Travelwizard1 Cruise Review on MSC Divina on Dec 02, 2017

Item: MSC Divina
Rating: 4
Author: Travelwizard1

MSC Divina Cruise Review

Travelwizard1

Contributor Level: First Mate

Reviews: 2

Helpful Votes: 52

Overall rating:

4 out of 5

Sail date: December 02, 2017

Ship: MSC Divina

Reviewed: 6 years ago

Review summary

Now for the negatives. I surmised from You tube videos and crew/ guest ratios that 4000 passengers on this ship would feel crowded at times, and it did. Where the Divina fails is at this end. Definitely overworked staff. On other lines the average passenger / server ratio in the main dining rooms were about 16 to 1. My waiter in the Black Crab had 24! And still he never complained when I asked for a second dessert. The assistant waiter even managed to find time to make me a beautiful floral arrangement out of napkins . Probably because I said he was really cute! Believe me, a little flattery to an overworked crew goes a long way. Let's not forget they are human beings with feelings too. Not just our servers. Instead of demanding Philadelphia cream cheese for that bagel just use the whipped cream cheese the waiter brought you. You know who you are. Pool areas are always crowded on any ship. Especially so on this one obviously complicated by passengers ignoring instructions not to " save" seats when not in use. You guys who go out on deck at the crack of dawn to put pool towels on chaises also know who you are. This lack of passenger to public areas also lead to much inconsideration and rudeness of other passengers.Don' t blame it on the europeans...I experienced much bad conduct from American passengers. But the biggest issue I personally incurred was lack of accommodation for handicapped passengers. Yeah, I know you guys bitch about us cripples on scooters but let me assure you I was cruising long before I developed this disability and plan to continue until I'm dead, ha ha. There are handicapped indicated bathrooms in public bathrooms but no automatic opening doors ANYWHERE on the ship, not even into the bathrooms. Getting an elevator was really difficult because no one ever offered spots to let you on, never held doors open on the elevators. Now these are folks physically able to walk stairs but not willing to make accommodation for someone who can not. People, what happened to courtesy?? I worked as an ICU nurse for 30 years before I became blessed with severe crippling Rheumatoid Arthritis that prevents me from being able to walk at this time. So try being a little more considerate on a packed cruise ship. Some of this is a design error by the cruise line as well and I did fill out a review that addressed these issues with MSC. Disembarkation was another chaotic cluster. My travel companion needed to catch an early am flight. Waiting in the La Luna lounge was a mess. Hopefully, the MSC Seaside will show improvements in these areas. Overall, it was a great time and still made me want to sail with them again. Next time I will most definitely be sailing in a handicapped stateroom tp avoid the issues I incurred there. Bon Voyage all! And don't let this deter you from sailing on MSC.

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8 Comments

Gwbigdog 2 years ago

Thanks for sharing your cruise.

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cruisereckoning 4 years ago

Thanks for the review.

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Thomas4 6 years ago

Nice review. Thank you. I’m looking forward to January when I’m going to check it out. I read in some reviews about some rude guests and always wonder why people behave that way...

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Travelwizard1 6 years ago

I don't know what happened to my first review with all the positives. Guess I will have to do it over.

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Travelwizard1 6 years ago

I went during a time when most kids would be in school. There were still kids on board but not running wildly all over the ship.

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doggunner50 6 years ago

Did it last April. We loved it. Been on Princess, Royal Carribean and Norwegian. The shows and night entertainment were by far the best we’ve seen. The food was good but just average. Pizza was great. The only thing was maybe because of the time of year there were over 500 children 12 and under. Nothing against children I have 2. Just that it was hard to get any whirlpools and pool time. Other ships have more stuff for kids to keep busy. Overall we loved it

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LWLillie 6 years ago

I'm so glad you liked Divina! I've done it twice and Loved it each time! I think what I like the most is the different atmosphere that brings... I always say if you want something different and just to lay back and relax in a beautiful ship with delicious food; try MSC❤ And who can forget the Gelato 😉

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IkeDeb 6 years ago

Sounds nice!

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