4104ever

1 hour ago, principessalia said:

When we are in Cozumel, you can take a ferry to Playa Del Carmen where the beach is right next to where you get on/off the ferry.  I believe it's about a 45 minute ride each way.   As we are docked for 12 hours, you have plenty of time to get there, enjoy the beach & get back 😎

This might be a good plan for you as the ferry is approximately 6 blocks from where the Meraviglia will dock at the Punta Langosta pier.  The Meraviglia docks downtown and I can’t think of any beaches that you could possibly walk to from there.

The Osso buco is fantastic.  Some of the best I’ve ever had.  I also have liked all of the lamb dishes as they are prepared very well.  Pizza!  Best at sea IMO. (Although pizza is not in MDR)

7 hours ago, ready2cruzagain said:

I understand being Diamond we get a one hour Thermal Spa Session.  Never used it on the Divina since the spa wasn't very good.  Going on the Seaside next week and the spa looks great.  How do we go about using our one hour session?  Do we get a voucher somewhere or what?  Do they time you?

I have been on 3 MSC ships in the Caribbean, Divina, Seaside and Meraviglia.  Each one has told me to just show up anytime I'd like for my one hr session.  No appointment was needed.  Also, I've never seen them make note of your arrival time so I don't believe they keep track of your 1 hr.  

I have sailed on the Seaside twice and the Meraviglia once.  First I would like to say that I agree that HAL’s food is very good.  My favorite food of all cruise lines and I cruise about 6 times a year.  But, I don’t cruise just for the food and I will sacrifice that for other things.  IMO the food on the Seaside and Meraviglia is in line with other cruiselines such as Carnival, RCCL and Celebrity.  Some things are quite good and others, meh!  I have always found a beef entree plus the everyday steak.  Their lamb entrees are especially good and they have the best Osso buco I’ve ever had.  You can always order something else if you’re not happy.  Re: MSC’s buffet, those that say it’s the same day after day are not walking the entire buffet line.  Unlike many ships where the buffet has 2 sides and each side has the same food,  MSC’s buffet areas are different.  If you walk the entire distance around you will see different things each day.  I always take the walk before I decide what I’ll put on my plate.  Both Seaside and Meraviglia are beautiful ships with amazing entertainment and a wonderful crew on each.  I’ve sailed MSC 6 times in the last 2 years with 3 more booked for Dec, Feb and May.  My favorite cruiseline!

18 hours ago, chong67 said:

I am looking to book Dec 7 on Seaside and go to OC. Will I get any discount or OBC?

Is there a reason you feel you should receive OBC or discount?

On 11/1/2019 at 5:32 PM, shipgeeks said:

Exactly.  I don't know of any ship's dining room that is open on port days.

I’m perfectly fine with restaurants not being open for lunch, but what about dinner when we are there until 11:30pm?

6 hours ago, jdvmd said:

Can anyone tell me any differences between the Meraviglia spa area versus Seaside's? We did our one hour free pass as Voyager Club black members (now Diamond) and loved everything about the area. Would love to do it again on Mera if the areas are the same.

They are very similar, both being quite enclosed which I don’t like.  The Meraviglia has 2 thermal pools which are quite small.  If you like the Seaside spa you will like the Meraviglia also.  I don’t like either one of the because of the lack of sunlight.

On 11/2/2019 at 8:08 AM, nikkiw60 said:

Breakfast buffet!

For anyone who likes flavoured coffee they have 3 flavoured creamers also if you want an omelette the station at the back is the quietest.

And for toast it is pre made so toasted properly unlike the toasters you need to put the bread through 3 times but it’s not warm.

Finally they have roasted ham with is rather nice on the carving stations.

We were on the Oct 8th sailing to Canada.  The first morning we asked for half and half for our coffee.  There was absolutely no half and half on the ship.  We bought some in our first port and chalked it up to Europeans not using it.  Can you let me know if it is available now as we are sailing her again in Feb.

I agree with everything jdvmd has said.  I would like to add that you can reserve any shows you would like to see once you board.  There are touch point screens shipwide to do this.  I was on the Meraviglia last month and thought that the majority of the shows were outstanding.  Enjoy your cruise without the mouse!  

11 hours ago, diesel1973 said:

You are right about the land service and onboard service being different, believe it or not the onboard service is worse!! And if you think 50 minutes is long to talk to someone on the phone, wait till you wait in those long lines at Guest Services and end up not getting any satisfaction from them. Just relating from past experience. Good Luck .

My experiences have been entirely different.  I have sailed with MSC 6 times in the last 2 years and have always received great service from everyone.  If guest services line is too long I’ll wait and come back at a time lines will be shorter.  Regarding phone calls before sailing I always make a point to call exactly at 8am.  I always get immediate service.

I was on the October 8th sailing on the Meriviglia and Arthur was definetly onboard at that time.  He is in the Waves dining room and is sporting a white coat.  What a breath of fresh air this man is.  We are sailing Meriviglia again on Feb 23 and we will be asking to sit with him again.

There is always a time set aside on embarkation day to see the maitre’d to make dining changes. It will be posted in the daily schedule.  I have done this numerous times on MSC and have never been denied my choice.  Happy sails!

2 hours ago, JainaEowyn said:

Here's the situation: I finally convinced my husband to go on a cruise to celebrate my birthday in January. (It helped that some friends extolled the virtues of smoked salmon and other food in cruise MDRs and buffets, haha.) Since he's a little reluctant, I really want it to be a good experience. We're on a pretty tight budget, though, so I'm looking at two options:

1. 3 nights on MSC Divina from Miami, stopping in Freeport and Ocean Cay
2. 3 nights (though it looks more like 4??) on Carnival Victory from Miami, stopping in Half Moon Cay and Nassau

I've heard such incredibly mixed reviews about the Divina that I'm a little reluctant to risk it. That said, I've heard it's less likely to attract as many kids as Carnival (understandably) and we won't have any kids with us, so I would much prefer a less... loud cruise, given the option, so that's a plus for Divina. Food is a big draw for us, though, and almost every Divina review I've seen says that the food is incredibly bland and that's a definite drawback. My main hopes for the cruise would be to be able to just relax (and disconnect from our devices, so we won't be getting the internet package), have some great food, and see some decent entertainment in the evenings.

 

I'd love to hear from anyone who's sailed the Divina pretty recently and has a feel for the current quality of things onboard, especially if you've sailed a Carnival Victory-level ship too. Thanks!

I have sailed the Divina twice with a third booked for December.  I have also sailed the Carnival Victory along with 23 other Carnival cruises.  The Divina is a gorgeous classy ship.  The Victory is older (19 years old) and certainly a different style ship.  (Think party).  I've enjoyed the food on both ships but Carnival will certainly give you more options outside the main dining rooms.  I have not found the food on Divina to be bland but food is subjective.  MSC definitely has the best pizza at sea.  MSC wins hand down for the evening theater shows.  A 3 day cruise will draw a different crowd than a longer cruise and 3 days on a Carnival ship is a loud party.   I haven't sailed a short cruise on Msc so I can't comment on that but there is a difference generally in the guests you will find between the 2 lines.  Hope this helped.  Have a wonderful time whichever choice you make.

1 hour ago, mnocket said:

Since you've sailed Celebrity, HAL and Windstar, my guess is that you would enjoy MSC Yacht Club.  Anything other than Yacht Club would likely disappoint. 

I never understand why some would believe that sailing anything other than yacht club would be disappointing.  I also have sailed Celebrity and HAL and find that MSC is comparable to those lines.  I just completed my sixth MSC cruise yesterday and have always had a wonderful time.  I have never sailed in the Yacht Club and probably never will.  I have sailed the Seaside twice, the Orchestra once, Meraviglia once and Divina twice with another on her Dec 6.  Every cruise will have their positives and negatives such as every day life.  Go and enjoy and don't worry about the small stuff!!

On 9/7/2019 at 12:50 PM, George C said:

Bus took you about a mile away to a area with taxis , here is a thread on LGA problems

 

This thread is over 3 years old.

1 hour ago, Propellor1969 said:

Can y’all tell me what type of plugs they have in the ship?  Are they US or do you need an adapter?  My mother-in-law is traveling on the ship in a couple of weeks. 

They have both US and European . No adaptor needed.

I have sailed the Divina 2 times with a 3rd booked for 12/19.  I absolutely love this ship.  I’ve cruised Celebrity Summit twice and also liked it.  No cruise is a bad cruise to me.  I will be sailing the Meraviglia in Oct to Canada.  Looking forward to a new ship.

 Thank you for the quick reply.

I am currently platinum and 3 points away from emerald.  I am cruising in 2 weeks and 

I'm curious to know if I will remain platinum for the entire 7 day cruise, turn emerald after day 3 and be awarded extra benefits as of that day or obtain emerald status on embarkation?

i know the answer to other cruise lines but have not seen  RCI's policy.  Either way I'm excited to be going on my first Oasis class ship after saying for years that you would never get me on one of those monstrosities.

If I was looking for a snorkeling/catamaran excursion for 25-30 people I would look at chartering.  We have done this in the past, not Bermuda but Cozumel.  We were able to plan our day and had the catamaran to ourselves without being crowded in.  Most charters charge by the hour and after sharing costs with your group it could very likely cost you less than a crowded ship excursion.  I briefly looked at catamaran charters in Bermuda and saw a number of them.

On 7/19/2019 at 12:16 PM, Rob-Bob said:

I have been a MSC supporter, sailed 2x with them, have a 3rd one booked and responsible for several other bookings through recommendations but if they miss with OC this time around I think it may be way more damaging to them than the 2017/2018 miss.  I have until Jan 2020 to cancel my March 2020 cruise with no penalty.  I will cancel if the island isn't done and it may be hard to get me back unless they come up with new itineraries.

 

Same old ports won't do it.  I would love to see a Aruba stop with multiple days at port (does any cruise line do this?).

I booked the Divina today for the 12/6-12/17 sailing.  First port is Aruba and we will be there two full days.  Last port is Ocean Cay so we will see.

We will be sailing on Harmony in August.  I have hip replacement surgery scheduled for Oct and due to the size of the ship and anticipated long walks I will be bringing a walker to use.  Where is disability seating located in the theater and aqua theater?  Are those the only 2 venues with stairs?  Thank you in advance for your help.

I sailed with Captain Massa on the Divina Sept 2017 and again with him on the Seaside April 2018.  The nicest Captain I've ever encountered on 40 plus cruises.  I'm sailing again on the Seaside this Sat and so sorry to hear he's not on the Seaside still.  

15 hours ago, Teacher42 said:

Dear 41, Did you advertise or ever mention that your dog's anus is all over your furniture to your friends? Or did you just take for granted that anyone that has pets is subject to pet anus upholstery, and they should all be self aware?  At a Thanksgiving dinner one year a niece brought a home baked apple pie, it had dog hairs in it. Needless to say, from that day forward the family rule has been nothing homemade only store bought goods allowed.

No need for advertising.  They know the moment my dog jumps up on the couch to sit with them.  And I'll eat my homemade pie any day before a store bought one where you have NO idea where the hands making that have been ( or other disgusting things). 

On 10/18/2018 at 7:27 AM, Mikew0805 said:

This thread is an absolute overreaction. 🙄

I love my dogs so much... I could never subject them to a cruise ship, even if it were allowed. No way! 

I would never bring my dog on a cruise ship but I can say that I would rather eat with her  than a number of those posting to this thread.  My dog sits on my furniture at home and never has one of my guest been concerned about my dogs anus when they sat on my couch.