MSC Divina--a photo review

[EMc&DrS]

PART 9

 

 

 

 

DRINK PACKAGE: Because this was a short cruise, we opted not to purchase one of the expensive all-inclusive packages, but instead each pre-paid the $84 for a “More-For-Less” coupon book which gave us each 18 drinks at a cost of $4.66 per drink. The coupon books are not given to you when you check in, but instead you have to find the casino and pick up your pre-paid books there. (Finding the casino is the hardest part). Once we had them in hand, we stopped at the main coffee bar in the atrium on deck 7, and I took pics of each page of the drink menu (which is basically the same at all bars) so that we could refer back to them when deciding what to try. In general, the drink prices are much lower on MSC than on other ships we’ve sailed, and the prices in the menu are marked with a red asterisk if the drink is NOT included in the “More-For-Less” price category.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had no trouble finding all kinds of drinks to try.

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued...

[Homosassa]

FYI for anyone who wants a pocket deck plan of the ship: they are on a stand by the port side Guest services desk.

[EMc&DrS]

PART 10

 

 

Because we also enjoy good coffee, we pre-paid for one of the coupon books especially for coffee drinks, the “Coffee Cuddles” package (what a name!) which gave us 15 non-alcoholic coffee drinks to try. This was probably more than we needed, but because the price per drink is less with the coupons, we tried drinks with a coupon that we probably wouldn’t have spent the money on if paying full price.

 

 

 

 

 

As far as the coupon books themselves, they are quite small—about the same size as your cruise card.

 

 

 

 

Be careful if you put them in your pocket. A few times I pulled out my phone and one or both of the coupon books would come out, too, and end up on the floor. Also, we saw that you could buy the $84 “More-For-Less” books once onboard, but I did not see where the “Coffee Cuddles” was listed on any menu for purchase.

 

 

Not your typical looking iced coffee!!

 

 

 

 

To be continued....

[EMc&DrS]

PART 11

 

ENTERTAINMENT: There were a number of live musicians performing around the ship each evening, and on more than one occasion we moved around the ship to take in as many of these artists as we could. We heard everything from a 10-piece Latin band to an operatic soprano and tenor singing in the main atrium.

 

 

 

 

 

Lots of different options for different tastes. We did take in the Pirate show and the Michael Jackson show. We especially appreciated the fact that there were no servers walking up and down the aisles trying to sell drinks during the shows! What a nice change from other cruises.

 

 

COMMUNICATION: Another positive change we noticed on this cruise was that there were no unnecessary announcements being made throughout the day to remind passengers of every activity going on. We did notice, however, that information in the “Daily Planner” was sparser than on most cruises, and sometimes the information was simply wrong. Perhaps this was because we were on a four-night cruise on a ship that almost exclusively follows a seven-night itinerary. For example, one night we arrived at the Black and White lounge to hear a band that was listed as performing from “6:30-Late,” but when we arrived at 6:45 (along with other guests), we were surprised that the band was doing a sound check. When one of the band members passed by, I asked, “When are you playing?” The answer was 10:30 PM. Passengers were also confused on the first sea day by a blurb about the spa on the front page of the “Planner” which stated, “Tonight is formal night, so come by the spa and get pampered before tonight.” Not only was is not formal night that evening, we never had a formal night the entire cruise. There were, however, people walking around in full formal attire that evening.

 

On a side note, one of the CC members on our Roll Call had called MSC a few weeks before the cruise and had been told that there would not be a formal night per say, but the formal night menu would be offered on the third night. When I called MSC with the same question, I was told by the agent that she “guaranteed” there would be a formal night. Neither of these answers turned out to be true, and we were annoyed that we packed formal clothes due to the “guarantee.”

 

To be continued...

[EMc&DrS]

PART 12

ITINERARY: Sometimes itinerary is important to us when selecting a cruise, but this time with just one stop in Cozumel, we chose this cruise more for the ship itself and the chance to disconnect from life for a few days. We've been to Cozumel many times, so we decided to stay on the ship and enjoy having the pool all to ourselves for a few hours. We met several nice people doing the same thing and had an enjoyable day onboard.

 

I have to admit that Cozumel has never been one of our favorite ports, but I do always love seeing the blue water there--even if it's just from the deck of the ship.

 

Here are a few of my favorite pics of our day in Cozumel on this cruise:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued...

[EMc&DrS]

PART 12 (continued)

 

We also had a great view of Cozumel International Airport from our deck:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued....

[EMc&DrS]

SUMMARY

 

 

 

 

All things considered, we had a nice time on Divina.

 

Was this our favorite cruise? No.

 

Would we sail her again? If the itinerary and the price were right, yes.

 

Would we consider a different MSC cruise? Sure.

 

 

Pros

 

 

 

 

Beautiful, clean ship with wonderfully appointed public spaces; very affordable cruise; nice balcony stateroom with adequate space inside and out; wait staff that doesn’t pester or interrupt conversations asking if you want to buy a drink; drink coupons were easy to use and an affordable alternative to expensive all-inclusive packages.

 

 

 

 

 

 

CONS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Plenty of chairs, but not enough shade outside (and really hot tiles!); no “adults only” pool—(there were so many kids on this cruise due to the “kids cruise free” promotion); sometimes it appeared that there was a shortage of employees when more were needed; food in the dining room and buffet was usually not very hot; poor communication at times both written in the “Daily Planner” and when asking staff for assistance.

 

 

 

 

 

Overall score: B

 

 

 

That's about it--hope it helps someone make an informed decision if considering this ship or cruise line. If I can answer any questions, just let me know.

 

Arrivederci...

 

 

[GOLDENBONNY]

PART 9

 

 

 

 

DRINK PACKAGE: Because this was a short cruise, we opted not to purchase one of the expensive all-inclusive packages, but instead each pre-paid the $84 for a “More-For-Less” coupon book which gave us each 18 drinks at a cost of $4.66 per drink. The coupon books are not given to you when you check in, but instead you have to find the casino and pick up your pre-paid books there. (Finding the casino is the hardest part). Once we had them in hand, we stopped at the main coffee bar in the atrium on deck 7, and I took pics of each page of the drink menu (which is basically the same at all bars) so that we could refer back to them when deciding what to try. In general, the drink prices are much lower on MSC than on other ships we’ve sailed, and the prices in the menu are marked with a red asterisk if the drink is NOT included in the “More-For-Less” price category.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had no trouble finding all kinds of drinks to try.

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued...

 

do you now what beer we can not buy with those coupons ?

[EMc&DrS]

do you now what beer we can not buy with those coupons ?

 

 

I just went back and looked at my pics of the drink menu. I took pics of 11 pages, but none listed beers. As I recall, there were numerous options, but I honestly can't remember the brands off the top of my head. Sorry! I bet someone on here will know!

[GFamilySetsSailAgain]

Great review! I was on the same sailing (actually around the corner from you port side on deck 11 about 5 rooms up from the stairway) and would agree with just about everything you said.

 

I was on with my husband and 2 boys (who I had an eye or hand on at all times, kind of shocked me how many kids were around with no adults in sight). We had a great time. Ship, Stateroom, Entertainment, Drinks, Staff were all great for us and on par or beyond what we were expecting.

 

The biggest uncertainty was the food. I ate, and ate well. My husband wasn't a super fan of the food or the food options. My kids seemed to like the food, the oldest one is still talking about the pizza. I must say they did a GREAT JOB with food for my little one who has a Gluten sensitivity. The staff in the MDR were very accommodating. The gluten free menu is very 'adult', but they definitely were able to make adjustments for serving a 3 year old. And the staff at the buffet were just as pleasant and helpful.

 

All in all... I would agree with the B

[All-ready2cruise]

Thank you so much for this fantastic review. We've been hemming and hawing about taking a cruise on Divina and this has, along the other great reviews, really put the cherry on the top.

 

Already to make our reservation for our NYE cruise, very excited.

 

Thanks again for this very well written and informative review.

 

Cheers, :D

[EMc&DrS]

Great review! I was on the same sailing (actually around the corner from you port side on deck 11 about 5 rooms up from the stairway) and would agree with just about everything you said.

 

I was on with my husband and 2 boys (who I had an eye or hand on at all times, kind of shocked me how many kids were around with no adults in sight). We had a great time. Ship, Stateroom, Entertainment, Drinks, Staff were all great for us and on par or beyond what we were expecting.

 

All in all... I would agree with the B

 

We probably passed in the hall! I have to say, your hall seemed to have a fantastic steward. He was ALWAYS working, and working hard (working up a sweat as a matter of fact). We spoke to him frequently--often he spoke first. Always smiling! Our steward was fine, but I think we only saw him twice, and there was little conversation. Not sure how much English he could speak. Yours, on the other hand, was one of the mostly friendly members of the crew.

 

I second the statement about children running free. I've seen much worse on other ships, and it does seem to get worse the longer the cruise because kids start to get bored. It does, however, always amaze me how some parents who would never let their elementary school-aged kids run free at the mall or at some event hosting thousands of people, don't think twice about letting them run free day and night in the mini city that is a cruise ship among a few thousand strangers who are often drinking too much and not always using the same kind of judgement they might use at home. Kids, too, start to use poor judgment the longer they are onboard. My least favorite is watching them alone in the buffet. I saw multiple kids (with no supervision) eating with their hands while in line, and then picking up the tongs to get something else. One kid was even picking something out of his teeth!!!--and then picking up tongs. :eek: Makes you want to scream, "Where are your parents?!?":confused: We always use the hand sanitizer AFTER filling our plate and before eating.

 

Forgot to mention in my review, on several occasions we noticed the hand sanitizer dispensers in the buffet were either broken or empty. When we were on Celebrity, you couldn't pick up a plate without first having to stop at a staff member holding hand sanitzier.

[EMc&DrS]

Thank you so much for this fantastic review. We've been hemming and hawing about taking a cruise on Divina and this has, along the other great reviews, really put the cherry on the top.

 

Already to make our reservation for our NYE cruise, very excited.

 

Thanks again for this very well written and informative review.

 

Cheers, :D

 

SO glad it helped! :)

[champagne123]

Thank you for the WONDERFUL review and GORGEOUS pics. :)

[thepandabar]

Thank you for this very thorough review. I just booked Fantasia (I believe they're in the same class) for a Baltic cruise next year. This was very informative.

[Mattnvick]

PART 10

 

 

Because we also enjoy good coffee, we pre-paid for one of the coupon books especially for coffee drinks, the “Coffee Cuddles” package (what a name!) which gave us 15 non-alcoholic coffee drinks to try. This was probably more than we needed, but because the price per drink is less with the coupons, we tried drinks with a coupon that we probably wouldn’t have spent the money on if paying full price.

 

 

 

 

 

As far as the coupon books themselves, they are quite small—about the same size as your cruise card.

 

 

 

 

Be careful if you put them in your pocket. A few times I pulled out my phone and one or both of the coupon books would come out, too, and end up on the floor. Also, we saw that you could buy the $84 “More-For-Less” books once onboard, but I did not see where the “Coffee Cuddles” was listed on any menu for purchase.

 

 

Not your typical looking iced coffee!!

 

 

 

 

To be continued....

 

Really enjoyed this review - thank you. We are cruising Divina In November and have purchased a couple of the 18 voucher drink booklet. However im curious about the coffee cuddles pkg as we too really enjoy good coffee.

 

I've never seen it mentioned anywhere before by anyone. You said you didn't see it on any menu for purchase on board so I'm guessing you ordered it on line? Can i ask how much it cost?

 

Also I'm wondering maybe it was only offered for this short cruise for some reason. Has anyone doing the week long used it that might chime in here?

 

Beautiful pictures. We are towards the back of the ship starboard side deck 10 near the aft elevators and. I I'm guessing too the staircase. :) Looking fwd to that for the convenience of the buffet and the garden pool

Edited July 20, 2016 by Mattnvick

[EMc&DrS]

Really enjoyed this review - thank you. We are cruising Divina In November and have purchased a couple of the 18 voucher drink booklet. However im curious about the coffee cuddles pkg as we too really enjoy good coffee.

 

I've never seen it mentioned anywhere before by anyone. You said you didn't see it on any menu for purchase on board so I'm guessing you ordered it on line? Can i ask how much it cost?

 

Also I'm wondering maybe it was only offered for this short cruise for some reason. Has anyone doing the week long used it that might chime in here?

 

Beautiful pictures. We are towards the back of the ship starboard side deck 12 near the aft elevators and. I I'm guessing too the staircase. :) Looking fwd to that for the convenience of the buffet and the garden pool

 

Thanks--glad it was helpful. As fas the "Coffee Cuddle," it was available on-line under the "Already Booked" tab. It was listed among all of the drink and food packages for $28.

 

You may also buy coffee drinks with the "More-For-Less" coupons, but for us buying the coffee-specific coupons was better so we could save the other coupons for adult beverages. With the "cuddles" you cannot buy anything other than non-alcoholic coffee based drinks and teas (although a few drinks like the iced coffee comes with a "dash" of Bailey's Irish Cream, and you could use a coupon for those)--not even water or gelato (which costs less than several of the fancy coffee drinks).

[GFamilySetsSailAgain]

We probably passed in the hall! I have to say, your hall seemed to have a fantastic steward. He was ALWAYS working, and working hard (working up a sweat as a matter of fact). We spoke to him frequently--often he spoke first. Always smiling! Our steward was fine, but I think we only saw him twice, and there was little conversation. Not sure how much English he could speak. Yours, on the other hand, was one of the mostly friendly members of the crew.

 

I second the statement about children running free. I've seen much worse on other ships, and it does seem to get worse the longer the cruise because kids start to get bored. It does, however, always amaze me how some parents who would never let their elementary school-aged kids run free at the mall or at some event hosting thousands of people, don't think twice about letting them run free day and night in the mini city that is a cruise ship among a few thousand strangers who are often drinking too much and not always using the same kind of judgement they might use at home. Kids, too, start to use poor judgment the longer they are onboard. My least favorite is watching them alone in the buffet. I saw multiple kids (with no supervision) eating with their hands while in line, and then picking up the tongs to get something else. One kid was even picking something out of his teeth!!!--and then picking up tongs. :eek: Makes you want to scream, "Where are your parents?!?":confused: We always use the hand sanitizer AFTER filling our plate and before eating.

 

Forgot to mention in my review, on several occasions we noticed the hand sanitizer dispensers in the buffet were either broken or empty. When we were on Celebrity, you couldn't pick up a plate without first having to stop at a staff member holding hand sanitzier.

 

LOL... we probably did pass each other several times. You'd likely recognize my little one if you saw us... he's 3 with long curly hair and blue arm floaties, at the pool people kept calling him tarzan, LOL. And yes our steward, Jaime, was AWESOME! We used the Garden pool a whole lot... kinda surprised that we weren't in any of the pictures you posted. :D

[EMc&DrS]

LOL... we probably did pass each other several times. You'd likely recognize my little one if you saw us... he's 3 with long curly hair and blue arm floaties, at the pool people kept calling him tarzan, LOL. And yes our steward, Jaime, was AWESOME! We used the Garden pool a whole lot... kinda surprised that we weren't in any of the pictures you posted. :D

 

 

There is a boy with blue floaties in my pic of the garden pool in post #5 (on the left side of the pic).

[riclop]

You kept noting that the tiles on the floor by the pool were very hot but that is the case on any ship and if a person does not were slippers to walk back and forth then it's on them, not MSC.

[All-ready2cruise]

Good to have a reminder once in a while, especially those of us who don't spend much time at the pool. I always bring flip flops but have to remind DH to bring his sandals...

 

thanks for the reminder;)

[Yorkvillain]

Great review and beautiful photos. Thank you.

[jimbri]

Enjoyed your review!

[lor74]

Thanks for a great review!

[Stuartcruisers]

Are there items like shampoo, q-tips etc. provided in the bathroom? Does MSC have am discounted air program?