JT1962

Yes, many still do.

The only requirement for “Elegant Night” on Divina last week was no shorts, flip-flops or swimsuits.

I would base my decision on whether to do both at once on how the customer service rep you receive handles your first request. If they seem to know what they are doing, I would probably do both at once. If they don’t seem to have a clue or struggle with the first request, I would only make the one request or hang up and call back. There is a wide variety of competence and experience with the MSC customer service reps. If you get a good one on the line, try to get all of your requests done in that call.

It was on the Divina last week. I had some extra OBC left after gratuities and charged that much to my card at a poker machine, then cashed out and got the cash at the casino cashier.

My daughter and I did the 27 / Damajagua Waterfalls a few years ago through Marysol Tours and loved it. It is definitely one of the best excursions I have done in 30+ years of cruising. I always recommend it to anyone going there if they don’t have any mobility issues and can walk uphill in the jungle for 30 min or so.

Hopefully you won’t have any more issues. Paying in full doesn’t seem to matter with MSC. The one they billed me for had shown fully paid for almost 2 months. I learned my lesson and will not be asking them any questions about any of my future bookings. Hopefully no reps log into any of my bookings before I sail.

Not that anyone can figure out MSC’s systems or why things happen, but I would guess when you made the change to the cruise in 2 weeks that their system somehow refreshed all of your bookings or the Customer Service Rep clicked on the wrong one initially. It literally seems like if any of their reps open your booking for any reason, that their system treats it as a change, and it is re-priced at the current rate.

it seems that anytime someone goes into your reservation on the MSC system, it reprices it to the current rate. That seems to be another flaw in their IT department and systems. My May cruise was paid in full, and I asked my agent to check to see how much it would be to add someone to my cabin (not actually add them, just to see how much it would be). The MSC rep told the TA they would need a full name, DOB, etc. to check the price, so I told her not to bother. I then received an invoice from MSC for an additional $587 because they said I made a change to my cruise. It. It took the agent five days to get it straightened out and then back to the original price is paid in full.

They usually seat solo cruisers at a larger table with other solo cruisers, based on my 4 MSC cruises

I agree with others. Book the cruise to Alaska. If you enjoy it, you can always book a Caribbean cruise with MSC or another line.

Many of the negative reviews I see appear to be from people who are only looking for problems and have a general negative attitude. I have been on 4 MSC cruises in the past year for a total of 33 days (Meraviglia & Divina) and enjoyed them. I was not in YC and thought the food, service and entertainment were equivalent to or better than Carnival and Royal Caribbean. MSC isn’t perfect, but for the price, especially solo, it’s a great value that you can’t get on land or another cruise line. As far as food complaints, food is obviously subjective and what one person loves, another one hates. Banquet / cafeteria quality is about the best you can expect at the buffets and main dining rooms on most ships now due to the number of passengers. It’s almost impossible to serve 5 Star cuisine at the perfect temperature to 3.000-5,000 people three times a day. I’ve never had what I would consider an inedible meal on any cruise. Everything has not always been perfect, but the “there was nothing to eat” or “everything was horrible” comments are over the top and not true, from my experience.

I would not recommend changing anything (or even asking a question) unless it is absolutely necessary. I had my travel agent ask about the cost to add someone to my room for my May cruise, not actually add anyone, just how much it would cost, and they repriced my paid-in-full cruise to the current rate. They said I owed $ 578.00 more, even though I had an invoice from December that showed a -0- balance owed. Apparently the MSC system reprices the cruise to the current pricing anytime someone opens the reservation, even if no changes are made and / or it is paid in full. The onboard experience has been great, but the website, customer service and IT systems are horrible. The best option is to keep what you have and go to Guest Services when you board and ask if they are able to move you to the cabin you prefer. Just make sure there will not be any additional charge.

Was this a travel agent you have used in the past or just someone who handled the transaction at an online site? It’s always important to specify anything that is important, such as a sofa, when booking through a travel agent or directly with a Cruise representative. I usually book directly and choose my cabin, but I recently used a travel agent and she messaged me with the cabin options available while she was booking, so I was able to look at the deck plan and make sure it was ok. I also check the confirmation of the booking when received to ensure it matches the cabin I agreed to. The closer it gets to the cruise date, the harder it is to correct any errors. From part experience on other lines, HC rooms are usually larger and have much larger bathrooms than regular cabins. I was assigned one on Carnival with a guarantee rate and it was great.

Prices are definitely higher now on MSC and other lines than they were a few months ago. I got some great deals with Free Balcony & OBC by booking last fall for Jan & May this year. Prices now for the same cruises are 40-50% or more expensive if I booked now. There are still some good prices if you book 6-12 months in advance, but not as good as there were. The demand seems to be there to keep prices higher.

I talked to a few people on my cruise last week who got upgraded without requesting it. It’s possible that they had vacant balcony rooms and needed more inside cabins for those looking to book cheaply at the last minute.

1. I got my tickets for my May cruise in December. One of the “quirks” with MSC IT / inconsistencies. 2. After 4 MSC Cruises in the last year, I was only able to register my card online once. Just go to one of the kiosks onboard and register a card when you board.

I just got off the MSC Divina and loved it. It was my 4th MSC cruise in a year and 3rd on Divina since October. I was in. regular balcony and had no issues. The food, service and entertainment were good to excellent. Fastest boarding and debarkation I have had.

Technically “hair irons”, which I assume would include straighteners and curling irons, are prohibited, according to their website. That said, I’m sure many bring them onboard every cruise with no issues. “Port Security has the duty to search Guests and luggage to confiscate any article internationally known as dangerous for the safety and security of Guests, Crew and ship. Such items will be confiscated and not returned. Alcohol, firearms, sharp objects such as blades and scissors, flammable and explosive material, items with heating elements or open flames (e.g. clothing irons, hair irons. kettles, hotplates, candles, incense), drones.” https://www.msccruisesusa.com/manage-booking/before-you-go/luggage

I’ve been on the Divina 3 times since October and had the Dining Experience as a Voyager’s Club Diamond Member. Each time I have had the NY Sirloin and it was cooked a perfect Medium Rare as ordered and was excellent.

The prior cruise was a 3 or 4 day cruise to the Bahamas / Ocean Cay. My cruise on Dvina in October did visit Colombia and repositioned from Port Canaveral. Debarkation did take longer than usual then. I heard several say it was due to no facial recognition being used at the terminal they used that day, that 75% or more were used international passengers and it was repositioning from Port Canaveral to Miami. Good to see the authorities are cracking down on drug smuggling at the port. Hopefully they are doing that at all locations locations where people are entering the country

I boarded the Divina on Friday (1/20) and other than some slow bar service for those at my table that drink alcohol, everything has been great. I arrived at 10:40 AM for an 11:00 AM boarding time and was at the buffet at 10:55. The food and entertainment has been good. The passenger mix seems to be 50/50 US / International. They announced the ship was full, but that doesn’t appear to be the case. I have heard 2,200 and 2,700 mentioned as the passenger count by different people.

I boarded the Divina today and am assigned Early Dining, which was I on my documents, but the website showed Dining Not Assigned.

Terminal E today.

Not sure how accurate it is, but I have read that MSC allots cabins by country on their websites, so there may be cabins showing as sold out on the US site that are still available on the UK or other MSC websites. If the upgrade bid site has access to all available cabins, that would alao explain why someone may see a category as sold out, but win a bid for an upgrade to the sold out category.

Thanks for the update. Doesn’t sound like a good process.