gigi1313

I checked out both adult and childrens books from the library this year. did they remove the books during drydock?

 

My embark/debark/billing was 100% straightforward and painless; I never had a reason to visit guest relations. There are multiple sections of buffet that change daily, at least they did in the spring. some remain the same. I hope that did not change.

 

enjoyed reading your review. This ship seems to generate some really polar reviews. But we had a great time and paid $1300 last time for 3 of us for a unique itinerary, so signed up again for a different itinerary, only $1K for all 3.

Which is the unique itinerary/date for three people for $1,000?

Yeah, it was funny, at the Meet 'n Greet, the general manager was shocked about the water, and she said: "Didn't they leave the bottle at the table"? I said, we didn't BUY bottled water, so apparently that's the solution and that's what we did from that point on (vs. tap water where they come and pour it out of a jug for the glasses).

 

I have photos from the slot pull that I'll try to upload tonight to the roll call. LOL!

 

I'm fairly certain if we'd been able to afford Yacht club, it probably would've gone better, but it's hard to justify spending $5600 vs. $2100 just to have a nicer experience, although not sure if they would've delivered my Bon Voyage package either. (I see someone else had pre-purchased stuff and didn't get it for a few days either).

 

But it is what it is. I'm sure some people had a flawless time. We did not, but to be honest, no cruise has ever been perfect.

 

Our first Carnival Cruise was on a short 3-nighter on the Sensation. Debarkation was a disaster, and entertainment was "meh". Otherwise was pretty good.

 

Second cruise for me was on the Freedom of the Seas. Only issues there were that the cabinet attendant didn't vacuum, they didn't have the distilled water or extension cord for my father's CPAP machine (even though I pre-arranged it). I got sick for 2 days (and missed two ports). Buffet food was nowhere near as good as Carnival's. But everything else went smoothly. Entertainment much better than Carnival.

 

Third cruise was on the Carnival Valor - repositioning. Pretty much everything went real well. Entertainment wasn't anywhere near as good as RCI, and you would get these random "sewer" smells everywhere. Smoking from casino was bad.

 

My main beef's with MSC seem to be mostly due to disorganization. Stuff wasn't ready when it was supposed to be, nobody knew anything, and to get anything fixed took a great effort. Who wants to "work" when they're on vacation? (although the mold smell outside the room for a week without resolution wasn't enjoyable either).

 

If MSC fixed/resolves that, and can get some more people to help with dining room duties, I think they'll be much better positioned. Since they're adding 12 new ships in the next few years, we'll take a wait and see approach. I was going to look at the Seaside, but after all the experiences, we're definitely going to wait 2-3 years before trying again. Seems they have some bugs to work out. I know Carnival had issues when the new Vista came out that took a while to solve, so perhaps MSC will get things going "right".

 

Would definitely like to try the Yacht club some day.

 

I think our next cruise will either be on NCL or the Carnival Vista. Wanted to try the Breakaway but reading mixed reviews about the smoke situation with the open promenade area makes me think twice.

 

So for those of you who haven't sailed on MSC:

As long as you know what to expect (If I hadn't read beforehand about the buffet lines, clientele, and dining room drink issues, I would've been totally ticked off/annoyed), I think you'll have an OK time.

May I suggest: Disney Cruise Line!! Never disappointed, great customer service, incredibly clean, no casino (no smoke), very designated and enforced smoking areas, top notch across the board!!

That being said... we are giving MSC a try in February... despite DCL setting the bar high... wish us luck!

Thanks for the responses!

So, we won't stand out if we are not outfitted in the theme of the day... that's good to know! Maybe I will bring some tie dye tees for the kids for 70s, and just hope that our regular clothes will suffice for the other nights...

Somewhere once upon a time I read that Divina has themed parties at night... Black & white, 70's, etc. Can anyone confirm if this is true and if so what the themes are/will be, as we would like to bring some clothing that will match the theming!

Thanks!!

If you have Fantastica or Aurea, there is no charge for room service or the items you ordered. We just got off the boat yesterday also. The menu is limited to soup, sandwiches, wraps, salads, chips and salsa, etc. The only time there is a delivery charge is between 11pm-6am.

 

 

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THIS just made me so happy!!!

Thanks! Appreciate the door hanger images... very helpful!

Also, does it matter if you have the premium all inclusive beverage package which includes gelato/pastries, as far as room service goes?

Is soda or cocktail delivered by room service (day/night) free, assuming you have the above premium all-inclusive package?

We are sailing fantastica level... My kids are used to free 24/7 room service thru DCL... I want to set their expectations in advance and not have a huge "oops" bill!

Thanks!

THANKS!

This is great info!! I'm thinking we will purchase the two or three restaurant package.

Is there a fee for room service delivery and/or room service items if you are in Fantastica level on the Divina?

Looking at these for our Feb cruise... When do you have to reserve tables in specialty restaurants? I would like to see MDR menus before choosing which ones to miss... Is that doable?

OMG, I'm in love.... I'll just dine in the sports bar, they have all my/our favourites... :p

 

Thanks for posting the menu, looks really good.

 

Cheers,

I was thinking the same thing!! Who needs the MDRs when you have the sports bar food?! Amazing selection!!

Is there an age limit to who can visit the sports bar? (We are DCL cruisers and the sports bar is family-friendly 'til 9pm when it becomes adult-only.)

Thank you for sharing... Would live to hear more about kids club activities.

Thank you!!!

Do you mean the whiteboard for your outside doors for others to leave messages? My understanding is most doors on cruise ships are magnetic as we have used a magnet on our door for the last few cruises.

Yes, for outside the door... We will have four staterooms amongst our group and will not have keys to each other's rooms, so sticky notes etc in the rooms will not work.

Thanks all for your replies!

Msc is not Disney when it comes to kids.

LOL, yes, I'm fully aware of that... We are traveling with a lot of friends and family, so they will likely spend a lot of time entertaining themselves and each other, but I'm still interested in learning real-life experiences with children aged similar to the OPs, just so we can set expectations accordingly.

We are Disney Cruise Line regulars, and I have the same questions... I am not concerned about my older kids (22 and 20) but am worried my 9yo will not be fully engaged, as we/he are so spoiled by Disney!

DCL offers self-op laundry rooms in addition to send-out laundry option... we use the laundry rooms mostly for sandy beachy bathing suits, esp when castaway day is the day before we disembark!

Ooh, I will definitely do that! Thanks!

If so, want to get some whiteboards for our staterooms to leave messages for one another. Thanks!

Thanks all! We are going to reserve at the Marriott... Just unsure if we will go thru RFAD or use points!

Thanks all! I am very happy to send the laundry out, even happier to hear that it is reasonably priced!

We are going to be traveling a few days before/after our week on the Divina, and dont want to pack a dozen suitcases for our family of five... What are the laundry options on Divina? Send out? Self-launder/coin-op? Want to be prepared budget-wise and a roll of quarters if necessary. Thanks!

We are renting from Alamo after our MSC cruise in January. Would you hustle the whole family over to the car terminal or wait for Daddy to go get the car and come back for the rest of the family?

We do the "wait for daddy" thing (but he took one of three kids with him), and I strongly recommend it. Easier for everyone!

Really enjoyed this review, and looking forward to viewing the YouTube videos as we will be sailing Divina in February! We have the ultimate (premium?) drink package, and based on what I read, I think our plan of attack will be to get a drink (or two) at the bar prior to dinner and bring them in with us... As for water, we may request a pitcher or carafe on our table as we are big water drinkers with our meals and the thought of sitting with an empty glass for half an hour would really annoy me (LOL).

As for the length of dinner... 1.5 hours is common if not short for a cruiseline dinner... we just got off DCL and our dining time was 8:15pm, they "rushed" our son's food so he could be finished by 9:15pm when the Kids Club counselors collected children in the MDR, while we lingered over the rest of our dinner/dessert. I would say our meal lasted 1.5 to 2 hours and others stayed in the MDR longer than us!

What excursions you want to book at this time? All excursions is in the morning and ship is at sea usually during this time.

I was unsure what time the shows were, and if we do a beach excursion getting back to the boat at 4 or 5pm (depending on all aboard time) and would need time to shower/dress/etc, would be cutting it close if the show was before our 6pm dinner... but that's all been cleared up for me, so no worries :)