MSC Divina 18 Day Live Cruise Blog 11/14-12/2

[mcoler181]

2 hours ago, PRH said:

If you are fully vaccinated,  no problem getting off in Caribbean ports allowing ships in.  Different in Europe. 

Thanks PRH, The wife and I are, we have two children 11 and under who arnt though.

 

[JAGR]

2 hours ago, Motegi said:

Day 8 - Return to Port Canaveral

 

Today we returned to Port Canaveral to disembark half of the passengers and pick up quite a few more.  

Those of us staying on board were directed to the theatre to undergo COVID testing and to temporarily disembark the ship so that customs could confirm a “zero count”.   Everyone was tested and told to be seated in the right side of the theater until all results were confirmed.  Then we were divided into three groups and escorted off the ship for a few minutes and walked back on.  The entire process began at 07:30 and lasted just over 2 hours.

Thanks for this post!  We have B2B in Miami at the end of February and early March, and I was wondering how it would probably go,  This will be our first post-COVID B2B, and I assumed it would be more stressful than in the past. 

 

On an aside, did you get a laundry package by any chance, and if so, I wanted to know how it worked for you.  For years,  if you got the package, it was supposed to be for all laundry to be done in one delivery, but we have had butlers who let us do a one or two off for a few deliveries rather than in one. 

Enjoy the rest of your cruise!

 

[PRH]

2 hours ago, mcoler181 said:

Thanks PRH, The wife and I are, we have two children 11 and under who arnt though.

 

If you have unvaccinated children, the whole family is considered unvaccinated.   For MSC excursions,  you an go on "all included" as opposed to fully vaccinated. 

[Captain-John]

Thanks very much for your review - great for 'armchair sailing' and living the experience through you.

 

I  must say (with reference to another ongoing thread), I'd struggle with a few lunch and dinner menus, and default to the 'always available' in many cases. Your food looks great, just not to my taste.

 

Hope you continue to enjoy your trip.

 

[mcoler181]

3 hours ago, PRH said:

If you have unvaccinated children, the whole family is considered unvaccinated.   For MSC excursions,  you an go on "all included" as opposed to fully vaccinated. 

Thanks

[rkacruiser]

8 hours ago, styles27 said:

We felt like it was a pretty skimpy dining experience compared to the specialty restaurants on other lines we’ve dined in. 

 

That was my impression when I sailed on Meraviglia and learned about the specialty dining package.  I didn't book it.  If I had chosen to patronize a specialty restaurant, I would order ala carte.  

[rkacruiser]

8 hours ago, Motegi said:

Initially Pam and I had planned to go to the post office to mail some of the items we had purchased over the last week.   

 

This is an excellent idea if one collects a lot of stuff that would fill up luggage when returning home.  I have done this twice.  Once in Hilo when it was a port stop enroute to Vancouver on a re-positioning cruise.  Then, again, in Vancouver, on a different cruise.  Docking at Canada Place, there was a Canadian Post Office located in the underground walkway connecting that site with others venues.  Very east to get to.  At Hilo, I took a taxi both ways; wasn't expensive.  

[Motegi]

11 hours ago, JAGR said:

On an aside, did you get a laundry package by any chance, and if so, I wanted to know how it worked for you.  For years,  if you got the package, it was supposed to be for all laundry to be done in one delivery, but we have had butlers who let us do a one or two off for a few deliveries rather than in one. 

Enjoy the rest of your cruise!

Thanks!  

 

The entire COVID testing, disembarking, and walking back on could have been a little more streamlined in our opinion.   They could have called people down by deck to Pantheon rather than have everyone come down at once. Also, perhaps had YC passengers go to Top Sail.  We felt that social distancing was not followed in the Pantheon and the order of seating and testing was a bit arbitrary.  

 

Of note, some staff were not appraised of the testing starting at 0730 this time in Pantheon and it appears that prior B2B testing was done in the Black & White lounge at 0830 instead.  We think the large quantity of B2B passengers on this sailing necessitated the move to Pantheon and the additional 1 hour of time for everyone to be tested.  

 

I’m sure the protocols will change again before you are onboard.

 

Regarding the laundry package we purchased the 40 piece plan.   The butler said it would be fine to split it into a few separate batches. So we sent 10 a few days ago and are getting ready to send another 10 soon.  Everything was picked up by noon and returned in the afternoon the next day. 

[Motegi]

Day 8 - Port Canaveral

 

No evening show in the theatre

[Motegi]

Day 8 - Port Canaveral Dinner at Galaxy Asian

 

We purchased this as part of the two specialty restaurant dining package.  
 

The restaurant was completely empty because it was embarkation night for the new passengers.  We were the only table seated for at least 30 minutes.  
 

Also there was a bit of a storm outside and the ship was swaying quite a bit. 
 

There were large waves in the pool and the water was going everywhere.  And still there were quite a few passengers seated along deck 14.  

[Motegi]

Day 8 - Specialty Dinner at Galaxy Asian 

 

Now for the review of the dinner…. 

 

The service was excellent as always but for the food, as a person of Japanese descent, I would say my rating is mixed.   The miso soup was strangely sweet.  I had to add soy sauce to tone it down.  The shrimp skewers were good but could have benefitted from a little char or caramelization.   The sashimi and nigiri were fantastic.  The nori for the temaki hand roll was a little soggy where it should have been crisp.  The roll was tasty but quite small.  Finally the ice cream was good but the green tea flavor was no longer available so we went with strawberry.  Overall the portion size was very small for me but was sufficient for Pam (no leftovers) who is a light eater.  Was it worth the money? Yes, as part of the Duo dining package but not if I was paying a la carte.

[rkacruiser]

22 hours ago, Motegi said:

There were large waves in the pool and the water was going everywhere.

 

Like it!  I know that I am not at a Marriott resort!  Good photo that you added.

 

22 hours ago, Motegi said:

but for the food, as a person of Japanese descent, I would say my rating is mixed.

 

Not surprising that Italians don't execute Japanese cuisine as well as they do their pastas and risottos .  

[Motegi]

Day 9 - Return to Ocean Cay

 

Wonderful morning at Ocean Cay with warm temperatures and only a light breeze.  It was I deal for snorkeling at lighthouse beach and relaxing at the lighthouse bar.  
 

The water was warmer and much more clear than last week.  Pam spotted a stingray on the ocean floor just outside the netting by the lighthouse (I highlighted the ray so you can see it better).  She also found a 1.5-2 ft Caribbean lobster lurking in the rocks by the bridge at the lagoon later in the afternoon. It was probably upset that I had a lobster roll for lunch!  
 

Very few people were at the lighthouse bar and there were plenty of seats available.  
 

Edited November 25, 2021 by Motegi

[Motegi]

Day 9 - Ocean Cay Lunch at Ocean House

 

We got to the Ocean House just as the dark clouds approached.

 

Soon it was raining and we watched quite a few people heading back onboard.

 

Our butler, Donny, arrived in a stylish blue rain poncho and distributed additional ponchos to us, our waiter Yash, and the rest of the Ocean House staff. 

 

I ordered the same Octopus Salad and lobster roll as last week, this time with “extra” lobster.  See the menu and my ratings from last week.  Pam got the Blackened Mahi Mahi instead of the “carne asada” that she ordered before. Her rating for lunch was ****.

 

Luckily the rain only lasted a short time and blue skies soon returned. 
 

We capped off our day with some ice cream at the Smiling Fish Ice Cream parlor.  Unfortunately they no longer had the fish shaped cones that we had before.   We got coconut flavor and it tasted more like maybe a toasted coconut. I didn’t finish mine.  I’d probably go with vanilla or chocolate next time. 

Edited November 25, 2021 by Motegi

[Motegi]

Day 9 - Ocean Cay Daily Planner

 

[Motegi]

Day 9 - Theatre Show

 

The evening performance in the Pantheon Theatre was Jordan Bennett and his critically acclaimed one-man “Feelgood Show”.   It was an  eclectic mix of comedy, show tunes, and easy listening hits.  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jordan_Bennett

 

 

[Motegi]

Day 10 - Sea Day

 

 

 

[Motegi]

Day 10 - Sea Day

 

Slept in a bit and skipped breakfast at LeMuse. Sorry Arthur!  
 

Instead, we went back to Aurea spa for some fruit smoothies followed by lattes at Caffe Italia on our way to morning trivia in the Jazz Bar.  
 

We teamed up with a nice couple from Texas but were just one point shy of getting the win.
 

[SingBill]

Loving your review.  Would it be too much to ask for you to find out the cost of Covid test onboard.  We wii be on Divina mid-December and doing a side to side over to Royal Caribbean and need to get tested. Thank you if you can but understand if I’m asking too much

[Motegi]

4 hours ago, SingBill said:

Loving your review.  Would it be too much to ask for you to find out the cost of Covid test onboard.  We wii be on Divina mid-December and doing a side to side over to Royal Caribbean and need to get tested. Thank you if you can but understand if I’m asking too much

From what I understood speaking to another couple who were tested at port on Sunday it was around $80 per person. 

[Motegi]

Day 10 - Theatre Show

 

There was a nice presentation of the Divina’s senior officers and the Captain in the Pantheon Theatre.  
 

This was followed by another performance of “Autumn in Paris”.  It was better overall this week and the juggler didn’t have to struggle with rough seas.  

[SingBill]

3 hours ago, Motegi said:

From what I understood speaking to another couple who were tested at port on Sunday it was around $80 per person. 

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer. Looking forward to the rest of your review.  Enjoy the rest of your cruise

[Motegi]

Day 10 - Sea Day

 

i forgot to mention that we were awakened in the morning by some loud ripping/tearing sounds followed by machine grinding/polishing noises in the hallway outside our stateroom.  
 

Apparently they were changing out the hallway carpeting.  I didn’t think it looked very worn before but they must’ve felt that it was time for a replacement.  
 

I just wish we would have gotten a letter in our cabin about it the night before like they do when they wash your balcony.  
 

However, I will say that the carpet crew was extremely fast and the results looked fantastic.   Perhaps I could hire them to replace some carpeting at my house!
 

Anyway, here are the photos (First  is after they had taken out the old carpeting and padding, removed any adhesives and started to place the new padding.  Second is the completed result) 

 

 

Edited November 26, 2021 by Motegi

[Motegi]

Day 11 - Falmouth

 

[Motegi]

Day 11 - Falmouth

 

In a sudden mid cruise switch, Divina’s port of call in Jamaica was changed from Montego Bay. to Falmouth   All of MSC’s Montego Bay excursions were cancelled and passengers were instructed to rebook for Falmouth.   No official reason was given for the change.   I heard varied reasons such as Montego Bay already having 2 ships which meant that Divina would have to tender passengers ashore to Jamaican Health Department COVID restrictions prevented cruise ships from visiting there.  
 

This sudden change was a little disappointing for many of us as we had researched and planned activities around Montego Bay before the cruise.   So Pam and I decided that we would try to hire a taxi in Falmouth to take us to Montego Bay for the day.   Another couple we met had planned to do the same so we decided to split a taxi once we arrived. 
 

As we pulled into Falmouth we were surprised to see the newly christened MSC Seashore in port.  She is definitely a gorgeous ship and Pam and I are super exited to sail on her in just a couple months. 
 

Once the authorities cleared Divina around 10AM we made our way to deck 4 to disembark.  We met up with the other couple and made our way to the taxi stand.  Falmouth’s port area is quite spacious and designed well with plenty of shops for cruisers.  
 

Much to our surprise and disappointment the port taxi company salesperson told us that none of us were allowed to go to Montego Bay today due to COVID restrictions.   There were only a very limited number of destinations allowed according to her.  

 

Determined to find another way we decided to walk to the road to hire a taxi outside the port gates.  At the gate the authorities placed blue wristbands on each of us to indicate that we were visitors and told us we were only allowed to cross the street to a small fenced in street market.   Jamaican police were also there watching that we didn’t stray.  At this point the other couple decided that they had enough and went back to the ship..

 

Pam and I had our hearts set on eating Jamaican Patties from Juici Patties so one of the shopkeepers offered to go out and buy them for us.  We’re so happy she did because they were AMAZING!  

 

Pam and I walked back to the taxi stand and decided to just buy the Falmouth Highlights tour ($100 USD for up to 4 people).  The salesperson said we would be stopping for photos at multiple spots as well as have an opportunity to buy souvenirs and have lunch.  So we boarded a van with 3 others and headed off.  
 

Our driver was David “Big Bird” of Big Bird Tours who said it was his very first day back on the job since the pandemic. Apparently Falmouth had only just been reopened for cruise ships one week prior.  
 

Falmouth itself is quite impoverished and David said that there weren’t many sights to see so he would be taking us a little further out.   He admitted that Montego Bay was open for travellers but that he was instructed that we were not allowed..  
 

We drove by St Peter’s, the oldest church in Falmouth, followed by the library, a school, the tax collector, and a couple other places and then headed into the Queen’s Highway out of town.  Most of the “sights” meant that we couldn’t leave the vehicle but were only allowed to take photos with the windows rolled down. 

 

We stopped at a small officially authorized gift shop outside of Falmouth that was seriously overpriced.   Coffee was $50 a pound.   Sangsters Rum Cream was $30 a bottle.  There were a couple of other businesses in the same complex but we weren’t allowed to even walk into them.  
 

David did take us to a nice Jamaican restaurant, the Jamaican Jerk Centre, that was not touristy at all.  All of the other patrons there appeared to be locals.   The jerk pork, Red Stripe beer, and other food was delicious and cheap!  
 

 
After eating we headed back and stopped at the base of the Martha Brae river where the bamboo floats were being collected.  We were able to get out and snap a few photos.  
 

There were a few more “pics from inside the van  only” stops on the rest of the trip back to the cruise port.  

 

 

All I can say is that Jamaica is very restrictive for cruise passengers at this time.   It’s not MSC’s fault despite what some very vocal fellow passengers were saying.  I also saw multiple fellow passengers taking out their anger on the local shopkeepers and the taxi stand salespeople.  These people have no control over the current restrictions.   Any of these concerns should be expressed to the local governmental authorities.  

Edited November 27, 2021 by Motegi