4/25/09 Magic - First Visit To Tortola!

[CKCruising]

Thanks for the kids thread, I will point Amanda to it.
We don't have a room assignment yet. I will keep you posted. Hoping for the upgrade fairy to visit.
Are there any 5 year old boys? Connor is looking for a buddy in clubs?
Thanks Michelle

I'm not really sure how much time he will spend in the clubs. He tends to be on the shyer side, so a buddy is always a good thing.
On the good side, I have four adults for one child, so we'll all be able to relax even if he doesn't like the club.

 

[CKCruising]

I hope you guys left some openings at Palo for us first-timers.

 

[BubblesNH]

Great a buddy for Connor What is your son's name? I'll let Connor know to look for him.
According to http://cruisereport.com there will be only 1 other ship, Carnival Triumph in St. Thomas. That is great news! I saw 6 ships in port in March

 

[scottrob]

We scheduled Palo's Brunch for Sunday with my son and his wife and Palo dinner (just us) on Thursday night. For the rest of the week, we are doing the 'Day at the Baths', St. John Island tour and for Castaway; Watercraft Ski and a Cabana Massage with maybe some bike riding in between.

Pirate's night is still on Wednesday?

Plenty of time left for tequila, wine and margarita tastings

Looking forward to the first lunch at Topsiders with the drink of the day in our hands and the knowledge that we are there!

 

[CKCruising]

Great a buddy for Connor What is your son's name? I'll let Connor know to look for him.
According to http://cruisereport.com there will be only 1 other ship, Carnival Triumph in St. Thomas. That is great news! I saw 6 ships in port in March

Connor It will be hard to miss. We'll have to make sure we pick up the correct one.

I didn't think it was that common of a name 4 years ago when we picked it, but I was wrong.

 

[son3disfan]

Hello fellow cruisers...

We got everything we were hoping for too!

We booked Palo brunch on my 40th birthday! (Yeah!) What a way to celebrate! We'll finish off the day with a "Exotic Rasul" treatment at the spa!

As well, we booked dinner at Palo for Thursday April 30th, our last full day at sea.

I also booked the island drive/beach break on Totola. It is from 9:00am to 12:30.
It's a little earlier then I hoped, especially if another cruise ship is in port..might be really crowded in town...

Also for Castaway Cay, we booked 2 jetskis for the Eco tour. Wasn't sure what time to book??
Our last cruise everyone had to head back to the ship at 1:30 on our Castaway Cay day because of a storm. Is it better to book later in the day, or would you suggest earlier? I booked at 12:00 just to be safe. Figured we have lunch after.

So good luck to everyone booking their excursions and Palo reservations. Hope it works out for you all!

 

[aznaphrodite]

Argh! There aren't any Palo brunch or high tea reservations left. Is there a way to be wait-listed?

 

[BubblesNH]

I need help with travel insurance. I'm definitely going to buy it. I can't seem to find the fine print on the Disney policy. Disney is $336 for 4 people. On Insuremytrip.com travel guard has a policy for $126. Has anyone already done this research? We are generally a healthy bunch, but med evacuation scares me.

 

[aznaphrodite]

Not sure if this helps:

http://www.dreamsunlimitedtravel.com/cruise/insurance.htm

 

[Queen2]

Argh! There aren't any Palo brunch or high tea reservations left. Is there a way to be wait-listed?

As soon as you get on board, ask a CM about reservations for Palo. sometimes you get a spot there. do it ASAP CM will tell you where to go

 

[aznaphrodite]

When are we finalizing the fish extender list? I want to start shopping!

 

[sunburnin]

Thanks for the kids thread, I will point Amanda to it.
We don't have a room assignment yet. I will keep you posted. Hoping for the upgrade fairy to visit.
Are there any 5 year old boys? Connor is looking for a buddy in clubs?
Thanks Michelle

Hi Michelle,

I can't remember the age break in the clubs, buy i'll have my 4 year old daughter and 6 year old son with us. I think they'll love the clubs!

 

[sunburnin]

Hi all,

I can't book anything until Feb 9th so save me some space.

I have a 4 year old so we can't do the DCL Bath's excursions. DW and I have been there before and would love to take the kids, but it might be too tough for my daughter at this time. Either way, I was wondering if anyone knew of independent trips to get there that would let a 4 year old participate, just in case.

Our other option is to get over to JVD and avoid the other cruise crowds in Road Town or Cane Garden Bay. Anyone thinking of that trip? It's a beautiful beach!

Lastly, we're not planning on booking Palo or the Spa on this trip (not our thing). Do we need to still rush to be online at midnight to book anything else?

Thanks!

oh...... leaning towards the FE club.... when's the deadline?

 

[aznaphrodite]

We booked the following excursions:

St. Thomas: St. John Island Tour
Tortola: Kayak at Peter Island, Tour to Virgin Gorda
Castaway Cay: Glass Bottom Boat Scenic Voyage, Extreme Getaway Package

After our excursions, I was thinking about visiting Cane Garden Bay in Tortola, Trunk Bay Beach in St. John, and Magens Bay Beach in St. Thomas on our own. For those of you who have been to these islands before, do those sound like good beaches to check out or would you recommend others?

Thanks in advance!

 

[dvc2themax]

Hi all,

Lastly, we're not planning on booking Palo or the Spa on this trip (not our thing). Do we need to still rush to be online at midnight to book anything else?

Thanks!

oh...... leaning towards the FE club.... when's the deadline?

The booking is teh opending time to get your excursions that might be popular and sell out, AND of course for Palo.

We did not know about it last time, so when our group for dinner (the entire groupd that met on the disboards and wanted to group for dinner) went to Palo, the kids had a table of their own and we were the only adults I think. Or was that the night that we had dinner with you - Diane and John? Then after our table mates told us about Palo and the wonderful desserts, we tried to make plans but alis, none were to be had.

So I know very little about Palo, except it is for adults only, no kiddies.

As for the fish extenders, I have heard of no END date to join. We still have 87 days . I have bought my goodies in bulk and will have enough even if more people join.

For those of you in the "warm" states, New England area could get up to 15 inches by tomorrow night. Some schools have already cancelled classes for the pending snow storm.

 

[lsutigger2]

dvc2themax: so I guess you don't want to hear that I just got back from walking my dogs wearing a pair shorts, a short sleeve t-shirt in 75 - degree temps?? But, it is going to drop in temp either tonight or tomorrow. I'll watch the weather later and find out.

Thus far the count on the fe club (I like that title ) is 12 participating families. I got an item to share last weekend and purchased 15, just in case. I'm also planning on making a few things so everyone may not get all of the same items. But all will get goodies.

If there is a family out there wanting to join, please let me know. I have the list. In a couple of days (might be the weekend) I share who I have on the list.

Excursions we booked:
Tortola: X-BOB Underwater Scooter
St.Thomas/St. John: St. Thomas Island tour
CC: Personal Watercraft Eco Tour: Double

I know my northern friends will be glad to get to sunny Florida. I'll be thinking about you as the snows approach. Please stay safe.

 

[BubblesNH]

Hi Michelle,

I can't remember the age break in the clubs, buy i'll have my 4 year old daughter and 6 year old son with us. I think they'll love the clubs!

Hi, They kids clubs break at 4-7,8-9,10-12, My kids are very excited about the clubs. What is your sons name? We have 2 (5yo) Connors so far.

 

[BubblesNH]

Just a quick update on insurance. Thanks for the earlier link. I compared disney's $336 travel insurance with Access America for $112 and Travelux for $152 and went with the Travelux. Check out insuremytrip.com

 

[BubblesNH]

You could catch the Virgin Gorda ferry in Roadtown and do the Baths on your own. May have to pick up the 4 yo climbing thru.

 

[lsutigger2]

LocustPoint: You are in the same cabin we had on our first cruise 5 years ago. We loved it. the location was great. this time I decided to change sides of the ship so we would see different things while in port - maybe