Just off Divina - May 22-26, 2022

[cruisers5]

My daughter (Canadian citizen) and myself (US Citizen) sailed on the 4 day Divina last week.  We flew down to Orlando and used GoPort when we arrived at the airport.  We stayed at LaQuinta hotel (could use some updating, but was a nice place).  We boarded a bus the next day and arrived in an hour at the cruise terminal.  We showed our passports and our cruise documents.  FYI, my daughter HAD (according to MSC) get Covid insurance (and have proof of it) or not be allowed on ship (according to their website and any agents I talked to on the phone).  They never once asked her anything about insurance.  There was no Covid tests taken at the port.  We did have to show our vaccination cards, proof of a negative test taken within 2 days.  Our pictures were taken, we were given our keys and were onboard all within about 20 minutes after getting off the bus.  I had booked a Bella Balcony Guarantee room and we were upgraded (within 3 hours of booking) to an Aurea balcony room (Cabin 12175).  The buffets are now self serve again (we were on Divina in March and everything was served to you).  We didn't eat in dining room for first two nights (checked menu and wasn't thrilled with it), we found plenty to eat in the buffet.  They do need to have salt and pepper packets available.  Breakfast in the dining room was great.  The omelets are fantastic.  Eggs Benny - so-so.  We had lunch in the dining room one day.  My daughter ordered the spinach dip and asked if she could have vegetables (ie, carrots, peppers, etc.) with it instead of the tortilla chips.  Our waited said it wouldn't be a problem.  When it arrived she got the dip and then a plate of cooked green and red peppers and onions.  We laughed and said she should have specified - "raw" vegetables.  We did have dinner one night in the dining room - Italian night.  Chicken parm was good.  Waiter service was so/so.  We had our dinner, dessert was served and then they left.  They never asked if we wanted and tea or coffee.  We did eat in the Sports Bar (chicken wings - 7 flat wings for $5.95 - you can't go wrong with that).  The cook time was about 45 minutes per order as they were having a problem with their deep fryer and could only make on order at a time, but well worth the wait.  Had tons of drinks in there, try the Kahlua Milkshake!  Their private island is very nice.  The food at buffet could have been better.  They had hot dogs and hamburgers out.  My daughter doesn't eat meat and they happily cooked up a veggie burger for her.  French fries were good.  Potato salad - tasted like they boiled the potatoes too long - they were mushy, pasta salad was bland.  No dressing on it (used some mayo from the burger condiment bar to get some taste into it).  The pasta salad from the food truck the next day was much better and had more veggies in it.  We had dinner at Butcher's Cut the last night.  My daughter had the tomato soup, she said it was really good, the chicken (liked it) and the cheesecake for dessert (said it was "different").  I had the beet and burrata salad (excellent) and the strip steak - it was juicy, tender and delicious.  Unfortunately I couldn't eat it all, I was so full.  I also had the bitter chocolate lava cake and ice cream for dessert (always room for dessert!)  Excellent meal.  Would highly recommend eating there during your cruise.  We did the early walk off the next morning, got on the GoPort bus and was returned to the Orlando airport.  There were 980 passengers on the ship, which was great, no line ups, easy to get seats in buffet and theater and on their island.  Overall it was a great cruise, first on MSC for my daughter.  Worst part....coming home and finding out I have to cook my own meals and make my own bed!  *L*  

[Morgsmom]

Thank you!  Agree on the beet & burrata salad at Butcher's Cut - my favorite!

[chicail16]

Thanks. Sounds like you both enjoyed it!  Never tried MSC so this was a great help!

[1kaper]

Same thing happened to me. I worried about the insurance. I had coverage but it didn’t specifically say it covered covid. I ended up buying insurance and was never asked for it (also Canadian) 

[cellfree]

18 hours ago, chicail16 said:

Thanks. Sounds like you both enjoyed it!  Never tried MSC so this was a great help!

We have sailed on Divina a couple times as well as Meraviglia and Seaside and Armonia and most recently Seashore. We have never had any problems with MSC and enjoy the ships. We actually now cruise between Carnival and MSC, both different experiences. A new “line” is always worth a try. We would never have known the MSC experience had we not tried it out. 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 29, 2022 by cellfree

[GonzoWCS]

Thank you for this review.

 

Cheers