MSC DIVINA Back to Europe in Summer 2015

[eroller]

Well MSC's big splash for year round cruises out of North America didn't last long. In fact not even a full year if you consider MSC DIVINA will head to South America for a couple months this Summer.

 

It's just been announced that MSC DIVINA will return to Europe for Mediterranean cruises in Summer 2015. Apparently they will try to market this specific ship a bit differently than the rest of the MSC fleet in Europe, with more emphasis on a North American geared product. Not sure how true that will be or if it's just corporate spin trying to save face.

 

I'm guessing the real reason is that MSC headquarters didn't want another year of dismal per diems ($299 for a week) for one of their newest ships. I can't say I blame them, although it takes more than just one season for a relatively unknown brand and ship to make a dent in a new market. Hope they are not throwing in the towel prematurely.

 

Here is a link to the full article:

http://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/11002-summer-2015-msc-divina-heading-to-med.html

[sidari]

MSC always said Divina would stay in Miami for Two years and would be replaced by one of the New ships currently on order.

[eroller]

MSC always said Divina would stay in Miami for Two years and would be replaced by one of the New ships currently on order.

 

 

Really? Where is the press release for that? To my knowledge no decision about deployment has been made for either of the two new ships on order. Just speculation at this point. FYI the first new build is not even scheduled to enter service until 2017 which would leave a two year gap with no ship in North America. Doesn't quite add up.

[sidari]

The info came from the Captain on the Transatlantic to Miami last November and also from the Cruise Director.

 

Divina was slated to return to Europe after 2 years, clearly with the New ship not ready until 2017 they have made the decision to fill the gap until then.

 

We were also told about the New ships on that voyage which was ridiculed when information was posted on these boards, by certain people here because there was no press release!

[eroller]

The info came from the Captain on the Transatlantic to Miami last November and also from the Cruise Director.

 

Divina was slated to return to Europe after 2 years, clearly with the New ship not ready until 2017 they have made the decision to fill the gap until then.

 

We were also told about the New ships on that voyage which was ridiculed when information was posted on these boards, by certain people here because there was no press release!

 

 

After over 100 cruises on most cruise lines, one thing I've learned is that the crew onboard (from the Captain on down) are the last to know anything. Just like any small community, there is a lot of gossip and not much substance. Until there is an actual press release, it's pure speculation.

Edited April 24, 2014 by eroller

[sidari]

There is/was no speculation regarding the New builds or that Divina was heading back to Europe and clearly both the Captain and Cruise Director were right on both accounts.

 

I have been looking for the press releases that were on Seatrade Insider from Rick Sasso and Francesco Vago on both issues.

 

If you read Vago's remarks about wanting to "invent the iPhone of the cruise industry", savings of scale, about fatter rather than longer and that one of the new builds is set to replace the Divina out of Miami, you would not just expect a Vista Class ship. Expect a new take on 'the cruise ship' and a new class altogether.

[eroller]

There is/was no speculation regarding the New builds or that Divina was heading back to Europe and clearly both the Captain and Cruise Director were right on both accounts.

 

I have been looking for the press releases that were on Seatrade Insider from Rick Sasso and Francesco Vago on both issues.

 

 

If you find them let me know because I don't think they exist.

 

How a cruise director or Captain can know the deployment strategy of a new build that won't even be finished until 2017 is beyond me. I'm guessing that the top executives at MSC haven't even finalized the deployment strategy yet. Most likely they are working on 2016 itineraries right now. For all we know one could go to China just like Royal Caribbean did with QUANTUM. Not saying that will happen, but anything is possible regarding a ship that won't even make her debut until a good 3+ years from now.

 

As I mentioned before, I don't think any kind of press release exists that states DIVINA will only stay in Miami for two years, or what itinerary the 2017 new build will be. Just speculation.

 

Not saying that sometimes the crew don't get it right, but if I had a nickel for the amount of speculation I've heard from crew that didn't come to fruition, I would be a very wealthy man. The cruise lines are smart enough to know that informing the crew, even high ranking officers, something like a very competitive deployment strategy before it's made public is risky. The crew talks, and things get embellished along the way. Pretty much everyone in the industry knows this.

 

FYI this may be the article you were speaking of:

http://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/10796-vago-msc-to-build-continue-expanding.html

 

It speaks of what *could* happen, not what *will* happen. Big difference.

Edited April 24, 2014 by eroller

[neptuno]

Did anyone read the article? It says that Divina will enter dry dock and return to South Florida in November 2015. Interesting are the quotes about American taste and pallete.

Edited April 25, 2014 by neptuno

[Alex71]

Not sure I understand the strategy here. So they are bringing the Divina back to the Med over the summer, which is understandable given the prices they were able to charge, plus Florida is a classic winter destination, at least for European travellers, and MSC does not have the brand yet to fill the ship with local passengers alone.

 

I don't understand though, why they are looking to maintain the Americanized experience in Europe. Wouldn't North American passengers, who can't handle the European experience and prefer a bubble of home, go with an American line to begin with? Wouldn't on the other hand American travellers who are looking for a full Mediterranean experience prefer clasic MSC product as it is found on the other ships?

 

It seems to me that MSC is trying to be too many things to too many people. They should stick with what they do best, which is a distinctly Italian experience.

[sidari]

eroller ... here is a link to the thread i added in November last year after the TA to Miami, check out page 2 and the post by Skier 52 and the information he added which pre dates Divina going to Miami regarding New ships.

 

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1948320

 

Seatrade insider carried a story from the Captain which mentioned the New ships along with statements from Vago and Sasso, their archive does not seem to go back to November for some reason and links that i added to these stories within a number of threads are no longer available.

 

With regards to itineries for New ships no one mentioned that only you!

[GOLDENBONNY]

MSC always said Divina would stay in Miami for Two years and would be replaced by one of the New ships currently on order.

 

Make sence for me. I don't like cruise same ship many times, there is so many of them I love to try different ships :) .

[Elmartellama]

Not sure I understand the strategy here. So they are bringing the Divina back to the Med over the summer, which is understandable given the prices they were able to charge, plus Florida is a classic winter destination, at least for European travellers, and MSC does not have the brand yet to fill the ship with local passengers alone.

 

I don't understand though, why they are looking to maintain the Americanized experience in Europe. Wouldn't North American passengers, who can't handle the European experience and prefer a bubble of home, go with an American line to begin with? Wouldn't on the other hand American travellers who are looking for a full Mediterranean experience prefer clasic MSC product as it is found on the other ships?

 

It seems to me that MSC is trying to be too many things to too many people. They should stick with what they do best, which is a distinctly Italian experience.

 

This decision makes economic sense, they just imitate what RCI and others are doing: summers in the med, winters in the Caribbean.

 

The fact that they will keep the "americanized" version of the ship might make sense in terms of not having to train the crew and changing things every few months. They will keep the "americanized" version to compete with other cruise lines that have identical itinerary.

 

Basically they will make the same itinerary the Allure of the Seas does (Cannes instead of Marseille), and they will also compete with the big new Costa Diadema (Marseille and Savona instead of Cannes and Rome).

 

I'm very happy about this, since they will dock in Mallorca every week. Next year thanks to the new calls of Allure of the Seas (5.400 pax), MSC Divina (4.000 pax), MSC Preziosa (4.000 pax) and Costa Diadema (5.000 pax) Palma's port will probably increase a lot and surpass Venice as thrid European port for cruisers (after Barcelona and Civitavecchia). Basically the big lines are all offering Mallorca on their main itineraries. Even if none of them offer Palma as a base port the economic impact will be huge.

Edited April 25, 2014 by Elmartellama

[Alex71]

This decision makes economic sense, they just imitate what RCI and others are doing: summers in the med, winters in the Caribbean.

 

The fact that they will keep the "americanized" version of the ship might make sense in terms of not having to train the crew and changing things every few months. They will keep the "americanized" version to compete with other cruise lines that have identical itinerary.

 

Basically they will make the same itinerary the Allure of the Seas does (Cannes instead of Marseille), and they will also compete with the big new Costa Diadema (Marseille and Savona instead of Cannes and Rome).

 

I'm very happy about this, since they will dock in Mallorca every week. Next year thanks to the new calls of Allure of the Seas (5.400 pax), MSC Divina (4.000 pax), MSC Preziosa (4.000 pax) and Costa Diadema (5.000 pax) Palma's port will probably increase a lot and surpass Venice as thrid European port for cruisers (after Barcelona and Civitavecchia). Basically the big lines are all offering Mallorca on their main itineraries. Even if none of them offer Palma as a base port the economic impact will be huge.

 

I didn't think of the crew training aspect. This of course makes sense. I think it might get tough from a marketing / branding persective to have different offerings under the same brand in the same market, but we'll see.

 

Happy things are working out well for Mallorca. For us it's a destination that always deserves more time than just a port stop, so I agree it would be great for lines to offer it as a base port so that one could stay an extra week before or after the cruise.

[American Bear]

Well MSC's big splash for year round cruises out of North America didn't last long. In fact not even a full year if you consider MSC DIVINA will head to South America for a couple months this Summer.

 

It's just been announced that MSC DIVINA will return to Europe for Mediterranean cruises in Summer 2015. Apparently they will try to market this specific ship a bit differently than the rest of the MSC fleet in Europe, with more emphasis on a North American geared product. Not sure how true that will be or if it's just corporate spin trying to save face.

 

I'm guessing the real reason is that MSC headquarters didn't want another year of dismal per diems ($299 for a week) for one of their newest ships. I can't say I blame them, although it takes more than just one season for a relatively unknown brand and ship to make a dent in a new market. Hope they are not throwing in the towel prematurely.

 

Here is a link to the full article:

http://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/11002-summer-2015-msc-divina-heading-to-med.html

 

 

From what I read in this article, the Divina will spend next summer in the Med., but return in the fall after a dry dock where the article stated "the ship will receive some 'surprise enhancements' specifically for the North American market"!:eek:

Sounds like the Divina will be with us for awhile, at least until one of the new, larger MSC ships comes along!:D

By then those of us who've taken advantage of the past low prices, and joined the loyalty club, future sailings on MSC will be 8-10% less for us!:D

And with the loyalty club bonus points for on board spending, a black card and 20% savings isn't far off!:D

Edited April 25, 2014 by American Bear

[Elmartellama]

I didn't think of the crew training aspect. This of course makes sense. I think it might get tough from a marketing / branding persective to have different offerings under the same brand in the same market, but we'll see.

 

Happy things are working out well for Mallorca. For us it's a destination that always deserves more time than just a port stop, so I agree it would be great for lines to offer it as a base port so that one could stay an extra week before or after the cruise.

 

Well, we have many Aida (Carnival corp.) and some Mein Schiff (RCI + TUI) cruises that have Palma as base port, but those are german-speaking cruises (and very expensive). Mein Schiff will have 4 ships in the near future: 2 new and beautiful ones, and the smaller current two. Aida is also expanding so they might base more ships in Mallorca. Those lines however have usually smaller ships (around 2000 pax) and offer german language cruises. I speak german but my partner doesn't, so they are not an option for us.

 

Bigger ships might have difficulties with the current terminals if they used them as base. The current port is 100% on land gained to the sea and space is scarce, so they can't build bigger terminals at the moment. Even with a major expansion currently in discussion, a new bigger terminal would have to be shared for ferries and cruises and it would have to be further from the city anyway. Currently almost all ships that dock for a short time do so near the city, which makes sense.

 

Finally, Barcelona is very close and has competitve infrastructure as a base port. Also it has air connections with the US (even if Mallorca has the best air connections to all Germany and UK airports).

[riclop]

Well MSC's big splash for year round cruises out of North America didn't last long. In fact not even a full year if you consider MSC DIVINA will head to South America for a couple months this Summer.

 

It's just been announced that MSC DIVINA will return to Europe for Mediterranean cruises in Summer 2015. Apparently they will try to market this specific ship a bit differently than the rest of the MSC fleet in Europe, with more emphasis on a North American geared product. Not sure how true that will be or if it's just corporate spin trying to save face.

 

I'm guessing the real reason is that MSC headquarters didn't want another year of dismal per diems ($299 for a week) for one of their newest ships. I can't say I blame them, although it takes more than just one season for a relatively unknown brand and ship to make a dent in a new market. Hope they are not throwing in the towel prematurely.

 

Here is a link to the full article:

http://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/11002-summer-2015-msc-divina-heading-to-med.html

Thanks for the link and it just goes to show you how they lied.

[WhiteWineInTheSun]

It makes sense for them to head to the Med for the summer. Hurricane season generally means lower capacity for all cruise lines, and it probably is worse for MSC, being the new cruise line in town.

[need2cruisesoon]

MSC is close to a deal that would have the Fincantieri shipyard build a 150,000gt prototype ship very soon. Expect delivery in 2018 of the twin ships.

 

LINK:

http://www.themeditelegraph.com/en/shipping/shipyard-and-offshore/2014/04/24/fincantieri-and-msc-are-dealing-for-new-ships-FFCCSzI9mku4BjulLgN1YI/index.html

[Alex71]

Well, we have many Aida (Carnival corp.) and some Mein Schiff (RCI + TUI) cruises that have Palma as base port, but those are german-speaking cruises (and very expensive). Mein Schiff will have 4 ships in the near future: 2 new and beautiful ones, and the smaller current two. Aida is also expanding so they might base more ships in Mallorca. Those lines however have usually smaller ships (around 2000 pax) and offer german language cruises. I speak german but my partner doesn't, so they are not an option for us.

 

Bigger ships might have difficulties with the current terminals if they used them as base. The current port is 100% on land gained to the sea and space is scarce, so they can't build bigger terminals at the moment. Even with a major expansion currently in discussion, a new bigger terminal would have to be shared for ferries and cruises and it would have to be further from the city anyway. Currently almost all ships that dock for a short time do so near the city, which makes sense.

 

Finally, Barcelona is very close and has competitve infrastructure as a base port. Also it has air connections with the US (even if Mallorca has the best air connections to all Germany and UK airports).

 

I want to try Mein Schiff at some point, but it's three times as expensive as MSC, although it is supposed to be very nice and it is automatically all inclusive (service charge, drinks, etc included). If AIDA still is the party ship it once was, we might be too old for it at this point. On the other hand, I'm hearing they are geared more towards families as well now, so maybe they are an option for us.

[sidari]

MSC would get more money from sales in Europe by bringing the Divina back for the summer season, i fail to see how it would attract more North Americans to sail Europe unless the cruises were only bookable by North Americans and i doubt that would happen.

 

Then there is the cost of return flights which many find prohibitive, unless of course MSC find a deal with one of the airlines.

[Alex71]

MSC would get more money from sales in Europe by bringing the Divina back for the summer season, i fail to see how it would attract more North Americans to sail Europe unless the cruises were only bookable by North Americans and i doubt that would happen.

 

Then there is the cost of return flights which many find prohibitive, unless of course MSC find a deal with one of the airlines.

 

I think they should have tried basing her over the summer at a North American port that is cheap and easy to reach for their European customer base. From New York, e.g. they could have done routes north to New England and Canada alternating with routes south along the coast and to Bermuda. This would have given them a base load of European passengers and they could have topped it up with Americans.

 

Aida has three ships in North America over the summer, that they apparently manage to fill with a product that exclusively appeals to German speaking passengers. Since MSC has a much broader appeal, I'm sure they could have easily filled the Divina.

Edited April 26, 2014 by Alex71

[Justyman87]

I think they should have tried basing her over the summer at a North American port that is cheap and easy to reach for their European customer base. From New York, e.g. they could have done routes north to New England and Canada alternating with routes south along the coast and to Bermuda. This would have given them a base load of European passengers and they could have topped it up with Americans.

 

Aida has three ships in North America over the summer, that they apparently manage to fill with a product that exclusively appeals to German speaking passengers. Since MSC has a much broader appeal, I'm sure they could have easily filled the Divina.

 

Take what I say with a grain of salt but I don't think coming to New York would happen. For one, no cruise lines do New England/ Canada anymore until the later summer like August/September/October. I don't know why... just no one does it, unless you count Holland America on the Maasdam and Veendam. Also Bermuda has a space problem unfortunately. From what I understand there are only two main berthing areas that can handle massive ships at Kings Wharf. On Wednesday, Thursday and Friday the Breakaway and Summit are in, on Sunday Monday Tuesday the Dawn and either Explorer or Granduer are in. Leaving not that much room for the Divina unless she plans it accordingly to have a berthing space and do longer cruises to the Caribbean also like the Explorer does.

[Shippy]

We did a Yacht Club YC2 in January.

It was so incredible that when I got home, I boooked a YC3 for next March !

[Typhoon1]

Not surprising.

 

MSC doesn't deliver a product that North Americans appreciate.

[Justyman87]

I would consider that true. When Americans think cruises they think RCl, Carnival, NCL, Celebrity, not MSC. I am hesitant to even try MSC don't know why just seems weird.

 

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