste. It was too cold to sit out there for any length of time plus we could only see what was right in front of us. It was much better to be up on the open deck so we could see all around - plus look down into the water for whales, etc.

Marianne

We have done more than 60 cruises, mostly on Royal and Celebrity. We sailed on the Divina in Oct for the first time with friends and were apprehensive after reading some of the reviews - even our TA didn't like it. But we loved it - so much so that we are going on their grand voyage (20 nights) in April. We found the crew to be exceptionally friendly. We enjoyed the music in the lounges in the evening (compared to the always bad piano bar singer on RCL or X). We enjoyed the food - but, then again, we love Italian food. Our friends had some not so great dishes in the MDR but then we've also had not so great meals on RCL and X. We enjoyed being able to go up for late night snacks which some of the other cruise lines have done away with. We thought the shows were really good and so much different than on RCL and X - they even did a matinee opera!!

As long as you go on with an open mind - and are open to things being done differently - you will have a good time.

Marianne

Check out Bernard's Tours in St Marteen - he does several different ones including a stop at Maho Beach (where the planes come in over your head)

Marianne

strangely enough our cabin on the Divina also smelled like smoke - can't remember what side of the ship we were on. We assumed it was because our neighbor smoked out on his balcony (the first day we saw him so we assume other times when we didn't see him). Our cabin attendant sprayed something which helped but the smell never completely went away.

Marianne

on our last TA, I was surprised to see that there were several families traveling with several young children on board.

There was also a military couple traveling who used the cruise ship to transport the goods they needed for their new home in the US since they knew the rest of their belongings would take several weeks to reach them - thought that was interesting!

Marianne