Live from MSC Divina 12/30-01/13

[styles27]

Hi everyone! 
Arrived in Miami yesterday at noon. Checked into Hampton Inn & Suites Downtown Miami/ Brickell. 
Location was great. Close to many restaurants and shopping. I know a lot of people on CC stay at this hotel before cruising which is why we booked it but other than the location it’s pretty basic and needs some updating. Pool area is especially tired looking.
Probably wouldn’t stay there again. We like the Intercontinental better for about $75 more a night than the Hampton we think it’s much better. 
Our check in time to board Divina was 11:30. The hotel contracts with a company to offer shuttle service to the port for $8 a person. You book this with the hotel concierge. 
we took the 10 o clock shuttle as the Concierge felt we had a better chance of arriving before our 11:30 embarkation time and he said the 11 o clock shuttle is usually very full.
MSC Divina was at terminal E today, which is one of the last to be dropped off by this shuttle service. 
We breezed through security and check in and were on board by 11:15. (We were given group 1) 

An announcement was made

that this sailing is sold out and no upgrades are available. 

Rooms should be ready by 2. 
 

Our first stop is Ocean Cay tomorrow. Will try to answer any questions I can (all dependent on WiFi strength!)

 

[KKB]

1 hour ago, styles27 said:

Arrived in Miami yesterday at noon. Checked into Hampton Inn & Suites Downtown Miami/ Brickell. 
Location was great. Close to many restaurants and shopping. I know a lot of people on CC stay at this hotel before cruising which is why we booked it but other than the location it’s pretty basic and needs some updating. Pool area is especially tired looking.
Probably wouldn’t stay there again. We like the Intercontinental better for about $75 more a night than the Hampton we think it’s much better. 

 

Excited to follow along--I'm on my 1st MSC cruise in Feb, also on the Divina!

LOL I just looked up these 2 hotels for my date--Intercontinental is $275 more than the Hampton (which is $368/nt, which seems NUTS. Prices are high as I paid $260 for the EVEN Hotel. Stayed there last month & really liked it.)

[mnpurple]

Looking forward to following along. We are on 1/27 for a 10-day.

 

Regarding the hotels, we got in on a black Friday deal for Riviera Hotel in South Beach for the day we disembark. Hoping it's a good place, but it's only one night.

[styles27]

51 minutes ago, KKB said:

Excited to follow along--I'm on my 1st MSC cruise in Feb, also on the Divina!

LOL I just looked up these 2 hotels for my date--Intercontinental is $275 more than the Hampton (which is $368/nt, which seems NUTS. Prices are high as I paid $260 for the EVEN Hotel. Stayed there last month & really liked it.)

Wow that’s a lot more. Definitely not worth that. 

[styles27]

Todays daily

 

[styles27]

Today’s MDR menu and seating times. 
Very nice menu tonight!

[styles27]

We have an aft facing balcony. We love watching the wake when at sea!  HUGE balcony. Two lounge chairs and two regular chairs and a table. 
Room 10262

 

Carnival  Horizon docked behind us 

[styles27]

[PG_traveller]

Nice sized deck and cabin. I love watching the wake also. So relaxing.

[no1talks]

10 hours ago, styles27 said:

"Hampton Inn & Suites Downtown Miami/ Brickell."

Earlier today, we secured our Miami pre-cruise lodgings for our March '23 sailing on Seascape. We're rooming a bit more distant from Port Miami than the Hampton Inn, though.

Your topic is very timely, as I'm on the lookout for Divina commentary, even if it isn't Yacht Club related. Our current plan is to book a 2024 cruise on Divina (Pictured) while we are on Seascape.



Hopefully, Seascape YC is not so changed from this year's February wonderful experience on Mera. If we find YC to be heading in a direction we feel doesn't support the price, we'll be doing nearly the same itinerary on HAL instead. 

 

[Georgia_Peaches]

17 hours ago, styles27 said:

I know a lot of people on CC stay at this hotel before cruising which is why we booked it but other than the location it’s pretty basic and needs some updating. Pool area is especially tired looking.
Probably wouldn’t stay there again

100% agree!  Location is great. Very walkable and great A/c. That’s about it. Complimentary breakfast was a horror show. But we survived 😸. 
looking forward to your review!

[Georgia_Peaches]

15 hours ago, styles27 said:

We have an aft facing balcony. We love watching the wake when at sea!  HUGE balcony

Wow!  Great size balcony. I must say that carpet color in your cabin is quite a bold choice on the part of the designer🙀. I love it!

[Fla Mike]

We were in 10256 last year, those balconies are really nice, enjoy.

We also loved the alcoves on either sides of the hall that to that huge outside area, nice!

Edited December 31, 2022 by Fla Mike
correct room #

[styles27]

Day 2 
Arrived at Ocean Cay @8:20 a.m without incident. 
Very warm and sunny today temp around 80deg. Nice breeze at Lighthouse Beach. 
 

Last night we enjoyed the dinner in the MDR. Ordered the prime rib medium rare and it was served at the perfect temp.
Cruise ship beef is always hit or miss for us, usually it’s over cooked but not this time. 
 

We’ve been told that the ship is at capacity but it doesn’t feel like it.
 

Speaking to the MDR manager he said it’s considered at capacity but they’re not selling all of the rooms at the moment.
They’re pretty short handed. It’s evident in different areas but especially the room attendants. These poor folks are really overworked and tired. The same tray of half eaten food has been in our hallway  since embarkation yesterday. I’ve not seen this on this ship before. 
 

We are definitely in the minority on this cruise as far as being English speaking Americans or English speaking in general. 
 

It has a completely different vibe from our last cruise on Divina 11/2021. 
 

We were seated at a table for 6 for dinner.
We were the only English speaking people at the table and the other 4 people couldn’t speak a word of English or understand what our waiter was saying. 
 

It made for a very uncomfortable long dining experience. lol

We had requested a table for 2 so we went to the dining room manager on our way out and he was able to switch our table to a table for 2 Phew!

 

It’s not that we don’t like making new friends but it’s a little hard to do when 6 people speak different languages. I was trying out my Spanish to the couple from Spain but clearly I need a refresher course lol Hope I didn’t insult them 🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️

 

The show in the Pantheon was enjoyable. They did rock (pop) songs. All of the singers were very good and the dancers were excellent. 
The theater wasn't even half full but

there were two shows last night. 

 

All live music around the ship was good. We’re music people so we really enjoy watching musical talent. 
 

I’ll attach todays planner and post the dining room menu later in the day. 
Looking forward to NYE festivities tonight!

Happy healthy New Year to all of my CC friends! May 2023 bring us all health, happiness and many days on a cruise ship!💕🍾🥂

[styles27]

I almost forgot. We won the Country music trivia “name that tune” game last night. 
It wasn’t very difficult considering it was us and a family from Florida that were familiar with Country music. 

We won this MSC backpack!

Edited December 31, 2022 by styles27

[styles27]

Oh quick question. 
I thought I read on here that there is a place that makes smoothies on Divina. Haven’t seen it but maybe I’m looking in the wrong area. 
 

Does anyone know where to get a smoothie on Divina?

[mnpurple]

Did you look by the gym for the smoothies? I don't know for sure, but seem to recall from videos that was the location.

[no1talks]

3 minutes ago, mnpurple said:

Did you look by the gym for the smoothies? I don't know for sure, but seem to recall from videos that was the location.

Agree. Aren't cruise ship smoothie bars usually placed in the gym/spa areas?

[phissy]

11 hours ago, no1talks said:

Your topic is very timely, as I'm on the lookout for Divina commentary, even if it isn't Yacht Club related. Our current plan is to book a 2024 cruise on Divina (Pictured) while we are on Seascape.




 

We did this repositioning cruise , on the Divina, in October. We were in YC.

First time on “older” MSC ship with YC. Did not mind daily trek to other end of ship to eat at YC restaurant.

Did find the lack of coffee machine in cabin an issue. Room service was not reliable. Most of the service was hit or miss.

There was a large contingent of Travel Agents on board. This seemed to be part of the issue.

They do not pay for cruise  but they waive $5 every time they want attention. I had pool attendant ,taking my drink order , turn and walk away (mid sentence) to take orders from TA’s sitting a few feet away.

The best part was our YC restaurant manager. He was Italian and always offered really good wines at dinner. He made our cruise.

Enjoy you cruise.

[phissy]

37 minutes ago, styles27 said:

Oh quick question. 
I thought I read on here that there is a place that makes smoothies on Divina. Haven’t seen it but maybe I’m looking in the wrong area. 
 

Does anyone know where to get a smoothie on Divina?

Hi Deb,

so glad you are having a great time.

There is a counter/bar between the spa check in area and the entrance to gym. I ordered smoothies a couple of times, he was not sure how to make them . So, we just winged it. He had no one stop by for hours. He was glad to try something new, so we had some fun.

Pat

Edited December 31, 2022 by phissy

[styles27]

Thank you so much everyone! We’re used to having green smoothies every day.

I brought some super greens powder on board but mixing it with just water isn’t ideal. 
Would taste much better mixed into a smoothie. 

[tkwbear]

4 hours ago, styles27 said:

Day 2 
Arrived at Ocean Cay @8:20 a.m without incident. 
Very warm and sunny today temp around 80deg. Nice breeze at Lighthouse Beach. 
 

Last night we enjoyed the dinner in the MDR. Ordered the prime rib medium rare and it was served at the perfect temp.
Cruise ship beef is always hit or miss for us, usually it’s over cooked but not this time. 
 

We’ve been told that the ship is at capacity but it doesn’t feel like it.
 

Speaking to the MDR manager he said it’s considered at capacity but they’re not selling all of the rooms at the moment.
They’re pretty short handed. It’s evident in different areas but especially the room attendants. These poor folks are really overworked and tired. The same tray of half eaten food has been in our hallway  since embarkation yesterday. I’ve not seen this on this ship before. 
 

We are definitely in the minority on this cruise as far as being English speaking Americans or English speaking in general. 
 

It has a completely different vibe from our last cruise on Divina 11/2021. 
 

We were seated at a table for 6 for dinner.
We were the only English speaking people at the table and the other 4 people couldn’t speak a word of English or understand what our waiter was saying. 
 

It made for a very uncomfortable long dining experience. lol

We had requested a table for 2 so we went to the dining room manager on our way out and he was able to switch our table to a table for 2 Phew!

 

It’s not that we don’t like making new friends but it’s a little hard to do when 6 people speak different languages. I was trying out my Spanish to the couple from Spain but clearly I need a refresher course lol Hope I didn’t insult them 🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️

 

The show in the Pantheon was enjoyable. They did rock (pop) songs. All of the singers were very good and the dancers were excellent. 
The theater wasn't even half full but

there were two shows last night. 

 

All live music around the ship was good. We’re music people so we really enjoy watching musical talent. 
 

I’ll attach todays planner and post the dining room menu later in the day. 
Looking forward to NYE festivities tonight!

Happy healthy New Year to all of my CC friends! May 2023 bring us all health, happiness and many days on a cruise ship!💕🍾🥂

I was on the Meraviglia a few weeks ago for 14 days. They stopped providing these printed schedules and told us to look online, which really wasn't as good. Also, my Diamond member gift was a kid's backpack!

 

Did you get the usual prosecco and chocolate ship? For my last cruise no chocolate ships were given, though you could buy one. However I got 5 very nice Chococaviar candies along with the usual excellent macaroons. However, because we were delayed disembarking, I saw the chocolate the people got on the next cruise. It was the same 1.5 oz bar that I received on the Poesia last fall. Very good quality but very small quantity.

 

I did 4 days on the Divina in November. I am hoping you have a lot of positive things to say, because I was not that pleased with the experience. However 2 of the 3 major issues (very late boarding and leaving Ocean Cay 6 hours early due to bad weather) were beyond MSC's control. The third one got fixed after many visits with the front desk (it should have required just 1 visit). 

 

I'm booked on the Divina's TA to Barcelona in May.

[styles27]

19 minutes ago, tkwbear said:

I was on the Meraviglia a few weeks ago for 14 days. They stopped providing these printed schedules and told us to look online, which really wasn't as good. Also, my Diamond member gift was a kid's backpack!

 

Did you get the usual prosecco and chocolate ship? For my last cruise no chocolate ships were given, though you could buy one. However I got 5 very nice Chococaviar candies along with the usual excellent macaroons. However, because we were delayed disembarking, I saw the chocolate the people got on the next cruise. It was the same 1.5 oz bar that I received on the Poesia last fall. Very good quality but very small quantity.

 

I did 4 days on the Divina in November. I am hoping you have a lot of positive things to say, because I was not that pleased with the experience. However 2 of the 3 major issues (very late boarding and leaving Ocean Cay 6 hours early due to bad weather) were beyond MSC's control. The third one got fixed after many visits with the front desk (it should have required just 1 visit). 

 

I'm booked on the Divina's TA to Barcelona in May.

We definitely like the printed dailies. I find it hard to see on my phone so I wouldn’t like that. 
 

We got a bottle of Prosecco and a small plate of canapé’s no chocolates yet. Today they left us a bowl of fruit. 
So far it’s been a great cruise. 

[Nunagoras]

4 hours ago, styles27 said:

Oh quick question. 
I thought I read on here that there is a place that makes smoothies on Divina. Haven’t seen it but maybe I’m looking in the wrong area. 
 

Does anyone know where to get a smoothie on Divina?

If the Divina is working like her sister Fantasia where I was back in the day there may be 3 places where they'll to have smoothies and milkshakes: At the SPA bar there will be a good fruit selections smoothies and healthy milkshakes. At both one of the pool bars and at the Piazza (deck 6) there will be 2 gelato places (Venchi?) where they'll to have some nice milkshakes and a few fruit+gelato drinks that run a mid-way from smoothies to milkshakes. Enjoy!...

[tkwbear]

2 hours ago, styles27 said:

We definitely like the printed dailies. I find it hard to see on my phone so I wouldn’t like that. 
 

We got a bottle of Prosecco and a small plate of canapé’s no chocolates yet. Today they left us a bowl of fruit. 
So far it’s been a great cruise. 

Those look good! I was assuming you are a Diamond member. I get a reload of what I mentioned above each leg, even if I buy them together. Once I took a chocolate ship through Orlando's airport customs. It set off an alarm, and they asked me to open. The agent laughed when she saw it, then showed their x-ray to me. It looked like a huge dagger.

 

I got what may be my last free chocolate ship on the Divina. It was a bit stale but still good.