MITSUGIRLY has a JEWEL of a time on my 1st RC cruise in years!

[mitsugirly]

 

 

My little mermaid was ahead of me. She decided to only wear her tail and not take the time to put the entire "getup" on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

We came up and around this corner and I got this really weird feeling.

 

 

Do you guys notice anything?

 

 

The entire seafloor looked like a dead coral graveyard. It was super weird and super spooky looking. I didn't know what to think. Did someone gather up all the dead coral and decide to dump it here? Did a hurricane destroy it? What is going on? This is supposed to be a protected area and it looked dead!!

 

 

 

Pink bubbles? What the heck?

 

 

As we kept going, we did start to see more coral, but there really wasn't many fish in the area. I was sorta disappointed at what I was seeing...or lack there of.

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

There are a lot of places that the coral is so close to the top of the water and you had to be careful. I guess that's why you needed to stay on the path.

 

 

 

 

 

 

More stacks of dead coral

 

 

[mitsugirly]

 

 

 

This is seriously just weird...

 

 

 

"The field of the dead"

 

This is like a scene from a movie of a mermaid trying to find her friends in the forbidden valley of death. I'm expecting a sea monster to come bursting out of the dead coral. It was just so eerie.

 

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

 

At one point we got near the end and they ask us if we wanted to go beyond the path and head out to the ocean...um...ok. So, we did and got about 20' out from the path and they said "ok, you can turn around now...there's no way out". What the heck? What was the point in that?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

Hey look...there's actually a fish down here!

 

 

 

And a few more parrot fish.

 

 

 

At one point, my hubs started tugging at me and pointing. I'm trying to figure out what the heck he is looking at. We came up to conversate. He said with so much enthusiasm in his voice "Did you see that blue fish???? It has TEETH!!!" I'm really not sure what type of look I had on my face at that point but I'm pretty sure I took a big gulp of water from laughing at his "parrot fish" story. Sigh. He really must get out more.

 

Not sure what setting my camera ended up on, but I liked this picture anyhow.

 

 

 

When we got back to the beginning, they cut us loose and told us that we were free to explore on our own. So off we went exploring with Sakari in the lead.

 

 

More of those fish with teeth.

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

Check out this rock (at least I think it was a rock/coral). It looked just like a fish or eel coming up out of the bottom of the ocean. I stared at it for awhile and it didn't move. I assume it was just a fish rock. Or maybe my eyes were playing tricks on me because of the horror of a coral graveyard I had experienced.

 

 

 

 

Ok so...I'm thinking National Park=awesome snorkeling. I had seen a few pictures online prior to coming here and I thought they looked pretty decent. I had high expectations upon arrival and I was picturing something similar to my snorkeling experience at Rendezvous Caye in Belize. That was AMAZING! Or even our fairly shallow scuba dive in Roatan. But, I was pretty disappointed at this point. Hardly any fish and if there was any fish...it was your normal "everyday fish" like the parrot fish or blue surgeons.

 

I had lost all hope...and then...Sakari and daddy spotted this beauty!!!!!!!

 

 

HE WAS HUGE!! Like the biggest I have seen so far.

 

 

 

 

 

[broberts]

The pictures are great. The water is literally crystal clear. It's really creepy looking at a dead reef. I remember seeing something similar snorkeling Trunk Bay about ten or so years ago after it has been hit by a hurricane.

[mitsugirly]

 

Here's a video...while some may claim my photographs are good, I have never claimed to be good at taking videos. Actually I suck. LOL

 

eH8P-gHV-wY

And once again, somehow I ended up with a green video. My hand goes back and forth changing the settings all the time and sometimes I forget which setting to put it on and end up with the wrong one.

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***edit*** well this is weird...I'm not sure what the videos look for you all but on my computer (the original) the video is crystal clear. But, when I watch it on here with the uploaded youtube, it's super blurry. What are you guys seeing?

[mitsugirly]

My husband kept tugging at me and made me go up for yet another conversation. He said he was worried that we were spending too much time around the eel and it was going to piss him off and he was going to come after us and eat us alive! He wanted to go and get out of that area. Sigh. I must have taken about 20 pictures or more of it and about 10 videos. I wanted to make sure I got this picture!

 

So, move along we did and then the next big surprise came along...

 

 

WOW, there was a huge group of blue surgeons everywhere. Sakari thought she could blend in and swim as one of them.

 

 

Video

 

bJrVZ_UibHU

 

 

 

It was amazing. They went on forever. I have only experienced this once and that was our scuba diving in Roatan 4+ months ago. It's definitely an amazing site to see!

 

 

 

Another video:

 

9Ye4FvfytLU

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

 

 

 

 

Something crawling, inching along like a caterpillar, caught my eye...it was one of the fire devil worms from hell. We have learned our lesson about them years ago. It's not a cute little fuzzy caterpillar. It's the devil.

 

 

 

Hey, one of those fish with teeth!

 

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

Another field of never ending blue surgeons.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just look at them! Isn't it the most beautiful thing!

 

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

A school of yellow striped grunts

 

 

 

 

They were signaling us to come back to the boat and we started to head that way.

 

 

According to my camera time stamp, we were snorkeling for about 40 minutes.

 

[mitsugirly]

Ok, I'm going to stop for the night and I'll try to get more done tomorrow morning.

 

I hope you are enjoying the pictures.

 

Have a good night. :)

[Siora7777]

I read somewhere that there is a chemical in the sunscreen that are killing the coral reefs. Especially in high tourist areas like the place you went. I'm not sure if it's true, just something I read.

[Pellaz]

I read somewhere that there is a chemical in the sunscreen that are killing the coral reefs. Especially in high tourist areas like the place you went. I'm not sure if it's true, just something I read.

 

It's enough of a concern in Cozumel that they (technically) require the use of biodegradable sunscreen there, to preserve their reefs.

 

Really enjoying the photos and video now that I'm home, as they are blocked from my work. :)

 

I've often wondered why Royal doesn't sell a decent soda-cup holder, with straps to go over your shoulder. On their ships with Freestyle machines you pretty much HAVE to carry it with you.

Six Flags sells a really nice, stretchy neoprene drink-holder for their all-season soda cups that not only makes it easy to carry hand-free, but also helps insulate the cup. Their price is $5 or so, so Royal could (and would) probably charge $8 or $10. :D

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

Awesome pictures!!! I've snorkeled once and loved it. I'm pondering a "Discover SCUBA" excursion in Cozumel through Cozumel H20 in February (Western on the Celebrity EDGE!). Just waiting on booking details at the moment. :)

[LuCruise]

Wow absolutely beautiful pictures. Looks like an amazing experience. I am way too chicken to ever try such a thing so live through your eyes. Thanks for sharing.

 

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[chipis]

Here's a video...while some may claim my photographs are good, I have never claimed to be good at taking videos. Actually I suck. LOL

 

And once again, somehow I ended up with a green video. My hand goes back and forth changing the settings all the time and sometimes I forget which setting to put it on and end up with the wrong one.

 

***edit*** well this is weird...I'm not sure what the videos look for you all but on my computer (the original) the video is crystal clear. But, when I watch it on here with the uploaded youtube, it's super blurry. What are you guys seeing?

 

Amazing pictures Kim... as usual... and although the dead coral field sure looks creepy, you were able to get some really interesting pics of it! :)

 

The eel green video looks kinda blurry, but the other one is crystal clear on my screen... btw, I totally agree with the hubby, and I would have slowly backed up from the eel before it got pissed off and decided to reclaim its privacy by any mean :')

[rukkian]

Awesome pictures!!! I've snorkeled once and loved it. I'm pondering a "Discover SCUBA" excursion in Cozumel through Cozumel H20 in February (Western on the Celebrity EDGE!). Just waiting on booking details at the moment. :)

 

We just did a discover scuba through Alex Scuba in Cozumel last month. They were incredible. The teacher was very patient with my wife and young son, but still made sure we had an awesome time. My older son and I both did 2 dives, while my wife and son stopped after one.

 

My wife and I did a discover through RCI in St. Maarten last year, and she could not take it, she did not trust the operator, and the instructor was not near as good at explaining things. I still loved it, but Cozumel and Alex Scuba was so much better.

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

We just did a discover scuba through Alex Scuba in Cozumel last month. They were incredible. The teacher was very patient with my wife and young son, but still made sure we had an awesome time. My older son and I both did 2 dives, while my wife and son stopped after one.

 

My wife and I did a discover through RCI in St. Maarten last year, and she could not take it, she did not trust the operator, and the instructor was not near as good at explaining things. I still loved it, but Cozumel and Alex Scuba was so much better.

 

I will look into them. I know H20 has great reviews on Trip Advisor. Thanks!

[rukkian]

I will look into them. I know H20 has great reviews on Trip Advisor. Thanks!

 

I found Alex on Trip Advisor, was one of the best rated I saw. Was nervous as we had never booked something not through the cruise line, but we will use them again if we ever go there.

[accio_7]

Hey Mitsu,

 

Just found your review this morning and am thoroughly enjoying all of your photos and video! I'm sorry that your hotel experience in San Juan was less-than-satisfactory, but it sounds as if you guys really enjoyed your time on Jewel :)

 

Would you be able to post a photo of your stateroom whenever you get a chance?

 

Thanks ahead in advance and keep up the great work!

[jordanandcathy]

Love your review so far!!! We were on the jewel in October 2014 and it the best cruise we’ve ever been on. The islands we visited were awesome and the service on the ship was amazing. Can’t wait to read the rest.

 

 

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[WrittenOnYourHeart]

I found Alex on Trip Advisor, was one of the best rated I saw. Was nervous as we had never booked something not through the cruise line, but we will use them again if we ever go there.

 

They do have good reviews. #28 of the outdoor activities. H20 is #3...but the reviews are really close so I figure it's percentage points. At this point I've done so much correspondence with Loes at H20 I will likely stick with them (they also offer just snorkel off the boat as well (as in there would be a snorkel group and a Discover SCUBA group on the boat) in case I chicken out of trying SCUBA, so I could still be in the water).

 

Sorry to hijack mitsugirly! (Though if you have thoughts on an operator out of Cozumel, I'm all ears. :) )