Not what I expected... good and bad

MSC Divina Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 43

Overall rating:

3 out of 5
Verified Review
MSC Divina

7 Night Eastern Caribbean (Miami Roundtrip)

Sail date: May 13, 2017

Ship: MSC Divina

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 9171

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 7 years ago

Review summary

Recently cruised on the MSC Divina (5/13-20/17) and it was a mixture of highs and lows. Having been on 10 -12 previous ships we were expecting amenities that we had become accustomed to and always present on other ships. Things like, in cabin robes, and a much wider selection of food choices and variation. 

One item I did not like was the over abundance of sales people upon boarding... all trying to get you to buy, buy, buy - drink packages, etc.... we found ourselves avoiding them and they were everywhere. 

Another let down was the food. We usually look forward to getting a wide variety and fun presentations of various meal options. This ship offered no pool side BBQ's or special features. The buffet (especially breakfast) basically was the same everyday. This was the first ship that did not offer for example a smoked salmon to go with bagels, or any seafood option (I know very specific but I look forward to it). Also annoying, they would run out of food on the buffet. On 3 different days the bacon (also under cooked) tray was empty when I went through the line. They ran out of coffee mugs almost everyday and I would have to go to numerous drink stations to find one. It made starting the day stressful.

The dinners in the Black Crab (table #456) were ok. Ordered a steak med-rare and it came out well done and tough as nails. So avoided the steaks after that. Usually we come home raving about the food  - can't do it for this trip.

 

On the bright side this ship attracted many Europeans from places like Scotland, Australia, Switzerland etc.... it was great meeting them. The staff was also great, especially Claudia and Ivan up in the Garden Pool Bar  area. 

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5

Entertainment

3 out of 5

Children's Programs

3 out of 5

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
Cabin was typical. I wish the travel agent had explained size options. We were used to having a couch and this one didn't. Although the bedding was obviously quite worn with holes in some sheets and the quilt.

Ship tip

We had fun in the Black and White lounge.... they did some crazy stuff.

Ports of call

Miami, Florida

5 out of 5

Philipsburg, St. Maarten

5 out of 5

San Juan, Puerto Rico

5 out of 5

Nassau, Bahamas

5 out of 5
Was this review helpful? 43

10 Comments

Gwbigdog    2 years ago

Thanks for sharing your cruise.

glomarrone    7 years ago

Sorry to read that the food disappointed you.

jojodidi    7 years ago

i agree 100% and bathrooms smells all over

all public bathrooms smells
room smells ( i paid for an ocean view )
You will eat carbs ( macaroni on lunch daily and food selections are bad, doesn't mix
they cater to European customers mainly
no one smiles, exhausted staff
small ship and not equipped to entertain 4000+ guests
MSC cares about selling only,  no one cares about your enjoyment. for example ( they dont have enough seats at the main pool, yet they managed to set up a 8 tables wide display for their duty free items which could seat up to 60 customer in the shade in case they don't want to get burned by may sun teampture specially kids )
no American style food
No kids pool or splash section
theatre shows are cheap and made to consume time. mostly acrobat which was good but that is about it and filled with non sense music and songs
entertainment team showing a man kissing a man before show as a joke and my kids were watching...and kids where every where ... promotes homosexual activities
low scale staff
pool is dirty
ship is warm and AC was always set on high temperature
horrible management...needs organization
I fell victim to online critics which showing this company to be good when in fact it was not. they is way way worse than carnival which I thought was the bottom line....now MSC IS THE WORST ON MY LIST!

lisamarieh    7 years ago

Bagels and smoked salmon everyday in the dining room for breakfast.

jbainbridge    7 years ago

we sailed back in january and had a great time. I thought the food in the buffet was really good with more amazing choices than I could possibly eat (the chocolate chip croissants were fantastic). Dinner in the black crab was hit or miss but never really bad. the service was always excellent.

Luvia    7 years ago

I agree 100% w drvictoriaboyd...no variations on food. Practically the same for the entire week.

RobsonandDebbie    7 years ago

We loved our cruise so much in may we are going back in november.

harlyri11323146    7 years ago

We had 4 senior Cples and enjoyed the cruise , the buffet is right around the corner from the pool so you you go to the buffet and come back to the pool in a few mins, we ate in the Black Crab 7 bites and yes 1 of our group returned a steak , they replaced it promptly and it was good, the sales people are annoying but , just say no I thought the prices on the sides like at the espresso shop were cheap and the casino minimum bets were cheap, the shows were great , I easpecially loved the opera, you will get a daily flyer with all the activities every day we used it, we were upgraded so we had pots of coffee and danish delivered to our rooms at 7 am ,so we could sit on the balcony and enjoy, was a great cruise will book our Seaside trip next

rfspall    7 years ago

amack33    7 years ago

I'm leaving in a few days. Thanks for the heads up! Did you eat in the Eatily Restaurant

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