iron9er

I was on Luminosa this Dec.  My family had a great time.  Not that there weren't things to complain about - I didn't love the dining room, so after 2 days, we just ate in the lido buffet exclusively.  Thought it was better and faster.  I have a 4 year old, so that was part of it.  

Anyways, keep in mind CC is an English website and Costa's English first passengers are a minority.  There are some differences I could see Americans not liking.  Same with MSC's reviews - they not as good traditionally, but I've been on both lines and thought they were more than fine.  

Boarding docs say 1pm.  We got to port at 11.45 last month and were on by about 12.45.  

Water in mdr shouldn't be an issue if you are from the US and cruising in the Caribbean.  We are on the Luminosa on Dec 22nd and we have not purchased any packages and are in classic category.  On our ticket that was just issued it states:  WaterUSA - Mineral water by the glass.  

I had a charge from MSC France at the end of my Divina cruise. I have no international transaction fess on my credit card, so not sure if that would have caused one or not on a different car.

There was free lemonade and water in the buffets free water in the dining room. Not sure about iced tea.

Does anyone know what the price of Beer is if you do not pre purchase coupons. Can you buy the packages on the ship, or do you have to get them ahead of time?

claudia

You can buy some of the packages on the ship, the most popular ones. Most beers were $5, I believe.

Awesome! Thanks for sharing. Any tips for us? Anything crucial I should pack? Did you use the kid room at all and hang out there? Do they put bracelets on the kids? Any info you can give me would be appreciated. I've been on Divina before but not with children. We sail on March 19th.

Our daughter is only 7 months so she wasnt old enough to do any of the kids club stuff. My nephew and niece are 8 and 11 and they tried, but said there were language barriers. I did see they had bracelets for the kids with the ship info. I'm happy to answer any other questions you have...not sure about packing though, my better half took care of all that!

I am traveling with 2 toddlers on Divina in about 2 weeks. They don't have passports. We do not need one for US closed loop travel.

However, I am unable to do online check in for them without putting something in the box where it asks for passport numbers.

Can anyone help? What should I put there?

My 7 month old just went with us on the Divina. We had the same issue. We brought her birth certificate, good enough. For check in my wife called in and they told us to just put in some dummy numbers (after she called the rep did it for her, I believe). I'm not joking.

Can I buy two More for Less Escape Passes? Or an 18 and a 12? I am traveling with someone who does not want to buy the all inclusive package however I know I will drink more than 18 drinks.

Sure, why not? Buy as many as you like.

on the divina you can use the MSC Traveller Web to chat with other people on board, it does not require any sort of plan. it. also informs about excursions, the daily programm etc. I have not yet got a chance tonuse it myself but read good reviews about it.

It was seriously glitchty and slow when we tried using it last week. Worked but not well.

Divina does give you free tap water at buffet's and MDR on US sailings.

The 32 oz water bottle you could take with you. I believe the cost was 3.75 from the bar (excluding tip) and 4.25 from the mini bar in your room. If you have the More for Less package, you can use your tickets for water as well.

Yep, always take snacks and water when travelling with kids (or me!) :D Disappointed to hear that they haven't gotten their 'stuff' together yet in the terminal, but the delay itself was almost certainly not MSC's fault.

 

What times did you find to be good 'off hours' for the gym? We have not had good luck on that account previously.

Yeah, not sure who's fault it was, but it wasn't good. I think they could have done a better job with communication.

Off hours are hard to tell. But mostly, I found the morning to lunch difficult in the gym (though it got better as the cruise wore on). 3pm and onward seemed to be a good time to be able to use treadmills and the weights of your choice.

There is a lot here that will be helpful for me. thank you for your thoughts.

 

Hey, how did you handle getting a crib? I haven't called MSC yet; did you pre-reserve one or just ask onboard?

Honestly, we didn't. Our girl doesn't do well in the crib. She mostly slept with mommy on the fold out couch that turned into a bed. However, you don't need to pre reserve one. Our cabin steward asked us the first day if we would be needing one and we just said no - we are going to use the couch. He was very good and made it easy.

I just wrote this review, but thought I would post it here as well if anyone is interested:

Went on the Feb 13-20 cruise on Divina. We have a 7 month old and this was our 10th cruise and 2nd time on MSC (Poesia out of Miami prior a few years ago). This cruise was dominated by our new child (who all the staff was super nice to), but we did have help in the form of grandparents and brother's family. We had a good time overall, and find really good value in MSC. By that I mean, I don't think any thing is perfect and would probably enjoy an NCL cruise more, but I'd have to pay 50-75% more than what I paid for a balcony on MSC and we had kids sail free so mine and my brother's kids were cheap to add.

Embarkation: First, I have to give credit to Top Shuttle. My wife insisted baby girl gets a car seat for transport and I insisted not to lug ours around. Top Shuttle provided one for free and were very prompt. $60 from MIA to POM, and another $60 back. The booking process with them was somewhat awkward, but they were at the airport and port within a few minutes of us calling and saved me from bringing the baby seat!

We got to the cruise terminal at about 11am and had been checked in quickly, by about 11:20. However, they held everyone in the waiting area until 1:15 not letting anyone onboard. Looooong wait with an infant. Everyone was assigned groups when checked in (we were #4) to get onboard, but it wasn't property announced which group was currently boarding, so there was a glut of people everywhere and it was chaotic. We didn't get to the buffet until close till 2pm. Definitely longest I've ever waited to get on and comfy and not a good job by MSC. By the way, the website and communication could be a LOT better prior to cruising as well. Website has real issues.

Cabin: Big balcony, B2, 9th deck. Couch converted to bed as well. Really like the room, had minor wear but not a big deal. Cabin Steward was great and very understanding of the baby.

Ship: Beautiful. A little confusing layout but not different from some Carnival ships I've been on. It was sold out, so was tight on sea days. Most passengers seem to be not from the US, which was different from the Poesia. Different vibe, but it was cool.

Food: I thought it was fine. Not sure of the complaints on CC. Seems similar to other lines (though my brother's family thought it was better than the Royal ship they went on last year). Baked Alaska and Tiramisu were not to be missed. Peter, our dining room waiter, was good and threw on an extra lobster for everyone on lobster night though no one asked him to. Pretty cool. MDR is open every day for breakfast and lunch as well which is a plus, because the buffet was kind of hectic. Food at buffet was good, especially enjoyed the ethnic corner - didn't think the pizza was as good as some made it out to be - but, hey, all pizza is good, right? More for Less drink package is a bargain compared to other lines.

Gym was crowded unless you went at off peak times. Liked that Casino was non smoking and my brother and I did well at Texas Hold em tourney. Seemed like there was less activities than some other lines during the day, but that didn't bother us. My 11 and 8 year old nephew and niece didn't like the kids club as they said employees there spoke Italian primarily. Really nice pools if you can find a spot. Entertainment was good, though my family didn't love the couple of shows that had signing that wasn't done in English. Other shows (Starwalker, The Mask, Treasure Island) the kids really liked. Great Stirrup Cay was cancelled due to weather (rough seas), we didn't leave for St. Thomas, but enjoyed old San Juan strolling around with the baby.

Disembarkation was fairly quick and easy. Like I said, value is there. If you find other cultures, languages, different ways of doing things a hassle and not your style, then sit this line out. I think MSC will still get plenty of business from other nationalities who want to sail in the Caribbean anyways. And, at these prices, I'll keep coming too!

Do you know if there were any buy one/get one happy hours and could you use your vouchers for that? Sorry to hijack this, maybe I should start a new topic on that

I personally did not see any BOGO's, not sure where they were. They did have discounts on bucket of beers (4 beers) for $17.

Just booked Divina for June and booking agent with MSC says vouchers have your name on them and must be presented to bartender with cruise card and names must match. So which is it? Recent cruisers, sound off......can be shared or not?

 

25dbb

Just got off yesterday. The $84 More for Less package definitely does NOT have your name on the voucher. Yes, I did have to present my cruise card with it and got receipts back. Is there some other marking system that lets them know who they are tied to? Could be. But, I can tell you that they don't check. One of the employees at the pool gave me a random voucher for a free drink because my 7 month old was giggling at him so much...and I used it no problem!

I've searched through these forums, and there seems to be two camps regarding how early is too early to fly from FLL after a Miami cruise. Some people say you can make it to the airport by ~9am if you self disembark; others say customs can be slow and a flight in the morning from FLL is crazy talk! [emoji4]

 

We have a decision to make. The cheapest and shortest flight home for us after our July cruise is at 11am from FLL. It is cheaper by more than $500, and it gets us home at 8pm instead of after midnight (we'll have two kids in tow).

 

Is this crazy? If we decide to try it, are there any tips in terms of how to navigate the port, should we catch a cab or book a shuttle (six people), do porters help get you through the customs line faster, etc?

 

There are two ships in Miami that day, and one at Everglades if that matters.

 

Thanks for any comments.

To answer your question, my father did self disembark yesterday (he was driving home). He was off the ship at 6:45 AM, meaning he could have easily made a 11am FLL flight. So, it is possible, just have to hope everything goes smoothly and without a hitch like it did on our cruise.

If trying this, I don't think you would want to add another stressor such as a shuttle coming on time. I'd go with a cab.

Hello everyone I have a small question about the casino on the Divina. I once saw a post that said the casino was smoke free! I have to admit I did look on the MSC web site and could not find any information, I'm not saying it isn't there just can't find it? Can any recently sailed confirm? Thanks a lot.

 

Ed

Just got off, it is smoke free. The pool deck does have one side smoking and the other smoke free, however. My wife always chose to walk on the smoke free side. :D

They didn't start letting anyone on this week until 1:15 or so. We had been waiting for about 2 hours. Don't know if that's normal.

Very nice gift!

 

If you are taking the shuttle directly from the airport after retrieving bags, you'll likely be there between 10 and 10:30. That is before boarding is likely to begin, so prepare to have a bit of a wait. You may even want to carry some light snacks actually, as boarding can begin after noon in rare instances. Important with kids, or if folks have just flown in and haven't eaten in hours...

 

IIRC, Miami has a drop off area along several hundred feet parallel to the ship. There will be baggage handlers waiting near the curb to take your bags (and a tip of about $1/bag) so no worries there. However, there will be plenty of walking after that, as well as plenty of standing in line, so if there are mobility considerations keep that in mind.

 

I've never done cash, but I would assume you'd get a receipt for all transactions in cash. Credit is so much easier though, so it's highly recommended if you have the means.

Thank you - we are on the cruise this Sat as well. We have a 7 month old infant with us. Any idea from recent cruisers what time they actually start allowing you on the ship? I know it varies, but I don't want to have to wait with my little girl out in the heat if I can just wait in the airport. As of now, I think we are going to be there at 11am, but can push that back if people think that's too early from their experience. Thanks!

I spoke to someone at MSC who told me they do not send any reminders when final payment is due:eek:

I put an alert on my phone so I won't forget!

They do not when you book with MSC. I thought they would go ahead and charge my card on file, but I had to call in to make final payment. My brother actually called in a few days late for his final payment, but there was no change in his reservation.

You can use the coupons anywhere. The price limit is online, if you try to add the package, it will tell you. Believe it was up to $5 up to 7.50 for cocktails and 8 for wine or something like that.

I do not see the answer to that question..can the coupons be shared by two people?

In the past the coupons were paper tickets, so could be shared with anyone.

Thanks Skier. Your posts have been very helpful.

 

Is it possible they don't charge in the US? US menus I have seen list no prices, and the posting you referenced, if the times coincided with a recent cruise, would have been in Europe, hence the Euro reference? It's a bit confusing. Maybe I'm not firing on all 8 cylinders today.

 

Do you have any info regarding room size of the interiors on Bella vs Fantastica? If the rooms are the same size and MSC let me go to deck 9, and I keep my dining time, I'd opt to save the money overall.

I am sailing on Divina in Feb, but have sailed on Poesia years ago. There were not charges for the food (room service) back then. That may have changed in the US market for them, but I doubt it.

Have you tried Allegiant Air from Knoxville to Ft. Lauderdale? They are usually pretty cheap flights.

This. Allegiant is spotty in that they don't fly everyday, but check them out and see if it works for you. We have used them many times for cruises with good results and they have great rates.

I understand unlike many cruise lines, you can't bring your own wine on board free of charge. Is this correct?

This is true, although their alcohol prices and packages are so darn reasonable compared to other lines, I haven't wanted to bring my own. That said, it is a bummer if you have that one bottle/brand that you really want and they don't have it.