Mikesa1721

MSC Divina docked in San Juan, Puerto Rico (August 2014)

[/img]

I travel your way quite a bit, and we love it over there ... We are over in Royal Palm Beach, Palm Beach County .... We stay up in Estero at the Hyatt Regency Coconut Point the best place for a quick staycation .....

I know exactly where that resort is GJ2. We used to live across the street kind of in Rapallo!!! We really loved living there!! Very nice community and Coconut Point is right next door!! I would move back there in a heartbeat!!:)

Hmmmm, I like Naples I might have to put dibs in on your house !!!!

And as a side? Is there an adult (topless) area on the cruise ? I see your G/F and mind have a common ground !!!!!

Naples has some very beautiful beaches GJ2, and we live about 2 miles from them, so you'll be in a good location!!:)

Unfortunately, Divina does not have a topless area onboard. I'm sure my girlfriend would have found it if they did!!:eek:

Thanks for that.........$250 plus a tip......would be a bit much when I could do it cheaper the other way, what to do..........what to do............alright....I guess we will talk about it on route and see what floats our boat come Tuesday in St. Maarten...........I have to say that the beach house on Grand Case I found for 2 couples for $1600 for 7 days right on the water.....Sallys cottage.....is definitely something I intend to do.............it looks so cute and the views amazing......the village with all the shops and restaurants are right there and the ocean is your backyard.........the dreams I have amassed whilst looking into this island........and the prices to buy there are so reasonable......under $200,000 there are quite a few choices..........and there was even a restaurant in the Grand case beach area for rent for $1000 per month........a dream of mine....quaint little bar/restaurant..............imagine living the dream in St. Maarten..........I've always thought living in the US Virgin or British Virgin Islands would be fun in retirement...and we could do both, but not sure if the Dutch/French island would be a problem.....I do go on abit don't I!!!!!:eek:

 

Imagine hearing this in a cute accent and it isn't as bad.....:)

We were looking into it as well Aussie!!! I can work anywhere in the world,,just need an internet connection, so location isn't a real problem for me. I know my girlfriend would love to be able to go topless all day, every day!!!:eek::eek: The biggest thing holding us here is my girlfriend's two children. I think once the youngest graduates high school in 4 years,,we are outta here!!! We like living in Florida,,but the summer heat and humidity has really started to grow old on us. We've been looking at St. Thomas as well,,,actually have a roll call buddy who lives in St. Thomas, so I plan to chew her ear off once we board the ship next October.

Mike what do you think about hiring a cab for the day and asking the driver to take us around the place a bit and then to Maho and back....and just pay him a large fee for the day......we did it in Barbados once and it was fun.......cost us about $180 for the day............do you think it's safe

They do have a daily island tour rate Aussie,,and the drivers are very personable,,they love their island and love to talk about it.

There are however, far more people who are on the Carnival board, thus there are far more carnival defenders who will rise up and basically swat down naysayers or those "reviews" that have biased agendas or some axe to grind.

 

Perhaps the food was horrible for her but at least she did not make it a "fact" filled "This is how a proper ship does it" lecture about the overall product.

Agree Legion!!! I know exactly where you are coming from!!!

LOL can you give me a link ? Really I would not kame it as a CD :p

GOLDEN,,https://www.f******k.com/andreschlemmer?fref=ts.

American is quite accurate in the travel time to Maho. I might suggest trying to get to the taxi area early though. We found ourselves standing in the Maho Beach line for at least 20 - 30 minutes before a taxi was available to take the group to Maho.

Poor CD's .

Andre's FB Profile pic sums it up pretty well I think Golden:

And the same is true on Carnival, NCL and some of the passengers who sail on Celebrity, RCCL, HAL, Princess, etc etc etc

I agree 100% JKgourmet!!! It only took one second to jump over to the Carnival board to find: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2101835

On September 3rd, Divina sailing, Anfre, , the cruise director appeared at the Cruise Critic meet and greet. He invited anyone to come to his office to talk with him for any reason. I took him up on this.

 

I will try to recollect what was said at the Cruise Critic meeting and in my conversation with him later in the cruise. I did not take notes or record conversations, so this is being done from memory after the cruise. There could be errors, so please do not say in the future “Andre said”. He did know that I will be publishing our interaction on CC

 

CC Meet and Greet: held on 1st sea day. Approximate 40 people there

 

Andre said that he holds the meetings every cruise whether or not there is request made. He considers the Cruise Critic audience very important to the messaging and marketing of MSC, especially Divina. He asked that if someone has any kind of problem or issue they seek him out and give the company the opportunity to rectify the situation before posting it on cruise critic.

 

There were 3 questions asked, the first by me.

Q1) How do you feel when you read the harshly negative reviews about Divina?

A1) He stated that he was just talking to the captain about that earlier in the morning. He does not know what cruise these people have been on. He believes that there may be concerted effort by people who do not want MSC to succeed in this market. He believes some of the criticism to be absolutely ridiculous.

 

Q2) Why was BINGO being held outside at the pool when it was so hot out?

A2) He stated that there are many meetings like the Cruise Critic meeting that need to be held on the ship and there is very limited space. Therefore activities like BINGO do get moved around.

 

Q3) Why are there no urinals in the public bathrooms especially since they smell like urine?

A3) He explained that the owner of MSC’s wife chooses at the decor, the rooms, interior design etc. and she feels like urinals are out of place in the type of atmosphere that she is trying to create. He did say that he will talk to housekeeping about making sure the bathrooms stay clean.

 

I’m adding my own personal note here: Andre, appreciate you coming to the meeting and giving us your perspective. However, before you leave with the MIC, may I suggest that you pass the mic around so everyone in the room has the opportunity to meet each other.

 

Once you left the meeting, a number of Cruise Critic members just left the lounge and we did not get a chance to interact

 

My next interaction with Andre took place approximately the 4th night of the cruise. Let me state that I appreciate Andre taking time out of his busy schedule to meet with me. He probably gave me 15 minutes during the busy time between shows.

 

Concern #1- Ballroom (couples) Dancing

A big part of the cruise for me is a dancing opportunities. While there a lot of music venues, there’s very few places for couples dancing/ballroom dancing. Is there any way he can make it available?

 

Response #1) He would like to be able to use the disco, however it is a restaurant from 6 or 7 until 11 PM. He attempted early evening ballroom about 5 PM but was very poorly attended.

 

Concern #2 – MSC Website

I said that Americans have trouble believing that a company can deliver on its promises if their website does not work

 

Response #.2) They are aware of it and corporate is working on it and he has not been given any firm dates when it will be fixed.

 

Concern #3- Salad Bar

I said that I did not have huge expectations for the cruise. If the food was Golden Corral quality or Sizzler I would be happy. I understood the ship’s European, however salad bars and entrée salads are strictly an American concept. So why does the salad bar have a tray of lettuce and equal size tray of onion, cabbage, shredded carrots, and tomato. The variety was far below what any American would expect in the salad bar.

 

Response #3) This is is not his area, however at the end of every cruise he files a guest interaction report and will make sure that my comments are passed to the appropriate department.

 

Concern # 4- Jewish Sabbath service

I told him that I had read a review where Hanukkah candles were used and the traditional wine and challah was not available.

 

Response #4) He stated he was aware of the incident and was very upset. He had to retrain his staff to get it right. He removed the Shabbat service from the schedule for 2 weeks while awaiting the provisioning of the wine to arrive on the ship

 

Concern #5- Divina does not make you feel like a valued customer while on board

I could not elaborate why I felt this way, so I asked some of the people I met on the ship if they felt like a valued customer and the vast majority said “NO”

 

Response #5) He said that he understood and that MSC had a long ways to go. They realized it is not enough to build beautiful ships they have to give a wonderful experience. They also know it is not enough to be as good as the other cruise lines, they have to be better.

 

He stated that he thinks that MSC is today where Princess was 15 years ago and that the new CEO will take the steps necessary so the customers get the experience that they expect.

 

Concern #6- I had been on Epic where the Executive Chef spent a few hours a day smack in the middle of the buffet and the Hotel Dir. spent a few hours a day visible at the reception desk. Things ran very smoothly. In the Divina buffet, it did not look like anyone was in charge.

 

Response #6- He thought it was a good idea to have someone visible and available to customers and will pass it up the chain of command

 

Concern #7- I was amazed at how the whole crew was taught English in one week.

Having read reviews with the biggest complaint was absolutely no one on the ship spoke English the week before our sailing, I asked how he was able to teach 1300 people a foreign language so quickly?

 

Response #7)- He stated that he does not understand where these statements come from. Obviously a ship so large some crewmembers will speak English better than other crewmembers. He repeated that he thinks that there is an organized movement to keep MSC from being successful and that he hopes that Cruise Critic members have had good experiences will post them to cataract the negatives.

 

Concern #8- You can’t flush the public toilets manually.

I stated that the toilets are set and you have to be approximately 4 feet away for them to automatically flush which can be quite annoying and there is no way to manually flush them.

 

Response #8)- He joked about it which I will not repeat because it could get him into trouble.

 

Concern #9- I think the standard crew survey does not tell the company what is wrong. I asked why not email a survey that is not multiple-choice, that is essay type responses that someone will actually read to give a clear indication of what the guests really think?

 

Response #9) He stated that Americans use the Internet in the daily life much more than Europeans. That is why services cannot be paid for online as Europeans still print and fax things in while Americans have not had fax machines for over 10 years. He said corporate understands that this will be the future and is making plans to adjust to it

 

Concern #10- Why does Divina not have an official presence on social media?

I suggested that there be an official voice of Divina on Cruise Critic and other social media sites they can get their story out and respond to complaints.

 

Response #10) He stated that he would like to do that and has requested a meeting with the higher-ups who will be aboard in a few weeks to look at social media, questions and answers on the website, blogs etc.

 

I complemented him on his entertainment staff that was excellent and thanked him for his time.

 

End of report:-

To CC Members- please note that I tried my best to give the essentials of the conversation I am not giving an opinion or commentary on his answers

 

. I will post my own review of the cruise in this section in a day or two.

https://www.facebook.com/MSC.Cruises.USA

https://twitter.com/msccruisesusa

http://www.pinterest.com/msccruisesusa/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/msccruisesusa

https://www.youtube.com/MSCCruises

https://plus.google.com/+msccruisesusa/posts

http://instagram.com/msccruisesofficial

There is a representative from MSC who does reply on CC every now and then. I do feel they should be a bit more active when there are questions regarding certain things onboard Divina:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/member.php?u=738265

Mike ... My post was re a Clothes Iron ... :D my other half refers to Hair straighteners not a flat iron.

 

nevergrumpy ... as you say a language thing ... :)

I gotcha Sidari!!! My girlfriend has more hair care things than I can keep up with!! All I need is some gel and a brush,,:)

I'm bringing a garment steamer and flat iron(hair straightener) so I guess we will find out if they ok it. We called and they told us it was fine. So we will see.

Let us know how it goes with the garment steamer KC13. We were told they weren't allowed so it will be interesting to see if they let yours through.

I've never done YC. But when I departed the ship back in March, it took 40 minutes waiting for my luggage on the carousel inside the port terminal.

I didn't even notice that Oreo was staying in the Yacht Club. Oreo,,the baggage handlers pull all Yacht Club luggage off of the belts and they set the luggage aside. Once you come down the ramp,,,you'll be asked if you are Yacht Club. A porter will be called for you and they will help find your luggage and load it onto a cart for you, and follow you through customs. We disembarked the ship at 9:00am and we were on the curb at 9:15am. Easy Peasy!!!!

Don't forget,,,,,

Free appetizers in La Cantina di Bacco:eek:

They only serve wine and draft beer, but its a nice relaxing area!:D

Oh Yessssss!!!! The sweet onions, mozzarella,,etc.....FANTASTIC!!!!!

Well id learn Indonesian, Hindi, Estonian and Ukranian if i was you then. ;)

Uggghhhh!!!! Looks like Rosetta Stone is going to see a bump in business!!!;)

One thing I love on MSC cruises is conversing (or trying to!) with different nationalities.

 

I have had animated, arm waving conversations with the following:

 

A Russian gentleman and his teenage daughter who told me I looked just like a Russian soap star - Mr moo reckoned he was auditioning for his next wife....

 

A Norwegian tour guide called Rune who was so funny and one of his tour group (May) who was even funnier and used to make Mr Moo sit on her knee.

 

A lovely Italian couple who were put out about how much they had paid for their cruise which led to a quite detailed discussion about price differences.

 

A Swedish lady who was the only one of her nationality on the ship and felt quite lonely. She was so happy to chat to someone.

 

Many Brazilians on my last cruise who wanted to talk about English football and the World Cup and took my jokes about how bad their team were with (relatively) good grace!

 

A Russian/Israeli security guard who shared our taxi and gave us some very interesting gossip about ship security.

 

Loads of bar/wait staff from all over the place. Ukrainian bar staff are the best - they are most likely to pour the strongest drink or mix you something off menu.

 

I so look forward to each cruise and trying in vain to increase my knowledge of foreign phrases. Plus I usually get to argue with a foreign taxi driver about the price they're charging (at least once per cruise). It's great!

 

 

From my ipad

Moo,,,,I just started to learn Italian for our sailing in October 2015. I thought it would be only good etiquette to have the ability to somewhat understand and communicate in the local language. Hopefully I won't offend anyone while we're in Genoa,,if all else fails,,I'll resort to using hand gestures.:eek:

Hair dryers are provided so no need to lug one around with you and Irons are not allowed on the ship!

I probably should have been a bit more specific I think Sidari,,,"flat Iron"---> Hair straightener. No clothe irons or clothe steamers allowed!!!

"Iagree with you there. I don't usually book balconies but sometimes get

upgraded to them (as I did on this cruise) and I don't see me going on another one of the 'European style cruises' I think it's just not my cup o tea "

 

sounds like you know what works best for you, enjoy whatever cruise you book. I have never been upgraded ion all my cruises, you must be lucky!

Alex,,I think they may have booked under the "Bingo" promotion. Book an interior stateroom and have the chance to be upgraded to a balcony stateroom at no extra cost.

Hi,

 

can I bring a hair dryer and a flat iron on Divina? Thank you.

Yes you can Saphir. My girlfriend brought a hair dryer, curling iron and flat iron onboard with no problems at all.

Just looking at booking airfare for our Nov 22- Dec 6 b2b on Davina. What is the earliest flight time you would book from the Miami airport? We will be travelling in the Yacht Club in case that would factor into your calculations and would probably just grab a cab (3 of us)

 

Any thoughts greatly appreciated!

That's tough Oreo. I think the earliest you can debark the ship would be 7:00am. This assumes there are no issues with Port Authority of course. I'm a worrier, so if something can go wrong, it will,,so if it was me,,I'd book a flight for 10:00am to be safe. Others may have differing opinions though.

I found it last summer, and thanks to Google Translate, I can enjoy it.

That's exactly how I'm viewing the site as well!!! Lots of good MSC news and information on that site!!!

Not many old European hotels have balconies in city centres . Some have Juliet balconies but really not the same thing. I don't recall there being any in the Bristol Palace in any of the rooms I had. The first time I had a massive room (by European standards) and we had a spa bath which I thoroughly enjoyed.

I know exactly what you mean by a Juliet balcony Amo. My girlfriend would love a spa type bathroom so we'll definitely be looking to reserve a suite,,picking the right hotel it seems is proving to be a lot harder than I anticipated.

I love the Gran Savoia which is just opposite the train station

Kelseys,,The Hotel Grand Savoia is rated #1 on Trip Advisor, but I have read a few reviews that state it is not in the best part of town. We love the location and the the historical ambiance of the hotel, but as first time visitors, we want to be sure we are safe as well. We have narrowed our search down to the Grand Hotel Savoia and the Hotel Bristol Palace. Hopefully our decision will be a bit clearer once the pricing and availability for both properties are released. If you could elaborate briefly about your experience Kelseys, I'd love to hear your take on The Hotel Grand Savoia.:D

I've stayed T the Bristol Palce many times and really like it. It has character and is a bit quirky, lots of lovely antiques and it is in a superb location.

 

Last time I used my Melia Rewards points and give the Melia a try. Lovely hotel with great rooms and nice restaurant and good standard of service. Ultra modern and. OmfortbL. Location is not as good as the BP and I kind of like the traditional Italian feel of it compared to modern Melia.

AmoMondo,,,do you recall if the Hotel Bristol Palace had rooms and or suites which included a balcony or terrace? I have been doing quite a bit of research on the property, but have yet to come across any information regarding this. Thanks so much for all of your information!!!