valancy1
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The main atrium... again Swarovski crystal staircases were breath-taking. So gorgeous. And people really hung out here and enjoyed it:
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Villa Rossa (Main Dining Room):
There were two main dining rooms for non Yacht Club passengers called Villa Rossa and Black Crab. They had 2 seatings like traditional dining.
The restaurant for YC members was Le Muse and it was any time seating. Traditionally we sat in the same area if not the same table.
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Le Sirene: This is like Serenity on Carnival or Solarium on Royal Caribbean, but very very VERY pretty.
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After we got into our cabin and my husband's ears stopped ringing from me shouting, "THERE'S A TUB!!" we eagerly started seeing the ship. Lots and lots and LOTS of pictures to come, but you're going to have to put up with more Top Sail pictures. [sigh... OhhhKAYyyy]
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Our balcony:
The mini bar was stocked every day with whatever we wanted. Fresh fruit, and chocolates were also in our room.
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Just off the Concierge there is a library--did I think to take a picture of it? NO. And I never went in there except the one time when we were being escorted around to see all the common YC areas.
Time for our cabin. So excited to see our first ever suite.
That headboard is SUEDE my friends... SUEDE! The sheets were Egyptian cotton and the softest I have ever experienced (and I buy nice sheets).
Walk-in Closet with a light that knows when you are nearby:
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Ah, Top Sail Lounge, how I loved you. A quiet respite from the noisy quiet (LOL). Upholstered, not vinyl furniture, baby grand piano, marble flooring, fresh snacks every 2 hours, and our butlers... a girl REALLY could get used to this.
Twenty-four seven, the Top Sail welcomed us. Positioned at the front of the ship, it was either quiet, or there was pleasant live entertainment just for us! The Yacht Club housed 185 people when full; on our sailing there were only 135, so lots of elbow room in the Top Sail. From cappuccino to top shelf liquor, it was served as soon as it was requested.
Caveat: Some of my pictures might be a bit blurry. My apologies.
The "snacks" they had were replaced every 2 hours. And the butlers would come to us and say with a genuine smile when they were getting ready to "close" that round of food so if there was something you had to shove down your already full gullet, you could do so. LOL
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We have never done anything like this before--getting this luxurious type of cabin. I would say in the cruises we've done in the past, we're about 1/2 and 1/2 oceanviews and balconies with 1 inside cabin thrown in (free cruise).
So, when this opportunity presented itself to have the Yacht Club experience aboard Divina, we knew we had to do it.
We stayed in a bay view room at Miami Marriott Biscayne Bay. LOVED it. Will definitely stay again. I have traditionally stayed at the Hilton because with my points, we'd get the junior suite on 17th floor, but this was so much nicer.
We flew in the day before, got a fireworks show along with spotting the Goodyear blimp, and were treated to a PROM in the hotel (ho boy), and went to sleep. The next day we took our time getting over to the terminal because we weren't setting sail until 7. We arrived at 2 pm.
We found the Yacht Club tent (we were instructed NOT to give our luggage to a porter, and each one that asked us, we simply said, "Yacht Club" and they knew exactly where to direct us (and not ask about taking our luggage again!)). They crossed our name off the list, a tuxedo-with-tailed and white-gloved butler escorted us into the reception area for the Yacht Club. I tried taking a picture of him but was told immediately to delete it.
I *did* get my first of many glasses of Prosecco in the reception lounge:
There were cookies and such in the reception area. Two women "manned" the reception desk where we got our welcome and our keys. The stevedore asked us to let him know when we were ready to go to our cabin, and we said, "We're ready NOW!" and I took my Prosecco and we toddled on up to the Yacht Club (soooo excited):
There are special key card access points by the elevators on the ship. The buttons say "To floors 15 & 16" and "To Floor 18" that only light up when inserting a Yacht Club card. Within the Yacht Club there is another elevator that takes you to Yacht Club venues.
Our first stop was to be introduced to the Concierge staff at our own 24/7 Concierge desk:
This is on Deck 15 with a staircase from 16 that terminates at the Concierge Desk for those on that deck.
Those are Swarovski crystals in massive quantities and carat weight in the staircase. I never did get over it. They were GORGEOUS.
At the top of the staircase arriving on Deck 16 in Yacht Club is a cozy nook to sit and talk if you'd like:
We were then escorted to what would end up being the absolute favorite spot for me on this cruise... the Top Sail Lounge. (cont'd)
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Just did the Yacht club but different itinerary. I cant wait to see what you thought of yours. we LOVED the Yacht Club! Thanks in advance for your review!
My computer was acting hinky last night and I gave up. However, I cannot WAIT to go back. Yacht Club or bust for us. I want to bring a group with me on Seaside in 2018 (since 2017 is its US debut). I want to do a special sailing with Greg Abrahamson (the Winemaking at Sea guy). He said he will customize something for me to include special dining, pairings, and of course, blendings for a group. It was fantastic. More to come; from the beginning before I get too off-kilter. :D
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How was the process getting back on in Grand Cayman? When we were there in Dec. saw the long lines onshore for people to get back on ship and MSC was using their own lifeboats vs. tender boats from shore.
Well, they used their lifeboats, but they were different from the ones that were all closed up like a capsule. I paid attention to these wanting to see if they closed them up and they didn't the whole trip; I didn't find them to be any different from any other tender (wait wise). They held a ton of people and went all day long back and forth. I didn't think to take a picture, though. :(
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Hello,
I am finally getting to review the MSC Divina. In one word: INCREDIBLE! or STUNNING! or WOWZA. I can't wait to share it with you all and hope you enjoy the upcoming review. I will try and keep it focused on the ship itself; however, we did "Resort for a Day" in Jamaica and want to share those pictures with you as well.
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A week from tomorrow we fly down to FL to stay overnight before getting on board! There will be lots o' pictures :)
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I haven't gone yet. I have access to the travel agent portal which is where these are housed. I leave in juuuuust under 3 weeks. We need a vacation so badly; I hope we have a great time!
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Yacht Club Menus
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valancy1 this is really great thank you so much. you said you had yc menus and kids menus. did I miss them ?
Plucasana, no. I didn't post them. I will look them up and do that. There are a lot and each one requires that I save them individually and then post them individually here. :eek:
I cannot do it now, but I will put it in my calendar to put them in. The kids' menus are so cute!
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OK so here is Eataly for anyone interested. I hope this helps!
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Thanks for the pizza menu. I guess the rest is still a state secret. :)
Vicocola, look what I did for you:
Eataly's Menu size was too big. I also have Yacht Club and children's menus which are the cutest menus for kids I've ever seen for a cruise line.
Enjoy... at least this will give you an idea of the food. I am going to try one more time in a separate post to attach Eataly, but it might not work.
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Speaking of changing policy, MSC if you are listening (and I don't suspect you are), you are missing an entire segment of the population by not making (and marketing) an adults only pool. You have 2 perfect venues. The solarium pool is located forward and the only thing farther forward are adult only spaces (the gym and the spa). If not the solarium, the infinity pool is also a prime adults only spot as it is one deck up, all the way aft, and comes with its very own bar :).
Of course, all ship pools are busy. But when you take into account the kids sale free (therefore doubling the amount of kids on board,) the entire Portside devoted to smoking leaving half of deck space available for non-smokers, and much of the non-smoking deck turned into the Mall of America with no lounge chair space at all- you have a recipe for quite a few disappointed people. Me- I had my lounger on my balcony, but without that this cruise would have been an entirely different experience.
So this is just my opinion. Full disclosure, I am a travel agent (but am not trying to recruit anyone and the only reason I disclose this is to indicate where I got this information from). My home office which will go unnamed has a very influential person at the top of the food chain. We just had a regional event in which he spoke and he said that he wants to see MSC become a "major player" in the industry because it would then have 4 major players. He cited that NCL was at one time where MSC is currently, but NCL got their act together and is now very definitely a major player.
So I sent him an email to ask him about this. I told him I am sailing on Divina in the next few weeks, and he implored me to please provide MSC with feedback.
Saying this to say, perhaps you might consider actually writing them (you definitely have a way with words and could do so constructively rather than just whine and complain) to give them constructive feedback.
Food for thought...
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Hello all,
I would love to hear from those of you who've cruised on MSC, particularly on Divina.
We are scheduled to be on Divina on 5/14. I have heard good and I have heard bad. I am a seasoned cruiser, but never on MSC.
I would like to know about:
- The boarding process
- Restaurants (particularly food sensitivities)
- Activities on the ship
- Are there formal nights on a 7-night cruise and if so, how many?
The rest I can deal with or enjoy just fine. I would really appreciate *any* feedback you wish to give and would greatly appreciate it.
Thanks in advance!
MSC Divina, Yacht Club Experience 5-14-2016 Western Caribbean
in MSC Cruises
Posted
Le Sirene is actually a public pool & area for anyone wanting to use it. We used to walk outside the YC doors on 15 and look directly down into Le Sirene on 14. I will show more pictures of it later.
As far as tipping, we did tip our butler additionally at the end of the cruise. We gave him $40, which is more than we've ever tipped additional on the cruise; but what he gave for us really couldn't have been paid adequately. Whomever gets Carlos (his name is Juan Carlos Cruz) is lucky, lucky, lucky.
P.S., the cabin pictures were of our cabin 15027.