Honest opinion

[momof4incanada]

My husband and I have only cruised Princess so stepping out of our comfort zone on top of taking our four kids on a cruise this xmas.....what is your honest opinion of MSC Divina? For kids, for comfort, for food. The ports are great looking as is the cost.

 

Kids are 11, 11, 13, 13

 

THANKS

[Janet&Carl]

HI

 

I havent cruised on the Divina but I have taken pre teens and teenagers on many MSC cruises. They are treated like treasures by all the staff. They have a ball and we don't see them (except when we insist they have dinner with us) from when we step on until when we step off.

 

They love it and so do we - we get to relax. Honestly, I wouldnt hesitate. Our kids even stay on board while we go on day trips on land.

Edited March 13, 2015 by Janet&Carl

[Caronrick]

My husband and I have only cruised Princess so stepping out of our comfort zone on top of taking our four kids on a cruise this xmas.....what is your honest opinion of MSC Divina? For kids, for comfort, for food. The ports are great looking as is the cost.

 

Kids are 11, 11, 13, 13

 

THANKS

 

We just took our son on the Divina at the end of Feb. He loved it! The kids club people are by far the best we have dealt with so far. Honest opinion, the ship and crew are awesome.. the one variable we can not control is the other passengers. We found that as Canadians our politeness was not often seen in many (not all) of the other people on board. Many people were willing to cut lines and be rude and not think twice about it. Since the people on your cruise will be different than who we sailed with, I hope you have a better experience than that. The food should not be a problem. There is a kids menu in the MDR, and you can even sign the kids up to be picked up 1 hr after early seating by the kids club so they can eat and go play and the parents can enjoy a relaxing dinner. Very nice feature for us. In the buffet, there is a lot of variety for kids to eat, from pizza, salads, fruit, burger, fries, hot dog, pastas... even breakfast we had never struggled to find something for our son. Have a great time and let me know if you have any :confused: before you go! :D

[Daniela32]

If you are expecting the same... it won't be the same. If you prepare yourself for differences you might be pleasantly surprised.

 

Inform yourself here before booking, find out about differences and be prepared to them.

[SteelCruisin]

My family really enjoyed our MSC experience aboard the Divina 2 Thanksgivings ago, now my children are older than yours, but they still had a great time, expect some cultural differences, but embrace them and you will have a great time.... if you are interested here is a link to my review http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1964582&highlight=steelcruisin

[Aza1972]

My advice would be DON'T DO IT. Especially over Xmas as you well be disappointed.

 

We travelled all the way from Australia for a b2b Xmas and New Year cruise.

 

Yes the ship is beautiful but that is where it all ended.

 

The ship was overcrowded. There were 4600 onboard with over 1000 being children. The problem is that it was not just children but rude misbehaving children. Other sultures just seem to be happy to let their kids run wild.

 

The food was average at best. Dishes always ran out and were never replaced. Food was bland and covered in oil.

 

There was NO atmosphere on Xmas Day. Most agreed on this and this was a HUGE let down seeing so many families were onboard.

 

Customer service was the worst I have encountered.

 

Please heed my advice and if you are going to do a family Xmas cruise please don't do it with MSC. You will be very disappointed.

[American Bear]

Ignore the negative nannies, have a great trip.

The ship is beautiful, the food is very good, and the staff are very friendly!

[wwwfla]

Ignore the negative nannies, have a great trip.

The ship is beautiful, the food is very good, and the staff are very friendly!

 

I agree with all you said. However, based on what the OP stated, I would say they should not go.

[Cruise-A-Hoy]

the one variable we can not control is the other passengers. We found that as Canadians our politeness was not often seen in many (not all) of the other people on board. Many people were willing to cut lines and be rude and not think twice about it. /quote]

 

Since I do not want to start an argument I won't say who. I have found that the people from certain areas in the world are rude, noisy and will cut in front of you. Just suffice to say that it was not Canadian or American.

 

I have been on the Divina 3 times and on Princess about 6 times. In my opinion Princess has gone down in service and quality. I think that MSC Divina is far superior to Princess. The crew is very friendly always walk around with a "hello" and smile. I do not have young ones but was able to see the kids and programs. They all had a blast, every night at show time they marched into the theatre singing.

 

Other than going during xmas you should have a great time as will you kids

Don't let the negatives talk you out of it. Some of the negatives have never been on the ship.

 

BTW If your kids like pizza they have soem of the best I have had. Also in back of the buffet they have a counter and for kids with kids food.

 

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