Might be time to try MSC.....

[MeHeartCruising]

I sailed on MSC Poesia a few years ago from Ft. Lauderdale to Bermuda. The ship was quite stunning. The nicest I had been on. We are not big on formal dining arrangements but tried it the first night. We were tightly crammed into a round table of about 10 people and could barely move. It was not enjoyable and we did not go back again. Instead we ate at the buffet the rest of the trip and enjoyed it just fine. There were not a lot of other options available to us. Entertainment was pretty much the same entertainers singing different songs each night and was of no interest after 2 nights. Would I sail on MSC again? Sure. I sail for the itinerary and time with my friends/family. Was it my favorite cruise experience? Not even close.

Edited June 12, 2016 by MeHeartCruising

[deliver42]

There are several you tube videos that give a complete tour of the Divina. Service throughout the ship was terrific. Bar service and wait staff plentiful in all venues. Plenty of staff on the pool decks to bring drinks, and all friendly. I don't know about the European cruises, but the staff on the Divina were always friendly, be it a good morning, or talking about their experiences.I'm not just talking about the YC.There is live entertainment and dancing at all the bars at night, and there are 3 event nights poolside. The White Party, the Flower Party, and Italian night.They are also heavy into UNICEF, and have the children involved in the evening shows. I understand that dinner in the main dining room takes about 2 hours because in Europe it isn't time to rush. In LeMuse (the YC dining room) it took about 1 1/2 hrs. When you enter LeMuse they give you sparkling wine, and your choice of sparkling water or plain bottled water. During dinner they offer either a white or red wine.There are also videos on YouTube of what the YC is all about, starting with check in.

[gmhohio]

I was on the Divina about two years ago in an inside cabin. One major difference I noticed, in addition to what has already been mentioned, was the drink package. I bought the Allegreissimo package for drinks. The Package included all brands with no drink price limits like NCL has. I was able to try liquors and liqueurs I would have never tried, if I were to have paid for them separately.

 

The package also included items my minibar, coffee drinks, pastries from the pastry shop, gelatos and the Room Service fees.

 

In 2017, it appears they are calling the package the "MORE-FOR-LESS PREMIUM ADULT ALL-INCLUSIVE UNLIMITED DRINKS".

[photogcrazy]

One thing I did not like about my last cruise on MSC....When I got home all my clothes had shrunk. Maybe because the AC at my house was off during the trip. It was weird.....

[chong67]

Are you OK with eating more pasta and spaghetti on MSC?

[luvtheships]

Are you OK with eating more pasta and spaghetti on MSC?

 

 

If it's made by Italian chefs then yes

[vicocala]

The prices don't appear to be any better than NCL or RCCL.

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Seriously? I am doing a back to back on Divina next week because I was able to get two cruises for the price of one on NCL. It will be my first time on MSC and I am looking forward to it. I do enjoy various types of cruises, mytime dining or formal settings are each great experiences IMHO.

 

I have been very pleased with NCL on the three cruises I have taken and find that service and food are improving with each cruise (and all three were great BTW).

 

I certainly won't be neglecting NCL in the future as I already have two more booked in December and March. I'm looking forward to all four cruises.

[April42749]

this is strictly hear say as I haven't been on MSC: They are much more formal and very European compared to NCL with beautiful ships. The service is less than good and the food is subject to what one likes but not great. Again this is subjective. Ncl has much better entertainment. Again all a matter of opinion.

 

Well, I disagree on all the points. I didn't find MSC formal. I found the people looked much better than on NCL or Carnival. This had to do with sense of style and physical appearance.

 

On MSC if you asked a worker "Where is.....?" the worker wouldn't point. He'd walk you there.

 

The entertainment was fabulous. In addition to the evening shows there was an opera one afternoon. I forget the name of the singer, but I'm told that he was well known in Italy.

 

As to the food...we are really more "buffet people"...but the pizza was just as good as I got here in NYC during my childhood. And, if you are a pizza lover, that says a lot.

 

I stayed in one of the small balconies...not YC. If they sailed out of NYC I'd be on board....but I also really like the BA.

[TifffanyD]

We just got off Divina on Saturday. I was really excited to try something new. I had no problem with the service. The food was ok. Here are some items i noted:

 

• Daytime activities like trivia, pictionary, etc - Oftentimes the staff didn't know how to play. Pictionary they came with a broken easel and dried up markers. A couple times noone showed. Trivia was good.
  
• Night time activities - they had a couple of fun games in the evening but the rest was just parties or nothing
  
• Casino was nonsmoking which was good - but there were no Craps tables
  
• Food was kind of weird. You either had to go for a full sit down meal or hit the buffet. No quick bites by the pool. I *really* missed O'Sheehan's.
  
• Specialty dining - we did Galaxy and it was good - very dark but empty. Kind of hard to find. Didn't do anything else. The pizza place looked interesting but the free buffet pizza was tasty. Pizza was WAY better than NCL
  
• Musicians in lounges - decent but they play along with loud, prerecorded music. Piano bar didn't have piano music. Jazz bar didn't have jazz music (had salsa singers singing to prerecorded music). They also took long breaks pretty often (45 min on, 30-45 mins off)... so it wasn't great for sitting and chilling all night.
  
• Shows - we didn't go to them after hearing reviews. Some people liked them but some didn't. We did pop in for about 10 mins of one but didn't care for it (italian night).
  

 

 

Overall, the ship was beautiful and extremely clean. The passengers were more European but I didn't notice them being any nicer or ruder than other cruises we've taken. I thought I would like being in port late because I sleep late... it worked well for Puerto Rico but for St Martin the water taxi still closed up at 6pm.

 

We had an ok time but found ourselves bored quite a lot. If you just want a pretty ship and a pool then you are good. If you love all the music, bars, Howl, Broadway shows... then you might be disappointed.

[graphicguy]

Thanks, Tiffany!

 

I was sort of excited about trying MSC. But, it sounds like those who like it, like the Italian fashion portion (I am Italian and couldn't care less about who is/isn't fashionable) and the look of the ship. Those are all good things.

 

But, the diversity of the entertainment and diversity of restaurants would be a big blow if they are lacking, as you point out.

 

I'm thinking the pricing would have to be significantly less to try MSC, or maybe wait until they upgrade the product a bit more.

 

Again, thanks for your insight.

[tallnthensome]

Thanks, Tiffany!

 

I was sort of excited about trying MSC. But, it sounds like those who like it, like the Italian fashion portion (I am Italian and couldn't care less about who is/isn't fashionable) and the look of the ship. Those are all good things.

 

But, the diversity of the entertainment and diversity of restaurants would be a big blow if they are lacking, as you point out.

 

I'm thinking the pricing would have to be significantly less to try MSC, or maybe wait until they upgrade the product a bit more.

 

Again, thanks for your insight.

Upgrade? Look at the MSC Seaside coming for 2018. It will be Miami based and more or less cater to Americans and not Europeans they say. It will be more Americanized and be a Caribbean style cruise vs. Europe. It will fall in line with others out of Miami and I expect it to exceed many of the outdated "American" lines. It will have 9 different restaurants including asian, seafood, steakhouse, etc. The prices for this ship are fantastic and even better if you have young kids that sail free. The Seaside is cutting edge and I expect more out of it for our trip in 2018 that I booked than our Vista cruise for 2017 which many are already saying is blah.

[deliver42]

I was on the Divina 3 weeks ago, in the Yacht Club and my experience wwas totally opposite the previous poster.

[All-ready2cruise]

IMO, if you're not looking for something different, giving you the opportunity to choose how you spend your money differently, then don't look at MSC. MSC is different, how can it not be different, it's a privately owned company by, AFAIK, an Italian family? It's going to be different but it has some really great ideas.

 

I love that I can book a balcony, pay what I want by choosing the level of service I want: Bella, the lowest level, pay less for the base and add what you want; Fantastica, mid-level, pay a bit more, get a bit more; Aurea, (my personal favourite) higher level, pay more and get much more and finally the Yacht Club where you can even save money by booking an inside and yet getting all the best perks including Butler and Concierge service... plus, if you're Platinum with NCL you get matched to Black, their highest level. Not interested? No worries, it's different.

[Mikesa1721]

IMO, if you're not looking for something different, giving you the opportunity to choose how you spend your money differently, then don't look at MSC. MSC is different, how can it not be different, it's a privately owned company by, AFAIK, an Italian family? It's going to be different but it has some really great ideas.

 

I love that I can book a balcony, pay what I want by choosing the level of service I want: Bella, the lowest level, pay less for the base and add what you want; Fantastica, mid-level, pay a bit more, get a bit more; Aurea, (my personal favourite) higher level, pay more and get much more and finally the Yacht Club where you can even save money by booking an inside and yet getting all the best perks including Butler and Concierge service... plus, if you're Platinum with NCL you get matched to Black, their highest level. Not interested? No worries, it's different.

 

The Aponte Family owns MSC Cruises as well as MSC shipping,,,:)

[All-ready2cruise]

The Aponte Family owns MSC Cruises as well as MSC shipping,,,:)

 

Thanks Mike, was pretty sure of that, but was reading a review on another forum... :D

[graphicguy]

Thanks tallnthemsome (like your moniker, BTW)! I'll check out the Seaside.

 

But, if it's not out until 2018, I'll have two other cruises (at least) I'll have taken by then. One in about 2 weeks and another on a certificate from RCCL.

 

I'll probably book even more in 2017.

[Chirpbird]

I've cruised RCCL, Celebrity, Carnival and MSC. My 2017 cruise will be my first on NCL. Based on my personal experience, MSC was not a good fit. It was my least favorite. I'm 47. One of my biggest peeves was the lack of loungers. I'm not a big fan of cruise ship pools, and I pretty much define skin cancer danger based on my coloring. (Red head with skin so white I don't need a night light.) Loungers around the itty-bitty pool were naturally taken. Loungers outside of this area had enough wind blowing to make me think a plane was taking off nearby.

[dexddd]

Thanks tallnthemsome (like your moniker, BTW)! I'll check out the Seaside.

 

But, if it's not out until 2018, I'll have two other cruises (at least) I'll have taken by then. One in about 2 weeks and another on a certificate from RCCL.

 

I'll probably book even more in 2017.

 

Seaside comes to the US late 2017 from what I recall.

[graphicguy]

dexddd....thanks for the info.

 

I'll check it out.....maybe early '18.

[Aixia]

Yes, please-----I'd be interested to read a comparative review.

 

I watch Dream Cruises on the AWE channel. The Divinia was featured on one episode, and it looked lovely.

 

What will your itinerary be?

 

We're doing St. Maarten, Puerto Rico, and Nassau. We've been to Nassau plenty of times, so the plan is to stay onboard and visit the spa. St. Maarten is probably Orient Beach, and for San Juan we've booked a walking tour. We're definitely looking at this one as a more relaxing cruise than our usual "go go go" style on NCL.

[tinkr2]

It wasn't a "dressing for dinner" issue.

The people dressed well...all day...no matter where they were.

It's more "sense of style". For example, the women wore beautiful shoes...with their shorts etc. (I love shoes. I kept asking "Where did you get those?"...and I'd get answers like Dubai, Brazil etc. Nobody said Target)

 

April, this is my favorite post. I work in a theme park, even casually dressed italians and french are very elegant compared to Americans. And they have great shoes...

[BamaVol]

April, this is my favorite post. I work in a theme park, even casually dressed italians and french are very elegant compared to Americans. And they have great shoes...

 

And it's not just the women. I'm not much into fashion but I am in awe of the shoes and clothing I see in the shop windows in Rome.

[BamaVol]

I haven't booked anything yet on MSC but plan to try them next Spring, probably the Davina out of Miami. I don't have cruise line status but they matched my IHG Spire status to Gold.

[disneykins]

Just booked the Divina for Spring 2017. When filling out the status match form online, it asks for a Latitudes card and expiry date? I don't have a card, I have a number and I don't think it expires? How do I get around their request for a pic of the card?

Thanks,

Tony

[dna529]

Just booked the Divina for Spring 2017. When filling out the status match form online, it asks for a Latitudes card and expiry date? I don't have a card, I have a number and I don't think it expires? How do I get around their request for a pic of the card?

Thanks,

Tony

I took a picture of my status on ncl.com and attached it. They accepted that. I haven't booked with them yet. Still looking.

 

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