MSC Divina exceeded our expectations

[max996]

Hi we were on that cruise in the Yacht Club too! This is Fred from Virginia.

I'm looking for Chris and Suzie.

[Robkat]

Skivoodoo, Thanks so much for posting this review. We also are trying MSC, later in the year, for the first time, and also on the Divina, and also in Yacht Club. So we were thrilled to read your post and to hear all the positive and glowing things you had to say about your experience.

 

Can you describe a little more about the dining experience in the YC dining room ... is that what everyone calls Le Muse?

Did you ask to sit at the same table each evening? Did that just happen? Can you sit at different tables each evening?

How is availability of tables for 2? Someone mentioned that the tables for 2 by the window were the only nice ones, that the others were too close together. What is your opinion of that?

 

Who did you book your future cruise with ... someone within the YC or a future cruise rep? We've also got a cruise booked on the Seaside for 2018, but if we can grab a better deal while sailing on the Divina, we'd be happy to do that!

 

Thanks again. It was nice to hear such a wonderful review!

[Sunshine2U]

Skivoodoo, Thanks so much for posting this review. We also are trying MSC, later in the year, for the first time, and also on the Divina, and also in Yacht Club. So we were thrilled to read your post and to hear all the positive and glowing things you had to say about your experience.

 

Can you describe a little more about the dining experience in the YC dining room ... is that what everyone calls Le Muse?

Did you ask to sit at the same table each evening? Did that just happen? Can you sit at different tables each evening?

How is availability of tables for 2? Someone mentioned that the tables for 2 by the window were the only nice ones, that the others were too close together. What is your opinion of that?

 

Who did you book your future cruise with ... someone within the YC or a future cruise rep? We've also got a cruise booked on the Seaside for 2018, but if we can grab a better deal while sailing on the Divina, we'd be happy to do that!

 

Thanks again. It was nice to hear such a wonderful review!

I'll respond...

The restaurant is small so there is not really a bad seat. As with most restaurants most probably prefer seats by the window. When possible they will seat you at the same table with the same servers. This is where IMO there is a bit of trade-off between anytime dining and set time. If you want consistency with tables/servers you probably need to eat at the same time - it's more logistics than policy. Plus, if you go to the shows that pretty much means an early or late dinner.

 

The restaurant has lovely wines, there is usually a pasta course that is prepared tableside, the cheese board is wonderful, the breads and desserts are fantastic. The entrees are prepared well and served warm. The only thing I missed were vegetables so I started ordering a side.

 

MSC has a future cruise staff and there is a desk on one of the main decks, which is where we rebooked. They offered to come to us in the YC but we liked to get out and about.

[skivoodoo]

Sunshine2u pretty much answered the same way I would. We had a table for 2 by the window and I really don't think any tables would have felt cramped. It's a small space and it didn't appear anyone was seated without their party.

 

The lobster tail was fresh water and served on the second formal night. It was better than the lobster that I've paid for in specialty restaurants on the other lines. Arthur did surgery and removed the meat which was nice.

 

There were dishes from the specialty restaurants that were periodically served in Le Muse so we didn't feel the need to ever leave Le Muse. And if you order pizza to be delivered it's from the specialty restaurant and there is no charge, but if you go there to eat they will charge you.

 

We also booked with the future cruise staff in the main area. You can have the concierge arrange a time if you'd like. You do need to bring your credit card with you for the deposit as they don't charge it to your onboard account. We didn't have it, but the future cruise representative Genna was great and just told us to have the concierge call her when we were on our way down the next day to pay. That way we didn't have to have an appointment to pay.

 

We often had breakfast and lunch in Le Muse. They only have half of the restaurant opened as needed so we sometimes sat at a table for 4 but not with other guests.

 

Antonino would stop by each night to let us know what he was making and just to chat. Timing was always perfect between courses. Drinks were offered immediately upon sitting and of course they remembered what we generally preferred.

 

Dechen brought me a few nice Sauternes throughout the cruise that I couldn't find in some of the other bars.

[skivoodoo]

Hi we were on that cruise in the Yacht Club too! This is Fred from Virginia.

I'm looking for Chris and Suzie.

 

Hello. That's not us, but hopefully they'll chime in if they're out there. ;)

[Lou2204]

Wonderful stories and reviews, thanks all for sharing! We are sailing first time with MSC in August, and booked YC.

 

I just received my papers for checking in, and have a few questions, maybe one of you knows..?

 

- Our cabin is 16006 - we thought from looking on the deck plans, this was the biggest (there is 4 of us...). But on the papers it says 29 square meters, which seems to be the smallest size of the cabins ... are the cabins on the side of the ship bigger?

- The drinks .. inclusive on the whole ship or not? It says on the papers: " All-inclusive, lunch and dinner in YC restaurant " . Somebody here (cannot find the thread) said that drinks were also inclusive on other parts of the ship when you have YC, but is this true?

 

Many thanks for your answers,

Warm regards Marlou

[skivoodoo]

Wonderful stories and reviews, thanks all for sharing! We are sailing first time with MSC in August, and booked YC.

 

I just received my papers for checking in, and have a few questions, maybe one of you knows..?

 

- Our cabin is 16006 - we thought from looking on the deck plans, this was the biggest (there is 4 of us...). But on the papers it says 29 square meters, which seems to be the smallest size of the cabins ... are the cabins on the side of the ship bigger?

- The drinks .. inclusive on the whole ship or not? It says on the papers: " All-inclusive, lunch and dinner in YC restaurant " . Somebody here (cannot find the thread) said that drinks were also inclusive on other parts of the ship when you have YC, but is this true?

 

Many thanks for your answers,

Warm regards Marlou

 

Hi Marlou,

 

Sorry, but I'm not sure about the cabin size. Maybe someone has been in one of the forward facing cabins. I have heard that the balcony can be tough to use when moving as the wind is strong...

 

The drinks are included ship wide.There were some drinks that weren't available at every bar, like my Sauterne. But they had other nice offerings.

[Lou2204]

Hi Marlou,

 

 

 

Sorry, but I'm not sure about the cabin size. Maybe someone has been in one of the forward facing cabins. I have heard that the balcony can be tough to use when moving as the wind is strong...

 

 

 

The drinks are included ship wide.There were some drinks that weren't available at every bar, like my Sauterne. But they had other nice offerings.

 

 

 

Wonderful to hear, thanks for your response! We're quite inexperienced cruisers and we were really delighted that we managed to snap up a forward looking cabin. Never thought about the head winds!! Good to be forewarned, we'll see what it will be like. It just feels so exciting to be looking ahead when the ship sails!! [emoji5]

 

 

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[skivoodoo]

Wonderful to hear, thanks for your response! We're quite inexperienced cruisers and we were really delighted that we managed to snap up a forward looking cabin. Never thought about the head winds!! Good to be forewarned, we'll see what it will be like. It just feels so exciting to be looking ahead when the ship sails!! [emoji5]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

The great thing is that you can always head up 1 deck to the One Pool area and have the same view and less head winds. And a lot of the time we had the deck mostly to ourselves. :cool: