Never in my life did I think I would ever go on a cruise because I have severe motion sickness, hate lines & crowds & I prefer slow travel. But because of a good friend of mine from MSC we had the chance to try it. For me this was a once-in-a-lifetime experience & I feel lucky to have had it. We went on one of the older ships called:
MSC DIVINA
I’d like to clarify that I can only speak about MSC DIVINA, which is an older, smaller ship & was the very first MSC cruise ship to have a Yacht Club. It also has the gorgeous SWAROVSKI STAIRCASE with GOLD PLATED banisters and hardware. If I’m not mistaken the newer ships use stainless steel now.
Before boarding, I thought I would hate the BROWN furnishings, carpets, walls & art of the MSC DIVINA, but it was a lighter brown than what I saw in YT videos.
Do you want to know how someone with severe anxiety of crowds & lines was able to do it? Three words:
MSC YACHT CLUB
I never knew I could go on a cruise until I learned about Yacht Club from my friend. It is pricier than the regular cruise ticket, but for me and my inability to do long lines and huge crowds, it was worth it. I definitely cannot afford to do this without my friend’s discount but for a once-in-a-life-time experience I’m happy to have experienced it. Now what’s the difference between buying a regular balcony room vs a MSC Yacht Club balcony room?
YACHT CLUB DELUXE BALCONY SUITE
Our MSC DIVINA Yacht Club Deluxe Balcony Suite wason the 15th floor (15014) right beside the CONCIERGE DESK which is both convenient but can also be noisy with people passing by to go to the CONCIERGE DESK or TOP SAIL.
At 6 sqm with a BALCONY it’s absolutely luxurious on a ship. It also has a BATHTUB. We love that there were so many surface & hidden storage areas. We did not need any magnetic hooks as recommended by tour experts.
MSC DIVINA YACHT CLUB MINI BAR
MSC DIVINA CLOSET
The small WALK-IN CLOSET had enough hangers, drawers & a safe.
MSC DIVINA YACHT CLUB BATHROOM
WHAT LUGGAGE DID YOU BRING?
What we brought and where we stored them in our suite:
- RIMOWA Essential Trunk Plus H 80 x W 42 x D 37 cm fits in closet
- RIMOWA Check-in L H 78 x W 52 x D 27 cm fits under the bed
- RIMOWA Essentials Lite Cabin H 55 x W 37 x D 23 cm fits under the bed/in closet
- SAMSONITE soft handcarry trolley fits under the bed/in closet
The 2 large suitcases (#1&2), we dropped them off in the MSC Yacht Club station by the entrance of the embarkation area. We kept all our essentials with us in our 2 small hand-carry suitecases (#3&4) with us through the embarkation process because we were not sure when our 2 large suitcases would be delivered to our room.
WHAT WAS IN OUR HAND-CARRY?
We placed things we might need while waiting for the large suitcases in 2 hand carry luggage. We arrived at the embarkation area at [INSERT] and saw our 2 luggage by our door at 3pm. I guess we got it quicker coz we are in YC. What we packed in our hand luggage:
- Medication
- Natural kid-safe Hand sanitizer
- Gadgets & chargers
- Extra change of clothes
- Set of pajamas
- Sea-bands,
- Cocculine Boiron Homeopathic Meds (You can also ask the concierge for motion sickness medication)
- Acupressure Bracelets waterproof, good for swimming & boats
- Travel toiletries
- Swim suits
- Sunblock
- Slippers
- Bag that can be used to go to the pool
- Small snacks
- Insulated waterbottle – we wanted to keep your FREE sparkling water cold
- I didn’t bring real jewelry on this trip, but I still had an accessory box.
Is there anything else you think you might need with you before you’re reunited with your large luggage?
SCHEDULE
Obviously each cruise will have a unique schedule and based on the conditions, there will inevitably be some changes. I’m just placing this here so you can see a sample of a cruise schedule, to see if this is for you. Personally early and packed days isn’t for me but it allowed me to visit places I’ve never been to before.
DAY 1: CIVITAVECCHIA PORT 5pm
We flew in to ROME 2 nights before the scheduled embarkating just to make room for any delayed flights, baggages, etc. DO NOT FLY IN ON THE SAME DAY. It’s going to be super stressful.
From ROME to the port, we booked a private transfer with our hotel, which took us directly to the boarding area. The driver had a special card to open the port entrance gates. Standard fee to the port from ROME is 150 Euros one way.
We looked for the MSC Yacht Club Luggage Drop Off Tent before following any lines that are for the regular cruisers. It was right by the entrance. We deposited our 2 large luggage & used the toilet right beside.
Then followed the BUTLER to the special VIP LOUNGE where we we were offered some DRINKS & SMALL SNACKS to munch on while waiting to get our passports & IDs back for EMBARKATION.
Normally diplomatic passports make things faster, but not this time. Because we had Filipino Diplo Passports & Swiss Carte de Légitimation (diplomatic residence card for Switzerland) the staff were very confused if we were allowed into the countries that we were docking in, especially Turkey. But as Filipino Diplomats we do have an agreement with Turkey and are able to enter with our Diplomatic Passports. It took a while but with the help of our Filipino Butler Jerome, we finally got our cards back. Anyway this is a good reminder to check that you have the VISAS REQUIRED TO ENTER THE PORTS that your cruise will be docking in.
Our check in vs regular check in
DAY 2: AT SEA
DAY 3: MYKONOS, GREECE 2-11:30pm
Because it’s a small port & another cruise ship got there before us, the MSC DIVINA couldn’t dock. We had to get off using TENDER BOATS (smaller boats that assist a massive cruise ship when it cannot dock by taking the passangers to & from the big ship to the port).
DAY 4: KUSADASI, TURKEY 9am-6pm
DAY 5: SANTORINI, GREECE 8am-9pm
DAY 6: AT SEA
DAY 6: NAPLES, ITALY 11am-8pm
DAY 6: CIVITAVECCHIA PORT 7-11am
