MSC Divina
7-Night Western Caribbean
10/11/2014: Miami, Florida
10/12/2014: Sea Day
10/13/2014: Falmouth, Jamaica
10/14/2014: Georgetown, Grand Cayman
10/15/2014: Cozumel, Mexico
10/16/2014: Sea Day
10/17/2014: Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas (Private Island)
10/18/2014: Miami, Florida
"The Diva of the Seas"
Here is our sweet 16....the MSC Divina!
She earned the title as the Diva of the Caribbean in our book...or blog, whatever you want to call it. This ship is tall, long, beautiful and most important unlike any other ship right now sailing out of Miami to the Caribbean.
Now we heard tons of negative reviews on this ship and we are going to address a few of them below. We had an amazing time onboard for the most part and the time flew by very fast! 7-nights was not nearly enough in our opinion. We took a Saturday to Saturday cruise and it's now Sunday and it does not feel like we were away for a week. Felt more like a few days.
So MSC incase you did not know stand for Mediterranean Shipping Company. Which you may have seen their shipping containers around before. They have branched out years ago into the cruise industry. Bringing one of it's newest ships (MSC Divina) to the Caribbean. Luckily they did because this was one of the best cruises we ever took.
We originally had Carnival Splendor booked for next month out of San Juan, Puerto Rico to Miami, however MSC came out with an amazing deal that we could not pass up. So we cancelled that cruise in place of the Divina. The price was cheap for the interior room we booked. Well about 2 weeks before the cruise we got an upgrade to a balcony. Wow! They are really good to their guests.
We drove to the port (Miami) that morning and arrived close to 10:30am or so. We were in the terminal and on the ship by 12pm! Fast and efficient, no complaints there. The ship was very clean and very stunning from room to room. Lot's to see and check out. The ship did lack activities during the day and night. A big portion of the entertainment was music and dancing which is not a problem, however they could do more and throw some other things into the mix. Still not a huge bummer, we find our own entertainment places.
So now on to the negative reviews from other cruisers.
Food: People went on and on about the food, they didn't like it and hated it. Well for us it was the opposite, we enjoyed just about everything we ate. Some were better than others, however NOTHING was horrible. Most if not all of the food we had was cooked perfectly, no issues.
Service: Tons of reviews included the horrible service around the ship. Well we somewhat understood this. However not as bad as people say. It has part to do with the communication between guests and crew. The crew was very helpful and did everything they could. We did come across a few times of asking for things at dinner such as half cups of coffee (since they fill them before bringing it to the table), and they would give us it the same height (if not higher) than the normal cups. Also during one lunch one person ordered salad with dressing on the side and they brought it with dressing on top. She said they did the same thing a few times already. Small things here and there, nothing too big. Want to also mention the time it took for meals start to finish. This includes breakfast, lunch and dinner in the MDR. It was sometimes very fast to almost 2 hours for lunch. Sometimes a ton of waiters were around and other times none. Other service was Guest Services, we went several times and got in and out 1...2...3. No issues there at all, they handled all of our needs quick and painlessly.
Language Barrier: This was a big issue with people. Between guests and crew and guest with other guests. This ship has a lot of people from Europe and other areas overseas and not many from the states. Crew was a lot from Indonesia. The English language was minimal but they sure did do their best to help. We felt we had more issues with other guests and their manners than crew interaction. I can see some people having an issue with not getting what they asked for. For us it wasn't that big of a deal at times and we never got into any issues with this. Again some passengers (mostly at the buffet) would just not have many manners and just bump into you and no say "excuse me" or "sorry", even in their language, I don't care just acknowledge me once you bump into me. Even in a store in Cozumel I (Patrick) was standing in a store and some lady just nudged my shoulder and squeezed on by and pushed me out of the way. We were the only ship in port and I saw this person on other occasions as well around the ship. Again small issues nothing to big, we managed to communicate with everyone the best way we can.
Announcements: So the issue was that several things were presented in many different languages. All of the IMPORTANT announcements were made in several different languages, which we did not mind at all. We felt when we were on Norwegian Sky it was a million times worse. Bingo was called in several languages as well, again I thought of it as a learning experience. So it wasn't that bad by any means.
Slippery Decks: Just like on any ship you will have this. Some areas worse than others, again when you have three pools the floors will be slippery in some spots more than others. So this wasn't a complaint of ours.
As you can tell, the issues we not a big deal on this cruise. We did want to address them for the cruisers that base everything off of that. We wanted to have the negative thrown at us. We hopefully captured the negative and gave back positive feedback.
We thought about this for a little bit on what the MSC Divina was about and what it has to offer for the Caribbean market out of Miami. Well for starters she is a massive ship. At around 140,000 tons. A bit smaller than the Norwegian Getaway and a bit larger than the Carnival Breeze she is a great size. We would recommend it to anyone looking to sail the Caribbean with a Mediterranean twist. The ship is Italian and it's roots are there, they want the American market to have that experience without having to travel overseas to Europe for that. So for anyone looking for a different cruising experience definitely try out this ship. So don't book and go on looking to get a normal Caribbean cruise that you would get on Carnival, Royal Caribbean or Norwegian. MSC is not about that they are about bringing their style to you. Like most people say MSC also stands for Mediterranean Style Cruising and that is exactly what it is.
Pros
- Entertainment was great, shows were the best we had ever seen by far.
- Food was from good to great, never had a bad dish. Nothing really overcooked or under-cooked. Closest thing to a bad dish was in the Eataly Steakhouse when we got a steak. I (Patrick) felt it was underseasoned.
- Getting on the ship was a breeze, check in was fast and efficient. We were Zone 3 and were on by 12:10pm. Boarding started right around noon. Setup our cash account onboard.
- On the last night of the cruise we got a paper and tags to get off the next day along with location information. We were off the ship the next day by 6:45am to go home. Again very fast and efficient. MSC does an EXCELLENT job was being organized in this area.
- Our room steward Kris was amazing, did a great job and had no issues at all. Always around and always checking in to see how we were and if we needed anything at all.
- Room service did come very quickly the couple nights we ordered. Both within 20 minutes at most.
- The Infinity Pool was a unique and great addition to the ship, excellent place to relax and get a tan. Which we did!
- On both sides of the ship in the very back were sets of stairs that had openings to look out on. Best spot on the ship, quiet and no one really ever goes around there at all. Amazing views.
- Plenty of live music around the ship during the night. Singing and dancing was a nice touch after or before dinner and shows.
- The Main Dining Room (Black Crab Restaurant) was open for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day of our cruise. Even the last morning of the cruise it was open for a few hours while the buffet was open that morning until 11am.
- Decor around the ship was exquisite, every room was better than the next. Much like the production shows.
- Very few times a Cruise Director will introduce their team, our CD Andre did a great job throughout the shows announcing one by one the entertainment team along with the singers and dancers.
- On the topic of Entertainment, Andre our CD was good. Very professional and at the same fun and entertaining.
- Variety of lounges and bars to hang out at and relax with a drink. Even during the day when very few people were around. Great atmosphere and vibe from them.
- Our balcony (13216) room was amazing. It had a large king size bed and a large couch which pulled out to a double bed. Lots of space, even on the balcony was decent and relaxing. Wished for some more hangers and storage space but still great.
- HUGE variety of drinks to choose from. Pages upon pages of options, alcoholic and non everyone could find something to enjoy. Also some will ask about the soda options served. It is Coke products. Most lines (so far) we been on have had Coke with the exception of Norwegian who will carry Pepsi products.
- MSC offers several drink packages. We chose one that offered 15 drink vouchers for $72 ($82 +/- w/ tips, added once purchased), for us it was worth it. We're not huge drinkers so it worked out perfect. A tip, don't waste it on soda. They have a package for that. The package does say that any drink with a "*" on it will NOT be allowed to be used with a voucher.
- The crew was more helpful to us. Either pointing us in the right direction or if we wanted a drink they would tell us where to go and get it. Even with the drink package they told us not to waste it on items that were at a low cost.
- Not being harassed for drinks every two seconds. They were pretty good about this. They did come by, but never felt annoyed.
Cons
- Cramped seating in the main dining room. If they took out a few tables and chairs it would have been much better. Most tables were never even full, more completely empty. Even around the ship at the cafe in the Piazza we had 6 chairs at a very small table that could have been used for just two or three at most.
- The Main Show Lounge was just rows and rows of seats, not much room between for legs and certainly not enough room to pass by. So get there early if you want a good seat. We had 9pm shows so we would get there around 8:25pm or so. Bingo was held from 8pm to 9pm so if you were lucky they would leave and some good seats would popup. We found the best seats towards the middle, tons of leg room and it's also used for the dancers to run through during the shows. If they took out a few rows it would have made for more room, the lounge was never 100% full, I'd say roughly 75%.
- The buffet is very large in size, probably the largest we ever had. It mirrored on both sides. However food was not available at all areas. Some here and some there, same thing here and same thing there. Lots of people going in circles to find other options of food, or to get one thing or another. Not a ton of room to walk between areas, making it hard at times to get drinks or go somewhere. However no long lines to get food that was a plus.
- We usually get a ship map before we board, however the only maps the MSC Divina has was on the walls, they were visible everywhere. We just rather also have a small map to show us how to somewhere easy and fast. We did get lost several times.
- Room service did charge after 11pm, small charge nothing too big. Menu was small and not a ton of options. The plus side was the quickness of it, we got it a few nights in under 15 minutes.
- Not much variety of food, what they had for the most part was good. Would have just enjoyed more options at the buffet area and room service for sure.
- Bowling in the Sports Bar was not worth the price. It is $7 per game per person. Each game consists of 5 frames. So it doesn't last long at all.
- Would have liked to also see more food after 9pm. Pizza was available and at 11pm started the sandwich area. Nothing too great. Other choices was room service and the Sports Bar. Sports Bar had a good menu but you had to pay for each item. A grille with burgers and hotdogs would have been great.
- At the Eataly Steakhouse, they did not serve water. Having to either go to a bar or order from the bar menu. We ended up getting some wine, since our first several choices were not available. At one point I went over to the bar (where they originally got our drinks) and got us water.
- The temperature throughout the ship was on the warm side for us, some points even at dinner we were sitting at the table sweating.
- Several events were hosted on the pool deck. Many of which other lines would do inside. Wasn't the best choice in our opinion. They should have done a few more things like officers and guest pool volleyball or even a Love and Marriage show. More guest interaction would be a plus.
4D Theater
Didn't see what movies were available as well as pricing. Just wanted to get up here and get some of the views of it. Right behind this area is the F1 Simulator and Virtual World. Also the kids areas are around here as well.
4D Theater Tour - CLICK HERE!
Aqua Park (Tritone & Poseidon Bars)
This was a fairly larger pool than on other ships. It was salt water, however we never saw it empty until the last day (around noon) after someone went poop in the water. It was later emptied and cleaned, never reopened. Again the area was nice and large. Many events were here, like we said before some of those events like trivia and the cooking demo should have been done inside. The shopping did play a part a few days here. Several shops had tables set up poolside and had people going from one to another. Now a bad thing about this was that it was right in the smoking section, so many people were probably not fans of that. Speaking of smoking, yes this is one area that was smoker friendly on one side, the other area was the Cigar Lounge, not in the Casino. Plenty of room here on both sides to sit and relax and have a drink. Two bars are located here and it was never to hard to get one. MSC also had a big screen available with some movies playing such as Blended and Pitch Perfect. This pool was never too full, many people stuck to the other two pools on this deck, the Infinity Pool (Aft) and the Covered (during the nighttime) Pool (Forward). The pool is kid friendly with areas for the little ones in the shallow waters around the pool. Great idea here. One downside was the CHAIR HOGS! It was bad, we went swimming one morning at port and the chairs were full of towels. You can go about it two ways. First way is to just find a spot somewhere else, or the second way. Just sit yourself down and since your on a new line just play dumb and say I thought the towels were here for everyone's use. You can also just walk around and take the towels so the owners get charged $20 for each missing towel. Just a thought. Oh yeah the towels! They do charge if they are not returned, also they are given out only at the Aqua Park near the entrance to the covered pool. Which sucks if you didn't already know that and your at the Infinity Pool and having to walking all the way down and back to get a few. No towels were left in the room unless you were on an excursion at which they would deliver them the night before. Sometimes left outside in a bag. So there is another tip for a free towel. Okay I'm joking about just taking the towels, but MSC should improve on this area. Leave them in the room and get rid of the chair hogs.
Aqua Park Tour - CLICK HERE!
Atrium
The atrium looked much nicer in pictures, also larger. Still very beautiful, it was a nightly hotspot before dinner everynight. Also we did see a review or two about no music ever being played, well music was played everynight and below is the proof. I did also get a picture of the Swarovski crystal-studded staircase. It was beautiful, much like the rest of the ship.
Atrium Tour (Part 1) - CLICK HERE!
Atrium Tour (Part 2) - CLICK HERE!
Black & White Lounge
This played host to several of our events. First being the Muster Drill. It was a long drill like normal. However it was not very informative, they did have us take our life vests and all of us had to put them on during the drill, which was in several different languages. We did not know which lifeboat was ours. Also didn't like that the drill was at 5pm vs the normal 4pm. Left us very little time to check out the sailaway since we leave at 7pm. Understood why it was later, but I enjoy my sailaway!! Back to the lounge....very big and great views, could have been cleaner with the outside windows but still nice. Also had our cocktail reception here, which was for past guests and honeymooners. Not sure where we fit in, but still great to be invited. Wasn't a big event, just champagne and fruit juice and some Hors d'oeuvres. Couple speeches by the Cruise Director and Captain, again not like other past guest parties.
Black & White Lounge Tour - CLICK HERE!
Caffe Italia
This was right off the atrium and a nice place to relax with a spiked cup of Joe. Or just hang out and place cards and watch people. Either way a relaxing place to be.
Caffe Italia Tour - CLICK HERE!
Calumet & Manitiou Buffet
The buffet was a very crazy area at times, never seen so many people here at all hours, day and night. The size of the buffet was very large and mirrored on both sides. Larger than most of the ships we have been on previously. It had tons of different sections to choose from. However some of it was the same in several different places. It was kinda a hike to go all the way around for certain things. A nice feature of this buffet was it's Kid's Corner, which catered for the little ones. Not many buffets will do that. MSC does take really great care of the kiddos. We did wish the buffet had more options, a lot of the same things everyday. Very little change. The pizza was opened a lot and it was actually really good. Night time pizza was available and a little later on was the "Make Your Own Sandwich", well more like tell the nice guy behind the counter what you want on your sandwich. Alternate options for food later at night was the Sports Lounge (for a fee) and Room Service (for a fee after hours). More late night options are sometimes hard to find on cruises, hopefully MSC changes things up a bit and adds a few more options. We didn't come here a lot throughout the cruise, even though we were right under the buffet on deck 13. Usually went up here and there for a slice or a drink.
Calumet & Manitiou Buffet Tour - CLICK HERE!
Casino Veneziano
The casino didn't seem to be a big hit on this ship. Half of it was usually empty, both slots and tables. The other half had people here and there, the most people we saw at it was only passing in between shows from the theatre. Didn't play at all. However word around the ship was that it didn't really pay for anyone. However like always donations are welcomed. Also smoking is not allowed in the casino at all. The Cigar Lounge is located a few feet away in the Piazza area.
Casino Veneziano Tour - CLICK HERE!
Cozumel, Mexico
This was the third location in Cozumel that we have been to. It's the furthest away and had it's good points. Locals aren't too bad here, for the most part they would leave you alone if you just ignored them or said no. Some were a bit more annoying but not too bad. As soon as you walk off you walk down a long pier into a shopping mall area, followed by the local area. The mall is two levels and has a large variety of shops, like most areas the same types of stuff in every store. Still some great things can be found in them. The bottom level of the more has a large amount of stores as well, also located nearby is a Hooters and Senor Frogs. Up both ways of the streets were more locals and shops. Some areas looked a bit shady. We went up this one alley of stores and got a few items. The day was picture perfect as you can see below in a few pictures. Later on in the day the weather took a turn and got rainy very quickly and very fast. I (Patrick) was in the buffet getting stuff and I heard loud noises from the outside and I looked and I could even see outside because of the rain, looked almost as if someone was washing the windows with water. Tons of water! So I went back down to the room to where my wife (Christine) was. On the way down I heard more loud noises in the hallways in the aft area where I room was. As I got to our room it went away. Once I got into the room we walked out on the balcony and saw the engines going pushing us towards the dock. We were on the right side of the ship so we didn't see the dock, but we guessed that one of the lines broke and we were moved a bit. Never heard anything of it so who knows. So for Cozumel it was a decent port and would enjoy coming back here.
Cyber Cafe
Didn't see pricing for the internet packages anywhere, so didn't get a picture of it. However when it comes to the internet, the ship is fully loaded with connection areas. The had a free app for guests who could see the ship map and location along with the upcoming daily activities and a chance to talk to other guests on the ship. If you are interested in this app, once your on the ship head over to Guest Services and find out more about it and make sure it's completely free.
Cyber Cafe Tour - CLICK HERE!
Divina Reception & Guest Services
Located on deck 5 you will find the Guest Services area, which happens to have two desks on both sides of the ship. Really great idea here when things get busy. We visited a few times here and there, nothing major. We were in and out of line in no time at all, very little to no wait. Both desks are not open all the time, just when needed. Now to close out your account you can do so with cash at 5:30am on the morning that you leave. We weren't a huge fan of having to wake up at 5am to do this. So I got in line and they waited until 5:30am on the dot to start processing. Once they did lines were in and out quickly.
Divina Reception Tour - CLICK HERE!
Duty Free Shops
The pricing for certain items here were outrageous, such as a bag of chips for $8. It was the large bag but still. They had a small variety of items, nothing too impressive. Could of used more variety of general store products.
Eataly Steakhouse & Italia Ristorante
These two places are not like the normal Steakhouse and Italian Restaurant. You can tell that right away by the decor. This area was very open and bright. Location wasn't the greatest for the steakhouse. We question location of these places a lot, This was next to the outside deck and people were walking back and forth throughout our dinner in the steakhouse. Traffic of others was very much present. The dress code here was very casual, shorts and a polo for the guys and something nice for women would work just fine. One off thing about these two places that we noticed was that they both first off were in the same location and only thing separating them was the "L" shape of the room. So if you wanted to have the steak you sit in one part and if you wanted Italian you sat in the other part. Not a good design plan, the crew was serving and cooking for both at once. Also a tip, don't ask for tap water here, they do not serve it so you will have to the nearest bar (Wine Bar) to get it. However they will give you the Pellegrino or something else from the bar. Which just so happens to be the same exact bar I went to get my own water. So yeah, wasn't a fan of that. Now on to the food. Everything was cooked perfectly and had no real complaints, just a better variety would have been much nicer. Would we have spent the money here again on dinner, probably not. However it may be good for others. Pricing here is A la Carte.
Eataly Steakhouse & Italia Ristorante Tour - CLICK HERE!
Excursion Office
We booked our excursion prior to sailing. We got information delivered to us and had absolutely no problems at all with it. It was only our second ever excursion. They were much better than Carnival, areas were noted, towels delivered to your stateroom (depending on your excursion). Really nice. They were always busy with people.
F1 Simulator
Did not get a chance to try this out. However I (Patrick) did try getting in it, which was easy. Getting out was a bit on the harder part. At one point I just gave up and told my wife to just bring me food and water and I would see her on Saturday morning before we leave. lol. This simulator is next to the 4D Theater and Virtual World game area. Looked really cool and when they were open someone was always there to assist. Never saw anyone waiting to do these so you should be able to get right on. May have something to do with not having many kids on the ship.
Falmouth, Jamaica
So from what I read and saw prior, this area was built up to accommodate large ships, such as the MSC Divina and Oasis of the Seas. It is only a few years old and the area grounds were man-made. It is a completely beautiful area. However once outside the gaits you will feel like you are back in Ocho Rios. So we stayed behind to check it out. A good thing about this port is it has a Margaritaville right inside the area. Not a lot of people were there but it was simply beautiful there. Perfect weather. You also had a ton of shops around, also a craft market. No one hounded you and it was a very enjoyable experience. Looking forward to coming back next year on Oasis of the Seas.
Galaxy Disco & Restaurant
Disco, restaurant, disco, restaurant. Well all one thing in common, not many people were ever here. Many people said it was always an empty spot. It was a great spot to hang out and relax if desired. Great views of the pool deck and surrounding areas.
Galaxy Disco & Restaurant Tour - CLICK HERE!
Galleria d'Arte
Passing through certain areas you will find a ton of different things. Here are some of them.
Golden Jazz Bar
Right next to the Sports Bar and near the La Luna Piano Bar, this was one place that always had someone at it. We sometimes just sat and relaxed here. Great place for nightly entertainment.
Golden Jazz Bar Tour - CLICK HERE!
Graffiti's & I Puffi
Here are some pictures of Graffiti's, which is a place for the kids. I didn't get a chance to get to I Puffi's area, which later I realized was down a staircase that I didn't go down thinking I had already did.
Graffiti's Tour - CLICK HERE!
Georgetown, Grand Cayman
This was our first time actually doing an excursion here. Like I said above it was very easy and efficient. So the morning of the excursion we met at the Pantheon Theatre and got our information. From there we took the tender over and headed to our bus. Our first stop was the Tortuga Rum Factory. More like a small store with their product to by. Nothing too impressive but still got some free cake and rum! Can't go wrong there can we?!? So from there we headed to the Governors House and the 7 mile beach, followed by a trip to Hell and the Turtle Farm. It was about 3 hours or so and it was great. The city was surprisingly beautiful, almost like Ft Lauderdale and Boca Raton (for you Floridians). Back to our Turtle Farm stop, it was really cool. Spent about an hour there checking out how they breed the turtles and some of us even held them. Really fun and educational experience. Before that we went to Hell, no not the hell below but the town of Hell. Had a really old style building with rock formations in the back. Quick stop here. We do recommend this tour, which was the "Best of Grand Cayman".
Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas (Private Island)
Private Islands are usually the best part of any trip. The tender to shore did seem much longer than last time. It was close to 30 minutes, don't get me wrong the views were beautiful but not one to sit on a tender for half an hour doing nothing. Once we got to the island it looked as if it was built up a little bit since we were there last. A few shops here and there along with bars and plenty of water activities for people of all ages. The area was very clean and very open. The day was perfect. We only hung out for a few hours in the morning time and were back on the ship by noon. The water had a bit chill in it, then again we are from Florida and we consider anything below 70 degrees to be cold.
La Cantina di Bacco, Eataly Pizza & Wine Bar
Okay, I have to get this off my chest. The Eataly Pizza area should be open and someone should be making pizza. At no point during our week onboard did we see anyone here making pizza. The Wine Bar was always a hot spot for a glass of wine and some snacks. Also if you want to get away from everyone, stop on by and relax.
La Cantina di Bacco, Eataly Pizza & Wine Bar Tour - CLICK HERE!
La Luna Piano Bar
The Piano Bar had a really great feel to it. Much like the Golden Jazz Bar this place always had people in it, also located right above the casino. One thing we didn't get was that at no point when we were here the piano wasn't once played. We stopped by a few times, but the entertainers were just singing.
La Luna Piano Bar Tour - CLICK HERE!
La Profumeria
Here are some pictures of the area to by some cologne and perfume. We did notice that they did have a ton of great sample sets.
L'Angolo dell Oggetto
Here are some photos of L'Angolo dell Oggetto.
Le Sirene Covered Pool
This pool seemed to have more people here than the Aqua Park. The pool was covered either during the rainy days and at night. The Pool Shop is located up here as well and the shop is a $10 store. I will get into that below. The Le Sirene pool was very nice for a two level indoor pool. You have some table games upstairs and plenty of seating. 3 hot tubs were available, which seemed to have more people in them around the ship than the pool. Located around parts of the pool are fountains to help relax you, also very visually appealing. It reminded us a little bit of the pool on the Celebrity Constellation. We never got a chance to go in, but the temperature inside the area was usually a bit warmer.
La Sirene Covered Pool Tour - CLICK HERE!
MSC Aurea Spa
Here are some shots of the packed gym onboard. Okay I'm kidding, the gym when I went had three people in it. Okay it's not the biggest gym in the world but it had a ton of machines. People did complain online about never being able to find machines open. Here is some proof that at certain parts of the day this place can be empty. Also the spa does $10 massages for 10 minutes. We did hear spa services are 50% off on the last day of the cruise, didn't hear much of it onboard. So if you are interested in that than research more before along with talk to some of them onboard.
MSC Aurea Spa Tour - CLICK HERE!
MSC Logo Shop
Everything MSC can be found here, after all it is the MSC Logo Shop. I really, really, really wanted a ship model. However the ones that they had were a silver color on a wooden bottom. Don't get me wrong they looked nice, but I like color on my ships. They also had a ship puzzle of the class, which when my wife went to get one on the last night of the cruise, someone right in front of her took the last one. Other than that you can find shirts, sweaters, pens and just about anything else here. For the model ship lovers out there, MSC does sell other ships from around the fleet and I believe one or two retired ships. Wished more lines would do that. I would come home broke with a mad wife, but I do love my model ships!
MSC Sports Arena
Loved the idea of bleachers here. Wasn't the biggest sports area we seen but at least they had one. Never saw any sports equipment to play basketball or anything with. Do have to mention that no basketball court beat the one on Carnival Breeze, just a fan of their sports area. Enjoy the pictures.
MSC Sports Arena Tour - CLICK HERE!
Pantheon Theatre
The Pantheon Theatre is the main show lounge onboard and it was really large in size. Maybe the biggest we had. Seats were a big on the right on top of each other and a little cramped but not nearly as bad as the ones on the Ruby Princess. Many seats on the sides (bottom and top level) were usually empty. Some shows had more people than others. Speaking of the shows, MSC does their own entertainment and does not have the usual magician or comedian, which we did miss at times. However their shows even at the least entertaining ones were by far the best we had ever seen. Another thing we have never seen before was a standing ovation after every single show, it was simply amazing. Keep in mind all of these shows are not in English and some were sang in Italian, which we did not mind at all, loved it! A new show was available every night of the cruise. Here is a list of the shows available;
Frank Forever: A modern representation of some of the most popular songs by Frank Sinatra.
Wonderland: A wonderful world of imagination, including unbelievable acrobatics, strength and stunts.
Simply Italian: A modern representation of the most popular Italian songs.
The Witches of Paris: Fantastic choreography and amazing acrobatics including the Cancan. French Variety at its best.
Pirates: Spectacular acrobatic set in a world of Pirates.
Love Me: From "La Traviata".
Starwalker: A tribute to Michael Jackson. An energetic performance of Michael Jackson's most popular hits.
The Tribute: A modern representation of some of the most famous Opera arias.
Below you will also find clips from most of the shows onboard the MSC Divina!
Pantheon Theatre Tour - CLICK HERE!
Simply Italian (Part 1)
Simply Italian (Part 2)
Simply Italian (Part 3)
Simply Italian (Part 4)
Simply Italian (Part 5)
Simply Italian (Part 6)
The Witches of Paris (Part 1)
The Witches of Paris (Part 2)
The Witches of Paris (Part 3)
The Witches of Paris (Part 4)
The Witches of Paris (Part 5)
Pirates (Part 1)
Pirates (Part 2)
Pirates (Part 3)
Pirates (Part 4)
Pirates (Part 5)
Pirates (Part 6)
Pirates (Part 7)
Pirates (Part 8)
Love Me (Part 1)
Love Me (Part 2)
Love Me (Part 3)
Love Me (Part 4)
Love Me (Part 5)
Love Me (Part 6)
Love Me (Part 7)
Starwalker (Part 1)
Starwalker (Part 2)
Starwalker (Part 3)
Starwalker (Part 4)
Starwalker (Part 5)
Starwalker (Part 6)
Starwalker (Part 7)
Starwalker (Part 8)
Starwalker (Part 9)
Starwalker (Part 10)
The Tribute (Part 1)
The Tribute (Part 2)
The Tribute (Part 3)
The Tribute (Part 4)
The Tribute (Part 5)
The Tribute (Part 6)
The Tribute (Part 7)
Wonderland (Part 1)
Wonderland (Part 2)
Wonderland (Part 3)
Wonderland (Part 4)
Photo Shop
Did notice that they had a different spin on their photos. We saw some really weird ways of people posing. One area had your head against a wall with a light behind you. Once it was done they did come out really cool. Didn't care for ours which were the size of a poster! Okay not that big, but not the normal sized ones.
Photo Shop Tour - CLICK HERE!
Piazza Del Doge
Expected this place to be bigger in size. It does have a decent size to it but the pictures looked better. The ratio of chairs to tables were about 6:1. Way too many chairs, which it was like that also in the dining room. Around the Piazza was some shops and the Cigar Lounge and a cafe area along with a Gelato stand. The second stand for Gelato was on deck 14 right next to the bar (right side facing the back) at the Aqua Park. Nightly people would be in and out either coming out of the casino from the nightly shows are sitting having a drink and listening to live music. The shops were set out on most nights for guests to enjoy.
Piazza Del Doge Tour - CLICK HERE!
Port Miami (Homeport)
We ended up driving down to Miami vs having the car service take us. The car service all of a sudden after a few years of using them won't do pick ups until after noon, a bit odd to us. Oh well lost our business. We took I-95 from where we were straight into the new port tunnel and right to our terminal. Very easy. MSC was great to us, from start to finish. From the start was at Port Miami. We parked at terminal G while our terminal was F, so we had a short walk from the garage to the terminal. Terminal G was being used by the Disney Wonder. Once we got in check in was a breeze. Also let me mention that the luggage tags said not to duplicate, however we did and put them on all of our check-in luggage and they said it was fine. MSC did provide everyone coming in with a table set up with water. You had a couple of vending machines towards the opposite way. The counter gave us our cards, minus the ship maps and cash was taken at Guest Services was onboard. They started board at Noon and we were on ten minutes later from Zone 4. Super quick and super easy. Not to mention our view of Miami from our balcony, can you say WOW! We did and we weren't even on a Royal Caribbean cruise! Only bad thing was we left so late and our Muster drill was at 5pm. So we missed being on the top deck checking out all of the ships. In port with us was the Disney Wonder, Norwegian Getaway, Carnival Glory and Carnival Breeze. Glad to see our old ships (Glory and Breeze) always brings us down memory lane.
Silver Lounge & Bar
Here are some pictures from one of the many bars around the MSC Divina. This one is off of the atrium on deck 6.
Silver Lounge Tour - CLICK HERE!
Sky & Stars Conference Center & Library
Right next to the Galaxy Nightclub you will find this area. Sometimes had people in it, most of the other times empty. If I found it sooner we would have been here more often playing cards and games.
Sky & Stars Conference Center Center & Library Tour - CLICK HERE!
Solarium
Didn't understand the who solarium area on this ship. Some parts you had to pay for and others you did not. The first picture is the area you had to pay for, along with the clamshells. The below two pictures were from a deck below and was free, also free of people on most occasions. Both areas actually were most of the time.
Solarium Tour - CLICK HERE!
Sports Bar
Another of many places we were spending a lot of time at relaxing. Not many people were in here, some days/nights more than others. We for the most part sat here and played Uno. We did try out bowling. Which was not worth the money at all. We didn't get a clear response at if the $7 was per person or what. So I just ended up trying out getting one token and my wife and I played a quick (less than 5 minute) game of bowling (or duckpin). However the $7 only got you 5 frames. So take that and add another person and two games which would be a normal game of ten frames and you will end up spending $28 on just the two games for two people. It does add up very quickly. So the $7 was more than enough. We almost did try out the sampler of food here, kinda wishing we did. Some people here and there got food, which looked really good. Much like other places it was also A la Carte pricing. If you do happen to get it make sure to let us know what you think!
Sports Bar Tour - CLICK HERE!
Stateroom 13216 (Balcony)
Wow! We walked in and were immediately impressed! A large king size bed and a couch that pulled out into a double bed. Downside was not enough hangers, I'm sure you could have asked for more and the tv was at the far end of the room, not the best of places. Still enjoyable. One very smart thing MSC did in this cabin at least was in the bathroom. The shower doors, yes not a curtain that sticks to you like white on rice. The doors were able to be pushed in to get a little bit more room inside the small bathroom. Really made a huge difference. Also want to thank MSC for the upgrade and baskets of fruit and wine, very much appreciated.
Stateroom 13216 Tour - CLICK HERE!
Stateroom 13216 Balcony Tour - CLICK HERE!
The Black Crab Restaurant
Service was hit or miss, mostly a hit. Food was surprisingly very good, didn't have a bad dish. Nothing overcooked or under cooked. A lot of people did complain about it, but we just didn't experience any real issues. Sometimes we had to ask for items repeatedly. If you wanted something special done to your meal like dressing on the side of a salad, chances were you wouldn't receive it. Just depends. Some people had that issue along with some similar, for us nothing make or break. We had friends with us for dinner every night along with another couple, had a lot of fun during dinnertime. The Black Crab Restaurant was open for breakfast, lunch and dinner ever single day up until the morning back in Miami. Never been on a cruise that this was available. MSC did great in this area.
The Black Crab Restaurant Tour - CLICK HERE!
Baked Alaska Show - CLICK HERE!
The Cigar Lounge
Smokers, here is the one of two areas from around the ship in which you are able to smoke at. We went in only for pictures and poof! Tons of smoke right in the face. This little place is right next to the casino and Piazza.
The Garden Bar & Infinity Pool
The pool in pictures looked much bigger than it actually was. Still a decent size and was always filled with people. Everything from morning exercise to afternoon sun bathing. The pool was very relaxing. Just be careful since nothing is around to cover you or protect you from the Caribbean sun. We were out in Jamaica then came here for a little while and two weeks later were still peeling off our tan. As I sit here right now writing about it I'm just thinking about the pool and how great it was, wishing we were there right now. Even though it would probably be closed, but still even any where on the ship would be nice. Almost forgot about the Garden Bar. Well this place was packed day and night, seemed like a really nice hotspot.
The Pool Shop
This is the $10 shop I was telling you about before. Located on deck 14 next to the indoor pool. The shop has a ton of accessories such as watches, necklaces and hats, along with a bunch of other stuff. This little place gets packed so be patient. People will bump into you left and right and won't say a word to apologize. So just be aware of this, I was getting annoyed at many points waiting in the long line around an already tiny store.
Villa Rossa Restaurant
We just strolled along to this area one day and were just blown away by the stunning decor. Lots of red and gold all throughout also a nice view of the back of the ship. Enjoy the pictures.
Villa Rossa Restaurant Tour - CLICK HERE!
Virtual World
Just a few pictures of the arcade area onboard the MSC Divina, nrext to the 4D Theater and F1 Simulator.
Virtual World Tour - CLICK HERE!
Water Slide
The ship does have a water slide. Never tried it nor ever seen anyone else using it too often, However it was open a lot during the cruise.
Daily Programs
Here are the Daily Programs from our trip on the MSC Diviva.
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10/12/2014: Sea Day
10/13/2014: Falmouth, Jamaica
10/14/2014: Georgetown, Grand Cayman
10/15/2014: Cozumel, Mexico
10/16/2014: Sea Day
10/17/2014: Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas (Private Island)
10/18/2014: Miami, Florida
"The Diva of the Seas"
Here is our sweet 16....the MSC Divina!
She earned the title as the Diva of the Caribbean in our book...or blog, whatever you want to call it. This ship is tall, long, beautiful and most important unlike any other ship right now sailing out of Miami to the Caribbean.
Now we heard tons of negative reviews on this ship and we are going to address a few of them below. We had an amazing time onboard for the most part and the time flew by very fast! 7-nights was not nearly enough in our opinion. We took a Saturday to Saturday cruise and it's now Sunday and it does not feel like we were away for a week. Felt more like a few days.
So MSC incase you did not know stand for Mediterranean Shipping Company. Which you may have seen their shipping containers around before. They have branched out years ago into the cruise industry. Bringing one of it's newest ships (MSC Divina) to the Caribbean. Luckily they did because this was one of the best cruises we ever took.
We originally had Carnival Splendor booked for next month out of San Juan, Puerto Rico to Miami, however MSC came out with an amazing deal that we could not pass up. So we cancelled that cruise in place of the Divina. The price was cheap for the interior room we booked. Well about 2 weeks before the cruise we got an upgrade to a balcony. Wow! They are really good to their guests.
We drove to the port (Miami) that morning and arrived close to 10:30am or so. We were in the terminal and on the ship by 12pm! Fast and efficient, no complaints there. The ship was very clean and very stunning from room to room. Lot's to see and check out. The ship did lack activities during the day and night. A big portion of the entertainment was music and dancing which is not a problem, however they could do more and throw some other things into the mix. Still not a huge bummer, we find our own entertainment places.
So now on to the negative reviews from other cruisers.
Food: People went on and on about the food, they didn't like it and hated it. Well for us it was the opposite, we enjoyed just about everything we ate. Some were better than others, however NOTHING was horrible. Most if not all of the food we had was cooked perfectly, no issues.
Service: Tons of reviews included the horrible service around the ship. Well we somewhat understood this. However not as bad as people say. It has part to do with the communication between guests and crew. The crew was very helpful and did everything they could. We did come across a few times of asking for things at dinner such as half cups of coffee (since they fill them before bringing it to the table), and they would give us it the same height (if not higher) than the normal cups. Also during one lunch one person ordered salad with dressing on the side and they brought it with dressing on top. She said they did the same thing a few times already. Small things here and there, nothing too big. Want to also mention the time it took for meals start to finish. This includes breakfast, lunch and dinner in the MDR. It was sometimes very fast to almost 2 hours for lunch. Sometimes a ton of waiters were around and other times none. Other service was Guest Services, we went several times and got in and out 1...2...3. No issues there at all, they handled all of our needs quick and painlessly.
Language Barrier: This was a big issue with people. Between guests and crew and guest with other guests. This ship has a lot of people from Europe and other areas overseas and not many from the states. Crew was a lot from Indonesia. The English language was minimal but they sure did do their best to help. We felt we had more issues with other guests and their manners than crew interaction. I can see some people having an issue with not getting what they asked for. For us it wasn't that big of a deal at times and we never got into any issues with this. Again some passengers (mostly at the buffet) would just not have many manners and just bump into you and no say "excuse me" or "sorry", even in their language, I don't care just acknowledge me once you bump into me. Even in a store in Cozumel I (Patrick) was standing in a store and some lady just nudged my shoulder and squeezed on by and pushed me out of the way. We were the only ship in port and I saw this person on other occasions as well around the ship. Again small issues nothing to big, we managed to communicate with everyone the best way we can.
Announcements: So the issue was that several things were presented in many different languages. All of the IMPORTANT announcements were made in several different languages, which we did not mind at all. We felt when we were on Norwegian Sky it was a million times worse. Bingo was called in several languages as well, again I thought of it as a learning experience. So it wasn't that bad by any means.
Slippery Decks: Just like on any ship you will have this. Some areas worse than others, again when you have three pools the floors will be slippery in some spots more than others. So this wasn't a complaint of ours.
As you can tell, the issues we not a big deal on this cruise. We did want to address them for the cruisers that base everything off of that. We wanted to have the negative thrown at us. We hopefully captured the negative and gave back positive feedback.
We thought about this for a little bit on what the MSC Divina was about and what it has to offer for the Caribbean market out of Miami. Well for starters she is a massive ship. At around 140,000 tons. A bit smaller than the Norwegian Getaway and a bit larger than the Carnival Breeze she is a great size. We would recommend it to anyone looking to sail the Caribbean with a Mediterranean twist. The ship is Italian and it's roots are there, they want the American market to have that experience without having to travel overseas to Europe for that. So for anyone looking for a different cruising experience definitely try out this ship. So don't book and go on looking to get a normal Caribbean cruise that you would get on Carnival, Royal Caribbean or Norwegian. MSC is not about that they are about bringing their style to you. Like most people say MSC also stands for Mediterranean Style Cruising and that is exactly what it is.
Pros
- Entertainment was great, shows were the best we had ever seen by far.
- Food was from good to great, never had a bad dish. Nothing really overcooked or under-cooked. Closest thing to a bad dish was in the Eataly Steakhouse when we got a steak. I (Patrick) felt it was underseasoned.
- Getting on the ship was a breeze, check in was fast and efficient. We were Zone 3 and were on by 12:10pm. Boarding started right around noon. Setup our cash account onboard.
- On the last night of the cruise we got a paper and tags to get off the next day along with location information. We were off the ship the next day by 6:45am to go home. Again very fast and efficient. MSC does an EXCELLENT job was being organized in this area.
- Our room steward Kris was amazing, did a great job and had no issues at all. Always around and always checking in to see how we were and if we needed anything at all.
- Room service did come very quickly the couple nights we ordered. Both within 20 minutes at most.
- The Infinity Pool was a unique and great addition to the ship, excellent place to relax and get a tan. Which we did!
- On both sides of the ship in the very back were sets of stairs that had openings to look out on. Best spot on the ship, quiet and no one really ever goes around there at all. Amazing views.
- Plenty of live music around the ship during the night. Singing and dancing was a nice touch after or before dinner and shows.
- The Main Dining Room (Black Crab Restaurant) was open for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day of our cruise. Even the last morning of the cruise it was open for a few hours while the buffet was open that morning until 11am.
- Decor around the ship was exquisite, every room was better than the next. Much like the production shows.
- Very few times a Cruise Director will introduce their team, our CD Andre did a great job throughout the shows announcing one by one the entertainment team along with the singers and dancers.
- On the topic of Entertainment, Andre our CD was good. Very professional and at the same fun and entertaining.
- Variety of lounges and bars to hang out at and relax with a drink. Even during the day when very few people were around. Great atmosphere and vibe from them.
- Our balcony (13216) room was amazing. It had a large king size bed and a large couch which pulled out to a double bed. Lots of space, even on the balcony was decent and relaxing. Wished for some more hangers and storage space but still great.
- HUGE variety of drinks to choose from. Pages upon pages of options, alcoholic and non everyone could find something to enjoy. Also some will ask about the soda options served. It is Coke products. Most lines (so far) we been on have had Coke with the exception of Norwegian who will carry Pepsi products.
- MSC offers several drink packages. We chose one that offered 15 drink vouchers for $72 ($82 +/- w/ tips, added once purchased), for us it was worth it. We're not huge drinkers so it worked out perfect. A tip, don't waste it on soda. They have a package for that. The package does say that any drink with a "*" on it will NOT be allowed to be used with a voucher.
- The crew was more helpful to us. Either pointing us in the right direction or if we wanted a drink they would tell us where to go and get it. Even with the drink package they told us not to waste it on items that were at a low cost.
- Not being harassed for drinks every two seconds. They were pretty good about this. They did come by, but never felt annoyed.
Cons
- Cramped seating in the main dining room. If they took out a few tables and chairs it would have been much better. Most tables were never even full, more completely empty. Even around the ship at the cafe in the Piazza we had 6 chairs at a very small table that could have been used for just two or three at most.
- The Main Show Lounge was just rows and rows of seats, not much room between for legs and certainly not enough room to pass by. So get there early if you want a good seat. We had 9pm shows so we would get there around 8:25pm or so. Bingo was held from 8pm to 9pm so if you were lucky they would leave and some good seats would popup. We found the best seats towards the middle, tons of leg room and it's also used for the dancers to run through during the shows. If they took out a few rows it would have made for more room, the lounge was never 100% full, I'd say roughly 75%.
- The buffet is very large in size, probably the largest we ever had. It mirrored on both sides. However food was not available at all areas. Some here and some there, same thing here and same thing there. Lots of people going in circles to find other options of food, or to get one thing or another. Not a ton of room to walk between areas, making it hard at times to get drinks or go somewhere. However no long lines to get food that was a plus.
- We usually get a ship map before we board, however the only maps the MSC Divina has was on the walls, they were visible everywhere. We just rather also have a small map to show us how to somewhere easy and fast. We did get lost several times.
- Room service did charge after 11pm, small charge nothing too big. Menu was small and not a ton of options. The plus side was the quickness of it, we got it a few nights in under 15 minutes.
- Not much variety of food, what they had for the most part was good. Would have just enjoyed more options at the buffet area and room service for sure.
- Bowling in the Sports Bar was not worth the price. It is $7 per game per person. Each game consists of 5 frames. So it doesn't last long at all.
- Would have liked to also see more food after 9pm. Pizza was available and at 11pm started the sandwich area. Nothing too great. Other choices was room service and the Sports Bar. Sports Bar had a good menu but you had to pay for each item. A grille with burgers and hotdogs would have been great.
- At the Eataly Steakhouse, they did not serve water. Having to either go to a bar or order from the bar menu. We ended up getting some wine, since our first several choices were not available. At one point I went over to the bar (where they originally got our drinks) and got us water.
- The temperature throughout the ship was on the warm side for us, some points even at dinner we were sitting at the table sweating.
- Several events were hosted on the pool deck. Many of which other lines would do inside. Wasn't the best choice in our opinion. They should have done a few more things like officers and guest pool volleyball or even a Love and Marriage show. More guest interaction would be a plus.
4D Theater
Didn't see what movies were available as well as pricing. Just wanted to get up here and get some of the views of it. Right behind this area is the F1 Simulator and Virtual World. Also the kids areas are around here as well.
4D Theater Tour - CLICK HERE!
Aqua Park (Tritone & Poseidon Bars)
This was a fairly larger pool than on other ships. It was salt water, however we never saw it empty until the last day (around noon) after someone went poop in the water. It was later emptied and cleaned, never reopened. Again the area was nice and large. Many events were here, like we said before some of those events like trivia and the cooking demo should have been done inside. The shopping did play a part a few days here. Several shops had tables set up poolside and had people going from one to another. Now a bad thing about this was that it was right in the smoking section, so many people were probably not fans of that. Speaking of smoking, yes this is one area that was smoker friendly on one side, the other area was the Cigar Lounge, not in the Casino. Plenty of room here on both sides to sit and relax and have a drink. Two bars are located here and it was never to hard to get one. MSC also had a big screen available with some movies playing such as Blended and Pitch Perfect. This pool was never too full, many people stuck to the other two pools on this deck, the Infinity Pool (Aft) and the Covered (during the nighttime) Pool (Forward). The pool is kid friendly with areas for the little ones in the shallow waters around the pool. Great idea here. One downside was the CHAIR HOGS! It was bad, we went swimming one morning at port and the chairs were full of towels. You can go about it two ways. First way is to just find a spot somewhere else, or the second way. Just sit yourself down and since your on a new line just play dumb and say I thought the towels were here for everyone's use. You can also just walk around and take the towels so the owners get charged $20 for each missing towel. Just a thought. Oh yeah the towels! They do charge if they are not returned, also they are given out only at the Aqua Park near the entrance to the covered pool. Which sucks if you didn't already know that and your at the Infinity Pool and having to walking all the way down and back to get a few. No towels were left in the room unless you were on an excursion at which they would deliver them the night before. Sometimes left outside in a bag. So there is another tip for a free towel. Okay I'm joking about just taking the towels, but MSC should improve on this area. Leave them in the room and get rid of the chair hogs.
Aqua Park Tour - CLICK HERE!
Atrium
The atrium looked much nicer in pictures, also larger. Still very beautiful, it was a nightly hotspot before dinner everynight. Also we did see a review or two about no music ever being played, well music was played everynight and below is the proof. I did also get a picture of the Swarovski crystal-studded staircase. It was beautiful, much like the rest of the ship.
Atrium Tour (Part 1) - CLICK HERE!
Atrium Tour (Part 2) - CLICK HERE!
Black & White Lounge
This played host to several of our events. First being the Muster Drill. It was a long drill like normal. However it was not very informative, they did have us take our life vests and all of us had to put them on during the drill, which was in several different languages. We did not know which lifeboat was ours. Also didn't like that the drill was at 5pm vs the normal 4pm. Left us very little time to check out the sailaway since we leave at 7pm. Understood why it was later, but I enjoy my sailaway!! Back to the lounge....very big and great views, could have been cleaner with the outside windows but still nice. Also had our cocktail reception here, which was for past guests and honeymooners. Not sure where we fit in, but still great to be invited. Wasn't a big event, just champagne and fruit juice and some Hors d'oeuvres. Couple speeches by the Cruise Director and Captain, again not like other past guest parties.
Black & White Lounge Tour - CLICK HERE!
Caffe Italia
This was right off the atrium and a nice place to relax with a spiked cup of Joe. Or just hang out and place cards and watch people. Either way a relaxing place to be.
Caffe Italia Tour - CLICK HERE!
Calumet & Manitiou Buffet
The buffet was a very crazy area at times, never seen so many people here at all hours, day and night. The size of the buffet was very large and mirrored on both sides. Larger than most of the ships we have been on previously. It had tons of different sections to choose from. However some of it was the same in several different places. It was kinda a hike to go all the way around for certain things. A nice feature of this buffet was it's Kid's Corner, which catered for the little ones. Not many buffets will do that. MSC does take really great care of the kiddos. We did wish the buffet had more options, a lot of the same things everyday. Very little change. The pizza was opened a lot and it was actually really good. Night time pizza was available and a little later on was the "Make Your Own Sandwich", well more like tell the nice guy behind the counter what you want on your sandwich. Alternate options for food later at night was the Sports Lounge (for a fee) and Room Service (for a fee after hours). More late night options are sometimes hard to find on cruises, hopefully MSC changes things up a bit and adds a few more options. We didn't come here a lot throughout the cruise, even though we were right under the buffet on deck 13. Usually went up here and there for a slice or a drink.
Calumet & Manitiou Buffet Tour - CLICK HERE!
Casino Veneziano
The casino didn't seem to be a big hit on this ship. Half of it was usually empty, both slots and tables. The other half had people here and there, the most people we saw at it was only passing in between shows from the theatre. Didn't play at all. However word around the ship was that it didn't really pay for anyone. However like always donations are welcomed. Also smoking is not allowed in the casino at all. The Cigar Lounge is located a few feet away in the Piazza area.
Casino Veneziano Tour - CLICK HERE!
Cozumel, Mexico
This was the third location in Cozumel that we have been to. It's the furthest away and had it's good points. Locals aren't too bad here, for the most part they would leave you alone if you just ignored them or said no. Some were a bit more annoying but not too bad. As soon as you walk off you walk down a long pier into a shopping mall area, followed by the local area. The mall is two levels and has a large variety of shops, like most areas the same types of stuff in every store. Still some great things can be found in them. The bottom level of the more has a large amount of stores as well, also located nearby is a Hooters and Senor Frogs. Up both ways of the streets were more locals and shops. Some areas looked a bit shady. We went up this one alley of stores and got a few items. The day was picture perfect as you can see below in a few pictures. Later on in the day the weather took a turn and got rainy very quickly and very fast. I (Patrick) was in the buffet getting stuff and I heard loud noises from the outside and I looked and I could even see outside because of the rain, looked almost as if someone was washing the windows with water. Tons of water! So I went back down to the room to where my wife (Christine) was. On the way down I heard more loud noises in the hallways in the aft area where I room was. As I got to our room it went away. Once I got into the room we walked out on the balcony and saw the engines going pushing us towards the dock. We were on the right side of the ship so we didn't see the dock, but we guessed that one of the lines broke and we were moved a bit. Never heard anything of it so who knows. So for Cozumel it was a decent port and would enjoy coming back here.
Cyber Cafe
Didn't see pricing for the internet packages anywhere, so didn't get a picture of it. However when it comes to the internet, the ship is fully loaded with connection areas. The had a free app for guests who could see the ship map and location along with the upcoming daily activities and a chance to talk to other guests on the ship. If you are interested in this app, once your on the ship head over to Guest Services and find out more about it and make sure it's completely free.
Cyber Cafe Tour - CLICK HERE!
Divina Reception & Guest Services
Located on deck 5 you will find the Guest Services area, which happens to have two desks on both sides of the ship. Really great idea here when things get busy. We visited a few times here and there, nothing major. We were in and out of line in no time at all, very little to no wait. Both desks are not open all the time, just when needed. Now to close out your account you can do so with cash at 5:30am on the morning that you leave. We weren't a huge fan of having to wake up at 5am to do this. So I got in line and they waited until 5:30am on the dot to start processing. Once they did lines were in and out quickly.
Divina Reception Tour - CLICK HERE!
Duty Free Shops
The pricing for certain items here were outrageous, such as a bag of chips for $8. It was the large bag but still. They had a small variety of items, nothing too impressive. Could of used more variety of general store products.
Eataly Steakhouse & Italia Ristorante
These two places are not like the normal Steakhouse and Italian Restaurant. You can tell that right away by the decor. This area was very open and bright. Location wasn't the greatest for the steakhouse. We question location of these places a lot, This was next to the outside deck and people were walking back and forth throughout our dinner in the steakhouse. Traffic of others was very much present. The dress code here was very casual, shorts and a polo for the guys and something nice for women would work just fine. One off thing about these two places that we noticed was that they both first off were in the same location and only thing separating them was the "L" shape of the room. So if you wanted to have the steak you sit in one part and if you wanted Italian you sat in the other part. Not a good design plan, the crew was serving and cooking for both at once. Also a tip, don't ask for tap water here, they do not serve it so you will have to the nearest bar (Wine Bar) to get it. However they will give you the Pellegrino or something else from the bar. Which just so happens to be the same exact bar I went to get my own water. So yeah, wasn't a fan of that. Now on to the food. Everything was cooked perfectly and had no real complaints, just a better variety would have been much nicer. Would we have spent the money here again on dinner, probably not. However it may be good for others. Pricing here is A la Carte.
Eataly Steakhouse & Italia Ristorante Tour - CLICK HERE!
Excursion Office
We booked our excursion prior to sailing. We got information delivered to us and had absolutely no problems at all with it. It was only our second ever excursion. They were much better than Carnival, areas were noted, towels delivered to your stateroom (depending on your excursion). Really nice. They were always busy with people.
F1 Simulator
Did not get a chance to try this out. However I (Patrick) did try getting in it, which was easy. Getting out was a bit on the harder part. At one point I just gave up and told my wife to just bring me food and water and I would see her on Saturday morning before we leave. lol. This simulator is next to the 4D Theater and Virtual World game area. Looked really cool and when they were open someone was always there to assist. Never saw anyone waiting to do these so you should be able to get right on. May have something to do with not having many kids on the ship.
Falmouth, Jamaica
So from what I read and saw prior, this area was built up to accommodate large ships, such as the MSC Divina and Oasis of the Seas. It is only a few years old and the area grounds were man-made. It is a completely beautiful area. However once outside the gaits you will feel like you are back in Ocho Rios. So we stayed behind to check it out. A good thing about this port is it has a Margaritaville right inside the area. Not a lot of people were there but it was simply beautiful there. Perfect weather. You also had a ton of shops around, also a craft market. No one hounded you and it was a very enjoyable experience. Looking forward to coming back next year on Oasis of the Seas.
Galaxy Disco & Restaurant
Disco, restaurant, disco, restaurant. Well all one thing in common, not many people were ever here. Many people said it was always an empty spot. It was a great spot to hang out and relax if desired. Great views of the pool deck and surrounding areas.
Galaxy Disco & Restaurant Tour - CLICK HERE!
Galleria d'Arte
Passing through certain areas you will find a ton of different things. Here are some of them.
Golden Jazz Bar
Right next to the Sports Bar and near the La Luna Piano Bar, this was one place that always had someone at it. We sometimes just sat and relaxed here. Great place for nightly entertainment.
Golden Jazz Bar Tour - CLICK HERE!
Graffiti's & I Puffi
Here are some pictures of Graffiti's, which is a place for the kids. I didn't get a chance to get to I Puffi's area, which later I realized was down a staircase that I didn't go down thinking I had already did.
Graffiti's Tour - CLICK HERE!
Georgetown, Grand Cayman
This was our first time actually doing an excursion here. Like I said above it was very easy and efficient. So the morning of the excursion we met at the Pantheon Theatre and got our information. From there we took the tender over and headed to our bus. Our first stop was the Tortuga Rum Factory. More like a small store with their product to by. Nothing too impressive but still got some free cake and rum! Can't go wrong there can we?!? So from there we headed to the Governors House and the 7 mile beach, followed by a trip to Hell and the Turtle Farm. It was about 3 hours or so and it was great. The city was surprisingly beautiful, almost like Ft Lauderdale and Boca Raton (for you Floridians). Back to our Turtle Farm stop, it was really cool. Spent about an hour there checking out how they breed the turtles and some of us even held them. Really fun and educational experience. Before that we went to Hell, no not the hell below but the town of Hell. Had a really old style building with rock formations in the back. Quick stop here. We do recommend this tour, which was the "Best of Grand Cayman".
Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas (Private Island)
Private Islands are usually the best part of any trip. The tender to shore did seem much longer than last time. It was close to 30 minutes, don't get me wrong the views were beautiful but not one to sit on a tender for half an hour doing nothing. Once we got to the island it looked as if it was built up a little bit since we were there last. A few shops here and there along with bars and plenty of water activities for people of all ages. The area was very clean and very open. The day was perfect. We only hung out for a few hours in the morning time and were back on the ship by noon. The water had a bit chill in it, then again we are from Florida and we consider anything below 70 degrees to be cold.
La Cantina di Bacco, Eataly Pizza & Wine Bar
Okay, I have to get this off my chest. The Eataly Pizza area should be open and someone should be making pizza. At no point during our week onboard did we see anyone here making pizza. The Wine Bar was always a hot spot for a glass of wine and some snacks. Also if you want to get away from everyone, stop on by and relax.
La Cantina di Bacco, Eataly Pizza & Wine Bar Tour - CLICK HERE!
La Luna Piano Bar
The Piano Bar had a really great feel to it. Much like the Golden Jazz Bar this place always had people in it, also located right above the casino. One thing we didn't get was that at no point when we were here the piano wasn't once played. We stopped by a few times, but the entertainers were just singing.
La Luna Piano Bar Tour - CLICK HERE!
La Profumeria
Here are some pictures of the area to by some cologne and perfume. We did notice that they did have a ton of great sample sets.
L'Angolo dell Oggetto
Here are some photos of L'Angolo dell Oggetto.
Le Sirene Covered Pool
This pool seemed to have more people here than the Aqua Park. The pool was covered either during the rainy days and at night. The Pool Shop is located up here as well and the shop is a $10 store. I will get into that below. The Le Sirene pool was very nice for a two level indoor pool. You have some table games upstairs and plenty of seating. 3 hot tubs were available, which seemed to have more people in them around the ship than the pool. Located around parts of the pool are fountains to help relax you, also very visually appealing. It reminded us a little bit of the pool on the Celebrity Constellation. We never got a chance to go in, but the temperature inside the area was usually a bit warmer.
La Sirene Covered Pool Tour - CLICK HERE!
MSC Aurea Spa
Here are some shots of the packed gym onboard. Okay I'm kidding, the gym when I went had three people in it. Okay it's not the biggest gym in the world but it had a ton of machines. People did complain online about never being able to find machines open. Here is some proof that at certain parts of the day this place can be empty. Also the spa does $10 massages for 10 minutes. We did hear spa services are 50% off on the last day of the cruise, didn't hear much of it onboard. So if you are interested in that than research more before along with talk to some of them onboard.
MSC Aurea Spa Tour - CLICK HERE!
MSC Logo Shop
Everything MSC can be found here, after all it is the MSC Logo Shop. I really, really, really wanted a ship model. However the ones that they had were a silver color on a wooden bottom. Don't get me wrong they looked nice, but I like color on my ships. They also had a ship puzzle of the class, which when my wife went to get one on the last night of the cruise, someone right in front of her took the last one. Other than that you can find shirts, sweaters, pens and just about anything else here. For the model ship lovers out there, MSC does sell other ships from around the fleet and I believe one or two retired ships. Wished more lines would do that. I would come home broke with a mad wife, but I do love my model ships!
MSC Sports Arena
Loved the idea of bleachers here. Wasn't the biggest sports area we seen but at least they had one. Never saw any sports equipment to play basketball or anything with. Do have to mention that no basketball court beat the one on Carnival Breeze, just a fan of their sports area. Enjoy the pictures.
MSC Sports Arena Tour - CLICK HERE!
Pantheon Theatre
The Pantheon Theatre is the main show lounge onboard and it was really large in size. Maybe the biggest we had. Seats were a big on the right on top of each other and a little cramped but not nearly as bad as the ones on the Ruby Princess. Many seats on the sides (bottom and top level) were usually empty. Some shows had more people than others. Speaking of the shows, MSC does their own entertainment and does not have the usual magician or comedian, which we did miss at times. However their shows even at the least entertaining ones were by far the best we had ever seen. Another thing we have never seen before was a standing ovation after every single show, it was simply amazing. Keep in mind all of these shows are not in English and some were sang in Italian, which we did not mind at all, loved it! A new show was available every night of the cruise. Here is a list of the shows available;
Frank Forever: A modern representation of some of the most popular songs by Frank Sinatra.
Wonderland: A wonderful world of imagination, including unbelievable acrobatics, strength and stunts.
Simply Italian: A modern representation of the most popular Italian songs.
The Witches of Paris: Fantastic choreography and amazing acrobatics including the Cancan. French Variety at its best.
Pirates: Spectacular acrobatic set in a world of Pirates.
Love Me: From "La Traviata".
Starwalker: A tribute to Michael Jackson. An energetic performance of Michael Jackson's most popular hits.
The Tribute: A modern representation of some of the most famous Opera arias.
Below you will also find clips from most of the shows onboard the MSC Divina!
Pantheon Theatre Tour - CLICK HERE!
Simply Italian (Part 2)
Simply Italian (Part 3)
Simply Italian (Part 4)
Simply Italian (Part 5)
Simply Italian (Part 6)
The Witches of Paris (Part 2)
The Witches of Paris (Part 3)
The Witches of Paris (Part 4)
The Witches of Paris (Part 5)
Pirates (Part 1)
Pirates (Part 2)
Pirates (Part 3)
Pirates (Part 4)
Pirates (Part 5)
Pirates (Part 6)
Pirates (Part 7)
Pirates (Part 8)
Love Me (Part 2)
Love Me (Part 3)
Love Me (Part 4)
Love Me (Part 5)
Love Me (Part 6)
Love Me (Part 7)
Starwalker (Part 2)
Starwalker (Part 3)
Starwalker (Part 4)
Starwalker (Part 5)
Starwalker (Part 6)
Starwalker (Part 7)
Starwalker (Part 8)
Starwalker (Part 9)
Starwalker (Part 10)
The Tribute (Part 2)
The Tribute (Part 3)
The Tribute (Part 4)
The Tribute (Part 5)
The Tribute (Part 6)
The Tribute (Part 7)
Wonderland (Part 2)
Wonderland (Part 3)
Wonderland (Part 4)
Photo Shop
Did notice that they had a different spin on their photos. We saw some really weird ways of people posing. One area had your head against a wall with a light behind you. Once it was done they did come out really cool. Didn't care for ours which were the size of a poster! Okay not that big, but not the normal sized ones.
Photo Shop Tour - CLICK HERE!
Piazza Del Doge
Expected this place to be bigger in size. It does have a decent size to it but the pictures looked better. The ratio of chairs to tables were about 6:1. Way too many chairs, which it was like that also in the dining room. Around the Piazza was some shops and the Cigar Lounge and a cafe area along with a Gelato stand. The second stand for Gelato was on deck 14 right next to the bar (right side facing the back) at the Aqua Park. Nightly people would be in and out either coming out of the casino from the nightly shows are sitting having a drink and listening to live music. The shops were set out on most nights for guests to enjoy.
Piazza Del Doge Tour - CLICK HERE!
Port Miami (Homeport)
We ended up driving down to Miami vs having the car service take us. The car service all of a sudden after a few years of using them won't do pick ups until after noon, a bit odd to us. Oh well lost our business. We took I-95 from where we were straight into the new port tunnel and right to our terminal. Very easy. MSC was great to us, from start to finish. From the start was at Port Miami. We parked at terminal G while our terminal was F, so we had a short walk from the garage to the terminal. Terminal G was being used by the Disney Wonder. Once we got in check in was a breeze. Also let me mention that the luggage tags said not to duplicate, however we did and put them on all of our check-in luggage and they said it was fine. MSC did provide everyone coming in with a table set up with water. You had a couple of vending machines towards the opposite way. The counter gave us our cards, minus the ship maps and cash was taken at Guest Services was onboard. They started board at Noon and we were on ten minutes later from Zone 4. Super quick and super easy. Not to mention our view of Miami from our balcony, can you say WOW! We did and we weren't even on a Royal Caribbean cruise! Only bad thing was we left so late and our Muster drill was at 5pm. So we missed being on the top deck checking out all of the ships. In port with us was the Disney Wonder, Norwegian Getaway, Carnival Glory and Carnival Breeze. Glad to see our old ships (Glory and Breeze) always brings us down memory lane.
Silver Lounge & Bar
Here are some pictures from one of the many bars around the MSC Divina. This one is off of the atrium on deck 6.
Silver Lounge Tour - CLICK HERE!
Sky & Stars Conference Center & Library
Right next to the Galaxy Nightclub you will find this area. Sometimes had people in it, most of the other times empty. If I found it sooner we would have been here more often playing cards and games.
Sky & Stars Conference Center Center & Library Tour - CLICK HERE!
Solarium
Didn't understand the who solarium area on this ship. Some parts you had to pay for and others you did not. The first picture is the area you had to pay for, along with the clamshells. The below two pictures were from a deck below and was free, also free of people on most occasions. Both areas actually were most of the time.
Solarium Tour - CLICK HERE!
Sports Bar
Another of many places we were spending a lot of time at relaxing. Not many people were in here, some days/nights more than others. We for the most part sat here and played Uno. We did try out bowling. Which was not worth the money at all. We didn't get a clear response at if the $7 was per person or what. So I just ended up trying out getting one token and my wife and I played a quick (less than 5 minute) game of bowling (or duckpin). However the $7 only got you 5 frames. So take that and add another person and two games which would be a normal game of ten frames and you will end up spending $28 on just the two games for two people. It does add up very quickly. So the $7 was more than enough. We almost did try out the sampler of food here, kinda wishing we did. Some people here and there got food, which looked really good. Much like other places it was also A la Carte pricing. If you do happen to get it make sure to let us know what you think!
Sports Bar Tour - CLICK HERE!
Stateroom 13216 (Balcony)
Wow! We walked in and were immediately impressed! A large king size bed and a couch that pulled out into a double bed. Downside was not enough hangers, I'm sure you could have asked for more and the tv was at the far end of the room, not the best of places. Still enjoyable. One very smart thing MSC did in this cabin at least was in the bathroom. The shower doors, yes not a curtain that sticks to you like white on rice. The doors were able to be pushed in to get a little bit more room inside the small bathroom. Really made a huge difference. Also want to thank MSC for the upgrade and baskets of fruit and wine, very much appreciated.
Stateroom 13216 Tour - CLICK HERE!
Stateroom 13216 Balcony Tour - CLICK HERE!
The Black Crab Restaurant
Service was hit or miss, mostly a hit. Food was surprisingly very good, didn't have a bad dish. Nothing overcooked or under cooked. A lot of people did complain about it, but we just didn't experience any real issues. Sometimes we had to ask for items repeatedly. If you wanted something special done to your meal like dressing on the side of a salad, chances were you wouldn't receive it. Just depends. Some people had that issue along with some similar, for us nothing make or break. We had friends with us for dinner every night along with another couple, had a lot of fun during dinnertime. The Black Crab Restaurant was open for breakfast, lunch and dinner ever single day up until the morning back in Miami. Never been on a cruise that this was available. MSC did great in this area.
The Black Crab Restaurant Tour - CLICK HERE!
Baked Alaska Show - CLICK HERE!
The Cigar Lounge
Smokers, here is the one of two areas from around the ship in which you are able to smoke at. We went in only for pictures and poof! Tons of smoke right in the face. This little place is right next to the casino and Piazza.
The Garden Bar & Infinity Pool
The pool in pictures looked much bigger than it actually was. Still a decent size and was always filled with people. Everything from morning exercise to afternoon sun bathing. The pool was very relaxing. Just be careful since nothing is around to cover you or protect you from the Caribbean sun. We were out in Jamaica then came here for a little while and two weeks later were still peeling off our tan. As I sit here right now writing about it I'm just thinking about the pool and how great it was, wishing we were there right now. Even though it would probably be closed, but still even any where on the ship would be nice. Almost forgot about the Garden Bar. Well this place was packed day and night, seemed like a really nice hotspot.
The Pool Shop
This is the $10 shop I was telling you about before. Located on deck 14 next to the indoor pool. The shop has a ton of accessories such as watches, necklaces and hats, along with a bunch of other stuff. This little place gets packed so be patient. People will bump into you left and right and won't say a word to apologize. So just be aware of this, I was getting annoyed at many points waiting in the long line around an already tiny store.
Villa Rossa Restaurant
We just strolled along to this area one day and were just blown away by the stunning decor. Lots of red and gold all throughout also a nice view of the back of the ship. Enjoy the pictures.
Villa Rossa Restaurant Tour - CLICK HERE!
Virtual World
Just a few pictures of the arcade area onboard the MSC Divina, nrext to the 4D Theater and F1 Simulator.
Virtual World Tour - CLICK HERE!
Water Slide
The ship does have a water slide. Never tried it nor ever seen anyone else using it too often, However it was open a lot during the cruise.
Daily Programs
Here are the Daily Programs from our trip on the MSC Diviva.
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Love it love it love it thank you so much
ReplyDeleteYou have convinced us to try a new line. MSC should really thank you for that since their reviews are so horrible and you shed some light on the line.
ReplyDeleteTom Revrange
Thank you for the kind words Tom! MSC was really one of the best cruises we ever taken! A very different experience!
ReplyDeleteWe were on the Divina in September/October and we had very similar experience. Your review and pictures are incredibly thorough and give people a pretty great idea of the overall look/feel of the ship. For us, the overall experience was great but service left a lot to be desired because communicating with our waiter in the main dining room was at times quite difficult since he didn't understand some of our requests. Also, we had just been on the Celebrity Reflection a few months before and their level of service is 10x's better, but the price for the cruise on the Divina was unbeatable. I would definitely agree that the seating in the main dining room is really tight, we were actually seated behind a small partition wall and up against the outer wall of the main dining room wall and that made it very difficult for our wait staff to serve us our food, he had to reach across people to put down most of our plates. This slightly negative experience in the dining room didn't take anything away from the rest of our amazing experience on the ship. I also agree with the limited food variety in the buffet, you get a lot of the same stuff everyday with very few different dishes throughout the cruise but the fresh Pizza in the Buffet is probably the best pizza I've had so having that available pretty much any time of the day was great! One thing I would recommend is the Wine Blending course they offer 2 or 3 times throughout the cruise, our group really enjoyed that experience. Also, if you buy extra bottles they get delivered to your room a day later and you can take them to the dining room to enjoy with your dinner for the rest of the cruise. I would also agree that there are a lot more international cruisers on this ship than the others we've been on, and they are not as friendly and mannered as we might be used to but again we didn't let it take anything away from our experience. The only other thing that I remember is that the floorplan of the ship is slightly confusing, not all the floors go all the way up and down the ship so remembering which floors go all the way through takes a little while. By the time we figured it all out it was almost time to get back home. My recommendation is to take a stroll around the ship and make mental notes (or even handwritten notes) about which floors lead to which features (black and white lounge, theater, casino, etc.). Again overall our experience on this ship was great and the price is right, I would definitely recommend cruising on the MSC Divina.
ReplyDeleteWhat about things for kids. I was planning a family trip with a 6, 4 and 15 yr old.
ReplyDeleteIt would be great!
DeleteWhat a review! Thanks for the countless hours you spent writing it! You deserve a big sloppy kiss from everyone that reads it!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis is the first time I sent anything by ship. I bought a gift for my husband birthday. So I want to give him it on time. But I was worried about how to send it timely. But thanks to MLM shipping, they was supplied it timely. I was really pleased with there service.
ReplyDelete