3-8.23 Live From the Divina

[misguy]

This cruise is off to a poor start.  The wait to get into the terminal was terrible.  There were probably 1K or more lined up outside.  It was about 1:30 when they started boarding, and they were very slow in processing people, so you were waiting in the gang way for quite a while.  We were an hour late sailing away, and the sail away party was over for at least 30 minutes before we sailed.

[styles27]

Did the cruise before yours happen to visit Colombia?  If so that’s most likely the reason why you were delayed boarding. 
 

Hope things get better and you can enjoy your cruise!

[misguy]

I am not sure, but it may have.

 

[misguy]

Today we are in Nassau and it is a beautiful day.  The ride last night was so smooth, you couldnt tell you weren't still tied to the dock.  Dinner was good, they had Prime Rib, and mine was perfect, medium rare and tender.  They said it came with a loaded baked potato, but mine was just a baked potato, and you had to ask for sour cream and use the butter on the table. More from today later.

[JT1962]

38 minutes ago, misguy said:

I am not sure, but it may have.

 

The prior sailing did visit Colombia per the itinerary. Those sailings seem to always be delayed 2-3 hours clearing the ship due to closer customs checks. It’s probably best to wait until after 2:00 pm to arrive at the pier if the prior cruise visited Colombia.

[misguy]

Thanks for that information.

[HardToPort]

Hi Misguy,

 

would you be able to post a pic of the Daily Activities sheet? I’m on Divina next month and looking to get a feel for music offerings etc.

[misguy]

I will try to scan and share the menus and the dailies. 

 

Part of the reason the sail away was so late was we had a passenger board about 6:30, which was the official departure time.  I am not sure why they waited but apparently they were waiting, it wasn't long after they boarded they pulled the gang plank. 

 

Here is what it looked like waiting to checkin.

Edited March 7, 2023 by misguy

[HardToPort]

Sometimes when I cruise I have perks that come from staying in a suite. Other times I’m in an ocean view or basic balcony.
 

When I have boarding perks, I show up early and get escorted on. But when I’m just another passenger I wait until 2 hours after the earliest boarding time to head to the pier. 
 

I can’t see any sense in baking in the Miami heat for 2 hours waiting to squeeze into the check in line and then sitting on the floor waiting for my boarding group # to be called. As long as I’m on board 2 hours before departure per customs regulations I can enjoy a leisurely breakfast elsewhere and postpone my sail away cocktail for a little bit.

[misguy]

3 minutes ago, HardToPort said:

Sometimes when I cruise I have perks that come from staying in a suite. Other times I’m in an ocean view or basic balcony.
 

When I have boarding perks, I show up early and get escorted on. But when I’m just another passenger I wait until 2 hours after the earliest boarding time to head to the pier. 
 

I can’t see any sense in baking in the Miami heat for 2 hours waiting to squeeze into the check in line and then sitting on the floor waiting for my boarding group # to be called. As long as I’m on board 2 hours before departure per customs regulations I can enjoy a leisurely breakfast elsewhere and postpone my sail away cocktail for a little bit.

We like to board early so we can get photos before the ship gets jammed up.  My wife travels with a wheelchair, so we are usually among the first boarded, and this time we were supposed to have priority boarding because we were in an Aurea suite.  We don't run into these issues with other cruise lines.  Not to this scale.

[mnpurple]

As someone who recently sailed an MSC itinerary including Columbia, Panama and Costa Rica, the immigration was the hold up, not MSC. The lines were terribly long, so they had to hold people on the ship because of it.  MSC could communicate better with passengers boarding after these itineraries, but I suppose it is hard to know if immigration will always be a problem.  I have had similar waits on two cruises with NCL at different terminals.

[misguy]

Yesterday was a beautiful day in the Bahamas.  I stayed on board and worked on videos and my wife and granddaughter went shopping, not so much buying though the did bring a few things back.  There were 2 Carnival, 2 MSC and one RCCL in port.  We are at Ocean Cay today, and the weather has been ok, a few passing rain showers and a little wind, but not bad.  My granddaughter and I went kayaking, and we went from the lagoon to the lighthouse.  We enjoyed it and the waves were manageable but enough to make it interesting.  We are getting to overnight, which is super nice, and we are in Cabin 1008 which is a starboard front balcony so we will have the perfect place to watch the light show.

[styles27]

1 hour ago, misguy said:

Yesterday was a beautiful day in the Bahamas.  I stayed on board and worked on videos and my wife and granddaughter went shopping, not so much buying though the did bring a few things back.  There were 2 Carnival, 2 MSC and one RCCL in port.  We are at Ocean Cay today, and the weather has been ok, a few passing rain showers and a little wind, but not bad.  My granddaughter and I went kayaking, and we went from the lagoon to the lighthouse.  We enjoyed it and the waves were manageable but enough to make it interesting.  We are getting to overnight, which is super nice, and we are in Cabin 1008 which is a starboard front balcony so we will have the perfect place to watch the light show.

Glad you’re having a nice cruise! Love the overnights in OC it’s my favorite!

[misguy]

The cabin number 10008. 

[misguy]

Today was a our last day at Ocean Cay, and we wound up with our snorkeling excursion being canceled, the sea-do excursions were canceled as well due to high seas.  On the island the weather was good and swimming was easy.

[Sir_Randy]

Did you have an assigned check in time?

What is the light show?

We sail 5/1 but not overnight at the Cay, just until 10pm

Any suggestions? Do/Don'ts? 

[misguy]

On 4/21/2023 at 3:22 PM, Sir_Randy said:

Did you have an assigned check in time?

What is the light show?

We sail 5/1 but not overnight at the Cay, just until 10pm

Any suggestions? Do/Don'ts? 

They had two lightshows the night we were there, one at 8:00 and one at 9:00.  I don't know that they had themes, but just different.  

We rented Kayaks and went around the side of the Island almost to the Lighthouse.  Buffet has decent food, the food trucks are hamburgers and hot dogs mostly.  If you burn easy, get a cabana, the sun and white sand are pretty intense.