Rare kad56 Posted July 22 #1 Share Posted July 22 I just went on an MSC Western Carribean cruise on the Magnifica, cruise was good, but I didn't love the ship, so I'm looking for something on a newer ship. The options are really limited - yes the Divina has some cool sailings but it's an older ship, and there's not a lot of sailings. The departures out of Port Canaveral all go to the Western Carribean, Galveston is going to go to the western Caribbean, and half of the Sea-class ship departure out of Miami go to the Western Carribean. The Mera out of NYC goes to some really boring ports.... there's exceptions, but they either don't work out timewise, or I don't like the ship. What is going on with this focus on the Western Carib? Seems like they would get more interest if they at least did 50/50 Eastern and Western. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbrown84 Posted July 22 #2 Share Posted July 22 4 minutes ago, kad56 said: I just went on an MSC Western Carribean cruise on the Magnifica, cruise was good, but I didn't love the ship, so I'm looking for something on a newer ship. The options are really limited - yes the Divina has some cool sailings but it's an older ship, and there's not a lot of sailings. The departures out of Port Canaveral all go to the Western Carribean, Galveston is going to go to the western Caribbean, and half of the Sea-class ship departure out of Miami go to the Western Carribean. The Mera out of NYC goes to some really boring ports.... there's exceptions, but they either don't work out timewise, or I don't like the ship. What is going on with this focus on the Western Carib? Seems like they would get more interest if they at least did 50/50 Eastern and Western. World America is going back and forth between eastern and Western, even offering 14 day back to backs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare kad56 Posted July 22 Author #3 Share Posted July 22 You can definitely find some more interesting itineraries if you look.... I can't deny that. But the vast majority of the US itineraries go to the same places. I'm actually wondering if there's a business reason behind it (like it's easier to get into those western ports) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare JamieLogical Posted July 22 #4 Share Posted July 22 I agree that you definitely have to hunt around for the interesting itineraries and they won't always work date-wise unless you can be pretty flexible. The interesting itineraries I have been able to do on MSC so far were the repositioning cruise of the Meraviglia from Port Canaveral to NYC when it moved there; a 10-day Canada & New England on the Meraviglia; a 10-day on the Meraviglia out of NYC that went to the Western Caribbean; an 11-day on the Divina that went to the ABCs, Columbia, and Panama; and an upcoming 10-day on the Meraviglia out of NYC that goes to St. Thomas, San Juan, St. Maarten, and Puerto Rico. Unfortunately, the Sea-class ships and the World America are slated to do the usual, boring Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries for the foreseeable future and the Meraviglia is no longer doing any CA & NE sailings. The Virtuosa was doing some interesting itineraries this coming winter, but you have to be able to get to Guadalupe, Martinique, or Barbados to embark/disembark on those and airfare is quite outrageous. I agree that it would be nice to have some longer and more interesting itineraries on the newer ships, but it seems that MSC is mostly trying to market to the masses with their newer ships and short itineraries. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare kad56 Posted July 22 Author #5 Share Posted July 22 I think there's some great itineraries on the Divina this winter. I usually sail for the port more than for the ships, but my experience on the Magnifica was very meh, so now I'm cautious about going on a slightly older ship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare JamieLogical Posted July 22 #6 Share Posted July 22 4 minutes ago, kad56 said: I think there's some great itineraries on the Divina this winter. I usually sail for the port more than for the ships, but my experience on the Magnifica was very meh, so now I'm cautious about going on a slightly older ship. I will say that one BIG difference between the Divina and the Magnifica is that the Divina staterooms have shower doors instead of curtains! I refuse to sail on ships with shower curtains unless there is a full-sized bath tub. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare kad56 Posted July 22 Author #7 Share Posted July 22 Ooh, how did you find the service on the Divina? I heard the service is better on Sea class ships, so that's affecting my thinking as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare JamieLogical Posted July 22 #8 Share Posted July 22 (edited) 10 minutes ago, kad56 said: Ooh, how did you find the service on the Divina? I heard the service is better on Sea class ships, so that's affecting my thinking as well. Our sailing on the Divina this past February was one of my favorite cruises I have ever taken on any line (I have cruised 24 times so far on NCL, Celebrity, Princess, and MSC). The service was EXCELLENT and we actually loved the ship itself! I posted a Live Blog about the sailing if you want to skim that for some info/pictures. You can skip to page 5 if you don't want to bother with all the pre-cruise planning, packing, and travel: Edited July 22 by JamieLogical 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luckyinpa Posted July 22 #9 Share Posted July 22 99 percent of my cruising is out of NYC so indeed we are limited. it becomes more about the ships. i started off on NCL..then princess and royal..now MSC. thats what makes it more interesting. and YC is the best bargain suite experience out there so ill be satisfied for a little while still going to just boring ole bermuda. sigh. it's a tortured existence but someone gotta do it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Até Posted July 22 #10 Share Posted July 22 Just look at the prices of the few unique Divina sailings and they are still pretty well sold. I'd think MSC would take note but it seems they still don't have much interest in filling the demand for longer, more diverse itineraries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZandZ Posted July 22 #11 Share Posted July 22 I did not realize Mera is no longer going north-bound cruises! I tend to cruise for the ship more than for the ports but mostly because most ports I've visited so many times and there isn't much to do other than the beaches/bars. I would love to see the kind of variety in NYC that Florida enjoys but part of it the geography. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JT1962 Posted July 22 #12 Share Posted July 22 The 3, 4 & 7 day itineraries seem to be the most popular with the average cruiser. That limits the number of ports that can be reached in those timeframes. In addition, docking space available in those ports affects where & when they are able to dock. MSC also includes Ocean Cay on most itineraries, which limits the additional ports they can visit in the timeframe of the 3, 4 & 7 day cruises. There have been longer itineraries in the past, but there don’t seem to be as many now. Divina offered 12 day itineraries in recent years that included Jamaica, Aruba, Cartagena (Colombia), Colon (Panama), Puerto Limon (Costa Rica) and sometimes Costa Maya (Mexico). My guess would be that there was not enough demand and they made a financial decision to go to shorter itineraries. Hopefully they will offer longer itineraries in the future when the additional ships arrive for US cruises. I highly recommend the Grand Voyages (repositioning cruises), if you are able to take cruises of 16 - 24 days, or longer. They offer ports that are usually not visited by MSC from the US - Tortola, St Maarten, Martinique, Barbados, Antigua, etc. in addition to European / Mediterranean ports. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZandZ Posted July 22 #13 Share Posted July 22 I honestly miss my home, my routine and my pets after day 6.. that's just me. I would think that for those shorter cruises, it would almost be nicer to sail to one port and spend more than a day - like the Bermuda itinerary does it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ready2cruzagain Posted July 22 #14 Share Posted July 22 6 hours ago, kad56 said: Ooh, how did you find the service on the Divina? I heard the service is better on Sea class ships, so that's affecting my thinking as well. I have sailed 32 days on the Divina and it is one of our most favorite ships. The cruise is the best crew I have ever met. The ship is immaculate and the food was great. I would sail on her again in a heartbeat but hate sailing out of Miami. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mvh Posted July 22 #15 Share Posted July 22 In my honest opinion, there is no itinerary in the Caribbean that is not boring. Once you've been to one port you have been to them all, mostly dumps. Caribbean cruises are for a warm winter break and a nice ship, not the ports. Mediterranean cruises are for the ports. Again, my opinion. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare kad56 Posted July 22 Author #16 Share Posted July 22 40 minutes ago, ready2cruzagain said: I have sailed 32 days on the Divina and it is one of our most favorite ships. The cruise is the best crew I have ever met. The ship is immaculate and the food was great. I would sail on her again in a heartbeat but hate sailing out of Miami. Interesting. Have you sailed any other MSC ships? How does the Divine compare? I remember the ship was a big deal years ago when she first sailed in the US. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare JamieLogical Posted July 22 #17 Share Posted July 22 28 minutes ago, mvh said: In my honest opinion, there is no itinerary in the Caribbean that is not boring. Once you've been to one port you have been to them all, mostly dumps. Caribbean cruises are for a warm winter break and a nice ship, not the ports. Mediterranean cruises are for the ports. Again, my opinion. What?!?! St. Maarten, St. Thomas, Curacao, Antigua, Barbados, Cartegena??!?! You think those ports are "dumps"? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mvh Posted July 22 #18 Share Posted July 22 15 minutes ago, JamieLogical said: What?!?! St. Maarten, St. Thomas, Curacao, Antigua, Barbados, Cartegena??!?! You think those ports are "dumps"? Never been to Cartegena, so can't say. St. Maarten, St Thomas and Antiqua all suck in my opinion. Curacao and Barbados are ok, but again, They are all the same boring stops. I don't need my hair braided. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZandZ Posted July 22 #19 Share Posted July 22 25 minutes ago, JamieLogical said: What?!?! St. Maarten, St. Thomas, Curacao, Antigua, Barbados, Cartegena??!?! You think those ports are "dumps"? + Cozumel, Puerto Rico, Honduras. All great ports. Wonderful things to do, safe to walk around and explore. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZandZ Posted July 22 #20 Share Posted July 22 fyi, its cheaper to braid in Bk than at ports :). This is not why I travel. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare kad56 Posted July 22 Author #21 Share Posted July 22 I definitely have places I live in the Caribbean - Puerto Rico, St John, Bonaire, Cartagena, Roatan, Martinique. Mind you, being in port does limit my ability to explore farther afield but there's plenty I still want to explore. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KINGBOBOFTHENORTH Posted July 23 #22 Share Posted July 23 12 hours ago, JamieLogical said: The Virtuosa was doing some interesting itineraries this coming winter, but you have to be able to get to Guadalupe, Martinique, or Barbados to embark/disembark on those and airfare is quite outrageous. ^THIS. If you're tired of the same old ports, do this southern Caribbean sailing from Guadalupe, Martinique, or Barbados. (It's the same sailing but you can originate and end in any of those ports.) It goes to places like Grenada and St. Vincent that you can't get to on cruises that originate in Florida. When we did it a few years ago on MSC Preziosa from Fort-de-France, it also stopped in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad. The ship sails mostly with Europeans and all the ship announcements are in 6 languages. I highly recommend it but airfares from the U.S. are a bit scary. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Illbcruzn4life Posted July 23 #23 Share Posted July 23 14 hours ago, kad56 said: I just went on an MSC Western Carribean cruise on the Magnifica, cruise was good, but I didn't love the ship, so I'm looking for something on a newer ship. The options are really limited - yes the Divina has some cool sailings but it's an older ship, and there's not a lot of sailings. The departures out of Port Canaveral all go to the Western Carribean, Galveston is going to go to the western Caribbean, and half of the Sea-class ship departure out of Miami go to the Western Carribean. The Mera out of NYC goes to some really boring ports.... there's exceptions, but they either don't work out timewise, or I don't like the ship. What is going on with this focus on the Western Carib? Seems like they would get more interest if they at least did 50/50 Eastern and Western. they have to take whatever dock space is left. The established mainstream lines probably have first dibs. Just a guess Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Illbcruzn4life Posted July 23 #24 Share Posted July 23 5 hours ago, kad56 said: I definitely have places I live in the Caribbean - Puerto Rico, St John, Bonaire, Cartagena, Roatan, Martinique. Mind you, being in port does limit my ability to explore farther afield but there's plenty I still want to explore. do you have houses on all those islands? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
no1talks Posted July 23 #25 Share Posted July 23 18 minutes ago, Illbcruzn4life said: do you have houses on all those islands? Probably meant to type, "love," and it came out as, "live." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now