Ten Tips and Truths About the MSC Divina

As a conclusion to my detailed review of our short but delightful cruise on the MSC Divina I thought I would offer ten tips/truths about this ship. While I do pride myself on being a cheerful and happy cruiser, always trying to look at the positives of any cruise, I am also honest and will share information if any part of my cruise experience was unacceptable. I am truly in awe reading some of the reports on Cruise Critic and other cruise review sites from folks who were on this same voyage as me and claim to have witnessed fights and horrible behavior by employees. These claims could be farther from the truth. I am a new MSC cruiser, and while I still absolutely appreciate NCL and Carnival for their unique experiences, I also think the MSC Divina is a beautiful cruise with a crew who cares to create a wonderful vacation their guests. That being said, here are my Ten Tips & Truths:

1. Embarkation is less complicated at the Miami Port, but also a bit different from other cruise lines- We happened to arrive at the port at 10:30 am- even though our Personal Cruise Consultant told us they would not begin boarding until around noon. Being our first time on the Divina we wanted to give ourselves enough time and we don't mind waiting. So we parked in lot G and walked over to F-the Divina's pier. We took a ticket when entering the lot and paid our parking fee ($20 per night) when we drove out. This was different from NCL and Carnival where we paid our for our parking at a kiosk in the garage. We originally thought we would keep our luggage with us for embarkation as this was a short cruise, but the porters got to us outside and said we would not be allowed to go in with 3 suitcases and 3 carry-ons (yes I overpacked!). So, we ended up giving them our 3 big pieces, a few dollars for a tip and off we went to the indoor check in area. This was unbelievably easy-there were no lines whatsoever at 11 am and there were plenty of workers to take folks waiting to check in. We got our room cards right away, as well as our paperwork and a schedule for the day and went to sit and wait in the super cold, air conditioned waiting area. We found a cruise port worker who we have seen in the past for Norwegian and went to chat with him a bit, and several of the workers by the escalator let us know they would be boarding soon (a bit after noon). Folks gathered by the escalator area with the numbers we had all been given at check in. We were in Group 1. After an announcement over the PA was made folks who were disabled or special needs were called, followed by Black Card members and then the group numbers. While there were people crowding the area initially to get on board no one was unruly or pushing others, as some reports claimed. Passengers we met on the ship who boarded later on in the day said they essentially walked right on without a problem. MSC offered water, pineapple juice and orange juice for guests in the port of Miami as well. All in all it was a nice embarkation-and if you are not okay to wait just head to the port in the afternoon. I suspect there were many more passengers at the port early since the majority of the cruisers were Americans for this unique cruise, and since it was so short folks wanted as much time as possible on the ship! 

 The best host at Port of Miami for MSC and Norwegian!

 2. You will need to register your credit card on the ship- Unlike many other cruise lines MSC does not take your charge card at the check in desk for your on board credit account-or your sign and sale card. No cash changes hands at all. Instead, once you get on board you will head to one of several kiosks set up on the ship to add your credit card information and link it to your account and room keys. MSC puts a $150 hold on your account right away, which you may see as a "hold" until your exact total is charged-for us about 4 days after we debarked. This process was made really easy for us as we lucked out and ran into the Assistant Cruise Director Miguel upon setting foot on the ship, and he kindly led us to the kiosk and helped us do the registration-which took less than 3 minutes. While I did see lines later on they seemed to move quickly and all passengers had 24 hours to do this process anyhow. 

3. Beverage Voucher Packs need to be picked up at the Casino Bar- Miguel was really helpful and took us to the Casino Bar after getting our credit card information entered at the kiosk. We simply gave the bartender our last name and showed our room key and they gave us an envelope with the two voucher packs we ordered. Easy peasy! :) Beware though that the paper drink coupons are small-so don't lose them! Folks who had a beverage package had that information printed right on their sign and sail card.

4. Debarkation is early!- Getting up at 6:30 am was not fun-neither was leaving the room by 7 am! We followed instructions to vacate our cabin by 7am, however there were many cabins we spotted on our deck who had not even retrieved their final bill from their door. I suspect quite a few folks don't really leave at 7! We chose to bring our luggage for self debarkation, which was to be at 7:30 am. The good thing about being up so early was that the buffet was pretty quiet, so we ate and left the ship- which was very simple and uneventful. I saw on our "dailies" that those guests who chose to check their luggage had been given staggered times to leave based on their decks. I honestly like Norwegian's method of debarkation better-letting passengers choose when they want to leave-and not being made to leave your cabin so darn early! I am not sure why MSC has such an early time for guests to vacate their cabin- as our room was not ready any earlier in comparison to other cruise lines. It certainly made for a swift trip home!

5. Many languages are spoken on the MSC Divina- I was impressed with the captain's ability to speak to the crowd at the final night's show in five languages! Many staff members spoke several languages, which is important as many of the travelers tend to be non American/English speaking most of the year. This short cruise was unusual as most of the cruisers were Americans- and from Miami, Florida to exact! This made for a Spanish themed cruise-which was still lots of fun! We are looking forward to being around a more diverse crowd in December, though, as we are Floridians! :) If you get a chance to meet Maria, the most enthusiastic member of the Cruise Director's Entertainment Staff you will be impressed. She fluently speaks English, Spanish and Italian. She even does Multilingual Trivia- so you might even learn a few new phrases!

6. Be proactive if you need something- As many of the staff speak languages other than English as their first language, communication may be challenging at times. Don't expect bartenders, your room steward, staff, etc. to constantly ask to get you a drink, help you find a certain area on the ship or if you want him/her to fill your ice bucket nightly. I think the inability of many of the staff to speak fluent English makes them feel unsure about striking up a conversation. However, this does not mean they are unhelpful or rude-it is actually quite the opposite! Every staff member we encountered was so friendly, caring and helpful when asked. The bartenders and wait staff worked extremely hard to please the guests and anytime we asked for something they made every effort to fulfill our request. Sometimes asking kindly with a smile goes a long way! :)

7. Plan to tackle the buffet in sections- if you want to ensure hot food! The buffet on the Divina is so vast that many passengers complain on Cruise Critic that by the time they circle the entire venue and find a seat their food is cold. We attempted to try different areas of the buffet at a time-sampling different foods and enjoying the variety at a slower pace. Find a table first for your party if possible, and then take turns getting all the goodies from the buffet. This is truly a "first world problem", but since no one prefers a cold plate of pasta some pre-planning is necessary for the ample buffet. 

8. Know your Package- MSC offers rooms based on "experiences"- Bella, Fantastica, Aurea and the Yacht Club. All inclusive experiences are also offered for many sailings on the Divina now as well. When you visit the MSC site online to book your room you can read about each of the categories. For example, a Fantastica guest can get complimentary room service, and has first choice for a dinner seating (early or late). 

9. There is no smoking in the casino- I am not a smoker, or a gambler for that matter, but I know folks who are. The MSC Divina does not permit smoking in the casino. To many guests this is a good thing, as there are no complaints about the smoky smell wafting all over the ship,like there are on many other cruise ships. However, for anyone who is looking forward to playing in the casino while smoking this information can be a bummer. There are areas to smoke around the ship though. Smoking is not permitted on balconies.

10. Drinks are not served in the theater- While you can bring a beverage into the theater you will not find waiters and waitresses taking drink orders on the MSC Divina. The theater is a venue for seeing a performance-not ordering drinks. We actually found this nice as during every show on Carnival, for example, we were constantly bombarded by servers during a show to ask for drink orders. This can be distracting and take away from the performance. You will appreciate the theater and productions on the Divina- and you can grab a drink afterwards! :)