Traveling the United States in our No Boundries 19.1 toy hauler and Coachmen Beyond Class B.
Wednesday, December 14, 2016
Sunday, December 11, 2016
Tuesday, September 6, 2016
Sunday, September 4, 2016
Tuesday, August 30, 2016
A short review comparing our cruise on MSC Divina and NCL Pearl.
As we are Platinum level on NCL, MSC graciously status
matched us to their equivalent Black level.
The boarding process went very smoothly. Once aboard, waiting for our room to be
readied for us, we were anxious for our first meal aboard! On the Divina, the only place available was
the buffet where on NCL we had a choice of the buffet or one of the main dining
rooms to choose from. Needless to say,
it was very crowed and difficult to navigate.
We always enjoyed that NCL allowed us the choice to eat a beautifully
prepared relaxing lunch after the hectic journey of boarding the ship.
At the Cruise Critic meet on the first sea day there were 6
Cruise Critic members and I think 4 ship representatives including the hotel
director and the food and beverage director.
We were asked what we thought about the cruise so far, and
asked to let them know if we had any concerns during our cruise. They asked us to let them know of three
things we liked and one item that needed improvement. Funny thing, no one mentioned the things that
they liked but went straight to discussing the negatives. Maybe later in the cruise they should have
asked us after we had time to experience the Divina but we appreciated their sincere
interest in our cruise experience. They
served some sparkling wine, juice and some snacks. It was very nice, wish more cruisers had
attended.
I told them my first impression of the ship was that it was
beautiful, but I felt a little disappointed in how I felt when I walked into
our cabin regarding the Black level treatment.
On NCL you have treats in your cabin that let you know you are
Platinum. Some notes, bottle of wine,
chocolates and such. In our cabin there
was nothing other than a nice, clean cabin.
I liked the cabin on the Divina, it had plenty of storage and felt
roomy. The shower had those crazy doors
that swing in to make the bathroom feel bigger.
The only thing I did not like about the cabin was the shower. I am a big guy, 6’3” and 290 pounds, the
shower was small for me. My wife was
disturbed by a strong musty/moldy smell in the shower. We mentioned this to the Hotel director and
he went above and beyond to remedy the problem.
Ours became the cleanest shower on record!
So for the rooms, inside cabin on the Divina vs Pearl, the
Divina wins by a slight margin.
The buffet has a lot of repeat stations when it gets busy. As for the pizza, there was only one location
for that. That was at the end nearest
the main pool. The pizza was very good,
I spoke to an Italian women and she gave her endorsement. There were unusual
toppings as well as the standard toppings that you would expect. The buffet is huge. It is easy to lose your
party if you are not careful. It gets
very crowded and hard to get around, just be patient and it all works out for
you. After hours such late at night or
between meals, don’t expect much variety, At these times you will find pizza,
hamburgers, hot dogs, French fries, sandwiches,
fruit, and little desserts. As I am
listing that, it actually sounds pretty good, but it is exactly the same every
day and at every time of the day! It bothered
my wife more than myself; she likes fine dining at her fingertips at her
schedule! That’s why she cruises’ she
says, “to eat!”
In the main dining rooms on NCL they ask for your room key
when being seated. They then acknowledge
you by your name, I like that. After a
while I would be greeted by my name before I even gave them my room key. That is different than on the Divina, on the
first night you show them your room key and they take you to your assigned
table. From then on you just walk in at
your dinner time and go to your table.
I really liked the wait staff on NCL better, not that there
was anything bad with the wait staff on the Divina. I think it has to do with the fact that there
are so many different languages spoken by the guests that it is harder for the
crew to interact with the guests. The
captain told us that on our cruise there were 70 different languages being
spoken by the passengers!
When it comes to dining, I really enjoy NCL better. I like the different specialty dining over
the ones on MSC. I really love the Great
Outdoors on the Pearl, several of NCL ships have that. I did enjoy the gelato and coffee on the
Divina.
As for the food, the food was tasty on the Divina, the
portions were small and that was good for me.
I am trying to watch what I eat and that worked out well for me on this
cruise.
Overall, I enjoyed the dining on the Pearl vs the Divina.
Monday, August 29, 2016
Sunday, August 28, 2016
Saturday, August 27, 2016
Friday, August 26, 2016
Thursday, August 25, 2016
Wednesday, August 24, 2016
Thursday, January 14, 2016
Meet and Greet with NCL Pearl ship officers - December 11, 2015
The officers introduced themselves and shared information with us. The crew of NCL Pearl always goes above and beyond to make sure everyone's cruise experience is great!
Tuesday, January 5, 2016
Monday, January 4, 2016
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)