MSC DIVINA

The MSC (Mediterranean Shipping Company) Divina was inaugurated the end of May 2012, so needless to say, we enjoyed her Italian glamour on this brand new ship. I am an avid researcher and learned that as an American I would be putting myself into foreign territory by choosing a foreign line. I chose the Divina because she was new and I loved her itinerary in the Eastern Mediterranean. My only expectations were to relax while sailing in a beautiful and clean environment and experience the foreign adventure on board and at the various ports. That being said, I, along with my family, had a wonderful experience on the week long cruise. Americans tend to have different expectations for their cruising experience when compared to the Italian, French or British guests on board. Remember this if you choose to experience a foreign line.

On day one, we walked from our lovely Venice hotel and rode the people mover (1 euro per person) over to the port. We walked toward our ship and saw a tent with the MSC logo on the top and stopped there for the shuttle. Embarkation was pretty easy. There was a long and wide line outside by the drop off area that we stood in and it moved quickly at our 1:00 pm arrival. We gave them our names and they gave us our tickets, information and luggage tags. They took our luggage and we entered the terminal. We waited in line inside the terminal to check in and that took about 15 minutes. We confirmed everything at check-in because we had pre-purchased beverage packages. After confirmation of our cabin and amenities, we saw that we could board in group 12, and we would be next. MSC had representatives from the ship inside the terminal to sell and inform guests of onboard amenities. Once on the ship, we went to our room to check out our gorgeous and spacious cabin for the week.

We had a verandah on deck 11 with connecting rooms. We had our attendant open our balcony divider so we could expand our space and visit.

We then went to the buffet for lunch and spent the afternoon exploring the ship and watching our extremely large cruise ship snake through the narrow and beautiful canal of Venice.

The ship was stunning. The room was large, clean, comfortable and had a beautiful décor. Our room stewards were so nice and kept our room very clean. It seems that the Divina will retain her impeccable beauty as they had attendants cleaning every part of the ship all day long. Our itinerary put us at port almost every day. We had one day at sea, so most of the time we were quite busy. We had room service for breakfast and then got ready to disembark almost daily to explore each port. We would get back on the ship between 2:00 and 4:00 in the afternoon on most days and would visit the lunch buffet which always seemed to have food for us! We then headed to our cabin to unwind, shower and get ready for dinner. We pre-selected early seating for dinner and we enjoyed having the set time. The dining rooms were intimate and the décor felt like a modern version of the traditional Italian style.

Many tables were set up to accommodate small groups. We had a table of four aft next to the window, and I LOVED going to dinner. Our waiters were wonderful, and the service was impeccable. The food was delicious most meals. There were many choices, and I enjoy trying new things. I was never hungry on this cruise. My husband, who can be picky, always found something to eat. After dinner, we would stroll along the different decks people watching, shopping, and checking out the activities and music in the lounges on our way to the evening show. The shows were a blend of dancing, acrobatics, singing, and theatrics. I loved the shows but I did not enjoy the lip syncing when there were so many talented singers available! The shows were less than an hour and were an eclectic mix each night. After the show, we would head back to our room to wind down and get ready for another busy day on board and at port! The MSC Divina has a lot to offer the guests and, for us, we used this beautiful vessel as a wonderful transportation option to get to all the different ports. We didn’t spend any time at the pools or hot tubs. There were three pools and many hot tubs and it seemed that the European guests spent most of their time at the pool.

I compared their pool time to Americans enjoying the pool while taking a cruise to the Caribbean. Also, these pools were very crowded and if you wanted a lounge chair, you would have to go early or get lucky. We didn’t spend time in the lounges but there were many to enjoy. There was a sports bar with a bowling alley, lounges with live music, and a dance club.

There were specialty dining restaurants and cafes to get Gelato or specialty coffees. There were many shops that I enjoyed though! There was an amazing spa and fitness center.

Children could enjoy the 4D theatre, racecar simulator, arcade or many of the activities available to them on board.

There were a lot of children on board but it didn’t seem to bother us. I spoke to another couple that felt there were too many children on board. Getting off the boat at each port was seamless. We would head to reception to see what deck to disembark and we would meet our tour guide at the port. If you choose not to take a tour, there were plenty of taxis and sometimes MSC had a shuttle to take you to the center of town. I will write about the ports in my next blog. On the last day, we were not able to have room service so we left the room and headed to the buffet for breakfast with our carry-on bags. We received our account details under our door and looked them over during breakfast to ensure the charges were correct. After breakfast, we went to our designated location to wait for our turn to disembark. We were told to meet in the Casino and we would be called out around 9:30 am. Disembarkation was a breeze. We picked up our luggage and headed to the people mover to go back into Venice. It seemed that five cruise ships disembarked at the same time and thousands were in line for the people mover. That was the worst part of the whole week! We had a wonderful time on our cruise and we would take a cruise with MSC again. If you love beautifully decorated ships, enjoy traveling while you sleep and visiting different cities each day, and don’t mind the adventure of cruising with many international guests with varied expectations, than you will enjoy the MSC Divina.