Mikesa1721

Hey, does anyone know if MSC accepts AMX??

 

Thanks, Susan

The credit cards accepted onboard are Visa, Mastercard, American Express, JCB, and Diners Club.

So, in reading reviews, I notice Davina uses a French bank.

 

Does that mean everything we buy on the ship is subject to bank fees?

 

Spa services, service fees, excursions, items in the gift shops....etc?

 

Also...do you give them the card you want to use upon embarkation....or do they just use the one you paid for the cruise with?

MsTabby,,,we used our debit card when we checked in and there were no bank fees applied when our account was settled. I have heard of others experiencing credit card hold problems as well as extra fees, so you may want to check with your bank and find out if additional fees will be applied and let them know you will be traveling so they won't flag any charges as fraudulent and decline your card.

The single biggest issue for me in booking the Bella experience is that they won't guarantee my dining time preference. That in itself would be the deal breaker. Unless this changes, MSC just lost a new cruising customer:(

You weren't guaranteed either Early or Late Dining before the packages were released. When you booked,,you requested one or the other and once you checked in, that's when your dining time would be assigned to you,,,nothing has changed here.

Tim ... Just re checked the UK site and the brochure displayed is for March 2015 to April 2016 which shows the changes i mentioned in my earlier post.

 

Cabin service twice a day that is/was not available on Bella has been removed.

 

Mike ... The Deck 18 area was available to Adults only and at a charge for a Half or Full Day and with extra costs for the Cabana things.

I must have used a blanket statement when referring to the Solarium (Sun Deck) area,,but you're right,,it is "supposed to be" for adults only, with full and half day pricing for loungers and clam shells.

I requested the MSC Cruises USA rep look at this thread and all of its posts to clarify some of the misconceptions that were associated with the new experience packages,,in particular,,the sun deck(deck 18) and the kids programs.

Nothing has changed with the sun deck,,it has always been and always will be an area which is available to everyone as well as all of the kids programs. You can choose to pay upfront for them by purchasing the experience,,or buy them ala cart by choosing the Bella experience. Here is the new deck plan which now lists the staterooms available for each experience package. http://www.msccruisesusa.com/us_en/Images/Divina_deckplan_experience_tcm12-104568.pdf

Welcome to CC Bama!! Here is a link to the October 25th roll call. Lots of info and people to talk with about shore excursions,,meet and greets,,,etc.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1989936

There's a lot of folks who have sailed Divina so if you have any questions,,someone here will definitely be able to help you!!! Have a great trip!!!:)

Thank You MSC Cruises USA for your reply!!!:D

I am trying to do a booking for a cruise in bella category. My travel agent informs me that if we book on bella, we cannot choose the cabin. It will be allocated from MSC. She says this is a difference with Fantastica. Is this correct?

Straight from the MSC cruises agent site:

*Can customers choose their stateroom with the Bella Experience?

Yes. Customers can request their stateroom upon booking; however, the request will be honored for the staterooms that are allocated to the Bella Experience. Please see deck plans for more information.

Nice review and glad to hear you had a great time Houston!!! Sorry to hear about your wife though, luckily you were still able to enjoy yourselves!!!:)

This is really just Marketing 101.

 

They gave us an attractive product for a great price.

 

Now they're targeting in on the people they pleased..and charging them "the going rate".

 

Those who can't afford will go elsewhere; those who won't pay for what they won't use will go elsewhere.

 

I never thought that MSC was trying to get the Carnival crowd (although the prices said otherwise)...and they certainly won't get them now.

I agree Ms Tabby!!! In fact,,,here's a little reasoning into this decision:

I suppose it's time to ring up Cruise Critics MSC representative and have her shed some light on what is and what is not included in each package,,especially when it comes to dining times and kid's club.

This man was making pizzas and I asked him if it was OK to take his picture.

 

 

He and I worked together to catch him flipping the dough.

 

Here he is saying, Get ready.

 

 

Dang, too late! The picture is blurry and he almost dropped someone's dinner. This shows what happens when you are looking at the camera instead of the dough.

 

 

 

Finally, the perfect flip! You can't see it, but, trust me the dough is up there.

 

 

The pizzas he makes are for sale, I think they are about $8 each. I assume these are the ones Chandra was hoping to get commission on. :p

 

He inspired me so much, that after a few glasses of wine, I headed down to the buffet for some free pizza and more wine.

 

As I was collecting my pizza, this is when I noticed the bar was right there. GREAT! I went to the bar to get some wine and the bartender wouldn't talk to me, he pointed that I should talk to the server instead. This does seem to be how it works on MSC. The bartender is there to mix drinks, not take orders. That's OK with me. She told me to sit down and she would be right with me. I sat down and starting eating, she came over and I said White Zinfandel . She didn't know what I was talking about. I said Beringer WZ, it's number 503 on your cash register. I told her any Rose would be fine. I had learned the Roses are numbers 503, 504 and 505. She came back with the same Rose the dining room had. That was fine, it was OK.

 

As I was eating my second piece of pizza, a different server came by to see if I wanted more wine. I figured what the heck, go for it. Beringer White Zinfandel, please. :cool:

 

Next thing I knew, here came the bartender with the menu in his hand. He showed me the list of white wines and said there is no Zinfandel here. I pointed at the list of Roses and said, I know, it is here, White Zinfandel. I said, I know it's weird that it has White in its name, but, it is a Rose. I wasn't mad about it, I was rather amused really. Haven't they ever read their own menu?

 

He did finally produce a glass, but, now, as I look at my receipt, I see he added 1.75 to the price. Why, did he have to go milk the grapes? I'm starting to think the next time I cruise, I need to look at my receipts more closely. I was busy making sure it was my name on them and I was getting my card back, I wasn't looking at the prices since it was all covered.

 

On a side note, on my way out, I looked at the bar and on their back wall, as part of their display, they have a bottle of Beringer WZ. ON DISPLAY!

 

So, let's see my total for the day.

 

My breakfast, a latte and 2 pastries was 6.90. My snack of a latte, a macaroon and a bag of chocolate was 8.55. Three foo-foo drinks were 22.25, my edible cocktail was 5.46 which should have been covered, but, wasn't. Five glasses of wine were 33.25. Grand Total- 76.41!

Kim and I had a pizza there and the guy in your pictures was who made it for us. It was fantastic,,but what was weird, was that he was always looking at us,,,but I will agree,,the appetizer of olives,,cheese,,onions,,and a Peroni to wash it down,,,nothing short of phenomenal!!!

Mike we got to get you a job on MSC , Yacht Club of course, you're the best!!!

Haaaa,,,not sure I'd want to work those hours Riclop,,,besides,my skill set is better suited for their land based operations,,,which we all know needs a major overhaul!!!:D

LOL!! I LIVE in St Thomas! Just spent the past 2 hours putting up hurricane shutters--have more to put up tomorrow. Ran around emptying the trash (involves trip to roadside dumpsters as we DO NOT have trash pick-up--one of the many surprises of living in paradise), making sure my vehicles have full gas tanks (in case there is a power outage and no gas), and making sure I have enough fresh water on hand. I will be eating all the ice cream in the freezer tonight in case we lose power--one of the nicer surprises of hurricanes--don't want the ice cream to melt!:D I'm sure all you Florida & SE US people know what I'm going thru!!!:p Feel sorry for the Merchants in town--Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday are good cruise ship days for them, don't know how many ships will be diverted.

 

We are now under a Hurricane Watch and a Tropical Storm Warning--that means we will definitely have a tropical storm and may have a hurricane. Batten down the hatches & full speed ahead!! Stay safe all of you at sea!!:)

Yes,,,we here in South Florida know all about Hurricane prep!!! Stay safe!!! We have a cruise next October to meet up on!!!:D

Booking a Yacht Club Cabin offers private access to the MSC Aurea Spa.

 

What does "Private access to the MSC Aurea Spa" mean ??

 

Does it (access) mean we have our own door to get in and pay for all that is offered or is something included within the spa that is offered to Yacht Club members? :confused:

• Easy, Private Access––take advantage of the MSC Yacht Club’s direct private elevator and entrance to the MSC Aurea Spa, oceanview fitness center and MSC Aurea Spa Bar

• Exclusive Massage Rooms: Savor the privacy of oceanview treatment rooms reserved just for MSC Yacht Club guests

• En Suite Massage Treatments: Ask your Butler to arrange for a soothing Balinese massage, reflexology, shiatsu, four-handed massage or other spa treatment in the privacy of your luxury MSC Yacht Club suite

• Exotic Spa Treatments: A full menu of treatments is available, such as candlelight Balinese massage and massage with warm lava stones––or choose revitalizing full-body treatments such as Thalasso Flowers & Sea

• Oceanview Fitness Center: Schedule a session with a personal trainer or simply take advantage of the latest workout equipment and classes in yoga, Pilates and aerobics

• MSC Aurea Spa Bar: Sip a refreshing fruit juice blend or herbal tea in our Zen-like meditation zone

· Select en suite spa services (fees apply)

· One complimentary thermal suite session (sauna & steam room)

Here's the link:http://msccruisesgetforms.com/forms/packages.aspx

Here's a link to MSC Divina's current pre-paid spa packages:

http://msccruisesgetforms.com/forms/packages.aspx

The list of prepaid packages available throughout the Winter 2014 sailings on Divina are now online. Note that most of the drink packages have increased in price and the voucher cards are now different.

 

With the old Alligrissimo Escape vouchers you would get 15 cocktails for $72 with no price limit stated. Now you can get either:

 

• "Cocktail Package" for $72 - 12 vouchers for alcoholic cocktails of your choice selected from our bar list (premium cocktails are excluded), or
  
• "More-for-Less Escape Pass" for $84 - Beverage card for 18 consumptions, valid for all drinks from the Bar and Wine including wines by the glass with the price up to US$7.50, draft beer, bottled or canned beer with the price up to US$5, canned sodas, fruit juices, mineral water, wide selection of coffee-based drinks, premium teas, hot chocolate delights, selection of call-brand spirits, all cocktails from the Bar list with the price up to US$8, as well as take away ice cream in a cone or cup.
  

On the bright side, someone at MSC has been listening to us and they now offer a "Coffee Cuddle" for $31 (15 coffee drinks, including cappuccino, caffelatte, espresso, non-alcoholic coffee delights and frozen coffee drinks). Yea!

 

Cheers!

Trish

I like the Coffee Cuddle!!!

I am going on my honeymoon on the Splendidia

 

We leave on the day after Christmas from Barcelona and will be at sea for New Years

 

Anyone ring their new year in at sea? What are European cruises like for New Years ?

 

Also I heard someone on the forum mention upgrading to yacht club after booking

 

Is this possible ? Do I do it thru my travel agent or directly thru msc?

 

 

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Wil,,I can only speak to your Yacht Club question,,there are others here that can better explain the New Years experience.

If you want to book the Yacht Club,,I would definitely do it as soon as you can. There are only 69 YC staterooms and they fill up fast,,especially for a New Year's sailing. If you have already booked through a TA,,you will have to go back to them to upgrade. If you booked through MSC,,they can change your reservation instantly so long as there are staterooms available.

Past it sitting in the ocean last night and it's still in port at 7pm

 

 

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Divina came back early to avoid tropical storm Fay and stayed just off the coast of Florida. She usually returns back to the POM around 5:30am and leaves close to 7:00pm or sometimes later depending on arrival times of International flights.

Will be anxious to hear your thoughts. We're sailing Nov. 3 on a short 5-nt Ruby Princess cruise. Once again, we couldn't pass up the deal ($199 pp and $200 pp OBC, inside), but I'm already thinking "I wish I could see those Divina shows again." I'm hoping to go with an open mind, although I've sailed Princess before and their cabins and bathrooms are TINY. But the public areas are lovely and we've never sailed the Ruby so we're looking forward to it. I'll let you know how it goes.

I'm hoping MSC will be offering some deals for the first part of January, as we have friends from up north coming down and wanting to do a cruise with us. The Divina would definitely be our first choice, hands down. Keeping an eye out for prices!

Flahagan,,,check out the 3 day sailing on the 11th of January. Those sailings usually go cheap. We did one back in May and our cousins paid $199.00 for a balcony stateroom.

Where did you find them?

Oreo,,,If you're looking for main dining room menus follow this link:

http://www.pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=msc%20divina%20menu&rs=ac&len=10&term_meta%5B%5D=msc%7Cautocomplete%7C1&term_meta%5B%5D=divina%7Cautocomplete%7C1&term_meta%5B%5D=menu%7Cautocomplete%7C1

Not sure how up to date they are though. Unfortunately I didn't have a chance to get the LeMuse menus.

What's stopping us is the airfare. Trying to formulate a strategy. We live within a couple of hours of Chicago. Wondering if it would be cheaper to book flights to/from Chicago. Problem there is paying for 3 weeks worth of car parking.

 

Anyone have any ideas?

We are booked for the Grand Voyage October 2015, Genoa to Miami. We live about an hour and forty five minutes from Miami International,,so we are using a car service to drive us to the airport and back. We used this same service when we flew to San Juan last March as well. It worked out great for us.

Can you purchase these onboard?

Yes you can, but you will be charged a 15% service fee on top of the package price.

The policy is strictly no food or drink to be brought on board. MSC revenue protection would rather you buy your lemonade from a bar. There is certainly evidence that MSC security are less bothered about soft drinks - with the above proviso that it is new and sealed.

You are correct Tim!!! This past August I had a bottle of bloody mary mix in my carry on. Once it went through the X-ray scanner,,my carry on and myself were pulled to the side. One of the screeners brought me over to the naughty table and searched my bag. Once they concluded that the bloody mary mix contained no alcohol, they let it pass and told me just to keep it in plain site next time.:confused: