I've sailed on Seaside, now compare here to the Divina

[PTC DAWG]

Thinking of booking a cruise on the Divina out of Port Canaveral this September...any comments on how the two ships compare?

 

Sailed on Seaside with the Aurea experience...looking at Yacht Club on Divina...

 

We may have our 28 year old Son and his Fiancé with us...in their own room.  How do folks think a couple of that age would like the Yacht Club?  

 

They have sailed with us on exactly one cruise and enjoyed it.  NCL Sun out of Port Canaveral...

[sidari]

Sailed on Divina three times ( Third time Aurea) and Seaside twice (Aurea Suite Aft  and Forward balcony deck 9 cabin)

Much prefer Seaside for the outside space and sundeck plus bar.

Sailing Seashore next year in YC.

[Até]

There are lots of comparisons in this forum between the YC on those two ships, Seaside almost always wins.  I don't think anyone would not like the YC experience, even on Divina it is something special.  It's very possible to be content with never leaving the YC, but I think it can sometimes come down to what you want in the rest of the ship. 

 

Some consider the Sun a fairly old and boring NCL ship, but to many that's what they're looking for and she has a loyal following.  Divina is 11 years newer and almost twice the size of the Sun but when Divina is compared to the newer MSC ships she often falls into that old and boring category.  One problem to me is that there are even less amenities on Divina than on the Sun.  Divina's overall pool situation is good but has one smallish water slide and not really any other draws on the pool decks.  Divina has limited outside and no forward views, luckily the YC does.  The promenade is not very functional and more often used as a smokers respite.  The spa is significantly smaller than Seaside's and has way less features.  The Butchers Cut specialty is more like a diner, Galaxy Sushi specialty has a great location but the food is mediocre and the only other dining choice is the specialty pizzeria.  You will likely eat 95% of you meals in the YC restaurant, which has good food but a strange location.

 

I last sailed Divina in Spring of 2019 and a lot of areas on ship were worn and dated.  Divina is in dry dock right now and hopefully there will be some major improvements to the public areas and cabins.  I don't think they are going to make some of the major updates that would be needed to bring Divina up to be what I would call a modern ship.  Things like more interactive TV's and technology, better specialty dining options, more (or at least updated) entertainment options and increased on-ship activities.  However, a lot of people love Divina because she is not a modern, flashy ship.

Edited December 9, 2020 by Até

[PTC DAWG]

34 minutes ago, Até said:

There are lots of comparisons in this forum between the YC on those two ships, Seaside almost always wins.  I don't think anyone would not like the YC experience, even on Divina it is something special.  It's very possible to be content with never leaving the YC, but I think it can sometimes come down to what you want in the rest of the ship. 

 

Some consider the Sun a fairly old and boring NCL ship, but to many that's what they're looking for and she has a loyal following.  Divina is 11 years newer and almost twice the size of the Sun but when Divina is compared to the newer MSC ships she often falls into that old and boring category.  One problem to me is that there are even less amenities on Divina than on the Sun.  Divina's overall pool situation is good but has one smallish water slide and not really any other draws on the pool decks.  Divina has limited outside and no forward views, luckily the YC does.  The promenade is not very functional and more often used as a smokers respite.  The spa is significantly smaller than Seaside's and has way less features.  The Butchers Cut specialty is more like a diner, Galaxy Sushi specialty has a great location but the food is mediocre and the only other dining choice is the specialty pizzeria.  You will likely eat 95% of you meals in the YC restaurant, which has good food but a strange location.

 

I last sailed Divina in Spring of 2019 and a lot of areas on ship were worn and dated.  Divina is in dry dock right now and hopefully there will be some major improvements to the public areas and cabins.  I don't think they are going to make some of the major updates that would be needed to bring Divina up to be what I would call a modern ship.  Things like more interactive TV's and technology, better specialty dining options, more (or at least updated) entertainment options and increased on-ship activities.  However, a lot of people love Divina because she is not a modern, flashy ship.

Thanks for the insight.  

[Norwich Cruiser]

I’d cruise on Seaside everyday over Divina.

[CarolnLarry]

We have sailed four times in the Yacht Club on the Divina and we loved every cruise.  We then cruised on the Seaside and decided we would always sail on it over the Divina in the Yacht, We have now done four cruises in the YC on the Seaside and like the layout of the YC over the Divina.  You can't go wrong in the YC on either ship.  Your Son will love the YC on the Seaside and the ease of getting anywhere on the ship.

[deweytrader]

1. Seaside

2. Meraviglia

101. Divina (and I was in the Yacht Club)

 

Entertainment/activities were not up to par with Seaside and Meraviglia on the Divina. ( and this was a Christmas sailing)  My husband and I struggled to find things to do - worst cruise we have been on and we were in the Yacht Club!

[cellfree]

Everyone of course has a different experience - we would list as follows - 

1) Meraviglia 

2) Divina

3) Seaside

and Armonia is also a favorite. 

Cannot compare Yacht Club - never booked it. 

[alyssamma]

Here is something I wrote last year...

 

Just got off a b2b with Divina and Seaside. It was my first time on Divina and second on Seaside. Definitely prefer Seaside, but both were nice.

 

Places where Divina was better...topsail. No comparison here...more food and changed more throughout the day. Many butlers...I couldn't get to a chair without a butler offering me a drink. On Seaside many times there was a single butler who was overworked. It was nicer seeing directly outside instead of seeing a deck and then outside.

 

YC restaurant. Here I mean only the look and feel. Far more elegant.

 

Non YC bars and entertainment areas. They were also laid out so you could easily walk through them instead of being off to the side.

 

Sports bar. Lots of free food.

 

Deck has wind barriers so you can actually eat there without everything blowing away.

 

In almost every other way we felt Seaside was better. Staterooms much larger, bathroom better, larger balcony. Having the wristband option was nice. Food was far superior (even though we greatly enjoyed food on both), grill was larger and way more selections.

 

Seaside is also a better designed ship. Beautiful, few if any chokepoints (walking to dinner on Divina was hard because you are funneled through the photo shop area unless you walk outside).

 

And for me personally, having dinner right above topsail was nice as I could run to the cabin, throw on pants, and then back to shorts quickly and easily.

 

Bottom line, you cant go wrong with either ship, but we preferred Seaside.

 

Some other things...no facial recognition at the terminal (we had it last year on Seaside), seeing the lighthouse light show from topsail or pool deck is easy and nice, we were able to stay on Divina until 1030 (initially we were told 930 but immigration was backed up), both ships we had to be out of our room at 730.