Lors de notre précédente croisière en mars 2013 sur le Costa Luminosa "La perle des antilles", j'avais fait un CR assez détaillé qui avait été suivi par beaucoup d'entre vous.
Pour cette croisière sur le Divina au départ de Miami j'ai décidé de vous faire part de notre ressenti sur cette fabuleuse croisière, si cela peut vous donner envie ou de préparer cette future croisière.
J'avais réservé l'avion presque 1 an à l'avance pour avoir de meilleurs tarifs au départ de Francfort, la croisière a été réservée en mai 2014 pour être sûr d'avoir une bonne cabine, réservation sur le site américain Cruise N More pour une cabine balcon Auréa située au pont 12, la cabine 12016. Très contente de ce site, aucun problème particulier, tout se fait par mail, à la réservation 229$ et le solde 3 mois avant le départ.
Nous avons décidé de prendre 2 nuits à Miami beach avant la croisière, d'une part pour être sûr d'être déjà sur place pour la croisière (comme les vols ont été pris à part c'était une sécurité), et d'autre part de pouvoir visiter Miami.
Ce fût un très beau voyage, très réussi, de très belles escales, un très beau paquebot et des souvenirs mémorables.
Nous avons fait de très belles rencontres et le retour a été très dur, le moral en a pris un coup.
JEUDI 26 MARS 2015 :
Nous partirons de la maison à 1h du matin, l'avion au départ de Francfort est à 6h30, nous avons pris la TAP Portugal, il y a une escale à Lisbonne de 4 h puis vol pour Miami d'une durée de 9h30, ce sera assez long mais nous avons de bonnes places, à l'arière près d'un hublot et écrans individuels, l'arrivée sur Miami très jolie, nous met déjà dans l'ambiance.
Nous sommes très satisfaits de la TAP , horaires respectés et des avions récents.
Nous sommes arrivés à Miami à 17h30, passage à la douane d'environ 1h30, on nous avait prévenu que ce serait long mais finalement cela va assez vite, nous prenons un taxi et direction l'hôtel Harrison à Miami Beach, on se rafraîchit un peu , nous avons 2 amies qui seront sur la croisière et qui ont aussi réservées le même hôtel vont bientôt arrivées, on sort ensembles de l'hôtel vers 21 h et direction Ocean Drive qui est à 5 minutes, l'hôtel est vraiment bien situé !
Il y a la fête sur Ocean drive, c'est pour fêter le 100ème anniversaire de la création de Miami Beach, à cette occasion le hrad rock café est installé sur la plage; il y a un concert de Barry Gibb, c'est génial, on voit de tout à Miami beach !!!
Nous allons boire un cocktail XXL à 45 $ pour nous tous ! Nous avons aussi le droit à un feu d'artifice, les vacances commencent vraiment bien !!!
prête pour la suite!
nous revenons du luminosa et notre prochaine croisière est sur le divina..
donc tu vas pouvoir nous dire les différences, les aspects + et -.
Merci de me suivre.
En effet j'ai fait ces 2 bateaux, le Luminosa était très bien mais j'ai une préférence pour les bateaux MSC et le Divina est vraiment magnifique, j'ai quand même préféré notre cabine balcon sur le Luminosa, si tu reprends mon compte rendu tu verras des photos de la cabine qui était bien plus grande que les autres, le balcon également. Par contre pour le buffet à midi sur le Divina tu ne fais pas la queue et nous avons toujours trouvé de la place, en cherchant un peu qd même.
Les piscines sur le Divina sont très belles, un plus pour le solarium TOP 18 avec jaccuzi, très peu de monde car payant sauf pour les Auréa, un plus pour les journéees en mer. Au niveau restauration nous avons très bien mangé autant sur le Luminosa que le Divina. Concernant les boissons, nous n'avons pas pris le forfait boissons, je me rappelle que sur le Luminosa nous avions prix le forfait boys and girls qui était très bien, sur le Divina nous avons pris le forfait More and Less à 84 $ les 18 cocktails ou boissons ne dépassant pas les 8 $, c"était impeccable car on a pu profiter des cocktails avec alccool à un prix raisonnable, cela nous a suffit pour la semaine. A noter aussi que sur le Divina au buffet vous avez en libre service tout au long de la journée eau, jus de fruits, limonade, café, ice tea ...., et au pont piscine pont 14 vous pouvez vous servir des glaces italiennes de 14 h à 17 h, des petits plus qui ont leur importance.
Point négatif sur le Divina : lors des débarquements et embarquements c'est très très long !!! Patience ! On perd facilement du temps!
Si vous avez d'autres questions n'hésitez pas
A bientôt
Coucou,
Présente pour la suite 😉
Si en plus tu peux nous mettre des photos se sera le top 😉
Tu parle du solarium top 18 c’était combien la journée, tu n'es pas la première a dire que c'est bien 😛
Nous partons de l'hôtel à 8h, nous nous rendons à l"agence de location SIXT qui se trouve à 5 min de l'hôtel pour chercher la voiture décapotable que l'on avait réservé depuis la France, j'avais réservé pour une Ford mustang Cabrio, la classe et quand nous arivons à l'agence elle me dit qu'on est surclassé et nous aurons une BMW décapotable, ouhais c'est bien mais on aurait voulu l'autre ! Nous la louons pour 24 h, et c'est parti, direction KEY WEST, ce sera une très longue journée.
Nous ferons plusieurs arrêts avant d'arriver à Key West : on prendra un petit déjeuner à Burger King qui sera très consistant, Key Largo , à Islamorada. La route est très longue, environ 250 kms, la vitesse maxi est de 90 km/h, nous arriverons dans la ville de Key West vers 16h00, nous faisons un tour de cette très belle ville, nous sommes allés jusqu'au Southernmost point, arrêt au Hard Rock café, nous sommes repartis vers 19 h et arrivés très tard à Miami.
Ce fût une longue journée, visiter Key West en 1 journée mais nous sommes content de l'avoir fait, cela aurait été dommage.
Pour le top 18 , c'est gratuit pour les auréa, sinon c'est 10 $/ jour pour un transat, ou pour avoir un cocoon c'est 15 $ / demi journée, je mettrais ees photos du Top 18 un peu plus loin dans mon CR
SAMEDI 28 MARS 2015 :JOUR DE L'EMBARQUEMENT SUR LE MSC DIVINA
C'est aujourd'hui que l'on embarque sur le Divina, on attend ce moment là depuis presque 1 an !!!
Et c'est aujourd'hui que je vais enfin faire la connaissance de Sophie avec qui j'ai correspondu pendant 3 mois avant la croisière et c'est grâce à ce forum qu'on s'est rencontré, nous avons passé de longues soirées à parler sur facebook, on avait l'impression de se connaître avant de se voir et notre rencontre fût fabuleuse, nous passerons ainsi toute la croisière ensembles avec son mari Marcel, que de parties de rigolades !!!
Sophie est arrivée la veille avec l'avion affrété par MSC, c'est elle qui a reservé notre excursion de ce matin dans les Everglades avec Miami Tour Company, superbe excursion , cette compagnie est vraiment très professionnelle et tout est très bien organisé, ils viennent vous chercher à l'hôtel vers 10h et vous ramènent à 14h30.
Cette excursion dans le parc des Everglades comprend un trajet en hydroglisseur où l'on va voir des alligators, tortues et autres espèces, suivi d'un spectacle avec alligators et boa !!! et petite promenade dans le parc, avant le retour arrêt à la boutique de souvenirs.
Bonjour Sandrine ,
Merci pour ton compte rendu, je retiens le tour operator pour les EVERGLADES 😉
Je ne savais qu'en réservant le vol avec MSC on pouvait arriver la veille, je suppose que c'est bien plus cher qu'en le prenant à part
Sympa en effet quand les rencontres virtuelles ne le sont plus, j'ai vécu ça l'année dernière sur le musica 😛
Bonjour, normalement ils devaient prendre le vol le jour de l'embarquement mais ça a été changé 2/3 mois avant, ils étaient ravis, oui de très belles rencontres, on était une bonne équipe !
Merci de me lire à bientôt
Waouh...l'AR Miami/Key West dans la journée, je suis épatée😉.
Tes photos de Floride me rappellent de très bons souvenirs...je vais suivre le CR avec plaisir.
A bientôt pour la suite.
Bonsoir Sandrine
Je m'inscris aussi pour la suite du compte rendu .
J'ai réservé une croisière sur le Divina à partir de Miami le pour le 11 janvier 2016 .
Je vais pouvoir commencer à me projeter ....
Quelles sont les nationalités sur le bateau ? Et en quelles proportions ?
Cordialement Claudine
Bonjour, merci de me suivre, oui Key West en 1 journée dur, dur mais qu'est ce que c'était beau , la route des Keys est magnifique, c'est vrai qu'en restant 2 jours à Miami, il fallait faire des choix, je sais que la prochaine qu'on revient à Miami on passera au moins 1 nuit là bas. Après j'ai vu que Miami Tours Company propose aussi cette excursion en 1 journée, ce qui est bien aussi car vous n'avez pas la fatigue, à voir !
Bonjour, les nationalités, un peu de tout, mais on entendait parler beaucoup français, beaucoup de gens du Canada et Québec aussi, par contre le directeur de croisière André ne parlait qu'en américain, pas de traductions avant ou après les spectacles, ce qui était dommage en effet ! Sinon sur le bateau pas de problèmes pour se faire comprendre.
Bonjour Sandrine
Merci pour l'information .
Ce sera l'occasion de réviser notre anglais (américain ?...) et peut être de se préparer à tester les compagnies américaines . Nous ne connaissons que Costa et Msc ..
Bon 1er mai
Claudine
Bonjour,
Je m'inscrit pour la suite du cr. Nous partirons sur le divina de Miami en mars 2016. On va s'y préparer . Pour la sortie des everglades tu pourrais nous donner les coordonnées de l'agence . Merci et bon 1 mai
Bonjour, pour les everglades c'est Miami Tours Company, vous les trouverez sur internet , conseillés sur Tripadvisor, merci de me lire, je vais d'ailleurs continuer....
Le bus nous ramène à l'hôtel vers 14h30, de là nous allons à la réception pour qu'on nous appelle un taxi, un grand taxi car nous sommes 6 avec toutes nos valises, une camionnette "limousine" vient alors nous chercher, ouf , on est tous rentrés !!!
Le trajet vers le port sera rapide, ça y est le Divina est là, ouah il est quand même imposant!!! on dépose nos valises, on fait l'embarquement et c'est parti pour une croisière inoubliable !!!
Pour nos amis, ce sera leur 1 ère croisière, ils sont en cabine extérieure au pont 5, on les guide et ils sont ravis, en effet leur cabine est bien grande ! Nous allons ensuite ensembles voir notre cabine au pont 12 , la 12016 cabine balcon qui est superbe, j'aime beaucoup la déco des cabines, c'est très chaleureux !
Nous montons au pont 14 pour prendre nos forfaits boissons, on prendra 1 carnet de 18 tickets More and Less qui nous permet de prendre des boissons alcoolisées ou non ne dépassant pas les 8 $, en fait presque toutes les boissons sont à moins de 8$ !! Et on trinque à notre départ de la croisière , on prend un cocktail le Miami Vice, et oui on est déjà dans l'ambiance, on est heureux, tout va bien, la croisière peut commencer !!!!
Le bateau partira vers 19 h, nous montons alors sur les ponts extérieurs pour voir le départ, et le départ de Miami est vraiment très beau ( celui de Venise magnifique mais celui là est pas mal du tout, j'ai adoré !)
Ca y est nous sommes partis, le bateau sort du port, longe la marina, passe debvant Miami beach et voilà nous sommes en pleine mer, le bateau accostera à Ocho Rios en Jamaique le lundi 30 mars.
Pour ce 1er soir, nous avons décidé d'aller mangé au buffet, on trouve notre bonheur et il y a du monde qui fait comme nous.
Nous passons quand même voir le maitre d'hôtel pour que le lendemain soir on soit ensembles avec nos amis au repas de 21 h au Black Crab.
Nous ferons un petit tour du bateau et n'allons pas nous coucher trop tard, on est déjà fatigué par ces 2 jours de visite à Miami.
Demain c'est journée en mer , on a le temps de se lever.
We're leaving on August 25th for a Danube cruise from Vienna to Bucharest. The travel agency refuses to postpone this cruise despite navigation changes due to the exceptional drought, which include bus transfers that don’t interest us.
Have you had any experiences with this that you’d like to share?
Hi there,
I’m looking into a Mediterranean cruise on the Splendida in YC.
I’d love to know if it’s a ship with a lot of triple and quadruple cabins in the Yacht Club.
The thing is, I’m planning to depart from Malta, and either the cruise ends during the French school holidays in October with a departure from Marseille—which means there’s a risk of lots of kids on board—or the other option is a departure on October 30th, which might also have some French kids during the first part of the cruise.
I read that some ships in the Fantasia class have more triple or quadruple cabins than others, but I’m not sure if the Splendida is one of them.
If anyone has that info…
PS: This isn’t about starting a debate on traveling with or without kids… I’d just like a quiet week, and that’s not always easy in a small space with lots of children around.
Just back from our first cruise on the Renaissance, and I’d like to share a few thoughts about life on board. Our feelings are mixed—we wanted a change after several MSC cruises, but the value for money on this repositioning cruise left us torn.
After taking advantage of successive promotions, we finally secured a well-located balcony cabin for 2600 € (almost 50% off the brochure rate). Given the amenities and the ship’s age, this now feels like the absolute maximum we’d pay for that period.
Overall, we were happy with our vacation on board, but a few details—when added up—left us with a somewhat mixed impression.
The pros:
- Ship size
- Reasonable noise levels, except in the restaurants (aside from the covered pool area)
- Spacious balcony cabin (20 + 5 m²) with plenty of storage and a bathtub with jets
- Understated, tasteful decor
- French language spoken on board
- Friendly staff for the most part
- 100% French-speaking clientele
- Decent food with French dishes (even with an Indian chef)
- Tables for two available (though the ship was full, so no changes possible)
- Some high-quality shows, thanks to an excellent English-speaking troupe
- Interesting lectures (especially on history and cetaceans)
The cons:
- Unreliable air conditioning in common areas (you’d go from a freezing lounge to a hot one, as if the system only worked in certain spaces at certain times)
- Aging ship with a few glitches (noises, AC, toilet flushes, lights) reported at reception (luckily, our only issue was the bathroom door not closing...)
- Industrial, thawed-out bread and pastries (a letdown for a ship with a French image)
- Limited fruit selection (often just apples and watermelon/melon) and not much variety in vegetables
- Worn, sometimes stained restaurant towels
We’re not ruling out another cruise on the Renaissance—their itineraries are unique—but only at a very competitive price.
Hi, I’m about to go on a cruise on the Costa Smeralda but I’ve never been on a cruise before. Could anyone share the à-la-carte drink menu? I’d like to know if the prices are excessive, since the MyDrinks drink packages, for example, cost 266 € per adult.
Have a great day! 😉
Hi everyone,
I’m going on a Mediterranean cruise in November and I’m looking for some "tips" to visit the cities of Naples, Messina, and Valletta in Malta without booking the ship’s excursions, which are really expensive.
Thanks so much for your advice and suggestions. We’re a group of 6 people.
Looking forward to hearing from you...
Best,
M
PS: We’re also stopping in Genoa and Barcelona—even though we know these two cities, we’d still love any tips for visiting them!
Thanks
Hello everyone,
We’re a senior couple signed up for a 13-day cruise in Japan on the Princess Sapphire, departing from Yokohama on April 8, 2027.
Are there any other French speakers on this forum who’ll be on this trip?
Hoping for a reply...
Hi,
The MSC Magnifica has been refurbished and a Yacht Club class has been added. Could anyone share their impressions of cabin 14001, as the view is slightly obstructed? Is it really a "disadvantage" in terms of brightness? Thanks in advance
Hi, we're heading to Venice soon. We have a hotel in Mestre and we'd like to know which bus can take us from the Mestre hotel to Marghera Port. Thanks.
Hi everyone ...
We’re planning to do the 83-day Cunard cruise ...
departing from Southampton on January 10, 2027 aboard the Queen Anne ...
has anyone done it ... or have any info ... or tips ...
for example ... deck and cabin choices ... drink packages ... excursions ... etc.
... anything good to know about this ship???
Thanks everyone ...
Hi there,
Here’s the 2027 cruise schedule.
It’s a great way to get ideas and maybe even meet up with other members!
2 essential rules:
1) Never "quote" the schedule when replying—this avoids any confusion.
2) Follow this format:
DD/MM - username / SHIP IN CAPS / number of days / cruise title / departure port
DON’T FORGET THE SPACES between the / /
REMINDER Despite my requests, few people follow the requested format. Cruises that stray too far from it won’t be listed anymore—sorry about that. IMPORTANT Please respect the templates!
PLEASE COPY AND PASTE THE FORMAT BELOW AND REPLACE WITH YOUR DETAILS IF YOU’RE HAVING TROUBLE
DD/MM - username / SHIP IN CAPS / number of days / cruise title / departure port
DON’T FORGET THE SPACES between the / /
It takes time to fix mistakes, so THANKS TO EVERYONE for your help!
YOUR TURN 😉
NUMBER OF 2027 CRUISES: 1
JANUARY
14/01 - poupou10 / AZAMARA JOURNEY / 74 days / South America Tour / Miami
FEBRUARY
MARCH
APRIL
MAY
JUNE
JULY
AUGUST
SEPTEMBER
OCTOBER
NOVEMBER
DECEMBER
Hi there,
I’m looking for an all-inclusive Nile cruise on a comfortable boat with as few passengers as possible.
Which tour operator can you recommend?
Thanks in advance.
I’m about to book the panoramic suite, and I’m not sure whether I should go for the one at the front of the ship or the one at the back. I’d really appreciate any feedback—anyone who’s already booked this kind of suite and can share the pros and cons?
Hi,
We’ll be visiting Barcelona for the first time on our upcoming cruise.
I was wondering if it’s better to book a taxi in advance to get from the train station to the cruise terminal, since there’ll be four of us. Are there enough taxis around that we won’t have to wait too long?
For the return trip, same question—are there enough taxis, since we have a flight to catch? Though I doubt we’ll know in advance which terminal we’ll dock at.
I came across this site below—has anyone heard of it?
https://taxibarcelona.taxi/fr/
hi there
Here’s the cruise schedule for 2026.
It’s a great way to get ideas and maybe even meet up with other members.
2 essential rules:
1) never "quote" the calendar when replying—this’ll avoid any confusion
2) follow the format below
DD/MM - username / SHIP IN CAPS / number of days / cruise title / departure port
DON’T FORGET THE SPACES between the / /
REMINDER Despite my requests, few people follow the requested format. Cruises that stray too far from it won’t be listed anymore—sorry!PLEASE respect the templates!
COPY AND PASTE THE FORMAT BELOW AND REPLACE WITH YOUR DETAILS IF YOU’RE STRUGGLING
DD/MM - username / SHIP IN CAPS / number of days / cruise title / departure port
DON’T FORGET THE SPACES between the / /
It takes time to fix mistakes, so THANKS TO EVERYONE for your help!
YOUR TURN 😉
NUMBER OF CRUISES 2026:
JANUARY
FEBRUARY
MARCH
APRIL
MAY
JUNE
JULY
AUGUST
SEPTEMBER
OCTOBER
NOVEMBER
DECEMBER
Hi everyone, we're going on a week-long cruise and I have a question: can we travel by train and on a cruise with small refrigerated injectable syringes?
Do we need to complete any formalities?
And how should we store them?
Thanks in advance for your feedback.
I'm considering a cruise on the Hurtigruten Coastal Express from Bergen to Kirkenes and back to Bergen over 11 days in mid-March 2027.
Has anyone already done this trip?
I think it’s a great way to discover the Norwegian coast with the chance to see magnificent northern lights, but isn’t the trip a bit *too* long?
There are about thirty stops, but most last only a few minutes, with just one daily stop of over 2 hours, which gives a quick glimpse of a few towns but doesn’t allow for a full excursion.
Is the supplement for an outside cabin with a porthole (800 € for 2!) really worth it?
It’s more pleasant than an inside cabin, but do you spend enough time in your cabin to make the most of it?
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this journey.
Best regards.
Hi everyone! I’m used to sailing on a sailboat with two or three people—it’s amazing. But I’d love to try the experience of a cruise. Just to clarify, I’ll be going alone. My first question: are there other solo travelers on these cruises, or is it mostly couples and families?
For a first cruise, I’d prefer a short one (maximum 8 days). Do those exist? And on the smallest boat possible. I live in Marseille, so a departure from Marseille would work, but I’m open to other ports too. If you have a cruise line to recommend and a destination you’ve enjoyed, or if you’ve had a great experience on a more intimate-sized ship, I’d love to hear about it!
We just returned from a cruise from 08/13/26 to 08/20/26 on the MSC ORCHESTRA with stops in Tarragona, Valencia, Livorno, Civitavecchia, Genoa, and back to Marseille.
The ship was fully booked. Deck chairs were already occupied by beach towels early in the morning, and there were only 1 or 2 people in the pools... However, on the day the Italians disembarked, there were very few towels on the deck chairs.
We found the Italians less talkative.
We had a balcony cabin on deck 9, starboard side. The cabin was spacious, but the sofa was facing the desk, making it a pain to watch TV (neck strain guaranteed). So, we changed the sofa’s orientation to face the TV (we put it back in place on disembarkation day).
There were 325 French speakers on board, and a lot of staff from Mauritius, which made communication easier.
No annoying announcements about bingo, etc.—a nice change from COSTA.
For dinner, we were at the first sitting at 7:45 PM, at a table for 6. On the first night, we were two "gray-haired" couples at the table. The second night, two young women joined us but asked to change tables after seeing us...
The show for our dinner time was at 10:15 PM and ended around 11:00 PM. We found that a bit late for us. The shows were varied and of good quality.
The restaurant menus offered plenty of choices, but at the buffet at lunchtime, there were a lot of dishes with quite a few carbs. Afternoon tea from 4:30 PM to 5:30 PM included some great pastries, among other things.
We had an issue with the air conditioning and bad odors in the cabin one afternoon. I reported the problem to the reception, and staff along with our cabin steward came to check the cabin. The issue was resolved that same afternoon.
Two days later, we were surprised to find a bag with items inside: 2 MSC mugs and 2 MSC thermos flasks that keep drinks hot or cold for 10 hours. It was a gift from customer service following the bad odors in our cabin. We weren’t expecting this at all and thanked MSC’s customer service.
For excursions, MSC always offers port-to-city-center transfers for 14 € per adult in Valencia and Tarragona, and 12 € per child. In Livorno, it was 10 € per adult and 7 € per child.
In Civitavecchia, there was a shuttle to the train station for 6 €.
On the MSC for Me app, there were "promotions" on certain excursions.
We really enjoyed this cruise, but we couldn’t revisit some stops (Tarragona and Valencia) on our own because it was too hot.
Great evening: Mum49
Hi there!
I’m going on a cruise with MSC on the World Europa this coming October.
Stops: Genoa, Naples, Messina, Malta.
Has anyone visited Mount Etna and Pompeii?
Could you share some tips for each of these stops?
I’d like to explore on my own without booking the ship’s excursions.
Thanks for your advice!
Hello!
After a lot of hesitation between different cruise lines (Explora, Oceania, YC, HAL, NCL) and several destinations like Norway, Ireland, and Iceland,
I finally chose NCL’s Star for Iceland.
I had already looked at this itinerary when I went to Scotland in April with CFC, but it was really expensive.
You should know that CFC often offers last-minute deals 45 days before departure (the point when you can no longer cancel or modify).
So, I got a great opportunity and grabbed it.
Departure is on August 23rd.
Hi everyone,
I’m staying in a suite on the Pacifica in October and I can’t find any details about the suite benefits beyond the elite restaurant, the butler, and the espresso machine.
What about breakfast and meals served free in the cabin, and the spa?
Costa’s been cutting back on perks for Gold members, and it seems like suites are next.
Thanks for your replies!
Hello,
We’re back from this cruise.
Boarding in Dunkirk: The doors opened around 12 PM. Since we were a bit early, I asked if my husband, who uses a walker, could wait inside instead of outside. I left him with the two suitcases and our two backpacks in the small hall while I parked the car in the reserved CFC parking lot for 10 € per day.
The shuttle that was supposed to take people from the parking lot to the model pavilion was supposed to arrive in 5 minutes, but after 15 minutes, nothing. After waiting 15 minutes, I saw a man walking and asked if I could follow him. In 15 minutes, we arrived, and still no sign of the shuttle—it must have passed us. Arrived at the model pavilion.
My husband had already checked in the suitcases with the help of a CFC staff member. The remaining formalities were completed quickly. We were on board by 12:15 PM. Headed to the buffet on deck 11 and waited in a lounge to access our cabin.
At 2 PM, we discovered our balcony cabin on deck 9 at the rear: spacious with a large balcony compared to MSC/COSTA.
Since we were at the rear, cabin 9202, there was always an issue with elevator number 4: "priority."
Elevator number 2 stops at deck 10... and elevator number 3 was often out of order, leaving only number 1 for those with mobility issues to reach the buffet, especially for people who struggle with stairs. Note: only one child on board and lots of "gray hair."
DAY 2: At sea. Lots of activities offered.
Day 3: GOTHENBURG (Sweden). Sunny, 19°C at 11 AM.
Excursion booked with CFC: Gothenburg and Haga for all.
Interesting visit with a great guide. The HAGA district, in our opinion, is full of cobblestones and nothing special, not suitable for people using a cane or wheelchair. Elevator number 3 was out of order again.
Day 4: Copenhagen. 15°C in the morning, showers in the afternoon.
We didn’t book an excursion since we’d already stopped here with CFC in 2025, and based on advice from this forum, we took the hop-on/hop-off bus right in front of the ship. I still went to see the Little Mermaid again.
No TV, but the elevator was fixed.
DAY 5: At sea. Still no TV.
DAY 6: GDANSK (Poland). 15°C, rain all day.
There’s a shuttle to get to the city center.
We took the excursion: Panorama of Gdansk.
The guide left us at the entrance of the city center for 45 minutes, telling us what to visit. Meet-up for the rest of the tour at 3 PM. The bus left at 3:15 PM to cover 10 km to see St. Mary’s Cathedral. We arrived at 4:16 PM... The guide said there are often traffic jams in that direction. We had 10 minutes on site before heading to see the lighthouse and the Westerplatte monument, where we also had 10 minutes.
Many of us wondered why we didn’t do the tour in the opposite direction since they knew there would be traffic...
I went to reception to complain about the organization. The staff member read me the program: we were supposed to start with the lighthouse, then go to the cathedral and stay for 30 minutes before heading to the center of Gdansk for a short guided walk with some free time to buy souvenirs, etc.
The guide did the complete opposite of what was planned and didn’t even give us a guided tour—just dropped us off in the city...
DAY 7: Bornholm Island (Denmark). 14°C, a few sunny spells.
We saw in the excursions that there was a walking tour of RØNNE. So, like many others, we explored on our own. There was a small orchestra welcoming us at the port and two people with city maps. We took the shuttle to leave the port—it ran every 15 minutes. The tourist office was next to the "shuttle bus." A pleasant visit at our own pace.
DAY 8: KIEL (Germany). 18–23°C, nice weather.
We took the "Kiel for all" excursion. Great guide and interesting visits.
The port is in the city, and in 10 minutes, we were in the city center by following a blue line on the ground from the port. Elevator 3 was stuck again... and the TV was back.
DAY 9: At sea. Elevator 3 works.
DAY 10: At sea. Elevator 3 is out of order again...
DAY 11: Disembarkation in Dunkirk.
Cabins had to be vacated by 7:30 AM. Buffet open until 9 AM.
Elevator number 1 was "reserved," leaving only number 2, which doesn’t go up to deck 11... a problem for people with mobility issues who had to cross the entire deck 11 and try to use one of the four working elevators at the front, which were crowded.
My opinion: Interesting stops.
The onboard staff were always welcoming, smiling, and mostly French-speaking.
Evening shows were better than in March/April 2025—better singers, dancers, and presenters, and the costumes were improved.
I liked the "magician" shows less.
There were three onboard lectures by a very cultured person, but they went off-topic and were too historical for my taste. I didn’t attend the other two; my husband went to the second but not the third.
For this cruise, there was a bridge theme, but we’re not players or interested.
We didn’t take a drink package on board—water, coffee, tea, and herbal teas were available.
We had a water leak in our cabin the night before disembarkation. We reported it, and after the technical staff came (with a translator who didn’t speak English), we were asked to leave the cabin for a while for repairs. We went to a lounge, and after 1.5 hours, I checked in at reception. The repair took longer than expected... we had to change cabins... not ideal the night before disembarkation. No balcony cabins were available, so we got an ocean-view cabin, 6075, with a bathtub (impossible for both of us to use). We packed our suitcases, took a shower in our cabin, and moved to the new one. Noise from chairs until 12:30 AM because the cabin was under a lounge, and constant ventilation noise in the hallway... sleep was hard to come by.
Disembarkation: Well organized. We were helped with transporting the two suitcases and bags to the waiting room while I took the shuttle to get the car.
Guylène
