MITSUGIRLYS JEWEL OF A CRUISE review and pictorial

[mitsugirly]

Ok, so I managed to at least get my final thoughts on the Jewel done before leaving for work. I will work on my final thoughts for the ports later.

 

So my final thoughts for the Jewel:

 

 

 

I love cruising. There is no such thing as a bad cruise to me. I’m a true believer that you are what you make of a cruise. I try to see the best in every cruise and understand that it will never be perfect. I try to see the best in people and completely understand that people have “bad days” or “off days” and although their actions may affect my day, it will not make or break my day. I also know that given another chance, tomorrow may be completely different from the previous day. I also understand people vary in likes and experiences. You can be on the same cruise and maybe even doing the same thing…some may like it and some may not. I write my reviews based on MY experiences and likes and I do it for fun, entertainment, but most of all for the pictures to help people out searching for information. I DO NOT expect people to base their decisions on what I may or may have not liked or done. It’s only a helping tool. I myself love to research and I will read everyone’s reviews (and I especially like it if they include pictures) and make a sound choice based on my thoughts and not their experience.

 

 

With that being said, here we go…

 

 

 

 

My all-time favorite ship of the NCL fleet was the Epic. It was new, it was beautiful, and the entertainment was out of this world. I like the bigger ships with more to offer. That’s just me. (This would be one of the reasons I decided to try out Carnival this past year in March…it was a newer, big ship with a huge waterpark and we loved it). If/when I try the Breakaway and/or Getaway, I know they will become a favorite…just because it’s newer, bigger, and has all the upgrades with the water park and sports area. However, Epic did not have that huge grand atrium that I love.

 

 

 

 

My second favorite ship has remained the Spirit. She’s just so different than the rest of the fleet. I love her Asian flare, the nice kid’s water park area on the back and it holds a dear place in my heart because it was the first cruise we decided to take Sakari on…which of course got her hooked on cruising as much as we are. Her grand atrium was beautiful…and well, so was the rest of the ship.

 

 

 

 

In third place, I would have to say it’s the Star. Mainly because she was beautiful and had that WOW factor that I like in the grand atrium. When I cruised back in the 80’s and 90’s, that MADE the cruise ship. The Star did have some flaws (and I found several), but it did not make or break my cruise of course. I did seem to run across several needed repairs, but I still loved the ship.

 

 

 

 

Then that brings us to the Pearl and the Jewel. Since they are sister ships, they are basically alike in many ways than not. There’s just no “wow” factor with the grand atrium only being 2 stories tall. I guess the advantage with the Pearl over the Jewel is the Pearl did have a bowling alley, which got a lot of use from us and it was an added extra. I also had my oldest daughter and her boyfriend with us on the Pearl cruise, so it was special for that reason as well. I do have to take into consideration that the Pearl cruise is where I met Kevin Sheehan at and got my picture taken with him. It’s always a special cruise when something new and exciting happens and meeting the CEO of the company was definitely one of those moments. I was like a high school kid meeting a movie star that day. Now the Jewel cruise, we were able to cruise with several friends that we have cruised with on other ships. That also made it a “special” cruise for us. We were able to cruise with friends from the Epic and friends from the Star that we have kept in contact with and it was like a reunion cruise. We also cruised with several other people from the ships we’ve been on, and they have been on my roll call, but I didn’t become close with them. L It was also a special cruise because we were able to meet new friends (the ma’ams) that I had been looking forward to and they are just lovely people! So it’s kind of hard to pick which ship wins on this one and I will call it a tie.

 

 

 

 

Some of the PROS to the ship:

 

 

 

 

Since we had been on the Pearl, this ship felt “familiar” to us, which was nice. We knew the layout and it was easier to maneuver around this time.

Our roll call was a huge success-we had 101 members actually show.

Check in at the port was probably the fastest I have ever experienced. Debarkation was just as fast.

 

 

 

 

Port security was the friendliest and quickest ever and so informal.

I had VIP status, which made things really nice. The nice little snack plates, the VIP tendering, entrance into the chocolate buffet, VIP invitations to party’s. It was a nice little added touch…for no rhyme or reason. (We also received VIP for no reason on the Pearl…maybe these sisters like me?).

 

 

 

 

WE HAD A BALCONY!! Well, what more can you say right? This was an experience of a lifetime for us and although I could say that we’re hooked, it doesn’t mean I’ll be able to book another one on our next cruise…but it sure would be nice. We loved the location of the balcony and the way it was kind of enclosed blocking all of the air that a normal balcony has.

 

 

 

 

We had wonderful weather during the cruise. Maybe not when we returned, but while we were gone, it was wonderful.

 

 

 

 

 

The staff was friendly, as they usually are on every cruise. They are always cleaning and keeping things in tip top shape. They always have a smile on their face and laughing and dancing while trying to make your cruise a good experience. It’s kind of amazes when you think about how they just did this to all of the new people the week before and then they do it all over again week after week with new people. They make it feel like it’s their first cruise and they are so excited to be doing what they are doing. I know this takes a special kind of person. For me, it would get old, so I’m not that person that could ever do the job they do. They work hard to please and make it enjoyable. That’s one thing I love about NCL.

The shows at night in the theater are always great. Their Cirque show was absolutely fabulous. I can’t say enough good things about NCL’s entertainment. Yes, this time around I didn’t find the ventriloquist too funny, but it is different than what you would get on a Carnival cruise for sure.

 

 

 

 

I think the food is pretty good. I definitely don’t go hungry. Actually, I can’t imagine going hungry on any cruise. There’s always such a great variety to choose from and if you can’t find something, maybe you don’t belong on a cruise. Since we have tried the specialty restaurants on the other NCL ships, we didn’t find a need to do any on this one and I am perfectly happy with that. I might add that the pretzel rolls are still to die for! Also, this time around they not only had the rolls and the logs of pretzels, but they also added an actual pretzel too…like in a pretzel shape. That was the first time I had seen that before. We also can’t forget the crepe station…one of my favorites!

 

 

 

 

Hats off to the staff that are always there to help when you need it. This will be the second cruise that a staff member in the buffet has noticed that I have a young daughter and trying to hold two plates in the buffet and they came along with a tray and helped me. Just a nice little added touch. She also reminded me of the La Cucina being open to eat at and even served us drinks while we ate.

 

 

 

 

 

We noticed something new this cruise (it’s little, but it shows they go the “extra” mile), they are now making the toilet paper “fancy” by folding the edges of them into a point. We noticed that the hotels do this when they clean and so does Carnival. Like I said, nothing big, but just a little added touch I noticed this time around.

 

 

 

 

This was the FIRST cruise that our room steward allowed us to keep all of the towel animals the entire cruise. Sakari liked this and loved her collection of “friends”. It also gave Trixie someone to keep her entertained while we were away.

 

 

 

 

I have always noticed that NCL is very thoughtful and we have left port many times late waiting on passengers that are missing. They at least try to give them a chance to make it back to the ship in time. I have read so many horror stories about people being left in port, and it’s your own fault, but NCL will make announcement after announcement, trying to locate people missing and many times wait for them. This cruise would be no exception.

 

 

 

 

The Nick Jr staff was excellent. They were so spunky and got the kids so excited. Sakari loved this cruise and the characters and party’s they had. It’s definitely an added plus if you have kids. They have so many opportunities to have your pictures taken with the characters and the dance party at the end was wonderful. It’s also nice that they do allow you to take your own pictures as well (even though all you get is a green background). I wish they had this on all of the ships.

 

 

 

 

The kids club was wonderful as always. They always have the best activities planned for the kids with a theme for every day. The kids love the parades and the circus show at the end is a favorite of Sakari’s. Since Sakari has an unusual name, they usually learn her name fairly quickly in the cruise. She always comes home with an activity folder of things that she had made during the cruise.

 

 

 

 

 

Slime Time was also a positive experience to the cruise and hilarious to watch. Getting audience members to help with the games got the kids excited and next time, we will know what to expect and so will Sakari when they pick her.

 

 

 

 

One port day, after finishing breakfast in the buffet, we witnessed the staff doing life drills in the pool. They were swimming across the pool and had a huge blow up thing at the end and where trying to climb up it and doing drills. This was the first time I have ever seen this (which I’m sure they do this during port time of course when most people are off the ship), but it was nice to see they practice…just in case.

 

 

 

CONS:

 

 

 

 

We were sailing at full capacity and I don’t think I have ever been on a NCL ship when it’s a full capacity before (at least it never seemed like this before).

 

 

 

 

 

The buffets this time were absolutely horrid when it come to the amount of people. Finding a place to sit was next to impossible. After a few days, they seem to run out of things like the cereal selection. By the end of the cruise, there were not many choices. We also didn’t find the little small cartons of milk much this cruise. They had them in the beginning, but they quickly went away. The milk station was a joke and a hit or miss, with most days they were running out of milk. They also could not keep up on the food a lot of times. When something ran out (especially the round hash browns in the mornings), they were not quickly replaced. They seemed under staffed this cruise for some reason and was either just not prepared for the amount of people on this cruise this time around or they just didn’t have enough staff to keep caught up.

 

 

 

 

The MDR’s were a mess with wait times. I mean a mess. It’s the longest I have ever had to wait for food on a NCL ship. It caused us to miss shows we wanted to attend and kind of messed up our schedules on the nights we went. For that reason, we only dined once in each place. I have found the service in the MDR seems to be declining over the last few cruise with each time getting a little slower and slower. I’m not sure what is going on here. The fact that they had given my daughter her starter, meal and desert before we were even served our first starter was a complete screw up in my book. We want to eat together as a family, not have our daughter finished with everything and being bored and wanting to leave before we even get to eat. This made things challenging to keep her entertained and another reason I prefer the buffet over MDR for meals. I’m a buffet type of person. I like going in, seeing what my food looks like ahead of time to know if it’s going to appeal to me, grabbing what I want, sitting down and eating, and being able to go back to get more of the items that I really enjoyed. That’s just me.

 

 

 

 

Love the food at the Blue Lagoon and it’s always a nice way to grab a bite to eat any time you want with a great variety of things to choose from. However, I don’t know what the issue with the artichoke dip was the night they tried and tried to get it right. This may be an isolated incidence. I’m not sure since I didn’t try it again. For the most part, we love the Blue Lagoon. Their cheesecake is to die for! The “new homemade fries”…well those were not the greatest either.

 

 

 

 

The new ice-cream police-really? Not cool. I don’t know what the reason behind this was (probably some unruly kids making a mess or something), but now you can only get ice cream when someone is stationed there. This is as bad as the bacon police on Carnival. Geesh.

 

 

 

 

Our room Stewart…ugh. He was the worse we had ever had on a cruise. I have to say that all of my previous cruises, our room stewards were like ninja’s. I swear they were in and out cleaning several times a day. Honestly! We would go to breakfast and come back and our rooms would be cleaned. We would come back later in the day and change for swimming, cleaned again. Come back before dinner, cleaned again. They are just cleaning fools I tell ya. Well not this room steward. He cleaned our balcony maybe twice during the entire cruise. He would forget to empty the trash cans. He wouldn't replace used glasses. He wouldn’t remove glasses brought from outside the room from different venues for about 2 days. He even left one of the VIP trays in our room for 2 days. There were 2 items on it that we didn’t eat and obviously wasn’t going to eat, but it still took him 2 day to remove it. I can’t imagine him thinking we were saving it for later…especially since it had laid out for days. Ewww. I can only confirm that they cleaned the room twice a day (which is probably the standard of what they are supposed to do, but not the “norm” that I have found on the other NCL cruises). We would come back to our room around 2:30pm and the room would still not be made up from the morning…and this happened every sea day. In the evenings, it was very late before our beds were turned down and cleaned. Thank goodness we did not come back and go to bed early with our little one, otherwise we would not be coming back to a clean room or a bed for Sakari made (from the couch). This will also be the first cruise where we did not have a towel animal on the first night. I know towel animals aren’t a big deal to some, but to Sakari, it is…and she remembered. Also the fact that we met him while we were first checking in to our room, and he knew we had a young daughter, and then he proceeded to ask us 2 days later if we “still needed the couch turned into a bed at night” left me dumbfounded.

 

 

 

 

 

The issue with the sliding glass door continuously being unlocked every night (even when the balcony was not cleaned) is still a mystery to me. There was even one night it was left opened. Um ok. I realize that you would be risking your life if you tried to come across the ship from an adjacent room to get into someone else’s room, but still, it made me feel uneasy.

 

 

 

 

Our room steward forgot to give us our ship pin. Grrrr!!!!

 

 

 

 

I also didn’t like that our room steward left this huge black cushion (which I have learned now that this was the extension to the bed) in front of our sliding glass doors the ENTIRE cruise. It was never put away and made it so that we couldn’t open our curtains fully the entire time. Now that I know what this cushion is, I will make sure any future cruises in a balcony, this item will be put away somewhere during the day!

 

 

 

 

Every once in a while you could smell a sewage smell at night. I’m not sure what this was about, but I heard several people mention it and have also seen others mention it in their review that was on our ship this week. I personally have sinus problems and don’t smell good to begin with, so I did smell it several times, but it wasn’t strong to me. We did not smell it in our room thank goodness.

 

 

 

 

The “new” latitudes program. People had mentioned how they changed it that you no longer get a percentage off your total purchases in the gift shops anymore and NCL’s site mentions you get a 10% discount off 1 NCL item during your cruise. I think this is crappy, but what can you do. I do have a PRO here, they did discount ALL of my NCL items the entire cruise, not just 1 item.

 

 

 

 

We found that almost everything on this cruise was running late. The shows would start later than they were supposed to, getting off the ship was late one day, just late, late, late on things. Not that it made a difference to me when it came to the shows; we were enjoying ourselves no matter what.

 

 

 

 

If anyone read my review of the Star, you would have noticed that I found several places on the ship that the carpet had a “bump” in it where it was no longer glued down. I did find 2 places on this ship as well like that. I remember others on the ship (Star) saying “well we never came across anything like that”…well just because you didn’t, doesn’t mean I didn’t. I even took a picture of it. LOL But there were 2 places on this ship that I found the same thing. I can tell you one place was in the gift shop, toward the back in the jewelry section. It caught me off guard. I don’t remember where the other place was, but I had to laugh when I showed the hubby. But everything else on the ship seemed to be in excellent working order and repair (minus the 1 bathroom I came across that was out of order the entire cruise).

 

 

 

 

The meet & greet-I have to say it was the first time that I had encountered the coordinator asking me for my plans and the way she made me feel was very off and ashamed that I had no agenda. I was also a little disappointed that they didn’t offer a bridge tour or something. Before, it seemed like when we have such a good turnout at a meeting, they usually offered something extra. Not this time around. But each ship is different. I also didn’t like the way they had arranged the chairs in rows, making it hard for everyone to get in and out. They were very close together. It made it feel a little too formal and it felt like we were sitting in church. It was hard to sit around and talk to people or get to know them this way. Everyone scattered like flies when it was over. L I think this was the first time that the Captain had not attended one of our meet and greets.

 

 

 

 

Latitudes party-issue with the waiter never making it to us with the drinks, or running out before they ever got to us only to start over back at the beginning and repeating the process. This was also the case with the snacks. There wasn’t much to pick from once they DID make it to us. Once again…under staffed?

 

 

 

 

The only rude worker we came across was the guy in the gift shop 1) not knowing his product and lying to me 2) telling me to go to the dressing room to try on a jacket and just having an attitude with me.

 

 

 

 

The ONLY gripe I have about the kids club is them not informing you of the events that day…like when they will have a parade (starting time so that you can look for them) or the fact that they went into the theater one night and got on stage and did a dance (which we missed because we didn’t know about it). If they would just inform the parents of these things, it would be nice to know about them so that we could catch our precious little ones doing something they are proud of.

 

 

 

 

I guess the other gripe with the kids club (and not the staff) is the policy NCL developed of closing it from 12-2pm & 5-7pm. While I understand the “need” for this and the reasons why, it’s not practical for all families…especially ours. We are night owls, not morning people. It completely messes up our days. We eat breakfast late, so by the time they are closing the kids club (for you to feed your child lunch), we have just eaten and Sakari is not hungry at those times. The same goes for the afternoon (dinner) closing. We have usually just eaten lunch and she isn’t hungry for dinner. We usually eat a later dinner, but were forced to eat early the entire cruise…meaning that by the time she was picked up from the kids club, we were starving again. It’s just inconvenient times for us that’s all and does not coincide with our schedules.

Tendering + Cozumel + the busiest port to choose from = disaster. I will still never understand why NCL would decide to tender us from 1) a different port than the rest of the NCL ships & 2) pick the port that has the most cruisers at. I’m still shaking my head at this one.

 

 

 

 

 

Well, that’s all I can think of at the moment. Don’t get me wrong, we loved this cruise and it was a much needed cruise for us. It’s been a rough year with schooling and work and we had a great time. We had a blast with our cruising friends and it was definitely a special cruise for us. My review is only an opinion and based on my experience. Keep this in mind.

[JMHAM1]

Great review as always!!

[LAKECLIFF]

Great review and I am looking forward to boarding the Jewel in a couple of weeks. Not looking forward to the buffet for breakfast and looking for seats :eek:. Guess we will do MDR or Room Service for breakfast:rolleyes:

Thanks again. Pam

[ncklhaus]

Love, love, loved your review.

I had to laugh about the carpet problem in the shop. When we were on the Jewel in February 2013 I tripped over "nothing" on the duty free shop. At that time we were at the far end of the shop to the right side by the register where you pay for the liquor. It was funny until it happened again in the same spot! The ship was rocking at that time so I blamed it on that, but now I'm not so sure.:eek:

[ncklhaus]

Great review and I am looking forward to boarding the Jewel in a couple of weeks. Not looking forward to the buffet for breakfast and looking for seats :eek:. Guess we will do MDR or Room Service for breakfast:rolleyes:

Thanks again. Pam

 

I guess it all depends on how full the ship is. I must say we never had problem finding seats in the buffet.

[pokerpro5]

I was on this ship from December 22-29 (different itinerary, though). Here is my review: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1965445

 

Some of the PROS to the ship:

 

WE HAD A BALCONY!! Well, what more can you say right? This was an experience of a lifetime for us and although I could say that we’re hooked, it doesn’t mean I’ll be able to book another one on our next cruise…but it sure would be nice. We loved the location of the balcony and the way it was kind of enclosed blocking all of the air that a normal balcony has.

 

I liked the design of the balcony, but I HATED the smoking situation. We constantly had smoke drifting onto our balcony (and into the room if we left the door open). Why can't they institute non-smoking sections, similar to what they used to do on airplanes?

 

 

We had wonderful weather during the cruise. Maybe not when we returned, but while we were gone, it was wonderful.

 

Us too. Not one drop of rain in any of the 4 ports. Weather wasn't that good for the sea days or the embarkation day, but the ports were more important.

 

 

 

 

The shows at night in the theater are always great. Their Cirque show was absolutely fabulous. I can’t say enough good things about NCL’s entertainment. Yes, this time around I didn’t find the ventriloquist too funny, but it is different than what you would get on a Carnival cruise for sure.

 

Le Cirque Bijou was indeed very good. I even thought the theme of the show was cute. Did you have that hokey "You are all family" presentation by the Cruise Director afterwards? I found that really insulting to my intelligence, almost like I was watching an old '70s episode of Mr. Rogers. Do any adults really believe they're "family" when among thousands of passengers on a for-profit cruise line? I mean, seriously...

 

 

 

Hats off to the staff that are always there to help when you need it. This will be the second cruise that a staff member in the buffet has noticed that I have a young daughter and trying to hold two plates in the buffet and they came along with a tray and helped me. Just a nice little added touch. She also reminded me of the La Cucina being open to eat at and even served us drinks while we ate.

 

Because I detested the wait for room service, I always went to the buffet (if it was open) and grabbed like 5 plates for my family to take to the room. It was a tough balancing act, and every time the staff offered to help me bring it down. I felt like I was needlessly troubling them, so I always declined. But I appreciated the offers.

 

 

 

I have always noticed that NCL is very thoughtful and we have left port many times late waiting on passengers that are missing. They at least try to give them a chance to make it back to the ship in time. I have read so many horror stories about people being left in port, and it’s your own fault, but NCL will make announcement after announcement, trying to locate people missing and many times wait for them. This cruise would be no exception.

 

That's good, but I was annoyed that we left an hour late from New Orleans, robbing our chance of seeing the voyage down the Mississippi in daylight.

 

 

 

 

CONS:

 

We were sailing at full capacity and I don’t think I have ever been on a NCL ship when it’s a full capacity before (at least it never seemed like this before).

 

We were also at full capacity, so it's interesting to compare experiences with you.

 

 

 

The buffets this time were absolutely horrid when it come to the amount of people. Finding a place to sit was next to impossible. After a few days, they seem to run out of things like the cereal selection. By the end of the cruise, there were not many choices. We also didn’t find the little small cartons of milk much this cruise. They had them in the beginning, but they quickly went away. The milk station was a joke and a hit or miss, with most days they were running out of milk. They also could not keep up on the food a lot of times. When something ran out (especially the round hash browns in the mornings), they were not quickly replaced. They seemed under staffed this cruise for some reason and was either just not prepared for the amount of people on this cruise this time around or they just didn’t have enough staff to keep caught up.

 

They must have either been understaffed or the staff was performing poorly.

 

The milk machine always worked throughout our cruise. I know because I used it often.

 

The popular food ran out for short periods of time, but I didn't see a big problem with it. I was actually very impressed with the buffet overall.

 

The only thing I hated about the buffet was the erratic schedule. It was constantly closing or half-closing, even at scheduled "open" times.

 

It was a bit hard to find seating sometimes, but never impossible.

 

 

 

The MDR’s were a mess with wait times. I mean a mess. It’s the longest I have ever had to wait for food on a NCL ship. It caused us to miss shows we wanted to attend and kind of messed up our schedules on the nights we went. For that reason, we only dined once in each place. I have found the service in the MDR seems to be declining over the last few cruise with each time getting a little slower and slower. I’m not sure what is going on here. The fact that they had given my daughter her starter, meal and desert before we were even served our first starter was a complete screw up in my book. We want to eat together as a family, not have our daughter finished with everything and being bored and wanting to leave before we even get to eat. This made things challenging to keep her entertained and another reason I prefer the buffet over MDR for meals. I’m a buffet type of person. I like going in, seeing what my food looks like ahead of time to know if it’s going to appeal to me, grabbing what I want, sitting down and eating, and being able to go back to get more of the items that I really enjoyed. That’s just me.

 

I didn't use the MDR. I went to specialties every night. I don't understand why more people don't do this. Your family of 3 could have dined at specialties every single night for under $400 total. That's not chump change, but it's a small percentage of your trip's total cost.

 

I gave up on cruise MDRs a long time ago.

 

 

The new ice-cream police-really? Not cool. I don’t know what the reason behind this was (probably some unruly kids making a mess or something), but now you can only get ice cream when someone is stationed there. This is as bad as the bacon police on Carnival. Geesh.

 

Agree. Also, the machines were frequently closed/out of service. The two machines were different flavors, so if you wanted a particular flavor (our 10-year-old loved strawberry), you were often out of luck. There has to be a better way to handle this.

 

 

 

Our room Stewart…ugh. He was the worse we had ever had on a cruise. I have to say that all of my previous cruises, our room stewards were like ninja’s. I swear they were in and out cleaning several times a day. Honestly! We would go to breakfast and come back and our rooms would be cleaned. We would come back later in the day and change for swimming, cleaned again. Come back before dinner, cleaned again. They are just cleaning fools I tell ya. Well not this room steward. He cleaned our balcony maybe twice during the entire cruise. He would forget to empty the trash cans. He wouldn't replace used glasses. He wouldn’t remove glasses brought from outside the room from different venues for about 2 days. He even left one of the VIP trays in our room for 2 days. There were 2 items on it that we didn’t eat and obviously wasn’t going to eat, but it still took him 2 day to remove it. I can’t imagine him thinking we were saving it for later…especially since it had laid out for days. Ewww. I can only confirm that they cleaned the room twice a day (which is probably the standard of what they are supposed to do, but not the “norm” that I have found on the other NCL cruises). We would come back to our room around 2:30pm and the room would still not be made up from the morning…and this happened every sea day. In the evenings, it was very late before our beds were turned down and cleaned. Thank goodness we did not come back and go to bed early with our little one, otherwise we would not be coming back to a clean room or a bed for Sakari made (from the couch). This will also be the first cruise where we did not have a towel animal on the first night. I know towel animals aren’t a big deal to some, but to Sakari, it is…and she remembered. Also the fact that we met him while we were first checking in to our room, and he knew we had a young daughter, and then he proceeded to ask us 2 days later if we “still needed the couch turned into a bed at night” left me dumbfounded.

 

I also didn’t like that our room steward left this huge black cushion (which I have learned now that this was the extension to the bed) in front of our sliding glass doors the ENTIRE cruise. It was never put away and made it so that we couldn’t open our curtains fully the entire time. Now that I know what this cushion is, I will make sure any future cruises in a balcony, this item will be put away somewhere during the day!

 

Our room steward was good but surly. He acted like he was always annoyed with us. He did the job well, so I didn't complain, but he wasn't friendly at all. He honestly looked really unhappy with his job, which is admittedly tough and low-paying, but I don't think being a cruise steward is the right position for him.

 

You should have complained about that black thing they left in your room. That should have been gone. We also had a balcony room, and we had no such thing.

 

 

 

The issue with the sliding glass door continuously being unlocked every night (even when the balcony was not cleaned) is still a mystery to me. There was even one night it was left opened. Um ok. I realize that you would be risking your life if you tried to come across the ship from an adjacent room to get into someone else’s room, but still, it made me feel uneasy.

 

I found the balcony door really hard to open. Did you?

 

 

 

Our room steward forgot to give us our ship pin. Grrrr!!!!

 

I didn't get one, either.

 

 

Every once in a while you could smell a sewage smell at night. I’m not sure what this was about, but I heard several people mention it and have also seen others mention it in their review that was on our ship this week. I personally have sinus problems and don’t smell good to begin with, so I did smell it several times, but it wasn’t strong to me. We did not smell it in our room thank goodness.

 

This was ever-present, but only in the bathroom. I noticed the same on other cruises I've taken, so I just dismissed it as a cruise thing.

 

 

We found that almost everything on this cruise was running late. The shows would start later than they were supposed to, getting off the ship was late one day, just late, late, late on things. Not that it made a difference to me when it came to the shows; we were enjoying ourselves no matter what.

 

We didn't experience this, aside from the late departure on the first day.

Edited January 5, 2014 by pokerpro5

[FF Woman]

I am so happy that this review came at this time. We leave on the Jewel four weeks from today and even though we've been on her before, it's been several years ago. The pictures were awesome and brought back memories.

 

This may sound crazy, but were there any adults without kids having their pictures taken with the Nick characters? We have twin grandkids who are three and are SpongeBob fanatics. They are excited their Grandpa and Grandpa are going to get to see him. I would wait in line to get a picture just to see their faces when they saw it.

 

Thanks for answering so many questions and making it even more exciting while we count down for our cruise.

[bacardi1224]

Which model did you end up getting? LOL at the bf. :p

 

 

 

 

That's hilarious (and it hurt my head to try to read lol). I looked up where Bull Bay is located and it looks like it's all the way on the other side and end of Montego Bay, so I would "think" it wasn't the same mongoose. But still a good read. :D

 

We went looking at them today as well :) Which model did you get? I will be buying one closer to our trip to the US in April, then we can claim back the GST.

 

 

Mitsugirly - What model is your Olympus? Thanks for the heads up. The photos & review are fantastic. I can't wait to visit the Carribean.

 

Kerry :)

I had limited options since part of the negotiation was that the camera had to come from best buy so it could go on the best buy credit card. That way with small payments it is *almost* like we never bought it? Got the TG630. Got it in blue since it was $15 cheaper and I don’t care what color my camera is.

[jessination]

Hi! Newbie here :) I really enjoyed your review - I skimmed most of it on our drive home from Galveston today (we just got off the Carnival Magic this morning!) and I was really excited to see that you were also went to Mr. Sanchos. We were just there on Friday (Jan 5th), and my family of five had a blast! You did so much more than we did! I really want to go back and get a fish pedicure! And you are right - those drinks are strong! ;)

 

Thanks for keeping me entertained on the way home, and for some great pictures to remind us of where we've been!

Edited January 6, 2014 by jessination

[mitsugirly]

Great review as always!!

 

Thanks so much. :)

 

Great review and I am looking forward to boarding the Jewel in a couple of weeks. Not looking forward to the buffet for breakfast and looking for seats :eek:. Guess we will do MDR or Room Service for breakfast:rolleyes:

Thanks again. Pam

 

Have a wonderful cruise. Just remember, it could be totally different when you go, so I wouldn't worry too much. We were sailing at full capacity and during the holidays, so it has probably died down a lot since then.

[mitsugirly]

Love, love, loved your review.

I had to laugh about the carpet problem in the shop. When we were on the Jewel in February 2013 I tripped over "nothing" on the duty free shop. At that time we were at the far end of the shop to the right side by the register where you pay for the liquor. It was funny until it happened again in the same spot! The ship was rocking at that time so I blamed it on that, but now I'm not so sure.:eek:

 

That's where the "mean guy" is located. LOL I wonder if that was the spot the 2nd hump was at. I can't remember where it was for some reason. I just remember the first one in the jewelry section because we went over it several times during the week. :p

 

I am so happy that this review came at this time. We leave on the Jewel four weeks from today and even though we've been on her before, it's been several years ago. The pictures were awesome and brought back memories.

 

This may sound crazy, but were there any adults without kids having their pictures taken with the Nick characters? We have twin grandkids who are three and are SpongeBob fanatics. They are excited their Grandpa and Grandpa are going to get to see him. I would wait in line to get a picture just to see their faces when they saw it.

 

Thanks for answering so many questions and making it even more exciting while we count down for our cruise.

 

Thanks for the compliments.

 

Yes, I did see adults on the ship taking pictures with the characters. I don't really remember if they were at the meet & greet nights getting them taken professionally. We would get in line, take the picture, and leave instantly.

 

There are tons of other opportunities on the ship to run in them as well. They have dances out on the deck and we ran into them in the hall as well. Just check the dailies and you'll catch them. Other adults were doing it. :)

[mitsugirly]

I had limited options since part of the negotiation was that the camera had to come from best buy so it could go on the best buy credit card. That way with small payments it is *almost* like we never bought it? Got the TG630. Got it in blue since it was $15 cheaper and I don’t care what color my camera is.

 

I'm pretty sure that's the same model I have, but would have to double check. I got the pink one. :p

 

Hi! Newbie here :) I really enjoyed your review - I skimmed most of it on our drive home from Galveston today (we just got off the Carnival Magic this morning!) and I was really excited to see that you were also went to Mr. Sanchos. We were just there on Friday (Jan 5th), and my family of five had a blast! You did so much more than we did! I really want to go back and get a fish pedicure! And you are right - those drinks are strong! ;)

 

Thanks for keeping me entertained on the way home, and for some great pictures to remind us of where we've been!

 

Glad I could entertain you on your ride home. :D How did you like the Magic? I want to sail her.

[mitsugirly]

I was on this ship from December 22-29 (different itinerary, though). Here is my review: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1965445

 

I'll take a look at it. Can't wait to compare.

 

Us too. Not one drop of rain in any of the 4 ports. Weather wasn't that good for the sea days or the embarkation day, but the ports were more important.

 

Agreed. It was raining in NOLA when we left and it was the biggest snow storm coming back. But the only thing we were worried about was the ports and the trip. So all was good.

 

 

Le Cirque Bijou was indeed very good. I even thought the theme of the show was cute. Did you have that hokey "You are all family" presentation by the Cruise Director afterwards? I found that really insulting to my intelligence, almost like I was watching an old '70s episode of Mr. Rogers. Do any adults really believe they're "family" when among thousands of passengers on a for-profit cruise line? I mean, seriously...

 

Yes, they did the "We are family" at the end. But it doesn't bother me. I consider the people I cruise with "family" and even told those on my roll call that I ran in to all the time "hi family" when I seen them. I also consider all you guys on cc to be "family" (cruising family) as well. :D I guess I have a lot of relatives at this point. :p

 

 

That's good, but I was annoyed that we left an hour late from New Orleans, robbing our chance of seeing the voyage down the Mississippi in daylight.

 

We still enjoyed the cruise down the Mississippi river from our balcony. The lights were pretty, plus with daylight savings time, it didn't do much good because it gets dark too quick anyhow.

 

The milk machine always worked throughout our cruise. I know because I used it often.

 

You got lucky. There were a lot of people on our cruise complaining.

 

 

I didn't use the MDR. I went to specialties every night. I don't understand why more people don't do this. Your family of 3 could have dined at specialties every single night for under $400 total. That's not chump change, but it's a small percentage of your trip's total cost.

 

Not exactly an added cost we wanted to have to pay for. I'm a poor college student. Plus, since I'm not a big meat eater, some do not appeal to me, others once I do it, I'm not interested in doing it again.

 

 

You should have complained about that black thing they left in your room. That should have been gone. We also had a balcony room, and we had no such thing.

 

Since this was my first cruise, I didn't have a clue what the black thing was or where it went. It just appeared and I didn't think to ask the room steward what it was and to put it away. I actually had to look back at my pictures when we first arrived to see if it was there the first day and it wasn't. I'll know next time for sure! (Crossing fingers there is a next time)

 

 

I found the balcony door really hard to open. Did you?

 

I didn't find it hard to open once I learned how to work it. It took me awhile to learn that you had to push the handle down to lock it before you could lock the child safety lock. :o It was a lot of trial and error for me that day.

 

 

This was ever-present, but only in the bathroom. I noticed the same on other cruises I've taken, so I just dismissed it as a cruise thing.

 

This was the first time we have smelled it, although I have read others complain about it before. It was not in our room or bathroom thank goodness.

 

We didn't experience this, aside from the late departure on the first day.

 

Thanks for your comments. Off to read your review now. :)

[maja651]

Thanks so much for posting yet another great review! Love your reviews!

[perfect match]

Kim, thank you so much for another great review! I have spent every available minute of the past 3 nights totally captivated while reading it. I know you put a lot of time and effort into your reviews, and it really shows.

 

There are pluses and minuses about reading a review after it has been pretty much completed. The biggest plus is that I don't have to wait for updates! I'm only limited by how fast I can read! The minus is that there were so many great pictures and bits of information I wanted to comment on as I was reading but I could never get myself to STOP reading long enough to do so. Now I can't seem to remember everything I wanted to say. I guess I'll just say that you did an excellent review, as usual! Thanks sgain for taking the time to share your review with us!

[mitsugirly]

Thanks so much for posting yet another great review! Love your reviews!

 

Thanks so much. I appreciate it.

 

Kim, thank you so much for another great review! I have spent every available minute of the past 3 nights totally captivated while reading it. I know you put a lot of time and effort into your reviews, and it really shows.

 

There are pluses and minuses about reading a review after it has been pretty much completed. The biggest plus is that I don't have to wait for updates! I'm only limited by how fast I can read! The minus is that there were so many great pictures and bits of information I wanted to comment on as I was reading but I could never get myself to STOP reading long enough to do so. Now I can't seem to remember everything I wanted to say. I guess I'll just say that you did an excellent review, as usual! Thanks sgain for taking the time to share your review with us!

 

I know what you mean. That happens to me too when I'm reading a great review and can't stop reading long enough to ask a few questions and then forget. LOL

 

Thanks so much for reading and commenting. I appreciate it. :)

[MariTenor1]

Kim: Thanks so much for your fabulous review. Since our weather wasn't allowing us out...I got time to play catch-up! I'm still looking forward to our first NCL cruise in March, I must confess I'm a bit disappointed in hearing about the slowness in the dining rooms. We are some of the few who actually like set dining times and getting to know our tablemates, but thought it would be nice to not have to rush back from ports in order to get ready for dinner. But it sounds like I'm going to have to plan on coming back and getting ready early if I ever plan on making it to a show on time! It's spring break here during our cruise and I'm sure it is in a lot of other places as well, so I certainly hope they are better prepared! But hey...it's still a cruise and it gets us out if the awful weather we're having.

[mitsugirly]

Kim: Thanks so much for your fabulous review. Since our weather wasn't allowing us out...I got time to play catch-up! I'm still looking forward to our first NCL cruise in March, I must confess I'm a bit disappointed in hearing about the slowness in the dining rooms. We are some of the few who actually like set dining times and getting to know our tablemates, but thought it would be nice to not have to rush back from ports in order to get ready for dinner. But it sounds like I'm going to have to plan on coming back and getting ready early if I ever plan on making it to a show on time! It's spring break here during our cruise and I'm sure it is in a lot of other places as well, so I certainly hope they are better prepared! But hey...it's still a cruise and it gets us out if the awful weather we're having.

 

 

You're welcome. I enjoyed doing the review.

 

We have cruised at spring break before (last year) and honestly (at least that time) it didn't seem any different than any other cruise and definitely didn't feel as crowded as this time around.

 

Now don't get me wrong, the ship itself didn't feel crowded (like when we were on the Carnival Dream), it was just the buffet area. The rest of the ship seemed "normal".

 

Also, just remember that there are 2 shows in the evenings: 7:15 and 9:15pm, so you have an opportunity to catch either show. We "usually" go to the 9:15pm shows so we are not rushed during dinner, but this time around we needed to go to the 7:15pm shows because of the way we had things planned around our daughters schedule. It was just a little different this time around.

 

Have a wonderful cruise! Like you said...it gets you out of this bad weather. :)

[MariTenor1]

Exactly Kim....out of the snow and cold! Our son is a little older than your daughter so I'm not sure how many of the character programs he'll want to go to. That will probably help with some of the scheduling problems. As always, any cruise is better than no cruise. I have no doubt we'll enjoy!

[Rangers23]

It was time to head to Rum Point. I had been looking forward to this because we didn't get to go there last time with the other company. I had seen pictures of the place that others had posted on here and it looked like a neat place to hang out at.

 

They started passing out menu's for everyone to order from. They took your order and called it into the restaurant at Rum Point and the food would be ready when we arrived.

 

 

 

I ordered the jerk pork sandwich. The guide said they were pretty big sandwiches. The hubby ordered chicken fingers and Sakari order a cheeseburger.

 

We pulled away from the reef...

 

 

Before you knew it, we were at Rum Point

 

 

 

 

 

When we arrived, there was another boat sitting at the dock. We kinda stopped for a moment and the other boat driver looked at us, put his boat in reverse and backed up to give us room. Our guide took one look at him and gave him the hand/arm swoope get outta here motion and the other boat put it in gear and left. I'm not sure what type of set up they have here or if Rum Point is owned by Nativeways or what agreed they may have. I know that people can go to Rum Point other ways than just using Nativeways...so I'm not sure what that was all about. ???

 

We docked and I did see a Private Dock sign, but this was the only picture I got and I wasn't close enough to see what it said.

 

 

Walking down the beautiful dock.

 

 

Thank you so much for your review it has been very helpful! We booked Native Way - Reef, Rum Point and Rays for our upcoming Glory Cruise in February. One quick question - was lunch included in the tour? I was assuming we would pay extra for the "grill lunch".

Thanks,

[mitsugirly]

Thank you so much for your review it has been very helpful! We booked Native Way - Reef, Rum Point and Rays for our upcoming Glory Cruise in February. One quick question - was lunch included in the tour? I was assuming we would pay extra for the "grill lunch".

Thanks,

 

Yes, lunch is included in the tour/price. Anything on the menu posted. If you want more than 1 meal, they will tell you if you want anything else, you are welcome to order it. :)

[mitsugirly]

FINAL THOUGHTS FOR THE HILTON ROSE HALL AI RESORT BOOKED WITH RESORT FOR A DAY.

 

 

 

PROS

 

We (I mean I) loved this resort. It was absolutely beautiful.

 

There is so much to see and do there.

 

The lazy river was beautiful and pretty big and took a while to go all the way around it.

 

The land is very lush with greenery, flowers, palms, banana trees, coconut trees, bridges, Jacuzzis with water falls and so on.

 

The hotel itself is very nice and very big with everything you could possibly want there, including a gift shop.

 

The water slides were fun and I could have spent the day on them (even though it didn’t turn out that way).

 

It’s nice that they have a shallow area for the little ones.

 

The food was excellent and there were different places to eat at.

 

There was a nice HUGE pool to use if you didn’t want to just use the pool/lazy river/slide area. (Even though we didn’t feel the need to use it).

There are plenty of water sports there if you decide that’s something you want to do. (I don’t know cost since we didn’t do them).

 

The drinks were GOOD and pretty strong.

 

It’s an AI, so you get as much to drink and eat that you want…all day long.

 

The staff was friendly.

 

Check in was quick and easy.

 

They didn’t charge for my little one since she was only 5 years old.

Plenty of seating whether you want it by the lazy river, pool, or beach.

 

Plenty of shade if needed.

 

The wifi did work out by the lazy river (according to others that went there with us and was using it).

 

There were plenty of water tubes to use for the lazy river and water rides.

 

They provide you with towels, so no need to haul yours from the ship.

 

The transportation arrives to pick you up at your scheduled time (which is determined prior to you getting off the bus after arriving at the resort).

 

 

 

 

CONS:

 

The hubby spending the day at the internet café.

 

The hubby spending the day at the internet café.

 

The hubby spending the day at the internet café.

 

But seriously….

 

It is a 30 minute drive there.

 

We do not feel like we had enough time there for the amount of money they charge.

 

It is expensive compared to other resorts (I guess with good reason since it is a little different)

 

The beach wasn’t the greatest IMO. Even though it ran really long, there was not much of a beach area with chairs.

 

The snorkeling didn’t exist up close to the beach and that day the water wasn’t clear enough to see anything.

 

Not being able to take our little one on the tube water slide (must be 6 years old and up to be on it and they did have someone up there watching).

 

The bar in the water in front of the water slides did not open up until later in the day.

 

There weren’t any bartenders/waiters taking your orders. You had to go up to the bar yourself to order and receive your drinks and meals.

 

The grounds are so big that we felt like you just need more time there in order to explore everything. We didn’t even make it over to the other side of the resort away from the waterpark. I know there were some neat things over there that I wanted to take pictures of, but we never made it there.

 

Their hot tub (the one I tried) was not hot. I think this was due to the running waterfalls into it.

 

Resort for a Day said they charged for a 5 year old and we were required to put a deposit down on her only to find out when we got to the resort, they did not charge for a 5 year old. (This was a $35 loss that shouldn’t have occurred.)

 

Would I recommend this place to someone? You bet I would. As long as you don’t mind the expense, the travel time, and as long as you don’t have a hubby that likes the internet to spoil your day. ;)

 

Would I go back? Probably not, it’s one of those “been there, done that” type of things. The only way I would return is if it was a land vacation and you could take the full opportunity to enjoy everything there and not be rushed. However, would I do a land vacation in Jamaica? Nope, I probably wouldn’t.

 

Do I like Montego Bay port? No, definitely not. I really hope if another cruise goes to Jamaica, we are not at this port. It is just plain ugly. If we did end up on another ship that goes to Montego Bay, I would chose to go to Sunset, just because we haven’t been there before.

 

Would I book with Resort for a Day (formally known at Jamaica for a Day)? You bet I would. I have received nothing but excellent service with them and excellent fast communication answering all my questions. We have never had a problem with bookings. I highly recommend the company and will continue to use them in the future.

 

 

[mitsugirly]

GRAND CAYMAN-STINGRAY SANDBAR, REEF SNORKELING AND RUM POINT:

 

 

We booked this trip (as a freebie because of a prior screw up) and was hesitant at first, but this turned out to be one of my favorite days on the trip…thanks to the wonderful experience and staff at Nativeways. I would HIGHLY recommend this excursion and the company. I can’t say enough good things about it. It’s a “must do” while in Cayman.

 

 

 

SNORKELING EXPERIENCE PROS:

 

They took us to the National Park REEF; THE ACTUAL REEF. Not just some place to snorkel (not some…”hey, this looks like a good spot, let’s stop here” type of thing with the other company).

 

 

They considered our safety first and made sure the water was ok before deciding if it was ok to go in.

 

 

They had ropes and life rings to keep you within a safe area and to help you grab a hold of the ropes to help pull yourself in if you got tired since the water was a little choppy.

 

 

They took even more added time to keep a hold of my daughter while swimming and let them hold onto their backs while keeping an eye on her the entire time.

 

 

They found a stingray and brought her up for us to hold and experience the stingrays even though we weren’t even at the sandbar. They made sure we were going to get our stingray experience even if we didn’t make it to the sandbar. We had a lot of time with her and picture opportunities.

 

 

We NEVER felt rushed and left when we were ready.

 

 

They let you preorder you lunch so that it is ready for you when you arrive at Rum Point.

 

 

 

CONS:

 

 

NONE!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RUM POINT PROS:

 

Our lunch was ready when we arrived.

 

 

We had time to enjoy the beach and look around for a while after lunch.

The place was really nice with nice facilities.

 

 

They have tons of chairs and tables, under canopies, to help block the hot sun while you eat.

 

 

The place is nicely decorated with added special little touches, such as the coconuts as menu holders, and brightly colored buildings. There are a lot of lush plants and flowers.

 

 

There were water sports if you were to spend the day there.

They had hammocks and volleyball nets.

 

 

I loved the dock area and the walkway was really high-class, not just some wooden dock. It made it pretty for pictures.

 

 

You can actually see the ships anchored in the distance from here (a fact that I didn’t know).

 

 

When I didn’t like my sandwich, they were nice enough to get me another meal to go. I didn’t really need another meal, but they insisted and promptly brought me one to take back to the boat with me.

 

 

 

CONS:

 

You don’t get much time here, but it was ok, we wanted to spend time with the stingrays and this stop to eat lunch was an added little bonus to the day to get our energy going again.

 

 

I didn’t care for the pork sandwich, but that was just my taste and I’m not a real big “meat eater” and completely gag if there’s any fat on anything.

 

 

The beach wasn’t the best and not the typical big sandy beach area, but I have been to several places like this and it didn’t affect the day at all.

There is no snorkeling from the beach area (at least up close, there might have been something further out)

 

 

 

 

 

PROS STINGRAY SANDBAR:

 

 

Swimming with the stingrays was once of those lifetime experiences. They are not pinned up in the ocean; they are in THEIR natural habitat and environment.

 

 

 

Being out in the middle of the ocean and being able to stand up in 3-4 feet of crystal clear blue water is simply amazing.

 

 

The rays are very friendly and come swimming over to you instantly when they see you docking.

 

 

Nativeways went out of their way to make sure we had an excellent day. The sandbar was closed due to high winds and waves, so they completely switched up our excursion and did it backwards so that we might still have the chance to go to the sandbar if the conditions were good enough…and they were.

 

 

There were only 12 people on the excursion, which makes it a very personal tour versus the other companies (or the ship excursion) which pile as many people in as they possibly can (trust me, I’ve done it this way too).

 

 

The owner, Eldon, was our driver and his wife, Sharon, was there to greet us and I had a personal greeting to make sure that my family was on this tour this time around.

 

 

They served you all the rum punch you wanted.

 

 

They were VERY friendly and joked around with us.

 

 

They gave us an extra tour on the way back down the channel to see the beautiful homes on the water and all of the iguanas sitting on the walls.

 

 

They took extra time with my 5 year old to make sure she had a wonderful experience and they even brought up some males stingrays (which she wanted to see, pet, and kiss the “baby” stingrays) just to please her…even though the males do not like being held. They held her a lot while in the water so that I could enjoy my personal time there as well. Even after several times of putting her back on the boat with daddy, they would get her and hold her in the water for more interaction time.

We all got several opportunities with the rays and it was NEVER rushed at either the sandbar or while snorkeling.

 

 

They let YOU hold the stingrays for picture opportunities, unlike the last time we went (with another company), they held them and just had you “act” like you were holding them, which meant that every picture you had also had the tour operator in there looking as if he was holding it.

 

 

 

CONS TO STINGRAY SANDBAR:

 

I can’t live there and do this every day!

 

 

I guess I could add the wait to get the tour started. We waited for about an hour, just sitting at the gazebo, before we left. We were told to make sure to get the earliest tender off of the ship that we could (and we did), which put us there a little too early. I could have used this time to do a little shopping, but the last thing I wanted to do is wonder off and miss the tour again, so I stayed put.

[mitsugirly]

MR SANCHOS, COZUMEL

 

 

 

As you all know, we went here because our friends picked the place and we were supposed to meet them. Well, it didn’t happen and they didn’t show up. So that kinda put a little damper on the day, but we still managed to enjoy the day with what we had chosen.

 

We chose the AI side because it came highly recommended (over the pay as you go side) and I do enjoy when the food and drinks come with the package. We try to make it worth the expense when we do go to one of these.

 

 

 

 

PROS

 

It’s not far away from the port, maybe a 15 minute drive.

 

 

Check in was very easy and fast. They put a wrist band on you so that they can identify you as an AI member.

 

 

The staff was welcoming and wanted to help with locating our own “spot”.

 

 

Our waiter was nice and was always asking if I was “ok”, meaning did I need anything I assume.

 

 

 

There was plenty of shade for when you needed it.

 

 

The beach was decent (not to die for, but nice enough).

 

 

There was “some” snorkeling to be done and I was happy about that. At least I managed to see something new here (the lobster) and I was excited since this was our last port day and I have been able to see at least 1 new thing every cruise and my time was running out. LOL

 

 

The water was really clear and no worries about sea grass.

 

 

Plenty of shells in the area.

 

 

The pool was nice on the AI side with the tables and bar stools in the water. However, not practical for little ones.

 

 

Plenty of places to do a little bit of shopping while there.

 

 

STRONG drinks and they tasted good.

 

 

Food was ok and plenty to choose from. You could order off the menu and use the buffet set up. It was hot. Nothing spectacular stood out with me as far as taste. They did keep the food covered at the buffet and they were constantly refilling it with fresh food.

 

 

Clean bathrooms.

 

 

Water sports facility thereif you so desire.

 

 

They give you the opportunity to hold the parrots and the iguana. (Yes it cost money, so it would be entirely up to you if you desire to do these pictures and then purchase them. I happen to like them).

 

 

The bar is fun atmosphere with the swings around it.

 

 

They are building a huge building on the AI side (I imagine to give the AI people a big dining area like that on the PAYG area).

 

 

They do have lockers if you need them.

 

 

Plush greenery everywhere and nicely landscaped and well taken care of.

 

 

Volleyball net in the water if you want to play.

 

 

Water toys in the ocean on the PAYG side if you like to use them (for an additional $12 a person I think)

 

 

Free wifi-but you have to go to the PAYG dining area to use it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CONS:

 

 

 

The flimsy plastic tables on both sides (AI and PAYG) didn’t make it feel like it was any type of “luxury” resort for sure. They did have some regular firm tables under the palapas. Plastic chairs to go along with the plastic tables.

 

 

The tables and palapas were pretty close together. When you are trying to wind through the maze of tables everywhere, I found myself ducking here and there to keep from hitting things.

 

 

The lounge chairs by the beach were pretty much lined up against each other with a few spots here and there for the people to walk by from the table area. But, it seemed like you were right on top of people as you walked by and I found myself hoping that I wouldn’t stumble and fall on someone.

 

 

The beach was ok. It wasn’t the nice huge beach area before hitting the water, but it worked. The sand wasn’t too bad to walk in.

 

 

The water did have a “hump” in it (where the water coming in meets the water going out) that you had to get over in order to get out of the water and I did see people struggle to get out with the waves and the sand combined.

 

 

Prices for the pictures they take of you are a little high at $12 (which can be talked down to $10), but if you think about it, it would probably cost that anywhere.

 

 

Area’s where it looked like there should be hammocks, but none were out for anyone to use.

 

 

The fact that they have to post a sign to tell you to “not waste food or drinks” I found kinda weird. I mean if I order something and I don’t like it, I’m not going to eat it no matter what your sign says. Also, if you didn’t want me to waste drinks, why did I go get a brand new ice cold drink, take a drink to quench my thirst, go down to the beach to cool off….and you took it right away and disposed of it?? I wanted that drink for when I got out of the water. I just kind of find this sign insulting. It’s an AI and I’m not going to purposely waste your food or drinks, but I am going to get my money’s worth and try different things to see if I like it.

 

 

 

 

When we decided to check out the PAYG side, when we discovered that it was pretty neat over there and their pool was smaller (great for Sakari), we moved over that way and sat by the pool. Our waiter come running after us, after about 4 minutes, and said something (I don’t remember his exact words but it was something like “I found you, what are you doing over here, why did you leave”) It was kinda weird and made me feel a little uncomfortable the way he come running after us. It was almost in a scolding manner. Now I can tell you I did see other AI members (with the same wrist band as us) at this pool because they also had small children. In my eyes, I paid for AI and I pretty much feel I should be able to go where I want. If the pool on the other side did not suit our needs, I will go to the other side. I also wanted to see the other side and take pictures. It was just awkward.

 

 

 

I really don’t think our waiter was the greatest. He was good to start out with and then kinda disappeared most of the time. I can say that I spent more time going up to the bar getting my own drinks than he did ever bringing them to me. But yet the minute that I just wondered around taking pictures…he would appear to ask if I was ok with a concerned look on his face. Never there when I needed him, always there when I didn’t.

 

 

 

 

 

THE PAYG SIDE:

 

 

 

I have to admit, I like this side a lot better. You can tell that this probably use to be the heart of the place when it was first made. Everything seems to be over there.

 

 

You will find a huge dining area, under a huge palapa, with plenty of fun, brightly painted tables and chairs. You free wifi is here too.

 

 

There is shopping in this area.

 

 

The massages are in this area.

 

 

They have a neat “fish” foot spa.

 

 

They had hair braiding and henna tattoos over there.

 

 

 

As you can tell, this is where most of everything was.

 

 

I really liked the cute set up of the showers and bathrooms.

 

 

The setup of the table and chairs are the same on this side, but green.

 

 

I also noticed that the lounge chairs were all over the place on this side…mixed in with the tables, in the shade under the palms and so on. I liked this better. This meant that if you wanted to be out of the sun, you could lay in a lounge chair and not be forced to sit in a chair at the table like the AI side.

 

 

The only negative (which can also be a positive for families with kids) is that the pool is pretty small (especially compared to the AI side). It’s good for little ones because it’s not very deep (3 feet) and consistent all the way across.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So would I choose to go here again? Nope, sure wouldn’t. Been there done that and I have reported my day there with pictures. I’m marking it off my list. If I was given the chance to go again, I would have to go with the PAYG side. But then again, I would have to factor in what we might spend doing it that way, so it might not be worth it. I’m not sure. I know a lot of people really enjoy this place (just like a lot of people absolutely love Nachi Cocom), but it’s not really for me. It’s nice, it’s ok, food ok, but just not my “paradise”. If I would have chosen the day myself, I probably would have ended up at Paradise instead. Maybe next time…we’ll see.

[jty1220]

Thanks for the info and review.

Do you have pictures from Mr. Sanchos?

Edited January 7, 2014 by jty1220