Jim Buddendorf, Director of Strategic Planning at Covington Travel, recently took a cruise on the MSC Divina. Here he shares his experience from the perspective of a family vacation, not a travel employee ship inspection, although with over three decades in the travel industry Jim definitely has an experienced eye for cruise travel.

Our cruise on the MSC Divina was a combined family Christmas present and a celebration of our daughter’s graduation from university. We chose the MSC Divina because our graduating daughter wanted an Italian Cruise line with at least one formal night. MSC had two formal nights on the 7-night cruise with port stops at St Thomas, San Juan and Nassau, and three days at sea. This was the only Italian line sailing in the Caribbean during the week we selected for our vacation so our options were limited, although we were all happy with our choice.

MSC Divina – The Ambience

The MSC Divina is a large ship: 140,000 tons with a 3,600+ passenger capacity and 1,300 crew so the experience is not intimate. The ship is an elegant ship. Décor was impressive but not tacky or gaudy. It was also remarkably clean. Staff was constantly vacuuming and wiping, and the cleanup of the food service areas was very impressive.

All announcements were made in English; we only heard Italian at the lifeboat drill and Bingo. There was a very small area on one side of the pool deck that permitted smoking and I did not see anyone smoking outside of that area.

The passenger makeup on our cruise was approximately 45% international and 55% American, which for us is a big plus. The age range was very wide including millennials, baby boomers and quite a number of families.

It should be noted that while large, the Divina has one waterslide and no rock climbing, ice skating or other activities that are advertised on some other cruise lines. Divina had children of all ages, but I did not see hordes of kids taking over the pool area and my 17 year old daughter really enjoyed the teen club.

Staterooms

We cruised in two balcony staterooms in the MSC Aurea category. Aurea is MSC’s all-inclusive level which also includes priority boarding, better choice of cabins, complimentary massage and anytime dining at the regular restaurants. It did not include dining at the specialty restaurants.

Staterooms were very nice and of average size for a standard balcony cabin. Ours two staterooms were adjoining (not connecting), although we kept the divider between our balconies open, which worked very well for family togetherness.

The Aurea package made cruising much more enjoyable as our family could have pretty much anything they wanted from cocktails, beer, wine, specialty coffees and waters to ice cream and freshly made gelato. It was all included! Aurea also provided access to a private sun deck area with a hot tub and cabanas but no pool and no crowds. Jim’s tip: MSC does have an exclusive area with private pool and dining area called the Yacht Club which we did not see.

Dining

Meals were standard cruise fare, which is not what it used to be. The table service was excellent and we all appreciated our waiter and requested him for every dinner. The buffet area was large and at times crowded but we were always able to find seating for five people, even if we had to search a bit at times.

Specialty restaurants onboard include the elegant Ristorante Italia, a sensory fusion Galaxy Restaurant, and an American Sports Bar, slow food Eataly, a Tex-Mex and Steakhouse, a sushi bar and an Asian Fusion restaurant. We did not use the specialty restaurants, although there are multiple specialty dining packages for kids and adults to upgrade your dining experience.

Activities and Excursions

The onboard shops were very nice and plentiful. There was also a casino, spa and on-deck sports area. Shore excursions were standard options for the Caribbean. The two that we participated in were very enjoyable and well run. We felt that all of the staff with whom we interacted were extremely accommodating. Our eldest daughter had some questions about one of the shore excursions and the staff at the excursion desk went over the top in getting the answer to her concerns. This was the first sailing after returning from Europe and the excursion staff did not have first hand experience on the particular excursion we were planning but got the answers for us. They did a very nice job.

My family had mixed reviews of the shows. Other than the last night, which was a very well done Michael Jackson review, the shows were variety acts loosely tied together with a theme. I enjoyed them but the girls would have preferred more Broadway-type shows. The cruise director explained that the Broadway-type shows are difficult to do when the audience speaks different languages. The theater was large, very nice and filled at each performance we attended. The audience seemed to enjoy the performances.

I met a lot of loyal MSC travelers. A cruise on the MSC Divina would definitely appeal to someone who likes the large ship experience and interacting with visitors from other countries. It was a good choice for our family vacation.

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MSC Divina is offering 2-for-1 rates on balcony staterooms, plus kids 12 and under sail free on select 7- and 10-night Caribbean sailings from April 23, 2016 through March 25, 2017. For itineraries and availability, contact Covington’s professional cruise counselors.