nevergrumpy

And..if you're tipsy from all those inclusive drinks, no one will know the difference. They'll think its the waves!! ;)

Brenda, How are you:) can believe this comment popped up in my emails,

See its not long until your on your travels.

No America for Gran and Granda this year, but we have a beautiful little granddaughter, Lola Rose, who is already 3 months.

My sis and family are heading over in November, Orlando, but it will be next Sept for us,xx Hope you are both well xx

Will have my little say........We loved Divina, ...........that's it!! :):)

Where is cruisetrail when you need him?

 

He could answer which ship is better in about 3,000,000 words.

:eek: ha ha ha you beat me to that!!!

Also the fine folks from Europe get much longer vacations. We saw plenty pf people with Disney stuff boarding, so factor in people are hitting the attractions then heading down to South FL to cruise, or starting with the cruise. Makes sense!

We certainly do,:) We had 2 weeks on Divina 4th and 11th Oct, then headed up to Orlando for a spot of retail, before flying home on the Monday.

Ideally the another week in Orlando would have been better, but work gets in the way ha ha ha, suppose it pays for the next holiday!!

Anne

Hi All,

My Girlfriend and i just returned from a wonderful week on the Divina. We were so worried after reading so many negative reviews. We are now convinced those reviews must have come from those folks who complain about everything else in their lives. We had the opportunity to stay in the Yacht Club( room 16026) and have NOTHING but great things to say about the service, the food, and the ship itself.

The two of us are in the hospitality industry and really do appreciate when we come across great service and great experiences. Like stated so many times in the recent past, the food was incredible and the service was phenomenal. The ONLY thing we both commented on was one bartender in the One Pool area of the yacht club. He was just not interested in being there and not friendly at all. The other bartenders were awesome.

We dined in Le Muse every night of the cruise. We chose seating at 6 oclock. Not only was the food incredible but the service was even better. Our server was Gabrielle from Italy. He was hysterical and very fast. We ate all three courses and were in and out each time, most nights we were able to catch the first show. By the second night with the server and servers assistant remember my drink without me even having to ask. The menu was diverse and we always left very full.

Our butler Bruce was fantastic as were all the other butlers we encountered. Bruce made sure we had everything we asked for. He even made two towel animals for my girlfriend( at my request). The head butler was also always around making sure we were well taken care of.

We ate most lunches in the buffet, and the food there was plentiful as well as delicious. The waitstaff in the buffet areas we encountered were always friendly and always accommodating. Find a seat in the back where it isn't crowded.

We cant rave enough about this ship and the crew. IT IS A REAL CLASS ACT!!

 

We would be happy to answer any questions about the ship!

Glad to hear you had a great cruise, we returned home last Tues after 2 weeks in Divina YC. 4th-18th.

Cant agree with you more, stunning ship, great staff and we all had a great time.

We had Nurus as our butler, Raj, Vasant,Tri,Kamil and not forgetting Titan all at our beck and call in lounge, very efficient, nothing to much trouble, they certainly made our holiday very memorable.

It was our first ever cruise and will be difficult to top:). Watched web cam on Sat night there, brought a little tear to my eye to see the lady and wishing we were leaving on her again.

Anne

Mmmmmm... Lemon drop martinis... Can I get one in the yacht club without paying extra?

Ha ha ha ......so jealous your about to go on your b2b. We are just home Tuesday past, amazing in the YC, and sampled 1 or 2 different Martinis, it could have been 3 or 4 :p

The guys and girls in there are brilliant ( one or two exceptions) and if your the down to earth type, you will have a great cruise with them.:)

Anne

Well Im keeping fingers crossed that I have sea legs or this:) will turn to this:( very quickly ha ha ha.

I think may main worry is the heights, not just looking down from deck 15, but looking up as well:eek:

some of the pictures people have posted from the dock and looking up, actually makes me feel queezy........now don't laugh, Im just no good on rollercoaster of any kind, I even screamed my head off on Jurasic Park ride !!!!

Anne.

Enjoy your cruise!!!

Thanks Riclop, Im sure it is going to be brilliant, Its our first ever cruise, and we are doing b2b, have tried to only focus on the positive reviews.

Like any time we travel we go with an open mind.

Anne

FLAMOM is correct Anne. When you're in the Yacht Club,,they won't let you carry your own coffee to your stateroom never the less want you ironing your own clothes. There is a great laundry special that they have onboard as well as single item pricing. Also,,,if Mr. Nevergrumpy needs his shoes shined,,,there is a wooden tray along with an MSC Yacht Club show bag in the closet. Just put his shoes in the bag and set them on the tray outside your stateroom door. The butler will pick up his shoes and return them back nice and shiney!!!!:D

I'm not Mike and I can't answer about the iron loan but I can answer about having them do it. One of my friends I was traveling with needed her dress pressed, so our Butler took it and the laundry service there did it. Came back on a hanger without a wrinkle :)

Thanks folks,

Knew about laundry service, and as you've said, they wont even carry a cuppa around lol.

Its going to be a costly start........probably ALL our things will need pressed, they have a long journey ahead of them, and their packed today as this is our last day off until we leave............Wish it was Thursday:).

Hi Mike,

Sorry you may have been asked this before( having last minute panics, and its only Sun) I know that we are not allowed to take travel irons on board but can we borrow an iron to do some bits and pieces in cabin, or will our butler do them for us if we ask him nicely, or does it all go laundry even if its just for pressing?:)

Thanks in advance

Anne.

Where to start?

*

We got a taxi to the port at about 11.30am. *Got dropped off just outside the YC Tent and was escorted to the check in room that is reserved for YC guests. *After having all the paperwork confirmed and glass of orange juice, we were escorted onto the ship and introduced to our butler all within 20 minutes of so.

 

Our butler showed us around the YC area. The Top Sail Lounge, the One Pool Bar and the Reception Area and then finally to our room 15029. *We were lucky to have one or the squarer cabins which was great. *We meet quite a few other people and had a look in their cabins, not only are the cabins bigger the wardrobe is a bit bigger too.

 

We loved loved loved the YC and as most of you that have cruised there have said, I don't think I could go back to cruising anywhere else on the ship

 

We were escorted the first night to the LaMuse restaurant by our butler as we were not too sure where it was - yes it's on the opposite site from the YC and I've heard some people complain about this, but we liked the walk along deck 15 or along deck 7. *Our waiter Gabrielle was fabulous and anticipated our needs within 2 days. *The Head Waiter Giuseppe wasn't that great, some days he was all over you and others he never even spoke.

 

*

 

We loved the quietness of the YC in both the Top Sail Lounge and the One Pool. *Everyone and I mean everyone in these areas couldn't do enough for you. *Even the Pool Guy was so nice. They brought you drinks without asking, cleared up after you, knew your drink order after only a short time, kept your room spotless and wouldn't even let you carry a cup of tea back to your room.

 

*

 

There are only 2 suggestions I could make. *More permanent shade up in the One Pool area and some decent music in the Top Sail Lounge. *The piped music was truly dreadful, we asked if it could be changed and unfortunately were told that they were unable to do this.

 

We stopped at some fabulous places and did lots of excursions, some privately and some through the ship. *We even rented a cabana when we make an unexpected stop at Grand Turk for only $120. *Which I thought was excellent value.

 

I can't thank the staff enough on the YC for making this a holiday to remember. *I'm not great at writing reviews, but CC really helped me when I was planning my holiday and I thought I'd give a wee bit back. *So, if anyone would like any help I'll do my best to answer any questions you may have.

Thanks for the update on YC, glad to hear you had a great time.

The minutes are ticking away till we are also there.( 4th) We are in room 15022, with rest of our group in 15020/24/26/31.

You will need to check out Web Cam on the Sat night, and see if you spot the Saltires waving :)

Anne.

Hair dryers are provided so no need to lug one around with you and Irons are not allowed on the ship!

Sidari, I think they mean hair straighteners! Its that's language thing again lol.

Anne

Thanks for all your great info on YC Mike, I have a small silly question for you.

In the bathroom, if there a swivel shaving mirror, does it have a magnified side ? Age is taking its toll on my eyes so need that close up mirror to assist with the make up ha ha ha :)

Thanks Anne

Good evening Mike,

I would just like to send a big thankyou for taking the time during your vacation to provide some very valuable info to us all.

It seems this week as gone by so quickly, but brings me ever closer to my turn:)

Enjoy your final evening:)

ANNE

Good evening folks from the most beautiful Divina!!! I went to see a preview of the new show that will be introduced soon. I'm not an opera aficionado, but my cousin is and she thought the presentation was incredible!!! The new show will be called "Love Me" "as much as I love you",,music from the opera "La Traviata". She has seen the opera in New York City and London, and felt the interpretation was incredible. She left the theatre with tears in her eyes so it must have been pretty good.

Good morning Mike.

Glad your having a good time, even with your bumpy start.

My sis in law will be thrilled with the new show, she also is a big opera fan,and Im sure the rest of our group can be converted, :)

Can I ask, how was the boarding process for you, what time did you get to port and roughly how long did it take till you were actually in your suite ?

Thanks in advance, and look forward to the rest of your thread.

Anne

Thank You Nevergrumpy!!! I'll have a lot of Yacht Club info and pics to share. Five Yacht Club staterooms??? How Nice!!!!!:)

Not all for me Mike, lol there are 9 of us all together.:)

first time cruising for all but 3 of us, not a bad way to start!!

got them for a great price !

Mike.

Hope you have a great cruise, and look forward to your reviews and updates, any info about YC would be appreciated, we are in cabins 15020/22/24/26/31.

cant wait till we are there. :)

Anne

:) Thanks for the review, some good, some bad, and others may have different tastes and opinions, but hey if we were all the same.....what a boring world it would be.

This is my first ever cruise, so nothing to compare, in YC, so doing it in style:):)

We just left the Yacht Club on the Preziosa today and I can fervently say it was worth every cent! We had a wonderful time.

 

We had a table for two at the restaurant for every meal we ate there with the exception of the one time we asked for a table for four so we could dine with roll call friends who were also traveling in the Yacht Club. The wine was free flowing and I rarely managed to finish all that was poured for me. And to be honest, we didn't have any compulsion to drink at any of the non-YC bars as they were just too busy and noisy for our tastes.

 

We are very glad we changed our minds early enough to be able to upgrade our 13th deck aft balcony to a YC1.

So glad to here you had a great time in YC Kat, cant wait till we try out Divina in 84 days :)

Are you heading home now to make your next booking?? lol x

Anne

She is currently sailing for Fred Olsen Cruises as the Braemar.

Thanks for that westerdam, will go and look her up. :)

Does anyone remember Crown Dynasty, I think she was a Cunard ship.

I was at a dinner aboard her many year ago in Liverpool, before she began her "service" but havnt seen her name again. Its got to be at least 15/18 years ago. Just wondered what became of her.

Thanks in advance.

Anne.:)

Ok time for me to put my two cents worth in.

 

As for the debate over peoples origins here is my views and observations of cruisers.

 

Americans, in general, come across somewhat vocal and loud on cruises. They demand a high level of service and make wonderful lifelong cruise friends.

 

Europeans have very high expectations and can sometimes appear a little snobby.

 

Aussies are very laid back and love a drink or ten and are not fazed by much.

 

At the end of the day we are all cruising for one reason.....to have fun and relax.

 

A cruise is what you make of it. If the food is half decent, the staff half polite and helpful, the music good and the beer cold then you are three quarters to WINNING.

 

Before we complain we should thank ourselves lucky to be able to cruise in the first place. There are millions around the world who would love to but can't afford it or are lacking in health.

 

Eat, drink and be merry people as tomorrow may never come. Don't sweat the small stuff. Look for the positives and don't dwell on the negatives.

 

And by the way, I am Australian born and raised with dual US citizenship and bloodline with half my family being American (I guess you can call me Austmerican). On a cruise I don't care where you are from so as long as you are there for the same reason as me.....and I know you will be.

 

Happy cruising everyone. I can't wait til by Xmas and then New Year cruise on the Divina. I am just happy to be with my family cruising and meeting new friends :)

 

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie

Well said Aza, :)

Maybe it's because of my Australian heritage....but I totally got what Kat was saying in her message.........we have all been reading the many posts both positive and negative over the past many months...and she was just making a "smart arse comment"....well.........I guess to all the Americans that I have read countless comments on this board.........you should just have chilled a little and realized that she was kidding as in a joke............but maybe you haven't been following the boards and havent' read what we all have.........Aussies and Kiwis.....have a special relationship...:)....but we understand our humour at least.............Kat I GOT IT...

:) yip, I got it to Kat, maybe your sense of humour doesn't "cross over" well.

:) Have just finished reading your review and looking at your lovely pictures.

looks amazing, we sail on the 4th October, and its my first cruise, cant wait, so excited. Thankyou for taking the time to put together.:)

Have enjoyed reading your review very much, and looking forward with great excitement to our trip on Divina in October :)