Any trip reports for November western cruises?

[PhotobearSam]

I have searched the Trip reports boards but cam up empty on trip reports having the words November and Western in the post.

I am looking for reviews and stories about Western 7 night cruises in November. I thought it would give us an idea of what to expect.

Can anyone point us in the right direction?

Thanks

 

[thumpery]

Hi, we were on the Nov 6th Western this past year. As a matter of fact, we rebooked on board for this coming November but not the same week due to the school schedule. Anways, it was awesome! Fantastic weather and the seas were pretty calm. We were one of the first ships to go back to Grand Cayman. It was one of the highlights of the trip - loved it even with the devastation. Stingray City is a must do. The week we were on must have been NJ week. We were a minority. If you have any specific questions, just ask.

 

[poohssmum]

We were also on the November 6th Magic last year ... and will be on the November 5th cruise this year. I'm not a big fan of the organized excursions ... just my own personality flaw The group we travelled with was Me, DH and our 2 DS's (5 and 8), and another family with their 2 DS's (7 and 9). So here's a bit of what we did at each of the ports:

Key West: Got off the ship as soon as we docked in Key West to walk around the city with the kids and get to the Key Lime Pie Factory ... a must-do imho. DH and DS8 went to the Pirate Museum. Then we took the kids back to the ship for some time in the club/lab. Then the adults headed to Margaritaville and some shopping before we headed back to the ship. We went to Diversions to watch football in the later afternoon ... our Patriots played at 4:00 that day.

Grand Cayman: DH and DS8 did stingray city with our friends. DH said it was cool, but DS didn't really enjoy it. The water was a bit rough and the stingrays scared him. He's also not the best swimmer so he was quite intimidated. I stayed on the ship and let DS5 play in the mickey pool which was not crowded in the least. When the others got back from their excursion, the kids went to the club/lab and the adults headed back to the island to sample rum cakes. We also found a microbrewery that we wanted to try. We did get to have some adult beverages, but they were not able to brew their own beer. The supply ships were still full of supplies to rebuild after the hurricane. One waitress even commented that they were not able to get coasters.

Cozumel: Again, left the ship early with the kids that wanted to see Mexico, and let them buy some souveniers. DH stayed on the ship with DS5 so that he could swim. We gave the kids about a couple of hours in Mexico and then they'd had enough. Back to the club/lab while the adults shopped ... honestly we buy most of our souveniers in Cozumel ... and had a couple more "adult" beverages at Carlos and Charley's

If you have any more specific questions, I'd be happy to answer. On our next cruise I am determined to get to Hell and the Turtle Farm on Grand Cayman, but other than that, I predict more of the same

 

[PhotobearSam]

we will see you on the November 5th cruise...Can't wait.


Anyone else? Can you let me know about the weather?

 

[lUVTOGO]

We were also on the November 6th Magic in 2004. It was our second time sailing in November and both times the weather was "PERFECT". It is a wonderful vacation, and I am looking forward to 2006.

 

[makaira]

Also on the November 6th Western with DW, DS9, DD7, DS4 and had a great time. Weather was very nice. Here's a short report:

Key West-Rented an electric car and went around on our own, saw the aquarium and the butterfly museum and visited some friends. Watched some acts in Mallory Square and the sunset

Grand Cayman-Excursion to Hell, Turtle Farm and Stingray City(definitely rough, but really fun)

Cozumel-Walked around and shopped and then went to Chankanaab(sp?)

Castaway Cay-Hung out with the kids on the beach and snorkeled(beautiful day and the water was great)

If you have any questions, go ahead

If Nov 2005 is like 2004 you will have a great time

 

[MiaSRN62]

The week we were on must have been NJ week. We were a minority.

Hey Thumpery.....we were on the same cruise this past Nov ! And, yes, it was Jersey Week. My 17 ds made a ton of friends in the teen club who he still IM's with from time to time. They were all from NJ mostly.

As for excursions.....we did the jet ski tour in Key West : http://www.islandwatersports.us/ This was a fun, but what I'd describe as "intensive" 2 hour jet ski tour. I, personally, found it a little fast-paced being a beginning jet skier. The two tour guides, while one was very laid-back and nice, I feel the other one had little patience if you began to fall behind or misunderstood his directions. We don't regret doing this tour, just don't think we'll do it again. Also 2 hours on jet ski was a bit much. We could barely walk after getting off the skis. We sort of wobbled back to the Magic.

In GC we did the 3 hour tour to Stingray City with Capt Marvin : http://www.captainmarvins.com/ This was fun. There are 2 snorkel stops and then finally they drop you off to swim with the stingrays. The waters were a little too choppy for our second snorkel site, so we got some extra time with the stingrays. This was an amazing experience. I felt the Capt Marvin tour was well organized and (after seeing the movie Open Waters) can appreciate the way they did constant "head counts" before taking off.

In Cozumel, we did the Fury Catamaran sail/snorkel/beach : http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/d...ore/excursiongroupingindex?id=CozumelExGrping
While we had a wonderful time on this excursion, we did feel a bit packed/crowded on the catamaran---especially at first. The snorkeling was so-so. We didn't see as much as we did in GC and felt the beach part of it was too short. We did get to go horseback riding, but by the time that was done it was time to leave. I think we only had 1 hour at the beach.

I think if we did the Western again, I'd pick an excursion that was more beach---or get a taxi and go to a beach on our own. But the crew on the catamaran did invoke a party atmosphere and got everyone in a festive mood----singing, dancing and downing margaritas (soda for the under 21). The crew was really good and the sail off the Cozumel shoreline was beautiful.

 

[MiaSRN62]

If Nov 2005 is like 2004 you will have a great time

And I can vouch that early Nov 2002 was terrific as well ---we were on the 4 day Wonder that cruise.

 

[thumpery]

Hi MiaSRN62! Glad you agreed with me regarding that Jersey week. We also did the catamaran in Cozumel. I agree with the snorkeling being not the greatest and too short of a time on the beach, but we still enjoyed it very much. The crew was fabulous!
Anyways, did you rebook? We're going the last week of November, 2005. It's the Eastern.

 

[MiaSRN62]

Anyways, did you rebook? We're going the last week of November, 2005. It's the Eastern.

We (unfortunately) did not
My oldest child starts college in fall of 2005 and we just didn't know what our schedule/budget would be. He just got accepted into his 3 choices, so now we're working on making the final decision. If we can squeeze a cruise in later in the year or earlier in 2006, I think it may be only a 4 day. We shall see......hope you all have a fantastic time in Nov though ! I'd like to do the Eastern as well.