Drink Package Prices and Fantastica Experience on Divina

[Avril]

I'm sailing on the Divina for Christmas and New Years this year, can't wait (87 Days until we sail)!! :D It'll be my 1st cruise with MSC and we have the Fantastica Experiance. My Mom (who I'm sailing with) and I were looking at the All Inclusive Drink Packages and she was wondering, are the drink packages are less expensive with the Fantastica Experience than with the Bella Experience since Fantastica has 12 Drink Vouchers included? Also, do the number of vouchers you get with Fantastica have anything to do with the length of the cruise (meaning if it's a 7 Day cruise you get 7 vouchers, since ours is a 12 Day cruise we get 12 vouchers)? Thanks so much!! :D

[Kateann61414]

Drink package is the same price for everyone and you get 12 vouchers each no matter the length. We just got on their website and bought an extra 18 alcoholic and 18 non alcoholic vouchers and it was plenty for us.

[Avril]

Drink package is the same price for everyone and you get 12 vouchers each no matter the length. We just got on their website and bought an extra 18 alcoholic and 18 non alcoholic vouchers and it was plenty for us.

 

Thank You!! :D That's what I thought but I wanted to be sure. We did think about getting extra vouchers but we do tend to drink a lot on cruises (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks) so it's probably cheaper for us to buy the Unlimited All Inclusive package. Now we just have to decide which one to get!! Have you been on the Divina before? This is our 1st MSC cruise so I'd love to hear all about it if you have!! :D

[Kateann61414]

Yes, I was on the Divina in May with my husband and we loved it. So much so that I’ll be on the MSC Orchestra in January. [emoji1]The ship is gorgeous. It is very European so keep in mind it’s a bit different.

 

Be aware that Italians know how to cook pasta- not steak. Lol (Although the prime rib was great) The food is mostly really good. We went to the sports bar for lunch everyday. It was really good, free, and there was never hardly anyone in there. The buffet is a zoo so we avoided it, but you get that on any ship.

 

Some of the shows we loved and some were ok. They are all very similar in style. The Pirates one was the best. They used music from Pirates of the Caribbean.

 

What ports are you doing?

[Avril]

Yes, I was on the Divina in May with my husband and we loved it. So much so that I’ll be on the MSC Orchestra in January. [emoji1]The ship is gorgeous. It is very European so keep in mind it’s a bit different.

 

Be aware that Italians know how to cook pasta- not steak. Lol (Although the prime rib was great) The food is mostly really good. We went to the sports bar for lunch everyday. It was really good, free, and there was never hardly anyone in there. The buffet is a zoo so we avoided it, but you get that on any ship.

 

Some of the shows we loved and some were ok. They are all very similar in style. The Pirates one was the best. They used music from Pirates of the Caribbean.

 

What ports are you doing?

 

Awesome!! :D What ports did you go to on the Divina? And I hope you have a wonderful time on the Orchestra. Is that a Med cruise? I've heard MSC is different in the Med then they are in the Caribbean so it will be like sailing with the for the 1st time all over again. That'll be a lot of fun!! :D

I've looked at pictures of the ship (the Divina is my Facebook cover photo at the moment in fact) and it looks beautiful!! I'm perfectly fine with the experience being different. We're from Canada so if everything isn't American, that's fine with us (but if it is, that's fine too). One question though (for now, haha). We're used to sailing with Carnival and NCL. How does MSC compare to them? What's the onboard atmosphere like? Is the nightlife good? What kind of activities, events, parties, etc do they have? We enjoy things like pool/deck games (other than Bingo), deck parties, dance club, piano bar, etc. I know about the theme nights, just have to figure out what I'm going to wear (white night I've got, just working on Italian Night). Any other theme nights I should know about? Of course, we'll have Christmas and New Years on our cruise so those will be 2 of the "themes" I'm sure. I'm planning on bringing my Ugly Christmas Sweater and wearing it on Christmas Day so I can have a picture taken on the pool deck to post on Facebook, haha. I'm sure I won't be wearing it for long since it'll be so hot out. I also have a short, casual Christmas dress I was planning on wearing everywhere else but the pool that day (Dec 25th is a sea day) but not sure because it has long sleeves. We'll see. I also bought a Christmas Themed bikini. I'm just trying to decide wether to wear it on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day or save it for Christmas Day. It seems silly to bring a bikini to only wear it one day. Ok, that was more than one question, haha. Sorry!! :o

I love pasta and could live on it so that's not a problem!! I also love a good steak. We were thinking of making a reservation for the Eataly Steakhouse but if the steak isn't that good, maybe it's not worth it. What do you think? Was the prime rib in the main dining room? We booked the Fantastica Experience and have Late Seating dinner. I've heard the buffet is crazy busy but I've also heard it's good. It is busier than on other ships? I've heard going to the Sports Bar for lunch on Embarkation Day is a good idea, I do plan on that (although it's kind of our cruise tradition to get onboard, get a hole punched in our S&S Card so we can put it on a lanyard then head up to the Lido Deck to grab a drink and hit the buffet. I think we can change that though since this is a new cruise line so a new experience).

Did you go to a Cruise Critic Meet and Mingle? If so, how was it? I'd love to meet Captain Massa, I've heard a lot of great things about him!! I've heard the Michael Jackson show is awesome. Would you agree? I'm not really a show person but I would go to that. Pirates of the Caribbean would be great as well!!

We're supposed to go to Nassau, Ocho Rios Jamacia, Cartagena Columbia, Cristobal Panama, Puerto Limon Costa Rica, and Belize City Balize. It's a 12 Day cruise, Can't wait!! :D

Sorry for the novel by the way, haha.

[Kateann61414]

The Orchestra is a Med cruise, so I’m so excited. Never been. On the Divina we did the 7 day Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman, Nassau, and Cozumel.

 

I’ve only ever been on MSC and Celebrity Cruise lines so I can’t really compare to Carnival and NCL, but there is a good night life. I heard Galaxy always had stuff going on late night (we never made it up there), there is a different kind of live music in almost every bar as you walk around. It’s pretty cool. We mostly did the Golden Jazz Bar and the Garden Bar (there wasn’t any music going but it was so nice being outside at the back of the ship at night). They have a lot of different things going on. Belly smack contest, they had a towel folding thing where they made all kinds of towel animals. That was cute. Theme nights there was also a 70’s night.

 

We just ate in the Main Dining room but our table mates had a package where they are at all 3 restaurants. They weren’t overly impressed with Eataly but said Galaxy was awesome. The buffet was definitely busy than other ships but I think we just picked the wrong times to try to go up. There were times where it wasn’t bad.

 

We didn’t get to go to the meet and mingle. There was something else going that we wanted to do and we aren’t really Michael Jackson fans so that was actually the only show we skipped but I heard it’s great if you like him. Captain Massa is great. He likes to keep you informed. Be warned, he talks a lot and in multiple languages. It’s a bit windy. Lol

[Durban]

I'm sailing on the Divina for Christmas and New Years this year, can't wait (87 Days until we sail)!! :D It'll be my 1st cruise with MSC and we have the Fantastica Experiance. My Mom (who I'm sailing with) and I were looking at the All Inclusive Drink Packages and she was wondering, are the drink packages are less expensive with the Fantastica Experience than with the Bella Experience since Fantastica has 12 Drink Vouchers included? Also, do the number of vouchers you get with Fantastica have anything to do with the length of the cruise (meaning if it's a 7 Day cruise you get 7 vouchers, since ours is a 12 Day cruise we get 12 vouchers)? Thanks so much!! :D

 

 

 

If you need more just buy cocktail coupons 18 pack. Much cheaper than getting the drink package

 

 

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[Avril]

The Orchestra is a Med cruise, so I’m so excited. Never been. On the Divina we did the 7 day Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman, Nassau, and Cozumel.

 

I’ve only ever been on MSC and Celebrity Cruise lines so I can’t really compare to Carnival and NCL, but there is a good night life. I heard Galaxy always had stuff going on late night (we never made it up there), there is a different kind of live music in almost every bar as you walk around. It’s pretty cool. We mostly did the Golden Jazz Bar and the Garden Bar (there wasn’t any music going but it was so nice being outside at the back of the ship at night). They have a lot of different things going on. Belly smack contest, they had a towel folding thing where they made all kinds of towel animals. That was cute. Theme nights there was also a 70’s night.

 

We just ate in the Main Dining room but our table mates had a package where they are at all 3 restaurants. They weren’t overly impressed with Eataly but said Galaxy was awesome. The buffet was definitely busy than other ships but I think we just picked the wrong times to try to go up. There were times where it wasn’t bad.

 

We didn’t get to go to the meet and mingle. There was something else going that we wanted to do and we aren’t really Michael Jackson fans so that was actually the only show we skipped but I heard it’s great if you like him. Captain Massa is great. He likes to keep you informed. Be warned, he talks a lot and in multiple languages. It’s a bit windy. Lol

 

You'll love the Med, it's awesome!! :D We've done Transatlantics that start in the Med and have been to ports in Spain and Portugal. We stayed in Barcelona for 5 days before our last one, it's a great city!! Just be careful and keep your eye on your wallet and other valuables. Pickpocketing is a very popular occupation over there!! That's a great itinerary on the Divina!! I've done a couple almost just like it before (only without Nassau).

How do MSC and Celebrity compare? I was on Celebrity once (on the Zenith to Bermuda in 2005). Great to hear there's a good night life on Divina, I like staying up late and enjoying everything that's going on around the ship!! :D Is Galaxy the dance club? I thought the White and Black lounge was the dance club. I love live music so that sounds great!! It is nice to sit outside and watch the ocean and the ship's wake at night. I'll have to do that at some point. Haha, a Belly Smack Contest sounds like fun!! Is that in the pool? On Carnival, they have various pool games and a Hairy Chest Contest (you don't really have to have a hairy chest, it's all about entertaining the crowd). They're silly but fun. I've been to a towel animal making class on Carnival before, lots of fun but I still can't do it haha. The Cabin Stewards leave a towel animal on your bed every night on Carnival (and NCL as well if I remember right). Ok, I can figure out what to do for 70s Night I think (I was born in the 1984 so it was before my time). I enjoy participating in the theme nights, they're a lot of fun!!

We usually eat in the MDR as well but do like to try some of the specialty restaurants sometimes (we get 4 free dinners in specialty restaurants on our NCL cruise next year). What didn't they like about Eataly? They liked Galaxy? For dinner? I thought Galaxy was a dance club (you said they have lots going on there at night). I'm confused. I think if you go to the buffet at prime meal times it's always going to be busy, no matter what ship you're on. I've heard the Divina's buffet is great though, huge with lots of choice!! And I've heard the pizza is amazing (as it should be on an Italian line).

I get that, there's always so much going on around the ship that it's hard (if not impossible) to do everything. I'm not a huge show person but I do like Michael Jackson and I've heard the show is amazing so I'll probably go to that one. I can't wait to meet and talk to Captain Massa!! Announcments are ok and it's interesting to hear other languages. Haha, I'm a talker as well so I think he and I will get along!! :D

 

If you need more just buy cocktail coupons 18 pack. Much cheaper than getting the drink package

 

 

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That's probably true but we can both drink more than 30 drinks on a cruise (alcoholic). Plus all the other things you can use vouchers for (non alcoholic, gelato, etc). I figure the vouchers would give us 30 each (18 voucher booklet + 12 with the Fantastica Experience = 30 each). It's worth it for us to buy the drink package!! :D

[Kateann61414]

MSC and Celebrity were pretty similar. I think that’s cause Celebrity entertains the international crowd too. Only big difference was Celebrity did some comedy shows and their staff is definitely more in tune to the US customers. Galaxy is a specialty restaurant and dance club at night. Eataly just wasn’t as good as the others in their opinion. Could’ve just ordered bad.