MSC Divina W.Caribbean Cruise 05/03/16 with 3 days pre cruise stay Miami review

[FMZ]

Thank you for taking your time to do a review! Loving it!

[stuart2468]

Hi Stuart next question! As a fellow Brit what is the procedure re passports when disembarking in Jamaica etc? Thanks!

 

 

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We were advised at every port to disembark with our ship ID card and our government issued ID. However the only time we were asked for our passports was when we got off in Miami. Every other port our Ship card was sufficient to get into the port and onto the ship. Whether you want to take the disk with this is your call. We carried our passports each time we left ship.

[stuart2468]

You all look very smart indeed! :)

 

Lovely photos, and many thanks for your review :D

 

Thank you. We like to make the effort as there aren't many chances any other time to get all dolled up

[cruisinfanatic]

Was there an option to opt for luggage valet service on debarkation day?

[stuart2468]

Was there an option to opt for luggage valet service on debarkation day?

 

Luggage valet service? I have no idea what this is. Lol

[cruisinfanatic]

Luggage valet service? I have no idea what this is. Lol

That's where you put your bags out on the last night, the cruise line checks them in, and you don't see again until you're home. They also print your boarding passes. Typically costs $20pp

[stuart2468]

That's where you put your bags out on the last night, the cruise line checks them in, and you don't see again until you're home. They also print your boarding passes. Typically costs $20pp

 

Oh i see. I cannot answer this at all as we hadn't booked our flights through MSC and so fully expected to walk off the ship with bags in tow. I didnt even notice if this was something they offered. Sorry

[cruisinfanatic]

Oh i see. I cannot answer this at all as we hadn't booked our flights through MSC and so fully expected to walk off the ship with bags in tow. I didnt even notice if this was something they offered. Sorry

Just has to be a participating airline.

[Rossco01]

Great review and photos. I think the reason the earlier photos may have disappeared is because you've reorganised them perhaps into other folders and the URL is now pointing elsewhere (just a guess). If you copy the URL and go to Stuart's photo bucket you can see them in different folders.

[stuart2468]

Great review and photos. I think the reason the earlier photos may have disappeared is because you've reorganised them perhaps into other folders and the URL is now pointing elsewhere (just a guess). If you copy the URL and go to Stuart's photo bucket you can see them in different folders.

 

YES!!! Cant you just tell i'm a novice at all this. lol. I think the photos that were affected were the ones from the ship walk around on embarkations day. I will add them to the base of the review again once all days are accounted for.

[sjn911]

I can't do pictures yet anywhere,,,,,so thanks so much and know you will get it all fixed. Just loving your review...Fyi right now the very first Miami ones are missing too. So very much appreciate your review of this ship and cruise..so wanted a current one. And all the Miami news/info is great too. LOL on business class..I almost think it may be a need for me..last long one was to NYC and I had Economy plus on United which helped leg room and back stretch ability to no end...you can end up crippled after a flight..LOL.

[stuart2468]

Day 6 - Continued

 

It was a rather relaxed morning and we weren't due to dock until 10am, and had set an alarm for about 8am. However neither of us had slept to this alarm as our body clocks were still on US time. I was starting to feel a little tired at this point as i should have been getting more sleep than i was. But we soldiered on and met for breakfast about 8.30am.

 

During our sail into port, we noticed the landscape was very mountainous and lurking around the mountain was a rather dark cloud. Remember we had change ports from Falmouth due to weather conditions so we were expecting a more overcast day.

 

Breakfast was hearty. Which put us in good stead for the day ahead. As it would turn out, we didn't have much chance to eat until about 4.30pm when we had our Jamaican Jerk Chicken.... but more on that later.

 

We actually disembarked the ship about 9.40 slightly ahead of the planned 10am arrival. So we were waiting a short while for our tour driver to arrive.

 

A view back from the pier in Ocho Rios

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We found our meeting point, and waited with a few other people. Said people happened to be Juliet21 (cruise critic member i had been communicating with regarding tours in Jamaica) and her friend. It was purely by chance that we bumped into each other as we had decided to book our tours independently of each other. As it would pan out we spent most of the day with them as we were all allocated the same bus.

 

At around 10am, Peat Taylor Tours, and specifically Peat's son (I forget his name now sorry) arrived to give us info that our bus was on the way but there was traffic in the port area keeping traffic to a near stand still. It is only a small port area and buses seem to pile in and get stuck. Pretty chaotic really but we were in no rush and went with the Jamaican ethos.... don't worry, be happy. It worked!

 

Eventually, we were on our way to the Blue hole. There were about 20 people on board our minibus and all were planning either the blue hole and Dunns Falls and we were to do tubing down the white river at some point too. The Blue hole was about a 25 minute journey with a stop en route at a wooden shack in the middle of nowhere to buy water shoes. $10 bought a pair in bright Jamaican flag colours. You wouldn't miss us. lol

 

Once we arrived at our first destination, we were connected with our local guide who would show us around the falls and lagoons. It was a vert natural place and no commercialisation had taken place. It was pure heaven in the jungle.

 

After exiting the bus, this was our view

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Our first view of the falls and lagoon

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[stuart2468]

Day 6 - Continued

 

So from there, we crossed the river, and began a short climb upstream to further falls. To say the water was cold would be an understatement. But the air temperature was high even though the sun was barely out at this point.

 

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Time for a quick pose. 1 of only a few i took of Neil at this location..... he was so keen to get up and in the water he never gave me chance to take a pic. Think he enjoyed it here!

 

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[stuart2468]

Day 6 - Continued

 

Once all pics were taken of the group, the first leap was to be taken. It wasn't that high, and was totally optional. Id say about 10-12ft in total. But had to be done.... surely?

 

I think this was Neil..... Too quick for me to get in place. But his splash looks good so worth taking. lol

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Matt giving up and jumping. Not on life, just on Amy. Was a wise move

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Proving i actually jumped

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[stuart2468]

Day 6 - Continued

 

It was then time for the big one. On this falls you have to abseil half way down the gushing falls, and the turn and jump. Amy flatly refused this, and so the 3 of us began the decent. Yes all 3 on the rope at the same time. It was tough to keep your footing given the force of the water but was great fun. One by one we jumped into the lagoon and swam clear. Was beautiful but cold. the weather at this point decided it would be good to offer us a downpour. Still we were in water so never a problem.

 

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All in all it was a great location. I cannot advise enough how beautiful this place is. It has to be the place to go to. As i was to discover later that day, it was a far more beautiful place than Dunns Falls is. I think we spent about 1.5-2 hours here so plenty of time to enjoy it. The local guides are also very knowledgable and worth their weight in gold to show you where to best place your foot.

 

It was then back to the bus to continue our journey to our next destination.

[stuart2468]

Day 6 - Continued

 

We were in the mini bus for probably about 20 minutes before we arrived at Dunns. The guide and driver were giving us plenty of knowledge of the area, and at this point a few of us decided it was time for beer o'clock. Apparently in Jamaica this is officially 10am, however we had waited until about midday. Very un British like apparently. lol The tour provided an option to buy water beer and soft drinks at any point during the trip. Through the aid of an ice box.

 

Dunns was a complete contrast to the Blue hole. As soon as you drove through the front gate you could see this was designed to pull in the tourists. Loads of stalls, loads of people about, quite a lot of concrete.

 

But we began the climb with our guide advising us to hold hands with the person in front and the person behind. Apparently this was to help others climb. In fact we found it to be more of a hindrance than anything. It felt far safer to climb the falls looking after yourself only.

 

The falls were heavily populated with groups of tourists. Our guide up was accompanied with a videographer who would film the climb and take picture on you personal cameras if you had them. This day really lent itself well to my new waterproof camera. Thanks MSC Casino! What i didn't like was the constant desire by the videographer to get you to Whoop Holler and sing at every opportunity. All felt very geared towards sales.... and detracted from being able to take pictures. But i got a few......

 

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a view up the falls

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I think my view of Dunns was a slight let down, but I'm sure had i have gone here and then The Blue hole i would probably have a slightly better opinion of Dunns. Never the less i was glad to have done it, but i probably would not do it again. Amy however preferred Dunns over The Blue hole.

 

It was back to the bus then to meet with the rest of the party and continue on.

[stuart2468]

Day 6 - Continued

 

After dropping most of the people at the shopping area of Ocho Rios, as they had completed their tour, the four of us continued on to do tubing. I was looking forward to this a lot as it was something id never done before. I was hoping for lots of rapids and speedy flows. I didn't quite get that but it was beautiful. Stunning in fact.

 

We had a guide again, and we just popped into the rubber rings provided, and allowed the flow of the river to take us. Our guide had a great voice and was singing loads of pop songs sang by Jamaicans over the years. A lovely end to the day

 

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And an underwater shot to get the marine life

 

And with that, it was time up. Peat Taylor Tours dropped us back at the ship, and that was that. I can't recommend this company highly enough. I loved Jamaica and will be returning for a longer period in the future, and I'm 100% convinced this is due in part to the tour we took and the people that guided us around. Loved it!

[stuart2468]

Day 6 - Continued

 

Back on board, we proceeded to get ourselves looking slightly presentable ready for dinner. We were eating in the MDR this evening and the theme was Red White & Green. Italian night! The food was great again, and with regards to the MDR, i never had an issue with the food. Amy was finding the options a little short, and i'd agree, i don't think the options are as great as they are on Med cruises so if you're picky with food then you could have a problem. I however will try anything put in front of me and loved it as a result.

 

After dinner, we took a walk towards the theatre ready for the show, and found our places on the upper balcony ready for it to begin. I think it is fair to say we were all quite tired this night, and the show, Simply Italian, wasn't quite captivating enough for us. Don't get me wrong, the singers were superb. But not quite to our tastes and Matt nudged me to say he was heading up to the room. I followed also and said our goodnights to Amy & Neil. An early night would do us good anyhow.

 

Tomorrow was to be Grand Cayman.

[stuart2468]

Day 7 - Grand Cayman

 

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Edited March 23, 2016 by stuart2468

[stuart2468]

Day 7 - Continued

 

Today was to be a very early start, just as my body was getting used to sleeping. I didn't want to get up today really and for the first time slept to the alarm.

 

We all met at breakfast, although i forget what time, 7, i think. Neil was not going ashore with us today as he didn't want to do the tour we had planned.

 

Myself and Matt had had delivered to our room the night before, our tender tickets. I wasn't expecting this and didn't realise this was part of our Aurea package. It was handy, but because Amy was on Fantastica she didn't receive such a perk. So we had to go collect hers from Eataly at 7.30. She was allocated the C Tender, whereas we were given A. So, at 8.15, the sat in the Silver Lounge awaiting the call for boarding the Tender. We had planned to wait in the port for Amy before heading over to find the tour guide we had booked.

 

A view back from the tender. I love this pic. Talented photographer is Matt!

 

Matt awaiting Amy's arrival

 

The restaurant

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[stuart2468]

Day 7 - Continued

 

Some other underwater pics of the reef outside Paradise restaurant.

 

Cheeky little chap tried to attack me

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This is a good location for snorkelling, and is only 5 minutes walk from the cruise port. Turn left as you walk out and follow the road. you can't miss it. The restaurant has plenty of seating, and a small man made beach with sun beds for rental. They also rent snorkelling equipment but if you have your own you can enter the water for free. We didn't eat hear so cannot recommend how good the food is, but it became quite busy around midday.

 

After we had finished snorkelling, around 12.30, we walked towards the town area to look in the shops and to grab a bite to eat at somewhere Amy liked the look of.

[NoName]

Thanks so much for taking the time to do this review! I am so enjoying it.

 

Quick question, do you remember if they offered any kind of "movies under the stars" on your sailing?

 

Kim

[nikkiw60]

Morning Stuart, starting my day before getting up for work by catching up on your review! Today's question after reading about the Peat Taylor tour, how deep is the river for the tubing part of the trip? Is it ok for a non swimmer? (I bet you wish you hadn't started your mini blog now!) thanks Nicola

 

 

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[stuart2468]

Thanks so much for taking the time to do this review! I am so enjoying it.

 

Quick question, do you remember if they offered any kind of "movies under the stars" on your sailing?

 

Kim

 

Thank you and yes, i can answer this one. Every night i think there was a movie under the stars. The same movie i think was on at about 7.30pm & 11pm. Id read somewhere that MSC don't offer movies under the stars so i was quite surprised by this. I didn't actually watch any though, but Neil went up to watch 1 one night.

[stuart2468]

Morning Stuart, starting my day before getting up for work by catching up on your review! Today's question after reading about the Peat Taylor tour, how deep is the river for the tubing part of the trip? Is it ok for a non swimmer? (I bet you wish you hadn't started your mini blog now!) thanks Nicola

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

Its not that i wished i hadn't started it, more that i completely underestimated the work that goes into them. I had intended to do this whilst on the ship but there is no way i would have been able to complete it like that. Hopefully it isn't too long for everyone?

 

To your question, its hard to judge the depth, but i would say that the stretch we did was probably no more that waist deep. In parts even shallower (Neil got stuck on a rock at one point lol) The tubes are huge, and also have a base to them in the centre hole for your bum to sit on so there is no way anyone could fall through and once in i don't see how you could ever just fall out. The current was never strong enough to make you think you may fall over. I'd say perfectly fine for a none swimmer. And also the guide travels down with you all the way and is never that far away.