Our First Cruise, that is if you don't count the day cruise we took back in the 80's when we spent a few days in Freeport. That is certainly a different story for another time.
We got this great deal from our travel agent to experience the MSC Divina, sailing out of Miami. I will tell you now, this is not your typical "horror of a first cruise" story, but almost a full on fairytale story, mainly due to the great support and advice of our travel professional.
First off, when we decided to go on a cruise, there were hundreds of options to choose from. How do we narrow it down? This was were our Travel Professional came in, with her cape flowing behind her, like a super hero to save the day, (or the vacation as it was.)
Our travel expert had a great list of questions to ask us. In retail, we call it qualifiers to help direct the customer to the product that will fit their needs best. Turns out, it is the same thing. So, questions like: Where do we want to travel, how many will be in our party, what is our budget, when do we want to travel, what is the most important order for where, when, budget, etc. you get the picture, just common since stuff really. There were other questions she asked like, have we talked to another travel professional or have we seen a cruise package already that we were interested in and what did I like or not like about the information I already had. Again these were expected and acceptable questions. I mean if she was going to help me get the best cruise for my and my sister's need, then I have to be open and honest about what we cared about for our vacation.
After our initial conversation, where we were able to get some questions answered and give her an idea about what we wanted, she sent me some information in my email for me to review. In the email we established again my expectations for the cruise from the conversation we had and she had sent over consent forms outlining her commitment to us. There were also other information and a deposit request. All this was expected and acceptable. As far as the deposit went, this would be applied to the final cost of the cruise, when I booked with her. If i decided not to book, well, she did all this work in finding a trip that fit our needs, it would not be her fault if I decided not to book, she would get to keep the deposit. I also knew if something catastrophic happened to cause us to have to delay our trip, she would work with us in the future concerning the deposit. I would suggest you talk to your travel professional about how your deposit works. This was just my experience, other sellers of travel may have different, more restrictive, deposit policies. One other item of recommendation was travel insurance. This was a no-brainer for us. After working in the hospitality industry for almost 30 years, both me and my sister had seen and heard story after story of people who were on vacation when the unthinkable able happened. You never want to have the need for travel insurance but always want it when it is needed.
So after all the info we gave her, our travel professional came back with the MSC Divina! Don't you just love that name. But who was MSC? I had not heard of this cruise line. Of course most of my experience with knowing about cruise lines were TV commercials. Turns out MSC Cruises is the world’s largest privately-owned cruise line and brand market leader in Europe, South America and Southern Africa. After doing some research, I was very pleased MSC was going to be our first Cruise experience. You can learn more about the company on their website, MSCcruisesusa.com.
Now we had our cruise booked. Oh my gosh, I just booked my first cruise! Now what? What do I need to take? Do I need a new swim suit? Will I get sea sick? How can those little wrist bands keep you from getting sick? Did I make a good choice with getting a balcony cabin? Can I live without wifi? Will we like the food? Will my sister have a good time? OMG she does not swim well, will she be OK? Poseidon was just a movie, Titanic was real and what about that movie The Perfect Storm! LOL the things that really go through my mind...
So with a little guidance we were set. I will say I read some blogs and took some advice on what to bring to make our experience better. Some things like bringing clips to clip towels to your chairs on deck and bringing zip lock bags were very helpful. A good book is always recommended. Some of the other things were not as useful as I thought they would be, but that was just us.
When the big day arrived we loaded up in the van and headed to Miami, the day before we were to set sail. Yes, for all you cruise newbies like I was, it is 100% recommended to be near port the day before. We were driving about 4 hours but you never know what can happen to delay and you do not want to miss the boat.
After a restful night in Miami, we were ready to set sail! The MSC Divina is a beautiful ship. The Swarovski crystals on the grand staircase is a great demonstration of the glamor and elegance of the Golden Age style found through out the ship. There were beautiful chandeliers, impressive art work throughout the ship and so much more stately opulence. We were so fortunate to have a cabin near the center of the ship and this cut back on the amount of swell we would feel when at sea. This was one of many things our travel professional thought of to ensure we had a great time. I immediately went onto our balcony. Being an introvert, this was a great space for me to just chill when needed and also gave me and my sister some space when we each needed it. We then met up with some friends who were also traveling on board. The excitement was in the air as were left Miami behind and started on our voyage.
One thing we were told by our travel professional was not to miss the all ship board emergency drill. Come to find out later, (not because we missed it but we saw others did,) if you miss the mandatory drill, you have to make it up later. So word to the wise, just get it over with and have fun. Everyone else is also wearing the beautiful orange life vest.
One thing i did not take my TP advise on was booking excursions before we sailed. I procrastinated and had to stand in the line of the excursion desk. I found that a lot of other people also forgot to book ahead of time. A LOT of people. So in the line I stood. Christine was off exploring, and I was standing in line. There were a couple of excursions we did miss out on due to the procrastination. We really wanted Mystic falls and ride the alpine coaster. We missed out on those but were were able to book a couple that we were interested in and somewhere in there we were going to be zip lining. Yep my 60 year old sister was going to zip line for the first time. We will post that later, lets just say she was awesome.
So after getting through the excursion line, it was time for food. There is so much food. There is so much good food. We were assigned a dinning time in the main dining area, but the buffet was always open it seemed. We did choose the main dining area for evening meals. This is where were met up with our friends and we talked about our day. For breakfast, we decided the experience between main dinning and buffet.
So in addition to the great food, there was the entertainment. From the shows in the theater to the many live bands playing in the different clubs, we enjoyed the variety. The karaoke was a hit with our group as well as the tribute to ABBA in one of the clubs. The shows in the Broadway-size Pantheon Theatre were spectacular. They usually have 2 shows a night to coincide with the dinner seating so I suggest you look carefully at your shipboard itinerary and get there early.
From the spectacular Swarovski Crystals grand star case to the elegant dinning rooms and the impressive theater, the MSC Divina was a great first cruise for us. While on board we took a tour of of the ship. We toured the green room of the Pantheon theater where the performers costumes are stored to the kitchens where the great food is prepared, down to the laundry and everything in between. This was a great excursion and if you get the chance on your cruise, take it. We ended up in one of the signature dinning areas for lunch and it was a great experience.
Other excurisions were in port. We made our own chocolate and toured a cultural museum in Mexico.We went shopping in Cayman Islands, zipping lining and river rafting in Jamaica (Christine made a new friend), and we went to Atlantis for a day to play at the water park and beach. There was such a variety to choose from even with us waiting until we boarded to book. Even if we had not booked excursions, the life aboard ship when in port offered great activities we could have enjoyed.
We had a fantastic time on our first cruise. We will be cruising again. As an all inclusive vacation, we did not have to worry about anything. Our only concern was getting back to the ship on time and getting a great seat at the Pantheon Theater.
I recommend cruising! I found the wrist bands do work with motion sickness and the balcony for me was a haven. My sister had a wonderful time and I was the one who needed to be pulled out of the rapid river at Atlantis by the life guard and the only movie I was concerned with was the one that played out on the main pool deck in the evening.
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