Had a great week on the Divina

[Inishmore]

Am headed home after the August 2nd sailing to the Caribbean. Will post a detailed review once I am home, but I want to say that we had a fantastic cruise and I would sail with MSC again.

 

 

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[Mikesa1721]

Am headed home after the August 2nd sailing to the Caribbean. Will post a detailed review once I am home, but I want to say that we had a fantastic cruise and I would sail with MSC again.

 

 

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Good to see you had a great time considering the issues with embarkation last Saturday. Looking forward to your review Inishmore!!:)

[Cruisergal1208]

Am headed home after the August 2nd sailing to the Caribbean. Will post a detailed review once I am home, but I want to say that we had a fantastic cruise and I would sail with MSC again.

 

 

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Glad you had a great cruise. Look forward to your review.

[DL10]

Good to hear!

We sail the same itinerary on the 16th.

Looking forward to your review.

 

Did they have the laundry special of 20 pieces for $25?

If they did, how early in the cruise was it available?

And I've read that you don't have to send everything at once, is that right?

 

I'm starting to pack, and I'm thinking about really packing light and relying on the laundry.

[emarismom]

I was also on this cruise and despite the boarding issues the cruise was fantastic!! Loved the ship, the shows, and the food. Service was great for us!! We will also sail MSC again!!

[Mikesa1721]

I was also on this cruise and despite the boarding issues the cruise was fantastic!! Loved the ship, the shows, and the food. Service was great for us!! We will also sail MSC again!!

 

Great to hear Michelle!!!! I'm so glad you had a good time despite the boarding issues!!!:D

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report!

[pepc2]

Was on this ship also for the August 2nd sailing, my experience was not the same as these friends above me. Would love to know what dining room and what sitting you got good service ours was over 2 hours every night from appetizers to desserts for 6 people in the villa rosa. All I have to say is do not take this cruise line if you have anything else to compare it to you will be disappointed, even if the price sounds good it won't make up for all the things MSC still needs to fix to make it American Friendly, and remember being a American Citizen I'm entitled to my own opinion.

[Mikesa1721]

Was on this ship also for the August 2nd sailing, my experience was not the same as these friends above me. Would love to know what dining room and what sitting you got good service ours was over 2 hours every night from appetizers to desserts for 6 people in the villa rosa. All I have to say is do not take this cruise line if you have anything else to compare it to you will be disappointed, even if the price sounds good it won't make up for all the things MSC still needs to fix to make it American Friendly, and remember being a American Citizen I'm entitled to my own opinion.

 

2 hours?? You do realize that this is normal for Europeans,,and you were on a European Cruise Line. It's not bad or slow service,,it's the fact that dinners are designed to be an event, a time to interact with each other,,so time between courses can be 15-30 minutes at times.

I for one, do not hope they Americanize Divina anymore. If I wanted to sail on an American Line,,I have plenty of mass market choices,,for us,,we want something different,,we love Divina just the way she is, and there's really no need to change.

[stormynow]

Agree with Mike.

[riclop]

Glad you had a great time despite the problems of last Sat. Looking forward to your review.

[Aza1972]

What is it with people feeling the need to have their meal over and done with in less than an hour ? As others have pointed out, it is meant to be enjoyed and not rushed. One of the best, if not the best, meal of my life was on the Sapphire Princess in Sabitini's. Our meal went for almost 3 hours and was so enjoyable. To be fair, it was without kids and our next cruise will be with 6 kids and I doubt they will appreciate such fine culinary dining lol.

 

As for Americanised or not.....WHO CARES. There is life and culture outside of America and some people need to open their narrow minds and experience how others live. If you don't want this then choose Carnival. I hear they are great at typifying Americans :p

 

And for the record, I am a dual Australian/American citizen

[joelgonz]

2 hours?? You do realize that this is normal for Europeans,,and you were on a European Cruise Line. It's not bad or slow service,,it's the fact that dinners are designed to be an event, a time to interact with each other,,so time between courses can be 15-30 minutes at times.

I for one, do not hope they Americanize Divina anymore. If I wanted to sail on an American Line,,I have plenty of mass market choices,,for us,,we want something different,,we love Divina just the way she is, and there's really no need to change.

 

i can only say that if this is what Europe has to offer, then im not going over there. Dinner is an event, i agree, but we were there in the Black Crab restaurant with a family of four and it took us two hours every night. Nothing but small portions of sub par food, empty water glasses and getting tired of waiving down our waiter for something...this european style is not for me. i go on cruises to be waited on by friendly staff who work hard for their tips.....and usually im a good tipper to them...The majority of this staff was horrible...and they didnt speak english or spanish...you know what, this is america and i will gladly sail one of those mass market choices. even the worst three day cruise on the oldest ship in the fleet was better than this.....i wont go again

Edited August 10, 2014 by joelgonz

[Aza1972]

Look out we have a good tipper :p

[Beamafar]

I for one, do not hope they Americanize Divina anymore. If I wanted to sail on an American Line,,I have plenty of mass market choices,,for us,,we want something different,,we love Divina just the way she is, and there's really no need to change.

 

If I'm not mistaken, Divina is returning to the Med for some add-ons to "Americanise" her which I would imagine are as a response to feedback from Americans. Things such as an omelette station and perhaps a grill poolside for cooking burgers fresh have been rumoured. However, nothing has been announced by MSC (quelle surprise!) so it's a wait & see. Considering they haven't yet disclosed the new layouts for the "Renaissance" refits on the Lirica Class ships which begins soon - it would be nice to have some info which would help with future booking considerations.

[oreosmile]

Arghhhh.... Is the problem that people do not realize that the portions are small because you are having multiple courses? And that multiple courses means longer meals?

 

This isn't European dining, it is fine dining. It is what I expect when I pay the big bucks to go out for a meal in an expensive restaurant. My best meal ever was a 9 course tasting menu that took 4 delightful hours.

 

I am Canadian. Last year on the Splendida we ate all but the last dinner at the buffet because one of my kids has food issues that made her more comfortable in the buffet. If you want a meal with your plate piled high, in and out quickly, no waiting between courses, go to the buffet. Go to the back, plenty of seating in the rear with gorgeous views. In 19 meals, we had no issues with pushy people cutting in line - I am sure that if I was looking for instances of it so I could complain later, I would have seen them, but there was nothing that interfered with my ability to select the food I wanted. And it was enjoyable food.

 

I hope MSC doesn't change. What I wish would change is people evaluating more carefully what is important to them and finding the cruise that best fits their needs. Nothing about that dining experience should have been unexpected given all the negative reviews complaining of the different experience. Be mad at yourself for not paying attention, not at MSC.

[Mikesa1721]

i can only say that if this is what Europe has to offer, then im not going over there. Dinner is an event, i agree, but we were there in the Black Crab restaurant with a family of four and it took us two hours every night. Nothing but small portions of sub par food, empty water glasses and getting tired of waiving down our waiter for something...this european style is not for me. i go on cruises to be waited on by friendly staff who work hard for their tips.....and usually im a good tipper to them...The majority of this staff was horrible...and they didnt speak english or spanish...you know what, this is america and i will gladly sail one of those mass market choices. even the worst three day cruise on the oldest ship in the fleet was better than this.....i wont go again

 

Tipping is not allowed on MSC ships,,:)

[Mikesa1721]

If I'm not mistaken, Divina is returning to the Med for some add-ons to "Americanise" her which I would imagine are as a response to feedback from Americans. Things such as an omelette station and perhaps a grill poolside for cooking burgers fresh have been rumoured. However, nothing has been announced by MSC (quelle surprise!) so it's a wait & see. Considering they haven't yet disclosed the new layouts for the "Renaissance" refits on the Lirica Class ships which begins soon - it would be nice to have some info which would help with future booking considerations.

 

I'm sure a few tweaks here and there will be ok Beam, so long as Divina maintains her European influences and core operating model. We love the casual, laid back atmosphere, the diverse cultures and The Mediterranean Way Of Life. MSC offers us here in the states something different,,another choice. It would be interesting to see just who MSC's target passenger is though. With the low rates, one would think it would be the Carnival pax as of late, but with the ship within a ship concept being the Yacht Club,,maybe the NCl, Royal, Princess, Holland pax?

[goldencruiser]

Tipping is not allowed on MSC ships,,:)

 

We were on the Aug 2 cruise and the cruise director said in the disembark talk that if you wanted to tip someone extra to give it straight to them.

 

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[emarismom]

We were in the Black Crab Restaurant early seating. We went to the main dining room 5 out of the 7 nights. We always had our water glasses filled. Our dinners lasted about 90 minutes, but to be honest, I never actually timed them. I found the food to be very good every night except for the 5th night I think. On that night I was not impressed with the menu.

 

This was our 14th cruise and on most of our cruises we eat more often in the buffet, but on the ship we really enjoyed the main dining. Our waiter, Budana, was very friendly and remembered our preferences each evening.

 

On about the third or fourth night I remembered to ask for coffee, which was awesome. In fact, the coffee throughout the ship was great. On most cruise lines the coffee isn't even bearable. On this ship I was actually able to enjoy a decent cup of coffee without having to pay extra for it!

[Mikesa1721]

We were on the Aug 2 cruise and the cruise director said in the disembark talk that if you wanted to tip someone extra to give it straight to them.

 

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We tip extra as well Golden, I was referring to MSC's written rule in my past post. We do however tip discretely, there have been past threads which mentioned that gratuities above and beyond the service charges are pooled and divided among the crew. Knowing this information prior to our first sailing was a big help when expressing our gratitude to our butler, concierge, and the crew at the One Bar and One Pool.:)

[Mikesa1721]

We were in the Black Crab Restaurant early seating. We went to the main dining room 5 out of the 7 nights. We always had our water glasses filled. Our dinners lasted about 90 minutes, but to be honest, I never actually timed them. I found the food to be very good every night except for the 5th night I think. On that night I was not impressed with the menu.

 

This was our 14th cruise and on most of our cruises we eat more often in the buffet, but on the ship we really enjoyed the main dining. Our waiter, Budana, was very friendly and remembered our preferences each evening.

 

On about the third or fourth night I remembered to ask for coffee, which was awesome. In fact, the coffee throughout the ship was great. On most cruise lines the coffee isn't even bearable. On this ship I was actually able to enjoy a decent cup of coffee without having to pay extra for it!

 

Michelle,,the coffee used onboard is Segafredo. I've seen a couple of coffee places on Collins Avenue selling this brand. Waiting for Publix to start carrying it!!! Love it!

[11toCruisePlease]

2 hours?? You do realize that this is normal for Europeans,,and you were on a European Cruise Line. It's not bad or slow service,,it's the fact that dinners are designed to be an event, a time to interact with each other,,so time between courses can be 15-30 minutes at times.

I for one, do not hope they Americanize Divina anymore. If I wanted to sail on an American Line,,I have plenty of mass market choices,,for us,,we want something different,,we love Divina just the way she is, and there's really no need to change.

 

 

You're right Mike. Way to fight off the weary, tired opinion of someone that just got off a cruise, hasn't thought about it yet or just wants that 3night carnival booze cruise experience.

We for one do NOT want that or do we book cruises for that.

1.5-2 hr dinner is great. Give me the early. Enjoy my dinner and get ready for the evening with drinks and shows. Relaxing too!!!

[riclop]

i can only say that if this is what Europe has to offer, then im not going over there. Dinner is an event, i agree, but we were there in the Black Crab restaurant with a family of four and it took us two hours every night. Nothing but small portions of sub par food, empty water glasses and getting tired of waiving down our waiter for something...this european style is not for me. i go on cruises to be waited on by friendly staff who work hard for their tips.....and usually im a good tipper to them...The majority of this staff was horrible...and they didnt speak english or spanish...you know what, this is america and i will gladly sail one of those mass market choices. even the worst three day cruise on the oldest ship in the fleet was better than this.....i wont go again

 

We have had the opposite experience, always filled water glasses never had to look for our waiter and they have always been friendly. Good luck on your next cruise and line.

[degreen]

Although I have been a member, I have never written a review. I felt compelled to respond to some of the very negative reviews I read. My husband and I also sailed on the August 2nd sailing and LOVED every minute of it. Yes, dinner took a long time. We thought it was a dining experience, not poor service. Yes, many of the staff had difficulty understanding English. They also tried very hard. This difficulty would certainly not ruin my time. The bottom line is that the ship is stunning. The crew could not do enough for us. The shows were terrific and the Captain was one of the most personable and charming we have ever met. The only problem were the other passengers. Never have I heard such negativity. I just felt sorry for those people. As for me and my husband, we were on a beautiful ship for one week traveling to wonderful ports and being together. I felt pretty lucky.