JamieLogical's Live from the MSC Divina 2/11

[TrinaLC]

On 2/5/2024 at 4:39 PM, alserrod said:

 

 

 

 

Hello:

Do not connect a device purchased in the United States with a European charging plug!!!!! (without a suitable adapter).

There are two very important aspects to take into account. One of them is voltage. We all understand it easily. If you connect something 110V to 220V you will burn it. If you connect something from 220V to 110V it would barely work.
The other is the frequency of the electric current. Depending on which country it works at 50Hz and in others at 60Hz.

This section is very important. If the frequency isn't right it may break, it may just not work at all, or... it may work perfectly (depending on what equipment is designed for both).

For your peace of mind, the most common thing is that a charger (for a cell phone, a laptop, or an electrical device) accepts both interchangeably.

But check the rest.

And with the transformers, check that the input is suitable for 50Hz and the output is 60Hz

I give you an example of an electrical label for a charger (valid for 100 - 240 V and for 50 and 60 Hz) and for a device that only supports 220V and 50Hz.
It will put something similar on your devices.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That advice applies to appliances like hair driers!

 

Modern electronics (iPhones, iPads etc) are “dual voltage” - they are made for the world market. 
 

They can safely be plugged into the opposite receptacle with a simple adapter. Google it. 
 

 

[Mark_T]

9 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

But, the good news is, all I have left to do tonight is to build my bundle and do some last-minute housekeeping. Hopefully, I can be in bed by 9:00 or so.

 

Sounds like almost everything that could delay you, did…

 

Hope it calms down from here onwards. 
 

We had a smooth flight from the UK today, left on time and had a comfortable flight on Virgin Atlantic in Premium Economy.
 

We actually landed almost an hour early and bags were out reasonably quickly.

 

Used the MIA Mover and MetroRail to get to Brickell. 
 

Can’t beat paying $2.25 each in total, and with our hotel less than 100yds from the station it made a lot of sense. 

[JamieLogical]

55 minutes ago, Mark_T said:

Sounds like almost everything that could delay you, did…

 

Hope it calms down from here onwards. 
 

We had a smooth flight from the UK today, left on time and had a comfortable flight on Virgin Atlantic in Premium Economy.
 

We actually landed almost an hour early and bags were out reasonably quickly.

 

Used the MIA Mover and MetroRail to get to Brickell. 
 

Can’t beat paying $2.25 each in total, and with our hotel less than 100yds from the station it made a lot of sense. 

 

Glad your travel went smoothly and I hope you have a nice day in Miami tomorrow!

 

I just finished up my packing except for a couple of toiletries that I will have to wait until after my shower tomorrow morning to pack. I am mostly done with stuff around the house as well. Just need to run the dishwasher right before I go to bed and unload it in the morning. Our cab is scheduled to pick us up at 4:30am. I am really NOT looking forward to getting up at 3:30!

[ESCARGO]

2 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

 

Glad your travel went smoothly and I hope you have a nice day in Miami tomorrow!

 

I just finished up my packing except for a couple of toiletries that I will have to wait until after my shower tomorrow morning to pack. I am mostly done with stuff around the house as well. Just need to run the dishwasher right before I go to bed and unload it in the morning. Our cab is scheduled to pick us up at 4:30am. I am really NOT looking forward to getting up at 3:30!

Ju

[ESCARGO]

Just now, ESCARGO said:

I hope you have a great trip to Miami. Enjoy you lunch in little Havana! Please post a lot of pics!

Ted

 

[JamieLogical]

Just landed in Miami!

[DaKahuna]

2 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

Just landed in Miami!

Let the party begin! 

[Mark_T]

5 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

Just landed in Miami!

Welcome to Miami!

 

It is a great weekend, warm with a little breeze.

 

 

[not ice cream]

On 2/8/2024 at 9:15 AM, JamieLogical said:

 

I live in fear of MSC's laundry services, because I have read so many bad reports of them. No way would my husband trust any of his precious Tommy Bahama shirts, jeans, pants, or shirts to them. He might trust them with his socks, underwear, and t-shirts though....

 

As for a 50-pound limit, I don't think any of our suitcases are big enough to hold 50 pounds unless we pack them full of lead? We are each bringing a backpack, a carry-on-sized roller bag, and then were supposed to be sharing one 25-inch bag, but now my husband needed that one for his bundle, so we will share his carry-on.

We used their laundry service and they did a great job overnight. 

[JamieLogical]

We got to our hotel around 10:30. Never again flying American into Miami! First of all, we deplaned outside? Is that still a thing in 2024? Second of all, the walk from the plane to the baggage claim was approximately 14.75 miles. Third, there was no baggage claim belt that listed our flight. Fourth, when we found a big board that showed our flight's baggage was at belt 21, we realized that belt 21 was to the right of the main hallway from which we entered the baggage claim area. Coming out of that hallway, there were big signs that said "Baggages Claim" to the left and "International Departures" to the right. So, we of course walked the full length of the baggage claim area looking for our belt only to have to turn, walk all the way back, and then past the hallway we had entered from. The American Airlines app very unhelpfully provided no baggage claim belt info. Fourth, once we FINALLY made it to the belt that allegedly would have our baggage (despite the sign above it nor listing our flight), we had to wait a VERY long time for our baggage to finally show up. Apparently, it takes a long time to transport luggage 14.75 miles. Then, we left out the nearest door and there were no signs outside anywhere directing us which way to go for shuttle pickup, so we had to back inside to find a map and signs for the hotel shuttle pickup and back out again.

 

At least we didn't shave to wait long for our shuttle to arrive. It did, however, stop at the other hotel listed on the side first. So, we didn't actually make it to the hotel until sometime after 10:30, despite having landed at 9:00.

 

We were pleasantly surprised to find out they already had a room ready for us when we arrived, despite check-in not being until 3:00pm. We had planned to drop our bags and get lunch and kill time before coming back to the hotel check in.

 

Since we were able to check in, we decided to plop for a bit, drink a bottle of water, and recover from the tribulations of our travels. We the. Headed out to call a Lyft to the restaurant we had planned to eat lunch at, Old's Havana. I had eaten at this restaurant on my solo cruise back in October and was eager to take my husband there, as he loves Cuban sandwiches. It did not disappoint! He was very happy with his sandwich and rum & coke that included a cute glass Coke bottle.

 

We walked around Little Havana a bit, but not too long as we were both very tired and the hotel room was calling our names. We quickly fell asleep once back at the hotel and I have just awoken from my coma to drink some coffee and figure out a plan for dinner.

[cruisebeachgirl703]

Glad you made it to Miami. When you get onboard can you post a pic of the wine list from the MDR please. We are sailing Magnifica soon and are curious. Thanks.

[ESCARGO]

1 hour ago, JamieLogical said:

We got to our hotel around 10:30. Never again flying American into Miami! First of all, we deplaned outside? Is that still a thing in 2024? Second of all, the walk from the plane to the baggage claim was approximately 14.75 miles. Third, there was no baggage claim belt that listed our flight. Fourth, when we found a big board that showed our flight's baggage was at belt 21, we realized that belt 21 was to the right of the main hallway from which we entered the baggage claim area. Coming out of that hallway, there were big signs that said "Baggages Claim" to the left and "International Departures" to the right. So, we of course walked the full length of the baggage claim area looking for our belt only to have to turn, walk all the way back, and then past the hallway we had entered from. The American Airlines app very unhelpfully provided no baggage claim belt info. Fourth, once we FINALLY made it to the belt that allegedly would have our baggage (despite the sign above it nor listing our flight), we had to wait a VERY long time for our baggage to finally show up. Apparently, it takes a long time to transport luggage 14.75 miles. Then, we left out the nearest door and there were no signs outside anywhere directing us which way to go for shuttle pickup, so we had to back inside to find a map and signs for the hotel shuttle pickup and back out again.

 

At least we didn't shave to wait long for our shuttle to arrive. It did, however, stop at the other hotel listed on the side first. So, we didn't actually make it to the hotel until sometime after 10:30, despite having landed at 9:00.

 

We were pleasantly surprised to find out they already had a room ready for us when we arrived, despite check-in not being until 3:00pm. We had planned to drop our bags and get lunch and kill time before coming back to the hotel check in.

 

Since we were able to check in, we decided to plop for a bit, drink a bottle of water, and recover from the tribulations of our travels. We the. Headed out to call a Lyft to the restaurant we had planned to eat lunch at, Old's Havana. I had eaten at this restaurant on my solo cruise back in October and was eager to take my husband there, as he loves Cuban sandwiches. It did not disappoint! He was very happy with his sandwich and rum & coke that included a cute glass Coke bottle.

 

We walked around Little Havana a bit, but not too long as we were both very tired and the hotel room was calling our names. We quickly fell asleep once back at the hotel and I have just awoken from my coma to drink some coffee and figure out a plan for dinner.

Welcome to Miami! That was not a good trip. At least you will be boarding the Davina shortly.  Ok, what is your decided cocktail when you finally get on board?

🍸🍹🥂🍸

[ESCARGO]

On 2/2/2024 at 9:14 AM, JamieLogical said:

 

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.

 

Are you doing the Cozumel Bar Hop again?

 

[ESCARGO]

Are you doing the Cozumel Bar Hop again?

[marti2282]

Following along. Have a great trip!

[Mark_T]

2 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

Second of all, the walk from the plane to the baggage claim was approximately 14.75 miles.

I’ve done that walk a few times and I’d swear it is well over 15 miles 🙂

 

… it is one of the reasons I always avoid connecting flights thru Miami.

 

I was amazed at the short walk we had with our international flight as I’ve only ever flown to Miami from Dallas before. 
 

Glad the hotel was ready though as that must have been a relief after the airport…

 

[JamieLogical]

11 hours ago, ESCARGO said:

Are you doing the Cozumel Bar Hop again?

 

No, we have an excursion booked through the ship.

[JamieLogical]

Last night we ended up at a place called Lincoln's Beer Brewery for some beer and food. The food is provided by a separate food stand out back of the brewery called Tacos & Tattoos. We loved the atmosphere and the beer was pretty good, as was the food. It was a nice little side trip, even if it did mean an extra round of Lyft rides. We came back to the hotel after, watched a movie, and then got to bed pretty early and now I am awake *too* early!

[Mark_T]

9 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

and then got to bed pretty early and now I am awake *too* early!

…you are not alone…

 

fortunately breakfast service started at 6am here so we will go down soon for that, and then repack where necessary to get ready to leave later this morning. 
 

We ate from a local Cuban restaurant last night, the ambiance was a bit lacking so we brought it back to our room, but the food was great. 

[JamieLogical]

50 minutes ago, Mark_T said:

…you are not alone…

 

fortunately breakfast service started at 6am here so we will go down soon for that, and then repack where necessary to get ready to leave later this morning. 
 

We ate from a local Cuban restaurant last night, the ambiance was a bit lacking so we brought it back to our room, but the food was great. 

 

What time are you planning to get to the terminal?

[Mark_T]

16 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

What time are you planning to get to the terminal?

We will get to the terminal a little before 11am I expect.

 

It looks like Divina got there on time today (terminal C confirmed), so hopefully no delays getting people off and zeroed out. 

[DaKahuna]

Good morning from FLL.

 

We arrived and had a peaceful night at the hotel.

 

We have Lyft scheduled for 1100 with an ETA at terminal C at 1140.

 

Looking forward to meeting everyone.

 

[JamieLogical]

Here are some pre-cruise photos:

 

The menu, our drinks, and sandwiches from Old's Havana:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some chickens and baby chicks we saw wandering around Little Havana:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pictures from Lincoln's Beard Brewery and Tacos & Tattoos:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[rxlowry]

Did you bring any games?  Which ones if so?  

[JamieLogical]

There is something going on at the port of Miami. They are diverting all of the traffic to the Cargo area and we can't get to the cruise terminal area at all.