Western cruise - just back August

[LoveMickey]

Hello Folks,

We just returned from the Disney Fantasy Western Cruise, Grand Cayman, Costa Maya and Cozemel.

Pre Cruise stay at VAKL, post cruise stay at VWL.

We used Disney transportation for the first time. Our excursions were Dolphin Encounter/Turtle Farm on Grand Cayman and Mayan Ruins at Costa Maya.

I'll be happy to answer any questions. We had a great time on the cruise and had very smooth sailing.

 

[DonnaT23]

Can you tell me more about the Ruins Tour, how long you were on Costa Maya and if you were traveling with kids, what there thoughts were on the excursion.

THANKS!!

 

[ocspartan]

Any recommendations for Cozumel? Did you travel with kids? How much time is needed for the Turtle Farm and to make it back to the tender.

 

[jasec2]

Did you do the dolphin encounter through Disney?

 

[Laurie26739]

Please tell me about the dolphin excursion. Prices for pics, Etc. We have that booked for our cruise in 3 weeks. Thanks.

 

[briandclement]

Same I am looking for info about the ruins excursion !!!!!

 

[Greatfalls]

We did the Chacchoben ruins on the 8/3 WC cruise. I have 12yo twins.
The excursion meets at noon in Walt Disney theater, and we got back at 5:30, so it's the full time that the Fantasy is docked at Costa Maya. We were late for our first seating dinner, but it wasn't an issue.
There were 800 people from the cruise who did the excursion, but DCL was able to move everybody smoothly onto the buses, and it didn't feel crowded at the site.
The bus trip is a little over an hour each way, and our tour guide provided a nice talk on Mayan and Mexican history on the way there and at the site.
There are three fully intact temples, an arena, and a couple of other structures. They provided some nice photo ops. Our guide said they're not as spectacular or historic as Chichen Itza or Tulum. But you can't get to Chichen Itza from the cruise, and Tulum is an all-day excursion at Cozumel. This provides a good flavor without spending the whole day. We also saw some monkeys in the trees, which was fun. There's also a souvenir area at the site.
It was very hot -- about 90 degress but the humidity was oppressive. This put a damper on things, particularly for kids. Still it was a worthwhile trip.
There's not much to Costa Maya. I'm not sure I would do anything else than the ruins tour. It looks like Disney is pulling out of Costa Maya next year and changing to Jamaica.

 

[BWV Dreamin]

Was there any talk of others going to the Tropicante in Costa Maya? This is not offered by Disney. A short taxi ride away to a nearby town that supposed to have a nice beach and cheap food.

 

[jrabbit]

Chacchoben "Temples"

Main Temple

Stairs going UP to the upper plateau where there are two additional temples

Looking back down the stairs from the upper level

One of the Upper Plateau Temples

 

[Grumpy Sha]

Is it possible to upload the navigators from your cruise. I would love to see a more updated navigator. TIA

 

[BWV Dreamin]

Is it possible to upload the navigators from your cruise. I would love to see a more updated navigator. TIA

Yes that would be great!

 

[LoveMickey]

Can you tell me more about the Ruins Tour, how long you were on Costa Maya and if you were traveling with kids, what there thoughts were on the excursion.

THANKS!!

We were not in Costa Maya for very long. There is really nothing to do in the port area, just some touristy buildings selling stuff. There were 4 adults, 7 year old and 4 year old.

Our experience was as follows. Met in Walt Disney Theatre. There were over 700 people for this excursion. Disembarked and walked down the piers. Got in line for the tour. We were escorted to busses. I think there were 12 busses. We had a very good bus driver and tour guide. Our guide gave us a talk on the hour long drive to the ruins. He was very knowledgeable. Upon arrival, he was also our guide through the ruins. Again very knowledgeable. There was thunder in the area and it had rained. So there were some muddy spots. The kids do not like to be dirty - so wearing their crocs was great for them, the mud washed off easily. It was hot and humid and some people were complaining about bugs. The guide had a small bottle of off. I personally did not use it and did not get bitten. There were ruins you could walk up. One of the adults had previously been on a different ruin excursion in another port and said there was no guided tour, so that was a benefit. The kids were OK on the tour. They liked the Dolphin Encounter better, but they liked climbing the ruins and they are OK on busses, so no problem with the travel time.

I really enjoyed the excursion but would not go back. Very long drive. The busses were air conditioned and they did have water, soda for us before we headed back.

We got back to the port just at 5:25 and there were busses behind us. The ship was scheduled to leave at 5:30, but did not because it had to wait for the rest of the Disney excursions to get there.

I would not do any excursion in Mexico other than Disney. We did not get off the ship in Cozumel.

I do not remember the price of the excursions, but it is listed on the Disney site.

 

[LoveMickey]

Any recommendations for Cozumel? Did you travel with kids? How much time is needed for the Turtle Farm and to make it back to the tender.

We did not get off the ship in Cozumel. It was great to have an empty ship.

I do not recall how long it took to get to Turtle Farm. Since this is a tender port, those with Disney excursions get tendered first and others have to line up to get Tender Tickets.

I think it was about 1/2 hr. drive there and back, but it could have been longer.

We liked the Turtle Farm but liked the Dolphin Encounter better. They are right across the street from each other.

I do not recall the prices for 4 adults and 2 children.

 

[LoveMickey]

Did you do the dolphin encounter through Disney?

Yes, we did the excursion through Disney. The Encounter and the swim are in the same facility. We had a great guide and Darwin was our Dolphin. It was great and the kids loved it. The 7 year old could stand on the platform, we had to hold the 3 year old. We all had to have life jackets on and were on the platform for the entire excursion as Darwin would swim up and down the platform right next to us.

It was fun.

 

[LoveMickey]

Is it possible to upload the navigators from your cruise. I would love to see a more updated navigator. TIA

I'm sorry but I do not have a scanner to upload the navigators.

 

[ATLMinnie]

Yes, we did the excursion through Disney. The Encounter and the swim are in the same facility. We had a great guide and Darwin was our Dolphin. It was great and the kids loved it. The 7 year old could stand on the platform, we had to hold the 3 year old. We all had to have life jackets on and were on the platform for the entire excursion as Darwin would swim up and down the platform right next to us.

It was fun.

Did someone take pictures while you were in the water? Would it have been possible for two of you to be in the water at the same time while the other one took pictures?

 

[JoJoCruz]

We are also headed to the western on Fantasy (Oct 26)...staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge prior and using Disney transport. Can you tell me about the bus trip? What time did you get picked up at the lodge, what time did you arrive at the port, did you have any luggage issues?

 

[aprilchem]

We were on that same cruise, and I think my DH and sons did the same dolphin excursion as you! He was wearing a DCL rashguard and my sons are 6 and 7. DH bought the CD of the images and the pictures were great!

 

[LoveMickey]

Did someone take pictures while you were in the water? Would it have been possible for two of you to be in the water at the same time while the other one took pictures?

Yes, they took pictures, but we did not even look at them, since we knew they would be outrageously expensive.

If you are in the first pool, someone not on the excursion could take pics, but not very close ones. We just happened to be in the first pool.

 

[LoveMickey]

We are also headed to the western on Fantasy (Oct 26)...staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge prior and using Disney transport. Can you tell me about the bus trip? What time did you get picked up at the lodge, what time did you arrive at the port, did you have any luggage issues?

Like you, I was concerned about staying at Villas at AK and how the transportation would work. It was quite easy, once we knew what was going on. Here's the long story.

We stayed at Kidani. We asked at the front desk and they said we would get something under the door and gave us a card (like a business card) with minimal details. Well, what we received was the letter that you get when you take DME back to the airport. Yikes. So we call the number on the business card and they said we would get a letter the night before the cruise around 7:30 pm explaining what we needed to do.

7:30 no letter, Yikes again. Called the front desk and they transferred me to bell services. So Bell Services is who you can contact if you have any questions, not the front desk.

Anyway we finally did get a letter telling us that we needed to have the luggage ready to go at 8 am the next morning. Leave the luggage just in side the door, we did not have to be there to have the luggage picked up. We were then to be at Jambo House (main Animal Kingdom) lodge for an 11:15 departure. We left Kidani around 10:30 and took the first bus from Kidani to Jambo house with our 'carry on' luggage. We checked in at the DCL podium which is by the large windows looking out to the Savanna. Around 11:05, we had to walk to the bus in single file, showing our photo id's. The bus was only for Animal Kingdom. I don't think it picked up at any resort prior to us. And I do not know if our pick up timing was the norm.

Bus trip did not seem long, I think we arrived about 12:30, They showed cartoons - same type as they show on DME to and from airport. Got our carry ons off of the bus and into the terminal. There was a short line to get in, then up the escalator. There were lines for check in but they went smoothly. They were already boarding number 21 on to the ship. And our number was 7, so we boarded right away. We stopped at Guest Services on the ship to do some stuff, went up to lunch at Cabanas to a light crowd, and by the time we were done with lunch, the rooms were ready.

It was very easy, once we knew what to do.

Have fun and enjoy. We had extremely smooth seas.