MISTER 67

We cruised her in December 2015 and she looked fine. There was some "fix up" of public areas happening while we were on board.

Last time we were on CP was March of 2015 and they were doing a complete re-do of Calypso Cove. It was closed the whole week and they set up a temp shop with ship souvenirs down on deck 5 just aft of Vines.

We have sailed on her 6 times and will be on board for our 7th on Nov 19. Last time we sailed with her she was starting to show her age, worn carpet and chairs, lots of dings here and there. A lot of the deck chairs were soiled. Anyone sail with her lately, has there been any refurbishments in the last 18 months on her? Sure hope so.

We sail mainly with Princess and Holland America. We decided to take a couple of summer cruises here in 2016. We tried RCCL in May on the Freedom of the Seas and the Divina on August 27. We instantly became fans of MSC, beautiful ship with way better food than RCCL. We paid way too much for an inside with RCCL, with taxes it was $1650.00 for 2 of us. MSC was $1000.00 with taxes.

Besides the cost of the cruise we found that RCCL gouges on drinks and photos and other items, a Manhattan on the Freedom was 10 bucks plus the gratuity and they don't even bring you a few nuts. With the voucher program on the Divina we paid 96 bucks tips included and had 18 vouchers, that made our average Manhattan only $5.33 and there were plent of nuts and potato chips.

Our cabin was much larger on the Divina with plenty of closet and drawer space.

Service was excellent on both ships as was the entertainment.

Both lines offered 3 dollar Blackjack in the late morning and afternoon, we are retirees and not high rollers and since I enjoy Blackjack, the 3 dollar minimum was greatly appreciated. Came out about 100 bucks ahead on the Divina and lost about 20 on the Freedom.

I prefer Havensight to Crown Bay. It's closer to most attractions and the cabs ride will be cheaper. Plus the shopping is better at Havensight.

So true, I hate when we dock at Crown Bay but I can't remember the last Princess ship we were on that didn't dock at Crown Bay.

We love the covered promenade decks that many of the older ships have but it seems like most of the lines are doing away with that once traditional part of cruising. They must figure that the outside promenade deck is not a money maker, wasted space with no revenue, shame on them. That being said there are numerous places on the Divina's promenade deck where some nice steamer chairs could be put.

I did most of my reading up on deck 15 about three fourths towards aft of Divina, there are a few covered areas there and you are away from the loud music that the lines keeping blasting away at us.

I couldn't believe the loud rock music they had in the Buffet every morning, we are usually first in line for the buffet (6:30 am) as we are early risers and the loud rock music at that hour offends the senses.

You are correct , it does take them too long to issue a refund but it's because there bank is in Italy and it takes a while.

I don't care if their bank is on the moon, in these days of electronic transactions there is no way that the refunds should be as slow as they are.

MSC does have a problem with refunds. We cancelled a cruise in May with them and it took a few calls including asking for a supervisor to get our deposit back. All in all it took 3 weeks. I've cancelled numerous cruises with other lines and usually have my deposit back with a credit on my credit card in 2 days.

It does leave a bad taste in your mouth, there is no reason at all to take that long with a refund on your credit card.

MSC needs to correct this policy ASAP if they want to build a loyal following here in the states.

My only question, is the crew sharing in the full amount of the gratuities paid by the passengers or are the lines holding a buck or 2 a day to add to the profit?

18 cruises with Princess and 49 overall, we stay on ship for most of the ports unless it's somewhere we haven't been to. I'm an avid reader and its nice to have a nice quiet ship.

Just remember that the shops and the casino will be closed but the bars will be open.

No it was not me. I was there with my husband and we both felt it was a bad experience I am glad you had a wonderful time.

Sorry but.I see you like Princess which is still our favorite line, sailing Thanksgiving week on the Caribbean Princess. Also sorry you didn't like MSC, we are looking to sail again with them next June.

PRINCESS!!!! Just got off the MSC Divina and it was the worst cruise I have ever taken!!!

Were you the blonde lady playing Blackjack along with your daughter one afternoon in the casino. I remember someone just like you that said they hated the cruise and was from Ft. Lauderdale.

I added a review on this board and am the opposite end of the spectrum and thought the cruise was excellent and we have cruised 49 times so we have a lot of comparison to other cruises.

We live for the sea days as we hardly get off the ship anymore on Caribbean Cruises. I'm an avid reader and usually read at least 3 books on a one week cruise. My wife does needlepoint and usually meets up with a group of other knitters. I always set a little time for some Blackjack in the casino and maybe an afternoon movie.

We sailed on the Pacific Princess on a Greek Island cruise back when she was brand new in 1999 and was called the R3 with Renaissance Cruises. Renaissance built 8 identical 30,000 ton ships naming them R1 through R8. She was a lovely ship decorated with some touches of the Titanic. You won't find many bells and whistles on her but it has some really lovely public rooms and lounges, no 2 tier show room but no problem seeing the shows. I went online and saw some pictures as I was curious to see what changes Princess made, they did make a few but not much.

I think that a wrap-around Promenade and balconies that are the size of the Grand Class ships would easily bump these ships up by 10 percentage points. It is hard to look at this picture and make the claim that this is "as good as you get in shipbuilding." Especially when so many people who are sailing on these ships (and writing reviews on CC) have experienced the prior builds. Another 18 inches in width would have made a world of difference in many peoples' perception of the ships.

 

Wasn't aware of the small balconies mainly because we have never booked one, we find them a waste of money. Give me the deck chair on the promenade deck. That being said I still say the Regal and Royal are great ships and would not hesitate sailing on one of them again.

I am not new to Princess. I have cruised many times, on the Grand, the Coral, the Crown, the Caribbean, and the Golden. However, when the Royal came out with their tiny balconies, we went back to Celebrity S-Class...which is where we've been ever since.

 

We thought we'd try Princess again for a change, even with the small balcony issue, but I am alarmed that the Regal and the Royal do not fare well on this site under "Ship Reviews." The Royal's 66% is very sad!

 

I knew that Regal had made a few changes, but 73% is still not that great. We are re-thinking our decision, and quite possibly will go with Celebrity S-Class once again...unless someone out there has some really great things to say about the Regal that we will not find on Celebrity S-Class.

We have sailed on both the Royal and the Regal and those ratings just don't make sense. Those 2 ships are just beautiful and about as good as you get in shipbuilding. My only beef is there is not a fully covered wrap-around promenade.

For me one of the pleasures of cruising is sitting in the old style deck chair on the promenade watching the sea go by in the company of a good book.

We love Princess, we are Elite status and they really treat us well. We have sailed 49 times with Princess and other lines, #50 coming up in November on the Caribbean Princess sailing to the ABC islands. The Royal and Regal are fantastic ships, as good as it gets in shipbuilding and decor, the atrium is fantastic.

3 years ago we wanted a summer cruise and tried Carnival for the first time. We tried the Carnival Freedom on a Western Carib. trip. Horrible cruise, the Freedom has to be the ugliest ship ever designed, the decor and colors offend the senses. At least the cabins on the ship are done tastefully. As soon as we boarded the ship and went up to the buffet we were rolling our eyes and then we saw the slop in the buffet. I stuck to sandwiches the rest of the week. The deserts were horrible and if any butter was used in their recipes I'd be amazed, lard yes, butter no. Pizza was horrible, cardboard with tomato sauce, hardly any cheese, had a tummy ache an hour later.

First night in our cabin we could not sleep with a the loud music one deck below in the showroom and also from the atrium. We lucked out and were moved to another cabin the next night but we were ready to get off the ship at our first port, Key West, rent a car a drive back to Ft. Lauderdale where our car was parked and then drive home to Sebring Florida. Food in the MDR was not much better than the buffet however the service was very good as was on the rest of the ship. Entertainment was on par with other cruises we have been on.

Don't know how old you are but I'm willing to bet you will be amazed at the difference between a Princess Cruise and Carnival. The decor on Princess ships is beautiful and so very tasteful. I'm sure you will notice the difference in the food, the cleanliness and other amenities on a Princess ship.

Have fun and enjoy your cruise.

In our younger days we would go from one morning and afternoon event to another. Trivia, Chess tournaments, Golf putting contests, you name it. We would come home with all kinds of prizes. About 15 years ago and being an avid reader I just hang out on the promenade deck and read all morning and afternoon taking a break for lunch, will read 3 or 4 books a week. Around 3pm I will head to the casino and play a little Blackjack until four and then head back to the cabin to shower and shave and get ready for a pre dinner cocktail, then dinner and we always make the show in the Princess theatre. We hardly get off the ship anymore since we've been to places like St. Thomas, St. Maarten and San Juan over 30 times. My wife is an avid needlepoint person and she usually meets others in the knitter get-together or just hangs out in Skywalker's and does her needlepoint up there.

We booked MSC for the first time for 2 reasons; we live in Florida and MSC is one of the few cruise lines that sail to the Caribbean in the summer and we don't care for Carnival and RCCL. The other reason was the price. We embarked last Saturday and loved MSC, the Loyalty program had no bearing on booking but it was well appreciated. We take 3 cruises a year and MSC will now be the line that we cruise with for our summer cruise.

We rather get a better price with a TA. But I'm with you that it's nice to be able to have someone with the cruise line who will deal with you rather than refer you to your TA.

We have been told that the price of a cabin will not be lower through a travel agency than booking through the cruise line, what you might get with a TA is a few perks like a free dinner in one of the upscale restaurants.

There is a wide range on board from babies in strollers to old folks using walkers.

 

On my cruise the week before Easter, the population skewed young with a lot of families.

 

Our neighbors (active 70 year olds) cruised three weeks after us, and she said she felt like nursing homes had been emptied out and their physically feeble patients sent on a cruise.

 

I guess it can vary by the time of year.

Also remember, the longer the cruise, the older the passengers.

We were on the August 13 sailing. I disagree with almost everything you said.

It was our 45th cruise, and our first on MSC

I'm with you, you can please some of the people all of the time and all the people some of the time but you can't please all the people all of the time.

Yes Def Prepare, if I had someone tell me what I didn't know I would have rather lost all my money that's how bad it was...LOL

 

-Balcony was Obstructed.. No one told us, booked unobstructed.

-Room Attendant.. Like Casper the ghost Never saw him hardly.. Ice is a commodity LOL

-Staff.. Rude

-1,000 Kids.. you heard that right LITERALLY WE WERE TOLD.. everywhere, in pools with diapers :eek: strollers on disco floor at midnight.. Screaming up and down hallways..I have kids but believe me I would never had let them run everywhere or do what these parents did..

-Rooms tiny 2 people can't walk in same path to bathroom :eek: and we are tiny LOL.

-Smells like smoke everywhere.. people smoking in rooms when not suppose to...

-Coffee Cups are never available BRING YOUR OWN!!!! COFFEE IS ALSO HARD TO FIND SOMETIMES!!! :confused:

-Buffet for any meal OMG like Grand Central Station at rush hour... Kids picking food with fingers... UGH I think I lost weight on this cruise ... Breakfast takes about an hour and half in Black Crab Dining room .and food Ice cold <--shakes head...Order cold items nothing hot...

-Martini's are half the size of normal Martini glasses and not filled high. :rolleyes:

I can go on and on but just got home and will never put myself through anything like this again... Actually Hubby on phone booking next cruise on Princess right now! :) We feel like we need a vacation!!!! :)

-Formal night is a joke we saw jeans t shirts and shorts..

 

GOOD experience was the weather... OH and forget about getting a seat on sea days these people are up at 4 am and all the seats are taken... I sat next to 2 chairs that NEVER had any occupants only towels and a magazine... ALL DAY!!!!!!

We were on the same cruise and loved it. We are experienced cruisers with 49 of them. Yes there were a lot of kids but the ones we saw were all well behaved. We are are early risers and in the buffet by 7am for breakfast and noon for lunch so we had no trouble with crowds but I did stop in everyday at 3pm to get an apple and it was crowded but I found that to be the same on most of the cruises we have taken.

More and more on all the ships the dress code is a joke and not inforced. Holland America of all lines has done away with formal nights, they call it Gala Night. It's a shame but it's something we are all going to have to get use to, people hate dressing up in this day and age. You see it when you dine out at home, people dress like pigs. We are OK with dressy casual but they should not let anyone in the MDR at dinner with t shirts and shorts.

Did they play movies on the large outdoor screen? If so, which ones played?

 

Thanks.

Kim

Yes they did but we didnt go to any, the latest Star Wars was on one night.

I'm ready to give them a try! I don't understand why my big agency doesn't book MSC?

No, problem I'll book with another!

We book directly with the line we decide to cruise with, we have personal cruise consultants with Princess, Holland America, MCS and RCCL.

Give it a try.

I think my biggest problem will be finding all the venues, but I guess that's what deck plans are for... so the Golden Jazz Bar... is that it for the music of our times... :p deck 7 close to the art galeria, right?

 

Thanks for your help,

Yes Art Galleria is on 7. A lot of the lounges run right into each other. Just remember that deck 7 goes the full length of the ship, decks 5 and 6 go to about midship as you have the upper and lower levels of the Black Crab restaurant. we had most of our pre-dinner cocktails in the Silver Lounge on deck 6 and you could hear the music from the pianist and violinist in the Atrium on deck 5, we only had a few steps to dinner in the upper level of the Black Crab.