Best Cat Mom

Our Divina transatlantic from Genoa to Miami in November 2024 has been cancelled. We're on Divina now and the crew -- and even management -- in YC did not yet know. They did say that a drydock was planned in Malta for Divina after the crossing, so they were not overly concerned. The email we received also mentions that Divina's return to Europe in April 2025 is cancelled too. No reason was mentioned for either cancellation.

Day 8 -- Costa Rica Clocks changed last night so we had a extra hour of sleep, which might have been part of the choice for us to spend a little extra time in TSL after dinner yesterday. We were up before the alarm, from the bright sunshine streaming into the cabin. For us, sun is the perfect way to wake up. Coffee and Baileys arrived promptly at 7:30am and we were off to Le Muse by around 8am, since they closed early today at 8:30am. We had our usual 2 mimosas and 2 cappuccini: BCD ordered MSC express with over easy eggs and 5 slices of crispy bacon. I had 2 six-minute eggs with 'regular' bacon -- the non-crispy kind. (Sorry that we forgot pictures.) We went back to TSL around 9:15am and it seemed like all YC excursions had already departed. Our cabin had again fully restored by the awesome Richard, who snuck in and out while we enjoyed our breakfast. We hung out there until lunch time and then headed back to Le Muse for lunch. Champagne and menus were presented: We both chose the crab to start, still drinking champagne: We both had the swordfish for our mains with more champagne for me and Gabbiano chianti for BCD: We went back to TSL for the afternoon. On the way, we noticed that the library in the concierge area had been replaced by more displays of the shopping opportunities on the ship. When we asked the concierge, he said that it was a result of Covid. We weren't sure if Covid caused people to not want to borrow books or if MSC made the decision not to have them available for borrowing. I had heard that many libraries outside of YC had been deleted recently, but I think this is the first YC one I'd heard had been removed. During the afternoon, I made reservations for Butcher's Cut at 1pm tomorrow, using our free Diamond meal for BCD's birthday. I had already spoken with our butler Dwi to arrange a cake for him at the end of that meal. She was the one who suggested it should be GF so I could have some too. I'm hoping that it will be a nice surprise for him. We arrived for dinner in Le Muse at 8:30pm. We chose to be later than the previous night since it was so busy then. It was even busier tonight 30 minutes later! Glenn said he had 22 people already at the time we were seated. We amused ourselves with menus and champagne and told him that he knew where to find us when he was ready: BCD had shrimp cocktail as his starter (no picture, sorry) and I had a caesar salad, both still drinking champagne: For mains, we moved on to the Gabbiano chianti. BCD had the filet and shrimp: I had the lamb for my main: We shared the truffle risotto: The dining room was filled with the wonderful aroma of truffles! We left very satisfied and had a few rounds of sidecars and old fashioneds in TSL and returned to the cabin to find the evening's treats: Day 9, BCD's birthday and US Tax Day, is next...

Day 8 Daily Programs...

Day 7 conclusion... We went to Le Muse a little after 8pm and it was crazy busy for so late. We mused (yes, mused) that maybe it was unusually crowded so late because all aboard was at 7:30pm. We told Glenn that we'd be fine with champagne and menus to baby-sit us: BCD started with the iceberg wedge and I chose the salmon tartare, which is another one of my favorites. (No pictures, sorry.) As we had now depleted the Oberon supply in Le Muse, we chose the Gabbiano chianti to accompany our mains. BCD ordered the rib eye: I asked if the pork was GF. Glenn checked with the chef and said it "could" be. So when it arrived without the mustard sauce, I was not surprised. Many of my dishes are quite altered from the menu description when made GF. Here's my dish, your protein will likely look much different: We shared the porcini risotto, one of our absolute favorite dishes in YC: You may have noticed some grated parmesan on our risotto. That's BCD's "side" of the dish; my side is unadulterated, the way nature intended. 😉 We returned to TSL and had a fun late night. The bar area was hopping and all of us kept Hubert quite busy. We had 2 rounds of sidecars and old fashioneds, 2 Girl Scout Cookies each, I tried a Lemon Drop for the first time (I'll stick to the sidecars), BCD had a shot of Jameson and Baileys that someone suggested he try (peer pressure!) and he also had at least one shot of Fireball. We returned to the cabin around 1am to find our treats: Day 8 coming next...

Thanks for your kind words. 🙂 The breakfast menu is in the first post from Day 2 (post #32). This is the direct link (I hope): https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/3002165-live-from-msc-divina-yc-yacht-club-western-caribbean-miami-7-april-to-18-april-2024/page/2/#comment-67222629

Day 7 - Colón, Panama Our Baileys and coffee arrived as usual at 7:30am to start our day. We arrived at Le Muse around 8:30am and gladly accepted 2 mimosas and cappuccini: BCD ordered a cold cut plate and a cheese plate, which he combined to one plate so as to not overwhelm the table: I had 2 six-minute eggs with grilled ham: We meandered back to YC. Arrival time in Colon was supposed to be ~10am. By 11:30am, all excursions were called and TSL was again a calm oasis. We heard that around 80 of the YC passengers had gone out today. We arrived at Le Muse for lunch at 12:30pm. At breakfast, Mehmet had told us that most crew wanted to go outside here because it was their last real chance before the transatlantic back to Europe. We had planned to have lunch earlier today so we wouldn't be reducing their time outside. We had champagne and read through the offerings on the menu: We both started with the beef and added Gabbiano chianti when the champagne was finished: BCD chose the cannelloni for his main: I was surprised that I could choose the chicken, since sauces are rarely GF: After lunch, we went back to TSL. Hubert was working the bar and the lounge was virtually empty so we sat at the bar to keep him company. We met Hubert on our first Divina cruise in October 2022. He was a bartender at the One Pool at that time and was just finishing his contract. We were pleasantly surprised to see that he had moved up to TSL for our transatlantic last November, and he told us that he'd still be on for our next Divina cruise. He is disembarking at the end of this cruise and not sure where he'll be next. We are hoping that we'll see him again on a future cruise, maybe even our Seascape September voyage. We had a few Girl Scout Cookie drinks and passed the time. Here is Hubert with one round of our drinks/desserts: YC Director Tiziana stopped by TSL and chatted with BCD a bit. She'd talked with him a few previous times whilst he was working on his "champagne" cars. This time BCD had a completed car ready for delivery and presented it to her: We stopped by the YC concierge desk to try to book an excursion for tomorrow in Costa Rica. When we'd been on this same itinerary last time, it had been cancelled because not enough people booked it. This time it was already full so it looks like we're staying on the ship again tomorrow. Good thing we like the Divina so much. So far, we haven't gone out even once. As we neared dinner, I ordered a shiraz and BCD ordered a double Elijah Craig to take back to the room to dress for dinner. Day 7 concludes next...

No because they don't the specific way you are funding the chips. The amount is charged to your cabin via your cruise card. They don't know if you have OBC available in your cabin account or if you'll be covering extra charges with your registered credit card. Also, if you use the slot machines instead, it is all electronic on the machines themselves. No interaction with a human is needed until you decide to cash out.

Not so fast -- we still have 3 more days. We disembark on Thursday. When Susmita brought our mimosas this morning, she asked if she could get us anything else. I replied, "Two more weeks on the ship." It took a moment for that to sink in. I said, "You asked." 😉

They are out of Oberon now -- and we're definitely not saying that it has a single thing to do with us! LOL

When you are in the casino, load money into a slot machine (or buy chips at a table) by charging to your room. Play a bit if you want, then cash out at the cashier to get cash for whatever is left.

Day 7 Daily Programs...

Day 6 continues... After lunch, we made our way back to TSL and found ourselves in an empty lounge. I had a few espresso martinis and BCD had a few Woodford Reserves. At some point, BCD went up to the One Pool deck to take some panoramic images of Cartagena: We eventually changed for dinner, arriving in Le Muse just after 8pm. It was packed! I guess since all aboard was late and the day so hot, people were moving slowly to find their way to dinner. We perused the menus and enjoyed our champagne and told Glenn and Ryan to not worry about us until they were less frazzled: BCD chose the shrimp for his starter (no, they did not short him 2 shrimp -- he dug into it before we remembered to take a picture): I also wanted to order the shrimp. We'd smelled it going by our table and it certainly smelled delicious. Unfortunately, when Glenn asked the chef if it was GF, he found out that the butter has flour in it. So I had to be content with the burrata: BCD ordered a filet for his main, drinking Oberon with it: I chose the sole and stayed with my old friend champagne: We shared the risotto: Dessert was coconut ice cream with Kahlua -- and a surprise when it arrived to our table. What a nice touch from Glenn and Ryan! We found ourselves back in TSL for a few rounds of sidecars and old fashioneds and then headed to our cabin. The treats for tonight: Day 7 is next...

Withdraw it from your on board account and use the cash to tip whoever made your trip memorable -- I guess that means you could tip yourself. 😉

Day 6 -- Cartagena, Columbia Today our arrival time was scheduled a bit later than most -- at 10:30am -- so we did not feel the need to be up early to watch the ship arrive in port. We still had Baileys and coffee at 7:30am: Then, taking our time, we made our way up to the One Pool deck for breakfast around 9:30am. The area seemed quite busy, so we figured a lot of people were doing the same as us. We each had an egg white omelet with cheese and bacon and helped ourselves to some fruit and bacon from the buffet. A few mimosas for me and coconut rum with orange juice for BCD rounded out our breakfast. I also ordered a cappuccino, which I quickly regretted as we began to slide into our spot in port and the wind died down. It was getting crazy hot outside and we knew it was supposed to top out at 100+ plus degrees Fahrenheit (~38 degrees Celsius). That heat plus bright and sunny skies made us glad of our decision to not go out today. By 11am when we returned to TSL, the tables were packed with guests waiting to be called for their excursions. We found a good spot to watch the harbor from TSL and soon it was nearing the time for lunch to end in Le Muse. Having had breakfast so late, we were not starving but still wanted to have a nice air-conditioned lunch. We made it to the restaurant just a few minutes before service ended at 1:30pm. We sipped champagne and ordered from the menu: BCD started with the Parma ham: I chose the niçoise salad since it is one of my favorite salads. I hadn't ordered it when it first was on the menu for dinner on day 3 because that night I really wanted the vitello tonatto more -- such are the dilemmas of Le Muse: For his main, BCD ordered the schnitzel: I chose the Parma ham for my main: We had continued drinking champagne with the starters but to accompany our mains, we opted for the Mirassou pinot noir we had once before. When we chatted a bit with Mehmet, he told us that his last day on Divina will be on 13 May. When the ship ports in Turkey that day, he will disembark. Day 6 continues...

We're on Divina now (with @Cathy in Boston). We just happened to stroll past the Cigar Lounge about 4 hours ago and were surprised to see that it still exists. I just checked the Daily Program and today's hours are listed as 5pm to 12:30am. (I'm posting all the Daily Programs in my live thread if you want to check hours for other days.)

Day 6 Daily Programs:

We are only there a few times and usually during the day -- we try to avoid crowds that might contain smokers. I guess it could be dim in the wee hours of the morning. Maybe someone else can share their experiences here?

We spent some time in TSL before dinner. I enjoyed 2 espresso martinis and BCD had an old fashioned and a Woodford Reserve. We returned to the cabin to change for dinner and arrived at Le Muse at around 8pm. Champagne was served and we examined the menus: We both started with the duck: BCD chose the pork as his main: I ordered lamb for my main: We shared the risotto: We both chose Gabbiano chianti to accompany our mains: Here again is our exceptional server team of Glenn (right) and Ryan (left): After dinner, we returned to the YC and TSL for some nightcaps. After one round, we realized that we were tired and chose to turn in. Hubert was aghast but we assured him that this would not become a habit. Day 6 next...

More Day 5... On the way back from lunch at Le Muse, we stopped by the casino to "retrieve" some of our OBC. The bar was not yet open but guests were beginning to hover around there since the scheduled opening time of 2:30pm would be in just a few minutes. The gambling, however, would not be allowed to begin until the ship was in international waters. We had heard of some MSC ships that had banned smoking in the main casino and instead moved some of their slot machines to another location of the ship where smoking was allowed. Not so on Divina, at least not for this sailing. There is a smoking section containing slot machines in the main casino right now. The casino is mid-ship, and the smoking section of the casino is the forward area on the port side: A bit aft of the smoking section is the cashier, with a few slot machines between there and the smoking section: As you move towards the starboard side, there are more non-smoking slots: Across from those is the center of casino bar: Across from the bar forward is the stairs going both left and right up to La Luna bar: To the starboard side of the stairs is a craps table: Then on the starboard-most side of the casino are all the other gaming tables, including two roulette tables (on the right side of this image), and slot machines lining the wall: When we were on Divina last year, the only tables were for cards (blackjack, poker, etc.). We're not gamblers -- we only go in there to retrieve our OBC -- but I saw a lot of discussion about how people wanted other table games. Now that there are two roulette tables and one craps table, I would think that some folks will be happier. Day 5 dinner next...

We tip each person separately, based on the service they've provided for us. On the last full day, we stop by the YC concierge desk and ask for some envelopes -- they have always expected this and had a supply ready. The concierges can also help you with the spelling of names, even when you might just have a description of a particular person. They are extremely helpful. We give out the envelopes on that last full day, usually beginning with the concierges that have been most helpful -- especially the one who gave you the envelopes and names. If you need cash for the envelopes, you can retrieve your OBC via the casino. Load the money to your cruise card, play for a bit (if you want) then cash out and bring the ticket to the cashier to get your money. If you get bills too large, the YC concierge can change them for you. If you have a tough time locating people to give them their tip envelopes, the YC concierges will also assist with that. They know why you're looking for someone on the last day -- and the people you're looking for know why they should find you as well. For us, the whole process is very much facilitated by those oh-so-helpful concierges!

Day 5 continues... We headed to Le Muse for lunch. Just before closing at 1:30pm -- also all aboard time -- YC guests started arriving, as they were returning from excursions. We chose to drink champagne throughout our lunch. Menu: We both chose the chef's salad to start, BCD's with dressing and mine without (to keep it GF): Then we both chose the sole for our mains, with mine altered to be GF: We stopped at the casino on the way back to our cabin. A little about the casino to follow...

Day 5 - Aruba When we read that Le Muse closed a half hour earlier today, at 8:30am, we figured that was because were arriving early to Aruba at 7am. Instead of getting up at our usual time for breakfast, we decided to sleep in. We changed our Baileys and coffee to be delivered an hour later at 8:30am and planned to eat up on the One Pool deck, which is open until 10am. At 8:42am, they called Mike Echo over the public address system (PA). Most of you probably know that Mike Echo is ship code for Medical Emergency. I said to BCD that at least we were in port and that could be a good thing for whoever was in cabin 9012 this morning. We arrived at the One Pool deck at 9:45am and ordered 2 coconut rums with orange juice. No mimosas you say? Well, it was very windy and we were concerned about tall glasses so... BCD helped himself to the buffet: I ordered an egg white omelet with bacon and cheese and grabbed some bacon from the buffet: I think that they must expect more Americans at the pool buffet since the omelets there are more "American style" than in Le Muse. Le Muse seems to be European style, which is fine too. The styles are different and we like them both. We walked back to the room and BCD used the Pano (panoramic) setting on this iPhone to take this image of the port: By around 11am, we were back in TSL enjoying an espresso martini and a Woodford Reserve. We chatted with crew and they commented that they enjoy the sailings in North America the most because the passengers tend to be more friendly and talkative. They said that in Europe the guests treated crew more like servants. We were a bit disheartened to hear that perspective. There have been lots of crew drills this morning. Over the PA we've heard about fires on board, orders to abandon ship and other various disasters -- all just drills thankfully. They do announce that these are drills but if you've missed the beginning of the announcement, it might not be obvious at first. I asked about the ME this morning, hoping that it was part of the drill as well. Unfortunately, we found out that it was a true ME. We also found out that Rudy expects to be off Divina in June. He's not certain where he'll be when he returns in ~September but he does believe he'll be in the Caribbean. Day 5 lunch coming next...

It is going great! 🙂 Antonio is still chef in Le Muse. We have Glenn and Ryan for our server team and Dwi and Richard for our butler team. We're on until 18 April. Today we're in Colon, Panama.

It was great to meet the two of you as well. I'm so glad you're enjoying YC as much as we are. It's nice to know that we're not exaggerating how good this cruise has been. Sometimes I worry that we overlook all the "misses" that others wind up pointing out. I've never thought that we're easy to please, but reading some reviews makes me wonder if maybe we are.

I was perplexed by the PS. Then BCD kinda nudged me and reminded me of the cars he's been building. How could I forget? Mi dispiace!! He's made 4 so far and given away 3 of them. Now he is working a Gen 3 design with a bigger body. I will post an image when he deems his design ready for the public. 😉 Meanwhile, here are the cars BCD completed after we returned home with the remaining supplies from our transatlantic: