BusyBlond

I will be platinum on my next cruise, but I've never gotten chocolate on any ship. 😞

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48 days until my first solo cruise. Sailing on the Epic in February 2017.

Behind the scenes tours for platinum members are done by the cruise next (cruise consultants) staff. 10 am on the first sea day. For free. Laundry, galley, theater.

Thanks for this info. My next cruise will be my first as platinum. super excited to do the behind the scenes tour.

Thanks for the replies. I'm super excited about this cruise. I love the concept of the whole "solo" experience that NCL offers.

So, I booked the Epic for 2/11/17, later I realized that was valentine's week. Now I'm worried that I'll be the only single person sailing that week. Anyone else going with me?

So, February will be my first time to ever cruise solo, I've booked a studio cabin. Can anyone that has sailed in one give me the skinny on that? What did you love or hate? Anything I should know? I'm the living room will provide the opportunity to meet up with other solo travelers that I might enjoy hanging out with. Did you find that to be the case?

I'm going to be on the Sky Dec 12th. Can anyone tell me if they have any theme nights on the Sky? White hot night? 60's etc?

Just home from the Divina today. We had a fantastic cruise. The only issue that I saw that I recognized as something that I saw on cruise critic as a complaint RE: divinia was the buffet food being cold. Not a huge issue for me as I prefer to eat in the diningroom. We had exceptional diningroom service and were out in an hour to an hour & fifteen minutes every night. The ship was beautiful and the entertainment was outstanding.

Michael Jackson show very good.

 

 

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I agree. I think it was my favorite show, although they were all good.

Didn't note the Sports Bar hours but we were there for lunch, in mid afternoon and at night. Very busy for NFL and NCAA games. Fresh, hot food.

 

 

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I believe the sports bar hours were 11:30AM to 11:00 PM

Yay!! That's great news. I've never been to grand Turks

Does anyone have the MDR breakfast menu for Divina ? Do they have eggs benedict and smoked salmon ? Sailing on October 8th. Thanks

I don't know the answer to your question, just wanted to say We will also be on the October 8th sailing.

MSC have two Gala, their word for formal, nights on a 7 night cruise, Dress code is"suggested" and not very well adhered to.

 

Most Gents will be wearing lounge suits or shirt with tie and smart trousers. Very few will be wearing a Dinner Jacket.

 

The women tend to be a little more dressed up , but not many formal gowns, they will be wearing "the Little Black number" or cocktail dresses.

 

If you see any Japanese women on the cruise they will probably look stunning in beautiful Kimonos.

 

 

Pete

Thanks so much. black cocktail dress is right up my alley. Just wanted to make sure I wouldn't be the only one not in a long "formal".

Hi, I'm a veteran cruiser, but this will be my first time on MSC. Are there 2 formal nights on a 7 day cruise like the other mainstream lines? Can anyone confirm what nights they will be on the Divina eastern Caribbean sailings?

Yikes! Had no idea when I booked our cruise that we would be on the first sailing after drydock. I REALLY try not to do that. Hopefully everything will be done on time.

UGH! I was afraid that's what y'all were going to tell me. LOL Not thinking I can convince him to drink a coke. Oh well, water it is.

Can anyone that has been on the Divina recently tell me what brand of Soda they stock? Coke products or Pepsi? Taking my Dad on this cruise in October and he was not very happy to discover that they do not allow you to bring your own soda onboard. He only drinks Mt Dew and normally it isn't available on cruise ships. I keep trying to tell him it won't kill him to drink water for a week. :)

Thank you so much for the review! :D It was very informative and uplifting. Quick question: Are there lots of deck chairs and rail space to view the passing scenery? I was looking at some pictures and the upper deck space looks limited. We enjoy laying out and going into the pool on sea days, will it be too crowded to relax? Also, since we have an OV cabin, we will need to use the upper rails to watch the ship leave. Is there enough rail space for everyone or should we make sure we get up there early?

 

Thanks again! :D

The pool deck is always crowed, but the upper deck was usually ok. I personally like the outside on deck 6 for watching the scenery, it's in the shade. :) Also, the aft of deck 6 behind boleros is a really nice place to watch the wake.

How was disembarking? I need to set up a shuttle time pickup to get us back to FLL, I am in no hurry. I'm sailing in later July.

Is 10:00 ok? Do they kick you off super early? Or is it a slow process? Thanks

We did self debark, fastest we've ever gotten off the ship. . We left our cabin at 7:20 and were in the car driving away at 7:35.

Thank for the Post was getting ready to write up the will lol will be sailing on 6-25-16. Hope the Ice Cream is working!!! :D

 

DD

It was definitely working on our trip. Think good thoughts. LOL

We also just got off the boat, and that is pretty accurate. We were actually impressed. Ironically, we had our 14 year old son with us. He stayed under us for the 1st 24 hrs. Finally he made a couple friends, and then that group doubled and eventually there were 6-8 kids aged 12-15 hanging out. We wouldn't see him for hours at a time. Too bad we didn't meet up. We could have found your kid some friends to hang with.

That would have been great. DD is so shy around people she doesn't know. She finally made friends on the last day with a family that had 5 teens. I think I'll shoot for a bigger ship with a dedicated teen hang out next time I take her. but for myself, I really enjoyed the Empress.

Hi, I just got home from our cruise on the Empress of the Seas and wanted to pop in and share my experience. Hopefully it will ease the minds of some of you that are scheduled to sail soon as I know that most of the reviews since her refurbishment have not been stellar.

I booked this cruise for myself and my 14 year old step-daughter. I'll admit that after reading the reviews on cruise critic from the first few cruises, I was really nervous about taking this trip. I can honestly say that I worried for nothing.

This was the fastest/smoothest embarkation I have ever experienced. We pulled into the parking lot about 12:10 and were eating lunch at the windjammer by 12:35. It seriously took us longer to walk from the car to the terminal than it did to check in and board.

The buffet was crowded when we arrived, mainly just due to the small size and cafeteria layout, but the line moved quickly and we didn't have an issue finding a table. The food in the buffet was good, pretty typical cruise fare. It was hot and there was plenty of it. I do have to say that the Empress had the BEST cookies I've ever eaten on a cruise ship. Bad news for my diet. LOL The lemon-sugar cookies were my favorite, although I ate plenty of oatmeal as well. My daughter favored the chocolate chunk.

We had my time dining, our wait team was fantastic! Even the maître'd came by to visit every night. We also chatted with her and out assistant waiter in the wind jammer on several occasions. We were able to get the same time/table every night except one. The night we ended up having to sit in a different server's section, both our normal waiter and assistant waiter made a point to come visit with us in the adjoining section. The food was good to very good. They had the best bread ever. The rolls were still hot when they served them. The pumpkin seed were my favorite and my daughter liked the cheese rolls. The deserts were for the most part. yuck. typical cruise deserts. look really pretty, but not much taste.

The ship looked great, she's a grand ol lady. I know lots of people will dislike the ship just based on the size, but we really enjoyed it. Very easy to get around. The staff was always cleaning, polishing, vacuuming etc.. I have to also say that the staff is probably the friendliest I've ever encountered on any ship. Every single staff member from the guys bussing the table to the ship officers acknowledged you every time they passed. They always smiled, and asked if there was any way that they could help us. Even my 14 year old daughter commented on how nice every one was and I think that says a lot.

Our room steward was great. She kept our cooler filled with ice and always addressed us by name when she saw us out in the hallway.

I love the fact that there are so many little out of the way sitting areas to read or just watch the ocean go by. When you are going up or down the stairs by the main dining room there is a small sitting area at each landing. This was one of my favorite places to sit and read.

There was live music in every venue most nights as well as the band playing poolside during the days. The dance parties in the atrium appeared to be well attended. The production shows were absolutely awesome. Better than a lot I've seen on much larger vessels. We also had a couple of comedians and a singer. I'm not much of a night owl, and never made it to the crown Viking lounge, so I can't say what the disco or Bolero's had going on late at night.

I only have a couple of negative comments, keep in mind they are just observations and didn't ruin our vacation or anything, but here they are.... The ship doesn't have a dedicated teen "hang out". The various teen activities moved to a different venue every day. Not really a big deal if your kids are outgoing, but my daughter is really shy, normally she will kinda just hang around the teen area until someone strikes up a conversation with her. That didn't happen this trip and it was kinda a hassle to keep up with WHERE the teen events were being held on a particular day. I think a lot of times they were just not well attended. She did finally make a few friends on the last day, but I think it would have been easier with a set teen spot.

The AC still doesn't work wonderfully well in the casino, I'm not a gambler, so it didn't really affect me, just to let you all know that it is still warmer there than the rest of the ship. It wasn't unbearable or anything, just warmer that most other public areas.

The door on deck 10 that leads out from the elevator lobby to the windjammer on the port side SLAMMED constantly. It needs a soft close thing or something. It drove me crazy one night when I was sitting in the library on deck 9 right below that door. I kept hearing slamming and couldn't figure out what the heck it was. Next time I went to the buffet, I discovered where it was coming from. It wasn't that big of a deal, but I'm sure that any cabins on deck 9 forward on the port side could hear it in their rooms.

I guess that's all for now. I just thought some of y'all that are sailing in the next few weeks would like to know that they seem to be getting the kinks worked out.

Thanks for the update we are on the next sailing on Saturday hope you continue with some good news reports

I'm also on the next sailing. Hope things continue to improve. I'm determined to have a good time regardless.

I'm also sailing on the Empress 6/11 sailing. I can't remember is this ship has a solarium, but if so. I'd love to see a picture of it.

Thanks Lakelorain

 

I have just tried that and I still can't access it, its starting to get the better of me because I know all of the info is valid

I'm having the same issue. I've tried just my first name, as well as my first & middle names. It just keeps telling me that the information is not valid.