Just back from 3 nite Divina 1st time from Miami - Fireworks and more!

[sharecruises]

Hi...just back from the 3 night "us inagural" Divina cruise

 

I had a great time, loved the ship and mostly had positive experiences - want to go again..

but...some in my group were NOT happy campers (more of that later)

 

Boarding was pretty easy - we got there early and waited to board, but it went fast = MSC had hired a couple young models and decked them out in Mad Men type red dresses and hat - the same outfit you see in the "diva" pics and ads of Divina - nice touch

 

we also saw a parked Fiat water car?? on pool deck

 

Ship is just stunning - loved it - bling bling atrium....black/white lounge is fabulous....pools are beautiful...everything is just sparkling clean and beautiful

 

Buffet = was wonderful - so many choices, really nice quality and yummy....they had brie cheese and apricots out the first day - yum...

 

we sit in the back area of buffet cause larger tables,less people - best place for group to meet (not all of them bother to read or listen tho - "we couldn't find you">>>

 

there we met a true asset to MSC - Mr Wayne Goode....what a fun and funny guy - we had a blast with him and loved sitting in his section...he was JUST hired away from Royal Caribbean and it shows - he brought the warm and fun feel that RCI, Carnival, NCL lack..

example - one of the gals asked him where the ketchup was and he brought a plate with fancy ketchup, mayo, mustard packets :)

 

What a nice change from the often surly or unhelpful staff that MSC has had in the past....

 

We met another nice gal - also hired away from Royal and things were looking up.....my balcony cabin was lovely, my luggage there right away,

room steward was nice (kept room clean , didn't see much of him but was fine, he was Indonesian,and NOT from Royal LOL)

 

But...my roommate and many others did NOT get their luggage...and were pretty upset...some did not even get their luggage til 10 pm

hope that is just a first time hitch

 

Fireworks were at 5:30 = Latin Band was playing, people dancing at pool deck....they showed social media tweets/posts etc about Divina on big screen

 

Servers came round with free "Divatinis" which tasted ok, maybe like pink champagne...but free so oh well haha

 

then the fireworks - wow wow - beautiful....lay back on a chaise by the pool while up close fireworks - so close..while cool music plays...the show was quite a bit longer than I thought and so close to us, so "private" ..best way to see fireworks...they had some nice music - Fever by Peggy Lee one of the songs - and the finale exploded to the beauty of Andre Bocelli's singing

 

Some of us went to the Jazz Bar which is where they have the dueling pianos....these guys were great...by the end of this short cruise they had quite a following - they take requests, some songs are sort of sing along (Sweet Caroline) - but they play all sorts of songs and mix in humor...nice place

[sharecruises]

Went to the first production show - Billy Bones Pirate show...and wow...fabulous...full cast of dancers, amazing acrobats, a guy who did a "sheet from the ceiling gymnastic" show..and much more - lady who played violin = 2 great singers - fantastic

 

 

 

BUT......

But......oh why does MSC always screw up things??

 

my ta and I had begged for schedules....

 

day before we sailed I was advised 9 for dinner (this at 4:30 on Tues LOL)...what a bummer....we were hoping that would just be for first night?

 

well...we got to dinner at Black Crab..and waited and waited...we were finally seated at about 9:15....waiters were slow, crabby and it was just a cluster

 

 

I honestly would not mind the 9 pm so much IF they had let us in on time, been quicker and more competant......really our Indonesian waiter was a bit of a jerk...bossy, slow...just a butt pain

 

we missed the late show (some comedy juggler)....cause dinner took so long it was ridiculous

they also had NO splenda/sweet low etc - finally found some Italian "light sucre" or whatever

 

The good side?? Food was fantastic - biggest shrimp I ever saw on a ship...they have "everyday" menu choices too - a really good steak, salmon

 

of course the pasta was outstanding....the food was great

 

coffee service was beyond slow and annoying - just little things (no spoon)...the no splenda etc...jerky waiters

 

On a positive note - lots of clubs , music , for all tastes - the dueling pianos were a big hit with my group

 

the 9 PM dining was not a hit...some of my group changed to early seating..others whined and complained...my ta was on board and nothing she or I could do = change if you want. whatever

 

I do think MSC put a bad first impression with this stupid move - sigh

[sharecruises]

Positives

 

we did muster in a lounge ( the one with the gelato - very pretty)

still had to bring the life jackets

 

 

while safety stuff was on speakers in 5 languages the drill was English and most everything was English only

Shows - english - cruises director was funny and nice and not pushing sales like other lines

 

Smoking - heaven - US delight - this was the most restrictive ship I ever sailed on ...I never smelled a cigarette in 3 days Yippee

 

Smoking is ONLY in the *enclosed Cigar Bar and supposedly in the casino at a small section at the "discretion" of staff....and on one side of the pool deck area ...and that's it = $250 fine listed if you smoke in cabin and/OR on balcony

Edited November 24, 2013 by sharecruises

[sharecruises]

Thurs - weather in Cocoa Beach was lousy - colder than south florida I thought LOL>> and rainy

went into town and back to ship - blah

 

but ship was lovely - they had the one pool enclosed and it was nice to use hot tub

 

spa is beautiful - can use the sauna/steam showers free

 

they do NOT have any hot tubs there tho - Poesia has hot tubs in the spa area and I did miss that

 

Lunch was amazing at buffet - shrimp scampi with large shrimps - wow

most cruise lines don't have shrimp that good at dinner haha

Ethnic corner had fantastic Greek moussaka

 

Med area had some yummy grilled beggies and red peppers, super cheeses

they have a fabulous salad bar too - outstanding buffet food period

 

tonights show was fabulous - the comedy and music of Scott Record - wow wow wow....what a show....first time I ever saw a comedian on MSC - he did song impressions and so much much more...fantastic

 

I did speak to him a bit at buffet - he worked as fly in for Royal Carib. for years....opened many ships for them - now MSC booked him <grin>

 

dinner - this time the doors did open at nine...but once again our waiters were jerky - food delicious however

Lobster night - they brought us each two tails - they were not huge but wow they were delicious

 

they also did the baked alaska parade "old school style" - parade with flaming - real flaming- cakes haha

 

I don't love Baked Alaska -but our waiter would ignore requests so Baked alaska was our dessert

they were behind in service and we had to skip coffee to make the show

 

two of the tables had a fun great waiter - and yeah you guessed it - he was just hired by MSC after working for RCI for some time haha

 

~~~~~~ we had a 2nd show that night at 11 pm...and we did get out in time to make it (barely).....it was called Witches of Paris and was songs and dances , "can can">> the gal singer did a lovely Piaf tune "La Vie en Rose"....some of the acrobats performed...great late night show

 

oh and the buffet has snacks late night - various pizza...a "make your own sandwich bar" - where you choose fillings and the guys make it for you....cookies, desserts, fruits etc

Edited November 24, 2013 by sharecruises

[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[sharecruises]

there we met a true asset to MSC - Mr Wayne Goode....what a fun and funny guy - we had a blast with him and loved sitting in his section...he was JUST hired away from Royal Caribbean and it shows - he brought the warm and fun feel that RCI, Carnival, NCL lack..

example - one of the gals asked him where the ketchup was and he brought a plate with fancy ketchup, mayo, mustard packets :)

 

What a nice change from the often surly or unhelpful staff that MSC has had in the past....

 

I meant to say the warm and fuzzy feeling that the other lines have and MSC has mostly lacked LOL...it was too late to edit it

 

anyhow...find Wayne....he is a delight - MSC should promote him and hire all his former co workers LOL JMO

[tbmrt]

Thanks so much for your nice reviews.

 

What time was muster held?

 

Do you know if MSC is continuing the 9pm late dinner? Hope not!

 

Barbara

[portofrome]

Thanks for your review.

[hannibal54]

Thank you for your review so far. We will be on the Divina Dec. 7.

[sidari]

The Fiat 500 is a real car and not one of those that were in the water in Miami, we watched it being craned onto the deck in Venice.

 

One of the reasons that service may have been slow is that one Dining room of the Black Crab shares the kitchen with the Villa Rossa while the other BC dining room has its own, the info was given to us by our waiter from last years Poesia repo crossing.

 

At least half of the staff currently on Divina are from Poesia and have worked the Caribbean for the last two years.

 

For anyone into health smoothies at breakfast look out for Jennifer in the Buffet formerly of Disney, the Mango and Strawberry were our favourites especially when they were mixed by Kevin behind the bar.

 

Evening dinner times on the repo were 6-30 pm and 8-30 pm. if you are in the Villa Rossa and you have either Wayan from Poesia or Steven you will not go wrong.

 

If you are not happy with where you are speak to Mario (Italian guy with glasses also from Poesia) he does all the changes to seating.

Edited November 24, 2013 by sidari

[travelberlin]

Thanks so much for your review. I am very glad that with the new personnel coming from Royal customer service is being improved. It would be nice if they continue to improve their management skills in such a way for the other ships also.

Also very positive is that MSC USA is always reading our posts, which means your observations positive and negative might be taken into account and lead to further improvements.

[SunFunCruiser]

We had a lackluster experience. I think the biggest thing, and you can see this by the reviews is consistency! No consistency whatsoever!

The ship is beautiful and lots going on, I'll give them that.

[SunFunCruiser]

And, BTW....Mario in the dining room was less than pleasant. I am not a complainer and was very patient. I was seated by myself, as in alone. All I wanted was a seat with anyone from my group. Seats were available. He was completely annoyed by me for no reason.

[nowaysis]

Thanks so much for your nice reviews.

 

What time was muster held?

 

Do you know if MSC is continuing the 9pm late dinner? Hope not!

 

Barbara

 

During our 18 night to Miami, sittings were 6:30 & 8:30

 

1st theatre show 7:00 for second sitting

2nd theatre show 9:00 for 1st sitting

[nowaysis]

We had a lackluster experience. I think the biggest thing, and you can see this by the reviews is consistency! No consistency whatsoever!

The ship is beautiful and lots going on, I'll give them that.

 

For us slightly different as there was not a lot going on over 18 nights, I agree the ship is great and blingy,, , again over 18 nights consistency was key, you could be in a bar ask for something and be refused only to be able to get it in another bar, same with dining one waiter will one waiter wont, as I've mentioned bars I could never understand why it would take 7 minutes to get a drink even when the bar was empty, and that was when I am sat at the bar, we would often joke that because we was on drinks package they go slower so you don't drink more lol, but reality is also they may not be happy with some as they don't get the gratuity from you, so hence the inconsistency maybe

 

These guys work long hours and work very hard and they have my admiration, but having said that it is annoying constantly having to explain something because they don't grasp it

 

For those who read these posts take note of names people are saying are good, you will be thankful in the end trust me

[camofwilliamsburg]

I have LOVED MSC USA since Orchestra. I loved the differences and hope by bringing in the RCI people they do not lose their niche, which was a connection with the people through interaction! This is not found on RCI and why we left RCI years ago.

 

We always loved the dining staff. A bit of Italian, a smile and a thank you would reap tons of rewards back to us. Is Luigi still there??? Is Giovanni still there? I am glad Mario is there but would love to see these men also.

 

Who on the animation team is there?

Is Mima there, she is the star singer?

 

Isn't Anna the Cruise Director?

We are doing a b2b in January and are looking forward to this experience on the new ship as well as reconnecting with staff we have gotten to know for years!

[sharecruises]

During our 18 night to Miami, sittings were 6:30 & 8:30

 

1st theatre show 7:00 for second sitting

2nd theatre show 9:00 for 1st sitting

 

We heard it will be like this..or possibly earlier even for both?? As usual, no one seems to give a solid answer on MSC. I did not speak to Matire D'...as I must stick with the group - that is also why I don't change waiters etc.

 

Some in my group were able to change to early that first night - spoke to Maitre D....but others waited too long and early was full full fulll....some went to buffet. Service got a bit better as the dining room had many empty seats by the 3rd night

 

Getting a drink was impossible. Some of us had the wine package and they were a bit of a hassle getting them to understand but once they did it went fine, they brought our bottles out each night

 

I am still amazed that MSC would go to such trouble to impress - Fireworks, Divas and free access to wi=fi to upload pics and tweets to twitter, facebook, instagram and then turn around and pizz off people by making the dining so late and ridiculous. They wanted to show us how "american" they are but they had late night Euro dining time

 

I often wonder if MSC just needs to hire someone to "check" them - hey I am right here in Ft Laud if they need a :usa advisor: lol

 

Example of bad waiter - one of my gals was feeling seasick...I asked if we could order her a ginger ale...every ship has it....he said NO. Just NO.

I said...surely you can get the bar waiter or get it yourself...I know you have ginger ale....."No, no time'>>

 

I then said - please ask the Maitre D' to come over here as I am sure he will know if there is ginger ale here.....he left and came back with a ginger ale which she paid for of course. But that is about the level of caring we had from him. "No"...just "No".

[sharecruises]

I have LOVED MSC USA since Orchestra. I loved the differences and hope by bringing in the RCI people they do not lose their niche, which was a connection with the people through interaction! This is not found on RCI and why we left RCI years ago.

 

We always loved the dining staff. A bit of Italian, a smile and a thank you would reap tons of rewards back to us. Is Luigi still there??? Is Giovanni still there? I am glad Mario is there but would love to see these men also.

 

Who on the animation team is there?

Is Mima there, she is the star singer?

 

Isn't Anna the Cruise Director?

We are doing a b2b in January and are looking forward to this experience on the new ship as well as reconnecting with staff we have gotten to know for years!

 

I loved Mima too but no she is not there

 

I spoke with Anna on Poesia last April and asked would she be on Divina - at that time she did not know but they have totally changed the cruise director role

 

I had Anna 2x on Poesia and another gal, Italian, who was also an efficent "polyglot" able to roll off many many languages quickly and precisely

 

Last 2 cruises they had a "North American" cruise director assistant who stood with them and made a few jokes in English and ran trivias and such

 

Now it is totally different - they do the muster loudspeaker in 5 lang (*other cruiselines often do it in at least 3 or 4)...it is pretty quick...everything else is in English. The different languages were in different "voices" _ that is to say they no longer have one language expert do it all -

 

New cruise director was fun and funny - Irish/SouthAfrican he said...easy to understand...his intros were short...he runs trivas and contests and such too - they seemed to have a bit more of this

 

My first time on Poesia we had more Italians in general I think.....in dining room.....animation team...and some truly surly snotty Italians at the desk

 

I noticed less of the Eastern Europeans on this sailing...more Indonesians in dining room and the fun and lovely Jamaicans from Royal

Less Italians

 

I did see some people I knew from Poesia in the bars - 2 bartenders

 

One nice thing - on Poesia there were always some people who didni't understand English and had NO answers or wrong answers....this got better with each cruise and was totally better on Divina....I am sure they have pulled the staff from Poesia, and other ships? who are fluent in English and probably hiring those who speak English.

 

The Animation team is there...but not all Italian....British, Aussies...

again all English speaking

 

I am not a huge fan of them.....but some enjoy them messing with you and pulling you up to dance

 

Italian flair = they had "Officer and a Gentleman" party in the Black and White Lounge - that was a hit :) Handsome Italian ship officers in their white uniforms danced with all the ladies and posed for pictures :)

 

Seems the ship officers are still all Italian - the waiters, staff not so much now. Bilingual English or English as native tongue seems to be the criteria for the workers - not a bad idea as they are ported here now

Most people on the ship seemed to be from the USA this time, far less of the Italians, Russians, British that we saw on other sailings

(tho that might be cause 1/2 ship was travel agents from US maybe Canada ?)

[sharecruises]

Day 3 - was to be Great Stirrup Cay but weather not good, seas choppy...

and announcement we would be "at sea"

 

MSC to their credit stepped up and put up new stuff to do - several trivia, games, a craft class, music in some bars etc...this was in our cabins

 

I had a bloody mary from the bar from a charming guy from Jamaica...his first "tour" on MSC - from ....RCI lol....and he made a wonderful Bloody Mary

with a generous pour

 

Look for the Jamaicans...look for the smiling people...if you want good service on Divina

 

They say they have been coaching the staff in "American" friendliness

and it does show...some non RCI are also being more fun and friendly

for instance I was asking a server on buffet about the pasta and the (Indian) chef overheard and took my arm and walked me up to the pasta station <grin> that was a nice fun touch :)

 

I think they have to realize many people on this side of the "pond" enjoy friendly faces and jokes.

 

they also had free rum punch listed at at 4 pm

and free frozen cocktails at the back pool (covered)

I guess to make up for it

 

I went to the spa and enjoyed steam and sauna then went to covered pool hot tub....a waiter came around with free gelatos for all - banana or mango...yum

 

Our show that night was another hit "Abbracadabra" ABBA tribute group from Canada (mostly) .....they were FANTASTIC ...WOW

 

4 ABBAS,,,plus a back up singer and drummer

 

some people said they had seen them on other ships - Royal LOL...

 

wow....they were grrrrreat

 

dinner was italian - and delicious

Our waiter still a jerk - we got Tiramusu - tho there were other choices......other tables could pick....he was behind and just slapped down the tiramusu LOL

 

after dinner we stopped by jazz club for the dueling pianos...this was packed...people had "found' them and loved them

great addition to the ship IMHO

however bar service here was horrible - slow and no pattern at all

you might get table service or might not

 

Then it was on to the theater for the Michael Jackson tribute...wow what a great show

 

The singers sang some of the songs - beautiful - but most was the dancing...led by the high energy moonwalking impersonator

 

fantastic show - at the end the animation team did their "thank you " in various languages glow in dark routine -= they did not have the whole ship staff parade but one from each area paraded - front desk, spa, chef, waiter, etc etc

 

Poof - confetti shot into crowd and good night

 

black and white, jazz bar and disco still going

I hung for a little while then to bed

 

Disembark very easy.....they actually keep buffet open till 11 am on disembark day?

 

I use a van driver who will wait for me to call him to pick up so we wait til the lines are small as we live "here" and we breezed out of there

 

one thing that made my trip - this time I had NO interaction with the front desk thank heavens as I have not had good experiences with them before

 

I also was lucky - my luggage came on time, I am not diabetic or something so the late late dinner was not ideal but I could deal with it

 

I left the tips on - $12 a day - but no reason to give more

 

I wished Wayne had been there our last morning but he must have been off...we would have liked to tip him in person = I plan to call the office and let them know how much we enjoyed him

Look for Wayne Goode at the back of the Mantibo buffet

 

One thing weird about MSC - no one remembers all the crazy Italian etc names for the decks...we call them deck 6, 7 etc....the names are hard for us to say, remember, they make no sense (ie, they are not alphabetical)

 

MSC is trying and I think they are a fantastic bargain really.

Beautiful ship, fabulous food, fantastic shows

 

Try to avoid the desk, hope you have no snafus....

look for the people who moved over from Royal

 

My advice to MSC would be - keep hiring them from Royal, some of the fun Filipino staff from Carnival would be nice too - maybe give those poor folks a raise so they could send more back to their devastated homeland??

 

MSC should also THINK - they should have stopped the 9 pm Euro dine time

they should hire more bar servers and bartenders

If you sell all inclusive packages you can expect Americans are going to use them...they are not going to just sit back and nurse a campari and soda...they are gonna drink and party

this is no sherry sipping crowd LOL

 

I shared one of the "cocktail packs" with a friend....12 drinks for 10 ...you save 20% - but it was more restricted than on Poesia where these counted for a "Dr Love' or other alchemy drink.....sigh

Drinks , bars, etc were not consistent...

my advice - tho perhaps not politically correct - avoid the eastern european surly and stingy bartenders and look for the friendly Jamacians who probably are just new from Royal - great drinks by the pool haha

 

Would I go again = oh sure...I am looking at super bowl and or St Pat cruise

 

I know some of my picky older group members probably won't...honestly this is a hard ship to find group on unless you meet for dinner and some of them

didn't so did not see us much.

One gal had her expensive hard plastic "Britto" luggage damaged

One guy who has breathing issues,disabled, had a horrible experience with the wheelchair help at the port and he complained about that over and over

<sigh>

 

Others loved it....a very experienced cruiser said this was the best entertainment he ever saw....experienced cruisers said this was the best shrimp at seat....best food....ship is gorgeous....everything so clean...even the ladies rooms were clean....I have been on NCL and Carnival and seen rest rooms that were like a gas station LOL>> MSC sparkles

 

They are 'trying" to be more American....and still dress the staff beautiful LOL....Carnival has resorted to golf shirts for the front desk and tommy bahama shirts for the buffet staff LOL

All in all a great cruise for the $$$, stunning ship, fabulous food, wonderful buffet, great music and fantastic shows.....and I am available if MSC needs an "adviser" >> will work for cruises LOL

[Big Jay]

Great Review!!!!!

[Elmartellama]

They say they have been coaching the staff in "American" friendliness

and it does show...some non RCI are also being more fun and friendly

for instance I was asking a server on buffet about the pasta and the (Indian) chef overheard and took my arm and walked me up to the pasta station <grin> that was a nice fun touch :)

 

I think they have to realize many people on this side of the "pond" enjoy friendly faces and jokes.

 

Now that would be considered quite weird (or even rude) in Europe. I certainly would not like it.

 

Anyway, I've been on the Liberty of the Seas and I honestly don't think no server would do such thing in the buffet, since they all seem to be super busy clearing tables and doing their jobs.

[sharecruises]

Now that would be considered quite weird (or even rude) in Europe. I certainly would not like it.

 

Anyway, I've been on the Liberty of the Seas and I honestly don't think no server would do such thing in the buffet, since they all seem to be super busy clearing tables and doing their jobs.

 

It was not the server - it was the chef :) with the big hat and checker pants

 

Americans like to have a little fun

 

I personally don't like the Animation team - I did like the clown Pepito on my last Poesia cruise...but I find Mime/clowns kind of creepy....LOL

 

While I am certainly NOT the sort of USA cruiser who tries to be buddy buddy with the staff, I enjoy a nice server, Wayne Goode was a delight

 

He remembered our names (well we all were wearing lanyard name tags)...he joked around with us

He brought coffee refills out for us and more

he even put a bunch of little pastries on a big plate and brought it back for our table

 

Our dinner waiter I must say was a bossy, harried, hurried sort of guy, very unfriendly - I hope they promote Wayne :)

 

~~~~~~~~~"When in Rome...do as the Romans do"...thank heavens MSC USA is realizing they are NOT in Rome

Or Paris, or London or wherever....

they have the ice machines working churning out the Ice Ice Baby

On Poesia they were getting better about the Ice (my 3rd time on them) ....but still the machines would go empty and

frustrated Americans would wander around begging for the Ice Ice Baby

Divina had NO problem....they have nice big glasses too at the buffet - wonderful and lots of Ice

one request and our cabin ice bucket was filled TWICE every day

even our surly waiter made sure we had the Ice Ice Baby......we want the Ice Ice Baby :)

 

Edited November 24, 2013 by sharecruises

[SunFunCruiser]

For us slightly different as there was not a lot going on over 18 nights, I agree the ship is great and blingy,, , again over 18 nights consistency was key, you could be in a bar ask for something and be refused only to be able to get it in another bar, same with dining one waiter will one waiter wont, as I've mentioned bars I could never understand why it would take 7 minutes to get a drink even when the bar was empty, and that was when I am sat at the bar, we would often joke that because we was on drinks package they go slower so you don't drink more lol, but reality is also they may not be happy with some as they don't get the gratuity from you, so hence the inconsistency maybe

 

These guys work long hours and work very hard and they have my admiration, but having said that it is annoying constantly having to explain something because they don't grasp it

 

For those who read these posts take note of names people are saying are good, you will be thankful in the end trust me

 

This was EXACTLY my experience!!!!

[bltrn]

Wonderful review!!! I'll be on her next week!! :D

[camofwilliamsburg]

FYI: For the person who had the sea sickness: A glass of ginger ale no longer works.... very little if any real ginger in soda anymore.

 

Better to bring ginger capsules and take them daily to make sure you never get sea sick. If they had ginger ( like with sushi) then that would be a great thing to take for sea sickness. Better to prevent though.... Just take 2 capsules 2-3 times per day.