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

[gambee]

Another interesting thing has changed in my life. Now I have a fancy new allergy to raw fish. And I have to carry these two $400 beauties with me at all times…

 

For the longest time I thought I had an allergy to soy, and I dealt with it accordingly. But about a week before the cruise I bought a fish ceviche (no soy) and I had the scariest allergic reaction of my life. This is the very first time that I felt that I could not breath, it was terrifying, trust me, you do not want to go through that. So I went to the doctor and he recommended I carry epinephrine at least until I get the test done and figure out exactly what my body is reacting to. It appears to be fluctuating between white fish only, but recently it started reacting to tuna as well.

 

Either way, that was to close off a call for me, I have completely stopped eating raw fish. The sad part is that raw fish was nearly 25% of my diet. So I had to carry out a few adjustments. It seems like my body hates me. I love cheese and I can’t eat it unless medicated. Now I can’t eat another favorite food, lol. I am screwed! Hey, you live, you learn, you adapt.

 

Here are the epinephrine shots.

 

 

 

The next pictures require a bit of an explanation. Some time ago I had a Divina cruise booked, we had no choice but to cancel the cruise due to my grandmother diagnosis. MSC did nothing for me at that time, I kind of make me think of the case of the child that was diagnosed with cancer and NCL refused to do anything until the family escalated the matter. I do not know why, but to me it seems like cruise lines can be insensitive at times. Anyway, I did not have insurance and I lost the deposit for 5 people. It was quite a bit.

 

I spoke to the Media relations specialist and she gave us the VIP package for this cruise. What this means is that you get a bottle of Asti at the beginning of the cruise and some fruits. You also get invited to some event that I never went to, you know me, I am low key and the event was on Gala night and everyone was very elegant. The last thing that we got and the one I enjoyed the most were the priority tender tickets for Great Stirrup Cay. Just so you know there was no VIP treatment other than the specified items. I believe we also had access to a car, but I never got around checking that out.

 

Please note, my reviews stay faithful to their roots. This act from MSC won’t influence my final report. I am analytical and honest. That is for this reason that I am bringing this up and telling you all about it.

 

Anyway, so while we were in the room waiting for the bags, room service called us and asked us to wait in the room for 5 minutes so they could deliver the goods.

 

 

My uncle rushed to the ice bucket to get pictures to send to his wife. My mom was sending pictures on her iPad, faster than the processor knew what to do with them!

 

 

 

[gambee]

I'm surprised you noticed them...they're not your thing! ;)

 

Happy to find another great review to follow along...keep up the great work Gambee!

 

OMG, they were everywhere!!!!! :D

 

 

It's so nice to see you here :)

Edited August 26, 2014 by gambee

[gambee]

We waited for about an hour or more, and still no bags. A few of us started getting hungry, remember none of us ate breakfast that day. We decided to hit the buffet one more time. We had the late seating dinner, which is at 8:45, so it would be a long time for us to see some food again.

 

I will comment on the dinner times now, I think it’s a good time. I know I am talking a lot on day 1, but I am trying to get a lot of details out of the way. I will get to the point, anytime dining should be available on all cruise lines! I know many of you like the set dining times, but some of us don’t. Divina has two large dining rooms, why not set the smaller one to anytime? 6PM is was still too early for us, and 8:45 is way too late. I also found out at the Yacht Club offers anytime dining….. We regret not getting the early sitting, even being at 6PM, it was much better than waiting until 8:45. A lot of days, we got tired of waiting and ended up in the buffet, and missed dinner.

 

Anyway, here are the pictures of what we got.

 

Uncle

 

 

Aunt. The gnocchi was pretty bad. That's my Arnold Palmer :D

 

 

Mom

 

 

Mine was good, the cheeseless pizza was perfect at that time. I had forgotten my lactose pills in the room.

 

 

The food hit the spot and it just enough to hold us afloat for the hours to come.

 

 

OK Folks, I am Drained! I will post another set tomorrow. I hope everyone is liking what I have done so far =)

 

[CruiseIreland]

Thank you so much for this little nugget. I hadn't heard of this App before - I now have it downloaded to my iphone & DH's and can't wait to try it out when I board Preziosa next Saturday.

 

Have a great cruise, Bea. Looking forward to your report. Let us know how the app works too! Ken

[Laney219]

 

 

There are a lot of nutella products on board.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

any idea why there is all the nutella? The one pic by the air hockey table has about 10 jars?!

[jimbri]

Good to see you, Gambee. I have been checking the MSC board for a few days for your review. The ship looks beautiful! Hi to mom.

[gambee]

any idea why there is all the nutella? The one pic by the air hockey table has about 10 jars?!

 

They were actually like little stools. I think the ship has a partnership with Nutella. They have a Nutella crepe station, I document that later on.

[gambee]

Good to see you, Gambee. I have been checking the MSC board for a few days for your review. The ship looks beautiful! Hi to mom.

 

I am here :).

 

Mom probably already read your hello.

 

Thank you so much for following along, it is very much appreciated.

[gvlgolflady]

Hi Gambee,

I have been waiting for this review; I love the way you write and all your beautiful photos. Thanks for taking all the time you do to write them. This is indeed a beautiful ship. Can't wait for more.

Shirley

[LittleMissMagic]

I'm really stumped on why MSC is so quickly pulling Divina from the US, as well. MSC had two options when deciding to cruise out of the US - to market the cruise to Europeans wishing to sail the Caribbean, or to reach the US market. MSC claims to have chosen the latter, but seem to be doing a haphazard job.

 

MSC hasn't made much of a marketing presence in the US. There are no television or radio campaigns that I have noticed on US networks. What I have seen are unbelievable Groupon deals, offering a 7-day cruise for $269 per person in an inside stateroom. If I could fit it into my schedule, I would snatch one up! They've also been rather present on Twitter and hosted a Cruise Chat on family cruises several weeks ago.

 

Clearly, MSC's attempt to reach the US market was a failure.... but so much that they determined that it's best to withdraw, rather than to hire a marketing executive who is familiar with and successful in the US market? It makes me wonder if they didn't allocate enough funds (or funds in the appropriate sector) to begin this expansion in the first place.

 

I am really enjoying the interior of the Divina, though. It's a very forward design... a bit flashy, but tastefully so.

 

Europeans love Nutella. I ate it for every meal when I was living in Italy.... didn't even need to spread it on anything. I could suck it right out of the packet! So after returning to the US, I quit Nutella cold-turkey.... but that giant container has me craving a taste.

[LittleMissMagic]

They were actually like little stools. I think the ship has a partnership with Nutella. They have a Nutella crepe station, I document that later on.

 

NUTELLA CREPES!?!?!?!? Sounds like heaven!

[EasyPeasy]

I've been waiting and waiting...

 

Can't wait for your review Gambee!

[Beamafar]

Have a great cruise, Bea. Looking forward to your report. Let us know how the app works too! Ken

 

Hi Ken, will do (but no report - who could follow Gambee?:D) You caught me right off-guard as I was getting through this thread!!

 

This is such a great read.

[cruiselife4me]

Last Minute Changes

 

Well, as you all read my cousin bailed out on us, that meant that either he had to pay for that empty spot or we had to find someone to cover his spot. I tried my best to get one of my friends to go, but finding someone at the last minute was kind of hard. None of my friends could make it and I also needed someone who would not throw the group dynamic out of balance. In the end, we decided to just leave the spot open and my cousin would pay for his portion.

 

A few days passed and my mom realized that we had completely ignored one person, my aunt. Well, technically she is not my aunt, but you know how Spanish families go, we are all related to each other one way or another, lol. OMG that sounded racist, anyway… So yeah, that actually interests me, why you ask? Well, we knew she could not pay for the cruise fare, but she could pay for the air ticket from her home country. That meant that someone had to cover her cruise ticket to make it happen. The main reason why this interested me was because she is just PLAIN FUN! She makes fun out of boring situations; I have to admit that there are scarce people that carry this kind of personality trait. I knew she would be an excellent addition to the cruise. In addition to that, mom clicks with her very well, and I could see it in my mother's eyes, she really wanted her to come.

 

After all that had happened to our family this year, and more specifically to my mom, adding my aunt to this cruise would make this trip so much better. That night I sat down and went over my finances. It would not be particularly easy to make it happen. I not only had to pay for her cruise fare, but add to that shore excursions, drinks (she does not drink much), and extra expenses, it all added up. Plus August was a heavy month for me, as I had to pay for the fall college semester. Ummm, you do the math; Gambee would have to go into his savings to make this happen.

 

Long story short, there was no question about it. SHE HAD TO COME! Once I told my mom, you could hear it in her voice. It was just what we all needed; my aunt was the perfect person to fill in the vacant spot of the cruise. Mom proceeded to call her and inform her. She could not be happier! I think the entire cruise changed that day; it would be an entirely different experience. Now you had a loud and obnoxious Spanish family boarding a very luxurious Italian vessel.

 

For those who have followed me since the beginning, you might actually know my aunt. Do you remember that my mom took a second cruise on the Norwegian Sky without me? Well, that cruise she took with my aunt. And from the pictures that I got back, I can only tell you that the cruise is among my moms favorite ones. So yes, all in all, I did this for my mom.

 

 

 

God BLESS your Gambee for your love of family and especially your mom. You are can class act! OK, got to go finish reading!!! :D. Mary

 

Sent from my QMV7A using Forums mobile app

[cruiselife4me]

All the equipment looked like new and it looked like top of the line. But then again this is coming from a guy who only sees gyms in boarding days of his cruises. So that really does not say much :D

 

 

Oh Gambee, you crack me up...and I feel the same way!!!

 

Sent from my QMV7A using Forums mobile app

[gambee]

Hi Gambee,

I have been waiting for this review; I love the way you write and all your beautiful photos. Thanks for taking all the time you do to write them. This is indeed a beautiful ship. Can't wait for more.

Shirley

 

Thank you for Following along Shirley :)

[gambee]

I'm really stumped on why MSC is so quickly pulling Divina from the US, as well. MSC had two options when deciding to cruise out of the US - to market the cruise to Europeans wishing to sail the Caribbean, or to reach the US market. MSC claims to have chosen the latter, but seem to be doing a haphazard job.

 

MSC hasn't made much of a marketing presence in the US. There are no television or radio campaigns that I have noticed on US networks. What I have seen are unbelievable Groupon deals, offering a 7-day cruise for $269 per person in an inside stateroom. If I could fit it into my schedule, I would snatch one up! They've also been rather present on Twitter and hosted a Cruise Chat on family cruises several weeks ago.

 

Clearly, MSC's attempt to reach the US market was a failure.... but so much that they determined that it's best to withdraw, rather than to hire a marketing executive who is familiar with and successful in the US market? It makes me wonder if they didn't allocate enough funds (or funds in the appropriate sector) to begin this expansion in the first place.

 

I am really enjoying the interior of the Divina, though. It's a very forward design... a bit flashy, but tastefully so.

 

Europeans love Nutella. I ate it for every meal when I was living in Italy.... didn't even need to spread it on anything. I could suck it right out of the packet! So after returning to the US, I quit Nutella cold-turkey.... but that giant container has me craving a taste.

 

Well said! :D

[gambee]

NUTELLA CREPES!?!?!?!? Sounds like heaven!

 

Not my Fav, but I am sure many loved it. My main issue wit Nutella is the nuts taste, I am not a fan.

[gambee]

I've been waiting and waiting...

 

Can't wait for your review Gambee!

 

Thank you for posting and following along :)

[gambee]

God BLESS your Gambee for your love of family and especially your mom. You are can class act! OK, got to go finish reading!!! :D. Mary

 

Sent from my QMV7A using Forums mobile app

 

Thank you Mary :o

[gambee]

Oh Gambee, you crack me up...and I feel the same way!!!

 

Sent from my QMV7A using Forums mobile app

 

I really tried to go to the Gym, but that failed on the second day when I couldn't get out of bed :D

[JFontaine]

Thank you for taking the time to do this review. It's lots of fun.

 

When are they pulling the Divinia out of Florida? I'm booked on a charter in April 2016, Eastern Carribean itinerary.

[mmorris85]

Thanks for taking us all again on a "virtual cruise"! You have an amazing gift of storytelling, beautiful pictures, and love for your family that really makes your reviews unique and personal!

Can't wait for the rest!!!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

Edited August 27, 2014 by mmorris85

[gambee]

Thank you for taking the time to do this review. It's lots of fun.

 

When are they pulling the Divinia out of Florida? I'm booked on a charter in April 2016, Eastern Carribean itinerary.

 

I think it is around April of 15, and then bringing her back for the season. It just won't be a year around cruise like they had previously stated. MSC stills wants a presence in the US market, but they are not as committed as they originally stated.

[gambee]

Thanks for taking us all again on a "virtual cruise"! You have an amazing gift if storytelling, beautiful pictures, and love for your family that really makes your reviews unique and personal!

Can't wait for the rest!!!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

Thank you very much for your kind comment, it is truly appreciated. I hope you continue to enjoy the rest of the review :)