urc12

Sailing the Getaway in a little over two weeks. Thank you for the phenomenal review!

I think that you all are missing the point. Smoking on your balcony is a fire hazard. Remember the Star Princess?

WOW! That was an awesome video. Thank you!

I just got off the Empress and I couldn't agree more about your review. You were dead on about the food, the lamb and salmon were good, but most everything else was bad to very bad, especially the Windjammer and all the desserts. I did have a great time and met some great people, however the Empress is not for me and I could not imagine paying the high prices to go to Cuba for just one day on that ship. I plan on giving a full review soon.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

Thank you 2 Hearted. I'm glad you reminded me. The desserts were awful. Everything was jello based. Ordered an almond tart and got a piece of sponge cake. Rice pudding was like Elmer's Glue. Weird stuff!

The appearance of the ship was very nice. The public spaces looked clean and fresh. No excess wear in the public places. The stateroom was a little worn and the toilet was missing a bolt and that left a rather nasty looking hole.

We saw live music in the Centrum, on the pool deck and in the theater. There may have been more. Almost all of the recorded music was Latin. They are getting ready for the Cuba run I guess.

I didn't visit the Viking Lounge at night but they did have a pretty good piano player at the Schooner bar from 9 to 11 every night. It was sing a long stuff. It was fun once you had a few drinks in you. They had movies at night by the pool. We saw Jason Bourne.

We cruised on the Empress from 1/12 to 1/16 on the 4 nighter to Nassau and Key West. The itinerary was modified to overnight in Nassau. We had an ok trip but nothing great. We did our research and knew that the ship was small and older. Food was OK. The lamb shank on the first night was very good. Selections were limited. A couple of salmon dishes each night a couple of chicken dishes, a veggie dish and a borderline quality meet dish. Stay away from the Short Ribs on day 2. Service was hit or miss. We had My Time and we had the same wait staff every night. There was little to no wait at 7:30 and they always got us out in time for the 9:00 show.

Chops had great steaks but the sides and the sauces were cold and came out well after the steaks. Our waiter may have been new and he seemed on the verge of a panic attack through our the meal. When we tried to share our concern, he just kind of looked at us wide eyed and bolted off mid sentence. Never really saw a manager. The dinning room was very casual. I saw lots of shorts and tee shirts at dinner. No big deal for me.

The small pool and the hot tubs were jammed with younger kids. This was the first cruise that I didn't get in to either the hot tub or pool.

No art auction, one Bingo, and your regular array of poolside games. Three comedy shows and two production shows. I thought they were very good. The steel drum band by the pool was excellent and the sun beds and hammocks on the Sun Deck were a very nice touch.

We had the Royal Replenishment packages and it was disappointing. All the bottle water was served warm. Several complaints brought no change. We were told that Pellegrino was not included in the plan. The F&D director said he would check, took our room number and never got back to us.

The little coffee bar in Boleros was exceptional. And Bolero's is a very cool space but slightly underutilized. The casino was small and pretty hot. Not much energy but you could find a seat at the 6.00 and 10.00 blackjack tables most of the time.

We had an outside room 4650 and it was a little bigger that I expected. Fine for two but four would be impossible. Small but workable bathroom and a firm bed. The room steward was almost invisible but he kept the room neat and the ice bucket full.

We weren't expecting a trip of a life time but we were expecting a little more of that old time small ship experience. It just wasn't there. Four days was enough.

The casino on the Empress is non smoking. Looking forward to spending time there in January.

Smoking on the balcony is a huge safety issue. Does anyone remember the fire in the Star Princess? How selfish do you have to be to put thousands of peoples lives at risk?

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/11975460/ns/us_news-life/t/cigarette-eyed-cause-cruise-blaze/incess?

We just booked on MSC Davina after I was ticked off at current highway robbery prices with Royal and Celebrity. We and another family are excited to try a more European experience. And yes they acknowledged our Diamond/Elite status without question. Plus the kids free is a HUGE bonus.

Good luck.

We have done the exact same thing for this summer! We got a S1 Suite for the four of us with the drink package and a spa treatment for 4200.00. A comparable suite the same week on RCCL's Freedom was 11,900 without the drink package or spa treatment. MSC HERE WE COME!

I am glad the OP created this thread. I am pretty brand loyal but that does not prevent me from trying other cruise lines (as can be evidenced by my signature). I am planning to book the May 2018 MSC Seaside cruise to give the line a try. I reach Diamond on RCCL after my March cruise so will wait for the loyalty match until after that cruise.

 

What will matter to me more than the price is what the clientele is like. I don't like a loud crowd - but I do like some activity.

Thank you Lisa,

I took some flak at first but I am glad that the post has been helpful. I appreciate the info that is being shared and my family is also excited about trying something new.

Many of us seem to be at least considering a change due to the current RCCL pricing.

I was told there was no smoking in the Casino on the Divina.....

 

Is this true? I don't gamble much.....but I do cross through the casino a lot during a cruise.

Beachammo,

The casino on the Divina is non smoking. Our family of 4 is giving MSC a try this summer. Much better rates and excellent perks. Looking forward to seeing how they stack up.

We have made our decision too! We are just waiting for our status match, then we are booking for the first week in June :) You have started a mass exodus (just kidding, of course).

 

Did you book directly with MSC, or through a travel agent? Just curious to see if a TA has more access to available cabins. The website shows very few cabins when I try a mock booking.

Hi ADP MOM,

I hope it's not a mass exodus! They won't let me back on the RCCL board. We did book through our TA. She has been taking great care of us for about 15 years.

To the OP,

 

We absolutely LOVED our cruise on the Divina. The ship is beautiful, the crew was great, and the food was the best we have had on any cruise. I will say this, DONT miss a show, the shows were the best. The last RCCL cruise we got up and walked out of the show it was so boring, this will not happen on the Divina. And we noticed no more nickle and diming than any other cruise line, please ENJOY it.

Again, thank you for the info. I will defiantly write up a comparative review when we get back.

Eric

Thanks to everyone who shared information. After all, that is the best part of CC. I am glad that my information was helpful to many of you.

The status match went without a hitch. Also, I did find out that they offer a 10% First Responder discount. I am not sure if it is all sailings or just on certain sailing. Our sailing is 7/30/15. You cannot combine the First Responder discount with the Status Match discount (5%)

Thanks for the insight Mister FP. I'll start working on getting the status match. As for trading "up" for an inside with a baby, I'll have to pass. Been there, done that, loved it but happy to be past the baby stage. We did just get off he Grandeur where we had all 4 of us in a Panoramic view room and that worked very well.

I am sure that you will enjoy MSC, and enjoy the different clientele.

have a blast :)

Please help me understand. What do you mean by the different clientele? I understand that it is much more of an American clientele on the Divina. Even if it has more of a European flavor, does that create an issue?

WOOPS. Should have said MSC. Couldn't edit the title.

My family and I have enjoyed many Royal cruises but the pricing for this summer is forcing us to jump ship and give the MSC Divina a try. We booked a suite (11010) which is 421 Sq feet with a 130sq ft. balcony. Our price includes alcohol packages for my wife and I as well as a spa treatment as well as a bunch of other suite perks. The Divina looks to be a gorgeous ship. We are paying $4228 for the 4 of us for the week. The total deposit was $200

By comparison, the GS on the Freedom out of Port Canaveral the same week would be $11966. The suites are roughly the same size and the itineraries are similar. Drink package and spa treatment extra. I could book and inside quad on the Freedom for $4349.

I have loved all my Royal cruises, but I am going to try something else until their pricing comes back to earth

One!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

7 Lucky 7 Grandeur here we come!

Coco Cay is at the northern end of the Berry Islands, maybe 150 mi northwest of Eleuthra. I've not heard any reports about Coco Cay.

Thank you. I don't know why I thought it was Eleuthra. Maybe I got it confused with Princess Cay.

I was wondering if anyone has heard any storm damage reports from Coco Cay? I believe that it is on the southern tip of Eleuthra and that the island was hit particularly hard.

Thanks everyone. I'm going to see if the Summit will work for us.

Eric

My wife will not fly so we have taken our last 5 cruises on the Grandeur out of Baltimore. Nice ship, and a great crew, but I am really missing Celebrity. We did our honeymoon on the Horizon and several other cruises on the Mercury and the Century.

Give me some hope, tell me some good news, make my day. Over on the RCCL boards there are rumblings of this possibility but little or no details.

Thank you for the replies. I was really hoping that there would be some improvements with the higher pricing. Unfortunately I keep reading about more cutbacks, poor bar service and disappointments at the specialty restaurants.

I am also curious. With more people opting for the alcohol package are you seeing more alcohol fueled incidents?