Divina or Norwegian getaway?

Same price. Both go to St.Maarten, which is a must for me on an Eastern Caribbean cruise. Have a slight preference for Getaway, but I thought let me shoot it here to see what your opinions are.

We looked at both and chose Divina yacht club over NCL Haven for our November trip mainly for the all-inclusiveness of the drinks. I have sailed in the Owners Suite on NCL Jade and was familiar with the haven experience - from what I have read, I think the Yacht Club will give us more value and a better environment for my teen. While the pool area on Haven seems better, the top sail lounge will give us a nice quiet place to hang out in the evenings and the snacks seem much better.

We sailed on MSC Splendida (balcony cabin) in the Mediterranean and have no qualms about MSC.

The Getaway wins in food, spa and open promenade.

The Divina wins in shows, interiors, aft pool.

Divina if you go Yacht Club

Getaway any lower Catagory (balcony, OV, inside)

Hi Topo Gigio,

Saw your post on the NCL Board as well. I've not yet cruised on the Getaway, but including next month's cruise on the Jewel, I will have done eight NCL cruises.

I was on the Divina this past May. I usually travel alone and stay in an inside cabin. I must say I was very impressed with the Divina.

The food was very good, the big difference between the two lines is the fact that MSC still has assigned dining times and seating. I happened to be seated with a group of fun people, so dinner on this cruise was a joy.

The shows were superior. Each of the shows had different themes. The ship has a Tenor Opera singer who is incredible! They do a matinee of selections from an opera, if you like opera at all, I would recommend that you go.

In a head to head comparison, MSC's top line Allegrissimo Premium Package beats Norwegian's Unlimited Beverage Package (UBP). The Allegrissimo Premium includes all top shelf liquors (including Johnny Walker Blue) as well as all items in your mini bar, all coffee drinks, all soda pop, all sparkling and bottled water, all gelato and all Italian Pastries. The NCL UBP has an $10.00 price limit on drinks and does not include anything from your cabin mini bar.

The Divina is beautiful. The ship is tastefully decorated and not garish at all. Sadly some of NCL's ships have been a little over the top for my personal tastes over the years.

A big difference you will notice on the ship is the difference in passengers. A majority of my cruisemates were Spanish speaking. While I had no issue, I did notice that the music in the bars were often Spanish Language dance music. The White Party was also run very differently than NCL does.

Ironically, my itinerary included a stop at Great Stirrup Key. Obviously we saw NCL logos all over the island. The MSC staff though, ran the food and beverage services on the island when we were there.

Staff on the ship was very pleasant. MSC staff is used to European Crowds and tend to be a little less aggressively friendly. I found that my smiles and hellos were always returned, and treating wait staff as professionals went a long way. No washy, washy, happy, happy to be found on the Divina (which by the way has always driven me crazy on NCL ships).

I would say that if you are wanting to try something different than NCL, Divina is definitely worth a try. I do plan on scheduling a future cruise or two on MSC.

For us that's an easy one, Divina.

We couldn't decide which ship, so we are going on both - back to back, except it will be Divina's other itinerary (Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Great Stirrup Cay) ;)

If your platinum on NCL, would do it otherwise why not try Divina.

The Getaway wins in food, spa and open promenade.

The Divina wins in shows, interiors, aft pool.

Ran into 2 groups off the Getaway while both ships were in Port, and all the Getaway cruisers did was complain about the Getaways poor food!

We later found out for ourselves that when comparing free food Getaway with free food Divina, the Divina's was better!

When comparing the food at specialty restaurants, it was a tie only because the Getaway had more specialty restaurants!

Divina has set dinner times, Getaway has open dining times!

Thanks for all your input, but very last minute I decided for the Vision of the Seas (Royal Caribbean) because after this cruise I will be only 17 points away from becoming Diamond Plus, and want to reach that before end of the year.

Thanks for all your input, but very last minute I decided for the Vision of the Seas (Royal Caribbean) because after this cruise I will be only 17 points away from becoming Diamond Plus, and want to reach that before end of the year.

Understandable, we are D+, love the D lounge!:D

Understandable, we are D+, love the D lounge!:D

Isn't it the best perk of the 7 seas?:D

Isn't it the best perk of the 7 seas?:D

I think my MSC Black Card 20% discount is the best perk, better than my RCI Diamond level use of the Diamond lounge.

As i've always had a suite on RCI I have had the use of the Concierge lounge before i got to Diamond.

Pete

I think my MSC Black Card 20% discount is the best perk, better than my RCI Diamond level use of the Diamond lounge.

 

As i've always had a suite on RCI I have had the use of the Concierge lounge before i got to Diamond.

 

 

Pete

Might be a bit useless if you live in the USA.

Might be a bit useless if you live in the USA.

What makes you say that Topo???

What makes you say that Topo???

With only 1 ship full time for now, and after April next year it will become seasonal, so if you want to cruise MS, you will have to fly to europe.

With only 1 ship full time for now, and after April next year it will become seasonal, so if you want to cruise MS, you will have to fly to europe.

Correct,,for the time being. I'm a lowly Classic Level Member, but I still enjoy a 5% discount on my total cruise bill. It won't take us long to get to the black level though,,with 4 sailings booked on MSC including a 19 day TA from Genoa to Miami,plus one point for every $200.00 we spend onboard,we'll get there soon.

With only 1 ship full time for now, and after April next year it will become seasonal, so if you want to cruise MS, you will have to fly to europe.

Actually we are very happy the Divina will go back and forth in the spring and fall, we're planning on Transatlantic cruises every year starting in 2016!:D

That 20% will be a nice extra!

PS MSC has a 2nd ship, MSC Musica that sails the Caribbean out of the Dominican Republic in the Summer!

Actually we are very happy the Divina will go back and forth in the spring and fall, we're planning on Transatlantic cruises every year starting in 2016!:D

That 20% will be a nice extra!

 

PS MSC has a 2nd ship, MSC Musica that sails the Caribbean out of the Dominican Republic in the Summer!

American,,,you're going to have to let me know when you start planning those trips!!! We're thinking about doing the same thing. The Caribbean has become boring for us, so we're now looking to explore Europe and especially the med. Greece and all of Italy are very high on our wish list.

We did a b2b on Divina and Getaway in May...LOVE the Divina...great shows..good food very laid back atmosphere...Getaway had great crew...shows were ok ...but the food was lacking...We actually liked the buffet on Getaway more than their MDR...Loved Divina so much we have booked another cruise on her in the future....

Correct,,for the time being. I'm a lowly Classic Level Member, but I still enjoy a 5% discount on my total cruise bill. It won't take us long to get to the black level though,,with 4 sailings booked on MSC including a 19 day TA from Genoa to Miami,plus one point for every $200.00 we spend onboard,we'll get there soon.

I wonder whether when you get to higher levels it will be advantageous to cancel your booking ( the 4 you have already booked) and immediately rebook the same cabin with the new discount.

It's probably a quite close calculation as the extra discount is only 3% when you get to silver but will 5% extra when you get to gold. It wouldn't be worth it in the UK as we pay very high (~10% or £200 {$320} whichever is the higher) non refundable deposits

Pete

I wonder whether when you get to higher levels it will be advantageous to cancel your booking ( the 4 you have already booked) and immediately rebook the same cabin with the new discount.

It's probably a quite close calculation as the extra discount is only 3% when you get to silver but will 5% extra when you get to gold. It wouldn't be worth it in the UK as we pay very high (~10% or £200 {$320} whichever is the higher) non refundable deposits

 

Pete

I have thought of that Pete. I'm waiting to see what my onboard spending point total will be in the next few weeks to see where I am. After our January sailing,,I'm hoping to get to Silver. I'll then call my PVC and have him discount the next 3 sailings. Hey,,3% is 3% right?? BTW we only pay $100.00 per person deposit on any sailing here in the U.S. Pete.:)

I have thought of that Pete. I'm waiting to see what my onboard spending point total will be in the next few weeks to see where I am. After our January sailing,,I'm hoping to get to Silver. I'll then call my PVC and have him discount the next 3 sailings. Hey,,3% is 3% right?? BTW we only pay $100.00 per person deposit on any sailing here in the U.S. Pete.:)

Mike, that didn't work for me. I was booking my August sailing in Feb knowing I would be Gold level after May. I asked the TA if MSC would be willing to give OBC as a gesture as I wanted to book then and not wait 'til I'd come back from the May sailing for the extra discount. He contacted MSC and was told it would be considered. However, when the booking was finalized, they wouldn't entertain it.

Having said all that, the reason I was booking beforehand was I was getting YC for almost HALF-PRICE so I can't really complain about not getting an extra 2% discount which would only have amounted to €50 whereas I saved €2000!!

Mike, that didn't work for me. I was booking my August sailing in Feb knowing I would be Gold level after May. I asked the TA if MSC would be willing to give OBC as a gesture as I wanted to book then and not wait 'til I'd come back from the May sailing for the extra discount. He contacted MSC and was told it would be considered. However, when the booking was finalized, they wouldn't entertain it.

 

Having said all that, the reason I was booking beforehand was I was getting YC for almost HALF-PRICE so I can't really complain about not getting an extra 2% discount which would only have amounted to €50 whereas I saved €2000!!

What I was going to do Beam, was to have my PVC cancel the sailing and then rebook it using the Silver discount rather than the Classic Level discount. It seems as though OBC is a blasphemous phrase around MSC,,,they don't like to give any and it was a struggle even to get the $400.00 OBC after I claimed my future cruise credit voucher. My PVC told me I was booked under such and such promotion and that I couldn't use it for some reason or another. So,,,,he had to cancel the sailing and then rebook using a different promo,,,ughhhhhh,,,what a mess!!!!!!!

I'd be very careful, if I were you, Mike, that you don't lose those valuable bookings for the sake of it. As you know, yourself, they're not easy to come by and if they're returned to the system as a cancellation there could be a waiting list attached to nab them!