All the Negative Reviews Had Unintended Benefit

[IJustWantToGo36]

While I do not like the "100% Divina Sucks" type of review, there has been a big benefit to MSC.

 

"Lowered Expectations"

 

On the 9/6 sailing, talking to other CC members, no one was expecting amazing food of service.

 

Words like "We just laugh it off" or "If it's edible its great" were used during the embarkation CC get together.

 

So when people said " the food and service is much better then I thought it would be" it is a result of "Lowered Expectations."

 

Having said this, I do hope to see more balanced reviews in the future.

 

This post is not a criticism or compliment, just a social media observation.

[jkgourmet]

And the same is true on Carnival, NCL and some of the passengers who sail on Celebrity, RCCL, HAL, Princess, etc etc etc

[Mikesa1721]

And the same is true on Carnival, NCL and some of the passengers who sail on Celebrity, RCCL, HAL, Princess, etc etc etc

 

I agree 100% JKgourmet!!! It only took one second to jump over to the Carnival board to find: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2101835

[legion3]

There are however, far more people who are on the Carnival board, thus there are far more carnival defenders who will rise up and basically swat down naysayers or those "reviews" that have biased agendas or some axe to grind.

 

Perhaps the food was horrible for her but at least she did not make it a "fact" filled "This is how a proper ship does it" lecture about the overall product.

[Mikesa1721]

There are however, far more people who are on the Carnival board, thus there are far more carnival defenders who will rise up and basically swat down naysayers or those "reviews" that have biased agendas or some axe to grind.

 

Perhaps the food was horrible for her but at least she did not make it a "fact" filled "This is how a proper ship does it" lecture about the overall product.

 

Agree Legion!!! I know exactly where you are coming from!!!

[MsTabbyKats]

I've really got to laugh at the "horrible food"...."no taste"...... "not like real (American) lasagna"...... etc...

 

Go to the pool and take a look at the Italians in bathing suits. Now look at the Americans in their bathing suits. If the Americans ate like the Italians, they'd look like the Italians.

 

MSC...thank you for bringing "la dolce vita" to us. Don't change.

[AmoMondo]

I've really got to laugh at the "horrible food"...."no taste"...... "not like real (American) lasagna"...... etc...

 

Go to the pool and take a look at the Italians in bathing suits. Now look at the Americans in their bathing suits. If the Americans ate like the Italians, they'd look like the Italians.

 

MSC...thank you for bringing "la dolce vita" to us. Don't change.

 

Oh you really made me laugh with that one!

[MsTabbyKats]

Oh you really made me laugh with that one!

 

Glad you found it funny!

 

I can take just about any negative statement (except slippery conditions by the pool) and find humor in it....

 

"I paid next to nothing"...."but wasn't treated like royalty".

 

"No towel animals...."but I'm over 6 years old".

 

"They should get Carnival cruise directors/staff".....why? If you want Carnival...go to Carnival.

 

"Nobody speaks English!"....C'mon....The USA isn't the entire world. If you need to be the BFF of the stewards and servers....sail an American line.

 

Anyway...I personally can't wait to eat REAL pizza for an entire week...have quality entertainment...not have people run after me for photos or drinks etc. And if my fish is dry....I'll squirt some lemon on it.

 

Ciao Bella Divina

[Mikesa1721]

Glad you found it funny!

 

I can take just about any negative statement (except slippery conditions by the pool) and find humor in it....

 

"I paid next to nothing"...."but wasn't treated like royalty".

 

"No towel animals...."but I'm over 6 years old".

 

"They should get Carnival cruise directors/staff".....why? If you want Carnival...go to Carnival.

 

"Nobody speaks English!"....C'mon....The USA isn't the entire world. If you need to be the BFF of the stewards and servers....sail an American line.

 

Anyway...I personally can't wait to eat REAL pizza for an entire week...have quality entertainment...not have people run after me for photos or drinks etc. And if my fish is dry....I'll squirt some lemon on it.

 

Ciao Bella Divina

 

MsTabby,,,you may find interest in this article:You can use Google Translate at the top of the page to view the English version: I would love to be on one of those sailings,,,pizza,,pizza,,pizza!!!

 

http://www.primapaginanews.it/dettaglio_articolo.asp?id=253890&ctg=2

Edited September 17, 2014 by Mikesa1721

[Elmartellama]

I found the Lasagna to be superb, yet my partner thought it was so so. Many things in life are just subjective. I have lived in Italy for half a year and I now that was the real deal, yet he is used to another version of Lasagna. The problem here is that Italian food is so popular around the world that people are used to their local version of it.

 

What I really can't understand is all that 'they should hire a Carnival cruise director' thing.

[JoLoca2208]

 

 

"i paid next to nothing"...."but wasn't treated like royalty".

 

"no towel animals...."but i'm over 6 years old".

 

"they should get carnival cruise directors/staff".....why? If you want carnival...go to carnival.

 

"nobody speaks english!"....c'mon....the usa isn't the entire world. If you need to be the bff of the stewards and servers....sail an american line.

 

Anyway...i personally can't wait to eat real pizza for an entire week...have quality entertainment...not have people run after me for photos or drinks etc. And if my fish is dry....i'll squirt some lemon on it.

 

Ciao bella divina

 

love it! :d

[houstoncruisers2001]

Go to the pool and take a look at the Italians in bathing suits. Now look at the Americans in their bathing suits. If the Americans ate like the Italians, they'd look like the Italians.

 

Oh great, now everyone will be staring at everybody out by the pool. I better start practicing sucking in my gut now.

[oreosmile]

The problem here is that Italian food is so popular around the world that people are used to their local version of it.

 

 

On the Splendida, we thought the cheese pizza would be all my daughter would eat, but it turned out that she didn't like the taste of it (not what she was used to at home). She hated it in Rome too. She only perked up in Paris when we found a US pizza chain around the corner from our hotel and found something more similar to what she was used to.

 

It is the same thing with Chinese food - I love the authentic stuff, my husband doesn't like to venture much past the Canadian-Chinese staples of chicken balls, beef and broccoli, and fried rice. It made it hard for him when we lived in Vancouver and most of the Chinese restaurants were on the authentic end of things due to the large Asian population. I loved the Ethnic Corner of the buffet on Splendida - lots of really tasty cool food there that made me wonder where the chefs called home.

 

Reading the restaurant menus for Divina, I'm not sure how my husband will fare. He doesn't eat seafood and is not too adventuresome, so he may be eating a lot of steaks. I, however, am planning on enjoying trying new things - and if he and my daughter flake out on the restaurant, I may go by myself with a good book ;-p

[LukeSkywalker]

I've really got to laugh at the "horrible food"...."no taste"...... "not like real (American) lasagna"...... etc...

 

Go to the pool and take a look at the Italians in bathing suits. Now look at the Americans in their bathing suits. If the Americans ate like the Italians, they'd look like the Italians.

 

MSC...thank you for bringing "la dolce vita" to us. Don't change.

That's so sweet, Ms TabbyKats :-)

My favorite item on the MSC menu is the delicious pasta bolognese, looking forward to my next cruise, sailing on 05 December with MSC Fantasia, from Genoa to the Canary Islands :-)

[clackey]

I've really got to laugh at the "horrible food"...."no taste"...... "not like real (American) lasagna"...... etc...

 

Go to the pool and take a look at the Italians in bathing suits. Now look at the Americans in their bathing suits. If the Americans ate like the Italians, they'd look like the Italians.

 

Yuck:eek:

[JohnLocke2012]

HOLD UP!!! No towel animals on the Divina???!!!! Loooks like I'm calling MSC right now to cancel. :mad:

 

OHhhhh wait... Just realized that doesn't matter.

[RoePost]

Funny that they want a CD from Carnival...the CD on Divina (Andre) is originally from Princess Cruise Lines which is owned by Carnival...I had Andre as a CD on Princess and also on the Divina and was quite happy with his work.....

[skyking]

That's so sweet, Ms TabbyKats :-)

My favorite item on the MSC menu is the delicious pasta bolognese, looking forward to my next cruise, sailing on 05 December with MSC Fantasia, from Genoa to the Canary Islands :-)

 

 

I could not agree more with you, we loved the mix of people on the Divina, the bathing attire was great, made me feel like I was in the MED for the week.

[JohnLocke2012]

I could not agree more with you, we loved the mix of people on the Divina, the bathing attire was great, made me feel like I was in the MED for the week.

 

So even out of Miami, you'd say that there were more Europeans than Americans when you sailed?

[travelberlin]

I've really got to laugh at the "horrible food"...."no taste"...... "not like real (American) lasagna"...... etc...

 

Go to the pool and take a look at the Italians in bathing suits. Now look at the Americans in their bathing suits. If the Americans ate like the Italians, they'd look like the Italians.

 

MSC...thank you for bringing "la dolce vita" to us. Don't change.

 

:):):) very funny, but please MSC do change when it is in relation to customer service. Please improve it, there you really can learn from USA...

[bridgetjonesni]

In 2012 we booked a cruise on Carnival Splendor for a big birthday celebration for my mum. All I read for the 9 months between booking and sailing were negative, nitpicking reviews that made it sounds like a ship full of uncouth cruisers, unhelpful staff and sub-par facilities. Nothing could have been further from the truth and it was our favourite cruise to date, beating both RCI and HAL in many respects.

 

This year it's a big birthday for my me, my husband and some of our friends, so we agreed to go on a cruise together instead of having lots of separate parties and gifts. The Fantasia best suited our budget and timing and she looked like a beautiful ship, so we booked back in February. All I've read since are negative, nitpicking reviews... however I'm hoping the same holds true with MSC as it did with Carnival. The reviews have certainly lowered our expectations but very few of the reviews actually complain about anything that would actually bother any of us, so we're cautiously optimistic. Only one month until we find out for ourselves!

[skyking]

So even out of Miami, you'd say that there were more Europeans than Americans when you sailed?

 

Hey John, out of 3700 onboard only 1200 were Americans. It was pretty funny, prettiest cruise I have ever been on to be honest;)

[skyking]

Funny that they want a CD from Carnival...the CD on Divina (Andre) is originally from Princess Cruise Lines which is owned by Carnival...I had Andre as a CD on Princess and also on the Divina and was quite happy with his work.....

 

Bummer we didn't have Andre, we had Anna from Germany, she was nothing special.

[JohnLocke2012]

 

Hmm. Interesting. I guess the Europeans get sick of seeing Europe and choose the Divinia since it's a line they are familiar with. Were all shipboard announcements in multiple languages?

[skyking]

Hmm. Interesting. I guess the Europeans get sick of seeing Europe and choose the Divinia since it's a line they are familiar with. Were all shipboard announcements in multiple languages?

 

In all honesty it was not that bad, atleast I did notice it, but yes there were some that were in different languages. THE BEST part was when the CD started calling off people in Grand Cayman and I think she pushed the wrong button, the first announcement went off in the cabins. I JUMPED!!!