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Just off the Divina! Ask away..

YellowDog

By YellowDog,
in MSC Cruises

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YellowDog

YellowDog

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My full review is coming. Short short version: we really liked it. We traveled with 7 total adults 35-45 and 6 kids 3.5-14. So that's the stuff we experienced.

 

For now, I'll try to pay so many of you back for all of your help by answering as many questions as I can.

 

 

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YellowDog

YellowDog

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They did and they loved it. The women who run it are wonderful. My 5 year old twins looked forward to it everyday. They even eat dinner with the kids club and went to the shows each night. They did the talent show, dance parties, and cooking thing. Frankly the success of the cruise was in large part due to how much they loved the kids club.

 

 

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shukapaw

shukapaw

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Glad you had a good time. We are booked for B2B sailings in June and we are really looking forward to them. Thanks for taking the time to post some comments concerning your trip as it is always good to hear what others experienced.

 

Looking forward to the review.

 

Brian

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NoName

NoName

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What was your favorite meal/foods?

 

Did you watch movies under the stars? If so, did you have a lounge chair?

 

Did you enjoy the shows? Which was your favorite and which was your least favorite?

 

Did you play slot machines? How did you do?

 

I like to lounge in the shade while I read...did you notice much in the way of shaded lounge areas outside?

 

Thanks for offering to answer questions! I am so excited that your kids loved the kids program as we are traveling with your 6 yr old grandson next month!

 

Kim

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shelpt

shelpt

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Do you know anything about the lobster in the main dining room? I know its a $20 upcharge now but is it all you can eat? Do you know if it was a whole lobster or tail? Silly questions but this is our friend's first cruise and they were looking forward to lobster.

Thanks

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YellowDog

YellowDog

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Strangely the formal night was not quite a formal as I expected (which was fine with me) Very few Tuxedos for men. Most men in suits but even some in jacket and tie. Other men looked sharp but did not do the formal night. (khakis and open collars) Nobody seemed to care and nobody to my knowledge was turned away from the dining room. Don't get me wrong it wasn't as optional as maybe it is on NCL. Frankly it reminded me of what I would see on Princess.

How was the formal night?

 

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YellowDog

YellowDog

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I did not get them myself but there are 3 upgrades options in the dining room. Surf and Turf (5oz filet and lobster tail) Jumbo shrimp cocktail (tablemate got it and liked it) AND the lobster. It is a whole lobster. I saw a few go by and they looked good. As far as the all you can eat, I dont really know...BUT I will say when you order regular entrees or apps or anything in the dining room the servers dont bat an eye when you get more than one.

Do you know anything about the lobster in the main dining room? I know its a $20 upcharge now but is it all you can eat? Do you know if it was a whole lobster or tail? Silly questions but this is our friend's first cruise and they were looking forward to lobster.

Thanks

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grandebarca

grandebarca

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We were on the same cruise as Yellowdog (OP) and enjoyed it a lot, too. Entertainment was probably the strongest offering, and the food was great too. The shows were incredible, and in the evenings there were always 3-4 venues playing a variety of music. The only thing lacking in the entertainment arena was day time entertainment. I would have appreciated some more live music, performances, or lectures/classes mid-day to mix it up with the eating, swimming, and lounging (especially on sea days). We attended an Italian language class on one day (by accident!) and found it worthwhile. They also offered Chinese language classes but we didn't visit those.

 

We ended up going to the buffet most nights since much of what was offered in the dining room was offered in the buffet (with occasional slight variations like duck a l'orange being chicke a l'orange in the buffet - I like chicken better than duck anyway so WIN!!). The "no free lobster" was a disappointment but something we're used to coming from Carnival.

 

Lines in the buffet area were rarely a problem though we usually ate outside of peak times. The layout seems to help the flow and keep lines to a minimum, though it can take a while to get around to all the choices.

 

We have 3 kids (4, 10, and 11). Tried the kids club one day but it didn't stick. The 4 year old wanted his bigger sisters to go, but they didn't want to. I think they are too old for the 7-11 age group (which shared many activities with the 3-6 age group it seemed). Most of the kids looked excited about it and ours did enjoy it the one day they went.

 

Hot tubs and pools were surprisingly busy given how many options there were, but we had no problems hopping in the tubs occasionally. 4-5 pm and days we were in port proved particularly light traffic in the hot tubs.

 

Embarkation was rather slow but disembarkation was very fast.

 

I hit the casino for some slot play a few mornings when they offered $3 free play. I used my card, my wife's and my mom's so I scored $9 in free play each time. The first time I ended up with $0.15 and gave it to a stranger as I walked out of the casino. The second time I ended with $2.91 and cashed it out. Guess lady luck didn't find me this time around. The rest of the ship made up for this shortcoming. :)

Edited by grandebarca
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riclop

riclop

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We were on the same cruise as Yellowdog (OP) and enjoyed it a lot, too. Entertainment was probably the strongest offering, and the food was great too. The shows were incredible, and in the evenings there were always 3-4 venues playing a variety of music. The only thing lacking in the entertainment arena was day time entertainment. I would have appreciated some more live music, performances, or lectures/classes mid-day to mix it up with the eating, swimming, and lounging (especially on sea days). We attended an Italian language class on one day (by accident!) and found it worthwhile. They also offered Chinese language classes but we didn't visit those.

 

We ended up going to the buffet most nights since much of what was offered in the dining room was offered in the buffet (with occasional slight variations like duck a l'orange being chicke a l'orange in the buffet - I like chicken better than duck anyway so WIN!!). The "no free lobster" was a disappointment but something we're used to coming from Carnival.

 

Lines in the buffet area were rarely a problem though we usually ate outside of peak times. The layout seems to help the flow and keep lines to a minimum, though it can take a while to get around to all the choices.

 

We have 3 kids (4, 10, and 11). Tried the kids club one day but it didn't stick. The 4 year old wanted his bigger sisters to go, but they didn't want to. I think they are too old for the 7-11 age group (which shared many activities with the 3-6 age group it seemed). Most of the kids looked excited about it and ours did enjoy it the one day they went.

 

Hot tubs and pools were surprisingly busy given how many options there were, but we had no problems hopping in the tubs occasionally. 4-5 pm and days we were in port proved particularly light traffic in the hot tubs.

 

Embarkation was rather slow but disembarkation was very fast.

 

I hit the casino for some slot play a few mornings when they offered $3 free play. I used my card, my wife's and my mom's so I scored $9 in free play each time. The first time I ended up with $0.15 and gave it to a stranger as I walked out of the casino. The second time I ended with $2.91 and cashed it out. Guess lady luck didn't find me this time around. The rest of the ship made up for this shortcoming. :)

Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for your thoughts.

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YellowDog

YellowDog

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they did have movies on deck at night, but if you are thinking MUTS on Princess or something similar it really wasnt that. there were chairs but i did not see deck chairs. maybe they had them up on 15 and you could look down? They had Zootopia one night for the kids but was rained out.

 

The shows were very good. Of the 4 I saw, the Michael Jackson show was my favorite, but the tribute to Queen was also very good. The vocalists on board were great and the shows (all of them) relied heavily on dance and acrobatics.

 

I did not play the slots, but a friend of mine one $300 in poker! The casino is non smoking which is nice when you have to cut through it or get a drink there.

 

There are a lot of places to get away and read if you look. And one of the pools is indoors so you could always hang there. If you go up to 15 or 16 you can find shaded areas too.

 

My kids are 5 (6 in feb.) and I know that kids are different, but mine really loved the kids club and all of the dancing they did there. As I said earlier the young women who run it were top notch. Be sure to sign them up in advance on the MSC website. That will save you a lot of time in the singing up mad house at the beginning of the cruise.

 

Hope this helps.

What was your favorite meal/foods?

 

Did you watch movies under the stars? If so, did you have a lounge chair?

 

Did you enjoy the shows? Which was your favorite and which was your least favorite?

 

Did you play slot machines? How did you do?

 

I like to lounge in the shade while I read...did you notice much in the way of shaded lounge areas outside?

 

Thanks for offering to answer questions! I am so excited that your kids loved the kids program as we are traveling with your 6 yr old grandson next month!

 

Kim

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NoName

NoName

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they did have movies on deck at night, but if you are thinking MUTS on Princess or something similar it really wasnt that. there were chairs but i did not see deck chairs. maybe they had them up on 15 and you could look down? They had Zootopia one night for the kids but was rained out.

 

The shows were very good. Of the 4 I saw, the Michael Jackson show was my favorite, but the tribute to Queen was also very good. The vocalists on board were great and the shows (all of them) relied heavily on dance and acrobatics.

 

I did not play the slots, but a friend of mine one $300 in poker! The casino is non smoking which is nice when you have to cut through it or get a drink there.

 

There are a lot of places to get away and read if you look. And one of the pools is indoors so you could always hang there. If you go up to 15 or 16 you can find shaded areas too.

 

My kids are 5 (6 in feb.) and I know that kids are different, but mine really loved the kids club and all of the dancing they did there. As I said earlier the young women who run it were top notch. Be sure to sign them up in advance on the MSC website. That will save you a lot of time in the singing up mad house at the beginning of the cruise.

 

Hope this helps.

It does help! Thanks so much for taking the time to answer.....I can't wait until it is my turn to cruise! Kim

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YellowDog

YellowDog

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Well, it IS a cruise ship cabin...But we thought it was roomier than the NCL Getaway we did last year. Also, the kids sleep on a queen size sofa pull out rather than the couch with the bunk that comes down from the ceiling. This created more space we felt b/c we would put the sofa back each day. The kids never complained about the pull out and our bed was quite comfortable too. There was a lot of closet space (for a cruise ship) and when I needed to to, I just escaped to the balcony. :) Overall we really liked our stateroom 10239.

Did you have two adults and two kids in a stateroom? If so, how was that? Was it cramped?
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easyboy

easyboy

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Strangely the formal night was not quite a formal as I expected (which was fine with me) Very few Tuxedos for men. Most men in suits but even some in jacket and tie. Other men looked sharp but did not do the formal night. (khakis and open collars) Nobody seemed to care and nobody to my knowledge was turned away from the dining room. Don't get me wrong it wasn't as optional as maybe it is on NCL. Frankly it reminded me of what I would see on Princess.

That is nice to know that there is less pressure in dressing up that will not be comfortable to one's self. Thanks.

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grandebarca

grandebarca

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Our 3 kids were in a balcony room with grandma (cabin 8008, very first balcony room in the front of the ship). We left the sleeper sofa bed down every day. All 3 kids slept in the sleeper sofa bed leaving grandma all to herself in the king size bed! At first the kids complained about the sleeper sofa mattress but I didn't hear much about it after a few days (and they slept like rocks lol).

 

I thought the room was plenty spacious for 4 even with the bed down all day. Still easy access to the balcony (which we heard might be a problem). Plenty of closet space and table/counter areas for kid stuff (tablets, knick knacks).

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