20050514..May 14, 2005...Official Check in Disney's 1st 14 Day thru Panama Canal

[kaylin]

Just checking in It's windy and rainy here, but I think we lucked out by the Hurricane being a cat. 1. It has not been nearly as bad as Charley was for us! We did'nt even lose power! I hope its a little nicer tomorrow. Its no fun to get a day off work if you can't enjoy it a little! I guess a rainy day off is better than a sunny day at work Have a great Labor Day everyone! Be safe

Kimberly

 

[RickW]

So, I had this idea last week, and just finished yesterday, so I thought I would go ahead and post it. I spent some time researching different cruise lines and what excursions are offered. Based on that research I have put together a list of probable Curacao excursions that may be available for our cruise. You can find it here:

http://MagicFromSeaToSea.com/curacao.html

I may try to put something together for the other ports, but I probably won't get to it for a while.

 

[Scott H]

Just back from the weekend in Jellystone, the pups love to camp. Listened to Francis info all weekend and hoped all were well, and now hope all are well. Temp was 24 this AM at Fishing Bridge.

Glad to hear that MCO is open today. BIL (works for Delta) says that flights are all backed up but should be cleared out by Thursday when we leave.

Hope WDW faired well. Got to get ready for a quick rood trip for work.

 

[DisneyPinDiva]

Good afternoon everyone!
Finally got power back around noon today. Luckily no serious damage at either house. I see that Ivan is waiting in the wings... oh the joys of living in FL during hurricane season!
At least there are not alot of posts to catch up on here.... where is everyone?
Nice write up on the Curacao excursion possibilites! Thanks RickW!!

 

[justmestace]

Sorry to butt in on your thread.....I just wanted to say that my DH & I spent 10 days in Curacao about a year and a half ago. If anyone would like to ask me questions, I'd be more than happy to try to answer them.
Norwegian was docked there for a day while we were there...that was a sight to see.....I think I would have tried to stowaway if it had been DCL!
Stacey

 

[Hygiene99]

justmestace


Curacao just couple of Questions

What was it u like Best about the island

10 days Sounds like a Great trip !!


Is there a Casino on the island

and What is a must See...


Thanks Peter

 

[justmestace]

I wrote an entire Travel Guide, and my post disappeared. So, I'll post this, and if it works, I'll re-write my answer to you!

 

[Scott H]

Peter, PMFJI...

The casino in Curacao is located down town in Otrobanda, across the plaza from the floating bridge, in the Howard Johnsons. Did not go inside just noticed it there.

 

[justmestace]

First things first....Curacao is not your typical island. It is made up of rock and desert scrub. There are very few sandy beaches, and what few there are, are man-made.

IMO...the Number 1 thing to do is right across the bay from the ship.
You don't need a guide. You walk across the floating bridge (which is very cool, because throughout the day, they open and close it to let boats go through.
The main shopping district is here. It is the group of colorful buildings that you see in every article about Curacao. There are restaurants, bars, store where you find the usual tourist stuff, and also local crafts, Delft, jewelry, and the liqueur, curacao. You can even get free samples sometimes. There are approx 3-4 streets of shops, small museums & galleries. Also right here is Fort Amsterdam, the Government Buildings & the Church museum. Very interesting! On the corner of one of the main streets is a store like a Circle K where you can re-stock whatever you may need halfway through your cruise.
The floating market is right here also. Some amazingly small boats make their way from Venezuela every day with fruits, vegetables and fish. Very busy place early in the a.m. and very interesting.

On the same side of the bay that the ship is on are also several museums and galleries that are interesting to see.
All of this is free, except for small donations at some of the museums.

 

[Hygiene99]

justmestace Thanks For the info..


Peter

 

[justmestace]

There are several casinos....all very small and located inside hotels. The biggest one is at the Marriott, which is about a ten minute drive (taxi) from the port. The Marriott is beautiful. The casino was nice, clean, but small. The slot machines took guilders. They'll make change for you.

The Howard Johnson is walkable, not that I would. Heading in that direction on foot, away from the port, is probably not a great idea.

 

[moocow35]

Stacey, thank you! I have a question. Did you do the Curacao Liqueur tour? Do you know if this is far from the dock? Or how about the Sea Aquarium, is this far from the dock? If they are not, what is the situation on cabs? Is this a safe area for two women to go off on their own?

Thanks!
Robin

 

[justmestace]

Number Two on the list........Taking a taxi or tour to the Curacao Sea Aquarium. It's about a half hour from the port. There's a dive center located right next door....Lion's Dive. We had a boat dive one day when Norwegian Cruise Line was docked, and two couples from the ship had booked with us, ahead of time, and took a taxi to Lion's Dive. So that's something to check into.
The Aquarium charges a fee, but it is pretty impressive for a small island. They have bathrooms, 2 gift shops, a large snack bar. and the aquatic area where you can get in the water and feed the fish (enclosed) or go into the underwater viewing area. (an old sub)
If you're really adventerous, you can also go out into the open ocean from here.
This is mentioned in Rick's post...the place that has the sea turtles and sharks behind plexiglass.
We went there quite often, as there aren't very many beaches with access to the ocean for snorkelers. We weren't at a hotel, we had a condo on the west side of the island.

 

[moocow35]

I am so glad to learn that so far none of our Florida cruising companions had much damage. Jen and Jeff, we haven't heard from you though, and the news is saying the Tampa area got hit hard. I hope that you guys are okay and just are out of power for now.

Since the storm moved up to Tallahassee today, I finally got in touch with my DD, and she said it was just misting? Gotta love teenagers! However the college is closed tomorrow, so it must be more than "misting" LOL I was happy to hear that she was alright, and am really looking forward to going down there next month to pick out my lot and start the new home building process.

Robin

 

[justmestace]

Robin....walking from the ship to the major shopping area is definitely okay for two women. Lots of people, police, tourists....and very much worth it.

We never did go do the tour of the distillery. It is a long way from the port....and I really didn't think it would be worth it. When you travel around the island, other than some pretty historical houses here & there, there's not much to see. We got free samples of the curacao right down at the shopping area.......

I guess one thing I'm saying is that it really is not a pretty island. It's actually larger than I expected it to be. Highways, traffic, slums.
I'd sooner stay right there by the port, there's plenty to see, or go to the aquarium.

There was an excursion mentioned that takes you to see the sunken tugboat. This is a worthwhile tour, if the excursion docks at the little beach nearby. There is an old building that used to house slaves awaiting trade, and part of an old fort with a lookout tower....very interesting. The building now houses a snack bar & bar.
One word of warning....there is nude sunbathing here, and all over Curacao. They have no laws against it, and it's not limited to the Cindy Crawford's of the world.
I think the only places where it is not allowed is at the hotel beaches.

Cabs are readily available, and the aquarium and the distillery would both also be perfectly safe to go to.

 

[justmestace]

Since I don't come by and read here very often, if you have any more questions, you can post them on here, and I'll answer here so that everyone can see it....but PM me with a heads-up, so I'll know someone has a question.

 

[BobandLee]

Originally posted by Scott H
Just back from the weekend in Jellystone, the pups love to camp. Listened to Francis info all weekend and hoped all were well, and now hope all are well. Temp was 24 this AM at Fishing Bridge.....

Hey Scott, atleast you were dry. But then we were alot warmer.

To all, I did a post on the main page asking what music do you remember being played on the ship. I remember some, but not much. Thought I'd make a cd or something to get in the cruise mood.
http://disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=639750
Thanks,
Bob
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[kaylin]

I spoke to soon! I lost power about 10 minutes after I posted on Sat.! Came back on last night about 7pm. It is soooo humid now though! Hope everyone had a good weekend! I can't believe its already September! Hopefully before we know it, it will be May I guess I really better start saving my money!

Kim

 

[DisneyPinDiva]

Good morning everyone!

Stacey.. thanks for sharing all that info on Curacao! You are just a font of info on so many things....LOL We can use you over here to pump up the post volume....


today! Hooray!! We finally get a break to clean up the debris! Hope those without power get it back soon!

Is anyone on this thread coming to WDW for the "Big Pin Event" this coming weekend?

 

[seaulater]

We are back from Lake Powell. Quite an interesting weather weekend there also, but at least no hurricanes! Hope everyone is okay.

Stace-I should have known you have been to Curacao. Thanks for the info on the nude beaches, I am sure the DH will head right over there!

Okay, work to do!

Linda