MSC Divina getting mostly bad review

[chong67]

I see that lately, the Divina has been getting bad reviews from user here. You can read it up.

 

I am thinking of getting on this ship in Nov 2016 to the Caribbean. It is price $350 cheaper for the balcony compared to other ships for this 7 day cruise.

 

So I dont know. Bad food. Bad service.

 

What should I do?

[coachw]

There was someone today that posted a good review only had one complaint. I'm booked for March 2016. Gonna give it a shot. $540 total per person. My wife doesn't want to do carnival again which is the next closest price.

[sidari]

If you never give it a try you will never know! and after all the number of reviews v the number of people onboard who do not write a review is very small, that means you are basing a decision on a very tiny percentage of people.

 

MSC are not for everyone and I have found it is usually those who cannot tolerate people from other countries or want everyone to be their friend such as the ships crew and are not happy when they are not or if they do not remember their name!

 

Yes MSC are different, Yes they do things in a different way to the mainstream American cruise lines, but do not let a very small percentage of reviews put you off trying something new.

 

Also remember that reviews posted by someone staying in the Yacht club will be totally different to elsewhere on the ship, in fact there is a very good one posted by Capricruiser who was in the Yacht club.

 

I would say at the price you are paying which is far and away below anything we can find in Europe you should give it a try and go and enjoy it.

 

Also remember that some of these foreigners speak English, try speaking to them you may find that you have something in common.

Edited December 8, 2015 by sidari

[Homosassa]

The "complaints" I see in the reviews about the European flavor of the ships and the food are the very things that encouraged us to book the Divinia for March 2016.

 

We are looking forward to being on a ship where the passengers' idea of food is not a greasy hamburger, french fries, grits or biscuits and gravy.

 

And yes, a multicultural passenger list will add to the enjoy of the experience.

[CruiseIreland]

It's a beautiful ship, the food is good and well presented. There are lots of burgers and fries in the buffet. The shows are very good. The crew are usually very nice and friendly, if very busy. They are not pushy for drinks and getting a drink can take a while at busy times. Announcements are made in several languages but that is not intrusive. English is 1st or 2nd language on ship. MSC is a very good value line in Europe but it's not cheaper than Carnival for the Carribbean.

 

Give it a go with an open mind. You may well enjoy it. Ken

Edited December 8, 2015 by CruiseIreland

[mikesteg]

The "complaints" I see in the reviews about the European flavor of the ships and the food are the very things that encouraged us to book the Divinia for March 2016.

 

Same here, though it was a couple years ago and the cruise in April will be our 4th on MSC. :)

 

I honestly don't see that much more European flavor on MSC (in the Carib) than on other lines. I suppose it's more international, but all ships have different foods, employees from all over, etc. There is more European flavor on MSC, but it's like 1/3rd more than other ships. For a person that can't handle some mortadella on the salad bar, then cruising (or leaving the U.S. at all) may not be the right vacation choice.

 

MSC is a very good value line in Europe but it's not cheaper than Carnival for the Carribbean.

 

It's much cheaper for us, with 2 kids sailing 'free'. About $1000 cheaper (33%) than an equivalent cruise in an equivalent cabin the same week on Carnival. With no kids in tow it is probably more on par, but KSF in combination with the superior kids club, is a big draw for MSC over Carnival. (That said, Camp Ocean is a huge improvement for Carnival, probably on par with MSC... but I think it's taking Carnival 2+ years to roll that out across the fleet.)

Edited December 8, 2015 by mikesteg

[sidari]

Mike ... Now that MSC have changed their kids free policy for next year certainly in Europe how is that going to affect you, is the same being rolled out over there?

[chong67]

I like this ship because the price is good for this time period in Nov 2016.

 

It is a new ship.

 

I also like going to island and places which you can do just about anything you want vs going to a private beach.

[RichNY]

We'll be on our first Divina sailing in October of 2016. I would never book or cancel my cruise based on the opinions of total strangers. If a particular line appeals to me I book it.

 

Many times people have an ax to grind and lack total objectivity. If one little thing goes wrong then the entire cruise is a disaster.

 

Book the cruise, the only way to find out if the cruise lives up to YOUR standards and have a good time.

[Linerguy]

We're going on the DIVINA for the first time in May, and we're looking forward to it. A very good friend of mine has been on the ship three times, and loves it. He's been on 700 cruises – he was a purser for Carnival and Regency – so, that's good enough for me.

 

As far as reviews, we just recently returned from an excellent 10nt repositioning cruise on the REGAL PRINCESS. We had an amazing time, but the whiners were out in force. Contrary to what CC wants us to think, only a small percentage of cruise passengers actually post on CC, so a majority of the cruising public are never heard from.

 

We're going in with an open mind, and are not expecting it to be like other cruise lines. To be honest, we're hoping it's not.

[caddie1]

We're going on the DIVINA for the first time in May, and we're looking forward to it. A very good friend of mine has been on the ship three times, and loves it. He's been on 700 cruises – he was a purser for Carnival and Regency – so, that's good enough for me.

 

As far as reviews, we just recently returned from an excellent 10nt repositioning cruise on the REGAL PRINCESS. We had an amazing time, but the whiners were out in force. Contrary to what CC wants us to think, only a small percentage of cruise passengers actually post on CC, so a majority of the cruising public are never heard from.

 

We're going in with an open mind, and are not expecting it to be like other cruise lines. To be honest, we're hoping it's not.

 

We are on our first cruise with MSC for Xmas and New Year and have read no end of reviews.

We make our own enjoyment and am sure we will enjoy it. If you read and believed every review you would not cruise. You are on holiday enjoy.

[Homosassa]

 

We're going in with an open mind, and are not expecting it to be like other cruise lines. To be honest, we're hoping it's not.

 

I couldn't agree with you more.

 

As more cruiselines are bought out and "Carnivalized,", what made many of the lines unique are disappearing.

 

HAL has gone from "Dutch Night" to a hamburger grill on it's newest ships. Princess is slowly being whittled down with more cabins being jammed into the older ships and less public spaces being available.

 

Royal Caribbean ships are shopping malls complete with fast food mall hamburger shops.

 

The cruise line joke that is NCL where you can pay big bucks to cruise in a "suite" that is located in the ghetto...

 

We are hoping that our Divinia cruise has a more international passenger list and as for the mortadella mentioned by mikesteg and the complaints I have seen of "Undercooked" (al dente) pasta, bring it on.

[Linerguy]

I couldn't agree with you more.

 

HAL has gone from "Dutch Night" to a hamburger grill on it's newest ships.

 

Right before we did the REGAL PRINCESS trip, I sailed on HAL's NOORDAM out of Vancouver. In the past, I've had several excellent trips with the line....but this was disappointing. Food and service were fine, but the entertainment was absolutely horrendous, and the ship, while nice, had no wow factor at all. Still, I had a nice time (but I'm in no hurry to go on HAL anytime soon).

 

I can't imagine the DIVINA not living up to at least my experience on the NOORDAM. If nothing else, I know the ship will have a wow factor.

[Homosassa]

Linerguy,

 

My personal opinion is that because Princess and HAL target the same economic demographic, Carnival is slowly down classing HAL to fit between Carnival Cruise Line and Princess. As a result of the repositioning of HAL, HAL is losing the Dutch specialties (and gaining hamburgers) and other more upscale touches like the fresh flower arrangements throughout the ship, the traditional fixed seatings and formal night, and the availability of complementary liquors to pour over the home made ice cream at lunchtime in the Lido.

[Linerguy]

Linerguy,

 

My personal opinion is that because Princess and HAL target the same economic demographic, Carnival is slowly down classing HAL to fit between Carnival Cruise Line and Princess. As a result of the repositioning of HAL, HAL is losing the Dutch specialties (and gaining hamburgers) and other more upscale touches like the fresh flower arrangements throughout the ship, the traditional fixed seatings and formal night, and the availability of complementary liquors to pour over the home made ice cream at lunchtime in the Lido.

 

NOORDAM didn't feel Dutch at all. To be honest, it's rather tough to explain just how it felt – although "meh" comes to mind. And you're correct: little things are now gone (I remember pouring Drambuie over vanilla ice cream on the VOLENDAM). To be honest, it wasn't nearly as good as our last four trips on Carnival, and it can't even begin to compare with our experience on REGAL PRINCESS.

 

While I hope the new ship breathes life back into the line, I'm afraid the things that made Holland America what it is (or was) will be buried even deeper in the past.

 

On the other hand, I expect DIVINA to feel as Italian as it gets...or at least I hope it will.

[CruiseIreland]

It's much cheaper for us, with 2 kids sailing 'free'. About $1000 cheaper (33%) than an equivalent cruise in an equivalent cabin the same week on Carnival. With no kids in tow it is probably more on par, but KSF in combination with the superior kids club, is a big draw for MSC over Carnival.

 

Yes, I hadn't taken that into account. Also, I note that for summer months, MSC is cheaper than most lines in the Carribbean.

Edited December 8, 2015 by CruiseIreland

[sidari]

Linerguy ... Sadly on the first Divina TA to Miami MSC covered up loads of Italian pictures in the buffet and other parts of the ship with those of American film stars, that for us was the begining of the end of the Italian feel of the ship, the Italian wines were replaced by those from North America and the meals became more Americanised in order to suit what MSC believed would be their main clientèle sailing out of Miami.

 

The only thing that remained Italian after that for us was the ships interior design and some of the crew.

 

In one way it would be interesting to sail Divina again to see the changes since then but I doubt we ever will.

[Linerguy]

Linerguy ... Sadly on the first Divina TA to Miami MSC covered up loads of Italian pictures in the buffet and other parts of the ship with those of American film stars, that for us was the begining of the end of the Italian feel of the ship, the Italian wines were replaced by those from North America and the meals became more Americanised in order to suit what MSC believed would be their main clientèle sailing out of Miami.

 

The only thing that remained Italian after that for us was the ships interior design and some of the crew.

 

In one way it would be interesting to sail Divina again to see the changes since then but I doubt we ever will.

 

Sad to hear, thanks. We'll make the best of it.

[sidari]

Sure you will enjoy it, the ship is really nice interior wise and cabins tastefully done although we prefer the theatres on Poesia and Orchestra to the Divina mainly due to the colour scheme.

 

Will look for your report after the cruise to hear what you thought, don`t let the announcements put you off either because after a day or so you only tend to listen for those in English.

[Linerguy]

Sure you will enjoy it, the ship is really nice interior wise and cabins tastefully done although we prefer the theatres on Poesia and Orchestra to the Divina mainly due to the colour scheme.

 

Will look for your report after the cruise to hear what you thought, don`t let the announcements put you off either because after a day or so you only tend to listen for those in English.

 

Went on Costa before the Carnival purchase.....the announcements in multiple languages should be easy to tune out!

[Homosassa]

The multiple language announcement has never been a problem on any cruise I've been on that had them.

 

The multiple languages are interesting to listen to and pick out the similarities in the language (OK, the Chinese ones never sound remotely like anything else).

 

I just returned from a land tour that had 41 participants. There were four languages spoken in the group - Spanish (language of country being visited), English, Dutch, and French. The tour guide spoke Spanish and English. While everyone had some basic English; language help went as follows: Another English speaking couple translated for the Dutch (with my husband helping out in the limited German he knows and one of the Dutch couples also spoke), and one Dutch couple translated for the French speakers.

 

We all actually had a good time with the multiple languages and we all picked up words in the different languages.

[welove2cruise232]

We are also trying the Divina next October. Going with an open mind and taking the reviews with a grain of salt. Sailing with great friends so we will enjoy no matter what!

 

Sent from my KFTHWI using Tapatalk

[cruisexlife]

I too am considering a cruise on Divina for 2016. The complaints I have read result from people not realizing that it is a EUROPEAN cruise line, not American, and that things onboard will be catered to EUROPEANS. Yes, being placed in the USA, it has some unique outfittings specific for this market, but at the same time, you have to remember that it is not an American cruise ship. That is the reason I want to try it out so badly, for the cultural medley onboard.

 

I am going to Guadeloupe, a primarily French island in January. What I tell myself and others is this: "Imagine going to someone else's house. They ask you to remove your shoes when entering the house. However, at home, you walk freely around the house in shoes. You have two options. Walk through the foreign house in your shoes and get a negative reaction from the owners of it, thus having a negative time, or remove the shoes, try something new, and you will have a great time during your visit". :D

[stealthy]

If you want Micky mouse go to Disney.

European flavour is what we love. Being from Australia the last thing I want when traveling 24hours to the other side of the world is to be given Australian style food, or spoken to in an Australian accent, if I did I wouldn't leave the country. I don't expect ice in my drinks EVERYTIME I order one, but (and here's the kicker) if I did I would just ask for it and after that the drinks would come with ice, or a straw, slice of lemon or what ever the case may be (I just used that as an example)

That's what I read in the "Bad" reviews.....winging, wining people who can't be a little tolerant with the rest of the world. They just can't be satisfied no matter what the cruise line does. With all the other passengers, the staff, the food, drinks, entertainment and amenities that are available it won't suit 100% of the people 100% of the time.

 

With that being said. Give it a go, we loved it. We did do Yacht Club I admit but the ship as a whole is awesome. Life's a strange and wonderful place at times but if you give it a go now and then you might just be surprised.

 

Remember life's too short! Enjoy what ever you choose.

Cheers from OZ! [emoji106]

 

 

Anthony & Jenny, Melbourne Australia

Cruising MSC YC 7th June 2015, Eastern Mediterranean.

[Clarksfan1]

We are going in June.....with two children being able to cruise in a balcony stateroom for less than $1800 (kids sail free promotion and balcony for outside promotion) was enough of an incentive for us to give them a try. I have told my wife and in-laws three things.

 

1. You may not LOVE the food......or maybe you will?

 

2. The staff may not be as "American Friendly" as we are use to. Those who have been to Europe will understand what I mean here (please no comments....about what do you mean....blah...blah...blah).

 

3. Leaving the ship may be a pain in the butt.

 

These were the 3 overwhelming negatives I have taken from reading previous reviews about this ship and this cruise line. But that being said my last three cruises were on Carnival Glory, Grandeur of the Seas, and Carnival Conquest....so take what you will from that.