blackerbys17

I just did that tour for Valentine's Day. They sell vouchers for it through Living Social from time to time. It was only $25 for a 4 course lunch and wine. Our tour guide was super sweet and took us to the Piazza for coffee after lunch. It was a great deal. I just sailed her last month, very nice cruise. Liked it so much we are sailing again in less than a month.

Oh and if anyone wants to see the Daily showing the dinner and show schedules from my sailing I would be happy to post it.

I would probably choose to cancel a scheduled cruise that did the shows after dinner. At dinner, we eat too much and drink our wine. We'd fall asleep during the shows!

 

We have been on 17+ cruises across seven cruise lines. We have ALWAYS selected late dining and been able to see the shows before dinner. That's pretty much non negotiable for us. So - thanks for the heads up that MSC might be changing this schedule. As much as we loved out Oct 2014 trip on the Divina, I won't rebook if this is accurate.

There is no guarantee what will happen on your sailing but on my sailing on January 11th that is how it was done. I'll be sailing on the Divina in March and I can report then if they do the same thing again. In my case, I prefer it that way.

But if it is a non negotiable for you then yes, I would certainly consider booking another cruise line instead.

Wave Season is just the name of the current promotion they are running. I was told I would get 24 drink vouchers for my sailing, 12 for my husband and 12 for me.

That's funny, I have been considering booking the March 21 sailing aboard the Divina and the other day I noticed one of the stops had been changed. Instead of Great Stirrup Car it is now Turks & Caicos too. For a second I thought maybe I imagined it and it was always Turks & Caicos but based on your itinerary change, it seems I wasn't crazy.

I wonder why they changed it too but am excited about Grand Turk as well, I've never been there though GSC is nice. Overall a good change I think. :)

Yeah, I can understand that some people may feel that 10:45 PM is too late but if you choose 8:30 PM as your dining time (which I did) chances are you are a night owl and like to stay up late. I know I do. I wouldn't have liked it if the show was before dinner. So hopefully for your sake, it stays that way.

If you prefer an earlier show time than just select 1st seating for dinner and you should be done with dinner & the show by 9:45 PM.

On my sailing aboard the Divina out of Miami (just debarked on the 13th two days ago) the dining and show schedule was as follows:

1st dinner seating: 6 PM - Show for 1st seating: 8:45 PM

2nd dinner seating: 8:30 PM - Show for 2nd seating: 10:45 PM

I'd be happy to provide a copy of the Daily from my sailing. I attended the 10:45 PM showing so at least on my sailing, I can confirm the time is correct. I remember being able to make Kareoke just in time that started at 11:30 PM.

Late seating for dinner was at 8:30 PM and the show was at 10:45 PM.

Oh my! I just realized that Holy Ship is doing ANOTHER sailing on the Divina Feb. 18 of this year! :eek: Luckily the 4 day cruise I was considering booking is right before it, not after. But I feel sorry for the people boarding the Divina on Feb. 21.

Prepare for possible long delays at check-in. Fingers crossed they behave better this time.:(

Yes, the poor staff does work and try so hard. But they can only do so much, they are not miracle workers. Mind you, I sailed after the Jam Cruise (the Holy Ship sailing was before that) and I was told by several crew members and port employees that Jam Cruise was worse than Holy Ship (though there were some pretty wild stories about both including heavy drug use).

I know charters are a necessity sometimes from a business standpoint but it does muddy the waters for those of us who are looking for a different cruising experience. From now on I will take extra measures to make sure that if there is a charter right before my cruise, it is one that I need not worry about.

I lost quite a few hours of vacation time do to Jam Cruise and the smell lingered in various parts of the ship. Kudos to MSC staff for still providing a fun, relaxing, and elegant cruise. I'll be back at some point.

Does anyone know if Divina has the walk with your luggage for Disembarkation ? We do it on RC but didn't know if it is allowed on the Divina. Need make to a flight. Thanks for any help you give . Leaving in 3 weeks and Can't wait !!!

Yes, I just did that today. Look for the "self assist" luggage form on the 1st or 2nd day of the cruise. Fill it out & return to the reception desk on deck 5. Our meeting point was the casino at 6:30 AM (yours may be different). I actually walked down to deck 7 a little late at 6:40 AM and never had to go to the casino, the gangway was set up on deck 7 aft by the elevators. Very convenient!

I was outside of the terminal shortly after. Customs went rather quickly so I was out by about 7:10 am. Hope that helps. Have a great cruise!

...thank you for the additional feedback. I will completely agree with you that it is a "pity" they do these things, and regretfully, it is about filling ships and making money.

 

Hopefully the hard-working Staff can revitalize her in time for her next Voyage, and return her to her luster. She is a most beautiful site - especially when we watch her leaving at night.

Just wanted to say you were right, they sure did a number on the MSC Divina. MAJOR cleaning required afterwards that delayed embarkation by several hours + one of their passengers jumped off the ship. (Later rescued by the Coast Guard.) I heard there was heavy marijuana use on that sailing. So much so that the smell seeped in to deck 4, MSC employee deck.

Seriously!? You sound rather close minded to me. I fail to see the difference between people gathering who share a common love for a music genre versus vacationers who gather for a week on the ship.

 

I've attended countless techno or EDM shows as they are referred to. The crowds are some of the most kind, beautiful, and accepting I have been apart of. I work in the industry so I've been to everything from pop to rock to country to stuff like this. To think these "ravers" as you call them are any more of a danger to a ship than the regular vacation passenger is unfounded.

 

Furthermore, these cruises are wildly popular and sell out very quickly. In the long run, filled ship means good business for the cruise company. Isn't that what we all want on this board so they can reinvest in their fleet, compensate employees better, etc?

Though I can totally understand your initial reaction to that person's response about the Jam Cruise, let me tell you, they were right. We were on the sailing immediately after the Jam Cruise and several MSC employees and port officials commented on how bad it was. The ship was left in a very bad state and required major cleaning. In fact, boarding was delayed several hours due to it. I got there at 2PM to board and was not able to get on until 5 PM.

Most of the ship carpet had to be steam cleaned, chairs in lounges were wet with signs on them due to the cleaning process. Certain lounges reeked of sick. One particular MSC employee in a shop told me that were was rampant marijuana use on that sailing and that the smell seeped into deck 4, which is their quarters. He personally saw many people high on drugs and even asked the following passengers to complain to MSC so that they can reconsider these charters. He said the "Holy Ship" sailing, another music one before it, was pretty bad too but that this one was worse.

Then there was the male passenger that jumped off the Divina while on the Jam Cruise. That was also a reason for the major delay in boarding the ship for the next sailing.

I have nothing against different music genres or charter cruises. What I do have a problem with is when the previous sailing takes time away from my cruise. When public areas are affected and smell do to the previous sailing being sloppy drunk and sick. When we board so late that we miss the muster drill, yes, this happened to many of us. It's not fair that our sailing was so affected by the Jam Cruise.

Several MSC employees seemed concerned with future damage if those sailings were allowed to continue. I suggest that MSC figure out who they want to be in this American market. You either cater to the party atmosphere that Carnival does, or are an elegant refined sailing experience like Celebrity is. Or maybe somewhere in the middle. But I recommend they rethink their future charter cruises and make sure it is in the best interest of their ship and their image.

Anyone know what happened to Cruistrail's long MSC Divina review? I had it bookmarked and now it's not coming up. I need to see what kind of view either 8244 or 8246 has. Thanks in advance if anyone has pictures of the ship's exterior showing those balconies maybe a view of the cabin itself. Thank you!