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MSC Divina is a cruise ship measured at owned and operated by MSC Cruises. She was constructed from 2010 to 2012 being originally named MSC Fantastica while under construction. MSC renamed her when near complete in the shipyard to honour the actress Sophia Loren.
The MSC Divina is the third ship of the four s, built after and , and followed by her identical sister ship the . MSC Divina and MSC Preziosa are larger than the two previous ships in the class (which were of 137,936 tons each). She is the twelfth ship in MSC's fleet, and was the joint largest ship with MSC Preziosa at 139,400 tons, until the completion of the company's (160,000 tons) and (171,598 tons) in 2017. 3,502 passengers in 1,539 cabins are accommodated with a crew complement of 1,388. The MSC Divina entered service in May 2012, with her identical sister ship MSC Preziosa following in March 2013. MSC Divina cruises in the Caribbean and Mediterranean.
Italian naval architects De Jorio Design International designed the ship and the interior areas with construction by STX Europe at Saint-Nazaire France. When near completion MSC Cruises announced that Fantastica would be renamed MSC Divina to honour the Italian actress Sophia Loren. Loren had mentioned to MSC Cruises president, Gianluigi Aponte, that she had wished to have a ship named after her. Aponte approved and renamed the MSC ship next into service after Loren.
The maiden voyage was met with protest when the ship entered Venice. Ms Loren received letters claiming that air pollution was created by the ship and the wake from her bow and vibrations created by her engines could damage historical buildings.
Divina has electric propulsion motors and Rolls-Royce folding fin stabilizers to reduce the ship's roll.
The ship's drivetrain is the more efficient diesel/electric, powered by five Wärtsilä diesel engines. The engines produce low NOx emissions, using low-sulphur fuel. The engines turn alternators producing electricity. Propulsion is by two GE Energy Power Conversion electric motors with each giving 21,850 kW at 138 rpm. Redundancy is provided, with the two fully independent electric motors each turning a fixed propeller on conventional propeller shafts. The two propellers are fully independent ensuring propulsion if one fails. The same approach was applied to the two fully independent steering systems. Further advantage of using electric motors to turn the propellers is in small sunshine ports. Each propeller is controlled individually, and quickly, for ease of ship manoeuvrability along with the four bow thrusters. The need for tugs while in the many ports of call is greatly reduced. Two of the five engines have 16 cylinders each with an output of 16,800 kW, and the remaining three engines have 12 cylinders each producing 12,600 kW. Total power generated is 71,400 kW at 514 rpm.
A sea water distillation plant produces all the fresh water needed onboard using two evaporators and two reverse osmosis plants. The ship does not pump onboard water from shore water stations. The highly efficient evaporators are completely pollution free using a system of free heat recovery as the power source.
In late 2013, she repositioned to Miami, Florida, becoming the first MSC vessel in the fleet to serve the North American market, and provided cruises to the Caribbean year round. The ship hosted the Holy Ship! music festival from January 2014 until February 2016. Her year-round program ended in Spring 2019, and she now operates in the Caribbean seasonally.
In late 2017, MSC Divina was featured in a photo exhibition by Gianni Berengo Gardin underlying the effects of cruise ships on the historical city of Venice. Le grandi navi a Venezia viste da Gianni Berengo Gardin
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