Solo on the Divina 09/20/2014

[maureencruiser]

I had the Arancini and they were fabulous!

 

 

They are rice balls stuffed with cheese and served with tomato sauce. They tasted like little pizzas!

 

I also had the Chilled Tropical Soup. It had a dash of pepper in it and it reminded me of my Spicy Chipotle Martini on the Sunshine.

 

 

My main course was the Fish and Chips.

 

 

It wasn't what I expected, the batter was more like a tempura batter. Growing up Catholic in Massachusetts , we got Fish and Chips every Friday from a local take out place and that is what I was hoping for. Also, side note, the Fish and Chips at Greg Norman's in Myrtle Beach is spot on! But, it was OK and believe it or not, I ate every morsel! :)

 

Dessert was Apple Pie a la Mode and it was good!

 

 

It was at this point that I realized my alcohol consumption was way down and decided to try a Limoncello. They were offering regular shots, or, for .75 more, you could have a souvenir glass. The glasses were very cute, they looked something like this, with, the MSC logo on them.

 

[maureencruiser]

The waiter told me the glass wasn't covered by my card. I understood and told him I wanted it anyway. I thought they would charge me for the difference, the .75. Nope, they charged me the whole thing, 6.33. :rolleyes:

 

Anyway, here is what my glass looked like. I think they got it wholesale from Chong's Bongs. :eek:

 

 

I work in a pharmacy! I can't be seen walking around with that! :D

 

The Limoncello was good, very lemon-y! I'm glad I tried it. The woman at the next table makes her own and gave me some pointers on making it myself.

 

I now had the taste for some alcohol and decided to go up to the pool deck for some foo-foo drinks. There were some kind of Oktoberfest festivities going on.

 

 

They were giving away free beer if you could knock over some bottles with a ball.

 

[maureencruiser]

Up on the pool deck, I had a Golden Margarita, which I didn't take a picture of and a Purple Rain.

 

 

How is that purple, you ask? Cast your mind back to elementary school and the color wheel and give your drink a good stir.

 

 

 

At 4pm, they were putting on a mini version of the opera, La Traviata. Now, don't let me fool you, I don't know anything about opera, but, what little I have heard, I have enjoyed. The cruise director, Andre, who looks like a young Frasier Crane, said it was about a woman "of negotiable affections". :eek:

 

I LOVED it! My notes say this- Captivating! The singing, the costumes, the dancing, everything was fabulous!

 

Tonight was Italian night, where they ask the guests to wear the colors of the Italian flag, so, I returned to my room to change into my red and white checked dress, which I have always called my Italian tablecloth dress and put on my fancy new scarf.

 

 

It was still early, so, I headed to the Cantina for some wine.

 

My friend decided I looked like I needed some appetizers, as well.

 

 

 

I saw him pour my wine, it left the bottle about half full. I asked him if I could buy the half bottle to take to dinner since they didn't have my WZ. He checked with his boss and he said No. So, I bought two glasses, one to drink now and one to take to dinner.

 

[maureencruiser]

On to Italian dinner! This was my neighbor's Antipasto.

 

 

I had the Calamari. I love Calamari. You know how sometimes people say Calamari looks and tastes like rubber bands? YUP!

 

 

My neighbor had the Italian Tricolor Salad.

 

 

I had the Eggplant appetizer, it was very good.

 

 

Followed by the Lasagna, it was very good, as well.

 

 

Dessert was rapidly melting Nutella Ice Cream.

 

 

The show that night was Italian songs, it was OK, I much prefer the acrobatic shows! I lost my program for today, but, I'm sure there were some sort of shenanigans going on after dinner. I had an early day tomorrow as we would finally make landfall, so, after a little more wine, I went to bed fairly early. My total for today was: 7 glasses of wine- 41.00, 2 foo-foo drinks- 14.50 and one shot of Limoncello, which I believe should have been covered, so, I'm including it- 6.33. Grand total= 61.83.

[maureencruiser]

 

Now, Mike, you know you're not supposed to take pictures in the theater! :eek: But, I guess being Yacht Club (sniff, sniff), they let you get away with it. :D Seriously, though, thanks for posting this so people can see the costumes, they were extraordinary! I wish I could have taken pictures at all the shows, they were spectacular!

[Mikesa1721]

We were sitting up in the balcony seats to the right of the stage Maureen where no one really sits. You should have takes some pics!!! They really don't mind if you do,,,I video taped the whole Starwalker show from the front row back in May!!:D

[maureencruiser]

Tuesday- St Maarten! I was taking a tour with Bernard's.

 

They were very efficient and soon got us on our way to see the sights.

 

I don't mean to bore you with a bunch of beach pictures, but, I'm gonna anyway! :D

 

 

The driver, Gerard, was very nice and helped me maneuver around on my bad knee. He took this picture of me contemplating my life.

 

 

 

The ATV tour arrived, like ducks in a row.

 

 

 

The Iguana Farm is closed, but, we found them anyway.

 

 

 

 

 

There were also some very cute goats on the side of the road, but, they moved too fast for me to catch them. Don't worry, though, I would catch one of them later. Literally.

[maureencruiser]

We went to Orient Beach and you know me, when in Rome..........:eek:

 

 

Thankfully, cooler heads prevailed and I remained clothed. Gerard told me to reach up and touch the man's bum. Unfortunately, I was not tall enough and only succeeded in goosing him.

 

 

As we left Orient Beach, we saw this sign and we all had a good laugh, imagining what 10 services you could get at the nude beach.

 

 

I like the little froth between the ocean and the sand in this picture.

 

 

Here is Gerard, mugging for the camera.

 

[maureencruiser]

Yeah, I took this. :)

 

 

 

We had lunch at Rosemary's. There were seven of us on the tour, one family of four, a young couple and me. Since I was by myself, Gerard had lunch with me.

 

 

Well, I guess Cruise Critic is my inspiration, prompting me to write.

 

I had a fish sandwich, fries and salad. Gerard and Rosemary both made fun of me for playing it safe.

 

 

Gerard ate the cute little goat we saw playing on the side of the road and I asked him if I could try some. :eek:

 

 

It was pretty good, tasted mostly like curry.

[maureencruiser]

The Dutch side.

 

 

The French side.

 

 

The Blind Side.

 

 

We went to Maho Beach to see some planes land.

 

 

Gotta get a picture of the sign.

 

 

Was it a beach or the Rocky Mountains?

 

[maureencruiser]

It did not look very comfortable.

 

 

 

Yikes! Oh well, I wasn't there for the beach, I was there for the planes.

 

 

True to form, I misread the sign. I knew there was a big plane and a small plane coming in. When this little plane came, I thought it was the one we were looking for.

 

 

I got a decent picture of it coming over the beach.

 

[maureencruiser]

So, now I was waiting for the American Airlines plane. There was so much sun and glare, I couldn't see if I was taking pictures or not. I was just snapping away like a wild woman. Here it comes!

 

 

 

Brace yourselves, this is the best picture I got!

 

Naw, I got one that was a little better, at least you could tell it was a plane.

 

 

Then several pictures of blue sky until this, after it landed.

 

 

Hmmm, maybe I should reconsider my plans to become a photojournalist. :eek::D

[Yorkvillain]

LOL! The Blind Side.

[babsee101]

Loving the review! Looking forward to following along! Thanks for putting it together! :)

[maureencruiser]

So, after that plane arrived, I headed back to the van. Well, I was the only one who did. Turns out, there was another plane after the AA flight and I missed it. Oh well, Gerard saw me coming, so, he unlocked the van and turned on the air for me.

 

The young couple on the tour had told Gerard they wanted to drink out of a coconut at some point and he had told them he would make sure they did. While I was sitting in the van, here came the woman, she opened the back of the van, the sliding door, put something in and then walked away, leaving the door wide open. :eek: Gerard saw that and came back. He was pissed and understandably so, he had already talked about how much gas costs in St Maarten, does she do that at home?

 

So, anyway, there was a man there selling the coconuts like they wanted. He said the coconut was health food and it would give the men "The Resurrection Erection". :D By this time, everyone was back and the couple bought their coconuts. The coconut man let us all take a bite of the fruit itself, it was good. Well, now it was time to go, Gerard wouldn't let the couple in the van until they finished their coconut drinks. I feel fairly certain he wouldn't have minded if the woman hadn't already made him mad.

 

Our next stop was Mullet Bay Beach, I rented a chair and umbrella for $5.

 

 

There was a storm off to the right, but, it never came our way.

 

 

 

I liked the view from under my fringe.

 

 

We stayed there for a while, did some swimming. I actually got tossed around a little in the surf and ended up hitting some rocks. I had a terrible bruise on my leg. It looked like a giant bite mark on my leg, so, I told everyone back home that I was bitten by a shark. :p

[maureencruiser]

Interestingly, I found out later that one of my table mates had saved a man's life while we were in St Maarten. I don't know which beach they were at, but, a man from the Norwegian ship almost drowned. Luckily, Art is a firefighter/paramedic and he and several other bystanders were able to get the man breathing again. Kudos to Art and the others! :)

 

As we returned, we could see the three ships in port. NCL, MSC and Disney.

 

 

I took a few pictures in the port area.

 

 

I liked this building, love starfish.

 

The window at Mr Tablecloth.

 

 

 

I'm half Belgian, but, I had all the chocolate I could eat back on the ship.

[Debinnova]

Lovin the review, Maureen!!!

 

Sent from my KFSOWI using Tapatalk

[American Bear]

maureencruiser Blue Ribbon Cruiser

 

Great pics. :D

Wow, we were at Maho in May, and it was all sand, they must have lost it all during the summer!

[cynt]

Hey Maureen - glad I found your review. You are still hilarious. Sure wish I was there with you so I could assist you with your cocktail package! :p And I'm telling your mom you went to a naked beach. LOL! :p I found your review and I'm supposed to be washing dishes. 1 hour later dishes still in the sink and I'm typing a response instead of washing dishes. LOL! And what are you doing tripping on the ship? You have already met your 1 quota for injuring yourself on a cruise ship. Be careful.

 

Anyways, How's my Bestie from the Allure getting along?

 

5 WEEKS OF VACATIONS!!! You've got to be kidding me! I guess getting swallowed by the larger company has its perks after all. These workaholics at this small company I'm currently employed gives 2 weeks until you hit 10 years and then you get 3 weeks vacation and that's it. 3 weeks until you quit or retire. Is your company hiring any accountants? LOL!! :D

 

My "friend" still claims he's taking me cruising for Christmas. He's supposed to deposit the money in my account so I can book it in the next couple of weeks. We'll see! :rolleyes: I'm still trying to figure out how in the world am I supposed to share a cabin. "Friend" or not I might go crazy sharing a cabin. Solo cruising has spoiled me. Hmmm I might see how much it cost to get two side by side inside cabins. Something to think about.

 

I want to go back on the Allure or Oasis sooo bad but the prices are crazy expensive now. Looks like I might have to suck it up.

 

Sorry maureen followers, I went off on a tangent. Now back to your regularly scheduled program.

[maureencruiser]

Hey Maureen - glad I found your review. You are still hilarious. Sure wish I was there with you so I could assist you with your cocktail package! :p And I'm telling your mom you went to a naked beach. LOL! :p

 

Hey, Girl! :D Funny story about my Mom and the nude beach. Back in the day, Me, Mom and this other lady in her 60's, Mary from our table in the MDR went to Orient Beach. We had been warned to watch out for the "sea cucumbers"

 

 

Anyway, Mary and I got ahead of Mom and walked past a man lying on the beach naked. We exchanged glances with each other and kept walking. Suddenly, from behind us, we heard *CLICK* Mom had taken a picture! :eek: I swear, we all ran like Hell like a bunch of teenagers who got caught doing something wrong. :D

 

And, actually, you might remember my Mom was hospitalized while I was on the Allure and she has been fading since then. I'm afraid she is running out of time. My sister came down from Vermont this weekend, that is why I couldn't work on my review. I spent the weekend with the two of them. Sorry for anybody who is waiting to see what other mischief I got into, my pics of GSC are going to blow your mind! I should get the review done in the next week or so. I promise, I'll be back......Maureen

[KeywestK]

Maureen.....I'm so sorry to learn about your Mom, and I'm glad you are able to spend time with your family now. We'll all be here to enjoy the rest of your wonderful review whenever you have the opportunity to finish it. First things first, and that is ALWAYS family. Sending you a hug.

[cynt]

Praying for your family. It's tough watching our parents with failing health. I went thru it with my 2nd dad. Spend as much time as you need to with her. Take a break when you need to and cry when you need to. You know I'm a phone call, text or email away.

 

My sisters and I just had a heart to heart with my mom. She got her blood work back and everything was thru the roof. I threatened her with if you don't get it together I'm moving you in with me. It's basically her diet. She eats whenever whatever. Mom you are DIABETIC! I told her I can show you better than I can tell you. Why do we turn into our adult parents parent!?!?!?! SMH!

 

May God's peace keep you and your family during this time.

[Yorkvillain]

Maureen, best wishes to you and your family.

[boaterette]

Sorry to hear about your mom. That is tough one to handle.

[PathfinderEss]

Nice reveiw with some great photo's.

Sorry about your Mom.