New to MSC

[Jay Sam]

Hello folks,

 

I have never sailed MSC before and am considering Divina for a post Thanksgiving cruise in late Nov to the Caribbean.

 

Would like to hear your thoughts on some things please.

 

Stateroom size.

Ship layout, including navigating the ship.

Food offerings in the MDR and buffet.

Customer service.

 

I have heard that MSC has some of the best/newest ships out there, which from the photos I have seen Divina looks incredible.

 

Have sailed 5 other lines and would like to branch out and try something different.

 

Thanks in advance.

[bonvoyagebites]

We went on the Divina in October 2014 (Review on our blog site shown below).

 

We honestly quite enjoyed the buffet, and thought the MDR was good, but not amazing. I LOVE eggs benedict, but theirs was AWFUL (IMHO, not trying to start a whole new thread about their eggs bene:) ) The pizza is amazing, and you can pretty much just live on that if you are a pizza fan.

 

The stateroom was an interior, and honestly I thought it was nicely sized and quite comfortable.

 

In regard to customer service, I rather enjoyed it, and had good experiences, other than maybe the rude maitre d' in the MDR (was rude to his workers, especially).

 

Take a peek at our review on the blog. there are a few more pics on there as well. Have a great trip, and give it a shot.

[Jay Sam]

We went on the Divina in October 2014 (Review on our blog site shown below).

 

We honestly quite enjoyed the buffet, and thought the MDR was good, but not amazing. I LOVE eggs benedict, but theirs was AWFUL (IMHO, not trying to start a whole new thread about their eggs bene:) ) The pizza is amazing, and you can pretty much just live on that if you are a pizza fan.

 

The stateroom was an interior, and honestly I thought it was nicely sized and quite comfortable.

 

In regard to customer service, I rather enjoyed it, and had good experiences, other than maybe the rude maitre d' in the MDR (was rude to his workers, especially).

 

Take a peek at our review on the blog. there are a few more pics on there as well. Have a great trip, and give it a shot.

 

Rachael,

 

Thank you so very much for not only your post, but also the blog. A lot of great information there. Wow, you covered it well. Thanks.

 

Also thanks for the video of Maho Beach in St. Maarten. I have been there twice and always enjoy the landings especially. The Air France A-340 always gives me a rush. Great stuff. I am an airline guy (employee for 30 years) and have loved watching airplanes since I was a kid.

 

Now I have cruise ships to as another hobby. Thanks again for all the information. You rock.

 

A couple of great sites are shipparade.com and cruiseradio.net. Ship parade has a lot of cool photos of ships and facts and figures too. Cruise Radio is a weekly show that broadcasts each week. They interview cruise industry folks and each week there is an interview with someone reviewing a recent cruise. I am actually on the show coming up. Probably broadcast will be coming up Thursday.

 

Thanks again and all the best,

 

Jeff

 

ps. Yeah I could live on pizza. Oh yeah.

Edited May 24, 2015 by Jay Sam
wrong wording

[MsTabbyKats]

I did live on the pizza in December.

 

And the crystal staircase was a feast for my eyes.

 

I found the staff very friendly and helpful.

 

The only negative...we had a small balcony. It was small...very small...and we aren't very big. The balcony came in handy....just because it gave us more space.

 

I spoke to a woman who had the same kind of room...and she said her (he was rotund) husband couldn't fit in the shower.

[bonvoyagebites]

Jeff,

 

Thank you for the kind words. The blog is new within the last month or so. Keep an eye on it, as hopefully there will be more to come. It has been a lot of work and we are having fun with it. The video and the reviews were an afterthought, so future ones will be better (leaving tomorrow for San Diego, followed on Wednesday by a short jaunt to Vancouver on HAL MS Amsterdam)

 

Anyway, enjoy MSC if you choose to go.

[Jay Sam]

Jeff,

 

Thank you for the kind words. The blog is new within the last month or so. Keep an eye on it, as hopefully there will be more to come. It has been a lot of work and we are having fun with it. The video and the reviews were an afterthought, so future ones will be better (leaving tomorrow for San Diego, followed on Wednesday by a short jaunt to Vancouver on HAL MS Amsterdam)

 

Anyway, enjoy MSC if you choose to go.

 

Hey Rachael,

 

So you are on Amsterdam to Vancouver. That should be amazing. Enjoy. I took Oosterdam on an Alaska cruise from Seattle. Awesome cruise. HAL is great. Happy sailing. Want to try out MSC. I like a new experience. Variety is the spice of life right. Happy sailing.

 

Jeff

[MsTabbyKats]

I did live on the pizza in December.

 

And the crystal staircase was a feast for my eyes.

 

I found the staff very friendly and helpful.

 

The only negative...we had a small balcony. It was small...very small...and we aren't very big. The balcony came in handy....just because it gave us more space.

 

I spoke to a woman who had the same kind of room...and she said her (he was rotund) husband couldn't fit in the shower.

 

Sorry...I wasn't clear. We had a balcony cabin. The room itself was very small (as well as the balcony). Except for sleeping, we didn't spend much time in the cabin. But, when we did...we really needed that balcony for "breathing room".

[lamchops]

Hello folks,

 

 

Would like to hear your thoughts on some things please.

 

Stateroom size.

Ship layout, including navigating the ship.

Food offerings in the MDR and buffet.

Customer service.

 

I have heard that MSC has some of the best/newest ships out there, which from the photos I have seen Divina looks incredible.

 

Have sailed 5 other lines and would like to branch out and try something different.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

I tried MSC last September in Europe for the first time and posted a review. I titled it "MSC Magnifica from a North American POV" and focused on differences from the cruise lines that are readily available to us.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=262738