nimiq

We will be on 1 of the week :-)

cant wait

sea ya

Eric

Great review so far loving it :-)

Sea ya

Eric

Loving what I have read so far! We are sailing on the Getaway in July. I have us booked in a midship mini suite on deck 14. Did you see Burn the Floor or Legally Blonde? I have our reservations for this. I am so excited for Legally Blonde, as I LOVE the movie :cool: I also have our pre-cruise rooms booked at the Hampton Inn Blue Lagoon. Glad you also gave a short review of it too!! We do plan on using the shuttle service from the airport too! And also the shuttle to the pier. Can't wait to hear the rest!!

We saw both shows Burn The Floor was absolutely amazing done by professional dancers as for Legally Blonde was not a fan of the movie or this show experience. I think for Legally Blonde it's not for all. Still happy I saw it.

I would actually preferred seeing twice Burn The Floor.

Sea ya

Eric

It is not stopping anywhere until it reaches FREEPORT in the Bahamas.

 

The NCL STAR is having Azipod problems of an undefined nature.

 

 

 

And you would not have been able to see it anyway since the track is taking

 

her about 50 miles out to sea of the Mexican coast.

Thank you

I will be reading this as we were on the same cruise as you and can't wait to see how you lived your xperience on the Getaway compare to us.

Sea ya

Eric

I am in Pusrto Vallarta and the Star never showed up today.

As in many things cruising, a lot is to each persons opinion.

We found the food, MDR and buffet on Divina much better then the Getaway.

We also thought the entertainment on Divina was better.

We agree with you about the Getaway's adult area, Divina doesn't have one, and Getaway's waterfront deck is a plus.

Divina didn't seem crowded to us, and the staff were very pleasant to us.

We also had a much better CC group on the Divina! So much fun we missed our CC group the second week to recuperate!:D

I did say good things about the Divina and that we will probably give MSC an other try in the future but please be real as well, the ship is 20 thousand tons different compare the the Getaway with same amount of people. We do feel the difference in service and space wise.

I wrote them off in 1993, tried again in 2000 and said............ never again. :mad:

 

 

 

Fast forward to March 2015, and after a week on the Epic I found that this is not the old NCL. We loved it. So much in fact, that we are booked on the Getaway May 23rd. :D

 

 

 

Can't comment on the MDR since we never went there. We had the UDP on the Epic and will again on the Getaway.

Ok with that upgrade its also hard to compare to your previous cruises with them but is only with the MDR and very please and surprise :-)

Glad to hear! I had the same experience. I had a series of very lackluster experiences on NCL years ago. I pretty much wrote them off. Then in January I sailed on GETAWAY and WOW was I impressed. They won me back!

I don't know if it was the ship but they seemed to even have change menus. I will for sure go back on them again.

how does the freestyle work? can I just go to dinner when we want or do we have to make reservations?

 

 

 

It was a mess when we did it last time (2006)

We actually had preselected the times before our departure for some nights and others we just sowed up and never waited more than 5 minutes.

What do you mean by "They do not pretend to be something they are not. "?

 

What are they & what are they not ?

I mean they deliver what true Freestyle is. You do what you want when you want. Same as you dress up or not just like you want.

Everyone seems to have respect for each other as well. As example some lines say no shorts or jeans in the MDR. Dinner time comes some people show up dress such as then get that look from other passenger but the crew don't do anything. This to me is why other lines some lines say they have or do such thing but never really get them done.

Sea ya

Hello all,

Was just of NCL Getaway April 04th and thought they made big improvement from the last time I cruised with them about 10 years ago.

They got the Freestyle working to almost perfection.

They do not pretend to be something they are not. Bravo to the crew and all the staff I was pleasantly surprise and happy to have given you an other chance.

If anyone have questions about Getaway feel free to ask.

By the way we did not do any of the $ restaurant but did all the others.

Sea ya

Eric

Thanks for both replies. It has been often, over the years, that we have read reviews of a ship that we are very familiar with and hold completely opposite view point. We will enjoy both, I am sure. It's always nice to get some inkling of what we might run in to before boarding.

 

 

 

We are actually doing three B2Bs, on three different ships. From the NCL Getaway we will catch a van up to Ft Lauderdale to board the Caribbean Princess for a TA to England. How about that for mixing it up. We have been on the Caribbean Princess many times so have already formed an unshakable opinion of her.

What that's even better than us :-)

Hope to hear back from you so we can compare notes :-).

Like I said you will have a different opinion I am sure as the ship won't be as overbooked as it was with us.

You will have a better experience for sure.

Go see all the shows on the Divina it's a nice night out.

Have fun

Sea ya

Eric

Thanks for your review but we totally disagree, there is no comparison between the 2 ships the Divina wins hands down. I do agree about the aft pool it should be adults only and the smoking area by the lounge chairs is very annoying and as far as the crew they were very nice and we were always greeted in a very nice way but i guess you were looking for more eye contact. Ncl nickle and dimes you for everything and you pay for alot of things that are free on MSC, Drinks and beers are cheaper on MSC, we went on NCL once and will never be back.

What NCL ship did you go on ? We had not been on NCL for the past 6 years and thought the got the Freestyle to almost perfection.

I do agree with you that the drinks cheaper on MSC but again service did not meet our expectations.

Like I said before probably not the employees fault as this ship was overbooked to my opinion.

Sea ya

Eric

Like you, we are doing the Divina and following it up with the NCL Getaway. Leaving tomorrow for the Divina and appreciated your comments.

 

Even though this is a MSC thread, could you elaborate more on the pros and cons of the Getaway? In what ways was it better, or worse, than the Divina. This will be our first time on any MSC ship and only second time on NCL. However we are experienced cruisers with over 150 cruises in the past ten years, mostly on RCI, X and Princess. Time for us to try something new.

 

We pre-bought the 18 drink voucher which should work out good for us since DW doesn't drink as much as I do. She'll get the 0.5 drink each day!

Hello,

Will make it brief as don't want to bother or scare you before your cruise.

To start I think you will a total different experience as spring break is probably coming to an end. That is why I try to be objective on these two cruises as I have never cruise with that many family's with small kids.

The NCL Getaway was a better ship all around when full capacity as it has s better crowd control in all aspects. Lots of diverse stuff going around each time making it less crowded in one area.

The adult corner was also being respected which made it a big difference from the Divina.

The dining experience was also better on Getaway not being that the food was amazing but the presentation was much better and service was a notch superior to MSC.

Like I said before it might not be only the employee fault not to make any eye contact with the client it's because the seem always press for time and no room to move around.

You will get lots more hellos and goodbye from NCL crew.

We just loved the waterfront deck on the Getaway. Even just for a nice walk it was fun and relaxing.

Where NCL fell a bit short was to me in the entertainment area. Nothing beats Divina shows at night loved every single one of them.

NCL legally Blonde unbelievably boring and the rest of the entertainment is similar to other cruise line. My only exception is Burn The Floor is a must see amazing professional dancers.

I also prefer my balcony room on the Divina.

I am sure you will have a wonderful time on both ship and funny how you are doing the same thing as us.

I haven't been on a NCL ship in almost 8 years and saw a big improvement on the Freestyle brand the got this almost to perfection.

We actually walk from the Divina to the Getaway it's walkable but a long walk if it's hot.

If you got specific question please send them if not enjoy both cruises as we did.

Sea ya

Eric

Hello all,

Was on the MSC Divina on March 21st and here are a few observations that I will bring for you.

I did way in my topic the Good and the Bad but I will not user those Woods Alain as being on vacation is never bad.

To start we are easy to please and being on 28 cruises with many different lines proves this.

We have never had a bad cruise as we always take the positive in all of them.

Let's get to the MSC Divina :

The WOW !!!

The ship itself is just a beauty with class and elegance.

The shows are the best at sea. Eventhough a bit repetitive they are still worth going every night.

The captain is very nice and love his speeches.

The beverage vouchers are the best idea at sea right know especially for those that like to drink but don't want to spend all that money on all inclusive drink package.

Nice cabins de or and size.

Unfortunately now is where MSC failed short for us.

The ship is big but sorry when it's a full capacity over 4000 people it does not work.

The crew look and seemed overwhelmed and that is why they would never make any eye contact with the clients.

The wait times in the service such as at the bar and dinner were way too long.

They food was not bad but presentation was very dul and in return made it not look as appetizing as it was really.

The adult retreat pool was never respected by anyone. It was always full of kids. Then again this ship was too small for that many family's.

The worst had to be the drill this was actually the worst chaos drill I have ever seen. No one listen to any of the announcements or the demo from the crew this was very scary to watch.

Overall would I cruise again with MSC probably yes but they will have to improve in many aspect especially in providing better training to the employees reaction via a vis the clients.

If the price is right do give them a try like we did :-)

For you info as well the week alter we did NCL Getaway dont like to compare but we had jo choie as it followed the Divina and lots of différences.

If you have any questions I am here

Thx

Sea Ya

Eric

I've just arrived home after spending the last two weeks on the gorgeous Divina. (Been awake 24hrs as couldn't sleep on the plane, plus I'm still swaying lol)

 

 

 

I have to say, the first week was a LOT quieter on board. The second week was completely different. There were a lot more Europeans on the first week. The dynamics were completely different.

 

 

 

I have to say, the young tenor was AMAZING! He finished yesterday for a well earned break. He deserves to go far.

Welcome back but We need to know more lol

How was food,shows,the stops and more and more ?

Sea ya

Eric

Hi everyone,

 

Just returned from the 7 day eastern voyage of the Divina. It was a trip with my in-laws, wife and 8 y.o. son. While I work on getting my review together, I welcome any questions you might have and will do my best to answer.

 

Thanks

Hello,

First thanks for answering everyone questions.

How was the dress code at night ? How was the two formal nights ?

Thanks again

Sea ya

Eric

Thanks for that AmoMondo. I just spent an hour hunting for Kat's review to see what the free gift was!

 

 

 

I now know :p;)

 

I'm definitely going to do this tour :D

What's is it ?

By reading I can see we get a gift at the end of the tour and a discount to a speciality restaurant. My question is what is the gift and what is the discount ?

Sea ya

Eric

You will find shampoo and shower gel dispensers in the shower as well as bar soap.

 

If you are staying in the Yacht Club,,the dispensers are replaced by individual bottles of shower gel, shampoo, conditioner, body lotion and bar soap

Perfect thanks you

Quick question do they have toiletries such as shampoo and soap in the shower on the MSC Divina ?

I heard some people say they had none ?

Sea ya

Eric

Now following this one seems interesting :-)

Sea ya

Eric

We have stayed recently at the Residence Inn at the Miami airport..nice. And just were at the Courtyard by Marriott and it was lovely. They run a shuttle to the cruise port for $10 pp

Whic one did you prefer ? Is any of them close to any shops or restaurant walking distance ?

Do you have addresses of both as seem to have lots of hotel same name close by.

Sea ya

Eric

Where can I buy them from? I've had a look on the MSc website and can't see these listed?

Hello,

Go to the website and click on the onboard services and then select pre-paid services. Once your in then select the paggage you prefer and fill out the form with the code number you have chosen.

Hope this help you.

Sea ya

Eric