09/15/07 Early Check in September 15, 2007 Eastern

[Bareacuda]

Good morning guys. We are another day closer to cruising!

I finally have our excursions booked!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I booked with private tours for both islands, though, so I will not be on any of the DCL excursions.
I have Joyce Prince booked for the St. Maarten tour. We will go shopping first thing that morning. After that we will go to Divi Beach for a few hours. Then we will have a 3 hour tour of the island. We will see the planes at Maho either before the tour begins or during the tour, depending on the plane schedule. The husbands will be fishing that day so it will just be the girls on this tour.

I have booked a private tour with Henry Christopher of Triple E Tours in St. Thomas. He will give us a private tour of the island, take us shopping and give us some beach time. We still haven't made a definite, final decision on the beach. I have read and seen so many pictures. I have it narrowed down to Coki or Sapphire. I think it will be Coki, but it is a tough decision.

On CC day, I think we will just make it a nice relaxing beach day. We do plan to rent floats there.

So Lisa, you can take our names off of the DCL excursion list on the roster. Sorry. Our group just thought we would see/do more with our money on these private tours instead of DCL. I do realize that there is a huge risk if we are not at the ship in time. We have asked both tours to get us to the port by one hour before listed time.

We are so excited!!!!!!!

So happy you have all your tours set!
I personally haven't found a beach in St Thomas/St John that wasn't beautiful. .
Im bringing my own floats. Just stuffing them in my snorkle gear bag. The hard part is blowing them all up .

 

[LoriS]

Oh no we were on page 2!!!!

That is a good excuse for a post to try out my new avatar. LOL

 

[Bareacuda]

I like it Lori!

 

[TaraBoss]

Just checking in to see how everyone is? I'm so excited now that it's getting closer! I just sent off a check for our private boat charter for St Thomas. We're going out with the Jolly Mon for the day, I've been researching for quite a while and am glad we pulled the trigger. I called several places to get additional information and many were already booked! The main selling point of the Jolly Mon is they will pick you up when you get off the boat, so you don't have to do taxis (would have cost $120 for RT taxis to the other harbor). Just hoping I don't get boat sick! Hope everyone is well.
Tara

 

[tinkerbelle77]

Kamy's Magical gang sounds cute!
Just kidding!

I am really excited with my aunt and cousin going now....makes it just that much better....family, friends and new DIS friends....so cool!!

Now that my cousin is going, dh wants to take him to one of "those beaches" if you know what I mean!
Should be interesting!

I know what you mean, I'm sure he'd have alot more husbands who wanted to go with him!

 

[TLHB70]

I personally haven't found a beach in St Thomas/St John that wasn't beautiful. .

That is what I thought. We will make our final decision when we are given our deadline, and I am sure we will be happy with whichever we choose.

 

[kamgen]

Good morning! Just checking in to say hello!!!

Dh is happy to see he wouldn't be the only one wanting to visit one of those "special" beaches! LOL!
But I thought most of them were that way...

 

[TLHB70]

But I thought most of them were that way...

I have read that Divi is not. That is what made us choose Divi. There is a thread on the DIS about it not being nude (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1491660), and there is a post (or two) on Cruise Critics about it not being nude. (http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=552466 )

If I find the other Cruise Critic thread I will post it.

 

[Mommaraven]

Kamy's Magical gang sounds cute!
Just kidding!

I am really excited with my aunt and cousin going now....makes it just that much better....family, friends and new DIS friends....so cool!!

Now that my cousin is going, dh wants to take him to one of "those beaches" if you know what I mean!
Should be interesting!

I agree that it's starting to sound like Kamy's Magical Gang, but I'm so glad we are part of it. I can't wait to spend some time with you guys and meet your family. Hi Kim!

I'm sure if you go to one of "those beaches" Patrick will be more than happy to go along and drool like an idiot with the guys. Of course, I don't think there's anything particulary pretty over there...more like the scary old man with a pot-belly type of beach.

 

[Windy City Heather]

Yes, the ones that decide to bare all are usually the ones that you don't want to bare all or could care less about seeing.

 

[kamgen]

Yeah, I think it is pretty funny...but my cousin is 18 and Steve just wants to show him a "good time" ! LOL!!! Not like we see those kind of beaches here in MI!

I am really looking forward to this trip.

 

[pooh1960]

Okay, now you got me goin'.... ....do I need to be concerned about the beaches? Mike does have to return to MI.

I guess one day can't be that bad.

Mike's already planning his next cruise --- with friends watchout DCL

Thanx Kam you're great!

 

[Windy City Heather]

Good Day to all. What a quiet group today.

Well I learned so much this morning. We booked our Southwest tickets on Saturday and wouldn't you know it, a sale today. So, I learned how to go online and rebook to get the credit. Our group of 5 saved $80.00 today. So, now I have to decide what to do with that credit. I say fly to MCO. We are letting go of our AP's after the September trip. My dd asks to stay at the Nick hotel everytime we drive by it so I am thinking about going for a 3 night weekend in December. If you stay for 3 nights and one of them is your birthday you birthday night is free so know I only have to pay for 2 nights. I already started to work on hubby.

 

[Lisa0503]

Good Day to all. What a quiet group today.

Well I learned so much this morning. We booked our Southwest tickets on Saturday and wouldn't you know it, a sale today. So, I learned how to go online and rebook to get the credit.

Heather - I did the same thing last year. If you don't think you are going to use the credit, you can get a REFUND to your credit card. You had to rebook the same exact flights to be eligible for the refund and you have to call their refund center in TX within 24 hours of booking to request a refund. I am sure customer service can give you there number. We got about $400 back last year....

 

[kamgen]

We are still watching the air prices too...right now, they are pretty good, but since I need to buy 3 tickets myself, I want the best deal, so i wait to see if they drop a bit more....but it is a risk

Aunt Kim- Tell Mike he better save up for this cruise first....he is gonna have an awesome time....and don't worry about the beaches....heck, they might be having so much fun, they dont even leave the ship! LOL!

heather- glad everything worked with your tickets...hate to see you make a purchase and then there is a sale!

We are just getting the rest of our stuff planned out. Already sent an email of TONS of details to dh's parents...they are new to cruising and have no idea what to do, wear, bring, etc. I have made most of our PS for the WDW portion of our trip, have our rooms booked. Now just work on transportation decisions and lose more weight so I can go SHOPPING!!!

In terms of Sailaway Party, we usually stand up top and look down. Love the view of the water and the over-view of the party. But I am sure my two year old is gonna wanna dance, so we might have to head downstairs. What is everyone else planning??? (yeah, I think WAY ahead.... )

 

[Windy City Heather]

I have already started to think about where we wanted to be during the sail away party too. I have a 5 year old that LOVES to dance so we will be down in the mix. I plan every thing out.

I did not realize until after I re-booked that it had to be the same flight to get the cash refund. I changed the return flight from 5:50 to 2:30. We were planning on getting a day room at the Hyatte but now we will leave at the original time. And then I will be back in December at the Nick hotel with the credits.

 

[lg3]

Good Day to all. What a quiet group today.
Well I learned so much this morning. We booked our Southwest tickets on Saturday and wouldn't you know it, a sale today. So, I learned how to go online and rebook to get the credit. Our group of 5 saved $80.00 today. So, now I have to decide what to do with that credit. I say fly to MCO. We are letting go of our AP's after the September trip. My dd asks to stay at the Nick hotel everytime we drive by it so I am thinking about going for a 3 night weekend in December. If you stay for 3 nights and one of them is your birthday you birthday night is free so know I only have to pay for 2 nights. I already started to work on hubby.

I know you mentioned possibility staying at the Nick hotel in December - just wanted to chime in that one of travelzoo's top 20 deals this week is that hotel for $99/night ($100 off), but I think it is only good for travel through 9/30.

 

[lg3]

........Now just work on transportation decisions and lose more weight so I can go SHOPPING!!!

In terms of Sailaway Party, we usually stand up top and look down. Love the view of the water and the over-view of the party. But I am sure my two year old is gonna wanna dance, so we might have to head downstairs. What is everyone else planning??? (yeah, I think WAY ahead.... )

Kamy, I have noticed that your scale ticker is going in the right direction (pun intended) and I just wanted to say Hooray for you - It sure is a lot of hard work. I started back to the gym about 3 weeks ago and am slowly seeing some results, but I sure feel better in general. Of course, I am planning to go to my favorite Italian restaurant tonight. It is so very difficult for me to be good there, and such a decadent treat.

Regarding the sailaway party - I was also planning on looking down from the top deck at first and going from there.

 

[kamgen]

Thanks! I am glad the ticker is going down, just wish is was FASTER!!!!

My aunt kim is over and we are "cruise talking"!

 

[kamgen]

We are on PAGE 2!

That is unacceptable! LOL!