Review of MSC Divina Sailing Oct 29th-Nov. 4th 2017

[relaxatsea]

Thanks so much! I am really enjoying your review, and yes, now I can see your pictures, wonderful!

 

I'll be following along for the rest of your review, I really appreciate your taking the time to do it!

[lovelearnteach]

Thanks so much! I am really enjoying your review, and yes, now I can see your pictures, wonderful!

 

I'll be following along for the rest of your review, I really appreciate your taking the time to do it!

 

Awe thank-you I truly appreciate your kind words. Despite my rocky start with the pix I'm just glad I finally got it worked out :D.

[lovelearnteach]

So here we are day 2 of our vacation. I have some pretty ambitious plans for today, let's see I need to lay in a lounger on the pool deck. Followed up by some more lounging in a lounger and to top it all off, laying in a lounger. I do have to be ready at 5p.m. as I volunteered to help Chumley at the bon voyage party at Scandles tonight. I have to say we hit the jackpot with weather for all 3 of our days in Ft. Lauderdale as it was perfect. 80 degrees not to hot but warm enough for a dip in the ocean and the pool.

 

Up bright and early to see the sunrise.

 

Back view of hotel from the beach.

 

 

 

[lovelearnteach]

So after watching the awesome sunrise we were getting hungry and ready to rustle up some food. I went on Yelp to find the closest breakfast and came up with Ocean's grill a 5 minute walk from the hotel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I got the Eggs Benedict, they were very good. It came with a Bloody Mary, which i had no desire for. I asked if I could get some Breakfast Potatoes instead. You would have thought I had asked for a diamond by the waitress's reaction. Some freakin potatoes are way cheaper than an alcoholic drink, but she wasn't having it. She finally offered a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice which was good, but I would have preferred the potatoes

[Living4acruise2day]

Wonderful review so far. Enjoying it immensely. Just a question about the food poisoning though. What makes you think it wasn't the noro virus? How does one know the difference? Loving your review

[lovelearnteach]

Came across these lovelies on the way back to the hotel.

 

I love this little palm tree, I want one for my house :D.

[lovelearnteach]

Wonderful review so far. Enjoying it immensely. Just a question about the food poisoning though. What makes you think it wasn't the noro virus? How does one know the difference? Loving your review

 

Thank-you so much I really appreciate your kind words :).

 

Well without actual medical diagnosis I can't say with 100% for sure it was one or the other. It's just I know my body, and the circumstances leading up to getting sick. Of course one of the main differences is that norovirus is highly contagious to others and for weeks after symptoms have stopped, while food poisoning is not contagious at all. Also norovirus does not reproduce in food as bacteria does causing food poisoning. The medical center surely was not the least bit concerned, nor were they insistent I see the Dr. in fact quite the opposite. Also in general you run a fever with norovirus, while not necessarily with food poisoning. I never did have a fever. I really only had symptoms late Thur. afternoon and evening, I was just weak as a newborn Fri., by Sat. I was pretty much fine. A virus generally runs a longer course. Also a virus takes 24 to 48 hours to effect you, in general, while a bacteria causing food poisoning effects you within hours of consuming, again in general.

 

 

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[lovelearnteach]

So we headed back up to our room and I changed into my swimsuit and gathered everything I needed for a day of lounging on the pool deck. It was a beautiful gorgeous day and I spent the entire day alternating between lounging and taking dips in the ocean.

 

My view from my lounger.

 

The hotel was having a wedding preview to showcase what they could do for your wedding at their hotel.

 

 

 

This was the place to get all your beach rentals. The loungers on the pool deck were complimentary, but if you wanted to use one on the beach you had to pay. They also did have a few cabanas you could rent on the pool deck, as well as all the water sports toys. We didn't rent anything so I can't comment on their use. I was lounging near here and it seemed to me the gentlemen working there were very friendly and quick to accommodate.

[lovelearnteach]

 

 

 

[lovelearnteach]

So the rumbling in my tummy told me it was time to grab some lunch. We decided to keep it simple and quick for lunch, so we headed to the McDonald's right across the street from our hotel.

 

 

[lovelearnteach]

So the time came to gather up my stuff and head back to the room to get ready for tonight. The shuttle was picking us up at 5 to take us to the bar. Chumley told us he was going to buy pizzas for us volunteers, so that would take care of dinner. While waiting for the shuttle in the lobby I snapped a few pix of that area.

 

Siting area in the lobby and the entrance to the restaurant.

 

The gift shop in the hotel.

 

This hallway led to the pool deck from the lobby. On the guest room floors there was an elevator that went down right to the pool deck.

 

We never did eat at the restaurant, so I can not comment on the quality of food or service here.

 

The restaurant appeared to be really nice and had both indoor and outdoor seating.

[lovelearnteach]

 

[lovelearnteach]

That concludes day 2, our bon voyage party was a success and we all had a great time. Coming up embarkation on the MSC Divina :).

[ykennedy35]

Your review is great. The hotel looks nice. I think I’ll be changing hotel plans for our upcoming sailing. How far was the port from the hotel? What transportation did you take to the port from the hotel?

 

 

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[kimmie6067]

On the walk home the sky was just so pretty.

 

 

Came across these beauties on the walk home.

 

It was getting dark by the time we got back to the hotel.

 

So we went back up to the room and watched tv for a little bit, then changed into our swim suits and headed for the hot tub on the pool deck. It was a a huge hot tub, and we had a good nice long soak. Then it was bed time afterwards. That concludes day 1 of our vacation.

Love the review so far!! It stinks that you got FP

[lovelearnteach]

Your review is great. The hotel looks nice. I think I’ll be changing hotel plans for our upcoming sailing. How far was the port from the hotel? What transportation did you take to the port from the hotel?

 

 

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Thank-you for the kind words i really appreciate it :).

 

Well the hotel is in Ft. Lauderdale, and the ship sails out of the Port of Miami, which is about a 45 minute to an hour drive depending on traffic. For the ride there our host, Chumley, arranged transport. It was $16pp, for the return we were on our own. He had suggested we purchase the MSC transfer to Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood Airport for $30 then Uber/Lyft/Taxi from there to the hotel, which was $17 on Uber Pool. So I went to the Customer service desk to ask about the transfer and the gentleman said not to get it that a taxi would only be about $35. Another gentleman in our group who we sat with at dinner, who is from FLL, said he didn't think it would be that cheap he thought it would be more like $100. So the next day I used a computer on the ship, it's $6 for the first 5 minutes and then .60 cents a minute after that. I checked Uber and Lyft and it said around $40. When we got in port and off the ship Uber Pool was $37 form the Port of Miami to the Ocean Sky Hotel & Resort and it took about 40 minutes maybe a little less, I felt that was pretty reasonable, Lyft was a little more and I never checked what a taxi would cost.

[lovelearnteach]

Love the review so far!! It stinks that you got FP

 

Thank-you so much for the kind words and support :). It did and I missed the Pirate show Thur. night which everyone raved about as the best show so far. At least I got to go to the Skywalker show on Fri, night, which was awesome and a don't miss! I also had to miss our groups private party on Thur. night. So it did ruin the last day and half of my cruise, but it did not ruin my vacation.

[lovelearnteach]

So our host, Chumley, had arranged transport to the Port of Miami from our host hotel for $16pp. We had a 10:30a.m. or a 1:30p.m. option on transport. We chose the earlier one and were on the road by 10:30a.m. We arrived in Port of Miami I believe around 11:15-11:20a.m. We breezed right through security and right through check-in. We were given boarding group 4 and we went to find a spot to sit and wait. They had orange juice, pineapple juice and ice water for us while we waited. We sat for maybe 15-20 minutes and they called for #4. I was very happy with the whole process, it went very quickly and we had no issues. We were on board very quickly in my opinion. We were in the buffet eating by 12 or a little after. They were still switching from breakfast to lunch.

 

We're almost there!

 

Miami

 

 

Our first look at the Divina.

 

The skies were looking rather ominous.

 

The Carnival Glory in Port of Miami with us.

[lovelearnteach]

The Carnival Sensation also in port with us.

 

Oh that lovely sound, DING, and our first steps on board, the cruise has begun, yippee!!!!!!!!!

 

We headed right for the buffet, and my excellent sense of direction led us right to the ever famous pizza.

 

 

I'm not happy at all to get some pizza as you can tell by the look on my face.

[lovelearnteach]

I started with a piece of Pepperoni Pizza and a piece of Prosciutto and Black Olive. The pizza was very yummy if you like NY style pizza.

 

 

A picture in the buffet.

 

 

 

 

The rain has started, sure grateful to be watching it from this side.

 

 

[lovelearnteach]

Round 2, Mashed Potatoes (real potatoes, a little dry, but good), Popcorn Shrimp (very good but no cocktail sauce), Cheese (they always had a good selection of cheese on the buffet), Bread (they always had a good selection of fresh made bread), Prosciutto (very yummy, they always had a good selection of sliced meats), Lamb Curry (first time I had lamb and liked it, very good), Caramel Cream Puff (very good) Raspberry Panna Cotta (very good)

 

Broccoli Soup (it was ok it needed cheese).

[lovelearnteach]

Art work in our cabin.

 

Our inside cabin on the 12th floor.

 

More art work in our cabin.

[lovelearnteach]

I walked down to the back of the ship to find the "secret" balcony that is on every passenger deck. Nice quiet little spot to go.

 

 

 

 

 

[lovelearnteach]

 

[LuCruise]

Great review so far. I've only ever been on Royal and Disney and interested in hearing more about MSC.

Am so very sorry for your loss. Really sad and hard to lose someone so close.

 

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