~ºoº November 27, 2010- Western Magic! ºoº~

[iloverags2]

The site for shoretrips is great - thanks for that info.

Seeing as I have had a busy non-productive planning day (and I'm trying to get to 10 posts for the honor of being able to send PMs) is anyone else from the south/warmer weather? I'm a bit of a weenie about cool/cold water and so the thought of having an excursion booked where you HAVE to get into the water is leaving me pondering that whole deal?

I'm from Florida (although not originally...my hometown is Chicago, so I'm probably not a good guage for you!) and never have a problem with the water throughout the year. You should be ok (don't hold me to that though!).

Just a little over 7 months!!!

 

[ukintheus]

Thanks Cindy! I'm an English girl transplanted to Texas almost 20 years ago so you'd think my tolerance would be a bit better - guess the Texas heat rubbed off on me. We were in the Eastern Caribbean (not cruising) this past January and the water temps were OK until it got breezy - then it was too chilly for me to get in. Hopefully Nov/Dec Western is a bit warmer. Need to do my homework on that I guess.

Darcy - Finally made it to 10 posts and sent a PM about the FE info Tried explaining it to DH last night - he looked at me like I was talking a foreign language

 

[jaurban]

We would love to participate in the FE exchange. We just returned from our first cruise on Sunday and had a great time - and my DDs loved getting the "prizes" in the FE. So, count us in. It is me, DH, DD8 and DD2 at the time (DD2s birthday is Thanksgiving this year and DD8s birthday is the week before so we will celebrate both on the cruise).

 

[DLW8]

I love seeing new posts on our thread!!! Welcome everyone, and I think I am caught up with the FE list, but here are the posters that I have on the list, so if you wanted to do the FE and I missed your PM, please send me another one.

We are up to 10 rooms now!!

The Peacekeeper
J&K'sMommyPrincess (2 rooms)
ukintheus
sdlong329
iloverags2
DLW8 (me)
CKcruising
jaurban
Mousebrat



ukintheus - you can give whatever you want for gifts. On our 3-night cruise in December, people gave gifts once (we ran into a lot of people in the hallway the first night!). SOme people give one gift per stateroom, some give something geared towards kids and/or adults depending on who is in the room.

The FE threads are pretty long, but just scan them and you may get some great ideas.

As for our stocking, I got a plain red one at the Dollar Store, decorated it with Mickey Heads (paint chips from HD) and just hung that one on our fish.

If you haven't read the tip, bring a zip tie or twist tie to anchor your FE to the fish, prevents theft...

 

[DLW8]

I know someone offered to create this for me when we have a final list, and now I realized that I deleted my PMs, so not sure who that was!

Please let me know again, and I'll just put it on the list, so I don't lose it again!

 

[Fourgolds]

I love seeing new posts on our thread!!! Welcome everyone, and I think I am caught up with the FE list, but here are the posters that I have on the list, so if you wanted to do the FE and I missed your PM, please send me another one.

We are up to 10 rooms now!!

The Peacekeeper
J&K'sMommyPrincess (2 rooms)
ukintheus
sdlong329
iloverags2
DLW8 (me)
CKcruising
jaurban
Mousebrat



ukintheus - you can give whatever you want for gifts. On our 3-night cruise in December, people gave gifts once (we ran into a lot of people in the hallway the first night!). SOme people give one gift per stateroom, some give something geared towards kids and/or adults depending on who is in the room.

The FE threads are pretty long, but just scan them and you may get some great ideas.

As for our stocking, I got a plain red one at the Dollar Store, decorated it with Mickey Heads (paint chips from HD) and just hung that one on our fish.

If you haven't read the tip, bring a zip tie or twist tie to anchor your FE to the fish, prevents theft...

We are also in for FE, but I have not gotten up to the 10 needed to send a pm. It is myself, DW, DD1, DD2(celebrating her 4th bday on the last day of the cruise)

 

[Fourgolds]

Darcy~ Are we 2 of the 8 for the FE? I think so, just checking



We have looked at the Disney ones. I am hoping to do the Butterfly farm & Aquarium in Key West, Dolphins in Cozumel, and Boatswains in Grand Cayman... granted this will run $1202 for the 5 of us Might just have to check shore trips and see if I can get that price down! 7 mile beach in Grand Cayman does look great though... might have to look more seriously into that as well.

I am also pretty sure we'll fly in the night before and stay at the Hyatt in MCO, has anyone done that before?

We used to live in FLA and go to Key West a lot. Don't over book yourself, there is a ton to do wandering around and I am not sure what time the boat leaves, but the sunset festival is a must see. Also, Kermit's chocolate covered, frozen key lime pie, on a stick is a necessity anytime we are there.

 

[DLW8]

We used to live in FLA and go to Key West a lot. Don't over book yourself, there is a ton to do wandering around and I am not sure what time the boat leaves, but the sunset festival is a must see. Also, Kermit's chocolate covered, frozen key lime pie, on a stick is a necessity anytime we are there.

YUM - I am putting that on my to -do list for sure!

Key West is one of the places I'm most excited to go to. I think we may just do the trolley tour (the one you can get on/orff) to check out the area. And, some key lime pie testing is on the plan as that is DH's favorite!

 

[DLW8]

We are also in for FE, but I have not gotten up to the 10 needed to send a pm. It is myself, DW, DD1, DD2(celebrating her 4th bday on the last day of the cruise)

You only have a few posts to go before you can esne me your PM. In case you missed the info on what I'll need, here you go:

Room #
Last Name
Email Address
Names of people in party
DD/DS and ages for kids with their names (so your birthday DD will be DD4)
Celebrating anything?

 

[iloverags2]

Ok, going back and reading some early posts to this thread and it was mentioned there is a website for this cruise. Is it still out there?

 

[DLW8]

Ok, going back and reading some early posts to this thread and it was mentioned there is a website for this cruise. Is it still out there?

No, the person that started this thread and the website had to change their cruise plans, so there is no website. Unless someone else wants to make one.....

 

[J&K'sPrincessMommy]

:lol Darcy :lol
I wish I could, but I cannot do a website, too much going on

Anyway, I have been researching what to do in port and came across:
http://www.paradise-beach-cozumel.c...pics=0&picnu=0&lyt_bh_1=0&ln=en&sec=beach.php

According to this thread, it sounds great!
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2315507
and the

in Cozumel we also took a taxi to Paradise Beach for $14 for the 5 of us.

is appealing... I guess I will have to research Dolphin swims in Grand Cayman a bit more than on Cozumel...

What are everyone's plans/thoughts on port activities?
I saw

Kermit's chocolate covered, frozen key lime pie, on a stick

which sounds awesome. What about the Butterfly/aquarium there?

 

[DLW8]

I just went to www.keywestchamber.org and there are printable coupons for some tourist attractions. I will be bookmarking that site and printing some to use, I saw kids go free on the conch train and the old town trolley train with an adult....

Haven't looked much farther than that, just wanted to share!

 

[iloverags2]

Thanks for the link! I so want to rent a car and make a drive up to Florida City for a Key Lime milkshake at Robert Is Here (the absolute best shake I have ever had), but not sure about making an almost 3 hour drive up there just for that!

 

[DLW8]

Thanks for the link! I so want to rent a car and make a drive up to Florida City for a Key Lime milkshake at Robert Is Here (the absolute best shake I have ever had), but not sure about making an almost 3 hour drive up there just for that!

3 hours each way! YIKES! Better be a GREAT milkshake!!!

 

[jd99]

:lol Darcy :lol
I wish I could, but I cannot do a website, too much going on

Anyway, I have been researching what to do in port and came across:
http://www.paradise-beach-cozumel.c...pics=0&picnu=0&lyt_bh_1=0&ln=en&sec=beach.php

According to this thread, it sounds great!
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2315507
and the is appealing... I guess I will have to research Dolphin swims in Grand Cayman a bit more than on Cozumel... :




We have been to paradise beach and love it. Weather has to be good so play it by ear and just hop a cab there. We will likely head there again this time.

 

[DLW8]

One more thing off the "to do" list...bought my airfare today since JetBlue announced it was starting service from Hartford to Orlando!!!

Flights booked - check
pre-cruise hotel booked - check (but still checking hotwire/priceline for cheaper rate)
transportation to/from port booked - check

Now all I need is for the cruise to get here! Oh yeah, and to make that nasty final payment. sigh....

 

[DLW8]

I'm VERY glad I bought my plan tickets on Tuesday, they are now $50 more per person on JetBlue for my flights!

Happy Earth Day Everyone!

 

[iloverags2]

Wow! Big difference between two days. Glad you jumped on those tickets when you did. The cruise is paid off...I'm just anxiously waiting for that 90 day mark so I can book Palo for dinner!

219 days!!!

 

[ukintheus]

Hi everyone! Sorry to disappear for a few days, I got waylaid by a rain-delayed Nascar race.

The key lime pie thing is SO on my list of things to do, thanks for posting about Kermit's, I think that is one of my must-do's. We are also thinking of doing the trolley and just trying to fit in a couple of stops. I'd like to see the Hemmingway house, I'm a big cat fan. Maybe the southern most point and that's about it. I'd like to have time to wander around and just chill.

I haven't thought any further on excursions - I guess I have a bit of time to figure it all out.

Thanks for the info on the FE - the list will make it easier. I've been keeping my eyes open for little things that might work so that I can get a head start on things, but then realized that if a bunch of people join the group closer to the cruise that may throw off my plans (if I give the same things to everyone). It sounds like fun - I like the whole "bring what you like" rule - it makes it way less stressful.