Divina quick review from 16/12/16

[babyh200]

Hi all,

I'm a busy working mum with 4 children but wanted to do a very quick review from our recent cruise.

 

Firstly and most importantly we loved the Divina and would sail again in a heartbeat and I was VERY grateful for all of the tips I picked up on this forum.

I DO think there are some things that could be improved:

 

Embarkation: Complete disaster IMO. I have sailed Carnival & Disney previously and expected an hour or so wait, maybe even longer. We arrived a lot later than usual (around 1.45pm) so partially our fault but we only boarded the ship at 5pm and were shoved straight into the safety drill. It was just complete mayhem but this could be down to the holiday period.

 

Our cabins were fabulous 2 balconies (fantastica) in the forward section of deck 9. Room Steward was called Carlos and was the nicest room steward we have ever had. He was friendly, efficient and just couldn't do enough for you.

 

Dining Room: My DH and I normally prefer the dining room and would never consider the buffet purely because I prefer to be waited on with 4 children. In the end we began to look for other places to eat though. The service was quick enough but the food just wasn't as nice as I've had on other ships.

We went to the Sports Bar a couple of times but it was difficult to find a seat and they do not allow you to sit just outside, although they did in the end on 2 occasions!

We were really impressed with the buffet it was more like a restaurant than a canteen and the selections were always excellent especially the carving station.

 

More coming.........

[babyh200]

Entertainment: Absolutely fabulous, there was always something going on and the theatre shows were just spectacular and far superior to the previous Carnival ones!

We went to the Queen Tribute, The mask, Treasure island and Michael Jackson oh and one of the singing ones....loved them all

 

Kids Club: This is were we hit problems. Our three year old daughter goes to regular day care and has always attended kids clubs on holiday. One of the key workers "Marsi" was so abrupt one day my daughter burst into tears and refused to go in again. She was extremely rude and I had no choice but to complain.

Meanwhile, my son who is eleven had attended the older kids club all week with his sister who is aged 13 without a problem, that same evening (day 5 of the cruise) they threw him out without warning and said he was too young!

It was too much of a coincidence, my son came to the cabin sobbing and it was a clear attempt at payback on their part which was rectified by the kids club manager in the end.

 

Divina Pools and general decor: Stunning, what a beautiful ship. Immaculate throughout we particularly loved the garden pool (non smoking side)

 

Value for money: None of the other lines can compete with the sheer value for money the MSC Divina is offering there is something to suit every budget. We like a couple of drinks and used the 18 coupon books which were perfect for us!

After reading a couple of comments about the photo packages we also pre-purchased a package of 10 photographs which saved us loads of money and we have beautiful professional photographs of our children to treasure.

 

Debarkation: excellent se were off the ship in no time.

 

Any questions please ask....sorry I cut off half way through the first post but my son is only 8 months old :)

[coscab]

Thanks for review, going on Divina in March, good to hear you enjoyed the cruise.

[riclop]

Thanks so much for the review.

[edspec]

Thanks so much for the review, especially the embarkation info. We too are usual DCL cruisers, and used to boarding the ship in an organized manner. My 26-year old autistic DS WILL NOT do well w/ a lengthy, unexpected wait. We are Aurea, so hope that will help. I will also fill out the special needs form. We are on the 4/15 sailing, really wondering if we need to stay at the hotel till check-out, do a relaxed lunch in Miami, then go to the port? Sorry for hijacking the threat, but does anyone have experience w/ MSC's special need's procedures?

[gigi1313]

Thanks for your review... Would love to hear more about kids club, as regular DCL cruisers, I fear it won't keep my 8yo entertained!

Edited December 28, 2016 by gigi1313

[easyboy]

Thanks for the feedback.

[nikkiw60]

Want the embarkation problem on this cruise to it just having returned after a stop in Columbia?

Enjoying your review.

 

 

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[babyh200]

Hi Nikki,

I hope I havent worried you, I think it may have been something to do with Columbia. Our check representative said they didn't start to board until 2.30pm.

I have been on one of the Carnival ships once where the line was out the terminal for miles in Port Canaveral. It still didn't take much more than an hour if I recall correctly.

I wrongly assumed by arriving late we would miss the crowds but it was crazy. I meant to sign up for the status match before we left but just didn't have time trying to pack for 6 of us. I won't make that mistake again my husband scored them 0/10 for this part of the experience.

I don't know anything about special needs but you should quite rightly be fast tracked to the front of the line. I do recall seeing the Aurea signs and these lines seemed reasonable.

It was all forgotten about as soon as we got to our cabins and had a cocktail ha ha although I did feel like we were robbed of the first afternoon.

[KeywestK]

Thank you for posting about your cruise!

[mjonis]

Hi all,

I'm a busy working mum with 4 children but wanted to do a very quick review from our recent cruise.

 

Firstly and most importantly we loved the Divina and would sail again in a heartbeat and I was VERY grateful for all of the tips I picked up on this forum.

I DO think there are some things that could be improved:

 

Embarkation: Complete disaster IMO. I have sailed Carnival & Disney previously and expected an hour or so wait, maybe even longer. We arrived a lot later than usual (around 1.45pm) so partially our fault but we only boarded the ship at 5pm and were shoved straight into the safety drill. It was just complete mayhem but this could be down to the holiday period.

 

Our cabins were fabulous 2 balconies (fantastica) in the forward section of deck 9. Room Steward was called Carlos and was the nicest room steward we have ever had. He was friendly, efficient and just couldn't do enough for you.

 

Dining Room: My DH and I normally prefer the dining room and would never consider the buffet purely because I prefer to be waited on with 4 children. In the end we began to look for other places to eat though. The service was quick enough but the food just wasn't as nice as I've had on other ships.

We went to the Sports Bar a couple of times but it was difficult to find a seat and they do not allow you to sit just outside, although they did in the end on 2 occasions!

We were really impressed with the buffet it was more like a restaurant than a canteen and the selections were always excellent especially the carving station.

 

More coming.........

 

Yeah, I tried to warn everyone about that (we were on the previous itinerary and debarkation was delayed). But I posted kinda late. Apparently only happens when the cruise comes back from Colombia for some reason with CBP.

 

But glad your sailing went much smoother than ours did.

[Clarea]

Thank-you for the report.

[babyh200]

mjonis:

I just read your review and agree with lots of the things you said. My report wasn't that comprehensive because we went onto Orlando for Christmas and have just got back to the UK extremely jet lagged after a long delay and being re-routed via JFK.

 

Unfortunately, I didn't have WIFI on my phone so didn't see your kind update regarding boarding delays.

We did experience the chaos you describe in the casino trying to collect our drinks vouchers.

We are from the UK and known for our queuing patience but there were times when the 'Que Cutting' was (in the words of my 13 year old) "Savage"!!

The worst was the morning of Debarkation we were trying to board a courtesy shuttle to Miami Airport. I was standing with my 3 year old, my DH was the one who flagged down the bus and spoke to the driver who pulled up in front of me and then there was a stampede behind me. This woman tried to push past me and bashed my daughters head with her suitcase then shouted loudly to the driver "I don't think she understands English" I turned to her and yelled "Oh I understand ENGLISH perfectly, I was here first, NOW MOVE IT !"

 

Rude people are not MSCs fault of course.

 

Sorry, back shortly my baby is calling.........

[babyh200]

Anyway, we appear to have been lucky in other areas. our dining allocation was "Villa Rossa" and the service was quick in there most of the time and water glasses filled immediately (just the regular jugs) and topped up regularly throughout dinner. They only appear to keep, wine, beer, prosecco etc in the dining room so don't ask for cocktails/spirits or bring them with you from the bar or you will wait.......

I 'liked' the food in the dining room but didn't 'love it' , which was why we decided to try the sports bar and buffet.

I would have happily paid for some of the other dining options but felt it wasn't practical with a 3 year old and a baby!

We visited the Sports Bar (Big thanks to Jimmy and Amanda for this tip on their "Chubby and Away " video) but they didn't want to let us order food without a table and it was heaving. However, one of the servers 'Ivy' put the order through when I said we had missed dinner. We ate in a little seating area just outside on two occasions but we made a point of returning the empty plates. We had cheese sticks, buffalo wings, nachos and an MSC burger which was too much food but all very good and piping hot :)

 

Breakfast was the 'black Crab' for us and we used room service twice. It was good overall we love Eggs Benedict and one day it was cold and hard so we returned it. The waiter kept us entertained and had us crying laughing....his name was 'Arthur' , he said 'if you need anything else, just call me here is my cell etc he was so much fun.

 

We are overall 'glass half full' rather than 'glass half empty' people. Hey I'm on a cruise without a mountain of washing, meals to cook and a house to clean and just adore spending precious time with my family. I can overlook most things except the 'kids club' situation which did unfortunately impact on my relaxation time at the garden pool (my daughter never went in the evenings or stayed for dinner, I just wanted a couple of hours break in the afternoon which I don't believe is too much to expect) so hopefully they will sort that out by the time we sail again. The kids club Manager sent my daughter a little cruise ship teddy and a card and promised to re-organise their 'front of house'as a priority.

She also said that eleven year olds ARE allowed in the teen club (12 and over) as long as they are responsible, she had no idea why my son was suddenly thrown out but rectified this immediately with the kids club staff. Our two older children age 11 and 13 'Loved it' and I could see why when I paid them a visit it was just fabulous. They took them on extra activities you usually pay for like the simulator thing and zorbing (plastic bubble ball thing) sorry if that's not what it's called. The kids made loads of friends and had an amazing time my daughter was crying saying goodbye on our last day!!

 

If they're happy we're happy too :)

[riclop]

Thanks so much for the review, especially the embarkation info. We too are usual DCL cruisers, and used to boarding the ship in an organized manner. My 26-year old autistic DS WILL NOT do well w/ a lengthy, unexpected wait. We are Aurea, so hope that will help. I will also fill out the special needs form. We are on the 4/15 sailing, really wondering if we need to stay at the hotel till check-out, do a relaxed lunch in Miami, then go to the port? Sorry for hijacking the threat, but does anyone have experience w/ MSC's special need's procedures?

 

When you check in just tell them what you need.

[nikkiw60]

This is not a link but a screen shot

May be of some help re Special Needs assistance?

 

 

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[GadgetRick]

Thanks for the detailed info. We're considering the Divina for our pre-Christmas cruise next year. We've done Carnival (Paradise out of Tampa) the past two years. Nice ship. Service last year was awesome, this year just ok. But I digress...

 

Anyway, not knowing anything about MSC, I've been looking at reviews (especially since it's so darn inexpensive!). Seems everyone has the same comments about the dining room food. Honestly, I was never impressed with the Carnival food (dining room food just mediocre and buffet, well, less than that). We cruised Princess in Alaska earlier this year (owned by Carnival). Food was better but still not great.

 

You mentioned you've cruised Carnival before. How does the dining room food compare to Carnival dining room food? I'm perfectly-fine with the buffet if it's as good as everyone is saying but would like a few nice sit-down meals for the ladies in the house (my wife likes to as does my mother-in-law and other people who travel with us).

 

My older son will be 15 by then and he's NEVER done any of the kids camps on any of our cruises (don't ask me why...). He keeps himself entertained and will have another kid about his age with him. My 11 year old loves going to the kids camp because he makes his own schedule. We'll also have a 7 year old with us. Other than the problem you encountered, did the camps have enough to keep the kids entertained?

 

I've also heard about them (MSC) using other loyalty programs. Do you just let them know what you're in and status when you book?

 

Thanks again! Very timely and helpful!

[vladmax]

 

I've also heard about them (MSC) using other loyalty programs. Do you just let them know what you're in and status when you book?

 

This is the link. https://www.msccruisesusa.com/en-us/MSC-Voyagers-Club/Loyalty-Match-Program.aspx or you can Google "msc loyalty match"

You would need to provide the proof of your status with other cruse line (I took the screenshot from the website)

[GadgetRick]

This is the link. https://www.msccruisesusa.com/en-us/MSC-Voyagers-Club/Loyalty-Match-Program.aspx or you can Google "msc loyalty match"

You would need to provide the proof of your status with other cruse line (I took the screenshot from the website)

 

Thanks a bunch!

[Tarah51476]

Hello, I was on the same cruise. I called Msc the day the cruise left and was told normally people board at about 11am but that that particular day because of the TSA... boarding would be between 1pm and 2pm... just to let you know maybe why it took so long. I got there at about 1pm and boarded at 4pm =)

[Aza1972]

Hey there,

 

Just wondering how you went with your 8 month old on the cruise ? We will be sailing in Feb and our son will be 8 months old. We are travelling all the way from Australia for this holiday (26hrs travel time...yikes).

 

Did you find much food on the buffet for the little one ? Are staff accomadating when heating bottles is required ?

[mjonis]

Thanks for the detailed info. We're considering the Divina for our pre-Christmas cruise next year. We've done Carnival (Paradise out of Tampa) the past two years. Nice ship. Service last year was awesome, this year just ok. But I digress...

 

Anyway, not knowing anything about MSC, I've been looking at reviews (especially since it's so darn inexpensive!). Seems everyone has the same comments about the dining room food. Honestly, I was never impressed with the Carnival food (dining room food just mediocre and buffet, well, less than that). We cruised Princess in Alaska earlier this year (owned by Carnival). Food was better but still not great.

 

You mentioned you've cruised Carnival before. How does the dining room food compare to Carnival dining room food? I'm perfectly-fine with the buffet if it's as good as everyone is saying but would like a few nice sit-down meals for the ladies in the house (my wife likes to as does my mother-in-law and other people who travel with us).

 

My older son will be 15 by then and he's NEVER done any of the kids camps on any of our cruises (don't ask me why...). He keeps himself entertained and will have another kid about his age with him. My 11 year old loves going to the kids camp because he makes his own schedule. We'll also have a 7 year old with us. Other than the problem you encountered, did the camps have enough to keep the kids entertained?

 

I've also heard about them (MSC) using other loyalty programs. Do you just let them know what you're in and status when you book?

 

Thanks again! Very timely and helpful!

 

In regards to the Carnival vs. MSC MDR food. Keep in mind my last Carnival Cruise was on the Valor a few years ago, and the time before that was a lot longer on the Sensation. Things may have changed on Carnival since then:

 

I personally prefer the Carnival MDR over the Divina for the following reasons:

 

1) Food and service was faster/better on Carnival. The "food better" is subjective obviously. Food was not bad on Divina (well except for the Lasagna which tasted exactly like Chef Boyardee Ravioli). I just thought Carnival food was better. At least last time on Vista, our waiter offered freshly cracked pepper on things and grated parmesan cheese. On Divina, I only got fresh cracked pepper in the paid restaurants (and of the 4, only in 2 of them). And the parmesan cheese on Divina is the stuff from the can (unless you're in the paid restaurant).

 

2) Drink service on Carnival in the MDR is superb compared to Divina. I didn't have to hunt someone down for a glass of water refill or order my drink order right away so I could get it 30 minutes later. (If you want more than one drink, I suggest you order BOTH right away on Divina).

 

Again, not BAD, but a lot of room for improvement, IMO, on Divina.

 

Again, things may have changed on Carnival since I last sailed.

 

But try Divina and see what happens. After the first night you'll get a good feel for what you may have to do differently (like the water situation). We ordered bottled water the rest of the time to ensure we had water when we were thirsty. But had to pay for it (Unless you have the drinking package).

 

Enjoy, and hope you have a good time!

[GadgetRick]

In regards to the Carnival vs. MSC MDR food. Keep in mind my last Carnival Cruise was on the Valor a few years ago, and the time before that was a lot longer on the Sensation. Things may have changed on Carnival since then:

 

I personally prefer the Carnival MDR over the Divina for the following reasons:

 

1) Food and service was faster/better on Carnival. The "food better" is subjective obviously. Food was not bad on Divina (well except for the Lasagna which tasted exactly like Chef Boyardee Ravioli). I just thought Carnival food was better. At least last time on Vista, our waiter offered freshly cracked pepper on things and grated parmesan cheese. On Divina, I only got fresh cracked pepper in the paid restaurants (and of the 4, only in 2 of them). And the parmesan cheese on Divina is the stuff from the can (unless you're in the paid restaurant).

 

2) Drink service on Carnival in the MDR is superb compared to Divina. I didn't have to hunt someone down for a glass of water refill or order my drink order right away so I could get it 30 minutes later. (If you want more than one drink, I suggest you order BOTH right away on Divina).

 

Again, not BAD, but a lot of room for improvement, IMO, on Divina.

 

Again, things may have changed on Carnival since I last sailed.

 

But try Divina and see what happens. After the first night you'll get a good feel for what you may have to do differently (like the water situation). We ordered bottled water the rest of the time to ensure we had water when we were thirsty. But had to pay for it (Unless you have the drinking package).

 

Enjoy, and hope you have a good time!

 

Thanks. Our last Carnival cruise (Paradise this past December) we had one waiter for a table of 13 with minimal help. So it was taking us 2+ hours for dinner. I also understand that's how things are done in Europe so I can deal with that.

 

I also don't care about drink service at dinner so I can deal with that. :)

 

I've never been even remotely impressed with Carnival food although our first Carnival cruise was about 4 years ago. It's gotten worse over that short time frame.

 

I won't be unhappy if we wind up eating at the buffet if it's as good as everyone says. :)

[KruiseKween]

Entertainment: Absolutely fabulous, there was always something going on and the theatre shows were just spectacular and far superior to the previous Carnival ones!

We went to the Queen Tribute, The mask, Treasure island and Michael Jackson oh and one of the singing ones....loved them all

 

Kids Club: This is were we hit problems. Our three year old daughter goes to regular day care and has always attended kids clubs on holiday. One of the key workers "Marsi" was so abrupt one day my daughter burst into tears and refused to go in again. She was extremely rude and I had no choice but to complain.

Meanwhile, my son who is eleven had attended the older kids club all week with his sister who is aged 13 without a problem, that same evening (day 5 of the cruise) they threw him out without warning and said he was too young!

It was too much of a coincidence, my son came to the cabin sobbing and it was a clear attempt at payback on their part which was rectified by the kids club manager in the end.

 

Divina Pools and general decor: Stunning, what a beautiful ship. Immaculate throughout we particularly loved the garden pool (non smoking side)

 

Value for money: None of the other lines can compete with the sheer value for money the MSC Divina is offering there is something to suit every budget. We like a couple of drinks and used the 18 coupon books which were perfect for us!

After reading a couple of comments about the photo packages we also pre-purchased a package of 10 photographs which saved us loads of money and we have beautiful professional photographs of our children to treasure.

 

Debarkation: excellent se were off the ship in no time.

 

Any questions please ask....sorry I cut off half way through the first post but my son is only 8 months old :)

My little one will be 20 months when we go in April...when you went, did they allow you to have your baby in the shallow watered area around the pool (not the actual pool) as I know they are not allowed to be in the pool if they are in diapers. Thanks!

 

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[briceand4]

I was wondering if the food in the sports bar is included or if it is an al a cart menu? Thanks

 

 

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