JamieLogical's Live from the MSC Divina 2/11

[Essiesmom]

The Reynolds pier IS the James Bond Pier.  Because some scenes in a James Bond film were shot there.  EM.

[JamieLogical]

1 hour ago, Essiesmom said:

The Reynolds pier IS the James Bond Pier.  Because some scenes in a James Bond film were shot there.  EM.

 

What is the other pier called then? The one that is more in town and was damaged by the Magic?

[Mark_T]

41 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

What is the other pier called then? The one that is more in town and was damaged by the Magic?

I believe that is ‘Turtle Bay pier’

[JamieLogical]

Anyone have any recommendations for lunch in Aruba tomorrow? We aren't looking for anything too fancy, just tasty.

[Até]

2 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

 

What is the other pier called then? The one that is more in town and was damaged by the Magic?

I think it's called Turtle Bay pier.

[Essiesmom]

50 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

Anyone have any recommendations for lunch in Aruba tomorrow? We aren't looking for anything too fancy, just tasty.

There used to be eating places downtown, open air overlooking the harbor.  Just keep walking past the straw market booths.  EM

[DaKahuna]

2 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

 

What is the other pier called then? The one that is more in town and was damaged by the Magic?

 

 

I found it confusing.  I went to Google maps and searched for Reynolds Pier and the map location cam up as where we docked but the pictures showed the pier that was damaged.  
 

The only name I could see on a map for that area was Ocho Rios Cruise Port.
 

[noshoobie]

Enjoying your review Jamie. Can't wait for more!

[Bluewake]

2 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

 

 

I found it confusing.  I went to Google maps and searched for Reynolds Pier and the map location cam up as where we docked but the pictures showed the pier that was damaged.  
 

The only name I could see on a map for that area was Ocho Rios Cruise Port.
 

 

A description of the two piers can be read at:

https://www.iqcruising.com/ports/caribbean/jamaica/ocho-rios/overview-ocho-rios-cruise-port.html

[JamieLogical]

On 2/11/2024 at 9:32 AM, rxlowry said:

Did you bring any games?  Which ones if so?  

 

Somehow I missed your post. We brought 7 Wonders Duel, Splendor Duel, Codenames Duet, Yatzee, Skipbo, Welcome to the Dungeon, D&D Dungeon Mayhem, Travel Catan, Uno, and a regular deck of cards for Rummy.

[rxlowry]

31 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

Somehow I missed your post. We brought 7 Wonders Duel, Splendor Duel, Codenames Duet, Yatzee, Skipbo, Welcome to the Dungeon, D&D Dungeon Mayhem, Travel Catan, Uno, and a regular deck of cards for Rummy.

Nice!  How’s Codenames Duet?  I like regular.  I’m going to go look up Welcome to Dungeon and the D&D one.  Need ideas for our two week Greenland cruise and for upcoming MSC in April with friends.  Got Everdell and Ark Nova for Christmas but they are huge!  Hopefully we cruise again with you so we can play some games together!!  

[JamieLogical]

Yesterday was a sea day and Valentine’s Day. We woke up to a sharp knock on the door, which we assumed was room service, but when I went to the door, no one was there and the hall was empty. I can’t see how both my husband and I imagined this knock, but it was at 7:00am on the dot and we had ordered our room service breakfast for 8:00 since the clocks moved forward an hour. We both tried to get back to sleep, without much luck and were relieved when room service actually did arrive.

 

We had a VERY slow and lazy morning in our room, as we had both decided that we were okay with skipping any real breakfast. I typed up my blog out on the balcony and then tried to do some work, but couldn’t get my VPN and remote desktop to stay connected.

 

Eventually, we showered and dressed and headed down to Caffe Italia for some Vanilla Mimosa Blossoms. That’s what I have decided to start calling the concoction that Reynald started making for us after he ran out of Galliano. We only brought a deck of cards with us, because that would fit in my husband’s pocket and we wouldn't have to stop back by the room before the 10:45 Diamond party.

 

We got to the party a little early and they weren’t letting people in yet, so a decent line was already forming out the door, but we didn’t have to wait long. The party was in the Black & White lounge. They were offering their usual choice of sparkling wine or juice. I took both and mixed them together. Also, each table had a bowl of chips and a bowl of peanuts on it. We got a good seat. First, the cruise director came out and gave a little speech and tried to say good morning in lots of different languages. Then we had a little dance performance by the dance instructors. Then a bunch of the officers lined up in front of the stage, but the cruise director didn’t introduce any of them, so I have no idea who they were. Then the captain came up and said a few words. He let us know that he was going to be conducting a mass vow renewal in the atrium at 5:00pm and that, if you participated, you would receive a certificate in your stateroom the next day, free of charge. Finally there was a great dance performance by some latin dancers who were VERY high energy.

 

After the party, we headed down to guest services to sign up for the vow renewal. I guess we will find out later today whether we actually successfully signed up. While we were waiting in line, a guy came up to us, asked us for our cabin number, repeated it back to us incorrectly, we corrected him, and he said we were all set. He did not write our cabin number down or anything, so….

 

After the visit to Guest Services, we decided to check out the Divina Bar down there on Deck 5, since there was no wait at the bar. Then we were checking out the daily and saw there was a sunglasses sale somewhere that had started at 11:00, so we decided to see if we could find that. My husband has needed new sunglasses ever since the ones he bought on the Meraviglia were stolen out of his car. He loved those sunglasses and hasn’t really been able to find any half as good since then, but there was a pair he had tried on earlier in this cruise at the sunglasses store that he could at least settle for. He ended up buying them, even though they weren’t any more on sale than they had been the first day. The “sale” was 50% when you bought two pairs and he wasn’t about to do that.

 

We checked out the MDR menu and decided we needed to go there for lunch because they had conch fritters and mozzarella sticks. We actually got a fairly private two-top that was up against one of the serving stations on one side and had a narrow walkway on the other side. I could also see the window from where I was sitting. I got both the conch fritters and the mozzarella sticks, as well as the clam linguini, and the tres leches cake. My husband got the soup (cream of potato and shrimp), the veal, and planned to share the tres leches with me. Things were running a little on the slow side with the apps an entrees, but for some reason, I had to wait about a half hour for my dessert. My husband eventually gave up on dessert and left to go back to the room. I stubbornly waited it out and, of course, they brought it about 45 seconds after my husband left. As for the food, the mozzarella sticks were very good. The conch fritters were far more fritter than conch. My husband's soup had one cube of potato and one baby shrimp in it, but the flavor was good. My pasta was delicious. My husband said the veal was a little salty. And, when I finally got my tres leches cake, it was pretty good.

 

After lunch, we both took a nap, since we had lost an hour overnight and had trouble sleeping in in the morning. We woke up around 3:00 and headed down to Caffe Italia for some coffee and played 7 Wonders Duel. We finished that pretty quickly, after I spilled my coffee all over the cards in the third round, which caused quite a commotion. We didn’t dare play another round, because we had our vow renewal at 5:00. So we just ordered some drinks and poked our phones. They made an announcement over the PA reminding people of the vow renewal and that was our cue to head downstairs and snag some seats before it started filling up. It was a good thing we did because it filled up fast!

 

They handed out sheets of paper with the vows we were going to recite. They had them available in many different languages. There was a giant cake that seemingly everyone wanted to have their photo taken with. The whole area got packed with people and there were people all lined up on the stairs and along the railings of the higher decks looking down.

 

The cruise director once again gave a little speech. Some singers sang a song. The captain came out and read the vows in English and then everyone was supposed to repeat the vows in their chosen language. And then we were all re-married? It was sweet. The singers sang some more and some people danced. Finally, after the song ended, the crew did a balloon drop from the higher decks, which was actually really pretty.

 

After the ceremony, we decided to try to get plopped at a bar before the crowd dispersed and they all got slammed. We ended up at the Silver Lounge for the first time. The stools at the bar are very “springy” and it kind of felt like trying to sit on a balance ball and drink our drinks. Those were the first uncomfortable seats we’ve really experienced at any of the venues on the ship. We had just been talking earlier in the day about how much more practical and comfortable the seating on this ship is compared to the Meraviglia

 

While we were at the Silver Lounge, we got the brilliant idea that we needed to work our way through all of the bars on the ship, since there are some we still haven’t been to. Next on the list was the Casino Bar, so we headed over there. I tried to have the bartender make me a French 77, but he misheard about the St. Germain and gave us something completely different. Some kind of port wine that my husband recognized the name of at least. The bartender decided to call it the “Black Momba” and it was actually pretty decent.

 

After that round, it was time for dinner in the MDR. With it being Valentine’s Day and a sea day, it was of course an Elegant Night. We were looking forward to finally meeting our tablemates since they were all no-shows on night one and we had done specialty restaurants for nights two and three. Alas, it was not meant to be. We got over to our table and it was clearly blocked off due to that ceiling leak mentioned on our day two breakfast. We had to go back to the maitre’d and ask what to do. We were seated at a two-top in what I believe is the Aurea anytime dining section of the Black Crab. It was an actual two-top on its own and not pushed up against other tables and the whole section was secluded two-tops like that.

 

I ordered the pear & goat cheese salad, the seafood tagliatelle, and the Grandma’s chocolate cake. My husband had the asparagus, short ribs, and apple strudel. I had forgotten that the pear & goat cheese salad is an actual salad made of lettuce. I had made that mistake before, I can’t eat lettuce, but what I could eat of the salad was very good. My pasta was amazing and I had to really fight to stop myself from eating every bite of it. And, my Grandma’s chocolate cake was delicious, as usual. My husband loved his asparagus. He struggled with the short ribs at first. They were a little bland because the gorgonzola wasn’t mixed into the polenta. But he figured out the right ratios to build his own bites and enjoyed it after that. He loved his apple strudel.

 

After dinner, we wanted to continue our quest to try new bars, so we went to the Sports Bar first. We were literally the only people in there and had a long chat with the two bartenders. Then we headed next door to the Golden Jazz Club for the Love Song Name That Tune and some more drinks from a bar we hadn’t tried yet. I got the something something Sunrise that was the Drink of the Day on the Divina and it was terrible. I literally had two sips and gave up on it. I ended up finishing my husband's rum & coke from the Sports Bar instead. So I guess I will need to go back to the Golden Jazz Club again sometime to actually check that bar off my list.

 

While waiting for the trivia to start, I met some fellow Americans! They were from Boston and I think they were the first Americans we have talked to since the first day. When we were chatting with the bartenders at the Sports Bar, they told us there are over 3000 Europeans onboard and only 600-800 Americans. So we chatted with these Americans and talked about our upcoming port stops and our past MSC cruises and it was really nice.

 

We did truly horribly at the Name That Tune, but still had a fun time. I think the German team near us did better even though these were all English songs! We were still feeling kind of wiped from the time change and the lack of sleep so we decided to call it an early night. We went up for “late-night snack” just after 9:00. I then briefly went to the casino and then it was up to bed before 10:00.

 

By the way, I realized that I hadn’t been tracking venues in my drink log the way I did on my last couple of sailings, so starting with this post, I will try to include the venues as well.

 

Day's Drinks: Vanilla Mimosa x2 from Caffe Italia, Prosecco from Diamond Party, Vodka & gingerale from Divina Lounge, Americano w/ Bailey’s from Caffe Italia, Vodka & ginger beer from Caffe Italia, Double Vodka & ginger beer from Silver Lounge, Black Mamba from Casino Bar, Hugo Spritz from Black Crab, Absolut Cosmo from Sports Bar, Run & coke from Sports Bar, 2 sips of a Something Sunrise from Golden Jazz Lounge

[JamieLogical]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 15 by JamieLogical

[cruisebeachgirl703]

Awesome pics Jamie! You two look great!

[DaKahuna]

Did you find a shore excursion or will you be staying aboard? 
 

We’re going to walk over to the local market and look around but plan to be back on board for lunch. 
 

[cruisebeachgirl703]

Jamie, could you post a pic of the sparkling wine list from either a lounge or MDR when you have a minute? thanks. Enjoy your day.

[laudergayle]

Your vow renewal pic is do cute.  Y’all look so happy. 💘

[JamieLogical]

1 hour ago, DaKahuna said:

Did you find a shore excursion or will you be staying aboard? 
 

We’re going to walk over to the local market and look around but plan to be back on board for lunch. 
 

 

If we ever get off the ship, our plan was to eat lunch on shore and then come right back.

[DaKahuna]

2 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

If we ever get off the ship, our plan was to eat lunch on shore and then come right back.

I’ll see if we can’t find you once we get back.  We’re headed out ‘window shopping’ and to stretch our legs for a bit.

Give you some additional North Americans to talk with. 
 

Edited February 15 by DaKahuna

[JamieLogical]

16 hours ago, rxlowry said:

Nice!  How’s Codenames Duet?  I like regular.  I’m going to go look up Welcome to Dungeon and the D&D one.  Need ideas for our two week Greenland cruise and for upcoming MSC in April with friends.  Got Everdell and Ark Nova for Christmas but they are huge!  Hopefully we cruise again with you so we can play some games together!!  

 

Just tried code names duet. It's a co-op game, which isn't my favorite. I am highly competitive! We only did one round, which seemed too easy, but it's set up so that if you play multiple rounds over time, it gets more challenging, so we are going to try additional rounds later when we have a pen. A pen is needed to keep track of the rounds.

[DaKahuna]

19 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

Just tried code names duet. It's a co-op game, which isn't my favorite. I am highly competitive! We only did one round, which seemed too easy, but it's set up so that if you play multiple rounds over time, it gets more challenging, so we are going to try additional rounds later when we have a pen. A pen is needed to keep track of the rounds.

Let me know if you do not find a pen. I have an extra you can have. 

[alserrod]

Hi Jaimie,

 

about the sports bar, what kind of sports do they broadcast?

Do they have all kind of sports, only a couple of matches with major attendance, several matches 24/7????

[Essiesmom]

Sports depends on time of year.  Soccer, cricket,  baseball, football (American), tennis…EM

[TrinaLC]

We read elsewhere that Divina was having propulsion problems which delayed Aruba?  Any truth, we are due to sail soon!

[alserrod]

43 minutes ago, Essiesmom said:

Sports depends on time of year.  Soccer, cricket,  baseball, football (American), tennis…EM

 

 

I supposed it.

 

I have glanced a lot of daily planners posted on webs.

I read they pointed these ones

- NFL matches

- FIFA world cup matches

- ATP Tennis

- some major European football leagues

 

I know in Casino and pool there's not availability for many sports at the same time but in Sports bar there are multiple screens. I do not know if you can watch only those sports pointed in the daily planner or are there several ones more.

 

Hint.... I read a planner from a MSC cruise in December 2022. Football WC was on in those dates. At first, four daily matches, one after last before. But third matches in phase group had to bee at the same time (18:00 and 22:00 local time). I remember planners pointed both ones.