Cruising Halloween on the FANTASY-10/27, 2012

[BMICKEY]

This is our 1st Disney Cruise We have been on only one other cruise in the past not with Disney. The kids have never been on a cruise, 1st time for them.
Our other cruise was 10 years ago and we did Cozumel and other ports.
We have decided this time to maybe just get off the ship and walk around in
Cozumel right by the ship,
I would like to do something at Castaway Cay just not sure what yet.
How are the kids excursions on Castaway Cay?
My husband wants to just relax and not be on a schedule,
so I have told him I will not book us anything and we can just enjoy
the ship.
But knowing him, he will change his mind!!
I can relate to the obsession with these magnets.

The Disney ships aren't as formal at dinner. I usually just wore capris and and a nice blouse for all the dinners. Formal night I did have on a nice dress and heels and the hubby wore a shirt and tie. You saw pretty much everything from A-Z though....

When we did Cozumel two years ago, it poured down rain! We just walked around the little shopping area (which pretty much has the same thing in each shop) and then had lunch at Carlo's and Charlies - just the two of us since the boys didn't want to get off the ship.

I think this year we may only get off at Costa Maya to see the ruins.

As for Castaway Cay, we rented the bikes our first year which was fun and of course, snorkled. We rented tubes, but that was a waste. The waterslides kept the younger one busy. My older son isn't a huge fan of salt water since he wears contacts and is blind as a bat without them. He just hung out at the teen club and had lunch with us. Cookies BBQ is fantastic!

I know we loved the Magic and Wonder, so I'm sure with the Fantasy being that much larger and so much to do, we will want to be on her as much as possible too! I've had a facial every cruise and Disney is the only one whose products dont make my face have an allergic reaction! They are heavenly!

I hope more peeps start chatting soon so we can get to know each other!

 

[katzs13]

Hello everybody,
I did not know people paid any attention to the countdown. I will start it up again if people would like to see it.

We Have only

More FRIDAYS until we are cruising on the newest ship.

 

[BMICKEY]

Hello everybody,
I did not know people paid any attention to the countdown. I will start it up again if people would like to see it.

We Have only

More FRIDAYS until we are cruising on the newest ship.

Thanks Katzs13!!!

I actually look a couple times a week hoping I just missed the email that someone responded to the thread!

 

[Debagu]

Hello everybody,
I did not know people paid any attention to the countdown. I will start it up again if people would like to see it.

We Have only

More FRIDAYS until we are cruising on the newest ship.

Oh Yes Katzs13, keep up the Friday countdown!!
We have a countdown on our refrigerator too!!
Makes all these long days go by faster.

 

[remed1978]

This weekend my family and I had movie night and watched the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie. All I could think about was us lying up on the deck of the Magic at the end of the Pirates in the Caribbean night, with the cool breeze blowing while watching that movie. Absolutely one of the best, quiet, family moments of the trip! One of our favorite memories!

When we went to Cozumel the last time, we did the dolphin excursion. My kids really loved it because the dolphin we were with had a baby that we got to see as well. They requested that we only interact with the mother, but the trainer had my daughter (who was only 5 at the time) work with the baby. It was the sweetest thing!

Sorry to take you all down my memory lane, but I am just so excited about this trip!!! We haven't decided about what excursions we will do this time, but can tell you all that we weren't disappointed last time. While in Grand Cayman, we did the sea turtle excursion and that was a hit with the kids too. Granted, we were making choices based on what a 5 and 7 year old would be interested in, but the whole family enjoyed it.

I don't think that I am going to plan anything for Castaway Cay, because it was really nice to just walk off the ship with no plans and enjoy the day. There was plenty of snorkeling gear remaining which is what we were interested in. We primarily just explored the island and rested by the shore. The waves are really calm, so we could relax while the kids played.

I am looking forward to getting to know you guys and hearing about more of your experiences.

Katzs13, I enjoy the countdown as well! Thanks for doing it!

 

[katzs13]

I was wondering if anybody else is doing a back to back. This cruise and then the eastern cruise. It would be nice to see somebody on both cruises.

Also is anybody going to go magic kingdom, animal kingdom, sea world, or the holloween party at the animal kingdom the week before we go on this cruise?

It is hard to coordinate everything.

 

[katzs13]

I was wondering if anybody else is doing a back to back. This cruise and then the eastern cruise. It would be nice to see somebody on both cruises.

Also is anybody going to go magic kingdom, animal kingdom, sea world, or the holloween party at the animal kingdom the week before we go on this cruise?

It is hard to coordinate everything.

 

[katzs13]

I was wondering if anybody else is doing a back to back. This cruise and then the eastern cruise. It would be nice to see somebody on both cruises.

Also is anybody going to go magic kingdom, animal kingdom, sea world, or the holloween party at the animal kingdom the week before we go on this cruise?

It is hard to coordinate everything.

 

[DisneyOrBustColorado]

Also is anybody going to go magic kingdom, animal kingdom, sea world, or the holloween party at the animal kingdom the week before we go on this cruise?

We will be spending a week in WDW before the cruise. We plan on going to the MNSSHP in MK but I am not aware of a halloween party at AK. I would be interested in hearing about that for sure. I do wish that WDW would release the dates for the MNSSHP so that I can begin to plan my ADRs.

See you on the cruise. I'm looking forward to trying my 1st FE program.

 

[DisneyOrBustColorado]

Granted, we were making choices based on what a 5 and 7 year old would be interested in, but the whole family enjoyed it.

Keep up the great suggestions for family activities! My boys will be 6 & 8 on this cruise and will love things that your family enjoyed on your last cruise.

 

[remed1978]

I wish that we were staying at Disney the week before, but I think that we are just going to go to Magic Kingdom the day we disembark. It seemed to take away the we're-getting-off-the-ship-and-our-vacation-is-over-blues! I couldn't believe how sad it was getting off the ship! Katzs13- I am so happy for you that you are getting to do a back-to-back!

DisneyOrBustColorado- I will try and post a few pictures soon of some of the things we did with the kids so you can see for yourself if it is something your family would enjoy. One of the best things we did with our kids before we even left, was to let them pen pal with a few of the kids that were going to be on the cruise. They would just periodically send each other an email so that when they met on the cruise, it was like meeting a friend. We ran into our pen pals at the pool a couple of times, and the kids had a blast. They still will bring up the subject of their cruise buddies.

Maybe in the next couple of months, we can get a list of people who want to participate in the FE started. I know that some people will sign up last minute, but it is nice to get an idea of how many gifts will need to be bought/made.

Hope everyone is having a great week!

 

[katzs13]

Hello fellow cruisers. It is that time again.

We have only...

More FRIDAYS before we are cruising Disney Style.

 

[DisneyOrBustColorado]

Thank you remed1978 for all of your great ideas and for sharing any pictures of your shore excurstions that you have.

I am looking forward to participating in the FE program. I am curious to learn how it works and to start planning for what I will hand out. Hopefully not too many people join last minute. It would be nice to start shopping and buy when I can find good bargins.

 

[Staceyl0u]

Hi all, I'm new here but we are booked on this cruise in October and I can not wait! There's ten of us total and I'd be really interested in the Fish extender exchange can anyone tell me more how it works, and as we ar spread out over four cabins how that works. Looking forward to meeting you all soon.

 

[Staceyl0u]

Also what's the usual cut of for these as we are in Disney the week before and ideally I'd like to make the gifts before we leave England.

 

[katzs13]

Hello fellow cruisers..

Lets get this thread going.

We will be on our cruise in

More weeks

 

[Staceyl0u]

Is that all?! I need more time to plan and make! How many of you are going katz13?

 

[katzs13]

Is that all?! I need more time to plan and make! How many of you are going katz13?

It will be my husband, my then 5 year old daughter and I.

 

[remed1978]

Hi everyone! It is a dreary, overcast day here, so I thought I would think about beautiful, sunny days instead and share some pictures with you all from our last cruise.

We had gotten into Castaway Cay a few hours later than normally planned due to a medical emergency, but we were all thankful that they took care of the passenger and that we were still able to get to the island. It is gorgeous there and soooo relaxing!

This looks pretty busy and crowded, but there was plenty of space and chairs. We never felt that there were too many people there. Because of the delay, I think everyone was just getting off at the same time.


When we went to Grand Cayman, we did the sea turtle farm excursion. Our kids absolutely love any kind of animals, so we knew this would be a hit for them, and it was!

They have multiple tanks with different ages of sea turtles, and you are able to hold and touch the smaller ones. After we had done the tour with the guides, we went to the man made lagoon to do some snorkeling. There is a small beach as well, so my daughter and I played there while the boys went snorkeling. They had a really good time and saw lots of different types of fish and a couple of younger sea turtles. This was a good option for snorkeling for us, because the ocean waves were a little difficult for my then 7 year old boy while trying to snorkel. There are of coarse no waves in the lagoon, so he felt much more comfortable in the lagoon. Lunch was included, and was pretty good.

In Cozumel, we did the dolphin encounter excursion at Chankanaab Park. You will have to forgive the dolphin pictures and please learn from our mistake. We used waterproof disposable cameras because we did not have a waterproof case for our camera. Definitely buy that before you go! Either way, we have fantastic memories and cloudy pictures!

The one with my daughter was a baby and was just the sweetest thing! After being in the tank with the dolphins, we went over to the beach at the same park. It is gorgeous there, and you can snorkel as well. There is a beach that is somewhat protected from the waves that is good for young kids, but it is small. The larger beach is great for laying out and playing in the sand, but not for playing in the ocean. We saw adults snorkeling there, but it was too rough and rocky for our kids. We had lunch and just relaxed for awhile.

We had plenty of time to go back and explore the shops at the port, which had pretty much the same trinkets in each store. We had so much fun just goofing around though and watching some street performers.

Pirate night was on Cozumel night on that cruise, but I am not sure if it will change for our upcoming one in October. Absolutely one of our favorite nights!

One of the great things about being on the ship too is that you run into characters all the time. We would just be walking down the hall and Peter Pan would run by, or Snow White or Belle would be in the hall talking with children. My kids said over and over how this was the best vacation ever!

My daughter and I also went to tea with Alice. She is very much a girly-girl, so this was perfect for her. I can see how some kids might not be as interested, but she loved it. They told you the proper way to have tea, and then everyone was able to take pictures after it was over.

Remembering all of this makes me even more excited to go! As far as the FE exchange goes, what do you guys think of having the cut off for signing up for it about 2 months before we leave...or is that not enough time for some to get it all together? We probably need to have one person organize the list and keep up with new people signing up. Also, we would need to decide if we are going to do it for adults and kids, or just kids.

Hope everyone is having a great week!!

 

[DisneyOrBustColorado]

Thanks for sharing all of the BEAUTIFUL photos. I can't decide which shore excurstions I want to go on. The dolphins look like fun but at around $400. for our family is it worth it? I don't know.

I too am excited about the FE exchange, but I don't think I should be the person to head it up as I have NEVER done it before. I agree that the cut off should be at least 2 months in advance, maybe more? I may want to order some things in the mail and I will need time to find what I want & then put it all together and figure out how I am going to get it all there lol.

It makes no difference to me weather or not adults are included in the FE exchange because I have to kids with me. However if I were taking the cruise with only myself and my DH then I would be bumed that I could not participate because I didn't have any kids. So I guess my vote woule be that anyone can participate and people can decide if they want to give only a single gift for an entire room or one per person. For me it will depend on how many people are involved. After all it's just a token gift and something interesting to see all of the different places that people come from to enjoy the DCL.