MITSUGIRLYS EPIC CRUISE--2nd time around-1st from Port Canaveral

[Tyskie]

Kim, thanks for your great review (as always, entertaining too)

Still reading..............

 

We hope to get on the Epic later this year! ;)

[mitsugirly]

Kim, thanks for your great review (as always, entertaining too)

Still reading..............

 

We hope to get on the Epic later this year! ;)

 

Thanks for your comments and glad you are enjoying it. :D

[Niffernay]

Thanks so much for your detailed and entertaining review. We are on the December 9th Epic sailing this year and I was a bit apprehensive about the size of the ship as we have only ever been on the Gem and the Dawn prior to this but I'm over it :D Thanks for the info about the shuttle company; it was one of the ones I was looking at for us. Happy New Year!!

[mitsugirly]

Thanks so much for your detailed and entertaining review. We are on the December 9th Epic sailing this year and I was a bit apprehensive about the size of the ship as we have only ever been on the Gem and the Dawn prior to this but I'm over it :D Thanks for the info about the shuttle company; it was one of the ones I was looking at for us. Happy New Year!!

 

 

You are very welcome and glad it was entertaining. :p

 

I hope you enjoy your Epic cruise. I just think there was a lot of mass confusion on this first trip. You should be fine.

 

Oh gosh, DO NOT go with that shuttle company. Eekkkkk :eek:

[NYGirl1002]

I know I'm late to the party but I was not online much during the past couple of months. Last night I realized that you cruised in November so I found this. I LOVE binge reading your reviews.

 

This one did not disappoint. Love the pictures, love seeing your family. I'm glad you got to scuba dive..you're a natural.

 

Hope you are cruising again soon!

[meyermtacmj]

Like everyone else, I absolutely enjoyed reading your review of this cruise. My family and I are set to sail out on Epic on February 4th. This is our first cruise and I'll admit, your port issues had me a little concerned. Glad to hear that it seems like they've gotten it figured out.

[Tyskie]

Finally finished your review - we ended up booking the Epic for NYE - should prove to be interesting. :eek:

 

Glad for your pics of the Baths in VBI - looks beautiful but I'll stick to JVD & White Bay.

 

Also, love, love, loving your underwater pictures. I just got a new camera and picked up some valuable pointers (MACRO) - gotta try that next time. (we were in Bonaire). Overall some of mine were good, some not so good, but I'm not a great snorkeler so I think that makes a difference. Definitely see a difference when the sun is out and not................I'm happy though :D

 

Get your certification if you can, I'm jealous! I'll live vicariously thru your reviews, lol

[IllinoisAuthor]

Thanks so much for the whole review, but especially the part about The Baths. I'm pretty chubby and the other couple we're traveling with both have knee issues. If we'd tried this, I'm afraid there might have been some serious problems.

[deladane]

Hi Kim! Thank you for writing another wonderful review!! I always love reading your reviews and admiring your photos, and this time was no different :) Also, thank you for reminding me about that early bird check in feature from Southwest. We are cruising in French Polynesia later this year and will need to connect to a Southwest flight home from LAX. I have been stressing about how we could check in to that flight as we will be in Tahiti 24 hours in advance and probably won't have wifi access. The early bird check in option solves our problem- I totally forgot that they do that, but it is worth the $15pp not to stress about checking in! I hope we have better luck with it than you did though :-/

 

What are your final thoughts on your new underwater camera? I have been eyeing the TG-4 for a while, and it is always at the top of "best underwater camera" review lists. We'll be in French Polynesia for over 2 weeks and I want to get a new camera for the occasion. Would you recommend purchasing the TG-4? Did you have the fogging problem without the fisheye lens on the camera? Or only when it was attached?

 

Thanks again :)

[TravelingAPor]

Hi Kim, I was on the SJPR Carnival Cruise with you. Loved that review.

I'm on CC looking for info on my Baltic Cruise. Great bumping into you. Looking forward to seeing all your wonderful photos.

Take care

[theump]

Kim,

if I remember right you sailed out of Ft Lauderdale, FL. What hotel did you stay at pre cruise?

 

The Ump

John

[mitsugirly]

I know I'm late to the party but I was not online much during the past couple of months. Last night I realized that you cruised in November so I found this. I LOVE binge reading your reviews.

 

This one did not disappoint. Love the pictures, love seeing your family. I'm glad you got to scuba dive..you're a natural.

 

Hope you are cruising again soon!

 

Well hello there and better late than never. :D Glad you liked the review. We will be cruising again in 93 days. :)

 

I was reading your review and I see your daughter Sakari has the same problem as my kids.

 

Here are some tips for easing ear pain http://kidshealth.org/en/parents/flying-ears.html#

 

We've tried them all and none really helped. If you've already tried them and none helped, may I suggest you to try Children's Sudafed Non-Drowsy Nasal Decongestant. It worked really well for my kids. Even through this is a non-prescription medicine, it's only available behind-the-counter.

 

 

 

Thanks for the info. I'll give it a shot. We are flying again in 2 days so I guess I must head to the store soon. :p

[mitsugirly]

Like everyone else, I absolutely enjoyed reading your review of this cruise. My family and I are set to sail out on Epic on February 4th. This is our first cruise and I'll admit, your port issues had me a little concerned. Glad to hear that it seems like they've gotten it figured out.

 

Eh, no reason to be concerned about the port issues. I heard everything was cleared up the following week. (Remind me never to book the first cruise after a ship has returned :p :eek:)

 

Finally finished your review - we ended up booking the Epic for NYE - should prove to be interesting. :eek:

 

Glad for your pics of the Baths in VBI - looks beautiful but I'll stick to JVD & White Bay.

 

Also, love, love, loving your underwater pictures. I just got a new camera and picked up some valuable pointers (MACRO) - gotta try that next time. (we were in Bonaire). Overall some of mine were good, some not so good, but I'm not a great snorkeler so I think that makes a difference. Definitely see a difference when the sun is out and not................I'm happy though :D

 

Get your certification if you can, I'm jealous! I'll live vicariously thru your reviews, lol

 

What type of camera did you end up getting? Was it the Olympus Tough? The macro on my newer Olympus (TG4) is crazy insane. The other cameras don't even begin to compare to what this one does. It's more of a true macro and not some "zoom" that my other camera's do.

 

I think you win some, you lose some when taking pictures under water. Like you said, the sun is a factor. Depth is a factor as well, and of course water clarity. I would take hundreds of pictures and for every 5-10 pictures I took, I'd get a really good one. I think I'm getting a lot better these days...with lots of practice. :D But I'm still snap happy...just in case.

 

I'm still considering the certification. They say you must be physically fit and looking at all of the skills involved, it's kinda scary. These days I'm not considered "physically fit" but "fluffy and dough girl" is more of an appropriate word for me. I really need to lose these extra cruise weight pounds I have packed on over the last several years. Hey they do say scuba diving is a great work out and you also lose weight when doing it. If only I could live some place by the ocean....ahhh

[mitsugirly]

Thanks so much for the whole review, but especially the part about The Baths. I'm pretty chubby and the other couple we're traveling with both have knee issues. If we'd tried this, I'm afraid there might have been some serious problems.

 

Yea, it was definitely "different" than what I had expected it to be. Pretty-yes, Hard-yes. I think the only way I would ever go back is 1) without the entire family in tow and 2) if I lost some weight. But then again, I think back to my family and they are all super skinny and had issues and the one that fell is young and thin so....

 

Hi Kim! Thank you for writing another wonderful review!! I always love reading your reviews and admiring your photos, and this time was no different Also, thank you for reminding me about that early bird check in feature from Southwest. We are cruising in French Polynesia later this year and will need to connect to a Southwest flight home from LAX. I have been stressing about how we could check in to that flight as we will be in Tahiti 24 hours in advance and probably won't have wifi access. The early bird check in option solves our problem- I totally forgot that they do that, but it is worth the $15pp not to stress about checking in! I hope we have better luck with it than you did though :-/

 

What are your final thoughts on your new underwater camera? I have been eyeing the TG-4 for a while, and it is always at the top of "best underwater camera" review lists. We'll be in French Polynesia for over 2 weeks and I want to get a new camera for the occasion. Would you recommend purchasing the TG-4? Did you have the fogging problem without the fisheye lens on the camera? Or only when it was attached?

 

Thanks again

 

 

Thanks so much for the wonderful comments.

 

Yes, the early bird check in is definitely worth it to us. Thanks for reminding ME this time. We are flying in 2 days and I totally forgot that we'll need this check in this time around too. :p

 

Absofrickenlutely on the TG 4. I love it. It's a LOT different than my 620 or 830. Love, love, love this camera. Some of the functions on it are so much better than the others plus the added ability to use other lens...just wow. I just have to learn to use it better and the settings. :p

 

Here's the problem...I never took the fisheye lens off. I probably should have of course. But, I have had problems with camera lens fogging no matter what camera I have. When you go from extreme hot to extreme cold, it's going to happen at times. Getting the camera wet, and water between the regular lens and the extra lens might have increased the problem, I'm not sure. I'll definitely try it out next time to see.

[mitsugirly]

Hi Kim, I was on the SJPR Carnival Cruise with you. Loved that review.

I'm on CC looking for info on my Baltic Cruise. Great bumping into you. Looking forward to seeing all your wonderful photos.

Take care

 

Well hello there. Glad to "see" you again. :D Nice bumping in to you as well and take care. :)

 

Kim,

if I remember right you sailed out of Ft Lauderdale, FL. What hotel did you stay at pre cruise?

 

The Ump

John

 

I have never sailed out of FLL yet. We just always fly there because that's where Southwest goes to. I have only cruised out of Port Canaveral, Miami and Tampa in Florida. But, we have stayed in hotels in the area and then booked transportation to where we were going. I try to stay in a different hotel each time we go, so there's quite a few I'm sure. Any certain one you are looking to get information on? Or just in general? I can go back and look them up in each review later if you need me to. :)

 

Our next cruise coming up with be out of FLL though. So, it will be a new experience for us.

[Tyskie]

What type of camera did you end up getting? Was it the Olympus Tough? The macro on my newer Olympus (TG4) is crazy insane. The other cameras don't even begin to compare to what this one does. It's more of a true macro and not some "zoom" that my other camera's do. I got the Fuji XP - saw a review here on CC Camera board - saw the pictures which looked really nice and figured it was a moderately priced camera - wasn't ready to spend the $$ that the Olympus was. Although we cruise frequently, we don't always snorkel - actually I'm the only one in our group that does. I find it so peaceful.

 

I think you win some, you lose some when taking pictures under water. Like you said, the sun is a factor. Depth is a factor as well, and of course water clarity. I would take hundreds of pictures and for every 5-10 pictures I took, I'd get a really good one. I think I'm getting a lot better these days...with lots of practice. :D But I'm still snap happy...just in case. I too snap, snap, snap - so glad I traded in my Canon film to a digital. I'm on my second Panasonic Lumix (Leica Lens) - think the first one took better pictures, maybe not. Think I'm getting better at editing :D I wanted a camera that I could put in my pocket. This fits the bill.

 

I'm still considering the certification. They say you must be physically fit and looking at all of the skills involved, it's kinda scary. These days I'm not considered "physically fit" but "fluffy and dough girl" is more of an appropriate word for me. I really need to lose these extra cruise weight pounds I have packed on over the last several years. Hey they do say scuba diving is a great work out and you also lose weight when doing it. If only I could live some place by the ocean....ahhh

 

I would try for the certification - although I'm not over weight, I'm certainly not in the shape of the years I ran, played soccer & skied - that's probably why I have a replaced hip. I'm 65+ so although I'm very active, I'm not scuba material, sniff, sniff.

 

Thanks for all the info - really helpful. One of these days, maybe I'll share some pictures too!

Edited January 12, 2017 by Tyskie

[Tyskie]

 

 

Couldn't resist, my first underwater selfie [emoji41]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[mitsugirly]

I got the Fuji XP - saw a review here on CC Camera board - saw the pictures which looked really nice and figured it was a moderately priced camera - wasn't ready to spend the $$ that the Olympus was. Although we cruise frequently, we don't always snorkel - actually I'm the only one in our group that does. I find it so peaceful.

 

I too snap, snap, snap - so glad I traded in my Canon film to a digital. I'm on my second Panasonic Lumix (Leica Lens) - think the first one took better pictures, maybe not. Think I'm getting better at editing :D I wanted a camera that I could put in my pocket. This fits the bill.

 

I would try for the certification - although I'm not over weight, I'm certainly not in the shape of the years I ran, played soccer & skied - that's probably why I have a replaced hip. I'm 65+ so although I'm very active, I'm not scuba material, sniff, sniff.

 

Thanks for all the info - really helpful. One of these days, maybe I'll share some pictures too!

 

Awesome. Hope you enjoy the camera. You can find the Olympus Tough cameras on ebay and places for cheaper if you look around. I managed to get Sakari one for Christmas (that way she's not always asking to use mine) and found her one exactly like one of my older models (the 620) for only $145. It was brand new, but an open box. It works perfect and she is using it all of the time. She can't wait to take it on vacation and during snorkeling.

 

 

 

 

Couldn't resist, my first underwater selfie [emoji41]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Awesome underwater selfie. Those are always fun! :D

 

 

[deladane]

Thanks so much for the wonderful comments.

 

Yes, the early bird check in is definitely worth it to us. Thanks for reminding ME this time. We are flying in 2 days and I totally forgot that we'll need this check in this time around too. :p

 

Absofrickenlutely on the TG 4. I love it. It's a LOT different than my 620 or 830. Love, love, love this camera. Some of the functions on it are so much better than the others plus the added ability to use other lens...just wow. I just have to learn to use it better and the settings. :p

 

Here's the problem...I never took the fisheye lens off. I probably should have of course. But, I have had problems with camera lens fogging no matter what camera I have. When you go from extreme hot to extreme cold, it's going to happen at times. Getting the camera wet, and water between the regular lens and the extra lens might have increased the problem, I'm not sure. I'll definitely try it out next time to see.

 

Awesome! Thanks for the info on the camera!! I have one more question for you.... when you just quickly press the shutter button to take a picture, does it come out in focus or is it a little blurry? I ask this because my current camera only takes photos in focus when you press the shutter halfway first to let it focus, and then press it down all the way to take the photo. When I hand my camera off to someone else to take a photo so that I can be in the picture, it is often not in focus because they don't know to do the halfway press first. So I'm just wondering how the TG-4 handles it when the person takes a real quick photo without focusing first?

[sweetpee_1993]

Hi Kim! What a read! I just marathoned this review/report because it looks like I'll get to do a short cruise on the Epic soon. Yay! I've always thought she looked interesting!

 

I so hate that you didn't have the crazy amazing experience at the Baths that we did. I love doing adventurous things. Climbing around the rocks is fun still....and I'm over 40 & have also packed on entirely too many pounds. Ugh! I hope someday you can go back and take your time taking it in. Seeing all the granite rocks like that...its incredible. Devils Bay is a gorgeous beach. You have to go see it! The first time we went we did it DIY using Speedy's ferry service. I didn't like it. Second time was the first leg of our Escape b2b in May. My plan was to walk outside the port area and find one of the guys who are looking to fill their boat to go over. Worked great. We had 6 of us. I knew from my reading they would want 10. So when he quoted me the per person price I multiplied it out and offered him that much cash to leave now with just the 6 of us. And that's how I got my family a private charter to/from The Baths for under $500. We really liked the guy a lot. We arranged to do a private charter the next week when we returned. The price was more, I think $900, but we had a local build a trip to my family. From our preferred sodas to beer, he stocked up for us. We did 5 different stops. 3 were amazing snorkeling, best we've ever done. 2 were mind-blowing beaches to enjoy. It wasn't one of our best port days ever. Hands down.

 

The family drama. I appreciate the honesty. There's not a trip we go on that we done have pissy drama. I chalk it up to us just being a passionate bunch of people. It happens. Life isn't all sunshine & rainbows. Honesty in your writing is what keeps it authentic. Relatable. So thank you.

 

We loooooved Escape. That was a fabulous time. B2B. We homeschooled our sons thru high school and let them pick where they wanted to graduate. Son #1 wanted to graduate on the Panama Canal. We did that on Disney Wonder. Son #2 wanted to graduate on a ship in a bar with a beer. He specified not Disney. ((We burned him out for a bit.)) So, he graduated on the Escape in the 5 O'clock Somewhere Bar with a Corona. That's my boy! LOL! We adored the For the Record show on Escape! Honest, I think it's my favorite show I've ever seen on any cruise ship. I'm an 80s kid. John Hughes movies, the music, etc. It was amazing. My graduate didn't miss any performance over the 2 weeks. He also befriended most of the talent staying out late in the bars. It was crazy good. I hope y'all love the Escape as much as we did. It was crazy awesome. Heck, I'm ready to jump back onboard with you!

 

Have to give major kudos to you for being amaze-balls parents! My sibs played sports when I was a kid but I never cared to. Sports were not my deal. When I was 12 I decided I wanted to get certified to dive. I found all the info. My best friend's dad was a diver and was going to take us. I had it all arranged. But... my parents shut it down. They just didn't see the value. If I'd asked to play softball I'd have been in like Flynn. Dive? Uh, no. I'm over 40 and I know I'll get certified before I take up the dirt bed. I absolutely LOVE that you let your little mermaid girl be her fine little fishy self. It's beautiful to behold. Way to go, momma. Rockin it.

 

The wine. It's been very recent I've started developing my palate. I always hated wine. Loved beer. I questioned the validity of my girl-card. But then I started figuring out what I like. Sweet. I love the sweet. Moscatos. I prefer sparkling served chilled. I do NOT like dry. Still haven't found a taste for reds but I'm working into roses. But sparkling sweet ones. If you ever get the chance, try Moët Ice champagne. It's pricy. Admittedly. It's a nice splurge. Remember, I don't like strong or dry. Moët Ice is designed to be served over ice. The ice releases the full bouquet. It's fruity, a little sweet, not overpowering. Not dry at all. Also, ask for recommendations when at restaurants. I always ask for sweet, sparkling, NOT dry. No reds. They know what they have and should match you up. Or let you know they don't have that. That's when it's martini time!

 

Obviously I've traversed MCO a lot with all my Disney cruises. Don't even ask about all my trips to Disney parks. I'm one of those Disney fans....right down to being a shareholder. ;) Hey, you haven't lived until you've bar hopped the monorail loop! LOL! I agree with you, the airport in Orlando is really a nice one. Contrast it with Miami (ugh) or San Diego (gah). I've stayed in the Hyatt in MCO. Husband and I flew in late pre-cruise once. I'm not sure about other cruise lines but when you sail with Disney if you let them know at check-in that you're doing a Disney cruise they put you on a list and give you instructions for the next morning. Basically, when you leave your hotel room to go down to the bus check-in you leave your checked luggage in the room. They come collect it, deliver it to the cruise line, and next time you see your bags is on the ship when they are delivered. It's really neat! I don't see why they couldn't do that for other cruise lines, too. Hopefully they do.

 

Again, really enjoyed your review. Beautiful family. You do good work, girl. Take care!

[mitsugirly]

Awesome! Thanks for the info on the camera!! I have one more question for you.... when you just quickly press the shutter button to take a picture, does it come out in focus or is it a little blurry? I ask this because my current camera only takes photos in focus when you press the shutter halfway first to let it focus, and then press it down all the way to take the photo. When I hand my camera off to someone else to take a photo so that I can be in the picture, it is often not in focus because they don't know to do the halfway press first. So I'm just wondering how the TG-4 handles it when the person takes a real quick photo without focusing first?

 

I know exactly what you mean. We have had people offer to take pictures of our family together and they just pushed the button down and snapped the picture without focusing. (I've even had people do something...no clue what, and said they took several pictures for us to get back and find that there wasn't any pictures. I have no idea what they were pushing or doing lol).

 

Honestly, I had never tried it until you said this. I know that most camera's these days (unless it's a cheap disposable camera) have this focus feature. I guess I didn't realize that there might still be camera's out there that are just a "snap" and go type of camera.

 

So, I just tried it as I sat here...snapping pictures around the house (although I don't have any "people" subjects with me at the moment) and I can tell you that with the flash on, they turned out perfect. So, I tried turning the flash off and as long as I was holding still, they turned out fine.

 

Here's a hint for you (and I use this function A LOT)...if I'm walking and snapping pictures or if I'm on a bus or in a taxi and taking pictures along the way, in order to get pictures that are not blurred, put the camera on the "sports" mode. Obviously sports means movement and it will capture the pictures even if you or the subject is moving. :D I have a lot of success with this setting.

[mitsugirly]

Hi Kim! What a read! I just marathoned this review/report because it looks like I'll get to do a short cruise on the Epic soon. Yay! I've always thought she looked interesting!

 

Lucky you to be heading to the Epic to try her out. I hope you enjoy her as much as we do.

 

I so hate that you didn't have the crazy amazing experience at the Baths that we did. I love doing adventurous things. Climbing around the rocks is fun still....and I'm over 40 & have also packed on entirely too many pounds. Ugh! I hope someday you can go back and take your time taking it in. Seeing all the granite rocks like that...its incredible. Devils Bay is a gorgeous beach. You have to go see it! The first time we went we did it DIY using Speedy's ferry service. I didn't like it. Second time was the first leg of our Escape b2b in May. My plan was to walk outside the port area and find one of the guys who are looking to fill their boat to go over. Worked great. We had 6 of us. I knew from my reading they would want 10. So when he quoted me the per person price I multiplied it out and offered him that much cash to leave now with just the 6 of us. And that's how I got my family a private charter to/from The Baths for under $500. We really liked the guy a lot. We arranged to do a private charter the next week when we returned. The price was more, I think $900, but we had a local build a trip to my family. From our preferred sodas to beer, he stocked up for us. We did 5 different stops. 3 were amazing snorkeling, best we've ever done. 2 were mind-blowing beaches to enjoy. It wasn't one of our best port days ever. Hands down.

 

You first and second "private" trip to the baths sounds amazing. But holy cow the price. :eek: I don't think that's something I would consider at that rate. I mean that's a partial payment for another cruise. :p Maybe some day we'll return...WITHOUT the entire family and we might try it out again. We'll see. I'm just not too thrilled about it at the moment.

 

The family drama. I appreciate the honesty. There's not a trip we go on that we done have pissy drama. I chalk it up to us just being a passionate bunch of people. It happens. Life isn't all sunshine & rainbows. Honesty in your writing is what keeps it authentic. Relatable. So thank you.

 

Yea, for the most part we are fun loving and roll with the flow on most things. Me and my kids are like this. However, when you add the boyfriends/girlfriends/fiances into the mixture, it sometimes becomes hectic. (Wait, I guess I should add grandson's into that mixture as well). ;) One thing I don't do is sugar coat it...whether it be an experience, the ship, the service or whatever. I just tell things as I experience it and it's never meant to influence anyone to do or not to do something. Different expectations, different experiences, it's all different for everyone.

 

We loooooved Escape. That was a fabulous time. B2B. We homeschooled our sons thru high school and let them pick where they wanted to graduate. Son #1 wanted to graduate on the Panama Canal. We did that on Disney Wonder. Son #2 wanted to graduate on a ship in a bar with a beer. He specified not Disney. ((We burned him out for a bit.)) So, he graduated on the Escape in the 5 O'clock Somewhere Bar with a Corona. That's my boy! LOL! We adored the For the Record show on Escape! Honest, I think it's my favorite show I've ever seen on any cruise ship. I'm an 80s kid. John Hughes movies, the music, etc. It was amazing. My graduate didn't miss any performance over the 2 weeks. He also befriended most of the talent staying out late in the bars. It was crazy good. I hope y'all love the Escape as much as we did. It was crazy awesome. Heck, I'm ready to jump back onboard with you!

 

Nice to see you had such a great time on the Escape. We are considering this for maybe our fall cruise. Me and the fam were just talking about it 2 days ago.

 

Have to give major kudos to you for being amaze-balls parents! My sibs played sports when I was a kid but I never cared to. Sports were not my deal. When I was 12 I decided I wanted to get certified to dive. I found all the info. My best friend's dad was a diver and was going to take us. I had it all arranged. But... my parents shut it down. They just didn't see the value. If I'd asked to play softball I'd have been in like Flynn. Dive? Uh, no. I'm over 40 and I know I'll get certified before I take up the dirt bed. I absolutely LOVE that you let your little mermaid girl be her fine little fishy self. It's beautiful to behold. Way to go, momma. Rockin it.

 

I have just learned to accept that Sakari is "different"...very different. She's actually weird different. She's just not going to be that girly girl that likes cheerleading, gymnastics and stuff most girls get into. She's only interested in art and drawing, animals, being a mermaid, and living the life of fictional things. I mean I had an imagination growing up...all kids do. But for the most part, kids (including myself when young) would go somewhere...for instance the circus, and come home an imagine they were surrounded by tigers and they were the trainer and you put on a show for you parents with all your stuffed animals around you. Not Sakari, she IS the tiger. That's the difference with her. I swear the kids at school think she's nuts. She has a lot of them roaring like dinosaurs this year. Yes, their parents can thank me for raising such a weird child. :rolleyes: It's funny how my hubby showed me a video clip last night of adults making costumes out of cardboard boxes and some type of tournaments where they jump and destroy each others costumes while battling and he said "see, our daughters not so weird after all". (Sakari is CONSTANTLY making costumes and stuff out of boxes).

 

The wine. It's been very recent I've started developing my palate. I always hated wine. Loved beer. I questioned the validity of my girl-card. But then I started figuring out what I like. Sweet. I love the sweet. Moscatos. I prefer sparkling served chilled. I do NOT like dry. Still haven't found a taste for reds but I'm working into roses. But sparkling sweet ones. If you ever get the chance, try Moët Ice champagne. It's pricy. Admittedly. It's a nice splurge. Remember, I don't like strong or dry. Moët Ice is designed to be served over ice. The ice releases the full bouquet. It's fruity, a little sweet, not overpowering. Not dry at all. Also, ask for recommendations when at restaurants. I always ask for sweet, sparkling, NOT dry. No reds. They know what they have and should match you up. Or let you know they don't have that. That's when it's martini time!

 

My problem is, I don't like beer either. So, I can't do that bitter taste to begin with. I think if I could just stomach the bitter taste (like being able to drink beer), it would be easier. I'm tried the Moscatos...still bitter. I hate the reds as well and can only stomach the whites and pinks, but even then it's not the best and not something I would ever consider going out and buying. Moët Ice sounds good on paper, but I'm honestly not willing to spend a lot of money on just trying something out. It's just not working out too well for me. :(

 

Obviously I've traversed MCO a lot with all my Disney cruises. Don't even ask about all my trips to Disney parks. I'm one of those Disney fans....right down to being a shareholder. Hey, you haven't lived until you've bar hopped the monorail loop! LOL! I agree with you, the airport in Orlando is really a nice one. Contrast it with Miami (ugh) or San Diego (gah). I've stayed in the Hyatt in MCO. Husband and I flew in late pre-cruise once. I'm not sure about other cruise lines but when you sail with Disney if you let them know at check-in that you're doing a Disney cruise they put you on a list and give you instructions for the next morning. Basically, when you leave your hotel room to go down to the bus check-in you leave your checked luggage in the room. They come collect it, deliver it to the cruise line, and next time you see your bags is on the ship when they are delivered. It's really neat! I don't see why they couldn't do that for other cruise lines, too. Hopefully they do.

 

Again, really enjoyed your review. Beautiful family. You do good work, girl. Take care!

 

Thanks for all the comments and glad you enjoyed the review. Happy cruising and you take care as well. :)

[hlb76]

Thanks for another great review. Its taken me months to read it but finally finished. I need to check to see if there are any pother reviews I have missed. I dont check the NCL boards much add that and a new job that leaves me with little screen time I'm so out of the loop.

 

Looks like you had a lot of fun as you always do! We are headed back to Port Canveral Friday to check out the Magic. Its one of my favorite ports to sail from again other than the flying into MCO and fighting with the disney crowds, which I hate!

 

The day we got back into port back in OCT we had the dolphins playing outside too. I told my future DIL and she about ran my grandkids over trying to get in the door and out to the balcony to see for herself. They where a blast to watch!

 

Looking forward to the next review!

Edited January 18, 2017 by hlb76

[mitsugirly]

Thanks for another great review. Its taken me months to read it but finally finished. I need to check to see if there are any pother reviews I have missed. I dont check the NCL boards much add that and a new job that leaves me with little screen time I'm so out of the loop.

 

Looks like you had a lot of fun as you always do! We are headed back to Port Canveral Friday to check out the Magic. Its one of my favorite ports to sail from again other than the flying into MCO and fighting with the disney crowds, which I hate!

 

The day we got back into port back in OCT we had the dolphins playing outside too. I told my future DIL and she about ran my grandkids over trying to get in the door and out to the balcony to see for herself. They where a blast to watch!

 

Looking forward to the next review!

 

 

It sounds like you are a busy person. Glad you were able to get to the end of it...even if it took months. :D

 

I would love to cruise on the Magic. She's been on my to-do list for awhile now. Hopefully some day!

 

The dolphins were so nice to see. It's the first experience I have had seeing them while on the ship. I have seen whales before, but not dolphins. My oldest daughter, Kendra, did see dolphins on the back of the ship on our Dawn cruise, but they were gone by the time I made it back there.

[deladane]

I know exactly what you mean. We have had people offer to take pictures of our family together and they just pushed the button down and snapped the picture without focusing. (I've even had people do something...no clue what, and said they took several pictures for us to get back and find that there wasn't any pictures. I have no idea what they were pushing or doing lol).

 

Honestly, I had never tried it until you said this. I know that most camera's these days (unless it's a cheap disposable camera) have this focus feature. I guess I didn't realize that there might still be camera's out there that are just a "snap" and go type of camera.

 

So, I just tried it as I sat here...snapping pictures around the house (although I don't have any "people" subjects with me at the moment) and I can tell you that with the flash on, they turned out perfect. So, I tried turning the flash off and as long as I was holding still, they turned out fine.

 

Here's a hint for you (and I use this function A LOT)...if I'm walking and snapping pictures or if I'm on a bus or in a taxi and taking pictures along the way, in order to get pictures that are not blurred, put the camera on the "sports" mode. Obviously sports means movement and it will capture the pictures even if you or the subject is moving. :D I have a lot of success with this setting.

 

Oh wow, I'll definitely use sports mode now when I give other people my camera to take photos! I don't need the camera until September, so I will wait until the summer to buy it (in case Olympus releases a new version before then!), but you totally sold me on this camera. Thanks again!! :)