What better way to spend Independence Day than on a cruise ship, right?
Never mind the thousands of people lining up to watch fireworks at the local beach or park, my mind was made up that I was going to avoid all that and spend it at sea.
With the holiday falling on a Monday and MSC offering a three-day cruise over the holiday, it was a no-brainer to hop on the MSC Divina for a relaxing holiday.
This trip was my third time on the 4,000-passenger ship. The first was in December 2014 shortly after her arrival in the states and the second was in December 2015 after she became more Americanized for her return and full-time sailing schedule from PortMiami. Be sure to read my other MSC Divina reviews to see how she has evolved over the years!
On this particular journey, we had two ports of call – Port Canaveral (FL) and Nassau (Bahamas) – and no sea days.
We arrived at the port around noon on Saturday (July 2, 2016) and quickly passed through security. We waited about 10 minutes in line for check-in and by the time we were issued our room cards, we were able to walk right onto the ship.
One interesting note about check-in, this is the first time I was on a cruise where you didn’t need to fill out a health questionnaire asking whether or not you visited certain countries or had any bouts with vomiting or diarrhea recently. I tend to call that sheet of paper the “get off our ship slip.” If you check any box saying you were throwing up, chances are you’re not getting onboard in order to prevent the spread of norovirus to your fellow passengers and crew.
While most people I’m sure lie about what they put down on the slip, I still found it odd that it wasn’t presented at check-in. Perhaps they finally realized that it makes no difference, everyone is going to say they’re healthy in order not to get the boot before the ship leaves the dock.
At check-in, I asked if I could link a credit card to my account because I wasn’t able to do so online. (Side note, I also wasn’t able to get any electronic documents after doing web check-in. I called the customer service number two times and still didn’t receive the documents. It was after I reached out to my contact at MSC that she was able to send them to me, just 24 hours prior to departure.) The young lady who checked us in was curt in her response and said: “you do it onboard.”
Ok then.
Once onboard, our staterooms were not ready, but like two stealth secret agents, we dashed off to Deck 12 to find our stateroom and quickly drop off our suitcases before being noticed and chased by our room steward for being in the room before it was ready.
This time around we had an aft-facing balcony stateroom in the Fantastica-class. There was nothing different from this room than the other balcony staterooms I’ve stayed in on the Divina before, except the balcony overlooking the back of the ship. While we had a corner stateroom, the balcony was not the wrap-around type that many aft-corner staterooms have on other ships. On Divina, those corners are actually stairs that lead from the top deck, down to the bottom. Convenient for heading two flights up to the buffet or three flights up to the Garden Terrace without having to wait for an elevator.
Once our suitcases were dropped off, we headed up to the buffet to grab a slice or two of the delicious pizza that is insanely good. I say it over and over, I’ll put the pizza made on the Divina up against any pizza made at your favorite land-based pizza shop… and the Divina will win!
God bless the Italians!
From there we headed to the pool bar to buy our beverage package and have a cold one. But as I bellied up to the bar I remembered I didn’t do the whole credit card thing. So we left and trekked down to Deck 5 to use one of the kiosks to register a credit card. Once that was done, it was back up for that cold drink.
We bought the Classic Beverage package ($45 per person, plus 15% gratuity per day) which includes “unlimited drinks from the bar and wine list including wines by the glass, draft, bottled and canned beer, energy drinks and coolers, canned sodas, fruit juices, mineral water, a wide selection of coffee-based drinks, premium teas, hot chocolate delights, selection of call-brand spirits, all cocktails from the bar list, as well as take-away ice cream in a cone or cup.”
We were charged for the first day right then and there and then charged for the remaining two days the following day. After wondering why it was like that, it dawned on me that while ships are docked at PortMiami, they are required to collect sales tax on beverages. So in order to save the sales tax, MSC will charge you for the first day when in port, and the remaining days when at sea.
After a few cold drinks, our bartender, who recognized me from my previous time onboard Divina, presented us with the drink of the day, a patriotic frozen called the Fire Cracker. While I’m not a fan of frozen drinks, this one was good and hit the spot because frankly, it was hot outside!
Around 2:30pm the cruise director – Andre – announced that rooms were now ready. If you ever want to see public spaces on a ship clear out real fast… make that announcement on embarkation day.
Speaking of Andre. This guy must get no time off. He’s been the cruise director on every sailing I’ve had on Divina and is one of my favorite CDs. He’s not annoying, is professional, doesn’t overdo it with announcements, and isn’t on the PA hawking gold-by-the-inch or letting you know that there will be no hairy back contest on the Divina. He’s unobtrusive, just like I like my cruise director. However, his remarks at the start of the evening’s shows have been the exact same every time! I was practically lip-synching along with his monolog. It must get boring at some point.
So off to the room to get organized and to sit out on the balcony. All aboard was 6:30pm with our lifeboat drill scheduled for 4:30pm. So let’s fast forward to that. You’re required to bring your life jacket to the drill, so here we go, lugging that thing around watching every step you take so you don’t trip over the straps dangling from not only your life vest but everyone else’s too.
Once comfortably seated in our muster station, the ship’s photographers came along to take pictures of people donning their bright orange flotation devices as if it were the latest style hot off the Paris runways. While I absolutely hate muster drills, it’s an important part of the cruise. I’m still against turning it into a photo-op, but MSC still does and it takes away from the seriousness of the drill.
After the instructions were read in English and a handful of other languages, the mad dash back to the staterooms was on. We lingered a bit to let the huddled masses out first, then we headed back to our stateroom to relax and watch the sail away from the privacy of our balcony before freshening up for the evening ahead.
We departed Miami a little before 7pm, the last of several ships in port this day. Once out to sea it was time to think about what we were going to do for the rest of the night.
Ok, fair enough. I didn’t make advance reservations because on previous cruises on the MSC Divina, the specialty restaurants were usually occupied by just myself on most nights, so I didn’t think I would need them.
We decided that we were going to skip the main dining room this cruise because we did not have a table for two, so we were going to instead dine in the specialty restaurants if available. For those who follow my cruise blogs, you know that I absolutely hate the shared dining situations on ships. While a staple of cruising since the first ship set sail across the Atlantic, sharing a table with strangers just isn’t my cup of tea. You don’t do it when you go out for dinner when you’re at home, why do you have to do it on a ship?
After our unsuccessful attempt at getting a reservation in the steakhouse, we headed for a cocktail or two (maybe three) then proceeded to the Pantheon Theatre for the evening production of “The Amazing Mask.” (This would be my third time seeing this show, so the entertainment has not changed.) This time around there were new main artists in the production which I felt were not as good as the ones who were on my previous two sailings.
We went to the 8:45pm show and when it was over, we headed back to the steakhouse to see if we could get in for dinner. There were two tables occupied at the time and one of the servers proceeded to tell me they could not seat us. After questioning why, despite the fact that the restaurant was nearly empty, he left… came back… and we had a table.
We started out Parma vs San Daniele a large plate of the two styles of prosciutto ham, which on an Italian ship is as abundant as pasta! Always a treat.
Next up we both ordered the Afeltra Gragnano Pacchero, large tube pasta with a seafood sauce, shrimp, sea scallops, fresh tomatoes, and parsley. A treat indeed, although my dish had one shrimp, one calamari ring, and three scallops, my fiancee’s dish had three shrimp, no scallops and one calamari ring. A little inconsistent, but a great dish!
For entrees, I ordered the 10.5oz New York Strip which had a small bone. I asked for it medium well, which it was, but it was cold. The steak wasn’t thick, but rather thin and the side of potatoes that came with it was pretty much bland.
My fiancee ordered the 8.5oz Beef Tenderloin, also cooked medium well. His was also cold.
Despite temperature issues with the steak, they were very lightly seasoned, but as I wrote in the past, the steakhouse still needs some improvement in the quality of the steak. It’s just not up to par with what one would expect from a steakhouse on land or sea. I had hoped that things would have improved in Eataly Steakhouse, but they haven’t.
We skipped dessert and did some walking around before heading up to the Galaxy Disco to check out the Black Light Party. There weren’t too many people in the club and those that were there were not dancing, but standing around the bar enjoying some cocktails. We stuck around for a little while before calling it a night.
Before I wrap up this report, let’s talk Internet. This time around MSC has revamped their Internet offerings and now, at least for this cruise, sells packages based on what you’re going to use the Internet for and bandwidth rather than minutes. Here is what was offered on this particular sailing:
- Social Package:
1 device
Social Media access to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, Snapchat, WeChat, Pinterest, VK, Odnoklassniki, Sinaweibo, Qzone and Line.
Not included: Web browsing, audio and video chat, audio and video streaming
Cost: $5 per day / $12 per cruise - Surfer Package
2 devices
Social Media access to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, Snapchat, WeChat, Pinterest, VK, Odnoklassniki, Sinaweibo, Qzone and Line.
Email checking
Web browsing
Not included: Audio and video chat, audio and video streaming
Cost: $12 per day (170MB) / $19 per cruise (500MB) - Streamer Package
4 devices
Social Media access to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, Snapchat, WeChat, Pinterest, VK, Odnoklassniki, Sinaweibo, Qzone and Line.
Email checking
Web browsing
Audio and video chat, audio and video streaming
Cost: $24 per day (340MB) / $45 per cruise (800MB)
This was a 3-day cruise, so I’m not sure how these packages are offered on longer cruise, so check before. I also noticed that pricing was different whether you ordered from your phone or laptop.
Next stop, Port Canaveral, Florida! Stay tuned for the Day 2 report from the MSC Divina.
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.