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We had a $150 credit before cruising. I phoned MSC and took the offer to have it applied as an OBC $75 x2 for our Divina cruise we just got off of today. Once we boarded I scanned my cruise card at one of the many kiosks. It only showed one $75 credit. Headed down to Customer Service with my printed out paperwork showing we each had a $75 OBC and the gentleman was quickly able to post the other credit immediately. I knew if we left the ship without sorting this out we would probably not see that money again. Unfortunately their land based customer service is horrible. If I were you I would call MSC directly. Forget the TA. If any TA told me it takes 10-16 weeks to hear back from MSC I would fire that agent. That is an unacceptable response. They should call MSC as many times as it takes to get this escalated. Not settle for “oh it takes months to hear back from them.” That’s BS.

Carnival vs MSC? If you asked me that question 3 weeks ago I would have said hands down MSC is much better and they attract many pax from all over the world which adds to our vacation experience in a positive way. Just got off Divina this morning after 2 weeks (an 10 day and an 4 day combined) and the first 10 days was crazy. It’s not the crew or the ship that was the problem it was the passengers. I’ve never cruised with such rude and obnoxious people in 40 yrs of cruising. Worse than the worst Carnival pax hands down. The majority would run you over to get in or out of an elevator without so much as an excuse me or sorry! The buffet was a nightmare the first 10 days. No napkins or flatware by 10 am. Tables not being bused so others could sit and eat. Foreigners not wanting to wait in line so they’d just push in front of people to get this food. Room service left in the halls for hours and hours Just a complete sh.. show. We left Carnival because of the passengers it was attracting…not all were bad but a lot of them were out of control drinking and obnoxious. Unfortunately with MSC lowballing the other cruise lines those Carnival pax are going to MSC. Will only cruise with MSC in the Yacht Club going forward. Having said that, Divina had a lot of music around the ship and “name that tune” type games multiple times a day so it wasn’t in line with your cruise having limited things to do. It was just 3800 pax was way too many and the crew couldn’t keep up. Our last 4 days was much better with around 2000 pax. (We did a B2B.) So for us we experienced an MSC cruise that was in line with Carnival. Not better or worse. The older I get the less patience I have with ignorant people.

Good morning! We did express walk off this morning. Facial recognition up and running. We were off the ship before 7:30. It’s now about 7:40 and we’re on a bus to Miami International. Looks like those boarding today will have a smooth transition 🤞

Same here. I could access all social media sites with no problem. Cruise Critic wouldn’t load for me most of the time.

Definitely. I questioned the 4k number and that was the manager’s response. Lots of families with 3-4 to a room

Thanks everyone! It’s a pleasure having you all follow us on this adventure. I’ve learned so much from the CC veterans over the years so if I can pay it forward to the new members with this review I’m happy to help. Despite the crowds of people our first 10 days we have had a great time. We’ve enjoyed our huge aft facing balcony so very much on this cruise. Star gazing at night has been incredible! Nothing like being out at sea with no light pollution to distort the beautiful starry sky. Not having to cook a meal or do laundry and housework for 14 days is a real restful vacation! Divina is still our favorite ship but it’s clear that the crew really can’t handle it when she’s at or above capacity. Things are so much more manageable these last 4 days with around 2000 pax. Our first 2 cruises on Divina were the Mediterranean in 2019 in the YC and Caribbean Nov 2021 with just 490 pax. We now realize that neither of those cruises gave us a true read of what MSC was all about. The first we were pampered by our YC butler and the second we practically had the entire ship to ourselves because of Covid. This cruise, especially the first 10 days, was an eye opening experience. It was much more like the cruises we have taken years ago on Carnival. Could it be because it was the New Years Eve sailing? Maybe. But from what some of you are reporting from your experiences it doesn’t seem likely. I always book our vacations and do a lot of research. A 14 day cruise on Royal and NCL during this same time period with drinks and WiFi and as nice a cabin as we had was double the price that we paid for this cruise. Not sure how long MSC can keep that up. Going forward if we cruise from a U.S. port again we will probably book the YC. Never thought I’d say that. lol We have been blessed with 14 days of sunny weather and calm seas. So grateful for our experiences the last couple of weeks. It really is the only vacation that my husband can really disconnect from the craziness of his job and that’s everything as far as I’m concerned. We love ending this adventure with a day and a half on Ocean Cay…it really is a little slice of heaven! I hope our debarkation goes a lot smoother than it did this past Monday for our b2b so those of you cruising tomorrow can get on early! 🤞 This is my current view…not so hard to take! xoDeb

We had 3800 last week. The MDR manager showed us the print out. I saw it with my own eyes. 4,000

They are expecting 4,000 for your cruise…definitely pack your patience

Sure, will ask tonight at dinner!

Completely agree with you. Our server in the MDR was with Celebrity for 13 yrs before coming to MSC two months ago. Covid played a role in her retiring from Celebrity and MSC made her and her husband an offer they couldn’t refuse. He is also a server but in the other dining room. She is in agreement with what we, you and others are saying. She was especially bothered by the pax last week and without getting into details with us she said she’s never had that many rude people on one sailing before. We love to cruise but we certainly don’t like what we’re seeing. We took a break from cruising about 10 yrs ago and did the all inclusive resorts for a while but sadly we saw the same thing happen with those. Even the very expensive all inclusive resorts attracted jerks. It’s to be expected that you’ll come across some obnoxious people but when it’s the majority it’s hard to swallow. Where does your Mera cruise go?

Looks like they’re expecting approx 2800 for the Jan 20th cruise according to the manager of Black Crab dining room. But he told us there would be 1800 on this cruise and I’ve heard we have 2400 and 2600 so I don’t know who to believe. lol One thing for sure, it is a heck of a lot better this cruise than it was the prior 10 days. We feel Divina can’t handle 3800 pax. Especially in South America where everyone wanted to be on deck because it was so nice and warm and sunny. It is like night and day even the “youngins” have proven to be better fellow pax than the horrible group we had last week.

Just had the pleasure of meeting @ABC XYZthank you for finding us in the dining room! We’ve met a lot of friends from Cruise Critic! It’s so nice to put a face to a name!

We did the Blue Lagoon excursion through MSC. Purchased it on board asked the MSC rep if it included food or drink he said no you must bring cash to buy food. Guess what? It included a lunch buffet and a drink. So much for the excursion desk knowing what is included in the excursions they sell 🙄 Anyway…we recommend it. It was a fun day and the water is beautiful there. Lunch was very good too

Carnival Liberty, Mariner of the Seas, Divina and Seascape in Nassau today. Photo taken from the boat over to Blue Lagoon Island (so beautiful here)

I will ask our DR manager tonight if he has that info From what they have told us Christmas and New Year’s week had the most people of any sailing in 2022. He told us the avg had been between 2400-2800 pax

On a positive note I’ve heard a lot of “excuse me” and “sorry” the last 12 hrs lol

Reading your post is like deja vu Been on this ship two other times once in Europe and last year in Caribbean out of Cape Canaveral We are not liking what what we see as far as the type of pax MSC is attracting. Definitely has a Carnival vibe. Yesterday when the new pax started boarding we were by the pool. In a matter of an hour hot tubs were taken over by what looked to be Spring Break aged pax swearing and drinking one after the other. The last 10 days we were not allowed to have a drink while in the hot tub. Yesterday the bar service people were bringing drinks to the people while in the hot tub. I heard a lady question the server and he just shrugged. Dinner was long in the MDR last night. Our server Genarose kept apologizing that the food wasn’t ready etc. Wish we had gotten off yesterday. We shall see what the next couple of days brings our way. Not liking the Miami based cruise on MSC as much as we liked our first two cruises. Really feel bad for the crew if this is what they have to endure the next few months. No need to post menus and planner as it is a repeat of our first days on board.

We were on the ship by 11:15 on 12/30th which is why we were so surprised at the delay today. I guess it changes week to week.

I definitely think our itinerary was the reason for such a thorough immigration process. Some older guests feel it is because of the problems with MSC’s cargo business that they’re being scrutinized Who knows what it is I just hope it won’t be like this on Friday when we get off.

What was your read on the avg age of passengers waiting in the terminal? On the pool deck now and it is looking like a Spring Break crowd. God help us all🤪

Our immigration experience was the smoothest we’ve ever had. He stamped our passports and took our pics. Never asked us anything. Once they took the B2B pax into the terminal they separated us into 2 groups US Citizens and non US Citizens. It played out like the people employed by the port had never processed B2B pax before. They were asking MSC reps where we should go and vice versa. Not sure why it was as disorganized as it was but hopefully they learned something and it will be a smoother transition for the next group of pax doing B2B. The terminal looked full. Sorry for those folks waiting hours to board. I hope their cruise improves once they’re on board.

Heading to the ship. Me and hubby will be the first ones back on. Yay

Never said it was MSC’s fault. The port authorities are unorganized.

Okay we’re through immigration. First ones. Once the others are through we can board together and then you guys will board.

We’re going to immigration now yay Spoke too soon. They stopped us again. 😏