Mikesa1721

It looks like they changed up the itineraries for those sailings. Nassau looks to replace the stop at NCL's private island, Great Stirrup Cay, and St. Maartin has been replaced with St. Thomas.

Mike i see your upcoming trips, wow i guess you loved the YACHT CLUB. Enjoy.

Riclop,,I hear a lot of people say that once you've had a balcony stateroom it's hard to go back to an interior,,well,,, that's kind of the same thing with us and the Yacht Club. Once we've experienced it, it would be hard for us to book anywhere else on the ship.:D

We booked the captains suite on the Sunshine for just over a year from now! So excited!

 

 

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We had the Captains Suite on the Valor back in March. Loved the large balcony!!

Please can anyone or multiple give their opinion about this package.

Plus and minus of buying this package

Which Allegrissimo package and which ship Lei??

The Yacht Club is an amazing experience and, if you can afford it, is a no-brainer. Great great service, no lines, no crowds, just about everything included, private pool and sun deck, private dining room, private lounge, etc, etc, etc. We loved it so much we have booked two more YC cruises on the Divina.

Agree 100% with you Danbee. After our first sailing on Divina in the Yacht Club back in May, we booked 4 more sailings once we returned. If you have the means, the Yacht Club is definitely an amazing experience.

But to stay true to this thread, we hope MSC doesn't Americanize Divina or the new builds should they send one to Miami, to much. We love the "Med Way", we love Divina, that's what makes her different from everyone else.:D

Yes, April 11-18 to King's Wharf. Didn't have anything in mind until I read your post about Bermuda. Thanks. Forgot the Divina was making a one time sailing.

It will be an outstanding trip.

They use to have one and three day bus/water transport tickets at the pier. Several years ago we were docked in Hamilton for 3 days and got the pass. If they are still selling those, we will buy one for the full day we are in Bermuda. I will look into it. It's public transportation and an education in itself. It allows you to see the entire island.

Nice!!! Since this will be our first time in Bermuda, I think that would be a good idea for us.

Just booked this cruise. We have been to Bermuda a few times, but many years ago when it was more affordable and then about 10 yrs. ago on the Celebrity Horizon.

Having sailed MSC on the Poesia and the Opera I know this will be a fabulous trip.

We are also sailing on the Divina Sept. 13.

Can't seem to get enough of the sea!

April 11th Joy?? If so I might have to start a roll call.:D

Still nothing? The cruise ended quite a while ago. ..

 

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Maybe they stayed for the World Cup?? I forgot to ask Marco what their plans were after they debarked on the 6th of June.

No need for towel check in and out in the Yacht Club. We were brought two towels each once we selected our loungers, the pool attendant even draped them over our chairs for us, nice little touch. We never had to return the towels back to the pool attendant station either. Yet another bonus for booking Yacht Club accommodations.:D

Kat, we would disagree!

We found the Divina a very acceptable, enjoyable cruise, and we are Americans with a long cruise history(20 plus years) of traveling on American cruise lines!

We think a lot of the negative is angry people venting who live inside a black cloud!:D

The Divina is a very beautiful ship with better entertainment then most ships(we still like the RCL Broadway series the best), great drink packages(they free pour), and the Divina's buffet (not perfect) is one of the best at sea!

And we got all this in a Divina balcony for 2 weeks for $2000. total when we bought!

I'll compare that to any American cruise, we did before we bought, and even with our benefits from other cruise lines like RCL as Diamond+/casino club members, the Divina came out on top!

But if someone thinks 'American' service is rude behavior by employees who constantly ask you to buy, buy, buy, buy, or think you need to hear the loud speaker announcements every 3 minutes about everything you care less about, they are sadly mistaken! The Divina doesn't have this rude behavior!

There will be many Americans who will appreciate the Adult Style of Classy cruising on the Divina!:D

First let me say you will love this cruise. I took MSC to Bermuda a few years ago. The ship docks in Bermuda and you can come and go as you please. The casinos are not open while in port. Bermuda is a nice, clean island but they close up early. Thankfully there were some cool bars at the docks that stayed open later.

 

Just FYI depending on the weather is can be cool in Bermuda and the water is colder than a Florida boy is use too :D. Hope this helps.

Thanks for the tips Maverick!! Having never been to Bermuda, we have no idea what to expect, but we like that the ship stays in port for a couple of days. This gives us a chance to explore Bermuda at our own pace.

Thanks for your replies, will apply once been on the 1st cruise (Fantasia) for 3 days.

Just noticed that in the 2015/16 brochure downloadable from the MSC site it states under the terms and conditions that you can apply to be a Club member if you have been on at least 1 cruise or have a cruise booked.

Phil

We applied before our first 3 day cruise this past May. We received the points from that sailing, 2 for the nights at sea,,and 2 for the $400.00 we spent onboard.:D

Well, that stinks. :p We always have a big onboard account, because of extra food & beverages. Our last cruise would have put us a couple points shy of silver on that cruise alone, if it were on MSC. With YC, we shouldn't need to pay a lot extra for better food & definitely wouldn't spend nearly as much on beverages, so we would miss out on a lot of potential points. Oh well, with MSC only having one ship in the US, we wouldn't sail on them often enough to worry much about a loyalty program anyway.

Even though we are in the Yacht Club we'll still manage to have a $2k+ tab at the end of the cruise. Between shore excursions, spa packages, champagne packages, and some form of Allegrissimo, we'll be close to that number this coming August.

Does Yacht Club receive more points per night? Our onboard spending would be substantially less, if we book YC. Normally, we'd get a lot of points for onboard spending, if in a balcony.

Nope :(

Does anyone know if the Divina docks or tenders in Bermuda??

 

Also is the Casino open during the 3 days there?

Divina will dock in Bermuda, as far as the casinos being open, I'm not sure. We'll be on Divina's April 11th 2015 voyage to Bermuda so I guess I'll find out then:D

I just talked to my PVC and he told me currently there is no way to check your point total on the U.S. site,,I have to either call or use InfoPoint onboard.:(

THe only way I have found so far is to ask the MSC info point on board

 

they can produce you a print out like this

 

 

 

 

 

 

You should be able to log on to your local MSC CLub web site and with just your membership number have access. You will have to create an account first. by registering and threre you can find your total..

It's a good idea to have the final invoice from the cruise which shows all your on board spend to prove that you have earned the points

Unfortunately Skier,,The US site only allows me to view my reservations and preferences and that's about it. There's no area to enter my MSC Club membership number. Looks like they still have some work to do on their website.:confused:

How do points and nights equate to the different levels?

Classic---> 1-21 points

Silver---> 22-42 points

Gold---> 43-99 points

Black---> 100+ points

each night spent onboard = 1 point

every $200.00 spent onboard = 1 point

Before our first, three day cruise on Divina in May, we had signed up for the MSC Club prior to our sailing. We received our MSC Club membership number as well as our 5% discounts on all of our future sailings after that first cruise. We haven't received our cards yet but were told they usually take 6 to 8 weeks. I do wish there was a way to access your points though, just to be sure they are accurate. I guess for now I will hang onto our onboard spending receipts just in case.

I think every cruise line allows smoking in the casino-no problem for me as I am not a casino fan anyway.

 

The problem with our last HAL cruise was, since their competition has stopped the smoking on balconies, they have a much higher percentage of smokers. It was close to 50%, when it was 20%, I had no problem with HAL.We even had a chain smoker next door to us on our balcony on a cruise in 2008, but it was not a problem as the smoke quickly dissipated. I loved HAL back then. it seems a small amount of smoke dissipates quickly.

 

Our last HAL cruise, there were much larger amounts which carried over to the not smoking areas nearby the smoking areas.

I knew I wasn't crazy when I never saw or smelled cigarette smoke in the casino.

Following a recent wave of cruise line’s altering their onboard smoking policies, MSC Cruises has altered the smoking policies for the MSC Divina’s Caribbean sailings.

Here is the full statement from MSC:

“Effective November 2nd 2012, when MSC Divina’s Grand Voyage departs Venice en route to Miami, smoking areas on MSC Divina will be limited to two general areas: the Cigar Lounge and port side of designated outside decks (away from all bars and food areas). The Top Sail Lounge, located in the prestigious and private MSC Yacht Club, and the Black & White Lounge will also become 100% non-smoking. In addition, the casino has been designated as non-smoking. At the discretion of the casino manager, smoking will be occasionally allowed for playing guests, during certain hours and in limited areas that will be clearly designated as smoking permitted.

I was incorrect about the smoking section being on the starboard side,,it is port side,,can never keep those two sides straight.

When we where on Divina last year there was no charge for the solarium area which was supposed to be adults only but was never policed and was always full of kids.There was a separate spa area on a higher deck which was charged for but we didn't use it.Smoking was not allowed on balconies but is allowed in the casino and certain bar areas and on one side of the pool deck.

Wotaripper,,we were on Divina in May and smoking was NOT allowed in the casino, however smoking was allowed in the cigar bar and on the starboard side of the ship.

Please do not flame me here...I am genuinely asking a question because I do not know what is appropriate and would appreciate feedback. (Feedback not criticism!)

 

Is it appropriate to tip extra (above the daily hotel charge) to certain staff for certain things? Ex. We like to order room service sweets to wake us from a nap. On every other cruise we would tip the person who brought it.

 

That being said I am a big rule follower, and MSC website says it does not recommend tipping individual staff. I assume this policy is in place for a reason, even if I don't know what it is. I respect that...because I respect rules! My husband however believes we should be tipping extra like we are accustomed to doing.

 

Any thoughts?

 

 

 

 

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Jen,,we stay in the Yacht Club and even though we pay a premium already, we tipped everyone extra, from our butler, to the One Bar bartenders, and even the pool attendant. Everyone we were in contact with went above and beyond our expectations so handing them an extra gratuity expressed our appreciation for their great service.:D

What are the names of the 10th and 11th decks?

Deck 10---> Giunone

Deck 11---> Iride

Very nice clip...great moonwalking ...dancers are terrific, BTW....I don't mind if he lip-syncs because I already knew that, but his dancing is tremendous....

All the dancers including the dancer portraying Michael Jackson were all in the Galaxy Disco later that night. We were able to dance and talk with them for a little bit. The dancer portraying Michael talked just like him,,it was so funny.

This review is a bit late, a lot of life got in the way post cruise. It won’t be a day by day review with pictures just some information for those thinking about cruising with MSC.

 

I cruised with 2 other friends, that I met on a previous cruises. We are all veteran cruisers, I have cruised with several lines for a total of 35 cruises. We booked this cruise because MSC was running a super sale and the prices were too good to pass up and since it was an unknown line and ship it was a perfect time to try it out. We booked a back to back for the March 15th and March 22nd sailings. However we disembarked on the 22nd and didn’t return for the second half of the trip. These are my opinions and observations only.

 

Pre cruise planning is not MSC’s strong point the website is not very intuitive, but it can be done. Everything you sign up for is charged to your onboard account so nothing is prepaid. Not a deal breaker but I like to get a lot of that out of the way ahead of time so I don’t have a big bill getting off the ship.

 

I will address the things that MSC did well first, as they weren’t many. Their drink packages are a good value. They offer several options, from all inclusive to very tailored, in the form of coupons and on your card. All depending on the package you chose.

 

The cabins were nice nothing exceptional but roomy with plenty of storage. I had a decent size balcony. My couch had a nasty rip in it that never got fixed, though I was told it was going to be fixed. My room attendant was the only stand out on the ship. He was awesome and went way above what was expected on a couple of occasions.

 

The ship itself was well maintained, the staff was constantly cleaning and wiping. Aesthetically the ship was nice, not over the top gorgeous as I was led to believe but nice. The Solstice class ships are nicer in my opinion.

 

There were some hidden jewels…the gelato is delicious and the sports bar had really good fare. It’s worth an afternoon trip. The pizza in the buffet was pretty good, certainly worth a late night trip and the make your own sandwiches (in the buffet) were decent.

 

We did the winemaking class, which was a treat. It’s a outside program, but you do get to mix wine and take the bottle(s) home with your own label.

 

The rest.

 

My first disappointment of the cruise happened only 10 minutes after embarking. We were placed on late dining but had requested early. So when I boarded I went straight to the Maître ‘d to see if we could have it changed. When I got to the front of the line I explained my issue to the Maitre ‘d (who looked totally disinterested) and his first response was “Did you really expect to get your choice in seating when you booked the cruise so late?” I was flabbergasted. Never in all of my cruises had I experienced such rudeness. I am a pretty low maintenance cruiser, I don’t complain unless it’s a severe infraction. So we continued I explained to him that my cruise ticket had early dining on it but my card said late and then I politely asked him if there were any seats left in early for us. Again a rude response, instead of just saying not at the moment, he said “I already explained this to you”, which he hadn’t so at this point I’m losing my patience. He finally puts us on a waiting list. Before I stepped away I asked him about my drink vouchers (because my instructions said to retrieve them from the maitre ‘d). Again rude, he said they would be at our table that evening. It’s early afternoon at this point, so I said I have to pay for any drinks I want until 8:45 tonight even though I purchased a drink package? His response was “What you can’t wait until tonight to drink?” at this point the gentleman sitting next to him piped up and said I will help you with that. He directed me to the casino bar to pick up my vouchers, how simple was that? Nothing was easy on this trip..a lot of misinformation and misdirection. I initially blew this off as the only glitch in the trip. How wrong I was. We did get moved to early seating on the second night of the cruise.

 

Food is always a matter of opinion I have not been on any cruise line where I think the food is exceptional. I have had some really good meals but nothing super special. With that being said the food was on par with most lines, the biggest issue is lack of choices in the MDR. The few pasta dishes I tried were pretty good, but most nights just about everyone at our table ordered from the alternative menu (the steak). The biggest problem we had a dinner was the rude staff (new table-early seating). Our waiter was not personable at all. On the first night he wanted us to order our dessert with dinner, some at the table did some did not. I did not, so when dessert time came around he stuck the menu in my face and said “order something”, I hadn’t even had a chance to look at the menu, since he only brought one menu back to the table other people wanted to look at the menu to change their orders. He informed them that they couldn’t do that. What a joke, he then snatched the menu from them and put it back in my face and said order again…for that very act I took my sweet time and some of the others changed their orders, which in no way made him happy. This happened again on the second night, even after we went to guest relations

 

Entertainment. Everyone raved about the entertainment on the ship. It was a bit disappointing. The first night the show was Alice (in wonderland- of sorts). It was a cirque style show. It was a good show, but every show after was pretty much the same routines with some added stunts here and there just different costumes. If it wasn’t cirque style it was opera. I don’t have a problem with opera or classical music but it gets repetitive and boring. They did a Michael Jackson show which was laughable at best. It was all lip synced and the even the “moonwalking” was faked by a sliding stage. When they actually sung a song it was with an Italian accent. After the main shows there was very little to do on the ship in the evenings. There was a piano bar but it was small and always packed. Not much to do on sea days either.

 

On the third day of the cruise we had made a decision that we couldn’t do another week on this ship. We went to guest relations and cancelled our next voyage. The cruise was cheap enough that we weren’t going to lose much and we’d get our taxes back (which were more than the cost of the cruise). All said my cruise motto has been even the worse cruise is better than being at work, but this one proved to be the exception.

 

Final notes, the ship is difficult to navigate, lots of dead ends and up and downs to move forward. The photo place is right in the middle of the only thoroughfare on the ship that goes from bow to stern without a detour…so it is always congested and hard to move through.

 

The MDR is table on top of table, literally no room to move around. Several times we would have to get out of our seats for waiters to move around the table or for others to get to their tables. I know ships tend to pack them in but I have never seen a dining room as tight as this.

 

I think I have said all I need to say, again these are my observations.

Really???? You may want to watch this video. I was in the front row and stood up to film him moonwalking.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyIsC3PDok0&feature=youtu.be