YellowDog

Do they do nightly towel animals?

My Room Steward did and he would set up my kids stuffed animals into "scenes" with the towel animals. The kids liked it.

I believe the Divina was supposed to go into dry dock in 2016, and then they put it back into 2017. Does anyone know if it is planed, and what will be done?I'm booked for 12/17, and sailed her in 2016, so it's not that important to me, as the ship was in great shape. Just curious.Thank you for your replies.

It did in October of 2017 for a couple of weeks. I think most of the work was cosmetic and things like pillows etc. I was on it in Dec. and it looked great.

On the buffet, is there any Asian cuisine for breakfast or lunch?

I dont know if there was Asian food all the time, but I do remember seeing a stir fry type station more than once.

I'm confused about the "Mineral Water Package". It says, "14 bottles of mineral water 1L (34oz), sparkling or still. Vouchers can be consumed at any bar, restaurant and self-service buffet." Does that mean, "consumed"; when I use the voucher for a bottle or bottles of water, I have to consume them ONLY in the dining areas? Seems crazy. I mean the fact that you don't get bottled water as part of the cruise experience is crazy; but, water that you pay for? Can you clarify that for me? Thanks in advance.

I friend we traveled with had this package and she said it was more water than she could use. In fact she got us a couple of bottles for our room. :) She said it was a great deal and would take the waters back to her room and keep them in the fridge.

What terminal did you sail out of?

If I remember correctly, F

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Oh wow. Didn't know that. I just assumed that vouchers for kids were different in some way. That's a great idea.

So wait a second! With the new Fantastica set up, you get 12 vouchers for everyone in the room including kids? And these vouchers are all the same and can all be used for adult drinks?So when, my wife and I and 2 kids sail we will get 48 total vouchers that can be used for alcohol? That can't be true?...can it?:)

I know we don't know much yet, but does anyone have any info on what the thermal spa might be like on the seaside? For my wife the one thing that she was disappointed about on the Divina was the thermal spa which didn't have a lot to offer. Maybe someone had seen an artist rendering of that area or something? It would help me really sell this to my DW. :)

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Obviously I can't speak for the seaside, but on Divina...yes to both.

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Did you use the Spa? If so what was your experience. Do they offer special pricing on port days?

 

With thanks

 

 

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We arent big spa people, but my wife usually likes the thermal spa areas that have the stone loungers, the whirlpool etc.) and she was pretty disappointed in those offerings on the Divina. Saying it was much better on the NCL Getaway the year before. One of the other friends we travelled with however really liked the steam room. They did have specials and my understanding was that the spa prices overall were much cheaper than other lines overall. for the special they were always in the daily thing just like on other lines.

Hello, thanks for posting here. We sail on the Divina on Jan. 19th. Less than a week away. I was wondering if there is anywhere to buy water bottles (not sparkling) on the ship? Thanks, Alice

Yep. All the bars have them. I friend who traveled with us got the water bottle package, I dont remember the details of it, but she said it was well worth it and a good deal. Im sure the specifics are on the MSC website.

Do you know what sports channels they have in the sports bar we are going in 2 weeks

They don't really have channels like we do, but they did get a lot of NFL games. Lot of soccer as you can imagine, if you are looking for an obscure NBA game or something you won't get it...but in two weeks...no way they don't have the super bowl.

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Thanks!!! I have read that beach you went to has sewage issues.. did you notice anything like that? On the webcam

It looks like a beautiful beach!

 

 

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No. I didn't. I thought it was great. Scenic and the kids had fun.

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obviously the kids will be in different groups BUT the groups are right near each other most of the time. In fact, they combined for somethings like the dance parties and talent show.

We did go to St. Maartin. We just took the water taxi across the bay and the beach is right there. With kids, that was perfect. We got lounge chairs and umbrellas from a local...dont worry, they'll find you :). and we had bars/restaurants right behind us for drinks and restrooms. Personally I would not waste money on a beach excursion in St. Maartin. Its just not necessary. The parents are invited for sure. It was at noon on one of the last days and it was so cute seeing the kids on the big stage at the theatre. I can't tell you enough how happy we were with the kids club. At dinner we were a table of 6 and had our own table. My guess is you will too with 5. Hope that helps.

I have a daughter who is 3 and my other two are 7&8. Will the older ones be near the 3yr old in the kids club at all or are they completely separate?

 

Did you goto st marten? If so what beach do you recommend?

 

Are parents invited to watch the talent show?

 

Will a party of 5 be seated alone for dinner or with another group?

 

Thanks so much!

 

 

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I don't specifically remember ice tea but i believe lemonade was one of the juices in the juice dispenser at the buffet. Different parts of the buffet were open at different times but something was always available. The soft serve ice cream that is free is available in the afternoons near the entrance to indoor pool area. The other ice cream is also very good and not expensive at all. Hope this helps. Overall we enjoyed the Divina very much, so much so we have booked the Seaside for next year!

Do you have free ice tea or lemonade in the buffet????At all time when is open?? And if the answer is yes, you can ask it for free in the MDR??? And the ice cream is still free? thank you!!!:D

I have fantastica and it did not include flexible dining when I was on Divina. My TA seems to think it will...guess we'll see. It's not a deal breaker either way, but would be nice.

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I just put a deposit down on the Seaside for 3/18...I am really excited! My TA mentioned that the seaside may have "flexible" dining. I heard that to be like anytime dining on Princess or NCL. Does anyone know if that is true? Also any other seaside tidbits you may know...Id like to hear.

Well, it IS a cruise ship cabin...But we thought it was roomier than the NCL Getaway we did last year. Also, the kids sleep on a queen size sofa pull out rather than the couch with the bunk that comes down from the ceiling. This created more space we felt b/c we would put the sofa back each day. The kids never complained about the pull out and our bed was quite comfortable too. There was a lot of closet space (for a cruise ship) and when I needed to to, I just escaped to the balcony. :) Overall we really liked our stateroom 10239.

Did you have two adults and two kids in a stateroom? If so, how was that? Was it cramped?

they did have movies on deck at night, but if you are thinking MUTS on Princess or something similar it really wasnt that. there were chairs but i did not see deck chairs. maybe they had them up on 15 and you could look down? They had Zootopia one night for the kids but was rained out.

The shows were very good. Of the 4 I saw, the Michael Jackson show was my favorite, but the tribute to Queen was also very good. The vocalists on board were great and the shows (all of them) relied heavily on dance and acrobatics.

I did not play the slots, but a friend of mine one $300 in poker! The casino is non smoking which is nice when you have to cut through it or get a drink there.

There are a lot of places to get away and read if you look. And one of the pools is indoors so you could always hang there. If you go up to 15 or 16 you can find shaded areas too.

My kids are 5 (6 in feb.) and I know that kids are different, but mine really loved the kids club and all of the dancing they did there. As I said earlier the young women who run it were top notch. Be sure to sign them up in advance on the MSC website. That will save you a lot of time in the singing up mad house at the beginning of the cruise.

Hope this helps.

What was your favorite meal/foods?

 

Did you watch movies under the stars? If so, did you have a lounge chair?

 

Did you enjoy the shows? Which was your favorite and which was your least favorite?

 

Did you play slot machines? How did you do?

 

I like to lounge in the shade while I read...did you notice much in the way of shaded lounge areas outside?

 

Thanks for offering to answer questions! I am so excited that your kids loved the kids program as we are traveling with your 6 yr old grandson next month!

 

Kim

I did not get them myself but there are 3 upgrades options in the dining room. Surf and Turf (5oz filet and lobster tail) Jumbo shrimp cocktail (tablemate got it and liked it) AND the lobster. It is a whole lobster. I saw a few go by and they looked good. As far as the all you can eat, I dont really know...BUT I will say when you order regular entrees or apps or anything in the dining room the servers dont bat an eye when you get more than one.

Do you know anything about the lobster in the main dining room? I know its a $20 upcharge now but is it all you can eat? Do you know if it was a whole lobster or tail? Silly questions but this is our friend's first cruise and they were looking forward to lobster.

Thanks

I did not, BUT it was very popular. they seemed to have it somewhere almost every night. Even one night they did it up on the pool deck!

Did you attend karaoke?

 

If so...

1. How was it?

2. How often?

3. Song selection any good?

Strangely the formal night was not quite a formal as I expected (which was fine with me) Very few Tuxedos for men. Most men in suits but even some in jacket and tie. Other men looked sharp but did not do the formal night. (khakis and open collars) Nobody seemed to care and nobody to my knowledge was turned away from the dining room. Don't get me wrong it wasn't as optional as maybe it is on NCL. Frankly it reminded me of what I would see on Princess.

How was the formal night?

 

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They did and they loved it. The women who run it are wonderful. My 5 year old twins looked forward to it everyday. They even eat dinner with the kids club and went to the shows each night. They did the talent show, dance parties, and cooking thing. Frankly the success of the cruise was in large part due to how much they loved the kids club.

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My full review is coming. Short short version: we really liked it. We traveled with 7 total adults 35-45 and 6 kids 3.5-14. So that's the stuff we experienced.

For now, I'll try to pay so many of you back for all of your help by answering as many questions as I can.

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http://thecheerfulcruiser.blogspot.com/2016/07/ten-tips-and-truths-about-msc-divina.html

 

Hope my list of tips from my blog helps! :) I have a few other MSC Divina posts as well on my blog too! Have fun! :)

These were very good. Thanks!

I looked at a million sites, threads, reviews, and posts...but what last minute Divina tips and tricks do you have? Im traveling with DW and 5 yo twins!