7-Night Western Caribbean Cruise July 25 - August 1, 2009

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

Okay, new cruisers, about 10 minutes to go before you can book Palo, excursions, etc. Good luck to you all!

sooo....tired....must get palo brunch.....

3 minutes!!

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

It's 12:01! Why can't I get in!?!

 

[wideeyedwonder]

sooo....tired....must get palo brunch.....

3 minutes!!

Cool, real time updates! Good luck, and let us know!

 

[wideeyedwonder]

It's 12:01! Why can't I get in!?!

Logoff, go to another web page, then try to get back in.

If you know how, try deleting your browsing history as well! Good luck!

 

[TxPrinceCharmingDad]

So excited!!!

Reserved brunch and dinner at Palo!

Got all the excursions too!

We are going to swim with the dolphins in Coz!

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

YAY!!!! I think I did it! I keep checking and checking to make sure I did everything I was supposed to!!

Okay, here's what I got...I went for Palo brunch first and there were only 2 times available, both on Day 2 (Key West day), 10:00am and 11:00am. I went for the 10:00 because I wasn't sure what time our "excursion" was going to be that day.

Palo ------ CHECK! 10:00am

Then I went for Grand Cayman to see what the deal was with that Dolphin Encounter and Turtle Farm...remember I said before that it wasn't showing up on my wish list? Well it wasn't an option for booking, which is weird because things that are booked were shaded out and this wasn't on there at all. So I just upgraded to the Dolphin Extreme Swim and Turtle Farm. A little more money. I thought about doing it on our own but the website said the cab ride alone is $25 each way, so it's just easier to do it through DCL.

Grand Cayman, Dolphin Excursion -------CHECK! 12:30pm-4:30pm

Okay, next I went for Parasailing on Castaway Cay because I wasn't sure how fast that booked up. They offered my 9:30 or 11:30. Oh crap! I didn't realize I would have to make all these split second decisions!! I went with 11:30. That way we have time to wake up a little. I think 9:30 is too early for something so thrilling. I figured we can hang on the beach for a little, do our parasailing and then have lunch.

Castaway Cay, Parasailing ------CHECK! 11:30am-12:30am

Next I went for the Cozumel Fury Catamaran, Snorkel and Beach Party. That was no problem. YAY!!

Cozumel, Fury Catamaran, Snorkel and Beach Party ------CHECK! 12:45pm-5:55pm

Lastly, I went back to the Key West day to see time for our "excursion." I put excursion in quotes because it's the GPS walking tour. Again, split second decision making! 12:15 or 1:30. I went for 12:15. I figured the earlier the better. When we are done, we can either explore more on our own, or go back to the ship. My only concern is that we won't be done with brunch by then...but it's 2 hours and 15 minutes...I think that's fine right??

Key West, GPS Walking Tour ------CHECK!!! 12:15pm-3:15pm

FYI, there were only 2 excursions that were not available...Key West Electric Car and Castaway Cay Island Cruise. Like I said, only 2 times available for Palo brunch, just on that one day, NO times left for Palo tea and LOTS of times left for dinner at Palo...

Phew. I'm so glad that's done! I'm too excited now though, I'm never going to get to sleep!!

 

[TxPrinceCharmingDad]

Dinner???

Which day is best for dinner??

Currently holding day 5-Coz.

Night time events that day??

Special evening that night?

 

[wideeyedwonder]

Currently holding day 5-Coz. Night time events that day?? Special evening that night?

Day 3 - At Sea - M, July 27 - [Golden Mickey's / Formal Night]
Day 5 - Cozumel - W, July 29 - [Pirate Night 9:45 + buffet 10:30pm]
Day 6 - At Sea - Th, July 30 - [Captain's Gala/Semi-Formal Night +Midnight desert Buffet]

(If anyone notices errors in this schedule, please let me know!)

Again, to the best of my knowledge, this schedule is accurate for the 7-night westerns.

Good job to those that were able to book their favorites tonight! Make sure to fill in all of your other on-line documentation soon, and print out your signature card. And make sure that Disney has your flight info!

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

Wait, I just had a thought...what if my character breakfast is scheduled for the same day as my Palo brunch??? There is too much to consider!

 

[TxPrinceCharmingDad]

You saved Pirate Night for us.

We would have missed it without your post. Thanks!

Switched to Night 4.

Gracias!

 

[wideeyedwonder]

Wait, I just had a thought...what if my character breakfast is scheduled for the same day as my Palo brunch??? There is too much to consider!

LOL! You will drive yourself CRAZY!

The only advise I can give, is something that I learned from my last cruise...something will probably not go as planned, and you will have fun anyways!

As for character breakfast vs. Palo, if it came down to it, I'd go to the Palo ressie, as there are TONS of other character photo-ops during the cruise.

You saved Pirate Night for us.
We would have missed it without your post. Thanks! Switched to Night 4. Gracias!

No problemo!

However, in the same vein as "something will probably not go as planned", remember that this schedule is what they were doing (party wise) on past Westerns. It is true that they would probably keep this schedule for our cruise (it helps with the planning and logistics to keep the schedule always the same!), but bad weather or some other unforeseen event (like the possibility of not porting in Coz?) might switch the schedule. It's nothing to lose sleep over, as it seems very likely that we will have the "standard" party schedule.

 

[TxPrinceCharmingDad]

From your user name I assume you family is from Texas. Where in Texas are you located? We are in Albuquerque, NM.

We are located in Houston, TX.

Can't wait to meet you and the family. DS (11) & DD (8) are ready to leave tonight!

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

LOL! You will drive yourself CRAZY!

The only advise I can give, is something that I learned from my last cruise...something will probably not go as planned, and you will have fun anyways!

Oh, I'm already crazy! Last night when I finally made it to bed, I thought, maybe I'll change Palo to that 11:00 time JUST IN CASE my character breakfast is that day, then I'll bump my GPS walking tour to the later time....but I'll do it in the morning...

OF COURSE when I checked the 11:00am time is no longer available! Now I have something to obsess over for the next 2 months, checking to see if another time becomes available...

 

[moet7]

Hello fellow cruisers!

As you can see from my count down, we will be celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary on this cruise.

I have read some of the postings and see others as well will be celebrating anniversaries and even a honeymoon couple! How cute is that???

My husband and I went to Disney World for our honeymoon!

I've been meaning to get over to these boards and introduce myself, but life has been a bit crazy this last year.

We are from North Carolina, by way of Ohio. Just moved down South and have been busy putting a house back together!

Our oldest is 23, then we have a 20 year old a 15 year old and a 11 year old. So looking forward to having us all together this summer.

I've seen wideeyedwonder over on the main dcl boards, as we both were lucky enough to grab the AAA promo rate for a cat. #4.

We have cruised once before 3 years ago on the Eastern.

If anyone has any questions about cruising ask away and I will try to help you out.

I see that the first timers were able to book last night, hoping you all got what you wanted.

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

I made a change already!! Remember I wanted the Dolphin Encounter but all that was showing up was the EXTREME Dolphin excursion. Well I checked a few times today and lo and behold, the one I wanted showed up! When I clicked on it, just said "new" so they must have just added it. YAY!! Saved $60 on that one!

 

[wideeyedwonder]

I made a change already!!...Saved $60 on that one!

Being vigilant has it's rewards!

Do you know why it didn't originally come up?

I've seen wideeyedwonder over on the main dcl boards, as we both were lucky enough to grab the AAA promo rate for a cat. #4.

Hey, moet, good to see you on the cruise meet thread! It looks like my3m was able to get the AAA deal as well, and it looks like she and her family will be going too!

 

[TxPrinceCharmingDad]

Hello fellow cruisers!

As you can see from my count down, we will be celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary on this cruise.

I have read some of the postings and see others as well will be celebrating anniversaries and even a honeymoon couple! How cute is that???

My husband and I went to Disney World for our honeymoon!

I've been meaning to get over to these boards and introduce myself, but life has been a bit crazy this last year.

We are from North Carolina, by way of Ohio. Just moved down South and have been busy putting a house back together!

Our oldest is 23, then we have a 20 year old a 15 year old and a 11 year old. So looking forward to having us all together this summer.

I've seen wideeyedwonder over on the main dcl boards, as we both were lucky enough to grab the AAA promo rate for a cat. #4.

We have cruised once before 3 years ago on the Eastern.

If anyone has any questions about cruising ask away and I will try to help you out.

I see that the first timers were able to book last night, hoping you all got what you wanted.

and welcome aboard. We did well last night and got what we were hoping for, but man am I tired!

Looking forward to meeting everyone soon.

 

[wideeyedwonder]

Well, this past week I've been working REALLY HARD, so today I'm just taking it EASY. So, to pass time, I compiled the current roll call of DISers on the July 25 Western meet thread (thanks for starting it all, DLRPfan.be!):

DLRPfan.be (+ DW, DD 13/14, learning English!)

Lxnme2 (DS, DM and I, along with my niece and her DD)

NikkiLovesWDW (+ DF)

Im_A_Princess (+DH), B2B 7/18 and 7/25!

IndyRosa20 (DH, DD that will be 21 and DS that will be 10 at cruise time)

Susan C (+ DS 9 and DH)

bluefire (+ DH)

ljseay (+ DH, and 12 year old daughter)

Princess Runner (+ DH, DD, DS, and DM)

sueernieb (Eleven of us total, my husband and I, our three children, one son-in-law, one daughter-in-law and four grandchildren-ages 11,11,5 and 3)

Kwalters (DH, DD-7)

sclarc (parents are bringing their three children, their spouses and 6 grandkids, 14 family members traveling together.)

MN Dis Fans (+ DW, DS-14, DS-11)

silly_ole_bear (+DF)

rumbly_tumbly (+DF)

tomspixie (+ DH, DD-17, DDBF-18, DS-14/15, DS-13)

Dmom&dad (+ DH, DD-9, DD-13, DD-10, DD-14)

wideeyedwonder (+ DW, DD-10, DD-7, DD-7 (twins))

meresandwillsmom (+ DH, DD-13 and DS-11)

TxPrinceCharmingDad (+ DW-39, DS-11, DD-8)

Jenn A (+ DH, DS-11, DS-8)

ZCrew (+ DW, DD-7)

moet7 (+DH, are your offspring 23, 20, 15, and 11 traveling with you?)

my3m (+DH and 3 kids?)

(Please let me know if you find any errors!)

If I count that right, that's 24 groups so far!

 

[NikkiLovesWDW!]

Wow! There's a lot of us! Thanks for putting that together!

AND welcome to all those who recently joined the thread! It's so close now!!!

 

[my3m]

Me, DH, DD16, DS14 and DD 23 months.