Review of MSC Divina sailing with kids age 7 and 9. 3-18 to 3-25-17. any questions?

[shellster1]

For my opinion no one cutting the line. In America if one person standing by the soup for 5 min and can not decide what to take, all others will stand behind her and wait, even they don't need the soup. Europeans will just move ahead and grab what they need and for me it's a correct thing to do. Why create the line and wait for something you don't even want to take?

 

Maybe it's just me, but in all the times I've been in a buffet line, I've never waited 5 minutes for the person in front of me to make a decision on soup...or anything else for that matter.

Perhaps you mean as we all move along the line, people will skip over one food, and choose another? In any case, IMO, I don't mind at all if THERE IS ROOM for someone to sneak in in front of me and quickly grab what they would like. However, I feel it is rude no matter where you are from to cut someone off for your own benefit. Perhaps not in a small bakery in Italy but unfortunately lines are necessary at the buffet of a cruise ship. Can anyone imagine if there were no lines? I'd rather wait civilly a few extra minutes than battle massive chaos. Nobody likes to wait. Americans least of all, since we have proved ourselves to be an impatient bunch, i.e. all the American complaints of the 2-3 hour dinners?? :D (I'm American, but I love the long dinners!)

[FIREFIGHTERCRUISER]

Great review and pretty spot on. I have cruised with MSC DIvina in Sept 2014, April 2016, and now this weekend. I have never heard of the $60 entertainment package. Where did you go to get this? Did you get cards or bracelets? We have 9 cabins in our group and 3 are with kids (mine included). The kids range from 6-11. Thanks in advance for any info!

 

You get the package up where the F1 race car is. There's an attendant there and you just let him know that you want to buy the package and they put it on your card. For the bowling you just swipe your cruise card to activate it. They also give you a little paper card that you have to show each time you want to go into the 4D theater or do the Formula One car. Well worth it.

[FIREFIGHTERCRUISER]

Just booked the Seaside for next spring break with the kids, 3-17-18. The new ship looks like it will be fun, and definately had the kids in mind when designed. Little more expensive than this Divina cruise but still reasonable . Guess thats a good way to cap off the review. obviously booking another cruise shows that MSC was doing some good things.

[thegraminator]

Hurray for you ! So glad to hear that you have re-booked ! Ya gotta let us know how that cruise goes. Bet the kids are excited !

[Oceanislanddreams]

Hello! What a great review! You answered a ton of questions!

As far as he slide goes-Can you tell me what I need to do about my 6 yr old who is 49" tall? Where do I maybe accidentally put that he is 8? I already gave all the birth dates when I booked the cruise. If he can't slide that's kinda of a game changer for us! So I'd like to fix this problem!

 

 

I will be using voice to type for most of this so I apologize for grammatical errors or missing commas and other grammar issues.

 

We just got back from our family cruise. It was a great time. I will say there were some good things and some just okay things. Going in we were a little hesitant about MSC because we had never done one before. Overall I would say it was definitely a good experience and depending on the price we would do it again. We did not book anything special, no yacht club or anything. Just a Bella cabin number 8254. My wife and I are pretty experienced Cruisers. We believe this is our 12th one... Pretty sad that we have lost track. However, this was only our second Cruise with our children. My wife and I are both 38 and our children are a nine year old daughter and seven year old son. My wife and I have been on most of the standard Cruise Lines -Princess, Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Norwegian, and Holland America. The only cruise we have been on with the kids was Norwegian on the getaway which we also enjoyed, but definitely took some getting used to and acclimating to Cruisin with the kids rather than just the two of us.

Prior to boarding we purchased several drink packages. We got the Doremi package a coffee cuddle and the bottled beer package. All are well worth it and we ended up using them all on our 7 day cruise. The last day we actually had to make ourselves use a couple because we had some extra. We also purchased the dining package for three restaurants.

Embarkation

We actually got to the port a little later than we had initially hoped. We got there approximately 2 p.m. and from the time we were dropped off by our shuttle we were on the boat with in 15 minutes. We missed the major backup times but I still thought we got on very quickly. We then went and got the kids registered for the kids club.

We then went to our room which was very nice however we did notice a lot of Random stuff/stains in places. Don't get me wrong throughout the week our room stewards were very good and they did what was expected as far as making the room up and keeping it clean. They also pulled out the kids bed everyday and put it away every morning so that we didn't have to deal with it throughout the day. A lot of what we found was just stuff that accumulates over time and gets overlooked because it's in rare spots that room stewards really don't look at. There was dirt smudges in random places, we found some leftover catch up on one of the tables that was not cleaned off and my wife also found a lot of hair in one of the drawers where the hair dryer is located. We called the front desk and mentioned it to them and once we got back from our muster drill the hair had been cleaned up however the other random smudges and dirt we're still there. I then just cleaned them up myself with a washcloth because I did not want to cause any more hassle for us or the room steward. Just left a little sour taste in my mouth but I got over it quickly once we got underway. The rest of the ship was beautiful though and very well maintained. All of the common areas were spotress and people were always cleaning.

FOOD

The food on board was just middle of the road. I've definitely had better food on most of the other Cruise Lines. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't bad it just wasn't anything that I would write home about. One standout was the Galaxy Restaurant however. This was excellent and I would definitely recommend it again. However, Eataly was one of the most UNDERwhelming specialty restaurants we've ever been two on any of the cruise lines. I will definitely not go back there or waste my money. The steak was Bland and the vegetables and sides were very mediocre. The Pinnacle Grill on Holland BLOWS Eataly out of the water. Also I know many people have mentioned the pizza being very good and they were not wrong. The pizza on board was definitely the best I've ever had at sea. It would even put some New York City pizza joints to shame.

KIDS ACTIVITIES

The kids club on board was excellent. Both my children loved all of the counselors and seemed to have a very good time. My son actually spent one entire day in there. We tried two or three times throughout the day to come and get him and see if he wantee to join us at the pool and he told us that he would rather stay in the kids club. Initially my nine-year-old daughter was a little reticent about going in but she quickly made friends and after that was smooth sailing. I also really like the kids club on MSC because the hours are much more user-friendly than on Norwegian. Again we have never taken the kids on any other Cruise other than Norwegian to compare it to. The MSC kids club had lots of activities that they took the kids to around the ship and they also took them to meals. On Norwegian they would take them to meals but there was a charge if you wanted them to. The MSC kids club also took the kids to some of the kid-friendly shows late in the evening. The kids club also offers a late night package if you want the kids to stay till 2 a.m. but I believe the charges $20 per child. Otherwise you normally had to have them picked up by 10:45 or 11. On Port days the kids club was open the entire day, on sea days it would close for about an hour or two in the daytime and evening to allow the counselors to eat I assume. Again the kids club was awesome and our kids really enjoyed it.

SLIDE

I know I had questions and I've seen a lot of questions about the slide. THE DIFINITIVE RULE is the child has to be the minimum height requirement which is 48 inches and 8 years old. Not either or. Once we found this out i was not a happy camper. I knew my son was looking forward to the slide. We live in Orlando so there is no way this slide remotely compares to Universal Studios Disney SeaWorld or any of the other Resorts that we go and ride rides at all the time. This slide is fun but it's pretty weak and I don't feel I need to be 8 to ride it. In order to ride the kids have to have a wristband. I might have accidentally fudged my son's birthday and got him a wristband. He easily meets the height requirement so I might have accidentally put that he was born in 2009 instead of 2010. he got his wristband and rode the slide all week long. I have heard rumors that there's a list or something but the pool attendant had me sign the waiver and there was no questions asked whatsoever.

We also purchased the $60 all you can play entertainment package. This was also well worth it because there are not a lot of other activities to do with the kids on board. We played a ton of bowling and rode the virtual reality ride many many many times.

Let's be honest this is not a Disney cruise. The kids club is awesomte however there is not a lot of active things to do on board. I mean in comparison to Royal Caribbean or some of the newer ships that have lots of water slides and ropes courses and bumper cars and all of the other newfangled things.

BUFFET

One thing we did hate about this ship was the buffet. It is completely disorganized and the layout is not user-friendly whatsoever. Going into the buffet you have to know that you were going to eat a burger one day or pizza one day or salad. Etc. If you want to try and take a little bit from one or the other its practically impossible to get through because of the way everything is laid out and the length of the buffet itself. When the ship isn't busy it's not as much of a problem however during the peak times this can cause some frustration.

One other thing that MSC cannot control however people should go in knowing is that there are a lot of flat-out rude people on the boat. Not workers but other Cruisers. I by no means think Americans are above anyone however there were a lot of foreign speaking people who were blatantly rude. I don't mean one or two but a pretty significant amount. Don't know if there was any occasion that I tried to get off an elevator that I wasn't pushed aside or had someone walk in the elevator before letting me out. Again I'm sure Americans do this as well however everyone I encountered this with was foreign speaking during the cruise. There was also a lack of giving someone personal space while at the buffet. If you were dishing something up people had no qualms with reaching over you around you or just blatantly going in front of you. Again nothing that MSC can control however you might want to go in knowing that there will be a lot of different nationalities with different behaviors on this Cruise Line versus some of the standardized American ones.

SHOWS

The shows were all very good. One or two were mostly singing and kind of became a snoozefest. However,the singers and dancers all did an excellent job. I think it was just a matter of the material they were using. The Michael Jackson show in the pirate show we're definitely the best. The acrobats singers and dancers all did a very good job and the vocalist sounded great. The Michael Jackson show was lipsync but the dancing and performances were still very good. I think in order to compete MSC is going to have to adjust their performances just a little though or at least add some other options. Our last cruise wae on the Oasis and we had Endless Options as far as entertainment. This cruise, and I would guess MSC in general, is definitely more traditional. You eat and go to a show or you go to a show and then eat. And you only have one option as for the show. Nowadays on Royal and some of the other lines you have your choice of ice skating shows diving shows shows Broadway shows such as cats, etc. Having the only option be the one show was somewhat disappointing and got a little repetitive every night.

Okay. I will try to wrap this up. Overall we had a great experience and I think MSC is headed in the right direction. The captain spoke on several occasions during the performances or after them and mentioned how MSC is growing and needs everyone's support to break into the American Market. The kids club was one of the high points of the cruise for us. If we were to go back it would be primarily because of that and the hours the kids club is open. The fact that they take them to the shows and to dinner without charging extra is a big benefit. If MSC stays as it is we would definitely cruise with them again however if we were to find a cruise on one of the more traditional line for the same price we would go with them over MSC. If MSC continues to do the Kids Sail Free and their prices stay low we will definitely look into cruisingagain. But again if we can find a cruise on Royal or princess or Holland for the same price or maybe even a little bit more we would probably lean towards that .

I know this was kind of scattered and probably didn't hit on a lot of topics. If anyone has questions feel free to shoot them to me and I will try to answer them as best as I can. I have no problem filling you in on what I can. We didn't do a lot of late-night activities since we have the kids so our nights typically shut down around 11.

[FIREFIGHTERCRUISER]

As far as he slide goes-Can you tell me what I need to do about my 6 yr old who is 49" tall? Where do I maybe accidentally put that he is 8? I already gave all the birth dates when I booked the cruise. If he can't slide that's kinda of a game changer for us! So I'd like to fix this problem!

 

6 might be pushing it but if they are big it's worth a shot. Their is an attendant at the base of the slide. He just checks the kids height and then gives you a form to fill out. Then they get a red band to wear for the rest of the cruise and are good to go. He never checked any paperwork or questioned us. I just accidently put that my son was born in 09 I stead of 2010...ooops. We thought the same thing about possibly missing the slide being a real bummer. With the kids club activities and the bowling it wouldn't have been the end of the world though.

[PGPrendy]

BUFFET

One thing we did hate about this ship was the buffet. It is completely disorganized and the layout is not user-friendly whatsoever. Going into the buffet you have to know that you were going to eat a burger one day or pizza one day or salad. Etc. If you want to try and take a little bit from one or the other its practically impossible to get through because of the way everything is laid out and the length of the buffet itself. When the ship isn't busy it's not as much of a problem however during the peak times this can cause some frustration.

One other thing that MSC cannot control however people should go in knowing is that there are a lot of flat-out rude people on the boat. Not workers but other Cruisers. I by no means think Americans are above anyone however there were a lot of foreign speaking people who were blatantly rude. I don't mean one or two but a pretty significant amount. Don't know if there was any occasion that I tried to get off an elevator that I wasn't pushed aside or had someone walk in the elevator before letting me out. Again I'm sure Americans do this as well however everyone I encountered this with was foreign speaking during the cruise. There was also a lack of giving someone personal space while at the buffet. If you were dishing something up people had no qualms with reaching over you around you or just blatantly going in front of you. Again nothing that MSC can control however you might want to go in knowing that there will be a lot of different nationalities with different behaviors on this Cruise Line versus some of the standardized American ones.

 

We just returned from the March 25, 2017 sailing, and I just posted my review on here, but forgot about this. Yes! We encountered people who just cut in front of us at the buffet, on the elevators, and yes, this happened more on our MSC Divina cruise than on any other... a significant number of times. We pretty much took deep breaths, shook our heads, and remembered that we're on vacation, and just kept it moving, but it really is pretty aggravating.