Divina 12/6/16 - 10-night Exotic Cruise Review

[mjonis]

Long post here. LOL!

 

First, a little background: This is our first time on MSC, but my 4th cruise (having done 2 other Carnival and a Royal Caribbean cruise). I had researched the Divina beforehand, so I knew (or thought I knew) what to expect. Keep in mind that I will be comparing this sailing against my other cruises in the past, and also that Carnival and RCI may have changed since I last cruised with them.

 

Originally I was looking for a 7-night Caribbean cruise, and the average rates on RCI seemed to be around $900/pp for a balcony. I had seen MSC advertising on the AWE channel quite heavily as we like to watch “Dream Cruises”. So I checked the MSC website and saw a 10-night exotic cruise for approx. $1050/pp for the balcony, I thought that was an excellent deal. Keep in mind this is an itinerary that's only offered once/year (there's another 10-nighter but different itinerary) out of the port of Miami on the MSC Divina.

 

With information from Cruise Critic, we pre-purchased numerous things, including the Escape for Less drink tickets, the Streamer Package (internet), a Bon Voyage package, and the 10 photo package, along with 2 spa packages. Now, nothing new for anyone on cruise critic, but the MSC website is atrocious. Constant issues, booking kept disappearing, it was just awful. Ironically the "search" function actually works (RCI may need to take some lessons here).

 

We flew in the morning of the departure on 12/6/16, and arrived early (our sheet said check-in at 2:00 p.m.) at the cruise port via SAS transport (excellent, BTW) from FLL to POM. And things kinda went downhill from there.

 

There were no signs/etc (that I could see) about where to proceed/what to do. I saw the white tent, and knew that was for Yacht Club members (which we did not book, as it was approx. $2800/pp which is more than double what we paid for the Fantastica Balcony). There were lots of people and luggage, but that wasn't unusual. What was unusual is that we didn't have anyone greet us to take the bags. I finally stood in line for the Yacht club only to get someone's attention to ask what to do. Was informed to find a porter (anyone with a white shirt apparently) to take the bags. OK, now to hunt for a porter. Finally found one, gave bags and proceeded to check-in. There were signs stating that due to debarkation delays on previous cruise, that embarkation was delayed. Granted, we were early as well (the printed tickets said 2:00 p.m.) We started standing in line at 11:00 a.m. and line moved fairly smoothly until we reached the first security check-in where they look at your passports and tickets. Language barriers and all were causing a hold up (people didn't know what a passport was, etc.) We make it past the first security, up through the metal detectors and of course, have to get rid of our water bottle. I should've smuggled it somehow as later on we'd need it. Get to the check-in area and the long line. This is where things really needed improvement. About halfway in the line nothing moved because there was no more space to move to. MSC (I'm assuming) staff announced that there was a delay due to previous debarkation but that was all the details they'd give. We sat on the floor in line and ate some fruit bars but there's no water anywhere or anything else to drink (no vending machines in the immediate vicinity) Old people were in dire straits, as security found a chair somehow for someone to sit in before she passed out. Around 2:00 p.m. they opened the boarding area to MSC Black Card and Gold card.

 

Hint for MSC: If you know that 40-60% of your passengers don't speak English, and you announce everything on the ship in 5-6 languages, you should really announce the boarding in the other languages well.

 

You know what happens when you don't? Well a bunch of people who don't speak English see the line moving and it's a mad rush. The guy doing the boarding kept screaming that he was going to shut down boarding if other people kept coming that weren't in their group (ie: Black/Gold, then Group 1, then Group 2, etc.)

 

Here's another hint for MSC: You may want to actually have a line (with the little barricades, just like the one we stood in to get checked in) and sign that says: Start here.

 

Instead, there were 3 different areas that people could get to the entrance from (the seats on the right, the people standing in the middle, and the people getting done through the check-in desk on the left). As a result, it was mass chaos. Our group boarding was #21 and finally started around 2:30 p.m. We got on the actual ship around 3:00 p.m. They said they'd announce when cabins were ready. But we were starving at this point and went to the buffet for a slice of pizza (since dinner was at 6:00) and had to stop at the Casino to pick up drink tickets that we'd pre-purchased.

 

Drink tickets are picked up at the Casino. And another disorganized mess was there as well. Four people behind the counter, only one couple in line. I stood behind the couple and waited to be acknowledge. Big mistake. Don't be polite on the Divina. Just barge your way to any open spot and demand attention or else you won't get any service. After about 3 minutes of waiting, some more people filtered in and just "grabbed" attention of the other staff (who were just looking around, except for the one person assisting the couple in front of me). Ah, so that's how it's done. OK, I do the same. I hear the other couple having issues (they had pre-purchased 6 months ago and were still trying to get the order right). I explained to the lady I had pre-purchased drink tickets and gave my cabin #. She had difficulty finding the tickets and came back with someone else's tickets. Try again. Finally find mine. Just an FYI, this was pretty much consistent throughout the rest of the cruise. Try to find a machine to put the credit card on file. Finally find one. Now to find one that actually works. Apparently none of the readers on the 6th floor were working for credit cards with chips, so you had to stand in line at Guest Services to be manually processed. Another mess.

 

After drinks and now it's about 4:00 p.m. we figure surely the rooms are ready (haven't heard a single announcement yet). Get to the room and it's ready. Our cabin attendant (Galih) was prompt and greeted us and very helpful and friendly. Room inside was clean and we had approx. 11 hangers in the closet (the kind you can't steal with the special hooks) along with a few leftover hangers from the previous occupants, which was actually helpful. Just in case anyone is wondering how many hangers there are. I thought cabin storage was adequate for 2 people. My Bon Voyage package was nowhere to be found, but I figured it might be delivered after dinner. Fortunately I packed a change of clothes in my carry-on even though others on CC forums had said luggage was delivered fairly early, as none of our luggage was there yet. Muster drill was supposed to start around 4:45. Around 5:15 it started. That was another disorganized disaster. There's like 3 ways to enter the area we were in and they didn't have staff scanning badges at all entrances. Fortunately we chose the one that had the lady scanning badges. I heard constant stories about people who DID have their cards scanned and were later told that they weren't there. Seriously, is this the first time MSC has done a cruise? Most people showed up with their life jackets already on (even though it clearly stated to only bring them, not wear them). But the instructions provided later, had you wear them. OK, we finish and head back to room. One of 4 suitcases is there. We change and head to dining room since our seating was 5:45 and they close 15 minutes later. Well they didn't open the MDR until 6:15 that night (probably all caused by the delays earlier). We took our assigned table and the wait staff greeted us. John and Marjorie (our wait staff) were great, very friendly, and seriously overworked for the amount of people in the dining area. One couple at the table just didn't want to talk to anyone, and we only saw them the first night. The other couple provided a good time. Later, 2 other people would join us, so all worked out. Unfortunately we missed the show the first night (7:15) because dinner didn't start on time and we finished eating around 8:00 p.m. So at this point we go back to the cabin and 1 more bag shows up. My 2 are still missing. And so is my Bon Voyage package. So I ring for our attendant who informs me that it's room service that delivers that. At this point I just decide to get a refund and proceed to guest services. And another disorganized mess. Only 2 people behind the desk. One lady is with a couple the entire hour I stood in line. The other lady "helped" everyone else by basically telling everyone (for those speaking English) that whatever problem they were having was their fault. One guy had pre-purchased a drink package, but when they scanned his card at dinner it didn't show up so he had to pay for the drinks and was trying to get that straightened out. The lady kept telling him it was his fault because he bought a second package. And he kept telling her it was that the cards weren't working. Yeah, so I get up there and show my receipt that I ordered the Bon Voyage package and it wasn't delivered. The first thing out of her mouth was that it wasn't delivered because I didn't call them and tell them when I wanted it delivered. I showed her on the receipt where it says it's to be delivered on embarkation day and today is embarkation day. Then she says it's because I didn't call and specify what time (it doesn't say that on the sheet either). I tell her I want a refund, so she calls someone and speaks Italian to them and then hangs up and tells me that they just delivered it to the room. I asked what happens if I get back and it's not there. Just dial 99 she says. OK, it's possible they brought it during my last hour in line. I get back to the room. My luggage finally shows up around 9:30 (others got theirs as late as 11:00 p.m. so I guess I was lucky) and guess what's not here? Yup. So I call 99. 99 says they delivered it. I'm like no you didn't. I certainly could not miss a bottle of champagne and a tray of canapes. I tell them to come to the room and show me where it's at. They refuse and say they already delivered it. At this point I say screw it and I'll deal with the credit card company when I get home. Yes, first day is off to a lovely start.

 

Because we were up at 3:00 am. that morning, we slept in the next day and had breakfast in the buffet. The only thing I did not see was an omelet station (where you pick out the ingredients and they make one for you). There may have been one, I just didn't see it. We grabbed seats in back as it's the only way to really get a seat. The spacing between seats and the buffet lines is horribly designed, IMO (but I knew this beforehand). And I also knew to expect the clientele to just cut in line, etc.

 

Breakfast buffet selection was decent, but you will not find a blueberry muffin or blueberry pancakes there. I only ever saw bran muffins. Plane and chocolate chip (with 3 chocolate chips in them) pancakes. Coffee was super hot and nice mugs. That was a plus. You can't get drinks in the buffet (no mimosas, and at lunch you can only have beer/wine or bottled water)—if you want something brought to your table that is. Ironically MSC seemed to have enough staff pushing the drink packages on you for the first few days (they’d be better utilized elsewhere, IMO). If you want Mimosas or cocktails, you have to leave the buffet area (have someone hold your table), go to the Aqua bar, get your drinks and go back to the table and get your food (else it’ll be cold). Or eat in the MDR for breakfast. (that’s another tale).

 

We found the Aqua bar on deck 14, found our favorite bar person (Marlon) and had several mimosas that were quite excellent.

 

I'm not going to give a day by day (we'll be here forever), so I'll try to cover the parts of the ship and activities.

 

Embarkation:

Disaster. F- Complete disorganization. Inadequate communication.

 

Customer Service/Guest Relations:

F- disaster again. Everything is your fault, not enough staff. And yes, I stood in line multiple times to get multiple things fixed. It was painful each time. I tried to find the Maitre’d to book the specialty restaurants as that’s what my order sheet said to do. Could never find him. Nobody I asked knew what the heck the specialty restaurant package was. I finally ended up asking our regular MDR waitstaff and they took me to the ASSISTANT Maitre’d who actually knew exactly what it was. Tip: You don’t need to use the Maitre’d to book. Just call the restaurant directly. BRING a copy of your order though because when you get there, the staff may not know what a dining package is.

 

Buffet: Basically the buffet never changes. What you see on Day 1, is what you'll see on Day 10. The only thing that does change by the minute is desserts. If you walk by and see some chocolate covered bananas, grab 'em. 10 minutes later they will be gone and replaced by something else. Lemon bars and Lime bars were good (and always there). Never saw chocolate cake (supposedly it was there with some strawberry tarts or so the sign said but I'm pretty sure I could identify a chocolate and a strawberry and there were none). Overall Buffet as OK. Not great, not bad, just OK. Mostly due to selection and no mongolian/wok or omellete stations and poor dessert selection, along with inability to get drinks. You can get your own from the bar and bring them in if you don't mind your food cold at that point. I don’t consider myself a “foodie”. I eat fast food sometimes and casual dining like Applebee’s, Chili’s, etc. Also a few times a year “high dining” for special occasions. As long as food isn’t cold, under/overcooked I’m usually fine.

 

Pro's: Buffet has a good variety (albeit never changes from the first day), although I'd say Carnival beats it hands down. Mixed compared to RCI. Very hot coffee (not a bad thing). WAY better than the MDR where the coffee was almost always cold or lukewarm at best. Pizza was good. Pasta selection was good.

 

Cons: Dessert selection is poor (sorry I like desserts like cakes, pies, cookies). The signs would not match what was there. Zero enforcement of hand sanitizing station. OMG, do NOT ever take anything on the dessert section in the front. I observed TWICE: Old lady grabs dessert with her bare hands, puts on plate, licks her fingers and grabs more desserts, touching her licked fingers to the dessert next to the one she’s grabbing (ugh). (she was American, AFAIK). I was in shock. I ended up using the tongs (ironically there were 3 plates for tongs, but only one pair present, I’m presuming why the lady was using her fingers?) and grabbing the dessert from the back from that point on. I'm sure this is not limited to MSC, but I've never seen this before on other cruise lines. Also: DO NOT drink water from the machines. I saw a French mother and child taking their used water bottles and jamming them up into the nozzle to fill them up. Avoid the iced tea, it's terrible (subjective as I'm sure some people liked it).

 

Advice to MSC: Have staff “dole” out the desserts like on Carnival (at least last time on the Valor there was some poor lady there cutting cakes/pies and putting on people’s plates whilst being surrounded by piranhas, I mean people).

 

MDR:

Had lunch once in the MDR, was OK. Very filling. Took a while, so buffet is better, IMO in that regard. Met some nice people.

Breakfast was slow--always, coffee almost always cold or luke warm at best, and if you order a Mimosa you'd think they'd never heard of one before. But they had Red Velvet pancakes. mmm. But after 3 times taking an hour for breakfast and getting cold/lukewarm food we chose the buffet instead (lady at our table wanted syrup with her pancake and that never arrived).

 

Dinner - always ate in the MDR or the specialty restaurants as also purchased the 4 dining package. Food was good, service slow (but also knew this)--not the fault of the wait staff, they were busting their humps everywhere you looked. I still would give Carnival the edge on the food (again, subjective) but you no longer get lobster any night in the MDR on MSC without an upcharge. Even Carnival (used to anyway) have lobster one night. Lack of staffing and water/drink service is a major problem. You'll get water at initial table seating and that's it.

 

My advice: Either buy the water package so you can get bottle of water at the table or buy the bottle water when they take your drink order, or: When your glass gets half empty, track someone down and then wait another 30 minutes for a refill. Also, if you want a cocktail (vs. wine), order it right away or bring it in from the outside bar. If you want a non-complimentary coffee drink (ie: cappuccino or something), specify that when you order. Otherwise it'll be a while. They DO serve coffee (regular and decaf) but you have to ask for it. Not sure how warm it is since I always ordered a cappuccino.

 

DO NOT order the Lasagna from the "comfort" menu section or whatever. It's like Chef Boyardee ravioli. At least 3 others I spoke to agreed. Other than that, the MDR food was OK. Not great, not bad, just OK. When you get vegetables with the food you'll usually only get 2-3 pieces, so if you want more, just ask. Personally, I thought the portion sizes were just right as I was stuffed by the time I was done. I did enjoy the lamb, and filet (but the Galaxy had the best filet, IMO). Duck was good as well. Desserts were “ok”. Chocolate lava cake was a warm dry brownie thing (nothing molten/lava about it).

 

Pros: Seats are comfortable, staff is very friendly and they work their butt off.

 

Cons: MSC - you need to hire more staff. Especially a dedicated drink person. Having to buy a bottle of water to ensure you get water in a timely fashion isn't really good customer service. Your wait staff are working very hard given the situation you've put them in. Consistency is a problem. Had Beef Wellington (actually everyone but me at the table had beef wellington- I had duck). One person got about a 5 oz filet and one person got about an 8-10 oz filet. The others got something in the middle. We all ordered the Baked Alaska. 3 of us only got chocolate and vanilla in the Alaska (maybe it's a Baked North Dakota then?)

 

Specialty Restaurants:

With the 4 package dinner you get one app or pasta, one entree, and one dessert. Except the pizzeria. That gets you one pizza. But it's a BIG pizza. Easily split among 2 people, IMO. Personally I liked Galaxy the best. I had a wonderful (10 oz?) filet mignon. The seating in the Steakhouse/Itallian Ristorante is very "cheap/modern" clear plastic chairs. Just weird. Food was good. The package was an excellent value for the money. I figured normally it would've been around $110 or so and the package was $75.

 

Bars:

Bars were good, but service was spotty. Half the time if you wanted a drink you'd better go directly to the bar yourself and order. They seem to only have 1-2 staff regardless of how many people are there.

 

Marlon was the best!!!!

 

Advice: Find a bar you like, tip a little extra at the beginning and you'll get a friend. Otherwise drinks were a little light, IMO. Use the drink package coupons if you don't drink much as it works out to about $4.50 per drink that way. You can also use them for coffees, and gelatos. Speaking of which: The Gelato bars and dessert bar area (on the 6th floor?) were very good. Also: Ironically not all bars are open. The bar in La Sirene (the indoor pool) wasn't open even at 12:30 p.m. the one sea day. So if you wanted a drink you had to go to the other end of the ship. I have no idea why.

 

Self Service ice cream:

Very good. Wish RCI would have something other than the 2 machines and 2 hours/day or whatever they had when we did Freedom of the Seas. I really liked this feature.

 

Cruise Critic Meet'n'Greet:

Excellent. MSC had this on Day 2. They provided cocktails and canapes. Better than Carnival and mixed vs. RCI (RCI gives away prizes, but doesn't provide drinks other than coffee/tea and maybe some cookies). Met with the service manager and explained my Bon Voyage situation. Finally day 3, I had what I paid for. But it shouldn't have to get that far. The Captain explained the delay was due to CBP (Customs Border Patrol) wanting to go through everything since the ship had visited Colombia. MSC: If you had explained this to everyone it may have cooled some temps a little.

 

Pool areas: Yeah, if you don't get there by 9:30 or so you'll not get a chair, etc. Deck 16 (?) has an area with whirlpools, but half the chairs are broken and the sunshades don't work. I personally don't like having to go down to Deck 14 to get a drink and get it back up to 16 (they don't have staff taking drink orders wandering around). Indoor pool was nice, provided you get there early. Probably solved by buying up to the Yacht Club.

 

Internet package:

Get the Streamer package, it's good for 4 devices. BUT only one person can sign up. Even if you have individual account ID's on your cruise cards, only the first person who uses it gets the "account". This resulted in us getting a second package by accident and having to stand in line (ugh) and getting that fixed. We got a followup letter the next day, went back down to see what that was about only to stand in line to be told they had removed the 2nd charge. And the third day, got ANOTHER card to come down and see guest services, only to be told AGAIN that they removed the charge. Again, total disorganization. The internet package worked very well, IMO. We even got a call on T-Mobile's Wi-Fi calling. Given that it has to go via Satellite I was quite surprised how well it worked. EXCELLENT Value. Good Job, MSC.

 

Room:

Cabin Attendant was wonderful. Balcony cleanliness, not so much. They only clean the balconies once. Ours had various human hairs of different colors/shapes/sizes (eww) (hopefully different people vs. different body parts) all over the window, the chairs, the floors and sides. Several other people told me their balconies had leftover trash, etc. on them. I think Day 8 or 9 they finally cleaned them.

 

We had 3 water leaks in the hallway outside our cabin during the course of the cruise. I kept wondering what that "broccoli" smell was. It was mold and mildew. Huge stain on the floor. Had been there a while. One night I hear "drip drip drip" and water is coming out the light in the hallway next to the cabin door. The day after that a different leak showed up and MSC just put a towel on the floor for an entire day. The day after that it started leaking so I called to report again and they called back and said maintenance was on there way but said that it wasn't a water leak. Well when they opened the ceiling panel about 5 gallons of water came out. The fix was to vacuum it up and put a blower (just air) to dry it out. Mold smell even worse. Compare this to RCI where the next door cabin had water leak. They moved the people to a new room, cleaned up the cabin, including replacing the carpeting. I guess MSC never heard of Leigionnaire's disease. There's another review for cabin 12233 where they had water issues as well. Some black mold on shower areas.

 

AVOID this cabin: 12123 or maybe it's just any cabin with a connecting stateroom door. The door between cabins doesn't seal well at all. We could see sunlight from the other room through the door, and obviously when you can see light, you can hear EVERYTHING. I heard the other cabin putting ice cubes into the glass, and ever burp, fart, etc. I'm sure they heard the same. I've never had a ship with such poor insulation (even the other side without the door, you could hear people moving their clothes on the hangers).

 

Laundry Service:

We purchased the 40 item package for $50, which was a good value, IMO. Unfortunately they messed up THAT as well. You're supposed to have bags in the closet apparently to order the laundry service. We did not. Our cabin attendant gladly got us the bags. We put the items in, filled out the order form. They pick up laundry by 10:00 a.m. and the next day around 5:00 p.m. you have your laundry. Well maybe. We got someone else's laundry, in addition to ours. Hopefully they found their way back to their proper owner.

 

Movie:

I would've liked to have seen some popcorn at the outdoor movie screen. It did rain one entire day at sea. I thought they could've put an indoor theater projection screen in the Pantheon theater, but that wasn't there. They should consider doing something like this, IMO. Movie selection good, seating selection "eh".

 

Shows:

We missed the first show. We skipped the opera show (sorry don't like opera, even though the lady can sing very well I can't stand the vibratto). MSC has dedicated entertainment staff, not the same crew. As such, the QUALITY of the singing and dancing is excellent. I thought that the variety was not quite there. WAY better than Carnival. Quality wise, way better than RCI, but variety wise, I think RCI has them beat at least on the FOS. (on RCI we had an ice skating show, a magic show, some dance/musical shows). I think MSC's downfall was that the "theme" was just randomly chosen. Example: they had "Witches of Paris". Other than there were witches that was it. The music/dance didn't really impart anything about Witches, let alone Paris. I'm not a fan of Michael Jackson (sorry) so didn't care much for the show, but the staff were talented.

 

Casino. I love the no smoking. Other than the random crew members we saw smoking in the "no smoking" areas on Deck 16 and 7 (outside), and the cigar lounge, I don't think I caught a wiff. WAY better than Carnival and RCI in this regard.

 

Debarkation:

What another disaster. We did the self-assist. First we were told anywhere between 6:30 - 7:30 we could debark. Then when I turned the form in, the lady said anywhere between 5:30 - 6:30. OK, so we get the sheet and our tag indicates we're in Group 2 (6:30 am in the Black and White lounge). We get up at 5:00 a.m., get ready, grab something in the buffet, and head down to the lounge. Well they didn't clear us (CBP or POM, not sure) until about 7:00 a.m. This is where MSC falls down again. NO announcement. NO indication as to which group should debark. By now, Groups 1, 3 and 4 are all jammed into an area and of course, the minute you see a line moving, you cut in front of everyone and as a result, we sat in the lounge for about another 30 minutes while the other groups managed to get through (because there's no lines, none of the those little barricade thingies, it's just a bit free for all). About as bad as the first Carnival cruise we went on. WAY less organized than our last RCI and Carnival cruise.

 

Billing:

Never got my 10% discount Voyager's Club from the mini bar, but no way in hell I'm standing in line on the morning of debarkation to fix that. MSC took enough of my time and money, wasn't going to give them any more.

 

I won't go about the ports, as MSC can't control those. I did like the itinerary mainly because we had only ever done Nassau, and none of the others.

 

Spa:

I had gotten the 30-minute Bali massage and something else, but never got the something else (some consultation or something I believe). (MSC's website is terrible and the descriptions on the website do NOT match the actual booklet you see in the room). They don't let you use the shower in the massage room, so you have to put clothes on over the oils and go give your card again to use the saunas/showers/etc. I put down light pressure and got tenderized instead, and the lady didn't understand "less pressure", so I said "lighter" and she didn't understand that either. Seriously, language barrier was worse than any time I've been in Mexico. Sauna/Steamroom layout is bizarre. There's a common area for men/women that you use to get to the sauna's and the steam room. The idiot who designed the layout must have a perverse sense of humor because the door to the lady's sauna is right next to the door for the men's sauna and you can clearly see into the sauna/shower area for the men's one. So I'd suggest you keep your towel on unless you have maybe an Adonis body or don't mind showing everyone the goods.

 

Advice: Don't pre-book anything. Wait until you get on, read the actual book and then wait until like Day 3 when they have 30% off and then book. IF you want it. Little if any massaging of the feet.

 

Libary: Um, only library I've ever seen without books. It's a Library/conference room. Useless unless you have conferences.

 

Photos:

I apparently mis-read the 10-photo package I got as it's not just "any" 10 photos. You can only pick 10 of the 8x10 Portraits (the ones where you stand and pose with various poses as the photographers instruct you). I should've spent the $110 or whatever for the 100 photo package, as you get the embarkation/gala night photos, etc. MSC's website is very sparse on details.

 

Public restrooms were kept relatively clean. You will not find urinals in the men's room, just an FYI.

 

Fellow passengers:

Heh, can't do anything about that, but we met a lot of nice people, some not so nice. As someone mentioned: "First world problems". Yes, had a lot of issues on this cruise, but we didn't get sick and had good weather except for one and a half days. Things could've been worse so I try to keep things in perspective. But do expect a lot of people who cant' speak English and have no concept of "queuing" in lines, etc. Just keep this in mind.

 

Overall Conclusion:

Price was good for what you got. Excellent drink package/coupons. Excellent internet service. Good shows. Decent food (except the Lasagna). Buffet selection - meh. (LOL). Excellent wait staff and cabin staff, who have their hands tied by MSC management running the show. TERRIBLE guest relations staff who throw you an attitude. Many frustrations. To be honest, never had a "bad" cruise per se. MSC has pros/cons just like any cruise line. However, of the 4 other cruises, I’d say this one was the worst in terms of Cruise line. (Actually the worst overall was my RCI cruise, but that’s because I got sick for 2 days).

 

Now the question:

Would I cruise MSC again? Maybe in 2-3 years if MSC gets their act together. If the itinerary (Miami only sailings limit to where you can go) and if the price was right. But today, if there was an identical itinerary on another line that was the same or within $300/pp, I'd go with the other line at this point. The hassle and disorganization is a constant problem that just wears you down gradually. Had it been a "once and done", I'd have a different view.

 

 

 

Or maybe if I was in the Yacht Club with the dedicated staff, MDR, and Pool, I might re-consider, but the cost (almost 3x times the price) doesn't quite justify it, IMO. A few hundred more, sure. But that's an individual choice. I don't fault anyone for taking YC (I'd do it, if I could afford it, but not sure if I'd give that much money for a 2nd chance on MSC at this point).

[riclop]

We have been on the Divina 7x and never experienced everything that you stated, is it perfect ? NO but i think it was just a very bad week . They don't make announcements in the morning of debarkation, a member of the entertainment comes and gets the group when it's there time. There is a language barrier with most of the passengers so on embarkation they all go and block the entrances despite the man yelling to step back, not MSC 's fault.

Edited December 20, 2016 by riclop

[lisamarieh]

I was on the exact same cruise and I don't think it was a bad week at all. I had a great time!! Were there some hiccups at the beginning and the end? Absolutely. And some in between. My experience and perspective of the cruise might be different than yours was though. mjonis, I remember you both from the slot pull. Wonderful couple you seemed to be!! We were #9 and #10 by the way!! Our dining room experience was quite different from yours. We paid for the aurea experience, which included my choice dining. When we entered the MDR our waiter had 2 bottles of water ready for us and refilled our glasses constantly with bottled water. They didn't served water in pitchers. They brought us a bowl of ice for the table and refilled the glasses with bottled water. Just a small different in our experiences but of course, we paid greatly for this "experience." In my opinion, most people will never see the inside of a cruise ship ever, so I feel we are so very lucky to be able to go on a ship such as the Divina. I agree that there are no "bad" cruises.

[easyboy]

Thank you for your detailed and honest account of your experience. Hope next time will live up to your expectations.

[KeywestK]

Thank you for taking the time to report on your cruise. It clearly had its high and low points, and frankly, it's the low points that concern me. We are sailing on the Divina next December, and not in the Yacht Club (we're booked on the Fantastica Balcony Experience,) so my experience might very well reflect yours. What I don't understand from MSC's perspective is the fact that they have now been sailing out of Miami for a few years, and they should have the embarkation process down to a science. And it seems they don't. It's also disturbing to read that their Guest Relations and Customer Service leave a lot to be desired. Any business, whether it's a cruise line or the corner supermarket, who doesn't put their customers first, frankly worry me.

 

I can only hope that MSC gets their act together. I've been wanting to try this cruise line for a while now, and I'm hoping I don't regret that decision.

 

Thanks again for your report.

[RC Dancers]

I agree that their internet site is pretty bad.

 

I wonder what will happen when the 5,000+ passenger Seaside gets here.

[Hockeymum51]

My husband and I sailed with MSC in September on a 7 day cruise from Barcelona on the Poesia. We have cruised twice before on Celebrity and were travelling with a couple from USA and a couple from Australia. We are all in our fifties but we are very young at heart, easy going and very much enjoy travelling and meeting people and seeing new places.

We were in an aft cabin on Deck 11. The cabin was very nice and clean however the balcony was a nightmare. The customers at the buffet on Deck 13 throw food overboard which often landed on our balcony and the customers on Deck 14 using the disco would throw lit cigarette ends over which also landed on our balcony. Some evenings it was like a firework display. All of our balcony furniture had cigarette burn holes in them. Every morning there was something new to discover out there, cigarette ends, chunks of bread, slices of lime and even a glow stick one day. When we complained to guest relations we were told that there was nothing they could do as the behaviour was due to the poor education of the other customers.

There is also a lot of movement and the engines are noisy and lots of people smoke on their balconies. There is no way to prove that they do this as all the aft cabins will have cigarette ends on them in the morning.

Customer service is non existent. If you complain the staff shrug their shoulders and walk away. There are not enough waiters in the restaurants and bars so the service is extremely slow. Many of the bar staff obviously take pleasure in not filling orders and making things very difficult for the waiters. It would appear that this is a game they like to play, as well as ignoring customers who approach the bar, arguing with supervisors and other staff in front of customers and taking no pride in their work.

We would never sail with MSC again. You get what you pay for.

[mjonis]

I was on the exact same cruise and I don't think it was a bad week at all. I had a great time!! Were there some hiccups at the beginning and the end? Absolutely. And some in between. My experience and perspective of the cruise might be different than yours was though. mjonis, I remember you both from the slot pull. Wonderful couple you seemed to be!! We were #9 and #10 by the way!! Our dining room experience was quite different from yours. We paid for the aurea experience, which included my choice dining. When we entered the MDR our waiter had 2 bottles of water ready for us and refilled our glasses constantly with bottled water. They didn't served water in pitchers. They brought us a bowl of ice for the table and refilled the glasses with bottled water. Just a small different in our experiences but of course, we paid greatly for this "experience." In my opinion, most people will never see the inside of a cruise ship ever, so I feel we are so very lucky to be able to go on a ship such as the Divina. I agree that there are no "bad" cruises.

 

Yeah, it was funny, at the Meet 'n Greet, the general manager was shocked about the water, and she said: "Didn't they leave the bottle at the table"? I said, we didn't BUY bottled water, so apparently that's the solution and that's what we did from that point on (vs. tap water where they come and pour it out of a jug for the glasses).

 

I have photos from the slot pull that I'll try to upload tonight to the roll call. LOL!

 

I'm fairly certain if we'd been able to afford Yacht club, it probably would've gone better, but it's hard to justify spending $5600 vs. $2100 just to have a nicer experience, although not sure if they would've delivered my Bon Voyage package either. (I see someone else had pre-purchased stuff and didn't get it for a few days either).

 

But it is what it is. I'm sure some people had a flawless time. We did not, but to be honest, no cruise has ever been perfect.

 

Our first Carnival Cruise was on a short 3-nighter on the Sensation. Debarkation was a disaster, and entertainment was "meh". Otherwise was pretty good.

 

Second cruise for me was on the Freedom of the Seas. Only issues there were that the cabinet attendant didn't vacuum, they didn't have the distilled water or extension cord for my father's CPAP machine (even though I pre-arranged it). I got sick for 2 days (and missed two ports). Buffet food was nowhere near as good as Carnival's. But everything else went smoothly. Entertainment much better than Carnival.

 

Third cruise was on the Carnival Valor - repositioning. Pretty much everything went real well. Entertainment wasn't anywhere near as good as RCI, and you would get these random "sewer" smells everywhere. Smoking from casino was bad.

 

My main beef's with MSC seem to be mostly due to disorganization. Stuff wasn't ready when it was supposed to be, nobody knew anything, and to get anything fixed took a great effort. Who wants to "work" when they're on vacation? (although the mold smell outside the room for a week without resolution wasn't enjoyable either).

 

If MSC fixed/resolves that, and can get some more people to help with dining room duties, I think they'll be much better positioned. Since they're adding 12 new ships in the next few years, we'll take a wait and see approach. I was going to look at the Seaside, but after all the experiences, we're definitely going to wait 2-3 years before trying again. Seems they have some bugs to work out. I know Carnival had issues when the new Vista came out that took a while to solve, so perhaps MSC will get things going "right".

 

Would definitely like to try the Yacht club some day.

 

I think our next cruise will either be on NCL or the Carnival Vista. Wanted to try the Breakaway but reading mixed reviews about the smoke situation with the open promenade area makes me think twice.

 

So for those of you who haven't sailed on MSC:

As long as you know what to expect (If I hadn't read beforehand about the buffet lines, clientele, and dining room drink issues, I would've been totally ticked off/annoyed), I think you'll have an OK time.

[GOLDENBONNY]

Yeah, it was funny, at the Meet 'n Greet, the general manager was shocked about the water, and she said: "Didn't they leave the bottle at the table"? I said, we didn't BUY bottled water, so apparently that's the solution and that's what we did from that point on (vs. tap water where they come and pour it out of a jug for the glasses).

 

I have photos from the slot pull that I'll try to upload tonight to the roll call. LOL!

 

I'm fairly certain if we'd been able to afford Yacht club, it probably would've gone better, but it's hard to justify spending $5600 vs. $2100 just to have a nicer experience, although not sure if they would've delivered my Bon Voyage package either. (I see someone else had pre-purchased stuff and didn't get it for a few days either).

 

But it is what it is. I'm sure some people had a flawless time. We did not, but to be honest, no cruise has ever been perfect.

 

Our first Carnival Cruise was on a short 3-nighter on the Sensation. Debarkation was a disaster, and entertainment was "meh". Otherwise was pretty good.

 

Second cruise for me was on the Freedom of the Seas. Only issues there were that the cabinet attendant didn't vacuum, they didn't have the distilled water or extension cord for my father's CPAP machine (even though I pre-arranged it). I got sick for 2 days (and missed two ports). Buffet food was nowhere near as good as Carnival's. But everything else went smoothly. Entertainment much better than Carnival.

 

Third cruise was on the Carnival Valor - repositioning. Pretty much everything went real well. Entertainment wasn't anywhere near as good as RCI, and you would get these random "sewer" smells everywhere. Smoking from casino was bad.

 

My main beef's with MSC seem to be mostly due to disorganization. Stuff wasn't ready when it was supposed to be, nobody knew anything, and to get anything fixed took a great effort. Who wants to "work" when they're on vacation? (although the mold smell outside the room for a week without resolution wasn't enjoyable either).

 

If MSC fixed/resolves that, and can get some more people to help with dining room duties, I think they'll be much better positioned. Since they're adding 12 new ships in the next few years, we'll take a wait and see approach. I was going to look at the Seaside, but after all the experiences, we're definitely going to wait 2-3 years before trying again. Seems they have some bugs to work out. I know Carnival had issues when the new Vista came out that took a while to solve, so perhaps MSC will get things going "right".

 

Would definitely like to try the Yacht club some day.

 

I think our next cruise will either be on NCL or the Carnival Vista. Wanted to try the Breakaway but reading mixed reviews about the smoke situation with the open promenade area makes me think twice.

 

So for those of you who haven't sailed on MSC:

As long as you know what to expect (If I hadn't read beforehand about the buffet lines, clientele, and dining room drink issues, I would've been totally ticked off/annoyed), I think you'll have an OK time.

 

 

don't go on Breakaway.My friend just got back and she could not stop talking about nasty food and service :eek:

[mjonis]

Oh pooh, I forgot to mention that the staff did keep the buffet tables cleaned up rather quickly (that was a disaster on our first Carnival cruise, there wasn't enough staff to clean stuff).

 

Overall the ship was cleaned constantly except for the rips in the carpet and the water stains and mildew/mold smells/spots. (I did take pictures of those, but forgot to get the one with the orange pool towel in the hallway for a day covering the huge water leak).

 

For anyone going on the Divina, I strongly encourage you to attend the Meet'n Greet that they put on. Nice setup and make sure to talk to the staff about your compliments and complaints. I did let them know they had done a good job with the offering of the drink coupons and the internet package.

 

Hope you all have a much smoother sailing and hopefully MSC has replaced that nasty carpet in the 12th floor hallway by our cabin by now.

 

I did make sure to fill out the online survey they sent me and made sure to compliment our cabin steward, wait staff, and our favorite bar attendant by name.

[gigi1313]

Yeah, it was funny, at the Meet 'n Greet, the general manager was shocked about the water, and she said: "Didn't they leave the bottle at the table"? I said, we didn't BUY bottled water, so apparently that's the solution and that's what we did from that point on (vs. tap water where they come and pour it out of a jug for the glasses).

 

I have photos from the slot pull that I'll try to upload tonight to the roll call. LOL!

 

I'm fairly certain if we'd been able to afford Yacht club, it probably would've gone better, but it's hard to justify spending $5600 vs. $2100 just to have a nicer experience, although not sure if they would've delivered my Bon Voyage package either. (I see someone else had pre-purchased stuff and didn't get it for a few days either).

 

But it is what it is. I'm sure some people had a flawless time. We did not, but to be honest, no cruise has ever been perfect.

 

Our first Carnival Cruise was on a short 3-nighter on the Sensation. Debarkation was a disaster, and entertainment was "meh". Otherwise was pretty good.

 

Second cruise for me was on the Freedom of the Seas. Only issues there were that the cabinet attendant didn't vacuum, they didn't have the distilled water or extension cord for my father's CPAP machine (even though I pre-arranged it). I got sick for 2 days (and missed two ports). Buffet food was nowhere near as good as Carnival's. But everything else went smoothly. Entertainment much better than Carnival.

 

Third cruise was on the Carnival Valor - repositioning. Pretty much everything went real well. Entertainment wasn't anywhere near as good as RCI, and you would get these random "sewer" smells everywhere. Smoking from casino was bad.

 

My main beef's with MSC seem to be mostly due to disorganization. Stuff wasn't ready when it was supposed to be, nobody knew anything, and to get anything fixed took a great effort. Who wants to "work" when they're on vacation? (although the mold smell outside the room for a week without resolution wasn't enjoyable either).

 

If MSC fixed/resolves that, and can get some more people to help with dining room duties, I think they'll be much better positioned. Since they're adding 12 new ships in the next few years, we'll take a wait and see approach. I was going to look at the Seaside, but after all the experiences, we're definitely going to wait 2-3 years before trying again. Seems they have some bugs to work out. I know Carnival had issues when the new Vista came out that took a while to solve, so perhaps MSC will get things going "right".

 

Would definitely like to try the Yacht club some day.

 

I think our next cruise will either be on NCL or the Carnival Vista. Wanted to try the Breakaway but reading mixed reviews about the smoke situation with the open promenade area makes me think twice.

 

So for those of you who haven't sailed on MSC:

As long as you know what to expect (If I hadn't read beforehand about the buffet lines, clientele, and dining room drink issues, I would've been totally ticked off/annoyed), I think you'll have an OK time.

 

 

May I suggest: Disney Cruise Line!! Never disappointed, great customer service, incredibly clean, no casino (no smoke), very designated and enforced smoking areas, top notch across the board!!

 

That being said... we are giving MSC a try in February... despite DCL setting the bar high... wish us luck!

[All-ready2cruise]

Well, I'm thinking if our NYE doesn't go any better than some of those I've read recently we'll be heading back to NCL or perhaps I should say, continue on with NCL or maybe just try something different again. Long slow road trips are so appealing.. :p Pub crawl through England, Ireland, Wales and Scotland... who knows.. lots of other choices.

[lisamarieh]

Yeah, it was funny, at the Meet 'n Greet, the general manager was shocked about the water, and she said: "Didn't they leave the bottle at the table"? I said, we didn't BUY bottled water, so apparently that's the solution and that's what we did from that point on (vs. tap water where they come and pour it out of a jug for the glasses).

 

I have photos from the slot pull that I'll try to upload tonight to the roll call. LOL!

 

I'm fairly certain if we'd been able to afford Yacht club, it probably would've gone better, but it's hard to justify spending $5600 vs. $2100 just to have a nicer experience, although not sure if they would've delivered my Bon Voyage package either. (I see someone else had pre-purchased stuff and didn't get it for a few days either).

 

But it is what it is. I'm sure some people had a flawless time. We did not, but to be honest, no cruise has ever been perfect.

 

Our first Carnival Cruise was on a short 3-nighter on the Sensation. Debarkation was a disaster, and entertainment was "meh". Otherwise was pretty good.

 

Second cruise for me was on the Freedom of the Seas. Only issues there were that the cabinet attendant didn't vacuum, they didn't have the distilled water or extension cord for my father's CPAP machine (even though I pre-arranged it). I got sick for 2 days (and missed two ports). Buffet food was nowhere near as good as Carnival's. But everything else went smoothly. Entertainment much better than Carnival.

 

Third cruise was on the Carnival Valor - repositioning. Pretty much everything went real well. Entertainment wasn't anywhere near as good as RCI, and you would get these random "sewer" smells everywhere. Smoking from casino was bad.

 

My main beef's with MSC seem to be mostly due to disorganization. Stuff wasn't ready when it was supposed to be, nobody knew anything, and to get anything fixed took a great effort. Who wants to "work" when they're on vacation? (although the mold smell outside the room for a week without resolution wasn't enjoyable either).

 

If MSC fixed/resolves that, and can get some more people to help with dining room duties, I think they'll be much better positioned. Since they're adding 12 new ships in the next few years, we'll take a wait and see approach. I was going to look at the Seaside, but after all the experiences, we're definitely going to wait 2-3 years before trying again. Seems they have some bugs to work out. I know Carnival had issues when the new Vista came out that took a while to solve, so perhaps MSC will get things going "right".

 

Would definitely like to try the Yacht club some day.

 

I think our next cruise will either be on NCL or the Carnival Vista. Wanted to try the Breakaway but reading mixed reviews about the smoke situation with the open promenade area makes me think twice.

 

So for those of you who haven't sailed on MSC:

As long as you know what to expect (If I hadn't read beforehand about the buffet lines, clientele, and dining room drink issues, I would've been totally ticked off/annoyed), I think you'll have an OK time.

 

I look forward to seeing the picture from the meet and greet!! We have our next cruise booked and it is on Seaside in January 2018, we booked it a year ago when Seaside bookings first opened. We booked an inside Yacht Club suite. All in, with a 10% law enforcement discount it was just under $2600 and we get $400 OBC, if we get it this time!!! I though that was pretty decent for the Yacht Club!

[riclop]

Thank you for taking the time to report on your cruise. It clearly had its high and low points, and frankly, it's the low points that concern me. We are sailing on the Divina next December, and not in the Yacht Club (we're booked on the Fantastica Balcony Experience,) so my experience might very well reflect yours. What I don't understand from MSC's perspective is the fact that they have now been sailing out of Miami for a few years, and they should have the embarkation process down to a science. And it seems they don't. It's also disturbing to read that their Guest Relations and Customer Service leave a lot to be desired. Any business, whether it's a cruise line or the corner supermarket, who doesn't put their customers first, frankly worry me.

 

I can only hope that MSC gets their act together. I've been wanting to try this cruise line for a while now, and I'm hoping I don't regret that decision.

 

Thanks again for your report.

It is not MSC fault as far as the embarkation goes it's the people from the foreign countries that don't understand or just refuse to follow orders. As far as guest relations goes they have been very nice whenever i have called on them and we have been on the Divina 7x.

[KeywestK]

May I suggest: Disney Cruise Line!! Never disappointed, great customer service, incredibly clean, no casino (no smoke), very designated and enforced smoking areas, top notch across the board!!

 

That being said... we are giving MSC a try in February... despite DCL setting the bar high... wish us luck!

 

Please post a trip report when you get back. I'd love to hear about your overall experience.

 

It is not MSC fault as far as the embarkation goes it's the people from the foreign countries that don't understand or just refuse to follow orders. As far as guest relations goes they have been very nice whenever i have called on them and we have been on the Divina 7x.

 

We were just on Allure, and there was a very large foreign contingent on our sailing.....of over 5500 passengers, almost half were foreign speakers. I never saw any disorder, confusion, or anything out of the ordinary at Port Everglades. So it seems to me that PE and RCI know how to get the job done effectively and efficiently. Due to extra cleaning of the ship from the previous week's sailing, everyone was delayed getting on the ship, and it was a very calm and orderly wait.

 

As far as guest relations goes, I'm glad to know you had good experiences with them all 7 times you sailed on Divina. And for the record, my husband and I are very easy going, we know how to go with the flow, and we don't stress over small stuff, especially when we're on vacation. We have reasonable expectations, but, by the same token, we want what we paid for, and we are very hopeful that our Divina experience will be a good one.

Edited December 21, 2016 by KeywestK

[LMaxwell]

 

Libary: Um, only library I've ever seen without books. It's a Library/conference room. Useless unless you have conferences.

 

 

I checked out both adult and childrens books from the library this year. did they remove the books during drydock?

 

My embark/debark/billing was 100% straightforward and painless; I never had a reason to visit guest relations. There are multiple sections of buffet that change daily, at least they did in the spring. some remain the same. I hope that did not change.

 

enjoyed reading your review. This ship seems to generate some really polar reviews. But we had a great time and paid $1300 last time for 3 of us for a unique itinerary, so signed up again for a different itinerary, only $1K for all 3.

[LMaxwell]

May I suggest: Disney Cruise Line!! Never disappointed, great customer service, incredibly clean, no casino (no smoke), very designated and enforced smoking areas, top notch across the board!!

 

That being said... we are giving MSC a try in February... despite DCL setting the bar high... wish us luck!

 

7 days, comparable ships, same category cabins (interiors, mid-deck). 3 people on Disney, $5800 w taxes. No perks.

 

7 days Divina. $1092 w taxes. Black card perks also.

 

I can't imagine Disney being nearly 6X better. It would have to be life changing / mind blowing.

[riclop]

Please post a trip report when you get back. I'd love to hear about your overall experience.

 

 

 

We were just on Allure, and there was a very large foreign contingent on our sailing.....of over 5500 passengers, almost half were foreign speakers. I never saw any disorder, confusion, or anything out of the ordinary at Port Everglades. So it seems to me that PE and RCI know how to get the job done effectively and efficiently. Due to extra cleaning of the ship from the previous week's sailing, everyone was delayed getting on the ship, and it was a very calm and orderly wait.

 

As far as guest relations goes, I'm glad to know you had good experiences with them all 7 times you sailed on Divina. And for the record, my husband and I are very easy going, we know how to go with the flow, and we don't stress over small stuff, especially when we're on vacation. We have reasonable expectations, but, by the same token, we want what we paid for, and we are very hopeful that our Divina experience will be a good one.

 

Good to hear , you will have a good time, is it perfect? NO but it's a beautiful ship with great entertainment and music thru out the ship. Enjoy!!!

[riclop]

7 days, comparable ships, same category cabins (interiors, mid-deck). 3 people on Disney, $5800 w taxes. No perks.

 

7 days Divina. $1092 w taxes. Black card perks also.

 

I can't imagine Disney being nearly 6X better. It would have to be life changing / mind blowing.

 

You are absolutely right.

[Xildanis]

Very comprehensive review; after our discussions on board I was very much looking forward to reading your thoughts on MSC.

[gigi1313]

I checked out both adult and childrens books from the library this year. did they remove the books during drydock?

 

My embark/debark/billing was 100% straightforward and painless; I never had a reason to visit guest relations. There are multiple sections of buffet that change daily, at least they did in the spring. some remain the same. I hope that did not change.

 

enjoyed reading your review. This ship seems to generate some really polar reviews. But we had a great time and paid $1300 last time for 3 of us for a unique itinerary, so signed up again for a different itinerary, only $1K for all 3.

 

Which is the unique itinerary/date for three people for $1,000?

[gigi1313]

7 days, comparable ships, same category cabins (interiors, mid-deck). 3 people on Disney, $5800 w taxes. No perks.

 

7 days Divina. $1092 w taxes. Black card perks also.

 

I can't imagine Disney being nearly 6X better. It would have to be life changing / mind blowing.

 

I just did a quick comparison for next Nov when I am sailing DCL and similar seven night, in balcony cabin, two adults, Disney Fantasy = $3,093.24 vs. MSC Divina = $1,708.36

 

Not even twice the price, let alone 6x...

However until I experience both, I really cannot judge/compare, but I know the DCL product, it's tried and true for me... All complaints here re: guest services not being guest friendly, unwilling to resolve issues, etc. I know DCL does those things right!!

Edited December 21, 2016 by gigi1313

[KarimaJ]

I just did a quick comparison for next Nov when I am sailing DCL and similar seven night, in balcony cabin, two adults, Disney Fantasy = $3,093.24 vs. MSC Divina = $1,708.36

 

Not even twice the price, let alone 6x...

However until I experience both, I really cannot judge/compare, but I know the DCL product, it's tried and true for me... All complaints here re: guest services not being guest friendly, unwilling to resolve issues, etc. I know DCL does those things right!!

 

I have now sailed on Disney, RCL and NCL Getaway. I'm thinking of trying the Seaside. I agree with others that you can't beat Disney for service and keeping people happy. However the prices I have seen for cruises I am interested in are way too expensive to justify the cost for us. It's great for little kids but not tweens/teens and adults. This is just my opinion. My 11 year old liked the Getaway and we thought the food was pretty good. We liked the Asian and Indian food station on the buffet, this is important for my hubby. I imagine the NCL Breakaway would be similar.

[mjonis]

I look forward to seeing the picture from the meet and greet!! We have our next cruise booked and it is on Seaside in January 2018, we booked it a year ago when Seaside bookings first opened. We booked an inside Yacht Club suite. All in, with a 10% law enforcement discount it was just under $2600 and we get $400 OBC, if we get it this time!!! I though that was pretty decent for the Yacht Club!

 

That's pretty good, IMO for a suite. Far cheaper than the $5600 for the suite on the 10-nighter we were on. The OBC helps too.

 

Thought about Seaside, but given the last experience, I think we'll wait. Plus the itineraries didn't really appeal other than the 11-night one (that does Cartagena and then goes west).

 

Enjoy!

[mjonis]

Very comprehensive review; after our discussions on board I was very much looking forward to reading your thoughts on MSC.

 

Thanks! I'm sure I missed stuff. And everyone has their own list of things that are important to them. Like when you are car shopping. Some want/value certain things vs. someone else.

 

Overall I suppose if I had to "grade" the experience, I'd give it about a C-

Our first Carnival cruise was probably a C (the 2nd one probably a B-), and the RCI (minus me getting sick as that's not the cruise line's fault) probably a B+.

 

To be honest if it had just been embarkation/debarkation chaos, and everything else had gone smoothly I'd probably give Divina an A-. But it was just so frustrating with the repeated disorganization and other issues.

 

I hope that whomever's laundry we got, found its way back to them. (I have no idea, just that I don't wear like a 44" waist, so we gave the stuff back to the cabin attendant--the laundry was mixed in with our clothes, so it wasn't like it was a wrong bag).

 

I'd definitely recommend that anyone who has never gone on Divina/MSC before to read that thread about what to expect. I'm glad I did, otherwise I'd have a very negative review.

 

But knowing beforehand how to order/deal with the drinks, helped. I'm glad (sorta) that my experience with the water matched the other folks that have their vBlog. At least that way I know it wasn't "just me".

 

Knowing beforehand that some people don't know how to stand in line and "queue" helped as well, otherwise I would've thought there were a lot of rude people on board.

 

One thing I did *not* know:

 

you have to pre-order the Coffee Cuddler tickets ahead of time. You cannot buy them on board.

 

I didn't know that the 10-photo package was portrait (and only 8x10 of those either).

 

I didn't know that I'd need/want the water bottle package.

 

Ironically I have an entire 18-ticket of drink coupons leftover, so I'll have to see if anyone is interested in them. Not sure if they'll be good in 2+ years.

 

:)