A MAGICAL Columbus Day Cruise Texas style 10/6/2012

[shera]

Does anyone know if we are going to try and get a DIS meet together? I think it would be really fun!!!! Maybe the first day of the Cruise that way when we see eachother on the ship we will know who our fellow DISers are!!! I dont mind trying to put that together if enough people are interested!!!

We talked about doing one early on in the thread.I think that would be a great idea for the first day.I hear the promenade lounge is a good spot.You are welcome to be in charge of that gathering if you'd like.Just let us know when and where and my family will be there!

 

[PrincessSophiasMom]

Great!!!! I will work out all the details and let everyone know about the DIS meet!!! It will most likely be on embarkation day or our first full day at sea but I will let everyone knopw for sure. I want to call DCL so that I know when everything takes place on day 1 so as not to interfear with anything. Yaaaaa so excited!!!!

 

[Liltx]

Hi all!
My two kids girls age 7 and 9 will be on the ship with my parents. I am just looking for tips to pass on to my parents for the kiddos. My parents are not planners. They do have the big family balcony room so that part is good.

We cruise from galveston often so i will offer a few tips in exchange for your help

Use galveston Park and Cruise. The lot is right across the street and you can walk instead of wait for a shuttle the morning of departure. My DH usually drops us and the luggage off, drives a block to the lot and then walks back across. Reverse at the end.

In Cozumel the best beach for the best price is Mr. Sancho's they have an inclusive side but we always use the pay as you go. The chairs are free, the water is beautiful and for a fulll lunch, several adult beverages, sodas, etc. we usually spend $65 for all four of us. Even at spring break it is never too crowded but I suggest getting there early for the best seats.

We LOVE Sea Grape Beach in Cayman. It's public and there are usually food trucks in the parking lot for drinks and snacks. Or there is also Calico Jacks on the beach although that is pricey. Cayman is pricey overall. We take the white vans (public transportation) . They have round circles on the front. Just flag them down from the street and tell them where you are going. They do make several stops on the way but it is only like $3 a person. The taxis will hold you hostage and they are expensive.

In Costa Maya go to Mahual (sp?). You can live like a king for $100. We rented jet skis, I got a massage, and had lunch for $100. There are many great rest. we like the one at the very end, forgot the name sorry, but it has a swing bar if that helps.

 

[keisha1]

Hi everyone! We just booked today!!! Patti - I messaged you our info for the FE list. We did a Disney cruise a few yrs ago and the FE was the highlight for the kids! I have a 10 yr old daughter and a 7 yr old son.
We can't wait!

 

[weHEARTmickey]

Hi everyone! DH & I are SO EXCITED about our very 1st Disney cruise!! What's crazy is I just booked our family of 5 (DH, MIL, DD12, DS9, & me) for the VERY same cruise on 10/27. Soooo, the 10/6 cruise is just DH & me I haven't had a chance to read through this whole thread yet, but I will.

Since we are going on this cruise twice, we are going to try to save money on excursions on 10/6. We are planning to do the stingray/snorkel in Grand Cayman, swim with dolphins in Costa Maya, & snorkel in Cozumel on the 10/27 cruise. Any advice on free/cheap excursion ideas for our first time?? Thanks!

 

[shera]

Hi all!
My two kids girls age 7 and 9 will be on the ship with my parents. I am just looking for tips to pass on to my parents for the kiddos. My parents are not planners. They do have the big family balcony room so that part is good.

We cruise from galveston often so i will offer a few tips in exchange for your help

Use galveston Park and Cruise. The lot is right across the street and you can walk instead of wait for a shuttle the morning of departure. My DH usually drops us and the luggage off, drives a block to the lot and then walks back across. Reverse at the end.

In Cozumel the best beach for the best price is Mr. Sancho's they have an inclusive side but we always use the pay as you go. The chairs are free, the water is beautiful and for a fulll lunch, several adult beverages, sodas, etc. we usually spend $65 for all four of us. Even at spring break it is never too crowded but I suggest getting there early for the best seats.

We LOVE Sea Grape Beach in Cayman. It's public and there are usually food trucks in the parking lot for drinks and snacks. Or there is also Calico Jacks on the beach although that is pricey. Cayman is pricey overall. We take the white vans (public transportation) . They have round circles on the front. Just flag them down from the street and tell them where you are going. They do make several stops on the way but it is only like $3 a person. The taxis will hold you hostage and they are expensive.

In Costa Maya go to Mahual (sp?). You can live like a king for $100. We rented jet skis, I got a massage, and had lunch for $100. There are many great rest. we like the one at the very end, forgot the name sorry, but it has a swing bar if that helps.

Hi everyone! We just booked today!!! Patti - I messaged you our info for the FE list. We did a Disney cruise a few yrs ago and the FE was the highlight for the kids! I have a 10 yr old daughter and a 7 yr old son.
We can't wait!

Hi everyone! DH & I are SO EXCITED about our very 1st Disney cruise!! What's crazy is I just booked our family of 5 (DH, MIL, DD12, DS9, & me) for the VERY same cruise on 10/27. Soooo, the 10/6 cruise is just DH & me I haven't had a chance to read through this whole thread yet, but I will.

Since we are going on this cruise twice, we are going to try to save money on excursions on 10/6. We are planning to do the stingray/snorkel in Grand Cayman, swim with dolphins in Costa Maya, & snorkel in Cozumel on the 10/27 cruise. Any advice on free/cheap excursion ideas for our first time?? Thanks!

Welcome everyone,glad you all could join us.
Not much longer now!Just a reminder that the Fe exchange only has a few more weeks until the cut off date,so if you would like to join please do so before the 1st.See you guys soon!

 

[weHEARTmickey]

Welcome everyone,glad you all could join us.
Not much longer now!Just a reminder that the Fe exchange only has a few more weeks until the cut off date,so if you would like to join please do so before the 1st.See you guys soon!

Thanks Where do we go to join in on the FE exchange?

 

[shera]

Thanks Where do we go to join in on the FE exchange?

you can send a pm to patti226
she is in charge of the Fe list

 

[weHEARTmickey]

you can send a pm to patti226
she is in charge of the Fe list

Thank you! I will do that

 

[itzkelly]

I'm getting excited about the FE gifts/exchange! My sweet mom just made an FE up for us and mailed it off to me from CA to TX this morning...can't wait to see it! This is our first DCL cruise and I am so looking forward to it...we got our deposits in this week for a sting ray/snorkel excursion on cayman island and an all-inclusive on costa maya (not booked thru DCL). Have y'all figured out what you plan to do while at the ports? DH and I have our two boys, ages 7 and 5, and our DD, who will be turning 2 on the last day of the cruise, so we were limited to what we could do with all the kiddos...guess we will be tag-teaming with our DD while we see the stingrays!

 

[Liltx]

Hi everyone! DH & I are SO EXCITED about our very 1st Disney cruise!! What's crazy is I just booked our family of 5 (DH, MIL, DD12, DS9, & me) for the VERY same cruise on 10/27. Soooo, the 10/6 cruise is just DH & me I haven't had a chance to read through this whole thread yet, but I will.

Since we are going on this cruise twice, we are going to try to save money on excursions on 10/6. We are planning to do the stingray/snorkel in Grand Cayman, swim with dolphins in Costa Maya, & snorkel in Cozumel on the 10/27 cruise. Any advice on free/cheap excursion ideas for our first time?? Thanks!

You can see my other response for cheap in the other ports but in Cozumel if you like to snorkle and don't mind not having a sandy beach the best and cheapest option is The Money Bar. It takes an ironshore to have good snorkling. Sandy beach means no snorkling in Cozumel. It is closer to the port so the taxi will be $10 total each way. You can snorkle from the shore and it's pretty good. The snorkle boats actually drop tons of people right out from the shore. If you take your own gear you can just buy a couple of drinks and spend the day. DH and i go here when we don't have kids with us. You can also rent gear there if you don't have your own. We have spent as little as $15 for a couple of beers and sodas. The restrooms are very nice and there are plenty of chairs for the amount of people. Very laid back place to hang out. Water is VERY clean which is not true for some places such as Paradise beach. Avoid paradise beach!

 

[weHEARTmickey]

You can see my other response for cheap in the other ports but in Cozumel if you like to snorkle and don't mind not having a sandy beach the best and cheapest option is The Money Bar. It takes an ironshore to have good snorkling. Sandy beach means no snorkling in Cozumel. It is closer to the port so the taxi will be $10 total each way. You can snorkle from the shore and it's pretty good. The snorkle boats actually drop tons of people right out from the shore. If you take your own gear you can just buy a couple of drinks and spend the day. DH and i go here when we don't have kids with us. You can also rent gear there if you don't have your own. We have spent as little as $15 for a couple of beers and sodas. The restrooms are very nice and there are plenty of chairs for the amount of people. Very laid back place to hang out. Water is VERY clean which is not true for some places such as Paradise beach. Avoid paradise beach!

Thanks for all of this advice! I never would've guessed about the iron shore/sandy beach, but that makes sense. We will look into it a little more. I'm just trying to compare apples to apples. The DCL 3-reef snorkel is $49 pp & includes a snack & drink. The Money Bar "Peso" package includes snorkeling, use of facilities, lunch & drink for $30. If the cab will cost us $20, The Money Bar will still save us $20 total. I'm worried about the ship leaving us! Do you not worry about this when you book non-DCL?

I'm also terrified of sharks. Can anyone ease my concerns about this? (We want to swim with stingrays in GC & snorkel in Cozumel.)

 

[techdude]

Hi all. We switched over to this sailing from the Thanksgiving sailing yesterday. Combining that with the Military discount we saved a huge amount of money. But now we have to push our planning efforts up to RIGHT NOW - so excited!

 

[kdzbear]

Hi everyone. My husband, my self and my two youngest, Tyler (7) and Hayley (4) will be on this cruise too!

 

[Liltx]

Thanks for all of this advice! I never would've guessed about the iron shore/sandy beach, but that makes sense. We will look into it a little more. I'm just trying to compare apples to apples. The DCL 3-reef snorkel is $49 pp & includes a snack & drink. The Money Bar "Peso" package includes snorkeling, use of facilities, lunch & drink for $30. If the cab will cost us $20, The Money Bar will still save us $20 total. I'm worried about the ship leaving us! Do you not worry about this when you book non-DCL?

I'm also terrified of sharks. Can anyone ease my concerns about this? (We want to swim with stingrays in GC & snorkel in Cozumel.)

I have never cruised DCL but have cruised on Royal Carribean 7 times. I have been to Cozumel five times. We rarely book through the cruiseline. The only time we do is if there is an excursion that you just can't book on your own. We have never even been close to missing the ship. We always allow at least 1 hour to return to the ship. I have no idea about the packages at the Money Bar. But I would just do al a carte. If you plan to snorkle a few more times in your life it would be worthwhile to purchase your own snorkle gear. US drivers makes good sets for $40-50.
I have not done the three reef snorkle but my brother has while on Carnival. All ships use the same contractors at the ports. None of the excursions are run by DCL. The water was really rough and they had to swim a long ways. He was sick for swallowing water by the time they were through. Other people have loved it. Just depends on the current which can vary greatly in Cozumel.

In Caymen we have done the stingrays with Moby Dick. They are great! However if you have small children the tour can be tricky because the height of the water fluctuates. Sometimes it is knee level sometimes chest level. Also, there are sooooo many people and boats around the sandbar. The snorkling is pretty good. You will have very little beach time left after the tour though (2 hours maybe). For adults it's great though, nothing like interacting with these animals in the wild. A better option for young children is doing the sting ray program at Sting ray beach. This one you would want to book through DCL. I don't think you can on your own. The rays regularly have their barbs cut and are enclosed in a roped off area. They workers really teach you about the rays and you get a ton of assissted interaction time on the shallow side and then time to snorkle with them on the deep side. My kids did it when they were 6 and 4 and loved it. My youngest used a water window float at that time but my oldest could snorkle pretty well at age 6. Book the morning tour and you will still have at least 4-5 hours before all aboard to go to the beach.

 

[Liltx]

Just looked up the money bar packages and I would definitely pay as you go. You do not need a guide you just swim out from the shore about 50 ft. You will see where all the boats are dropping people that's where you go. I do not enjoy swimming with a bunch of other people though so I like to snorkle on my own.

I didn't really answer you but the three ports you are visiting have no issues with getting back to the port. As long as you leave yourself time for the taxi to drive back you will be fine. They are not high traffic ports. In Belize we went cave tubbing and it took a 90 minute drive both ways, never did i worry. I always research the companies through trip advisor to make sure the are reputable. Tubbing in the caves and hiking through the jungle was beyond amazing and my children were sooo glad we did it. Once in a lifetime thing. You will always get a better, more personal, less crowded experience when you book excursions on your own.

 

[mcroadman]

We are very excited that today we finalized our cruise for Oct. 6th! That is very thrilling for us. We have done some fun international travel and USA travel , but this our first cruise!

Mary, Cliff and DD, Baileigh (12)

Lots to look forward to!

 

[mcroadman]

How do we sign up for the FE for this group?
Our daughter and I are excited to do this fun game.
We will look forward to the research on excursions now as we get closer to Oct.

Thanks
Mary R

 

[keisha1]

Having fun getting our FE gifts ready! How many are in the FE exchange now?

Thanks!

 

[crissyismyname]

I have the same question, how do we sign up for FE?