Living in south Florida, I often joke about how English is a second language and that I need to sign up for Rosetta Stone Spanish lessons. Here on the MSC Divina, English is indeed a second language, with Italian being the first. On signs and flyers, Italian is first followed by English and four other languages, including Spanish.
Before last night’s show in the Pantheon Theatre, the cruise director introduced the ship’s officers. Obviously, on an Italian line, the captain and his officers hail from the country that brought us pizza, pasta, and Sofia Loren.
While I’m on the subject of pizza, in addition to pizza being available in the buffet, the ship has its own pizzeria (Eataly Pizza) that’s open for dinner and pizza is also available daily in the Calumet & Manitou buffet. I could not let another day go by without stopping by the buffet for a slice, and I was not disappointed. I think I may have just found the best pizza at sea that certainly rivals any land-based pizza parlor. It was so good, I’m going to throw tradition to the wind and eat dinner in the pizzeria one night this week. So I’ll save the pizza review for later on, but let’s just say the slice I had was delicious.
Day 2 found us at sea en route to St. Maarten. I started the day off with breakfast in the ship’s buffet, which strangely enough is decorated in a southwest theme, with pictures of American Indians, buffalo, and wild west scenes. As I mentioned in yesterday’s installment, the buffet is huge with such a wide variety of food not only for breakfast but for lunch and dinner as well. Just when you think you’ve found everything, more stations are around the corner with more food.
For breakfast, you have the usual fare. One thing missing is a made-to-order omelet station. Omelets are pre-made and are served with the rest of the egg offerings. Bacon is not fried, but pan-roasted, leaving it soggy rather than crisp. But hey, it’s bacon so suck it up and enjoy it anyway. If you want your bread, bagel or English muffin toasted, you do it yourself by placing them inside one of those large conveyor toasters. These things are a source of amusement, as most people cannot figure out the proper way to insert the bread and it usually ends up on the floor before it even begins the climb to the heating element. Expect about a 90-second wait for toast, as the journey from light to dark is slow.
Coffee, tea, and juices are free in the buffet, soda, and drinks from the bar are not. There are no fountain soda stations and no promotion where you buy a drink cup and you fill it up all day long at a fountain. Soda is served in cans at $2.50, bottled water is $1.75 and a bottle of San Pellegrino water will set you back $2.50 for the 17oz and $4.75 for the 34oz unless you have a beverage package. A Mimosa with your breakfast will run you $5.25.
Being that the buffet is located at the aft end of the ship, the best views to enjoy your breakfast, lunch or dinner is all the way in the back where tables line a wall of windows looking over the back of the ship. I’ve been lucky enough to snag one of these tables each morning so far. The buffet is a very busy place since room service does not offer anything more than cereal and slices of bread/muffins for breakfast. You do have to wander around for a bit to find a free table or if you’re alone grab a spot at one of the community high tops.
It’s advertised that hot breakfast is only served until 10am and continental until 11, however, I’ve arrived around 10:30am for two mornings now and hot breakfast is still being served, albeit on one side of the buffet.
As far as service in the buffet is concerned, servers wander around to clear away dirty dishes almost instantly. But like other ship’s buffets, tracking them down to take a drink order is tricky, as they always seem to be somewhere else when you need them. This is not something unique to Divina.
One thing I have noticed at the buffet and in the restaurants – there is no concentrated effort to get people to sanitize their hands before entering. Usually, there are crew members stationed at the entrances to the buffet and restaurants telling passengers to use hand sanitizers. On Divina, the sanitizers are there, however, a crew member is not. So what happens? Passenger after passenger after passenger walks by without using the sanitizer. People on this ship are just ignoring the hand sanitizers altogether which makes me want to rub my entire body in Purell on a continual basis.
There are no salt or pepper shakers on the tables in the buffet. These germ-laden shakers have been replaced by salt and pepper packets. Can I hear an “Amen!” I usually will not touch a shaker on a ship unless I really need to and it’s only then that I pick it up with my napkin.
After breakfast, I headed up to the Disaronno Contemporary Terrace where there are plenty of tables and chairs in both a shaded and non-shaded area. This area is also divided into smoking and non-smoking and is positioned at the aft end of the ship next to the infinity pool, which is really something to see. It was here where I worked on yesterday’s installment while enjoying a cocktail. It was a tad breezy and as some clouds rolled in, goosebumps started to appear on my flesh so I published, dropped my laptop back in my stateroom, and headed out to the pool deck to warm up in the sun.
Around the pool, a live band was playing while the entertainment staff danced with the crowd and got them into the rhythm. Also around the pool were members of the ship’s shops selling gold by the inch (shoot me, please), skin care products from a Las Vegas treatment center popular with the customers, watches, and other assorted merchandise. Crew members were also walking around handing out flyers with the day’s spa specials.
The pool was a very busy place, with almost every lounge chair being used. The infinity pool, as beautiful and unique as it is, was nowhere near as busy, and neither was the Le Sirene (solarium) pool where they had the retractable roof open since it was such a beautiful day outside. There is a waterslide for the kids, not a large one like you will see on NCL, Royal Caribbean, or Carnival ships, but it’s there. The few times I passed by, I may have only seen one or two kids using it. The slide is located near the infinity pool aft of the ship by the basketball court. A word about the infinity pool. It’s located aft of the ship and as its name implies, goes right to the edge of the ship where a wall of glass is all that separates you and the pool’s warm water from the sea 15 decks below.
After falling asleep in the sun and waking up by an announcement in five different languages (I’m beginning to enjoy this, as some of the languages are very romantic sounding), I went for a walk around the ship and it’s then where I discovered the pizza I mentioned earlier. I also hit the buffet up for a salad and a bowl of beef consomme…. and of course prosciutto. The salty ham is available everywhere for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
God loves the Italians!
During my walk, I met the winemaker of the month who is on board and conducting winemaking classes. During the class, which is $40 per person, you will make your own bottle of wine using the ingredients you select. If you don’t want to take the class, for a lesser fee you can attend one of her wine tastings. I spoke with a couple who attended the class, and they said it was well worth the money and was a great experience. So, if you’re into wine and winemaking, you’re going to want to check that one out if you’re going to be sailing on the Divina.
At 5pm There was the first LGBT meeting of the cruise in the ship’s Golden Lounge, which I attended. It also happened to be the first formal night of the cruise and free champagne was being offered as well as formal portrait settings. Unfortunately, only me and two others showed up for the gathering. We chatted, drank champagne, and watched as ladies in long flowing cocktail dresses clutched onto the arms of their handsomely dressed gentlemen wearing white dinner jackets. We marveled at those who felt formal night meant wearing your best muscle shirt, bathing suit, and flip flops. While I don’t partake in formal dress, common courtesy would dictate that on a night like this, you don’t head out into the public areas dressed like a slob.
I will say that the majority of passengers did indeed dress up – not all in a tux and cocktail dresses – but most men did don a suit and tie. It was the young-ins among us who didn’t grasp the concept.
Chalk that one up to the new generation.
When the champagne stopped flowing it was time to head off for the 6:45pm show in the Pantheon Theatre. Since I missed the Frank Sinatra tribute the night before, I didn’t want to miss the second show, Wonderland.
If that name sounds familiar, it is. Wonderland is not only the name of one of the shows on Divina, but it was also a restaurant on Royal Caribbean’s Quantum of the Seas. Wonderland, the show, features characters from Alice in Wonderland who don’t speak but mingle amongst a cast of sideshow artists that include strong men, acrobats, pole climbers, jugglers, twirlers, and more. While there is no orchestra, the music during the show is soundtracked and there are two vocal performances which are done by the ship’s vocalists, Duo Bulgarian. The male vocalist had a distinct accent which was pronounced during his rendition of “A Whole New World.”
The character’s costumes were very unique and this circus-like show was something I’d never seen before. It ended with the entire cast leading the audience in a foot-stomping Gangnam Style encore.
A word about the Pantheon Theatre, there are no food or beverages allowed inside. (UPDATE: This no-beverages-in-the-theatre policy was only enforced during this one show, for the rest of the shows you were allowed to bring drinks in.) If you walk in with one, you’re stopped at the door and asked to finish it before entering. This is something else I’ve never seen on a ship before. Usually, bar servers are walking around taking drink orders before the show and during intermission (if there is one). There are no cocktail tables and all seating is theater-style. It’s a huge, double-decker venue which I will estimate to hold around 1,600 people. It’s tastefully decorated, with a beautiful ceiling, red seats, and great acoustics.
I had some time to spare before dinner, so I did some more wandering around the ship. I stopped by the ship’s casino which features table games and slots. It was not that busy this early in the evening, and something also unique is 100% non-smoking. I have heard gamblers complaining about the no-smoking policy in the casino, which I actually applaud MSC for, as one of the main reasons I hate casinos, is because of the smoke. The other reason is, I’m not a gambler. But when I do, I bet on red.
As I made my way around the ship, I found an entire deck I must have overlooked in my earlier travels. I found a coffee/cappuccino bar where besides coffee an array of homemade (err, ship-made) Italian pastries and desserts were available ala carte.
This was also an area where several of the ship’s shops, such as Bulgari, were located. Outside the shops, several tables were set up where the staff was selling discounted watches from Citizens (35% off plus an additional 15% off), Tissot, Ice (which I never heard of), and more, along with more skincare items and other assorted merchandise.
All the public areas were very crowded and there were plenty of opportunities at every turn to have pictures taken by the ship’s photographers. Earlier in the day, I did head over to the photo shop to buy the picture that was taken of me in my life vest during the muster drill. I normally don’t have my photo taken, but since I’ve never seen photogs wandering around during a muster drill, I couldn’t resist. Another $10 on my Cruise Card. I also stopped and met Captain Giuseppe Galano, the master of the ship. He is one of the older captains I’ve met and is a man of very few words.
I made my way up to one of the pool bars where I planned on having a pre-dinner dirty martini, only tin find that I lost the aforementioned Cruise Card for the third time in one day. So from Deck 14, I walked down to Deck 5 (the elevators are busy and it’s often quicker to walk than take one) and had yet another card printed for me then walked back up to Deck 14 to have a quick drink. I certainly burned off the calories from the drink in the number of steps I walked.
8:30pm and it was time for dinner in the ship’s disco. Yep, the disco. At dinnertime, one-half of the Galaxy Disco is turned into Galaxy Restaurant, where the cuisine is billed as Mediterranean Fusion. It is located in a circular area suspended above the pool area with glass walls overlooking the pool area and over and down the side of the ship. I was one of four occupied tables and was given a two-top at the window which offered an excellent view of the sea below and a ship off in the distance.
As a solo saxophone player, Nello Russo, entertained, my server came over with the menu which was viewed on an Android tablet. Let the confusion begin! In addition to appetizers, seconds, mains and desserts offered a la carte, Galaxy offers an additional three fixed-price menus ranging from a $59 seven-course option to a $25 three-course option.
The menu is small, with fish making up most of the main courses, and of course different pasta options for the second course. Being an Italian ship, expect to have pasta with every meal. While pasta hasn’t been part of my diet over the past two years, I’ve enjoyed each pasta course I’ve had so far, and the one I chose for tonight… well, hang on. I’m getting ahead of myself.
Along with my glass of wine, my server brought out some small bread rolls served with butter, olives in olive oil, and breadsticks.
For a starter, I chose the Duck Breast Morsels ($7.50), three nuggets of duck breast meat, drizzled with teriyaki sauce and served with a Stracchino cheese bavarois with raspberries. It was so good, I may come back for dinner and just order three or four of these appetizers as a main course. The duck was juicy, tender, not fatty at all, and simply delicious. Other options for appetizers included scallops, sea bass tartare, quails eggs, and foie gras.
Next up was the pasta course. I had my sights set on a housemade Tagliatelle served with a pork ragu, but I was informed that it was not available. I settled on homemade Lobster Tagliolini ($9.00) – pasta with lobster in a red sauce with cherry tomatoes. I think I made the better choice. The noodles were light and fluffy, served as pasta should be served – al dente. There were large chunks of lobster meat which was flavorful and tender, and the sauce was one of the best I’ve ever had – including my dad’s. Sorry, pop. I know you make a good sauce, but this blew yours out of the water.
I want a gallon of it to take home!
Now I’ve never had lobster in a red sauce before so I wasn’t knowing what to expect, but this combination was excellent and something I want to try to make when I get home.
With most of the mains being fish (salt cod, sea bass), and not being a huge fish fan, I opted for the Angus Beef Tournedos ($20.00). It was an 8oz filet cooked rare and served with a flavorful demi-glace on top of a bed of caramelized leeks. While cooked a perfect rare, I found half of the tenderloin to be tender, while the other half had a tough ribbon of fat through it which made it chewy.
For dessert, I took the hostesses’ recommendation and opted for Vacherin – raspberry sorbet ($5.00) – which was a log of sorbet decorated with heavy whipped cream. It probably was a week’s worth of calories, but good God, it was worth it.
After dinner, I walked the almost wrap-around boat deck. I say “almost” because, at the aft end of the ship, there is a crew walkway that is sometimes open for passengers to pass through to the other side and sometimes it’s closed and at the forward end is a solid wall. So, it’s almost a full wrap-around outdoor deck. Tonight the aft crew walkway was closed to passengers so you could only walk back and forth on either side without being able to cross over from port to starboard and vice versa.
I stopped back at one of the pool bars for a nightcap and for some reason, called it an early night. I was simply exhausted by 11pm and was falling asleep in my Disaronno. But since we were setting the clocks ahead one hour as we sail into Atlantic Time, I kept telling myself it was really midnight.
I wanted to stop by the ship’s Black & White Lounge to watch Officer & Gentlemen – the night where the ship’s Italian officers act as dance hosts to lucky ladies wanting to take these strapping men for a twirl around the dance floor, but I was just dead tired.
Back in my stateroom, my bed was turned down, the same towel animal who was in my room on embarkation day was still sitting atop my cocktail table and no pillow chocolate was on the bed. You may recall that pillow chocolates were not offered on Quantum of the Seas, and it seems they aren’t offered on Divina either. This is one of those expected extras that when missing, make you wonder why? As I said in my Quantum review, “How much can a piece of chocolate cost?”
A note on fellow passengers. Most of the people onboard are foreign and are people who have traveled with MSC overseas. There are significant language barriers between English-speaking passengers and non-English-speaking ones. Hand gestures seem to get the job done when you’re asked a question and you have no idea what they are saying. Around the pool, you can pick out the men from Europe, as they’re the ones wearing the Speedos – regardless of age. The ones that should be wearing a Speedo aren’t and the ones that are shouldn’t be.
I wish I could nail down an average passenger’s age, but I can’t. The age range varies so greatly on this cruise and there are a large number of kids on board. Why? Because on MSC kids sail free, making it a very cost-effective way for mom and dad to cruise with their young ones. I’m told that before Divina made her United States debut, they had additional childcare areas on the ship to accommodate the number of American families who cruise with their kids. I guess in Europe, that isn’t the case.
The connection to the Internet has been better than expected. While not as nearly as fast as it was on Quantum of the Seas and not as slow and unresponsive as the Internet on Holland America Line ships, the Internet onboard Divina has been good. Uploading photos doesn’t take long, WiFi is available throughout the ship and the connection is very reliable.
I did make the mistake of not logging out yesterday and only noticed I was still logged in, burning through minutes, when I got a push notification about a Facebook message I received. That mistake cost me 2 hours of Internet time, as it is not unlimited. For those interested, here are the current rates for being connected at sea on the Divina:
- 1 hour – $29.90
- 100 minutes – $44.90
- 300 minutes / 5 hours – $99.90
- 480 minutes / 8 hours – $149.90
- 1,440 minutes / 24 hours – $299.90
We are currently spending another day at sea. This afternoon they are offering Italian lessons at 1:30pm, which I’m going to try to attend, and a 4pm scaled-down performance of the Italian opera, La Traviata, which I also want to see. Dinner tonight is in Restaurant Italiano, which is in the ship’s Eataly Steakhouse, where I ate Saturday night. It’s also Little Italy night, one of the ship’s theme nights, where guests are encouraged to dress in red, white, and green.
That’s all for today! It’s time to learn Italian, get some sun, and a few more Mimosas!
Ciao Bambino and Bambina!
Personal Day-By-Day MSC Divina Cruise Review:
Photo Tour of the MSC Divina:
Photography is a key aspect of preserving vacation memories, and my recent voyage aboard the MSC Divina was no exception. From the ship’s striking interior design and inviting swimming pools to my own cozy cabin, I captured numerous photos that showcase the highlights of my journey. If you’d like to take a look at my snapshots, feel free to check out the MSC Divina Photo Tour or browse the daily cruise review by clicking on the links provided above.