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On the Seashore, she has an expanded YC pool deck area vs the Seaside so you can move your chairs up next to the "funnel" (it's not an engine funnel, but more of an air intake) down the side of the pool deck area and have plenty of shade. We had 5 loungers all in a row, no  problem.

On 1/19/2023 at 9:19 AM, GenerationX said:

Oops forgot the pizza pic!  Oh also, these little pickled onions on the snack buffet in the top sail lounge are really tasty.  Just be sure to brush your teeth afterwards before any evening romances! 
 

 

 

Thank you so much for this review, for some reason, I do not find many reviews on the Divina. I know this is an older review and I had to do a CC search to even find it, but glad I did. We are sailing MSC Divina in April 2024 in the YC. We have only sailed MSC in the YC on their newest ships...Seaside 2X, Seashore, and Meraviglia and have been both spoiled and converted from NCL's Haven and from Royal. For the price and the level of service, we just find it is truly a vacation worth saving up for!

On Ocean Cay, we have splurged each time for a YC cabana as DW is a shade chaser. She enjoys having the ceiling fan and the chilled prosecco waiting upon our arrival. Our last visit, we had the jet ski tour booked and it was scheduled during lunch time. Our butler said no problem, he let the butler at Ocean House know to take our lunch order and had it delivered to our cabana for when we got back from our excursion...over-the-top service!

I was wondering how the YC on an "older" ship would compare, but this review has put those concerns to rest...again, thank you!

I have so enjoyed your trip report. It's helped keep me in Vacay mode as the school year starts back up (I'm a teacher now). I am so glad you got to experience the YC treatment! We used to sail NCL Haven before it got priced out of our pocketbook range, so we're enjoying the YC while we can still afford to!

YC disembarkation is a treat as well, right past the lines!

Then you're off on I-95, or as I call it "NASCAR for Tourists!" I despise that drive so much. Yuck.

Happy birthday 2 u!!!

On 8/24/2023 at 11:19 PM, pirate4me2 said:

Ok, sorry for the delay, I got sidetracked by the YC cocktail party on the pool deck. I’m back now tho! 
 

Mom and I hung out on the balcony reading (my goal of finishing my book MAY happen, I’m halfway thru!) until 1:30ish. We debated lunch options (brave gen pop buffet? Pizza? YC buffet?) and in the end the YC pool deck buffet won. And THAT’S when things got interesting. 
 

We went up and I made a salad (side note: the Greek salad in the salad station up there is SO GOOD!) and ordered a cheeseburger from the grill. Yum! I sat at the end of the bar, in the shade, and Arnold brought me a water and I inquired on this green drink another lady had. I honestly don’t remember the name, but it had fresh mint blended up in it, and was good. Mom got one of those, I got the frozen chocolate bar drink, and we munched our food. We were soon joined by a couple we had met at Ocean Cay, and somehow, I’m not really sure how, we ended up with shots of Fireball…and they just kept coming. 

I think I would have a blast cruising with you and your Mom...Kindred Spirits, along with all the spirits!!! Grey Goose Martinis for me 🙂

17 hours ago, pirate4me2 said:

The water in the lagoon was so calm, and the beach was so nice…why is this not part of the YC area? They gave YC such a rough, not feet friendly beach, this surprises me. But whatever. I spent 45 glorious minutes in the water there, just lying on my back and not a care in the world…except that the itty bitty fishes may bite me, or a seagull poop on me. 
Around 11 we made the short hike back to the YC beach for drinks (rum punch, yum!) and to get in the ocean again. We hung there until lunch was served, about 12:15, and lunch today knocked it out of the park. I got the shrimp Caesar salad, which was fresh and crisp with 3 giant shrimp and a nice creamy dressing, and then I customized the burger. I took the advice from here and asked for it with the lobster roll meat on it, and OMG y’all…that was SO GOOD!!! 

Dang Girl, you're taking it to the next level with this idea! Have not thought of putting the lobster meat on the burger...adding that to my menu list in April now!

Ask yourself, are you having fun? Are you on a cruise and not at work? Then YES, u r winning no matter the +/- 🙂

FWIW, I play the table games and have come home with some os MSC's $$ each time. I pinch myself like, "so, they're paying me to be on their cruise?!" Plus the 30% off your next cruise voucher from the Casino makes it well worth it every cruise!

I LOVE your selfie! How fun-looking and shows you are truly enjoying your YC experience!!

I usually order 2 lobster rolls and a salad. Then I scoop the lobster meat out and put it on my salad and voila'! I just find the actual rolls to be too much bread going on.

I do wish they would freshen up the Ocean House menu, but that is definitely a "first world problem" as my kids would tell me LOL

I have not sailed any of the Oasis class ships yet, but I do enjoy a Royal cruise when it fits our agenda. Meaning, activities. Royal wins hands down if we have kids traveling with us. However, now that we're nearing empty nester status, we are devout MSC cruisers and we've sailed the Seaside 2X, both in the Yacht Club. Still plenty to do onboard, just hard to beat Royal if you're looking to keep occupied.

If you can spring a few extra $$, I'd recommend at least getting the Aurea experience as it comes with the thermal spa pass (awesome!) and the private Top 19 sun deck lounge/bar so you don't have to fight the pool deck chair hogs and you have your private bar!

On Ocean Cay, the wave runner excursion is well worth it and a good value for the amount of time.

Bottom line: We enjoy Royal and MSC, don't think you'll be disappointed. It's just two different experiences to me.

On 8/3/2023 at 1:08 PM, Two Wheels Only said:

 

Yes. If there is a specific one that you want, ask the concierge to put you in that one. If nobody else already has it, you'll get it.

Last April on the Mera, I checked w/ the YC Concierge to request Cabana #5. He had us written down for Cabana #2 at the end farthest from the Ocean House. I said, "OK, we'll make it work, no worries."

Day of arrival, we check in at the Ocean House to be escorted to our Cabana and the attendant informs us we are in Cabana #5 and the Butler will escort us there!

I love the pampering in the YC.

Hurry up and post about today LOL!!!!!  I'm sitting here dreaming about the YC and all that you are about to enjoy. Of course, I'm also trying to avoid thinking about work tomorrow, so this is my escape mechanism...keep telling myself, just 2 more years. Then DW and I can cruise whatever time of year we want! 😛 So excited for you and your Mom.

3 hours ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

not true for everyone. We always go to Mahahual (Blue Kay beach club, not AI) and enjoy a super relaxing beach day. So, no excursion, and definitely not staying in an inside room on the ship all day.

I highly recommend Hayhu Beach Club in Mahahual...it's an eco-friendly place run by a Peruvian couple. Food is amazing! Quiet, off the beaten path. We reserved one of the 2 balconies that comes with a $300 food credit and couldn't use it all despite our team's best efforts!! A hidden gem!

Pirate, we have sailed the Seaside 2x and there are just a couple of quirks as she was the first of her class/a prototype. 

1. When you exit the YC on Deck 16, you run into the specialty restaurants. So you have to go down to deck 15 or up to deck 18 to go towards the back of the ship for anything outside of the YC. On later ships, like the Seashore we've sailed, they moved the sepcialty restaurants down to deck 8? to remedy this issue.

2. Not a lot of shade to be had in the YC pool area

3. The Aurea Top 19 sun deck area is on the same deck as the YC pool deck, so it reduces the area of the YC pool deck vs the later ships where they relocated the Aurea sun deck one deck lower and expanded the YC pool deck down the sides which allows for more available shade.

Very minor things about the Seaside, as I mentioned, we've enjoyed her so much we've sailed her 2x and almost a third until COVID hit!

1 minute ago, JAGR said:

Geek here as well!  You said April on Meraviglia.  You must have had Captain Giuseppi Gazzano, the Sydney Greenstreet twin!  We were on in March, and he did the same maneuvering that cruise.  We meant him a few years ago on Carnival.  Very outgoing.  He mentioned how he still likes to maintain control over a ship's movement as he is, "Hands on!"

That's him all right!

Concur with what others have posted and just booked starboard on the Divina for April. Just wanted to add in some fun facts if you're into this sort of thing...on the Seashore, we went into the channel and turned around, then docked. Last April on the Meraviglia, the Captain turned the ship around outside of the channel and backed us all the way in. I thought it was pretty exciting to watch! I'm a geek, I know 🙃

I am so excited for you and your first Yacht Club experience...be prepared to be swept away! It starts with spotting that white YC embarkation tent and avoiding all the lines! Then being escorted past the security lines, then to the YC waiting area with sparkling wine and appetizers...ahhhhh. And this is all before you even get on the ship!

Just finsihed booking yet another YC trip on the Divina this time. Thought about doing the Magnifica which does not have a YC and the wife just gave me the RCA dog head tilt 🤣

If I recall from last April '22, I believe they went to 70lbs. However, I was more impressed that they had barbells and a rack! First I've ever seen on a cruise ship. I did have to swipe some of the 45lb plates from the becnh press rack when doing deadlifts, oh well, they should gotten there first! (I did share with some guys between sets LOL). I did put some yoga mats underneath to keep from making too much noise. The ceiling was just barely high enough for me to also do clean and jerks, and I'm 6'2". One of the best at-sea gyms I've been in!

And, yes, I'm one of those cruisers who are there at 0659 waiting for them to open the doors...it's a problem I have.

I always pack the standard 1 pair of khakis and 7 polo shirts for dining in the YC!

We have sailed the Seaside twice, both times in the YC...you're going to love it! Only odd thing was having to go up or down 1 deck to go to the back of the ship due to the location of the specialty restaurants. This was changed on the later versions of this class of ships like the Seascape. But we loved it overall. Hard to find shade at the YC pool, but plenty of chairs so no need to be a chair hog at 6am in the morning! LOL

The place is called Hayhu, it's an eco-friendly beach club that is definitely away from any tourist spots! hayhubeach.com  For your group, I'd recommend the VIP deck that comes with a $300 food/beverage credit for up to six people, then you pay for each extra person that also comes with their own food/beverage credit. There were 4 of us and we couldn't spend our $300 despite our best beer drinking efforts! The transportation there and back is included with your price. 

It's a very laid back vibe with really great service and great food...def try the homemade guac! You'll want to purchase extra chips. On our VIP deck, the water was not running to the toilet (again, this is an eco-friendly, back-to-basics kind of place), so I took the trash can, filled it up in the shower, then poured it into the toilet tank as needed to be able to flush 🙂

They have massages avail on the beach, 1 kayak, and the kite surfing school which we had booked, but the instructor cancelled on us the day before. Bring lots of sun screen and poss some bug spray. The mosquitoes were non-existent while on the beach due to the breeze, but were swarming all around us as we walked to our cab for the ride back!

Looks like our summer plans are changing and we won't be doing the Greek Isles this year on Divina. Sooo, looks like the Mera out of NYC! For me, a perfect cruise would be 7 days out at sea without getting off the ship, and this cruise goes down the east coast w/ a brief stop at Port Canaveral (we have relatives living nearby the port), Ocean Cay (hello again YC Cabana!), and Nassau (not getting off the ship). It's pretty close to 5 full days on the ship, so, yay!

At the tables, you just toss your cabin card on the table and tell the Pit Boss how much you want. It gets charged to your room with no fee (at least in regards to my personal experience). The charges go against your obc first before showing up as a charge on your account. Easiest casino procedures in all my cruises!

On 12/25/2022 at 8:17 AM, Luke gs Daddy said:

What time did people start getting off the ship once back in PC ?

 

Thanks.

We started disembarkation around 7:45-8am. If you're worried about return flight times out of Orlando, should be OK with anything after 11am if you do self-walk off with your luggage as they are the first group.

10 hours ago, LouChamp said:

Aloha.  Thank you for your report and especially the food pictures! Have a great new year.

I get so much research from these threads that it's the least I can do to give back! Glad you enjoyed. I love the cruise life, and appreciate the folks here on Cruise Critic!

The ones behind the lounge chairs are called Oceanfront while the ones by the rocks are Oceanview.  If you're wanting to spend time in the water, I'd go with the Oceanfront. There are 6 of them with #1 being the farthest from the Ocean House restaurant and #6 being the closest but also by the accessway with lots of foot traffic.  We had Cabana #5 which was a good location.

We had good butler service on both sides.