We're taking the plunge on to Divina, Good idea?

[2thesea]

We are avid cruisers, RCCL and Disney mostly. We cruise 2 to 3 times a year and have for years. I have been reading about the Divina and we thought we would take a leap and cruise on a line that we have never cruised on before.

 

NOW the questions start. What will I hate and what will I love? Just looking for everyone take on the ship and the cruise line staff. :-)

 

I will be sailing with my family/extended family. My daughter is disabled and in a wheelchair. Anyone with experience in the area would be great.

 

Thank you in advance :D

[Cruisin MarcnFran]

We tried the Divina in October. I would definitely sail with them again. The shows were great, the ship is gorgeous. The staff friendly yet professional.

 

We only ate at the buffet as we're more eaters, not diners. We were warned that lunches in the dining room can last over an hour and dinner close to 3 hours. The food was very good at their buffet, better then RC but pretty much the same thing daily.

 

The only complaint we have is that it sails from Miami - that 3+ hour drive home is not fun.

 

I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

[anamarieus]

This ship is absolutely stunningly beautiful. Bring all your phones, cameras and chargers. The Divina has a mermaid theme at the pools and the fountains at the pools are beautiful.

 

they have a guitar player at nites on the Afrodite Aft Deck 14. The disco rocks, they have salsa lessons.

 

for a quiet view of the ocean, go to deck 5 where the safety drill is. No one is ever out there. There is the deck with all the bars and clubs, though the disco is farther up, which is awesome as well.

 

you will have a fabulous time. Dont miss any of the shows as they are all great!!

[anamarieus]

Plan to arrive to the show about 20 mins early. You can get a nice seat up front. Pls if anyone can answer as I am not sure about wheelchair accesibility in the theatre. Please comment.

[2thesea]

Thank you all for the replies. Stepping out of our comfort zone and sailing on a ship AND cruise line that I have no experience on is a little scary. But Divina looks and sounds AWESOME!

 

Any add expense on board that may come as a shock to me?

[riclop]

There is NO ramp for a wheel chair if you wanted to see the shows closer, your only option is the back of the theater. The ship is beautiful and the shows are not to be missed and there is lots of music in the different lounges. Enjoy it!!!

[camofwilliamsburg]

Forget the negative reviews. It is all wonderful. A smile and a thank you in Italian go a long way!

[DENIE]

Throw the bad reviews out.....this is an awesome ship. We had an excellent time on our 11/12/2014 cruise.

 

We enjoyed the more diverse international crowd on our ship (this particular cruise was highly marketed in Europe, I understand).

 

The staff was wonderful, and service was terrific. There may be subtle differences (covered in other reviews), but really, nothing that should detract from an excellent cruise!

[flhokie]

The ship is beautiful & most of the staff extremely nice. The gelato, children's program staff & disembarkation were great.

 

My husband is not in a wheelchair, but cannot do steps due to 5 spinal surgeries. We often waited 5-15 minutes for an elevator which was very frustrating.

 

The staff assisting with tendering was wonderful, but it was very rough. I have no doubt they'd assist you with that, but it may be challenging if the seas aren't just right. You enter the tender on the upper level & exit via the lower level (stairs).

 

At the buffet, the only time the automatic doors to the outdoor deck were operational were on embarkation day & the day we were in San Juan (possibly due to coast guard inspection). This was very frustrating if you wanted to eat outside--had to go down a hallway & go through a door with handle.

 

Some talk about the beautiful fountains by the pool, but they were never turned on the entire cruise (no staff could say why).

 

There are language & cultural barriers with the reception desk staff. One basic example...I asked where the cyber cafe was (even said internet) and was directed to some room with luggage in it--not the internet/cyber cafe.

 

Overall we had a nice cruise, but will be going back to RCCL.

[anamarieus]

If I recall correctly, there is a button to press to get into closed sliding doors.

[riclop]

The ship is beautiful & most of the staff extremely nice. The gelato, children's program staff & disembarkation were great.

 

My husband is not in a wheelchair, but cannot do steps due to 5 spinal surgeries. We often waited 5-15 minutes for an elevator which was very frustrating.

 

The staff assisting with tendering was wonderful, but it was very rough. I have no doubt they'd assist you with that, but it may be challenging if the seas aren't just right. You enter the tender on the upper level & exit via the lower level (stairs).

 

At the buffet, the only time the automatic doors to the outdoor deck were operational were on embarkation day & the day we were in San Juan (possibly due to coast guard inspection). This was very frustrating if you wanted to eat outside--had to go down a hallway & go through a door with handle.

 

Some talk about the beautiful fountains by the pool, but they were never turned on the entire cruise (no staff could say why).

 

There are language & cultural barriers with the reception desk staff. One basic example...I asked where the cyber cafe was (even said internet) and was directed to some room with luggage in it--not the internet/cyber cafe.

 

Overall we had a nice cruise, but will be going back to RCCL.

 

All you had to do was press the blue button.

[keyskelly]

Just got off the Divina today, and you will not be disappointed. I will be writing a review, but overall, we had a wonderful time with a beautiful ship, lovely staff, amazing shows, and an all around great time! :)

 

Enjoy your cruise!!!

[maureencruiser]

There are language & cultural barriers with the reception desk staff. One basic example...I asked where the cyber cafe was (even said internet) and was directed to some room with luggage in it--not the internet/cyber cafe.

 

While you were at guest services, you should have turned around, Cybercafe was right behind you. It is also listed on the daily Compass everyday as being on Deck 5.

[flhokie]

While you were at guest services, you should have turned around, Cybercafe was right behind you. It is also listed on the daily Compass everyday as being on Deck 5.

 

I did, however it is hidden in a corner & the sign is only visible from 1 direction. I told the person at guest services that I saw on the map it was right in that area & asked her to point me in the right direction. She couldn't understand what I was looking for--even though I referred to it exactly as it was on the map & Compass.

[mcatmcat]

I'm also trying Divina for a short cruise and although I can't comment on the ship because I have never been there some of my royal caribbean fan are telling me that they don't like the fat that the sauna / steamer is not free, employees are not that nice and lots of rude passengers and last but not least you can't request table size

 

I might be wrong but I'm sure I will go back to royal after the experiment lol

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

Edited December 24, 2014 by mcatmcat

[VenusLady]

I'm also trying Divina for a short cruise and although I can't comment on the ship because I have never been there some of my royal caribbean fan are telling me that they don't like the fat that the sauna / steamer is not free, employees are not that nice and lots of rude passengers and last but not least you can't request table size

 

I might be wrong but I'm sure I will go back to royal after the experiment lol

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

 

Sounds like you have already decided you won't enjoy it!

 

It's a bit like a movie, lots of people say "that was rubbish, don't bother seeing it" yet when you watch it, you enjoy it.

I always prefer my own opinion rather than let others decide for me :)

[flhokie]

I'm also trying Divina for a short cruise and although I can't comment on the ship because I have never been there some of my royal caribbean fan are telling me that they don't like the fat that the sauna / steamer is not free, employees are not that nice and lots of rude passengers and last but not least you can't request table size

 

I might be wrong but I'm sure I will go back to royal after the experiment lol

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

 

We do plan to go back go Royal Caribbean after our experience on Divina. That being said, the ship is beautiful and we felt most of the employees were very nice (there were some that weren't, but it wasn't a lot of people).

 

While the sauna/steam room are not free, I enjoyed my spa experience more on this ship than others--no pushy sales pitch.

 

There were a lot of rude passengers--witnessed people being cursed out for moving a persons towels off a lounge chair that hadn't been touched in hours, pushing/shoving, closing elevator doors on people trying to get in, etc.

[American Bear]

Our opinion, our experience (RCL D+)(NCL Plat.)(Carnival Plat.)(Disney 2 cruises),,,,the Divina negative reviews are mostly,,,,,,,,

1) Travel Agents who get benes, pushing other cruise lines.:mad:

2) Employees of competing cruise lines.:mad:

3) Long time loyal cruisers of other lines who see anything different as evil!:eek:

4) People who are just 'sourpusses':D

The Divina is usually priced as the 'Best Bang for your Caribbean Cruise Buck'!

The Ship is clean and beautiful, the prices are usually less then everyone else, the shows are great, the drink packages are the best at sea, and the food is very good! Is everything perfect, nothing in life is!

We had a great time on our B2B, met great new friends, and look forward to future MSC cruises!

TRY IT, YOU'LL LIKE IT:D

We did a quickly planned NCL Getaway which was a good cruise, but the Divina was better!

Go to the Roll Call for your cruise, and meet some new friends!:D

Edited January 1, 2015 by American Bear

[oreosmile]

There were a lot of rude passengers--witnessed people being cursed out for moving a persons towels off a lounge chair that hadn't been touched in hours, pushing/shoving, closing elevator doors on people trying to get in, etc.

 

We noticed the "closing elevator doors on people" just a little too often too - not sure if the people inside the elevators were purposely trying to stop people for getting on or if they were a little clueless and didn't realize that it might take people a few seconds to walk to the other side of the elevator bank from where they were waiting.

 

Overall, the level of rudeness was about the same as I've experienced on any cruise. Most people are great. Some are just clueless. And some think that their experience is more important than yours. And I didn't find it had anything to do with nationality as a couple of the worst offenders on our cruise were North American. I thought the staff was outstanding - whether at LeMuse or handing out trays at the buffet - they always had a smile and wanted happy passengers.

[jr72]

 

Just looking for everyone take on the ship and the cruise line staff. :-)

 

I

 

For these two specific items - the ship and the cruise line staff - I think the Divina was the best of the 25+ Caribbean cruises I have taken.

 

For other items, I think there are positives and negatives vs. other lines, which I noted in a separate post.

[stormynow]

Notice in almost every reveiw their are some negatives. Did a 7 day in Nov and the only way we would go back, if the cruise was free and they threw in the best drink pkg. Been on 70 somes cruises since 1978 and have never complained about a single one.

[letsgoonholiday]

We are avid cruisers, RCCL and Disney mostly. We cruise 2 to 3 times a year and have for years. I have been reading about the Divina and we thought we would take a leap and cruise on a line that we have never cruised on before.

 

NOW the questions start. What will I hate and what will I love? Just looking for everyone take on the ship and the cruise line staff. :-)

 

I will be sailing with my family/extended family. My daughter is disabled and in a wheelchair. Anyone with experience in the area would be great.

 

Thank you in advance :D

 

We loved the Divina! Treat the staff with kindness and they'll treat you like Kings !! We did a Med cruise, so the different Nationalities on Board was like a fruit salad - we enjoyed that. Remember that most of the staff are European and English is not their 1st language.

The cabins are great and the Ship is kept spotless. The food is good. (If you want to find fault you certainly would be able to - we enjoyed it all)

Enjoy your cruise!!!!!

[CruiseScrooge]

be warned if you are a fan of american sports and tv in general. the feeds were very heavy on euro soccer when i did my back to back in oct. very few nfl and college football games. some mlb playoff games weren't broadcast even those playing on a weekday afternoon, very little nhl and nba iirc because i don't follow it. if you are going during something like college basketball march madness i doubt you will be in luck. maybe someone else knows more. none of the national network stations but 2 cable kids channels.

Edited January 8, 2015 by CruiseScrooge
more info

[oreosmile]

I am not into football so don't know exactly what they were airing, but they were showing games in the sports bar and on the big deck screen during our 2 weeks on Divina (Nov/Dec 2014). Some fans were very happy!

 

The cartoon channel was awesome for my daughter - most of the commercials were in Spanish, but the shows were in English. We didn't watch tv other than that.

[terry/marion]

We tried the Divina in October. I would definitely sail with them again. The shows were great, the ship is gorgeous. The staff friendly yet professional.

 

We only ate at the buffet as we're more eaters, not diners. We were warned that lunches in the dining room can last over an hour and dinner close to 3 hours. The food was very good at their buffet, better then RC but pretty much the same thing daily.

 

The only complaint we have is that it sails from Miami - that 3+ hour drive home is not fun.

 

I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

 

 

poor you having to drive 3 hours,We have to fly 13 hours from the UK to Miami