Carnival/MSC live S2S

[LatinaInTexas]

2 hours ago, IntrepidFromDC said:

Disembark process alot like Carnival,  self assist is called first then others are called in order of luggage tag number.  I  am happy to report hitting quads three times yesterday,  I have never had them even twice in a single day before.  Time to walk to Carnival Conquest and donate my MSC winnings.  😁 🏴‍☠️

Good hits, on my sailing I played one certain slot machine about an hour or two a day in a pretty empty casino no matter the time and walked off $650 ahead. Was your casino busy? I was wondering do only Americans spend a lot of vacation time in the casinos?

[LatinaInTexas]

1 hour ago, IntrepidFromDC said:

Walking from Divina (right) to Conquest (left). From terminal doorway to terminal doorway took 3 or 4 minutes.  We are fast walkers in the city, by habit - er, necessity.  😁  🏴‍☠️

Now that is convenient, I have considered booking something like this but haven't talked myself into it yet lol.

[IntrepidFromDC]

Home sweet home! I've never been on Conquest before,  I like the atrium art, recognized Matisse right away. 

[IntrepidFromDC]

Carnival crowd and atmosphere is more fun, and the drink service at embarkation is awesome.  On Divina they didn't have any drink servers walking around Lido or the casino.  If you want a drink but don't want to leave the table the pit boss calls over to the casino bar. Weird. But, as I said before,  no 15 drink limit on MSC.

[IntrepidFromDC]

I don't like these room safes, Divina had the kind with a four-digit code. Lots of small differences between the two lines, like how MSC still has twice-daily housekeeping and MDR tablecloths. 

[IntrepidFromDC]

Plenty of good things for fancy salad lovers. 

[IntrepidFromDC]

I have a feeling we're not in Kansas any more.

[IntrepidFromDC]

5 hours ago, ninjacat123 said:

Was there an admission charge?  I saw prices on the steakhouse menu and wasn't sure if you were charged for shows as well.  TIA!

Shows are free but nowhere near as many as Carnival.  And I don't think there was a comedy show. Carnival wins the show and entertainment comparison, not even close.

[IntrepidFromDC]

A few random comparisons... cellphone charging - Divina has 110v outlet far from your bed so you can't use your phone in bed while charging it. Conquest has four bedside USB ports. Shower - Divina has shower doors even nicer than Mardi Gras. Conquest has those clingy shower curtains.   Muster Drill - both have similar systems,  watch safety briefing on tv then go to your mustard station (that's what Shaq calls it on the Carnival safety briefing) and scan your card. On Divina there's an extra step to make sure you watch the safety briefing,  at the end there's a code and you have to call a number on your cabin phone and enter the code.

[IntrepidFromDC]

I had heard about new progressive jackpots on Carnival table games,  adds excitement to gambling for sure, but you have to bet $5 extra per hand.

[IntrepidFromDC]

Casino on Conquest is much bigger and the bar is nice and close.

[IntrepidFromDC]

3 hours ago, LatinaInTexas said:

Good hits, on my sailing I played one certain slot machine about an hour or two a day in a pretty empty casino no matter the time and walked off $650 ahead. Was your casino busy? I was wondering do only Americans spend a lot of vacation time in the casinos?

Casino was only busy last night. 

[IntrepidFromDC]

Shower, continued.. I realize things like shower pressure can vary from ship to ship, deck to deck, cabin by cabin.  But just saying that even though the clingy shower curtain was annoying just now, the water pressure, water volume and controls were all better in my Carnival Conquest cabin than in the Divina cabin. Both the beach towels and bath towels are bigger on Conquest,  and the bath towel is thicker. 

[IntrepidFromDC]

Theater was larger and seating was more comfortable on Divina. Here's Conquests theater.  I posted a pic of Divinas theater earlier. 

[snowdogsmm]

On 4/7/2023 at 5:43 PM, Saint Greg said:

Either that guy is a giant or those are the smallest bowling balls I’ve ever seen….or both.

Duck bowling is a lot of fun!

[cellfree]

On 4/7/2023 at 1:51 PM, IntrepidFromDC said:

This morning I caught a flight from DCA to MIA for my first ever S2S and first ever non-Carnival cruise. I have 3 days on MSC Divina, disembark and walk to Carnival Conquest's terminal for a 4 day cruise.  I have cruised 25 times,  all Carnival.  I will be trying to focus on differences in the brand experiences, but food and ridiculousness will find it's way home I imagine as long as I don't trip over the bathroom threshold and crack my skull like last cruise.  My lives tend to be photo- and food-heavy. 

Just catching up on your posts. We now cruise between Carnival and MSC. We have 23 on Carnival and 12 on MSC (I think) and enjoy both experiences. Our most recent S2S was last month, MSC Seascape to Carnival Celebration. We had great experiences on both ships, did really “love” the Celebration though. 

Fun to read your comparisons. Thank you for giving your time to do it. 

[L1211]

Such a fun review!  Thank you!!

[IntrepidFromDC]

I helped close down the casino last night so having been to Key West five times I opted to stay in the shade and lounge on Lido - got a pretty bad sunburn just on my legs and feet from when I only applied sunblock to my face, neck and arms for the kayak trip.  Heading back up to Lido hoping for a good pier runner adventure. 

[IntrepidFromDC]

Cappuccino on Divina was consistently excellent and better than this morning's nine bars of pressure on Conquest. See my sunburn? 

[IntrepidFromDC]

I expected an Italian cruise line to beat Carnival on both cappuccino and pizza since Italians invented both, but Carnival's pizza is still way better and tastes like pizza I had in Italy. To me, MSC pizza tasted like something out of the freezer. 

[IntrepidFromDC]

Best free food I've had on either ship. Smoked beef brisket too salty and if it really saw a smoker it couldn't have been for more than 15 minutes.  Mac and cheese had watery cheese. But overall everything was pretty good.

[IntrepidFromDC]

Key West sailaway panoramic pic refused to load, "server error" fivetimes, so no pic, sorry. . We miss the Key West magic,  when the street performers and artists begin entertaining on the north-west pier at sunset. Key West comes alive at night. 

[ninjacat123]

22 minutes ago, IntrepidFromDC said:

Key West sailaway panoramic pic refused to load, "server error" fivetimes, so no pic, sorry. . We miss the Key West magic,  when the street performers and artists begin entertaining on the north-west pier at sunset. Key West comes alive at night. 

We watched the Cat man with his performing cats at Mallory Square.  Great sunset!

[Georgia_Peaches]

On 4/8/2023 at 9:03 AM, IntrepidFromDC said:

They have food trucks which are additional cost and I hope they're worth it. 

Hmm, I wonder if that's new.  I never had to pay for the food truck on OC.

[Georgia_Peaches]

What an awesome review!  Thank you!