Mark_T

Previously it was always a page in the eDocs, recently some have reported that it was not included, and when we boarded Divina earlier this month it was not requested from us at any point.

Generally with MSC, the speciality venues open for lunch on sea-days, but not when in port. There are exceptions of course...

We've seen a 'proposal' photo package being delivered on the rear of deck 15 on Divina, for a price the photo team will stage the whole thing.

I suspect it has rather more to do with the way the US price comparison charts work, if the tips were compulsory and included they would not compare well against the other cruise lines. Also the myth that US passengers do not remove tips can be busted by looking at the lines at the CS desk to do exactly that...

Just to be clear, my experience was using the slots, I can't comment on table games. Regardless of your eventual intent, to use your room account as the source of funds you simply insert your cruise card in your chosen machine and select the option to charge to your room on the little touchscreen display, if this is the first time you have done this it will walk you through the process of setting up a PIN, this completes your card registration. Once registered you are able to transfer funds from your room account to the machine you are on. When you have finished playing on that machine you just hit 'collect' and it will print a voucher for your remaining balance. You can either take that voucher to a different machine, or you can go to the cage and cash out.

Yes, did it two days ago on Divina. I just did a couple of spins for luck and actually ended up with more than I started with 🙂 Did this 3 times and for not more than $200 each time, no idea if the amount matters but encountered no issues doing it this way.

The late disembarkation times surprised us as well, we had booked am excursion that would leave us at the airport to kill some time but it really wasn't all that important in the end. For others who might take it, it was actually quite good with an early 'coffee' stop in Little Havana and then a longer 'lunch' stop for a couple of hours at the Bayside Mall. The airport drop off was in two groups, the first for those on American Airlines, the second for everyone else. This left everyone relatively close to where they needed to be by around 1:15. Sorry we didn't get to spend more time with you and your husband, but we had excursions in every port and some had us off the ship all day. Will try harder another time! 🙂

We similarly cleared out remaining OBC through the casino, and actually ended up ahead thanks to fortunate win as we just did one spin on the machine after loading our last OBC. Nothing major but still good to come out ahead and get the OBC converted to cash. It was a great cruise, thanks in no small part to our regular evening conversations with you and your wife, hopefully we will be able to do it again at some point in the future.

It was also on Divina sailing out of Genoa last June.

Glenn has indeed been our waiter throughout the cruise, and has been assisted by Susmita who has been excellent as his partner… She will be onboard until April I believe and been a wonderful asset to MSC, unremittingly cheerful, and very attentive to the small details that make all the difference to the service. Ryan up is still around in the evenings, or can be found at the One Pool buffet, but he still remains dedicated to doing whatever it takes to earn a gold tie eventually.

We boarded Divina in Miami a week ago and the health questionnaire was never asked for during the boarding process.

Certainly a lot of other MSC ships around today, even if they are all cargo 🙂 You are right about the heat in Cartagena, even out on the water for our canoe through the mangrove swamps it was really hot. Off on our long Panama Canal trip today so we will see how that goes, although a little cooler today I think…

With the smaller size of the YC on Divina they don’t seem to see the need, but most of the senior waiters are pretty good with the wine. We have only ordered one specific bottle so far and paid the up charge, the rest of the time we have been happy with Glenn, our waiter’s suggestions.

Got to love the consistent inconsistencies 🙂 I’ve had the filet twice in the YC and both were cooked (med rare) to perfection. I thought the 2nd one was going to be a fail when I saw it, but it was just a plating error as I was served something ordered as ‘well done’. This was rapidly corrected. I have to wonder if at least some of the reported ‘misses’ were just the wrong steak…? I’ve yet to have a poor med rare steak there…

Sounds like you had a relaxing morning, we only had a short submarine trip booked so the delayed docking did not worry us. Had an enjoyable dive down to 141ft. With plenty of fish and a few wrecks for entertainment.

Neither I suspect, there was no change in the process when we boarded Divina a few days ago in YC.

I believe that is ‘Turtle Bay pier’

This is our current favorite for USB when traveling… 35W PDQ USB C on the side, 2 more USB C & 2 USB A on the bottom and it plugs in to US/EU/UK/AUS outlets and has a universal pass-thru on the front.

We were there for breakfast this morning. It really was a little too windy, but it was possible to get a little shelter with careful table selection.

Most likely IT issues, they should have been visible long before now. Try using the website with your booking reference rather than logging in to your account.

I know with the level of service provided, pretty much everyone is going to want to tip extra, but keep in mind it is ‘extra’, officially no additional tipping is expected over the service charge, even for your butler. We always do tip extra regardless as the service really does excel, but it should be because you want to, not because you believe it is required.

Only in a real emergency if you are in your cabin, but not for the drill, no change there.

… by way of further reassurance, just boarded Divina this morning and no mention of the health questionnaire at any point in the process.

Glad you’ve made it onboard, shame about the fixed dining time though.

We must have got through just ahead of whatever is happening, there was no queue through the tunnel at that time and traffic was flowing well. we left Brickell at 10:35 and boarded just ahead of the first boarding calls for those with mobility issues. Reached the lounge onboard just after 11:00am. There are 8 ships in today so it is going to be busy, but hope the delay isn’t long for you …