tbmrt

We usually do late dining on our cruises and only tried Anytime Dining once years ago.

I remember thinking that the waiters rushed around more, our orders were never served completely (veggies forgotten, bread not served, etc.). Waiters made me feel like I was being a pain if I asked for any extras like red hot pepper flakes, etc. Could be just a bad situation that trip. Think it was on the Sun.

How does Anytime Dining work now? Can we choose to eat as a twosome or join others when we arrive? Are any prior reservations needed? Service usually good?

I love the idea of not having to eat at a set time so we can be more flexible based on our excursions, energy, etc., but like the idea of having the same waiters, etc when we do late dining assignments.

Would appreciate your advice.

Thank you

Barbara

Just wanted you to be aware...for those that are saying that this other pool (without the slides) are an adult only pool...

 

This is the pool...see the sign there on the seat edge by the pool?

 

 

 

 

This is what it says...notice number 6.

 

 

 

So it is not an "adult only" pool. It just seems like the children like the other side better because that's where the slides are at.

 

Also when we checked out this pool, it was cold (and we were in the Caribbean, this past December). So I'm not sure it's actually heated? Or some of you got lucky and the water was just warm?

Disappointed to read this. Although we love our grandchildren, we enjoy quietly reading around the pool on our cruises and thought an adult only pool would be great!

Thinking about booking a cruise on the Jewel...Concerned about the pools (non-Haven).

Pics I've seen show a pool with a slide next to it for the children.

Is there a quieter and/or adults only pool?

Thanks

Barbara

We have been very lucky in the past with balcony guarantee cabins. I'm wondering what the worst case scenario is with the Jewel. Has anyone experienced anything really bad? I wouldn't mind a post in front of us, but would hate to be behind an actual life raft.

Thanks so much.

Barbara

We added up our receipts when we got home and found we saved about $75 by pre-purchasing the Allegrissimo Classic package for our recent Divina cruise.

That being said though, we found ourselves drinking more than usual just to "take advantage of the all-inclusive package".

Probably better for us to buy vouchers instead on next MSC cruise.

We thoroughly enjoyed all the nightly shows except for the comedian, Levant...really boring...People walked out, including us.

Especially liked the costumes, male opera singer and Soprano.

Really enjoyed the Duo to listen to while enjoying our martinis before dinner.

Dueling Pianos, Entertainment Staff along with the bands after dinner were wonderful....Very upbeat and friendly!

Didn't care for violinists....probably just not our cup of tea!

We chose to miss a few shows on other cruise ships, but would never miss a show on MSC after our recent experience.

Although we like latin music and enjoyed the band on deck at the White Party, we would have appreciated more well known songs and less latin dance music.

The one big miss for us was not having a band on deck at Sailaway. We skipped the first night's show since it was at the same time as Sailaway, 7pm...Mistake...No band or pizzazz at all at Sailaway.

This is the official information from the MSC USA web site

 

 

 

So my guess is THREE as that would seem to fit with cruises of 12 - 14 nights, information for which is missing.

 

This is however at odds with our recent 10 night cruise on OPERA when we had 3 formal nights, as against 2 suggested by the infornation above. (3 x Formal {Gala}; 2 x Themed {1 X White and 1 x Masquerade}; 4 x Casual; 1 x Informal)

 

The sequence was Casual, Casual, Casual, Gala, Informal, Masqerade, Gala, White, Gala, Casual.

 

Maybe European cruises have more formal nights than USA based cruises.

 

 

Pete

Although I have to say that the first formal night was the "dressiest", there were 3 formal nights on our 11 night Divina cruise recently. Also a red/white/green, flower (hippie type) party and white party. No need to dress up for the last three parties although some passengers did so...Definitely adds to the fun!

Barbara

Nice job!

ive heard Jamaica is horrible but whats the problem with Cozumel? ill be there in a month and am very excited to visit. thanks!!

We've been to Cozumel many times and really enjoy the snorkeling there.

Also did a fun, recent Bar Hop Crawl on a bus to the West Side...Beaches are phenomenal...although too rough for swimming usually.

I read somewhere on here that there are Theme Nights on the Divina, such as everyone dresses in white one night and Italian night. We will be on the Jan 25 sailing. Can anyone let me know what they wore for Italian night? ALso please give info about the night everyone wears white.

Thanks!:)

Although many didn't dress up, I think that was because the theme nights really weren't promoted much by MSC. Many cruisers said they would have liked to have know about these beforehand so they could have packed accordingly.

That being said, the Entertainment Crew and quite a few guests dressed up in anything white for the deck party, in red/white and or green for the Italian night and in hippie clothing or flowery clothes for the flower party.

I'm hoping MSC starts advertising these parties more for future cruises...It would definitely add to the fun!

Yeah, we pre-booked the cab ride and had it refunded also due to the regulation change. Any updates on the shuttle or safe alternate ways to get there?

Read that they now can transport guests right from the port, but fee has gone up to $28 pp instead of $20.

Will definitely do this next trip to Falmouth!

Now that I'm sold on MSC and the Divina, I need to pay attention to the MSC Club, rates, etc.

We applied onboard for the card...How long before we should receive?

Also, is it better to book next MSC cruise direct or through TA? Best to wait til a certain time to book for next December (non-holiday time)?

Does the Yacht Club have its own buffet?

Thanks

Barbara

They had 2 toasters at the buffet which was not enough.

 

You were lucky we had one for 18 days of a Transatlantic cruise that was behind a screen and operated by one staff member!

 

Glad you enjoyed the cruise.

Although there were plenty of breakfast items, we also would have appreciated a toast/toaster that one didn't have to stand at for so long.

The "easy over" eggs were fine on some mornings, but sometimes overcooked which is understandable, considering since this surely is a difficult item to make for a buffet.

Many cruisemates complained that the scrambled eggs were really awful and the bacon greasy. Sausage was excellent.

I'm sure MSC will improve on these things as they have done on so many others.

Can't wait to start planning next MSC cruise!

Just curious....We loved the infinity pool on the Divina, but were disappointed that the water was never filled "to the top" to give it a true "infinity pool" appearance. It was just filled like an ordinary swimming pool.

I heard rumors that this was because at sea the motion of the ocean caused the pool to overflow onto aft decks. However, we never saw it filled on sea days either

Has anyone ever seen it totally filled?

By the way, there weren't many children on our 11 night cruise, but some were in infinity pool including babies. Would have been nice to have it adult only and without the very loud music blasting. Love all kinds of music, but really would be nice to have a relaxing spot to swim in sometimes.

We wallked up to the +18 solarium, but no pool closeby...just a whirlpool there and not a very pretty spot in our opinion.

All that being said, we loved the Divina cruise and surely will be back!

Merry Christmas to all!

Barbara

Barbara

I never felt nickeled and dimed like rccl, in fact the opposite. You will have a good cruise.

Also liked that there weren't constant announcements and that the bar staff were there, but didn't keep interrupting my reading by constantly asking if I'd like a drink.

Can I ask what was it about the MVC Eagle Beach that you didn't like?

The beach itself was beautiful. I had commented that when I walked across the street to the resort itself, it looked pretty rundown.

I've never been much into playing slots, especially since they stopped having the coins pop out into a cup! Just don't find it very exciting watching the amounts on the screen.....

So MSC has a promo which gives on $10 free slot play with the first $10 spent on slots.

Had a little time to kill so DH and I head to casino for a drink. On the way out, we put $20 into machine and get $10 free promo.

I sit down and have no clue how to play...didn't understand the lines vs. hits, etc. (Having a few drinks first may have contributed to this situation!)

A nice guy sits next to me and explains what to do somewhat. So I follow his directions. I find out that I'm at a nickel machine and hit $.45 a play as directed. First hit, I get 20 free plays. I say to the guy, what do I do now? He says, just sit there and the machine will go round 20 times.

OK...I sit there and the machine stops...He tells me I won about $120.00....

I'm truly amazed.

I played it down to $100.00, got a voucher and found my husband to tell him about my winnings.

The guy who was helping me dashed into my seat....Hope it was lucky for him as well.

Fun time, but still like hearing and seeing those coins drop into the bucket - old time slot machines!

Barbara

Hi Barbara.... I read your review on the MSC Divina...I was on the Divina on the 3 night sailing on December 7, 2013....I throughly enjoyed myself...I also had the Allesgrissmo Preminum Package and it worked out very well. Only had one incident happen to me....I had ordered a drink from the bar when i first boarded...and they didn't read my card properly, and they billed me for the drink....I had told her that i had the Allesgrissmo Package, and she voided out the bill....yes you have to watch, as there are alot of new people on the ship, and i guess they still are not familiar with the different packages...Other then that, i had a wonderful time..

 

I saw all of the shows, which were fantastic....Witches of Paris, Abbracadabra, Starwalker, Wonderland.....all got standing ovations....best shows at sea i have seen in a long time, and i am an avid cruiser....

 

Food was delicious...both in the buffet, and in the dining room....being as this was only a 3 night cruise....we had the tirasumu but not the baked alaska.... but we did have shrimp cocktail, escargot, prime rib, lasagna bolgonese..which i pigged out on.....loved it...i was in seventh heaven....

 

Entertaintment....and activities..... were all over the ship....in the evening...you walked from one lounge to another...and there was music playing all over....Barbara, on your cruise, did they offer playing bingo, because on the 3 night cruise they did not.... we also had the flower party, white party, carnival night, and one formal evening....the ship was decorated all up for Christmas..... we even seen a wedding being performed by the Captain and his officers, in the atrium, which was beautiful....She looked like a princess...

 

My cabin was an inside cabin on deck 11....it was on the small side....but i was sailing by mself so it suited me fine...but this lady was telling me she was on deck 5, in a category 1, and she told me that she had a sofa, plus a chair and little table in her room, which i did not...she also was sailing solo, and hers was a guarantee cabin.....mine cabin was a category 2....so i guess that the inside cabins are all different sizes..... mine cabin you could not put a chair or a little table in it, as it was that small... but it was nice and cozy...

 

I booked another MSC Cruise for October 4, 2014 going on a 7ngt sailing to the Eastern Caribbean... I am taking my grandson this trip with me....This is a gift to him from me, as he is making his holy communion in May 2014...He has never been on a cruise, so i deceided to take him with me.... This trip i got an Oceanview Cabin on deck 9..... I loved MSC and i know that they will get my business alot....Liked the idea drinks were not pushed on you.... even at the private island that we went to....there were no crew walking all over, pushing drinks, you had to go to the bar and purchase them.... the buffet on the island consisted of only hamburgers, or hot dogs, with french fries, pasta salad, and desserts... which was fine....island we stopped at was half moon cay.....beautiful island....better than cococay......as there were no rocks at all...just pure white sand....water was crystal clear....

 

what other activities did they offer on the 11 night cruise during the daytime and evening?:)

They did do Bingo and at one point the coverall was about $1,200.

Off the top of my head...astronomy classes, wine tasting, arts/crafts, cooking demo, different types of dance lessons, various trivia contests, putting competition, basketball tournaments, dancing with entertainment staff and officers, bridge, jewelry making, etc, Frank Sinatra show (didn't see), 2 comedians...missed one..didn't like Levant (last one).

Shows every night except one...don't remember why.

Really great time!

Barbara

I can jump in on the Splenda - yes they have it

I was on the first, Miami inagural 3 nighter - the first day they only had some sort of "sucre light" with Italian writing on it haha...

on day 2 the yellow, pink , blue and tan (natural sugar) packets were out everywhere , at buffet, in dining room <grin>

 

The coffee was delicious, I did not try any special coffees, just the free cofeee. Maybe Barbara or others can tell you about the expresso etc?

We had espresso and cappucino's at the regular bars and after dinner (included in Allegrissimo Classic package)..plus a shot of liquor on the side, i.e., Bailey's, etc. Delicious!

That stinks! We were planning on going the end of January. TNP had transportation issues last year about this time and we were unable to go. Tried to get a taxi to take us, but they acted like they did not know the place.

Our friends said that they also had trouble getting someone and had to pay a good tip to get someone to take them there (I think total was $30 for a very short ride).

I also hope they can get their transportation taken care of in the future because I really want to visit TNP

We were going to take the local bus to Eagle Beach, but enroute to the bus, we were stopped by a woman with a few white small buses charging $3 one way.

She dropped us off in front of MVC Resort and we paid $10 each for lounges. Beautiful sand, water a bit cooler than here in Florida. Still prefer St. Maarten or Jost Van Dyke beaches.

Driver would have taken us to Palm Beach or other locations on Eagle Beach for same price. She asked what time our group wanted to be picked up and we agreed to meet then.

We walked over the the Resort and were not at all impressed.

Decided to head back to the ship early and asked the very pleasant lounge chair attendant where to get the bus. He told us to wait at the stop (across from Resort by a yellow blank sign and rocks to sit on). Suggested we get a smaller white bus rather than a larger one to save a bit of $.

A small white van arrived promptly and asked if we were going to the port...Charged just $2 for the trip.

Unfortunately we didn't take time to shop the stores in Aruba afterward, but did get a few nice things from local vendors in a flea market near the port. Successfully bargained just a bit.

Barbara

Forgot to mention in my review....

I was surprised that there were fewer Americans onboard this cruise from Miami and that most people did dress up quite a bit for dinner on the 3 gala nights, especially the first one! This added to the ambiance for us....Real rough guess....25% Americans....Many Italians, quite a few Germans, Canadians and French. There were few children, probably due to the sail date and 11 night cruise.

One negative for us was that the pool lounges were much too close (front to back and next to each other).... worse than on other ships....Very dangerous climbing over others' lounges to get out of yours.

The ship changed its clock to match the ports.

Did not see any towels being removed if left empty too long. Perhaps due to the abundance of lounges.

Loved opening our curtain to see a parade of lighted ships approaching the Panama Canal. It was like a movie!

The music at the Infinity Pool was extremely loud. Suggest MSC play something more relaxing during the day at this location.

Kudos to Cruise Director, Andre....He was professional and pleasant without being annoyingly "over the top"!

Love, love, love the Divina!

Barbara

Originally Posted by legion3 View Post

Good stuff, thanks for the review, how was the smoking on the ship (I saw you ask about it in another thread) was the casino smoke free or mostly?

Smoking took place on port (left side) of ship. Not bad at all...Just avoided it. SHOULD HAVE READ POOL DECK 14 PORT (LEFT SIDE FACING FRONT OF SHIP!

Also in Cigar Lounge by shops (avoided this also)

Casino was fine as was rest of the trip

Good stuff, thanks for the review, how was the smoking on the ship (I saw you ask about it in another thread) was the casino smoke free or mostly?

 

Smoking took place on port (left side) of ship. Not bad at all...Just avoided it.

 

Also in Cigar Lounge by shops (avoided this also)

 

Casino was fine as was rest of the trip

 

 

Sounds like it was a fine trip.

 

How was the miami port? Where there lots of other ships with you on sailing day?

We only had one other ship (Maasdam I believe). Since we left on a Tuesday, no problem.

Miami's port was crazy as usual when we returned back on Saturday (11 night trip). We grabbed a cab back to our hotel to pick up our car rather than wait for shuttle.

Still in heaven..Wonderful cruise!

Barbara

Visited Porta Mari on cruise ship and took Dushi Taxi from the port - $25 per person round trip for the four of us! Natasha was wonderful and really showed us a good time, was right on time also.

Snorkeling was amazing...Easy to snorkel, lots of beautiful fish...chairs available.

Great day!

Barbara