MSC Divina 4rd July, 2015 - Review with pictures

[Beamafar]

Ken ................. you were so right about Carey and Daniel. They are fantastic entertainers - I'd say the best I've seen on MSC, and I've seen some good acts. They are very, very friendly, too. I really think they deserve to be in one of the lounges where they'd get the crowd dancing! I told them you mentioned them here - they hadn't read your post but they did say that they often check out the comments on CC.

[CruiseIreland]

Ken ................. you were so right about Carey and Daniel. They are fantastic entertainers - I'd say the best I've seen on MSC, and I've seen some good acts. They are very, very friendly, too. I really think they deserve to be in one of the lounges where they'd get the crowd dancing! I told them you mentioned them here - they hadn't read your post but they did say that they often check out the comments on CC.

I think it was another poster, Bea, but l agree they were very good!

 

Now, tell us about your cruise! How was Naples?

[Beamafar]

I think it was another poster, Bea, but l agree they were very good

 

Ooops, was sure it was you - sorry about that to both you and the other poster.

 

Now, tell us about your cruise! How was Naples?

 

We went to Capri as planned, though it didn't quite go acccording to script! You have to choose which time you want to travel over and back. We left the ship late morning so we bought a ticket for the 11.10am hydrofoil thinking it would give us enough time to see some of the island and still get back for a quick look around Naples. The hydro was late so we got to the island with less time to explore than planned and were so hungry we decided to eat in the port area. By the time we were finished lunch there wasn't enough time to head off anywhere so we just strolled around the area - not much to see or do. When it was time to leave to catch the return hydrofoil, we discovered we had to walk to the far end of the pier as you don't embark where you originally debarked. Luckily, we'd allowed time for the walk!

By the time we got back to Naples, DH had had enough so we headed back to the ship. Lucky for us we did. Not too long after, the sky darkened as though night had fallen and we were treated to the most horrendous downpour and thunder storm which would have left us soaked had we gone exploring Naples. Instead, we got to enjoy the show from the comfort of the Top Sail Lounge!

 

We went to Florence and Pisa from La Spezia and had a wonderful day. However, all the walking left me with swollen ankles which put paid to me visiting Cannes! We stayed onboard and enjoyed the YC facilities, instead.

 

Overall, it was a great trip, though a couple of black marks against MSC as the ship ran out of Baileys, Limoncello, Martini Rosso (used in some of their cocktails) - the barman actually listed more to me - and some of the flavours in the Skipper juices I drink when onboard as I don't drink tea when I'm away from home and never drink coffee or orange juice so that did have an impact. I've no idea why the ship wasn't stocked up in La Spezia before we boarded in Barcelona. It did get re-stocked before we disembarked but I'm still left wondering why it hadn't been the week before. Some of the crew thought it had to do with the ship's repositioning coming up, but that doesn't make sense as the products mentioned aren't area specific (apart from Skippers which does get changed over when in the US and S. America). And not for another seven weeks (at the time - I should know as I'll be on her for it! Only five weeks to go, now :)).

 

Also, we didn't get our discount voucher booklet despite asking the Concierge about it. We eventually had to go to the Clubcard rep. In the meantime, we'd missed out on a couple of the discounts as one or two have to be used within the first couple of days of the cruise and, also, I had already bought items from the Logo shop which I could have used a voucher against. This got taken care of at the Concierge desk as I brought it to their attention. However, I felt I shouldn't have been placed in that position in the first place.

 

I did, however, get my chocolate ship and we each got our "gift" of a wash-bag/lightweight haversack!

[cox66]

Thank you for this interesting review

 

Bea - hope to see you on the crossing next month.

 

Best regards from Geneva

Marianna

[CruiseIreland]

Thank you for this interesting review

 

Bea - hope to see you on the crossing next month.

 

Best regards from Geneva

Marianna

 

You're welcome. Thanks for the kind words.

 

Bea- glad you had a good time. Enjoy your upcoming TA. Ken

[Beamafar]

Bea - hope to see you on the crossing next month.

 

Best regards from Geneva

Marianna

 

Yes, Marianna, it would be lovely to meet both you and Alice on the trip. It probably won't be at the Roll Call gathering as me and my DH are travelling with my elderly parents. My dad will be in an MSC provided wheelchair so you can't miss us! I'm sure we'll see you about the ship at some stage, anyway.

[Beamafar]

 

Bea- glad you had a good time. Enjoy your upcoming TA. Ken

 

Thanks, Ken. And thanks again for the review, especially about Naples. I've copied and pasted your info on it for my next visit, even though it won't be 'til 2017. Your photos were terrific, too.

[CruiseIreland]

Forgive me bumping my own review but l had revisited it for info relating to another thread and l thought it might be useful for anyone planning to sail on Divina or visit Mediterranean ports. Excuse the pic sizes as it was my first time posting photos.

[AEckhardt]

Forgive me bumping my own review but l had revisited it for info relating to another thread and l thought it might be useful for anyone planning to sail on Divina or visit Mediterranean ports. Excuse the pic sizes as it was my first time posting photos.

 

 

 

I really appreciate you bumping it! I'm sailing in the Divina in February, and I've done a TON of research over the past year, but now I am starting to look into booking a Med cruise for myself and my teenage DD, and honestly, traveling through Italy seems a bit daunting pre cruise, so your detailed review of getting to and from port is very helpful. Also, your pictures are fantastic and makes me even more excited to explore when we finally get there sometime next spring or summer!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[CruiseIreland]

Thank you for your kind words. I'm sure you have checked the Italy forum which has loads of great information.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=595

[CruiseIreland]

Forgive me bumping this thread again but it may be useful to some cruisers sailing the Mediterranean this year, that is if some cruisers are not on the Seaside!

[labrugnoli]

Thanks for bumping! I sail in the Med in 3 days, and most Divina posts (naturally) have been about the Caribbean.