Just Back from the Divina

Embarkation was easy - on the ship by noon. Had a balcony on the very back of the ship on deck 12 and really enjoyed it. Cabin was lovely, bathroom very nice. We have been on over 50 cruises mostly sailing with Princess, Royal Carib and Celebrity and wanted to try something new for a change. The ship is absolutely beautiful - the atrium will dazzle you with its swvorski crystal staircase! The dining room is on two levels and also very beautiful. I don't know if they had too many passengers for 1st sitting or if it's always like that but the tables were so close together you could barely get between them. Much of the time, the waiters had to pass plates over your shoulder to serve. The food was adequate, small portions which was fine for us as so much gets wasted. The main problem was that more often than not, it was served warm and not hot. You also had a difficult time getting coffee served with dessert. Much of the time, it came long afterwards. The entertainment was excellent which was a surprise. Pool areas also very beautiful especially when they were lit up at night. The passengers were in the 60 plus category - very few children. We were with friends and had a nice time but in the future will stick with our favorite Celebrity new Solstice class ships.

And we were on the same cruise. Second seating in the the Black Crab upper level. We always got coffee just before or with dessert, always had water glasses filled without asking , did not feel crowded at our table ( we were overlooking the lower level and no one was behind us , so it was a good table)and were served hot food. Portions were more than adequate for me and my husband just ordered a second appetizer or the cheese plate if he wanted more. Since we had usually eaten breakfast and lunch in the buffet, the smaller portions were appreciated!

I have read complaints that dinner was too slow and too rushed. It took about 90 minutes each night which we felt was fine. Enough time to get to know our table mates and have some good conversations.

We though the average age was in the low 50's as there seemed to be a lot of families with quite young children on board. Probably not a lot of teenagers, however.

The ship definitely has a European feel, despite the decoration in the buffet which we thought a bit strange! There are places where you feel as though you are in Italy. But except for a few a announcements the first day, everything was in English only so easy to know what was going on. we did enjoy it. Probably the best cruise ship experience we have had yet and will go again if the itinerary appeals and I see they have some interesting ones for January 2016!!!

thank you both for your reviews. how was the pricing for the cruise?

thank you both for your reviews. how was the pricing for the cruise?

Last minute booking price of $289.00 plus taxes. We had an inside cabin. Our friends did an inside guaranteed cabin and got a mid ship balcony and a handicapped cabin! We all enjoyed that!

Thank you for the review!!!

Thanks for your thoughts.

Great thanks for the review...strange that the OP says the age group was in the 60ies when MSC tries to cater to families with the kids sail for free promotion.

Eric

Hi - were there robes in the cabins? Thanks!

One more question - in the coffee bars do they have "to go" cups or do you have to have your coffee there? I sometimes like to get a coffee and walk around! Thanks again!

Great thanks for the review...strange that the OP says the age group was in the 60ies when MSC tries to cater to families with the kids sail for free promotion.

 

Eric

We are in our early 60's and were the oldest at our table for 8. The late dining time definitely had younger people. We went to the early shows before dinner and there were lots of small kiddies and lots of very high heels. I felt it was a younger crowd than on a recent Princess cruise.

Hi - were there robes in the cabins? Thanks!

We didn't have them in our inside cabin. And we didn't ask so not sure.

One more question - in the coffee bars do they have "to go" cups or do you have to have your coffee there? I sometimes like to get a coffee and walk around! Thanks again!

I took my coffee mug from the buffet out of the area. Never used the coffee bar as the coffee was good in the buffet and always available. Was able to make a latte with the hot milk they provided. I don't think it would be a problem to take your coffee with you but not sure about the type of cup.

Janchor - I was thinking of purchasing the coffee vouchers for cappuccino. Sometimes I like to get one "to go" and walk around. On Princess they have the International Cafe and they will put your cuppuccino in a to go cup if you request it. Thanks - maybe I'll bring a travel mug like you need. Thanks again!

I just bought a couple of the $1 white to go cups - reusable w/lids from Starbucks to bring with us. They are pretty sturdy, not paper, you can put hot or cold coffee in them. At the end of the trip we can just leave them....

Great idea! Thanks!!!

How was the smoking on the ship. Someone told me it was all over but that might have been on a European cruise.

We are from FLL so we can just jump on at any time. How close to sailing did you get that phenomenal price?? Did you see it online or where? We also do X and RCCL along with Princess. But with this competitive pricing, we might just try MSC.

Thanks in advance for your reply.

Alma

P.S. Perhaps we sailed together on an X or RCCL ship !!

We got that price about three weeks before the cruise. I had signed up with MSC for email specials and saw it for $299.00 in the timeframe we wanted. We checked an online travel agency and it was $10.00 less so went with that one! We chose an inside cabin but our friends went with an inside guaranteed room and ended up with a handicapped balcony room!

Re smoking. First there is no smoking in the casino or anywhere inside the ship except for the cigar room which is fairly well sealed off! There is smoking on the port side of the open areas although not every where ; for example not in the area where the pool with the the retractable roof is located.

We did not find it to be a huge problem to get a seat on the non smoking side although seats were hard to find if you went up too late! I think they reduced the smoking area for the Caribbean cruises versus the European ones.

Hi - were there robes in the cabins? Thanks!

No robes in cabins. Also watered down orange and tomato juice in mornings.

Thank you for the quick reply. I will sign up and might give them a try. Will let all know how it turned out.

We certainly enjoyed Divina in May. Especially the diverse passengers and learning of their customs. It had a European cruise atmosphere and we travelled with baseball greats provided by MSC which was much entertainment for us Americans. I hope MSC does not abandone USA because they are a great value and a welcome addition.

We plan to travel on Divina again!

On Preziosa, there weren't any bathrobes in the (balcony) cabin but we asked our steward and he kindly went and got a pair. He advised that we should put them on the bathroom floor whenever we needed clean replacements!

We certainly enjoyed Divina in May. Especially the diverse passengers and learning of their customs. It had a European cruise atmosphere and we travelled with baseball greats provided by MSC which was much entertainment for us Americans. I hope MSC does not abandone USA because they are a great value and a welcome addition.

We plan to travel on Divina again!

They had three or four baseball greats on the Feb. 7 /15 cruise as well. My husband planned to attend some of the events with them but we were so busy, he never had time! And I wanted to take the Italian lessons but same problem!

The whole cruise was a lot of fun!