Mitsugirly's extensive back to belly sun & sky review

[hateswaterloves2cruise]

Saw your note about not going to LeBistro when you turn platinum. You can use the certificate in the Italian restaurant on any of the ships as well. You mentioned you like pasta. We get 2 (DH and I are both platinum) and usually use one at Italian and one at LeBistro. Last cruise we did Italian twice. FWIW

[Staci0615]

Just off the Sun on the 4th- Chose to go to Little French Key based off of your review- IT WAS AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Thank you so much for that hidden gem.

[mitsugirly]

Love, Love your reviews! We will be in Mahogany Bay in September. Because of your reviews both times ,I am going to LFK! I will make sure the owners know why I am there. Thanks for the awesome reviews you do!!

 

Aww shucks...thanks so much. Glad you enjoy the reviews.

 

You are lucky that you will be at Mahogany since it's a lot closer to LFK and less travel time. :D Tell Kevah hello for me and I hope to return again some day. :)

 

Saw your note about not going to LeBistro when you turn platinum. You can use the certificate in the Italian restaurant on any of the ships as well. You mentioned you like pasta. We get 2 (DH and I are both platinum) and usually use one at Italian and one at LeBistro. Last cruise we did Italian twice. FWIW

 

Yep, there was another thread that was discussing this and I figured it out. I'm so glad I'll be able to use it somewhere else, but we'll see. I might live on the wild side one night and try it out. The worse that can happen is I don't like it and head for the buffet after that. :p We'll see.

 

I do need 2 more points before becoming platinum, so I guess I won't get to enjoy this benefit on my next cruise. That means I'll have to book another. :eek: :D

[mitsugirly]

Just off the Sun on the 4th- Chose to go to Little French Key based off of your review- IT WAS AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Thank you so much for that hidden gem.

 

So glad you loved it. It is definitely a hidden gem that just gets better in time. :)

[marymunro]

Wonder how this works? :confused: How can you get cruise lines and hotels to sponsor you? Do they just pay for the hosting site?

 

 

I googled and hundreds of articles come up, eg income from advertising on your site, buying subscriber contact info, etc. I was thinking more like getting free cruises and excursions in exchange for your reviews 👍 great exposure for NCL

[jsantos68]

Where is your second part of the review?Thought you had a back to back.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[mitsugirly]

I googled and hundreds of articles come up, eg income from advertising on your site, buying subscriber contact info, etc. I was thinking more like getting free cruises and excursions in exchange for your reviews 👍 great exposure for NCL

 

Wouldn't that be nice (free cruises and excursions)...but I'm just a peon in the world of cruisers with any big corporation like NCL. I can't see that happening. :eek:

[mitsugirly]

I googled and hundreds of articles come up, eg income from advertising on your site, buying subscriber contact info, etc. I was thinking more like getting free cruises and excursions in exchange for your reviews 👍 great exposure for NCL

 

Where is your second part of the review?Thought you had a back to back.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

The link was provided at the end of this review. ;)

 

 

But you can find it HERE.

[katcannon]

I am interested in what kind of waterproof camera you have.

[Eiansmomma]

 

Off to the Casino we went and I managed to play the machine that had been treating me well all week. $10 went in it and I played for a straight 2 hours only having to get up long enough for the hubby to sit and guard my machine while I went to the restroom. No joke...my "arse" was falling asleep but I was too scared to get up for fear of missing out on a big win.

 

 

 

 

I love to play for hours on a machine...let me know which one it was...LOL

[mitsugirly]

I am interested in what kind of waterproof camera you have.

 

 

I have 2 cameras I take with me on each cruise.

 

Olympus TG 620

Olympus TG 830 :)

[Eiansmomma]

PHEW....finally read thru the whole thread. Lots of great information (I even took some notes).

 

We are only doing one NCL Excursion - we will be doing that in Belize (I'm nervous about tendering). My son is learning about the Mayan Ruins in school so I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to see them in person.

 

We are getting a private driver in Roatan and probably in Cozumel. I think in Costa Maya we might check out Blue Kay :)

 

Great review...thanks for the info...and I look forward to trying to find that magic matching ;)

[mitsugirly]

I love to play for hours on a machine...let me know which one it was...LOL

 

 

Ok, I'll try to explain this...hehe

 

 

Coming from the open area where the elevators are, walk in to the casino and turn left

 

 

 

There are machines down the wall of course, but when you start to walk down that isle, the first machine to your right is the machine. (All the machines on that isle to the right are in the round circles and usually progressive slots).

 

They have one's called Platinum, Diamond and Gold. It's the GOLD machine. If you are sitting at the slot, to your left are the machines lined along the wall. To your right, you can see the card tables.

 

They are the machines that are really bright. So look for the one that has the GOLD colors and gold bars around it, says something gold ______ and you have the machine. :D

 

 

Coming from the back side of the casino (from the shopping area), you will walk to your right down that row and it's on the left...the last one in the row.

 

 

[pathubia]

There are machines down the wall of course, but when you start to walk down that isle, the first machine to your right is the machine. (All the machines on that isle to the right are in the round circles and usually progressive slots).

They have one's called Platinum, Diamond and Gold. It's the GOLD machine. If you are sitting at the slot, to your left are the machines lined along the wall. To your right, you can see the card tables.

They are the machines that are really bright. So look for the one that has the GOLD colors and gold bars around it, says something gold ______ and you have the machine.

Coming from the back side of the casino (from the shopping area), you will walk to your right down that row and it's on the left...the last one in the row.

 

I love those machines!!

[mitsugirly]

PHEW....finally read thru the whole thread. Lots of great information (I even took some notes).

 

We are only doing one NCL Excursion - we will be doing that in Belize (I'm nervous about tendering). My son is learning about the Mayan Ruins in school so I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to see them in person.

 

We are getting a private driver in Roatan and probably in Cozumel. I think in Costa Maya we might check out Blue Kay :)

 

Great review...thanks for the info...and I look forward to trying to find that magic matching ;)

 

 

Glad you enjoyed the review and made it out alive. :D

 

I hope you have a wonderful cruise. :)

[Eiansmomma]

Ok, I'll try to explain this...hehe

 

 

 

awesome directions!!! I'll be sure to jump on it and hopefully I'll walk away with a few bucks!!!!

[mitsugirly]

 

I love those machines!!

 

Good then you should have a lot of fun and I hope it treats you well. Just be cautious to those around you that may be thrown into a seizure from the lights. ;) Oh...and make sure you turn up the volume all the way for the full effect of winning .50, but yet it will sound like you just wiped the machine out! :D

[pathubia]

Good then you should have a lot of fun and I hope it treats you well. Just be cautious to those around you that may be thrown into a seizure from the lights. ;) Oh...and make sure you turn up the volume all the way for the full effect of winning .50, but yet it will sound like you just wiped the machine out! :D

 

My boyfriend was on one of the machines near me, I think it was a Gold Miner or something, the machine went wild, he was so excited, till he realized he won 9 bucks!! LOL, I always turn the sound DOWN......or just enough for me to hear, LOL!!

[SuiteTraveler]

Did you ever send your new ring to NCL to get the prongs tightened?

[CavalierX]

What a great review of the trip on the Norwegian Sun. Loved all the pictures! This is the first time I've ever actually been on a cruise that you reviewed, so it was especially interesting to me.

1. I'm sorry the diamond never turned up after all that (I was the guy crawling around the floor of the Atrium using his cellphone as a flashlight).

2. You didn't mention (or maybe never noticed) the little walkway outside the Observation Lounge, which has no glass above the railing. Best place EVER for pics when entering a port. I was also able to look straight across into the Epic's bridge and wave when we were docked in Cozumel. No one waved back. :(

3. You certainly had a better time in Roatan that we did. We headed outside the little "safe area" and were absolutely mobbed by people aggressively trying to sell us things, from hats to cab rides to island tours to things I didn't even understand. (Was that guy holding up a live chicken at me? I wasn't sure.) It freaked my wife out so badly that, after a brief stop in the relative quiet of the Straw Market, we headed back to the safe area. And seeing that we were leaving, some of the crowd got verbally nasty. Doubt we'll be going back, ever.

4. In Belize, we did the boat ride up the Old River to Altun Ha. Best shore excursion I've ever been on. It even included lunch (chicken with rice and beans) at a little tavern with no name (that I could see). The guides were incredible.

5. We were at Isla Pasion, too, and I was told that the water was so bad because of a storm that churned up the sand. Luck of the draw. Sakira turned up in one of my pictures, just a silhouette peeking out from behind a palm tree. I'll send it to you if you like. Email me; I use the same name at Yahoo as here.

6. The tapas at Las Ramblas were complimentary; you just had to ask for each item. Unfortunately, they weren't written down or anything, so we had to keep getting up and pointing out what we wanted every time. But it was a good place for the Margarita tasting.

7. The woman who told you "you can sleep when you're dead" was a staff member named Gabi, who seemed to have more energy than everyone else on the ship combined. She was always in charge of something, from historical talks to game shows to karaoke to exercise classes (which I noticed in passing only, of course) from early morning until late at night.

Edited January 7, 2015 by CavalierX

[mitsugirly]

My boyfriend was on one of the machines near me, I think it was a Gold Miner or something, the machine went wild, he was so excited, till he realized he won 9 bucks!! LOL, I always turn the sound DOWN......or just enough for me to hear, LOL!!

 

Well, to me...when it's .50 a spin and if I win $9.00, I want to let the world know because I just managed to hit a big win I my book. :D No really, it's all a lot of fun no matter what you win...of course it's always better to win more, but a win is a win and I'll take it. :p

 

Did you ever send your new ring to NCL to get the prongs tightened?

 

 

Nope, still got it, still wearing, it's still there. :eek:

[mitsugirly]

What a great review of the trip on the Norwegian Sun. Loved all the pictures! This is the first time I've ever actually been on a cruise that you reviewed, so it was especially interesting to me.

1. I'm sorry the diamond never turned up after all that (I was the guy crawling around the floor of the Atrium using his cellphone as a flashlight).

2. You didn't mention (or maybe never noticed) the little walkway outside the Observation Lounge, which has no glass above the railing. Best place EVER for pics when entering a port. I was also able to look straight across into the Epic's bridge and wave when we were docked in Cozumel. No one waved back.

3. You certainly had a better time in Roatan that we did. We headed outside the little "safe area" and were absolutely mobbed by people aggressively trying to sell us things, from hats to cab rides to island tours to things I didn't even understand. (Was that guy holding up a live chicken at me? I wasn't sure.) It freaked my wife out so badly that, after a brief stop in the relative quiet of the Straw Market, we headed back to the safe area. And seeing that we were leaving, some of the crowd got verbally nasty. Doubt we'll be going back, ever.

4. In Belize, we did the boat ride up the Old River to Altun Ha. Best shore excursion I've ever been on. It even included lunch (chicken with rice and beans) at a little tavern with no name (that I could see). The guides were incredible.

5. We were at Isla Pasion, too, and I was told that the water was so bad because of a storm that churned up the sand. Luck of the draw. Sakira turned up in one of my pictures, just a silhouette peeking out from behind a palm tree. I'll send it to you if you like. Email me; I use the same name at Yahoo as here.

6. The tapas at Las Ramblas were complimentary; you just had to ask for each item. Unfortunately, they weren't written down or anything, so we had to keep getting up and pointing out what we wanted every time. But it was a good place for the Margarita tasting.

7. The woman who told you "you can sleep when you're dead" was a staff member named Gabi, who seemed to have more energy than everyone else on the ship combined. She was always in charge of something, from historical talks to game shows to karaoke to exercise classes (which I noticed in passing only, of course) from early morning until late at night.

 

 

Hiya there! Glad you enjoyed the review. It's kinda neat to see a different perspective of someone on the same cruise. You can get 2 totally different views and thoughts. :)

 

1) I was in such dismay that I honestly don't remember anyone crawling around with a cell phone in the atrium. As a matter of fact, I don't remember looking in the Atrium? I don't know. It was a big blur for the rest of the night. So many thoughts racing in my head. :o But thank you so much if you helped.

 

2) I'm still trying to figure this area out. I seen the area from the observation lounge...which on the blue prints on NCL it says the Observation Lounge is on the 12th floor. I remember walking up the steps and being out on the front of the ship during our sailaway from Cozumel and taking pictures of the Epic as we pulled out.

 

 

But when I look at all the other pics that I took while we were up there, I was thinking it had the glass around it.

 

Is this the right area?

 

 

But for some reason, it makes me think it's not the right area because you don't see the large windows from the Observation Lounge?

 

I mean whatever they call this thing...that's obviously not the observation area???

 

 

So maybe I didn't find it?

 

3) Yea, I would never just wonder around out of the safe area without being with a tour/excursion guy at most ports. Roatan is one of most favorite ports and we have been to some of the best places there. I would go back in a heartbeat! Just not outside the port on my own. :D

 

4) Glad you had a better experience in Belize. That's usually the port that we feel leery about outside the port (which is where they have dropped us off before and we had people mobbing us..yelling and even trying to grab Sakari once when she was 3 years old.

 

5) Sending you an email for the Sakari picture.

 

6) I really wanted to try the Tapas bar, and I knew it was supposed to be free, but I just couldn't decide since everyone I seen in there were pulling out their key card and buying something. The other times, we had just eaten and couldn't eat another bite. I'm sad I missed it.

 

7) Gabi...ahhh Gabi...the life of the party...every party. LOL That girl had so much energy and was so wound up every day. I swear she should be the cruise director. She definitely deserves a promotion!!!

[CavalierX]

Is this the right area?

 

Apparently you were directly above it. There are two doors in the Observation Lounge that lead out to a narrow walkway with only a railing, but no glass. Here it is; I marked the door on this picture of the Sun.

 

Yea, I would never just wonder around out of the safe area without being with a tour/excursion guy at most ports.

 

I haven't had a problem like that before. I don't mind a hard sell, but this was more. Seems my wife was wearing a lot of jewelry that day, which probably had something to do with it. Now there's a lesson. :)

 

Ahh, well, time to plan another.

 

On the other hand, maybe I should have bought that guy's chicken. But how would I have gotten it back on the ship? Maybe he owns a restaurant and was showing me the menu. I'll never know now.

Edited January 8, 2015 by CavalierX

[mitsugirly]

Apparently you were directly above it. There are two doors in the Observation Lounge that lead out to a narrow walkway with only a railing, but no glass. Here it is; I marked the door on this picture of the Sun.

 

 

 

I haven't had a problem like that before. I don't mind a hard sell, but this was more. Seems my wife was wearing a lot of jewelry that day, which probably had something to do with it. Now there's a lesson. :)

 

Ahh, well, time to plan another.

 

Ohhhhh, ok. Now I realize where it is and where I was. Nope, I never went out there. I never knew how to get out there and never thought to try the actualy observation lounge to see if they had doors there. Normally you would have to exit from a hall or something. darn:(

[rednose83]

Now the next thing I'm still trying to understand.

 

This would be category OD, which is an ocean view room and category IF, which is an interior room.

 

They are located on Deck 6A, but accessible from deck 7 by stairs ONLY. There is NO elevator that will go down to this floor area. Weird I know!

 

It is called the Osto Deck.

 

I still can't figure out how this works though because there are cabins on the 6th floor, which would/should be in this area and yet these cabins are there as well? So how can you be standing on the 7th floor and walk down a flight of stairs (which would logically put you on the 6th floor) and there also be 6th floor rooms as well? Maybe I'm missing something. :confused:

 

I can't imagine anyone wanting to stay in these rooms and have absolutely no access to the elevator.

 

 

The steps leading down to the dungeon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were upgraded to one of these rooms on the Sky. We had booked an inside on a different deck (don't remember which) and then later they upgraded us to an outside on this deck. It wasn't bad for our group. We just took the elevator (if we were going to use it) to deck 7 and then walked down the one flight of stairs. Obviously, you must be able to do stairs though for these rooms. The cabin was a little difficult to locate on the first day!