MITSUGIRLY'S birthday cruise on the JADE review/pictorial

Hi Kim! As you can see, I am new to CC and to cruising. Oh good golly Ms Molly....in the past month I have now read every single one of both your and Gambee's reviews. I just finished the last one of yours that I had on my list. Talk about binge reading! I am the one that emailed you with a St Maarten offer since I used to live there and go there each year (sorry I never responded to your reply...been meaning to but I guess my "free time" has been usurped by reading all of your reviews lol).

I have now ordered an Olympus Tough TG4 thanks to you. And I am also wondering about your snorkel gear. Do you like yours and if so what do you have? I'm trying to get prepared for my upcoming Western Caribbean sailing.

Also, before finding CC I had booked XCaret through NCL for our excursion in Cozumel. But I don't think we will have enough time there to really enjoy it and now I find that there seems to be some better things to do. If you were going there for the first time, what would you suggest for a family with young kids? Chankanaab?

And I have to say, in reading your reviews I kept wondering about this "people from the north say pop instead of soda" thing. I kept thinking, but I'm from NJ and have lived in PA and now DE and these are all northern states and I have never heard of anyone calling it "pop". My extended family lives down south in Arkansas and they call it "pop" though. I was so confused until reading my final review of yours (Dawn) when there was finally a discussion about it and I didn't feel like I was losing my mind anymore lol :D. Maybe its a "central" thing....north central and south central US? Who knows....call it what you like as long as its cold and hits the spot

Thank you so very much for all that you do with your FANTASTIC reviews to help us all out on here...especially us newbies.

Hi Kim! As you can see, I am new to CC and to cruising. Oh good golly Ms Molly....in the past month I have now read every single one of both your and Gambee's reviews. I just finished the last one of yours that I had on my list. Talk about binge reading! I am the one that emailed you with a St Maarten offer since I used to live there and go there each year (sorry I never responded to your reply...been meaning to but I guess my "free time" has been usurped by reading all of your reviews lol).

 

I have now ordered an Olympus Tough TG4 thanks to you. And I am also wondering about your snorkel gear. Do you like yours and if so what do you have? I'm trying to get prepared for my upcoming Western Caribbean sailing.

 

Also, before finding CC I had booked XCaret through NCL for our excursion in Cozumel. But I don't think we will have enough time there to really enjoy it and now I find that there seems to be some better things to do. If you were going there for the first time, what would you suggest for a family with young kids? Chankanaab?

 

And I have to say, in reading your reviews I kept wondering about this "people from the north say pop instead of soda" thing. I kept thinking, but I'm from NJ and have lived in PA and now DE and these are all northern states and I have never heard of anyone calling it "pop". My extended family lives down south in Arkansas and they call it "pop" though. I was so confused until reading my final review of yours (Dawn) when there was finally a discussion about it and I didn't feel like I was losing my mind anymore lol . Maybe its a "central" thing....north central and south central US? Who knows....call it what you like as long as its cold and hits the spot

 

Thank you so very much for all that you do with your FANTASTIC reviews to help us all out on here...especially us newbies.

Hi there! Happy to hear from you and glad you survived the reviews. :p

Let me know how you end up liking your Olympus. Hopefully it will work out good for you.

My snorkel gear over the last 6 years has been a US Divers kit with with short fins. It has worked out real good for me up until this year and my mask front popped out. :eek: It pops back in, but started leaking so I have managed to invest in an actual expensive scuba mask with a purge at the bottom. :D We'll see how it works out on my next cruise. I figured with all the cruising we do, it would be worth it.

As far as Cozumel with young kids...well, it depends on the kids. Obviously in my situation, where I have a "water-baby" that would rather be in the water than anything else, Chankanaab worked out good for us. She loves to snorkel (and recently started taking scuba diving classes). Chankanaab is a beautiful place and there's a lot to do there and they have added a lot more since I was there last. But we do love it there.

Depending on the age of the kids, there's a lot of other kid friendly places to go as well, such as Playa Mia-they have the water park for little ones, some awesome pools and water slides. I haven't been to Paradise yet, but a lot of families like to go there because it's a pay as you go place with the ocean water toys and stuff. (It's on my to-do list). Mr Sanchos also has the water toys in the ocean and a few pools too. Passion Island is a beautiful place and beach with plenty of activities and a play area devoted to the kids (depending on the age). We are the kind of family that can make a day at any beach and have fun. So it all depends on what you like to do.

Pop :D I don't know where it originates from but it's all I have ever heard my entire life. Maybe it's just an Ohio thing. :p It's funny the first time I had ever heard someone say "soda" was when I was around 18 and working at the hospital fresh out of high school and we had a "new girl" in the office that had just moved to Ohio. I had no idea what she was talking about when she said "soda". LOL

Thanks so much for the comments about the reviews. I appreciate it.

So now I will give you a tour of this place.

 

The water was so pretty and pretty shallow too for the most part.

 

 

 

 

 

There are people that do massages here as well.

 

 

 

 

 

I have to tell you, this area right behind the beach is so beautiful. It would be the place I would have hung out at if I didn't have a kid that won't get out of the water. Simply beautiful. It was kind of weird that there wasn't really many people back in there. I think maybe 3 people with chairs??

 

 

 

because this is likely an inappropriate question, please feel free to email me at jennaefer@yahoo.com IF you are inclined to respond. I've spent the last 5 days with tabs open for all of your Cozumel beach reviews. I'm just no closer to figuring out which one to visit for our 5th trip to Cozumel (since 2008) now than when I began. Is Chankanaab still your favorite? I realize it depends on the personal as well as the families involved BUT . . this will be our 2nd time (last being March 2012) where we venture out on our own and perhaps the last time we go to Cozumel. We started out with an excursion package that took us to Passion Island and ended with renting a VW bug and driving around the Island via bug and motorcycle so I'd like to go out with a beach bang!!!! Thank you for all your hard work and insights. Yes, someone is still reading from 2010. I'd never heard of Paradise Island. Did you ever make it there?

Hi Mitsugirly - I was scheduled to do an Eastern Caribbean cruise, but due to Irma, it looks like it is going to be moved to the Western Caribbean . As I too love to plan waaaaay ahead of time and have all my ducks in a row, and details to the very minute :), I am looking at some possible ports we may visit instead. As a single traveler, would you recommend Little French Key or the Maya Key private island? I have never done an excursion on my own, so just wondering if I would feel safe going to LFK? Thank you so much for your input, I truly appreciate it! Your posts and reviews are great, and so very helpful!

because this is likely an inappropriate question, please feel free to email me at jennaefer@yahoo.com IF you are inclined to respond. I've spent the last 5 days with tabs open for all of your Cozumel beach reviews. I'm just no closer to figuring out which one to visit for our 5th trip to Cozumel (since 2008) now than when I began. Is Chankanaab still your favorite? I realize it depends on the personal as well as the families involved BUT . . this will be our 2nd time (last being March 2012) where we venture out on our own and perhaps the last time we go to Cozumel. We started out with an excursion package that took us to Passion Island and ended with renting a VW bug and driving around the Island via bug and motorcycle so I'd like to go out with a beach bang!!!! Thank you for all your hard work and insights. Yes, someone is still reading from 2010. I'd never heard of Paradise Island. Did you ever make it there?

I am so sorry. I never did get a notification that you posted on here back last year. I'm not sure if you are still looking for this information or if you have already cruised. So Sorry.

Hi Mitsugirly - I was scheduled to do an Eastern Caribbean cruise, but due to Irma, it looks like it is going to be moved to the Western Caribbean . As I too love to plan waaaaay ahead of time and have all my ducks in a row, and details to the very minute :), I am looking at some possible ports we may visit instead. As a single traveler, would you recommend Little French Key or the Maya Key private island? I have never done an excursion on my own, so just wondering if I would feel safe going to LFK? Thank you so much for your input, I truly appreciate it! Your posts and reviews are great, and so very helpful!

I have several friends that are scrambling to make last minute plans due to Irma. I feel so bad for everyone and especially those on the islands. :(

Absolutely YES! I would recommend LFK, even to a single traveler. No worries at all. They will be waiting for you outside of the port, easy to spot with their bright yellow shirts and transport you directly to their place. You will be on a private island and nothing to worry about. Completely safe. Go have some fun in a beautiful paradise! :D

I am so sorry. I never did get a notification that you posted on here back last year. I'm not sure if you are still looking for this information or if you have already cruised. So Sorry.

 

 

 

 

I have several friends that are scrambling to make last minute plans due to Irma. I feel so bad for everyone and especially those on the islands. :(

 

Absolutely YES! I would recommend LFK, even to a single traveler. No worries at all. They will be waiting for you outside of the port, easy to spot with their bright yellow shirts and transport you directly to their place. You will be on a private island and nothing to worry about. Completely safe. Go have some fun in a beautiful paradise! :D

I definitely will book LFK if we end up heading that way! From your reviews and their website, it sounds absolutely beautiful. Thank you so much for your imput - it truly is appreciated!

I definitely will book LFK if we end up heading that way! From your reviews and their website, it sounds absolutely beautiful. Thank you so much for your imput - it truly is appreciated!

No problem. I hope you have a wonderful day there! :)

When you visited Geoff cay in Belize..

Was snorkel equipment included?

Please recap which tour company you used.

Thanks.. Researching for January.

When you visited Geoff cay in Belize..

Was snorkel equipment included?

Please recap which tour company you used.

Thanks.. Researching for January.

Yes, they include snorkeling equipment. We did not use it because we have our own, so can not comment on the condition. I'm sure it's fine.

We booked with Island Marketing, a 3rd party vendor, and we went with Eco Tours. Island Marketing was the cheapest we could find to book it at the time and it worked out great. :)

mitsugirly Thanks for the great review of Goff's Caye! I am torn between Goff's & Rendezvous Caye, which one did you like better? How would you compare the snorkeling & the two islands. They seem to be similar.

mitsugirly Thanks for the great review of Goff's Caye! I am torn between Goff's & Rendezvous Caye, which one did you like better? How would you compare the snorkeling & the two islands. They seem to be similar.

I think it would probably be Rendezvous Caye for several reasons. They have plenty of palapas (huge ones) and Goffs Caye did not. Another reason that I liked Rendezvous was the snorkeling. I didn't get to experience the off shore snorkeling tour at Goffs (I'm not sure why I decided not to...I think I just wasn't as comfortable with my daughter out there like that at the time. So, the only snorkeling I did was right off the beach and it was AMAZING and I knew right then that I was going to regret not doing the tour. So...I can't really comment on that part.

Awesome, thank you for your reply. I can't WAIT to go!

Enjoyed your review. Do you have a list of the Officers? Can't find them anywhere...

Awesome, thank you for your reply. I can't WAIT to go!

You're welcome and have a wonderful time!! :D

Enjoyed your review. Do you have a list of the Officers? Can't find them anywhere...

Thank you. No sorry, I wouldn't have that type of information. It's not really something I ever look at or care about. Plus, they have probably changed by now. :)