RSVP MSC Divina 2.15.14

[bradpole]

Good morning!

 

Currently onboard the Eurodam for the 2013 RSVP cruise waiting for our luggage tag to be called.

 

Anyone else joining us next year for an all new iteniary on the all new MSC Divina?

 

I believe the iteniary is:

Miami

Sea day

Sea day

San Juan

St. Maarten

Sea day

Great Stirrup Cay

Miami

[Boytjie]

We booked - reserving the option to cancel. I need to do my research on MSC and the Divinia. The ship looks good; I just have my reservations about food and service.

 

The itinerary doesn't thrill me. But maybe I will finally go see the planes land in St. Maarten.

[gigand]

We'll be there too!!! Can't wait already.:)

[Christo1]

We've booked as well. Looking forward to it!

[Cruising since 1984]

Although I have no complaints with Holland America and it's ships and crew, I'm looking forward to a new ship and new cruise line. The only MSC ship that cruises out of the US on a regular winter season schedule is the MSC Poesia and the the reviews of their food service have not always been very favorable. They mention the lack of dining options after the dinner service, not even late night snacks or pizza available. I'm hoping that the MSC Divina being a much largher ship with a different cruising concept than the Poesia has better options for those of us that got used to stopping in the buffet late at night after dancing, or grabbing a slice of pizza during all hour of the day and night.

The ship is beautiful and its also huge, holding up to 4000 guest. For those that smoke and those that don't, its a good and bad situation for both. You are not allowed to smoke on your balcony, but you can smoke in your cabin.

I hope that RSVP is able to market this cruise better than they did this past one. Since it's a much larger ship than those of the Holland America fleet, they should really get the word out on this cruise and soon.

No matter what ship we sail, it's always a great time just to be at sea with a bunch of fun guy, and I like the idea of 3 sea days again. San Juan I could pass on a stop there, but I will make the best of it. I love hanging out at Orient Beach in St. Martin. On the 2007 RSVP cruise, this was one of the best days...1000 gay guys taking over the nude beach. Even the nudist guest vacationing there enjoyed our day stay with them The private island, if it's the same one that NCL owns is ok, but it's no Half moon Cay.

Here is a great video [although long] that shows the ship nicely.

 

[M&D]

Booked and ready. :)

[MightySailinMan]

Leo and I are booked for the Divina.

Considering Alaska

 

Not happy about the size of the Suites on the Divina, and I will research the dining....we shall see.

[mikeange]

We are booked and cautiously optimistic about the 2014 cruise. We need to do some additional research not just about the ship but also regarding the logistics of flying EWR to MIA versus FLL. If too many negatives appear we may change our minds.

 

Just remeber guys that the onboard services during RSVP do not necessarily match what the ship provides during a regular sailing. For example, in addition to the 2/09/13 RSVP sailing, I also did the 2/2/13 non-RSVP sailing. On the RSVP sailing, the Lido was open for 22 hours a day. On the regular sailing, the Lido was open no where near that many hours during the day. There were lots of times during the day that the Lido only served iced tea, lemonade, and coffee.

 

By the same token, I do not want to sound negative about the regular Holland America product. On the regular sailing I was able, as a non-suite passenger,to book any specialty restaurant at any time once I received my booking number. The restriction that non-suite passengers can only book specialty restaurants a day in advance at most was contrived by RSVP.

 

One last thing, the way the regular passengers were described onstage by the cruise staff bore little resemblence to the passengers with whom I sailed on the 2/2/13 sailing. I realize I can only speak of my particular sailing. Setting aside the five or six hundred church folk, the vast majority of the passengers were baby-boomers (deefined as being born between 1946 and 1964). THe sailing did not resemble a hospital ship or nursing home at sea. I would say the vast majority of passengers were in their very late 40's to their 60's. The RSVP passengers were not that significantly younger. Our activities, however, are more fun...including for the staff. They genuinely were looking forward to us being on board as I overheard a number of them speaking of the upcoming sailing.

 

So I hope RSVP markets the hell out of this cruise to fill a 3100 passenger ship and that it is a success!

[rojjodc]

I booked but have some reservations about such a large and unfamiliar ship. I have been on the RCCL Oasis and Allure, and while the ship was beautiful, the food and service were disappointing and the extra fees for so many things became annoying. I also am not crazy about the itinerary but realize that such a large ship is limited on where it can go. I just heard that Atlantis will have two Caribbean cruises in 2014, so RSVP will have to work hard to fill twice as many cabins as this year.

[mikeange]

In doing a little checking about what we booked, I found on the MSC board a reference to a You Tube video of our ship. The gentleman who did the video appears to be a travel professional of some sort and I think is from the UK. If his travel planning skills are as good as his video/editing skills, I should be booking my travel through him!

 

Anyway, on youtube it is under msc divina, cruise ship review eastern med cruise-july/august.

 

It is worth a look. The ship looks very nice. Very different from Holland America. Actually it kind of looks like a Carnival ship and a Holland America ship mated and gave birth to the Divina. Aside from the striking pool areas, the other thing that really struck me was the acres and acres of people on deck. People everywhere!

 

The video is about an hour long. Hope you find it helpful.

[pidaho1971]

The itinerary doesn't really excite me all that much, but the RSVP experience is so much about the journey as opposed to just the destination. I would imagine that we will do some heavy thinking about it while on the Alaska trip come July...

 

Those who have booked (or at least have seen the brochures)- what is the pricing like? Similar to HAL, for a similar cabin?

 

Missed being there this year- seeing all of the posts from Lauderdale sent me into a deep depression! :p

[BayAreaBC]

MSC gets really mixed reviews on this website. Apparently they nickel and dime you over everything. The food reviews seem pretty negative too.

[Boytjie]

The itinerary doesn't really excite me all that much, but the RSVP experience is so much about the journey as opposed to just the destination. I would imagine that we will do some heavy thinking about it while on the Alaska trip come July...

 

Those who have booked (or at least have seen the brochures)- what is the pricing like? Similar to HAL, for a similar cabin?

 

Missed being there this year- seeing all of the posts from Lauderdale sent me into a deep depression! :p

 

Some of the categories seem to be priced lower, others the same. But it also appears that the cabins are smaller than HAL's,

[Boytjie]

It is worth a look. The ship looks very nice. Very different from Holland America. Actually it kind of looks like a Carnival ship and a Holland America ship mated and gave birth to the Divina. Aside from the striking pool areas, the other thing that really struck me was the acres and acres of people on deck. People everywhere!

 

It is huge compared to the HAL ships we have been on: 3,502 passengers at double occupancy and 4,345 maximum - that's about double what the Eurodam can accommodate. The pools look nice; I just wonder where they will be able to accommodate everyone for the parties.

[patrick401ca]

Think about the Atlantis March 2014 on the Celebrity Summit as an alternative. The Atlantis March cruise is usually a less party atmosphere than February. This year on the Atlantis February cruise I found the crowd a fair bit older and maybe a bit more sedate. And the ports are great - leaving from San Juan, going to St Barths, St Lucia, Martinique and Barbados (my least favourite since I think it may be a bit gay hostile).

 

Anyway, it leaves March 15 2014 so you have lots of time to decide. Prices were lower than this year's February cruise, although the February cruise was 8 days.

[dantobey]

Partner Jack and I are booked for 2014 along with good friends Frank and John. After almost 50 cruise and a former owner of a Travel Agency I can tell you not to try to compare MSC to HAL. If you do, you will be unhappy with MSC This past cruise, while my first one in 13 years with RSVP was great. It was not the best RSVP cruise I have ever been on but in the top five of the ten I have done so far with RSVP.

 

MSC caterers to European taste with food and service and will be different than what most Americans are use to. Keep in mind that RSVP will be doing their best with the entertainment and activities as they always do. From 1989 to 2000 I did nine sailings with RSVP and the ships themselves where not always the greatest. Some lacked in food and service but I always had a excellent time. The Divina is a lovely ship with a hot looking Italian crew. Staterooms are smaller than HAL ships but so are the prices. I think if RSVP does a good job promoting this cruise they'll be able to fill the ship because of the lower pricing. Plus, MSC is working on appealing more to the American Market with their food and service. Spread the word and lets sail with a full ship and make lots of new friends.

[dantobey]

Think about the Atlantis March 2014 on the Celebrity Summit as an alternative. The Atlantis March cruise is usually a less party atmosphere than February. This year on the Atlantis February cruise I found the crowd a fair bit older and maybe a bit more sedate. And the ports are great - leaving from San Juan, going to St Barths, St Lucia, Martinique and Barbados (my least favourite since I think it may be a bit gay hostile).

 

Anyway, it leaves March 15 2014 so you have lots of time to decide. Prices were lower than this year's February cruise, although the February cruise was 8 days.

 

RSVP sailing on the Divina is a month earlier in the heart of the winter when most of us who live up north want to get away. While Celebrity's Summit is a lovely ship she is getting a bit dated and is not scheduled for a refit before the sailing. I have sailed from San Juan twice before and not a big fan of the extra cost in airfare plus I prefer only two ports and and the Private Island. Sea days with RSVP are some of the best features of the cruise.

 

One of these years we might try Atlantis if the date, ship and island appeal to us.

[Typhoon1]

See you in Miami.

[Bloom9]

seriously thinking about joining you all on this sailing, anybody got a scan of the brochure with details and prices

[Boytjie]

seriously thinking about joining you all on this sailing, anybody got a scan of the brochure with details and prices

 

See the attached PDFs.

RSVP MSC Divina info pg1.pdf

RSVP MSC Divina info pg2.pdf

[pidaho1971]

See the attached PDFs.

 

Thanks, Peter! :cool:

[Bloom9]

See the attached PDFs.

 

Thank you, the pricing seems reasonable, port fees seem high for only 3 ports though, for those that have done both Atlantis and RSVP what will the difference be if any other than no Malcolm

[Boytjie]

for those that have done both Atlantis and RSVP what will the difference be if any other than no Malcolm

 

For RSVP folk that will be: what will the difference be if any other than no Sister Helen Holy? :D

[dantobey]

Just spent an hour watching this Divina video. Worth the time. Hopefully by the time she starts sailing in the Caribbean they'll serve coffee after dinner. Haver to have my Jo.

 

[Boytjie]

Just spent an hour watching this Divina video. Worth the time. Hopefully by the time she starts sailing in the Caribbean they'll serve coffee after dinner. Haver to have my Jo.

 

 

I am reading Cruise Critic reviews and soem things seem odd - no free water in the restaurants and something about US passengers getting vouchers for bottles water (1 a day). The there is the coffee at dinner issue - not sure if none is available or if available at extra charge. I wonder if things will be different in the Caribbean and on a charter (e.g. there seems to be only fixed dining in the dining rooms).