Mitsugirlys STAR end of the world/pre-Christmas cruise detailed review & pictorial

[aloesch]

Kim,

 

I've been following your review since the beginning and found it super interesting to see your perspective. (For those who don't know, I was on the same sailing with Kim). It's hard to believe that we could be on the same sailing on the same boat and yet have such incredibly different experiences.

 

I didn't notice any of the wear and tear that you mentioned. And I actually commented to my DH how impressed I was with the public bathrooms compared to our last sailing on Royal. I found the bathrooms I was using to be well kept up, well stocked, and very clean. We must have been using different bathrooms the whole cruise. I spent a lot of time in the casino but can't remember using the bathroom in there at all. I only had one meal in the buffet (a quick breakfast) but I still managed to see the washywashy guys several times almost everyday when we were wandering by.

 

I laughed when I read your note to take a sweater to the Stardust because of the air in each seat. I'm literally warm all the time, to the point of being uncomfortable on a regular basis (when I hit menopause the hot flashes are probably going to kill me! lol), so I found the air in the back of the seat to be a complete lifesaver. It's perhaps my favorite feature of the entire ship and I wish every theater everywhere had the same! lol You mentioned only noticing on of the hot tubs being used around the main pool and never anyone in the front one, but we had the exact opposite experience. We frequent had to give up on soaking at all because we couldn't find a hot tub with any room at all. They were packed to capacity nearly every time we tried to get in.

 

Our bridge tour did give us free champagne and mimosas, I know you mentioned that you guys didn't get any. Were you the 915am tour? We were at 1015, maybe they just got their stuff together by then. lol

 

We had no trouble finding the Rush-it (Advanced check-in) desk when we got off the ship and we happily sent our stuff ahead to the airport and enjoyed 5+ hours in NOLA before heading to the airport.

 

I wish I'd noticed the ship smiling at us. I took lots of pics of the ship and never managed to notice that. I absolutely loved your review and your pictures. You really captured the ship in a way that I am totally incapable of doing. I think you should be writing travel reviews for a living! :-)

 

Good luck starting your nursing program this month!! Let me know if you need anything at all or have any questions about anything. I've got stacks of books sitting around that I'm sure I'll never use again after (hopefully) passing NCLEX this month so if you find you need any new books I'd be happy to pass mine along.

[JMHAM1]

Great Review, Kim! We were on the Star in Jan 2012 and noticed some minor wear and tear on the carpet here and there. The big thing I noticed were the seats in the Stardust Theater. Many of them had the seat back separating from the vent part or the seat itself felt like it had fallen down somewhat. Also if you are tall, forget being comfortable at all. It was difficult for my hubby to sit for an entire show because he had to stick his legs out in the aisle.

 

You did a great job on the review. I hope this ties you over until the next cruise on the Jewel in Dec. I know we won't be able to go on one before then. Look forward to meeting you and your family.

[modfanmike]

Kim,

I love your reviews. It seems like I read them just after I book the same cruise and/or ports. I did the western from Tampa on the Star in Nov '11 and will be in the same cabin on her next week from NOLA. We are also doing the western on the Pearl from Miami in March. I am using your review to help with shore excursions. We also did the Dawn to Bermuda in Sept. It was a free cruise from a casino and it was nice to be able to drive to the port in less than an hour. I will be happy to answer any questions about that trip if you want.

 

Mike

[johnjovi]

Awesome, awesome review Kim! Thank you for taking the time to put so much effort into great explanations of your experiences, the good and the less than good things - and including so many pictures.

[mitsugirly]

We loved the Dawn. We noticed improvements from the new suites on the Star to the new suites on the Dawn. All the closets on the Star are too short so our clothes dragged on the bottoms......on the Dawn they configured them better and added drawers instead of too short hanger space. The curtains that get in the way in the Family suite on the Star are gone on the Dawn. But that does mean that only the bed can separated from the other spaces in the room where as on the Star you can split the suite into four different areas.

 

Otherwise the Dawn and Star are nearly identical. While I love the new suites in the old Spinnaker area.....I miss the Dazzles Lounge that disappeared with the upgrade. Pearly Kings Pub is too small for karoke and using the atrium for the "2nd" form of entertainment makes the Blue Lagoon a hang out rather than a restaurant.

 

While I enjoyed the Dawn and the Star, I am ready to get back to the Jewel class ships and am looking forward to the Breakaway.

 

I guess it won't affect us then because we only book the interiors. We just happened to get a free upgrade this time around. Maybe some day we'll be able to afford the suites. They are beautiful.

 

I agree about the Red Lion Pub, it was next to impossible to get through that area in the evenings it was so packed. They definitely need a different spot for everything that goes on there at night. But everyone sure seem like they were having an awesome time every night when we would pass them. :D

 

I'm just glad to be going on another ship with a "grand atrium"...they are just simply my favorite!

 

 

 

I am SO glad I joined you on this journey! What a detailed and entertaining review! I loved it!

As a relative newcomer to both cruising and to NCL, I read lots of reviews of ALL the NCL fleet........well who knows....a girl might get lucky and have a choice!! ;)

 

Thank-you once again for taking the time to review and to post all those fab photos.........the ones of your daughter made me smile each time.....she's gorgeous!

 

You are very welcome and thanks for the comments. I have an entertaining life....that's for sure. We always say never a dull moment around here. I can tell at Sakari's young age that she is following in our footsteps...she's quite hilarious herself...some of the things she says keeps us laughing for hours. :p

[mitsugirly]

Wonderful review! Thank you so much! We are on the Star 3/3/13 and very excited. Port excursion reports were very helpful. I was wandering where you suggest the best place to Snorkle would be in these 4 ports?

We are planing to do Cave Tubes in belize and Zip-N-Dip in Roatan but I have no clue what to do in Costa Maya and Cozumel... do you have favorites or suggestions?

 

If you are doing the Zip-N-Dip in Roatan (I assume by the name of it, you are going with Bodden?) then they will take you to West Bay...which is EXCELLENT for snorkeling.

 

Here's a thread to help you out at West Bay...we have all contributed to it and once you are done with reading all of that, you should have a pretty good idea of where to go at West Bay for amazing snorkeling.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1469343

 

Then when you are done with that...since you say you are doing the zip and dip...here's my review from that day at Victor Boddens doing the same exact tour last September: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=30662590&postcount=23

 

We did the cavetubing in Belize with .bz and it was WONDERFUL. Here's my detailed review on it:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=30667696&postcount=44

 

As far as Costa Maya...we have only done Maya Chan and now Almaplena, so I can't comment other than those two places on snorkeling.

 

Cozumel, hands down so far...snorkeling is WONDERFUL at Chankanaab. We loved that place so much that we went twice in 6 months. We only didn't go this time because we felt it was time to move on and see something different (which turned out to be kind of a flop at Nachi). Chankanaab is a National Park and is BEAUTIFUL with a lot to do there.

 

Here are both of my reviews on Chankanaab.

 

This one is from September last year: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=30683350&postcount=59

 

This one is from March: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=33274360&postcount=48

 

They also have dolphins and manatee swims there, which we did in September and my oldest daughter that went with us in March did the dolphin swim that time around (but she got to do the one that she got to ride on them and they pushed her really far in the air. We just had to do the encounter because Sakari was only 3 and not tall enough):

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=30692077&postcount=65

 

I hope that helps some. Let me know if you have any questions. :)

 

Kim - Too cute! Thanks for posting this photo. WOW I missed a couple of days here on CC and now I have much to catch up on. I did see Kev has returned! :D

 

Haha...I had a goal to get the review done this weekend. Yesterday I crawled out of bed, didn't even have my morning shower, stayed in my pj's all day, loaded up on the caffeine, hubby went skating, daughter in front of the t.v. watching shark week...and I was determined to get it done.

 

As for Kev....he's a slacker. j/k Kev...we love you. But, I'm beginning to think it was a 1 post wonder and off he went again making promised to get to it today....where's that post Kev? I haven't seen anything pop back up new. :p

[mitsugirly]

Kim,

 

I've been following your review since the beginning and found it super interesting to see your perspective. (For those who don't know, I was on the same sailing with Kim). It's hard to believe that we could be on the same sailing on the same boat and yet have such incredibly different experiences.

 

I know, I was reading your review and it was neat to get a different perspective on other cruisers. We did ask some other people on the ship and on the roll call and everyone we came across had a different story. Some people noticed what I did, others did not. Some said it was their favorite ship and some are going on her again, while I would not. She is a beauty...everything about her...just a few things that just didn't seem up to par with NCL that's all. No biggies.

 

I didn't notice any of the wear and tear that you mentioned. And I actually commented to my DH how impressed I was with the public bathrooms compared to our last sailing on Royal. I found the bathrooms I was using to be well kept up, well stocked, and very clean. We must have been using different bathrooms the whole cruise. I spent a lot of time in the casino but can't remember using the bathroom in there at all. I only had one meal in the buffet (a quick breakfast) but I still managed to see the washywashy guys several times almost everyday when we were wandering by.

 

The one in the casino was the worse. It was the one that was always over flowing, a/c leaking, and a stall with a lock missing. I only ran in to one other one that had a lock missing and it was one of the many in the hallways as you are just walking by the elevators. The one that everyone got stuck in was on the pool deck, first stall.

 

I laughed when I read your note to take a sweater to the Stardust because of the air in each seat. I'm literally warm all the time, to the point of being uncomfortable on a regular basis (when I hit menopause the hot flashes are probably going to kill me! lol), menopause is probably going to be my favorite time...I'm very cold blooded and freeze all the time (I'm sitting here typing with the heat on 78 and 2 heaters on in the room...that's how cold I get). so I found the air in the back of the seat to be a complete lifesaver. It's perhaps my favorite feature of the entire ship and I wish every theater everywhere had the same! lol You mentioned only noticing on of the hot tubs being used around the main pool and never anyone in the front one, but we had the exact opposite experience. We frequent had to give up on soaking at all because we couldn't find a hot tub with any room at all. They were packed to capacity nearly every time we tried to get in.

 

Aww, so sorry you didn't get to use the hot tubs much because of them being crowded. I guess we were out on the decks at different times. We have a tendency to flock to the deck later in the afternoon. That's usually when we would hit the hot tub. However, this was the first cruise that we didn't even get in the hot tub. I'm not sure why. We just seem to be more busy this cruise than any of the others and if we weren't busy, we were at the casino. I think cruising in December kind of had an affect on us too. We are use to cruising in September when it is extremely hot and that's usually when we are swimming during the day and at night. We only went swimming on the Star 1 day...which is very unusual for us. It's usually a daily thing.

 

Our bridge tour did give us free champagne and mimosas, I know you mentioned that you guys didn't get any. Were you the 915am tour? We were at 1015, maybe they just got their stuff together by then. lol

 

See, I didn't even realize that they had more than one group going. I thought everyone was invited at the same time. I was wondering why the group was fairly small. That explains it. No champagne for us and they only brought out the treats right before we left. :( We were actually told to meet up by the stairs at 9am, so I guess it was the 9:15am tour.

 

We had no trouble finding the Rush-it (Advanced check-in) desk when we got off the ship and we happily sent our stuff ahead to the airport and enjoyed 5+ hours in NOLA before heading to the airport.

 

There wasn't anyone around to give us directions where to exit the building and we went out the front door that we had came in. When I went back in, that's when I discovered the side door was Rush-it was located. But I was asking them about our shuttle service and they were the one's telling me that they were no longer aloud at the port (which I thought was weird because I had just seen an Airport Shuttle Service leave from out front). Then he told me that it had to be prepaid or they wouldn't pick me up (which was something that they didn't tell me while I was at the airport when I checked in with them). I just found it all frustrating and we finally just said screw it and left for the airport. I was so afraid it was going to rain and the last thing I wanted was to get caught wondering around NOLA walking with a 4 year old. :( I really wish the weather could have been better and warmer. Did you go to the coliseum like you wanted? How was it?

 

I wish I'd noticed the ship smiling at us. I took lots of pics of the ship and never managed to notice that. I absolutely loved your review and your pictures. You really captured the ship in a way that I am totally incapable of doing. I think you should be writing travel reviews for a living! :-)

 

Aww thanks. I'll keep that in mind if I don't make it through Nursing school (fingers crossed). :)

 

Good luck starting your nursing program this month!! Let me know if you need anything at all or have any questions about anything. I've got stacks of books sitting around that I'm sure I'll never use again after (hopefully) passing NCLEX this month so if you find you need any new books I'd be happy to pass mine along.

 

Well now that you mentioned it...did you guys use the dosage and calculations book? I know that each school seems to have their own books they use, so I'm not sure if they would be the same. I have some that I have picked up already off Craigslist and saved a lot of $$ But I have yet to find the dosages book I need.

 

Great Review, Kim! We were on the Star in Jan 2012 and noticed some minor wear and tear on the carpet here and there. The big thing I noticed were the seats in the Stardust Theater. Many of them had the seat back separating from the vent part or the seat itself felt like it had fallen down somewhat. Also if you are tall, forget being comfortable at all. It was difficult for my hubby to sit for an entire show because he had to stick his legs out in the aisle.

 

You did a great job on the review. I hope this ties you over until the next cruise on the Jewel in Dec. I know we won't be able to go on one before then. Look forward to meeting you and your family.

 

It was weird because all of the carpet seem to be in good shape and clean...there was just these "humps" in them here and there. The humps were in different areas too and different decks. I should have taken a picture of them to show what I mean. The only picture that I managed to get one of them in was that hallway picture and you could see the long hump it had in it from the picture. All the others were small humps that sank in. It was weird. I actually stopped a few times and went back and put my foot on it again and showed the hubby. I thought maybe it was just me (even though I hadn't had anything to drink lol), but it wasn't. You could see it move.

 

See the hump in the middle and one kinda on the side down the middle? That's what I'm talking about.

 

 

It's kind of a raised section like what happens when the carpet isn't pulled tight when layed.

[mitsugirly]

Kim,

I love your reviews. It seems like I read them just after I book the same cruise and/or ports. I did the western from Tampa on the Star in Nov '11 and will be in the same cabin on her next week from NOLA. We are also doing the western on the Pearl from Miami in March. I am using your review to help with shore excursions. We also did the Dawn to Bermuda in Sept. It was a free cruise from a casino and it was nice to be able to drive to the port in less than an hour. I will be happy to answer any questions about that trip if you want.

 

Mike

 

Haha...maybe some day you'll catch up with me on the same ship. :D

 

I really wanted to leave out of a different port this time (other than NOLA or Miami), but I just couldn't pass up the deal we got on the Star and switched my Tampa (Dawn) to the Star. Maybe some day I'll make it to Tampa to try that port.

 

I will need a lot of questions answered about Bermuda. I have never been there before. I have done "some" reading here and there (after I had made my final decision on everything to do on the Star cruise and had a little "time" on my hands here and there) and started making a list of the different beaches that are a "must see". (I have saved some pictures too to help me remember what it was I was looking for along with some websites and maps). It looks like I have saved things on Chaplin Bay, Church Bay, Horesehose of course, Jobson's Cove, and Tobacco bay. As you can tell from this Star cruise, we like the ocean, sand and snorkeling of course. :D Oh, I also read about the pink sand beaches, but can't really tell if all of the beaches are like that or just some. (I remember reading about why it is pink from the crushed reddish coral there mixing in with the sand). I know there's something about a bus pass that you can use the entire time you are there. But, I haven't really checked in to it much more. Did you do a review on any of the places there? If so, I would love to read it. Do you have any pictures hosted somewhere? Nothing like getting information and reviews from fellow cruisers. :p

 

Awesome, awesome review Kim! Thank you for taking the time to put so much effort into great explanations of your experiences, the good and the less than good things - and including so many pictures.

 

You are very welcome. I loved doing it...although it took a lot of effort, especially when all I want to do right now is plan another cruise. :D

[callmebetty]

Thank you for writing the awesome review! I am sailing on the Gem but have been reading other ships just to make the time pass! Thanks for sharing and your daughter is adorable :)

Our next cruise is a celebration of the completion of my masters and I should be doing lesson plans or homework, but reading your review is better for my mental health! Can you write me a nurses note testifying to this please ;)

[PhotoSprite]

Thank you so much for an amazing review and wonderful pictures. We are first time cruisers and will be on the Star the beginning of April. Loved the pictures of the ship, especially the rooms as we have 2 rooms (connected) with the Picture Window, so it was great to see the size. We are a family of 6 so the 2 rooms is required LOL.

 

I was sitting on the fence about booking anything with Roatan but after seeing your pictures I think we will be doing the Maya Key excursion now. Thanks for making me feel so much better about the decision to do a cruise!!

[thecatsmeow]

Kim, Thank you for the very detailed review. I read almost the entire thing last night and just finished today. Love all the pictures and the little details. Sorry to hear the Star was not @ her best for you. I have not been on her since her redo.

 

Joyce

[avic77]

 

As far as Costa Maya...we have only done Maya Chan and now Almaplena, so I can't comment other than those two places on snorkeling.

 

I hope that helps some. Let me know if you have any questions. :)

 

Excellent THANK YOU! i will check out those reviews (already saved in bookmarks ill be reading all night).... Which in Costa maya would you suggest? out of those 2?

[mitsugirly]

I should be doing lesson plans or homework, but reading your review is better for my mental health! Can you write me a nurses note testifying to this please ;)

 

Haha...I loved this statement. I found myself doing that a couple of times during my semester too. I kept telling myself...just walk away....walk away now. :p

 

Thank you so much for an amazing review and wonderful pictures. We are first time cruisers and will be on the Star the beginning of April. Loved the pictures of the ship, especially the rooms as we have 2 rooms (connected) with the Picture Window, so it was great to see the size. We are a family of 6 so the 2 rooms is required LOL.

 

I was sitting on the fence about booking anything with Roatan but after seeing your pictures I think we will be doing the Maya Key excursion now. Thanks for making me feel so much better about the decision to do a cruise!!

 

Awww, so glad I could help you out. I definitely wouldn't miss going to Roatan and getting off the ship for sure. There's plenty to do there. We just simply loved Maya Key. We had fun doing the ziplining when we were there last time too. It's kind of "the thing" to do in Roatan as well. Then the snorkeling at West Bay is a do not miss either. There's just so much to do...we love it there. :)

[mitsugirly]

Kim, Thank you for the very detailed review. I read almost the entire thing last night and just finished today. Love all the pictures and the little details. Sorry to hear the Star was not @ her best for you. I have not been on her since her redo.

 

Joyce

 

You are very welcome. You finished it in just two days. :eek: I wish I could have wrote it in two days. hehe :p

 

The Star may have not been at her best, but we still had an awesome time. She is beautiful. :)

[camz]

Kim - Bermuda is the most beautiful place on earth! I have been there 4 times. Anytime you need information , just find me on CC. :) -Eileen

[mitsugirly]

Excellent THANK YOU! i will check out those reviews (already saved in bookmarks ill be reading all night).... Which in Costa maya would you suggest? out of those 2?

 

Ugh, it's such a hard decision. I did a comparision in the review at the end of my Almaplena "thoughts". This is what I said:

 

"So to wrap up my thoughts of Almaplena.

 

The good: It is a beautiful place; both the beach, water and the grounds there. We enjoyed our stay tremendously. I think this new AI resort is definitely worth visiting. It is the beautiful crystal clear blue Caribbean water. The staff was friendly. It did have a reef (I just can’t comment firsthand how good it is compared to other places I have experienced). Just to add a note now that I have seen the video that my husband took of the reef...I really wish I could have made it out there that day and there was a reef with lots of fish. The appetizers while we were waiting on our lunch to be prepared was extremely delicious and a nice touch. Nice facilities including a shower. Free wifi.

 

The semi-bad: A “bit” of a language barrier, which isn’t a make or break to us. The food for lunch-which is just a learning experience and we would know if we went back to look at a menu or ask for something different. The drinks came, but IMO just a little too slow for me. They weren’t bringing you a refill or asking you if you wanted a refill…you had to ask them. The reef a little too far out for my liking. Having to walk so far to catch the taxi instead of being picked up right outside the port. Another thing I forgot to mention was the flies up where we ate lunch at were aggravating. I know this is not something they can control and it’s the only time we experienced the flies while there. It’s not like they were swarming us or biting…just flying around and I kept swatting them away. Or experience at Maya Chan was a little different. We were constantly spraying OFF on us and was getting ate up by the flies/mosquitos/no-see-ums.

 

As for a comparison with Maya Chan. The staff at Maya Chan by far, hands down, the best customer service you will find. The staff is AWESOME, friendly, informative, helpful and interactive. They are the best! The food at Maya Chan, hands down some of the best Mexican food I have ever had. Every time I have chips and guacamole, I compare it to Maya Chan and it doesn’t even begin to compare. I think I could have lived off of that for a while…we’re talking breakfast, lunch and dinner good. Get the picture? The service…Maya Chan. They were always just bringing you food, appetizers, drinks…over and over. No need to ask for anything. Maya Chan offered so many things to do…kayaks, snorkeling tours, games, floating chairs (which they delivered your drinks right out to you in the water). It’s a very intimate place and you are assigned your own palapa and they were HUGE. Not a little “tree” palapa. It was like a small hut with your own chairs, table, hammock and bed. You can’t beat that!

 

They ONLY drawback at Maya Chan…the ugly brownish water. I know that people have said that it just depends on the day, weather, water conditions and so on but EVERY picture that anyone has ever posted online, TripAdvisor or on here has shown this dirty brownish water. Someone prove to me that the water can be the crystal blue clear water!! The other drawback is all the sea grass everywhere. They do a wonderful job of raking the beach and even clearing the water, but it is kind of “icky” to walk out in to the water and feel it between your feet. Also the beach is not that pretty compared to Almaplena. It’s just not that beautiful Caribbean “beach” you think or dream of when you say Caribbean. You know what I mean?"

 

So, if I had my choice, I would pick Almaplena and the only thing that I would do differently is ask for a menu and pick something different for lunch. What the other people had for lunch looked really good. That was the only disappointment for the day. The drinks not coming out fast enough, well...it is a big place and they do have to walk a ways to make it down to where we were at. We really didn't mind walking up to ask for more drinks, we had to walk up that way to use the restrooms anyhow.

 

I had thought if we ever go back to Costa Maya again (which I'm sure we will) that we would proably move on and find yet something different just to experience what other places have to offer. However, I can say that if we can't find anything, this will be where we return.

 

I hope that helps. :)

[mitsugirly]

Kim - Bermuda is the most beautiful place on earth! I have been there 4 times. Anytime you need information , just find me on CC. :) -Eileen

 

Do you have any reviews? Pictures...it's your turn to give me info. :D

[zazou]

thank you so much for this review! I still yet to go on the Star and I will surely try it someday.

 

We are going in Cozumel on the Pearl next month and after reading your Chankanaab review, I've switched my reservation to go there instead (was playing to go to Playa Uvas). We both love snorkeling! and your pictures was wonderful.

 

 

Now that you looked at your pictures and took the times to learn the new camera, do you still prefer your Canon? You really make me wonder if I'm about to leave my DSLR home too and brought an underwater camera. Do you retouch your underwater pictures to remove the blue-green?

 

 

thanks again,

 

 

Isabelle

[BayouGirlUSA]

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!

[justlaff69]

mitsugirly, how do you organize your photos?

I've got a major organization project about to start and I just can't figure out if I want them by date activity or person.......

[mitsugirly]

thank you so much for this review! I still yet to go on the Star and I will surely try it someday.

 

We are going in Cozumel on the Pearl next month and after reading your Chankanaab review, I've switched my reservation to go there instead (was playing to go to Playa Uvas). We both love snorkeling! and your pictures was wonderful.

 

 

Now that you looked at your pictures and took the times to learn the new camera, do you still prefer your Canon? You really make me wonder if I'm about to leave my DSLR home too and brought an underwater camera. Do you retouch your underwater pictures to remove the blue-green?

 

 

thanks again,

 

 

Isabelle

 

You made a good choice with Chankanaab. We love it there. So much to do. If you are in to taking pictures...don't miss the replica ruins and of course the Lagoon with all of the iguanas.

 

I love my little point and shoot water proof cameras and haven't even bothered to take my dslr on the last 3 cruises because I feel that I get good enough pictures with them. I guess the only thing I'm missing out on was having a fish eye lens, but I'm practicing with the panos instead. I also have the prime lens and producing close up pictures with a bokeh background. But really, how often do you need that when on a cruise? I think my point and shoot did an ok job at that when needed. I think the only time I did anything like that was with the beer bottle at Almaplena. So, not really loosing out on much there. I do know that my point and shoots also come with a feature that will take macro or close up and blurr the background. I just haven't found too much of a use for them when on vacation. I use to take my 100-300mm lens to zoom in on the island when we were on the ship, but found that I really didn't even end up using any of those pictures when I returned.

 

So when I weight the differences, I really don't need my dslr. After all, I'm on vacation not there just to do perfect photography shots. I don't want to take the time to meter every shot or white balance it. I'm on vacation. Point, shoot, done. Some you get, some you don't. Some look terrific, some look crappy. But I just try to take as many as I can to make sure I get enough to capture what I want and I defnitely don't walk away with not enough pictures. (Can you tell by the amount I shared? And that wasn't even all of them) :D I also like that I'm not lugging around the camera bag and lens...that gets heavy. The other advantage is that I don't have to worry about trying to snorkel and having to leave my expensive equipment up at the beach or find a locker (which most places don't have). Yep, that outweighs everything for me right there. :)

 

As for the blue-green, it's all about the settings on the camera. I never had a problem with my Canon D10 ever getting that color cast. With the new camera, I did find a white balance setting on it and when I started messing with it, you see what happened...(I posted the green picture) and after about 10 pictures of that, and I noticed it was doing that, I quickly changed the settings back. You live and learn. I'm still learning about the new camera and need to practice some...especially with all of the wonderful new settings I just discovered on it (the tilt shift, fish eye and others). :D So no retouching needed. All I did was resized the pictures because it would have taken up a lot of space and time to upload on the hosting site and I saved for web (since this makes the pictures look more like what I see on the screen and as sharp). When you download pictures to a host, it has a tendency to make them not as sharp. Save for web resharpens them closer to what they are on the computer screen. That's about what all I did to them. Otherwise, I would have needed about a month or so to redo all of the pictures. But like I said, it was vacation...point, shoot, and move on. I have my memories and I'm satisfied with the pictures the way they are. I'm real happy about my new camera. Now I have 3 cameras (my adult kids are begging for one of them and claim I don't need 3 cameras. HA! I know when we vacation next, they will want to use one of them...I will just call it a "back up") :p

[mitsugirly]

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!

 

 

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.

[mitsugirly]

mitsugirly, how do you organize your photos?

I've got a major organization project about to start and I just can't figure out if I want them by date activity or person.......

 

Are you talking about on the computer? If so...

 

I put all of the pictures in to a folder named "The ship I'm on" on my desktop (so it's easy to find). From there I make folders inside that with all the ports I go to...Almplena, Nachi Cocom and so on. I put all the pictures from that day in those. Then I make one named "Ship pictures" and put all of just pictures around the ship in there. Then the rest are by date (these are usually the pictures of us doing things that day, where we ate, shows we to to). I do this once I get home so that I don't forget what goes where (and if you do, you can still hoover over the picture and it will tell you the date it was taken). Once I go threw all of the pictures in each folder, I make a new folder named "Use or Ready" and I pull in the pictures that I intend on using on here, on my facebook, or hosting for others to see. That's how I keep track of mine. Although I have to admit, I had a few more folders THIS time around because of the way I was doing my review. I had a few extras like I had one within the "around the ship" folder that was names "exterior art work". Then I know at Maya Key, I had 2 extra folders that I named "snorkeling first time" and "snorkeling second time" so that I wouldn't get them mixed up. Of course I only did this because of the way I did my review this time around.

 

I hope this helps. It's just a mess of folders to keep track of things. :D :p

[camz]

Do you have any reviews? Pictures...it's your turn to give me info. :D

 

Kim - Unfortunately, I am the WORSE picture taker of all time. :eek: Seriously, I am horrible. TBH, Kev's Bermuda thread has very good photos and is a very good write-up of Bermuda in general. One thing to know, not all beaches are the Pink Sand Beaches. Since you are beach dwellers, you will love the different beaches Bermuda has to offer. IMO, Snorkel Park is the worse beach experience offered in Bermuda. It is a close proximity to the ship. However, you have to pay to get in and once in it is very crowded and the sand is over rocks, so it is pretty hard when you want to relax in the sand. It may be nice for snorkeling, or drinking, but not for the usual beach lover's experience. Your daughter, being adventureous, would probably enjoy the caves and probably the dolphin encounter. You really don't need to book excursions through NCL to enjoy Bermuda. They have a boat ferry to take you to St George's or Hamilton. That is a nice way to see the beauty of Bermuda. Of course, they also have the bus route, which is a little hairy. lol I will think of more information to send your way. :D

[BayouGirlUSA]

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