MITSUGIRLY'S birthday cruise on the JADE review/pictorial

[mitsugirly]

I finally got back to finish reading the review. I'm so sorry to hear about your GI virus at the end. :( That same thing happened to me at the end of our trip to Kenya in 1998. You know' date=' the one with a 7 hour flight and a 9 hour flight!! :( I threw out some of the clothing I wore home. I just knew it would never feel clean again.

 

That little girl does look like Sakari!

 

We are 43 days out from our vacation. First FL/WDW and then NCL Getaway. I have been so consumed with WDW planning the last few weeks I feel like I need to get another heads up on what is going on on NCL. You know - what else may have changed in a few weeks. ;)

 

I can't wait to read your review of the Breeze. Have a WONDERFUL time!!!![/quote']

 

I don't know how I would have managed 2 flights for that long. I just don't know. Just our 2 flights for the short amount of time we were on them had me thinking how I would have rather canceled them and shacked up in a hotel somewhere that I could get to a potty quick. Now I'm glad I didn't...otherwise it would have turned into a full week of not leaving the hotel. LOL

 

There's so much to do in Orlando and we have been wanting to go there and take Sakari for awhile now. But I would want to hit all the places up and that's going to cost a few family arms and legs and maybe even a nose. Eeeeekkkk. I'll get there sooner or later. I just may have to split it up. Are you going to just WDW? Or you also hitting up the places like Universal Studios, Universal Islands of Adventure, Animal Kingdom, Epcot and ....what is MGM now called? I remember they changed the name and I can't remember it now. I wanna do them all (including Sea World). :D

[CAC104]

I was wondering how your hubby found such a good price for this cruise? Does he have a special link to find low prices? I never see anything so inexpensive as you got this cruise.

[mitsugirly]

I was wondering how your hubby found such a good price for this cruise? Does he have a special link to find low prices? I never see anything so inexpensive as you got this cruise.

 

That's just how much they had online for that week. They lower the pricing right before sailing if they need to fill the ship.

[hlb76]

Just read somewhere that Jade has crazy low pricing for the next 2 cruises. Wish I could have a redo of last week... our week on Jade had many highs and lows.

[#55worktoplay]

There's so much to do in Orlando and we have been wanting to go there and take Sakari for awhile now. But I would want to hit all the places up and that's going to cost a few family arms and legs and maybe even a nose. Eeeeekkkk. I'll get there sooner or later. I just may have to split it up. Are you going to just WDW? Or you also hitting up the places like Universal Studios, Universal Islands of Adventure, Animal Kingdom, Epcot and ....what is MGM now called? I remember they changed the name and I can't remember it now. I wanna do them all (including Sea World). :D

 

 

Kim, don't even try to do them all, you will ALL be so exhausted you wouldn't even enjoy it.

 

Our first trip we just did Magic Kingdom a few days and stayed offsite for the rest of the week and enjoyed the downtime of the hotel, pool and local restaurants.

 

Second time we branched out got the 4 day park hopper with 3 nights hotel with dining plan (special was being offered to include dining plan) didn't see it all and didn't try to and still had a great time with breaking up our time in the parks by going back to the hotel for late lunch and pool time then we would head back out for dinner and parades etc, Great way to do it.

 

Third time, Universal/adventure Island only (no Disney). This trip we went in mid February and it was great the crowds weren't crazy and it was pretty good for wait times etc, we were pretty much on and off rides.

 

Fourth time, spring break Universal Studios stayed on site it was mental! I would never stay on site there again, never go during spring break and not plan to do two parks in two days. For the cost of staying on site you could stay off site for a fraction of the price and get to the parks just as fast if you have a rental car which are pretty cheap in Florida. The on site bus transportation drop you off at pretty much the same place as the parking garage and you would have already walked a mile through the onsite hotel to get to the bus from the hotel and the another mile to the parks (May be exaggerated but still a pretty decent walk and much worse on the way back)! Just less hassle and cost to stay offsite in my opinion! I was wrecked after all of the walking we had to. If I ever do it again it will never be during a peak time.

 

WDW, not the same a little more convenient transportation and location to entrances but could be a mad house just the same like Thanksgiving/Christmas timeframe - don't go then!

 

With good planning and research (which you are proved to be able to do). You can do it all on a budget without the cost of any limbs, there just may be a little sacrifice involved. No different than choosing balcony vs inside, you pick and choose what is important or what you will get enough from the choice you make.

 

I think you and your family would get enough out of whatever you can do and be quite happy with the end result even Without spending a large fortune.

[#55worktoplay]

Forgot to say what MGM changed to.

 

Also forgot to say we did Sea World in it's entirety in one long leisurely day, purchased food vouchers in advance, decently priced and pretty awesome day

 

P.S.. I think you are now on The Breeze, hope you are having an awesome time!

 

Enjoy.

[Vacationdreamer<><]

Kim - if you ever need help

planning an Orlando/Kissimmee visit I'll help you! I love doing FL vacations and change them up each trip.

 

 

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[April7901]

Just read somewhere that Jade has crazy low pricing for the next 2 cruises. Wish I could have a redo of last week... our week on Jade had many highs and lows.

 

 

Yep, crazy. As a solo, I paid $430 TOTAL for the 7-day, plus $50 OBC. It's an inside guarantee, but who cares?

 

Also - thanks so much for this review, as so many others have said. These are all new ports to me, and I have very little time to really research. I'm not much of a beach person (.. I know...), but Little French Key sounds like a perfect way to spend a day... especially if I don't do beach any other day.

[jenseib]

I am so sad your cruise ended that way. not fun at all. I would be scared to fly too. You guys did well, thank goodness!

Hope you are having fun on Carnival right now.

[Coolwhip82]

It's much easier for me to pick my least favorite than favorite. :p

 

Dish!!!

[LaHas2016]

***I have to talk about something else here first before I go on*** For Christmas Kendra's finance got me the absolute BEST present a mother in law could ask for...like seriously. He knows me so well and he ended up getting me a snorkeling mask with a built in camera. I could not wait to try this thing out. Prior to leaving, my son Kolin, read over the directions and found that the camera had 4 settings. For each setting, it would flash a certain color from red, blue, green and purple. The color of the light indicates what setting you have it on. Now he went over this with me and explained to me what each color did. I have to admit, I was busy putting the batteries in the camera and trying to figure out how to turn it on that I didn't pay as close attention as I should have. I couldn't even figure out how to turn this thing on...how was I going to learn to operate it? He took it from me and looked around, hitting buttons, then figured out how to turn it on. Sigh. In my defense, it wasn't a button that it took to turn it on and also I didn't have the manual in my hand either...even though he said he didn't read anything about how to turn it on in the manual. He was busy learning the colors. LOL

 

I was excited to be able to try this new set of goggles out on this cruise. Sakari got to try her mermaid tail here at Palancar and I got to try my goggles here for the first time.

 

Since I had decided to not pay attention, I turned the camera on and headed out to the water. Honestly, there's not much snorkeling here at all. There's a spot out just a little ways that had a bunch of fish hanging out but it was nothing more than some concrete and steel in the water that they had made a home out of.

 

So the following VIDEO is what you will see here snorkeling...

 

 

 

I really wanted to see more than this snorkeling, but I guess you had to head out on a boat or tour. It was really hard fighting the waves all the way out toward the buoys they had set up. It would pull you on down the beach. So, I decided to walk down the beach to the end (by the rental center) and go out then drift back down. This provided to be a waste of time and there wasn't anything to see.

 

However, it provided to be a learning experience. I thought I was taking pictures the entire time. When I would get back to our room and insert the disc to convert on my computer, I found that they were ALL vidoes. LOL Oops. I guess I need more practice. No worries, there's another beach port day coming up tomorrow.

 

Now there is something I do have to mention about this place. There are some drawbacks to the water. I would say about the first 15 feet out, it's nothing but rocks, crushed coral and shells. It's VERY hard to get out in the water unless you have shoes on and even then, it can be tricky. Like this stuff seriously hurt your feet. I accidentally took a video of Sakari and I "shell hunting" right at the surface. I didn't even know the camera was one, but it provides a perfect look at what you'll see along the shoreline when trying to get into the water. Ouchie!

 

 

 

I have to ask - what type of snorkeling mask is it? Is there a particular brand? Where did he find it? I would LOVE to get one for DH for his birthday before we cruise!! The pictures and video quality look great!

[floridianny]

On the first post of page 22 of this review she provides a link to the mask/camera

[my_crib_too]

Forgot to say what MGM changed to.

 

Also forgot to say we did Sea World in it's entirety in one long leisurely day, purchased food vouchers in advance, decently priced and pretty awesome day

 

Been to the SeaWorld Florida a few times and SeaWorld San Diego once. Always enjoyed my memorable visits. Not cool these days but we enjoyed seeing all the animals, including the Shamu shows. Great fun!

[LaHas2016]

On the first post of page 22 of this review she provides a link to the mask/camera

 

Found it! Thank you! :)

[dltvermont]

Great review Kim.

 

Ive been waiting (im)patiently for you to return from your current cruise as we are going to some of the same places in May. Then I saw this surprise review!

 

Darron

[Cruz4life15]

Ok, time for a break. I need to work on some other things now...especially preparing for my upcoming cruise. I had made out all of my folders and envelopes of money were sorted and when this Jade cruise came up, I pulled it all out and remade the folders, recounted the money and used it for our Jade cruise. :eek: Now it's a complete mess and I will have to start over. :o So time to work on that for awhile and rest my eyes from this computer.

 

I'll be back maybe later to answer questions and start on the review again hopefully tomorrow. Not much more to go.

 

Sense your well versed in Roatan I was wondering if u could tell me how the snorkeling is in lfk...I have read all your reviews and it doesn't look like the snorkeling is the best in lfk and u had a pretty rough day at west bay...I'm stuck between choosing either or...from what I read and see the snorkeling looks amazing at west bay and lfk has awesome beaches...so can u help me out? Thanks

[mitsugirly]

Great review Kim.

 

Ive been waiting (im)patiently for you to return from your current cruise as we are going to some of the same places in May. Then I saw this surprise review!

 

Darron

 

I'm just full of surprises. :D

 

Sense your well versed in Roatan I was wondering if u could tell me how the snorkeling is in lfk...I have read all your reviews and it doesn't look like the snorkeling is the best in lfk and u had a pretty rough day at west bay...I'm stuck between choosing either or...from what I read and see the snorkeling looks amazing at west bay and lfk has awesome beaches...so can u help me out? Thanks

 

I have not been able to make it out to the reef at LFK yet. The timing just never seems to be right for us. But, if you look at my second review, we did take a kayak out a little ways and the coral reef was so amazing I just couldn't get enough of it. Like super amazing. I don't think I have EVER seen coral formations quite that huge before! So, I can only imagine what it's like out at the reef they take you to from there. Some day I'll make it. :D There are videos online somewhere from the reef out there. I remember watching them a while back. You might try searching to see if you can find them.

[Caraec]

 

I would also find a name your "Vacation Hero" card on my bed and just couldn't help but laugh that Mario had given me this. I purposely laid it in the trash can, with the words/picture of it facing up, so that you could easily see what this card was in the trash can, and pulled the trash can out for him to be able to see it as soon as he looked down. I hope he got the message.

 

 

Okay, this made me SNORT right out loud!!!:D What a jerk Mario was. Unbelievable! I always enjoy your reports. Thank you for sharing them!!!

[mitsugirly]

Okay, this made me SNORT right out loud!!!:D What a jerk Mario was. Unbelievable! I always enjoy your reports. Thank you for sharing them!!!

 

Snort out loud LOL. Thanks for the comment and glad you enjoy them. :)

[pghsteelerfan]

I'm usually not over on the NCL boards, but I saw on Carnival's boards in a review by another member that you had another review started over here. I hopped on over because I just had to read it...I love your reviews!!! I just now finished and really enjoyed reading. I love the little mermaid tail that you got for Sakari, just so adorable and it's obvious from your pictures how happy she was with it. I could not believe the major "tude" from your cabin steward, what a jerk! :D I sure hope you had a better one on the Breeze. Happy belated Birthday to you...I crossed that milestone last year, so welcome to the "50 Club". I also got a cruise, but it wasn't until 6 months after the fact but that was the earliest we could take a vacation last year. Thank you for sharing your experiences and looking forward to your Breeze review once you have the chance to start posting.

[mickev99]

Waiting for that breeze review! I'm reading Gambee's review from the Oasis (which I never see being able to afford to go on, but the review is great), so it is keeping me appeased while I patiently (haha) wait for your Breeze review! Hope you had an amazing time!!

[mitsugirly]

I'm usually not over on the NCL boards, but I saw on Carnival's boards in a review by another member that you had another review started over here. I hopped on over because I just had to read it...I love your reviews!!! I just now finished and really enjoyed reading. I love the little mermaid tail that you got for Sakari, just so adorable and it's obvious from your pictures how happy she was with it. I could not believe the major "tude" from your cabin steward, what a jerk! :D I sure hope you had a better one on the Breeze. Happy belated Birthday to you...I crossed that milestone last year, so welcome to the "50 Club". I also got a cruise, but it wasn't until 6 months after the fact but that was the earliest we could take a vacation last year. Thank you for sharing your experiences and looking forward to your Breeze review once you have the chance to start posting.

 

Another member said I had a NCL review? Who? Just wondering. Glad you enjoyed my Jade review. :) Thanks for welcoming to the "50 Club". :D Yep, much better experience on the Breeze!

 

 

Waiting for that breeze review! I'm reading Gambee's review from the Oasis (which I never see being able to afford to go on, but the review is great), so it is keeping me appeased while I patiently (haha) wait for your Breeze review! Hope you had an amazing time!!

 

Gambee should keep you occupied for awhile. I imagine that Janman (wait, did I spell that right?) is probably doing (or getting ready to do) his review as well. I know he sailed at the same time as me, but on a different ship. There will be a bunch of us reviewing all at once. :p

 

Honestly, I just now downloaded all of my pictures from the cruise (over 5000 of them :eek:) this morning. Time to get on the ball and get them sorted and put in folders on my computer. The problem is, it's tax time and with me taking 2 cruises during this critical time...I'm in a crunch at the moment (not to mention still have another 2 weeks of school left for this semester). Both me and the hubby are self employed, so it's not as easy as "filling in the blanks and submit" with us. :(

 

Hopefully I'll at least be able to start it this weekend some time. Fingers crossed.

[pghsteelerfan]

Another member said I had a NCL review? Who? Just wondering. Glad you enjoyed my Jade review. :) Thanks for welcoming to the "50 Club". :D Yep, much better experience on the Breeze!

 

Yes, it happened. You've got quite a following now. :D I just found the link to the review (attached) It's Sunbird21's Dream review over Christmas, another poster commented and she replied that she was heading over to read yours (Post 138)...and I followed right along over to NCL's boards. :D

 

Again, if it doesn't open to page of comment, it's Page 7, Post 138

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2294811&page=7

 

So glad you had a better experience on the Breeze.

[mickev99]

Another member said I had a NCL review? Who? Just wondering. Glad you enjoyed my Jade review. :) Thanks for welcoming to the "50 Club". :D Yep, much better experience on the Breeze!

 

 

 

 

Gambee should keep you occupied for awhile. I imagine that Janman (wait, did I spell that right?) is probably doing (or getting ready to do) his review as well. I know he sailed at the same time as me, but on a different ship. There will be a bunch of us reviewing all at once. :p

 

Honestly, I just now downloaded all of my pictures from the cruise (over 5000 of them :eek:) this morning. Time to get on the ball and get them sorted and put in folders on my computer. The problem is, it's tax time and with me taking 2 cruises during this critical time...I'm in a crunch at the moment (not to mention still have another 2 weeks of school left for this semester). Both me and the hubby are self employed, so it's not as easy as "filling in the blanks and submit" with us. :(

 

Hopefully I'll at least be able to start it this weekend some time. Fingers crossed.

 

 

Take your time, I know it will be worth it! Gambee's is a 9 day cruise and he is only on day 2, so I will be entertained by him for a while. Hope you had a great time!!

[Luvmypups]

We headed to the casino to try our luck for a little bit before the show tonight.

 

We played our favorites..

 

I won $20.90 right from the start...which happen to be .90 over doubling my money. Woo hoo.

 

 

The weird thing was, I never seen anyone of the following machine...like ever. If I ever got low on money, I could head to this machine and I would at least win enough money to start again by playing this game.

 

This would be a nice little win (that hit about 3x) and got me back up in order to go back over and play some of my fav's again.

 

 

 

It's another flippin tornado...that tornado brought in $87.40 on this spin.

 

 

 

Pixie gave me a small win tonight, which is good enough for me.

 

 

The hubby did super good and won a little over $300 tonight. Although he gets super excited, he's not like me and pulls out the camera for pictures. Whoops. I don't have him trained on that yet.

 

Tonight was a show with Yuriy and Iryna in Soul Duo, which are an acrobat couple. I love these kind of shows and they did not disappoint. However, either I have seen this show a few times before with them or they have other people that do the exact same show. Either way, they are super amazing and a great show.

 

 

After the show, we headed to pick up the munchkin from the kids club and she was happy that she was able to draw tonight and she also played games as well.

 

We took my memory stick to the Internet Cafe so that I could try to work on my paper. However, I quickly learned that the computers on the ship do not have microsoft word on them. They only have viewer. I almost didn't even bring my small computer. Now, I'm so glad I did.

 

Since that was a total wash we decided to get some ice cream before heading to the room. Ice cream makes everything better. Well...at least until I got to the room it did.

 

 

 

 

 

So are you playing penny slots with a 50 cent bet?? I don't ever play so I wasn't sure what I was looking at......but thinking about taking a shot at it.....you always seem to have pretty good luck!![emoji857]. And I wouldn't lose my money in 5 minutes like I would playing blackjack!!

 

 

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