MSC Divina, that big beautiful girl from Italy, now enjoying her first full year in the U.S., will soon be my home for a week. She debuted in 2012 with Italian film star Sophia Loren as Godmother.
Headquartered in Geneva, MSC Cruises is a Swiss-registered, global cruise line and the world’s largest privately owned line. Twelve ships fly the MSC banner and are deployed across Europe, South America, Asia and the U.S. Two new vessels will join the fleet in 2017 and 2018.
I like the international feel of MSC ships. It is almost liking arriving in Europe as soon as I board at PortMiami.
Even the entertainment is international.
While I am in no way an opera buff, I am looking forward to an opera performance one sea day. I have always enjoyed entertainment on MSC ships, but this is a first and while I doubt I will become a convert (my iPad play list includes Leonard Cohen, Bruce Springsteen, the Beatles and Frank Sinatra – but I do have three versions of Turandot’s “Nessum Dorma.”), MSC is the only line offering an afternoon show.
There’s also a Wine Blending Experience that I anticipate, where guests custom bottle and label their own wine. And I am also anticipating rediscovering Eataly, that great on-board restaurant, a branch of the restaurant with eateries in New York, Boston, Chicago and Los Angeles in addition to other major cities around the globe. The restaurants also sell Italian foods – yes, onboard as well.
The ship calls at St. Martin, San Juan and Nassau before returning to PortMiami.
Heidi, Editor-In-Chief
