!!! DIVINA !!! Eastern Caribbean ^_^ The Ultimate Review and Complete Pictorial Guide

[cruzinlady1947]

This was Gambee's review, and his opinions- he rated items that he wanted to rate and gave scores based on HIS opinion, based on HIS cruise. I enjoy reading these boards and reading other people's reviews, but I have a hard time when other people tell the writer that they are wrong, with how they should rate their experiences, or be told of other things to evaluate in their review.

 

Read the reviews, agree with them or not...but respect the person for sharing their opinions and move on

Couldn't agree more..........:D

 

 

Gwen :)

[lennel]

I got shrimp and risotto. It was just ok, and rather small.

 

 

And my uncle ordered the wrong thing, he thought it was seafood. This was very basic and plain. I felt bad for him so I gave him half of mine. He loved mine.

 

 

By the way, the portions in the MDR are rather small. And this is coming from me, those who know me, know how little I tend to eat.

 

 

For dessert I got the torts Caprese. It was delicious!

 

 

I hve a question, You keep saying portions were small, or you did not like couldnt you order 2 entrees for each meal? like on other ships

[MsTabbyKats]

Gambee, I wanted to point out that you omitted something you stated was important to you,,

in your own words,,,

'I won't go into details, but we basically got 2 balconies for 4 people for 7 days, (initially it was 4 of us, but my cousin bailed out) for the same price as the 3 day Norwegian Sky cruise that started my addiction. The deal was incredible, by far the best deal that I have gotten on a cruise. My mom could not believe it. It was great news for her because we were even considering going with an interior cabin to stay within budget. So as far as price goes, we got a great deal on this cruise! I always try to review cruise ships with that in mind, it makes for a balanced review.'

 

 

It would seem you forgot this, and you didn't include this 'great deal' into your review!

Fact, Gambee you all sailed in balconies at inside cabin prices!

Gambee, I respect your subjective thoughts, but the hard facts cannot be ignored!

Of the ships you have reviewed, Disney Dream, Allure, Breeze, Breakaway, Silhouette, none of them could have given you a balcony for what you paid on the Divina! Between the 2 balcony cabins on Divina, you saved easily over a $1,000. with a balcony on those other ships, or you would have been in an inside cabin!:eek:

So would it be fairer to compare a Divina balcony vs the other ships inside cabins?

 

Do you want to compare drink prices with these other ships? Again the Divina is less expensive!:eek:

 

Do you want to compare loyalty clubs for future cruises, MSC has one of the best programs going right now!:eek:

 

You're rating a Divina's balcony cruise lower then inside cabins on these other ships? Or are you ignoring price?:eek:

 

I will respect your review, but I will also disagree with it for what you left out of your review at the end, what you said was important to you, your 'incredible balcony deal'!!

 

Many happy cruises in your future!:)

 

Totally agree with you....

 

Whenever someone starts out with "how cheap" the cruise was....there should be a "bang for your buck" category.

 

Gambee...although I appreciate all the work that you did...you don't get champagne if you pay for beer.

Edited September 18, 2014 by MsTabbyKats

[Bosjoe]

I hve a question, You keep saying portions were small, or you did not like couldnt you order 2 entrees for each meal? like on other ships

 

Since he might not be back. You can order multiple items if you choose. Portions are just the right size.

[American Bear]

This was Gambee's review, and his opinions- he rated items that he wanted to rate and gave scores based on HIS opinion, based on HIS cruise. I enjoy reading these boards and reading other people's reviews, but I have a hard time when other people tell the writer that they are wrong, with how they should rate their experiences, or be told of other things to evaluate in their review.

 

Read the reviews, agree with them or not...but respect the person for sharing their opinions and move on

 

 

 

Who said Gambee was wrong?:eek:

Did you read what I wrote?:eek:

 

These are the forums, conversation, opinions back and forth!

YES, the right to agree, and disagree, with manners!:eek:

You're stated 'HARD TIME' with conversations back and forth, is yours to deal with because these forums will 'always' include those with a similar experience who agree, and disagree!:eek:

 

My point to Gambee, and it was made 'with respect to him', was he seemed to set the preferences/guidelines of his review at the beginning, to include cost-affordability, and he seems to have not included cost/price/affordability into his final comparisons/score!

 

My 'opinion' is unless you're rich and don't care about money, its impossible to grade a cruise in 'comparison with other cruises' (as Gambee has done with scores comparing other cruises), without including price/cost/ affordability? At the beginning(page 1 of his review), it seemed Gambee felt the same way! Others may not feel the same way! That's OK!:eek:

 

I never questioned Gambee's scores, (they were his experiences), but of omissions that he originally stated were important to him!

Just the ones I mentioned,, overall price comparisons between the cruises, the drink prices, (the drink programs), and the loyalty clubs, which all favor the Divina!

Gambee of course has that right to score his cruise anyway he wants, include, and ignore what he wants, and I have the right to remind him of what 'HE' originally said on page 1 of his review!

 

Gambee's photos were excellent, and they gave everyone new to the Divina an excellent view of how much you get cruising the Divina for what you pay! As the old saying goes, 'a picture is worth a 1000 words'! And Gambee's photos were worth billions!

 

I hope Gambee has many more enjoyable cruises to grade and score, including his great photos, and we will enjoy them even if we don't always completely agree!

Edited September 18, 2014 by American Bear

[retiring soon]

HI all!

 

Gambee ~ just finished your review as I've been away sailing Alaska on HAL Amsterdam, might this be a line you'd sail in future?

 

Loved your review as always & you've made me think that the lovely Divina might be something I'd be interested in tacking on a BTB say on Carnival. ;)

As you found out Carnival is a hard sell to some people & I regret that I just found it on my 23rd cruise! I was wishing on my HAL cruise that it was a bit more like Carnival.

 

Anyhow it was nice to meet you on the Breeze & to find out that you had another cruise so soon & with family. Sounded like you all had a fun time,

just what the doctor ordered after a rough year.

 

~ Jo ~ :)

[gambee]

Sorry everyone, I have been incredibly busy lately. Mitsu, thank you so much for that aerial picture of GSC. I have never seen GSC from that view, to your question, I got to the third beach, they island is indeed very large. I wish I had known about that lagoon :(

 

American Bear, your comment is very true. I did indeed got a bargain on this cruise. But if you notice something is that MSC lost a lot of points in entertainment, and Service. These are items that the price should not affect either way. I guess technically I could have given one extra point in food pushing the total percentage to 71%, but honestly that does not make much of a difference. I think I rated her appropriately, and like I said. I would not hesitate from sailing her again in the future.

 

Thank you for all the input everyone, I wish I had the time to answer to everyone independently.

 

Edited September 19, 2014 by gambee

[gambee]

Gambee, just finished your review and videos. Again, you have done an excellent job. I enjoy your reviews so much. I hate to break from them while I am reading them, but with my cruise in the middle of your review, it took so long for me to finish it when I got home. And, I did have a great cruise. Thanks for asking.

 

I am glad your Mom is feeling better and hope she will be good as new in no time. It certainly is scary when someone slips and falls. You are such a good and caring son. Your Mother is lucky to have you and you her.

 

I had to laugh at your Uncle. He seemed like a kid in a candy store. I am glad you got to spend some time with your family on a cruise. It always makes the cruise extra special.

 

I don't remember if you said whether there was a Meet and Mingle. Did they do that on MSC? Just curious.

 

Good luck in your schooling and happy you are doing so well with your studies considering all the other things you do.

 

Thanks again for a great review and taking the time to do it. I will be looking forward to your next one, whenever that may be. Would certainly love to meet you on a cruise someday. ;)

 

 

Gwen :)

 

 

Hello Gwen, sorry for the late response. I beleive I saw the CC meet and greet on the Daily on day 2 :confused:. I can't truly remember, I never made it.

 

Thank so much for reading this review :).

 

It is always a pleasure to have you in my reviews, maybe some day we can sail together :)

[gambee]

I hve a question, You keep saying portions were small, or you did not like couldnt you order 2 entrees for each meal? like on other ships

 

You can order as many as you life :), no worries ;). I was just pointing out that portions were on the small side.

[gambee]

HI all!

 

Gambee ~ just finished your review as I've been away sailing Alaska on HAL Amsterdam, might this be a line you'd sail in future?

 

Loved your review as always & you've made me think that the lovely Divina might be something I'd be interested in tacking on a BTB say on Carnival. ;)

As you found out Carnival is a hard sell to some people & I regret that I just found it on my 23rd cruise! I was wishing on my HAL cruise that it was a bit more like Carnival.

 

Anyhow it was nice to meet you on the Breeze & to find out that you had another cruise so soon & with family. Sounded like you all had a fun time,

just what the doctor ordered after a rough year.

 

~ Jo ~ :)

 

Well hello there Jo, I was not aware that you were going to read this review. It is so nice to see you here. I still remember when you allowed me to visit your cove balcony on the Breeze, once again thank you for the opportunity :).

 

We are indeed looking at sailing both Alaska and HAL at some point in time. I just have to make the time to make it to both :)

 

It is funny that you say that about Carnival, we might have to back soon =)

[jpm1973]

Thanks for your great reviews and the incredible pictures! A bit of a photography fan myself and now I'm looking at getting a Sony for my next camera.

 

So glad you enjoyed St. Maarten - have never been there on a cruise stop but have been several times for a week of paradise. Orient Beach is my absolute favorite for just relaxing and I drag everyone to Maho at least twice each time I'm there to watch the planes. I do hope you have a chance to get back there!

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[perfect match]

Gambee, thank you for another of your wonderful, detailed reviews. I always enjoy reading them.

 

Divina truly is a beautiful ship! I absolutely loved that crystal staircase! That alone might convince me to sail her some day. She will just have to get in line with all the others I'm trying to figure out how to fit into our vacation schedule. So many ships, so little time! What a good kind of problem to have! :D

 

Once again, thanks for sharing your cruise on the Divina with us. I appreciate all the work you put into your reviews, and it shows in the responses you get.

[astropilot]

Wow! I feel like I was on that cruise... We will be on Divina, for the first time on her November 1 cruise.

[mrlddst]

Just wanted to say wonderful job as usual. I was so excited when I got a msg from your site saying you had posted a new review. I had never even thought about MSC and reading your review with all the details makes me want to try something new. Hope your mother is doing well.

Have you ever thought of starting a fundme for future cruises. People on your site could donate to your next cruise. You would be surprised at what people would contribute to.

[thraak]

gambee,

I have read your final thoughts about the Divina.

It's interesting that we both have come to similar conclusion (my research from last year).

I don't count rating scores in my reviews - just not my method.

 

What I posted in my review after the cruise this year is Value for Money - 3 out of 5. I have put it that way.

 

This is not far from your 70% (3.5/5)

 

I would disagree with what you posted about the CD.

 

 

 

As far as I know there are two Cruise Directors on the Divina.

One person is on the stage, the second person is doing behind the scene work.

 

Other than that I agree with you in most cases.

 

Enjoy your cruises!

 

 

Personally, I would give Andre a 10. Now on the other hand, I would give JC Sanchez aboard NCL's Getaway a 2. It was the difference between night and day!!!

 

Andre was so enjoyable whereas JC was sarcastic and he thought he was a lot funnier than he was. Just my opinion.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Edited October 7, 2014 by thraak

[russianmom]

 

 

 

 

 

It really looks like they have made a lot of improvements since we were there last (I think 2012). There's a lot more "greenery" now and the statues you posted were not there (unless I missed them). I also don't remember that building/waiting area for the tenders being there. You use to just walk straight to the tenders (of course we didn't have a line when we were there, so maybe I just didn't notice it???).

 

Anyhow, your pictures got me excited to visit again.

 

 

WOW! Thanks for this picture.. I have never ventured past the buffet area. It's even very different from when I was last there May 2013. Now I want to go back!!!! :D

[moonvine]

Also they actually do the traditional Baked Alaska on the last formal night. They parade around with the baked Alaska on fire. A special treat is it does not have vanilla, chocolate and strawberry ice cream. Instead it is pistachio and coffee ice cream. Best I have ever had. Also no smoke detectors went off as these flaming cakes past close to the ceiling. Just beautiful to see when the lots go out.

Marsha:D

 

 

Oh no. I am deathly allergic to pistachios:(

Edited October 8, 2014 by moonvine

[jkgourmet]

Oh no. I am deathly allergic to pistachios:(

 

The baked Alaska was coffee and banana on our September 27 Divina departure.

[gambee]

I started my Bimini SuperFast Review.

 

Here is the link for the review.

 

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2128585

 

 

 

[mycruise2000]

 

I have always loved the pictures when you finally leave the city and your vacation truly starts!

 

 

 

These pictures came amazingly sharp for such a slow lens.

 

 

 

Love it! The water so still.

 

 

 

Gambee,

 

I just found your review on MSC and as always loving it. Thanks for all your efforts and love your photos.

 

Thanks.

[mycruise2000]

Gambee, excellent night photos. I love night photography. BTW, do you carry your tripod all the times. Hard to get that quality picture handheld even with fast lens

[PurdueChefAmber]

 

For Menus, Drink Lists, Dailies, Drink Packages and more visit my blog Cruise With Gambee

Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or Google+

As always, I have a lot of material to share with everyone.

My reviews are loaded with fun times, great pictures and as always an unbiased point of view.

I have been told that I have a critical eye for detail, and it will be all here for you to enjoy.

Again, I welcome all of my previous readers and new ones as well. Thank you kindly for being a part of this ^_^

 

I invite you to come and sail with us on Aboard The Dazzling MSC Divina!!!

 

 

Introduction

 

Hello everyone, last you saw me I reviewed the Carnival Breeze, and had an amazing time! I can't believe I waited so long to try out Carnival. But I guess I allowed the best of me to get jaded by negative reviews. Goes to show that only you are the one who will know if you will like a product or not. But anyway, we are all here to talk about Divina and not Carnival, so let's get into it.

 

As always I start the reviews with a little insight about myself, and how/why we booked the cruise. If you follow me, you're aware that this year has been particularly rough on us. For those of you who are new readers, I will explain briefly. At the begging of this year my grandmother got diagnosed with cancer, it was at a very advanced stage and we had no intentions on making her last months on this earth uncomfortable for her. The decision was made to try to provide the best quality of life for her, and avoid chemotherapy since there was no realistic chance of improvement. My mother moved to our home country to take care of Grannie, during those months to do so. I was also able to see her in fairly good health while on a brief visit. My grandmother passed away a few months later. She was a fighter until her last breath. Words cannot describe the impact that her passing took on us. For me personally it was so devastating that I started loosing hair at an alarming rate, I am in the process of attempting to get that under control. Mom is back in the states and we are trying to resume to our normal lives again. Beyond that, there have also been additional family members diagnosed with a similar prognosis. Like I said, this year could easily be described as the worst year of our lives.

 

Let's try to move away from the sadness, I just needed to set the base as to why this cruise was so important to us and why it meant so much. This cruise main meaning was to celebrate my grandmother’s life, and everything that she did for us. It would be one cruise that no matter in which ship we were in; it would stay in our lives for the rest of life. She had all along been the root of our existence.

 

When booking this particular cruise I was looking at price more than anything, aside from the previously mentioned money is not on my side year. I have started school again, and I had to reduce my hours at work by more than half. In addition to that mom has been out of work for over 6 months, so we needed to keep our eye on the expenses.

 

Another very important factor about this cruise was that my uncle would be coming along. While he grew up in small boats, he had yet to sail on a cruise! And we all know how much fun it is traveling with first timers. Well, technically I didn't, this was my first time traveling with a first timer :D. I wanted a cruise that would flow perfectly, for all of us. I needed mom to be well rewarded for her incredibly hard and amazing work that she did for my grandmother. Mom was in need of a vacation more than ever. Those months had taken a huge toll on her and I could hear it in her voice. I also wanted my uncle's first experience be one that he would seal in his heart forever, and also something good for him to keep from this year. That was a tough call to do, especially while on a budget. Then again we are very reasonable and easy to please. So any of the cruises I had been on previously would do that for us.

 

Grammar Criticism

 

As you can imagine I work very hard on these reviews. I really try to deliver a satisfactory product, and one that will please most of my readers. Recently I received some criticism on my grammar on a social networking site. I would just want to remind my readers that English is my second language, and one that I continually struggle to improve.

 

Also bear in mind that there are only about a handful of writers that attempt at writing 60+ page reviews. I do all by myself, I have no editors or anything, this all entirely my work. This work is done entirely out of my heart and the will to share our experiences with you.

 

I try very hard to entertain everyone, and I like to think that I am doing well at it. But I also want to keep these reviews fun for me as well. They are not exactly easy or fast to compose. I do this while maintaining two full time jobs, and going to college. I will try harder to improve my writing, and deliver a better product. But just keep this in mind.

 

Thank you :)

 

 

 

Cruise Details

 

Booking this cruise was a little tricky due to uncertainty with the exact days; I did research as always and there were a few options but nothing great. It was later on that I reached out through a social media site and a friend contacted me with a deal on MSC Divina that was beyond hard to believe. I always had Divina on my sight; as a matter of fact, I had a cruise booked on her that I had to cancel earlier this year. I was extremely excited to see that kind of offer, and decided to make a move on it.

 

I won't go into details, but we basically got 2 balconies for 4 people for 7 days, (initially it was 4 of us, but my cousin bailed out) for the same price as the 3 day Norwegian Sky cruise that started my addiction. The deal was incredible, by far the best deal that I have gotten on a cruise. My mom could not believe it. It was great news for her because we were even considering going with an interior cabin to stay within budget. So as far as price goes, we got a great deal on this cruise! I always try to review cruise ships with that in mind, it makes for a balanced review. Basically sums up to the price paid VS experienced received, which makes it fair for all cruise lines, no matter which price range they are in.

 

The cruise itinerary was by no means perfect; as a matter of fact the Carnival one that I was considering had a MUCH BETTER ONE. However, in the end MSC had a way better price and I wanted to try a new cruise line. The ship stopped in St. Maarten, San Juan and Great Stirrup Cay. I was thrilled about St. Maarten and San Juan, but GSC is just very basic and plain in my opinion. Then again, it had been two years since I was there and I was curious to find out what changes they had done to the island.

 

 

 

 

 

Stateroom Selection

 

There is not much to say about the room selection, since this was a balcony guarantee reservation. Overall, we ended up getting 1 astounding room and one good room. I will go into details later on. One thing that I am not very keen about Divina is that the ship has lots of sections on the outside. This blocks the view for a lot of rooms. Nothing that will ruin your cruise, but still not something I like. When I book rooms one of my main focus is not having any views blocks, after all, isn't that the main point of a balcony?

 

Do your research before booking a balcony; make sure the walls and such does not obstruct the views.

 

 

MSC Horrible Website

 

MSC has by FAR! The WORST website that I have ever used out of all the cruise lines I've sailed. The website is simply put, inoperable! I was never able to log into my online reservations. I was told that it was because of the way I booked it, which by the way I booked directly with MSC, so can someone please explain that to me... I was however able to check-in through another link, but that was another nightmare as MSC kept telling wrong booking number, I had to switch browsers to make it work??? And after I was in I kept getting error messages each time I tried submitting. Our luggage tags had to be requested, because they never came in, etc...

 

Anyway, I won't go more into details. The main point is that at this point that website is a joke. It mainly works as a sales portal. OH, I forgot, all the reservations have to go through their principal office in Italy. So even researching for prices could take you what seems like an eternity. The same goes for phone calls, you always experience very long wait times just for someone to answer.

 

From what I heard MSC recruited some high profile executives from other lines to open their US operation. I just cannot fathom why have they not improved this yet? We are in the age of technology, let's face it, and we want things done fast and efficiently. MSC is seriously behind in this very important field, a lot of work has to be implemented. Then again this is just my opinion ;)

 

The only thing that saved my life was because I was working with Dave Rowland, my cruise account manager at MSC. He was a sincere pleasure to work with and I could always get a quick answer with him. I am not sure that my experience would have been so pleasant had I not had him.

 

 

 

Welcome Aboard the Gorgeous MSC Divina!!!

 

 

 

 

 

Hi Gambee! I just read all of your reviews and have become a cult follower! haha, I read it on your blog, that makes it so much easier! I am so surprised after seeing this review and your experience on this ship that people still wouldn't give Carnival a try! I had a similar experience on Royal Caribbean, people seemed to be looking down on me for being loyal to Carnival, but hey, "Go Fun Yourself" was created for a reason. hahaha I hope to run into you one day on a cruise! Maybe the Vista!?! Thanks for all the effort you put into your reviews! I will try NCL because of you!

[gambee]

I started my Carnival Victory Review.

 

Here is the link for the review.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2247456

 

 

[travelplus]

Where are your ancestors from? My ancestors are from Granada and Segovia Spain. One of my relatives was the financier for Christopher Columbus under the reign of Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand(my Cousin was the one to introduce them) and his son went on Columbus's second voyage to explore the Caribbean. A lot of my relatives went to Mexico and one of them was Antonio Olvera(Olvera street in Los Angeles fame). Quite an interesting history considering my relative founded Gold the year before the California Gold Rush.

[/color][/b]

[familycruzer]

I am going to flag this and read it all. I followed your breakaway cruise and just booked the Divina for a Caribbean cruise in January 2017. Balcony aft ... $1600 total for 7 nights!