Do you have any MSC Divina questions?

aubreyc1988 · July 17, 2016

I would think the water temperature in September would be just fine, especially early September (which would even be warmer than July probably). However; September/October is historically a bad time of year in terms of Hurricanes for Bermuda largely because the water is so warm that time of year. Not sure about water temps in October, would depend on how fast the water cools. I'd still think October could be warmer than early summer as the water has had months to warm. Then again, that gulf coast stream can be tricky that time of year.

I didn't think Bermuda felt too much like a land vacation at all. I really liked how the ship cleared out for three days. Dinners on the waterfront were spectacular from port and we rode the water slides for hours with zero line coming back from a catamaran tour one day. We also used the ropes course without a line, and you can get into just about any restaurant and/or show. It's like having an entire boat to yourself. Of course, this was an Away ship and you'd have to deal with crowds for your 3 sea days. Doesn't Celebrity and RCL both do a run into Bermuda? They both have great adults only solarium areas for the sea days. It's s tough call for that time of year.

Have you thought about a Fall Color run? I live in Michigan and we have a cabin on one of the great lakes. Fall in this area is SPECTACULAR! It's something I would recommend considering for Sept/Oct. You may be a bit too young for the Fall Color route just yet, but keep it in the back of your mind for the future :).

Hope that helps some,

Celebrity doesnt have bermuda in sept/october, mostly doing Alaska. RCI only has Anthem doing a 5 day to Bermuda and it's more expensive than NCL's 7 day! As for a Fall Color run, I've thought about maybe doing a Canada cruise but my husband insisted on Caribbean, we are such beach bums.

If we did an "away" ship again, I would try to get a Vibe pass, because of not wanting to deal with hoardes of people on sea day. Plus, I thought about maybe a balcony on Breakaway, but it's SO expensive, the balconies are SO small with no lounger, plus there's no bar on your balcony, hence why if we do "Away" ship again we will do and inside or OV and try for vibe

aubreyc1988 · July 17, 2016

Also, I am worried that if there is bad weather in Bermuda, where would the ship be diverted to? Florida as a port of call? Couldn't think of anywhere else close...and florida as a port, that sounds terrible! At least when you sail out of Florida going to Bahamas, if weather trouble, there are loads of ports you can divert to

mafig · July 17, 2016

Also, I am worried that if there is bad weather in Bermuda, where would the ship be diverted to? Florida as a port of call? Couldn't think of anywhere else close...and florida as a port, that sounds terrible! At least when you sail out of Florida going to Bahamas, if weather trouble, there are loads of ports you can divert to

I think they usually send the ships to New England.

aubreyc1988 · July 17, 2016

I think they usually send the ships to New England.

ohhhh thats not so bad then. I think i would be so unhappy if they diverted to Port Canaveral for a port lol

BermudaBound2014 · July 18, 2016

Celebrity doesnt have bermuda in sept/october, mostly doing Alaska. RCI only has Anthem doing a 5 day to Bermuda and it's more expensive than NCL's 7 day! As for a Fall Color run, I've thought about maybe doing a Canada cruise but my husband insisted on Caribbean, we are such beach bums.

If we did an "away" ship again, I would try to get a Vibe pass, because of not wanting to deal with hoardes of people on sea day. Plus, I thought about maybe a balcony on Breakaway, but it's SO expensive, the balconies are SO small with no lounger, plus there's no bar on your balcony, hence why if we do "Away" ship again we will do and inside or OV and try for vibe

I did a B6 on the Breakaway. Extra large balcony with two lounge chairs, 4 chairs and a full size table. Only balcony I've had larger was an aft on Zuiderdam. We paid $799.00 pp in August. I'd think you'd be able to do better than that for Sept/Oct. We didn't have the drink package though, so I can see where vibe might be handy for the cocktail delivery aspect :).

I've seen Bermuda reroutes go to both Florida and New England. It's just so iffy sailing that time of year. The trade off is that you can book last minute for super great fares. Best time of the year to cruise price wise if you are flexible. Best time to purchase will be 1-2 weeks AFTER final payment for everyone else.

Where is Grandeur sailing in Sept/Oct? I thought she was still doing Bermuda out of Baltimore. She's a small vision class, but closest thing to a Radiance Class on the market, and the Radiance class is by far my favorite cruise ship design :).

aubreyc1988 · July 18, 2016

I did a B6 on the Breakaway. Extra large balcony with two lounge chairs, 4 chairs and a full size table. Only balcony I've had larger was an aft on Zuiderdam. We paid $799.00 pp in August. I'd think you'd be able to do better than that for Sept/Oct. We didn't have the drink package though, so I can see where vibe might be handy for the cocktail delivery aspect :).

I agree, I thought for Sept/Oct prices would be lower. anything NCL with the UBP is 699.00 person inside PLUS the gratuity on the package, which is 200.00, without UBP its 599.00 per person. And my husband said he needs a break from NCL after the whole Escape cruise in Jan. He hates the way NCL lays out their ships so that the smoking casino is open to decks 6-7-8 and theres no avoiding the smoke, even if you don't want to gamble (and we like to gamble!) So we are veering towards RCI.

I've seen Bermuda reroutes go to both Florida and New England. It's just so iffy sailing that time of year. The trade off is that you can book last minute for super great fares. Best time of the year to cruise price wise if you are flexible. Best time to purchase will be 1-2 weeks AFTER final payment for everyone else.

I notice RCI has this final payment like a MONTH before your sail date where you ONLY get port taxes and fees back. So for the sailings in Sept, you can still cancel and get port taxes and fees back afterl August 19th or something. I wonder if i wait a few weeks and and get to the point where if I cancelled, i'd only get taxes and fees back, if prices will drop because of that?

Where is Grandeur sailing in Sept/Oct? I thought she was still doing Bermuda out of Baltimore. She's a small vision class, but closest thing to a Radiance Class on the market, and the Radiance class is by far my favorite cruise ship design :).

Grandeur is doing Bermuda, but 5 nights for 550.00 and thats just too much for 5 nights, and 5 nights is kind of a waste for us - my husband STILL has to take 5 days of vacation for a 5 night, and he takes 4or 5 for a 7 night. (we dont get too many vacation days, 3 weeks a year)

I posted in bold above.

Also, in the interest of conversation, heres the pricing for 2 on three Oasis class sailings, all insides, just port taxes and fees are included in these numbers

1,631 San Juan, St. Maarten, Labadee

1,331 Labadee, Falmouth, Cozumel

1,781 St Kitts, St. Thomas, Nassau

FOR INSIDES during HURRICANE season! :eek: and NO perks included, thats just the price to get on the ship!

suzyed · July 19, 2016

Is seems like soo many people are booked in the YC! I don't recall being on a thread where so many people talk about booking the higher end cabins...well maybe on Cunard too....everyone seems to be in one of the "Grills".

Are we going to feel left out in just "regular" balconies?

:eek::confused:

nikkiw60 · July 19, 2016

We book the fantastica balcony and love it. Just use Pete, Bret or Essiesmoms advice on which balcony cabin to choose! YC doesn't appeal to us at the moment . We like the big ship experience!

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Beamafar · July 19, 2016

Is seems like soo many people are booked in the YC! I don't recall being on a thread where so many people talk about booking the higher end cabins...well maybe on Cunard too....everyone seems to be in one of the "Grills".
Are we going to feel left out in just "regular" balconies?

:eek::confused:

You haven't been over to the Celebrity boards, then :rolleyes:

In answer to your question: No, you certainly won't feel left out in "regular" balconies. Having sailed in them and done YC I can safely say DH and I have enjoyed each experience equally, just differently. When we sail in YC we spend all our evenings in the main area of the ship in the entertainment venues as YC is very sedate at night with maybe a piano player in the lounge for a couple of hours for background ambiance.

BermudaBound2014 · July 19, 2016

Is seems like soo many people are booked in the YC! I don't recall being on a thread where so many people talk about booking the higher end cabins...well maybe on Cunard too....everyone seems to be in one of the "Grills".
Are we going to feel left out in just "regular" balconies?

:eek::confused:

I've sailed both categories. In April of 2016 I sailed in Fantastica and had a nice time. I was set to take a cruise on Oasis June of 2016 with a girlfriend when I stumbled across great pricing for YC ($989 pp including all taxes); so we opted to book YC. I knew it would be odd going on the same ship literally weeks apart, but couldn't turn down the price. Here is my comparison:

1) Embarkation was actually quicker for me non-YC as there was a security issue in the forward gangway.

2) Service pool side was actually better for me non-YC as there was a roaming server. I expected pool side service in YC, but that happened only rarely.

3) In the evening we spent our time outside of the YC. Top sail was extremely low-key for us. Entertainment altered between a violinist and pianist.

4) I expected the food in YC to be far superior than 'regular' class. This was not the case at all.

Of course, some of the things in YC were very nice, but there is absolutely no reason to feel left out if you choose not to sail YC. :)

suzyed · July 19, 2016

I've sailed both categories. In April of 2016 I sailed in Fantastica and had a nice time. I was set to take a cruise on Oasis June of 2016 with a girlfriend when I stumbled across great pricing for YC ($989 pp including all taxes); so we opted to book YC. I knew it would be odd going on the same ship literally weeks apart, but couldn't turn down the price. Here is my comparison:

1) Embarkation was actually quicker for me non-YC as there was a security issue in the forward gangway.

2) Service pool side was actually better for me non-YC as there was a roaming server. I expected pool side service in YC, but that happened only rarely.

3) In the evening we spent our time outside of the YC. Top sail was extremely low-key for us. Entertainment altered between a violinist and pianist.

4) I expected the food in YC to be far superior than 'regular' class. This was not the case at all.

Of course, some of the things in YC were very nice, but there is absolutely no reason to feel left out if you choose not to sail YC. :)

Thank you for that and thanks to the others who responded.

This is going to be our first MSC...so not knowing but seeing so many in YC was a bit off-putting.

I have been on the Celebrity site and yes, there is a lot of "suite" talk, but since they status match with RCI, I was elite on my one and only Celebrity cruise...I got to go to the Elite lounge each night for drinks and snacks, but that was basically it.;)

cruisebrat15 · July 24, 2016

Did you notice if they had aqua cycle classes in the pool and if so was there a additional cost?

BermudaBound2014 · July 25, 2016

Did you notice if they had aqua cycle classes in the pool and if so was there a additional cost?

Unfortunately, no. My first cruise in April I was really looking forward to it so I was on the lookout. Thinking I may have missed it anyway, when I cruised again in June I specifically asked the concierge who said that they stopped all aqua cycling classes :(*.

CarolnLarry · July 25, 2016

We will be doing a back to back cruise and will be using the laundry services. My question is whether there is any special package for the Yacht Club cruisers? On the MSC web site it references special pricing but I can find no info on what the pricing is.

tjlj · July 26, 2016

Did you notice if they had aqua cycle classes in the pool and if so was there a additional cost?

aqua cycling was there last week, it was in like the afternoon, aft pool, 3 people... the place was packed... they shut down the pool for the class... I really didn't see any other aqua classes...

BermudaBound2014 · July 26, 2016

aqua cycling was there last week, it was in like the afternoon, aft pool, 3 people... the place was packed... they shut down the pool for the class... I really didn't see any other aqua classes...

LOL.... so typical. Communication on all the cruise lines can be challenging. Communication on MSC is downright confusing. I wonder if they had the class both weeks I sailed too? Hard to say if I was given bad information, or if they just started the classes up again. Either way, things sure do change quick on the Divina :).

PS: I can't believe they closed the entire pool down in the afternoon for the class. I bet people were a bit upset! Seems to me the class should have been held early in the morning. I walked the loop on deck 15 every morning and while the chairs got claimed early, there was rarely anyone in the aft pool until mid-morning.

Oh well, yet another reason to try MSC again :)

tjlj · July 26, 2016

Yea they put out a sign telling every the pool would be closed for an hour. The place out back was packed. 3 people in pool on bikes. It looked really awkward. Glad I wasnt in the class. Don't know if they had morning classes or not. Tony

BermudaBound2014 · July 28, 2016

Time for me to delete photos from my phone in preparation for my Mediterranean/Greek isles cruise :). I figured I'd post them here before deleting in case anyone has questions or is interested :) Divina is really very beautiful :)