MSC Divina Sept 13th 2014

Sailing with my friend Brion.....anyone else booked?

Anxious to experience this ship and line after reading so many pros and cons.

Cant wait to board!

Tom

I have been looking at this cruise also. Little nervous since we have always sailed on Celebrity

Ernie Roller posted a review on the MSC main board which might answer some questions.

I am anxious to see what it is all about. In the end the cruise is what you make it. Experiencing different products can be fun....as they say variety is the spice of life. The ship looks very nice and sailing on a line that is trying very hard to establish themselves in the north American market should be interesting.

Having sailed on everything from luxury ships to real buckets, I want to try something new........maybe I will see you on board.:D:D:D

Tom

Finally booked for the 13th. This will be our 41st cruise and our first on MSC. You just can't beat the price. Have you booked any day trips yet? We have been to all of these ports in the past and have gotten to the point of not even getting off the ship. However this time we are looking for something new to do. Any suggestions?

Glad to see you booked. Regardless of the differences of this line and ship, we should all have a great time. As for shore excursions the only one I am currently planning on is the catamaran/ stingtray city tour. I have not done this excursion in years and think it will be fun to do it on this trip. I have a tendency to book excursions that have a boat ride as I love being on the water. Shopping excursions are a bor, and like you I have been to all these ports before. Staying on the ship when everyone else goes ashore is great.....the pool deck becomes almost a private domain.

I will have to look over the other tour options for something different or just plain fun.

Perhaps we can all meet up for a sailaway beverage out on deck!:cool:

Tom

Headed on Divina on 5/3/24. Can't wait! Has anyone tried any if the speciality resturarant a? Which is your fav??

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Cool, heading on same cruise in Sept with a few buds, 4 of us.

Welcome to the thread.

Hope you and your Buds are getting excited about this cruise......we should all have a great time.

For rklrkl...I did book the excursion for Grand Cayman...think about it:rolleyes:

Not yet. What did you book for Grand Cayman?

I booked the Catamaran Sting Ray city excursion. Its 3.5 hours in duration which leaves time to go through town (not a priority) or get back on board for late lunch by the pool. Hope you consider taking the excursion. I live getting on catamarans and being on the water.

As for Jamaica, will probably walk off the ship and look over the pier facilities at Falmouth, but not take any tours. Cozumel, nothing planned.

Getting anxious about the cruise, trying another cruise line, a new ship design, and perhaps a international passenger mix.

I look forward to meeting you on board!:D

Hey Guys! .... I'm Neil ...

Not booked yet, but seriously thinking about it .... Kinda cautious of the new line/ship/layout/clientele/etc .... But, trying to remember that traveling is all about experiencing different cultures/people/etc ....

I've been on Norwegian ( HATED IT!! ) and a few Carnival Trips ( Mixed feelings- but mostly positive ) .....

My Bf - Steve - has only ever been on one cruise ( carnival ) ...

Anyway, Hopefully will confirm this sometime this week ..

Looking forward to meeting a good group of people and making new Friends!

Anyone ever been on MSC before ???

Great to hear you are considering this cruise. My cruise buddy Brion who I am traveling with took a short cruise on the Divina and loved it. He was totally pleased and is very excited to be sailing on her again. He did not experience the negatives so many post. He has 50+ cruises to his name and has a critical eye....and loved it. Me, I am hoping for a European flavored cruise experience and hope it will be uber Italian. Traveling is for the experience and the people you meet. As a ship beyotch and am interested in the design or the ship, seeing what MSC is all about. Throw in some dining, great cocktail hours, some sun and people watching and presto....a great experience. Now to figure out if I will hit the gym each morning.....that remains to be seen. Compensation for all that is consumed:rolleyes:.

Hope you do book......even if the ship/ product isn't over the top for you its something new.

Ciao for now

Tom aka Bertha

We are sailing on the 27th... :(

Well...you are on the wrong sailing..........you should be on the 13th for cocktail hour:D:D:D

Where in Central Florida do you live? Orlando????? Or maybe in that swingers town The Villages????:rolleyes:

Orlando. The 27th is my friend's birthday and since he's paying, that's when we are going! LOL :)

Only 45 more days to go. Did you book the excursion direct or through MSC? Loved stingray city the last time, but Tim will not go into the water with them again, something about "those slimy things". This might be a good compromise since I loved playing with them

I booked the tour direct with MSC on their web site. Their website is horrible and a pain to use but I managed to book the tour after trial and error.

The big thing for me is getting on the catamaran...love the wind, the water and the entire experience being on the water. The Stingrays are secondary for me.....their eyes really fascinate me.

My traveling companion Brion is not doing the tour at this point. I am going to try to get him to go but he may just stay on the ship...he is not big on excursions.

I have not booked any other excursions but might consider something else once onboard ship.

In the meantime I am trying to decide where I will want to sit out on deck. The rear pool? the midship pool? The sunwalk midship, or maybe the sun deck over the Galaxy restaurant (which has a daily charge)? It might be decided by how crowded things get and having to grab a seat where you can.

In the meantime I am so ready to go. Next week its pulling out clothes to go to the cleaners which marks my personal countdown:D:D:D

Hope you book the stingray tour...

Deciding where to sun is almost as important as room choice :-) As soon as we get on board, we check the room, where our table for dining is, and then scope out sunning possibilities for the week. We always try to find a nice quiet spot away from the crowds but close enough to a bathroom and bar. I usually try to get up on deck around 7am and position the chairs, get a cup of coffee and sit and relax and watch the people frantically try to save chairs. Always good for a laugh.

Only a few weeks away, hope everyone is packed :-)

I am so ready to board the ship. Three weeks from now I will be driving down to Myjami (Miami)to spend the evening. Hope to get to the port the next morning early so we can get assigned to the first group to board.

We share the same embarkation routine....check the cabin, see the maitreD to see where we are seated in the dinningroom, lunch, tour the ship, beverage time.

Sunning area......sunwalk above the midship pool, or the area above the Galaxy restaurant, or the rear pool area......to be determined.

As for packing.....not yet. Clothes selected to go to the cleaners. Not sure what the attire will be onboard should the majority of passengers be from Europe. It would be so easy if I was a minimalist clothing wise......basic black dress, clam digger pants, tshirt ,thong, flip flops....all fitting into a small bag. But that's not me....thank heavens:D:D:D

Drive safely and we will see you Sat morning. Our flight gets in around 10:30, so we should be at the ship around 11.

Brion and I will be at the terminal when you arrive......me with bald head, Brion with a head of hair and beard. Look forward to meeting you both.

Have a safe flight!:D

Tom

you will be able to identify us, we will be the most pale people in line with the large steamer trunks