Just Off Divina

[jasmiarowski]

We blew right past embarkation photo without having it taken.

 

I am D member on RCI. I did my status match at end of December and had my black cards within 72 hours.

 

Was brought to front of line (no wait) at check in.

 

We had robes and slippers waiting in our room (interior Fantastica)

 

We received two 1 hour passes to thermal area of spa. Was able to use without prebooking.

 

Got 2 canvas back packs in room

 

Got a chocolate ship.

 

Bottle of Prosecco and plate of chocolate strawberries delivered. Twice.

 

Invites to black card cocktail party and welcome back cocktail party.

 

Made reservations on day 4 for Eataly on day 7 with our free meal voucher. Were offered various times to use our other voucher at Galaxy but liked MDR too much to skip.

 

First seating in Villa Rosa. First evening wine steward was at table waiting to introduce himself. From them on never waited more than 5 minutes for bar server to appear on any night and I was the only one at table ordering drinks w vouchers. Got cocktails in under 10 minutes. Sometimes under 5.

 

Some nights I would order two mains and no apps. One main would be served with the apps and the second main when everyone else's came out. We asked for speedier service bc of the baby and from sitting to finishing mains was 60 minutes. Only had dessert in MDR 3 nights. We had coffee mugs and creamers waiting on our table all nights and roaming server had regular and decaf. We were always asked if we wanted coffee.

 

Water poured continually by roaming server. Only once all week did we run low and have to ask for him to be sent over for more.

 

Paper thin food? Uneatable? What ship were you on. The MDR was easily as good as Princess and definitely better than RCI. Buffet better than RCI by a mile.

 

I totally 100% agree on the credit card setup. That was stupid.

 

Staff said this cruise had way less families and many more retirees than regular. I think there were a lot of Celeb/RCI/Princess folks that had minor fits when something wasn't done "their way" that they are used to.

 

This is the surf and turf from night 2. Paper thin? Not hardly

 

LMaxwell, thank you for this positive review. We were matched to Black for our Dec 6th sailing so looking forward to the benefits as you described. We were on Divina 4/15 for a short trip and most everything was exceptional. The restaurants were crowded and a little slow, but we made the best of it. After all, were were happy to be on a cruise and wanted to experience this cruise line. Can't wait for Dec now for sure. Thanks

[baz48]

Yes, we all have different views of things. Several years ago we sailed on Costa where we registered our credit card on board at one of several kiosks. We thought that was a good idea. I don't believe it had to be done the first day, but regardless, we had no line when we registered ours. We also liked that you could check excursions and book them at various kiosks throughout the ship.

 

There were several problems with Costa which prevents us from sailing with them again, but we DID like those two options.

[Linerguy]

I'm not sure about most people, but I get so geared up for my cruise that I search the net to find out as much as I can about my cabin, and that includes looking at as many photos as I can find. I guess the OP didn't do that; otherwise, they would have known that their room was an in-hull balcony.

 

We're sailing on DIVINA a week from tomorrow and, thanks to several folks on this site, as well as my own research, I know EXACTLY what my room will be like.

 

Having said that, I realize that not everyone does this, so I do believe that MSC should disclose when rooms are in-hull or obstructed. This info should be available in their brochures, as well as on their website.

 

BTW, I had an in-hull balcony on QUEEN MARY 2, and I loved it. It rained a few days and folks who had the open, glass balconies couldn't use them....but I had no problem. Yeah, I had to get up to look over the rail, but it wasn't an issue, and I'd book another in a minute.

[CatgirlNC]

We were with friends and still had a good time. After awhile, we just laughed about all the glitches and Bermuda was beautiful which made the cruise worthwhile.

 

We were on the Divina the week after you and had some similar experiences as far as the service. Our favorite story was this:

 

 

In the Black Crab, first night at dinner, several people at the table ordered amaretto, which is listed on the dessert menu as an after-dinner drink, along with limoncello, Sambuca, etc. We were told that amaretto wasn’t available- something about all the amaretto having been delivered to the DiSaronno bar by the pool on Deck 15. Okay, fine, it was the first night, they needed time to get everything moved around to where it needed to be. Night two, amaretto ordered, and again, told there wasn’t any. We gave up for a couple of nights, and then night 6 tried again- success! Amaretto arrived, served on ice in a rocks glass. Finally, the last night, amaretto ordered- this time it arrived in champagne flutes! No ice, not even for the person who specially requested it on ice. We all just laughed and drank the amaretto- what else would we do? I wish we’d had one more night, just to see how it would have been served- in a beer stein? A coffee mug?

[Crzyfrk62]

In reference to MSC'S bank I found out on the forum before my first MSC cruise.... thank goodness someone posted it. I always post that information on my roll calls also. Since then there have been several repeats of the banking information.

I used my bank card which does normally charge international fees, I also carry a card that doesn't charge that fee.

My bank card was not charged the international fee even though after the initial deposit done in Miami the final went thru the bank in France.

I made sure to alert my bank and credit card about the cruise & since MSC is a European cruise co. having a European bank makes sense when you think about it.

I personally try and do as much research as possible prior to booking, this forum has been the best in making my cruise experiences even better. There is a wealth of knowledge here and I don't hesitate to ask these cruisers, they know more then your TA and MSC customer service!

[Sweettea6064]

Look on the bright side...you could have been on an old CCL ship at spring break.....Just sayin

[sandpiper35]

As you see, the "stell hull" balconies are not marked in the deckplan, and because of that the MSC Rep was not able to tell you. They could do better in this point.

Though it would be nice if these cabins were marked (like some other cruiselines do), these staterooms are not considered as having restricted views.

 

By the way, as MSC is a european cruiseline, it should be no surprise they use a european bank. Thin slices of meat are just the italian style - you can always order for a second plate.

 

On the slices of meat, this is a change from previous years. The waiters assured me that in the past, the steak were way thicker. I confirmed this by watching some YouTube videos. But, this, is in the past.

 

Cheers.

 

Armando.

Miami, FL.

[boca7]

 

Now that I see the picture I take back what I said, That cabin has an obstruction.