Mitsugirlys STAR end of the world/pre-Christmas cruise detailed review & pictorial

[mitsugirly]

This thread is years old. Don't bump threads this old...

 

6&8

 

If you haven't noticed, all of my reviews are located in my signature line. They are VERY informative with tons of pictures of the places we visit. Most people around here know me for my reviews. They are welcome to bump my threads/reviews at any time with any questions they may have. I'm here (as well as others on these boards) to answer questions and be helpful to others. ;) Your post, however, provided nothing helpful to them. :cool:

[wildtky101]

Can't wait to read the rest of your review!

[cruisexlife]

Hey Mitsugirly,

 

Reviving an old one. How much per person was it to get into Almaplena? How much was the taxi from the ship? What comes with the day pass?

 

I really like the way you have your signature set up for reviewers to see exactly where you went while docked. 80% of my reviews are about the ports. Thanks for making it easy! :D

[mitsugirly]

Hey Mitsugirly,

 

Reviving an old one. How much per person was it to get into Almaplena? How much was the taxi from the ship? What comes with the day pass?

 

I really like the way you have your signature set up for reviewers to see exactly where you went while docked. 80% of my reviews are about the ports. Thanks for making it easy! :D

 

Hi there and thanks for the comments.

 

Quite honestly, I really wouldn't want to comment on pricing and such because at this point, it is probably irrelevant and the prices could have changed since we went several years ago.

 

They have a website http://www.almaplenabeachresort.com/beachclub/costamaya-beach_break.htm where you can get all of the information and make reservations.

 

When we went, we got in a cab and once we arrived at Almaplena, they paid for the cab (in other words, the price of the cab to and from Almaplena is basically included in the day pass). :) The day pass included everything just like an AI would...all drinks, food, chairs and use of facilities.

[bigsky]

Also Mitzugirly....

 

Saw old pics of underwater photos you took. You've mentioned the Canon d10 and the Olympus Tough 830....which do you prefer? Also good for just regular pic taking? I have an expensive Nikon I'm ready to "give away" on ebay. Too complicated and never figured it out. :rolleyes: My kids who are also into photography hate it.

Would like a all around good camera that I can use underwater as well.

 

Thanks so much and love your reviews!

[bigsky]

Mitsugirly...not mitzugirly...sorry

[mitsugirly]

Also Mitzugirly....

 

Saw old pics of underwater photos you took. You've mentioned the Canon d10 and the Olympus Tough 830....which do you prefer? Also good for just regular pic taking? I have an expensive Nikon I'm ready to "give away" on ebay. Too complicated and never figured it out. :rolleyes: My kids who are also into photography hate it.

Would like a all around good camera that I can use underwater as well.

 

Thanks so much and love your reviews!

 

I would go with an Olympus Tough camera. I have the 620 and the 830 and love them both. They take awesome pictures under water and on land and pretty good pictures at night as well. They have more options than the Canon D10 did and they are a lot "slimmer" as well. I loved my Canon's (had 2 of them), but the common complaint with them is they are just so "bulky" and have sort of a rounded shape to them. The Olympus is square and flat, so easier to handle and pack/carry around. (The 620 is smaller than the 830 I have). The other problem I had with my Canon was they would only last for about 2 years and then stop working out of the blue. That's when I converted to the Olympus Tough. The other thing I REALLY like about the Olympus is a setting that is called "miniature" and it produces pictures that look like it was done with Tilt Shift (if you don't know what that is, look it up...it's sorta neat and something photographers do, which produces a picture that is kinda blurred around the edges and focused in the middle and it tricks you into thinking that it's a "miniature" picture of something. The best pictures are taken from up high, like on the ship, looking down where people are at and it will appear to be a mini-town, kinda like the small replica railroads you find at the fairs...everything is small.) :D

 

Mitsugirly...not mitzugirly...sorry

 

No problem...it's all pronounced the same and I will answer to any of them. :D Kinda like when your parents called you by a siblings name and you still answered because you knew they were talking to you. :p

[bigsky]

Didn't you post some from Maho beach with the tilt shift? You mentioned you had it on the wrong setting, but grew to like them. I thought they had a cool effect to them.

Appreciate your reply! Now to sell this IOS Nikon on ebay. Had it a long time, but hardly used because it was too complicated. We cruise and go to Hawaii a lot. So underwater pics would be awesome to take!

 

Thanks again!

[mitsugirly]

Didn't you post some from Maho beach with the tilt shift? You mentioned you had it on the wrong setting, but grew to like them. I thought they had a cool effect to them.

Appreciate your reply! Now to sell this IOS Nikon on ebay. Had it a long time, but hardly used because it was too complicated. We cruise and go to Hawaii a lot. So underwater pics would be awesome to take!

 

Thanks again!

 

Yes, I did have some tilt shift pictures in my Maho review. Actually since I discovered that setting and what it does, I have been using that setting in all my reviews. I just love the way it turns out. :)

[Cruz4life15]

Hmmm, where to start. I’ll start with the usual. Get up, get ready, get moving to breakfast. We watched the Star pull in to port and we were the only one there. I’m not even sure if another ship can dock there? I don’t think so.

 

The water there is always so beautiful and you can see right through it when you are pulling up. I noticed they had a HUGE Christmas tree in port and I also knew I wanted a picture of it before the day was over when we returned.

 

 

 

 

We booked Maya Key with NCL for this day after reading several remarkable post and pictures from these great informative people here on CC and I just knew that my daughter would love this place (because of all of the animals). I just had no clue HOW MUCH “WE” would love it as well. This place is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! We don’t find a whole lot of places that we visit that make us say “we will come back here” (only 2 places to be exact that we have said this about), but this is one of them…so make that 3 now.

 

I have to say that, once again, we never book with the ship BUT this island can ONLY be made available with the cruise line! I guess you use to be able to do the tour on your own, but they stopped doing that and you now HAVE to book with the cruise ship in order to go there. So, that’s the reason we did it.

 

We were to meet at the dock at 8:15am. We cleared customs quickly and as soon as you get off the ship is where they were meeting at. We were one of the first to get there (of course…I’m prompt). I think we waited around for a good ½ hour or so for everyone to finally get in line that had booked the excursion. They put arm bands on us and we all piled in the boat that was going to take us there. The boat was full, but we didn’t find it uncomfortable full if you know what I mean. The boat is right there at the dock, so no walking a long distance or anything. It’s right beside the Star.

 

The welcome committee was there dancing for us when we got off the ship.

 

 

 

We circled around the Star and BOOM, we are at the island. They said it was a 3 minute ride and I think I blinked maybe twice and we were there. That made it super nice.

 

When we got off of the boat, they gave a quick talk about the island and what all it has to offer. They told us they would be doing a “tour” with the animals and it would take about 45 minutes or so to do the tour. We decided we wanted to make the most of our short 4 hours that this excursion last and we would just walk around and look at the animals first instead of doing the tour.

 

Then came the dreaded announcement…when to meet back on the boat to take us back to the ship.,,are you ready for this? They said “You can come back to the dock any time you would like to go back to the ship. We will be running every ½ hour up until 3:30pm”. Um…did I just hear that correctly? Seriously? We were going to get to stay all day????? YIPPEE YA WHOOOOO!!! My day was just made and I was definitely about to make the most of our day there! I think my husband had to grab my hand to keep me from jumping up and down from all of the excitement. If only it was like this on all of the ship tours, I just might book more often and NCL would get most of my money. ARE YOU LISTENING NCL? Give us more bang for our buck with longer times.

 

So we were off and running. I think most people headed toward the beach area. We headed toward the replica Mayan Ruins to take some pictures hopefully without people in them. As we walked toward that way, the grounds were beautiful and it had lush landscape. Man I’d like to hire the people that work there for my yard. It could use some sprucing up with all of the colors they had there.

 

 

Notice they have different clocks around the grounds to keep track of time. They have a clock for each cruise line and what the cruise ship time is. Our time never changed this entire cruise. Both the ports and the ship were on the same time which was nice to not have to worry about that. However, a Carnival ship was there too and they were on a different time than us and the island. I thought this was a nice touch for Maya Key to do.

 

 

 

Everywhere you look....color

 

 

 

 

 

Do u know if NCL makes the excursion available again..recently booked May 1st sailing and can't find this excursion listed on my NCL...really wanted to try this one sense ur snorkeling pics were so great...I hope it comes back available...or idk what I am going to do...thanks for ur help

[mitsugirly]

Do u know if NCL makes the excursion available again..recently booked May 1st sailing and can't find this excursion listed on my NCL...really wanted to try this one sense ur snorkeling pics were so great...I hope it comes back available...or idk what I am going to do...thanks for ur help

 

 

No sorry, I do not know if NCL (or any cruise lines) have this excursion available at this time. I do know that in the past, the only way to get there was by booking with the cruise ship. I hesitate to bringing up the entire Maya Key versus Little French Key issues because I can only get the information second hand, but due to what I personally believe, I would not go back to Maya Key for those reasons.

 

If it does not become available, I suggest you check into Little French Key. The place is the most beautiful place ever and it puts the island of Maya Key to shame. I have 3 reviews in my signature line on LFK. I don't think you'll find a more beautiful atmosphere in the Caribbean than this place. It truly is heaven on earth. They do have snorkeling, but most is out by boat right off their island.

[Cruz4life15]

No sorry, I do not know if NCL (or any cruise lines) have this excursion available at this time. I do know that in the past, the only way to get there was by booking with the cruise ship. I hesitate to bringing up the entire Maya Key versus Little French Key issues because I can only get the information second hand, but due to what I personally believe, I would not go back to Maya Key for those reasons.

 

If it does not become available, I suggest you check into Little French Key. The place is the most beautiful place ever and it puts the island of Maya Key to shame. I have 3 reviews in my signature line on LFK. I don't think you'll find a more beautiful atmosphere in the Caribbean than this place. It truly is heaven on earth. They do have snorkeling, but most is out by boat right off their island.

 

Thank you for your reply I posted this a while ago and have sense read your lfk reviews..this is my first time to roatan and really want to snorkel and treat my fiance to something really special...so I am beatween lfk and tabyana...so torn on what to do

[Frogzmom]

I'm trying to choose between LFK and Tabyana as well. So hard to decide!

[EchoOfYourPast]

Awesome review and pictures...thanks for sharing!

San :)

[mitsugirly]

Thank you for your reply I posted this a while ago and have sense read your lfk reviews..this is my first time to roatan and really want to snorkel and treat my fiance to something really special...so I am beatween lfk and tabyana...so torn on what to do

 

I'm trying to choose between LFK and Tabyana as well. So hard to decide!

 

 

As much as I hate to say it :( There are some "things" going on with LFK at the moment and sadly, I will probably not return until (or if) they ever straighten things out. There was an illegal raid many months ago (which most people are aware of) and they took a lot of the "popular" animals. They have been fighting to get them back for months and they won their case and the animals were to be returned to them. However, once again, another raid took place and they took more animals. These raids involved blocking roads leading to LFK, over 60 military police and fiscal officers and the raid took place. It is reported that abuse of power from a very powerful man (who owns Maya Key they say...but only hearsay and you would have to read all the facts reported and come to your own conclusions...a lot of "this person knows this person and influences this person higher up and so on). It is said that the people that were forced to conduct the raid had to do so or lose their jobs and so on.

 

There's just too much going on over there. I think there's a lot of jealousy over there due to everyone loves LFK and is coming to Roatan and spending their $$ there instead of where they use to spend it with other locals on the island (Owner of LFK is not originally from Roatan).

 

But either way...it's just too much for me to handle at the moment and I won't put my family at risk (although others are still going and supporting them and that's fine). You make you own decision. I'm really saddened by this. :(

[mitsugirly]

Awesome review and pictures...thanks for sharing!

San :)

 

 

You are very welcome and thanks for the comments.

[lov2sun]

As much as I hate to say it :( There are some "things" going on with LFK at the moment and sadly, I will probably not return until (or if) they ever straighten things out. There was an illegal raid many months ago (which most people are aware of) and they took a lot of the "popular" animals. They have been fighting to get them back for months and they won their case and the animals were to be returned to them. However, once again, another raid took place and they took more animals. These raids involved blocking roads leading to LFK, over 60 military police and fiscal officers and the raid took place. It is reported that abuse of power from a very powerful man (who owns Maya Key they say...but only hearsay and you would have to read all the facts reported and come to your own conclusions...a lot of "this person knows this person and influences this person higher up and so on). It is said that the people that were forced to conduct the raid had to do so or lose their jobs and so on.

 

There's just too much going on over there. I think there's a lot of jealousy over there due to everyone loves LFK and is coming to Roatan and spending their $$ there instead of where they use to spend it with other locals on the island (Owner of LFK is not originally from Roatan).

 

But either way...it's just too much for me to handle at the moment and I won't put my family at risk (although others are still going and supporting them and that's fine). You make you own decision. I'm really saddened by this. :(

 

any other recommendations for something similar? LFK was one of the main reasons we booked this cruise itinerary, but I don't want to put myself and others in a nonsafe situation. Thanks for your honesty.

[js]

As much as I hate to say it :( There are some "things" going on with LFK at the moment and sadly, I will probably not return until (or if) they ever straighten things out. There was an illegal raid many months ago (which most people are aware of) and they took a lot of the "popular" animals. They have been fighting to get them back for months and they won their case and the animals were to be returned to them. However, once again, another raid took place and they took more animals. These raids involved blocking roads leading to LFK, over 60 military police and fiscal officers and the raid took place. It is reported that abuse of power from a very powerful man (who owns Maya Key they say...but only hearsay and you would have to read all the facts reported and come to your own conclusions...a lot of "this person knows this person and influences this person higher up and so on). It is said that the people that were forced to conduct the raid had to do so or lose their jobs and so on.

 

There's just too much going on over there. I think there's a lot of jealousy over there due to everyone loves LFK and is coming to Roatan and spending their $$ there instead of where they use to spend it with other locals on the island (Owner of LFK is not originally from Roatan).

 

But either way...it's just too much for me to handle at the moment and I won't put my family at risk (although others are still going and supporting them and that's fine). You make you own decision. I'm really saddened by this. :(

 

Thank you so much for this information. I am coming from New York and just want peaceful and no stress, not too much of that happening here right now. I was set on LFK but my dh, a retired police officer, and I just want no drama.

 

Is this also happening at other places? Should we just stay on ship (sailing on NCL Getaway and Escape).

 

Also, how are you doing in school and what is your next cruise planned? I hope you get on the CCL Vista before I do so I can read all about it LOL

[mitsugirly]

Thank you so much for this information. I am coming from New York and just want peaceful and no stress, not too much of that happening here right now. I was set on LFK but my dh, a retired police officer, and I just want no drama.

 

Is this also happening at other places? Should we just stay on ship (sailing on NCL Getaway and Escape).

 

Also, how are you doing in school and what is your next cruise planned? I hope you get on the CCL Vista before I do so I can read all about it LOL

 

I'm honestly really torn about this place. It is truly heaven on earth and so beautiful and peaceful there. It just makes me nervous about what all has been happening there over several months. There are a lot of people here on the boards that are still going anyhow and have reported back that all is well and they had a wonderful day. So, I'm still torn. :( You might look around the boards and see what others are saying that have recently went here and what they thought before ruling it out.

 

No, it's not happening anywhere else. This seems to be a "jealousy" type issue battling between another vendor that has major ties to a lot of the authority on the island and I personally think that they feel threatened by LFK because of their popularity over the last few years.

 

I would never just stay on the ship there. Roatan is beautiful. I would say if you enjoy snorkeling, head to West Bay. But it is a popular place and does get crowded with vendors hassling you on the beach.

 

Actually what took me so long to answer is...I was on another cruise. (NCL Epic) and just returned home today. :D School is good and I'm over half way to graduation, but taking my time. I only did 2 classes this semester so that I could cruise this last cruise I just did and have the rest of the year off (much needed).