Recently back from 10 days on MSC Divina

[marco]

This was our 3rd MSC cruise and 2nd on the Divina. This was the 30th anniversary of our " Friends and Family Annual Winter Caribbean Cruise" and there were 24 of us. We were on it last Feb and they really upped thier game as far as dining.  Last year it was "OK" this year it was really, really great!  They have a new exec chef and selection, preparation and presentation far exceeded last year, both in MDR and buffet.  Shows were very good!  No comedians, jugglers or magicians, just top notch Las Vegas revue type shows with a touch of Cirque de Soliel thrown in.  Costumes were over the top!  The back "Garden Pool" is now  adults only. Another thing we really enjoyed was there was a live band every evincing for dancing in 3 lounges plus the atrium. The M&G, repeaters party and the "Black Party" (that's for top tier repeaters) all offered endless beverage service and a continuous parade of h'ors douverses,unlike some other lines where you're lucky to get one glass of "something".  Another nice touch was that at these, top brass mingled and chatted with guests rather than just being introduced and then left.  Boarding took less than 10 minutes (we arrived at the ship a few minutes after noon).  Staff was congenial and friendly and service in the dining room, bars and lounges and cabin was fine.  Just a few things I'd like to see changed:  Additional pool towels at the pools rather than ONLY 1 pool towel per guest placed in your cabin. Steps into at least one pool, rather than just all ladders.  (Not an issue for us, but for some, it was).  And it would be nice if "Anytime" dining was available to everyone, rather than just certain categories of booking.  Small items, but things I noticed .  All and all, it was a great cruise and we will sail on MSC again!  Any specific questions, I'd be happy to answer.  I will post a review on that thread, as well.

[XLVIII]

Thanks! Were you on the cruise that returned Feb 21? If so, do you know why disembarkation took so long?

[marco]

We were not on that cruise.  On ours, we did the self walk-off and were in an uber back to where our car was parked by quarter to 8.  There are always issues that can make a disembarkation take a LOT longer than expected.  A while back we were on a Celebrity cruise and although we docked early in the AM, disembarkation did not start until shortly after noon.  Did they give a reason for taking so long to disembark?

[PRH]

Did your cruise go to western Caribbean?  Did you have a lot of non-americans/canadians?  We had same delay in January.  Officer told us US border and customs now requires non-american/Canadians to undergo face to face interviews and document verifications which take longer.  When go to western Caribbean fear that some might use that as pathway.  Not sure I buy that as you cannot board without seapass,(even crew) but apparently has become much more stringent.   Our boarding was delayed until 1:30pm.

[marco]

No...we did the eastern Caribbean.  I guess "a lot" is relative, but yes, I assume there were a good number of Canadian and European citizens on board as in lounges and around the pool we talked with several folks form Toronto CA, Windsor CA, Holland, and Italy.

[Nashna]

Thank you.  Sounds like you had a great time.  Did you go to any special events or theme nights.  If so, how were they?  Also, did you have any issues getting into the shows?  Crowds?  Seat savings?  How was the pizza?  Do you know if they had Gluten Free?  If you tried any of the special restaurants, which one and did you like it? 

[marco]

They had the "white party".  No big deal...most folks just dressed in all white.  They had "Italian night" if you could, dress in red/white/green.  We went to every show at 7PM, plenty of seats, no problem finding good ones, and we didn't go especially early.  The BEST pizza we've had on any cruise!  5 or 6 choices all the time, including breakfast pizzas.  One had a poached egg on it, one was kind of an inside out danish.  Being "Black" we had a comp'd surcharge restaurant certificate.  Certificate said, "good only for 2 people occupying the same cabin" however, no one asked or checked so if by chance you were traveling with a group of friends and you wanted to invite someone other that your cabin mate....I don't think there would be an issue. We ate in "Eataly" it was very good, but I was disappointed as I expected all Italian specialties, which is NOT the case.   We ended up having grilled sea bass. I don't remember what the other choices were, but the menu was quite limited.   I don't think I would recommend going if it was not comp'd.   If we go again, I'd do it for lunch and order one of the pizzas, though I can't imagine it being any better than the pizzas at the buffet which are continuously made and varying varieties.  Yes, there are several gluten free offerings for dinner in the MDR as well as at the buffet. 

[Linda the Book Lover]

Thanks for your review. I appreciate that you gave an update from your last sailing on MSC. I am thinking of sailing Divina in the future.

[Nashna]

Thanks for the input, Marco.  It doesn't sound like the charge for the specialty restaurants will be worth it.  The only reason we would go is that we are on an 11-night sailing and we might want to try something different.  We are staying in the YC, so will be dining between seven and eight.  Nice to hear that the shows were not crowded.   On our last two cruises, the shows have been so crowded that folks arrived 45 minutes in advance to get a decent seat.