Beautiful ship, Terrible service

MSC Divina Cruise Review to Caribbean

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 53

Overall rating:

1 out of 5
Verified Review
MSC Divina

8 Night Western Caribbean (Miami Roundtrip)

Sail date: December 26, 2015

Ship: MSC Divina

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 11297

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 8 years ago

Review summary

MSC Divina is a beautiful ship with one major flaw.....the worst customer service we have ever experienced on a cruise (10+ past cruises on RCI, NCL, Carnival). You will thoroughly enjoy the well appointed state rooms, lounges and pool deck. Just don't expect to be served should you want something from the bar. We would wait over 10 minutes to order a drink while employees continued their conversations. When the employees would acknowledge us, it was not uncommon to be told we are out of that beer or we can't make that drink (a standard cosmopolitan).  Twice we were told by a bar tender he was too busy at the moment and we should come back! There wasn't anyone else waiting! There is absolutely no service on the pool decks- you have to get your drinks yourself.  The Villa Rosa dining room is lovely but don't expect to eat on any particular schedule. Most nights we waited over an hour (first seating) from the time we ordered to the time our dinner was served. When we asked our very kind server, Suda, we were told there were problems in the kitchen. Friends we met said the late seating was even worse....they didn't get out until midnight from dinner! The pizza and fresh pasta are fantastic so regardless of the Villa Rosa kitchen issues, you won't go hungry. The entertainment wasn't any better....two nights in a row the featured show was completely vocal performances! Very talented people singing in Italian or singing American classics with a strong accent. People were leaving before the shows ended. The entertainment finale was a tribute to Michael Jackson which was absolutely amazing. The gentleman that portrayed MJ was so authentic you would have thought we were watching the real MJ. The entire audience was on their feet at the end of the show. Just phenomenal! The tendering process is another area that needs major improvement. No real organization so you end up in a cattle call process and are hearded into a waiting area only to then be hearded onto a stairwell for an indefinite amount of time. At one port, they called too many excursion groups and you had people pushing each other to get down the stairs probably out of fear of missing their tender. MSC could learn something by being passengers on their competitor's ships.  Overall we managed to have a decent vacation but I would never recommend MSC cruises to anyone. 

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5
Diningroom leaves much to be desired but the pizza restaurant and other specialty restaurants are great.

Onboard Activities

1 out of 5

Entertainment

1 out of 5

Service and Staff

1 out of 5

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
Balcony cabin at the back of the ship was fantastic. Very well appointed and felt spacious. Easy access to everything yet very quiet.

Ship tip

Don't skip the pizza or pasta!

Ports of call

Miami, Florida

5 out of 5

Falmouth, Jamaica

5 out of 5

George Town, Grand Cayman

5 out of 5

Cozumel, Mexico

5 out of 5

Belize City, Belize

5 out of 5

Freeport, Grand Bahama Island

1 out of 5
Don't bother getting off the ship. This is a cargo terminal.
Was this review helpful? 53

7 Comments

Gwbigdog    2 years ago

Thanks for sharing your cruise with us.

jnj62498645    8 years ago

Ditto Aza72 and Cruiser185!!!

captainflynn    8 years ago

They are so arrogant. I was on this ship 12 months ago and same problem. Why don't they listen to feedback. I too will never sail MSC again and have been on 3 cruises since with another two coming up

pandaman802    8 years ago

My wife and I are taking our second cruise on Divina this May and can't say anything but good about our first experience in September 2014. We are leaving Friday on a Carnival cruise and really enjoy both. I guess my expectations must be far to low because the entertainment was nothing short of amazing and the food, while maybe not amazing, was VERY good. Can't wait for May!!!!! ,

DeputyCruiser634    8 years ago

We have been on the Divina twice now and have had an amazing experience each time!!! I'm not sure how some of these people have such bad experiences. I think sometimes people just have to complain to complain

sawyer68    8 years ago

Hi, my wife and myself did the cruise in September 2014 and never had any of major issues. We had great and timely service at meal time and at the bars. Also had pool service. Although not enough I agree. Always found something decent to eat. Going again in April. I will post a full review and compare it with our first cruise with them. I gave it 4.5 out of 5 and had cruised with other lines.

LindaLea    8 years ago

Personally, I've never cruised with MSC, so I can't agree or disagree with your comments? But, I know 4-5 different people who have cruised with MSC, and had similar experiences as you had. Based on this, I will never cruise with them. A nice cabin doesn't make up for poor customer service.

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