3/28/09 Spring Break Magic in St. Croix

[kcashner]

My suggestion re dinner linkings would be that you find ONE other family on the boards with kids about the same age as your children and link those reservations. That should give you a table of 6-10 people depending on the family sizes. A table this size is relatively easy for your servers, and everyone can talk with everyone else. If you get to a table bigger than 10, you'll end up speaking to the people on either side and maybe across from you, and that's it. It also gets harder to supervise kids.

We've been at everything from a 4 top with just 2 of use there to a long table for 18 (we were asked if that was OK first.) My personal favorites were in the 6-8 person range.

 

[gagamouse]

We have early dinner DD7 and DS4 if anyone is interested in getting together I would call and see about linking ressie just let me know.

 

[alikat99]

We have early dinner DD7 and DS4 if anyone is interested in getting together I would call and see about linking ressie just let me know.

I would LOVE to link ressies with you as I ahve a DD7 and a DD4 (almost 5), so our kids are the same ages. We're hoping to switch to early seating onboard, so I'm not sure if they would link us but it's worth a try. I see that you are new to the boards, so I'm not sure if you can PM yet (I think that you need 10 posts first). But, you could email me at amy@rodgersfamily.cc.

 

[starview]

If anyone would like to link with us, it is me, my DH (we're in our 50's) & DGS who is 7 & we're on early dining.

This is the only board I've been on & I'm not sure about PMs & how they work. I would have no problem with calling Disney & doing the linking. I'm at work today so I'll check back at my afternoon break.

 

[Dave and Micha]

As above, linking reservations is very easy. One person (or their TA) needs to call DCL and have the information for both parties--name, reservation number is all that's needed.

What's everyone doing in St. Croix? Anyone know for sure where the boat docks?

The ship docks right in Fredericksted. You are able to walk directly into the very small town, but there is very little to see there. The government prices for taxis to the main town Christiansted are fairly pricey, but if you walk out of the gate after the majority of people have left the ship the same taxi drivers were offering to take people for $6-8 per person instead of the $15.

Fredericksted is very clean and there is a fort and a small artists market with VERY overpriced and tacky stuff so if you are intending to shop there, forget it. The people were nice and polite to the extreme. No one kept asking over and over to sell you something and were polite when you said no, thank you.

IMPORTANT; At the end of the pier to the left is a small, clean little beach that alot of people from our ship went to... nothing fancy, but nice enough for free. There were some people renting umbrellas there, but nothing like on the main beaches in Carambola. To be honest... if you are a low maintenance person and just want to sit and relax, swim a little, and not go through a lot of expense and hassle... this little beach is fine.

 

[disneyfreak1]

The ship docks right in Fredericksted. You are able to walk directly into the very small town, but there is very little to see there. The government prices for taxis to the main town Christiansted are fairly pricey, but if you walk out of the gate after the majority of people have left the ship the same taxi drivers were offering to take people for $6-8 per person instead of the $15.

Fredericksted is very clean and there is a fort and a small artists market with VERY overpriced and tacky stuff so if you are intending to shop there, forget it. The people were nice and polite to the extreme. No one kept asking over and over to sell you something and were polite when you said no, thank you.

IMPORTANT; At the end of the pier to the left is a small, clean little beach that alot of people from our ship went to... nothing fancy, but nice enough for free. There were some people renting umbrellas there, but nothing like on the main beaches in Carambola. To be honest... if you are a low maintenance person and just want to sit and relax, swim a little, and not go through a lot of expense and hassle... this little beach is fine.

Thank you so much for the information. The little beach is exactly what we are planning to do.

 

[skohrs]

I am getting so excited. We are so close now. Every day I see the Disney Cruise Line bus driving on the 417 while I am on my way to work. I think Disney is taunting me. I snapped a picture of it today with my cell phone as the bus passed in the opposite direction at 65mph (so it is a horrible picture), but I thought I'd share it anyway.

 

[Dave and Micha]

Another tip I can give you is for St Thomas. While most people go to Mhegan's Bay it can be costly; $8pp for the cab, $4 pp beach entry, $10 for a chair, etc. A really good place to go is Secret Harbour beach and resort. It is a $10pp cab fare, but there is no charge for the beach, chairs are $5 per day per person (with a $10 total deposit) from the dive shop which also rents snorkel equipment. There is a coral reef right off the beach and there was A LOT to see without any current or danger. There is also a bar on the beach and beers were $3.50 each; we had a delicious lunch from a menu ranging in price from $8 -$12... I highly recommend the Mahi sandwich...grilled, juicy and perfect! The cabs run regularly so you can grab one or tell the drivers when you want to go back. They were VERY good about it all.

One other thing... this is a great beach if you have kids. There are tons of shade trees and since the area is a cove, there are no strangers around.

We loved it.

 

[kcashner]

Another thought for St. Thomas is to do Coral World/Coki Beach on your own. This is a GREAT excursion for kids. Coral World is an aquarium with an underwater viewing structure (you walk in), a traditional aquarium section (small), a "hands on " area where you can touch a nurse shark, sea urchin, etc. under supervision, hiking trails, a snack bar and gift shop, etc. Across the parking lot is Coki Beach--it's nothing terribly fancy, but it's a nice beach and it's free.

When you go to Coral World, you get a wrist band that allows you to come and go as you please all day. SO, you can go to the beach and walk across the parking lot to come back to the bathrooms and snack bars. There are discount admission tickets available on line and in the tourist info magazine you can get at the dock. They used to have a family rate as well. There are lots of cabs that will take you, and it's easy to get one to get back to the ship. I've recently read that the cab was $9 per person--we paid less, but that we a few years ago.

Megan's Beach is over-rated in my opinion. It was listed in some magazine (maybe 8 years ago) as one of the 10 best beaches in the world...and quickly became the one everyone wanted to visit. As a result, prices and crowds went up. There are many equally nice beaches without the mob scene.

 

[Dave and Micha]

Coki beach was in the same direction as Secret Harbour and some people on our week went. They had very nice things to say about it.

 

[kcashner]

The dress is fixed....now she wants me to make a jacket to match. She has a little chiffon scarf, but she isn't comfortable with the strapless part. Groan. I really wanted ANOTHER project for the next week and a half! Oh...the dress HAD TO be worn for formal night so she can have a trial run before prom.

 

[alikat99]

Hey everyone!! Had to take a last minute trip to Chicago last week, as my grandmother had passed away. She lived a LONG, almost 88 years, so I know that she's partying in heaven, happy that it's almost St. Patrick's Day.

Anyway, living in FL has it's advantages, so we arrived home early this afternoon after the long drive and realized that the space shuttle was launching at 7:43pm. Got the girls bathed and ready for bed, then headed out to one of the bridges here in St. Pete, looked to the east and watched the shuttle take off. When I got home, I was looking around the NASA website and found the following information.

Landing Date: March 28, 2009
Landing Time: 1:43 p.m. EDT
Landing Site: Kennedy Space Center, Florida

So, if the weather is favorable, we just may see the Space Shuttle land while we're just getting on the Magic!!!

 

[disneyfreak1]

Hey everyone!! Had to take a last minute trip to Chicago last week, as my grandmother had passed away. She lived a LONG, almost 88 years, so I know that she's partying in heaven, happy that it's almost St. Patrick's Day.

Anyway, living in FL has it's advantages, so we arrived home early this afternoon after the long drive and realized that the space shuttle was launching at 7:43pm. Got the girls bathed and ready for bed, then headed out to one of the bridges here in St. Pete, looked to the east and watched the shuttle take off. When I got home, I was looking around the NASA website and found the following information.

Landing Date: March 28, 2009
Landing Time: 1:43 p.m. EDT
Landing Site: Kennedy Space Center, Florida

So, if the weather is favorable, we just may see the Space Shuttle land while we're just getting on the Magic!!!

That would be awesome! I plan to already be ON the ship by then for sure! I'll be one of the first in line.

 

[disneyfreak1]

Just wanted to remind you all about our "meet" in the Promenade Lounge at 3:00 pm on the 28th. I can't believe it's next week! My DH, DS and I will all have on white t-shirts with Sailing Takes Me Away...., The Murphy Family, a cute logo and the date on the front. I will have extra copies of the FE list if anybody needs one. Also, Dyanne will have maps for us.

Looking forward to meeting all of you!

Pam

 

[golfcane]

Looking forward to meeting all of you Dis folks! Wont be long now!

 

[disneymom13176]

My boys are going nuts waiting. They are asking every morning, how many days left. I am so excited too!

Does anyone know if we will get any coverage of the NCAA tournament? We are HUGE Louisville Cardinal fans. I would certainly not want to miss any of my planned activities for basketball, but I also can't believe I'm going to miss their road to the final four.

 

[skohrs]

My boys are going nuts waiting. They are asking every morning, how many days left. I am so excited too!

Does anyone know if we will get any coverage of the NCAA tournament? We are HUGE Louisville Cardinal fans. I would certainly not want to miss any of my planned activities for basketball, but I also can't believe I'm going to miss their road to the final four.

Don't worry. Their road to the Final Four will be over by then. LOL
I certainly hope to be able to watch some of my Seminoles in the tourney while onboard (Go FSU!); however, I am afraid their road may end before we embark next Saturday if history is any predictor.

 

[starview]

I had been crossing off the days on our calendar as my countdown. My DGS who's coming with us, was at my place for the weekend & I asked him to cross Saturday off. He looked at the calendar & informed me that I had been marking off February. He then turned the calendar to March & crossed off the correct days. He also added a happy face for the 27th because that's the day we fly out.

It will be his first cruise although he has been to DL & DW. It will be the first Disney cruise for my DH & me although we've been on several cruises with different lines. We can hardly wait to experience the "Magic."

 

[disneymom13176]

Don't worry. Their road to the Final Four will be over by then. LOL
I certainly hope to be able to watch some of my Seminoles in the tourney while onboard (Go FSU!); however, I am afraid their road may end before we embark next Saturday if history is any predictor.

I think we will still be dancing.

Good luck to the Seminoles too! I remember a VERY VERY rainy football game against FSU. WOW was that a wet and cold night in the Ville. But good football is worth getting wet for. I hope your Seminoles hang in there for a good run this year!

 

[disneyfreak1]

Don't worry. Their road to the Final Four will be over by then. LOL
I certainly hope to be able to watch some of my Seminoles in the tourney while onboard (Go FSU!); however, I am afraid their road may end before we embark next Saturday if history is any predictor.

Too bad you aren't in our FE exchange. I live in Seminole country.