8-Day Cruise to the Aegean Sea Aboard MSC DIVINA

I have been on 6 cruises, and have never experienced a cruise so awful in my life.

Dining and Food

The overall food quality was extremely disappointing. I took photos to document the food quality, which i intend to share publicly and potentially submit to travel publications. I have been on six other cruises, and usually one of the highlights of cruising is the food. These dinners were hardly edible. My girlfriend and i had to order room-service sandwiches every night because we were still hungry after dinner.

We were only allowed into the black crab restaurant, and there were extremely long lines simply to get into dinner. Even with four entrances to the restaurant, and despite our aurea package with my choice dining, we were directed to the one entrance with a 30–45 minute line. It did not matter what time we arrived; there was consistently a long line, and we received no meaningful priority seating.

Dinner service was consistently slow. Getting food or drinks took so long that, on multiple occasions, the delays caused us to miss scheduled shows.

We were consistently seated near small children who were screaming and crying. There should be an adults-only or elegant restaurant option for guests looking for intimacy, quiet, and romance. On the last night, we decided to go to galaxy for a calm, private, romantic dinner, even though it cost extra. Instead, the kids club was operating immediately nearby and was extremely loud and disruptive—with screaming children approximately 10 feet from our table, running around in circles while being led by staff. Absolutely unacceptable for what was supposed to be an upgraded, romantic dining experience.

The buffet was another disappointment: awful food, overcrowding, and virtually no drink service. We could not get waiters to bring a soda or juice and at one point stood at the bar for more than 20 minutes simply trying to order one. Basic sodas and juices at a buffet should not require this level of effort. We routinely had meals with nothing but water because the hassle of trying to get a coke, coffee, or orange juice simply wasn't worth it.

Being forced to use digital menus on our phones at dinner felt cheap and completely inconsistent with the atmosphere of a premium cruise vacation.

On a positive note, my girlfriend and i both lost weight on the cruise because the food options were so limited and so unappealing that we frequently did not eat on the ship. When we did try, we sometimes waited in line for 30 minutes, gave up, and went hungry until ordering room service later that night.

As a side note, pizza was advertised as being available for 24/7 room delivery, yet we were denied it each time we requested it. Room service repeatedly told us, "cold food menu items only," despite the fact that we literally had information in our stateroom advertising 24/7 food options that included pizza. If there was a policy preventing pizza delivery at those times, it directly contradicted the information msc provided in our room.

Lack of Adult Spaces

The number of screaming and poorly supervised children throughout the ship was overwhelming. We understand that msc accommodates families, but there was virtually nowhere for adults to escape it. There should be clearly designated adults-only lounges, pools, dining areas, or other spaces. We could not find anywhere to simply relax other than our stateroom, where unfortunately we had to spend far too much of our cruise just to find some quiet.

Even the casino had children and babies around it, in addition to significant cigarette smoke. A casino should be one of the most obvious adult environments onboard.

Casino Experience

The casino was particularly disappointing:

Drink service was extremely difficult to get while gambling. Dealers, the pit boss, and i all requested drink service several times before anyone finally arrived.

My girlfriend was told she could not sit next to me while i played, despite other non-playing guests being allowed to sit next to players. The way this was handled was extremely rude, and i do not understand why she was singled out when the same restriction was clearly not being applied consistently to other guests.

The casino was heavily affected by cigarette smoke. At the same time, there were young children and even babies in strollers sitting in or immediately adjacent to that cigarette smoke. How is that considered acceptable?

There was no poker, despite poker being a common offering on many cruise ships.

Numerous gaming tables physically existed but were not opened, leaving too few available tables and making the operating tables unnecessarily crowded. Children were also frequently standing around the tables watching.

Children and very young children were regularly present throughout the casino environment.

I also had a serious issue with the application of the blackjack rules after splitting 8s. My understanding of standard blackjack rules is that after splitting 8s, each resulting hand can generally be played as an individual hand and additional cards can be taken, subject to the specific posted house rules. Restrictions on receiving only one additional card are commonly associated with split aces. The dealer would not allow this and the ruling cost me money while playing. If msc's house rules differ, i would like msc to provide the applicable blackjack rules for this sailing and explain the rule that was applied.

For guests who actually want to spend money in the casino, all of this created an unnecessarily frustrating experience.

Drink Package Disclosure

We were not adequately informed that purchasing the $79-per-day drink package would require the entire cabin to be charged for the package. That is a major financial condition and should be made extremely clear before a guest begins the purchase process—not discovered afterward.

I purchased the package, but my girlfriend did not plan to drink on the cruise and therefore did not order one. Nevertheless, both of our accounts were charged. Fortunately, once we noticed the issue, a bartender manager was able to refund both charges.

Guest Services

Trying to get assistance by phone was unacceptable. We experienced waits of over an hour, multiple disconnected calls, and instances where we were simply hung up on. A guest should not have to spend an hour of their vacation trying to reach someone for a basic request.

Tender / Priority Boarding

We were not properly informed about priority tender boarding and consequently waited with group 2 when we apparently had access to priority boarding. Benefits are meaningless if msc does not clearly explain them to guests.

Lack of Daytime Entertainment

There was also a surprising lack of worthwhile daytime activities. We expected considerably more entertainment—game shows, organized activities, adult programming, and things to do around the ship during sea days.

There was very little for us to do during the day. We could not even find a place to relax at the pool because of the enormous number of loud children running and screaming throughout the pool areas. There appeared to be no truly adults-only area or deck. Even the solarium had children.

And when we did find somewhere to lie out, there was virtually no drink service or anyone regularly walking around taking orders. We had to repeatedly walk to the bar and wait in another line just to order a drink.

Stateroom Cleanliness

The exterior windows of our stateroom were filthy. We paid for a room with a view, yet the windows were dirty enough that we could not even take clear photographs through them. That significantly detracts from the value of paying for a view in the first place.

Had a lovely time with my daughter and grandson on a week long cruise from Rome. Cruise included Italy Greece and Turkey ports of call. Embarkation was well organised, sea view cabin was spacious and main dining room food was varied with lots of Mediterranean options. Divina is prob my favourite cruise ship in this class and this was my 3rd sailiing on this particular ship, the other two were caribbean and central America. The menus reflect the area where the bulk of the passengers come from so the menus were more European for this sailing. The cruise staff were probably the biggest positive, hard working and super friendly/helpful. We had GF requirements and nothing was too much trouble. Loved the itinerary and excursions. This was a peak season cruise and the ship was full so we planned according with eating times and pool use. Avoided buffet and ate all meals in MDR and swam early or late. Different nationalities onboard as expected and no issues, everyone was friendly and particularly understanding with my grandson who has additional needs. Enjoyed my cruise on Divina again.

Two of my adult kids and I cruised on MSC Divina in July out of Rome to Mykonos, Kusadasi, Marmaris, and Naples. We had the Aurea experience, balcony cabin, and Premium Extra Drinks package. Here are the positives and negatives of our experiences:

Embarkation was efficient, taking about 20 minutes total. We initially got a numbered embarkation group, but when I mentioned we had Aurea, we got Priority group which allowed us to skip the line and go right to credential check. Everything was seamless. Rating: 10/10

Main Dining Room: most of our dining was in the Black Crab MDR. We ate all meals there, except for one meal in the Galaxy Sushi restaurant and our meals on shore. One of our party was gluten free/dairy free. He had completed the MSC survey prior to the cruise and they had all his information in the system on day 1. Quality of food and variety was excellent. There were different lunch and dinner options every day, while breakfast had the same menu every day (but lots of choices). Service was excellent and one of the head waiters personally took my son's GF/DF order and delivered his food. Portion sizes were good and you can order as many appetizers or desserts as you like. The waiters were all very helpful and responsive. Having Aurea experience My Choice dining was incredibly helpful and highly recommended. Rating: 10/10

Specialty dining: We had a specialty dinner that we reserved on embarkation day at the Galaxy seafood restaurant. Service and quality of sushi was amazing, as was the view from our table. Main course (I had chicken teriyaki) was OK. Worth the $30/person we paid. Rating: 8/10

Room quality: we had an Aurea balcony room that was clean and very well maintained. Twin beds were comfortable and our Cabin Steward was cheerful, responsive, and was effective at anticipating our needs. Minor nits: would have liked to have more drawer space and outlets by the night tables. Also, pull out bed could have had a more comfortable cushion. Rating: 8/10

Service quality: I found all the staff on our ship to be outstanding. From the US ambassador, to the cabin steward, the staff in the MDR, the people at the Excursions desk, main desk, and bars (especially Cafe Italia) were incredibly helpful. All staff seem incredibly engaged and willing to go the extra mile. The servers were from a diverse population, but I had no problem communicating with them. Rating 10/10

Theatre shows: These were about 35 minutes each and notable for their energy and talent. We especially liked the Abba Songbook and Circus shows. We did these either before and after dinner. Rating 10/10

Ports: We enjoyed all four ports: Mykonos, Kusadasi, Marmaris, and Naples. On Mykonos, we signed up for the MSC 2 hour walking tour, since it guaranteed us an early tender. It was under 20 people and the guide was loud, enthusiastic, and knowledgeable. We booked private tours in Kusadasi (for Ephesus) and Naples (walking tour). We self explored Marmaris. My favorite was seeing Ephesus, be we enjoyed all four ports. Leaving the boat and returning was very efficient. And the two sea days were well placed for recovery. Rating: 10/10

Disembarkation: We chose to self-disembark, and easily walked right off the boat. Easy and efficient. Rating: 10/10

Atmosphere: In a word, fun and diverse. True, many guests didn't speak English, but we're going on a vacation to Europe! So I didn't really care. I like that the officers, including the Captain, were accessible and we had a nice conversation about leadership. Night time music was fun, especially in the Atrium and the La Luna Piano Bar. Cafe Italia was the place to go for cappuccino and drinks, and the free sandwiches at Piazza Del Doge were a nice touch. I don't see how this could have gone better. Rating: 10/10

What could improve:

- Sometimes we detected a slight smell of smoke, even in the non-smoking areas, especially on the pool decks and near the casino. I don't smoke and I don't llke the smell, but it was tolerable. But if you're very sensitive, keep this in mind.

- The Garden pool was supposed to be adults only, but this could have been better enforced.

Things I didn't evaluate:

- Because of allergies, we consistently used the Black Crab MDR. I went up to the buffet once to get a salad at 11pm and it was chaos. I can't really evaluate the buffet, but my one sample was not favorable.

- I like to moderate my sun exposure, so I didn't heavily use the pools and certainly wasn't looking for a lounger on the cruise deck. Of the two times I used the pool, I thought that La Sirene indoor pool was the best experience. But that's a small sample size.

Overall: I went in with guarded expectations because of all the negative reviews. My one other cruising experience was on HAL Nieuw Statendam in 2019 to Norway, which was an excellent cruise. In short, based on what is important to me, I believe that MSC delivered an excellent experience. I would definitely prioritize using this cruise line again.