(Potential) First Time MSC Cruiser - questions?

[momsince96]

Hello!

 

We are loyal NCL px and have also cruised Carnival and Royal.  Our anniversary is coming up in Sept and the Divina is sailing during the perfect time for us.  As I sit here recovering from COVID, one of my fears (contracting COVID on a cruise) is removed, LOL, so I am even more interested in possibly catching this sailing.

 

My concern is the "feel" of the ship and the passengers.  We like a spirited cruise.  We wouldn't necessarily enjoy the feeling of "having the ship to ourselves" or turning in early for R&R.  We like to be out late, enjoy music, people watch, etc.  I find that shorter cruises lend themselves to this sort of clientele anyway, but I am still wondering what the overall vibe is.  The research I am doing on this board make me feel like this is more of a quiet, sit-in-the-sun, retire early kind of ship.  

 

We are in our 50s but are immature (just kidding).  I am an overnight ER nurse so a night owl.  I know I have to go to bed eventually, but I don't want to go at 10pm.

Thoughts?  Thanks in advance!!

[Gatordad1967]

MSC gives lots to do.  If you don't want to go to bed at 10, don't cruise Celebrity.

 

[perakcruiser]

MSC in Western Med would probably perfect for you. Or MSC in Brazil. But no MSC ship is a "quiet, sit-in-the-sun, retire early kind" ship, that is totally not the concept of MSC. When sailing from the US, maybe some more "quiet, sit-in-the-sun, retire early kind" are on board, that I don't know.

[dexddd]

Hard to say.  Before the whole mess, MSC out of US had lots of Europeans and lots of later night things like NCL.  I'd say more later things as the Europeans tended to do things later.

 

We did two trips last September with limited passengers so things different.  Yes, things until midnight but then kind of slow.

 

From reading the boards here this year, doesn't sound like things back to normal, that said, I'd go.

[LatinaInTexas]

Just off the Seashore, first timer sailing MSC. Had only cruised RC and Carnival before.

We had over 70 nationalities onboard and it was a very different vibe than any other cruise.

I don't really like RC, too quiet, too relaxing for me. I love Carnival. Upbeat, energy, always something going on, cruise directors really give their all making things fun, fun, fun.

On both MSC and RC the only time you see the cruise director is to announce the production shows.

We found this cruise very quiet. Normally we can sit at a bar, or a hot tub, or the pool, basically anywhere and someone will start chatting. On this cruise it never happened. I did try a few times and got a polite smile but no conversation. I'm not sure if there were language barriers.

I'm glad I tried it, the ships are beautiful, the staff excellent, the food great, the shows great. We had 4 port stops so were kept busy.

I enjoyed MSC better than RC but not as much as Carnival. I really missed the added free food options and the energetic vibe of Carnival.

[Oxo]

11 hours ago, Gatordad1967 said:

MSC gives lots to do.  If you don't want to go to bed at 10, don't cruise Celebrity.

 

What Celebrity ships have you been on to go to bed at 10? LOL

HAL - Yes! 

[Gatordad1967]

Just got off Solstice.  Only place to get food after 9pm was at buffet.... and it was half the buffet.  Not a lot going on late there.

 

[Oxo]

33 minutes ago, Gatordad1967 said:

Just got off Solstice.  Only place to get food after 9pm was at buffet.... and it was half the buffet.  Not a lot going on late there.

 

I believe most cruise lines are doing this, too. Not sure about Carnival as never been on it. 

NCL has the Local or O'Sheanhans 24 hours.

[Nunagoras]

While the Divina is not an old ship by any means, it is old enough to be sort of out of the current trend MSC is targeting their product in. Never been on the Divina myself. I just went on the Fantasia which is one of her older sister ships, actually the one from which class she belongs. Divina is a classy ship. No real bells & whistles. You'll find a nice range of bars and lounges all with their own proper vibe. Clientele used to be quite diverse with lots of European and other international clientele. Maybe, they have more US natives now from US ports?... Either way: I believe MSC to be more relaxed than the likes of Carnival, NCL or even such an RCI Oasis class ship... But far from a "dead" ship at 10. At least here in Europe most bars will be open till mid night. Some till 1 o'clock in the morning. Casino and disco use to stay open late in the night.