!!! DIVINA !!! Eastern Caribbean ^_^ The Ultimate Review and Complete Pictorial Guide

[gambee]

My uncle took a few funny pictures there.

 

 

One thing that I dislike about GSC is the lack of natural shade, and the lack of umbrellas for rent.

 

 

 

The music was awfully loud! For peace and quiet I suggest you move away from the main beach area.

 

 

 

Notice how the clam shells are towards the back of the beach. I have spoken about them multiple times. I do not recommend them at all! They get extremely hot!

 

[gambee]

 

 

 

 

 

This is the main beach area. My family wanted to stay there, I think they were tired of walking. I suggested to keep moving on a little further and find a more peaceful area. I could already see how chaotic this area would get later on. Not mention that the music was pounding in that area. They had some techno kind of music at that time, I enjoy more of a reggae feel =). No worries, I had my phone with me.

 

 

[gambee]

I have read past reviews of people complaining about the bird poop on the lounges. GSC has a lot of seagulls as I will show you later on. So I guess this can be an issue. Just look for a clean one.

 

 

The first of many. Me, me, me, me, me, me :D They are really cute, I love seagulls.

 

 

 

My suggestion paid off, we found an incredible place. It was isolated from all the other lounges and the music was only heard in the background. Best of all, it was an area that would get light foot traffic during the day.

 

Our piece of paradise!

 

 

[gambee]

We set camp there and everyone went for a walk. I stayed behind and kept an eye on our belongings.

 

 

 

 

 

Notice the little umbrellas? The truth is that I wanted to bring 2 big umbrellas, but my mom kept objecting to it. I contacted MSC and got clearance to bring them aboard. I am not sure why she had a big problem with it. The small umbrellas were not bad, but are just no comparison to a real one. The coverage was rather limited and they kept on falling. I still wish I had brought at least one large umbrella for myself.

 

 

The main beach was starting to get some action!

 

 

[gambee]

 

 

 

Meanwhile, I was enjoying myself with a fantastic view =)

 

 

That was directly behind us.

 

 

 

The only issue with our location were those tall steps. Well, that and the fact that we had no true beach in front of us. But we could still access the water, it was just a little rocky.

 

[gambee]

 

 

The A6000 does a much better job with the illustration mode, than the RX100 ever did.

 

 

 

It was not exactly a beach area as it was rather rocky, but I loved how private it was. I was in heaven!

 

 

Here I am just chillaxing, lol

 

[gambee]

See the moon?

 

 

 

 

That lady had the right idea, she had a full size umbrella.

 

 

I got myself a long island Ice tea and just enjoyed the ocean breeze and the tranquility :)

 

 

[gambee]

 

It took maybe around one hour and then my family arrived. They have bought shirts, among other items. I decided to go cool down in the ocean. But there was a menace sea creature in the ocean!!!

 

 

 

What was it?

 

 

 

And there were tons of them!

 

 

 

I had never been stung by one, but it was not in my plans to get stung that day. The funny thing is that while I was enjoying my drink, I heard several people yelling very loudly several times. I did not think much about it. My main concern when it comes to the ocean are sharks, and it was not likely to see one there (although not impossible).

 

 

[gambee]

I was so hot that I decided to still go in, how bad could it be? There were tons of people in the water.

 

 

 

 

 

[gambee]

 

 

 

I did not want to risk it any longer and I retreated to place in heaven. My uncle had brought back a burger for us to share, but I was not hungry yet. I think he ate most of it.

 

 

As you can see I emptied a bottle of sunblock on my legs, LoL.

 

 

[gambee]

This cruise really did have a lot of mishaps. This one was among the scariest ones! I was laying there enjoying myself when a gust of wind came and blew my umbrella away. In a rust to get it, by accident, I pulled my chain off and into the sand it went. I found the chain immediately, but I could not find the pendant.

 

First, let me tell you why this item was so important to me. To put it simply, it was the chain and pendant that my grandmother passed away with. So you can only imagine the importance of the matter. I looked for about 5 minutes and nothing. Finally, I found it, it was already well covered by sand, it is crazy how fast things get lost on the beach. If I had lost this item, I would have never forgiven myself for it. I gave it to my mom immediately after I found it.

 

 

 

So who does not love animals? The next sets are of my uncle feeding birds and fish.

 

 

He was trying to hand feed them, but it was a no go.

 

 

 

 

[gambee]

 

 

Then he asked me to get some pictures of him feeding the fish. So we went out for a swim.

 

 

 

 

[gambee]

He had brought corn and Bread with him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[gambee]

There was a good amount of small fish in the area, he was having a blast. I could not see a thing since we only had one set of snorkeling gear. I was just shooting blindly, :D

 

I forgot he also had corn, lol.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[gambee]

 

 

 

 

You can see more action on the beach. It was a really nice day!

 

 

[gambee]

We decided to head back to the beach. At that point something rubbed against my chest and it was burning like hell. But here is the thing I don't think it was a jellyfish. I heard some people saying that those kind had no effect on humans, the effect also lasted for only a few minutes. I am not sure what it was, but it was not that uncomfortable anyway. I've heard jelly fish stings are very painful, and they last much longer.

 

 

 

 

That looks like fun, I wonder where they were heading to.

 

 

 

Edited September 7, 2014 by gambee

[gambee]

I decided to go get some food, I was staring to get a little hungry.

 

 

That's the main bar, it can get really busy. I think they have 4 bartenders working the bar at all times.

 

 

 

That's the dining area for the buffet.

 

 

 

We were located a short walk away from the buffet.

 

[gambee]

 

 

There was a pretty long line to get food, but it went by fast 5 minutes or so.

 

 

 

 

[gambee]

Just imagine the amount of meat that they go through on that day!

 

 

 

The buffet was very basic, but everything was good.

 

 

 

 

[gambee]

 

 

I made myself a plate, and got some juice. Then I headed back towards our spot.

 

 

 

 

[gambee]

 

 

 

 

 

[gambee]

The burger was good, or maybe I was starving. I can only imagine that they are the exact same burgers as the ones on-board the ship.

 

 

I got my mom some chicken and cuscus.

 

 

My uncle had gone for more bread to give to the seagulls.

 

 

 

 

 

[gambee]

Aside from my uncle making our area their new congregation point, I have to say that there is an unusual mount of them in this island. Hey as long as they don’t poop on me I am fine with it :D

 

 

He was trying to hand feed them, but it was a no go. They are too skittish to come near you.

 

 

The really funny thing was that while he was feeding them, he left his plate unattended with his hot dog. Yup, you guessed it. One seagull came and took the entire hotdog, Lol. He had to go get another one.

 

 

 

 

[gambee]

Hi Gambee, I'm still really enjoying your review and pictures! I know it's a huge time commitment for you, but I hope you keep at it for all of us who continue to enjoy your efforts. :)

Heather

 

Thank you Heather :), glad to see that you're still following.

[gambee]

Gambee... Loved both Oasis and Breakaway! Looking at Allure or Epic for maybe next summer for a Mediterranean itinerary!

 

Happy to lend support and greatly appreciate all your efforts!

(I haven't read your Breeze review yet... I think I'll do that in the next week and maybe give Carnival a try😄)

 

 

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You will be pleasantly surprised from my Breeze review as was I. I can't believe that I waited so long to try Carnival out.