MSC Divina Transatlantic - Barcelona to Miami, 28 November to 14 December 2023

[Best Cat Mom]

Just now, DaKahuna said:

is the daily schedule they leave in your cabin the same for YC as it is for the rest of the ship?

It is marked for YC as a four-page folded program, plus there is a one-page double-sided insert also with the YC logo -- for a total of 6 pages. We've only stayed in YC so I don't know what exactly is different. The hours for the YC areas and entertainment for YC is shown on the last page. I'll try to post it separately when I can.

[Best Cat Mom]

Here is the last page of the program -- the first two items listed for Breakfast and Lunch are YC exclusive and the first one for dinner is:

[Best Cat Mom]

I saw in another thread that someone wanted to know how much a Divina model cost in the Divina logo shop. We checked yesterday on this model is 46.90 Euro:

 

If anyone else saw that question, could you let me know where so I can post in their thread too? Thanks!

[DaKahuna]

1 hour ago, Best Cat Mom said:

Here is the last page of the program -- the first two items listed for Breakfast and Lunch are YC exclusive and the first one for dinner is:

 

 

 Thank you very much.  This is exactly what i wanted to know. 

 

[Best Cat Mom]

Day 11…

 

Another gorgeous morning. The ocean looked like glass today. We never expected to see such calm waters during a crossing.

 

We had Baileys and coffee in the room and then headed to Le Muse. We arrived for breakfast at ~8:45am and were the only people there. We figured One Deck must be busy.

 

BCD ordered MSC Express and French toast with maple syrup. I had an egg white omelet with bacon and cheese. We both had mimosas and I had a cappuccino.

 

We walked back to YC, stopping at a bunch of bars to try to procure supplies, then headed to TSL to begin the days' work.

 

At lunchtime, we walked back to Le Muse. We discovered that the lunch menu was different from the one online. Now we started to think maybe yesterday's was also different and the prawns might not have been on the menu -- and might make an appearance in a future lunch. It was not a big deal since we loved our BC lunch yesterday. If the prawns do appear again in a future lunch, the good news is we still have 1 BC meal left to avoid them.

 

For our starters, BCD ordered Caesar salad with chicken and I ordered the baby shrimp. I offered BCD a taste of my shrimp because they were a new menu item for us and I thought it was a great dish. He tried them and agreed. He agreed so much that we asked for a second order to share and savor. We now have another new "don't miss" dish. 🙂

 

For entrées, BCD had a burger and I had Caesar salad with chicken (no croutons, of course, to make it GF). BCD had 2 Heinekens and I had 2 glasses of sauvignon blanc.

 

We returned to TSL to resume work. We saw that the bar has new glasses for the US sailings, with striations, and some are slightly larger in size. There is also a glass with a Tiki-type carving for tropical frozen drinks, with thicker glass for insulation apparently. The crew is also getting training on how US guests differ from Europeans as far as service is concerned, including how Americans tend to chat more with servers, want to talk about their day or how their excursions went, how they will maybe sit at the bar instead of at a table, etc. Given that Divina was in Europe for so many months, I guess there is crew that have never been to the US and/or Caribbean before. Great idea to give them some idea what to expect.

 

During the afternoon, the sailing became less smooth. There were not any white caps, but the waves were visibly bigger and the sway of the ship made walking a bit more of a challenge. This is sort of what we expected the whole crossing, so we were surprised that it began when we were nearly to the Caribbean. I don't think anyone who is sensitive to the motion would be bothered, just that we all look like we just had 5 rounds of sidecars and old fashioneds as we're walking around the ship. LOL

 

Around 6:30pm in TSL, the live music had just begun and BCD was off chasing scarce supplies when I heard the happy sound of a champagne cork popping. I've always considering that sound a happy one -- one that perks my ears up, like a cat's ears go up when they hear a can opener. And not 2 minutes later a butler brought me a fresh glass of champagne. 🙂 Love TSL!

 

(And a few minutes later the bartender came over with the bottle remnants for BCD.)

 

We went back to the cabin, changed for dinner and arrived at Le Muse around 8:45pm. Tonight was white night so I wore white jeans and a tropical-ish top while BCD wore a white shirt with light colored pants. The restaurant was quite deserted but got busy shortly after we arrived. I guess a lot of people went to the show before dinner. I did not realize that I missed having a livelier crowd at dinner until now. People seemed to be enjoying Le Muse as much as we were tonight.

 

As with lunch, the menus we were handed did not match the online ones. Unfortunately, I only have the online ones for this meal. I'll do my best to describe our menu choices, but we cannot seem to recall anything other than what we ordered. Mi dispiace! I'm sorry!

 

We looked over the menus while sipping our champagne and this was when we made the happy discovery of the different menu. We both chose foie gras for our starters, and Glenn offered to give us double portions when we told him how much we liked it. Entrées were lamb shank with chianti wine sauce for me, surf and turf for BCD, and truffle risotto to share. Great menu all around, very yummy!!

 

Ryan knew that we'd be switching to a red wine. We were discussing whether we'd want a cabernet sauvignon when he suggested a Syrah. We jumped at that option since we'd not had a Syrah yet on this sailing. It was an Italian Syrah, hearty and not as fruit forward as the Australian ones we usually drink. We had no problem drinking 3 glasses of it each.

 

Ryan has the makings of a great "gold tie" server (that is, the lead server and not the assistant, who wears a black tie). We're hoping that he gets promoted by the time we sail on Divina again in April. So what if we have to choose between Glenn and Ryan? They are both great in Le Muse and will also be good mentors to whoever they have as their next assistants.

 

For dessert, BCD chose the cherries jubilee and I ordered vanilla ice cream with a shot of Kahlua, knowing that BCD would enjoy it after he finished his cherries.

 

We headed back to TSL for music and 3 rounds of sidecars and old fashioneds and then to bed.

 

Day 12 tomorrow…

[Best Cat Mom]

Day 11 Lunch menu (from online, not what we had in Le Muse):

 

 

[Best Cat Mom]

Day 11 Lunch menu (from Le Muse, not what was online):

 

[Best Cat Mom]

Day 11 Dinner menu (from online, not what we had in Le Muse):

 

[DaKahuna]

Are the online menu’s from a website only accessible on the ship’s WiFi? 

[Best Cat Mom]

Just now, DaKahuna said:

Are the online menu’s from a website only accessible on the ship’s WiFi?

Yes. There are QR codes displayed in various places on Divina for different menus, including bars and restaurants. There may be more outside of YC, but we've only used the ones within YC for Le Muse and TSL.

[Best Cat Mom]

Day 12…

 

We woke up to the sun before the alarm and the same lively ship movement, but no whitecaps. We had Baileys and coffee in the room then headed to Le Muse for breakfast. It was the last sea day and now that we're closer to the Caribbean, it is getting quite warm outside. There were nearly 20 people in the restaurant for breakfast so maybe the One Pool Deck was a little too hot? Or maybe the Pool buffet was starting to get boring after 5 days? Or both?

 

BCD had an MSC Express with French toast and maple syrup. I had a bacon and cheese omelet. We both had mimosas and I had a cappuccino.

 

We stopped in the casino the way back to the room to add some money to our room cards so we'd have cash for tips at the (sniff) end of the cruise. $300 is the max you can charge to the cabin on the slot machines in a single request, so we each added $300 for today. We'll go back another day to add more.

 

While we were at the casino, BCD went to the bar to get us some drinks to keep our thirsts at bay whilst we loaded our cards. He noticed that they had Drambuie on the bar. He had asked for a Rusty Nail in TSL a few days ago and they said that they did not have any Drambuie on the entire boat so could not make one. When we got back to TSL, BCD let the bartender know about the Drambuie at the casino bar. From what we heard about negotiation between the two bartenders, TSL strong-armed the Drambuie away from the casino bar because -- well, YC.

 

After we were back in TSL, Pepe came around to greet each table as he does every morning -- and afternoon, and evening, and whenever he is in TSL -- and asked how BCD was coming along on "his" car. BCD explained that he was making some improvements and Pepe said that was good because he wanted "a special one," one that was unique and not like anyone else's.

 

I had a few glasses of champagne to help the cause and then we wandered back to Le Muse for lunch. We both had beef carpaccio for starters (one of our favorites) and beef tagliata for our entrées. Santa Christina chianti was a great accompaniment for both courses.

 

After lunch, BCD had a especially great tasting Rusty Nail, knowing that those in the casino were going without. I planted myself in TSL and he went back out to the various ship bars to beg for supplies. At 3pm, the TSL butlers began to set up for tea. I hadn't seen a card in the room last night or any notice on today's schedule about afternoon tea so I asked if I had missed something. They said that there hadn’t been any announcement and the butlers had not even known in advance. I guess they decided to do something at the last minute today. Later we found out that they ran tea until 6pm to give people a chance to discover it since it wasn't widely known.

 

We're not tea people so we retired to our cabin to allow others to enjoy tea time. A little while later, BCD went to TSL to get us new drinks (can I have a Rusty Nail please? not if you're in the casino LOL) and some truffle chips. One of the butlers offered to "help him" carry everything back to the cabin and then made sure to check progress on the cars before leaving.

 

Eventually, it was time to dress for dinner. We arrived at Le Muse at ~8:15pm. We perused the menus with champagne in hand. We both chose the herbed salmon as starters. BCD ordered the duck ragout for his entrée, I ordered scallops and we shared a risotto.

 

The salmon was one of the best preparations we've ever had for this dish. Glenn had anticipated that we would like it and had added two of the salmon pieces to each of our plates. We were glad that he did as the salmon had a generous amount of dill coating the edges of the twirled slices and was very tasty. We love dill and are fairly heavy-handed with it in our own cooking.

 

We were also surprisingly pleased with the shrimp risotto. We're normally not big fans of it because it has tomatoes with skins and we prefer cooked tomatoes to be blanched to remove the skins. The flavor here was so excellent that we just ate around the tomatoes. We hardly ever finish the risotto, even the truffle and champagne risottos, because there is just too much food in 3 entrées. But we always try!

 

I drank champagne with my entire meal, while BCD changed to Santa Christina Chianti with his pasta. I had some serious food envy when I saw the duck ragout over the homemade pappardelle -- not envy enough to destroy my stomach though, so I never tried it.

 

For dessert, BCD had coconut cake and I finished my champagne.

 

We headed back to TSL for music and nightcaps. We had 2 rounds of sidecars and old fashioneds in that wonderful new glassware, finishing the last round in the room. No time change tonight and Le Muse closes 30 minutes earlier tomorrow so we needed to get to bed at a reasonable time.

 

Day 13 tomorrow…

[Best Cat Mom]

Day 12 Lunch menu (from online, not what we had in Le Muse):

 

[Best Cat Mom]

Day 12 Lunch menu (from Le Muse, not what was online):

 

Edited December 10, 2023 by Best Cat Mom

[Best Cat Mom]

Day 12 Dinner menu (from online, not what we had in Le Muse):

 

[Best Cat Mom]

Day 12 Dinner menu (from Le Muse, not what was online):

 

[Best Cat Mom]

Day 13…

 

We woke up before the alarm but today it was a cloudy, rainy sky. No land was yet in sight from our balcony. About an hour later, while we enjoyed Baileys and coffee, Sint Maarten finally came into view. The rain had stopped and the sun was peeking through the clouds. We had found the New World! Christopher Columbus would be proud. 😉

 

We went to breakfast earlier than usual, since it ended 30 minutes earlier because we docked early. As we walked to Le Muse, we saw all the loungers out. On the way back to the cabin, nearly half of them were re-stacked, which made us think that more people went out than expected.

 

By the way, we learned that early in our MSC cruising days -- to "go out." When the crew talks about going ashore, they refer to it as "going out." They always ask us "did you go out today" and we've learned to ask them the same. We're not sure if that is an MSC-specific phrase or all other cruise line staff use the same words.

 

We also learned that they go out for mainly 2 reasons. The first is to get a magnet for their quarters. Apparently, they want one for every place they've ever been and they use them as a sort of pecking order with their co-workers. More magnets = higher status. The second is for wifi. They only have browse wifi so they'll go to a Starbucks or McDonalds, buy a cheap drink and download a few days' worth of digital content to watch during their off hours.

 

For breakfast, I wanted to again try to the soft-boiled eggs. I ordered the 6-minute eggs this time, with bacon on the side since it was possible that the eggs would again not be as I expected. BCD had the MSC Express and waffles with maple syrup. We each had a mimosa and I had a cappuccino. I was pleased with my eggs but they were not cooked to exactly the same amount of doneness. Then I started thinking about how every egg is different and so of course they were not the same. All my years of cooking hard-boiled eggs had made me less-than-sympathetic to cooks of soft-boiled eggs. I ask now for forgiveness and promise to be kinder in the future.

 

We had tried to book a motorcycle excursion for this port but it had been cancelled. We've done motorcycle tours in the past and like how you can drive around learning an island at your leisure. The rain this morning made us not so unhappy that the tour was unavailable. Who wants to pay to get wet and drive on slippery, unfamiliar streets?

 

We headed back to TSL, stopping at BCD's regular supplier bars to collect the previous night's loot. Once back in TSL, BCD put some last minute touches on the "special" car for Pepe and awaited his arrival in TSL for morning greetings. Pepe came in just a little while later and BCD presented the car to him. He smiled like a little kid and proceeded to carry it around for awhile, circulating with other guests.

 

Next Rudy appeared in TSL and BCD gave him a car. Rudy had expressed a big interest in car racing in addition to being a key supplier of scarce resources (the needle-nosed pliers) so BCD was happy to give him one. The day that BCD showed Rudy a completed car, Rudy walked around TSL admiring it for nearly an hour before he finally gave it back -- his actions telling us he truly wanted one of his own.

 

BCD wanted to be especially careful to only give cars to people who said that they "wanted" one and not just that they "liked" it or thought it was "great." There is so much talk here about how the crew really does not want gifts because they have no room in their living areas. People say to give them tips or don't bother. We wanted to make sure that they wanted the car and did not accept one to be nice.

 

Then back to production mode. A short time later, Elvin found us to give us information for tomorrow when we docked in Puerto Rico. Since this was the first US port on this sailing, every passenger (not just US citizens) will have to disembark to pass through customs with their passports, etc., for a face to face check. For YC, they would take us to the port terminal in groups from approximately 7:30am to 9:30am. Re-boarding would be allowed after all guests cleared immigration, which sounds similar to what we've experienced on B2B cruises out of Florida. We have an excursion in Puerto Rico, though we're not sure yet what time, so we're hoping that we'll be able to go through immigration on the way to the tour and come back at our leisure.

 

We sorta lost track of time and arrived late to Le Muse for lunch, at 1:45pm. On the way, we passed 2 couples from YC who told us that the restaurant was closing early for a drill. When we got there, another couple was still there having lunch and they did not give us any indication they wanted to close early. When we were nearly done, we noticed that most servers were gone, not milling about working to change the tables for dinner.

 

We later found out that there was supposed to be a coast guard drill after breakfast that had been postponed until after lunch. And then later still we found out that it had been postponed until tomorrow. Apparently, the US Coast Guard did not have to be precise with when they would perform their drill but the crew did have to be at the ready in case it occurred. None of the crew were able to go outside because they needed to be ready for the drill at any time.

 

In addition to the coast guard drill, there were also inspections planned. Since the ship was coming back from Europe, US inspectors were expected at either Puerto Rico or Miami. This inspection is not announced and so the crew must be ready for whenever it might occur. Also, a group of MSC VIPs were expected to board today to "help" prepare for the inspection and do a pre-inspection of their own. We couldn't think of more stress to put on this crew! At least they had the luxury of a nearly half-full ship on their side.

 

For starters at lunch, BCD had the hamachi carpaccio and I had the octopus soup (one of my favorites!). We both had tournedos for entrées, each of which were generous and thick portions. BCD had two pieces of beef, like they had come to know he really likes beef. We thought that the cuts of beef might have been filet mignon, because they were so much thicker and more tender than we have in the tournedos dish in the past. We drank pinot noir during our entire meal.

 

On the way out of Le Muse, BCD stopped at the Garden Bar, the bar for the adult Garden Pool, and picked up a nice supply of champagne remnants. One of the bartenders there saves more supplies for BCD than anyone else.

 

We went back to TSL and gave Hubert a car. He also was a major supplier and had expressed a desire to have a car. I have a picture of him grinning and showing it off. The man is clearly happy to have one. We were happy to give it.

 

After a little while, we went back to our cabin to relax. We decided to get dressed up for dinner since there is only one more gala night this cruise but not until Tuesday.

 

We arrived at Le Muse a little early at around 7:45pm, thinking that the VIPs wouldn't show until later. We discovered that they were already there, in an 8-top in the raised dining area in the back. We usually sit there because that is Glenn and Ryan's station. They were keeping all the other tables in that raised area unoccupied though, so we sat in the section to the left with a view out to the Garden Pool on one side and their table on the other.

 

On the way into Le Muse, BCD presented Ryan with a car. From Ryan's reaction, you'd think it was a real car. After he'd given us so many supplies, we couldn't believe he really did not expect one. We have a picture of him with said car as well that I'll post eventually.

 

We told Glenn that we were surprised that he wasn't serving the VIP table. He said it did not matter. "Aha!" we thought -- no risk of making a CLM so he was fine. (CLM = career limiting move)

We also found out that Divina has 5 dining stations in Le Muse but on this sailing they have 6 gold tie servers. The extra one was the easy choice for that table. He was also our substitute the other night, and now we know why. It makes sense that he's not developed a routine with any assistant servers yet since he doesn't have his own tables. I'm sure he'll do fine once he has that opportunity of relationship building with his own guests.

 

For starters, we both ordered steak tartare -- a favorite of ours. I had made a silly comment about who peels the tiny quail eggs that are served on top and what do we get? A little bowl of a half dozen extra quail eggs. I ate every single one and loved them.

 

BCD ordered the lobster ravioli and I had the short ribs. The pumpkin risotto (pumpkin = yuck) did not appeal to us. We did each have a dessert plate of grana padano for dessert. Our wine was a dolcetto d'alba; how do you not have some hard cheese with that to finish your meal?

 

We walked outside back to TSL and picked up some more supplies at the Garden Bar along the way.

 

After three rounds of sidecars and old fashioneds, we went back to the cabin to prepare for our crazy early wake up time in Puerto Rico tomorrow.

 

Day 14 next…

[Best Cat Mom]

Day 13 Lunch menu:

 

[Best Cat Mom]

Day 13 Dinner menu:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Av8tor]

Pictures of a car or two please!!!

[Best Cat Mom]

Here is YC Bartender Extraordinaire Hubert with his car:

 

(I prefer to ask permission to post images of "real" people. I'll try to find some more images to post.)

[Best Cat Mom]

No releases needed for what we've been calling the "Black Car." This one is made from the wires of Borgo Molina Prosecco, which have a black coating. The Garden Pool Bar, the adult pool and bar at the back of the ship, seems to have the best rate of consumption of this brand. Note that there is no skin on the Black Car, as there was on Hubert's. BCD wanted to showcase the skeleton design, rather than cover up any of it with foil (also from the champagne bottles).

 

 

[morpheusofthesea]

With its low center of gravity and 'flow through' design it must get great gas milelage.

[Best Cat Mom]

I have only been posting menus, but I have all the daily programs as well. If anyone needs anything from them, please ask.

 

Since tomorrow is our last full day, if there are any questions I can answer that require me to be on the ship, ask away!

[morpheusofthesea]

31 minutes ago, Best Cat Mom said:

if there are any questions I can answer that require me to be on the ship, ask away!

Yes. Are you having a good time, Matey ?

[Best Cat Mom]

Just now, morpheusofthesea said:

Are you having a good time, Matey ?

We are having a fabulous time. Am I including too much play-by-play and not enough commentary to make that obvious? LOL

 

We've enjoyed the food and drink -- way too much. Today the "regular" YC champagne, Nicholas Feuillate, has run out and been replaced by Pommery. (Perhaps I contributed to this run while helping BCD's cause?)

 

The staff has been excellent as well. I'm sure that the lower passenger count makes it easier for them, but we feel that we've seen some of the best YC butlers ever on this cruise. TSL service has been impeccable.

 

And hearing how many of the crew will still be on board when we're back in April portends for another great cruise. 😉

 

Thanks for asking!