MSC Divina 1/28-2/4/17 Trip Summation

[NoName]

MSC Divina Trip Summation 1/28/17-2/4/17

 

I wanted to give back to this forum since I learned so much about the Divina prior to my trip, right here from fellow posters. I hope I can pay it forward by giving the reader information that may possibly enhance their upcoming trip on the Divina.

 

We booked this trip as a family Christmas present. My husband and I (50s) treated our two sons, our daughter-in-law, 6 year old grandson and my son's girlfriend to this cruise. There were 7 of us in total spread over 3 cabins. We were in cabins 8250 & 8254-Bella Balcony's and my youngest son had an inside cabin on deck 9...also Bella Experience.

 

For no other reason than to keep prices down, we decided to fly in and out on the same day the ship sailed and returned. I am an experienced cruiser and knew the risk we were taking. I attempted to mitigate this risk by purchasing trip insurance for the entire group (we never travel without it...primarily for the Medical benefits..... If you are interested in purchasing travel insurance, I recommend you contact tripinsurancestore.com. I have done business with them for quite a few years now and they are a very upstanding company to deal with. ) I made sure to select a policy whereby benefits kick in after 6 hours of a delay and I booked really early morning flights. I felt more comfortable doing so since the Divina doesn't sail until 7pm...so I had some wiggle room.

 

As my luck would have it, a major lake effect snowstorm was predicted to hit during out travel times...so we headed out a little earlier than planned and spent the night in Syracuse prior to our flight. Luckily, it all worked out and our plane departed as scheduled. Even though it all worked out, I did experience quite a bit of stress over it...so, the moral of the story is once again.....always fly out at least the day before your flight!

 

Thanks to previous posters, I knew that purchasing the drink coupons were a good idea. I purchased, the following coupons before sailing: “More for Less”, the “Doremi” coupons (milkshakes and smoothies) Water coupons, and the Coffee coupons as well as the Soda coupons.

 

In addition to the beverage packages listed above, I also purchased the 100 photo package and the largest internet package as well.

[NoName]

Our flight landed in Fort Lauderdale and I had 7 people to transport to the port of Miami. I decided the best option for us was a one way car rental. (We have done this a few times before) Several of the major car rental companies offer free shuttle transport from the Miami Airport to the Port of Miami. One the way down, we used Alamo and on the way back we used Dollar.

 

It is super easy to pick up the mini van at the Fort Lauderdale airport. We then drove to Walmart so we could pick a few last minutes items. From there, it was a quick jaunt to the Miami airport to drop off the car and hop on the shuttle. The shuttle runs continuously and they come around fairly frequently. If I had to guess, I would say there is probably only about 20 minutes from when one shuttle departs until the next one arrives.

 

We arrived at the Divina right around 12:30. Our boarding passes had listed an embarkation time of 2:30. However, this was not an issue at all. I would guess we were literally 15-20 minutes from the time we walked into the building to the time we were on-board. Easy as can be. However, one little annoying item is that they do not take your credit card at check-in. Instead, you have until 11pm the next day to register your card at a kiosk near the reception desk. This wasn't hard at all, but it was annoying trying to remember to do this myself and then remind all of our family to do the same. You are allowed to freely use your card once on-board. You do not have to wait until you have associated a credit card. I wish they would allow you to do this online, or even take the card at the time of check-in. Overall, this was one of the quickest, easiest check-ins I have ever had. Very pleased.

 

Once on-board, since our cabins were not yet ready, we headed to the Sport Bar for lunch. We were the only people there! Upon entering, I asked if they were open for lunch and they said “yes”, so we went in. However, the waitress soon came over and invited us to lunch at the buffet on deck 14! We laughed and told her we weren't interested in the buffet, but she said she wanted to let us know that there was SO MUCH more choices available there.....we thanked her for the information and then placed our orders. We definitely felt like she wanted us to leave and go to the buffet, but once she realized we were not going to do so, she was very professional and our service was good.

 

The sports bar lunch was a big hit. Our group ordered mozzarella sticks, burgers/fries, and salads. We also tried a few different cocktails. All was great! Everyone enjoyed their meal and drinks. I would recommend the Sports Bar for your first on-board meal. In my opinion, it really beats the only other option...the buffet!

[NoName]

Cabins:

 

It was wonderful having the side by side balcony cabins. Having the balconies connected really enhanced our cruise enjoyment as we had a nice, semi-private place to sit and visit each day with our kids.. The balcony was quite a bit larger than some I have had, very spacious. Of note, my husband was able to open the door between the balcony of our room, and our son's room..... easily using just a pen. While I was happy that we didn't have to wait for someone to unlock this for us, it did make me a little concerned about how easy it would be for someone you didn't want to get access to your cabin......just need a pen.....keep that in mind and keep your balcony doors locked while you are sleeping!

 

I found the cabins to be very comfortable and I loved the color schemes. We had plenty of storage. I really liked that there were 2 American style electrical plug-ins in the cabin, as well as 2 European. I brought along a couple of adapters, so I then had 4 plug-ins available.

 

The temperature of our cabin was okay. I actually prefer it to be a little cooler than it was, however we were far from hot. We kept the ac on the coldest setting and kept a card in the card holder, just in case the removal of the card shut off the ac, like it did the lights.

 

Our cabin attendant did a good job keeping our room clean. Even though we had the “Bella” experience, our cabin was cleaned twice a day. However, my grandson was mildly disappointed that he didn't get any “towel animals." The bed was very comfortable and the pillows were nice as well. We each had one larger, “fluffy” pillow as well as one that was a little flatter.

 

I actually liked the location of these cabins. No noise issues at all-even being right above the Black and White lounge. No obstructions on our balcony. It was an easy walk to our dining room, the Villa Rosa each night, just down two flights of stairs. It was quite a walk everywhere else, but with the amount we eat on a cruise, the extra steps do me good!

 

Overall, the cabins were great. however, there were a couple of minor things I didn't like. The cushions of the sofa didn't have anything to hold them in place. Simply sitting on the sofa caused the cushions to slide forward. This made it very uncomfortable for me to sit on as your butt would slide towards the front of the couch. The sofa in my son's room had the same issue. A little Velcro could fix this problem easily.

 

Another small issue I had with the cabin was that there aren't lights in the closet. Several times, my husband had his nap disturbed when I wanted to get dressed. I had to turn on the cabin overhead lights in order to be able to see in the closet. He complained about this a couple of times:)

 

Other cabin related issues to keep in mind.....They will not bring an iron/ironing board to your room. We purchased the $30 laundry package to deal with this. However, I was concerned since the 1st formal night is the 2nd day on-board and I worried they would not be back in time. I called the front desk asked how to send laundry out in a way that I could have it returned in time for dinner the next day. They said there was a laundry bag/paper in the closet.and to just mark “express” on the paper. I looked in the closet, there was no bag/paper. I called back and they said they would have one dropped off. Our cabin attendant then dropped one off along with the form to fill out. I marked it as “express” and wrote in that I needed it back before 5:30pm the next day. The paperwork said there was a $5 charge for “express” service, however I was never charged this fee. I was happy to receive the clothes back nicely pressed at 5pm the next day.

 

The only other room issue, was my own fault. We forgot to pack the extension cord for my husband's c-pap. Unfortunately, there is not a plug in located next to the bed. We called reception for a cord. We had to go to the reception desk to pick it up and they charged us a $30 fee that would be refunded once returned. The problem with this is that we didn't want to have to stand in line at reception on the last morning of the cruise...so, my husband returned it the night before and went without his cpap the last night. This made for a night of disturbed sleep for the both of us!

 

Of note, we found the “do not disturb” sign on our last morning. It was in one of the drawers in the little night stands next to the bed. Apparently, we never opened that drawer until we were double checking everywhere to ensure we didn't leave anything behind.

 

Overall, great cabins and we were very satisfied with our accommodations!

[KiMnEvan]

Thanks for all the information especially about the Sports Bar. Do you happen to have pics of the Sports Bar menu?

[NoName]

Thanks for all the information especially about the Sports Bar. Do you happen to have pics of the Sports Bar menu?

 

Sorry I didn't take pictures of this menu. I strongly recommend the Brownie sundae for desert there! It was delicious! Also, the frozen drink "BBC" was delicious as well!

 

They also served chicken wings...I didn't try these myself, but our kids ate several orders and really likes them....

 

Kim

Edited February 6, 2017 by NoName

[NoName]

Food/Dining Experiences:

 

 

We really enjoyed the food on the Divina.

 

 

Dinner: Our dining room meals were excellent. Our food was served warm and tasty. Once our waitstaff team realized that we drink a lot of water with our meals, they kept our water glasses filled with ice water throughout the meal. We really lucked out and received a great table right beside the windows at the rear of the ship. Beautiful view each night. The only complaint I could offer is that they put 7 people at a table that really should have only sat 5 or 6 max. But I can't complain since we had the Bella experience and we were not sitting in the buffet for dinner!

 

 

One of the best dining room features for us was how they handled our 6 year old grandson. The kids program offers a service to pick your kids up from the dining room at 7pm. This was WONDERFUL. We had the best of both worlds. We got to enjoy his company at our family dinners, but then once he was done with his meal, the kids program staff member would show up at the table to whisk him away to fun! In order for this to work, our waiter (Kumar...one of the best...table 802) brought his meal out when he delivered our appetizers. It made for perfect timing.

 

 

I had read that some former guests had difficulty getting bar service in the dining room. This was not a problem for us at all. Our drink orders were taken and our drinks were delivered promptly. The only little flaw in their system is they don't take payment for the drinks until the end of the meal. A few nights, we were in a hurry to leave, but had to wait around for the waiter to have a minute to process our payment. One night, we forgot to pay....and just got up and walked out. My daughter-in-law remembered and went back. Our waiter said it wasn't a problem and he would have settled up with us the next night.

 

 

Overall...we loved our evening meals in the dining room. The evening meal food was some of the best I have ever had on a cruise (This was cruise #23 for me). Lobster was only ever offered as an additional charge item, but there were plenty of other wonderful dishes, so it wasn't missed at all. Also, a couple of nights, I couldn't chose between two main entrees, so I ordered one as an appetizer and the other as the main course....not a problem at all!

 

 

Breakfast in the dining room...much of this was great. A few things twere a little weird. When we sat down, we had one person giving us our menus, another at the same time offering juices while carrying a full tray of pre-poured drinks, while another person started asking for our order, while a fourth was offering breakfast rolls..while another appeared offering coffee....wow...it was VERY prompt service, but a little overwhelming and felt quite rushed. (I lost track of how may different people participated in serving our breakfast!

 

 

However, my omelet came out of the kitchen so fresh, it was a bit too hot to eat and I had to let it cool a bit before consuming! I can't complain about that!. Subsequent breakfasts were very similar, with the entree being very warm as well.

 

 

Needless to say, with this many people assisting with service, we were in and out very quickly!

 

 

Buffet: The food in the buffet was tasty and the variety was great....however...I HATED the buffet. The crowds at peak meal times were horrendous. People were rude...not enough tables for the crowd.....I found this area very stressful....however...if you went at non-peak times, the flow was more inline with what I have come to expect on other lines. I am not sure why it is so bad....it just was!

 

 

However, the food on the buffet was surprising good. As mentioned by many previous posters, the pizza was great....best pizza at sea without a doubt. Also, the cheeseburgers were very good as well and they offered both curly fries (think Arby's) and straight fries...both good.

 

 

The deserts were the best at sea as well. Usually I find cruise ship deserts look Great but taste blah.....MSC knows how to make deserts!

 

 

Oh, the breakfast donuts are fabulous as well. They are obviously made fresh daily on-board....I am going to miss those!

 

 

Room Service: Since we had the “Bella Experience” room service items were an additional charge. The menu was on the TV and the prices averaged about $3.50 per item. Very limited menu...few sandwiches and then pizza which was priced from 10-13 dollars or so. We didn't order room service so can't comment on the taste.

 

 

SportBar: The food here was really good. The burger was one of the best burgers I have ever had! I tried the fish and chips one day as well....that wasn't any good.....there was more breading than there was fish....I would skip that! However, they have a wonderful brownie sundae on the menu that was super! I highly recommend. We only ate here twice, but I really liked the food and the atmosphere.

 

 

If I were comparing the food on the Divina cruise to the NCL cruise I completed in October of this year....I would say that there was no comparison.....MSC simply had better food!

 

 

 

 

I have lots more to come, but am going to stop here for the night. I will pick back up on Wednesday....(I have to work for 12-14 hours tomorrow....back to reality!):(

 

 

Kim

[NoName]

I can't believe I forgot to include one of my favorite "foods" in the food section! Gelato! OMG....this is the best ice cream I have EVER had....AND with the Doremi coupons you can get milkshakes made from the Gelato that is made on board...simply the best milkshakes I have EVER had! Oh...and you have to try the smoothies also available with your Doremi coupons...FABUlOUS!!!!

 

I am going to miss this Gelato so much......!

 

Kim

[NoName]

On Wednesday, I will cover the Kids Program, Entertainment, Photo Package, thoughts on international passenger mix & Debarkation....and try to answer any questions that I can!..

 

Kim

[riclop]

I can't believe I forgot to include one of my favorite "foods" in the food section! Gelato! OMG....this is the best ice cream I have EVER had....AND with the Doremi coupons you can get milkshakes made from the Gelato that is made on board...simply the best milkshakes I have EVER had! Oh...and you have to try the smoothies also available with your Doremi coupons...FABUlOUS!!!!

 

I am going to miss this Gelato so much......!

 

Kim

 

Totally agree those milkshakes were fabulous we had them every night.

[KevintheIrishDJ]

We just disembarked from the Divina. We were with a group of over 500. At least 10% became sick, including my wife and myself. Every day at mass, more people were coughing. The stores onboard do not sell cough medicine. “Sir, you can go to the Medical center ($200 for the visit and 5 pills) or you can wait till the next port.” The line was down the hallway for the medical center.

The ship did have hand sanitizers; however, some did not work properly and there were no crew members encouraging you to use them.

We tried to eat dinner in the buffet. The food is TERRIBLE. Only 3 or 4 choices in addition to burgers and hot dogs that were on the hot table so long that the buns and fries were hard as a rock.

[shukapaw]

@NoName, thanks for taking the time to post your impressions. We are looking forward to our trips on the Divina

 

@KevintheIrishDJ posted here (and an identical post of his own) that his experience on your cruise were quite the opposite of yours. Seems like the root of his complaint is that the onboard shop doesn't carry cough medicine. I guess the moral of the story is "pack your own cough medicine".

 

~Brian

[riclop]

We just disembarked from the Divina. We were with a group of over 500. At least 10% became sick, including my wife and myself. Every day at mass, more people were coughing. The stores onboard do not sell cough medicine. “Sir, you can go to the Medical center ($200 for the visit and 5 pills) or you can wait till the next port.” The line was down the hallway for the medical center.

The ship did have hand sanitizers; however, some did not work properly and there were no crew members encouraging you to use them.

We tried to eat dinner in the buffet. The food is TERRIBLE. Only 3 or 4 choices in addition to burgers and hot dogs that were on the hot table so long that the buns and fries were hard as a rock.

 

So you all gave yourself's a cold , but sure blame MSC and if you are going to give us your thoughts why lie? They do sell cold medicine and they have way more then 3-4 choices to eat in the buffet !!!!!!!!!!!!!

[nikkiw60]

So you all gave yourself's a cold , but sure blame MSC and if you are going to give us your thoughts why lie? They do sell cold medicine and they have way more then 3-4 choices to eat in the buffet !!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

Lots of us came off with colds the previous week but it's one of those things!

 

And we found ourselves spoilt for choice in the buffet!

 

 

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[KevintheIrishDJ]

@NoName, thanks for taking the time to post your impressions. We are looking forward to our trips on the Divina

 

@KevintheIrishDJ posted here (and an identical post of his own) that his experience on your cruise were quite the opposite of yours. Seems like the root of his complaint is that the onboard shop doesn't carry cough medicine. I guess the moral of the story is "pack your own cough medicine".

 

~Brian

 

We did bring our own 8oz.; however, we went through it quickly.

[KevintheIrishDJ]

So you all gave yourself's a cold , but sure blame MSC and if you are going to give us your thoughts why lie? They do sell cold medicine and they have way more then 3-4 choices to eat in the buffet !!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I didn't lie. Even Customer service told me they did NOT SELL cough medicine. I was talking about the evening buffet that had few choices. Did you try it in the evening?

[KiMnEvan]

Sorry I didn't take pictures of this menu. I strongly recommend the Brownie sundae for desert there! It was delicious! Also, the frozen drink "BBC" was delicious as well!

 

They also served chicken wings...I didn't try these myself, but our kids ate several orders and really likes them....

 

Kim

 

My11yr old son loves anything with the word sundae in it so I will make sure we try it!!!! Thanks again!

[Kroozen]

Thank you for the review! I'm sailing on the 18th of this month. I was especially glad to hear that you have 24 hours to register your card but it can be used immediately. I was really worried about standing in line for hours trying to register it when I first board.

 

 

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[CruisnDeb]

Sorry I didn't take pictures of this menu. I strongly recommend the Brownie sundae for desert there! It was delicious! Also, the frozen drink "BBC" was delicious as well!

 

They also served chicken wings...I didn't try these myself, but our kids ate several orders and really likes them....

 

Kim

 

What is the BBC frozen drink? Please tell me one of the B's stands for Bailey's and is included in the classic drink package :)

[Beamafar]

What is the BBC frozen drink? Please tell me one of the B's stands for Bailey's and is included in the classic drink package :)

 

It's definitely included - it's been a long time since I've had one but I think Bailey's is one of the ingredients. Personally, I prefer to have my Bailey's straight - or added to a hot chocolate when in the onboard café :D

[All-ready2cruise]

What is the BBC frozen drink? Please tell me one of the B's stands for Bailey's and is included in the classic drink package :)

 

BBC - Baileys Irish Cream, White Rum, Coconut Cream, Pineapple Juice, Fresh Banana

[nikkiw60]

Thank you for the review! I'm sailing on the 18th of this month. I was especially glad to hear that you have 24 hours to register your card but it can be used immediately. I was really worried about standing in line for hours trying to register it when I first board.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

 

We never saw Any line at any of the machines. It only takes a couple of minutes to do.

This way also saves time at embarkation we think.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[CruisnDeb]

It's definitely included - it's been a long time since I've had one but I think Bailey's is one of the ingredients. Personally, I prefer to have my Bailey's straight - or added to a hot chocolate when in the onboard café :D

 

I will have to remember this--adding Bailey's to hot chocolate sounds heavenly :)

 

BBC - Baileys Irish Cream, White Rum, Coconut Cream, Pineapple Juice, Fresh Banana

 

Except for the pineapple juice, this sounds delicious. I think I would have to have them "hold" the pineapple juice.:D

[Beamafar]

I will have to remember this--adding Bailey's to hot chocolate sounds heavenly :)

 

Also included in the drinks package - just order each separately. I usually have one for elevenses when onboard at least once during the cruise ;)

 

Bailey's had a "Chocolate luxe" drink for a time, though I haven't seen it of late.

[CruisnDeb]

Also included in the drinks package - just order each separately. I usually have one for elevenses when onboard at least once during the cruise ;)

 

I had to google this lol. Sounds like a perfect "elevenses" drink ;)

[NoName]

Entertainment:

Shows: Unfortunately, were not my cup of tea. I went to two performances.....can't remember the name of the 1st one I attended, but it was the 2nd day on-board.....we walked out after about 20 minutes. I didn't try again until the Michael Jackson show. I was so disappointed! I had heard from several sources that this show was “not to be missed”...but for me it was awful. They simply played Michael's songs while one performer emulated his dancing and pretended to be singing at times. I couldn't stay for the entire performance......

 

 

However, my family attending another performance and we can't remember the name, but something about Pirates and they said this was fabulous! This was from the same family members that walked out early on the other shows. They were so impressed with the acrobats and the show even had a bit of magic. They said I would have loved it!

 

 

 

I found that I really missed comedy shows and magic shows...etc....the singing and dancing just isn't my type of entertainment.

 

 

 

 

Arcade: Since I was traveling with our 6 year old grandson, I had wondered about the Arcade...basically, how much money this was going to cost me! There are two arcades and the prices range from $1.5 a game to $2.50 a game. So, not horrible, but the money sure added up fast.

 

 

4D Theater: I had planned to purchase the $60 unlimited package for 3 cabins $180 total (bowling, formula one and the 4D movie theater)....however, my grandson tried the car on for size and couldn't reach the pedals. He bowled one game and while he liked it...he didn't feel the need to do it again. One of my adult son's wasn't interested in any of it...... So, in the end we just paid individually for the 4D Theater. He loved this. The price was $8 dollar per adult and $6 dollars per child. He watched 5 out of the 6 different movies and loved them all. It is not my type of entertainment, but the other adult family members enjoyed it as well.

 

 

I hadn't understood how this worked prior to sailing. There are no “movie” times. You simply go up to the where the formula one car is and tell them which movie you want to watch. There can be around 10 people at a time, but usually it was just our family. Each movie lasts about 5 minutes.

 

 

 

I should also mention that I had read about these being broken a lot. This wasn't the case on our vacation. Everything seemed to be fully operational at all times.

 

 

 

 

 

Movies: They did not have a movie playing every night....I only noticed one playing a couple of times in the evening. (They did have one playing in the middle of the day once). I am sad to report that this experience is not as good as I have experienced elsewhere. There are no lounge chairs available, your seating options were the chairs from the nearby tables. I never did get a chance to watch a movie, but did walk through while others where enjoying this.

 

 

 

 

Kid Program: I thought the kids program was WONDERFUL. I came to this inclusion by the fact that our grandson loved to go and was disappointed at times when we would pick him up. We were worried at one time because there were 12 kids in his group and only 3 spoke English....however, he managed to play and communicate with the other kids just fine. I guess you don't have to speak the same language to build fabulous leg statues!

 

 

The success of this program is because of the wonderful kids counselors. They were so friendly and engaging. My grandson enjoyed the various activities and had a super time.

 

 

One of the best features for the adults is that they will pick the kids up at 7pm in the dining room! This worked out so well as we were able to enjoy the whole family having dinner together then, after an hour....when he would normally be getting antsy to move on...they would show up like magic and whisk him away....happy kid....happy grandparents....WIN, WIN!

 

 

Casino: I loved that the Casino was SMOKE FREE...how refreshing. However, I am a “slot” player and didn't find many that I enjoyed. Keep in mind, I am a very low roller....I like to play the penny slots and only bet 20 cents or so a spin. I didn't have many options for this. Most machines seemed to require a 40-50 cent bet per spin. Too rich for my pockets. To top it off.....the slots seemed tight....at least they weren't letting me play very long for my money. This actually probably saved me money as I didn't gamble as much as usual.

 

 

Pool Deck : I found plenty of space in the shade up on deck, which is my preferred lounging venue. I loved sitting in the shade reading a good book (Recommend 11/22/63 by Steven King....great vacation read!) However, I found the flooring extremely slippery when wet and unfortunately, before I realized this (day 2 of the cruise), I took a hard fall and really hurt my hip. This certainly put a damper on my trip. I didn't file any incident reports as it is my fault..the floor was wet and I didn't' pay attention. (I still can't walk up stairs normally yet...and am thinking of going to get an xray if things don't improve in the next few days)

 

 

However, I only mention this because even after the first fall, when I was very cognizant of the risk of slipping....I “almost” fell down a couple more times. I feel that the flooring choice was not great for areas that frequently become wet. Not sure what can be done about this, but please be VERY careful and walk slowly when on the open decks.