Asecert

Thank you for sharing, I appreciate it.  Do you recall if they were offering any specialty dining packages?  The last time I was on the Horizon they had an offer for 3 specialty dining venues at a reduced rate.

We've used Resort for a Day in the past and had no issues at all.  I do believe different vendors have different allotments for each property, so I wouldn't be worried.

We were in cabin 16019 for the January 26th, 2020 sailing and loved it.  We did not hear any extra noise from the solarium or stairway.  As others mentioned, there is a glass door that requires a yacht club keycard or wristband to enter the hallway, so you don't have to worry about non-yacht club guests wandering around the hallway.  This glass door is near the cabin entrance which makes it perfect for leaving the yacht club area (no need to go all the way back around the concierge desk to exit) and it is rarely used by other guests.

14 hours ago, NCTribeFan said:

Got home last night at about 10:15 after hours of sitting in the airport in Ft Lauderdale.  I'll probably try to write up a quick review at some point but I'm back at work this morning, so not sure when.

 

I really enjoyed the cruise and Cuba was marvelous!  On Saturday night, DD & I were sitting on a short stone wall waiting for our Strawberry (free) Nightlife Tour to start at 8 pm and I looked at her and said "it's Saturday night and we're in Havana!!" and we both just laughed.  It was great.  I want to go back and I want to go now!

How was the Strawberry Nightlife tour?  We will be on the Armonia sailing this Monday and we have both the Strawberry Nightlife and Food tours booked.

I wonder if they are referring to proof of government employment. I believe if you book with a government rate (usually 5-10% off) you are required to submit proof within a certain timeframe.

Yay!!! Another Maureen live report! Enjoy your cruise and thanks for bringing us all along for the fun. I'm counting down the days until I'll be onboard Seaside... 84 days to go.

Well that certainly sounds.....not ideal:). I’ve settled on the Seaview - Yacht Club so not an issue - I’m surprised how far out those suites fill up as we are booked for October 2019 - now, I just need to convince my husband it’s worth it! [emoji3]

Yes, Yacht Club is definitely the way to go and they do fill up quickly!! Both of my current Yacht Club cruises we booked more than a year in advance.

Hello - I realize I’m resurrecting a pretty old thread but - we are seasoned Princess cruisers looking to try either the NCL Epic or the MSC Seaview in the Med fall of 2019 - price is close enough to not really factor in....curious about current opinions and comparisons between these two lines and/or Princess. Thanks!!

In comparing just the ships, I would pick Seaside. The NCL Epic is older (2010) and the Seaside has the bonus of being brand new. One major complaint people have about the Epic is the bathroom configuration in the cabins, especially if you are travelling with someone who is not your significant other. The Epic cabins have an open-bathroom floorplan; when you walk into the cabin, the toilet area is to the left and the shower is on the right (or vice versa)- both only have a frosted sliding door separating them from the cabin, meaning anyone in the cabin can somewhat see, hear, and smell what is happening :o. I think there may be a curtain that you can pull to close off the "bathroom" area. Also, the sink is actually in the cabin area, so you are limited on the usual bathroom shelving/storage space.

Missthesea,

Have a wonderful time on your cruise! Which spa package did you pre-book? We will be in the YC on Seaside in December...seems so far from now ;)

Thank you for sharing your great review. My daughter has recently decided she would like to go to Cuba as her graduation present next year, and this itinerary would be perfect.

Just got back from our cruise on the Grandeur and while in Antigua on 03/09/18 spent the day at Beach Limerz.

Well let me tell you it's going to be along time in my opinion till there's a beach there again. Rough sea's have

completely washed the beach away. Gail told me she is waiting Mother Nature to bring her beach back.That's going to take some time.Had a day pass but spent most of our day at the bar as the waves were still high.The meal we got was excellent.I feel the $130 for the day pass plus the $30 taxi fare round trip was a lot.There was no way you could even consider going in the water.

Thanks for sharing your experience. We were there on December 12, 2017 and had pretty calm waves. We opted to do the PAYGO option which turned out to be perfect for the 2 of us.

Sent from my LG-H634 using Tapatalk

Acadie,

Thanks for sharing your great Divina review. I agree that she is a stunningly beautiful ship! We have cruised on the Divina several times, and she is as beautiful and well-maintained now as she was on our first Divina cruise 4 years ago.

Steamboats,

I love your review and pictures so far. I appreciate that you are going deck by deck describing where everything is. I can't wait until I sail on Seaside in December (seems sooo far away). I can't wait for part 2!

Can i ask why are you doing Dunn's River falls? Is it because its the done thing to do and everyone does it?

 

If the answer is yes, then i recommend you save your $75. We did this as part of a 3 stop tour in Ocho Rios a few years back. We booked an excursion for the Blue hole, Dunn's River Falls & River Tubing. I've just looked up the excursion operator who is charging $60 for this package currently. I'm not sure if i'm allowed to tell you here which company it was??

 

The Blue hole is just stunning with a far more impressive waterfall system that Dunn's. Dunn's is just a tourist trap and is way over commercialized and so spoils its beauty. you are literally dragged up the falls along with hundreds of other people. The tubing on our tour was so relaxing as you watch the canopy float by.

 

If you want beauty, waterfall jumping and river swimming then the blue hole every time!

I completely agree with Stuart. The few times we have been to Jamaica, we have always booked our own independent excursions which turned out to be much cheaper than the cruise line's tours. We have done the Blue Hole which is absolutely amazing- beautiful waterfalls and nowhere near as crowded as Dunn's which means you have more time to actually enjoy your surroundings. We also add on river tubing, Shaw Park Garden, beach time (usually Bamboo Blue), and lunch.

We have used Marvyn's Paradise Tours in the past and he is awesome! We emailed him with the activities we were interested in doing and he promptly responded with additional info, suggestions and pricing. The cost for us to have our own completely private tour (just the 2 of us) was not much more than booking a ship excursion. With 8 people in your party, I am sure you can get a great rate (less than the $600 from MSC).

I recommend looking at some reviews on Trip Advisor for tour operators and get a few quotes, just so you can explore all of your options.

: $ 3,921.48 Includes $ 243.48 government fees & taxes, this is what I just got for the 2/17/18 sailing for 2 people in Fantastica Balcony!!!! Doesn't that sound really high?

Susan,

Your total does seem really high. Could that pricing be for the 14 night sailing? The MSC website will show sailings as either 7 night or 14 night (B2B). I just priced out the 7 night sailing for 2/17/18 for 2 people in a fantastica balcony and got $1,982 including $244 govt taxes and fees ($869 plus $122 taxes per person).

Thank you for your review. We are looking forward to our Seaside Yacht Club cruise we have booked for December. One of the things we loved about the Divina is the cultural mix of passengers.

On Divina YC is included in the behind the scenes tour, you are told YC'ers can invite guests for a fee, so many dollars per person per time, all YC areas, including cabins. You also get a there and then offer of 50% off YC for your next cruise. You have to accept this offer before you leave YC.

Wow, I guess I missed that offer. I was on the Divina for the 12/9 sailing in Yacht Club. We did the behind the scenes tour, but I don't recall them making us that offer during the tour - it would have saved me big bucks because we booked Seaside Yacht Club for this upcoming December :confused::(

That sounds awful. RCI stopped requiring taking the vests to mustering years ago. Do you remember what time the drill was for a 7 p.m. departure?

 

Sent from my SM-T713 using Forums mobile app

Hi Karen,

The last 2 times we were on Divina this year, the drill was at 4:30pm. We only have 2 days to go!! I'm looking forward to seeing you at the Meet & Mingle.

Have sent two emails to Gail at the info email and still no answer. Is there another contact I’m missing. It’s been about four or so days since first one.

You may want to try Gail again. I've received 2 emails from her today just confirming our upcoming trip on 12/12 and arranging where we will meet our driver. I've used the info@beachlimerz.com email as well. She is usually pretty quick to respond to emails, but there was one time a few weeks ago when I emailed her and didn't get a response. After several days, I emailed her again and got a quick response. Apparently, she never got that one email. Gail is such a sweetheart, try emailing her one more time.

'

 

I only see two ships listed on the schedule that was just revised last October. Yours is one of the two.

 

http://www.viport.com/documents/CruiseSchedules/2017_NovandDecOnly_CrownBay_AS%20OF2017Oct27.pdf

 

Keith

Keith,

Unfortunately, that October revision is an old schedule. The VINow website has recently updated their schedule this month to include those cruise ship itineraries that have been revised due to the hurricanes. The updated cruise schedule can be found directly on the ViNow website in the top right-hand corner. There will be 5 ships in port that day. :(

If you don't mind, can you please report back after your trip to let us know what you decided to do and how bad the crowds were. We will be there on 12/13 with a total of 6 cruise ships and 17,000+ passengers. We were originally planning to go to Sapphire beach because we heard they were less crowded and had decent snorkeling, but I'm not so sure now.

Here is a link for the St. Thomas cruise schedules showing which ships are docking at Havensight (West Indian Co) and Crown Bay.

www dot vinow dot com and in the top right corner there should be a link for 'Cruise Ship Schedule'

MSC should automatically be processing refunds for any excursions booked for the cancelled port. I would probably call them just to confirm because they can be a little slow with their refund process.

Sandals only has the Grande Antigua resort now; they sold the Pineapple last year I think. Depending on when you are going, Sandals Grande Antigua may not be available- they are closed until December 17, 2017 for maintenance/renovations. I was looking to do a day pass for my cruise the week of December 9th, but they won't be open so I'm looking for alternative options now.

It's from Divina - currency is Euros onboard cruises in the Med.

Thank you [emoji4]