the Divina is live in Miami

[fp60]

Tim-

Thank you!!!

 

 

OK, OT but here we go.

 

There are two ways to add pictures to your posts. The easiest is to click on 'manage attachments' below the text box when you reply. A pop-up box appears with draconian image size limits - these are not strictly adhered to but the actual limits are still very tight by current standards - you will certainly have to use a photo app to scale them down and compress them to be acceptable. This will insert clickable thumbnails in your post.

 

The second way to to host your photos elsewhere or else provide the URL of the original image if it is already on the web. One trick is to paste the photos on FaceBook then copy the URL of the image from there. Click on the icon in the tool bar of the text box that looks like a postcard with a mountain on it and paste in the URL (not of the web page but rather of the image itself). You can immediately overwrite the inserted text with a more meaningful description which will appear as a link to the URL you pasted.

 

Hope that is clear.

 

Tim.

Edited November 19, 2013 by fp60

[SteelCruisin]

Some great pics here of Divinas arrival...

http://www.cruisecurrents.com/article/14437

[fp60]

http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/11/17/3757261/msc-looking-to-make-a-splash.html

[SteelCruisin]

From the Miami herald article....

 

"To prepare for the introduction of year-round Caribbean voyages, the company known for sailing with a Mediterranean flair has been working hard to tweak the product in a way that will make its target audience comfortable. Sasso said he expects the Divina passenger mix to be 70 percent North American and 30 percent Europeans, South Americans and others.

 

That means announcements will be made in English, not five different languages as on its other ships; waiters will pour complimentary water at lunch and dinner; crew members will be more outgoing; menus and entertainment will cater to a North American crowd. TVs will feature ESPN and CNN, and smoking will be banned in all but the Cigar Lounge and some outdoor decks"

 

Having never cruised with MSC b4 I hope they don't just become another cut and paste cruiseline....stay true to your roots MSC!

[moomoocow]

From the Miami herald article....

 

"To prepare for the introduction of year-round Caribbean voyages, the company known for sailing with a Mediterranean flair has been working hard to tweak the product in a way that will make its target audience comfortable. Sasso said he expects the Divina passenger mix to be 70 percent North American and 30 percent Europeans, South Americans and others.

 

That means announcements will be made in English, not five different languages as on its other ships; waiters will pour complimentary water at lunch and dinner; crew members will be more outgoing; menus and entertainment will cater to a North American crowd. TVs will feature ESPN and CNN, and smoking will be banned in all but the Cigar Lounge and some outdoor decks"

 

Having never cruised with MSC b4 I hope they don't just become another cut and paste cruiseline....stay true to your roots MSC!

 

It would be nice if that was the case.

 

But having lurked and read this board for a few years I fear that the clamour for cheap as chips Carrib. cruising coupled with the vocal demand for a more homogeneous product means, IMHO, that this experiment is destined to fizzle out quietly a couple of years. Or it may become a moderate success based on Americans enjoying cut-price cruising and Europeans (like me) wanting to sail Caribb. without resorting to over Anglicised or Americanised holidays.

 

And can I stress I am not launching a covert or overt xenophobic attack on ANYBODY. I just know what I like. Steel Crusin, I fear the heavy dilution of the MSC brand has begun in earnest.

Edited November 19, 2013 by moomoocow
My ipad predictive text is rubbish

[mydreamvacation]

Congratulations to Miami and the US :) The MSC Divina and the other ships in the Fantasiaclass is one of the most beautiful cruiseships around. A great welcome into the Port of Miami:)

So excited sitting in FLL at the moment in the rain but tomorrow no matter the weather it will be sunny when we board the Divina for her debut!

[sharecruises]

Click HERE to see Video - watch the Beautiful Divina arrive in Miami today Those Fiats look super cool....wow

 

"MSC Divina Completes Maiden Voyage to Miami in True Diva Style The dazzling MSC Divina made cruise history today, when it was escorted at 7 AM this morning into the PortMiami channel by cutting-edge, metallic red FIAT watercrafts. Today’s arrival marks MSC Divina’s debut in North America as the first MSC Cruises ship to sail year-round from the continent."

 

We have a great group of about 50 cruisers in our group - :)

 

Wow ....she looks gorgeous.

[riclop]

Here is a link to the MSC Divina arrival video as posted by PTZtv /Port Fever

 

Watched and it was a wonderful arrival.

 

Thanks Emmy.

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

It is 10:00PM, Tuesday night and the MSC Divina looks beautiful all lit up in the dark. This view is thanks to the wonderful web cam at portmiamiwebcam.com.

Check it out.

[camofwilliamsburg]

I have loved each of our MSC cruises and am thrilled that this ship came to the USA and it was quite fun watching. Those ocean fiats were adorable!

It was like watching a friend coming home. Cannot wait for our Jan cruises on board the newest ship.

[SteelCruisin]

So it's 12:50 EST and I still see no one aboard the Divina, I wonder if there isn't some ceremonial things going on, or something else holding up the boarding.

[tbmrt]

So it's 12:50 EST and I still see no one aboard the Divina, I wonder if there isn't some ceremonial things going on, or something else holding up the boarding.

 

Hope we can get on earlier!

Barbara

[nowaysis]

So it's 12:50 EST and I still see no one aboard the Divina, I wonder if there isn't some ceremonial things going on, or something else holding up the boarding.

 

that may be down to the poorest luggage handling process i have ever come across, MSc poor service, you get your luggage quicker when getting off a plane, the had over ten hours to sort out the luggage, we had to wait over 2 hours, so to everyone boarding her good luck!!

[tourlink99]

Just spoke to a friend on the Divina as we speak! He says his bags came immediately, the lunch in the lido was excellent, the ship is gorgeous as we know and they are having a deck party starting now with fireworks. Ill be aboard tomorrow and give you a further run down of the ship then.

 

Sent from my ME301T using Forums mobile app

[riclop]

that may be down to the poorest luggage handling process i have ever come across, MSc poor service, you get your luggage quicker when getting off a plane, the had over ten hours to sort out the luggage, we had to wait over 2 hours, so to everyone boarding her good luck!!

Is there anything thats just ok??? You have nothing but negativity to say.

[MiamiSpartan]

My partner raved about the ship today! He spent 5 plus hours on board adjusting the coffee machines….

He took a handful of pics, but was pretty busy….I'm sure we will try to book a trip this spring….

[riclop]

My partner raved about the ship today! He spent 5 plus hours on board adjusting the coffee machines….

He took a handful of pics, but was pretty busy….I'm sure we will try to book a trip this spring….

Good to hear.

[phider]

Being towed in by Fiats....?

:confused:

 

....or what about Chryslers? You know, the once American company that went bankrupt and was bought and saved by European Fiat... oh wait?!?

 

Philip

[mrstrod]

that may be down to the poorest luggage handling process i have ever come across, MSc poor service, you get your luggage quicker when getting off a plane, the had over ten hours to sort out the luggage, we had to wait over 2 hours, so to everyone boarding her good luck!!

 

It appears that nothing could have made you happy... perhaps next time you should try a "staycation" that way you can be sure everything is to your liking.

[bltrn]

It appears that nothing could have made you happy... perhaps next time you should try a "staycation" that way you can be sure everything is to your liking.

 

 

Well said!!!!

[fp60]

Same here with my other half... hopefully mid to late March.:rolleyes:

 

My partner raved about the ship today! He spent 5 plus hours on board adjusting the coffee machines….

He took a handful of pics, but was pretty busy….I'm sure we will try to book a trip this spring….

[fp60]

Kudos!

 

Well said!!!!

[tourlink99]

I was on Divina yesterday and besides the ship being beautiful, I found the staff friendly, very glad to share their views, and I was actually very surprised how good the food was. I spoke to the restaurant manager (Black Crab) and he told me the menus were totally changed and upgraded this week. The other people having lunch with me have sailed with MSC previously on Poesia and they told me it was a major improvement. By the way, I checked out both Eatealy Restaurants and found them very elegant, and those are not plastic chairs others have said on other threads. You make it sound like they are beach chairs form a hardware store. And how is $35 overpriced for a steakhouse? Have you checked the steakhouse prices on Celebrity, Royal, HAL, Carnival and others. These are options you don't need to try! There is plenty of included food available. Lastly, the pizza in the Buffet was outstanding :)

[sidari]

Nowaysis is correct in what he says, Port Miami has to be the worst place to collect bags after a cruise, one German guy was off the ship at around 8 am and he was still there waiting with us at 10-30 am, we were off at 9-30 am.

 

Unlike most places where the bags are in a large hall waiting to be collected after you leave the ship, in the collection hall we used the bags are loaded onto a conveyor belt similar to an airport.

 

The bags came through at a very slow rate for whatever reason and they were using three different conveyor belts.

 

Tourlink ... our CC group were told by Andre formerly of Princess cruises the new cruise director that the chairs in the Steakhouse were going to be replaced, there were very few people who used the Steakhouse or the Italian style Eataly during the transatlantic cruise.

Edited November 23, 2013 by sidari

[tourlink99]

On the 3 day cruise the Italian and steak house restaurants were crowded. The day I was there they were both packed and it was not my fellow agents eating there. We ate in the Black Crab. Regarding the baggage system in Miami, the system works well, I've gone through there dozens of times with no problems. This is a case of a new cruise line coming to a new port. This is not a case of lousy baggage handling but one of unfamiliarity with the system. Regarding chairs, I personally thought they were elegant, but I can understand they would not be to everyone's taste.

 

Sent from my ME301T using Forums mobile app