Precautious as first-time MSC cruisers, our 3-days prior-to-departure purchase paid off wonderfully! Other cruise lines going to our chosen Southern Caribbean ports on 11-night itineraries or less in early January were elevating their Interior fares to equal the $699 we paid for an Aft Balcony. Fares aboard this MSC Divina cruise were dropping at the end. Blog videos, pix, and reviews made the ship sound crowded, but since the balcony provided "private real estate" with a wonderful glass wall and wake view, we went for it and were so pleased! Deck chairs WERE rail-to-rail on sea days, but we chose to stroll decks in the mornings and evenings, timing some of our buffet visits to periods when it was almost empty. The terrific 3-story water slide was NEVER crowded the whole cruise! Embarkation-Disembarkation was efficient and pleasant taking about 30 minutes both times. My last-minute purchase gave the seller no time to send documents, but that presented MSC registrars no problems, smoothly processing us like others. MSC's European (Italian) culinary and entertainment style was just right for us. There were many healthful menu and buffet choices with always-wonderful breads of all varieties. From gymnasts to operatic vocalists, the tasteful theater shows charmed and thrilled, sometimes to tears. The cabin carpet was "tired," and corridors seemed to always have room service trays in them. Unlike other cruise lines, there were no super-soft beds with fine linens. Our Deck 13 Aft cabin transmitted vibrations and creaking sounds in the night. But, we enjoyed the view more than enough to compensate. High-deck Aft balconies are extremely shallow, but we adjusted the love seat to face the balcony and treated it like a very large picture window. We almost never buy ship excursions, opting for independent excursion operators available outside port terminals on-shore. In Aruba, "Full-Throttle" provided a 90-minute snorkling trip to reef and ship wreck for only $40! The whole trip was grand!