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Received on this Board:

The dining times for Caribbean sailings on MSC Divina are 5:30pm and 8:30pm. The December 7th sailing is planned to have a sail away party.

 

Just received email from Customer Service, FL, 11/26/13::

 

The Early dining option is 7:30pm and the Late dining option is 9:00pm.

 

Thank you for choosing MSC Cruises!

 

 

MSC which is it? Hate to be a pest, but there are many people on these Boards who really would like to know.

 

Thank you

Barbara

They will probably have a deck party or two on the cruise

 

on our cruise the Fireworks made the sailaway. IMHO

 

other than that it was just line dancing and dancing up by the pool etc

Dancing by the pool w/music while we sailaway is fine...Hope the music is there...Would be kind of odd to sailaway with no music!

The dining times for Caribbean sailings on MSC Divina are 5:30pm and 8:30pm. The December 7th sailing is planned to have a sail away party.

 

Hope this helps!

Glad the late dinner time is 8:30!!!

I understand a sailaway party will take place on 12/7 (3 night cruise).....Disappointed at no sailaway party for the 11 night 12/10 departure cruise though...We'll have to plan our own I guess!

What will muster and dinner times be on future Divina cruises?

Will there be anything special for sailaway at 7pm??

I've read many variations are received varying information from MSC agents.

Glad to see that MSC is back to monitoring these boards.

That's a bummer :( We are a group of 9 so it's too costly to get a few cabs :eek:

Since you have 9, you may want to check into a private van. Would be cheaper than paying for a shuttle for 9 I'd think.

It would suggest you are not a very chatty or interactive person, I did not have to walk aimlessly around the ship, breakfast time in dining room, lunch & dinner, around the pools in the steam rooms, in the bars, in the lifts, in the piazza, in the main atrium, in the pools, in the buffet, even on top of Malaga castle lol, and some other ports, basically your suggestion is incorrect as maybe mine

 

1: we was not given the opportunity to cancel because we had paid up in full has the 90 days was up

 

2: have I been on a repo before? I have not but Does this mean we get a lesser service, or reason for our problems or complaints?

 

3: I have not sailed msc before

 

4: not sure they can

 

Please do not make my posts trivial to yours, you sorted out your complaint to which I am pleased for you, if it was I then I would be expecting compensation

 

And that is another reason we were not happy while speaking to all these people we became aware that Australians who booked through msc received compensation for not going to Nassau

 

Before anyone asks this can not be confirmed by me but I can only assume they had no reason to lie

I have to jump in here....Given everything I've read about Nowaysis' and Sidari's experiences, I'd be annoyed as well and would have written MSC, asking for a response. I hope MSC at least apologizes to them.

I've had ports cancelled for various reasons and even had a whole cruise cancelled due to engine problems the day before we were supposed to leave. Very disappointing. Although it was good to receive some credit for these, I also appreciated receiving correspondence from the cruiselines' staff acknowledging these problems.

In my book, it's just good customer service!

That being said though, I'm sure MSC's Staff has its hands full with all the problems that evolve when substantial changes are made. Perhaps they will get back to you when the dust settles.

Barbara

The excitement really grows starting today....The questions have been answered, paperwork in order and now it's onto "decorating" my house with clothes and stuff to take on the cruise!

I'm going to try one more time not to overpack, but I know that won't happen!

Barbara

Last year we used SAS to get from our hotel in Dania Beach to POM. He picked us up at 10. It was a perfect time for us. We were very relaxed & got to POM & hung out & waited. He said he now picks up at 11. MJS transportation also.

 

Is there another car service that picks up at 10? Thanks!

I looked into this pretty thoroughly as well. First shuttle from our hotel (Doral/Cruiseport HIE) is at 11am. We had always left at 10am in the past as well. I was disappointed, but then sat back and thought I'd put it in my mind that the cruise day will start with the shuttle experience rather than standing online/sitting in the cruise terminal longer which usually occurs.

Shuttle fare is $12 pp each way. Cabfare from our hotel is around $40. I think we'll take a cab back rather than wait and locate the shuttle. Told it would be at 9:30 and last time we returned to POM, it was crazy with alot of traffic, etc. Much easier just jumping into a cab.

Barbara

Memories of prior cruises in a nutshell....

12/13/12 RC Liberty of the Seas - Liked the ship, amazing shows and activities. Felt that the ship didn't have the warmth of some of the others...May have been due to size and schedules.

12/14/11 NCL Dawn - Loved the size of ship and ports

12/03/10 NCL Sky - Great weekend cruise - took this twice and would go again. Fun crowd. Not at all crazy about the Bahamas though.

10/16/10 NCL Sun - Didn't care for this ship at all. Remember food being awful and many of the servers being rushed and rude.

06/05/10 Bahamas Celebration - Cheap, short trip, but fabulous memories!

12/04/09 NCL Sky Bahamas - see above

11/30/09 Royal Caribbean Majesty Bahamas - Didn't like the ship, but did make lots of friends.

11/29/09 NCL DAWN WAS CANCELLED! Was floating in the ocean with no propulsion the day before we were scheduled to board!! Heard lots of horror stories from passengers.

12/08/08 Celebrity Solstice Eastern Caribbean - Elegant ship, good service and food.

12/07/07 Carnival Legend Western Caribbean - Was on its 2nd trip out. First time with very rocky seas. Quite an experience! Didn't care for the decor and crowd....Great chocolate molten dessert!

We love to cruise in order to easily experience adventures at different ports and aren't loyal to one cruiseline. It's mostly about the ports and price. I can't say we would never book a certain cruiseline again.

A balcony is a necessity for us since we no longer feel the need to dash about the ship to experience every activity. We truly enjoy relaxing on our balcony at breakfast and after excursions.

We're really looking forward to the Divina and its ports. Although we'll appreciate some of the recent changes, I'm hoping some of the italian ambiance will still be there!

Barbara

What you can't see is a beautifully appointed small restaurant area to the right of it where you can sit and enjoy a set meal at a fair price. This area is for a pizza snack and to sample the Italian cuisines from different regions.

Is pizza offered anywhere else on the ship without extra charges?

Thanks so much for your nice reviews.

What time was muster held?

Do you know if MSC is continuing the 9pm late dinner? Hope not!

Barbara

 

19 days ? i can only guess it was the repo cruise which was 18 days and while there were issues it was hardly a cruise from hell, yes there were problems and food was one of the biggest ones onboard.

Thanks for all the posts you have submitted, positive and negative!

I'd like to know a little more about the food and your cruise.

Barbara

Here are a few more shots of the pay restaurant..Eataly...In my humble opinion it did not look like an exclusive steak house to me.....looked more like a diner...far too open and hardly any tables for two.......even the Cruise Director said it need to have a better atmosphere.....have been to Eataly in NYC and this does not even compare....sorry for the poor report....

I was a bit disappointed at appearance of Eataly in photos.... I know that some of my friends like the similar "open", bright atmosphere of other NY restaurants ....I prefer something "cozier" and more intimate in appearance.

Barbara

Although we all enjoy reading the positive posts versus the negative ones, I think reading the negative posts is also interesting....These experiences may not reoccur, MSC may have some things corrected before our cruises and of course, people are different.....Some things do not bother them as much as they do others.

Also, some of the people who are writing about their negative experiences were active in obtaining and providing information on these Boards before they cruised. I don't think they should be slammed because they are now venting about things that really were troublesome to them on their cruise.

Hopefully, we will receive full reviews including the good and the bad from these posters once they are settled back from their cruises.

Just my two cents and yes, I know I could have kept this to myself!

Barbara

Is an outdoor barbeque on embarkation day something that's been done before? Kind of an odd question.

I can't remember which ship(s) we went on that had it, but it was really a nice touch, being able to grab a burger outside rather than deal with lots of people at buffet the first day.

It has been a long long time since I have experienced anything like what the original poster describes... in fact IRC that did happen to us one time, however I believe it was US authorities had everyone parade through the theater so they could eyeball your docs. Now we have been on a ship where they would not let you off because the local authority had their shorts in a bunch, most likely a disagreement on some technical issue that off loading a little extra booty rectified the problem.

 

The last ship I was on where I was aware that it was a first time for the ship to call at that particular port was on the Independence, last year. No issues at all.

As I think we all know, no cruise is perfect and we deal with things as they come up......We actually laugh about some of the bad experiences that weren't pleasant when they occurred.

If I can relocate my experience of the Fantasia to the Divina, then definitely the Garden Bar on the stern of deck 15. The bars in the central deck area are plagued with the main entertainment from mid-morning onwards. We used to regroup after breakfast for a proper coffee on deck there then leave as soon as the noise started. If you want to talk, be outside and near a bar, the rear of deck 15 is probably the best place. The jacuzzis tend to be quieter there too and the buffet directly below if you want a snack.Tim.

 

I have not tried the new concept, paid-for quiet zone on deck 18 and have not yet read any reports. Perhaps you could do the honours for the good of the CC community?

Thanks Tim!

I've seen pics although no reports of cruisers sitting there yet. I anticipate some negatives like just a hot tub/no pool, views aren't great, may be very windy up there...but...if the other pools have lots of children, I'm sure we'll head there for some peaceful moments at times.

I'll do a report on all when we return!

Barbara

My elevator saga

 

 

You have to play 'beat the elevator' or 'race to open door' due to the design. You cant tell when it arrives due to recessed design. Funny stuff weve missed over half of them! Lol!

I guess the secret may be to stand in the middle of the elevators....Does the button light or show the progression of the elevator?

Thanks for the pics!

Barbara

I seem to remember being on a cruiseship in the Caribbean that caused the cruisers a huge problem when it docked for the first time at a new port.

I don't remember all the details, but we had to get out of bed at 6am or so and head to the ballroom with our shipcards and/or passports (don't remember which).

People were lined up everywhere awaiting the entrance of "the local officials" to check these things.

Has this happened to anyone and do you remember why this occurred? Are problems to be expected when ships visit a port for the first time?

Did MSC have any BBQ or other food available near pool at embarkation or does one need to get it from the buffet?

Barbara

Looking to meet up with a few friends around outside bar...Which one would you recommend?

Tx

Barbara

We went for the beverage package since we felt we are about borderline with how many drinks we usually drink vs. the ability to try new drinks, have our after dinner espresso and cordials included, drink fresh oj and take water bottles off the ship on excursions.

It would be nice to have drinks for the beaches, etc rather than pay for these there.

Has anyone had drinks made up at bars and taken them off the ship to the beach in thermos or similar bottles? I think this would add to the benefit of the all inclusive package.

May sound cheap, but the package was expensive and as I stated above, we are borderline with thinking we should take it.

Thanks

Barbara

Hi,

 

We are looking into this for you. At this time, our operations department is very busy preparing for tomorrow's arrival of MSC Divina in PortMiami. We will try to follow-up next week.

 

Best,

MSC Cruises USA

Thanks MSC...look forward to your response!

I remember encountering quite a problem when we visited a port that a cruiseship had not been at before (another cruiseline).

I don't remember the reason, but think we had to make our way to the various public areas and show our passports or ship cards (I don't remember which) in the very early morning when the "authorities" boarded.

This had to be at one of the Caribbean islands.

Has anyone encountered this on prior MSC cruises?

What time were you able to board the ship in Miami?

Thanks!