MSC Divina Review
Take the good with the bad its a budget line but can be a good vacation
Rating by category
Additional details
I booked this before I read the reviews and to be honest I most likely would not have booked it if I had read them first and that would have been a mistake. The cruise overall was not bad however we were booked in the Yacht Club, I do not think I would sail on this ship in a room below this category. There were four of us on this cruise myself (35), my mother (56), grandmother (76), and my daughter (17). We have cruised before from Disney to Holland American and a lot in between, so we understand cruises and that everything is not always going to be perfect luckily overall this cruise went pretty well. To make it simpler, I have divided this into sections room, YC, Entertainment, food/drink, etc..
Embarkment - This was a bit of a mess and not the best start to a cruise, we were dropped off at about 12:00 by uber to the white tent we were supposed to check in. The porter asked what deck we were on and I said 12 ( we had to rebook into a YC family suite when my mother decided to join us), the porter, said we were in the wrong line there is not YC on 12, so we would need to go check-in with the nation-YC. I knew I was in the YC and told the guy three times before I demanded he get someone from the YC tent area, at the time there was no one there apparently they were taking people to the waiting room. The guy finally got me someone who informed me that yes I was in the YC ( I knew this I paid for it) so I could check in with them he said to wait on the side, and someone would get us to take us up, we waited about 10-15 minutes for someone to get us and take us to the YC desk and lounge. The lounge is lovely, and we should know we had to wait over an hour before we could get on the ship. The printer was broken; apparently, they had to have our cards made on the ship and some other issues that only seemed to affect us as the other people all were taken to the boat. Come to find out they never printed our cards we were tired and hungry by this point this was not the best start to my trip we often travel in suites and have never had a wait issue like this one.
The dining room was lackluster; the food was better than the main dining room from what I understand however coming from celebrities private restaurant I had higher expectations than I should have. It was not bad food it was decent however it was in need of some sprucing up; they did have a delicious gluten-free menu my mom had a lot of choices that changed daily's something that is not always done on ships. The desserts were not impressive creme brulee is my favorite dish, and I have never been on a cruise that did not offer it as a staple dessert this ship did not offer it at all I understand that they use to have it. The dining room is on the other side of the ship from the YC this needs to be changed I am not sure how but it is ridiculous. The lobster was excellent and free there is a charge int he main dining room.
Cabin Review
Yacht Club Executive & Family Suite
Room- We stayed in an MSC Yacht Club - Family Suite on Deck 12, AURORA Stateroom # 12002. The room was nice overall it needs some updated as the items were showing wear and tear. The carpet had a few stains on it as well as the furniture, the bedding seemed fine, and the bathroom was clean, so it was ok in general. My big issue was there is no deck, I knew this getting on sadly I did not realize it when I rebooked, I missed having a deck, and for the cost, I still do not understand why they do not have the floor to ceiling windows a door to a deck, but it is what it is. The mini bar was stocked, and they keep it stocked with snacks and drinks, it was not very cold, but this is often an issue on cruise ships, so you have to deal with it I like my drinks cold as ice, but I understand small fridge lots of use.
The reason I would not book this room again is there is no deck, but moreover, we did not feel like we were in what we paid for. There are only 4 YC rooms on deck 12, unlike the other decks that have YC rooms and amenities. We never saw the butler our rooms were not cleaned and reset up until late in the afternoons; there was no running into the concierge or butler or even the housekeeping staff like on other cruises it was like we were not apart of the YC atmosphere. We had to go up two decks to get to any of the YC areas the lounge, pool, or even see the YC staff we felt like they forget those who are on deck 12 this was something the people in the rooms around us also found.
YC- We did not use the pool, we used outside buffet once or twice we got breakfast, but there was a minimal choice I was unaware that we could order omelets, and other items up there until the last day as it was never pointed out to us by the staff. I did use the lounge a lot I liked to go up to read and have a light snack or drink, the staff was courteous and usually pretty quick to get our drinks. I had a few issues the YC concierge was able to help with quickly. We did not use many more services.
Port Reviews
Ocho Rios
We walked around and shopped.