Disney Fantasy Eastern Caribbean December 14 2013

[Lissame]

What things can you register fir in advance besides Palo, Remy, the spa and excursions? Can you register for mixology?

No, you have to sign up for that on board. I believe you can also pre-book nursery time if you need it.

 

[scrapbookingtigger]

I can't book excursions or palo/remy until 9-30....boo! Anyone want to save me a spot? Wondering if I can pay for excursions at time of booking or do you have to pay onboard? I am hoping to get excursions for all 3 ports. Anyone done the turtle cove snorkel?

 

[Magic25]

We can start booking August 31st! First thing I am booking is our Palo reservations. We are doing Palo for both lunch and dinner. Still deciding which evening we are going to miss in the dining rooms but leaning towards doing it on Sunday (formal night). Probably will also skip seeing Aladdin on that day as well, as we have seen the Aladdin show several times at California Adventure, we are AP holders so get to go quite often. I've heard that both shows are similar so don't think we'll miss much. Plus by doing that it may give us more time to mingle at the captain's reception and spend more time taking pictures since we are definitely planning on getting dressed up for formal night! Can anyone think of any cons to making Palo reservations on formal night?

Also planning on booking Remy for lunch and making it to one of the mixology tastings!

As far as excursions, last time we cruised we did the St.John Trunk Bay and Snorkel Tour. The beach was absolutely beautiful but the time spend there was very short. We are thinking about going to St. John on our own this time. There is a whole thread on how to get there on the Dis board which I think is very helpful for those who want to DIY. Has anyone done this on their own?

For St. Marteen we are leaning towards doing a private tour with Bernard Tours, I've heard good things about them. Anyone have any experience with them?

We haven't been to Disneyland so we are all very excited to see Aladdin onboard. My son was in his school play of Aladdin last year so he is definitely looking forward to watching it and the magic carpet ride scene we have heard so much about. We'll be on the St. Thomas Snorkel Tour as well so look forward to seeing you all there!

 

[Magic25]

I can't book excursions or palo/remy until 9-30....boo! Anyone want to save me a spot? Wondering if I can pay for excursions at time of booking or do you have to pay onboard? I am hoping to get excursions for all 3 ports. Anyone done the turtle cove snorkel?

If I remember correctly I think your excursions are added to your bill while onboard because it shows up on your final statement delivered to your room on the last night. This is probably done in case you change your excursions while onboard. For now you will just reserve your excursions on the website. We are also booking the Turtle Cove Snorkel tour. This will be our first time but we are very excited. We have read some great reviews for this excursion in the Passporter Disney Cruise guidebook so it should be a lot of fun! Don't worry 9/30 is just around the corner and I'm sure you'll be able to reserve all of your excursions.

 

[goofy4u]

What things can you register fir in advance besides Palo, Remy, the spa and excursions? Can you register for mixology?

Looks like Mixology classes are booked once on board in either La Piazza or Guest Services, can’t figure that out yet I guess we’ll just have to look at the Navigator once we board.

 

[goofy4u]

We haven't been to Disneyland so we are all very excited to see Aladdin onboard. My son was in his school play of Aladdin last year so he is definitely looking forward to watching it and the magic carpet ride scene we have heard so much about. We'll be on the St. Thomas Snorkel Tour as well so look forward to seeing you all there!

If it’s anything like the one in CA (which I heard it is), I think you and your family will love it and the Genie is hysterical

 

[noahsketomom]

I can't book excursions or palo/remy until 9-30....boo! Anyone want to save me a spot? Wondering if I can pay for excursions at time of booking or do you have to pay onboard? I am hoping to get excursions for all 3 ports. Anyone done the turtle cove snorkel?

If I remember correctly I think your excursions are added to your bill while onboard because it shows up on your final statement delivered to your room on the last night. This is probably done in case you change your excursions while onboard. For now you will just reserve your excursions on the website. We are also booking the Turtle Cove Snorkel tour. This will be our first time but we are very excited. We have read some great reviews for this excursion in the Passporter Disney Cruise guidebook so it should be a lot of fun! Don't worry 9/30 is just around the corner and I'm sure you'll be able to reserve all of your excursions.

Thanks for the info -- was wondering the same thing -- when excursions were booked. The last time we went, we booked parasailing on CC at the last minute, but then it got cancelled due to high winds!!

The turtle cove thing is one of the excursions we're thinking about too. Are you guys considering the full day or 1/2 day? Although the full day seems a bit long, I'd like some beach time too in case my kids aren't thrilled with the snorkeling idea. Hmmm......

 

[LKShep]

We can start booking August 31st! First thing I am booking is our Palo reservations. We are doing Palo for both lunch and dinner. Still deciding which evening we are going to miss in the dining rooms but leaning towards doing it on Sunday (formal night). Probably will also skip seeing Aladdin on that day as well, as we have seen the Aladdin show several times at California Adventure, we are AP holders so get to go quite often. I've heard that both shows are similar so don't think we'll miss much. Plus by doing that it may give us more time to mingle at the captain's reception and spend more time taking pictures since we are definitely planning on getting dressed up for formal night! Can anyone think of any cons to making Palo reservations on formal night?

Also planning on booking Remy for lunch and making it to one of the mixology tastings!

As far as excursions, last time we cruised we did the St.John Trunk Bay and Snorkel Tour. The beach was absolutely beautiful but the time spend there was very short. We are thinking about going to St. John on our own this time. There is a whole thread on how to get there on the Dis board which I think is very helpful for those who want to DIY. Has anyone done this on their own?

For St. Marteen we are leaning towards doing a private tour with Bernard Tours, I've heard good things about them. Anyone have any experience with them?

Two years ago on our second Eastern Caribbean Disney Cruise, we decided we would try to get to Trunk Bay on our own and it was such a success that we are definitely doing the same again. Here's how you do it. First step is to get a cab to Red Hook on the eastern end of St. Thomas. There will be plenty of cabs at the dock, just make sure you allow 30-40 minutes for the drive as the ferry leaves every hour on the hour. Cab to Red Hook runs $10 per passenger. The ferry takes about 25 minutes and is $6 for adults, $2 for kids 11 and under. Once you arrive at Cruz Bay there are open air cabs to take you to Trunk Bay for about $6 per person. The entrance fee at Trunk Bay is $4. With tips for the cab drivers the total round trip cost per adult is just over $50. We plan to catch the 9 am ferry from Red Hook which should put us at Trunk Bay around 9:45. We will leave Trunk Bay about 12:30 to make the 1 pm ferry from Cruz Bay. We could probably stay longer and catch the 2 pm ferry, but almost 3 hours on the beach was enough for us. The Disney excursion spends approximately 90 minutes on the beach.

We always pack our own snorkeling gear. It is a beautiful place to snorkel, but I found I wasn't in the water much because I spent well over an hour walking up and down the beach with my camera taking pictures.

Let me know if you have any questions. This is an easy trip and the beach is so beautiful.

Arriving at the beach before the crowds:

 

[scrapbookingtigger]

Thanks for the info -- was wondering the same thing -- when excursions were booked. The last time we went, we booked parasailing on CC at the last minute, but then it got cancelled due to high winds!!

The turtle cove thing is one of the excursions we're thinking about too. Are you guys considering the full day or 1/2 day? Although the full day seems a bit long, I'd like some beach time too in case my kids aren't thrilled with the snorkeling idea. Hmmm......

I am thinking the full day because of the beach time as well and my boys were afraid to snorkel with the sharks last time we were at typhoon lagoon. I am trying to not get my heart set on one in case it is not available. I would also like to jewelry shop in St Thomas and my husband is interested in a watch. I have read good things about Cardow Jewelers...any thoughts on this? Is it a good deal to shop St Thomas?

 

[scrapbookingtigger]

I am thinking the full day because of the beach time as well and my boys were afraid to snorkel with the sharks last time we were at typhoon lagoon. I am trying to not get my heart set on one in case it is not available. I would also like to jewelry shop in St Thomas and my husband is interested in a watch. I have read good things about Cardow Jewelers...any thoughts on this? Is it a good deal to shop St Thomas?

Oh and our passports arrived today! Only a 3 week turn around time

 

[goofy4u]

Thanks for the very helpful information on getting to Trunk Bay It’s too bad that it’s such a short port day would definitely like spending more time there and enjoying the beautiful beach. Oh and those pictures are just amazing.
Just a couple of questions: Do we dock or tender at St. Thomas? Also where do we purchase the ferry tickets?

 

[disneydiva16]

Well, We have a little less than 4 months until we are all on VACAY!!!

I know people are getting things together for their FE gifts and I guess with the time approaching on us kind of quickly, we can all decide if we want to keep the list as it is...merge it, or revamp it all together.

We have 22 cabins on list #1 and 12 cabins on list #2. The people who are on list #1 stated in the survey that they didn't care if they had over 20 people that is why our list is bigger.

Personally, I would like to see the list combined, but will take any and all suggestions from you guys. We want this to be a fun experience for everyone

Also, I want to thank AprilR for volunteering to help with the ornament exchange. We will be doing this exchange on a sea day mid morning so it doesn't interfere with people's Palo reservations or activities.

 

[SEVP]

i think we should merge it too. I did not vote on time last time and got placed on list two (which I understand) but the number as it is now combined would be Ok for me.

my 2 cents

 

[Aprilr]

I wouldn't mind combining it either

 

[ruttie2]

we would be happy to have the lists combined as well

 

[LKShep]

Thanks for the very helpful information on getting to Trunk Bay Its too bad that its such a short port day would definitely like spending more time there and enjoying the beautiful beach. Oh and those pictures are just amazing.
Just a couple of questions: Do we dock or tender at St. Thomas? Also where do we purchase the ferry tickets?

We are docked in St Thomas. The cab will drop you at the pier in Red Hook and you can buy your ferry tickets there. Buy round trip tickets so you can skip that step on the return trip.
I hope we get to see you there!

 

[remy324]

I would like to combine both lists. It makes it a lot of fun to try to give out your gifts and not get caught. We had over 65 staterooms on our last cruise in May and had a blast going around the ship delivering our gifts. Was only caught twice. I understand not everyone wants to combine the lists so give them the option to either buy/make for all staterooms or just buy/make for however many they are comfortable with. (Just my opinion)

 

[Lissame]

It is definitely fun to do FE with a bigger number of people, I would certainly like to have more than is on my current list of 12...

But please, take pity on us poor souls who have to fly. Baggage is SO expensive, and shipping things to the port is complicated and not much cheaper than having to check an extra bag.

We had a great time doing the FE on our last cruise, but we actually had to purchase an extra suitcase on the ship ($$) and pay to check it to get the FE gifts home (plus the tons of souvenirs we purchased) , and even with doing that we left some of them behind unfortunately. People are amazingly generous with their gifts!

I'm trying to come up with an idea for how to make my current idea smaller and easier to transport.

 

[Pinkprincessmom]

Hi All. My family will be traveling with you on the Disney Fantasy. We consist of me, my husband, a 13 year old DD and a 6 year old DS. My in-laws will also be traveling with us. My daughter wants to meet some friends. She was looking at excursions and the teen club tonight and cannot wait for the cruise.

Our children are in year round school and when we booked this cruise, we thought it was during track out. Christmas break has been the same 3 weeks since my daughter started kindergarten there. Well, this year they changed the schedule and my children will miss a full week and a half day of school. We looked at changing the date, but it wasn't cost effective unless we waited until September of 2014.

I look forward to sailing with all of you.

 

[Lissame]

Hi All. My family will be traveling with you on the Disney Fantasy. We consist of me, my husband, a 13 year old DD and a 6 year old DS. My in-laws will also be traveling with us. My daughter wants to meet some friends. She was looking at excursions and the teen club tonight and cannot wait for the cruise.

Our children are in year round school and when we booked this cruise, we thought it was during track out. Christmas break has been the same 3 weeks since my daughter started kindergarten there. Well, this year they changed the schedule and my children will miss a full week and a half day of school. We looked at changing the date, but it wasn't cost effective unless we waited until September of 2014.

I look forward to sailing with all of you.

I have a 13 year old daughter who would love to get acquainted with your daughter. She met a girl before our last cruise, they hung out the entire time and they are still friends. We have a FB page for the kids (called the Elves page) or you could PM me and we could connect them another way. My kids (I also have a 15 yo son) are also missing a week and a couple of days of school...