Divina or Seashore? And why...

[cruiseracer]

Thanks to everyone who replied to my earlier thread concerning whether or not to sail with MSC. Excellent information was shared by knowledgeable folks. We've already completed the status match and are ready to begin choosing a sailing. We're an active middle-aged couple, experienced cruisers, who enjoy sunny, salty, sandy vacations. We (mostly she 😉) enjoys dressing up and enjoying the elegance of a nice ship. We have kids & grandkids that we spend much time with, however unless they're sailing with us, we tend to shy away from kid-filled cruises.

 

Balcony is a minimum-must for us and always enjoyed. A suite would be considered, however the value-added must be there for us to consider.

 

Looking to book an 8+ night cruise on either the Divina or Seashore. We live in Central Florida and Pt. Canaveral is an hour away while Miami is a few hours away. We enjoy sailing into & out of Miami, but hate getting & leaving there by car. (If that makes sense...) Really - either location works for us.  

 

Due to our location and similar itineraries to places that we enjoy - Divina or Seashore makes the most sense.

 

Which do you recommend and why? TIA...

[dexddd]

Seashore due to being newer.  While Divinia is a beautiful ship, MSC improves upon each new build.

[JT1962]

If itinerary is important, Divina is offering a 12 night repositioning cruise from Port Canaveral to Miami sailing on October 9, with interesting ports and  some really good rates. They also offer this as a 19 night cruise departing on October 2, which combines a seven night cruise to ocean cay, Costa Maya & Cozumel with the 12 night repositioning cruise. I am booked on the 19 night cruise, but l will be flying, not driving, so the different arrival / departure ports is not an issue. 

Edited July 24, 2022 by JT1962

[LiquidWu]

The Divina is a "normal" modern cruise ship on which you would have a good time.

 

But the Seashore was designed specifically for travel in sunny climes like yours. It has much more open deck space, more tables outside the restaurants and a more spacious pool area.

 

Have a good trip

Mike

[Georgia_Peaches]

Read the reviews on both ships. We are on Seashore at the end of August. I started reading reviews after booking (I know it’s backwards) and Seashore doesn’t get a lot of love. From “too hot in common spaces indoors” to “rude employees and bad customer service” to “long elevator wait times” and “chaotic embarkation/debarkation”…seems like a crapshoot TBH. 
 

we’ve never sailed MSC. Based on reviews, I’m keeping my expectations low and hoping to be pleasantly surprised. It’s been so long since we’ve cruised, you could put me in a dingy and I’d be happy. 

[Essiesmom]

I have sailed Divina twice and Seaside once.  I realize Seashore is an improved version of Seaside, but I thought Seaside was great.  I would do Divina first, with the short drive to Port Canaveral.  If you find you like MSC, then take on the drive to Miami.  If your wife likes to dress up, don’t limit it to formal nights.  On our four MSC cruises, with perhaps more than 40% non-North American guests, ladies from those other places tended to dress more smartly every night than on most of our other cruises.  EM

[Georgia_Peaches]

1 hour ago, Essiesmom said:

I have sailed Divina twice and Seaside once.  I realize Seashore is an improved version of Seaside, but I thought Seaside was great.  I would do Divina first, with the short drive to Port Canaveral.  If you find you like MSC, then take on the drive to Miami.  If your wife likes to dress up, don’t limit it to formal nights.  On our four MSC cruises, with perhaps more than 40% non-North American guests, ladies from those other places tended to dress more smartly every night than on most of our other cruises.  EM

Great information!  Thank you!  Speaking of dressing up and dress codes in general, I love the idea of taking along some nice dresses that I don't often get to wear.  I was wondering if the dress code is relaxed on embarkation day and if a nice pair of dressy shorts and a blouse would be appropriate for ladies on night one in the Yacht club or any MDR?  I have my embarkation outfit already planned and it includes these dressy linen shorts and a blouse.

 

Edited July 25, 2022 by Georgia_Peaches

[Gatordad1967]

3 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Read the reviews on both ships. We are on Seashore at the end of August. I started reading reviews after booking (I know it’s backwards) and Seashore doesn’t get a lot of love. From “too hot in common spaces indoors” to “rude employees and bad customer service” to “long elevator wait times” and “chaotic embarkation/debarkation”…seems like a crapshoot TBH. 
 

we’ve never sailed MSC. Based on reviews, I’m keeping my expectations low and hoping to be pleasantly surprised. It’s been so long since we’ve cruised, you could put me in a dingy and I’d be happy. 

Yours is the best attitude.  Go in with an open mind and you will be awesomely surprised.

I love MSC and probably will be exclusive going forward.

 

[FireEater]

Georgia_Peaches, no problem with relaxed wear on embarkation.  I have been on 3 MSC Cruises in the years.  What you show should be just fine in the MDR.  Not been in the YC yet, but will in January, so not sure what their requirements are,  but am guessing it should not be an issue on embarkation day.

[wcook]

Divina or Seashore? Seashore

Why? Why the hell not

 

Hope this has been helpful 🙂

[phissy]

On 7/24/2022 at 8:15 AM, JT1962 said:

If itinerary is important, Divina is offering a 12 night repositioning cruise from Port Canaveral to Miami sailing on October 9, with interesting ports and  some really good rates. They also offer this as a 19 night cruise departing on October 2, which combines a seven night cruise to ocean cay, Costa Maya & Cozumel with the 12 night repositioning cruise. I am booked on the 19 night cruise, but l will be flying, not driving, so the different arrival / departure ports is not an issue. 

See you there.
I did notice you are not on our RollCall. You are most certainly welcome to join out group😁

[Oceans 818]

On 7/24/2022 at 8:45 AM, cruiseracer said:

Thanks to everyone who replied to my earlier thread concerning whether or not to sail with MSC. Excellent information was shared by knowledgeable folks. We've already completed the status match and are ready to begin choosing a sailing. We're an active middle-aged couple, experienced cruisers, who enjoy sunny, salty, sandy vacations. We (mostly she 😉) enjoys dressing up and enjoying the elegance of a nice ship. We have kids & grandkids that we spend much time with, however unless they're sailing with us, we tend to shy away from kid-filled cruises.

 

Balcony is a minimum-must for us and always enjoyed. A suite would be considered, however the value-added must be there for us to consider.

 

Looking to book an 8+ night cruise on either the Divina or Seashore. We live in Central Florida and Pt. Canaveral is an hour away while Miami is a few hours away. We enjoy sailing into & out of Miami, but hate getting & leaving there by car. (If that makes sense...) Really - either location works for us.  

 

Due to our location and similar itineraries to places that we enjoy - Divina or Seashore makes the most sense.

 

Which do you recommend and why? TIA...

Hi, we sailed Seashore out of Miami Apr. 23/22 with an inside cabin. On return we sailed May 1/22 on Divina out of Port Canaveral with a balcony. The Seashore is a state of the art smart ship and the inside cabin was very spacious and lots of storage space. The Divina balcony was a smaller cabin and less storage. Both ships had their own charms. The biggest difference for me was the buffet on the Seashore was a zoo and the MDR was nice and the food was delicious with excellent service. The Divina, MDR had excellent service, but the food was lacking in many areas but the buffet was preferable even for breakfast. Of note the menus were the same on each ship in the dining rooms.

We found driving in and around Miami to be a nightmare for both driver and passenger! We will use Canaveral in December.

[erber]

Jaraspark,

We are going on the Divina on Sunday and have never gone out of Port Canaveral before. Is check in easy there? Were you able to show your covid test results on your phone, or did you need to print them out?

 

We have been on both Seashore and Divina and did think the Divina buffet was actually better as well. The pizza choices were better on the Divina!

Edited July 28, 2022 by erber

[Morgsmom]

Embarkation at Port Canaveral is easy peasy.  Much more so than Miami.  Depending on when you arrive you can get through and be on the ship in under 30 minutes - including the long walk to the ship!