What You Need to Need to Know About the MSC Divina, 2016

Summary

This ship is simply GORGEOUS! We were blown away at the artwork all over the ship. And, the Swarovski staircases! Video and pictures don't do them justice. They are quite magnificent in person. And, the crew kept this ship immaculate. With all the mirrors and chrome, I don't know how they kept that ship so clean! There are so many mirrors, that if you aren't careful, you will walk right into the wall.We are so glad that we found this ship as well as it is a great deal for the money for a family vacation. Because we have three teens, we usually end up booking two staterooms. We lucked up and ended up getting rooms on the hump so we got an extended balcony! The food was good but could have been better; I just felt it was a little under-seasoned. We thoroughly enjoyed the drink package and all the perks that MSC includes in the drink package. We also liked how the photographers on the ship made us feel like fashion models. My kids ate that up!

Itinerary

We had a great itinerary! We left out of Miami, FL and visited Philipsburg, St. Maarten, San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Nassau, Bahamas. At the time, our kids had not been to St. Maarten so we had a blast showing them all the sites, including the airplanes flying over at Maho Beach and making fun of them and their reactions when we actually drove them past the nude folks at Orient Beach. They also thought it was cool to take pictures at the border to technically be standing in two countries at the same time.

In San Juan, we did something that we had never done before which was going to the rain forest. We joined a tour in the port and went to El Yunque National Rain Forest. We had a lot of fun going into the mountains and seeing the waterfalls. Only Terry and I were brave enough to go into the water but it was way to cold to do any type of swimming! We then had more time in port, so we walked around Old San Juan and did a photo walk around the Santa Maria Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery and El Morro.

when you are trying to take a pretty panoramic photo and your son photobombs you at the end

In Nassau, we kept it simple and just walked over to Junkanoo Beach. Terry, Kara, and I had fun in the water while the boys relaxed on the beach. Good times.

Highlights

One of the main highlights was the great portraits taken by the photographers on board. We liked the fact that they didn't have the super cheesy backgrounds for portraits. They had rather simple ones that would work with any outfit, formal or casual. The photographers also didn't make us pose in super cheesy poses either. They took some shots that really let the kids personality shine through. One photographer fell in love with Trystan and did a whole photo shoot! I told him it had to be because of his hair. His hair always gets the attention everywhere we go.

Another highlight was the drink package. As part of the Fantastica level, the first two passengers in the room got twelve vouchers to use towards just about anything at any bar. This meant that two of the kids got the package with their room and we ended up purchases another one (at the VERY reasonable price of $89) for the young one.

Although Trystan was over 18, and allowed to drink alcoholic beverages on the ship (they abide by the standard drinking age of 18, not 21), he didn't feel comfortable to be drinking around his parents! So, the kids mostly used their 12 vouchers for sodas, milkshakes, scoops of gelato, and the specialty coffees at the coffee bar, Cafe Italia. They drank a lot of coffee, claimed it was a bazillion times better than Starbucks! They were so happy to not have to ask to get things and we were so happy that it was a reasonable price.

Another highlight was the itinerary. We had so much fun on this itinerary. The kids got to see somewhere new and we all got to explore a new part of port that we have been to before.

What's Missing

Although this ship is great for families, it is lacking a bit as far as water activities. There isn't much of a water park/slides so that was a bit of a let down. The kids also didn't really take part in the teen club activities. Well, the older two didn't, the young one asserted his independence at every chance he could to go hang out with others his age.

Another thing missing was more food options. There weren't many late night food options. There was the usual pizza but the were always backed up because of the demand. The food was great and presentations were sometimes hit or miss as far as being well plated or not. Jailen did enjoy eating lots of lobster on formal night. I did enjoy the freshly made pastas.

Main Takeaways

This ship is perfect for family vacations. It is such a great deal for a large family like ours; especially to include the drink vouchers. We enjoyed the Aurea Spa and the wonderful massages we got. And, because of the great prices, we even let Kara get one and feel pampered. Everyone, except me, enjoyed driving the F1 Simulator. Terry and I enjoyed the cocktails, of course and our favorite spots on the ship were the Galaxy Lounge and the Golden Jazz Bar. We will gladly sail on this ship again. MSC has gained fans for life from the Bibb Fam.