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Just off DIVINA - Review in process

Kroozen

By Kroozen,
in MSC Cruises

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Kroozen

Kroozen

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The nightlife was mainly live music in the lounges. Usually a piano or guitar and a vocalist. I went to karaoke one night, which was held on the pool deck/aqua park. There were maybe 8-10 participants, and probably the same amount of people watching. Overall, the Divina was a really low key ship. They had events going on, but they weren't "in your face" like I've seen on NCL or Royal Caribbean.

 

 

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Motegi

Motegi

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Very glad to hear that you enjoyed your cruise.

 

I just booked for 4 rooms in June for Pam and myself and some relatives that will be visiting us from Japan. It will be their very first cruise.

 

You said the boarding process was very smooth. I've read reviews from others that said it was standing room only. Any pointers on embarkation times? Should we try to board right at the beginning or wait until later?

 

How many formal nights were there? Other than the white party were there any other theme nights?

 

Also do you have any of the daily schedules to post here? I'd love to see what kinds of activities that they have around the ship.

 

I anxiously await your full review!

 

Thanks in advance,

Koji

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Kroozen

Kroozen

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This was my 8th cruise, but first time on MSC and I've never had an easier boarding process. We took a shuttle from our hotel at 11am, and we were standing on our balcony by 12pm. We never got off the shuttle until 11:30, so the whole boarding process took less than 30 minutes.

 

There were 2 formal nights. Most men wore dress pants and a dress shirt. Some wore suits or tuxedos, but most did not. In addition to the formal nights, there was a white party, 70's flower power night, and an Italian themed night (people wore red, green or white in accordance with the Italian flag).

 

I didn't keep any of the daily schedules. I felt like our room was getting full of paper from all the schedules and handouts, so we threw things out on a daily basis.

 

 

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Motegi

Motegi

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Kroozen,

 

Thanks so much for the quick reply!

 

We will try to board around noon based on your experience.

 

I really appreciate your info about the theme nights so that we can prepare our outfits.

 

I can understand the feeling of being buried in all the papers and handouts every day. In your opinion based on your prior cruises with NCL would you say the number of activities offered onboard the Divina each day was comparable? Things like trivia, game shows, scavenger hunts, etc?

 

We just got off the CCL Victory two weeks ago. It had been over 2 decades since my last cruise with them. Even though it is supposed to be the "fun ship" I found the activity schedule to be lacking in number and quality. On NCL it seems that there are so many activities that overlap that we cannot possibly do everything that we want. Which is a good thing!

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thegraminator

thegraminator

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Thanks for sharing your "mini" review . Can't wait to read the full version . One silly question , was the infinity pool ( garden pool) ever filled so it actually looks like an infinity pool? All the you tube videos seem to show the water level so low that it looses the illusion . Not that this will impact my cruise , I am just curious . TIA !

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danno17314

danno17314

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Overall, we felt the food was good. Nothing really blew me away, but everything was good. I'll go into more detail in my review. Embarkation and disembarking were very quick.

 

 

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Hi there -Saw your post, We just got off the ship a week ago, & I agree the food was good but nothing ground breaking, I have to say though the variety and quality of the pizza available especially late was a real treat for us..For the $$ I thought it was an overall good value but being only English speaking the whole cruise was a bit trying/challenging for my wife and I think she's one and done on this ship..I asked her to have an open mind and see what the new ship brings plus the additional ships coming to Florida.😆

Take care!

 

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tweety33

tweety33

Posted
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I've been trying to figure out which night is Italian Night?

Which night is White ?

Which night is 70's night?

 

Was formal night Sunday (Nassau day) and Thursday night sea day?

 

Thank you so much, I haven't been able to figure this out for our itinerary. I am looking forward to your review.

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LMCruise

LMCruise

Posted
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I've been trying to figure out which night is Italian Night?

Which night is White ?

Which night is 70's night?

 

Was formal night Sunday (Nassau day) and Thursday night sea day?

 

Thank you so much, I haven't been able to figure this out for our itinerary. I am looking forward to your review.

 

Hi there, I also just returned from this cruise. I think perhaps your itinerary is different than ours, so the nights may not line up. Ours was:

 

Sat-casual

Sun-sea day, formal

Mon-sea day, flower power/70s/80s

Tues-St Martin, white night

Weds-San Juan, Italian night

Thurs-sea day, formal

Friday-Nassau, smart casual

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Kroozen

Kroozen

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Embarkation:

 

This was the easiest and quickest embarkation I've ever experienced. We stayed at the Marriott near Miami International Airport and took their 11am shuttle to the port for $10 pp. The Divina was the 3rd ship the shuttle stopped at, and we were off the shuttle by 11:30am. Porters took out luggage, and we made our way inside. Once we got through security, we went right up to the check in counter as there were no lines. Check in was very quick, and we were standing on our balcony by 12pm.

 

They do not have you register any payment method until you get on the ship. This can me done with credit, debit or cash. Credit and Debit can be done at the self service kiosks which were scattered around the reception area, while Cash was handled at the desk. You are given 24 hours to register a payment method, though your card will work immediately for purchases. This means that if there is a line when you first board, you can just come back later. However, we didn't encounter any lines so registering our debit card was quick. It should be noted that unlike other cruise lines, MSC does not put a "hold" or an "authorization" on your debit card. Rather you choose an amount to pay ($100-$400) and you are charged the full amount immediately. Anything not spent is given back to you in cash before debarking on the final morning. Also, another nice thing is that your card isn't declined if you go over your limit. For example, I paid $400 with my debit card initially , and I was told that I could go $300 over before needing to pay more. Our account totaled around $700 for the 2 of us, so we went back to reception on the final night and paid the remaining $300 that we owed.

 

Stateroom:

 

We had a balcony cabin on the 13th deck (13126). It is located directly under the buffet area, which did cause some noise late at night and early in the morning while they cleaned. The cabin was clean and well maintained for the whole week. Our cabin was cleaned twice daily. The bathroom was a little cramped, but the collapsible shower doors helped out with the lack of space. The cabin had a good size couch near the balcony doors and a stocked mini bar. The strange thing was that the mini bar was not replenished during the week. The balcony was furnished with 2 standard chairs (not loungers) and a table/ottoman.

 

Dining:

 

Our assigned seating in the dining room was late seating in the black crab dining room. We were sat at a table for 8 with 3 other couples, however 1 of the other couples only came to dinner once. Service was a lot better than I expected. Our water glasses were kept full, and after the 2nd night, our head waiter knew that I drank a lot of iced tea and he brought it to me without asking. Our food came out hot, and it was cooked properly. (Including the pasta, which I read a lot of people had issues with.) Overall, the food in the main dining room was very good, but nothing that blew me away. Don't get me wrong, it was very good, but nothing that made me say "Wow, that was the best steak/pasta/fish I've ever had." Meals took about 90 minutes, and consisted of an appetizer, main course and dessert. If you ordered multiple appetizers, they were served in separate courses. Several of us at our table ordered multiple appetizers, entrees and desserts and it was never an issue.

 

The buffet was crowded at peak times, but this is typical of any cruise I've been on. The pizza is especially good. They had around 8 different varieties, and it was always hot and fresh. If you can't find any tables directly inside the buffet, head midship and go out the door toward the pool deck. There are several tables out there.

 

We didn't do any of the specialty restaurants except for the eataly pizza. The pizza was good, and the prices were reasonable, but I actually liked the pizza in the buffet better. Definitely try it if you like pizza.

 

The ship itself:

 

Like most other people have said, the Divina is a beautiful ship. It looks brand new, and everywhere you look someone was cleaning the carpet or polishing something.

 

There were a few things that I didn't like though. The promenade deck on this ship is where the lifeboats are located, which blocks the view around 75%. The lifeboats are not hanging above the deck, rather they are sitting on the deck. There was no seating, and no way to walk around the ship. If you're someone who enjoys sitting on the promenade deck and listening to the waves, you will be disappointed.

 

Another downside, is the lack of deck space in the pool area and above it. It was VERY difficult to find a chair on sea days. We went outside around 9am on sea days, and the chairs were already "reserved" with towels. If you want a chair, I suggest going out with your towel around 7am. Although they say they will remove towels after 30 minutes, I never saw them do that, and chairs remained vacant for 3 or 4 hours even though they had a towel or other belongings on them. This seems to be an issue on a lot of ships I've sailed on, but this was probably the worse.

 

Odds & Ends:

 

As soon as you board, you're basically harassed into buying a drink package. This will continue right through the first full sea day. We were told about the drink package 5 times during our first breakfast on board. A few of the staff members were downright pushy about them. It got to the point where I felt like I was at a sales presentation for a timeshare when all I wanted to do was get trough my breakfast in peace.

 

We didn't think it was worth it for us to buy an all inclusive package, but we wanted the drink vouchers. The vouchers allow you to "pre-pay" for 18 drinks at a discounted rate. One of the bartenders tried to get us to buy an all inclusive package, and he didn't want to talk about the vouchers until I asked about them directly. We did the math, and decided to get the vouchers. We went back to the same bar about 1 hour later, and we were told that they weren't offering the vouchers on our cruise. He immediately tried selling us on the drink package again, which became very annoying. We saw several people paying with vouchers during that first evening, so we went to another bar and were told that they are not selling them for our cruise. When I asked again, I was told that people had pre-purchased them before boarding, but they were no longer selling them due to the ship not being full. I don't know how true that is, but I didn't press the issue any further.

 

To sum everything up, we had a great time on the Divina. I would absolutely cruise with MSC again. There were some things that could be improved, but it wasn't anything that made me not want to sail with MSC or the Divina in the future.

 

 

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thegraminator

thegraminator

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Great review very informative ! Thank you . In reference to the drink vouchers , doing the math , they seem like a good deal . We are going to be receiving the 12 vouchers per guest with our Fantactica package and we have pre-ordered 18 additional vouchers for non alcoholic beverages to share between the two of us . Those added vouchers work out to $2.73 per drink for milkshakes , smoothies , etc . which seems like a great deal . We will use the "free" vouchers for our cocktails .

 

Definitely sounds like the pre-purchase option is the best idea in case it is not available on board .

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Doc2725

Doc2725

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Embarkation:

 

This was the easiest and quickest embarkation I've ever experienced. We stayed at the Marriott near Miami International Airport and took their 11am shuttle to the port for $10 pp. The Divina was the 3rd ship the shuttle stopped at, and we were off the shuttle by 11:30am. Porters took out luggage, and we made our way inside. Once we got through security, we went right up to the check in counter as there were no lines. Check in was very quick, and we were standing on our balcony by 12pm.

 

They do not have you register any payment method until you get on the ship. This can me done with credit, debit or cash. Credit and Debit can be done at the self service kiosks which were scattered around the reception area, while Cash was handled at the desk. You are given 24 hours to register a payment method, though your card will work immediately for purchases. This means that if there is a line when you first board, you can just come back later. However, we didn't encounter any lines so registering our debit card was quick. It should be noted that unlike other cruise lines, MSC does not put a "hold" or an "authorization" on your debit card. Rather you choose an amount to pay ($100-$400) and you are charged the full amount immediately. Anything not spent is given back to you in cash before debarking on the final morning. Also, another nice thing is that your card isn't declined if you go over your limit. For example, I paid $400 with my debit card initially , and I was told that I could go $300 over before needing to pay more. Our account totaled around $700 for the 2 of us, so we went back to reception on the final night and paid the remaining $300 that we owed.

 

Stateroom:

 

We had a balcony cabin on the 13th deck (13126). It is located directly under the buffet area, which did cause some noise late at night and early in the morning while they cleaned. The cabin was clean and well maintained for the whole week. Our cabin was cleaned twice daily. The bathroom was a little cramped, but the collapsible shower doors helped out with the lack of space. The cabin had a good size couch near the balcony doors and a stocked mini bar. The strange thing was that the mini bar was not replenished during the week. The balcony was furnished with 2 standard chairs (not loungers) and a table/ottoman.

 

Dining:

 

Our assigned seating in the dining room was late seating in the black crab dining room. We were sat at a table for 8 with 3 other couples, however 1 of the other couples only came to dinner once. Service was a lot better than I expected. Our water glasses were kept full, and after the 2nd night, our head waiter knew that I drank a lot of iced tea and he brought it to me without asking. Our food came out hot, and it was cooked properly. (Including the pasta, which I read a lot of people had issues with.) Overall, the food in the main dining room was very good, but nothing that blew me away. Don't get me wrong, it was very good, but nothing that made me say "Wow, that was the best steak/pasta/fish I've ever had." Meals took about 90 minutes, and consisted of an appetizer, main course and dessert. If you ordered multiple appetizers, they were served in separate courses. Several of us at our table ordered multiple appetizers, entrees and desserts and it was never an issue.

 

The buffet was crowded at peak times, but this is typical of any cruise I've been on. The pizza is especially good. They had around 8 different varieties, and it was always hot and fresh. If you can't find any tables directly inside the buffet, head midship and go out the door toward the pool deck. There are several tables out there.

 

We didn't do any of the specialty restaurants except for the eataly pizza. The pizza was good, and the prices were reasonable, but I actually liked the pizza in the buffet better. Definitely try it if you like pizza.

 

The ship itself:

 

Like most other people have said, the Divina is a beautiful ship. It looks brand new, and everywhere you look someone was cleaning the carpet or polishing something.

 

There were a few things that I didn't like though. The promenade deck on this ship is where the lifeboats are located, which blocks the view around 75%. The lifeboats are not hanging above the deck, rather they are sitting on the deck. There was no seating, and no way to walk around the ship. If you're someone who enjoys sitting on the promenade deck and listening to the waves, you will be disappointed.

 

Another downside, is the lack of deck space in the pool area and above it. It was VERY difficult to find a chair on sea days. We went outside around 9am on sea days, and the chairs were already "reserved" with towels. If you want a chair, I suggest going out with your towel around 7am. Although they say they will remove towels after 30 minutes, I never saw them do that, and chairs remained vacant for 3 or 4 hours even though they had a towel or other belongings on them. This seems to be an issue on a lot of ships I've sailed on, but this was probably the worse.

 

Odds & Ends:

 

As soon as you board, you're basically harassed into buying a drink package. This will continue right through the first full sea day. We were told about the drink package 5 times during our first breakfast on board. A few of the staff members were downright pushy about them. It got to the point where I felt like I was at a sales presentation for a timeshare when all I wanted to do was get trough my breakfast in peace.

 

We didn't think it was worth it for us to buy an all inclusive package, but we wanted the drink vouchers. The vouchers allow you to "pre-pay" for 18 drinks at a discounted rate. One of the bartenders tried to get us to buy an all inclusive package, and he didn't want to talk about the vouchers until I asked about them directly. We did the math, and decided to get the vouchers. We went back to the same bar about 1 hour later, and we were told that they weren't offering the vouchers on our cruise. He immediately tried selling us on the drink package again, which became very annoying. We saw several people paying with vouchers during that first evening, so we went to another bar and were told that they are not selling them for our cruise. When I asked again, I was told that people had pre-purchased them before boarding, but they were no longer selling them due to the ship not being full. I don't know how true that is, but I didn't press the issue any further.

 

To sum everything up, we had a great time on the Divina. I would absolutely cruise with MSC again. There were some things that could be improved, but it wasn't anything that made me not want to sail with MSC or the Divina in the future.

 

 

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From what I read/hear, the nightlife is pretty good on MSC. By that I mean the bars are pretty hopping until at least 1 AM, and the bands in the bars play later than they do on other lines. Did you find this to be true?

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