Another Divina Review Dec 10 sailing

[Cruise-A-Hoy]

Returning from the MSC Divina Sailing December 10 sailing.

We have been on numerous cruises over the years but the first time on MSC.

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This cruise exceeded my expectations.

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Opinions are like rear ends, everyone has one.

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Much of my review is my opinion, keeping in mind that this is a European cruise line starting a year around U.S. presents. At the afternoon Meet & Greet the Cruise Director said that there were 25% Europeans on board, I think it was reversed with 25% Americans.

Our first impression upon boarding the ship was WOW this ship is beautiful. We then proceeded to the buffet until our cabin was ready. This particular lunch is advertised as a light lunch, not the normal selection of food but more than enough for most people.

Our cabin (outside balcony rear) was like most other cabins on other ships.

Unlike some other complaints we had no trouble with wash cloths. First day we had only one but cabin steward told us that laundry was a little behind and we would be getting a second. From that time on wet has 2 wash cloths every day. Europeans do not use wash cloths so they had to make adjustments for the U.S. market, which they did. The cabin steward was great one of the nicest and efficient we have seen in a long time. In fact all the of crew were pleasant with always greeting passenger no matter where you were

Let me review the food, which is important for many cruisers. We thought the food to be very good, not only in taste but in quality. On a previous cruise (ship not mentioned) the food was the lowest quality around.

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Breakfast had the normal selection in the restaurants and buffet. What I found that could be improved is to have an eggs to order counter. No sunny side up or whites only. Everything was prepared in the back and brought out to the buffet. If you did not get the eggs right away it got cold. Also considering that it sails from Miami, I was surprised that they did not have smoked Salmon at the buffet. It was available in the restaurant only. They had 2 toasters at the buffet which was not enough. They were commercial toasters that take a long time to toast the bread. There appeared to always be a line waiting for toast.

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At lunch they always had a different carving item each day, Roasted Turkey, Lamb, Prime Rip, roast beef, in addition to a seafood, and chicken dish. At least 3 kinds of pasta were available along with a variety of Pizza. The pasta dishes were excellent.

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Diners were scheduled for 6:00 pm and 8:30 pm. On the first day the early dining (6:00 pm) ran late and held up the later diners (8:30 pm). But the staff got their act together and by the end of the cruise everything ran good and on time.

Food was once again very good and staff worked hard learning the American way. For example day 1 or 2 we asked for coffee during our meal. Asst waiter said that you drink coffee at end of meal (European way). Next day we had coffee with our meal and end of meal every day. Water glasses were filled without ice the first 2 days; in Europe ice is not used. The waiters made a fast adjustment and we had ice every day. My only negative was the portion sizes, they were very small. For example one night I had Duck breast, it was 3 small slices of duck. A roasted chicken came with one quarter of a small chicken like a Cornish hen, could always order more. In addition to the normal selection they always had 2 pasta dishes to add to the meal.

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The nightly entertainment was excellent except for the magician comedian on the last night. One night they had a tribute to Michael Jackson who was supper, if I did not know better I would have sworn that he came back to life. I was informed ahead of time that the entertainment was geared toward a multi language audience and consisted of visuals. They did an excellent job with this.

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The cabins and balconies are non-smoking but I did see my next door neighbor smoking on balcony.

More obvious is how they let passenger come into the dining room more than ½ hour late and in a few cases inappropriately dressed for example shorts and t-shirt on formal night.

 

A little confusing is the next to last night (Thursday) they had the good by show. This should have been the last night with the magician on that night.

Every day from the first day to the end the crew and staff were getting better and better and it showed. The one question always asked is “would you take this ship again”, the answer is a rousing yes, yes, yes.

 

1985 Fairsky SITMAR

1986 Song of America ROYAL CARIBBEAN

1986 Oceanic PREMIER

1987 Oceanic PREMIER

Nordic Prince ROYAL CARIBBEAN

Nordic Empress ROYAL CARIBBEAN

Viking Seranade ROYAL CARIBBEAN

Regal Princess PRINCESS

Royal Majesty MAJESTY CRUISE LINES

1992 Monarch of the Sea ROYAL CARIBBEAN

1995 Sovereign of the Sea ROYAL CARIBBEAN

1996 Song of America ROYAL CARIBBEAN

1999 Oceanic PREMIER

1999 Splendor of the Sea ROYAL CARIBBEAN

(Apple Vacation) OCEANIC CRUISE LINE

Legend of the Sea ROYAL CARIBBEAN

Majesty of the Sea ROYAL CARIBBEAN

Grandeur of the Sea ROYAL CARIBBEAN

Enchantment of the Sea ROYAL CARIBBEAN

2000 Voyager of the Sea ROYAL CARIBBEAN

2000 Horizon (Alaska) CELEBRITY

2001 Explorer of the Seas ROYAL CARIBBEAN

Crown Princess PRINCESS

2001 Dawn Princess (Alaska) PRINCESS

2002 NCL Dreamward

2002 Carnival Legend CARNIVAL

2002 Brilliance of the Sea ROYAL CARIBBEAN

2003 Navigator of the Sea ROYAL CARIBBEAN

Aug 2003 Horizon (Bermuda) CELEBRITY

Oct 2003 Serenade of the Seas ROYAL CARIBBEAN

Jul 2004 Mariner of the Seas ROYAL CARIBBEAN

Dec 2004 Empress of the Sea ROYAL CARIBBEAN

Sept 2005 Explorer of the Seas ROYAL CARIBBAEN

Oct 2005 Infinity CELEBRITY

Nov 2005 Enchantment of the Seas ROYAL CARIBBEAN

Feb 2006 Golden Princess PRINCESS

May 2006 Zenith CELEBRITY

May 2006 Freedom of the Seas ROYAL CARIBBEAN

Dec 2006 Millenium CELEBRITY

Jun 2007 Caribbean Princess PRINCESS

Aug 2007 Explorer of the Seas ROYAL CARIBBEAN

Oct 2007 Vision of the Seas ROYAL CARIBBEAN

Jul 2008 Explorer of the Seas ROYAL CARIBBEAN

Oct 2008 Solstice CELERITY

Nov 2008 Enchantment of the Seas ROYAL CARIBBEAN

Nov 2009 Dream CARNIVAL

Dec 2009 Solstice CELERITY

Jun 2010 Emerald Princess PRINCESS

Nov 2010 Enchantment of the Seas ROYAL CARIBBEAN

July 2011 Allure of the Seas ROYAL CARIBBEAN

Dec 2011 Silhouette CELEBRITY

May 2012 Oasis of the Seas ROYAL CARIBBEAN

July 2013 Gem NORWEGIAN CRUISE LINES

Dec 2013 Divina MSC

Edited December 23, 2013 by Cruise-A-Hoy

[legion3]

Thanks for the review. Sounds similar to another from your voyage I read.

Was it similar to your other cruises on your vast repertoire of cruises?

Or was it different enough that it was a change from the CCL, NCL RCCL and Princesses of the world?

[sidari]

They had 2 toasters at the buffet which was not enough.

 

You were lucky we had one for 18 days of a Transatlantic cruise that was behind a screen and operated by one staff member!

 

Glad you enjoyed the cruise.

[alexkrn46]

thanks for your review.

[Typhoon1]

Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts.

[riclop]

Thanks for your review.

[portofrome]

Thank you for the review.

[MR. MATT]

Cruise-A-Hoy, thanks, you answered a few questions I had.

 

I'm sailing Jan. 12 and with all the mixed hit-&-miss reviews I have read in the past I was real nervous about my once a year vacation being a bust...

In a lot of reviews people were commenting about getting "nickeled & dimed", did you experience any of that?

[alexkrn46]

I never felt nickeled and dimed like rccl, in fact the opposite. You will have a good cruise.

[sharecruises]

Compare the price of pina colada - Carnival was 9.63

 

MSC would be 7.25 plus 15% tip but only $6.85 total when you buy the drink coupons (buy 10 , get 2 free, includes tax/tip)

 

I read some stupid reviews where people complain that cappicino costs extra - well duh it does on all the lines now...but MSC at least has the real deal

 

Gelato has a small fee...BUT you can get free gelato every day in dining room, a different flavor each day at both lunch and dinner

 

Things like wine tastings, upsell restaurants , sodas, cost on all ships

 

I am always amazed when I see some newbie on their first cruise crying cause the "pop" (soda) had a charge

 

Royal felt like a shopping mall to me....NCL has good shows but the free food is not great, have to go upsell restaurants....Carnival cutbacks are legendary

 

You can do as much or as little as you want. One thing I wondered about - YC - I was not in it,never noticed it, did not feel 2nd class....(actually the haven on NCL also did not bother me)

[tbmrt]

I never felt nickeled and dimed like rccl, in fact the opposite. You will have a good cruise.

 

Also liked that there weren't constant announcements and that the bar staff were there, but didn't keep interrupting my reading by constantly asking if I'd like a drink.

[Cruise-A-Hoy]

Thanks for the review. Sounds similar to another from your voyage I read.

Was it similar to your other cruises on your vast repertoire of cruises?

Or was it different enough that it was a change from the CCL, NCL RCCL and Princesses of the world?

 

This particular cruise was different, large percentrage of Europeans, (not a negative), Food much better than some others, Entertainment excelle but different, Crew extremely friendly much better than others cruises, Really hate to compare, much crew still learning with some languauge difficulties (mostly minimal)

[Cruise-A-Hoy]

Cruise-A-Hoy, thanks, you answered a few questions I had.

 

I'm sailing Jan. 12 and with all the mixed hit-&-miss reviews I have read in the past I was real nervous about my once a year vacation being a bust...

In a lot of reviews people were commenting about getting "nickeled & dimed", did you experience any of that?

 

Almost all cruise lines today are "nickel & Diming". I think this was consideraby less on this ship then most others. Like someone else wrote drinks cost less.

 

Beware of the Logo gift shop, most sizes are European not U.S.

All the cruises run a special on their logo cloths and gift. On this cruise the specials were not very good, for example 10% off when purchased two. Other cruises you are 50% off on one. Albiet its different quality but...

Edited December 25, 2013 by Cruise-A-Hoy

[Cruise-A-Hoy]

After booking but prior to sailing on the Divina my DW read all the, mostly bad reviews. Almost all the negatives were from Americans sailing in Europe.

After being on 55 cruises we have come to know that reviews are opinion and what one person like another hates. We did not let all these reviews deter us from going. From the moment we boarded the ship to the last day getting off we knew we made the right decision. DO NOT LET REVIEWS TURN YOU OFF.

This is a European ship which has catered toward a foreign market. They made great thrives moving to the American market and I think did an excellent job. Most important they are constantly learning and improving day by day. Even before all the improvements made during the week it was much better on day one then the previous cruise we were on. Do not want to mention name but it was one of two rated below standard by J.P. Power. In our opinion if they can maintain a good price they will be giving RCCL, NCL, Carnival, Princess a run for their money .

Every couple years we have a family vacation, after our experience on this cruise we are planning on having it on board the Divina

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The cruise staff did an excellent job in getting passengers involved in the games around the pool.

Show room, lower level staircase dangerous, very difficult to negotiate especially with ship rocking. I suggest they put a railing down the center.

They should do a better job in enforcing their policy.

The person next door to us was smoking even though policy is no smoking in cabin or balcony. Another passenger mentioned the same thing.

Children were noticed in adult only locations.

Dining room attire saw passengers wearing shorts several nights including formal night.

 

[AmoMondo]

Also liked that there weren't constant announcements and that the bar staff were there, but didn't keep interrupting my reading by constantly asking if I'd like a drink.

 

Yeah, I really appreciate that too. When I'm into a book, I'm really into it and can't stand being constantly interrupted.

[denandben]

Compare the price of pina colada - Carnival was 9.63

 

MSC would be 7.25 plus 15% tip but only $6.85 total when you buy the drink coupons (buy 10 , get 2 free, includes tax/tip)

 

I read some stupid reviews where people complain that cappicino costs extra - well duh it does on all the lines now...but MSC at least has the real deal

 

Gelato has a small fee...BUT you can get free gelato every day in dining room, a different flavor each day at both lunch and dinner

 

Things like wine tastings, upsell restaurants , sodas, cost on all ships

 

I am always amazed when I see some newbie on their first cruise crying cause the "pop" (soda) had a charge

 

Royal felt like a shopping mall to me....NCL has good shows but the free food is not great, have to go upsell restaurants....Carnival cutbacks are legendary

 

You can do as much or as little as you want. One thing I wondered about - YC - I was not in it,never noticed it, did not feel 2nd class....(actually the haven on NCL also did not bother me)

 

 

I don't appreciate that all members of the cabin have to buy the same inclusive drink package. We don't mind paying for our kids to have a soda package but would not take advantage ourselves. They offer coupons as an option but what 16 yo wants to carry vouchers. We will pay as we go and in the end the ship will probably make a lot less than the inclusive if they sold it to the kids. I realize people steal but seems like they are assuming everyone will steal. Don't like that assumption.

[sailinglisa]

Thanks for your review. After 21 cruises on Carnival, Royal, Celebrity and Princess I am ready to branch out and try something new. I have the Divina booked for May 2014 and am looking forward to Caribbean cruising with a touch of European style. I am ready for something different!

 

So glad to hear that announcements and nickel and diming seem to be minimal. I hope it stays that way!

[tbmrt]

They had 2 toasters at the buffet which was not enough.

 

You were lucky we had one for 18 days of a Transatlantic cruise that was behind a screen and operated by one staff member!

 

Glad you enjoyed the cruise.

 

Although there were plenty of breakfast items, we also would have appreciated a toast/toaster that one didn't have to stand at for so long.

 

The "easy over" eggs were fine on some mornings, but sometimes overcooked which is understandable, considering since this surely is a difficult item to make for a buffet.

 

Many cruisemates complained that the scrambled eggs were really awful and the bacon greasy. Sausage was excellent.

 

I'm sure MSC will improve on these things as they have done on so many others.

 

Can't wait to start planning next MSC cruise!

[Luckyone2]

We found breakfast in the dining room much better than the buffet. We love their eggs Benedict. We would go back on the Divina in a heartbeat!

[gambee]

Thank you for the review, I am seriously considering an amazing deal on this ship in May. I am a few seconds away from pressing book now :D, lol.

[riclop]

Thank you for the review, I am seriously considering an amazing deal on this ship in May. I am a few seconds away from pressing book now :D, lol.

Yes Gambee i couldnt resist those prices and booked another cruise on the Divina.

[Cruise-A-Hoy]

I'm sure MSC will improve on these things as they have done on so many others.

 

Can't wait to start planning next MSC cruise!

 

From our experience I agree 100% with you.

MSC will improve, they already improved from day 1 to day 11 of the cruises. We saw improvements every day.

 

 

I want to thank the Cruise Director for showing up at the afternoon Meet & Greet after some confusion about the time.

 

BTW we are palnning our next cruise on the Divina, summer of 2014 after it returns from South America.

Edited December 27, 2013 by Cruise-A-Hoy

[Linerguy]

I read some stupid reviews where people complain that cappicino costs extra - well duh it does on all the lines now...but MSC at least has the real deal

 

I am always amazed when I see some newbie on their first cruise crying cause the "pop" (soda) had a charge

 

Funny, I was thinking how amazing it is that someone so fortunate to have cruised so much could be so condescending.....

[Linerguy]

Cruise-A-Hoy,

 

Thanks for your review...sounds like, in time, they'll get it together.

[tourlink99]

Sounds to me like they pretty much do have it together and just need some tweaks here and there.

 

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