Divina Review 10/4/14 Eastern

[Grandmaflower]

We had a wonderful time on Divina. Will attempt an accurate and well balance review : )

 

Embarkation: We arrived around 12:30pm and were in boarding group #16. By the time we got thru a bit of a line and got checked in our number was called and we walked right onto the ship. Less than an hour. Grade = A

 

Slight issue was that we had not been assigned any dining time or table. We had first seating requested. One of us waited in the line at the dining room while the other went to the casino to pick up the drink vouchers. No problem with picking up the vouchers and they were ready for us. Grabbed a couple cold sodas as we were parched! Maurice (I think his name was) was helpful and got us a lovely table by the window for first seating. We spent about 30 mins in line here.

 

Embarkation lunch: Just the usual chaos you encounter on every other cruise line. The food was quite good and the pizza outstanding. I had no problem getting a glass of wine from a passing waiter. Food was a good temperature. We were able to find seating in the very back of the buffet. Grade = B+

 

Stateroom: B3 Balcony 12th (Aurora) deck:: Typical and just fine. Actually I found the stateroom to be less worn than RCCL staterooms. The beds were for sure shorter than what I am used to. The linens were a bit thin and the pillows were filled with pellets. Really they need to work on this. I have read this forum and brought my own pillow with a bright colored case to put on top. Voila...comfy! The bathroom was spacious and I liked the shower temp and pressure. Balcony was a very good size also. Grade = A

 

More to come...have to work!

[pseudochicken]

Looking forward to hearing more of your review!

[skyking]

Im getting more and more excited for our turn to board, just 10 more days. I am thinking of doing one of my LIVE from, but I am not 100% sure yet.

[alexkrn46]

thanks for your review and looking forward to more.

[modes]

Looking forward to the rest.

[Grandmaflower]

Moving on to the all important FOOD:

I did not have a meal I did not enjoy. The shrimp cocktail was especially good and the shrimp were of good size. I ordered two every time this was on the menu. The salads were also quite good. I did not order any prime rib or steak as I know better from reading this forum. I did see "steak" and everyone said it was "pot roast". Looked like it too. Every night I ordered two desserts and I was not disappointed. BEST DESSERTS AT SEA. Better than X, RCCL, and Disney. Chocolate chip cheesecake is my new lover. Served alongside the nuttella torte...HELLO!

 

The Buffet was usually pretty crowded at peak times but if you head to the back you will find a seat. I found the food hot, fresh, and tasty. The pizza at the buffet was excellent. The desserts in the buffet looked like gelatin (ick). The breads were very very good and the cheese on embarkation day was really good. The rest of the week the cheese was mostly sliced deli cheese...lol. The indian food looked really good but I was preoccupied by the pepperoni pizza. I could always get drink service in the buffet but then again...I will stand in someone's way to get a glass of wine :eek: Dirty dishes were cleared quickly.

 

I did not have any gelato (pay by the pool) or pastries from the coffee shop but OMG did it all look so good.

 

The coffee I'm the MDR while it appeared grey in color after one creamer was really quite good. The cappuccino was out of control good.

 

Specialty Dining: If you don't like fish or duck stick to the MDR. Had a ressie at Galaxy for the 5 course meal...walked out and got refunded. The menu was filled with fish and duck and we even went up early to check it out but could not find anyone to show us a menu. Eately Rest (the fancy one)....good but again unless you want fish or duck...lol. You will have an additional up charge of $20 on top of the $29 you paid if you want the filet. After our experience in the Galaxy they comped us the $20 up charge for the filet. GOOD customer service. Food was good but honestly the food in the MDR is so good there is no reason to eat here. You had to pay for water also. Also ate in the Eately steakhouse...more options here and we did enjoy our meal but the service was extremely slow.

 

All in all...I was so terrified that we would have bad food in the MDR based on reviews here that I booked those in advance and wished I hadn't after the first night. We had a great table and great servers.

[Grandmaflower]

SERVICE: 99% was with a smile. Even Maurice from the Black Crab ;) At first I thought Andre (cruise director) was a bit of a ya know but actually he really grew on me and I appreciate his difficult job and found him very funny. I made personal connections with servers/bartenders in the wine bar, pool bar, and the divina bar. Every time they say me...they addressed me by my name and said what a pleasure it was to see me. I really felt a sense of family between these connections and the connection I made with my table mates whom I miss very much.

 

I had those annoying coupon booklets for soda/wine and I never had an issue being served. When I ran out they had pity on me : ) I have never had such an experience on a cruise ship. Genuine people.

[American Bear]

SERVICE: 99% was with a smile. Even Maurice from the Black Crab ;) At first I thought Andre (cruise director) was a bit of a ya know but actually he really grew on me and I appreciate his difficult job and found him very funny. I made personal connections with servers/bartenders in the wine bar, pool bar, and the divina bar. Every time they say me...they addressed me by my name and said what a pleasure it was to see me. I really felt a sense of family between these connections and the connection I made with my table mates whom I miss very much.

 

I had those annoying coupon booklets for soda/wine and I never had an issue being served. When I ran out they had pity on me : ) I have never had such an experience on a cruise ship. Genuine people.

 

Sounds like you had a great time!:D

[PathfinderEss]

Enjoying your review.

[2dot2dot]

SERVICE: 99% was with a smile. Even Maurice from the Black Crab ;) At first I thought Andre (cruise director) was a bit of a ya know but actually he really grew on me and I appreciate his difficult job and found him very funny. I made personal connections with servers/bartenders in the wine bar, pool bar, and the divina bar. Every time they say me...they addressed me by my name and said what a pleasure it was to see me. I really felt a sense of family between these connections and the connection I made with my table mates whom I miss very much.

 

I had those annoying coupon booklets for soda/wine and I never had an issue being served. When I ran out they had pity on me : ) I have never had such an experience on a cruise ship. Genuine people.

How did you purchase your coupon booklets. We sail in January and I am having no luck purchasing them