Review-MSC Divina Cruise 4-26-14

[Mrs. Squirrel]

Walking to our final stop. A lot of the homes in town looked like the ones at left.

 

When you saw a nice home, it really stood out!

 

An historic home turned beauty shop. Falmouth Heritage Walking tours also has a historical walk, in which you learn about homes, buildings and architecture of Falmouth they have a Jewish Cemetery tour.

 

A Breadfruit tree

[Mrs. Squirrel]

Our final stop was at this historic home, once a sugar plantation owner's summer home. The guide told us they would come close to the sea to catch the constant sea breezes to escape the hottest part of the year inland.

 

Backyard

 

Over the backyard fence. We were never very far from port.

 

A Welcome respite in the shade.

 

Desert! Everything was made with some part of the coconut. I can't remember the names of the deserts, but the pink one is a favorite with Jamaican children, because it is so sweet. I liked them all.

[250373]

Jane, is the stop at the grocery store part of the excursion as well?

Did you feel comfortable walking in Falmouth without the guide at the end of your tour?

[Mrs. Squirrel]

Jane, is the stop at the grocery store part of the excursion as well?

Did you feel comfortable walking in Falmouth without the guide at the end of your tour?

 

I'm just getting to that part. :) I had it written up, then had to run our dog to the groomer. CC wouldn't let me post my write up when I got back, because my log-in had timed out. Give me a few minutes and the answer shall be yours!

Edited May 16, 2014 by Mrs. Squirrel

[Mrs. Squirrel]

The current owner of the home, a retired librarian from the US, told us the history of the home and took us inside for a mini-tour.

 

She also told the fascinating story of how she, a working poor (her words) woman from San Diego, California became the, "Rich, white lady," in Falmouth, Jamaica. Her story and descriptions of her life in Jamaica were so fascinating, I unfortunately never got an photos of her or the inside of the home. This part of the tour was worth the price of admission, alone. If you have ever dreamed of making big changes in your life, she will inspire you.

 

After desert, the guides took us back inside the port area to conclude the tour. We tipped them, then one of the guides took those who were interested back into town to where the closest grocery store was. We've already mentioned our purchases, so after the store, we walked about on our own taking a few final photos and purchasing a postcard for our DS then walking to the post office for a local stamp. He still hasn't received his postcard and is very disgruntled. :(

 

We felt very safe walking on our own. You will be asked many times to come see the vendor's wares, but a polite, "No thank you," was all that was needed. We did get stares while in the grocery, pharmacy (where they sold post cards) and post office, especially from the kids who had all just gotten out of school by then and were hanging around talking in groups in town, but that is to be expected. I am sure most tourists don't venture to the local stores much.

[Mrs. Squirrel]

Funny, I went to the mailbox just now and three of my DS's postcards showed up today! I wrote too soon, lol!

 

To continue, we boarded the ship about 4pm, sat on the balcony for sailaway, showered up, had a rest, then dressed for dinner. Tonight's MDR theme was Italian night, so the suggested dress was to wear green, white or red. You have already seen our Italian night dinner pictures. We much enjoyed the Tirimasu parade after dinner which explains the swinging napkins in the pics! Unfortunately, I was too stuffed from our tour and dinner to enjoy my desert. My husband liked it very much. I took it back to our cabin and stowed it in the fridge expecting to eat it later, but never got to it. It eventually had to go a few days later. Too much to eat, too little time. :)

 

For entertainment that night, there was a Simply Italian vocal show, Mega Bingo session, a late night comedian, An NBA playoff game in the Sports Bar, and an MSC Divina Fashion Show in the Reception area, and a late night Little Italy party in the Black and White Lounge.

 

This in addition to live music in the Reception area, the Plazza del Dodge, the La Luna Piano Bar, the dualing pianos then dance music in the Golden Jazz bar, Caribbean and Latin Mambo music in the Black & White Lounge, Sax music in the Galaxy Restaurant, and the Garden Bar. There is so much going on at night, the crowds disperse well and hard choices have to be made. During this cruise, we never got to do everything we wanted, so look forward to a return cruise to see and do even more!

 

We really didn't do much that night. We didn't make the show, just wandered around. We were both tired and wanted to hit Grand Cayman early in the morning for beach time and snorkeling. It was a lovely first port day on Divina!

Edited May 16, 2014 by Mrs. Squirrel
Added comments

[DENIE]

I continue to really enjoy your review! We will be in Falmouth for the first stop on our November cruise, and looking forward to it. Thanks again!:)

[Mrs. Squirrel]

Our plans for Georgetown, Grand Cayman to walk down to Sunset Beach diver's hotel to snorkel did not happen. Our plans to get up early did not happen.

 

We had walked all day long in Falmouth the day before, and I woke up very, very stiff the next morning. By the time we had breakfast and my two Aleve's began to work, it was much later than we had wanted to start out.

 

This site was waiting for us when we opened the curtain. I felt like I was caught cheating!

 

MSC uses their large lifeboats to tender in GC.

 

By the time we were ready to tender, we got tender letter "L". My husband says that stood for tender "Looser," because we were so late off the ship. :rolleyes:

 

Besides two hard bumps upon attempting to dock, at which point the pilot was replaced when a few passengers got knocked around :eek:, the tender process was just fine in GC. Now, remember, I am saying this from the standpoint of getting off the ship around 11am. We have no idea what it may have been like earlier.

[Mrs. Squirrel]

Once off the tender, we headed to the first shop we found a postcard in, then off to the Post Office to mail it to DS.

 

On our way, we passed this KFC. The fact that there is a KFC at a port stop isn't unique. The reason I took the photo is that there were two hens and a rooster in the bushes to the side of the KFC. The rooster was just crowing up a storm. That's fresh chicken! :D

 

Found this series of stamps for sale posted on the post office bulletin board. I don't follow pop culture much, but who doesn't think their baby is the cutest ever?!

 

Right next to the stamp advertisement of the royals, was a public notice of the intent of two Georgetown residents to get married. According to the notice, 'Objectors' have seven days to come to the government and lodge their complaint. If no complaints, the couple can be married. This notice listed both their full names, addresses, and under the title 'Condition,' the fellow was listed as 'bachelor' and the lady was listed as 'spinster.' :)

 

These guys are found around town and painted differently.

 

We decided to hit a spot on Seven Mile Beach to just relax for the day. We have been to GC many times and done the stingrays, a city tour with hell, a pirate ship snorkel excursion, and independent snorkeling. Right down from the post office is the public bus terminal. The bus system in GC is very easy to use. $2.50pp each way. Have a $5 for two or they might not have change in US.

 

I have done this cruise planning gig long enough to always have a plan B for our excursions, but I didn't bring my plan B with me this time. . .so lots of good it did us! :mad: I couldn't remember the name of the newer beach club with the $2 entry pp and the swimming pool. One of the postcards we looked at for DS showed Tiki Beach. It looked OK, so we had the bus (actually they are vans) drop us off at the closest stop to there. It was expensive and a fair little walk from the bus stop, so we won't be back, but it worked out for the day alright.

 

Tiki Beach was $29.99 per person which included one rum punch or non-alcoholic punch and two lounge chairs plus use of their bathrooms and outdoor showers. All beach toy use was extra. They had snorkel gear available for rent. Even though we brought our own, we just weren't up for it that day.

 

It appeared that Tiki Beach was also used by NCL and MSC for a beach break excursion. Those folks had lunch included and their transportation, but they paid way more, according to those from the ships around us.

 

The following posts will be pictures from Tiki Beach.

[Mrs. Squirrel]

Although Tiki Beach wasn't my favorite beach club ever, all you really need is sun and sand, right? This was view to the right of our lovely, shady lounging spot.

 

This was our view straight forward.

 

This was our view to the left. As luck would have it, a Russian couple we sat with in the MDR for lunch on the first sea day were there. The lunch buffet area is right past them.

 

I just liked this shot. However, I had the Panasonic waterproof camera with me. See the gray circle in the upper left? This is why we bought the new camera.

 

This shows our proximity to the tendered ships and the gray circle. :)

[Mrs. Squirrel]

On the second pic, that should read our Italian friends. The Russian couple sat with us in the MDR. Sorry for the brain hiccup.

 

This is a long shot of Tiki Beach. Not much too it. Cheap quality beach umbrellas, which were another $10 to rent above the admission. :rolleyes:

 

Here is the main reason I didn't care for this stretch of beach. There really wasn't anywhere to swim. There was a just about a non-stop reef all along the stretch of the beach club and beyond. It was a long walk to get to open water deep enough to swim. Some just climbed on top of the reef to get up and over to swim. :mad: We don't step on coral nor feed fish.

 

Another shot of the shallow, coral wall.

 

To find open water to swim, you had to walk all the way down to an area in front of a set of two story condos and by this anchored boat. It is a much longer walk than it looks in the photo. The boat was good sized, so that might help with the perspective.

[Mrs. Squirrel]

Despite the issues, we had a nice day. The weather was fine and the company fun. While walking toward the condo area to swim, Rich found a spot with these sea urchin shells everywhere in the shallow water.

 

I put the camera under the water to capture a few more.

 

Rich found this Brain coral washed up on shore that looked like a skull. I found the coral that looked like a pair of shoulders. We put them together for their photo-op. If it doesn't look human, than maybe the creature from Aliens?

 

In the water at last. Ahhh!

[Waihekean]

Wow, you have an excellent writing style for your first review!

 

Would not surprise me if you join to be one of our favorite writers with photo's reviewer's club here on CC.:D

[Mrs. Squirrel]

After swimming for a while, we walked back down to Tiki Beach.

 

We found where deck chairs go to die. :D

 

Once back at Tiki, we ordered a quesadilla for the two of us to split. Little did we know it would be a meal for three!

 

He's up to the eyes in sour cream. What a garbage gut! Once he licked the sour cream clean, he finished the salsa and then the guacamole!

 

The food was unremarkable and expensive. We hit the outdoor showers at about 3:00pm to rinse off, then walked back to the bus stop. We waited a total of about 45 seconds before a downtown bus pulled up. At the next stop, we picked up a group of young ones from MSC. They had been to the public beach for a lot cheaper than we had. Smart kids. We had a good time seeing them throughout the ship the rest of the week. For almost all of them, it was their first cruise. I think it is fun to see cruises through the eyes of newbies.

 

It was a short walk from the bus depot to the MSC tender area. They did serve water to those waiting. We were the next to last tender back to the ship. I would give both MSC and NCL a tie for tender operations in Grand Cayman.

[Mrs. Squirrel]

Once back on the ship, we stopped at the buffet for a late lunch, then hung out on our balcony for awhile reading and relaxing. We didn't feel like dressing for diner that night, so instead showered and went to the buffet again before exploring more of the ship we'd not seen.

 

Besides the main production show The Witches of Paris, the evening's entertainment included Mega Bingo, another NBA playoff game in the Sports Bar, An Elton John Tribute, a Cigars Under the Stars meet and greet with the Captain and other Senior officers, The late night White Party as well as live music in 8 different areas of the ship! Because of the White Party, the MDR suggested dress was informal/white.

 

We headed back to the cabin early and decided to watch one of the pay per view movies available through the ship's TV system. Besides movies, you can access just about everything you need to know about the ship as well as three pool cameras and the bridge camera. I can't tell you what channels Divina carried, because we didn't have the TV on much. We did like their interactive information system and the pay per view option. NCL's newer ships have similar, so we'll leave that as a tie between the two.

Edited May 17, 2014 by Mrs. Squirrel

[Mrs. Squirrel]

There was no sleeping in on Wednesday morning. We're heading to Cozumel, MX and we have an excursion!

 

While enjoying our room service coffee and croissants on our balcony, we got to watch the entire docking procedure in Cozumel. We have been to Cozumel many times, but it had been awhile since we'd docked at the International Pier. I immediately recognized where we were by this view.

 

The Park Royal Resort!

 

I am like a lot of you on CC. I began as a lurker for sometime before starting to post. I am certainly not one of the well-known, prolific posters here, but I have told this story on a couple of occasions. If you've heard it before, The Park Royal Resort is where it took place. For those who haven't heard the story, I've cut and pasted it here from one of my previous posts.

 

Here's a funny story I posted on CC years ago about something that happened to us loosely related to DS and the carseat. We did the presentation, because almost none of the cabs in Cozumel at that time had seat belts. They just cut them off! I was too nervous to take him in a cab, minus belts, (he was about 16 months) so we went looking for something to do that we could walk to from the port.

 

We did a timeshare presentation in Cozumel, Mx during our Carnival Freedom cruise, as we wanted the free resort day in return. My DH's first language is Polish. We decided that he would only speak Polish in an attempt to shorten the presentation-I would defer to him as the decision maker. Well I'll be dipped if they didn't pull a 20 something Polish man out of there *%# to give DH the presentation in Polish. You have got to be kidding me?! In Mexico! They are good. . .very good!

[Mrs. Squirrel]

I have been married to my husband for 13 years. This was our anniversary cruise, afterall. A few months before the cruise, we were still undecided about what to do in Cozumel. Out of nowhere, Rich tells me it's always been his dream to touch a Dolphin. How could I be married to this man over a decade and not know this?! :confused: So off I go researching Dolphin excursions.

 

I had been to Chankanaab in Cozumel before on a cruise my son and I took with a friend and her son. Rich had never been. Since the Dolphin excursion here includes admission to Chankanaab, and I found a buy one get one free coupon, I booked the excursion independently, online. Our excursion time was 10am. Our plan was to arrive about 9:30am.

 

Once again, my less than stellar planning this time around struck. Somehow, I didn't notice until the night before that we weren't due to arrive in Cozumel until 10am. Kinda' hard to get to a 10am excursion start time while you're still docking! Arghhh! What is happening to my cruise mojo?!

 

This sent me into a small panic. But the only thing we can do at this point is taxi over as soon as we debark and see if they have space in a later time slot. If not, we're having a $178 Chankanaab Beach Club day! And I thought Tiki Beach expensive! :eek:

Edited May 17, 2014 by Mrs. Squirrel

[Mrs. Squirrel]

Because I am like a cat on a screen at this point, I make sure we are one of the first ten cruisers off the ship. We get a $10 cab and arrive at Chankanaab about 10:20am. They are very understanding and great about changing us to an 11:00am excursion. There are restroom/changing areas and lockers right by the check-in as well as the gift shop and the buffet. The locker rental was included in the excursion price as was lunch at the buffet.

 

After changing and putting our not neededs in the lockers, we walked around this park of Chankanaab a bit. There is a freshwater pool with a swim up bar just beside the buffet and the seal lion show area. On the other side of the Dolphin Encounter area, they have created a zip line attraction. Nearby, there was an advertisement for these large, blow-up balls like giant gerbil runs. You can be placed inside and run around the ball in the water. Sounds great for kids, not so much for an adult, especially since the ball is clear and thus you could clearly see the fear and claustrophobia inside, lol!

 

These next three pictures were taken on my previous visit. This shot shows the pool. It has raised concrete areas around the deeper swimming sections where you can sit elevated in the water.

 

The swim-up bar overlooks the Dolphin Discovery area.

 

One side of the Dolphin Discovery area. There is an identical set of smaller pens on the opposite side of a much larger swim area for the Dolphins. I assume they go in the large, middle pen when they are not working.

 

More on our Dolphin Discover excursion later. Life is calling!

Edited May 17, 2014 by Mrs. Squirrel

[Mrs. Squirrel]

I continue to really enjoy your review! We will be in Falmouth for the first stop on our November cruise, and looking forward to it. Thanks again!:)

 

Thank you. I hope you enjoy this historical port as much as we did.

 

Wow, you have an excellent writing style for your first review!

 

Would not surprise me if you join to be one of our favorite writers with photo's reviewer's club here on CC.:D

 

Thank you very much. It is an honor to be mentioned with those CC reviewers we all now and love. I have a new appreciation for them now seeing for myself how much time it takes to sort through the pictures, upload them, resize them, attach them and write the review!

[250373]

I read you like a good novel!!! Just enough details to make me feel like I' there.... I love it! You are a very good writer! And I must say, you and your husband make a lovely couple! My DH and I will also be celebretinf our anniversary on the Divina next August. Same itinerary as yours. We can't wait!!!

Thank you so, so much for taking the time to write on your experience. I am learning from you and hope our trip will be as wonderful as yours!

[Mrs. Squirrel]

At about 11am, we sit down on the benches with others in our group waiting to be called for our Dolphin Discovery time slot. We wait, and wait, and wait. At about 11:15am, a gentleman in our tour finds one of the workers and asks how much longer it will be. They say, "Five more minutes." Right after, a massive wall of humanity walks by us. Men, women and children all decked out in every conceivable type of Disney apparel and accessories. There must have been 100 of them! They are all wearing Disney Cruise line excursion stickers with the obligatory Mouse ear logo.

 

Now it becomes clear why we are waiting. We have come full stop into the absolute power of the Disney corporate machine. We will wait. All 100 of the Disneys are escorted to the changing rooms, the lockers, and geared up with their life vests and taken out to the Dolphin area. Our "Five more minutes," repeats itself another five times. Grrr. Our only consolation is that we each probably paid 1/2 what the Disneys' did. :D

 

Finally, we are called, get our life vest on, and are walked down to the pen we will share with our two Dolphins for the next 40 minutes. I have no photos to share with you. They do not allow any cameras save for their own. Anyone not doing a Dolphin Discovery is allowed to take pictures from the main deck, so a long lens might get some decent shots. Otherwise any photos you have you will buy from the Dolphin outfit.

 

We chose the mid-range experience. We got to touch the Dolphins several times, be pushed by both while on a board, get a handshake, get a kiss, hold the Dolphin in our arms, and ride them tum to tum while holding onto their fins. In addition, they did a few tricks for us. You could tell that the Disneys had gotten our tour group behind, because the guide rushed us from one activity to the other without much chance to savor what we'd just done. The Dolphin interaction, however, was fun and worth the money, especially since we had the BOGO free coupon.

 

I was most disappointed that there wasn't more of an educational aspect to the experience. I expected the guide to tell us about Dolphins during the discovery. Where did they acquire them, what do they eat, how do you train them, what are their work days like, how often do they reproduce. . .anything really. He told us their names and that he gives them fish as a reward when they do what they are asked.

 

After exiting the Dolphin pen, we then got into another to see and touch the Manatees. Now here, the guide did what I had thought we'd get with the Dolphins. He had two large heads of Romain lettuce and was feeding one while we got to pat him. He told us all about Manatees. You could tell this guide had a real affinity for them. This was the best. I loved the manatees, they were the epitome of the phrase gentle giants.

 

After we climbed out, they took our life vests, and we were then told we would be concluding our Dolphin Discovery by entering the gift shop to look at the photos they had just taken. I am usually a rule follower. However, it was overcast and slightly cold, we were dripping wet, and they were asking me to enter an air-conditioned building with no towel (you can't take your towel down to the pens) and no shoes. I balked. I had no intention of standing in that gift shop freezing and dripping and in a public, indoor place in nothing buy my bathing suit. No, sir. The photographer didn't understand my reluctance, so we just had to agree to disagree by Rich and I saying, "No thanks," and walking off toward the lockers.

 

Once we got dry and warm, we shared a Coke at the outdoor snack shop by the lockers, then took all our gear toward the snorkel area to spend the rest of the day. We never did go back and look at our photos. :D

[Mrs. Squirrel]

Chankanaab is not the place to go in Cozumel if you want an easy access, swimming beach. The main beach area is truly for snorkeling and diving. There is a very small and sheltered easy entry swimming bay with some chairs that would work for the 5 and under set, but would not be very fun for older kids.

 

I did not take any photos of the beach area this time, as I had just done so the previous December. I will share some of December's photos.

 

Looking down the beach toward Dolphin Discover and cruiseship terminals. There is a restaurant, bar and lockers here.

 

Looking down the beach toward the Dive Shops. There are many different sets of stairs to enter the water. You will also find the outdoor spa, restrooms and outdoor showers this direction.

 

Love the palapas and the comfy wooden chairs at Chankanaab!

 

I just like this pic. This is Alexander pushing his buddy in a hammock.

 

Alexander coming from the lagoon. This is for viewing fish and birds only, not for swimming. You can see the walking trails in the background and the zip line overhead.

[Mrs. Squirrel]

Chankanaab has good snorkeling in that you will always see fish. It is great for beginners, because nothing kills the joy of snorkeling for a newbie than not seeing anything. If you are an experienced snorkeler, you'll likely want to take one of the boat snorkeling excursions in Cozumel, because you probably won't see anything you haven't seen a million times before in the Caribbean.

 

It is also a great choice for families looking to avoid a spring break-esq. party atmosphere.

 

Chankanaab has good food. Their guacamole and their chips look homemade, being thicker and way less salty than store-bought ones. After some snorkeling, we ordered a plate. Alexander had made Rich promise to taste Chankanaab's guacamole. He had three chips with a speck on them a piece. :rolleyes: He still declares he dislikes quac. Oh well, more for me!

 

Rich, AKA Mr. Moose, fails the guacamole challenge!

 

Jayne, AKA Mrs. Squirrel, ready to pick up his slack!

 

There wasn't a whole lot going on after that. We walked the beach a bit, then did one more snorkeling run.

[American Bear]

Some tips for Cozumel,,,

If porting at one of the southern docks,,,

Try Playa Palancar, a simple beach with good food at a reasonable price, about 5 miles farther south past Chankanaab. You won't miss the crowds! Cost to enter, $0., just buy a drink or food!:D

 

If you port downtown,,,,

Try going north to Buccanos, a $10 cab ride to a private resort that cost $10. a person for use of the entire resort! Food is extra, moderately priced, and very good! Excellant service here too! Clean bathrooms too! You'll also get some of the best snorkeling off a Cozumel beach here!Before noon, you'll most likely have the place to yourself! :D

 

If you rent a vehicle,,,,

drive to the end of the paved road on the eastern side of the island, just before you have to turn west to come back towards the ports, and try Mezcalito's, great local place right on the beach, hammocks and all, great inexpensive Mexican food, and cold cheap drinks! If you go there early, you'll spend the day there!:D

[Mrs. Squirrel]

The first two photos aren't the best quality. The Panasonic needs a lot of light at lower depths and it just wasn't there that day.

 

There are three underwater statues to look for. We found two of them.

 

Large school of fish. At first, they were so tightly bunched, they looked like a large rock until this snorkeler dove down and disbursed them a bit.

 

That is one, big boy!

 

This snorkel guide arrived by boat with his group. He was very responsible and did not feed the fish. However, you can tell that other guides do, because as soon as the group hit the water, the fish crowded around looking for their handout. :(

 

That same guide found a sea urchin for his group to hold. I was just nearby taking pics and someone in the group handed it to me, then took my pic. Fun!