MITSUGIRLY decides to CONQUEST new ports-complete pictorial review

[no1racefan1]

The decor is so gaudy looking compared to NCL. We normally sail Carnival but our last two cruise we've been on the Breakaway. I much prefer the more sophisticated decor of NCL. Some of these pictures seem over the top! Lol

 

 

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I actually love the décor! I was just thinking this is one of the prettiest ships I've ever seen! I guess that's the art major in me coming out ;-) Now that I know there is an artist-themed ship, I might have to make it a goal to sail on the Conquest.

[yummysbakery]

Thanks for another awesome review! I had a memory when I took my daughter on her first open water dive after she had just gotten certified at age 12. She was excited and took off chasing an octopus without a thought to her dive buddy. I was furious! It was dangerous for both divers. So with that in mind here is what I did at the time. When we got topside she was literally grounded for the rest of the trip from the water. Oh we still went on the planned diving excursions but she had to remain topside. She like your daughter was a little fish and it almost broke her heart she couldn't dive the rest of the trip. After all was said and done and

an intensive review of the danger of leaving her dive partner behind she realized the potential severity of her actions. 15 years later she has never strayed again and we happily dive together as much as we can. One other point if you are going to continue pursuing diving

Consider purchasing your own bc's and regulators. You never know what kind of dive operation are in the destinations you will visit. And never continue with a dive if your equipment is not functioning correctly. Signal the dm and you and your dive buddy go topside. I lost a dear friend in a diving accident in Cozumel for her ignoring her malfunctioning gauges and she had 10 years or so experience. It does happen tho rarely. Happy diving from a cruiser from Columbus!

 

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[dollbanks]

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[tinman1973]

Wonderful review! You and your daughter both have amazing talent with a camera, my favorite is the one from Aruba where the pic looks like a diorama. Such a neat effect!

 

I will be looking up your previous reviews since this is my first one of yours I have read.. You really have me wanting to get on a ship right now!! We have two cruises booked, the Sensation in Feb 2018 and the Vista in June 2018, your review makes me want to book another sooner than that! lol

 

From a fellow Ohioan, keep up the great work, I loved reading it!

[panamatiger]

Hi Gary and Pauline!

Remember you from the Dawn repo and looking forward to seeing you on another cruise. We booked a similar repo on the Gem from NY to NOLA for 2018.

 

Hi Arzeena:

Good to hear from you. We are doing the Dawn again on October 2018 Boston Round Trip

Plus the Conquest here B2B October 2017.

Happy Sailings.

Garry

[mitsugirly]

Excellent review as always Kim!

 

Managed to finish it in two sittings.......ignored everything else that came in my way!

The mermaid is lovely. She has grown up since your last review.

 

Where is your next cruise? What ship? Looking forward to going on the virtual journey, or who knows we may be on the same ship some day!

 

Thanks so much Arzeena! I'm glad you enjoyed it. You must have been on a mission to complete it in two sittings. ;p

 

Sakari is growing so much lately. I feel like she's getting taller and taller and a few pictures of scuba diving she looked like an adult. I had to look at the color of the fins to make sure it was her.

 

 

I'm not sure when my next cruise is or the ship yet. I'm been looking around the last few days. I'm also checking pricing and considering a land vacation to Aruba as well. Who knows where I'll end up, but it will be in the summer around July-Aug.

 

 

Thank you so much for this review and all the others! You're an amazing story teller and photographer. I love how you're giving Sakari the opportunity to experience such awesome adventures. She obviously has an exceptional gift for being adventurous as well as being a talented artist.

We were on the 6 day cruise right before yours and had an amazing time. We also went with Grand Turk Divers on the 2 snorkel stop. The guys name was KK, and I'm pretty sure that was the guy you went with looking at your pictures. He was was on time and waiting for us! We loved the first stop at the wall, but the other wasn't that great. After seeing your pictures, I wish we would of taken the excursion that included Gibb's Cay, that's ok though, next time. We had a great time, went back to the ship for a wonderful lunch at Blue Iguana and then spent the afternoon at the beach. Can't wait to hear about your next adventure!

 

Aww, such sweet words. Thanks you. Sakari is very adventurous and I'm glad she's like that and able to do all the things we do.

 

 

I do think that guy said to call him KK, you're right. He was super nice and told us about "his" history (being from Cuba) and we enjoyed our trip. My only complaint was that he really didn't "go out of his way" to do anything more (like didn't go catch a stingray for us to hold or get pictures like every other one did that came that day). But, it was still a great trip to the island. Very beautiful.

 

 

 

Thanks for another awesome review! I had a memory when I took my daughter on her first open water dive after she had just gotten certified at age 12. She was excited and took off chasing an octopus without a thought to her dive buddy. I was furious! It was dangerous for both divers. So with that in mind here is what I did at the time. When we got topside she was literally grounded for the rest of the trip from the water. Oh we still went on the planned diving excursions but she had to remain topside. She like your daughter was a little fish and it almost broke her heart she couldn't dive the rest of the trip. After all was said and done and

an intensive review of the danger of leaving her dive partner behind she realized the potential severity of her actions. 15 years later she has never strayed again and we happily dive together as much as we can. One other point if you are going to continue pursuing diving

Consider purchasing your own bc's and regulators. You never know what kind of dive operation are in the destinations you will visit. And never continue with a dive if your equipment is not functioning correctly. Signal the dm and you and your dive buddy go topside. I lost a dear friend in a diving accident in Cozumel for her ignoring her malfunctioning gauges and she had 10 years or so experience. It does happen tho rarely. Happy diving from a cruiser from Columbus!

 

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Thanks so much for sharing your story. I just need to talk to Sakari about what she did wrong and continue to instill this in her head for the next time we go. But one of the issues was, we didn't have a dive "partner" and we were just all together and the instructor was just kinda "there" so everyone was kinda going all over the place. There really should have been an instructor specifically for her and I think things would have turned out better and some of these things wouldn't have happened ...like her straying or touching the bottom.

 

 

As for the equipment not working, hubby has only went to watch Sakari in class for one of her aquamissions (he don't close the shop in time to make it to each class) and has pretty much 0 knowledge of diving or equipment. So, he really didn't know about the reading on it I'm sure. We just stopped and took pictures and was looking at our air at the time and I didn't realize that it said 0 on it until we got back home and I was looking at the pictures. So there wouldn't have been any stopping to tell the instructor because we weren't aware at all that it was happening.

 

 

As you can tell in this pic that he took, we are at the bottom but it says 0

 

 

 

I can tell you that this is one of the things that I will constantly watch the next time (for my own benefit of knowing how deep we are and not relying on the instructor to tell me otherwise).

 

 

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Sent from my computer...:D

 

 

Wonderful review! You and your daughter both have amazing talent with a camera, my favorite is the one from Aruba where the pic looks like a diorama. Such a neat effect!

 

I will be looking up your previous reviews since this is my first one of yours I have read.. You really have me wanting to get on a ship right now!! We have two cruises booked, the Sensation in Feb 2018 and the Vista in June 2018, your review makes me want to book another sooner than that! lol

 

From a fellow Ohioan, keep up the great work, I loved reading it!

 

Why thank you so much. I appreciate the comments about the review and the pictures.

 

 

I absolutely love the "tilt-shift" (which is what it supposed to resemble) pictures. It's one of my favorites on the camera and I use it a lot. Such a neat setting.

 

 

There seem to be a lot of Ohioan's on this review. Yippee! :D

[AmeliaAtSea]

There seem to be a lot of Ohioan's on this review. Yippee! :D

Me too--I guess it's not listed when I post. I'm just north of Cincinnati. I have relatives in Columbus.

 

edit--now it is.

[pghsteelerfan]

I really, really, really enjoyed your review, as I have the others. We have actually been debating on this itinerary for some time now. We've done 2 westerns, one eastern, 3 southern Caribbean (out of San Juan) and a Mexican Riviera, but never to the DR, Aruba, or Curacao. Hubby wants to do it, but I was hesitant due to the number of sea days. I'm also one who loves port heavy itineraries and go a little "stir crazy" on sea days, but you may have me sold on this itinerary. It sure seems like it would be worth it.

 

Thank you for including all of the scuba pictures. All I can say is "Wow!!!", just beautiful!!! And Sakari and your hubby got some great pictures as well. I know that it technically wasn't "allowed" but I'm glad you all got to scuba dive together. I remember you had been worried about Sakari not being able to pop her ears when your first got her into the lessons and how that could have been a problem (and a dream killer for her) in the future, so I'm sure that's a big relief knowing she's able to do it and handle the depths that she did. And her drawings...she definitely has talent. When I was her age, I loved to draw. I got pretty good too, but I was only able to draw one thing really well...horses. :') I think the last time I drew was when I was in high school.

 

I have an actual question this time. When you were explaining your camera settings with the underwater and macro, I was curious to see what all my camera had. I have the Canon D20, but noticed that it also has the "macro" setting for the underwater. Is that what you use to get the real close up shots of corals and the Christmas Tree worms? If so, thank you for that tip! Anything I can do to improve my pictures is greatly appreciated.

 

Oh, love how your room is coming along!!! From the pictures, the high ceiling like that with the shelf is exactly what we have. I love the idea of a ship theme. Any chance you can follow up with the finished product? Thank you again for taking the time to share your cruise with us through your review. Looking forward to the next one.

[pghsteelerfan]

The FISH ID books.... I just posted down on the Scuba/Snorkeling forum:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=53023538#post53023538

 

I highly recommend these!

 

..

 

ABQrobin, thank you for posting the link to this post! I just ordered one of the books yesterday (had a gift card) and have the others saved in my "Wish List" so I can easily find them to order at a later date. I love snorkeling and am not familiar with the names of all the different kinds of beautiful fish and corals we see, so these will be a great reference. I was actually using Mitsugirly's reviews as one of my references to get actual names. :)

[ABQrobin]

ABQrobin, thank you for posting the link to this post! I just ordered one of the books yesterday (had a gift card) and have the others saved in my "Wish List" so I can easily find them to order at a later date. I love snorkeling and am not familiar with the names of all the different kinds of beautiful fish and corals we see, so these will be a great reference. I was actually using Mitsugirly's reviews as one of my references to get actual names. :)

 

You are welcome! My favorite of the set is the Fish Behavior. I think when I got it, I sat down and read it from cover to cover, well almost. It is just fascinating. And I learned so much about why fish do funny things that I have seen, why some fish are mated as a pair, and some have harems, etc. If you want to learn silly stuff like that, yes I am such a nerd, then you will enjoy that one.

 

robin

[pghsteelerfan]

You are welcome! My favorite of the set is the Fish Behavior. I think when I got it, I sat down and read it from cover to cover, well almost. It is just fascinating. And I learned so much about why fish do funny things that I have seen, why some fish are mated as a pair, and some have harems, etc. If you want to learn silly stuff like that, yes I am such a nerd, then you will enjoy that one.

 

robin

 

Thank you! That one is definitely on the list. I ordered the "Reef Coral ID" one, since I wasn't able to add it to wish list (for some odd reason???) and used the gift card but still got the free shipping. I have a couple more gift cards that I need to find and am planning to get all the others in one order.

 

 

It's funny that you mentioned fish doing funny things like that. We were snorkeling at Sapphire Beach in St. Thomas a few years ago and this one little fish swam with me, in front of my mask, almost the whole time. He was just a little guy, but so cute. I tried getting pictures of him but only one came out. I think I saw in another review after that cruise that some smaller fish will do that to seek shelter. I'm sure that book would mention that for sure. I know I can ID him from my picture. Again, thank you.

[NYGirl1002]

Hi Kim...great review as always. As you know I love your reviews. Your daughter is getting so big. It's amazing how she is able to scuba the way she does.

 

Congratulations on the new house and new granddaughter. Can't wait for your next cruise!

[dktruj]

Love reading all your reviews! We got on the Conquest the day you got off. Just wanted to share our experience with the Mobil passport app. When we got to customs the lines were really long. I asked one of the security people where we should go since we had the mobile app. She treated us like VIPs. Took us right up to the front and told the customs staff that we had the mobile app. We were in and out of that room in about 5 minutes! I made bonus points with my husband! We would have never known there was a special line if I had not asked. I'm hoping they add the mobile app to more ports.

 

 

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[Arzeena]

Thanks so much Arzeena! I'm glad you enjoyed it. You must have been on a mission to complete it in two sittings. ;p

 

Sakari is growing so much lately. I feel like she's getting taller and taller and a few pictures of scuba diving she looked like an adult. I had to look at the color of the fins to make sure it was her.

 

 

I'm not sure when my next cruise is or the ship yet. I'm been looking around the last few days. I'm also checking pricing and considering a land vacation to Aruba as well. Who knows where I'll end up, but it will be in the summer around July-Aug.

 

 

 

We were doing a repo cruise on the Summit from Puerto Rico. I went armed with all the great points from your review on El Conquistador. Loved it! I am glad we did it. We stayed 2 nights pre cruise.

 

I am on RC's Oasis this August.

[butterfly2001]

What a nice review! Thanks for taking the time to do all that!! It look like your little girl had a blast. I would have been very nervous about her swimming off as well.

So, my family is new to cruising, and we are book for the Conquest in August. This will be their first time ever snorkeling or Snuba'ing. Those are 2 shore excursions that we are deciding on. Given all of you information about the scuba diving I looked up to see if there are any classes in our area. Ironically, there is one in OH named Atlantis Outfitters. So, I'm now thinking we must be fairly close to each other.. We live about an hour south of Lake Erie, in Warren County Pennsylvania. Do you think it would be worth making a weekend trip to OH, to take the Discover Scuba Diving class? It seems like a great value but would like your input. Thanks so much!!

[NWACruiser]

Kim

 

I enjoyed the review. We have not been to Aruba since 2001. We thoroughly enjoyed Aruba when we were there.

 

I used to be a diver. I preferred to keep my dives to 50 feet or less. The colors start to deteriorate after 65 feet. It also allows you to take an emergency assent if something goes wrong. I was happy to see Sakari did not get hurt.

 

Her panic mode when scraping fire coral reminded me of my third dive in the Bahamas. I went through NAUI training and they were tough on us. They would mess with your gear while you were in the class, so that you knew how to react if something goes wrong.

 

We went on a dive that had a large number of morning scuba class and then go diving group. There were a lot of teenagers that were not paying attention to what they were doing. :mad: I tried to keep my distance from them because they were doing about everything wrong during a dive. My dive buddy and I thought we were away from the group, when one kid went by in a hurry and was not paying attention to anything. He proceeded to knock my regulator out of my mouth. :eek: This was the first time that something went wrong for me in an open water dive. So I started to panic and try to figure out what I need to do. When the panic was done, I decided to retrieve... wait, my regulator is already in my hand. I did not even realize I had swept for the regulator and retrieved it. :') Moral of the story, Good training is essential for diving.

 

Unfortunately, its been 20 years since the last time I dove. My dive buddy has since quit diving and will never go again. DW barely snorkels and has no plans to dive. So I thoroughly enjoyed the dive trip photos. It brought back a lot of memories. Thank you.

[perfect match]

Kim, another great review, as usual! :D I enjoyed hearing about your diving in Curacao, especiallly since our next cruise includes a stop there! Because of that, and also your excellent description of your experience there, I've done a bit of research on the dive shop you used there.

 

First of all, I was very glad to see that you seemed to be paying more attention to Sakari while she was diving and making sure she was safe than you were to your picture taking. Big kudos to you for that! Safe diving, paying attention to what is going on around you and with your dive buddies always needs to be your priority when diving no matter how experienced you are, but even more so as beginning divers. Pictures are nice, but there is no comparison when talking about making sure that you and everyone in your party come back safely from each dive. i do think that as wonderful as Sakari's pictures were, if she were my kid she would not be allowed to dive with a camera until she had full certification and a whole lot more experience diving than she does now. I would much rather see her practicing dive skills rather than focusing on picture taking at this point in her diving.

 

What you did in Curacao was really a shallow, guided dive suitable for beginning divers. It was not a Bubblemakers/PADI Seals dive, or even a Discover Scuba dive since, as you so accurately mentioned earlier, as very little instruction or skills checks seem to have been done. What I found on the dive shop website has led me to believe that your divemaster may not have really understood what a PADI Seal is, or what a PADI Discover Scuba dive should be. The dive shop's main affiliation was not with PADI, but with some other worldwide dive organizations who most likely have different programs and different guidelines. These are wonderful organizations, they are just not as familiar with PADI's programs as you need them to be. I think he was most likely certified by one of those other organizations and thus was not very familiar with the PADI programs. Here's a copy and paste of what I found.

 

Divecenter CURious2DIVE

 

Is a family owned business and it is located at Caracasbaai. In 2008 we are the first Dive center affiliated with WOSD and IAHD on the Island. In October 2010 we also joined SDI (Scuba Dive International) and we became a SDI and a WOSD/IAHD certified Dive center.

The PADI programs we provide as independent instructors. We're specialized in diving and snorkeling with people with a physical disability. Beside those programs we provide also activities for non divers.

Since 2011 we're located in Caracasbaai and since 2013 we're one of the organizers of the Curacao Clean Up foundation.

 

Please note that I am not in any way trying to slam the dive shop you used. I do think the young man who took you out did a good job of keeping you safe and responded quickly when Sakari had her problem with the fire coral. I am sure he was well trained by the organization that certified him. I am also not aware of what level of certification he holds. I am considering using Curious2Dive for my own stop in Aruba, but I am an experienced diver with many years of independent diving under my belt.

 

I do want to mention that even though I am an experienced diver, on any dives that I consider to be more challenging, I leave my own camera ashore. Focusing on photography while diving is a distraction, so even though I have a lot of experience in diving and dealing with the various issues like getting one's regulator knocked out of one's mouth without panicking, I still feel that safety is the most important thing I can be paying attention to while diving. Yes, you may get away with the distractions most of the time, but it only takes one time that you don't get away with it to have a disastrous outcome. I don't want to take that chance. You will have to make your own decisions.

 

This is just a suggestion, but if I were you I would want to find a dive shop that is a PADI 5 Star facility like your dive shop at home is. Then I would want to be sure that they were very familiar with the PADI Seals program Sakari is participating in and work with divers in that program on a regular basis. That way you will know that you are getting the experience you are expecting. The one problem you may have is that your PADI Seal may not be as happy now that she has been allowed to dive with as much freedom as she had you your dive in Curacao. All I can say is good luck dealing with that! :eek:

 

I hope I'm not coming across as being too hard on you because that is not my intent at all. I think you do a great job both as a mom and as a reviewer here on CC, so the last thing I want to do is to is to offend you in any way. I think you did an excellent job - all 3 of you - in handling the dive experience that you had, and I'm proud of you for that. I just want to be sure that your dives continue to be safe, and I hope that you follow through on completing your certifications. I think all 3 of you have the potential to become good, safe members of the dive community, and I think you will have a lot of fun as a family doing dives together. :D

[E@syPe@zy]

Kim, another great review, as usual! :D I enjoyed hearing about your diving in Curacao, especiallly since our next cruise includes a stop there! Because of that, and also your excellent description of your experience there, I've done a bit of research on the dive shop you used there.

 

First of all, I was very glad to see that you seemed to be paying more attention to Sakari while she was diving and making sure she was safe than you were to your picture taking. Big kudos to you for that! Safe diving, paying attention to what is going on around you and with your dive buddies always needs to be your priority when diving no matter how experienced you are, but even more so as beginning divers. Pictures are nice, but there is no comparison when talking about making sure that you and everyone in your party come back safely from each dive. i do think that as wonderful as Sakari's pictures were, if she were my kid she would not be allowed to dive with a camera until she had full certification and a whole lot more experience diving than she does now. I would much rather see her practicing dive skills rather than focusing on picture taking at this point in her diving.

 

What you did in Curacao was really a shallow, guided dive suitable for beginning divers. It was not a Bubblemakers/PADI Seals dive, or even a Discover Scuba dive since, as you so accurately mentioned earlier, as very little instruction or skills checks seem to have been done. What I found on the dive shop website has led me to believe that your divemaster may not have really understood what a PADI Seal is, or what a PADI Discover Scuba dive should be. The dive shop's main affiliation was not with PADI, but with some other worldwide dive organizations who most likely have different programs and different guidelines. These are wonderful organizations, they are just not as familiar with PADI's programs as you need them to be. I think he was most likely certified by one of those other organizations and thus was not very familiar with the PADI programs. Here's a copy and paste of what I found.

 

Divecenter CURious2DIVE

 

Is a family owned business and it is located at Caracasbaai. In 2008 we are the first Dive center affiliated with WOSD and IAHD on the Island. In October 2010 we also joined SDI (Scuba Dive International) and we became a SDI and a WOSD/IAHD certified Dive center.

The PADI programs we provide as independent instructors. We're specialized in diving and snorkeling with people with a physical disability. Beside those programs we provide also activities for non divers.

Since 2011 we're located in Caracasbaai and since 2013 we're one of the organizers of the Curacao Clean Up foundation.

 

Please note that I am not in any way trying to slam the dive shop you used. I do think the young man who took you out did a good job of keeping you safe and responded quickly when Sakari had her problem with the fire coral. I am sure he was well trained by the organization that certified him. I am also not aware of what level of certification he holds. I am considering using Curious2Dive for my own stop in Aruba, but I am an experienced diver with many years of independent diving under my belt.

 

I do want to mention that even though I am an experienced diver, on any dives that I consider to be more challenging, I leave my own camera ashore. Focusing on photography while diving is a distraction, so even though I have a lot of experience in diving and dealing with the various issues like getting one's regulator knocked out of one's mouth without panicking, I still feel that safety is the most important thing I can be paying attention to while diving. Yes, you may get away with the distractions most of the time, but it only takes one time that you don't get away with it to have a disastrous outcome. I don't want to take that chance. You will have to make your own decisions.

 

This is just a suggestion, but if I were you I would want to find a dive shop that is a PADI 5 Star facility like your dive shop at home is. Then I would want to be sure that they were very familiar with the PADI Seals program Sakari is participating in and work with divers in that program on a regular basis. That way you will know that you are getting the experience you are expecting. The one problem you may have is that your PADI Seal may not be as happy now that she has been allowed to dive with as much freedom as she had you your dive in Curacao. All I can say is good luck dealing with that! :eek:

 

I hope I'm not coming across as being too hard on you because that is not my intent at all. I think you do a great job both as a mom and as a reviewer here on CC, so the last thing I want to do is to is to offend you in any way. I think you did an excellent job - all 3 of you - in handling the dive experience that you had, and I'm proud of you for that. I just want to be sure that your dives continue to be safe, and I hope that you follow through on completing your certifications. I think all 3 of you have the potential to become good, safe members of the dive community, and I think you will have a lot of fun as a family doing dives together. :D

I concur with Nancy...very well said. We both want you and your family to be safe. Diving is a wonderful experience, but when it goes wrong....it goes really wrong...really fast. I'm just not a fan of resort courses. There appears to be too many different interpretations of what constitutes the program and how it is carried out in different locations by different dive shops.

I can't tell you how many times since I read your review of your Curacao dive I've caught myself thinking of you and your family. I just couldn't stand it if anything happened to you. It's what you don't know about diving that can be the most dangerous. I do agree with Nancy that the photo shoot needs to wait. Just concentrate on your dive and the experience you are having in the incredible under water world. But please get certified before you strap on an air tank again. It really is that important.

Take care and be safe. :)

[smurfm69]

You always do great reviews and I was happy and excited to read this one. We are doing this itinerary in May 2019 out of Miami on the Horizon. ( Having serious cruise withdrawls but have to plan and pay for our daughter's wedding in 2018.)

[mitsugirly]

Me too--I guess it's not listed when I post. I'm just north of Cincinnati. I have relatives in Columbus.

 

edit--now it is.

 

It does say OH. Hi "sorta" neighbor.

 

 

I really, really, really enjoyed your review, as I have the others. We have actually been debating on this itinerary for some time now. We've done 2 westerns, one eastern, 3 southern Caribbean (out of San Juan) and a Mexican Riviera, but never to the DR, Aruba, or Curacao. Hubby wants to do it, but I was hesitant due to the number of sea days. I'm also one who loves port heavy itineraries and go a little "stir crazy" on sea days, but you may have me sold on this itinerary. It sure seems like it would be worth it.

 

Thank you for including all of the scuba pictures. All I can say is "Wow!!!", just beautiful!!! And Sakari and your hubby got some great pictures as well. I know that it technically wasn't "allowed" but I'm glad you all got to scuba dive together. I remember you had been worried about Sakari not being able to pop her ears when your first got her into the lessons and how that could have been a problem (and a dream killer for her) in the future, so I'm sure that's a big relief knowing she's able to do it and handle the depths that she did. And her drawings...she definitely has talent. When I was her age, I loved to draw. I got pretty good too, but I was only able to draw one thing really well...horses. I think the last time I drew was when I was in high school.

 

I have an actual question this time. When you were explaining your camera settings with the underwater and macro, I was curious to see what all my camera had. I have the Canon D20, but noticed that it also has the "macro" setting for the underwater. Is that what you use to get the real close up shots of corals and the Christmas Tree worms? If so, thank you for that tip! Anything I can do to improve my pictures is greatly appreciated.

 

Oh, love how your room is coming along!!! From the pictures, the high ceiling like that with the shelf is exactly what we have. I love the idea of a ship theme. Any chance you can follow up with the finished product? Thank you again for taking the time to share your cruise with us through your review. Looking forward to the next one.

 

Thanks so much and I'm really really glad you enjoyed the review.

 

It's definitely worth doing it despite the 3 sea days. We loved it!

 

Having Sakari have a great experience (while giving me heart failure) meant so much to us. I'm also glad the hubby had a good experience this time as well. It was definitely a very special dive for us.

 

 

As for the camera, yes, you use the macro setting. It's been awhile since I had my Canon D10 and don't recall an actual underwater macro, but if you have that...use it for the close ups. I just wish I didn't have a brain fart during my dive and keep putting it on the above water macro setting. Oops :rolleyes:

 

I will definitely finish up with a finished product. We are about 99.9% done. I'm currently (today) painting the doors and trim and then we'll be done. I can't wait...then on the next project. LOL

 

Hi Kim...great review as always. As you know I love your reviews. Your daughter is getting so big. It's amazing how she is able to scuba the way she does.

 

Congratulations on the new house and new granddaughter. Can't wait for your next cruise!

 

Thanks and glad you enjoyed it. I know, Sakari just amazes me at her ability to put 110% into everything she's interested in. She definitely has no fear!

 

Thanks for the congrats!

 

 

Love reading all your reviews! We got on the Conquest the day you got off. Just wanted to share our experience with the Mobil passport app. When we got to customs the lines were really long. I asked one of the security people where we should go since we had the mobile app. She treated us like VIPs. Took us right up to the front and told the customs staff that we had the mobile app. We were in and out of that room in about 5 minutes! I made bonus points with my husband! We would have never known there was a special line if I had not asked. I'm hoping they add the mobile app to more ports.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Wow, must be nice about the mobile app. I didn't bother asking because I seen someone else asking and tried to go in the line up against the wall and they were denied. Then watched someone else try as well and they threw such a stink about it and they finally let them by. I wasn't really in a big hurry because we had a late flight and I knew it was raining outside. So, I just stayed where I was instead.

 

 

 

We were doing a repo cruise on the Summit from Puerto Rico. I went armed with all the great points from your review on El Conquistador. Loved it! I am glad we did it. We stayed 2 nights pre cruise.

 

I am on RC's Oasis this August.

 

Isn't El Conquistador amazing? I hope you were able to visit the private island. I would love to go back there again!

 

Have fun on the Oasis in August...I would love to sail her.

 

 

 

What a nice review! Thanks for taking the time to do all that!! It look like your little girl had a blast. I would have been very nervous about her swimming off as well.

So, my family is new to cruising, and we are book for the Conquest in August. This will be their first time ever snorkeling or Snuba'ing. Those are 2 shore excursions that we are deciding on. Given all of you information about the scuba diving I looked up to see if there are any classes in our area. Ironically, there is one in OH named Atlantis Outfitters. So, I'm now thinking we must be fairly close to each other.. We live about an hour south of Lake Erie, in Warren County Pennsylvania. Do you think it would be worth making a weekend trip to OH, to take the Discover Scuba Diving class? It seems like a great value but would like your input. Thanks so much!!

 

Thanks so much for your comments.

 

 

We are located close to Columbus, so a little far away from the Lake Erie area. If you are interested in Scuba diving, you could take a class but otherwise, for snorkeling you really don't need to take scuba for that and it's super easy to do. I guess it could benefit you for the snuba, but honestly, if you are signed up for this during the cruise, they will show you everything you need to learn on the excursion. I think that if you like snuba, THEN you might want to try scuba classes or try that out afterwards. :)

 

Kim

 

I enjoyed the review. We have not been to Aruba since 2001. We thoroughly enjoyed Aruba when we were there.

 

I used to be a diver. I preferred to keep my dives to 50 feet or less. The colors start to deteriorate after 65 feet. It also allows you to take an emergency assent if something goes wrong. I was happy to see Sakari did not get hurt.

 

Her panic mode when scraping fire coral reminded me of my third dive in the Bahamas. I went through NAUI training and they were tough on us. They would mess with your gear while you were in the class, so that you knew how to react if something goes wrong.

 

We went on a dive that had a large number of morning scuba class and then go diving group. There were a lot of teenagers that were not paying attention to what they were doing. I tried to keep my distance from them because they were doing about everything wrong during a dive. My dive buddy and I thought we were away from the group, when one kid went by in a hurry and was not paying attention to anything. He proceeded to knock my regulator out of my mouth. This was the first time that something went wrong for me in an open water dive. So I started to panic and try to figure out what I need to do. When the panic was done, I decided to retrieve... wait, my regulator is already in my hand. I did not even realize I had swept for the regulator and retrieved it. Moral of the story, Good training is essential for diving.

 

Unfortunately, its been 20 years since the last time I dove. My dive buddy has since quit diving and will never go again. DW barely snorkels and has no plans to dive. So I thoroughly enjoyed the dive trip photos. It brought back a lot of memories. Thank you.

 

 

You training scuba experience sounds scary to me. As for the kid knocking your regulator out and you having it. LOL You have some great stories. Too bad you won't be diving again but glad you enjoyed our photos.

 

 

 

Kim, another great review, as usual! I enjoyed hearing about your diving in Curacao, especiallly since our next cruise includes a stop there! Because of that, and also your excellent description of your experience there, I've done a bit of research on the dive shop you used there.

 

First of all, I was very glad to see that you seemed to be paying more attention to Sakari while she was diving and making sure she was safe than you were to your picture taking. Big kudos to you for that! Safe diving, paying attention to what is going on around you and with your dive buddies always needs to be your priority when diving no matter how experienced you are, but even more so as beginning divers. Pictures are nice, but there is no comparison when talking about making sure that you and everyone in your party come back safely from each dive. i do think that as wonderful as Sakari's pictures were, if she were my kid she would not be allowed to dive with a camera until she had full certification and a whole lot more experience diving than she does now. I would much rather see her practicing dive skills rather than focusing on picture taking at this point in her diving.

 

What you did in Curacao was really a shallow, guided dive suitable for beginning divers. It was not a Bubblemakers/PADI Seals dive, or even a Discover Scuba dive since, as you so accurately mentioned earlier, as very little instruction or skills checks seem to have been done. What I found on the dive shop website has led me to believe that your divemaster may not have really understood what a PADI Seal is, or what a PADI Discover Scuba dive should be. The dive shop's main affiliation was not with PADI, but with some other worldwide dive organizations who most likely have different programs and different guidelines. These are wonderful organizations, they are just not as familiar with PADI's programs as you need them to be. I think he was most likely certified by one of those other organizations and thus was not very familiar with the PADI programs. Here's a copy and paste of what I found.

 

Divecenter CURious2DIVE

 

Is a family owned business and it is located at Caracasbaai. In 2008 we are the first Dive center affiliated with WOSD and IAHD on the Island. In October 2010 we also joined SDI (Scuba Dive International) and we became a SDI and a WOSD/IAHD certified Dive center.

The PADI programs we provide as independent instructors. We're specialized in diving and snorkeling with people with a physical disability. Beside those programs we provide also activities for non divers.

Since 2011 we're located in Caracasbaai and since 2013 we're one of the organizers of the Curacao Clean Up foundation.

 

Please note that I am not in any way trying to slam the dive shop you used. I do think the young man who took you out did a good job of keeping you safe and responded quickly when Sakari had her problem with the fire coral. I am sure he was well trained by the organization that certified him. I am also not aware of what level of certification he holds. I am considering using Curious2Dive for my own stop in Aruba, but I am an experienced diver with many years of independent diving under my belt.

 

I do want to mention that even though I am an experienced diver, on any dives that I consider to be more challenging, I leave my own camera ashore. Focusing on photography while diving is a distraction, so even though I have a lot of experience in diving and dealing with the various issues like getting one's regulator knocked out of one's mouth without panicking, I still feel that safety is the most important thing I can be paying attention to while diving. Yes, you may get away with the distractions most of the time, but it only takes one time that you don't get away with it to have a disastrous outcome. I don't want to take that chance. You will have to make your own decisions.

 

This is just a suggestion, but if I were you I would want to find a dive shop that is a PADI 5 Star facility like your dive shop at home is. Then I would want to be sure that they were very familiar with the PADI Seals program Sakari is participating in and work with divers in that program on a regular basis. That way you will know that you are getting the experience you are expecting. The one problem you may have is that your PADI Seal may not be as happy now that she has been allowed to dive with as much freedom as she had you your dive in Curacao. All I can say is good luck dealing with that!

 

I hope I'm not coming across as being too hard on you because that is not my intent at all. I think you do a great job both as a mom and as a reviewer here on CC, so the last thing I want to do is to is to offend you in any way. I think you did an excellent job - all 3 of you - in handling the dive experience that you had, and I'm proud of you for that. I just want to be sure that your dives continue to be safe, and I hope that you follow through on completing your certifications. I think all 3 of you have the potential to become good, safe members of the dive community, and I think you will have a lot of fun as a family doing dives together.

 

 

Thanks so much for all of your comments and suggestions and explanations. You do not come off in a bad way at all and I am not offended either. I enjoy hearing others opinions and suggestions.

 

 

Thanks for clarifying the info you were able to obtain on the dive shop. I did read all of that prior to booking and I did see the part that said PADI instructors and assumed that's what we were getting. However, the guy seemed a little confused about everything I asked ask far as filling out our logs and Sakari's PADI log along with I ask if they had certificates (like she got in St Thomas) and he had no clue (and was supposed to check...spent some time in the office...then never mentioned it again).

 

 

With the emails I exchanged with the actual owner prior to booking, I'm pretty sure that he understood.

 

 

I ask about Discover Scuba, explained our situation with Sakari and her classes/certification along with all of our dive information.

 

 

We were told: "Yes we provide these services. The introduction is no problem at all and that will take about 4hrs. That's theory and diving in total.

The bubble maker can be combined with the introduction dive and will be shallow. You can stay with your daughter or youcan go deeper with the divemaster till a max depth of 12m 40 ft"

 

So at least the owner did understand what we were looking for. He might have not relayed this info to the person he had take us out, but he knew.

 

As for my comments about the dive instructor and his qualifications AND the photography issue...I have addressed that with Robin already, so I'm just going to point you to that portion of the thread: CLICK HERE

 

 

Yes, Sakari might not be happy with her next experience, but she only has another year to go until she can actually do the DSD with us for good. With us cruising, on average, 3x a year, that means she'll probably only have to deal with the 6-12' depth another 2x while on vacation. I'm sure she won't pass it up either way. :D

 

I concur with Nancy...very well said. We both want you and your family to be safe. Diving is a wonderful experience, but when it goes wrong....it goes really wrong...really fast. I'm just not a fan of resort courses. There appears to be too many different interpretations of what constitutes the program and how it is carried out in different locations by different dive shops.

I can't tell you how many times since I read your review of your Curacao dive I've caught myself thinking of you and your family. I just couldn't stand it if anything happened to you. It's what you don't know about diving that can be the most dangerous. I do agree with Nancy that the photo shoot needs to wait. Just concentrate on your dive and the experience you are having in the incredible under water world. But please get certified before you strap on an air tank again. It really is that important.

Take care and be safe.

 

Thanks for your thoughts and comments (answered above).

 

 

You always do great reviews and I was happy and excited to read this one. We are doing this itinerary in May 2019 out of Miami on the Horizon. ( Having serious cruise withdrawls but have to plan and pay for our daughter's wedding in 2018.)

 

 

Thanks so much and although a bit of a wait until your Horizon cruise, it will be worth it and congrats to your daughter on her upcoming wedding next year.

[TheGirlNextDoor]

I love love love your reviews. I am not on here a ton but I discovered your Dream review years ago.... Then I stumbled upon your Fascination one recently. It was on that review that I recognized Sakuri from your Dream review. She and my little girl are about the same age so I feel like I can relate so much to you. Of course, my little one isn't as fearless as yours. After finding you again, I went onto read your Breeze review. (Feeling like a stalker now...) I've been on Breeze once and we're sailing Breeze again in August. Now, I've found your Conquest review (stalker alert) and I'm thrilled because that was our first ship to ever sail on! So I have a couple of questions and comments about your reviews.

 

I love how you call soda "pop..." It absolutely reminds me of my grandma. She's been gone for 9 years now. I had forgotten how we used to tease her when I was a kid because she always said "pop.." So now I'm wondering what is your kind of pop? Growing up in Texas, I referred to all soda as Coke. HAHA. Now I just say soda...

 

Also, have you ever cruised out of Galveston or even New Orleans? All 8 of my cruises are out of Galveston. I would love to try something else but I like the ships here and its so convenient/cheaper to fly to Houston. However, I am getting bored with the same ports. Have you been to Belize or Roatan one? I wish I was as adventurous as you. You are very good about not repeating where you stay or go. I tend to repeat ALOT.

 

Oh and just 2 weeks ago, we went to Disney World. Coming home, I sat down on my plane and realized I couldn't find my phone. I was traveling alone with my 2 girls. Panic set in when I couldn't find it in my purse. I had to get off the plane and run up the thing to try to find it. It was gone. Or so I thought. After sitting back in my seat depressed, it was found in my shopping bag of all things. Talk about stress.... and of course the whole plane wanted to know if I ever found my phone. Yep, I was that crazy lady that held up a plane for a phone I had on me the entire time.

[TheGirlNextDoor]

Oh and that is the Conquest in my profile pic... I took in the Caymans back in 2010!

[KLcruiser]

Great tip about SW rewards! Going to be sure to cash in for my upcoming cruise.

[mitsugirly]

I love love love your reviews. I am not on here a ton but I discovered your Dream review years ago.... Then I stumbled upon your Fascination one recently. It was on that review that I recognized Sakuri from your Dream review. She and my little girl are about the same age so I feel like I can relate so much to you. Of course, my little one isn't as fearless as yours. After finding you again, I went onto read your Breeze review. (Feeling like a stalker now...) I've been on Breeze once and we're sailing Breeze again in August. Now, I've found your Conquest review (stalker alert) and I'm thrilled because that was our first ship to ever sail on! So I have a couple of questions and comments about your reviews.

 

I love how you call soda "pop..." It absolutely reminds me of my grandma. She's been gone for 9 years now. I had forgotten how we used to tease her when I was a kid because she always said "pop.." So now I'm wondering what is your kind of pop? Growing up in Texas, I referred to all soda as Coke. HAHA. Now I just say soda...

 

Also, have you ever cruised out of Galveston or even New Orleans? All 8 of my cruises are out of Galveston. I would love to try something else but I like the ships here and its so convenient/cheaper to fly to Houston. However, I am getting bored with the same ports. Have you been to Belize or Roatan one? I wish I was as adventurous as you. You are very good about not repeating where you stay or go. I tend to repeat ALOT.

 

Oh and just 2 weeks ago, we went to Disney World. Coming home, I sat down on my plane and realized I couldn't find my phone. I was traveling alone with my 2 girls. Panic set in when I couldn't find it in my purse. I had to get off the plane and run up the thing to try to find it. It was gone. Or so I thought. After sitting back in my seat depressed, it was found in my shopping bag of all things. Talk about stress.... and of course the whole plane wanted to know if I ever found my phone. Yep, I was that crazy lady that held up a plane for a phone I had on me the entire time.

 

 

LOL, stalk away. As long as you are enjoying them, that's what they are for. :)

 

Pop to me means any type of soda. It doesn't mean Coke or a certain kind. Pop is the drink. It's how I was raised and I'm not sure where it comes from. I was born in Alabama and so were my parents and that's the term they used. A bunch of us got into a discussion on here, on one of my reviews, about the "pop" terminology and who said it where and what it meant to them. If you haven't ran across that review yet...you might during your binge reading. LOL

 

We have cruised out of Texas once (I believe Houston/Bay port) on NCL. We have cruised out of NOLA several times and LOVE LOVE LOVE it! I would pick that place to cruise out of every time if I could!

 

We have done Belize and Roatan many times. If you expand my signature line, you will see a listing of every port and what we did in each one. You'll find Belize and Roatan. I LOVE those ports on that route, and we did them multiple times over and over, but just recently expanded out to other ports (over the last 2 years) just because we wanted something different. I find myself missing that route though and wouldn't remind returning to it. There's just so much to do in each port that you really never have to repeat things.

 

 

You had me laughing about the phone situation. Sounds like something I would do for sure! So glad you actually found it!

 

 

 

Great tip about SW rewards! Going to be sure to cash in for my upcoming cruise.

 

:D

[retiring soon]

Hi all!

 

mitsugirly ~ well if you want to do those fav ports again pick Escape on Oct 14th!;) We're going to Roatan, Harvest Caye (been there yet?), Costa Maya & Cozumel.

 

I'm off on Getaway next week so looking forward to that & seeing the Baltic ports.

Always a pleasure to read your reviews & see your lovely pictures.

 

~ Jo ~ :)