Shadow205

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Love MSC but have also cruised with other cruise lines. The main difference and downside, for me, is that there are no real observation decks/bars/ or solarium, with frontal views. There is no way to access the "front of the ship". This is particularly true of the latest ships that have the Yacht Club. For example, if you compare the "Preziosa" with Celebrity Eclipse, you will see there is a Sky Observation Lounge. On the "Preziosa" there is nothing like that.

 

I must say, my husband wasn't all that fussed. For me, I will cruise MSC again (have booked Meraviglia) but wouldn't sail MSC if it were for a major celebration or unless I was staying in the Yacht Club!

Would you mind elaborating on why you wouldn't sail MSC for a special celebration? I am considering booking for our 40th anniversary and don't want to regret it. I have spent two days reading and still haven't decided.

Im going through the same dilemma as the OP. With the KSF AND the 2 for 1 balcony promo, the Divina is literally 1/2 the price for us compared to anything else we could do. I can say I have seen the ship in person (we docked next to it on my last cruise) and it looks great. From what I read I think (and could be way off) if you are going to compare it to another line, maybe Princess? I like Princess so maybe that is wishful thinking...Not trying to hijack, but can anyone confirm my hypothesis?

I am trying to decide on whether to book the Divine too. Princess is our favorite line so your comparison to Princess is a positive for me. The only reason that I am considering another line is Princess isn't in the Caribbean at the end of May. The ship is beautiful. The only thing that I have seen so far that is a negative for me is food presentation. I know that might seem petty but I do enjoy the beautiful food displays. I guess as long as the foods good I could overlook the detail, lol. The 2 for 1 balcony special is hard to pass up. I am also trying to decide whether to pay the extra for the YC. It looks very nice and still a reasonable price compared to say Norwegians Haven. Can't anyone comment on a comparison of those two?

I have really enjoyed your review. Thank you for sharing! I am planning our 40th wedding anniversary cruise and considering trying MSC Divina/Eastern Caribbean at the end of May. You information has been really helpful.

My favorite is Antiqua. Aruba, Grand Turk, St. Martin, Grand Caymen, .....I think that it would be easier to name the islands with not so great beaches. I personally don't care for the black sand beaches. :)

Could you come back and let us know how B406 is? I'll be staying in it in a few months and would love the feedback. Have a great cruise!

Sure will. I plan to write a complete review of the Royal and the Islands we visit. :)

TracieABD, We arrived in Ft Lauderdale today and anxious to board the Royal tomorrow. I have my fingers & toes crossed for you and your Mom. See you at the meet and greet! Get rid of that negative Mojo cause "Every little things gonna be alright." :D

dmwnc1959, Thanks for posting these pictures. They are the best that I have seen of this cat cabin. We are in B406 which I assume will be the same. We board tomorrow for 20 days. Yea!

We got our cabin assignment on 01/21 for our upcoming cruise leaving this Wednesday 01/28th. We had booked a IA gty and that is what we got. It is one of the sideway IA's midship. It appears to be a perfect location:) No visit from the upgrade fairy this time but we are happy with what we got. Midship location was our priority and that is where we are.

Anyone used this company for a tour? How was it?

Bridgetown to Holetown, North Point, Bathsheba and back to Bridgetown. In port from 9:00am to 6:00pm. Would there be enough time?

I used that strategy for the Royal Caribbean Maiden. Didn't work for me. We got our assignments about 2 weeks prior and got IA for both legs of our b2b. We were very happy with both assignments. Loved the ship.

 

I have done a few GTYs. Mostly booked the lowest inside and were upgraded each time. Sometimes more than once.

The thing is that I booked the highest IA because of the location which is great, not in hopes of being upgraded to a balcony. Like I said, if there were to be an upgrade, it could only be to a balcony. That would be icing on the cake. We will be perfectly happy with the plain cake. :D

Yes, Platinum still gets some free internet minutes depending on the length of the cruise:

150 minutes - 7 days or less

250 minutes - 8 thru 20 days

500 minutes - 21+ days

 

LuLu

There are some people who do not use the internet. Is there a way that they could give there minutes to someone else?

I will keep my fingers crossed that you get an upgrade. And I will look forward to hearing about it at the Meet and Greet!

TY Tracie! I look forward to meeting you too. I am so happy with doing the 20 days (1st one more than 7 nights) that I'd be happy in the cargo area, :eek: lol, just kidding on that one.

We are 11 days out from boarding the Royal for 20 nights. We booked in July with final payment in November. We have yet to be assigned. My strategy was this. We decided to go with an inside for the price difference. This enabled us to do 20 instead of 10 nights. I booked the highest inside (IA) which is a great location midship. Now, if there were to be an upgrade, it would be to a balcony. I know it could be a balcony in a less desirable location and obstructed but it would be a balcony. To get a balcony at the price we paid would be great, either way we will be happy.

I think that the important thing(as so many here have said)is book what you will be happy with. If you get upgraded, that is icing on the cake.

"Woe is me", not at all. I love surprises! I think the anticipation adds to the excitement leading up to the cruise. I also enjoy reading about others gty assignments. Some people like to make choices ahead of time and have control of their arrangements which is fine. Some are a little more adventurous and go with a gty. To each his own. The main thing is to enjoy your cruise, make the most of whatever the assignment, be happy and be nice to others. As Forrest Gump said "And that's all I've got to say about that." :D

Ask the taxi driver to drop you off "beachside" at La Cabana http://wikimapia.org/#lang=en&lat=12.551830&lon=-70.054657&z=18&m=b

Are taxi's in the area to get you back to the ship or do you have to call for one to pick you up? How much travel time should you allow?

Boarding The Royal 01/27/15. I got the email today but no movies listed. There was a short video about MUTS.

I have a question about MUTS during the day. What types of music is played? Is it pretty much continuous or is there some times that there is live music? I can't imagine being on a ship enjoying the pool/deck area without some nice island tunes playing. Every ship that I have been on has had a nice Reggae band that played frequently.

All we want to do is have a nice day on the beach with chairs, umbrellas, drinks, food and sandy beach. Is this possible in Bonaire? We would love something like nachi cocum in Cozumel. Anyone know of anything like this?

 

I have been looking for the same thing. Spice Beach Club looks like a possibility.

 

http://www.bonairebest.com/dining-drinks/spice-beach-club/

Sooo, what is the fantastic offer?

Glad to hear all of the positive feedback! Getting pretty excited:D

The first time that we cruised on Princess was on the Grand. We got a "Move over" offer that was just to good to pass up. Luckily we had the flexibility to be able to move our date up by 1 week. We were upgraded from a balcony to an aft Owners Suite with all of the amenities. We were also given $500obc. We were very happy and made a great 25th anniversary cruise even better. We also renewed our vows on the ship. Princess did an awesome job with the ceremony. We have cruised on other lines but Princess is our favorite by far. :D

I have seen many posts about uncomfortable beds on Princess ships. Several posters have said that they request an egg crate topper for their mattress. I came across this information today on the Princess website:

http://www.princess.com/downloads/pdf/ships/royal_princess.pdf

"Every stateroom on the Royal and the Regal have a pillow-top mattress"

Comments from those who have cruised on these ships about the beds comfort?

But you will have a greater chance of upgrade if you pay for the cruise but DON'T pick a cabin.

 

Terry

We booked an IA GTY for our 20 day on Royal for 01/28. 20 days to go and still no cabin assignment. We either get what we booked, which is a great location as they are all midship. The next step up would be an obstructed balcony. The way that I way I see it, we are in a win win situation. I'll let you know how that plays out.:cool:

We are going on the Royal for a ten day cruise. My husband is having a lot of back pain. Usually we would be doing a lot of excursions, but with his back problems our excursions will be limited. I'm wondering if the Enclave is worth the money. Wondering how those that have used it liked it. And are the various features unisex? We would like to be able to enjoy it together.

delynn72, My husband also has back problems and he loved the area similar to the Enclave on another ship. He said that it really helped his back. I think that a trade off for The Enclave instead of excursions would be a good choice. Enjoy your cruise! We will be boarding for 20days on the Royal 01/28.

Did anyone ever find Patters for Royal 10 day or 20 day Southern Itinerary?

Would appreciate specific information for the Crown and Star on what open deck areas are available for smoking. We want to obey the rules and the information will help us in cabin selection. Thank you.

 

This should help you out. Enjoy your cruise!