Embarkation began at Terminal F at PortMiami in South Florida. Embarkation was relatively quick and smooth sailing. Within only a few minutes, we had checked in and we had embarked onboard the “newly Americanized” MSC Divina. Once onboard the MSC Divina, we settled into our balcony stateroom on deck 9. My first impression of the stateroom was very good, as it is obvious that MSC put a lot of work into designing stylish, functional, and modern staterooms. I was very happy to see that the stateroom had my favorite layout, where the desk is towards the ocean and the sleeping area is towards the corridor. Not only does this design seem more functional, but it creates for a more spacious stateroom.
Soon, it was time for lunch, so we headed up to the Calumet Buffet. The Calumet is the ship’s casual buffet style restaurant, located on deck 14.The buffet is very smartly laid out in the “island” style buffet. Each “island” featured a different Italian (as well as some American) favorites such as pasta, soups, cuts of beef, pizza, sandwiches, and even burger. The Calumet isn’t short on food nor is it on seating. The Calumet features tons of tables scattered throughout, in addition to the hidden countertops and alcove seating. For lunch, I ended up sampling a few items from the Calumet – pepperoni and spicy salami pizza, a Hungarian salami and bell pepper sandwich, and some homemade pasta. All in all, my lunch was very delicious and I can’t wait to dine in Calumet again on day 2.
As the sun began to set over PortMiami, the party was just beginning on the MSC Divina’s Lido deck. To help kick off the inaugural sailing from PortMiami, the MSC Divina hosted a huge party on the Lido deck. The party included the ship’s dance crew, tons of free MSC flags, Divina cocktails, real MSC diva’s, a huge big screen displaying #MSCDivina tweets from guests and the media, and great live music. The entire ship was rocking and the adrenalin was flowing! Soon, the sun began to slip over the horizon and our press group began to move to the aft infinity pool. It was time for the greatest surprise of all. After a short wait, fireworks suddenly began to launch from a boat docked behind us. It was truly incredible to watch these huge fireworks exploding over our ship to celebrate our inaugural cruise. MSC states that life should be measured in moments not minutes, well, that fireworks show over the aft deck will be a moment I will always remember.
Soon, it was time for dinner. After changing into nicer attire, we made our way down to the Black Crab Restaurant, one of the ship’s main restaurants. I was happy to find the I was to be seated with a few friends I had met earlier this week in addition to a few old friends. My dinner started off with a delicious shrimp cocktail, which featured the largest shrimp I have ever seen on a cruise ship. Simply great! Next, the fettuccine alfredo was served, which was also very good. Adding to the overall quality of the fettuccine alfedo, the ship’s pasta is of the highest quality, as it made fresh onboard each day. The already great meal was topped off with a delicious, warm apple crumble with vanilla ice cream. Simply put – this meal was fantastic.
The night eventually ended with a great performance by the ship’s entertainment staff in the pirate themed stage show, Billy Bones. The show not only featured great singers, but great performances by acrobats, magicians, and jugglers. The combination of acts throughout the show made for a great and exciting performance. What a great way to end my first day onboard the MSC Divina.
Mike is currently sailing aboard a 3 night preview Bahamas sailing onboard MSC Cruise’s MSC Divina.
One reply on “MSC Divina To The Bahamas – Day 1”
It is great to finally get to meet you on board in person! Here’s hoping the rest of the trip is as much fun as it has been so far. Loved your fireworks video. I am going to post this and your arrival on my blog too with links etc. Will let you know link once live