05/09/2009 May 9, 2009 7-Night Eastern St Maarten... Watch Out!

[scottie]

Sounds like we all are going to be off in different directions from the start of boarding the ship! I guess worse case if we dont arrange an official meet the vast majority do have bracelets so we can always chat when passing in the hall or by the pool etc.

 

[airtime247]

I thought I already responded but my post never showed up?!?

My DD who is 7 wanted a new do for the cruise so today we went and had 10 inches chopped off and we donated to Locks of Love. I think she looks so cute and its the first time that I have seen her with short hair! Now my DM on the other hand need to keep her thoughts to her self because she thinks anyone under 30 needs long hair and had my DD in tears over her new hair cut! Man sometime my mother drives me nuts but I guess that is why I lover her... RIGHT????

That's a great cause Kristen. You should be very proud of her. We can't wait to see her new "do".

Where are you going on St. Maarten? Trying to decide where to go for our day in St. Maarten. We would like to spend part of the day at the beach and part of the day shopping.

I am thinking maybe Orient Beach and then (?) What is the most beautiful beach for clear water and white sand? (We won't snorkel.)

Is the shopping better on the French or Dutch side?

I posted this a while back but we are going to do a tour with Bernard's Tours http://www.bernardstours.com

For $35pp, we are spending 6.5 hours seeing the most popular sights around the island. We spend two hours at Orient Beach, make a stop at Maho Beach to see the planes land, spend some time in the French and Dutch capitols for shopping and wandering around, and a few other stops inbetween.

As for the other ports, in St. Thomas, we are just going to take a cab to Coki Beach and Coral World for the day.

On Castaway Cay, I'm doing the 5K in the morning and then just R&R all day. We'll probably spend the majority of the day on the family beach but if there are any fun activities Emma wants to do with the kids' club, we may have to sneak over to the adult beach for an hour or two!

I have done the Disneyworld HM once before and I definitely can't imagine going a step further, so WOW, good for you! Good luck!

Valerie

Congratulations for signing up for the HM in January! We may need to have a mini-reunion!

We finished our FE gifts and will be shipping them soon. To those shipping them to port, how soon do you plan to send them?

For meets, we're open to anything. We'd love every opportunity to meet you all. It's a little chaotic that first day but we should be able to make any meet.

I hope to see a lot of bracelets at the Oceaneer's Club and Lab on the first night for family night. It will be a great opportunity to meet and get the kids to know each other.

-steve

 

[MouseNDaHouse]

I thought I already responded but my post never showed up?!?



That's a great cause Kristen. You should be very proud of her. We can't wait to see her new "do".



I posted this a while back but we are going to do a tour with Bernard's Tours http://www.bernardstours.com

For $35pp, we are spending 6.5 hours seeing the most popular sights around the island. We spend two hours at Orient Beach, make a stop at Maho Beach to see the planes land, spend some time in the French and Dutch capitols for shopping and wandering around, and a few other stops inbetween.

As for the other ports, in St. Thomas, we are just going to take a cab to Coki Beach and Coral World for the day.

On Castaway Cay, I'm doing the 5K in the morning and then just R&R all day. We'll probably spend the majority of the day on the family beach but if there are any fun activities Emma wants to do with the kids' club, we may have to sneak over to the adult beach for an hour or two!



Congratulations for signing up for the HM in January! We may need to have a mini-reunion!

We finished our FE gifts and will be shipping them soon. To those shipping them to port, how soon do you plan to send them?

For meets, we're open to anything. We'd love every opportunity to meet you all. It's a little chaotic that first day but we should be able to make any meet.

I hope to see a lot of bracelets at the Oceaneer's Club and Lab on the first night for family night. It will be a great opportunity to meet and get the kids to know each other.

-steve

GREAT point on the bracelets at the club, Steve. That'll really help with the acclimation process.
Speaking of the bracelets, I just 'rediscovered' them this weekend when I started pulling together our FE gifts. It brought a smile to my face to have a near-new DIS experience during these long last weeks prior to the cruise!

 

[MouseNDaHouse]

Hey Jeremy. I seem to recall that you said the butterfly farm sent you driving directions. Would you mind posting them?

They actually didn't send directions - and their website is distinctly lacking: http://www.thebutterflyfarm.com/
However, they've replied with a jpg of the map from their site marked for my convenience...apparently we take Amin road all the way to the Farm and it's about 20 minutes.

I can email the jpg to you if you want it as I don't have the patience to figure out how to post an image on here...but I can tell you that the new jpg is really not helpful. The only thing I can figure is that there are NO roads except for Amin and Le Galion Beach Road between the port and the farm!

If you look at the description of the island on this link, it seems to support the theory of "no way to get lost!" http://www.sint-maarten.net/St-Maarten-Islandtour/IslandTour.html

I hope this helps!

 

[scottie]

Here’s to keeping fingers crossed for warm water on our Castaway Cay day! I was reading a post from someone who was there around the 19th of this month and said the water was too cold to enjoy. Let’s hope the couple of extra weeks before we arrive will help to warm up the waters!

 

[lyn9856]

Here’s to keeping fingers crossed for warm water on our Castaway Cay day! I was reading a post from someone who was there around the 19th of this month and said the water was too cold to enjoy. Let’s hope the couple of extra weeks before we arrive will help to warm up the waters!

We did a 7n Western cruise last year from May 3rd to 10th....and never even considered it not warm enough at CC, or anywhere else for that matter! Air/water temps were lovely and warm every day. Perfect weather in fact. So hope that we don't hit any cold spell this year...a week later!

 

[scottie]

We did a 7n Western cruise last year from May 3rd to 10th....and never even considered it not warm enough at CC, or anywhere else for that matter! Air/water temps were lovely and warm every day. Perfect weather in fact. So hope that we don't hit any cold spell this year...a week later!

I agree, we have done disney cruises a few times that hit CC around mid month and the water was always nice for us. I just feel like I have read more reports over the past month or two of the water being colder then normal so it had me a tiny bit worried. However, this could be due to the fact that I have researched this cruise more than past ones so I have been reading more posts, good and bad.
But I am sure the Disney Magic Bubble with hover over our trip and provide lovely weather the whole time!

 

[lulu0506]

I agree, we have done disney cruises a few times that hit CC around mid month and the water was always nice for us. I just feel like I have read more reports over the past month or two of the water being colder then normal so it had me a tiny bit worried. However, this could be due to the fact that I have researched this cruise more than past ones so I have been reading more posts, good and bad.
But I am sure the Disney Magic Bubble with hover over our trip and provide lovely weather the whole time!

-- here's to good weather and warm water!

 

[DisneyMommy1022]

Dear God please let us have warn weather well on our trip. You see we all have spent alot of money and have been planning for over a year. It would be a shame if we all went on this trip and were not been able to swim at Castaway Cay. Please have a talk with Mother Nature and tell her to turn up the heater and make that water WARM!!!!

Thanks and Amen

 

[Mastiff]

Just want to be sure I don't forget anyone!

Is the FE List on pg. 98 the most up to date? If not where can I find a more recent list?

Thanks for your help.

I can't believe how fast time is going by! 20 days until our cruise people!!!!! Can you believe it. Saw the weather report the other day and it was 85 degrees in St. Thomas! I will take it over my cold rainy 45 degree day here in Chicago!

See ya real soon~

 

[chubbyjen]

warm weather please!! pretty please...with a cherry on top!

 

[Eeyore77]

warm weather please!! pretty please...with a cherry on top!

I will agree that I hope that the weather is beautiful on the cruise, but I will say from time to time I envy you guys. I miss seeing snow!

 

[lulu0506]

Dear God please let us have warn weather well on our trip. You see we all have spent alot of money and have been planning for over a year. It would be a shame if we all went on this trip and were not been able to swim at Castaway Cay. Please have a talk with Mother Nature and tell her to turn up the heater and make that water WARM!!!!

Thanks and Amen

Amen

 

[lulu0506]

I gain a certain amount of obsessive disorder with my house before leaving on vacation. I have a looonnngggg list of things to do before leaving. I have to organize everything, clean everything, have all bills for the entire month paid (even though we will only be away for 1 week of the month). In fact, I am in the process of cleaning closets now I think I recall my mother doing the same thing when I was a kid. Something about leaving for vacation with a clear mind and knowing when you walk back in the door the house is clean In any event, it is a good incentive to jump on some spring cleaning Sitting at my desk right now, I think I ought to start organizing all the papers around me... it's going to be a late night

 

[j2bmickey]

They actually didn't send directions - and their website is distinctly lacking: http://www.thebutterflyfarm.com/
However, they've replied with a jpg of the map from their site marked for my convenience...apparently we take Amin road all the way to the Farm and it's about 20 minutes.

I can email the jpg to you if you want it as I don't have the patience to figure out how to post an image on here...but I can tell you that the new jpg is really not helpful. The only thing I can figure is that there are NO roads except for Amin and Le Galion Beach Road between the port and the farm!

If you look at the description of the island on this link, it seems to support the theory of "no way to get lost!" http://www.sint-maarten.net/St-Maarten-Islandtour/IslandTour.html

I hope this helps!

Thanks for the info. I agree about the site lacking much info. I already have several decent jpegs of the island, so I will go with that. I guess since I have seen that most roads are not marked, it doesn't really help to know the road to turn on.

If I start seeing airplanes, I will know that I missed the turn.

 

[airtime247]

Our cruise docs finally arrived today! They got shipped to our TA and then they just sent them to us via USPS. I was really feeling left out!

As for the FE list, would it be easier for everyone if I put a copy of it on the site? Kristen, can you confirm p98 is the latest?

I'm ready to fast-forward through this week so we can get to our final weekend of packing and planning. This trip can't get here soon enough!

-steve

 

[lyn9856]

I gain a certain amount of obsessive disorder with my house before leaving on vacation. I have a looonnngggg list of things to do before leaving. I have to organize everything, clean everything, have all bills for the entire month paid (even though we will only be away for 1 week of the month). In fact, I am in the process of cleaning closets now I think I recall my mother doing the same thing when I was a kid. Something about leaving for vacation with a clear mind and knowing when you walk back in the door the house is clean In any event, it is a good incentive to jump on some spring cleaning Sitting at my desk right now, I think I ought to start organizing all the papers around me... it's going to be a late night

Oh yes, I'm totally with you on this one I know it well.
I just have to make sure everywhere is cleaned, all laundry done, garden tidy and grass mowed. Fridge cleaned.
And last of all...there must be fresh clean sheets on the bed....ready for when we get home!

 

[DisneyMommy1022]

Our cruise docs finally arrived today! They got shipped to our TA and then they just sent them to us via USPS. I was really feeling left out!

As for the FE list, would it be easier for everyone if I put a copy of it on the site? Kristen, can you confirm p98 is the latest?

I'm ready to fast-forward through this week so we can get to our final weekend of packing and planning. This trip can't get here soon enough!

-steve

Yes that is the updated list.

Everyone please double check your info and PM me with anything that may have changed or is missing!

 

[Dilmaluvs2cruise]

We love NC. We lived in West Palm Beach for about 3 1/2 years back in the late 70's. Our oldest DD was born there. We moved from there to Chicago, talk about temperature shock. Then here to Charlotte.

I like that we are close enough for a day's drive to the port (a long day though). It would be nice to be closer. It is hard if we just want to do a short cruise.

We live in union county I work in Charlotte (Ballantye Area) wow we are really close

Dilma

 

[DisneyMommy1022]

Yep I am the same way. I will start my cleaning along with the final touches of packing the first week in May. I will make sure the house is nice and tight, rooms will all be cleaned and we will be eating all the food in the house so that I can clean the fridge out before we go. # 1 rule in our house is the week before we go on a trip is no grocery shopping. Its a eat what you can find week and everything else get tossed before we go. The reason we do this is because a few years ago we left and the power went out well we were gone. When we came home the house smelt like something had died because all of the food had gone bad and the basement had an 5 inches of water in it.