AMAZING cruise! The Divina is a beautiful ship but the friendly staff and crew made her MAGNIFICENT! We will be booking the MSC Divina again very soon.
MSC Divina Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western
Contributor Level:
Third Mate
Cruises: 2-3 cruises
Reviews: 2
Helpful Votes: 61
7 Night Western Caribbean (Port Canaveral Roundtrip)
Sail date: November 14, 2021
Ship: MSC Divina
Cabin type: Balcony
Cabin number: 10087
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 2 years ago
Review summary
This was an EXCELLENT cruise for us! We had an amazing time and met such wonderful people. The staff was incredible and so willing to help and be of service. We felt totally pampered and welcomed the whole week on board. We had so much fun with the entertainment crew. We haven't laughed so much in long time!!! The Divina is a beautiful ship but the crew and the staff are what really made it feel like our palace away from home for the week. Thank you so much for all your hard work! We appreciate all of the great effort that MSC put into making our cruise experience such a memorable one. We have already booked again!Embarkation
We loved having an appointment to board. It was so smooth, uncrowded and extremely well managed. The staff was very helpful, knowledgeable and welcoming. No standing in long lines. No chaos. Having these check times by appointment may really be the way to go for cruises. Very efficient and effective.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Although we thought the food selections were very good, we found much of the food to be a bit bland in flavor. Adding salt or hot sauce helped. The pizza was fantastic! The juices always seemed watered down and lacking flavor. When we asked a server for fresh juice that was not watered down, it was always available. Overall, we were very happy with the dining experiences. The dining staff in the Black Crab and buffet were extremely helpful.
Onboard Activities
We took part in many activities on board and enjoyed every single one of them. We did the morning stretch fitness classes, games around the pool, the King of the Sea competition, the Romeo & Juliet game, karaoke, dance lessons. The entertainment team was AMAZING! Alex, Antonio, Mary, Mihar, Natasha, Alejandro and John worked so hard to make this cruise so much fun. We enjoyed meeting them and were astounded at their level of energy on a daily basis. THEY made the cruise! Can't say enough about their professionalism, their talents and their ability to make guests feel welcome and included. OUTSTANDING! In fact, we are booking another cruise on the Divina just because we enjoyed this group so much.
Entertainment
The shows were wonderful. Such talented performers all the way around. We were especially impressed with the crew's Talent night. Soooo much fun!!! Alejandro was amazing in his nearly opera-etic version of "My Way". The dancing was incredible! We went to every show in the theatre enjoyed every single one. The cruise director and her assistant Jose were so much fun and so funny! They worked very hard to keep the activities going smoothly and well organized. The DJ definitely helped to keep thing hoppin'! I would suggest, however, that taking into consideration the age of the cruisers, a little less spansih-latino music may have gotten more people up dancing. I would suggest possibly trying more (American pop/rock) dance music from the 80's-2020 to get more people moving. Overall, though, extremely high energy and wonderful.
Children's Programs
We were not traveling with children.
Service and Staff
Superb-Amazing-Friendly-Helpful-Patient-Kind- ALWAYS smiling! Absolutely delightful. We must mention a few staff members with whom we interacted with on a daily basis that this cruise so memorable: Dining room- Extremely pleasant, helpful and friendly, very professional and over-the-top accommodating- from the Black Crab, dinner; France, Theresa, John Nino and Orlando. From the buffet area and breakfast at the Black Crab: Rico and Carl Boyett, but there were so many others that were so friendly and helpful. We just didn't get everyone's names. Our cabin attendant was Juliette (from St. Vincent). She was extremely attentive and kept everything clean, neat and organized. Our towels were always fresh, our bed readied each evening. She was lovely to talk to, very friendly and pleasant.
Ship Quality
This ship was IMMACULATELY CLEAN. I never once saw a fingerprint or smudge on any elevator, stair rail, or glass fixture. All the areas were constantly being cleaned and sanitized in a very inconspicuous way. The bathrooms were immaculate as well. Excellent job to the whole cleaning crew for a job extremely well done. We enjoyed the clean pools and hot tubs. Everything was top notch. Thank you!
Cabin / Stateroom
Our cabin attendant was Juliette . . She was extremely attentive and kept everything clean, neat and organized. Our towels were always fresh, our bed readied each evening. She was lovely to talk to, very friendly and pleasant. We LOVED our room. It was very spacious and had lots of storage. The balcony was amazing. The cabin was a very comfortable. We would definitely book this room or one similar again.
Ship tip
This is a unique ship! It is beautiful and just a ittle diffetent from other mainstream cruise lines. It definitely has a bit of a European vibe that we found enjoyable and charming.
Thumbs up
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Ports of call
Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve, Bahamas
We loved this island! It is absolutely beautiful. The days we went were not really the best in terms of weather, but we enjoyed the beauty of the island just the same. We are looking forward to going back.
We did the Mayan village-7 colors lagoon excursion. Our guide, Joel, from Native Tours was excellent. We enjoyed cooking and eating with the Mayan family and touring around Joel's nearby community. We felt very safe and welcomed. The van we used was very clean and comfortable.
The port itself was very nice. Well decorated and colorful. The shops were cute. I would STRONGLY suggest, however, that the shop employees would not "hawk"-- just saying hello and not push sales on tourists would actually GAIN them business. The shops that got the most of our business were the ones where the staff was calm and did not pressure sales. These shops were "calm" and welcoming. We bought a lot from these shops. We didn't go into the shops where employees were "hawking", and quite frankly, avoided eye contact with them-which is uncomfortable and unfriendly.
The port was oaky. It was our first visit to Cozumel. We didn't do any excursions here, but will the next time. Again, I would STRONGLY suggest that the shop employees would not "hawk"-- just saying hello and not push sales on tourists would actually GAIN them business. The shops that got the most of our business were the ones where the staff was calm and did not pressure sales. These shops were "calm" and welcoming. We bought a lot from these shops. We didn't go into the shops where employees were "hawking", and quite frankly, avoided eye contact with them-which is uncomfortable and unfriendly.
Disembarkation
So easy! We had time to enjoy breakfast at the Black Crab, get our bags from our room and go.