I am just back from my first solo cruise, which happened to be my first time sailing with MSC. I was aboard the MSC Divina for 7 nights from September 4-11, 2022. I feel like I should disclose that I was given a special travel agent rate for this cruise, but it will in no way impact my review.
The ship can hold 3,500 passengers and we sailed with only 1170 on board, so about 33% capacity. Needless to say, it never felt crowded.
tl;dr review
Of the 4 cruise lines I have now sailed with, Carnival, MSC, Norwegian, and Virgin, MSC comes in a very close third, just behind Carnival, mainly because of Carnival’s Alchemy Bar. Virgin still is my top choice. I would happily and without pause, sail with MSC again.
Pre-Cruise
I booked myself via their Travel Advisor (TA) website which was fairly easy. However, I could access my booking via the consumer site as well and didn’t really have any issues with either. However, there are a few things to note.
1) I was not able to register my credit card prior to boarding. This had to be done on the ship via a small point of sale type credit card reader.
2) Every time I went into my booking from either the consumer or TA website, it would send an email to the agency owner. I think this happened even if I didn’t change anything.
3) After completing as much of the check-in as possible, (see point 1), I could email myself the cruise ticket, but the option to print my boarding pass was greyed out. The cruise ticket is the boarding pass. Not really a big deal, but confusing.
Some of these issues may be resolved once the ship goes into dry dock and is updated to be a “smart ship”.
In the days leading up to the cruise I read a lot of reviews and watched a number of videos about this ship and the line in general. This information was a mix of pre- and post-pandemic sources. The more I read the more nervous I got as food was consistently described as bland and needing salt at a minimum, at both the buffet and main dining room. I also saw that the TV satellite had been down for a while and once you left port you didn’t get any channels on the TV except for the ship’s infomercials. Additionally, many people complained about the wi-fi speed and reliability. All but one bit of info, raved about the quality of the crew, which was good to see.
Boarding Process
Luckily, I am within an hour’s drive to the port. But we set sail over a holiday weekend and a fellow cruiser mentioned how bad traffic can get, so I got on the road about 7:30 AM for my 11:00 AM check-in time. I got to the port about 8:30 and people were already getting off the ship from the previous cruise and leaving so parking (at the port) wasn’t an issue. I think the first check-in time was 9:30, so when I got there, there wasn’t really anyone to help point arrivals in the right direction. I sat in the Jeep for about 30 minutes and figured I would wonder over. From the garage I had to cross over some traffic and then had to walk over to the right to drop off my bags. There really wasn’t any signage pointing people to where they needed to go, but after asking someone who just got off the ship, it was easy to find and get my bag to the porter. The porter directed me to go upstairs and wait for them to open the doors. So even though I was very early, I walked in with everyone else who was waiting and was never asked about my boarding time. While it wasn’t well labeled, there seemed to be a few lines one for US passengers with passports, and another for other nationalities and Americans using a birth certificate. There also seemed to be a line for those arriving outside of their assigned time slot. I believe they also had a line for the Yacht Club (suite) guest. Since the ship wasn’t full, they didn’t appear to be enforcing anything.
I got to the check-in counter and was told my room had been changed. They didn’t give me a reason and sadly it wasn’t really an upgrade. However, it did make me a little worried that my luggage would be in limbo for hours. Other than that, the check-in process went smoothly. I had to grab a seat for about 45 minutes or so until they began boarding the ship. I wasn’t given a board pass with a number on so I started talking with a couple from our Facebook group and walked with their numbered group. Once they began boarding, by groups, I was on the ship no later than 10:45. There are quite a few crew members as you walk on trying to sell you drink, dining and wi-fi packages. I would prefer they had tables/stations set up that you could walk up to rather than the street fair approach. That was a little annoying. I followed the couple who I boarded with, who had sailed on the Divina before, to the machine to register my credit card, which had to be done in the first 24 (or 48) hours. You could also choose to put cash on your account with the customer service desk.
First Impressions
Once on board, I went to grab some lunch at the buffet and then walk around the ship to get some pictures and learn the layout. The buffet had a pretty good selection of food. I did opt for the much talked about pizza. It was good and got better after the first day. On the buffet there is a small selection of 4 or 5 pizzas with some variation from day to day. I picked up a few other items and felt it all had great flavor and didn’t need salt like I was expecting.
The ship is beautiful. The crystal stairs really grab your attention. The décor is a bit dated and much darker than a lot of other lines. The ship is easy to navigate and has lots of public spaces. With this being an Italian cruise line, there seemed to be a lot more outdoor places to smoke than what you find on other ships.
Rooms were said to be ready by 1:30, but with the room change, mine wasn’t but I was able to drop off my backpack and continue exploring and maximizing my drink package. At one point in my explorations, I was walking through the halls and noticed a suitcase that looked a lot like mine. It was and it wasn’t really near my old room or my new one, so I grabbed it and wheeled it back to my room and unpacked it.
About 4:00 they do their muster drill. You watch a video in your cabin, call in with a verification code, then walk to your muster station and check-in. Very weird and clunky process, especially comparing it to other lines, but at least we didn’t have to gather outside rows deep to cover the safety briefing.
We had a Facebook group meet up and gift exchange right after the muster drill. Got to meet a few people there that I had been talking with online for a while.
The sail away party was kind of tame compared to others. I think that was about 5 or so and since I didn’t do the Aurea package, I wasn’t able to do anytime dining, so I had picked the earlier dining time which was 6:00. As a solo traveler the traditional dining time wasn’t bad as it was a chance to meet more fellow sailors. The first night it was just me and one other sailor, Melissa, at the table. Luckily conversation was easy and we hung out a lot over the cruise. Again, I was a bit hesitant about the food. Everything was very good. Didn’t have an issue trying to find something that looked enjoyable. Dinner moved pretty quick and I think we were done in about an hour.
Did some more exploring that evening and met some other people. Found out they are not very strict with their drink package. Meaning you can purchase multiple drinks at once, even shots. With some tipping you can get drinks above your drink package.
Ocean Cay
Day 2 and 3 were spent at MSC’s Private Island Ocean Cay. This place is awesome. The only drawback is many of the exterior beaches are pretty rocky so water shoes would be helpful to the tender footed. With a little walking you could find a pretty private beach area if you wanted. For example, I walked over to the spa area and there was myself and two couples. Lots of space between us all. In September the water was refreshing and clear. There were some jellyfish around the South and North beach area, but not many. The food they served was great and lots of free options and they had a few locations that had a nominal upcharge.
One of the best parts is that if you have a drink package you can use it on the island. Not sure how they get away with it, but they don’t charge tax on your drinks in port if you have a package either. Anything that you purchase ashore is paid for with your room key and charged to your room.
There are a few shops ashore with fairly priced souvenirs and necessities like ocean friendly sunscreen. Plenty of bars around and they do have small trams/trolleys that will help you move around. For those who get off the ship early enough, you may be able to score a free umbrella near the lighthouse, otherwise, they run $15/day. I did see a few people who brought their own sunshade as well. There are a number of excursions if chilling at the beach isn’t really your thing. And getting on and off the ship is easy.
At night they do two light shows with the lighthouse and you can get some great pictures of the ship at night too. There are a number of people who live on the island, so they ask that everyone is back on board around 11 PM. I don’t remember what time they allow people off the next morning when you stay overnight.
Mexico
We had two stops in Mexico. One in Costa Maya and the other in Cozumel.
Costa Maya has a built-up cruise port that feels like your typical tourist trap. It has pushy sales people, some shops are reasonably priced, while others are very overpriced. While it is Mexico and haggling is common, sometimes you just want to get what you want and not deal with the process. There were some restaurants and bars around. The food smelled and looked good but was a bit overpriced since the ship is so easy to get back to with the free food. The pool here was small and tucked in between some places to eat. If you want to use the lounge chairs there are signs saying you need to order food or beverages to use them. There is also a small (SMALL) dolphin pool and an aviary walk for a fee in the area. This is nice to do once, but I would strongly recommend an excursion if coming here.
Cozumel is a frequent stop for ships and I have been there a couple of times, but both times I took the ferry over to Playa del Carmen for excursions. This time I did an excursion to one of the 15 ruins on the island. We also visited a bee sanctuary and a beach break. The ruins were really cool and while not the tall pyramids you normally think of, this was a ritual site that was used before a young couple would be married. The biggest downside was there was a “strip mall” of sorts and while I get people need to make a living asking $15 for bug spray is a bit much. Especially when you turn around and the shop two doors down is asking $8 for the exact same thing.
From here we went to see the bees. This was really neat and informative. They were the smallest bees I have ever seen (smaller than house flies) and they don’t have stingers. The honey is runny compared to what we are used to but very flavorful. They had a small honey shop and another local vendor here too.
The beach break was kind of a disappointment. The beach was on the ocean side of the island where no one lives, due to it facing the ocean and is where the hurricanes usually hit the hardest. The water was pretty rough that day, and I would imagine it is most days, but hopefully I am wrong about that. There was a place here to order lunch again. I think it was more expensive than it should have been, but as part of the excursion it seemed to be built for this purpose. The fish tacos were some of the best I ever had. It was annoying to have vendors from the shops walking by every other minute while we were eating. Some of the goods they were selling could also be found elsewhere for much cheaper. Some of the items were just cheap little trinkets. There were a few stores that did have some nice handmade crafts, or at least they appeared to be.
I felt the excursion should have ended after the bees.
Pools & Hot Tubs
I think there are three good size pools on the ship for everyone to use. I don’t know if the Yacht Club area had their own pool or not. One can be covered, the biggest is mid-ship, and the one at the aft, is in an adult only area, which is also a large smoking area too. They don’t allow you to drink in the pools, as some other lines do. There are hot tubs all over the ship, Some I never saw people in. This is one area I feel they are superior to many other lines.
Food & Beverage
There were a couple of times the food I got was colder than expected. Once was from the buffet and one for breakfast in the MDR. The other thing I will warn people about is it is very hard to find crispy bacon on the buffet. The buffet had pizza pretty much all day, including some with eggs in the morning. While I didn’t do the breakfast pizza, the pizza I did have was very good. There is also a separate made to order, up-charge pizza place, but I did not order from there. Speaking of upcharge places to eat, they had two gelato places, and two upscale restaurants, a Steakhouse and an Asian/Sushi place. Of course, room service is available for a fee also. I did not try any of these places. I did like how the MDR was open for all three meals throughout the day, almost every day. Contrary to what I read online I didn’t feel the need to add salt to anything. But I don’t think they use a lot of salt as my ankles didn’t seem to swell as much as they do on some other lines.
The variety of food was great and never seemed to struggle with finding something that looked good at the buffet or in the MDR. In fact, the opposite was true. There were always multiple appetizers and desserts that were hard to choose between and a few nights entrees too. They had 1 formal night with filet and lobster tail. You could double up on the tail if you wanted. I have had better filets, but it wasn’t bad and the lobster was perfect. Worst case scenario, there was always pizza. Well at least until about 1:30 AM.
There is also a free pastry and sandwich counter mid ship that was pretty yummy and free.
I did splurge a bit on the island for some crab cakes. The order came as three, silver dollar sized cakes and they were filled with crab meat. Much better than the ones served in the MDR. I also had heard a lot about the wings in the Sports Bar, so I decided to give those a try too. I’m not a spicy food guy and even their mild, had a bit of heat to me. But the flavor was excellent. Both of these were priced fairly.
I did the middle tier drink package as I wanted to have more options than what the basic package offered. I felt I broke even or came out slightly ahead in that area. The drinks were good and didn’t feel like light pours. There were a few times it seemed like we would turn around and a round of shots magically appeared.
Activities & Entertainment
We had two sea days and there was a lot going on with the standard trivia and other events to keep people busy.
In the evenings they had shows in the main theater every night. Most of these are your standard cruise fare song and dance type shows. However, I do feel these were better than average for most cruise ships. In addition to those, they also had The Conjurors, a magic couple and a comedian. If you get to see the Conjurors, do it. They are a lovely, engaged, British couple who do a blend of close up and large-scale magic in a fantastic show.
They also have the Marriage Game and Quest, the adult scavenger hunt, which I have seen several times on Carnival.
Pedro was the cruise director and was very active around the ship. He was very friendly and outgoing and did a fine job as the host for the various shows.
They also have a white party which is poolside weather permitting. It was a decent turnout but smaller than what I have seen for other ships deck parties.
While it was easy to relax if that was your goal, there was always something going on somewhere on the ship.
It was easy to meet people as a solo traveler, but they did hold a solo event one night as well as several singles events.
Internet & TV
I read several complaints about the wi-fi being unstable and/or slow as well as the TV in the room being out. Most of us are spoiled by high-speed broadband in our homes so switching to satellite-based internet does seem like we are jumping back into the age of dial up. If there were more people on board, I could see how it might be worse, but on our sailing, I had no issues with reliability and the speed seemed in line with most other lines. The one pain was when you went off the ship’s wi-fi and onto Ocean Cay’s wi-fi. These were different networks and it helps if you disconnect from the ship before you get off and then connect to the island’s network.
While I don’t go on a cruise to watch TV, football season is back and it was nice being able to catch a game or two or have background noise in the room while getting ready or unwinding. So not sure if it was fixed for our sailing or just before, but no problems with this either.
Staff
The staff around the ship is amazing. They are eager to help and very friendly. Tips go pretty far with the bar staff. They do a great job of remembering your name and preferences.
Overall Vibe
If you are looking for a more upbeat, party-like cruise I think other lines make it easier to get in that mind set. However, if you are traveling with friends or are willing to jump into a group of people having a good time, you will have no problems having a great time.
There were not many kids on this cruise since most schools have started back for the year. I would say if you have small children to 17 they might be a little bored. Other lines I think do a better job catering to these ages. With that being said none of the people I was hanging out with had little ones, so I don’t have any direct feedback in regards to this.
Conclusion
As I said at the beginning, I would have no issues sailing with MSC again, based on this experience. Nor would I have concerns recommending them to my clients, who weren’t sailing with children. Yes, there were a few hiccups here and there, but nothing that made this the cruise from hell or any other overly dramatic reaction.
I do look forward to getting on their newer ships or back on board the Divina after refurbishment.
Feel free to ask any question about my experience on the ship or if there is some topic I missed, let me know.
If you have a MSC Divina story, please feel free to share.
