GadgetRick

Aussie is great...we are in Queensland just north of Brisbane, but originally from South Africa, which also has GREAT beaches. Will let hubby know about Cozumel ...sure he will do some research ;)

 

 

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No worries. Part of what is difficult for us is we've been there so many times as we live in FL, which is very close. So I guess we may be a bit spoiled. :)

Thanks GadgetRick ..... we live on an Island off the Australian coast, but have to say we are still very much beach people (hubby lives to fish and carry his Rod with him on every cruise we do) so if the beach is semi ok I suppose we will find something to do, and hopefully a pier to fish from :)

 

 

 

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Love Australia. Wife and I honeymooned there. Did Cairns and Sydney. Hoping to go back in a couple of years. :)

The beaches are nice on any of the islands for sure. Don't know about the fishing but I'm sure you can charter a boat in Cozumel for sure.

We are doing our first trip to US and then 14 day on Seaside Caribbean cruise leaving the 21st April 18, so looking at the comments here what is the problem with Nassau and Cozumel as ports?

Not so much a problem with the ports. Just that Nassau, well, just sucks. It's a total tourist trap with shops selling over-priced jewelry, watches, shirts, etc. People standing in front of the stores trying to pull you in.

Not a lot worth doing on the island. You could go over to Paradise Island but it's over $100 for the day to enjoy the water park. Problem is, you'll only have a few hours there because the ship is only in port for a limited time.

I mean, the beaches are nice so, if you're coming from somewhere you don't have beaches--or the beaches aren't all that nice--then you could go to the beach. I live in FL 5 miles from the beach so, while the beaches in the Caribbean are nicer than here, I don't need to go on vacation to go to the beach.

Cozumel is a bit better than Nassau as there is more to do but it's still kinda touristy. Last time we were there (December last year) we did an all-inclusive trip to Mr. Sanchos resort. It was better than walking through the shops area and better than most other things to do on the Island.

If you like SCUBA diving, you can do that at either of these locations. Unfortunately, I got bent many years ago (first trip to Cozumel actually) so I can no longer dive.

It's just that these two locations (especially) show everything that's wrong with most of the more Northern Caribbean islands.

I love SXM. st thomas. tortola.

 

Maho might be my favorite spot in the islands. rivaled only by the beach between the Pitons on St Lucia.

 

 

 

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We looked at a RC (I think), which would have taken us to Tortola for this past trip but chose MSC. :)

GadgetRick - Thanks for the wonderful, detailed review! We were just on Meravigilia (our first MSC Cruise) and the food was ok. We did not starve, but let's say we didn't gain weight either. I was not sure if it is the cruise line or the Itinerary (it was a Med Cruise). I've followed your other post and know you were really concerned about MSC. So it is great to hear that you liked the food. We will be on Seaside in Jan 2018, and your food review eased my mind on this.

 

Thanks also for the review on the Kids' Club.

Glad you found it useful. We're looking forward to Seaside for sure.

Which island do you wish Seaside is going to? St. Maarten? We are on the Seaside cruise that goes to Bahamas, San Juan and St Maarten.

It'll be going to Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Cozumel and Nassau. Honestly, I couldn't care less about any of these ports. I hate (yes hate) Nassau and Cozumel. Grand Cayman is ok but nothing special. Ditto for Jamaica. I really wish they'd make it to St. Thomas or the other islands down that way. I'd do SXM again.

We're going for the fun of it, not for the islands.

As a follow-up, I posted a review of the cruise. Thanks to the captain and crew of the Divina, we had an incredible time--and I'm not a huge cruise fan and, well, you saw the problems we had--in fact, we booked Seaside for June of 2018.

Anyway, you can read my full review here.

Hope it helps some of you.

I would also love to have some inside info on contact people at MSC. Website and both myself and my TA trying to get things sorted out has been complete waste of time so far. Not sure how to obtain this info from you short of posting on open forum my email address...suggestions?

thanks in advance

You can email me at GadgetRick at gmail.

Yup, that's what we did all last week when we were there! We stayed at ain AirBnB in Marigot (it had its own beach and pool, whcih was super nice, and close to town) and would use the public buses to get around. We used them on our previous cruises as well! This Divina cruise goes to the Western Caribbean, so I will use the buses again on my next trip to SXM :)

Nice. It's the first Caribbean island I've been to that I wouldn't mind going back to. Wish Seaside was going there!

Although I haven't been to the more Southern Islands (St. Thomas, etc.). So I can't speak for those although I hear they're very nice.

questions about Divina. Someone posted that there are 2 for 1 happy hours at the Bars on ship, and if so, can you tell me which ones and approx what the times are? Second, can you explain the drink vouchers, were they easy to use and can you pretty much use them anywhere or are they a pain with alot of restrictions. Please advise. thx

 

Unfortunately, I can't speak for the happy hour as I'm not a big drinker and didn't notice anything like that. I didn't see/hear anything about happy hour specials.

The drink vouchers are something you can purchase--also comes with Fantastica (you get 12 for each person in the room for Fantastica. Each voucher is good for one drink. They also have non-alcoholic drink vouchers.

You can purchase additional vouchers throughout the cruise. They also have their drink packages but, IMO, they are too expensive to be useful unless you drink a LOT.

You pick up your vouchers in the Casino after the ship sails. They're small booklets and you tear each voucher out to use it. You can also use them for other items (food) but I think you're better off using them for drinks as the food items you'd purchase (gelato, cupcakes, etc.) are pretty inexpensive to begin with.

I was in Saint-Martin when you were docked there on the 8th! You guys had amazinf weather for your day in SXM, I hoped you enjoyed the island, it's my personal favorite. But, thank you so much for your detailed and comprehensive review of the MSC Divina, I cannot wait for my cruise in 11 days onboard her. With each review I read, I get more and more excited! :D

We did enjoy it. Maho Beach was a lot of fun as was the Rhino boat tour.

Make sure you don't take the taxis there-WAY expensive--take the local transportation. Look for vehicles with signs in the front window--Maho, etc.--it's only $1.50-$2 per person.

Thanks for writing the review! I followed your other thread, glad to hear that you had a nice experience after all.

Thanks. Yes, it was an amazing time. And, I'm really not a fan of cruising in general but I really enjoyed myself. I still can't get over how awesome it was.

I agree that the ship was SPOTLESS! We saw people painting bar ceilings and even the outside of the ship while we were in port one day. They do work hard to keep it looking like new.

 

Nice to have met you onboard. Hope your next sailing is just as much fun!

Yeah, was it PR where they were lowering the skiff so the crew could paint the anchor?

Nice meeting up with you as well!

Yeah I mean I was hoping they mixed in a good amount of top 40 American radio from the past 10 years or so but I will dance badly to whatever they're playing :D. As long as the energy is good I'll have fun.

 

Thanks for answering!

I didn't notice any of that...thank goodness. ;)

Can you explain this a little more? I haven't been on Divina, yet, so I don't know how the buffet is set up but cruise ship buffets are usually HUGE so isn't the normal thing not to stand in a line but just to take what you want?

 

(Example: if they first have pizza and after that hamburgers and someone want a hamburger that person skip the line and pass people in line for pizza and go straight to the hamburgers.)

You're totally right and I'm not really talking about this situation. I'm talking about where there's a long line and someone just butts into the middle of it and continues down the line. Grabbing an item (or two) makes sense unless it's one of the more popular items (like certain pizzas, the hashbrown potatoes in the morning, etc. People would cut in the line while many were waiting on that item, then they would take a ton of whatever it is they were cutting in line to get. It didn't bother me all that much but it's slightly annoying.

great review. in comparison you can tell I wrote my recap on a cel phone... ha!

 

missed ya at the M&G and the Welcome Back reception. those were both great events.

 

I had ZERO issues with international guests. I don't think I had any with "ugly americans" either. I had a couple fellers bump into me since they refused to move an inch towards their side of the walkways, which is normal. I don't get that. I'm 6'2" 230 lbs, why you wanna encroach on my side?

Bummer. I'm hard to miss. :)

I wasn't really complaining about international guests, just making an observation. Overall, the guests were much better than on other cruises we've been on.

Even using a TA, it took MSC 6 weeks to set up a group. We had already booked the cabin by calling MSC directly but by the time they finally got us group rates, the port charges had increased. So if they could have had their act together sooner, the price would probably be even cheaper.

 

Thanks, GadjetRick, for the wonderful review. Our cruise on the Divina isn't until 2019 but your review makes me wish 2019 would get here soon. Besides the pricing, it is the itinerary which is so enticing. Four overnights in several ports we've never been to is awesome. This will be the longest TA we've ever been on. I will continue to follow reviews like your's to glean as much info as I can to make our experience great. It's reviews like your's that make me love CC. Thanks again.

 

Joan

Thanks for the kind words. Just trying to return the favor of the thousands of people who review things like this every day that I use in my purchasing decisions. :)

Do you remember if they played modern American music in the Galaxy disco?

Depends on what you mean by modern music. Most of it seemed to be Latin music with a little bit of, "club," music thrown in. I was a little surprised by this, not really a complaint. The place was still hoppin'!

To avoid dealing with the website go through a reputable travel agent who will deal with them. I have done his and have not had one problem

 

 

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Ugh, this has been discussed before.

I'm not using a TA. The point is, MSC US needs to get it's act together.

Oh, wanted to add one more thing about the drinks. For Fantastica, you get 12 drink tickets per person per room. Adults get 12 adult beverages and kids get non-alcoholic tickets. Honestly, unless you're a big drinker, that's a lot of drink tickets. You can always purchase more tickets at any point during the cruise as well if you're running low.

The drink packages, IMO, are expensive unless you plan on drinking a LOT EVERY day. I think you're better off just using tickets rather than the packages.

Thanks so much for your wonderful review.

 

I'm thinking of booking the Seaside for September, 2018. This would be a cruise "about the ship". Wish it went to different Caribbean ports though.

I agree, we're a bit disappointed on the ports Seaside is going to but we'll make do. :)

Great review and thanks for taking the time to share! Our first MSC cruise is also on the Divine, but not until December. Already have booked Seaside for March as well anticipating we'll enjoy the line as you have. I love trying out new-to-me ships and am especially excited to be on the Divina because I'm very visually oriented and by all accounts she's a stunning ship.

You won't be disappointed.

Be sure the sign up for the CC Meet and Greet. It's worth going to.

The ship really is stunning.

Part 3

Cigar Bar

I was excited about the Cigar Bar. Unfortunately, they don't actually sell cigars in there and it was more of a place for cigarette smokers to go smoke than for cigar smokers to congregate. So I didn't spend any time there. Love the idea though.

Organization

Many times, on a cruise, things don't feel terribly-organized. From getting onto the ship to getting off the ship things can get frantic. None of this was the case with MSC. They are extremely-organized getting people on/off the ship. Never once waited in a long line at any of the ports. Made it pleasant compared to other ports I've been to with other cruise lines.

Also liked they had music playing at the port and offered water/wet towels. A nice touch for sure.

Prices for Various Items

Normally, when you have to buy drinks or other things on a ship, the prices tend to be, well, a bit much. I have to say, drinks, gelato, desserts, etc. that you pay extra for are extremely reasonably-priced. I was surprised at this and very happy. We did Fantastica and got 12 drink voucers each. That was more than enough for the drinks we needed. Well-worth the slight increase in price for the cabin.

I checked some of the prices on the items they sell in their shops--they also price match--and their prices were usually dead on with Internet prices. I found that interesting.

Kids Club

We have 2 sons (14 qnd 11). The 14 year old is, well, anti-social (not in a rude way). We traveled with my wife's family and they have 2 adopted sons (16 and 7). The 16 year old loved the teen club. Met some girls, enjoyed the parties they had, etc. He brought our older son to one of the parties. Apparently, a cute girl asked my son to dance and he, well, left. Ugh, gotta teach him a few things.

Our younger son (11) enjoyed the kids he met. I think his club is too wide a range of age (7-11) so he didn't spend as much time in the actual club once he made friends. But they both still enjoyed themselves.

People

We met some great people (Jenn and Ed and some other people I can't remember the names). We're talking with some of them to get them to come along in June when we sail on the Seaside.

Some people complained about the mixed group of people (from other countries) but I absolutely love that. I love experiencing other people from other cultures. It's refreshing. Other than what I mentioned about people butting in line and standing in the middle of walk areas, the people on the ship were awesome. Even the kids were all polite and not snotty like I've seen. Our younger son met a few kids and we spoke with them. Very respectful kids.

Complaints

My complaints are extremely-minor. I mentioned some of the items in the buffet tend to run out quickly and are harder to get.

My biggest complaint is, on the first night, they only had 2 people working the customer service desk on the ship. It's the busiest time there (besides the last night) and I waited an hour to get something taken care of. They can have something like 8 or 12 people manning this area, they need to have more people there on busy times like that.

They have a kiosk for adding a credit card to your cabin. I wish they'd advertise this a bit heavier because it's the only way to add a card to your cabin. One of the things we waited to see CS for the first day was this but they can't do it, they sent me to the kiosk.

Would be nice if they'd just include the drink vouchers when you check in rather than having you go to the casino to pick them up later.

Other than that, my major complaint is the HORRIBLE customer service from MSC US. They really need to get this worked out along with the technology issues they continue to have. If I would have had time, I would have canceled this cruise and gone with another line. I know others have done that as well.

Conclusion

Other than the problems with MSC US, we absolutely loved the whole cruise. In fact, the captain and crew made it so enjoyable we booked Seaside for June 16 next year. So, as others have said, once you get past the BS with MSC US, the cruise itself is awesome. We are now fans of MSC.

Thanks to the Captain and crew of Divina for making this a much better trip than I thought it would be. They made 8 customers for MSC (my wife's family also loved it). Now, if MSC US is listening...GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER!!!

If anyone has other questions, fire away!

Part 3 - Entertainment

The Shows

Personally, I'm not into singing/dancing in shows but I did go do a few shows. The ones I saw were very good. All very talented performers. I do like that they do quite a bit of acrobatics in the shows. I liked the pirate show the best. Other people were saying how great all of the shows were. Also, people we met who were big Royal Caribbean cruisers said the entertainment was better on this ship. I found that interesting.

Nightlife

I'm not a heavy drinker but I hate going to bed early. I like to have fun in the evening after dinner. On other cruises we've been on, things sort of die down anywhere from 10pm - 11pm. Not so with the Divina. The boat is HOPPIN' late into the night. They have a lot of bars/lounges with various things happening all of the time. We went to the Galaxy Disco a few nights--that place is jumping! Was a little surprised to hear so much Latin music, I thought I'd hear a bit more Euro music. Again, not really a complaint, just an observation.

They played movies out by the main pool each night. It's a nice area to enjoy a movie--not that I sat through any movies. They did the White Party out by the main pool. Honestly, I thought that party was going to suck. Man, it was a good time! Lots of music and lots of people. Was a real party.

I only gambled the last night in the casino (won, btw). The casino is a very nice casino. Like the rest of the ship, it's spotless. Lots of newer slot machines (if that's what you're into), a couple of roulette tables and a few card tables. No craps table though (I was bummed as I enjoy craps.).

One thing to note, they do NOT give you free drinks while gambling! I thought this was a bit, well, not good especially since I ordered a drink and they didn't let me know so I paid for it on the room when I could have used a drink ticket. If you're gambling, they really should give you drinks for free.

Sports Bar

When I heard there is a sports bar on Divina, I got excited. I've been complaining for years on the cruises we go on that they don't have a sports bar. With the number of people (mainly men) who are into watching sports, it would make sense to have a place to gather to watch whatever is happening at that time. So we went there the first night on the ship.

First, the food there is included, so that's a good thing. I got a burger, fries and cheese sticks and my wife got a salad. Like the rest of the ship, the food was great.

When I asked about a specific sporting event, I was informed they only have 2 channels there--ESPN and ESPN 2. Huh? This is odd as, well, ESPN is more about sports news and less about showing actual sports. I really wish they'd add some channels to watch real sports there.

They have the bowling game there. We did that one evening. Was fun enough. $8 per person for 5 frames.

Cruise Critic Meet and Greet

I signed us up for the M&G and had a blast there. They really did a nice job welcoming us aboard. There were about 20-30 of us and they gave us champagne, juice and I think a rum drink along with some finger food. The senior staff came to speak with us, which was a great touch. I spoke with the Captain--who is happy to speak with ANYONE and is very visible--who gave me a lot of great information about the ship and MSC. Super-nice guy.

Also spent time speaking with the head chef. Learned he came from RC and finds the proteins to be better on MSC but is fighting for MSC to get fresh veggies rather than frozen. He was very honest about things and was a great chat.

Also spoke with the head of hotel services. Again, great guy.

Oh, they also had a special cake for CC members and they took a group photo and delivered a printed version of it to our cabin.

They really made us feel welcome.

Welcome Back Reception

Thanks to MSC's status match program, my status was upgraded and I got an invite to the Welcome Back Reception. Apparently, they do this and welcome back cruisers who've cruised with MSC previously, They had a band, drinks, food and, again, senior staff to chat with. Again, they did a great job making us feel welcome.

On to Part 3...

Part 1

Ok, got back yesterday from our trip on the Divina. Some of you have followed/participated in my other thread about the issues I had with MSC US. If you haven't read it you can find that thread here. Thankfully, we didn't encounter any problems at check-in. We arrived about 2:00ish and were on the ship by 2:30 with our cabins ready. Check-in was easy and not crowded by that time.

Here are my thoughts about the whole cruise - Part 1 anyway...

The Ship

I've not been on as many cruises as many people here have been--have been on like 6 or so now--but the ship is absolutely gorgeous. Love the design and the decor. I'd read people complain about navigating around the ship, I didn't find any problems. I like how it is segmented so the ship feels even bigger than it actually us (it's a big ship with 4300ish passengers).

More importantly, the ship is SPOTLESS! They are CONSTANTLY cleaning every area of the ship. Never saw plates/glasses sitting around for very long. Always someone to come along and clean things up. Even in the crew areas--we did the behind the scenes tour--things are absolutely spotless. You could eat off the floors back there. Very impressive and shows the crew cares about the ship.

Another thing was, we did encounter pretty calm seas but the Divina was the smoothest ride I've ever had on a ship. Whatever they're doing for stabilizers works quite well. Although I do like a good roll from time to time. ;)

There are so many things to do on this ship. Many bars, clubs and other activities. I'm not one who likes sea days but there was plenty to keep me occupied. I never made it to the F1 simulator--well, I did make it but they were working on it.

The ship is big but seems to have about 500 people too many on it. I understand the economics of the situation but it does make things a bit more crowded and harder to get an elevator at times. Not a huge complaint but something to think about.

The Cabins

We get two cabins--one for the wife and I and one for the kids--we do a balcony and an interior. We got one of the smaller balcony cabins, which I was slightly surprised at. No couch and barely a desk. Not that the room was tiny but, I still had work to do and a bigger desk would have been nice. But, not a true complaint.

The balcony was nice, two chairs and a small footrest/table. Nothing you don't see on other cruise ships. There was a note about mid-week saying they were cleaning the balconies and to not keep anything on them. Balconies were certainly clean like the rest of the ship.

I'm sure many of you have seen the bathroom photos/videos all over the Internet. They do an interesting thing with the shower. They have glass/plastic doors that open inward for storage to give you more space in the bathroom. This was nice. However, the shower is TINY. I'm a big dude and there isn't much room in there. Again, not a major complaint but it is what it is. I still got clean. :)

The interior cabin was about what you'd expect. Nothing special but nothing wrong either.

The cabin steward was awesome. Not in your face all of the time like some cruises I've been on. They just kept the cabins tidy when we were away.

The Food

I must say, the food was awesome. Whether in the MDR or on the buffet, the food never disappointed. Well, I take that back, had the fillet mignon one night and it was tough, which was surprising. Others at our table had the same complaint. Had no other complaints about the food in the MDR other than that.

The buffet food rivals the buffets in Las Vegas. Maybe not in the sheer number of food items--although they have quite a few on Divina--but certainly with the quality of the food items. In fact, we only ate in the DR for breakfast one day and did the buffet after that because it was so good.

The pizza is some of the best pizza I've had. I'm originally from NJ where you can get some kick-ass pizza so I'm a pizza snob for sure. I had pizza every opportunity I got because it was so good.

I will say, the more popular items on the buffet were sometimes tough to get. They would run out quickly on the most popular items. Problem is, many people tend to just skip the line on the buffet to get what they want. Was a bit annoying at times but that's not really MSC's fault. This tended to be a trend with people being like this. The crazy part is you always hear about how bad Americans are but it was never the Americans who were doing these things (at least not that I saw), it was people from other countries who were rude. Just an observation and no, it didn't ruin even a second of the trip.

I will say they are a bit weak on their desserts. Not that they aren't good or anything but I was a bit surprised they weren't better. Their brownies were kind of dry, still tasted great but a bit dry. I did love the chocolate eclairs. Unforatunately, I only found them one evening. :( I'm ok with that to be quite honest but was a bit surprised the desserts weren't more impressive.

The wait staff everywhere was great. Took about as long as I'd expect in the MDR (1.5-2 hours with a party of 8). So no worries there. But they always took great care of us--even on the buffet. Honestly, the staff on the whole ship was awesome.

Like every MDR I've ever been in, it takes a long time to get any drinks from the bar. Wish the cruise lines would work this out.

We found out they make almost everything from scratch on the ship--even the ice cream. I can tell you, my insides can tell the difference. Usually, after a few days on a cruise, my insides are telling me I'm taking in a bunch of crap. Never once did my body tell me this. I attribute this to the freshness of the food and lack of preservatives, etc.

The buffet area is a bit tougher to find a seat during peak times (as you may have heard) but we always found one after a bit. It's a bit crowded in the walkways but they have as many tables as they can fit there. Mainly, people just stand in the middle of everything taking up space and holding things up. Then again, this also happens when I go to BJ's at home.

On to Part 2...