Grandmaflower

If you enjoy wine...please visit the wine bar after 6pm. If you purchase a glass of wine get free yummy snacks and you can watch then make the famous pizza!

I would not prebook. The menu is quite limited and you may want something that is not included in your package. It was no hard to get a ressie at the speciality restaurants at all. Actually, we didn't really care for them. My advice is to wait.

Just off Divina. If you like fish and duck and don't mind a very slow service and having to pay for water go for it. The MDR in my humble opinion was much better. I pre booked so I didn't have a choice and I was regretting it.

I just got off Divina and had no issue with not being able to access the parts of the ship occupied by the YC. I didn't really notice to be honest. I have sailed many times on EXOS to Bermuda and X summit. I am not one of those people that have to be at the very front of the ship doing the "king of the world" thing either so : )

SERVICE: 99% was with a smile. Even Maurice from the Black Crab ;) At first I thought Andre (cruise director) was a bit of a ya know but actually he really grew on me and I appreciate his difficult job and found him very funny. I made personal connections with servers/bartenders in the wine bar, pool bar, and the divina bar. Every time they say me...they addressed me by my name and said what a pleasure it was to see me. I really felt a sense of family between these connections and the connection I made with my table mates whom I miss very much.

I had those annoying coupon booklets for soda/wine and I never had an issue being served. When I ran out they had pity on me : ) I have never had such an experience on a cruise ship. Genuine people.

Moving on to the all important FOOD:

I did not have a meal I did not enjoy. The shrimp cocktail was especially good and the shrimp were of good size. I ordered two every time this was on the menu. The salads were also quite good. I did not order any prime rib or steak as I know better from reading this forum. I did see "steak" and everyone said it was "pot roast". Looked like it too. Every night I ordered two desserts and I was not disappointed. BEST DESSERTS AT SEA. Better than X, RCCL, and Disney. Chocolate chip cheesecake is my new lover. Served alongside the nuttella torte...HELLO!

The Buffet was usually pretty crowded at peak times but if you head to the back you will find a seat. I found the food hot, fresh, and tasty. The pizza at the buffet was excellent. The desserts in the buffet looked like gelatin (ick). The breads were very very good and the cheese on embarkation day was really good. The rest of the week the cheese was mostly sliced deli cheese...lol. The indian food looked really good but I was preoccupied by the pepperoni pizza. I could always get drink service in the buffet but then again...I will stand in someone's way to get a glass of wine :eek: Dirty dishes were cleared quickly.

I did not have any gelato (pay by the pool) or pastries from the coffee shop but OMG did it all look so good.

The coffee I'm the MDR while it appeared grey in color after one creamer was really quite good. The cappuccino was out of control good.

Specialty Dining: If you don't like fish or duck stick to the MDR. Had a ressie at Galaxy for the 5 course meal...walked out and got refunded. The menu was filled with fish and duck and we even went up early to check it out but could not find anyone to show us a menu. Eately Rest (the fancy one)....good but again unless you want fish or duck...lol. You will have an additional up charge of $20 on top of the $29 you paid if you want the filet. After our experience in the Galaxy they comped us the $20 up charge for the filet. GOOD customer service. Food was good but honestly the food in the MDR is so good there is no reason to eat here. You had to pay for water also. Also ate in the Eately steakhouse...more options here and we did enjoy our meal but the service was extremely slow.

All in all...I was so terrified that we would have bad food in the MDR based on reviews here that I booked those in advance and wished I hadn't after the first night. We had a great table and great servers.

We had a wonderful time on Divina. Will attempt an accurate and well balance review : )

Embarkation: We arrived around 12:30pm and were in boarding group #16. By the time we got thru a bit of a line and got checked in our number was called and we walked right onto the ship. Less than an hour. Grade = A

Slight issue was that we had not been assigned any dining time or table. We had first seating requested. One of us waited in the line at the dining room while the other went to the casino to pick up the drink vouchers. No problem with picking up the vouchers and they were ready for us. Grabbed a couple cold sodas as we were parched! Maurice (I think his name was) was helpful and got us a lovely table by the window for first seating. We spent about 30 mins in line here.

Embarkation lunch: Just the usual chaos you encounter on every other cruise line. The food was quite good and the pizza outstanding. I had no problem getting a glass of wine from a passing waiter. Food was a good temperature. We were able to find seating in the very back of the buffet. Grade = B+

Stateroom: B3 Balcony 12th (Aurora) deck:: Typical and just fine. Actually I found the stateroom to be less worn than RCCL staterooms. The beds were for sure shorter than what I am used to. The linens were a bit thin and the pillows were filled with pellets. Really they need to work on this. I have read this forum and brought my own pillow with a bright colored case to put on top. Voila...comfy! The bathroom was spacious and I liked the shower temp and pressure. Balcony was a very good size also. Grade = A

More to come...have to work!

Well we had a FANTASTIC time onboard the Divina. I will post a full review in the coming days but I am happy to say this was one of the best cruises I have ever taken. We had a fantastic room steward and wonderful servers in the MDR. We found the staff to be very friendly and attentive. This cruise line is on par with RC. Enjoyed the international flavor of the other passengers and the food in the buffet and MDR was very good. Would not hesitant to sail again with MSC!

At main dining room meal...perfection and food is great. Service is attentive. Maurice the head waiter came by and is a character. Loves his home Italy. Muster drill was a bit of a joke. Stateroom attendant is wonderful and stopped us in the hall from going the wrong way to dinner...by name! Still haven't left yet...engines are revving!

Boarding was painless. Sea pass cards were missing all dining info so had to wait 30 min line at dining room to get our assignment. We were not assigned!! Got what we wanted though. Voucher pickup was easy in the casino. Buffet busy but manageable. Seats in the back. Food was very good...esp the pizza. Have cruised both Disney and RCCL ..just as good. Staff is friendly and trying to be helpful don't seem totally well informed but could be language barrier.

Orient beach sounds like a beautiful place to relax with calm water. We would like to rent padded chaise lounges and good umbrellas and relax the day away and drink and eat on the beach. Can you rent decent and comfortable beach equipment? What is the cost? We enjoy a good salad and wine for lunch. Is that available?

Thank you for taking the time to give a review. My husband and I will soon be sailing with MSC and I have to say that am expecting to get what I paid for : ) The price was quite inexpensive. I have read many many reviews and your comments have been echoed many times over...both the good and bad ones. I find it hard to believe there isn't truth to them. Food is subjective as they say but many people feel the same way you do. I will go with lowered expectations and hopefully will be happily surprised.

Everyone is entitled to an opinion. Thank you for sharing yours.

Excellent. Thank you for all the details. Did you enjoy your cruise? Any other tips?

Just got off the Divina on Saturday.

 

I have seen English Muffins in the morning buffet along with many types of breads.

 

We did the self disembark -- it was the best disembarkation we had in our many cruises. You need to fill out a form given in the daily bulletin and hand it into guest services by Wed. You will then receive gray luggage tags the day before disembarkation -- they are basically to let the people checking on the ship that you are scheduled to self-disembark.

 

Everyone needs to be out of their cabins by 7AM, but when self-disembarking, you'll need to leave earlier. There is a full breakfast in the buffet available starting at 6.

 

The gray luggage tags are numbered 1, 2 or 3 indicating different times you should be at the Black and White lounge. I think the times were like 6:30 (for not-numbered gray tags), 6:45 for gray 1, 7:00 for gray 2, 7:15 for gray 3. We were gray 1 so when we got to the lounge at 6:45, they said that we were free to go (there was hardly anyone else there). There was no lines anywhere, so we were down at the shuttles/taxis by 6:55 or so (it is a bit of a walk and a minute or two to chat with customs).

 

They tell you (if you watch the disembarkation video on TV) not to show up early or late to the lounge. There are no general ship PA announcements on when to leave, only in the lounge do they tell you.

Thank you!!!

We did see Greek yogurt and English muffins at breakfast. I never found a two for one drink special and I did ask and they looked at me like I was nuts. They do have a self disembark and from what I know you get off really early around 645 am if you opt for that. We didn't because we had too much luggage.

 

 

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Which cruise is this? Date? I would yes!

My husband and I are getting excited for our vacation. We have been taking in the reviews and are a bit apprehensive however we will make the best of it.

1. We follow a bit of a high protein diet and are wondering if they have peanut butter and greek yogurt on board? I do plan on packing some protein bars for us in our luggage.

2. Are English Muffins to be found in the morning at the buffet?

3. Where and when is happy hour aka (two for one drinks)? Have purchased the vouchers and ready to go.

4. We would like to self disembark. How does that process work?

Thank you!

My sister did several years ago when she fell in love with an Italian cruise line photographer. She saw a lot of the crew areas on that cruise ;)

I would say use your drink vouchers to get a drink at the closest bar and bring them back to your room.

Marmalade is more than a meal...it is an experience. Prepare yourself for a chefs tasting menu and matching wine flight. : ) Every wine and course described to you in detail. Perhaps the chef might come out and talk with you about what you are about to enjoy. Truly a once in a lifetime experience. $$$ as you would expect.

On the other hand I just as much enjoyed my meal at Cafe Puerto Rico...delish!!! Also at at Dragonfly...not bad but doesn't compare to the two above. Had a fabulous Mojito at the Parrot Club.

Hi Gambee,

Thank you so much for the review. My husband and I would like to rent one of those clamshells on GSC. Please forgive me if you already stated how to do so. Can I do it in advance or do we need to do it with the first hoards getting off the boat? How much are they and do you get to pick the locations?

I thank you for your review and appreciate that you have been on many different cruise lines. I do not think it is fair to compare MSC YC vs MSC at all. While I enjoy reading both I do not expect to even be on the same ship as those that paid for the YC. As well I do not expect that someone from the YC will really be able to comment on living in the main section of the ship with much real experience. There have been so so many poor reviews of this ship. I have never seen anything like it....I don''t think it is a fluke. I paid little to nothing for this cruise so I will bring my own pillow and granola bars and consider it an expensive camping trip. That way I can only be delighted. :p

So I am still a bit confused. Can a non-YC passenger purchase a day pass for the YC without having a YC sponsor? If so, where. Thank you!

Great news Mike! So if we chose to do this on a sea day would we go to guest services or??? Does the 100pp covers all meals and drinks both alcoholic and non?

Thanks!

My husband and I will be sailing on the Divina in September. Can you play to experience the yacht club for a day? If so, is everything included?