Mitsugirly's extensive back to belly sun & sky review

[mitsugirly]

Wonderful pics!!! Thanks for sharing. What model is your camera? I need to get a new one. Thanks!

 

I have 2 different ones. Both Olympus Tough cameras. 620 is the one I use the most just because I am use to it. The other is the newer 830. They did change the settings up a little on it and it's a little bit bigger with a few added settings as well.

 

Looks like a tar ball...?

 

Explain...what is a tar ball and how does it get there? I tried to look that up and couldn't find any information on it. Every search I did was talking about people finding black things on the beach and thought it was a tar ball but they were actually "Sea Pork"??? I have never heard of either. :confused: :p All of the ones that I seen that day looked like huge coral, but yet they had this black shiny coat over them. :eek:

[mitsugirly]

Mitsugirly,

Great photos and review!

We're doing the same Sun 7 day itinerary in April '15 and already I'm liking LFK and Blue Kay.

You mentioned going to Bermuda next year..we did Bermuda in April with CCL and I snorkeled at the "free" area near the fort at the Dockyard pier. The water was a tad chilly so I wore a full length "Hotskin" (Lycra/spandex but not wetsuit neoprene) to retain body heat. It also helps protect from critter bites/stings, sharp rocks etc. Snorkeling was mediocre and I would go to one of the "real" beaches the next time.

Looking forward to the rest of your review in the days to come.

 

I'm really looking forward to Bermuda next year (and hoping I'll be able to keep the booking...it will all depend on my job of course). I'm just a little scared to be going in May and I hope that the water isn't too cold to enjoy it. I'm sure that's why the sailing for that date was part of the special they were running at the time (Kids Sail Free) since it's probably not one of the desirable times to go because of weather. Maybe it will just give me an excuse to go back right?

 

Yea, I have heard that snorkeling right there at the free area by the dockyard isn't the great place to go, so it's not on my list. I have tons of other places I want to go for sure. (Achilles Bay, Horseshoe Bay, Church Bay, Jobson's Cove and especially Tobacco Bay). It sounds like there's not enough days to visit everywhere I want to go. LOL :D

 

Definitely enjoying this review. Thanks so much for sharing all your pictures. We are on the Sun for 14 days a year or so from now and your pictures really helped. We did book a mini-suite so we won't have the shower curtain/shower issue.

 

Your day in the town near Costa Maya looks great. We went to Mayan ruins on our trip there last year and are sorry to have missed the little town. We didn't care for the port area and spent a good $20 more than you did on just a couple of margaritas and a quesadilla.

 

I also really enjoyed your LFK review. You would have been so disappointed with Parrot Tree. No comparison!

 

 

14 days...wow. I honestly don't know that I could spend a solid 14 days on the ship. I have always wondered about others that took long, extended cruises how it would feel. Even though this cruise was only 7 days, and I extended my cruising "time" with my second cruise, we were still gone a total of 14 days and that was way too long for me. I think my limit is probably around 9 days, 10 days tops...which means I can probably hit up a Southern Caribbean cruise and be just fine. :D

 

Yea, I'm glad I decided to head back to LFK. I was just desperately trying to find some place that I hadn't been to before (like Parrot Tree or some of the other places I was looking at). But in the end, I made the right decision and I'm glad. :)

[zounds]

WOW! Thanks for discovering Blue Kay ! Looks like the place to be, as we'll be the only ship in port that day. steve

[mitsugirly]

Just a few post before I head off to work.

 

 

So, like I said we started walking down the malecon. Although I had been to Nohoch Kay before, we really didn't walk anywhere down the malecon to see what was there.

 

 

 

 

 

Since Blue Kay seems to be a little distance from the "main" places at the malecon, there wasn't really a lot to see for awhile.

 

When you do get to some of the other places, it's basically just more restaurant/bars and beach area. There's some hotels along the way as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

 

 

 

 

 

I don't think she ever takes these goggles off!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We really didn't get very far before we turned around. To me, there really wasn't much down there that I wanted to see and the area didn't compare to where we were staying at that day.

 

We turned around and headed back and decided that it was almost time to call for a cab and head back.

 

The one thing that is fairly close to Blue Kay is Senior Frogs of course.

 

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

Once we returned, we told Roberto that we were ready for him to call us a cab.

 

He ask if we had seen the Cuban boat down by us and we told him we seen a boat, but had no idea what it was all about.

 

He told us that some Cuban's had built the boat (using various materials and car parts) and escaped their country. They were out on the water for 9 days and 2 days there were just drifting without food and water. This is where they ended up the night before.

 

He said his boss felt sorry for them and gave them food (and actually 2 of them jobs) and was hiding them out.

 

The boat was interesting to say the least.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The entire boat smelled like gas. I can only imagine what it smelled like for them.

[mitsugirly]

We did see a lady walk by with some bags, but once again, she didn't bother us or hound us like most vendors do.

 

 

 

 

One last picture of Blue Kay to remember our very special day here and awesome discovery.

 

 

Once Roberto had called the cab, it arrived out front within 5 minutes. We were rushing to grab our things and off we headed back to the port, completely satisfied.

 

 

We made it back to the port in about 5 minutes and Sakari decided she had not had enough "water" time and played in the pool for awhile. I told her 15 minutes while daddy went in the shops and then we had to go.

 

 

 

 

A few pictures along the way back to the pier

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

Of course I needed picture of the beautiful Sun smiling at us as we walked back to her. She was welcoming us back!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We headed back up to our room and showered real fast and then headed up to deck 12 for the sailaway.

 

I took pictures of the sunset.

 

 

 

Looking back at the area that we had stayed at today.

 

 

[DCP]

Blue kay looks like it is really close by where Tropicante is, I have pics of almost the same views of the clear water and the ships docked.

(we're from Delaware Ohio, just north of you!) Have you checked into the classes at CCAD? They have Sat. morning art classes there, our daughter was gifted in the visual arts, and our school district really doesn't have much to offer kids that are - that was one thing we did for her to try to help her expand her horizons, and she loved it. (they're on Saturday mornings) Sakari is obviously VERY gifted in that area.

Enjoying your review...we sail next week on the Getaway!

[medicalma'am]

I am working today too. [emoji13]

 

This is the evening that I wish we could have caught up to y'all. I wanted to hear about where you had gone n show you our cabin. Looks like you had beautiful water!

[mitsugirly]

WOW! Thanks for discovering Blue Kay ! Looks like the place to be, as we'll be the only ship in port that day. steve

 

I'm glad I was persistent in going there. It ended being a terrific day and I'm glad it's another option available.

 

Carnival was in port with us as well that day, but as everyone knows, they leave early. I know they usually leave around 2pm, but for some reason our Captain said they were leaving at noon that day. So, even in the morning, it felt like we had the entire port to ourself. :)

 

Blue kay looks like it is really close by where Tropicante is, I have pics of almost the same views of the clear water and the ships docked.

(we're from Delaware Ohio, just north of you!) Have you checked into the classes at CCAD? They have Sat. morning art classes there, our daughter was gifted in the visual arts, and our school district really doesn't have much to offer kids that are - that was one thing we did for her to try to help her expand her horizons, and she loved it. (they're on Saturday mornings) Sakari is obviously VERY gifted in that area.

Enjoying your review...we sail next week on the Getaway!

 

Hello there neighbor!!! :D

 

Actually CCAD are the ones who sent information home with her (well, the school sent it home with her from there) about the art classes offered. I was too late in signing her up for this class. I'll probably check in to it for maybe the Spring or Summer classes. I know she would love that, but I need to check for into it.

 

Have a GREAT time on the Getaway. It's such a nice ship and there's just so much to do.

 

As for Tropicante: it's just a little ways down from there (and it was actually the only other area I was looking at or considering because while looking on google earth, it was basically the only other "open" area, but it just wasn't as big of a place.

 

Here's the distance:

 

 

 

Here's an overview of just BLUE KAY.

 

It kinda gives you a feel for just how big this place is.

 

[mitsugirly]

I am working today too. [emoji13]

 

This is the evening that I wish we could have caught up to y'all. I wanted to hear about where you had gone n show you our cabin. Looks like you had beautiful water!

 

 

I started to wonder if you guys just couldn't get enough of that Aft suite and was hiding out. :p

 

How was Maya Chan? I swear they have the absolute best guacamole that I have ever tasted! :)

[mitsugirly]

Just a few final thoughts on Blue Kay:

 

I personally thought this place was gorgeous. It was just what I had been searching for and I was extremely pleased with overall everything about the place.

 

The service was good (with just the blooper with the cheesecake/ice cream taking a little long, but it was understandable with our waiter also being the cook), but Roberto was always checking on us to see if we needed anything.

 

The food was excellent in both taste and the price.

 

The drinks were good and tasty and just like we like them. The sodas were also VERY cold and hit the spot when needed.

 

The snorkeling IMO was awesome and it was a pleasant surprise that I didn't know was there. Very easy to get to and in fairly shallow/calm water.

 

The beach was beautiful: powdery soft sand...even in the water.

 

The water was crystal clear blue water=a most for us.

 

The sea life was plentiful and much more than I would have expected with a sandy bottom beach. Of course any time I find something I have never seen before it makes for an excellent day!

 

The grounds were nicely landscaped with plenty of room for seating both in the shade and in the sun.

 

Only negative would be the hard wooden chairs. If they had some type of foam or padding on them=perfect!

 

They have the added extras...IF you require them: snorkeling equipment, canoes and bikes.

 

You can get a massage if you would like.

 

Not many vendors in the area hassling you (we only seen 2 total and they did not hassle us).

 

Super easy to get to and a cheap ride on the open air bus to get there ($3 adults & $2 for children)...now that's cheap transportation! Of course this saves times in traveling which means you get to spend more time in paradise!

 

NO ENTRANCE FEE...need I say more? :p It was our cheapest day on the cruise and one of the best. :D

 

So both the hubby and I agreed, we had found our little paradise at Costa Maya. We loved it so much there that we decided that THIS IS THE PLACE and we would go here whenever we decide to return to Costa Maya. This doesn't happen often with me (us). I usually like to continue to experience other places and get a feel for the entire area if we can. However, I am more than satisfied with this place for awhile to come now. We WILL go back again the next time! :)

 

If you have any questions, please let me know and I will try to answer them.

 

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

So back to that evening. Sailaway from the port and watching the sunset.

 

Being goofy...

 

 

She had a shirt on all day to help with NOT getting burned, but it looked like she managed to get a little red anyhow.

 

 

 

 

 

We pulled out on time, like always. No pier runners or anyone missing.

 

 

 

[Yvonne]

Thank you so much for the review and photos of the Tahitian Inn. You responded on my thread asking if anyone had stayed there, and gave me the link to your review here and I really appreciate it.

 

I hope we don't have any problems at check-in. What was odd though was that I did book directly through the hotel's website. I didn't go through another booking agent, as you did. And had confirmations for both rooms, but the next day received another confirmation, with a different number, from them for only one room. So when I called about the second room they said the confirmation numbers I had weren't even THEIR confirmation numbers? I still can't figure THAT one out! How can they NOT be THEIR confirmation numbers when I booked directly from their hotel website?! So strange!!

 

I do hope we got it straightened out though. I did have to ask to speak to the manager, as the guy that answered the phone wasn't very helpful. But Susie, the manager, did get everything straightened out and now I do have confirmations for BOTH rooms from THEM, so hopefully we'll not have any check-in problems. I know I'll worry about it until we do get checked in though. :(

 

I loved all the photos of the hotel that you posted, it does look very nice. Sorry about all the noise from the bar/pool area, I know that can be so annoying. I did ask for "quiet rooms as far away from the pool area as possible" so we'll see what happens. :)

 

It's only for one night so I'm sure it will be fine. And I sleep with ear plugs so I wouldn't hear a cackling laughing woman anyway. ;)

 

Thanks again for pointing me in the direction of your review, I appreciate it.

[mitsugirly]

We had dinner in the buffet since we were already in that area and Sakari was hungry again. Every meal must include a pretzel roll of course!

 

 

After dinner, Sakari wanted to head to the kids club. It was the Wacky Tacky Party and the counselors were dressed up funny. I wish I would have known they had something like this...I would have planned better with some crazy outfits for Sakari.

 

 

We headed to our normal spot...the casino and I did pretty good that night, always staying ahead.

 

Then when it was time, we headed to the show in the theater. The dailies said it was going to be a ventriloquist/comedian. His name was Kenny and we had seen him before on one of the other cruises. He stated in his show that he "likes to change things up a bit" and gets his material from different things that happen on the cruise. However, it was the SAME show with the same lines as the last time we had been to his show (which was over a year ago). We honestly didn't think he was too funny, but I did remember that the last bit of his show was ok, so we stayed for the end. I noticed that there were a lot of people getting up and leaving. He is one of those guys that is telling a joke and trying to be funny, but yet repeats himself over and over with asking a question to the "dummy" and it will seem as if he's stalling and thinking of what to say next. It's just not very entertaining and obviously others didn't think so either. I have read other reports saying they didn't enjoy him either. Maybe NCL should think about letting go of this one after the contract is up.???

 

Another problem was the way this particular theater is set up, the 2nd floor kind of over hangs the first floor. Kenny goes out into the audience for participation and then everyone upstairs can not see a thing that is going on. You are sitting there wondering and waiting...not good IMO. He should limit the audience participation to at least the areas on the first floor that can be seen from the balconies. Otherwise people lose interest.

 

After the show, we decided to pick up Sakari and she was ready to eat again. This night I discovered the pasta bar and boy was I ready for a change. I got my alfredo and noodles and it was a good "change" from the rest of the cruise.

 

 

After dinner we went back to the room and found

another VIP gift...(not my thing)

 

 

 

And also a survey of the port of Costa Maya. I had every intention on filling it out and turning it in, but I started packing for our next port day and completely forgot. Somehow it ended up in my huge stack of papers to bring home. Oops

 

 

Our towel animal for the night was a beautiful swam and we were back to the "big" animals.

 

We were really tired tonight and headed to bed a little earlier than normal.

 

Of course not before Sakari could get in a quick drawing of a lizard as she furiously scribbled away as I went to turn off the lights while counting out loud to her...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mitsugirly]

Thank you so much for the review and photos of the Tahitian Inn. You responded on my thread asking if anyone had stayed there, and gave me the link to your review here and I really appreciate it.

 

I hope we don't have any problems at check-in. What was odd though was that I did book directly through the hotel's website. I didn't go through another booking agent, as you did. And had confirmations for both rooms, but the next day received another confirmation, with a different number, from them for only one room. So when I called about the second room they said the confirmation numbers I had weren't even THEIR confirmation numbers? I still can't figure THAT one out! How can they NOT be THEIR confirmation numbers when I booked directly from their hotel website?! So strange!!

 

I do hope we got it straightened out though. I did have to ask to speak to the manager, as the guy that answered the phone wasn't very helpful. But Susie, the manager, did get everything straightened out and now I do have confirmations for BOTH rooms from THEM, so hopefully we'll not have any check-in problems. I know I'll worry about it until we do get checked in though. :(

 

I loved all the photos of the hotel that you posted, it does look very nice. Sorry about all the noise from the bar/pool area, I know that can be so annoying. I did ask for "quiet rooms as far away from the pool area as possible" so we'll see what happens. :)

 

It's only for one night so I'm sure it will be fine. And I sleep with ear plugs so I wouldn't hear a cackling laughing woman anyway. ;)

 

Thanks again for pointing me in the direction of your review, I appreciate it.

 

 

You are very welcome and I hope you end up having a good experience.

 

I agree, that's weird that you received 2 different confirmations. I mean how would anyone else send you them when they wouldn't have even known that you were booking. It just doesn't make sense. I know I'll call from now on when we use a 3rd party booking agent to verify.

 

I had read about the pool and partying noise prior to going and I do know that some mentioned the area to stay in, but at the time I had completely forgot about it until that night. Although since they claim they had no record of me booking and they claimed they "just happened to have an extra room", I guess asking them to be moved away from the pool area would have probably resulted in a definite "no".

 

But, it is what it is. We managed and it served it's purpose and everything was good the rest of the night. I'm ok with it. :)

[ajsdad]

I'm sure you have answered this a million times, but what kind of camera do you use? Your photos are awesome.

[luvcruzing]

When I saw the pictures of the wooden loungers, my first thought was that they would be very uncomfortable. I don't even like the white pvc loungers with the wide slats. I noticed that your husband had all the towels under him when he was napping.

 

Don't know if it's true, but I heard that light cotton t-shirts will not prevent a sunburn, especially if they're wet.

 

The detail in your daughter's drawings is amazing.

[#55worktoplay]

Second try to ask this question, not sure what happened the first time.

 

I am not a water person nor do I know squat about fish but I am curious to know what the mommy fish was that had you worried.

 

Great review, awesome pictures.

Thanks

[Kellyfkrc]

You said you had breakfast in Moderno; where you in a suite? Is it open to everyone for breakfast?

[soaringfalcon]

Are pretzel rolls ever optional?? ;)

 

Sakari is incredibly talented! I worked with a guy who's son is now a professional. He just let him draw...constantly. He didn't ever want him to lose his love for it. He illustrated a children's book at 16 and the only classes he ever had were those his high school offered.

[mitsugirly]

I'm sure you have answered this a million times, but what kind of camera do you use? Your photos are awesome.

 

I have an Olympus 620 and 830 point and shoot. :) Thanks so much for the compliment.

 

When I saw the pictures of the wooden loungers, my first thought was that they would be very uncomfortable. I don't even like the white pvc loungers with the wide slats. I noticed that your husband had all the towels under him when he was napping.

 

Don't know if it's true, but I heard that light cotton t-shirts will not prevent a sunburn, especially if they're wet.

 

The detail in your daughter's drawings is amazing.

 

Yep, the place would be absolutely perfect with some cushions on those chairs, but hey, I don't spend a lot of time in a chair anyhow. LOL

 

Thanks for the comments. :)

[mitsugirly]

Second try to ask this question, not sure what happened the first time.

 

I am not a water person nor do I know squat about fish but I am curious to know what the mommy fish was that had you worried.

 

Great review, awesome pictures.

Thanks

 

The smaller fish that were out there (in the pictures) were barracudas. They were a lot smaller than what I have normally seen while snorkeling. I just assumed that mommy barracuda was around somewhere. Then later I spotted a bigger one. :)

 

You said you had breakfast in Moderno; where you in a suite? Is it open to everyone for breakfast?

 

No, I was in an interior (as shown in the begging of the review). Yes, It's open for breakfast for anyone and located on the opposite side of the buffet. :)

[mitsugirly]

Are pretzel rolls ever optional?? ;)

 

Sakari is incredibly talented! I worked with a guy who's son is now a professional. He just let him draw...constantly. He didn't ever want him to lose his love for it. He illustrated a children's book at 16 and the only classes he ever had were those his high school offered.

 

 

Absolutely positively NEVER an option. (pretzel rolls) :D

 

Thanks for the compliment on Sakari. I hope she doesn't lose her love for it. I have a friend I graduated with many moons ago and her daughter like to doodle too. She graduated (from high school) a few years ago and started college (locally-design school) and she is doing some amazing work and getting paid jobs for her designs (clothing...but still). You never know where this could take her. :)