JamieLogical's Live from the MSC Divina 2/11

[JamieLogical]

 

It's hard to believe I am only 9 days away from my next MSC sailing on the Divina. This one really snuck up on me! It doesn't help that work has been CRAZY busy for the past couple of months and I have been horribly sick for the past week and a half. Between those two things, I really haven't had much time or energy to even think about cruise planning. I just started working on my packing list about two days ago!

 

Last night I ventured out of my house for only the second time since Tuesday the 23rd. I mustered enough energy to go grocery shopping and picked up a few things from my packing list that I needed. I am hoping to be able to get my first round of laundry done today. But the countdown is on!

 

For this cruise, I will be sailing with my husband on the Divina out of Miami. It will be our first time on the Divina or any MSC ship besides the Meraviglia, for that matter. We are flying down in the EARLY morning on Saturday, the 10th. I am hopeful that our hotel will let us drop our bags off and store them there in the morning, since check-in isn't until the afternoon. We'd like to have the freedom to explore Miami a bit. Despite having sailed out of Miami many times, we usually fly in late the night before our cruise, head straight to the hotel to crash, and then head straight to the cruise terminal the next morning. However, on my solo sailing in October, the Meraviglia had an itinerary change that had us stopping in Miami as a port stop for a day. I was able to get off the ship and explore Miami a bit on my own. I went to Little Havanah and ate lunch at a great little restaurant and walked around and looked at the shops. I want my husband to get to experience all that in Miami this time, which is why we chose an earlier flight.

 

We are excited about the itinerary as well. The first stop is Ocho Rios, where we never get off the ship, but after that, we have some good ports of call. Aruba is always a nice stop. Cartagena was one of our favorite stops on our Panama Canal sailing. We didn't stop in Colon on that Panama Canal cruise, so that will be a new port for us. Roatan will also be a new stop for us. And then we finish up with Cozumel, where I just did the Bar Hop with my solo friends in October. We have excursions booked in Colon, Roatan, and Cozumel so far.

 

We are also excited to be aboard the Divina for the first time. On our shuttle ride from the hotel to the cruise terminal on our very first MSC cruise, we sat next to a guy who had been on many MSC sailings in the past and he said the Divina was his favorite ship. We heard that from some others onboard the Meraviglia as well. We also watched Tony from La Lido Loca's ship tour and review video. Even though it's a little bit of an older and smaller ship, I really think we are going to like it. If anyone has any tips or suggestions about things to check out on the Divina, let me know! 

[Mark_T]

See you onboard 🙂

 

We will fly in on the Friday and do a little exploring on Saturday.

Edited February 2 by Mark_T

[pirate4me2]

I will be following along! I love your reviews, I want to sail on Divina, and this itinerary looks awesome. I'm jealous, if I had seen this sailing before I had booked a few of my other ones I would have hopped onboard!

[Beamafar]

What a fantastic itinerary.  We’d love to get back to Aruba again.  Hope you have an incredible time.

 

Divina is very different but is a beautiful ship.  It’s quite a while since we’ve sailed Fantastica class but we’re on Splendida later this year and I can’t wait to experience this class once again. 

[Beamafar]

26 minutes ago, pirate4me2 said:

I will be following along! I love your reviews, I want to sail on Divina, and this itinerary looks awesome. I'm jealous, if I had seen this sailing before I had booked a few of my other ones I would have hopped onboard!

Same here!   I’ve just been lamenting the fact that MSC doesn’t do Southern Caribbean from Miami.  

[pirate4me2]

Just now, Beamafar said:

Same here!   I’ve just been lamenting the fact that MSC doesn’t do Southern Caribbean from Miami.  

That's my one gripe about MSC, the lack of variation in itineraries. I'm hoping as they become more popular in the US they will add more ports!

[Beamafar]

2 minutes ago, pirate4me2 said:

That's my one gripe about MSC, the lack of variation in itineraries. I'm hoping as they become more popular in the US they will add more ports!

Even if this itinerary is offered again next year, we’ve booked Explora Journeys so there’s no point in even looking.  😕

[TrinaLC]

For Columbia, consider the hop on hop off bus tour, or arrange a walking tour. The old city is a gem. 
 

What tour did you book for Colon?  You mentioned you had already done a crossing …

 

We love Divina, so many different venues throughout the ship. 
 

Consider packing several simple Europe to US plug adapters as there are not enough US plug receptacles. You can double your space if you can also use the European plug receptacles. These are two prong inserts available for around $5 from Amazon. 
 

 

[JamieLogical]

29 minutes ago, TrinaLC said:

For Columbia, consider the hop on hop off bus tour, or arrange a walking tour. The old city is a gem. 
 

What tour did you book for Colon?  You mentioned you had already done a crossing …

 

We love Divina, so many different venues throughout the ship. 
 

Consider packing several simple Europe to US plug adapters as there are not enough US plug receptacles. You can double your space if you can also use the European plug receptacles. These are two prong inserts available for around $5 from Amazon. 
 

 

 

Ha! You obviously haven't followed some of my other live blogs. I always have multiple EU outlet adaptors on every cruise. They have never NOT come in extremely handy.

 

We had an amazing private tour in Cartagena when we were there in December 2022 and none of the ship excursions look as appealing. They mainly only seem to revisit bits and pieces of what we did on that private tour. I think we will likely just take some transportation to the Old Town and explore on our own a bit more than we did last time.

 

For Colon, we have booked the Gatun Lake Eco Tour. Didn't need to do one of the canal crossing excursions since we just went through the canal a little over a year ago.

[JamieLogical]

43 minutes ago, pirate4me2 said:

That's my one gripe about MSC, the lack of variation in itineraries. I'm hoping as they become more popular in the US they will add more ports!

 

Well, this sailing seems to be completely sold out so hopefully MSC will get the message that this sort of itinerary is very popular in the US market!

[Cruzinforpeace***]

3 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

 

Ha! You obviously haven't followed some of my other live blogs. I always have multiple EU outlet adaptors on every cruise. They have never NOT come in extremely handy.

 

We had an amazing private tour in Cartagena when we were there in December 2022 and none of the ship excursions look as appealing. They mainly only seem to revisit bits and pieces of what we did on that private tour. I think we will likely just take some transportation to the Old Town and explore on our own a bit more than we did last time.

 

For Colon, we have booked the Gatun Lake Eco Tour. Didn't need to do one of the canal crossing excursions since we just went through the canal a little over a year ago.

So when you say “adapter”, is that just the plug?  Do you also need the converter to use U.S.A. appliances?  In other words, can you plug a USA plug directly into a European adapter plug and not have your stuff blow up?

Edited February 2 by Cruzinforpeace***

[Essiesmom]

35 minutes ago, Cruzinforpeace*** said:

So when you say “adapter”, is that just the plug?  Do you also need the converter to use U.S.A. appliances?  In other words, can you plug a USA plug directly into a European adapter plug and not have your stuff blow up?

She means the plug adapter.  Most appliances/devices are dual voltage, they will say 110-240 v AC.  No transformer needed.  EM

[cruisebeachgirl703]

Jamie, hope you feel better soon. always follow along with you. glad you are enjoying msc. we are on magnifica quick weekend cruise in 2 weeks. 

[TrinaLC]

4 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

 

 

For Colon, we have booked the Gatun Lake Eco Tour. Didn't need to do one of the canal crossing excursions since we just went through the canal a little over a year ago.

We had also done a recent crossing and booked the historic domed train as it would have been cool to follow the route by rail, but unfortunately it was cancelled. Not enough pax signed up.  

[TrinaLC]

1 hour ago, Cruzinforpeace*** said:

So when you say “adapter”, is that just the plug?  Do you also need the converter to use U.S.A. appliances?  In other words, can you plug a USA plug directly into a European adapter plug and not have your stuff blow up?

these days you only need just the plug, as most devices can be used interchangeably… (not things like hair dryers, but electronics such as laptops, iPads etc)

[sammee]

I'll be following this thread. This is the ship that sold me on MSC back in 2022 out of PC.

[JamieLogical]

2 hours ago, Cruzinforpeace*** said:

So when you say “adapter”, is that just the plug?  Do you also need the converter to use U.S.A. appliances?  In other words, can you plug a USA plug directly into a European adapter plug and not have your stuff blow up?

 

 

This is copied from a previous liveblog I did in September:

 

Power Adapters:

I now have two different versions of these. I cannot recommend them enough. Other than the Emerald Princess, every single cruise cabin I have ever been in has had 220 outlets just going to waste, so I bought the first of these a long time ago and just bought a couple more. They turn your useless 220 outlets into US outlets and USB ports. The first one I bought had pieces you could swap out for different styles of outlets, which might come in handy if I ever travel abroad not on a cruise. The second set I bought only works with the one kind of outlet, but that's all I ever need while cruising.
Versatile: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07YVMM483/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

Static: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0845WDMMT/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

[karmamule]

We'll be leaving Miami for 14 days onboard the Seascape on the 10th. Hope your health is fully back for your cruise and that we both have wonderful cruises. Enjoy! 

[Cruzinforpeace***]

7 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

 

This is copied from a previous liveblog I did in September:

 

Power Adapters:

I now have two different versions of these. I cannot recommend them enough. Other than the Emerald Princess, every single cruise cabin I have ever been in has had 220 outlets just going to waste, so I bought the first of these a long time ago and just bought a couple more. They turn your useless 220 outlets into US outlets and USB ports. The first one I bought had pieces you could swap out for different styles of outlets, which might come in handy if I ever travel abroad not on a cruise. The second set I bought only works with the one kind of outlet, but that's all I ever need while cruising.
Versatile: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07YVMM483/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

Static: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0845WDMMT/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

I will definitely look into this for my cruise after this one.  We leave Sunday.  I don’t think I’ll get them in time 😢.  I have one of the correct European plugs that I have from when I last traveled to Greece that I’ll bring this time.  Thank you!

 

It looks like I can get the first one you listed tomorrow so I ordered it.  Whoo hoo!

Edited February 2 by Cruzinforpeace***

[Best Cat Mom]

I hope that you'll enjoy the Divina as much as we do. We were on a 17-day transatlantic last year and liked it so much that we booked the same crossing again for 2024. We also have a cruise on Divina coming up in April with a similar type of Western Caribbean itinerary as your current cruise. What was especially telling for us was how the crew continually commented to us that Divina is one of their favorite ships too. They say that the more intimate size allows them to get to know the guests better.

 

Fingers crossed that you have a great trip and love your time on the Divina. Buon viaggio!

 

 

[JamieLogical]

1 hour ago, Cruzinforpeace*** said:

I will definitely look into this for my cruise after this one.  We leave Sunday.  I don’t think I’ll get them in time 😢.  I have one of the correct European plugs that I have from when I last traveled to Greece that I’ll bring this time.  Thank you!

 

It looks like I can get the first one you listed tomorrow so I ordered it.  Whoo hoo!

 

They are incredibly handy. They give you extra US outlets plus some USB ports. Hope you get yours on time!

[DaKahuna]

@JamieLogical   So glad you started this.  As @Mark_T said - look forward to meeting you and your husband onboard.  

 

[Laurab23]

Looking forward to reading about your newest adventure.

 

Laura

[JamieLogical]

One week from today we will be boarding the MSC Divina for the first time! For anyone who has sailed on the Divina before, what are your favorite things about the ship? Any tips?

[Mark_T]

Hope you are feeling better now Jamie, going to be a busy few days for you!

 

I look forward to reading other's favorite aspects of Divina as I'm sure we didn't find everything when we were onboard in June last year.

 

I'll start things off with the suggestion to pay attention to the port side of deck 7 as the general flow of traffic will lead you up and down the starboard side of the deck and you will miss things like the Sports Bar and the main entrance to Butcher's Cut.

 

That can lead to the Sports Bar being a quieter spot most of the time, but not I suspect on the day we board 🙂