MSC Divina Review May 21-28, 2016

[wayne_trisha]

First a bit about us. We are in our late 40s, have been on about 30 cruises (mostly with RCCL), and were given MSC Black status due to diamond status with RCCL. I am not much of a picture taker but pictures and videos of the Divina are plentiful. We also lived in Germany for 8 years so we are familiar with dining in Europe. My mother-in-law and her friend went as well and stayed in a different cabin.

 

Embarkation: Dropped off my wife and two others traveling with us at the terminal with the luggage and I parked the car. HINT: Do not be so excited you forget where you parked. Yeah, I did but fortunately the parking garage was not too big. It was around 1:00. Lines for security were short, no line for Black members, others were waiting to get checked in. Onto the ship in about 15 minutes.

 

Buffet: Fairly long and lots of variety. We ate here for some breakfast, some lunches, and one dinner. I am normally not a fan of buffets but during the week I always found something I enjoyed. Pizza was GREAT and so was the pasta. They even served breakfast pizza. Make your own tacos on the starboard side each day at lunch. Ladies I travelled with enjoyed the burgers and fries. I will say the food was warm, never hot. Make sure you have a look around before choosing what to eat. Coffee available 24 hours and was very tasty. Juices at breakfast, tea and flavored waters at lunch and dinner.

 

Dining room: We had early seating and a great waiter. Lots of variety in the menus but also standards you could get each night. Service was awesome and not rushed. Lobster tails were great (I had 4). Non-alcohol drink service could be a bit slow. We had wine each evening but never ordered from the bar so not sure how that service is. Breakfast and Lunch are a different story. Servers everywhere scurrying around like ants but food seems to get served in a chaotic fashion. I’m not sure how to describe it exactly. Don’t go expecting a quick meal (we were in no rush). I cannot put my finger on why I did not like it but after trying it twice for breakfast and twice for lunch I did not want to go back. Dining here also made me miss out on pizza!!

 

Cabin: 12233 mid to aft in the cut in area. Nice to have an overhang from deck 14 to block the rain and sun. Quiet location and a short walk to stairs/elevators. Really liked the shower doors that swung in. Bed was comfortable but pillows are lumpy and really not comfortable. Our cabin steward was not very good. Never introduced himself, left dirty dishes more than once, and was just very slow getting to our cabin. It had no effect on our enjoyment of the cruise. He was happy to knock on the door, with the do not disturb sign stuck in the card slot, at 11:00 PM on the last night to give us out MSC logo hats.

 

Bars: Everywhere and great service all week long. They definitely were not stingy with the pours. Drink lists at every bar. I pretty much drank mojitos all week and they were great! We had two of the 18 tickets drink packages and had no problem using them anywhere on the ship. I gave a dollar tip with each ticket except once when the bar tender seemed bothered I asked him for a drink.

 

Pools: water was warmer than the posted signs. The pools were never really crowded as far as people in them. Getting a deck chair by any of the pools on a sea day is not easy, getting two is almost impossible. Fortunately we have our own pool in the backyard so sunning ourselves is not really a priority. We don’t use public hot tubs, AKA human stew pots, but they always seemed to have people in them.

 

Shows: Saw three, witches of Paris, voices, and Starwalker. I enjoyed all three and Starwalker is a must see. We forgot about the mini opera unfortunately. Theater empties quickly after the shows so have a seat for 5 minutes and you can exit without delay. No drink service but we brought our own from the bar and no one said anything.

 

Gym/Spa: While I walked an hour every day on deck, I tried running on the treadmill once and the gym was nice. Equipment in great shape and lots of variety. My wife went to the spa and was extremely pleased with her 55 minute Bali massage. No sales talk at the end, just a relaxing massage. She frequents a very nice spa here and said it was comparable.

 

Activities: Throughout the day and into the night there were things to do with the entertainment staff. We are not big on this so only went to trivia once. We both like to read in a quiet place and that was challenging at times as the chatty people ALWAYS seem to find us. Plenty of places that should be quiet but someone wants to share their life story with someone. UGH! We did the 4d cinema and it was fun. At $8 for a 5 minute movie once was enough.

 

Staff: Except for the one bartender, everyone was friendly, smiling, and when we needed something helped us or pointed us in the right direction. Not all of them spoke very good English but if they could not directly help us, they called someone over who could. I don’t speak any other language and don’t expect everyone I encounter to speak mine.

 

Eataly and Pizza: We went to Eataly for dinner one night and it was okay. I think if we had paid and not received it as a membership perk, I would not have found it enjoyable. It was a fixed menu for the perk dinner. You cannot get iced tea and they wanted us to buy bottles of water. This was a bit frustrating as we can’t we get iced tea or plain water. Food was good but I honestly cannot even remember what we ate. It made that much of an impression on me. We also paid for a pizza one day at lunch and it was delicious. The meter of pizza is a great deal if you have enough people to eat it. We looked at the Galaxy menu for our specialty dinner and decided it didn’t appeal to us. I will eat just about anything (never seal again though!) and was just kind of whatever about going.

 

Other observations: Lots of non US cruisers aboard so many different cultures. Personal space for them may not be the same as what we think. It did not bother me but my travel companions made some comments about being crowded at times in the buffet. Every day we witnessed staff members cleaning, polishing, brushing, shining, etc areas of the ship. It definitely was one of the cleanest ships we have ever sailed on.

Ship: Stunning and beautiful. The most spectacular ship we have sailed. I spent hours wondering and walking the halls and was amazed. The layout can be confusing particularly trying to get to the dining rooms. There are times when you must go up to get down. Once you know this you will only make the mistake once or twice again.

 

TIPS: On many days the spa was 50% OFF, both port and sea days. If you want many free drinks during the first formal night, go to the Divina bar and give one of the servers some $$$ to come to your table. I gave a young blonde female server $5 prior to the event starting and she came by each time she entered the room. Bring extra beach towels. You cannot exchange your towels on the ship during the day, you put them on the bathroom floor and when (if, in our case) the steward cleans your room at night they will replace them.

 

And the one really odd thing… I wanted to fill out our customs form but we did not have a pen in our cabin. On most cruises we end up with some logo pens in our cabin. We were on our way back to our cabin and near guest services. I asked the nice lady at the counter if I could have a pen. She would not give me one but called someone to have a pen delivered to our cabin. Really? I asked a different cabin steward working down the hall from us and she gave us a pen. Our cabin steward was not in sight and the pen never showed up.

 

Please ask any questions you may have.

[champagne123]

Wow....great details, tips and critique. Thank you so much for taking the time to write this. You included details that I had not read yet. :)

[riclop]

Thanks for your review, glad you enjoyed the beautiful ship.

[Cruisermom2nick]

Thanks so very much for the review! Ok, here are my questions:

 

1. I am not sure what you mean about free drinks on formal night? Can you please explain? :)

 

2. We are going on the short cruise on the Divina in July and the week one in DEC. We bought 1 drink pack of vouchers (18). Are those good for any cocktail? We are used to the UBP on NCL and have gotten accustomed to drinking lots during the day.. (;) ) How many voucher packages do you rec. getting?

 

3. Is the percentage of Americans really that small on the ship?

 

4. Are there any tips for the buffet you have as must not miss items?

 

5. Was the dining room open for lunch on embarkation day?

 

Thanks soooo much! :)

[rbpjr]

Thanks so very much for the review! Ok, here are my questions:

 

1. I am not sure what you mean about free drinks on formal night? Can you please explain? :)

 

2. We are going on the short cruise on the Divina in July and the week one in DEC. We bought 1 drink pack of vouchers (18). Are those good for any cocktail? We are used to the UBP on NCL and have gotten accustomed to drinking lots during the day.. (;) ) How many voucher packages do you rec. getting?

 

3. Is the percentage of Americans really that small on the ship?

 

4. Are there any tips for the buffet you have as must not miss items?

 

5. Was the dining room open for lunch on embarkation day?

 

Thanks soooo much! :)

 

 

1. We got free champagne the first formal night at the divina bar captain reception.

 

2. 18 drink vouchers was enough for both of us, all depends if your a heavy drinker up to $8.00 on cocktails you can buy more vouchers.

 

3. At least half or more Americans during last week cruise 5/21/2016

 

4. excellent pizza, dessert very good choc. moose, get there early people are waiting for the buffet to open at sea days, so it gets crowded fast.

 

5. dining room on embarkation good question never tried it, sorry.

[CampbellCrewZ]

Thanks for posting the review Wayne.

Sounds like the issues you had with the passenger info mix up on the web site didn't cause you any trouble during the cruise?

Divina is a beautiful ship, we hope to sail again before its sent back to the Mediterranean...

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[wayne_trisha]

I forgot to mention, we had a great cruise! One of our best cruises and so refreshing to explore a ship and not know what to expect instead of getting back on RCCL and being able to practically name what is for dinner every night, where everything is on the ship,etc.

 

1. I am not sure what you mean about free drinks on formal night? Can you please explain? :)

 

First formal night was free cocktails on decks 5, 6, and 7. The server I tipped came by with a tray of drinks. Champagne, red and white wine, and I think two others. One was a small glass with rum and a cherry liquor. My memory is a bit fuzzy. We had were drinking before the free drinks started. :)

 

2. We are going on the short cruise on the Divina in July and the week one in DEC. We bought 1 drink pack of vouchers (18). Are those good for any cocktail? We are used to the UBP on NCL and have gotten accustomed to drinking lots during the day.. (;) ) How many voucher packages do you rec. getting?

 

A few bars had premium cocktails that were slightly higher in price. I was quite happy with mojitos and never ordered any to see if I could use the coupons for them. I do know I tried to use one of my wine coupons in Eataly for a $33 cabernet and they would not let me so I received a $29 cabernet. I had two 18 ticket packages and received 6 more tickets from my mother-in-law. I drank plenty and on the last sea day I started the day with 23 tickets to spend. I drank plenty all week but the drinks are strong so I didn’t use as many tickets. I also tipped with every drink and that certainly led to stronger drinks. I left the ship with 8 tickets. My wife rarely drinks so only a few tickets were used by her.

 

3. Is the percentage of Americans really that small on the ship?

 

I do not know what the breakdown was but I certainly heard a lot of people not speaking English. Maybe it was more than 50% like someone else posted.

 

4. Are there any tips for the buffet you have as must not miss items?

 

One night they had grilled calamari that was excellent. The desserts were really good. Small sweet treats. While it was crowded at times, we always found a table. Check the pasta station each day as this changed daily, even between lunch and dinner. I really liked the buffet which is rare for me. Only other buffet I liked was DCL Fantasy and that was for peel and eat shrimp every day.

 

5. Was the dining room open for lunch on embarkation day?

 

I do not think so. When we boarded I asked what was open for lunch and was told the buffet. I asked if anything else was open and told no.

[wayne_trisha]

Thanks for posting the review Wayne.

Sounds like the issues you had with the passenger info mix up on the web site didn't cause you any trouble during the cruise?

Divina is a beautiful ship, we hope to sail again before its sent back to the Mediterranean...

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

No issues at all. After they took the website down to fix it, our information remained correct. It really was a great cruise.

[Clarea]

Nice detailed report, thanks.

[riclop]

Nice detailed report, thanks.

 

Bob are you ready for MSC?

[Freespir8]

Thanks so much for your review. You have me even more excited to sail on Divina in April of next year. This is the first time we are trying a new line and we are really excited about experiencing something different. I think the European flair will be a nice change. Although we are originally from the States, my sisters (my two cruising companions on this trip :) ) and I grew up overseas in Southeast Asia and I miss the difference in cultures. There was a tremendous amount of European influence there so I am looking forward to experiencing some of that when we go.

 

Thanks again for all of the great information you shared.

Edited May 30, 2016 by annietownsend

[CTBob]

Thanks for your review. Makes me miss being on the beautiful Divina. And yes, I did get lost trying to get to the dining room. As we love to play games during the day we met many of the entertainment staff who were the most fun of any ship we have been on. Can't wait to try the new Seaside and the new private island. Bob

[Tapi]

Thanks for your review. We were also on the 5/21 sailing and agree with most of what you wrote. Seems like our cabin steward was a tad more thorough than yours because he never left any dirty dishes and was always very prompt with his cleaning. He also had the odd habit of knocking on our door even if we had the do not disturb sign on the door. He did tell me one day that if we have our key card in the slot inside the cabin, a small light illuminates outside our door which is what he really goes by to know if there's someone in the cabin. From that point on we made sure that the key was always in the slot every time we were in the room.

 

The only thing which I disagree with is the food. We found the food, both at the MDR and the buffet, repetitive and somewhat mediocre. I didn't eat anything during the entire week which I considered memorable. Many times I found myself eating just to eat. I was truly looking forward to Italian Night thinking that this would be MSC's moment to truly shine. I ordered the chef's suggestion which was the scaloppine di polo Marsala but, while it was good, it was nothing more than a breast of chicken on the grill, placed on top of angel hair pasta with some sauce on it. Once again, it wasn't bad food, just ordinary and uninspiring. I do agree that the pizza was some of the best we've ever had on a cruise ship.

 

But overall it was a great experience, and at about $250pp for a Fantastica balcony on deck 10, it was a fantastic value! [emoji3]

Edited May 31, 2016 by Tapi

[eric135i]

we were on the same sailing on May21st. family of 6 (3 children)

 

POSITIVES:

- Great food,(i am a Foodie & appreciate good quality food. lobster was good (a bit salty), prime rib excellent (buffet), deserts were excellent.plastic holders for deserts were made in Italy. we checked the menus before deciding on dining in or buffet.

- Room steward was very attentive

- Drink package (18) was a good deal, even though some drinks were excluded.

- beautiful ship with artwork and cleaners constantly cleaning.

- Duty Free shop was the cheapest $s i have ever seen. 1 liter of Absolute was $11.52 & Marlboros were $24/carton of 10!

- Kids club had good activities for kids

- Theater was beautiful

- Shows had Superb talent (Mask & Michael Jackson) we went 45min-1hr ahead to get great seats.

- Good amount of alcohol in drinks.

- Dining service was QUICK and efficient

- Buffet seating was better towards the back (table for 6+)

- No smoking in casino

- Embarkation & Debarkation was QUICK, checked luggage arrive quick on carosel

- free Champage at art auctions

- smoked salmon sandwiches on room service menu were AWESOME - free too!

- salt water pool was great

- Bigelow tea bags!

- excellent coffee!!!

- good quality and clean gym equipment

- can't order drinks directly from bartenders, they refer you to a server

- extremely clean ship. cleaners constantly walking around cleaning everything

 

NEGATIVES:

- elevators were extremely slow.

- some levels on ship do not connect

- slippery area by pool and buffet

- room service was slow at 45min-1hr wait

- Sun chairs were impossible to get. i never bothered to get one.

- sometimes hot water dispenser was not hot enough

- gym was crowded - near impossible to get a treadmill

- no lockers, restrooms or changing area in gym!

- limited TV channels

- no account access on TVs (to see room charges)

- best prices i've seen in Duty free shops on board

- beautiful theater & extremely talented performers

- drinks had plenty of alcohol

- most domestic and imported beers were only $5!!!!!!

- meter long Eataly pizza was an awesome deal at $21 - you can choose sections of different toppings. tasted great

- didn't have a chance to try it but for $9.90 you can have wine tasting (3 wines + small and fancy looking side dishes of ham & cheese)

- public bathrooms were small in quantity, hard to find and no signs to bathrooms except on the doors.

[LMaxwell]

- no lockers, restrooms or changing area in gym!

 

There is a locker room with showers and fresh towels; just ask at the spa desk for a key. It is between the gym and the thermal area of the spa. Sorry you missed that.

[Mikesa1721]

we were on the same sailing on May21st. family of 6 (3 children)

 

 

 

NEGATIVES:

- elevators were extremely slow.

- some levels on ship do not connect

- slippery area by pool and buffet

- room service was slow at 45min-1hr wait

- Sun chairs were impossible to get. i never bothered to get one.

- sometimes hot water dispenser was not hot enough

- gym was crowded - near impossible to get a treadmill

- no lockers, restrooms or changing area in gym!

- limited TV channels

- no account access on TVs (to see room charges)

- best prices i've seen in Duty free shops on board

- beautiful theater & extremely talented performers

- drinks had plenty of alcohol

- most domestic and imported beers were only $5!!!!!!

- meter long Eataly pizza was an awesome deal at $21 - you can choose sections of different toppings. tasted great

- didn't have a chance to try it but for $9.90 you can have wine tasting (3 wines + small and fancy looking side dishes of ham & cheese)

- public bathrooms were small in quantity, hard to find and no signs to bathrooms except on the doors.

 

These were negatives??:confused:

[Tapi]

 

- prime rib excellent (buffet)

 

- Dining service was QUICK and efficient

 

- excellent coffee!!!

 

- elevators were extremely slow.

 

- gym was crowded - near impossible to get a treadmill

 

- no lockers, restrooms or changing area in gym!

 

- limited TV channels

 

- no account access on TVs (to see room charges)

 

- public bathrooms were small in quantity, hard to find and no signs to bathrooms except on the doors.

 

 

This is why it's always good to read several reviews. We had a "slightly" different take on the things that you mention above: [emoji6]

 

- prime rib: If there's one thing that I considered memorable (in a bad way) on this ship, it was the prime rib at the buffet. It was the one thing that I took a bite of and I hate to say that it was so bad that I almost spit it out.

 

- dining service: I enjoy a slow paced dinner, and I appreciated the fact that dinner was NOT quick. Most nights we were just getting to our main course after an hour. By the time dinner was completely over, it was closer to 1:30-2:00 hours.

 

- coffee: I'm not a coffee drinker but my wife is, and she considered the free coffee to be horrendous on this ship (she used the word "rat piss" to describe it. [emoji87]) After day 2, she started ordering the extra fee specialty coffees which she really enjoyed.

 

- elevators: This ship has an extra bank of elevators in addition to several other single elevators throughout the ship. If anything, there was a more generous, better laid out number of elevators, which made waits shorter. I didn't have a problem with the elevators. Any time we summoned one, it wouldn't take more than a minute or two for one to arrive, and they were not any slower than any other cruise ship elevators.

 

- gym: maybe it was the time of day, but we went very early in the morning or at night before closing. At both times the place was deserted.

 

- lockers, changing rooms: there was one, going towards the spa area. From the gym, you accessed them through the glass door on the far right. As mentioned above, you just needed to ask the spa attendant for a key to a locker.

 

- tv channels: enough to keep our entire family entertained when we were in the stateroom. We appreciated that there were more than one channel for the kids in addition to several channels from several other countries that we normally don't get to watch at home.

 

- TV account access: I believe that you may have missed it, but you could access your charges on the TV in the cabin. I checked mine there on a daily basis.

 

- public bathrooms: if there's one thing that appreciated, specially traveling with small children that give you a 60 second warning of an impending potty emergency, was the generous number of public bathrooms throughout the ship. No matter where we were, there was always a bathroom nearby, specially by most larger venues. I agree that the signage was somewhat small though.

Edited June 1, 2016 by Tapi

[BermudaBound2014]

Do you recall what night you both found Prime Rib at the buffet? I dined there each and every night and there was no Prime offered on the March 26 sailing. The carving station had things like corned beef, turkey, meatloaf, salmon (which was really good), but no Prime rib-ever. I hunted because it is something I normally treat myself to on a cruise. There was something they called "Chicago Roast" on the welcome buffet that resembled prime rib (but it wasn't prime). I'm hoping I can get prime at least once in LeMuse in a few weeks. :).

[CTBob]

I'm always amazed at the different experiences that happen on the same cruise. However there are certain things that almost all Divina cruisers agree on: It is a beautiful ship. It is very clean. The layout is confusing. The theater is beautiful. The shows are different, mostly good different. The pizza is excellent. There are many fun activities. There is excellent live music. Bar service is different (I never had a problem getting a drink, just wave). The drinks are good. The drink coupon is an excellent value. Duty free is cheap. The Yacht Club is fantastic (No personal experience here, just what people have told me). The entire Divina experience is different, it's up to you to decide if it suits you. I loved it! Bob

[Tapi]

I'm always amazed at the different experiences that happen on the same cruise. However there are certain things that almost all Divina cruisers agree on: It is a beautiful ship. It is very clean. The layout is confusing. The theater is beautiful. The shows are different, mostly good different. The pizza is excellent. There are many fun activities. There is excellent live music. Bar service is different (I never had a problem getting a drink, just wave). The drinks are good. The drink coupon is an excellent value. Duty free is cheap. The Yacht Club is fantastic (No personal experience here, just what people have told me). The entire Divina experience is different, it's up to you to decide if it suits you. I loved it! Bob

 

 

Amen! [emoji3]

[eric135i]

These were negatives??:confused:

 

sorry, placed a few items on the wrong list

[champagne123]

sorry, placed a few items on the wrong list

 

When I saw you put "alcohol in the cocktails" as a negative....I thought to myself..mmmm sounds like a POSITIVE to ME....Lol :D:D

[Mikesa1721]

When I saw you put "alcohol in the cocktails" as a negative....I thought to myself..mmmm sounds like a POSITIVE to ME....Lol :D:D

 

Me too!!!!!!:D

[ivibes]

This will be our first cruise an MSC. I see you're in our RCCL cruiser. any hints or tips or suggestions for a first timer. I must confess, I'm excited to try something new.

[Kruizin'Kath]

We were on the same cruise and, of course, had a different experience. Our cabin, deck 12 aft, was fantastic. We always tip our cabin steward at the beginning of the trip and never have trouble getting what we request;). The ship was gorgeous and clean. Buffet OK, great for breakfast. Dining room food mediocre at best, service good. We had 2 18 drink pkgs which worked well for us. Also had the coffee pkg which we did not use all coupons for. Most staff were OK, but customer service/reception were the worst I have encountered in any industry (with the exception of Raymond!). Jet Blue lost our luggage in Boston, and we were not reunited with it until St Maarten, so we had MUCH interaction with them. At one point, they called our cabin and asked us to come down to discuss our lost luggage, but when we went down insisted we misunderstood and said they did not say that...basically called my husband a liar! They wouldn't give me the luggage when it arrived until I paid $44.00 CASH port agent fee, but would not give me a receipt. Finally on the last day, at my insistence, the same girl who said they would get the receipt from the port agent hand wrote me one! I realize it was not MSC who lost my luggage, but they could have been more sympathetic to our plight!:roll eyes:

Don't know if I would sail them again!