Notes/review of our cruise on Divina, Feb 2017

This isn't a full-blown review. It's just notes that may serve as useful to someone. In planning our cruise (Divina Feb. 11-18 to Ocho Rios, Georgetown, Cozumel, Nassau), I used this site a great deal, and I figure I should give back.

We read some iffy reviews of MSC, but I disregarded them because the price was right. With port charges, we had a Fantastica balcony room for $1,500, me and the wife. Can't beat that. We would happily cruise with MSC again. This was our first weeklong cruise. We had been on shorter cruises with RCI and Carnival.

- The shows were fine to great. The Michael Jackson tribute the last night was incredibly well-done; anyone would enjoy it. I particularly enjoyed the "Italian Classics" night where we were exposed to vocals we otherwise wouldn't experience in our native Tennessee.

- The ship is classy. Nothing crass. The crew doesn't annoy you or act like fools. Some Americans might not like that; they want a party atmosphere. MSC really isn't that. It's a European company, and it's just classier than, say - Carnival.

- We don't like eating with strangers. Just not our thing. So we never stepped foot in the dining room. We ate the buffet a lot, then towards the end of the cruise we were buffet'd out and tried the Eataly Pizza and Eataly Steakhouse. The Pizza place was outstanding. Really, I'll always fondly remember that pizza. It's a slight uncharge (pizzas are $5-9) but those pizzas are worth much more. As good as any pizza I've had. The steakhouse was good; we had no problem getting the reserved time we wished for, and it wasn't packed.

- Now for the buffet. I'm a lover of buffets, so consider me an authority. I was disappointed in the pizza there. Maybe one time the entire cruise I spotted pepperoni pizza there. One friggin' time (btw, pepperoni on the Eataly menu is referenced as "hot salami"). Meanwhile, they'd have stupid pizzas with eggplant or some other foolish thing. Maybe because it's an Italian company; I don't know. Breakfast and lunch they have the whole thing opened, which is a pretty substantial spread but a lot of it repeats itself. Dinner they have most of the lines shut down. At dinner they always have a carving item. Sometimes it was good (roast pork, beef), but one night they had some chicken loaf thing that was strange. There's usually multiple selections of fish each night; they were all ok to good. Usually there was a pasta that was very good. The salad bar, surprisingly, was sparse. Usually some good cheese selections. Burgers and turkey burgers and hot dogs were ok. The desserts were very good for a cruise buffet (I've always been disappointed with Carnival's). The key lime pie thingee they served many times was great. Some mousse-like selections were always good. There's an ice cream machine on the other end of the 14th deck that is good.

- One surprise was the outstanding stuff you could get at different areas of the ship. Gelato, sorbets and baked desert goodies. And while you had to pay for them, they were cheap. I think a little container of gelato ran $2 and something. We hit that stuff several times.

- One thing I wish MSC did was offer a soda card. We bought the 15 cans for $30 deal, and it sufficed, but we're addicted to diet drinks. Every port, we'd find our way into local stores hoping to find the elusive Diet Mountain Dew that was nowhere to be found on the ship. The buffet at breakfast had orange juice, pineapple juice, grapefruit juice, hot milk, cold milk, hot chocolate, coffee. At non-breakfast time, there was a good strawberry-kiwi water, a mango water, lemonade, tea (my wife didn't like it), coffee and all those teas in bags that I don't know why anyone drinks.

- The room was great. Very clean. Felt spacious. It was our first time with a balcony, and we'll probably never go back. I don't see how a really fat person could take a shower there, since instead of a curtain, it's an enclosed shower with door. I liked it, but I'm 6-0, 250 and I was pretty cramped showering. We finally found the hair dryer on the fifth day, in a drawer near the TV. The TV selections stunk, as expected. You get some Mexican brand of TNT, TBS and TruTV. Some Caribbean ESPN and ESPN2. CNN, BBC. I enjoyed trying to figure out the rules of cricket when it was on a few times.

- They show movies on the screen at the pool, but we never did that. There'd usually be 4-8 people watching them at night. Probably a cool thing to do, but we'd seen Sully and didn't want to see the new Ghostbusters.

- Embarkation and debarkation went great. They assigned us to a later debarkation that risked us missing our Ft Lauderdale flight, but I went to the service desk and they switched me to an earlier time without issue.

- Room service was ok. The breakfast selections are pretty limited.

- The sports bar now has free food. We went there once and had wings and chips/salsa. It never seemed to be packed. It's loud in there because that infernal bowling game is there.

- The SAS shuttle service from Ft Lauderdale airport to Port of Miami - I can't recommend them enough. You call them, and they're right on top of you to pick you up and they whisk you to where you need to be. Seriously, give them your business.

- We did no excursions. I like doing my own thing. At Ocho Rios, I got suckered into one of the many cab rides offered as you get off the ship. I spent $80 for maybe two hours of driving around. If you've never done it, I'd recommend it just for the cultural aspect. It's a different world they take you through, no doubt. The roads are terrible there. If your cab is like mine, they'll stop at some trinket place where they claim it's "my daughter's" and that lady will uncharge the crap out of you, knowing you'll have to ride back with her "dad" to the ship area. Oh well, $25 got us a cheap necklace and refrigerator magnet. Then they'll take you to a waterfall that's beautiful but have some kid "escort" you through it. Of course, he needs a tip. Then the driver wants a tip on top of his $80. We could've about done a ship excursion for what I spent, but again, being exposed to their culture in a close-up way such as this had its own benefits. And, I feel sorry for people who are poor and willing to work hard for a measly amounts of money. So it worked out. After that was over, my wife wanted to nap. I took to walking around town alone. Most people wouldn't do that, but again, I enjoyed the cultural immersion. I didn't expect to enjoy Jamaica as much as I did. I finally found a Usain Bolt t-shirt and paid the $25 they insisted upon. I'll always prize that possession.

- Georgetown was great. We walked from the port to Seven Mile Beach. It's a long walk, but we enjoyed seeing the town since we'd never been there. Very clean town without the poverty of Jamaica. We stopped in at a supermarket north of the port, and my wife about brawled with a guy over the Diet Mountain Dews on the shelf. He was trying to get them all. She wouldn't have it and snatched the last three before he could reach them.

- At Cozumel we rented the worst car I've ever driven. No power steering. An elusive reverse gear. A third gear that was easily mistaken for first. God it was awful. But we had a ball. I made the mistake of deciding to stop at Paradise Beach early on the drive. It's a good deal, $3 for all day to use the beach and pool. We bought some fish tacos there. The pool was great; they had beach loungers sitting in a shallow area of the pool. I could have happily died in that lounger. But we had things to see, so we left after a bit. I wound up regretting the time we spent there b/c I felt too compressed to see the Mayan ruins on the island. However, the Eastern side of the Island is simply beautiful, and my wife greatly enjoyed riding around it. There's a ton of places to stop and have a piece of paradise to yourself. Every once in a while there's a beach bar/restaurant. We stopped at the last one before heading back, and it was ok. We drove back through the residential area of town and saw some more poverty. Finally, we dropped the car off and walked just north of where the ship had docked at town and visited a supermarket there. I enjoy seeing what people in other countries eat and buy, so that was a treat.

- Nassau we walked around. Went to Fort Charlotte. It's worth a trip. Just a $1 to get in.

Thanks for the well balanced review.

Thanks for the Wonderful review!

Thanks for this review. I'm cruising on the Divina in May. I've already been to most of those ports except Ocho Rios. My weakness is the soft serve ice cream on any ship. I'll probably have to sneak it in though because I am cruising with a large Weight Watcher group. I just may have to use my extra points for ice cream. I'm excited to try a new cruise line.

This isn't a full-blown review. It's just notes that may serve as useful to someone. In planning our cruise (Divina Feb. 11-18 to Ocho Rios, Georgetown, Cozumel, Nassau), I used this site a great deal, and I figure I should give back.

 

We read some iffy reviews of MSC, but I disregarded them because the price was right. With port charges, we had a Fantastica balcony room for $1,500, me and the wife. Can't beat that. We would happily cruise with MSC again. This was our first weeklong cruise. We had been on shorter cruises with RCI and Carnival.

 

- The shows were fine to great. The Michael Jackson tribute the last night was incredibly well-done; anyone would enjoy it. I particularly enjoyed the "Italian Classics" night where we were exposed to vocals we otherwise wouldn't experience in our native Tennessee.

 

- The ship is classy. Nothing crass. The crew doesn't annoy you or act like fools. Some Americans might not like that; they want a party atmosphere. MSC really isn't that. It's a European company, and it's just classier than, say - Carnival.

 

- We don't like eating with strangers. Just not our thing. So we never stepped foot in the dining room. We ate the buffet a lot, then towards the end of the cruise we were buffet'd out and tried the Eataly Pizza and Eataly Steakhouse. The Pizza place was outstanding. Really, I'll always fondly remember that pizza. It's a slight uncharge (pizzas are $5-9) but those pizzas are worth much more. As good as any pizza I've had. The steakhouse was good; we had no problem getting the reserved time we wished for, and it wasn't packed.

 

- Now for the buffet. I'm a lover of buffets, so consider me an authority. I was disappointed in the pizza there. Maybe one time the entire cruise I spotted pepperoni pizza there. One friggin' time (btw, pepperoni on the Eataly menu is referenced as "hot salami"). Meanwhile, they'd have stupid pizzas with eggplant or some other foolish thing. Maybe because it's an Italian company; I don't know. Breakfast and lunch they have the whole thing opened, which is a pretty substantial spread but a lot of it repeats itself. Dinner they have most of the lines shut down. At dinner they always have a carving item. Sometimes it was good (roast pork, beef), but one night they had some chicken loaf thing that was strange. There's usually multiple selections of fish each night; they were all ok to good. Usually there was a pasta that was very good. The salad bar, surprisingly, was sparse. Usually some good cheese selections. Burgers and turkey burgers and hot dogs were ok. The desserts were very good for a cruise buffet (I've always been disappointed with Carnival's). The key lime pie thingee they served many times was great. Some mousse-like selections were always good. There's an ice cream machine on the other end of the 14th deck that is good.

 

- One surprise was the outstanding stuff you could get at different areas of the ship. Gelato, sorbets and baked desert goodies. And while you had to pay for them, they were cheap. I think a little container of gelato ran $2 and something. We hit that stuff several times.

 

- One thing I wish MSC did was offer a soda card. We bought the 15 cans for $30 deal, and it sufficed, but we're addicted to diet drinks. Every port, we'd find our way into local stores hoping to find the elusive Diet Mountain Dew that was nowhere to be found on the ship. The buffet at breakfast had orange juice, pineapple juice, grapefruit juice, hot milk, cold milk, hot chocolate, coffee. At non-breakfast time, there was a good strawberry-kiwi water, a mango water, lemonade, tea (my wife didn't like it), coffee and all those teas in bags that I don't know why anyone drinks.

 

- The room was great. Very clean. Felt spacious. It was our first time with a balcony, and we'll probably never go back. I don't see how a really fat person could take a shower there, since instead of a curtain, it's an enclosed shower with door. I liked it, but I'm 6-0, 250 and I was pretty cramped showering. We finally found the hair dryer on the fifth day, in a drawer near the TV. The TV selections stunk, as expected. You get some Mexican brand of TNT, TBS and TruTV. Some Caribbean ESPN and ESPN2. CNN, BBC. I enjoyed trying to figure out the rules of cricket when it was on a few times.

 

- They show movies on the screen at the pool, but we never did that. There'd usually be 4-8 people watching them at night. Probably a cool thing to do, but we'd seen Sully and didn't want to see the new Ghostbusters.

 

- Embarkation and debarkation went great. They assigned us to a later debarkation that risked us missing our Ft Lauderdale flight, but I went to the service desk and they switched me to an earlier time without issue.

 

- Room service was ok. The breakfast selections are pretty limited.

 

- The sports bar now has free food. We went there once and had wings and chips/salsa. It never seemed to be packed. It's loud in there because that infernal bowling game is there.

 

- The SAS shuttle service from Ft Lauderdale airport to Port of Miami - I can't recommend them enough. You call them, and they're right on top of you to pick you up and they whisk you to where you need to be. Seriously, give them your business.

 

- We did no excursions. I like doing my own thing. At Ocho Rios, I got suckered into one of the many cab rides offered as you get off the ship. I spent $80 for maybe two hours of driving around. If you've never done it, I'd recommend it just for the cultural aspect. It's a different world they take you through, no doubt. The roads are terrible there. If your cab is like mine, they'll stop at some trinket place where they claim it's "my daughter's" and that lady will uncharge the crap out of you, knowing you'll have to ride back with her "dad" to the ship area. Oh well, $25 got us a cheap necklace and refrigerator magnet. Then they'll take you to a waterfall that's beautiful but have some kid "escort" you through it. Of course, he needs a tip. Then the driver wants a tip on top of his $80. We could've about done a ship excursion for what I spent, but again, being exposed to their culture in a close-up way such as this had its own benefits. And, I feel sorry for people who are poor and willing to work hard for a measly amounts of money. So it worked out. After that was over, my wife wanted to nap. I took to walking around town alone. Most people wouldn't do that, but again, I enjoyed the cultural immersion. I didn't expect to enjoy Jamaica as much as I did. I finally found a Usain Bolt t-shirt and paid the $25 they insisted upon. I'll always prize that possession.

 

- Georgetown was great. We walked from the port to Seven Mile Beach. It's a long walk, but we enjoyed seeing the town since we'd never been there. Very clean town without the poverty of Jamaica. We stopped in at a supermarket north of the port, and my wife about brawled with a guy over the Diet Mountain Dews on the shelf. He was trying to get them all. She wouldn't have it and snatched the last three before he could reach them.

 

- At Cozumel we rented the worst car I've ever driven. No power steering. An elusive reverse gear. A third gear that was easily mistaken for first. God it was awful. But we had a ball. I made the mistake of deciding to stop at Paradise Beach early on the drive. It's a good deal, $3 for all day to use the beach and pool. We bought some fish tacos there. The pool was great; they had beach loungers sitting in a shallow area of the pool. I could have happily died in that lounger. But we had things to see, so we left after a bit. I wound up regretting the time we spent there b/c I felt too compressed to see the Mayan ruins on the island. However, the Eastern side of the Island is simply beautiful, and my wife greatly enjoyed riding around it. There's a ton of places to stop and have a piece of paradise to yourself. Every once in a while there's a beach bar/restaurant. We stopped at the last one before heading back, and it was ok. We drove back through the residential area of town and saw some more poverty. Finally, we dropped the car off and walked just north of where the ship had docked at town and visited a supermarket there. I enjoy seeing what people in other countries eat and buy, so that was a treat.

 

- Nassau we walked around. Went to Fort Charlotte. It's worth a trip. Just a $1 to get in.

Thank you for your review/comments. Could you tell me about the shiplife at night? For example, what time did the ship typically "go to bed"? Do most of the bars have live music at night, and if so, what kind? How late did you observe the music playing until?

Thank you :-)

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Nice review. Thanks! I too am a sucker for an ice cold Diet Dew. I am guessing the ship only serves Coca Cola products? A question about the pizza choices as well, do they have just cheese pizza on the buffet? Room service? Disappointing about the TV selection as well. We're going during baseball season and I'd like to keep up with my team a little at least.

Thank you for taking the time to write this. Great review!

~Brian

Regarding nightlife......Prosec34, I hope you don't mind if I also chat about the nightlife. Thank you!!! And thank you for your honest review....enjoyed reading it.

Nightlife is also very important to us. There is live music all around the ship which we enjoyed. They have a piano bar which we didn't go to but it looked very nice. They had live music where they sell the gelato (listening music but they were good)....The Golden Lounge had a great band but a very small dance floor. We like to dance to East Coast Swing, Cha Cha, Shag, etc (not ballroom). We did get a couple of dances in in that lounge. Live music also in the Black and White lounge where we found ourselves most often. We finally learned that when that lounge opens that's when we could dance. It stayed that way for a couple of hours. Then it got louder and louder with the entertainment team leading lots of line dances, etc., most for the 20 year olds or so......nice dance floor in there. They also have a disco with a DJ......nice dance floor up there and one night they had a Motown night which was great for a couple of dances but then that music changed as well to suite the younger crowd........not sure of your age or if you like to dance, but there is a nice variety of music throughout the ship including the atrium which is carpeted so no dancing but a beautiful place to enjoy a drink and listen to music. I hope that helps.

Thank you for your review/comments. Could you tell me about the shiplife at night? For example, what time did the ship typically "go to bed"? Do most of the bars have live music at night, and if so, what kind? How late did you observe the music playing until?

 

Thank you :-)

Regarding nightlife......Prosec34, I hope you don't mind if I also chat about the nightlife. Thank you!!! And thank you for your honest review....enjoyed reading it.

Nightlife is also very important to us. There is live music all around the ship which we enjoyed. They have a piano bar which we didn't go to but it looked very nice. They had live music where they sell the gelato (listening music but they were good)....The Golden Lounge had a great band but a very small dance floor. We like to dance to East Coast Swing, Cha Cha, Shag, etc (not ballroom). We did get a couple of dances in in that lounge. Live music also in the Black and White lounge where we found ourselves most often. We finally learned that when that lounge opens that's when we could dance. It stayed that way for a couple of hours. Then it got louder and louder with the entertainment team leading lots of line dances, etc., most for the 20 year olds or so......nice dance floor in there. They also have a disco with a DJ......nice dance floor up there and one night they had a Motown night which was great for a couple of dances but then that music changed as well to suite the younger crowd........not sure of your age or if you like to dance, but there is a nice variety of music throughout the ship including the atrium which is carpeted so no dancing but a beautiful place to enjoy a drink and listen to music. I hope that helps. Forgot to say that in our opinion the ship stays up pretty late......lots of people still out until at least 1:00am or later......

Thank you for your review/comments. Could you tell me about the shiplife at night? For example, what time did the ship typically "go to bed"? Do most of the bars have live music at night, and if so, what kind? How late did you observe the music playing until?

 

Thank you :-)

We don't do the clubs, but you have to walk thru them at times. It seemed like a low-key, classy vibe of music from the places I observed.

I prefer to sit on the balcony and read. Which, I was really impressed with the light we had for the balcony. I could read all night.

And yeah, it's Coke products. Diet selections included Diet Coke, Coke Zero and Sprite Zero. The buffet pizza always included margarita style, which is cheese and sauce. Out of the four pizzas, maybe one had meat. Often that was ham. And again, how mentally ill can one be to enjoy artichoke or eggplant pizza? Eataly made up for it though. May have to book another cruise to get that again.