I’m an MSC convert

A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of sailing for four nights on MSC Preziosa.  As MSC’s newest ship, I expected it to be good but it was fantastic and excelled all of my expectations.

On Sunday, I returned for a 7 night sailing on MSC Divina.   The ship is beautiful, the staff are friendly and really do their best, the cabins are clean and modern and the itinerary was fab too.

My friend and I left for Miami on 21st November flying with American Airlines from Heathrow (with a very well behaved special guest who joined us for the flight).

Max the Maltese Pup!

Three films and four episodes of ‘Orange Is The New Black’ later we landed in a windy and overcast Miami for a one night pre-stay at the Grand Beach Hotel Surfside.  This isn’t a hotel that I have used for guests before so it was an ideal opportunity for us to check it out for potential future guests.  I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the hotel.  At the far end of Collins Avenue it is a bit further out than the hotels in the South Beach area but still right on the beach in a fantastic location.  All of the rooms at the hotel are Suites and we were shocked (in a good way) and the size of the rooms.

One room, two full bathrooms

A HUGE Suite

The back of the hotel taken from the beach

Huge shower

Is this TV big enough? If not, there’s another one the same size by the bed

Super King size really comfy bed

One night here really wasn’t enough and I’d recommend two just so that you have time to see Miami and use the fantastic facilities at the hotel before heading to the cruise port.  The hotel has a restaurant (and the veggie pizza and goats cheese and beet salad are a must), two pools (one rooftop pool), jacuzzis and the most helpful Concierge team I’ve come across.  Breakfast was also included which was American Buffet style with a huge choice.  The hotel also offers free WiFi.  And with night time views like this from your private balcony, you get the full package.

Miami by night

The following morning after breakfast we were collected from the hotel and taken on the 30 minute journey to the cruise port in Miami.  We used a private transfer service for this journey (rather than the shuttle we used for the airport to hotel journey) and I’d definitely recommend private transfers.  Although shuttles are often the cheaper option, it can take a while with all the stops along the way to get to where you need to be and after a 9 hour flight can be quite tedious.

Check-in went smoothly with hardly any queuing and before we knew it we were looking at this view from our balcony cabin.

Miami skyline

Divina was set out in exactly the same way as her sister, Preziosa, which made it nice and easy for us to get our bearings quickly.  We went up to the buffet to get some lunch and again, the selection and quality of food offered was exceptional from burgers, pizza and pasta to salad, fruit, daily specials which included roasted meats, fish, curry and plenty more.

We sailed from Miami at around 7pm and our dinner sitting was 8.45pm.  We met some wonderful people and dined with them every night except one (purely because we wanted to try the evening buffet so that we could let you all know what it’s like!).  After chatting to the two other couples at our table for a while, it transpired that one of them had actually booked their cruise with our very own Lee here at Cruise.co.uk!

We had a day at sea followed by a stop in Jamaica at the port of Falmouth.  Upon arrival in Jamaica we discovered that the wind had followed us and although it was a lovely 28 degrees, the wind was hideous.  We had a quick look around the shops in Falmouth (and I picked up some lovely Blue Mountain coffee) and then headed back to the ship.

The following day we arrived in Grand Cayman.  The weather was beautiful (and no wind!!) so we took the opportunity to soak up some sun by the (almost empty) infinty pool at the back of the ship on deck 15.

Our next port was in Mexico although we arrived a little late after a medical emergency on board the night before meant we had to head back to Grand Cayman half an hour or so after leaving (thoughts with the family of those involved).

Paula opened the curtains that morning in our cabin and I asked ‘What can you see?’.  The reply I got? ‘I can see the Caribbean Princess and she’s RIGHT THERE!’ She really was right there – they pack them in to that port!

MSC Divina (left), Caribbean Princess (right) and Vision of the Seas (back)

This is a fantastic port to stop at.  You can either do an excursion from the port to visit the Mayan Ruins or just go for a wander in the local area.  We chose the latter and still saw a Mayan Temple, tried some different flavoured tequilas (yuk!) and even saw some dolphins before heading back to the ship.

We found a temple!!

And some dolphins!

More dolphins

Just before sunset

After Mexico we had a day at sea before we were due to arrive in the Bahamas but unfortunately, the weather prevented us from being able to anchor as it wasn’t safe to tender.  Instead I took some video footage of the waves (sea and pool!)

Have a look at them here

And here

We sailed back into Miami on 29th November after a thoroughly enjoyable cruise.

Overall, MSC are fantastic.  Plus, they’re one of the cheapest cruise lines in the Caribbean (and often the rest of the world too) so you can’t really complain.  Everything is perfect.  The pool areas are spectacular, the decor is elegant and the staff really are amazing (if a little over-worked at times).

I highly recommend MSC based on the ships I have seen so far (Magnifica for a day and Preziosa and Divina for actual sailings).  Their itineraries are often very port intensive which means you  get the most out of your cruise.

We even met our very own celebrity look-a-like (spotted by and photographed with Paula)

Can you guess who it is?

Let me know your thoughts on MSC.  Have you sailed with them or planning to?

Read my review of Preziosa here:  Wowed by MSC Preziosa and the best value for money drinks package