Thanks to points and miles, I was able to pair free airfare and free hotel pre-cruise with an excellent deal on the MSC DIvinia. You can read more about that here.

This was my 2nd time on the MSC Divina, and I still adore her. I spent 4 days on her with a friend in an interior room. Not once did I wish I had upgraded to a balcony room. However, I did eye the yacht club…maybe one day. The yacht club on MSC is an exclusive area on the ship. It includes a personal butler, private dedicated areas, and a completely different level of service.

I flew into Ft. Lauderdale airport the day before. I try to always fly in the day before it at all possible. We stayed at the Hyatt Place Dania Beach. I was able to get this room free on points and miles. It is a very popular hotel for cruisers. In the lobby, they have an iPad you can use to request a shuttle to the Port Lauderdale cruise port or Port of Miami. The gentleman at the front desk recommended I Uber or Lyft to Miami it would be much cheaper. He was correct. We paid $43.36 for the 40-mile ride to the Cruise Port.

For a four-day cruise, I was not picky about where my room was on the ship, so we booked Bella. Bella is the standard rate on MSC. They pick your room and your dining time. We ended up with 9:30 dining. This was super late for me, but we loved our table mates and servers so much that we went every night. If your room location or dining time is important to you, definitely splurge for Fantastica. Fantastica offers the following: an upgrade with benefits like a cabin in a better location, more flexible booking terms, 24-hour room service, better located cabins, and preferred set dining time. If you are looking for anytime dining, you will need to get a balcony or suite and choose the Aurea experience. Not only will you get more flexible dining the rooms are in a better location. This may or may not be important to you.

Last night with our table mates and our waiter Nelvin

The MSC Divina is an older ship but beautifully maintained. So many beautiful areas to hang out. Don’t miss the Swarovski stairs.

Before I sailed on MSC, I heard really bad things about the food. However, I did not experience anything bad. I liked everything I ordered. One of the most popular items both cruises was Coconut Shrimp (pic below). They can even do these gluten-free. Speaking of food allergies, I was impressed the first time I was on MSC with how they treated food allergies. The head waiter came over and went over the options each night. They made sure to make our gluten free friends were safe and happy.

In my opinion, MSC has the best marinara sauce. The lines originated in Italy after all. They are known for their pizza at sea (in the buffet). You definitely have to grab a slice.

I am not a “show” person. However, I really enjoyed the shows both times on MSC. I actually saw the same shows as the first time and still enjoyed them. The entertainers definitely had talent and were so good I actually forgot I was on a cruise ship.

Even though we sailed during Spring Break and the ship was at capacity with over 1,000 kids on board. I never felt crowded. We did have to go up a few decks to find a chair to lounge. However, I enjoyed the peace up there. I think MSC is definitely worth a try if you like cruising.

I look forward to sailing MSC again in the future. I thought the staff was extremely nice and helpful. I enjoyed the food and the entertainment. You can not beat the prices of their cruises as they enter the North America market.

Thinking about sailing msc read this first!

ocean cay marine reserve