Divina Royal Suite

[Safe77]

Is there still a Sophia Loren suite on the Divina, or are both YC3 suites simply Royal Suites? I'm asking because my upgrade offer to a YC3 Royal Suite was accepted. It has been a dream of my wife's to stay in one of these since we found MSC and the Yacht Club a few years ago. I want to surprise her with it on embarkation day next week. I'll admit that I'm beginning to wonder if I did the right thing, though, as it appears there is less clothes hanging space and fewer clothing drawers. I also wonder about nighttime noise from the One Pool deck. Are there any additional perks beyond those afforded all YC guests? I appreciate any insight anyone can provide. Thanks for helping me with this information!

[Cruisergal1208]

2 hours ago, Safe77 said:

Is there still a Sophia Loren suite on the Divina, or are both YC3 suites simply Royal Suites? I'm asking because my upgrade offer to a YC3 Royal Suite was accepted. It has been a dream of my wife's to stay in one of these since we found MSC and the Yacht Club a few years ago. I want to surprise her with it on embarkation day next week. I'll admit that I'm beginning to wonder if I did the right thing, though, as it appears there is less clothes hanging space and fewer clothing drawers. I also wonder about nighttime noise from the One Pool deck. Are there any additional perks beyond those afforded all YC guests? I appreciate any insight anyone can provide. Thanks for helping me with this information!

Yes, they are still YC 3 Royal suites.  Which sailing date did you get the upgrade for?  You will like the 2 rooms but may not like the forward facing balcony.  It has a wind break area.  Still lots of room on it. I seen it on  a tour but not stayed in it.  I prefer the RS on Seaside.

Edited March 3, 2020 by Cruisergal1208

[Cruisergal1208]

I did notice that they were now booked on our March 13th sailing.

 

[Safe77]

Cruisergal,

    Yes, we're on the March 13th sailing. We've sailed both the Divina and the Seaside and, while we like the convenience of the entire Yacht Club being located together on the Seaside, we still enjoy the Divina more. Maybe it's because the Divina was our first MSC cruise and we have such fond memories. I like its glitz-and-glam decor! Is your signature block up to date? I was thinking we were on the Seaside at the same time in October 2018. Perhaps not.  

[Cruisergal1208]

1 minute ago, Safe77 said:

Cruisergal,

    Yes, we're on the March 13th sailing. We've sailed both the Divina and the Seaside and, while we like the convenience of the entire Yacht Club being located together on the Seaside, we still enjoy the Divina more. Maybe it's because the Divina was our first MSC cruise and we have such fond memories. I like its glitz-and-glam decor! Is your signature block up to date? I was thinking we were on the Seaside at the same time in October 2018. Perhaps not.  

Congrats on getting the RS.   Divina was also our first MSC ship to sail our of Miami back in 2013 and we haven't stopped since.  We too like the layout of the Divina.. We have so many friends among the crew and staff so looking forward to being back.  We were on Seaside in Jan, April, and Sept. 2018 and Divina in Oct. 2018  so I guess we weren't there the same time.  I'll have to check my signature block to update it.  Thanks.  Hope to meet you and your wife in the YC.  We are on for the 3/10 sailing also.  We are Mary Ann and Tom .

[Safe77]

That's cool, Cruisergal! We are Diane and Steve (Steve typing away here). We're from NC and will be driving through GA as we head to our hotel in FL ahead of the cruise. Why are there always so many GA State Troopers on I-95???? I don't really expect you to have an answer for that.

 

We sailed on the Divina over Christmas 2019 (with our nearly-adult sons) and had a good time! I will say, though, that we found the Le Muse menu somewhat disappointing and lacking since our last cruise and our cabin attendant (NOT the butler!) somewhat demanding and rigorous. (He made it very clear that he didn't like us being in the cabin--even to drop something off--while he was performing his duties. Scowls and attitude!!) It also seemed like there weren't very many butlers on duty in the Yacht Club. Then again, it was Christmas and there were several large families traveling together, making it more crowded than usual in the YC. Overall, though, we enjoyed the cruise. (Please keep in mind that I am not usually one to complain. I'm generally the pleased optimist.) We like MSC and have only sailed on another cruise line once since our first MSC cruise!!

[Cruisergal1208]

We are South of the Atlanta airport and drive down I-75 to the turnpike. Still lots of local police/sheriffs out. 😂. We spend the night in Ft Pierce most times but this time will stay 2 nights at our timeshare near Orlando. Longer drive the morning of the cruise but saves a little$$. We park at the port in garage G and try to arrive at the YC tent around 11-11:30. Might be a little later this time depending on traffic.  There’s a roll call for this week over on the unmentionable social media site if you’d like to check it out.   

[Cruisergal1208]

Did you register for the CC meet and mingle ?

[Cruisergal1208]

By the way, you have a walk-in closet.   Lots of space   

[Shippy]

Fantastic 2 separate rooms.

Balcony is hardly usable though. VERY narrow and if you open the balcony door while you are at sea, everything in your cabin will be blown around.

[Fighterone]

21 hours ago, Safe77 said:

Is there still a Sophia Loren suite on the Divina, or are both YC3 suites simply Royal Suites? I'm asking because my upgrade offer to a YC3 Royal Suite was accepted. It has been a dream of my wife's to stay in one of these since we found MSC and the Yacht Club a few years ago. I want to surprise her with it on embarkation day next week. I'll admit that I'm beginning to wonder if I did the right thing, though, as it appears there is less clothes hanging space and fewer clothing drawers. I also wonder about nighttime noise from the One Pool deck. Are there any additional perks beyond those afforded all YC guests? I appreciate any insight anyone can provide. Thanks for helping me with this information!

We were in the Sophia Loren suite #16007 in December 2019. This is the one and only Sophia Loren suite on Divina and across MSC’s fleet.  If you can request it, I would do so. It’s fun to see her beautiful photos and we enjoyed the bright red colors. There is plenty of hanging clothes space and drawers in the walk-in closet. We did not hear any noise from the One Pool deck. We enjoyed the One Pool Buffet for breakfast and lunch until the dumb waiter broke and no hot food could be served for one lunch. We did not care for the YC restaurant, Le Muse, all the way aft. You can access it via deck 7 or by walking outside on deck 15. The butlers are fabulous and will do anything to avoid saying “No”. Be sure to check your luggage at the MSC YC tent instead of with the regular porters. They will tag it “Priority” and a butler (ground handler) will escort you to the lounge in terminal F and bypass all the queues. Do sign up for the Cruise Critic Meet & Greet? 

Edited March 4, 2020 by Fighterone

[eastoftheboston]

On 3/3/2020 at 9:23 AM, Safe77 said:

Is there still a Sophia Loren suite on the Divina, or are both YC3 suites simply Royal Suites? I'm asking because my upgrade offer to a YC3 Royal Suite was accepted. It has been a dream of my wife's to stay in one of these since we found MSC and the Yacht Club a few years ago. I want to surprise her with it on embarkation day next week. I'll admit that I'm beginning to wonder if I did the right thing, though, as it appears there is less clothes hanging space and fewer clothing drawers. I also wonder about nighttime noise from the One Pool deck. Are there any additional perks beyond those afforded all YC guests? I appreciate any insight anyone can provide. Thanks for helping me with this information!

 

I stayed in the non-Sophia Loren suite two years ago. We heard nothing from the One Deck above us, and there is plenty of closet space. You have a big walk-in closet on the way to the bathroom. Plus you have all the drawers etc in the living room to put stuff in. You will have plenty of space. 

The balcony is a little awkward with the railing positioned where it is, but it is big, and we enjoyed it.

There weren't any additional perks that I could remember, with the exception of the porters taking my bags curbside who exclaimed I had the second-best room on the ship (first being the Sophia Loren room). The rooms are exactly the same, except for the decor, so even if you're not in the Sophia Loren suite, you'll still enjoy the room! 

Here's a link I did to a review about it a couple of years ago, there's a photo of the balcony and living room etc if you wanted it for reference. Have a great trip!
 

 

[mnpurple]

I'm on the same sailing and considered bidding as well, but didn't because we have an Executive and the space was similar, only with a balcony.  The one perk I noticed is that with the Royal Suite you get a dedicated cabana on the pool deck stocked with food and beverages.  I believe I read a few reviews about it here.  Enjoy!

[Safe77]

mnpurple - Unfortunately, there are no cabanas on the Divina. That's the Seaside. They're nice, but there isn't much reason that I could see to rent one, as there is lots of shaded space on the Seaside OnePool Deck.

[eastoftheboston]

43 minutes ago, Safe77 said:

mnpurple - Unfortunately, there are no cabanas on the Divina. That's the Seaside. They're nice, but there isn't much reason that I could see to rent one, as there is lots of shaded space on the Seaside OnePool Deck.

 

Seaside Cabana rentals are extremely subjective. If you're just looking for shade, it's definitely not worth the cost, but the privacy and service you get with a cabana rental made it well worth it for me! 

[dexddd]

We too had the non Sophia suite on Divinia.  No noise from above, no extra perks. We had DD and her BF with us and plenty of room.

[Safe77]

Thank all of you for the very helpful information you provided so quickly!!! Looking forward to meeting in person all of my fellow travelers and Cruise Critics!!  

[TrinaLC]

As others have noted, no RS perks on Divina. 
 

The pool deck cabana on Seaside for the RS is a nice perk, but you only get the extra “goodies” one day and honestly there is so much food and great service in YC “steerage” (!!) it is nice but not awesome. 
 

But the RS on Seaside is awesome as a treat - two rooms etc.  I’d love to try the RS on Divina once if the price was right. 

[dexddd]

Forgot one thing.  It has been a couple years but bed stunk.  It was two twins pushed together with ridge in middle that rolled you back to side.