Mitsugirlys FASCINATION with San Juan-review & pictorial

[Working 2 cruise again]

I love your reviews, and now I am trying to convince hubby to look at this for our next cruise.

 

I am a newer scuba diver and I was terrified to do it. When I dive to the bottom of the pool my ears would hurt. However after learning to go feet first and how to extend the ear canals I have no problems. I think Sakari will do wonderfully with scuba. Most places will let you try scuba at a discount and then apply it towards the full class. We are diving next year on our cruise in St. Thomas and Grand Turk.

[Wetescape2016]

Hey Kim,

I am pretty new to cruising, my wife Kim ( who is also an RN :) and I did our first cruise with our best friends on the Escape this past January to the Eastern Caribbean. We were immediately hooked. I am a little obsessed with researching and planning EVERYTHING!! But it's part of the fun of travelling for me. It makes the vacation last longer than a week! Though once the cruise is over I drop off cruise critic because I am too envious of seeing everyone cruising when mine is over LOL I can understand why you enjoy doing your reviews!

 

So that brings me to your reviews, WOW!!! I am so amazed!!! From your organized extensive planning (so much respect for that!!), to the amazing pictures, to the details in retelling your journey, to the window you give all of us strangers into your family's life, to all the work that goes into a review like yours!!! Thank you SO much!! I truly hope you know what a gift you are giving to a newbie like myself!! I don't like surprises. I mean unless someone were to surprise me with a cruise, that would be acceptable in my books LOL But I like to know about the ship I'm sailing on, the ports I'll be going to etc.

 

With that being said, we just booked our 2nd cruise for Valentines week 2017 on the Dawn going to Western Caribbean out of NOLA! I am so excited for not just the cruise but to sail out of NOLA, it's been at the top of our travel bucket list as far as US destinations since we met. Then I discover that the Belize port is now at NCL's private island!!! So of course I need to 1) Research about the Dawn 2) Research the ports and low and behold I come across your reviews of the Dawn to Bermuda and Jade to WC. So much fun to read! Now I'm hooked on your reviews and have come over to read this one :)

So as I'm reading your reviews, discovering your sense of humour and what beach goers you all are, you should really book the Dawn out of NOLA for valentines week 2017 LOL

 

So if you have any advice/tips, we are planning on doing a Mayan Ruins excursion in Costa Maya, just checking out the town in Cozumel (I know you are really tempted to book now!! :), obviously just hanging out at the beach at Harvest Caye in Belize and doing the Dolphin Encounter and swim in Roatan at Anthony's Key Resort. I would be so appreciative of any opinions or recommendations you have on any of those ports/excursions!

Have you been to NOLA, any recommendations there? :)

 

Well I really just wanted to comment to extend my gratitude to you for all the work you put into these, ended up being a little more long winded than originally planned!

 

Thanks again,

Heather

 

Also, Sakari seems like such a sweetie and what a personality! Good job mama!

[Peace Love and Travel]

Mitsugirly - I'm assuming they don't do Dive-In Movies on the Fascination like they do on the Breeze? We were on the Breeze in April and this was one of our favorite things to do each evening.

[mitsugirly]

The last time we were in Jamaica, we went on a tour that stopped outside Mick Jagger's gate!

 

:p I still wonder if people really have houses where they say they do. There just never seems to be a record of.

 

Where I live there's a candy store that legitimately sells the candy at $110/lb. it's insane. Even just 1 single piece (think See's Candy piece for size comparison) is about $5.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

:eek: Say whatttttt? Who in their right mind would pay that?

[mitsugirly]

I enjoyed your day in St Lucia. I think you got the best snorkeling by getting there early before everyone else arrived. Great job in spotting all the different fish, coral sponges, and everything else you saw - and got pictures of!

 

I noticed your mention of Sakari wanting to learn scuba, and as a diver myself, I totally get why she wants to learn. Take a look at their Bubble Makers program, which she would be able to do now. I think you said she's 8 earlier in this review, but I didn't go back and look. Then decide if you want to show it to her or not. Of course, she may already know about it!

 

http://www.padi.com/padi-courses/youth-scuba-diving-programs/

 

If the link doesn't work or gets deleted - hope I'm not doing anything wrong by posting it here - just go to padi dot com and look at courses. I would love to hear what you and Sakari think.

 

Yes, she's 8 now. I took a look at your link (thanks) and decided to look it up here in my town and found that they do classes for 8 year olds and the padi classes. It has a video and I'm going to show her when she gets home from school and see what she thinks about it. I believe their website said they have to be 10 to get certified, but these classes they give the younger kids goes toward certification somehow. I didn't have enough time to thoroughly look over it yet. Thanks for getting my juices flowing about this. :)

 

Good morning! (Monday morning:eek:), the cruise was one of those "I just cant put my finger on why" it was not right up there with my very favorite ones. I'm still trying to figure out my mind why. I loved the ship, the food, and lots more, and as always the crew were fantastic. There were a couple of hiccups though along the way. I will probably post a review in the members review section this week. I did still have a great time though, and never had a bad cruise. Now back to reading your awesome review, and loving the photos as always:)

 

Aww, well at least you had a get away from the real world. It sounds like everything went well. Glad to have you back. :)

[BDsquared]

Mitsugirly, THANK YOU so much for taking the time to do another wonderful review!

 

Your St. Lucia day seemed just wonderful! DH and I's first cruise was that southern itinerary. That was before I knew CC ever existed, and wouldn't you know it, we went and did the zipline in St. Lucia! :rolleyes: Of course, now we have wised up about the ports, but we are always kicking ourselves over that one! Can't wait to get back there someday!:o

[mitsugirly]

Long time follower of your reports, I just want to say thank you for all of the work you put into them. We are going on a similar itinerary in November, and I am loving all your posts about the ports. Especially St. Lucia as we are doing the same excursion that you did. I wasn't super excited for this port but after reading/seeing your pictures I can't wait! The snorkelling looks amazing! Thanks again!

 

Thanks for the comments. I appreciate it. Yes, do get excited for St Lucia for sure! It was amazing snorkeling if that's what you are going for. So much to see!!!

 

Enjoying your review! Of course, I enjoy all your reviews! Looking at this cruise for 2017 and loving the excursions you did. My problem is I love to snorkel and DH won't. Good grief - makes things difficult.

 

Thank you so much for all the time and effort you put into this review. It is very much appreciated!

 

 

Kim

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Thanks for the comments. Glad you enjoy them. DH won't need to go snorkeling if you decide to go to St Lucia and head to Jalousie Beach. He can set there on the beach with a drink in his hand while you are in the water in front of him snorkeling. :D See how that works? :) My hubby hasn't been snorkeling with me much for awhile now. I still go out on my own if it's at the beach. He did take a look around once this time. But, he has ear problems, so...it doesn't happen often. That won't stop me. :p

[mitsugirly]

My family has a running joke about Eric Clapton. It seems that man owns a home on every island we have ever taken a tour of! Every time we get of the ship, we wonder if we will see Eric Clapton.

 

We were on Adventure of the Seas the same week as you, doing many of the same ports, but in reverse order. We did the "full Spencer" with the mud baths and waterfall. Both were quick in-and-out and I am glad we did them. We still had plenty of beach time.

 

There were lots of tours coming and going to the beach. When we arrived, there were no available chairs, but as soon as our boat pulled back out from dropping us off, another one pulled in to pick people up, so we snagged the first palapa. Good thing, because we had a few quick showers too. The worst one was while we were headed back to the ship. That rain hurt when we were going fast!

 

We also stopped at the "Pirates of the Caribbean" spot and while there was no climbing and jumping from the top, we did jump off the boat a few times.

 

 

LOL at Eric Clapton. I'm thinking the same about all the people we hear about too. :p

 

Oh my gosh, I love your pictures! Love the mud bath thing. I think I would have so much fun with that! I want pictures like that too! :D

 

It's so neat you got to jump off the boat there. You have a different boat, with the deck on the back...is that called an outboard? I can't remember. I'm not hip on the anatomy of a boat. Our boat didn't have that, so maybe that's why we couldn't do that. It would have been fun though.

 

I LOVE your cake! That is too funny! lol What are the chances that was the cake I saw! I work with fondant when I make my cakes, too, and I think you did a great job especially as your first try! What a perfect fit for your daughter. You're a great mom! :)

 

 

Thanks. I thought that was so funny when I seen your link. :D

[AZ Ocean Lover]

Loving your review and your pictures are amazing. We did the same cruise through Celebrity in April. I especially wanted to thank you for the snorkeling pictures in St. Lucia because when we went (through a ship's excursion) it was so crowded you couldn't really get anywhere without getting kicked by some other snorkeler but that all cleared out when the jelly fish decided to invade. You couldn't really dodge them there were so many.

 

You actually make we want to give this spot another try.

[mitsugirly]

Well, now you know part of the reason that St. Lucia is my favorite island - the snorkeling! The other reason is the drive through volcano - just so unique! Next time you go back, DO go see it and take a volcanic ash mud bath - it is fun!

 

The other best snorkeling I know of is on the French side of St. Maartin - but they have tons of Long-spined black sea urchins - at times it is somewhat scary to snorkel near these.

 

Here's information on how to remove Sea Urchin spines if you get them under your skin:

http://www.gonetogetsalty.com/safety/how-to-remove-a-sea-urchin-spine/

 

I definitely see why St Lucia is a favorite. Are there other places with good snorkeling there too? I will definitely have to try the mud bath next time. It sounds like a lot of fun.

 

Yea, I had an experience with tons of the black spiny sea urchins this cruise and got the heck out of there fast. It was making me nervous.

 

As for removing the spines, I don't see anything on that list that would help while you are at the beach. :( I also see that it said to soak in hot water and they used ice water. Hmmm. But no worries, it did work it's way out and was gone by the next day. (Thank goodness).

 

Well they are OK in that in order to come inside the port they have to be licensed and insured and any complaints are monitored by the port authority. They pay a fee to be able to pick up pax there, just the same way they do at your airport. Those outside on the street - who knows?

 

Yea, both of these guys were located inside the port but their vehicles were outside.

[mitsugirly]

I love your reviews, and now I am trying to convince hubby to look at this for our next cruise.

 

I am a newer scuba diver and I was terrified to do it. When I dive to the bottom of the pool my ears would hurt. However after learning to go feet first and how to extend the ear canals I have no problems. I think Sakari will do wonderfully with scuba. Most places will let you try scuba at a discount and then apply it towards the full class. We are diving next year on our cruise in St. Thomas and Grand Turk.

 

I wish you luck with convincing the hubby to book this cruise. It's truly worth it! Absolutely one of my favorites now.

 

I'm really thinking about letting her go to the local shop here and give it a try. They have classes every so often, which will go toward her certification when she gets older. I'm going to show her when she gets home and see how she feels about it.

 

I hope you have a wonderful time in St Thomas and Grand Turk diving next year. :)

 

Hey Kim,

I am pretty new to cruising, my wife Kim ( who is also an RN :) and I did our first cruise with our best friends on the Escape this past January to the Eastern Caribbean. We were immediately hooked. I am a little obsessed with researching and planning EVERYTHING!! But it's part of the fun of travelling for me. It makes the vacation last longer than a week! Though once the cruise is over I drop off cruise critic because I am too envious of seeing everyone cruising when mine is over LOL I can understand why you enjoy doing your reviews!

 

So that brings me to your reviews, WOW!!! I am so amazed!!! From your organized extensive planning (so much respect for that!!), to the amazing pictures, to the details in retelling your journey, to the window you give all of us strangers into your family's life, to all the work that goes into a review like yours!!! Thank you SO much!! I truly hope you know what a gift you are giving to a newbie like myself!! I don't like surprises. I mean unless someone were to surprise me with a cruise, that would be acceptable in my books LOL But I like to know about the ship I'm sailing on, the ports I'll be going to etc.

 

With that being said, we just booked our 2nd cruise for Valentines week 2017 on the Dawn going to Western Caribbean out of NOLA! I am so excited for not just the cruise but to sail out of NOLA, it's been at the top of our travel bucket list as far as US destinations since we met. Then I discover that the Belize port is now at NCL's private island!!! So of course I need to 1) Research about the Dawn 2) Research the ports and low and behold I come across your reviews of the Dawn to Bermuda and Jade to WC. So much fun to read! Now I'm hooked on your reviews and have come over to read this one :)

So as I'm reading your reviews, discovering your sense of humour and what beach goers you all are, you should really book the Dawn out of NOLA for valentines week 2017 LOL

 

So if you have any advice/tips, we are planning on doing a Mayan Ruins excursion in Costa Maya, just checking out the town in Cozumel (I know you are really tempted to book now!! :), obviously just hanging out at the beach at Harvest Caye in Belize and doing the Dolphin Encounter and swim in Roatan at Anthony's Key Resort. I would be so appreciative of any opinions or recommendations you have on any of those ports/excursions!

Have you been to NOLA, any recommendations there? :)

 

Well I really just wanted to comment to extend my gratitude to you for all the work you put into these, ended up being a little more long winded than originally planned!

 

Thanks again,

Heather

 

Also, Sakari seems like such a sweetie and what a personality! Good job mama!

 

 

Did you like the Escape? I have it booked for next year (it was a random booking done on the ship) and I'm not convinced if I'll be keeping that date they used or not yet.

 

Ahhh, no need to go away after a cruise. Just start reading up on everything, including reviews and reports, and that way when you decide to book again, you'll have an idea of where you want to go and what you want to do. I get ideas all the time by just coming on here and reading. It helps me pick places I want to go in the future.

 

After my next cruise in ....1 month, 29 days, 20 hours, 33 minutes, and 9 seconds from now, we will probably not be cruising again until Spring Break next year (April). We did a birthday cruise for me in Feb this year and then already had a March spring break cruised booked and it was rough that close together. Plus, I don't think they enjoy when I take Sakari out of school for a week at a time. Oops.

 

Sorry, I don't have any advice on what you listed. I'm just not a "mayan ruins" type of girl and if it doesn't involve the beach, I usually don't pay attention. LOL

 

However, in Cozumel, I think you should check out Dolphin Discovery at Chankanaab (over doing it in Roatan). It's an amazing place, located at a National Park, and there's awesome snorkeling there and plenty of other things to see and do there as well (they even have a zip line and some type of alligator thingy there too) since I was there last. There's iguanas walking around everywhere too. Plus, from most reports (and even when I did my swim with the dolphins) they usually throw in a swim with the manatees there too. PLUS, if you really watch their site, they usually have discounts for booking early OR you can sometimes find a Buy one, get one for $1 pricing too. I don't know what you are paying for it at AK, but thought I would just mention it.

 

I have 2 reviews in my signature from Chankanaab if you are interested in seeing what it's like there.

 

Then if you needed something to fill in for Roatan, I highly recommend Little French Key. I don't think I have found a nicer private island to date. We discovered it and go back every time we are in Roatan now. It's pure heaven on earth there! (Several reviews in my siggie for that too).

 

Yep, cruised out of Nola a few times before and LOVE NOLA. Depending on where you stay there, most everything is within walking distance.

 

My Spirit cruise was out of NOLA in 2011. My Star cruise was out of NOLA in 2012. My Jewel cruise was out of NOLA in 2013. So you could say I like it. Honestly, I would probably prefer cruising out of there than any other place.

 

I really wanted to thank you for everything you said. That's the reason I do these reviews, to help people out, get ideas, maybe bring some laughter to those who read it, and most of all to have fun with it. :D

[mitsugirly]

Mitsugirly - I'm assuming they don't do Dive-In Movies on the Fascination like they do on the Breeze? We were on the Breeze in April and this was one of our favorite things to do each evening.

 

 

No, unfortunately they don't have a big screen to do them. :( That's something we love to do as well when on Carnival. Popcorn and a blankie under the stars. :D

[mitsugirly]

Loving your review and your pictures are amazing. We did the same cruise through Celebrity in April. I especially wanted to thank you for the snorkeling pictures in St. Lucia because when we went (through a ship's excursion) it was so crowded you couldn't really get anywhere without getting kicked by some other snorkeler but that all cleared out when the jelly fish decided to invade. You couldn't really dodge them there were so many.

 

You actually make we want to give this spot another try.

 

Aww, that really sucks that you didn't get a good experience there. There's just so much to see there. DEFINITELY give it another shot! So worth it.

[mitsugirly]

Mitsugirly, THANK YOU so much for taking the time to do another wonderful review!

 

Your St. Lucia day seemed just wonderful! DH and I's first cruise was that southern itinerary. That was before I knew CC ever existed, and wouldn't you know it, we went and did the zipline in St. Lucia! :rolleyes: Of course, now we have wised up about the ports, but we are always kicking ourselves over that one! Can't wait to get back there someday!:o

 

 

You are very welcome and thanks for commenting.

 

St Lucia was perfect! I hope you make it back there some day soon. It's so beautiful and such a great time. :)

[Cruzin4fam]

I have a couple of questions for you, but I can't see anywhere on this site that I can send you a personal message. So I guess I'll post here!

 

What brand of snorkel gear do you prefer? And is it the same brand that you buy for Sakari? Or do you use something else for her?

 

If we only snorkel in one of these ports (Belize, Hondoras) which would you recommend? I've read that Belize has the second largest reef to the Great Barrier Reef, but also have read some reviews that aren't as favorable about it.

 

Any help/advice you can give would be appreciated. Have a great day!!! :D

[oregonjuli]

I'm sorry Mitzy I have only cruised once on Carnival explain the gift card usage and buying, does this save money?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

I'm not sure what she was referring to , but if you're on Verizon, you can use your reward points to buy Carnival giftcards worth $100 for only $90. So you do save a little. Then just have them put onyour account when you check in.

[bettyboop16]

Check out the island of Bonaire for snorkeling. We went with Woodwind tours. It was the best snorkeling tour I have been on....even beats Hawaii (Kauai).

[Arzeena]

 

 

After my next cruise in ....1 month, 29 days, 20 hours, 33 minutes, and 9 seconds from now, we will probably not be cruising again until Spring Break next year (April). We did a birthday cruise for me in Feb this year and then already had a March spring break cruised booked and it was rough that close together. Plus, I don't think they enjoy when I take Sakari out of school for a week at a time.

 

:D

 

We are cruising around the same time again!:) Perhaps I will see you in a port of call! Where is your next cruise? Ours is on the NCL Dawn Repositioning, from Boston to NOLA by way of San Juan, Aruba, Curacao, Bonaire, Grand Caymen, Jamaica and Cozumel. I love the itinerary and did this last year as well.

[Arzeena]

Check out the island of Bonaire for snorkeling. We went with Woodwind tours. It was the best snorkeling tour I have been on....even beats Hawaii (Kauai).

 

Bonaire snorkeling is really the best!

[Arzeena]

Sorry, I don't have any advice on what you listed. I'm just not a "mayan ruins" type of girl and if it doesn't involve the beach, I usually don't pay attention. LOL

 

 

If you and your party are half and half on this "visitng the ruins issue" and ever do decide to do the Mayan ruins in Tulum (from Cozumel), there is an absolutely fantastic, gorgeous beach at the ruins( google it:D) They usually give you ample time to soak there after the tour. There is no snorkeling but the beach is like paradise. And I am sure the tour guide will not stop a mermaid and her mom if they just ask to spend the entire time they are there on the beach while the other people go for the tour ;)

[Arzeena]

Kim

I am really enjoying the review and the fantastic pictures! Your'e the BEST!:)

[mitsugirly]

I have a couple of questions for you, but I can't see anywhere on this site that I can send you a personal message. So I guess I'll post here!

 

What brand of snorkel gear do you prefer? And is it the same brand that you buy for Sakari? Or do you use something else for her?

 

If we only snorkel in one of these ports (Belize, Hondoras) which would you recommend? I've read that Belize has the second largest reef to the Great Barrier Reef, but also have read some reviews that aren't as favorable about it.

 

Any help/advice you can give would be appreciated. Have a great day!!! :D

 

This site does not allow you to do private messaging. :rolleyes:

 

I have only used one type of snorkeling gear and that's US Divers and I have been really happy with my purchase. Sakari has not learn to use a snorkel (she claims if she can't "dive" down with it and still breathe, then what good is it). She uses just goggles (and not the face mask with the nose covered) and will only use Speedo goggles.

 

I don't think I can honestly answer you Belize vs Roatan question. Many on here believe that Belize is THE place to go...based on being the second largest barrier reef. BUT, I swear when I read on places to go, I hear this comment no matter what port I'm in. So...I honestly have no idea.

 

The thing with Belize, you would have to take a tour over to Ambergris Caye by either boat or plane. For Roatan, everyone seems to like West Bay and snorkeling right off the beach. I did it once, and it was nice, but at that time Sakari was only 3 years old and we were struggling with her swimming abilities at the time, the water was churned up, and I didn't make it to the place everyone goes (the path that leads off to the drop off). I might try it again some day to get the real experience. What I suggest on this is to go to THIS THREAD and read up on it. We have pictures, maps and everything else posted in that thread that will give you an awesome idea about the place and could probably make up your mind. Just know this thread was started back in 2011 (when we went) and it 17 pages long of information and questions!!! :eek:

 

I hope that helps. :)

 

I'm not sure what she was referring to , but if you're on Verizon, you can use your reward points to buy Carnival giftcards worth $100 for only $90. So you do save a little. Then just have them put onyour account when you check in.

 

 

I answered what I was talking about HERE

[mitsugirly]

We are cruising around the same time again!:) Perhaps I will see you in a port of call! Where is your next cruise? Ours is on the NCL Dawn Repositioning, from Boston to NOLA by way of San Juan, Aruba, Curacao, Bonaire, Grand Caymen, Jamaica and Cozumel. I love the itinerary and did this last year as well.

 

 

:D I could only WISH mine was OUT of NOLA this time. We will be out of Port Canaveral and hitting up the Eastern Caribbean once again. We will only being going to St Thomas, Tortola (new port for us), and hopefully make it to the private island this time (last time with the family we had to miss it due to the weather). You cruise sounds much better to me!!!:)

 

If you and your party are half and half on this "visitng the ruins issue" and ever do decide to do the Mayan ruins in Tulum (from Cozumel), there is an absolutely fantastic, gorgeous beach at the ruins( google it:D) They usually give you ample time to soak there after the tour. There is no snorkeling but the beach is like paradise. And I am sure the tour guide will not stop a mermaid and her mom if they just ask to spend the entire time they are there on the beach while the other people go for the tour ;)

 

We are absolutely no half and half nor either 1/4 and 3/4. No one is interested in doing the ruins. I'm sure maybe some day we will. But Sakari is going to have to grow out of the "I only want the beach" attitude. Who knows if that will happen. However, that beach sounds like heaven. I will definitely look it up. Is it doable just to go to the beach or is it just too far away to travel there just for the beach only?

 

btw: just looked it up. That beach does look amazing!

[mitsugirly]

Kim

I am really enjoying the review and the fantastic pictures! Your'e the BEST!:)

 

 

Thank you! :)

[Wetescape2016]

 

Did you like the Escape? I have it booked for next year (it was a random booking done on the ship) and I'm not convinced if I'll be keeping that date they used or not yet.

 

Ahhh, no need to go away after a cruise. Just start reading up on everything, including reviews and reports, and that way when you decide to book again, you'll have an idea of where you want to go and what you want to do. I get ideas all the time by just coming on here and reading. It helps me pick places I want to go in the future.

 

After my next cruise in ....1 month, 29 days, 20 hours, 33 minutes, and 9 seconds from now, we will probably not be cruising again until Spring Break next year (April). We did a birthday cruise for me in Feb this year and then already had a March spring break cruised booked and it was rough that close together. Plus, I don't think they enjoy when I take Sakari out of school for a week at a time. Oops.

 

Sorry, I don't have any advice on what you listed. I'm just not a "mayan ruins" type of girl and if it doesn't involve the beach, I usually don't pay attention. LOL

 

However, in Cozumel, I think you should check out Dolphin Discovery at Chankanaab (over doing it in Roatan). It's an amazing place, located at a National Park, and there's awesome snorkeling there and plenty of other things to see and do there as well (they even have a zip line and some type of alligator thingy there too) since I was there last. There's iguanas walking around everywhere too. Plus, from most reports (and even when I did my swim with the dolphins) they usually throw in a swim with the manatees there too. PLUS, if you really watch their site, they usually have discounts for booking early OR you can sometimes find a Buy one, get one for $1 pricing too. I don't know what you are paying for it at AK, but thought I would just mention it.

 

I have 2 reviews in my signature from Chankanaab if you are interested in seeing what it's like there.

 

Then if you needed something to fill in for Roatan, I highly recommend Little French Key. I don't think I have found a nicer private island to date. We discovered it and go back every time we are in Roatan now. It's pure heaven on earth there! (Several reviews in my siggie for that too).

 

Yep, cruised out of Nola a few times before and LOVE NOLA. Depending on where you stay there, most everything is within walking distance.

 

My Spirit cruise was out of NOLA in 2011. My Star cruise was out of NOLA in 2012. My Jewel cruise was out of NOLA in 2013. So you could say I like it. Honestly, I would probably prefer cruising out of there than any other place.

 

I really wanted to thank you for everything you said. That's the reason I do these reviews, to help people out, get ideas, maybe bring some laughter to those who read it, and most of all to have fun with it. :D

 

Hey Kim,

Thank you so much for your response! We LOVED the Escape. Mind you we didn't have a lot to base it on. We were a party of 4 (32,33, 33, 35 years old, 3 females, one male-he's a trooper) all very laid back and easy going and just need a comfy spot, a cold drink and we can laugh and entertain ourselves :)

The food was amazing!! My wife and I are both vegetarian and I was concerned about what the veggie options would be. HA! I'm sure I gained at least a pound a day lol The only specialty restaurant wife and I did was food republic, while our friends went to Cagneys (we didn't see any point in us going lol). It was SOOO good. Worth the upcharge but we LOVE asian food! The service was awesome everywhere we went. The staff were ALL so friendly, I don't remember one rude/unhelpful encounter the entire week. I would absolutely recommend it! Especially if you are aiming to sail the fleet, just keep that booking and go for it! I have looked at a lot of pictures of the other ships and it seems like the Escape got the bathroom storage/counter space thing figured out too!

The shows (for the most part) were incredible! Million Dollar Quartet -wish we had booked in to see it more than once!! I LOVED that show. After Midnight-did not love it and started falling asleep. I felt bad :/ But we saw a lot of people just leaving the theatre (and had read about that happening previous to departure)

Howl at the Moon- you seem to love comedy and music. So this show you will go more than once, it's never the same and they are incredible!

Absolutely GO!!!

 

I'm not a mayan ruins kind of girl either...it's my other half thats the history buff...the things we do for love LOL

I'm a swim with the dolphins kind of girl! :D

 

Thank you for your suggestions, i will look them up. I did just read about LFK in your review and it looks INCREDIBLE!!

 

Thank you again!

Heather