Day three on the MSC Divina and I’m beginning to lament the fact that there is no name tag Platimum-DividendMiles-Pinnacle-GoldCard-Titanium Hook & Ladder Society members on board flaunting their cruise line status. They at least provided entertainment for me and others onboard Quantum of the Seas a few weeks ago.
Instead of loyalists, we have Europeans.
Lots of them.
They are fairly easy to pick out in the crowd. At the pool, they’re the men wearing speedos – sometimes with a dash of stay pubic hair escaping the tight nylon. In the elevators, they’re the ones who push ahead of everyone else who waited longer than they did. They’re the ones who suddenly don’t understand a word of English when you say hello or ask a simple question.
They’re the ones to didn’t stand up during the National Anthem in the evening show.
Now, I can see why they feel there is no compelling reason for getting up off a plush theater seat and joining Americans on their feet as the Star Spangled Banner was sung, but I would have stood up if the song of their nation was being sung. It’s just common respect.
With that lead-in, let’s talk about yesterday’s entertainment. In my previous installment, I mentioned that I wanted to go to Italian lessons and also see the 50-minute condensed version of the Italian opera, La Traviata. Shortly after publishing that installment, I headed up to the Disaronno Contemporary Garden Terrace where I enjoyed a cigar and a few vodka and Red Bulls. As I sipped away, I quickly realized that anything I was going to learn in an Italian lesson would be like that movie title – Gone in 60 Seconds.
I did my best to regain composure to attend the 4pm opera and was glad I did. We all know that Pavarotti is to Italians what Sinatra is to Tony Soprano. The opera is a huge part of Italian culture and unfortunately many from my generation – or country for that matter – don’t appreciate it. On board the MSC Divina, the opera is just one of many Italian touches that make the ship so much different than the others sailing the Caribbean.
As I mentioned, the show was 50 minutes and featured a tenor and soprano (Iryna Zima and Nazar Tatsyshyn) which were remarkable. Their rich vocal tones wowed the audience and had everyone on their feet for a resounding round of applause at the end. Whether or not you like opera, if you’re going to be on an MSC ship and they offer a performance like this, take advantage of the opportunity and enjoy the show.
The evening’s show went along with the day’s theme – Little Italy. Guests were encouraged to wear their best red, white, and green to dinner and attend Little Italy night in the Black and White lounge where Italian songs and dance were being celebrated.
In the Pantheon Theatre, the ship’s entertainment team along with the main artists, Enrico Bernardo and Maria Vitinova, were putting on a 50-minute show of Italian favorites called Simply Italian.
From ‘O Sole Mio, to Mambo Italiano and Quando, Quando, Quando to Italian love songs and ballads, the vocalists were joined by the Divina International Dancers who displayed their talents in the background. As singers roamed up and down the theater’s aisles, the audience was encouraged to clap and sing along – which we all did. The show ended with a tribute to Miami, the homeport for the first MSC ship in America. As the stage turned red, white, and blue, the lead vocalist sang our National Anthem while Americans rose to their feet, hands over their heart.
While the entertainment so far has been missing a live band and the sets are minimal, lead vocals are live and the cast has done a great job in packing the Pantheon Theatre each night. The Italian show was a hit for everyone in attendance – including me. I was told by a couple who attended both the early and the late show, the late performance had more audience participation and was more energetic.
In between getting my Italian on, I roamed throughout the ship chatting with other guests, getting their feel for Mediterranean-style cruising, and finding out what they like and dislike. Everyone I spoke with thinks the ship is beautiful, which it is. The complaints so far have been based on the cultural differences between passengers.
For the most part, any cruise ship is going to be a melting pot of nationalities and any ship sailing North American waters will be occupied mainly by Americans. On the MSC Divina, Americans seem to be outnumbered. Many of those onboard are from overseas, have sailed MSC in the Med, and are here to experience the Caribbean on their favorite Italian line.
There are many, many different languages spoken onboard, and a good deal of passengers don’t speak English at all, which is a reason why important announcements are made in English plus 5 other languages.
I have not yet experienced the ship’s main dining room yet, but I have been asking others about their meals.
Before getting on Divina, I read several reviews that didn’t paint a very colorful picture of the quality of food onboard. While I have not had any significant problems with the food in the buffet or the specialty restaurants I’ve eaten at so far, mixed reviews are coming in from dining room diners.
Two ladies I spoke to from Ft. Myers, FL told me they have enjoyed every meal in the dining room and ran down their list of favorites so far. A family from Canada told me that they are not enjoying the food at all, saying portions are small, and flavorless and some items like scallops were very tiny. I’ve reached out to my contact in the dining room again to see if I can get a table alone before the week is out so I can experience it for myself.
But so far, the Eataly Steakhouse and Galaxy Restaurant where I’ve eaten have been great. These two venues are not free. Eataly is ala carte as is Galaxy, but Galaxy also offers three fixed-price menus with the most expensive being $59 for a seven-course meal.
The complaints I’ve heard so far have been minimal. The most outrageous have been from a couple who are sailing on back-to-back cruises. They complained that the shows are the exact same on this cruise as they were on last week’s cruise.
Doh!
On a side note, I’ve been told MSC is working on upping the ante on onboard entertainment, and with more ships on order to be delivered over the next several years, the Caribbean is going to be seeing more of MSC as they increase their presence here and try to win over some market share from Carnival, NCL and Royal Caribbean. In order to do so, they need to step up the entertainment offerings to get on par with Royal and NCL, as well as offer more kid-friendly areas onboard their ships.
It’s going to be interesting to watch and see how MSC builds up in America.
After the show, I had some time to wander around before dinner. Again, I noticed that most of the public areas of the ship were very crowded and hard to navigate due to the number of people. With a capacity for around 3,500 people, Divina does not make very good use of the space and there are frequent traffic jams in major public corridors. I am putting some of the blame on the overall layout and design of the space as well as the fact that these areas are blocked by tables selling assorted merchandise and photographers set up to take guests’ portraits against various backdrops.
I decided to take up residence at La Luna, the ship’s piano bar. Here a vocal duo, Duo Ameritalian, were singing a wide range of songs from the Beatles and Billy Joel to Jimmy Buffet and Rupert Holmes (go ahead, name a Rupert Holmes song… I betcha can’t!). They were great! I sat here for about an hour sipping Prosecco and Limoncello as the crowd around them continued to grow. People were dancing, singing along, and having a great time.
When the last sip of bubbles was taken, it was time to head to dinner. Tonight I was dining in another one of the ship’s surcharge restaurants, Restaurante Italiano by Eataly. Carved out of a corner in the Eataly Steakhouse, Restaurante Italiano is a five-table white-linen restaurant decorated with photos of great Italian ocean liners of the past. A vast selection of wines is showcased in the many glass cases that line the walls.
As I entered the restaurant, I heard someone shout “Mr. Sanfilippo” from the kitchen. The chef came out to introduce himself to me, and to let me know that back home in Italy he has relatives with the same last name, from the same part of the country my father’s family came from.
Not sure if we’re related or not…. but who knows!
I’m now convinced that the specialty restaurants onboard Divina are not a hit with passengers. Eataly Steakhouse had three tables occupied, one of them being a four-top with the captain and some of his staff. In Restaurante Italiano, I was the only table. It’s kind of nice to have a whole restaurant to yourself!
The menu is offered both a la carte and as a $35 fixed price “Seafood Experience” menu. Not being a fish fan, I opted to order a la carte. On a side note, you can also order items off the Eataly Steakhouse menu in here if you wanted to.
I started off with the Roast Duck Breast ($7.50), sliced duck dressed with tea, served on a smoked eggplant compote, and shaved radish with pistachio caper sauce. No complaints about this dish. The duck was very flavorful and the accompaniments were tasty as well.
Next up was the pasta course. I chose the Handmade Tortello ($8.00), a pasta filled with liquid Genoese pesto, served over mashed potatoes and green beans. As each pasta dish I had on board so far has been fantastic, this was also over the top. Although a bit heavy – especially with the mashed potatoes – I would have taken this as a main course it was so good. I’d also want to try it with some red sauce to see how well it paired with that.
For my main, I chose the Lamb Ribs Scottadito ($13). Three thin chops which were pan-fried with thyme breadcrumbs were served with Belgian endive caramelized with wildflower honey and an herb sponge. The lamb chops were a bit small, but after the pasta was just the right portion. They were cooked medium-well and the breadcrumbs took away any of that “lamb taste” I often pick up when I’m eating mutton. The herb sponge was interesting. It was as described, some mixture of herbs made to resemble a light and airy sponge. Not something I was expecting, but it was rather unique.
When it came to dessert, I asked my server which was better, the Rub Baba or the Zuppa Inglese. Not being a chocolate fan, I didn’t even ask about the Dark Chocolate Mousse Dome or the Chocolate Mousse Cake. He recommended I go with the Rum Baba. When he came back with dessert, he brought both the Baba and the Zuppa.
The Rum Baba is a cake ball soaked and still moist with rum and filled with a small amount of pastry crème. The Zuppa Inglese is an Italian trifle with ladyfingers soaked in alchemies and layered with vanilla and chocolate custard. Both were delicious, but my favorite was the Baba. Each dessert on the menu is $5.
After dinner, I did a few more laps around the public areas of the ship fighting the crowds and scoping out which bar I’ll be planting my ass at for the next few hours. My plan was to head over to the Black and White Lounge to see what was going on with Little Italy night, but I got sucked into La Luna once again where the same duo was entertaining a crowd that was twice the size as it was earlier in the evening.
I grabbed the remaining seat at the bar, made friends with those around me, had a few more glasses of Prosecco, and once all inhibitions were erased by the bubbles, hit the dance floor with a lady in red who must have been drinking my drink of choice earlier in the day, as she had way too much energy for me to even try to keep up with this late in the evening. After a few dances, I retreated back to the bar where I met two older sisters who were enjoying their share of Manhattans and Rusty Nails.
When they departed, a member of the ship’s entertainment staff came over and talked with me for about a half hour, until the lady in red swept him away and kept him dancing until the bar closed at 1am.
It was then I decided to call it a night.
Back in my stateroom, my bed was turned down, the same towel animal I’ve gone on to name Carmichael was still on the table and a piece of chocolate was nowhere to be found.
I contemplated popping open the bottle of bubbly my contact at MSC Cruises sent up earlier in the day but decided to save it for another night.
Maybe I can get the lady in red to enjoy it with me.
We are docked in Phillipsburg, St. Maarten today where the weather started off sunny, but quickly turned overcast and some showers have rolled in, making satellite connectivity to the Internet sketchy right now. Many people have already disembarked the ship to do some shopping ashore, as the buffet is virtually empty and was for breakfast and now for the start of lunch.
If it stops raining, I’m going to head ashore for a bit to take some photos of the ship and check out the downtown shopping area. Believe it or not, it’s been a while since I’ve been to St. Maarten, so I think it may be worth visiting… at least for an hour.
I don’t have dinner reservations for tonight, so I’m thinking that tonight may be the night I try the ship’s pizzeria. On each MSC ship, they have at least one certified master pizza maker trained in the art of Italian pizza making. So far the pizza I’ve sampled has been outstanding – even the slice I got with a sliced hot dog on it – so I may make it one of those nights where I chill with a favorite pie.
Ciao for now!
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.