Divina Review December 5, 2015 Eastern Caribbean

[Tracey/Thom]

Finally getting around to doing a review - to give back to all the CC folks who have given me SO much useful information.

 

Day One - we parked at the cruiseport, which was easy to find, right opposite Divina, but figuring out which terminal Divina was in took asking an attendant at the Carnival terminal. Note - it was at the very end of the "street" and had white tents outside. It would be great if MSC would include this in the email package they send.

 

We arrived about 2 pm - and there were long lines! It was outside which was hot, we were not happy, then more lines inside - but there was air conditioning! I asked the lady checking us in which deck the buffet was on, and she didn't know, and I tried to get out of the embarkation photos in front of the huge photo of the ship but they wouldn't let me (seriously!). I did wonder if those photos were more for their security issues, than for us to get a nice photo....oh well.

 

There were several staff standing right inside the door, smiling warmly and welcoming us aboard, It was very nice! They pointed us to the elevators, told us to go to the buffet (on Deck 14) and we were happy to be on board and going on a cruise! Divina is a GORGEOUS ship. I will say it is also spotless, the huge windows were always immaculately clean, there was no fraying, old spots, dingy paint or anything that others seem to notice and complain about. She is beautiful!

 

So we went to our room - Cabin 12193 - an interior on the 12th deck. It was spacious, efficiently laid out. we loved it. It was very quiet. It was right next to a door leading to a crew area (we tried to use their elevator one time just for kicks, but they politely declined!) - we heard no noise from them EVER.

There were ample hangers, 2 hooks on the inside door (could have used some hooks on the exterior, side but that's just nit picking. There was ample storage for the two of us and 2 suitcases fit under the bed nicely.

 

We had 2 beds pushed together for a queen, it was great, didn't feel like 2 twins at all. It was firm, which we like. Two bedside tables, with drawers, 2 lamps, a small coffeetable, an armchair, an ottoman, it was all very nicely laid out, and much more efficiently than the Carnival Ecstacy (our first cruise last year).

 

The bathroom was spacious for a cruiseship, though there were no washcloths, they appeared as soon as I left a note for the cabin attendant. (She took good care of us all week, and I left her a note almost every day, as she was invisible). The shower gel and shampoo in the shower were nice, a rectractable line for our swimsuits and GREAT WATER PRESSURE. The water was actually on the verge of scalding, so be careful with the hot water faucet. Grohe faucets, very modern. I loved the 3 glass shelves and all the storage under the sink. The lighting was also good. If you want a better look at Cabin 12193, go to YouTube, someone else put it up, and it's very good. Or find your Cabin number on there - it's very helpful!

 

So back to the buffet - we loved it! We ate at the very back, aft, to be next to the best view on the ship! Manitou had the ethnic food and the children's corner (which had fish on it every day) and there was always a good selection. We ate mostly in the Black Crab lower and only went to the buffet for those in between snack times. Sometimes it was difficult trying to figure out when the food would be put out - at mealtimes it was a bit chaotic.

 

On Day one, we went to a show at 7:45 pm - it was kind of a "taster" for the rest of the week. Singing, dancing, we enjoyed it - and we enjoyed every show every night of the week we were there -the last night being the best (Michael Jackson).

 

One thing that was different is that there's no Sailaway Party on the Divina - we just kind of quietly slipped out of the harbor and into the night. This didn't bother us in the least, as it was rather romantic being out on deck, all by ourselves (I have no idea where everyone else was, but we loved it!) and watching the bright lights skyline of Miami fade into the distance. Somehow it seemed much more refined than the loud, thumping music we've experienced on our first two cruises, along with waiters pushing cocktails at you.

 

Throughout the week, we enjoyed that fact, that servers seemed to be European trained, not American. There was always someone available when we raised a hand to signal them, but none of them constantly harangued us about drinks.

 

This is a bit of a stream- of-consciousness review, sorry! More tomorrow.

[riclop]

Well you went from that old beat up Carnival to the Divina that's like night and day. Good start.

[Crzyfrk62]

Great review!!! I love the water pressure to, I made the same comment in my first review!! And your right about the other area of the buffet, everyone seems to miss it and it's the best part!

[nimiq]

Hi,

 

Was on the Divina last March and would definitely go back with MSC. Loved the experience and the shows are the best star sea. You are so right to me this has been the nicest ship of my 30 some cruises.

 

Yes some areas have to be work on like the food and the service in the MDR but it's nothing and will not stop me from going back.

 

Thanks for the review

 

Sea ya

 

Eric

[Tracey/Thom]

Well you went from that old beat up Carnival to the Divina that's like night and day. Good start.

 

it was a good start! Then we did Princess Caribbean - which was great - but Divina is the best so far!

[Tracey/Thom]

Day Two - it was Sunday and there was an interdenominational service going on in the theater, there were about 30 people, it was very nice. It was also Hannukah and there was an announcement in the daily program that if there was a Jewish guest on board willing to lead the service, they would make a place for them too (in the theater I'd imagine), but I 'm not sure if that ever happened.

 

On the TV in our cabin, there was a tab that said Daily Program but it wasn't loaded. That would have been nice to have it there as we kept misplacing our paper program. MSC, if you're reading this, that's an easy fix! The Daily Program appeared in our cabin each night around 8 pm I guess. Many times we didn't read it until much later - so for those of us that like to plan our day, a little earlier would be nice (but I'm sure they're doing it as last minute as possible to include everything).

 

We had breakfast in the dining room most days - and met some great people! On this day we sat with Argentians, Germans, Austrians and a couple from New York. The food was great (I had the smoked kipper - fish for breakfast is very European - and loved it.) There were lots of good choices, and the quantity was good, several of the guys asked for 2 servings, which was no problem. Each day we were seated with other people, and the dining room got very full, those waiters work HARD!! I think they should make those daily gratuities mandatory, as I know some people here on CC say they go and take them off at Guest Services. I've also heard some say that the Divina was understaffed, I don't know where they would put extra staff as when the room is full (which it is at mealtimes obviously), everyone is hopping. I thought the service was very good. Most of the servers were non-English speaking, but spoke adequate English that made them efficient at their job. We had no problems whatsoever with servers.

 

It was a Sea Day, so it was a great day to get to know the ship! We spent the day wandering around. The Sirene is a lovely pool with a retractable roof, it (the roof) was closed when I went for a swim, so I was a bit sad I couldn't actually see the sky while doing the backstroke, but it was nice to have a bit of space to myself to actually swim as the pools outdoors were a bit crowded. It was saltwater, which was not what I expected, saltwater feels a little different from chlorine, and certainly made my swim even more enjoyable knowing I could've been swimming in the ocean! I heard that they drained it every night, but I never saw that being done so I'm not sure. There were showers in the area to rinse off before going to the cabin to clean up, and lots of tables where you could sit around and relax. This was one of my favorite spots on the ship. There were also several attendants (not life guards) around, mopping up the area frequently to keep slipping hazards to a minimum.

 

Having worked up an appetite, it was lunchtime! We sat with Ugandan, Austrians and a lady from Seattle travelling solo. That was interesting to hear her perspective, and certainly food for thought. Hey, cruising alone is better than not cruising at all! The fish and chips were pretty good. There was a "high tea" in the daily program - but when we got to the buffet, we realized it was just desserts as usual. We went to a high tea on the Princess cruiseline that was in the dining room, served with white gloves, so this was a bit of a let down.

 

It was the first Formal night of the cruise (there are 2 on a 7 night cruise), so we had plenty of time to dress up, get our photo taken by the many photographers around the ship. Also, the bars were serving free cocktails from 5-5:45 pm- although a couple of bar tenders didn't get the memo and it was served a bit late, but no matter.

 

Unlike other cruises, there are no hairy chest games, no marriage game, which we liked. There was some line dancing going on at the pool, some Pictionary, quizzes and craft things going on in the various bars, all of which seemed to well attended.

 

There were some former famous baseball players on board, so there were lots of baseball meetings going on around the ship, we didn't go to any of them. There was an art auction, Italian lessons, bingo, winemaking and a cocktail demo - all kinds of activities if you wanted to partake.

 

What we really liked is that by 5 pm all the bars had some sort of live music going on. The LaLuna had a singing duo, the Black and White lounge had a small 4 piece band and a singer, there was a DJ up at the pool, another lounge singer in the Golden Jazz and a violinist and pianist in the atrium.

 

After a nice dinner (guinea fowl!) there was a chance to dance with the Officers in the Black and White lounge or meet the Captain and get your photo taken with him, take Rumba Dance lessons or just enjoy a drink. The show in the Pantheon was The Amazing Mask - a singing/dancing taken off the Jim Carrey Mask movie. It was very energetic, although having not seen the movie in a long time, it was hard to follow the plot - but unlike a play, it didn't really matter as it was all singing and dancing! We enjoyed it.

 

The hairdresser and Spa was busy as everyone was getting ready for formal night - and there were some people that didn't bother dressing up at all, so if you're worried about it, don't! There were all sorts of dress from ballgowns to blue jeans, and nobody seemed to worry. The funniest to me was the couple, one of whom was dressed to the nines, the other dressed as if they were going to mow the lawn. It takes all sorts!

 

At midnight we crossed into a different time zone, so there were several reminders to put the clocks forward one hour. We had another Sea Day the next day, so it was nice to just hang out knowing we could sleep in the next day!

[Tracey/Thom]

Regarding drinks and gratuities - we bought the 12 voucher program for $72. We picked it up in our dining room (should have gone before busy dinner time!) and used it all week - we only used it for the cocktails which ranged from $6.75 - $7.75, but with our voucher we got them for $6 INCLUDING tip. We thought it was very good value for money and as only one of us drinks, it was perfect for us. We prepaid for our excursions, our drinks, our gratuities and we checked our account every day on the TV to make sure they had it all straight. When we got our bill at the end of the cruise, it was just for the extras we had purchased at the shops - so not having a huge bill and a nasty surprise was lovely!

[Fighterone]

Regarding drinks and gratuities - we bought the 12 voucher program for $72. We picked it up in our dining room (should have gone before busy dinner time!) and used it all week - we only used it for the cocktails which ranged from $6.75 - $7.75, but with our voucher we got them for $6 INCLUDING tip. We thought it was very good value for money and as only one of us drinks, it was perfect for us. We prepaid for our excursions, our drinks, our gratuities and we checked our account every day on the TV to make sure they had it all straight. When we got our bill at the end of the cruise, it was just for the extras we had purchased at the shops - so not having a huge bill and a nasty surprise was lovely!

 

Enjoying your review Tracey/Thom! Thank you for taking the time to post it. I will be cruising solo on Divina. It is a themed cruise and I have no idea what to expect.

Was there a charge for room service, if you were with the Bella experience?

The website is quite vague about what wines are available through the wine package. Do you have a print out of the wine list?

[Tracey/Thom]

FighterOne, I don't have a wine list, sorry! And we took the Fantastica experience and didn't pay for delivery or for coffee and pastries to be delivered each morning. It's my understanding that the delivery to the room is free, but you still have to pay for food (except the breakfast coffee/pastries).

[vicocala]

Thanks for the review! I, like many, will be trying MSC this year and the reviews help a lot. My question is on the drink vouchers, because for my sailing the main packages aren't showing up for my cruise. Did you find the vouchers covered all most all drinks (not premium brands) or not?

 

NCL has hiked their drinks so high that the prices you quote sound pretty tame. How did you find their prices in general?

 

Thank you again!

[FMZ]

Loving the review so far! Thank you for taking the time! ;)

 

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

[Tracey/Thom]

Thanks for the review! I, like many, will be trying MSC this year and the reviews help a lot. My question is on the drink vouchers, because for my sailing the main packages aren't showing up for my cruise. Did you find the vouchers covered all most all drinks (not premium brands) or not?

 

NCL has hiked their drinks so high that the prices you quote sound pretty tame. How did you find their prices in general?

 

Thank you again!

I only drank the cocktails listed on the menu, so I'm not sure if it covered mixed drinks (though I'm sure it doesn't cover premium brands). In general, I thought their prices were very reasonable. We got coffee in the atrium several nights, and it was $2, and a little patisserie, $2, some gelato $2 - on other cruises, I have felt somewhat gouged, so make the most of it as I'm sure their prices will go up! We also bought some batteries in the shop - and it seemed like a regular price we'd pay at a drugstore.

[vicocala]

Very nice, thank you.

[Tracey/Thom]

Day Three - Another day at sea - it was a bit rainy, although warm. I sat in the aft, buffet with a whole wall of windows to myself. There was a small rain cloud coming towards us - clearly visible, just like a little Charlie Brown raincloud. Nothing like being on the deep, blue ocean for making you realize it's a big, huge planet and we are just little specks!

 

I'm glad I took a good book. There were lots of shopping opportunities (I'm not much of a shopper) and none of the activities appealed. I did notice the hairdresser and spa treatments got cheaper every day we were on the ship and we all know that you should wait till the last day to buy anything in the shops as the merchandise gets cheaper too.

 

On this day they free champagne at the art auction, but a cruise ship is not the place I want to buy art. And they were making Nutella crepes by the pool and there was winemaking class. There was a Fashion show too, but we missed that. Lots of karaoke by the pool - very funny.

 

I swam in the Infinity Pool, the one that the photos always looks like you're sitting in the middle of the ocean. Not so! It was overcast and very windy, so I didn't stay long, but had it been a glorious day, it would have been a Kodak hour!

 

Although not a formal night, the theme was green, white and red, the colors of the Italian flag. I had read here on CC that would happen so made sure to make a green dress and red shirt. Lots of people dressed in colors, but it was all quite casual. The napkins were also colored too, and they asked us to wave them in the air (too much like Carnival for my liking) when they brought out the tiramisu.

 

The show on this night was Fantastic Italy or something like that. Lots of Dean Martin and splendid dancing. I'm really impressed with the caliber of shows on MSC. They played the American National Anthem at the end, it was heart warming to see half the audience suddenly stand up, hand on heart. Then to the buffet at about 11:30 for a little snack, we bumped into the Australians that we had met at breakfast the day before and sat and talked till 1:30 a.m. which was a lot of fun! We discovered they'd been using our door as a beacon for their door.

 

As it's close to Christmas, we had brought a stocking, and some Christmas magnets to stick on the door - and the hallways are so long they could see our stocking from the other end of the hallway to know they were getting close to their cabin. It was a riot to realize that on a ship of over 4,000 we'd bumped into the same people that lived almost next door to us.

 

The next day was St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands - we really should have gone to bed earlier!

 

I discovered (in the Daily Program) that the smell of MSC was in fact, a smell. They gently infuse the lounges, linens, soaps etc with aromas of the Mediterranean. It's called MED by MSC - I think you can actually buy it as a room spray in the shops, which I wish I had, because I found the smell of my shower gel (I always take my own) started reminding me of our cruise. I'll be sad when I run out - though I guess I can go buy more Olay shower gel to bring back those memories!

[loltastic]

Lovely trip report so far!

[nimiq]

Thanks for the review! I, like many, will be trying MSC this year and the reviews help a lot. My question is on the drink vouchers, because for my sailing the main packages aren't showing up for my cruise. Did you find the vouchers covered all most all drinks (not premium brands) or not?

 

NCL has hiked their drinks so high that the prices you quote sound pretty tame. How did you find their prices in general?

 

Thank you again!

 

 

We bought two voucher packages and thought it covered pretty much all we like. Very interesting concept for those of us that don't drink as much. I just don't recall if our was for 12 or 18 drinks.

 

Sea ya

 

Eric

[Tracey/Thom]

Day Four - St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands - so we arrived at 8 am but our excursion didn't meet until 11:30. (All the excursion times were printed in the Daily Program that is delivered to the cabin each night). We toyed with the idea of getting off the ship and wandering around, but that would mean getting back on the ship to meet our excursion group in the Golden Jazz Bar.

 

Having read all the reviews on Charlotte Amalie (thanks CC!), we figured we'd just stay onboard till 11:30 - after all, we'd be here until 6 pm, we knew we'd have enough time to do what we wanted to do.

 

So we had breakfast in buffet (and slept in a little bit!) and joined our group at 11;30 - and yes, all the announcements were in several languages. I did admire the crew, all in their 20s/30s, but speaking several languages depending on who was standing in front of them, and very polite. Germans are not known for their effusiveness, and I overheard a couple of people say they (the German crew member) were rude. I wanted to butt in and say, "not everyone is sugary sweet, particularly when dealing with such an international crowd!" But I didn't - after all, I was eavesdropping! But I do want to say here, that don't expect everyone to be like YOU. This is why we travel, folks, to meet new people and new cultures. I thought the crew did a fabulous job of keeping it organized.

 

So we were led off the ship and onto a waiting van. The driver was not very chatty. He drove us up the mountain so we could see Magen's Bay, buy stuff at the souvenir shop and take photos.

 

There were other groups around, but it wasn't slammed, so we took lots of spectacular photos - the stuff that calendars and computer desktop screens are made of. And from so high up, you could see the British Virgin Islands and almost the entire archipelago. It was a beautiful, clear day, the water was green, aqua, turquoise - some colors that I've never quite seen before, I must admit it was quite magnificent.

 

The other group had a very loud, informative tour guide. So it was interesting to over hear him tell his group how many people lived on the other islands, and some historical facts. Our tour was called Peaks, Panoramas, Pirates and Plunder and you could certainly see, from that vantage point, where pirates and plunder would be the name of the game back in those days.

 

Then they took us to Blackbeards Castle, where a very entertaining pirate gave us the complete history of Blackbeard, his seven (dead) wives, and how he was captured....all riveting stuff - if you didn't live back then. It sounded like a dreadful, fearful, desperate life if you were just an ordinary person. The castle wasn't that big, so it didn't take long to run through it. We decided to walk the two and a half miles back to the port. It was hot, and we bought a nice hat at one of the street vendors at the bottom of the hill, very reasonably priced.

 

The port area is basically lots of shops, diamonds, designer labels, tax free stuff and great if you're a shopper. The bay was full of yachts, and it felt very safe, very upscale. It is a beautiful island! We got back to the port, thirsty and hungry so stopped in a little bar, where there were 2 KeyWest-y kind of guys, singing and playing guitar and had a bite to eat.

 

We were back on board (very efficiently done, no loudspeaker music to welcome us back on board though, like the other party ships) by about 4:30 and in time for the 5:30 All Aboard time. We had time for a quick shower and cocktail and were up on deck to watch sunset over St. Thomas - another spectacular scene! Then there was a sudden rainstorm, which drenched half of us, the other half missed it by just happening to be under the awning at the right time - then it was over! We had to laugh - but I guess on island time, that's what happens. We sailed away into the night without too much fanfare or noise, I'm not even sure I heard the foghorn blow.

 

So dinner in the Black Crab was nice, I had a chilled Pina Colada soup - I'm sure that someone on here has the menus, but I don't take photos. The show in the Pantheon was Witches of Paris, personally I liked this one the least. It was "a French style variety show with international acts and a dynamic and acrobatic Cancan finale" so it was entertaining, but it didn't really seem to have any plot at all. I liked it, just not as much as I liked all the other shows.

 

There was a big screen by the pool, but it seemed to show a lot of concerts, by singers I'd never heard of, so we didn't linger there. There was a Salsa Dance lesson going on in the Black and White bar, which was fun - like line dancing only to the Caribbean beat. Actually just watching it was fun! We got to practice our moves to the groove later on in the week, so we were glad we went. It was crowded so get there on time!

 

The theme for tonight was WHITE, so when we went up on deck, it was fun to see so many people wearing white shorts, or white shirts, or white dresses, or some with a white scarf around their neck. The party started at 10;45 - the crew got it all started and it was fun to see young male crew dancing with elderly ladies and young female crew dancing with older men - everyone looked like they were having a ball dancing, or spectating. The bartenders had a special drink Barracuda, served in a fresh pineapple, which looked heavy to walk around with!

 

On a side note - the WIFI seemed to be everywhere, I saw routers in many places in the hallways (high up) and LOTS of people staring at their phones, which was a first. On other cruises, no one seems to have a phone, which I kind of liked. It always bothers me to see people not talking to eachother at a table but staring at their phone and this cruise ship seems to have joined the landlubbers in providing such good WIFI that now it's a problem (for me!).

 

More tomorrow!

[Tracey/Thom]

Lovely trip report so far!

Happy you're liking it, I did wonder if anyone was reading it!

[Fighterone]

FighterOne, I don't have a wine list, sorry! And we took the Fantastica experience and didn't pay for delivery or for coffee and pastries to be delivered each morning. It's my understanding that the delivery to the room is free, but you still have to pay for food (except the breakfast coffee/pastries).

 

Thank you for responding! They have a very inexpensive pre-paid package that includes house wines. I just wonder if they are decent wines.

 

Been trying to log into my booking but no luck today.

 

I spent an hour and 29 minutes mostly on hold yesterday with MSC. I managed to speak to 3 different folks but got nowhere except to correct my DH's date of birth online.

 

It has been a very frustrating experience to try to make corrections. They have him as living in the Netherlands with an email address in Dutch on our booking. They cannot change that although they claim that they have the correct information in their files.

[cruiseguyinorl]

They have a very inexpensive pre-paid package that includes house wines. I just wonder if they are decent wines.

 

The "House Wine Dinner Package" was mostly La Terre on the Dec 5th sailing.

 

Bret

[Tracey/Thom]

Thank you for responding! They have a very inexpensive pre-paid package that includes house wines. I just wonder if they are decent wines.

 

Been trying to log into my booking but no luck today.

 

I spent an hour and 29 minutes mostly on hold yesterday with MSC. I managed to speak to 3 different folks but got nowhere except to correct my DH's date of birth online.

 

It has been a very frustrating experience to try to make corrections. They have him as living in the Netherlands with an email address in Dutch on our booking. They cannot change that although they claim that they have the correct information in their files.

 

Well if it's any consolation, I also had a horrendous time with the website. When I did get hold of my rep (who is no longer there), he sorted everything out, but it didn't always display in my booking. It's very worrisome, particularly when you've put in such personal details as your passport number. There are entire (huge) threads on here devoted to how awful the MSC website is - we all hope they'll get it fixed, this is the 21st century after all. If they only knew how much money they're actually losing because so many used to a much higher level of efficiency and security just give up. The cruise was fabulous, and there were no problems with my booking or excursions, and we pre-paid everything before we ever got on the ship. (That was my biggest concern based on other reviews on CC, that I'd get charged a month before, and then get charged again on the ship).

 

Also, an interesting fact - I called my credit card company to let them know they might see charges in Puerto Rico, Bahamas and US Virgin Islands - as well as Italy, because I thought I read on here that MSC ran everything through their home bank. I just checked my credit card statement and my final charges when we got off the ship for photos, ice cream etc. were charged to MSC in France. Go figure!

[HOPE131]

Loving your review...Going on the Divinia January 30 for an 11 cruise to

the Panama Canal...What a fabulous preview you're giving me and my

5 friends...Thank you:):):):):

[Tracey/Thom]

Loving your review...Going on the Divinia January 30 for an 11 cruise to

the Panama Canal...What a fabulous preview you're giving me and my

5 friends...Thank you:):):):):

 

Enjoy your cruise - it'll be an international experience!

[Tracey/Thom]

Day Five - San Juan, Puerto Rico!

 

For us, this was the main event, so we were up early and ready for the 8 am arrival. Our excursion met at 8:30, and we were off the ship efficiently and boarding a mini van up to El Yunque Rainforest. I think there were about 12-15 off us. It was about a 40 minute drive, and the driver was very chatty. His English wasn't fantastic, but he had a lot of personality and that always makes for a fun trip.

 

It was great to get away from the port, travel on the highway into the country to see something of Puerto Rico (this was just a taster for us, we decided we need to see more and plan on going back next year for a week to exlore properly). It's a beautiful country, and it felt very safe. We stopped at a little store on the way back, to use the restrooms and get a beverage. The area did not seem as well off as San Juan - but we were in the "country" - but it didn't feel like there was such poverty, it was dangerous, which some of the other islands we've been to, have felt like.

 

The rain forest - Ah! So spectacular!! We didn't spend very much time there at all, just time to trek down a little trail (by ourselves, the others went to the visitor center). There was bamboo, taller than my house and thicker than my thigh, flowers we'd never seen before, Dense, thick jungle - and just immense landscape from the walkway which went over the top of the canopy.

Yes we most definitely need to go back and see it properly.

 

Our driver stopped for some photo ops at a couple of waterfalls - I don't remember the name, but it was obviously a tourist spot - it's all part of the U.S. National Park system, which was just odd to see that sign - how often we "forget" that Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory. The waterfalls were absolutely gorgeous, safe, and very understated - no huge touristy signs all over the place. We loved it.

 

Our driver, whose name escapes me, was a hoot. He explained the bars on the windows that we saw were really in case of hurricanes - and because when you bought a big screen tv, the man who sold it to you in the store might tell the rest of the village, so they needed bars on the windows!

 

He was looking for a rich widow - even though he had a girlfriend at school in Texas - so we helped him by pointing out potential rich widows on the sidestreet. He even gave us an impromptu lesson in salsa - no small feat because the bus was very small and he had about 12 inches to move around in - but he had rythym and we learned how to salsa and practiced our moves at the nightclub that night back on ship!

 

Back in San Juan, we wandered around the narrow, cobblestone streets, which felt VERY Spanish. We learned later that St. Augustine, Florida and San Juan had the same architect, though I'm not sure if that's a fact or just an urban legend. Both cities were lovely. We stopped for a quick coffee, everyone was very friendly, and we even ran across a little dance troupe, in traditional dress, in the square. Christmas decorations were abundant, even though it was hot! We didn't go in to the Fort, but wandered around it, nice shops, clean, orderly, good food. We were pleasantly surprised that the prices were very reasonable, there were a lot of closed up shops, which was sad. Puerto Rico has had some financial problems, like every other country of late.

 

We noticed that it was noticeably cooler up high in the rain forest. The port had 3 ships lined up, ours Divina was the most elegant! We were on board, as instructed, by 3:30 for a 4 pm sailaway. Very quiet - no rock music like the other ships to welcome guests back - but we were starting to like it, the others seemed a little overwhelming after such a long day.

 

It was 82 degrees and only 2 weeks away from Christmas! After a welcome shower and cocktail, it was time for dinner. At some point during dinner, the ship turned around and went back to San Juan. Although we didn't feel a thing (some other people claimed they did), the cruise director announced during the show that someone had a life or death situation and needed hospitalization. So back we went, and stayed in port for a few hours and then left again at 11:30 pm. So that's TWICE we've been to Puerto Rico! We danced until past midnight, but the cruise director kept us all abreast of the necessary details.

 

We went to the Black and White Lounge, where it was Flower Glory night, I had packed some flowery clothes, (having been forewarned here on CC) and we danced to 70 and 80s music, then we went to the Fluorescent Party in the Galaxy Disco. I had bought some fluorescent necklaces at the dollar store and cracked them open - so we fit in there too. It was fun to see people dressed in theme - about half the audience - but we're old, so we pooped out early and left the wee hours of dancing to the younger people. There weren't as many 30 and 40 year olds on this ship as I'd expected, definitely an older crowd - but that's usually the case on a 7 night cruise. The younger ones usually go to the shorter cruises. It being still "school" season, we didn't have a lot of children on board either.

 

The show was The Voices - which I must say was excellent. MSC really has some talented, professional entertainment, beautiful, beautiful singing, which really pleased a multi-language audience. I know some people say they were disappointed that there's no comedy show on Divina, but I think the entertainment was first class, and a lot more sophisticated than the comedy show crowd.

 

The Pantheon Theater is gorgeous, seats about 1,600 people, plush red seats, elegant silver curtain - it is the biggest stage I think I've ever seen on a cruise ship and I've heard it's the biggest stage at sea, but again, I'd have to fact check that one. I also understand Cirque Du Soleil has designed a show specifically for MSC to be debuted next year. This doesn't surprise me, the stage is certainly appropriate for it, and it's what I'd expect (caliber) for MSC. Hope I get to sail with them!

 

Sidenote - the photo gallery is in a very bad spot - it seems like a bit of a bottleneck as photos are all over walls and guests are all standing in front of the walls choosing their photos. There was a long line to actually purchase your photo - which were not just standard 8 x 10, but rather twice that size. We bought the 8 x 10, but the others were so large, we figured it might take up the entire living room wall! Lots of people liked it though, judging from the line - try to go early (the times are posted in the Daily Program) when the Gallery opens as those crowds in that little space was a bit much.

 

So tomorrow - day at sea!

[#55worktoplay]

I am enjoying your review thanks for taking the time and effort to do this. Your writing skills are superb!

 

When the Canadian Dollar improves the Divina may be on my agenda, it sounds wonderful.