BethV114

Like you, I intend to upgrade to premium now that MSC has finally seen sense to allow it for the difference in price.

Hi all. We are new to MSC, so I'm sorry if my question is a dumb one. I know that on Celebrity, which we have usually cruised, we were able to pay the difference between the classic drink package included in our booking and the premium drink package once we were onboard. This made great sense to us and we were surprised when we read on these boards that you cannot do this with MSC.

From the above post, it seems that MSC has revised that policy. I'm wondering if that is across the entire fleet or only in certain markets. We are sailing Divina in the spring in an Aurea balcony and would love to be able to upgrade. If the change is not fleet-wide yet, I'm hoping it will be by next spring (fingers crossed!).

They say ages nine and up.

 

Our seven-year-old is tall for his age as well - he, too, can go on most any amusement park rides, and he loves the waterslides at the waterparks we've gone to.

 

When my wife tried to see if they'd exempt him, they were firm about the age requirement - you need to get a special bracelet or something for the slide and they verify the age at that point.

If this is accurate, both my daughter and her friend whose family we are sailing with are going to be sorely disappointed. They are both over 48 inches tall, but will only be 7.5 and 8.5, respectively, at the time of our sailing next year. :(

Thank you for the review!

You mentioned that your 5 and 7 year-olds were too young for the waterslide. Do you recall what the minimum age was? Or whether there was a minimum height requirement?

We will be sailing with our daughter on Divina in the spring and I know she would be sad if she could not use the slide. She will be 7.5 by then and is already on the taller side for her age and over 4 feet. She is able to go on all types of rides a carnivals and amusement parks.

Thanks!

The wide holders fit MSC tags,,they are a little tight though!!:)

Thanks for the quick reply!:D

I love the idea of the luggage tag holders. So much easier! Which size should I get? The narrow ones or the wide? I'm assuming wide since CC says the narrow ones are for Royal and Celebrity, but wanted to double check before I purchased.

Thanks!

I am a pescetarian, so I will eat eggs, dairy and fish/seafood, but no meat or anything made with meat products. On Celebrity, which we have cruised most recently, I was able to ask for a vegetarian menu each evening, in addition to that day's menu. Does MSC offer something similar? If not, should I discuss my dietary preferences with the dining staff the first evening just to make sure there are enough options for me?

Yes that is the gelato. You just can't get the fancier stuff like sundaes without paying.

Thanks for the response. My daughter was asking whether she could get gelato with her package and I had no clue what to tell her! She is not big on sundaes - just give her the cold stuff straight up :D - so I'm sure she'll be fine.

Is gelato included in the classic drink package that comes with our Aurea cabin? I can't figure it out from the website, which says "ice cream in a cone or cup."

Thanks!

Love your review so far!

A few quick questions from reading your review and looking at the photos:

1) Is Heineken the only beer available with the drink package or is it just the only draught beer available?

2) Am I correct in my reading of the menus that all of the drinks that do not have a red asterisk are included in the classic drink package that comes with the Aurea cabins?

Thanks so much. I'm really looking forward to the rest of your review!

The Garden Bar (Disaronno Bar) is located on deck 15 port side aft near the infinity pool. There are tables situated around the area but no food service. The buffet is located one deck below on deck 14.:)

 

Thanks so much for your help! One flight isn't much of an inconvenience for anyone in our group, so we may be able to head up to the Garden Bar area to enjoy our lunch with some fresh air.

Two quick questions if you don't mind:

1) Is there any outdoor seating located near/convenient to the buffet? Our group of 3 adults and 3 children really enjoyed being able to get lunch/snacks at the buffet on Celebrity Summit and then taking them out to the aft bar area to enjoy in the fresh air and sunshine.

2) What is acceptable in terms of attire to enter the buffet area? I know the children in our group are not going to run back to our cabin to change every time they want to grab a snack and we typically spend a lot of time out near the pool on sea days and sometimes in the afternoons after our excursions. Is it acceptable for the girls to wear cover-ups (sundresses or terry cloth zip-ups)? What about the boy in our group? Would a t-shirt with bathing suit trunks be acceptable?

3) Dressing for dinner. On Celebrity Summit, my husband was able to get by with a polo shirt or button down shirt and nice khaki shorts (he will literally wear shorts all year round at home even though we live in NY!). Will he be able to do the same on Divina or will he be required to wear slacks to dinner every night?

Thanks so much for your help!

First, what a wonderful review, Radio. We will be trying MSC for spring break next year, and are looking forward to it even more after seeing your photos and reading about your experiences.

Second, a quick question. I saw the photos of The Disaronno bar, which you mention is aft and looks to be outside. As a newbie to MSC and Divina, I was wondering if you could tell me what deck that bar is on and whether it is near a buffet. On our cruise this spring, we made a habit of getting lunch and/or snacks at the buffet on Celebrity Summit and then taking them out and enjoying them (and some drinks) at a table at the bar area at the aft of the ship. Not a huge deal if we can't do something similar on Divina, but would like to know in advance.

Thanks!

We used to be die hard Royal Caribbean fans, then got a good deal on Celebrity and never went back to Royal. This year, a friend of ours joined us for her first cruise on the Celebrity Summit for spring break - her kids are now hooked on cruising!

For spring break next year, we couldn't convince the kids to go along with anything other than a cruise, but were having trouble finding one with dates, itinerary and pricing that worked for us. Then our friend found MSC Divina and we decided that the ship looked like a good compromise between adult and kid friendly, plus the price is amazing. We are flexible and not picky - all just happy to be away on vacation and not have to make beds, cook, clean, etc. - so while I know it will be different from what we're used to, I think it will be a good fit. We are all extremely excited!

Where would she home port Bret??? I would hope maybe San Juan,,,we need a few Southern Caribbean itineraries!!!:D

I would love to see a Southern Caribbean itinerary from MSC. We have Divina booked for spring next year, but are really the most in love with the Southern Caribbean ports.

We are booked on MSC Divina for April 2017. I know it's still early yet, but we have never been to Nassau, so I would like to try to start getting an idea of what to do when in port.

We are scheduled to be in port from 12pm to 6pm, and are a group of three adults and three children ranging from age 7 to 12. We would like to go snorkeling. However, we do not like the big "party" type catamarans and are looking for something smaller. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

The Aurea category cruise fare includes drinks, among other things, regardless of when you book or what special is going on. We just booked this class for our Divina cruise next year and got a good amount of OBC to go along with it, not to mention that our daughter is sailing free (except for port charges/taxes, of course).

Can I ask how much it cost to upgrade? What type of cabin experience? We booked Aurea and would be interested in trying to upgrade, if possible.

Thanks!

How much do those activities normally cost? We might consider the package for use on our two sea days based on whether it is a savings over doing them individually.

Thanks!

We are two families who booked Divina next April for spring break. My family are experienced cruises. We started with Royal, then moved over to Celebrity, which our daughter actually enjoys more. But our friend who we are sailing with found this really great deal on MSC Divina, so we decided that perhaps it was time to try something new. We are so excited about the great deal and what looks to be a beautiful ship. Happy Days, indeed! :D

Answers (to the best of my ability!) in red below.

I just booked msc splendida march 2017 for med. ive given $109 OBC from my travel agent. There are three things can i have in mind that i have to pay for. Streamer internet package, non alcoholic beverage package (i dont drink alcohol) and gratitudes.

 

OBC is something that can only be used once im onboard as far as i know. I wish to purchase the internet package in advance to avail 20% extra (i need to be connected while on board).

 

Do i need to book the drinks package in advance? Is there any difference if i buy now or buy on board? MSC does not charge gratuities if you purchase the package in advance, so it would be 15% less. I won't comment on how this impacts the staff, as I have no idea.

 

Can I use the OBC to pay for gratitudes while im onboard or do i need to pay for this before i board. Yes. This would be a great place to spend OBC.

 

It seems i will be able to get my deposit refunded if i cancel 90 days ahead of the date of sail. If i do web check in now will it effect the refund policy in place? Not according to the MSC rep I booked with yesterday.

 

Will it be comfortable to wander around the cruise with a baby stoller? My baby will be 15 months old. Will i have problems moving around dining area and other places? I haven't been on MSC yet, so have no personal experience. I can say that we took our daughter on her first cruise at 15 months and did not use her stroller on the ship. We barely even used it off the ship!

 

Can i sneak soda cans and milk etc on board? If so how? Most cruise lines scan your luggage before you board, so I don't know how much luck you will have with this. If you drink a lot of soda, I would consider a drink package. Milk should be free and readily available at the buffet and dining room. If you are using toddler formula, I'm sure there would be no problem in bringing this onboard with you.

 

Apologies again for these new questions. Hope you guys help

I printed out and scanned the welcome page from my husband's and my Captain's club accounts yesterday, then e-mailed them to the address given on the status match page. We both received e-mails with our membership numbers/black cards around lunchtime today. I was quite impressed with the very short turnaround time!

You're right.

The bar lists may not be totally the same in all regions (europe vs. carribean), but afaik Aperol Spritz is included in any available package.

The photos came from a review of Divina in the Caribbean, so they are hopefully pretty in line with what we can expect to see on our cruise. And, if so, then the drink package that comes with our cabin is totally fine. As mentioned, what is included looks to be fairly comprehensive, and I can always pay extra if there is something special that I really need to have.

We are looking at booking MSC Divina this week. This will be our first MSC cruise, so I am looking for a bit of help with the cabin selection. We would like to book two Aurea balconies, either next door to each other or near each other (two families of three traveling together).

The MSC website shows cabins available on decks 12 and 13. I am thinking we should book on deck 12 so that we are above and below another deck of cabins and do not have to worry too much about noise. Beyond that, though, I'm clueless. Are there are any Aurea balconies on deck 12 that are preferable or any that should be avoided (for example because they have obstructed views or are in a noisy area)? We have typically sailed on the port side in the past and my friend who will be sailing in the second cabin tends a bit toward motion sickness (although we are hoping that having a balcony and ready access to fresh air on this trip will help with that a bit!).

Thanks for your help!

Another question - I saw in a review some photos of drink menus at the bars. If we book Aurea, am I correct in thinking that our drink package will include all drinks not marked with a red asterisk? If so, then I am totally fine with it. I love the Aperol Spritz - so refreshing! :D

Ok. Hmm. That's kind of disappointing to hear that you can't upgrade a beverage package onboard without paying the full package cost. Does anyone know whether it's possible to upgrade the beverage package at booking? We are looking to book next week, so just hoping to gather as much info beforehand as possible.

Thanks again!