BayouGirlUSA

THIS is why I love Cruise Critic....Ask a Question and The Answers will come!

Thanks everyone! I'm looking forward to our Getaway Cruise in April!

I guess I'm not understanding the concept of banquet seating versus floor seating vs. premium seating.

Can someone please elaborate on the differences. I want to book the Illusionarium show and would like some more information before doing so.

Thanks,

Melanie

Check out the Tropicana website below. Owner Steve is American and a very nice, personable guy. http://sandalsandskis.com/Tropicante.html.

Hi Wolfde53,

Thanks for the link. Have you gone to the Tropicana before? I am looking for a place where we can rent waverunners. I see on their site there are waverunners available to rent. Have you done this before? Can you tell me personally about the Tropicana. Any information yo can give would be really great.

Thanks

Wow, I'm honored that you did a search to find me and my review. Thanks so much (I was kinda giggling like a kid as I read this too :D).

 

If you have any questions, please let me know and if I can help, I'll try.

 

I would love to go to Hawaii some day and it will be on my bucket list as well. However, the air flight and the $$ involved in the cruise as well will keep me away for awhile. I do have my first Bermuda cruise booked (even though it's kinda more expensive than the Caribbean), but I decided to bite the bullet when they offered the kids sail free. :)

 

So now, I will have 3 new reviews to do (2 in November on the Sun and the Sky) and next May on the Dawn. :p

 

 

Thanks again for your comments. I really appreciate it.

Bermuda is also on my bucket list but, just as you said, so many choices and not enough time or money! I will be torn on which ship to take to Bermuda. Aren't there 3 or 4 sea days for Bermuda? I think you would get a good bit of ship acquaintance time if you would go on a big girl! I've read some reviews on Bermuda (both of Kev's RIP) and he mentioned the sea glass beach. That really does sound interesting. We did some sea glass searching in Hawaii but didn't take anything we found on the beaches there. Hawaii is deep in folklore and they say you will have bad luck if taking anything from the beaches. I didn't want any bad ju-ju...LOL!

The Hawiaan cruise, without a doubt, is all about HAWAII! You spend so little time on the ship. You don't ever get that intimate feeling about the ship. It's go, go and GO!!! Phew! INTENSE itinerary! Quite a few of our friends have gone to Hawaii via a land vacation, and we, by far, got to see so much more than they did. Pearl Harbor was worth the entire trip. It was awesome...very thought-provoking and sobering.

After all your comments about the Epic, I may have to go do some research on on her and her itinerary. I did read your review on the Epic.

Have a great weekend!

Hi Kim, I'm currently researching my next cruise and am looking into the Getaway. I came to CC to check out the reviews. As I'm getting ready to start searching, I think to myself, it would really be great if mitsugirly would have gone on the Getaway and posted a review. I take a stab in the dark and do a search on "mitsugirly" and BAM there you are with a review of the Getaway. I hear horns blowing and angels singing....YES! A review from Kim!!

Fantastic as usual! I just got back from my NCL Pride of America to Hawaii and am starting to panic that I don't have one in the pipeline. I told my husband that I want my next cruise to be on one of those MacDaddy ships and we want to go to the Eastern Caribbean.

I actually took notes as I was reading your review!

Thanks again!

PS....Pride of America definitely needs to be on your bucket list. Wow! Wow! and WOW! It was absolutely fabulous. We had an awesome time. This was our 25th wedding anniversary present.

WE just came back from a cruise out of New Orleans.

Traffic going was BAD! BUT, there was the Helen Brett Jewelry Show and the American Dental Association both being held at the Convention Center. Also, the Voodoo Festival was that weekend in another area. Taking this into consideration, traffic was bad but it moved pretty well. Keep in mind the Carnival Conquest was disembarking. There was a LOT going on and still the traffic moved pretty good.

We parked at Fulton Street and had reservations. Easy Peasy! This is the 2nd time we use Fulton.

Coming back into port....absolutely problem at ALL. We were off the ship, shuttled to the parking garage and on our way in about 30 minutes. However, there was not a Saints game that Sunday in the dome!

Have Fun!

Welcome Back Trish! Glad to hear you are a NCL convert. After two Princess cruises, I became a NCL convert too. Not that anything was wrong with Princess, it's just I felt NCL was a much better fit for us!

One day in a land far, far away; I may do a B2B also!!!

It was great meeting you!

You are getting some GREAT advice as I knew you would.

I just came back from the other Western Caribbean Itinerary and have done the itinerary you are doing last year. I highly recommend Victor Bodden in Roatan. Go to his website and choose what fits your family's interests. We chose the private build your own tour and that worked out great for us. I emailed back and forth with Victor, he was very friendly and always got back to you via email pretty quickly.

In Belize, I would seriously consider during a tour through the ship for this port. It is a tender port and most of the excursions in Belize are quite lengthy because you travel a good ways away from port. I did a land vacation in Belize and I would not trust a private tour company to get me back to the ship on time. I saw first hand their means of transportation. In fact, we were on the side of the road with a flat tire in a VERY old school bus. I had no worries because we were staying in Belize but had I been on a cruise ship, I would have been extremely stressed!

In Cozumel, I recommened either the ATV Jungle and Beach Tour through NCL or I think it's called the Xrails where you are in a dune buggy looking thing. Our ATV was a complete BLAST....very manly! I'm not a man but I sure as heck had an awesome time going through flooded, rocky trails. We were quite dirty when we finished. You know the more dirt, the more fun it had to be!!!

In Costa Maya, I see many people are recommended Maya Chan, I didn't do Maya Chan when we went but if I ever go back again that's where we'll be heading. I've read many reviews about Maya Chan and they all seem excellent.

Have Fun!

As long as I can smoke my e-cig on my balcony I'm happy as can be..... And perhaps on a discreet outdoor walk after dinner..... ;)

 

This will be my first cruise NOT smoking.... And looking forward to it!!!!

 

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

 

Sailing 3/23/14 on the Norwegian Dawn

I just got off of my 1st non-smoker cruise and it was wonderful! I vaped on my balcony and not a single person could smell it! I have been vaping for 7 months now and I'm almost done with the e-cig. I rarely use it now! Have Fun!

Not a freind swimming, Think it was a dolphin trainer or it could have been the lone dolphin swimming girl.

 

Its called Dolphin Quest Bermuda.

 

here is the link: http://www.dolphinquest.com/index.php/133

 

They are part of a Dolphin Chain that is famous in Hawai as well as Costa Rica..

 

As you will see if you visit the link, it is not only so expensive as to be almost cost prohibitive, but it also has very little availability because all the spaces are given to the Cruise Ships themselves. This is one tour you should consider going with the NCL excursion department if the Quest itself sells out as NCL is only slightly higher..

 

I did a mock booking for the time I will be in Bermuda Next June 9-16....There were 6 spaces left on wednesday, 4 on thursday and 2 on Friday. The Cost for 2 was $510.00...

NCL =

Bermuda Dolphin Quest Experience

 

King's Wharf

 

Reach out to touch the dolphins! As you sit in waist-high water, experience the thrill of a dolphin swimming right up to your lap. Then, ...Reach out to touch the dolphins! As you sit in waist-high water, experience the thrill of a dolphin swimming right up to your lap. Then, put on your mask and swim into to deeper water to see the how the dolphins interact underneath you.

• ADULT FROM$229
  
• CHILD FROM$199
  

 

DURATION 2 hours

 

 

ACTIVITY LEVEL 2 Tours with this activity level involve a considerable amount of physical activity such as substantial walking over cobblestone streets, uneven or steep terrain, climbing stairs, or extended periods of standing. Not recommended for guests with physical limitations. Comfortable, sturdy shoes are recommended.

 

 

Kev:cool:

Holy Cow those prices are almost in line with the Dolphin Trainer for a Day excursions you can get in the Caribbean.

Helllooo your profile has your picyure...hellloooo!!!!! But seriously yes I remember, we had a great time and I remember showing you the Epic Pics as well....don't ask me how, cause I supported an entire family in the Philipines from my drinking at the Bier garten...LOL

 

NOLA deserves a huge 3 week smash....I would not want to be there seriously...what a mob....I went in March on a cold raw rainy weekend before our cruise and it was mobbed with nada going on....well Basketball March Madness but nothing like Super Bowl Mardi gras.

 

Mitsugirly is Kim...it's easier than writing out mitsugirly for the mentaly challenged.:D

 

Kev:cool:

I said it was a test and you passed! Yippie Kai Yay! I knew M-I-T-S-U-G-I-R-L-Y's name was Kim but wasn't quite sure if YOU knew! Oh and to make you feel better, I had a big guffaw, LOL belly shake on the support of an entire family in the Phillipines.

Dolphins? Did you say Dolphins? Woo hoo!

 

I need bigger pictures Kev...much bigger pictures. :D I can't see them so well.

 

 

They be so small

 

 

This is why I can't do a reivew...I don't know how to make jumpy, cheerleadery smiley faces nor can I make HUGE Harry Potter looking smiley faces! :p

How nice to hear from you again. I truly loved that Spirit cruise. How are things in the Bayou?...Anyways, I am mad you only giggled a little here and there....I thought I was writing in high comedic prose....

 

After I finish this review I will be doing our Spirit cruise review and I will need your help correcting my mistakes as it has been almost a year.

 

Nice to hear from you,,,,say hi to hubby.

 

Kev:cool:

The Bayou country is doing fine! In New Orleans, they are gearing up for Super Bowl Sunday on February 3rd and then Mardi Gras on February 12th. In my wildest imagination, I can NOT for the life of me fathom Super Bowl Sunday smack dab in the middle of Mardi Gras season...You wanna talk about a cluster @#$%!

Don't take my giggle here and there as an insult to your comedic genius; the cat gets highly irritated if my abdomen moves too much as she leisurely lounges in her most feline way on my lap as I read my tablet!

I can't wait to read your Spirit review. Help? I just told Mitsugirl that I wish I could do such an in-depth review but my memory goes into some defunct mode while I'm cruising. Hell, I try to write a journal at night about the day's happenings and I can't remember what in the world I did when I got up and throughout the day. I go into LaLa Land Oblivion!

Now for the big question!!! Do you remember me from the Spirit cruise and do you remember showing me your Epic photos on your Fire? That is your test for the day!

Kevin, here's a name forgetting story for you! It's a good one! OK, so I am reading along for hours of your review (not complaining and thoroughly enjoying it) and giggling here and there. All of sudden, I come to the part where you are in the casino and you are betting your numbers, hmpf, I think, those are MY numbers. What a coincidence! Then I think, "yea, I remember on my Spirit cruise there was a guy that was betting the same numbers as me". This guy would come and sit and LOSE to 29 and then leave and sometimes later would come and check to see how 29 was doing.

But, I continue reading! Then, BING, DING DING DING...it hits me KEV! Yep Kev, you and I were on the Spirit together in March 2012. You and I sat down together on the pool deck and you showed me pictures of a prior cruise on your Kindle Fire. I do remember teasing you about your Boston accent and then you said "ME? You're talking about ME having an accent" LOL! Yea, well, I guess I do have that southern Louisiana accent don't I?

I can NOT believe I read about 10 pages of your review until I realized who you were! Notch one up for the Cajun Blonde!

Enjoying your review! Bermuda is definitely in the future cruise bucket!

LOL, you cracked me up LaLa Land. I've always been in to picture since I was very young (Sakari is taking after me and grabs the camera and goes around the house constantly taking pictures...she actually took pictures of me and the hubby together in port on one of our cruises and although a little crooked, she managed to get all body parts in the picture at least). hehe

 

Nothing is going on over at my Jewel roll call. There are 3 of us. LOL :eek: Hopefully things will pick up over the next YEAR! YIKES! As always, I will be researching on my own to see what there is to do. Does your Jewel roll call go to the same place as ours? I know they rotate ports on the Jewel. Mine is going to Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel the week that I'm going. The weeks before and after go somewhere else (maybe the same route that I just did on the Star I can't remember).

 

There's not much activity over on my Dawn roll call either...which is weird since it's only like 4 months away. I would think there would be more people (there's more than 3, but still...). I don't think anyone has really talked about things to do.

Yes, we will be doing the same itinerary as you will be doing. I originally wanted to go on a Halloween cruise but that particular week the itinerary was the same as the Spirit itinerary we had previously been on and I wanted something different. The November 3 roll call is moving along. We have a pretty good group going so far so I expect it to really get hopping as it gets closer. I haven't done much research yet for our excursions, I'm afraid I will forget this far in advance, LOL! I do know in Jamaica we will be white water rafting; that's about the extent of knowing my excursion plans as of this date.

I am definitely anxious to read your Bermuda review. This cruise sits sedately in the back of my mind and will come forefront after we do our Hawaii cruise on the POA in May 2014. I,like you, would want to try as many ships in the fleet as I can. The POA will make 3!

Happy Schooling, Happy Planning and well just, HAPPY!

Melanie

Kim,

It looks like I'm a Mitsugirl follower! I read your Spirit review and I was VERY exited and chose Victor Bodden based on your review and we LOVED it! Now, for my disappointment, I will be going on the Jewel November 3, 2013 and that means I will not be able to read your review prior to us leaving. Totally Bummed! :(

I wish I had the gumption to do an in-depth review of our Jewel cruise but it just doesn't seem I'm 1) as observant 2) organized 3) technically inclined for writing and posting pictures. I am a researcher and very good at organizing and scheduling everything (I am the travel organizer for our cruises for all that come with us) BUT once I get on the ship, I'm a mess. I become this LaLa Land Inhabitant. LOL! I've tried doing journals on our prior cruises and find that I can't even remember what I did in the morning when writing the journal that night. Maybe it's age, maybe it's because I'm on vacation and I'm taking too much in...I just don't know what it is and I'm not proud of it! Needless to say, I'm green with envy of your talent at review writing, OH, and your photography abilities. I try so hard to take pictures but, once again, that LaLa Land Mentality takes over and there I am standing in awe of something and my camera is just tagging along for the ride!

Thanks for the review! I may have to go and lurk in your Jewel Roll Call and see what ya'll have going on in there, I'm hoping I will get some good tips!

sdmike, thanks so much for your review, I enjoyed it thoroughly! The only thing I have to say about your review is...if I hadn't already been to Alaska, I would be calling my TA right now to book one! Someday I plan on going back.

We sailed the Golden Princess in July of 2010 and absolutely loved it. When I saw your pictures of the Golden Princess, it made my heart yearn...because that's what I looked lik to some photographer just a couple of years ago! You are so right when you said you just can't describe the majestic beauty which is Alaska!

Now that we cruise like Norwegians, we will definitely have to see Alaska from an NCL ship!!

Thanks for the great pictures and wonderful review! I always look forward to your reviews!

We used Fulton Street Parking for our cruise in March 2012. We had no problems and was cheaper than parking at the pier. We will definitely use them again for our upcoming cruise!

So sorry to read that you were served something that is illegal on the Island and the conch that likely was illegally harvested as well.

Just to make sure all are on the same page, Roatan does not have a very successful seafood industry, It has been declining for years due to overfishing, Honduras does do well selling the majority of its lobster to a very popular chain in North America , Now if one does a little google search on the number of divers killed or left handicapped due to diving for the critters they may think twice before ordering .

I have posted a link below that tells some about the lobstering and the harm it causes, It is an older article and while some things such as seasonal dates and population have changed a bit, it gives a good description as to what these folks go through. A good friend of mine has two brothers, one is parapalegic the other quadropolegic (sp)? dues to diving for lobster. These are not dumb people but it is all many know and they are trying to provide for family and if they question a captain about safety they will lose their job to one of the dozens hoping to get on board a working boat

 

http://ipsnews.net/africa/interna.asp?idnews=22229

When I am told something by a local like Roatan having a very successful seafood industry, I really don't have any reason to doubt them! Why would someone blatantly lie to someone about that?

Also, as a tourist, how am I supposed to know what is illegal and not illegal? I would certainly hope the good people of Roatan would not steer a tourist in the wrong direction! I have read many of your posts and you are the cheerleader :rolleyes:!

I just signed up for a private tour with Bodden's. I think our guide will be Howard. Anyone had him? I am hoping for an outgoing and knowledgable guide that speaks good English.

 

Any suggestions for fresh seafood for lunch?

Tell your guide what you would like to eat and they will take you there. We told our guide we wanted to go to a "local" eating establishment and wanted to try iguana and have some conch. He took us to a little hole-in-the-wall place and it was very good! The cook came out and we told him we wanted the conch 2 different ways. We wanted conch fritters and also conch cerviche. We got it both ways and it was delicious. We had tons of food for a VERY reasonable price. The name of the place was called Berties and Miss B's.

Fresh seafood should not be a problem. Roatan has a very successful seafood industry and they do a lot of export business with Florida!

MitsuGirl,

I clicked on this review immediately when I saw you were the "reviewer"! I enjoyed your Spirit review so much. I just got off of my Spirit cruise 4 weeks ago and just loved it! This was my first NCL cruise and I think I may be a convert!

Funny story...In Roatan, we did the Victor Bodden Private tour, mostly from your review, I might add. We LOVED it! Any who...we were ziplining and there was one station that was particularly rough and everyone was commenting on slamming into the tree kind of hard. A guy from our ship who had arranged our M&G was standing behind me and said "yea, we did this zipline on our last Spirit cruise and one of the ladies in our group hit the tree pretty hard and kind of got her breath knocked out of her" and I said "I read a review about that happening to someone" he said "was the review MitsuGirl" and I said "yes, it sure was"! He is bravestwj (Tim)! Small world isn't it!

I wish I could cruise as often as you but I am planning my next cruise with NCL! It's very far out but still looking forward to planning it. The Jewel will be sailing out of New Orleans beginning October 2013. The itinerary is Cozumel, Grand Cayman and Jamaica. I am very excited to be going on another NCL cruise. Thanks for the great reviews!

It will take approximatley 8 hours to go down the river and into the Gulf. The list above will take you through about the 1st hour of the trip down the river. Most of these landmarks will be on the port side. Unfortunately, it will be getting dark just about the time the ship will be sailing, making it somewhat difficult to pick out some of the places on the list.

Enjoy your trip down the river and your cruise!

This made me laugh out loud, literally. The chain reaction - I love it!

 

The devilish side of me wants to take bubbles on the next cruise!:D

I can't believe a grown person would yell at a child because a bubble landed in their drink. Obviously, what he forgot to pack was a sense of humor!

Is there a website you can reserve one or are they just on the streets available to people interested?

Luv,

They are there lined up in front of St. Louis Cathedral just waiting for you. I've done the carriage tours twice and just walked right up and was on our way in a matter of minutes! And, if by chance one would not be readily available, one would be coming in shortly thereafter.

Mitsugirl,

Loving your review so far. I love reading people's reviews of New Orleans. Since I've lived here all my life, I like hearing people's reactions of the city and their thoughts. I have to agree with you whole-heartedly about the rudeness of the workers at Cafe du Monde. Yes, they are some McCrabs over there! Always have been!

As far as the pool and the ants, I'm afraid you encountered some good old fashioned Louisiana goodness...LOL!!! I'm sure both the ants and the yucky pool were the result of Tropical Storm Lee. We had rain here for days and like you said that rain did wreak havoc on the pools. And don't even get me started on the ants...my poor feet have encountered more of those little stinging suckers than I care to admit! It's going to take time for my yard to recover from all the ant mounds that popped up after that storm.

I look forward to reading the rest of your review....GREAT JOB so far!