Friday, March 27, 2015

Off to the Caribbean on MSC Cruises

I have been on many different cruises on various cruise lines. I have to admit, however, that I knew nothing about MSC Cruises. As soon as I did, I was immediately intrigued at the concept of this European line who had one ship in the U.S. I was also fascinated with their Yacht Club idea which gives a luxury “ship within a ship” experience.

It didn’t take me long to say “yes” and before long Mom and I were off packing to head off on the MSC Divina.

The ship leaves out of Miami for the Caribbean, while the other ships of this Italian owned line travel throughout the world. (MSC is in the process of bringing two additional ships to Miami in the next few years.) It’s a fairly large vessel with 1,637 cabins that can hold nearly 4,000 passengers.

I’d like to say that the check-in process was all quick and easy, but there was a bit of confusion as to where the MSC Divina Yacht Club passengers were to go. Once that was settled and we were in the right place, we had champagne in our hands and a butler escorting us to our cabin before most of the ship had even finished registering.

Our room was within the exclusive Yacht Club section, which has its own specialty restaurant, lounge for breakfast and cocktail hours, a private pool area, and butler service.

We were in a Deluxe Suite for guests with disabilities (my mom uses a medical scooter). It was quite spacious with a European king bed, a coach, desk, dresser, closets, and a bathroom with a shower (the same room that wasn’t handicap accessible had a bath tub too).

The room also had a television, wireless internet, a complimentary mini bar, and comfortable robes, something all guests in the Yacht Club get regardless of the MSC Cruise they take. 

Mom and I didn’t have very long to get settled before we had the law mandated muster drill. After that was done, we unpacked and got ready for dinner.

The main dining room for the Yacht Club guests on the MSC Divina is actually Le Muse Restaurant. It was a bit tricky to get to, but our butler showed the way for us that first night.

Le Muse was nothing like I expected. It didn’t resemble any cruise main dining room I had ever seen. Instead, it looked like a quaint café in Italy, both in size and décor.

The service at Le Muse was perfect and we were instantly made to feel welcome with glasses of Prosecco.

As MSC Yacht Club members we were given complimentary beer, wine, and cocktails in this restaurant, as well as our lounge and pool area.

The wine selection was fantastic, but they didn’t hesitate if we didn’t happen to like the dinner choice to bring something else.

This list included: Caesar Salad, plain or with shrimp or chicken; a beef and chicken vegetable soup; pasta with fresh tomatoes and basil; an Angus beef filet; and a salmon filet in dill sauce.

The dinner menu gave us a choice of appetizers, salads, soups, main course and dessert. If we didn’t want something from the selection of the day, we could always chose to pick something from the “Alternative Choice” menu.

I started with a creamy and satisfying tomato soup and Mom enjoyed the Caesar salad with shrimp.

For a main course, I thought the Pumpkin Risotto with truffle and parmesan was amazing. Mom decided to keep in healthy the first night and went for the salmon with grilled vegetables.

We definitely indulged on the desserts. We were unable to resist when they came around with a fruit and cheese cart that rivaled some that I have seen in France.

It was followed by a delectable chocolate and almond brownie covered in a vanilla sauce for me and a mouth-watering coconut ice cream topped with bittersweet chocolate foam for Mom.  

After dinner, we decided to skip the show and head back to the cabin. We were both exhausted from the long day, and glad the next day was at sea so we would have plenty of time to explore the MSC Divina.

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