3 weeks on the Divina. Any questions?

I sit here at ten to three in the morning suffering from raging jetlag and a annoying snoring husband reminiscing about my three week Divina cruise and trying to plan mine and Mr Moos next MSC adventure.

As mentioned elsewhere I'd do a Divina review but it'd just be drinking, sweating, eating, eye rolling, laughing, drinking, gossiping and sleeping for 19 days.

So with the above in mind (and the fact it was a repo from Rio to Miami and 90% of the passengers were Brazilian) I'll just ask if anyone has any questions.

My esteemed roll call friends are welcome to chip in with their experiences, observations and general comments too.

I sit here at ten to three in the morning suffering from raging jetlag and a annoying snoring husband reminiscing about my three week Divina cruise and trying to plan mine and Mr Moos next MSC adventure.

 

As mentioned elsewhere I'd do a Divina review but it'd just be drinking, sweating, eating, eye rolling, laughing, drinking, gossiping and sleeping for 19 days.

 

So with the above in mind (and the fact it was a repo from Rio to Miami and 90% of the passengers were Brazilian) I'll just ask if anyone has any questions.

 

My esteemed roll call friends are welcome to chip in with their experiences, observations and general comments too.

Moo,,,It's been discussed that a good bit of the crew had changed due to Brazilian regulations. Did you notice, once clear of Brazilian waters, if there was another crew change before you reached Miami?

Moo,,,It's been discussed that a good bit of the crew had changed due to Brazilian regulations. Did you notice, once clear of Brazilian waters, if there was another crew change before you reached Miami?

There were some non-Brazilian stalwarts that remained throughout the cruise. However every day we ported there was a large turnover of staff. A lot were reaching the natural end of their contracts (it's been 9 months since Divina premiered in Miami) and were going home either during the repo or in Miami. New staff were appearing all the time (some new to MSC and some returning to the ship having chosen not to work it down to Rio and in Brazil)

I do think they were quite short handed for the majority of the cruise. And I noticed a handful who worked their little socks off and I made sure they were recognised for it. But in all honestly I think the Brazilian quotient of crew were off the ship by the time we left Salvador.

There were some non-Brazilian stalwarts that remained throughout the cruise. However every day we ported there was a large turnover of staff. A lot were reaching the natural end of their contracts (it's been 9 months since Divina premiered in Miami) and were going home either during the repo or in Miami. New staff were appearing all the time (some new to MSC and some returning to the ship having chosen not to work it down to Rio and in Brazil)

 

I do think they were quite short handed for the majority of the cruise. And I noticed a handful who worked their little socks off and I made sure they were recognised for it. But in all honestly I think the Brazilian quotient of crew were off the ship by the time we left Salvador.

Thanks Moo,,,that's good to know!! We had a great crew in the Yacht Club 3 months ago and are hoping that there will be a few familiar faces when we return on August 23rd.

What category cabin did you have and how did you find it?

What were the dining options like?

Did the ship feel crowded? Pool deck etc?

What category cabin did you have and how did you find it?

 

 

 

What were the dining options like?

 

 

 

Did the ship feel crowded? Pool deck etc?

We had an I2 - 13006.

Sizewise it was fine for us. You could fit 2 big suitcases under the bed and enough stuff for a 19 day cruise for 2 people. There were 2 beds in the roof which if down and occupied would have been a different story.

Food was a mix of European MSC menus with the occasional American touch (lobster, free water on the table, sandwich and fries option at lunch, salad course, white Zinfandel on wine list). Eggs Benedict was cold whenever we had it.

The ship was very full. Mostly with Brazilian families. And yes, it did feel crowded on sea days. This was for the following reasons:

Some of the Brazilians we encountered were rude and unable to speak any English at all. Not many English speaking people speak Portuguese. Politeness and cruise customs went out of the window. For example, we sat at a poolside table that was free and ten minutes later a Brazilian group arrived and shouted at us because they'd "saved it". It was then we noticed a tiny purse on one of the seats. The people at the next table joined in the shouting. I kept saying I didn't understand and they just became more aggressive and loud. So instead of backing down I got stubborn and refused to move.

That's when a man on the next table purposefully hit my chair with his. So hard I nearly fell out of my seat. When that didn't budge us they snatched all the chairs away that weren't occupied by Mr Moo and I, and tried to take the one Darren wanted to sit in. I had to shout him over to get him to sit back down till the situation calmed. It was a bit scary.

That's an extreme but not isolated occurrence. Attempting to join in the evening entertainment in Black and White lounge was impossible for the reasons above. The entertainment team appealed to the lowest common denomination which was Brazilian so everything was centric to them.

It didn't spoil my cruise. It just made some things more difficult or different.

Yikes at that confrontation! I would have absolutely hated that!

And interesting to hear that your eggs benedict were cold too. We are used to them being hot so it was quite a unpleasant surprise!

I wonder if your experience would have been a little calmer had you been doing a American based round trip? The ship is beautiful but the clientele can make or break it!

I'm glad you didn't let any of the negatives spoil your holiday - it sounds like there were some great and relaxing (not to mention boozy) times in there too.

Questions for my food-challenged daughter:

Were there chocolate croissants at breakfast?

Are there any chicken fingers to be found onboard?

Reo

If you used the sauna, steam room and showers in the spa could you please describe the area? I've heard that the men's area is not private and am hoping the women's area is better designed. I'm trying to decide if I want to reserve for the whole week.

Thanks!

Trish

Do you by any chances have a copy of the room service menu?

Welcome back, hope you enjoyed your cruise.

Yikes at that confrontation! I would have absolutely hated that!

 

 

 

And interesting to hear that your eggs benedict were cold too. We are used to them being hot so it was quite a unpleasant surprise!

 

 

 

I wonder if your experience would have been a little calmer had you been doing a American based round trip? The ship is beautiful but the clientele can make or break it!

 

 

 

I'm glad you didn't let any of the negatives spoil your holiday - it sounds like there were some great and relaxing (not to mention boozy) times in there too.

Yes some things were a challenge and I was assured that the experience would be different had it been a standard Divina cruise.

I want to be clear that I'm not lumping an entire country of people into a xenophobic boat. But we did experience things like this at least three or four times a day and upon chatting with others we found they divulged similar experiences.

I think a large number of the people on the cruise were first timers and were unsure of how things worked. The language barrier was a lot more pronounced than on a European MSC cruise. Europeans tend to have some linguistic skills outside of their mother tongue and most English speaking cruisers know a smattering of basics in French, German, Spanish etc so, from my experience, we tend to rub along together quite well and can communicate the basics easily enough. But this cruise was a massive struggle to communicate at all with a large percentage of fellow passengers. And because I'm a chatterbox and love chatting to everyone I meet I found this hard.

Questions for my food-challenged daughter:

Were there chocolate croissants at breakfast?

Are there any chicken fingers to be found onboard?

 

Reo

There were chocolate croissants aplenty (pain au chocolate)

There were a lot of fish fingers available as most days they were a type of appetiser and/or available for lunch. I didn't see any chicken equivalents but I wasn't looking to be fair. I'm sure someone will have a kids menu to post that might be more helpful.

If you used the sauna, steam room and showers in the spa could you please describe the area? I've heard that the men's area is not private and am hoping the women's area is better designed. I'm trying to decide if I want to reserve for the whole week.

 

Thanks!

Trish

The spa area isn't private re: changing. It's not the best designed MSC Spa to be fair and it's a bit lacking compared to other lines. They sell a spa pass for the cruise for I think $99 that you can buy once on board.

If I were you I'd go have a look-see and make the choice then. Or, if you buy a set of treatments online which are good value (from approx. $135) then the week pass is included so if you find it not to your taste you won't feel short changed.

Welcome back, hope you enjoyed your cruise.

I loved the cruise. Good company, amazing weather, beautiful ship, copious drinks, tasty food and I visited three continents and crossed the equator.

I also got a massive diamond ring so all-in-all it was fantastic.

Do you by any chances have a copy of the room service menu?

I don't Tipsy I'm sorry. However I don't think it was the full bells and whistles Divina room service menu from what I recall. I think that one is different to the European version and the one I saw looked identical to the Preziosa one that was on-board last year.

I'm gonna be on her sept 6th. Can't wait!!

I see that it has ballroom dance classes, do you have any idea how much they cost? I would love to do that! I've been trying to get my husband to take some classes so maybe this will be the start of it.

I'm glad you had a great cruise aside from the few rude people .. I'd love to see some pictures:D

There were chocolate croissants aplenty (pain au chocolate)

 

There were a lot of fish fingers available as most days they were a type of appetiser and/or available for lunch. I didn't see any chicken equivalents but I wasn't looking to be fair. I'm sure someone will have a kids menu to post that might be more helpful.

thanks for the info!

Last year on the Splendida was her first trip ever, first cruise, and first time away from our area and in Europe to boot. My picky eater had a food melt-down with all the changes. She existed on chocolate croissants for breakfast, fries and a hotdog for lunch, and fries for dinner (no hotdogs on the buffet). And some bacon and some desserts.

We're hoping for more success this year now that she is a 'seasoned' traveller - if a butler or waiter can find her chicken fingers would make her day and give me a shot at eating in a dining room ;-p

reo

Yay, this is fun - can I play?? We had a great time on the cruise, so much fun with the Moos as well!! - and stayed in the yacht club, so I'm happy to help with different questions that you might have since we had a bit different of an experience.

I'm gonna be on her sept 6th. Can't wait!!

I see that it has ballroom dance classes, do you have any idea how much they cost? I would love to do that! I've been trying to get my husband to take some classes so maybe this will be the start of it.

 

I'm glad you had a great cruise aside from the few rude people .. I'd love to see some pictures:D

There were different variations of dance lessons several times a day, every single day - not sure if this is common to the daily activities on a regular sailing, but it was very frequent. They don't cost anything.

thanks for the info!

 

 

 

Last year on the Splendida was her first trip ever, first cruise, and first time away from our area and in Europe to boot. My picky eater had a food melt-down with all the changes. She existed on chocolate croissants for breakfast, fries and a hotdog for lunch, and fries for dinner (no hotdogs on the buffet). And some bacon and some desserts.

 

 

 

We're hoping for more success this year now that she is a 'seasoned' traveller - if a butler or waiter can find her chicken fingers would make her day and give me a shot at eating in a dining room ;-p

 

 

 

 

 

reo

If you mention to your waiter on the first night what her likes and dislikes are they will move heaven and earth to find food for her taste. On the Divina our waiters took it personally if I didn't clear my plate and I had to explain I like to try every course so if I cleared all my plates I'd be the size of a small car.

I have never experienced anything other than amazing service in the MDR's on MSC. Even if the food is very occasionally not as hot as it could be or not as tasty as I anticipated the service is excellent. Waiters have acceded to all my requests and have often read my mind. How else would they know that by the second night in the dining room that they should place a full bottle of my choice of wine in an ice bucket next to me? I don't request it, it just happens.

Unless I'm on a list at MSC head office as some sort of inebriate........

Yay, this is fun - can I play?? We had a great time on the cruise, so much fun with the Moos as well!! - and stayed in the yacht club, so I'm happy to help with different questions that you might have since we had a bit different of an experience.

Danielle,,,do you happen to remember the names of the One Bar crew? One of the servers there happened to have a name similar to yours, we called him Danny,,also,,if you don't mind, which stateroom were you in and who was your butler? We are sailing in the Yacht Club on the 23rd and are hoping to see some of the same crew we interacted with back in May.:)

I loved the cruise. Good company, amazing weather, beautiful ship, copious drinks, tasty food and I visited three continents and crossed the equator.

 

I also got a massive diamond ring so all-in-all it was fantastic.

And you learnt the grease lightning dance moves.

Danielle,,,do you happen to remember the names of the One Bar crew? One of the servers there happened to have a name similar to yours, we called him Danny,,also,,if you don't mind, which stateroom were you in and who was your butler? We are sailing in the Yacht Club on the 23rd and are hoping to see some of the same crew we interacted with back in May.:)

Ya know, I don't recall their names - there were two guys who regularly worked the one bar, but Danny doesn't ring a bell. We were in 15032 which is the room right next to the sliding door entrance, our butler was Nurus. A few of the other butlers we encountered were Bruce, Harry, and Jhonny. In the Top Sail, Marie always took care of us and Muhammad was the best One Pool server ever!

And you learnt the grease lightning dance moves.

I did. We made a brilliant Sandy and Danny. Wish I'd bought the DVD to see quite how much of a berk I looked.

You obviously looked fabulous darling.

I did. We made a brilliant Sandy and Danny. Wish I'd bought the DVD to see quite how much of a berk I looked.

 

You obviously looked fabulous darling.

We would have looked amazing.