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

[gambee]

Hello Gambee,

 

I just wanted to express again how much I enjoy your impeccable, detailed and extensive reviews. I know how time consuming they can be, but, they are a labor of love and it shows with each picture, passage and comment you post.

 

I just finished watching your wonderful assortment of Divina Cruise Ship videos and they were excellent, I feel as I was aboard with you.

 

You final summation and review breakdown of each cruise is always my favorite part as they are filled with such valuable insight and often more helpful than reviews in guide books and elsewhere around the internet.

 

Looking forward with great anticipation for the final act of this review, Thank You Gambee.

 

Jonathan

 

Thank you for your comment :)

 

I am still working on the final summation of the review. There is much to take into consideration, and I think I want to alter things around a little. I had forgotten about a few details about Divina.

[gambee]

 

:D That's Jello? What flavor, dishwater? :D

 

That is exactly what it looked like. But, hey, he ate it all, lol. :D

[gambee]

Too bad security hadn't removed the disruptive woman from the theatre. I can't help but think how upsetting that situation would've been for my elderly parents had they been sitting next to her.

That sort of behaviour is pretty much expected for a stadium show but not acceptable in a cruise ship theatre in my opinion. Especially when it's obviously affecting other passengers enjoyment of the show.

From what you've said earlier though Gambee, I understand the staff are not too interested in enforcing rules.

 

To be quite honest with you I don't think I saw any security in the theater. It all happened very fast, and I am not sure that there was anything anyone could do about it. But, she should not have spoken that way to them, it was extremely rude of her. I really felt bad for that couple. Personally, I would not have left. Plus, they missed one of the best shows aboard the ship.

[gambee]

I like the fisheye for video tours a little better than this lens. When you first did the fisheye thing, it seemed like an odd perspective but I got used to it and loved it in your other reviews. No lens is a bad lens, but I'm giving my vote to the fisheye.

 

Thank you for the input, that's two votes for fisheye and none for the new one. Well 3 votes, I also like it much better :D

[gambee]

Hi Gambee...I am thoroughly enjoying your review, as always. I don't think MSC is for me, but I so enjoy reading your reviews that I eagerly check in multiple times a day to check the updates. I'm glad your mom is better. I agree that my favorite part is the final rating. It's always interesting to see where each cruise stacks up. And I have to say that I thought I'd never sail Carnival again but I think I would consider the Breeze after your review. Thanks for all the work you put into the reviews and I hope you get to sail with your extra family members some day again - you seemed to have a great time with them.

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

 

Thanks for your comment. Glad to see you following along, even though you think MSC is not for you. There is definitely some improvement to be done on Divina, but we did have our share of fun :)

[tsahall01]

Hi Gambee!! Enjoying your review!! I'm on the Fantasia in November and can't wait.

The Jellyfish in the water at GSC is what we call a Moon Jelly here in St Thomas where I live. Don't know if that is their real name or not. I went to Magen's Bay once (and that's the only time in 13 years of living here that I saw them there!) and they were everywhere!! Thousands of them! Beautiful and incredible. Apparently, they DO sting, but it is a very mild sting that quickly goes away. The lifeguards were picking them up and showing them to a bunch of people!!

 

Cheers!! Susan

[kkpcruiser]

I've never been to GSC but that quiet part of the beach looks perfect. That and one of those rentable floater mats would be like heaven! You had such fabulous weather!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Aussiegrlfl]

I saw these and I immediately knew that my uncle would love them. So I called him over and of course he bought two of them. He said he was going to show them off at the office. Oh, by the way, he as architect for the government in Colombia. So, um yeah, I do not fully understand how showing that off in the office will go for him. But I am sure that by now you know his kind of sense of humor :D

 

 

I found this one for mom. It is crazy how all the walking they do and they rarely find anything. I go into the store 2 seconds and I find everything they need in that time :D.

 

Mom bought that one as well for her collection.

 

 

Anyone has a Lambo like this at home :D?

 

 

 

 

Do you remember the where the shop is that your mum bought the nativity set.............it is adorable?

[gambee]

Hi Gambee!! Enjoying your review!! I'm on the Fantasia in November and can't wait.

The Jellyfish in the water at GSC is what we call a Moon Jelly here in St Thomas where I live. Don't know if that is their real name or not. I went to Magen's Bay once (and that's the only time in 13 years of living here that I saw them there!) and they were everywhere!! Thousands of them! Beautiful and incredible. Apparently, they DO sting, but it is a very mild sting that quickly goes away. The lifeguards were picking them up and showing them to a bunch of people!!

 

Cheers!! Susan

 

So I guess I did get stung by the jellyfish :D.

 

I hope you have a great cruise aboard Fantasia :)

[gambee]

I've never been to GSC but that quiet part of the beach looks perfect. That and one of those rentable floater mats would be like heaven! You had such fabulous weather!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

 

I had a much better time this time around. NCL seems to be investing their fair share of money into developing the island. I still think that it lags behind in terms of private islands, but our spot made that stay so nice.

[gambee]

Do you remember the where the shop is that your mum bought the nativity set.............it is adorable?

 

The store is located in the north side of Calle Fortaleza, in-between calle O'donnell and calle tanca. That is as good as an explanation as I can give you, sorry I cannot be more precise. It is a short walk away from the port. It was a rather small store.

[Aussiegrlfl]

The store is located in the north side of Calle Fortaleza, in-between calle O'donnell and calle tanca. That is as good as an explanation as I can give you, sorry I cannot be more precise. It is a short walk away from the port. It was a rather small store.

 

Thankyou we will figure it out.......or get lost........:D...your review is so interesting...the guys were glued to your videos last night while we cooked.............can't wait for this cruise in 13 days................

[gambee]

Thankyou we will figure it out.......or get lost........:D...your review is so interesting...the guys were glued to your videos last night while we cooked.............can't wait for this cruise in 13 days................

 

Actually my mom had better instructions.

 

its a few doors up from this restaurant.

 

[marty1950]

Hi Gambee, Pipping in on your lens review. I really enjoy the fish eye lens. but to be honest I really look forward to all the beautiful pictures. The colors are so vibrant. Your friend Gary:p

[gambee]

Hi Gambee, Pipping in on your lens review. I really enjoy the fish eye lens. but to be honest I really look forward to all the beautiful pictures. The colors are so vibrant. Your friend Gary:p

 

Thank you for the input, I will stick to that lens for the videos from now on :)

[gambee]

My uncle and my aunt decided to head back to the ship. I think the main cause was the heat. It was a really overwhelmingly hot day. I decided to stay behind with mom and try the water one more time. What are the odds of getting stung by jellyfish twice?

 

Like I said it was very hot. At first I was just getting the towel soaking wet and placing it over my legs.

 

Mom was relaxing in the water. The ocean had a lovely temperature. My mom rarely goes into the ocean, it has to be a perfect temperature. Here in Florida she goes to the beach year around, but only goes in the water from mid June to September. I used to surf during the winter time, so I can tolerate slightly cooler water. Then again, I had a wetsuit to keep me warm, the water in January can get rather chilly.

 

 

But the sodden towel got hot in a matter of minutes! So I decided to head into the water and keep my mom company.

 

 

I love this mug. It’s sealed so you can pretty much do anything with it.

 

I was pretty lit by then :D

 

 

That lady on the paddle board got out of her path and ended up near us. She tried getting the board out of the water near us. Needless to say that the board was way too heavy to carry by hand. So she decided to paddle back to the main activities beach.

 

 

[gambee]

 

 

I went to the bar once more to refill our drinks. The line was about 5 minutes.

 

 

 

Everyone enjoying their time in the water.

 

 

 

[gambee]

We relaxed by and chatted. Times like this are the ones that I cherish the most.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am sure the seagulls were missing my uncle, lol.

 

 

[FRMPEI]

There is a lot of erosion on that beach, it is mostly rocks now. In order to get to a nice beach area you have to head to the other end, you might actually be able to get some nice relaxation there as well.

 

 

 

Hi Gambee,

 

OMG! You are not kidding there sure has been a lot erosion on this beach since we were there March 2014. I am inserting a picture from my Celebrity Equinox visit mid March 2014 for a comparison.

 

 

I wonder if this erosion is a normal thing and they just fix it for the high tourist season in the winter? Because if it erodes this fast I could see it infringing on the runway very soon.

 

Gambee has a way of attracting people to a forum who would normally not view the forum. Enjoying this review. Thanks!

 

One Question did you bring your Sony RX100 with you on this trip? I would love to get the RX100 MIII for our next cruise on Celebrity Silhouette still quite pricey.

 

Regards,

Kevin Reid

[gambee]

 

Later on I wanted to walk a little further and get to explore the rest of the island a little more. I remember someone in my social media site asking me to get as many pictures as possible of Great Stirrup Cay.

 

 

So we started walking towards the far end of the island.

 

 

 

 

 

[gambee]

 

Accessing the water through this area can be a little dangerous. I was always there to help my mom get into the water.

 

 

 

 

Here are some of the Cabanas.

 

 

 

[gambee]

[gambee]

I wish the cabanas were located closer to the water, or maybe even some of those over the water ones. Although I can only imagine the maintenance that those require. Still seems to me like paying $200+ to be so far from the water is just not ideal. I actually considered renting a cabana for this cruise, but once I realized that they were located so far away from the water I decided not to.

 

 

 

I told mom to wait there, I could see that she was already worn out and it seemed like a good resting spot for her. I kept on walking a little further.

 

 

 

Here is a very nice little beach with much less crowds. The only thing to consider is the longer walk there.

 

 

Edited September 8, 2014 by gambee

[gambee]

 

 

In this area is where you can rent all the beach toys.

 

 

I kept on walking.

 

 

[gambee]

 

 

 

The further you walk the more isolated you’re from the masses. I did not go all the way over there. It would certainly help if NCL had some kind of shuttle to take all the way there.

 

 

 

You can see even more cabanas all the way there. I guess that is another thing to keep in mind when renting one.