I will start off with a little background. We are not cruise experts. My wife and I had not cruised until 2 years ago. We went on a southern Caribbean cruise on Royal Caribbean, and we got the bug. We have done 10 so far. That's hard to do from Branson Mo. Anyway. we done MSC Divina in April and was not sure what to expect. I have always held to the old saying "You get what you pay for", which I believe is always true EXCEPT with "DAVINA". The cruise started off with embarkation taking about 15 min. Once on the ship we were greeted with crew members actually giving directions to our cabin. May not be a big deal for some, but can be frustrating to first timers, dragging luggage all over the ship. Elevators every-where. I believe there were around 18. We boarded around 3 P.M., our luggage arrived at 5 P.M. We had a balcony on deck 8. Cabin was beautiful. Largest cabin we have ever had. Bathroom was right size with larger shower. The ship décor is unlike anything we have seen. They spared no expense when designing the interior. Marble , Granite, tile, chrome every-where. Check out pictures on the internet. The captain socialized with passengers which is nice. He was the nicest captain we have met. Spoke at nearly every show, willing to take pictures, and also done a wonderful job navigating the ship. The thing that really impressed us was the crew. Smiles always, polite always, but most important actually cared about the customers. I like doing hot tubs early A.M. before everyone else. Did not open until 7 A.M., was talking to the attendant in charge of this certain deck area, he said what time do you want to use it? I said 6 A.M. would be perfect. He smiled and said I am here at 6 , it will be open, and it was. That has not happened on any other cruise. They work hard to get the passenger what they want {with in reason}. That is refreshing. Most cruise lines refuse to vary from standard operating procedure and operating hours. It makes a cruise you will remember that you found a crew member actually cares about you. I read a lot of reviews and take half of them to heart. A cruise is what you make it. I have read reviews about the food. The first thing I will say is if you go on any cruise just for the food you are missing the "BOAT" I'm sorry "SHIP". You have to remember there are 4000 other people on this ship to cook for. How could anyone tailor every meal to your exact specifications. You are not going to like every-thing, so find what you like and enjoy the cruise. People need to understand that this is an Italian ship, with a Mediterranean style cruise, sailing out of the U.S. Europeans eat differently than Americans so be open to try something different. By the way they have everyone else beat on Pasta, Breads, and my favorite Pizza. Almost forgot the entertainment was excellent