Was Live Now Great Memories From the May 27th Double Scoop Cruise

[michelle9343]

I just wanted to thank all of you for taking the time to share the much a waited doulble dip info. You guys rock!!

[kikipug]

I have pictures of the shirts and the bag for this cruise. The shirts cost $14.99 and the bag was $15.00. The shirt also came in a tan color.




Only the kids sizes are available in tan... but NOT available in blue. :guilty:

[mickeymo]

Goofy Gallery which is new since we last sailed the Magic in December of 2004. They had a number of pastries and they had Stollen bread - just like in Palo. No whipped cream, jam or berries to go with it but it was still delicious.


Drat - didn't know Goofy's had the Stollen. Maybe that's a good thing - I was having trouble fitting into my clothes by Saturday without the extra Stollen. Just another excuse to book again - I have to try Breakfast at Goofy's.

Memo to self - when choosing cruise clothes - elastic waistbands are a must!!!

[mickeymo]

I do know that Cove Cafe hosts a cigar/conac receiption some nights but haven't been up there during that to know if it is held inside or out or how smokey it is.

The reception is in the passageway area next to Cove Cafe- as a non-smoker, I thought it was pretty smokey - on the way to the Quiet Cove pool, we would just head around to the other side to get to the pool. Sure wish there were more of those comfy lounge chairs on the other side of the Quiet Cove - I would have loved to take advantage of them in the evenings but, couldn't for the cigar receptions.

[mickeymo]

Yes - pretty much the same menu each time.....

I had never eaten at Serenity Bay so I was quite surprised that they had T-Bone steaks on the menu.

Virgil
pirate:


And the Steaks were HUGE - just about covered an entire paper plate!!!! Best part - John just leaned over and pointed to the steak the server just flipped - and got a very good rare steak! yum!!! (Almost) didn't miss the lobster burgers...

[mickeymo]

1st kid just rolled out of bed and I'm finished catching up so, I'll have to log off- impressions and trip reports later...John took lots of great photos of fellow DISers. We were on the side of the Pirates Party up front and he got some great photos of the characters. He'll get links to those later - I'm sure he's swamped, catching up at work.

[Evans Family]

I've got a question for YippeeDCL...what beach did you go to? I loved the pictures and want one of those massages!!!

For those of you on the DD cruise...what night would you recommend for Palo?...we are on the 10/14 dd.

Thanks!

[Dancind]

There's a good tip, be sure and eat at Serenity Bay on the SECOND CC day, not the first. We did it the other way around, and the menu was nothing special.

Totally missed the t-shirts. I did ask about pins, but didn't even think about t-shirts.

Evans Family, we ate dinner at Palo on Tuesday. It would have been our second night in our first restaurant, and I don't think anything special was going on in the dining rooms.

[kikipug]

For those of you on the DD cruise...what night would you recommend for Palo?...we are on the 10/14 dd.

Thanks!

Whatever night that is AFTER the day that you bought bigger pants.

Seriously, though... we had brunch AND dinner at Palo on Thursday... which worked out great, but after 6 hours at Palo in one day, we weren't very hungry for the dessert buffet at 11:15...

[justmestace]

There's a good tip, be sure and eat at Serenity Bay on the SECOND CC day, not the first. We did it the other way around, and the menu was nothing special.


That's what we did, too. Ate there the first day, then decided not to go all the way over there the second day, because (we thought) it wasn't any different.
Oh well. Guess we'll just have to do another "Double Dip"!!

[Dancind]

Whatever night that is AFTER the day that you bought bigger pants.

Seriously, though... we had brunch AND dinner at Palo on Thursday... which worked out great, but after 6 hours at Palo in one day, we weren't very hungry for the dessert buffet at 11:15...

Oh my! No wonder you weren't overly excited to take over our Thursday night reservation at Palo. I don't think I could handle eating there twice in one day. You guys are my heroes!

[kikipug]

Oh my! No wonder you weren't overly excited to take over our Thursday night reservation at Palo. I don't think I could handle eating there twice in one day. You guys are my heroes!

No, we didn't know about Thursday brunch at that point... on Monday, I got a phone message...scribbled on the back of a piece of paper... from Kelly... (who was in the room with Elizabeth at the time and answered our phone...) The note read:

"Mom... call Jim about having brunch with him @ Palo's on Thursday"

At approximately the same exact time, Sharon was up on Deck 9 asking Ray if he'd like to join her for brunch on Thursday...

Oh.... ALL OF US TOGETHER... :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: ... it just struck me funny... the note looked like something passed through a 6th grade classroom.

[yippeeDCL]

The shirts are blue, and actually a prettier blue than what shows in the picture.

By the way, we did not buy our t-shirts until the 2nd trip to CC....the CM said..."what is out is all that is available. Once these are gone there will be no more". I took that to mean, they are only selling a certain amount each trip. By the way, this was on our way in...I forgot to look on the way out. There were no Adult meidums and I bought the last youth large.

[yippeeDCL]

I've got a question for YippeeDCL...what beach did you go to? I loved the pictures and want one of those massages!!!

For those of you on the DD cruise...what night would you recommend for Palo?...we are on the 10/14 dd.

Thanks!

We were at the fartherest point of "beach" at Mahajual. The taxi driver let us out at the "gate" into Mahajual and we walked all the way to the end(1/2 mile?) You will certainly know you reached the end...no more souvenier stands.

By the way, we did the couples Villa on board and DH2B said the "massage" was just as good (and for $20!!). But, he still preferred the Villa...could have had something to do with "no kids" :rotfl: :rotfl:

[roysbrew]

Thanks for all the info. We've booked Palo on our July DD for Tues. night. Was the the Master Chef menu? That was our least favorite menu so that's why we picked that night. We are doing Brunch on Mon. and hoping to do CB on thurs. We will be sure to eat a serenity bay on the 2cd stop.

[kikipug]

By the way, we did not buy our t-shirts until the 2nd trip to CC....the CM said..."what is out is all that is available. Once these are gone there will be no more". I took that to mean, they are only selling a certain amount each trip. By the way, this was on our way in...I forgot to look on the way out. There were no Adult meidums and I bought the last youth large.

They were NOT available on the first CC day, as far as I was told by the CM in the Treasure Ketch... ONLY on Friday. When we got there first thing Fri AM, there were already no XL's... we asked the CM, who promptly went out back and got another box... she said they have plenty of all the sizes...

[FLPrincessMom]

The CM also told me that if they run out of the shirts that they will mail it to your home for free!!! Don't know if it's true or not but it would be worth checking into...

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

They were NOT available on the first CC day, as far as I was told by the CM in the Treasure Ketch... ONLY on Friday. When we got there first thing Fri AM, there were already no XL's... we asked the CM, who promptly went out back and got another box... she said they have plenty of all the sizes...
Ugh!
I didn't get one of the shirts for this very reason- except they didn't say they had more in the back... they said that's all they had left and none of the sizes left would fit me nor DH. :(

Oh well- it doesn't bother me all that much. I have our own special double dip tshirts anyway. :)

[Diamond_Girls]

sounds like y'all had a great time! I'm so glad! Which way did the Magic dock at CC? Did it go in frontways or did it backup? Thanks!

[feelin'therays]

the Magic backed in to dock both times at CC.

[Diamond_Girls]

Yay! We're on the starboard side in August so we'll get to see the island... for a moment before we high-tail it out of the room so we can get on the island!

[WDWLVR]

We are finally home from our MAGICal cruise (spent 2 days at WDW) and can honestly say it was one of our favorites!


A quick recap of some of our highlights as well as some thanks:

First a great big thank you to all the DISers who got involved on the meets thread and who sent us thier info for the web page. It was great getting to know all the blabbermouths!

Thanks for Maria who was our go to person for the shirts. Thanks to Pam who helped coordinate not only the shirts but also the special bags for the group. You ladies are the best!

Thanks to Jim who had the special wine bottled!

Thanks to Stacey and Sue who coordinated the late and early dining and linking of DISers.

Thanks to Stacey for organizing a special reunion brunch for the 10 day cruisers.

A great big shout out to DJ Hollywood for all the wonderful shout outs on the cruise!

To the gang at the JB's dinner meet - what a great way to get the week started. Loved it!

To the gang at the Radisson meet - they skies may have opened and moved us indoors but we still had a blast. A special treat was seeing Stacey and GaRry who came over to the port just for the meet.

To Laura, Dwight, Tori, Monica, John, Maggie & Michael - breakfast at Grills was fantastic! What a way to start our sailing day!

To all the DISers we met at the port - what a sight to see everyone in their matching shirts. What a great way to spend the time waiting to board!

To all who came to the 3pm DIS meet - what a great turn out! We were honored to have Don "Ducky" Williams and his party join us!

To Karen, Mike, KT and Nick - the best tablemates in the world! Table 34 was the place to be!

Castaway Cay - day #1 - Loved doing the stingrays with Sandi, Larry and Caleb. We also loved doing the eco tour later in the day. What a perfect day in paradise!

Sea day #1 - the 10 day group brunch. It was great to relive the memories with our friends from the 10 day cruise. Anne Marie was the best in taking care of the group! Special shout out to Pam for coming in and being our unofficial photographer as well!

Costa May - always fun seeing a new port and I'm glad we did it.

Cozumel - well the day was all about relaxation for us. Nice to see Cozumel coming back to life with all the new construction on the piers. What made this day extra special was the Pirate party and getting to watch Pirates in the Caribbean while cruising under the stars in the Caribbean!

Sea day #2 - Getting to see Ducky Williams presentation and even better getting to see it surrounded by DIS friends! Loved playing LRC at the Mickey Pool. Got to have High Tea with my honey - brought back memories of our honeymoon at the Grand Floridian! Hanging with my DIS friends at the dessert buffet and getting my first taste of Banfi!

Castaway Cay Day #2 - heaven on earth! Spent the morning at Serenity Bay! The water was so crystal clear! Thanks to Ducky for pointing out the best spot to snorkel! Loved having lunch with Sue's family as well as Jim & Sharon (a special thank you to Lisa for the invite and for moving so we could eat with the adults).

A heatfelt thank you to Ducky and Frank who acted as his go-between for helping with a very special request.

Last, but by no means least, for GaRry. You may have not been on the cruise with us physically but you were there in spirit. It was wonderful to see you on Friday night and very hard to watch you standing on the rocks at Jetty park on Saturday. You are in our thoughts and prayers daily and I look forward to the day when we can sail together again.

One last thanks - to all who read the live report. Hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

[SeaSpray]

Excellent recap, Mary!! :thumbsup2 Thanks so much for all of your live reports, too. It's been so much fun to read them each day!!! :sunny:

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

Great recap Mary! I wish we'd seen you more often during the cruise. Did you have early dining perhaps?

I totally didn't know Ducky was at the Dismeet. I'm so not in the know. Didn't know about the wine either. LOL

Anyone else really not motivated to unpack? I'm so unmotivated to finish unpacking that I'm cleaning the house in any other way I can think of- trying to avoid the rest of the luggage. :rotfl: I think I'm trying to stay in denial that the cruise is over.

Let me just say this- it was a lot easier to wait 3 yrs for this cruise than it's going to be NOW to wait for the next one... a lot easier then. *cry* We rebooked late Dec thinking we'd just rebook for summer 2008. I really wish we could go next summer -meaning I wish it wasn't the med cruises then (just too expensive for us really). Now I'm wondering if we should just stick with the late Dec cruise... kids will be out for the holidays. LOL hmmm, so exactly how bad is the weather on a late Dec cruise 15-22? I'm not sure I can manage waiting till summer 2008 and besides- the humidity just about did me in on this cruise. Hot I can handle- humidity... phew! I'm liking the sound of a cruise where it's not quite so hot/humid- but is it really cold and bad weather and possibly not stopping at ports and such? Hmm, extra days at sea doesn't sound too bad. What do they do if you don't get to go to port? Does anything on the schedule/navigator's change to keep people entertained on the ship? Questions questions. Already planning our next cruise as you can see. LOL

Hey my feet aren't QUITE as swollen now- almost recognizable. LOL :Pinkbounc *downs more water*

[WDWLVR]

Yes we were on early seating with a great group of DISers. Never did make it to visit late seating like we did in 2004 - went to too many of the shows instead. :)

Ducky coming to the meet was a pleasant surprise to all of us. As for the wine Jim had posted about it on the thread for a few weeks and we had updates about it on the web site. Not sure how you missed it.

The 10 day was late December of 2004 and the weather was great at every place but CC. It was very cool and all excursions were cancelled due to the nets coming down on the family beach.

[Buddy Bear]

I have pictures of the shirts and the bag for this cruise. The shirts cost $14.99 and the bag was $15.00. The shirt also came in a tan color.


http://photobucket.com/albums/v444/justmestace/IMGP0726.jpg

Hey Stacey,

Thanks for posting the photos of the shirts and bags. Can you tell me if the run big or small. My wife wears a Adult Large or a Child Small depending on how they run.

I am glad to hear everybody had a great time.

Jeff

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

Yes we were on early seating with a great group of DISers. Never did make it to visit late seating like we did in 2004 - went to too many of the shows instead. :)

Ducky coming to the meet was a pleasant surprise to all of us. As for the wine Jim had posted about it on the thread for a few weeks and we had updates about it on the web site. Not sure how you missed it.

The 10 day was late December of 2004 and the weather was great at every place but CC. It was very cool and all excursions were cancelled due to the nets coming down on the family beach.

Ah, I see (about early dining).
I didn't mean Ducky wasn't a surprise- I meant I never knew he was there until I came home and read it on the thread. That's what I meant by "not in the know"- even though I was there. LOL
The wine- not sure how I missed that either. I even checked the website just days before leaving to look at some pictures (for instance to find those we'd be sharing the mayan excursion with and the family with which DH would be scuba diving with their son Bryce)- I must have scrolled right past it. Weird- but no biggie.

What does "nets coming down on the family beach" mean? Did you get to go to CC but just no excursions? That's the only thing that worries me- totally missing CC during "bad weather" months... I wish we could just go earlier like in spring- not too cold, not too hot.. but alas the kids have school and we just don't want to take them out that long (we tack on days at WDW to the cruise ofcourse LOL)
I guess I'll think a bit longer on whether to keep the late Dec 2007 or change it to summer 2008- we have lots of time to think about it (unfortunately)

[chip&dale&fun]

Mary - I like the new name of the thread.......I'm working on my memories, hints and answering questions best I can.....

[chip&dale&fun]

The shirts are blue, and actually a prettier blue than what shows in the picture.

did I remember to say that the tan color is for the youth shirts??????
No, but KikiKaren did.....sorry for the repeat.

[chip&dale&fun]

There's a good tip, be sure and eat at Serenity Bay on the SECOND CC day, not the first. We did it the other way around, and the menu was nothing special.

Totally missed the t-shirts. I did ask about pins, but didn't even think about t-shirts.

Evans Family, we ate dinner at Palo on Tuesday. It would have been our second night in our first restaurant, and I don't think anything special was going on in the dining rooms.

I concur that Palo Tuesday would be a good night. We had Palo on Sunday as we had a scuba dive on Weds. and I wanted to roll into bed early......

[Buddy Bear]

did I remember to say that the tan color is for the youth shirts??????
No, but KikiKaren did.....sorry for the repeat.


We were thinking of getting match shirts (colors too). If the youth shirts are tan does that mean we can't match colors? I think the answer is obvious; I am just hopeful that I am wrong.

Jeff

[chip&dale&fun]

By the way, we did not buy our t-shirts until the 2nd trip to CC....the CM said..."what is out is all that is available. Once these are gone there will be no more". I took that to mean, they are only selling a certain amount each trip. By the way, this was on our way in...I forgot to look on the way out. There were no Adult meidums and I bought the last youth large.

When I checked with the cast member he said the shirts were not out for first day we were at CC - perhaps they will correct this for the next DDippers. Let's hope so......

[chip&dale&fun]

Yay! We're on the starboard side in August so we'll get to see the island... for a moment before we high-tail it out of the room so we can get on the island!

You will love it!!!! That was our side and it is so much fun to watch the boat dock....Both times......

[chip&dale&fun]

[QUOTE=WDWLVR] *******
Ducky coming to the meet was a pleasant surprise to all of us. [\QUOTE]

Mary - your comment about Ducky - here is a hint with the new Navigators. At least for me. The second page is a TV type schedule, but it is not reliable. For example, DUCKY was not on the second page. He was on the first page. The dessert buffet was not on the second page, it was on the first page.....So hint to future cruisers, read both pages....or perhaps it is just me.....

[chip&dale&fun]

We were thinking of getting match shirts (colors too). If the youth shirts are tan does that mean we can't match colors? I think the answer is obvious; I am just hopeful that I am wrong.

Jeff

Jeff, I'd not plan on anything....they may change again before you sail. As you can tell from this thread, we were disappointed that there was no special pin, or charm from Costa Maya, or shirts.....so maybe Disney is learning how very special a DD is and could adjust.....Hopeful? Disney was so stunned with the repeat cruisers, that by the time you sail, you might have goodies we missed?????

[pjpoohbear]

Did anyone notice if there was a XXL size in the Adult Twice the Magic shirts? Thanks

Pj

[deelee2]

Just wondering if anyone booked and took the beach snorkel through Disney. I have it reserved and wondered if it was worthwhile or should we do on our own for our 07-22 dip?

[justmestace]

We were thinking of getting match shirts (colors too). If the youth shirts are tan does that mean we can't match colors? I think the answer is obvious; I am just hopeful that I am wrong.

Jeff

Hey Jeff! I thought the suite was a surprise for your family?? I hope they don't see your sig! ;)
Seems like the t-shirts run a tad large, but will probably shrink. And yes...all the Adult sizes are blue, all the kids sizes are tan...you read it correctly. You'll still look cute as a family even with different colors.
There's also a really cute t-shirt for kids with Stitch on them. I wish they'd had that one in adult sizes. I picked one up for my friend's little boy. Doesn't say anything about the 2 x Castaway Cay...it was just one I hadn't seen yet & cute.
And no Gloria. I'm sorry. She has left DCL and no one was able to tell me how to contact her. :sad1: :sad1:

[justmestace]

did I remember to say that the tan color is for the youth shirts??????
No, but KikiKaren did.....sorry for the repeat.


Yep....you had said it also.....repeating is good, though.

[mickeymo]

Disney was so stunned with the repeat cruisers...

Anyone know what sailing had the largest group of repeat cruisers?

[AshAlytwins]

Thanks for sharing the daily reports.....we loved ready what you were up to each day!!! :love:

[Buddy Bear]

Hey Jeff! I thought the suite was a surprise for your family?? I hope they don't see your sig! ;)
Seems like the t-shirts run a tad large, but will probably shrink. And yes...all the Adult sizes are blue, all the kids sizes are tan...you read it correctly. You'll still look cute as a family even with different colors.
There's also a really cute t-shirt for kids with Stitch on them. I wish they'd had that one in adult sizes. I picked one up for my friend's little boy. Doesn't say anything about the 2 x Castaway Cay...it was just one I hadn't seen yet & cute.
And no Gloria. I'm sorry. She has left DCL and no one was able to tell me how to contact her. :sad1: :sad1:


Yes, the "Roy"al Suite is still a surprise and no I don't expect anyone to look at the boards unless I tell them. I am the DCL forum addict; they don't bother, but maybe I should take that down just in case.

I actually asked a future double dipper to get me those T-shirts so we can have them prior to our cruise. Since we like to wear matching T-shirts for the embarkation photo what better shirt to wear. It should look good with the new backdrop.

Missy and Catherine usually wear an adult small or child large so I will ask my shopping buddy to get me 2 child large since they run big.

Thanks for checking into Gloria for me. I had a feeling she was gone. Oh well, perhaps we will hear from her one day. :goodvibes


Jeff

[Diamond_Girls]

Do you recall what days the character breakfasts were on? I'm trying to update my itinerary based on the different dining rotations. We have late seating if that matters. Thanks!

[WDWLVR]

Do you recall what days the character breakfasts were on? I'm trying to update my itinerary based on the different dining rotations. We have late seating if that matters. Thanks!

We were APL and had ours on Thursday.

I believe LAP had theirs on Monday and PLA had theirs on Friday (CC day).

[MarkRG]

For anyone going on a Double CC cruise this summer, I have just finished uploading all the Navs to the Dis PhotoPost!

http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/showgallery.php?cat=711&page=3

[WarEagleEd]

Did anyone notice if there was a XXL size in the Adult Twice the Magic shirts? Thanks

Pj


Yes. They had XXL, I got one myself.

[pjpoohbear]

Yes. They had XXL, I got one myself.


:woohoo: Now the wait begins, hope they still have them in December. Showed mom the picture and she wants one too, and she isn't even cruising, lol!!!!! I guess I have to make it up to her somehow, right :lmao:

Penny

[Diamond_Girls]

Does anyone know what days & times the character breakfasts are for each of the rotations?

[gssmks]

Does anyone know what days & times the character breakfasts are for each of the rotations?

Another thread has posted:

LAP Monday
APL Thursday
PLA Friday

[BWVPam]

Did anyone notice if there was a XXL size in the Adult Twice the Magic shirts? Thanks

Pj

Yes -- I bought my husband a 2X

[BWVPam]

Someone asked in a previous post on this thread about the Dolphin Excursion. We did the one in Costa Maya. Overall it was a great experience. We were met at the pier and guided to some very nice new motor coaches for our ride to the beach. I would say it was about a 30 minute bus ride. Upon arriving at the beach, you go into a special area to get your instructions about the swim with the dolphins. You get to see a short video and then they go over the rules. Everyone wears life jacket.

Here is where we made our mistake. We decided that hubby would do the observer so he could watch the kids in the water and video tape them. The area that they have the observers in is so far away from where you and the dolphins are swimming. He and our friend that was also an observer were both very disappointed that you couldn't really see anything from where they were at.

Also, take cash with you on this excursion. We all had our credit cards and just took a little cash. Unfortunately, the food they serve you only takes cash and it was pretty expensive. They did have an open bar for the excursion. After the swim, we ended up going back on the first bus so we could get back.

I enjoyed the swim and the kids said it was their favorite thing. I did buy the picture of each of the kids with the dolphin kissing them. We actually got to swim out into the water and the dolphins did tricks around us. They swam in a circle around us very fast, they did jumps in the water. We would make a line and they would jump over our heads, etc. I think we were in the water with them for about 45 minutes.

My husband told the excursion desk that they should try and discouirage people from doing the observer, or at last acknowledging how far you would be from the rest of your party. He was told that several people had complained also, and they were going to be meeting about it. Anyway, a couple of days later, they removed his charge for the observer from our account. I know that they did this also for our friend that was also on this sailing.

[TiggersPal]

I appreciated the dolphin excursion information very much. I think our excursion does a "foot push" - where they lift you out of the water...you didnt' mention that - might be a different swim? Anyway, appreciate the tips as to cash, observer information and all. I'm looking very forward to this on my double dip in November!:cool1:

[whnim64]

...Also, take cash with you on this excursion.
Also note that The Native Choice (David and Ivan) excursions are on a cash-only basis. They do let you know that when they send your confirmation e-mail.

[wdwgoose]

HAY ALL



:dance3:







:grouphug:








:dance3:









I'm ON DA LIST






A TYPE BLOOD





15 - 20 GROUP



SO I'M NOT AT THE TOP BUT I;M THERE






gaRRy :firefight

[armyfam]

HAY ALL



:dance3:







:grouphug:








:dance3:









I'm ON DA LIST






A TYPE BLOOD





15 - 20 GROUP



SO I'M NOT AT THE TOP BUT I;M THERE






gaRRy :firefight


This is wonderful news, gaRRy!
I loved the sign and Tinkerbell drawing. What terrific friends you have. We are also praying for you.
Keep up the good attitude--that always goes a long way.

BTW, one of my surgeon's was a Marine. Great guy and rides a Harley! He's a real character.

susan

[tinytink]

HAY ALL



:dance3:







:grouphug:








:dance3:









I'm ON DA LIST






A TYPE BLOOD





15 - 20 GROUP



SO I'M NOT AT THE TOP BUT I;M THERE






gaRRy :firefight
gaRRY,

Congrats! oorah!!! We'll be praying for you.

Sempre Fi

DH-Active Duty 1997-2001, Reserves 2002-2004

[DVCDebb]

Didn't get a chance to post during the trip, barely got a chance to check my work email.

Not going to do a full trip report but a couple comments.

Everything far exceeded our expectations and what we remembered from our first cruise.

I know someone asked about the "Cozumel" (it was not in Cozumel) Dolphin excursion. We did this and it was great. The ride there was long but comfortable. You stood on a platform and had a lot of interaction with the dolphins. The food was great, as was the beach but you only got about an hour at the beach before the bus left. It was in the middle of this exclusive private complex with nice shops, a small zoo and a private beach. In comparison the Costa Maya dolphin excursion you actually were swimming in the water, some people might prefer this but it would not have worked for my kids (DS4, DDs7&8). Also that excursion did not include lunch. Only other issue with "Cozumel" was that you were there all day, no option to leave early.

Double Dip was great, fantastic weather, got some nice shots of the rainbow!!!

Was lucky enough for my kids to get picked to go on stage in the Golden Mickeys (the 1st 3 dwarves at the 8:30 show) as well as DS4 getting called for "Who...Mouseketeer" (Jimmie on Thursday night) and DD7 and DW for "How well do you know your family?"

I will probably post some photos at some point.

I heard that someone was airlifted out from Costa Maya. Anyone else hear of this?

Hope everyone had as great a time as we did.

Jim

Yes, 4 yr old boy almost drowned in pools. Was there when parents were tracked down and ask conceirge what they heard about it. He was to stay in hospital a couple days. Glad he was okay

[BWVPam]

Gary -- that is great news about the list. Keep us posted and you will continue to be in our prayers.


It was great getting to meet you at the Rad.!!

[chip&dale&fun]

I appreciated the dolphin excursion information very much. I think our excursion does a "foot push" - where they lift you out of the water...you didnt' mention that - might be a different swim? Anyway, appreciate the tips as to cash, observer information and all. I'm looking very forward to this on my double dip in November!:cool1:

Adding to what Sandi posted....most non-ship excursions ill be on a cas only basis.....for the Mexican ports....and the non-port shops also require cash.....First time we took real money with us for ages....The good news, no credit card bills...

[WDWLVR]

Finally got all the pictures downloaded and scanned so i thought I would add a few to the report. They bring back such wonderful memories!

Before the cruise. Breakfast at Grills with RachelTori's family and MickeyMo's family.

http://monorailgreen.info/may/grills.jpg

With Ducky Williams.
http://monorailgreen.info/may/ducky.jpg

Here we are on the bridge with Captain Tom and Captain Mickey!

http://monorailgreen.info/may/bridge.jpg

After the cruise - our last DIS meet with BWVPam's family and the Ohio Mouse family.
http://monorailgreen.info/may/wet.jpg

[RachelTori]

Great pictures, Mary! Thanks for sharing!! :hug:

[BWVPam]

Hey Mary -- love the picture with all of us at MK with the OM family. Did you get the one of us at dinner at O'hanas. I would like to add that one to our collection. Started working on mine a little this morning. Not getting a lot accomplished. We are going to go see Cars this afternoon.

[WDWLVR]

Hey Mary -- love the picture with all of us at MK with the OM family. Did you get the one of us at dinner at O'hanas. I would like to add that one to our collection. Started working on mine a little this morning. Not getting a lot accomplished. We are going to go see Cars this afternoon.

Sure did! If you want the full size ones let me know and i can e-mail them to you. Or they will be on the CD if you are going to be part of the exchange!

http://monorailgreen.info/may/ohana.jpg

[RachelTori]

Sue did! If you want the full size ones let me know and i can e-mail them to you. Or they will be on the CD if you are going to be part of the exchange!

Speaking of the exchange....... My stuff's in an envelope, ready to go! I'll go to the post office in the morning and send it off to you! Thank you again, dear Mary & Mark, for all your time and efforts in making this cruise so memorable. Love ya, Really Mean It! :love:

[BWVPam]

Oh my,I forgot about the exchange. What are the details. We just got the ones off the small digital onto the computer this morning and we still need to transfer the ones taken with the digital movie camera.


Thanks

[RachelTori]

Oh my,I forgot about the exchange. What are the details. We just got the ones off the small digital onto the computer this morning and we still need to transfer the ones taken with the digital movie camera.


Thanks

Hi, Pam! We send a CD with our pics plus $5 to cover shipping & material costs to Mark & Mary. They will create something from our submissions that I'm sure will be a wonderful memento from our cruise. PM Mark and he'll send you the shipping details. :)

[MarkRG]

Hi, Pam! We send a CD with our pics plus $5 to cover shipping & material costs to Mark & Mary. They will create something from our submissions that I'm sure will be a wonderful memento from our cruise. PM Mark and he'll send you the shipping details. :)

I guess I should have posted a refresher by now.

There arn't many rules.

Send a submission of whatever you want included to us. Include $5 for materials and return shipping.
I can take the images, or even some digital video, as long as they're on CD or DVD.
I can also scan images off reprints if you don't have digital. But don't risk sending me your only copies.
The cutoff for submissions is June 30th. I hope to have most of the work done by then and start on the final product.
The final product will be on DVD rom, if you need it on CD rom please warn me.
I'm flexible, if there's anything that doesn't fit this, ask!
Sofar the people I've heard from via pm are:
US, the Scubas, the Tinks, Whnim64 & family, RachelTori, armyfam, Irene, Justmestace, WVMD, and DVCDebb.

[ohiominnie]

Yes, 4 yr old boy almost drowned in pools. Was there when parents were tracked down and ask conceirge what they heard about it. He was to stay in hospital a couple days. Glad he was okay

This must have been a different medical evacuation than we saw in Costa Maya. We saw a girl, probably 6-ish taken off of the ship via stretcher into a waiting ambulance just before sail away in Costa Maya. She was accompanied by her parents and siblings and a very small amount of luggage. We were hoping that they'd pick the ship back up in Cozumel the next day after finding out she was just fine. She did not look like she was in distress (no bags or tubing that we could see) Mike hypothesized on the potential diagnoses, but can't be sure. We figured if we asked anyone they wouldn't tell us anyway....confidentiality and all that.

[ohiominnie]

About the airlifting- I don't know about costa maya but I was standing out on deck 4 facing the gangway area when a helicopter came down in Castaway cay on Friday-- and I yelled down at one of the cast members there (in white uniform) if someone was leaving- and he said yes. I said are they said? He said "they are". Later today when leaving the hyatt- our bellhop helping us with the luggage to check them mentioned he heard someone died of a heart attack on Friday on the Disney cruise. (where's the crying emoticon?) So maybe that's what you are referring to?

Don't know if this has been cleared up or not. The medical evacuation from CC was definitely not someone who had died from a heart attack. It was an elderly gentleman who (from a deck 6 verandah) seemed to be doing quite well. He waved excitedly back to the ship from his wheelchair and was able to get up and walk several steps before climbing into the helicopter by himself.

My guess is that if someone actually did die on CC on that final day, it would be easiest for all involved to just keep the person in the ship's morgue until returning to Port Canaveral, 12 hours later. :confused3

[ohiominnie]

By the way, we did not buy our t-shirts until the 2nd trip to CC....the CM said..."what is out is all that is available. Once these are gone there will be no more". I took that to mean, they are only selling a certain amount each trip. By the way, this was on our way in...I forgot to look on the way out. There were no Adult meidums and I bought the last youth large.

We got off the ship on the second CC day for the sole intent of buying shirts. We did get one for everyone in the family. Put them in the bag, then threw them on our bed. When I went to pack them, took them out and MINE (of course) had two large pen marks on it. So took it down to Mickey Mates and some nice woman there had me fill out a form to get a replacement shipped to me......after they got more from the warehouse (b/c at that point they were out of adult M) Don't know when that would be, but will contact DCL if the second DD cruise comes and goes without a new shirt. :(

[ohiominnie]

Mary - your comment about Ducky - here is a hint with the new Navigators. At least for me. The second page is a TV type schedule, but it is not reliable. For example, DUCKY was not on the second page. He was on the first page. The dessert buffet was not on the second page, it was on the first page.....So hint to future cruisers, read both pages....or perhaps it is just me.....

This was our 8th Disney cruise. Maybe I just like the status quo, but I found these new navigator's severely lacking. There was too much cross referencing back to the original navigator (for both us AND the kids) and I was constantly missing things. I also missed the pictures on the front of the entertainers (kinda like an "ad" for them)

Put all of that on my comment card at the end.....along with the idea that early dining and late dining people should have different color luggage tags and early dining people should get priority in getting their luggage. We got our luggage at the last possible moment before having to leave for the Garry banner/dinner events. We were this close [---] to showing up in our blabbermouth shirts!

[itdjbw]

Don't know if this has been cleared up or not. The medical evacuation from CC was definitely not someone who had died from a heart attack. It was an elderly gentleman who (from a deck 6 verandah) seemed to be doing quite well. He waved excitedly back to the ship from his wheelchair and was able to get up and walk several steps before climbing into the helicopter by himself.

My guess is that if someone actually did die on CC on that final day, it would be easiest for all involved to just keep the person in the ship's morgue until returning to Port Canaveral, 12 hours later. :confused3

We were told he was suffering from his appendics.

[itdjbw]

This was our 8th Disney cruise. Maybe I just like the status quo, but I found these new navigator's severely lacking. There was too much cross referencing back to the original navigator (for both us AND the kids) and I was constantly missing things. I also missed the pictures on the front of the entertainers (kinda like an "ad" for them)

Put all of that on my comment card at the end.....along with the idea that early dining and late dining people should have different color luggage tags and early dining people should get priority in getting their luggage. We got our luggage at the last possible moment before having to leave for the Garry banner/dinner events. We were this close [---] to showing up in our blabbermouth shirts!


I also didn't like the format of the new navigators but understood they are trying to cut paper and printing costs, we were spoilt before!!!

[itdjbw]

This must have been a different medical evacuation than we saw in Costa Maya. We saw a girl, probably 6-ish taken off of the ship via stretcher into a waiting ambulance just before sail away in Costa Maya. She was accompanied by her parents and siblings and a very small amount of luggage. We were hoping that they'd pick the ship back up in Cozumel the next day after finding out she was just fine. She did not look like she was in distress (no bags or tubing that we could see) Mike hypothesized on the potential diagnoses, but can't be sure. We figured if we asked anyone they wouldn't tell us anyway....confidentiality and all that.

Alex our head waiter who was our server a couple of cruises ago said they were told that the child nearly drowned and was flown to Miami, she said it was a 4 year old and the only reason she was told was because the family were on our dining rotation but early seating.

[justmestace]

Alex our head waiter who was our server a couple of cruises ago said they were told that the child nearly drowned and was flown to Miami, she said it was a 4 year old and the only reason she was told was because the family were on our dining rotation but early seating.

After we got back from our excursion in Costa Maya, I was sitting on the edge of the pool with my feet in the water. There was a little girl in the pool, not more than 4 years old, trying with all her might to dog-paddle her way to the ladder. Not a parent in sight. She looked like she'd go under at any second. Just as I reached out to her, she made it to the ladder.
I thought at the time that it's a wonder she hadn't drowned. Now I'm wondering if it's the same girl. :sad2:

[currycook]

This was our 8th Disney cruise. Maybe I just like the status quo, but I found these new navigator's severely lacking. There was too much cross referencing back to the original navigator (for both us AND the kids) and I was constantly missing things. I also missed the pictures on the front of the entertainers (kinda like an "ad" for them)

Put all of that on my comment card at the end.....along with the idea that early dining and late dining people should have different color luggage tags and early dining people should get priority in getting their luggage. We got our luggage at the last possible moment before having to leave for the Garry banner/dinner events. We were this close [---] to showing up in our blabbermouth shirts!


We are on the double CC cruise in July. It will be our 4th DC. So I took a good look at the navigators from your cruise and my reaction was the same. I thought, yuk, I sure like the old way better. I was wondering if it was just me so I was glad to read your comments. Thanks and thanks to all on here shared on this cruise for the rest of us who will also have a double dip.

[BWVPam]

Hi Karen -- I agree on the new navigators. I never could keep up with anything. Maybe that is why I never made it to any of the things that I really wanted to.

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

Don't know if this has been cleared up or not. The medical evacuation from CC was definitely not someone who had died from a heart attack. It was an elderly gentleman who (from a deck 6 verandah) seemed to be doing quite well. He waved excitedly back to the ship from his wheelchair and was able to get up and walk several steps before climbing into the helicopter by himself.

My guess is that if someone actually did die on CC on that final day, it would be easiest for all involved to just keep the person in the ship's morgue until returning to Port Canaveral, 12 hours later. :confused3

Yeah, I guess the rumor wasn't accurate... thank goodness!

Hey, isn't anyone going to explain to me what "nets going down on the beach" means? I asked like back on page 18 or so... just curious.

[MarkRG]

Yeah, I guess the rumor wasn't accurate... thank goodness!

Hey, isn't anyone going to explain to me what "nets going down on the beach" means? I asked like back on page 18 or so... just curious.

CC has safety nets out there to keep the bigger aquatic life out, if they fail, such as a bad storm knocks them down, they won't let anyone in the water until they're sure the nets ar eup and the area's clear of anything agressive.

[RachelTori]

Hi Karen -- I agree on the new navigators. I never could keep up with anything. Maybe that is why I never made it to any of the things that I really wanted to.

We found them "difficult" - and, we also missed lots of things we wanted to do. :sad2:

A do-over is looking more and more *necessary*!!! ;)

[gssmks]

We found them "difficult" - and, we also missed lots of things we wanted to do. :sad2:

A do-over is looking more and more *necessary*!!! ;)

I have gone over the Navigators that you guys have posted and I was disappointed to find that everything we most want to do all together are scheduled for the hours during which dinner and evening show is scheduled. All of the fun family activities are scheduled during these hours. We were already discussing not wasting the time necessary to take a two hour dinner every evening, and now we had decided to definitely skip the dinning room meals and just eat at Topsiders, etc.

[mrstbalt]

I keep seeing "double scoop cruise"...what is it??

[ohiominnie]

I keep seeing "double scoop cruise"...what is it??

It's a DCL cruise that has two "dips" at Castaway Cay. :)

[thomprod]

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a350/thomprod/DisneyCruise3004.jpg
This lovely carving was on the appetizer table at the CC reception. I went trying to meet Barb and Tony, or at least get a picture of them. Unfortunately, we had the 5:30 seating for dinner so I had to leave before they were introduced. Great food at the reception, though.

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

Mark- thanks so much for answering my question about the nets on the beaches! :)

I have gone over the Navigators that you guys have posted and I was disappointed to find that everything we most want to do all together are scheduled for the hours during which dinner and evening show is scheduled. All of the fun family activities are scheduled during these hours. We were already discussing not wasting the time necessary to take a two hour dinner every evening, and now we had decided to definitely skip the dinning room meals and just eat at Topsiders, etc.

We found the same to be true. Earlier in the cruise the kids just kept missing the "good stuff" during show and dinner... later in the cruise they ended up wanting to just rush rush eat a little and hurry to the lab for the fun stuff (and ofcourse if they were going to the lab- little Rita wanted to go to the club too!) and THAT is why we didn't really get to like enjoy a whole meal and lots of the time it was only DH or myself sitting at the table waiting for the other to return after taking the kids to the lab. They still missed out on stuff they considered to be "fun stuff"- because even rushing them to it mid-meal they'd later say they still missed out on the fun stuff. *sigh* I don't think we'll do topsiders next time- I think next time what we'll do is just feed the kids earlier by the pool (or topsiders- maybe between the show and dinner?) and then have dinner without them, by gosh. That was just too much running them to the lab (sometimes to the room to change out of formal wear first/etc.) in the middle of meals. Most of the time it was me running the kids and DH sitting alone... they wouldn't serve him any more of the meal until I returned. There is even a picture of him in the background (someone else's picture) just sitting there alone waiting on me.... LOL

[gssmks]

Mark- thanks so much for answering my question about the nets on the beaches! :)



We found the same to be true. Earlier in the cruise the kids just kept missing the "good stuff" during show and dinner... later in the cruise they ended up wanting to just rush rush eat a little and hurry to the lab for the fun stuff (and ofcourse if they were going to the lab- little Rita wanted to go to the club too!) and THAT is why we didn't really get to like enjoy a whole meal and lots of the time it was only DH or myself sitting at the table waiting for the other to return after taking the kids to the lab. They still missed out on stuff they considered to be "fun stuff"- because even rushing them to it mid-meal they'd later say they still missed out on the fun stuff. *sigh* I don't think we'll do topsiders next time- I think next time what we'll do is just feed the kids earlier by the pool (or topsiders- maybe between the show and dinner?) and then have dinner without them, by gosh. That was just too much running them to the lab (sometimes to the room to change out of formal wear first/etc.) in the middle of meals. Most of the time it was me running the kids and DH sitting alone... they wouldn't serve him any more of the meal until I returned. There is even a picture of him in the background (someone else's picture) just sitting there alone waiting on me.... LOL

I have read post after post that say the same thing. Our cruise is my DD's birthday present from me. While I definitely plan to have fun myself, I do not plan to let her miss out on the stuff she most wants to do. As for eating, we just are not use to having that many full meals in one week. We probably don't have that many full, sit-down meals a month. We eat on the go every day. I looked over the menus and I didn't see anything that would just die if I missed. I really think that we will skip the dinning rooms every night with the exception of Animator's

[kikipug]

I have gone over the Navigators that you guys have posted and I was disappointed to find that everything we most want to do all together are scheduled for the hours during which dinner and evening show is scheduled. All of the fun family activities are scheduled during these hours. We were already discussing not wasting the time necessary to take a two hour dinner every evening, and now we had decided to definitely skip the dinning room meals and just eat at Topsiders, etc.

My kids know that dinner time is family time... everyone eats dinner together. There are plenty of other times with fun things going on, so they understand that if they 'miss' something while dinner was happening, there would be something else fun to do later. I think its just a matter of how kids are accustomed to viewing 'dinner' in general. If dinner is a scattered affair at home, its likely to be on the cruise as well. At our house, everyone sits down to dinner together every night possible. The cruise was no exception.

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

My kids know that dinner time is family time... everyone eats dinner together. There are plenty of other times with fun things going on, so they understand that if they 'miss' something while dinner was happening, there would be something else fun to do later. I think its just a matter of how kids are accustomed to viewing 'dinner' in general. If dinner is a scattered affair at home, its likely to be on the cruise as well. At our house, everyone sits down to dinner together every night possible. The cruise was no exception.

But that's just the point.
We attempted to do the "always together for dinner" thing and did so early on in the cruise- but we all soon came to realize that the fun stuff is smack during our dinner. I think it's possible that they do that because they assume MOST children are early dining and have the fun stuff for them to do afterwards. We were late dining at 8pm- so it didn't fit into that "plan". We tried to have dinner together- but towards the end of the cruise we finally relented because we realized they truly WERE missing the most fun stuff right smack during dinner and no, there wasn't something else "fun" to do later. Later was always just free time... after our dinner that usually lasted until 9:45pm atleast. (10pm and on was mostly free time- lay down time for club members) Some of the fun stuff in lab would start at 8:45pm or 9pm- thus the reason they'd eat and we'd let them go to the lab when WE (the parents) hadn't finished our meal yet.

They didn't really get to spend much time in the club/lab- not nearly as much as we (including the kids) expected. Between trying to avoid THEIR meal times -and their "transition" to meal times (because they didn't work with OUR meal times- ie: they'd have lunch really early after we'd just had breakfast! Then ofcourse we'd have to take them out way before the show because that is when they'd be having dinner if they stayed in the club/lab- then out for the show, get ready for dinner then stay out for dinner), not getting up early in the morning while on vacation- ie: having breakfast late- by the time we got up and had breakfast if they were to go to the club or lab then- they'd be having lunch in the club/lab! LOL, having OUR meal times (breakfast/lunch/dinner) and the show.. pretty much the only time they were in the lab/club was after dinner which is NOT when the fun stuff was going on. :( So that's why towards the end of the cruise we started letting them go to dinner with us and after they'd eaten take them to the lab so as to not miss all the fun stuff before "free time" started.

All of this probably would have worked better if A) we'd gotten up earlier/had breakfast earlier- then they could have had lunch with the club and spent more of their day in the lab/club (however, because of how early they did the club lunch- our youngest would have been starving by the time our 8pm dinner time came around) or B) if we'd let them just eat lunch AND dinner with the club. We were "trying" to have dinner time together- and that's what didn't coincide well with the lab/club activities. Atleast with OUR dinner time.

[tinytink]

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a350/thomprod/DisneyCruise3004.jpg
This lovely carving was on the appetizer table at the CC reception. I went trying to meet Barb and Tony, or at least get a picture of them. Unfortunately, we had the 5:30 seating for dinner so I had to leave before they were introduced. Great food at the reception, though.
we were at the party and sat front and center on the covered goofy pool, tony and barb were sitting to the left of us off the side of the pool. we didn't get a pic of them with their gold mickey ears on.

[chip&dale&fun]

Hope your sailing is :artist: picture perfect!...And that you continue to have :dance3: fun with your pals. Be sure to eat lots of :popcorn: when catching the latest movies onboard! Don't spend too much time doing :laundy: during vacation time! And least, but not least..... :beach: enjoy your last stop at CC! You guys rock! :disrocks:

Don't cha' love the new icons? :goodvibes

See ya, DIS NURSE :thumbsup2

Looking at the thread again to capture some memories for the scapebook....just had to post - Thanks again for looking in on us......Never did eat the popcorn or catch that movie - guess we need to Cruise Again!