1/21/12 Western Caribbean Cruise

[Cheerio]

So excited!! Just a reminder we have a facebook group so please PM me if you want to get access!! 90 more days!!!

 

[swalesfamily]

Just about everything is done for the planning part of the cruise. Already booked hotel for the night before, airline tickets & transportation.

Went on line this morning & finished all the online paperwork. We have a 11 am port check in time. I didn't think we had to since we are doing DCL transfers. Also booked the fishing excursion on CC for my husband & son & the beach break on Cozumel. We wanted to do the Seven Mile Beach break on Grand Cayman but it was already sold out.

We now need to figure out our beach day on Grand Cayman & research if we will have enough time to do some shopping after the beach day in Cozumel. We are planning on doing the trolly tour on Key West, but not through DCL.
We don't do Palo or the Spa so don't have to worry about that.

Still not sure if we should do the FE or not. Not crafty at all & not sure if I need the stress around the holidays. We didn't do it our first cruise.

Hopefully we can meet people from our group! Last time we only meet one family.

Finished booking our excursions too. Doing discover Mexico cultral park in Cozumel and the Extreme Castaway Cay adventure. From what I can tell Key west and Grand Cayman are pretty easy on your own, just need to find somewhere along 7 mile beach to rent towels and chairs. Debated long and hard on Palo and in the end booked brunch for the 2nd day at sea. No regrets right.
I would still like to participate in the FE. Told the kids about it and they are stoked. Not super crafty either but if we keep it simple it should be doable. We've got the holidays to prepare for our holiday right?

Looking forward to meeting some of you

 

[cdodson]

Hello all,

I'll be joining you on the Jan 21, 2012 cruise on the Disney Magic. We are very excited. I've read every post on this thread and realize I have some catching up to do. I'll be doing it over multiple posts to get my post count up so I can use PM. More to come . . .

Ludwig von Chuck

 

[cdodson]

Hello all,

I'll be joining you on the Jan 21, 2012 cruise on the Disney Magic. We are very excited. I've read every post on this thread and realize I have some catching up to do. I'll be doing it over multiple posts to get my post count up so I can use PM. More to come . . .

Ludwig von Chuck

I'm the Disney Geek in the family, but my family is very supportive as long as they can join in the fun. My family:

My wife
My older son (23) who spent four years in the Marines and is off on his own.
My daughter (22) who is now married and is expecting my first grandchild (a girl) in Dec.
My younger son (17) who is a senior in high school (this will be his last Disney trip as a 'kid')
My younger daughter (14) who is a freshman in high school

Only the younger two will be traveling.

 

[cdodson]

Our cruise:

I actually booked the cruise on Mar 7th and have been planning it ever since. I paid the final deposit last week, so I guess it's no looking back now.

This is my first Disney Cruise and our first cruise as a family (wife and I did a 7-day Alaska cruise in 2008 for our anniversary).

For the four of us, I was able to get connecting rooms, 2083 and 2085. I struggled giving up a verandah, but with two teenagers along, I figured we'd value the extra space and especially the extra bathroom. Besides, this leaves us more money for other things.

We're keeping the kids in the dark until Christmas Day. I've actually scheduled for Disney to call their cell phones on Christmas morning. We plan to have many cruise related gifts. I can't wait . . .

 

[cdodson]

Logistics:

We live in the Great White North, Minneapolis, so flying was the only option. On our last trip (June) to WDW, during the flight home, Delta bumped us from our non-stop flight to a flight that connected in Atlanta. We got home 2 hours later with four $300 vouchers. The vouchers completely covered our air fare.

We are flying in Friday night. Once at the airport and after we eat our traditional meal at Chick-fil-a (there are no Chick-fil-a in Minnapolis, grrr), we will grab our rental car and head to Cocoa Beach.

Fri night we are staying at Wakulla Suites. I got a very good deal on Hotwire. The reviews are a bit sketchy, but it's a two-bedroom suite, so we should be comfortable.

I plan to drop the family and the luggage at the port on Sat morning and return the rental car myself. I'll taxi back to the terminal.

We fly back on Sunday. I've booked a rental car, but I don't have a post-cruise hotel or activity planned yet. Suggestions?

 

[Loriekins]

Hello all,

I'll be joining you on the Jan 21, 2012 cruise on the Disney Magic. We are very excited. I've read every post on this thread and realize I have some catching up to do. I'll be doing it over multiple posts to get my post count up so I can use PM. More to come . . .

Ludwig von Chuck

Welcome Welcome! Congrats on the upcoming grand baby also!

 

[swalesfamily]

Our cruise:

I actually booked the cruise on Mar 7th and have been planning it ever since. I paid the final deposit last week, so I guess it's no looking back now.

This is my first Disney Cruise and our first cruise as a family (wife and I did a 7-day Alaska cruise in 2008 for our anniversary).

For the four of us, I was able to get connecting rooms, 2083 and 2085. I struggled giving up a verandah, but with two teenagers along, I figured we'd value the extra space and especially the extra bathroom. Besides, this leaves us more money for other things.

We're keeping the kids in the dark until Christmas Day. I've actually scheduled for Disney to call their cell phones on Christmas morning. We plan to have many cruise related gifts. I can't wait . . .

so cool, we surprised our kids in March with a trip to Disneyland and they were dumbfounded to be going there instead of school.
What a great way to start great trip memories

 

[cdodson]

Port Adventures:

For sure, we will be going it alone on Key West. We'll just walk around and soak up the sites.

For GC, I'm thinking about either a) chartering a boat for String Ray City and for some snorkling/beach fun or b) doing a package tour with the same highlights.

Cozumel: my wife really wants to do the dolphin thing; me, not so much. I'd rather do one of the underground river floats. The ruins on the mainland also interest me, but with the ferry and all, that would make for a long day.

I'd welcome any suggestions/recommendations or insights from the experienced cruisers.

Thanks.

 

[cdodson]

Welcome Welcome! Congrats on the upcoming grand baby also!

Thank you. We've already warned my daughter that Granddaddy and Grana will be taking her for her first visit to WDW (as soon as she is old enough to enjoy it; I'm thinking fourth birthday).

Ok, I did give in and say that my Grandprincess' parents could come along if they stay out of the way.

 

[MickeyD]

Port Adventures:


Cozumel: my wife really wants to do the dolphin thing; me, not so much. I'd rather do one of the underground river floats. The ruins on the mainland also interest me, but with the ferry and all, that would make for a long day.

I'd welcome any suggestions/recommendations or insights from the experienced cruisers.

Thanks.

I did the dolphin thing in Cozumel on our last cruise with DCL and I LOVED IT!! It was totally the highlight of the cruise for me. My dh just went along for the ride and took pictures. You can either purchase an "observer" ticket, like dh did, and then you can stand at the end of the pier and have great views to film etc., or you can send your wife and you can take a taxi and you can still get close. I think a taxi would run about $10 and then $10 for entry to the park...unless you do the dolphinaris one, and i don't know where that is. I did the one at Chankanaab.

We are doing Tulum this time and you are right, it will be a long day, but I hear it is once in a lifetime type of experience...we will see.

Welcome aboard!
Lisa

 

[cdodson]

I'm still working on gettig to 10 posts . . .

While this is our first Disney Cruise, we are WDW veterans. We used to live in Tampa, so getting there was easy. Once we moved North, we starting doing week long vacations every other year. Trips have included stays at CR, WL, and PO. During the PO trip, I did a DVC tour and was hooked. After months of research, I ended up purchasing a 200 pt. resale at VWL. Since then, we've had weeks at VWL, AKV (Kidani), and OKW.

 

[cdodson]

Number nine . . .

I'm new to DIS, but I visit ********** often. My handle over there is Ludwig von Chuck.

 

[cdodson]

Number nine . . .

I'm new to DIS, but I visit ********** often. My handle over there is Ludwig von Chuck.

Wow, I guess 'competing' sites are dirty words here.

Oh well. If you do stray to other Mouse sites where DVC Owners hang out, you might bump into me.

 

[cdodson]

That's ten!

Who do I PM to get access to and get on the list of fellow cruisers?

 

[swalesfamily]

That's ten!

Who do I PM to get access to and get on the list of fellow cruisers?

pm Cherrio and she will send you the google docs link. We also have a facebook page you can join in and chat there too

 

[jhazelton]

Haven't posted since page 1, but starting to get really excited. Flights are all booked. Pre and post hotels are set. Rental car, done.

Now if only the next couple of months would get out of the way...

 

[jhazelton]

Is there a group setup or a shared doc of some sort?

 

[swalesfamily]

Is there a group setup or a shared doc of some sort?

There is a group google doc set up however you need to be sent the link by the admin to gain access by Cheerio

 

[EyeDisneyCruise]

Hello Everyone,

We will be joining you on this cruise...we can't wait to go back "home" to the Magic!!

Trisha
Ben DH
Alexandra DD(7)
Zachary DS(5)

Looking forward to a great cruise!