!!! DIVINA !!! Eastern Caribbean ^_^ The Ultimate Review and Complete Pictorial Guide

[gambee]

Gambee, I notice that the Carnival Ship in the background - were they on the island as well?

 

Carnival has a contract with RCCL, and they are actually renting the neighboring Island Little stirrup Cay during the days that RCCL ships are not on the island. So they were using little Stirrup Cay that day.

[cruiselife4me]

Hello Mary, thank you for your post. Glad you're enjoying the review, that is why I do them after all :)

 

 

I do have one question for you, do you mind telling me the brand of the shoes that do not slip. Possibly post a picture? This was my mom's request. I am not sure why she didn't post herself :confused:

 

Thank you.

 

My best flip flops are Teva's. They have a little more grip. I have two pair - I'm at work :) so I don't have them on but they are like this:

 

[img[http://i.stpost.com/teva-bomber-flip-flops-for-men-in-black~p~6333m_01~1500.2.jpg[/img]

 

and

 

 

When I went to Europe I bought Keens and Merrell's (kid ones...tiny feet) but I wore my flip flops almost everywhere!

[cruiselife4me]

I'm sorry - GIANT pictures!!!

[KSTAZMAN]

Thanks for the very fair review. It was you saw it. Going to miss it. Soon we will see for ourselves what she is like.

 

John.

[camofwilliamsburg]

As we all appreciate this photo essay, I wAnted to ask gambee what he felt would be more activities to enjoy?

 

We found MSC to have tons of things going on all day around the pool and in the lounge , where trivia was played two times a day, morning and late afternoon. Then there was always a game in the evening either music based or movie based.

 

They have very unique arts aNd crafts at no charge. They have tons of dance lessons and dancing in the evening to many live bands. MSC is unique with an opportunity for the ladies to dance with the officers on one occasion in the black and white lounge. The staff is around the pool stage area from 9 am until around 5 pm each day, playing games, teaching line dancing...

 

Acfually there is so much to do on a MSC cruise I do not think you can fit it all in, hence my b2b on Divina since 7 days is just not enough on this ship!

 

It is too bad that you did not enjoy the dining room due to a 2 hour dining experience. We enjoy this very much since at home, we surely never dine like that!

 

Again, thanks for all the pictures and the time posting your photo essay.

Safe travels ....

Edited September 8, 2014 by camofwilliamsburg

[happyiam]

Thank you Gambee! Another A++ review. I so enjoy reading of your experiences and thoughts on each ship you've been on. Also, you are a wonderful caring son and I'm sure your mom appreciates you so much. I understand you are concerned about your English/grammar, but don't be. You tell such a great story, with your words and pictures, that these issues are not a problem. Keep on cruising....be happy.:D

[Grandmaflower]

Hi Gambee,

 

Thank you so much for the review. My husband and I would like to rent one of those clamshells on GSC. Please forgive me if you already stated how to do so. Can I do it in advance or do we need to do it with the first hoards getting off the boat? How much are they and do you get to pick the locations?

[Bostonjetset]

Thanks again, Gambee, for a great read! You always do such a thorough job and keep everyone entertained at the same time! Can't wait for the next one!! :D

 

On a side note, I know you hate the long dinners but I am confused as to why you kept saying it is the "European" way and the ship is trying to cater to Americans so they may want to adjust that. It is true that, on land, European people enjoy longer dinners than those in the US and Canada, however I don't think the ship is missing a mark for the American market. That fact is, long dinners are a feature of ocean travel that goes back over 100 years. It is somewhat of a tradition, for both Europeans AND North Americans, to have leisurely dinners when at sea. The "anytime" dining is a fairly recent thing considering the history of ocean travel. Every cruise I have been on, both NCL and CCL, had fairly long dinners in the MDR and they have all been on this side of the Atlantic. **NCL did tend to be a bit faster due to the anytime aspect but it still took well over an hour for all the courses, when served and spaced properly.** I do hope all the cruise lines will begin to offer things that appeal to both the traditional and the anytime diners; that way everyone is pleased. I don't think of it as a Euro vs. American thing though, it is just they way ocean travel has always been.

 

Again, thanks for the great review!!

[houstoncruisers2001]

Yes, thanks for all the pics and your review. We'll be on Divina Oct. 4th with the same ports of call and can not wait. We've been to St. Maarten twice, but have not been to PR or GSC.

 

Thanks again for taking the time to enlighten us all.

[diddlydi]

Gambee I finished getting caught up with your wonderful review. I have enjoyed them all. They are always informative and entertaining. Can't wait for you to go on another cruise. Glad you enjoyed you holiday with your family. Awesome ! Awesome! :)

[riclop]

Thanks again Gambee for your great review and thanks for taking the time to do it but my opinion on the entertainment and things to do around the ship especially at night differs greatly from yours. As far as 2 hr dinners go its a relaxing way to enjoy a dinner with your loved ones. I do agree with you about the garden pool area they should enforce the rules and keep it adults only. Food is very subjective but I found the food to be much better than Carnival and RCL and on par with celebrity, there lunch buffet has a bigger variety than any other line and the MDR food is also good. We have been on the Breeze and the MDR food was so bad that we went to the Italian restaurant 5 out of the 8 nights and there the food and service was fantastic for only $12pp. Thanks again and hope you sail soon so we can all enjoy another Gambee review. BE SAFE!!!

[lindy sails]

I'm sorry - GIANT pictures!!!

 

 

Where did you purchase your flip flops? Sorry Gambee but they look so comfortable.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[tigger89]

Thanks for a great review we are on the b2b in 3 weeks time cant wait. Did your Mum have a separate internet package from you or was she able to share yours? Can you have more than one device on the package?

 

Thanks

 

Judith

[kkorman]

I was anxiously awaiting your final notes. I pretty much agree with your scoring, though I think your food and service scores were generous. I agree that 2 hours is just too long in the dining room and am happy that is usually not the norm. In fact, if you could just eliminate the MDR and buffet (aside from pizza) the experience would be a good one. :) To each their own I know, but there is just so much opportunity with the basics on Divina... The ship is pretty and their bar menus some of the best out there. Thanks for entertaining with your photos.

[modes]

I was anxiously awaiting your final notes. I pretty much agree with your scoring, though I think your food and service scores were generous. I agree that 2 hours is just too long in the dining room and am happy that is usually not the norm. In fact, if you could just eliminate the MDR and buffet (aside from pizza) the experience would be a good one. :) To each their own I know, but there is just so much opportunity with the basics on Divina... The ship is pretty and their bar menus some of the best out there. Thanks for entertaining with your photos.

 

Thats a great point eliminate the MDR and the buffet and eat pizza 24/7. WOW!!!!!!!!

[kkorman]

Thats a great point eliminate the MDR and the buffet and eat pizza 24/7. WOW!!!!!!!!

 

Lighten up, it was a joke. However, it was what our group ate while onboard... When all else failed. Call me a food snob if you'd like... I work in the industry, so probably am, but it was just not good.

[dreamer976]

 

Can you spot my heli?

 

 

Isn't she gorgeous? I wish the view was not blocked by the containers.

 

 

 

 

Gambee & Gambee's Mom!!! Hello and so glad to see that you've been back aboard a cruise ship. I know I'm really late to this party, but if I can't dedicate lots of time at one sitting to reading one of your fun (and very informative) reviews, well it's just a "tease"!!!

 

I and my sister spotted this cute little thing also, while cruising out of Ft. Lauderdale this past May to begin our transatlantic and believe it or not, I had you in mind when I got a couple of photos of it. I've tried to upload them here but to no avail. I'll email them to you; you can post them if you'd like.

 

Enjoying this immensely . . . now where's my dirty martini???;)

 

Ellen

[Mikesa1721]

Taken from our balcony on deck 16 aboard MSC Divina using 100mm-400mm lens:

 

 

[/img]

 

[globrcircler]

Great review so far! I enjoy your detailed reviews and appreciate you taking the time to post them for those of us who have to live vicariously through you! ;) I also just started following you on FB.

I'm sorry about your Grandma (and other family members who are also ill). Please don't worry about the typos and grammatical errors. We get the gist of what you are saying! :D

 

Oh, Gambee. Ditto to all of the above. I find your occasional grammatical glitzes totally charming. Sometimes I think I hear you speaking them in what I am sure must be a beautiful accent. I doubt most of your readers for whom English is a first language could write nearly as well in French, Spanish, or German. It is indeed a good day for many of us when we flip on the computer and find Gambee is on a new cruise. Wow! The review must be coming soon, right? And, come it does, and we all can't wait to devour every single word and pic. Don't change a thing. Yours are the only reviews I trust.

Can't wait to see pics of mom and auntie in their tiaras.

Carolyn in Texas

[LynMcGad]

Another really great review Gambee! And I really like how you conclude your reviews with individual ratings for various aspects of the ship. That lets me focus in on those things that would be important to me, and maybe disregard those things that I don't really care about. Well done! I am just sad that it is over.

 

Looking forward to the next one.

Lynda

[JSnow789]

 

 

 

 

Do you see the faces in the rocks??? I count at least 3. There are legends about them but I forgot what they are :)

[soaringfalcon]

Another great review!!! You have such a knack for making us feel like we're right there. Thank you so much for all of your hard work.

 

A few notes on GSC. This is coming from our visits with NCL so the MSC visit could be different.

* The cabanas you saw were the large cabanas. The small cabanas are located further down and they are closer to the water. NCL also offers a shuttle. For us it was well worth it for the privacy, shade, shower, and $50 food/beverage credit.

* They have foot washes that run on the tender ramps. Maybe MSC didn't use them??

* One thing NCL did well was had ship personnel at the tender entrance making sure the line was orderly and passing out ice water.

[DENIE]

Great review Gambee! Thank you for your effort. I really enjoyed all the photos of the more unusual places aboard the ship (hallways, elevators, etc.). We will be on Divina in November, and I feel like I know it much better now..... Thanks again!! :)

[BugsyCruiser]

Another great and very comprehensive review my friend! Well done! :)

[JSnow789]

Thanks for the great review-I just finished. I hope you are still around to ask some question for my upcoming Divina Cruise:

 

I need shade. So I was thinking I might get an umbrella that I can attach onto any chair. I'd use it onboard and while we were ashore. What do you think? They have several and I could enjoy anyplace on the ship!

 

It's nice to see that MSC actually still serves Lobster! Last few cruises on RCCL they had done away with it!

 

Are there any LGBT meetings scheduled? How are they announced? I didn't see anything in the daily programs.

 

Camera lenses: I really liked the fish eye for in illustrator mode and for the videos. But not for regular still pictures. :)

 

I'm happy to get an extra GSC magnet that I will drop in the mail for your mother. :)

 

Thanks again for the time and effort. It really is appreciated!

 

Cheers!!!

 

J