Anyone cruising May 8, 2004 Western?

[goofyguy1958]

Aprilgail2, think of it this way; in May you can turn the tables and have both of your neighbors watch your house. Have one check the lights, etc and the other one get the mail. This way you can share the feeling you are having now with them come May. Just thought I would try and look for the silver lining. Hey, by Thursday it could be 70 here outside Philadelphia. WOO HOO, go away snow!

 

[goofyguy1958]

Hey where is everyone at. This thread is starting to collect dust. I am going absolutely goofy with anticipation . Has anyone checked out the port cam at keywest, the MAGIC is docked there right know. You know the sight of her actually helps but it also increases the excitement.

 

[aprilgail2]

I'm here! Just enjoying my 6 week vacation from work right now! I actually started buying some things for the cruise like shampoo, sunscreen and things like that but no clothes yet. I am hoping to be down a size by then! I lost 25 pounds in the past 2 weeks so I should be able to get a size smaller by then!

 

[goofyguy1958]

Nice to hear your getting well Aprilgail2 -- great progress on the weight loss!!!!!

Now for the questions. I have been watching the Magic on Mallory Square today but right around 5 PM it vanished. I know that the ship is to stay in Key West until 10 PM. How come the Magic left Mallory Square and where did it go?

I also keep seeing all these posts about booking on shore activities; where do you go to book these activities? Is Disney supposed to send excursion booking information? I have not gotten anything from Disney since we completed our payment 3 weeks ago. Should I be expecting something?

 

[aprilgail2]

Originally posted by goofyguy1958
Nice to hear your getting well Aprilgail2 -- great progress on the weight loss!!!!!

Now for the questions. I have been watching the Magic on Mallory Square today but right around 5 PM it vanished. I know that the ship is to stay in Key West until 10 PM. How come the Magic left Mallory Square and where did it go?

I also keep seeing all these posts about booking on shore activities; where do you go to book these activities? Is Disney supposed to send excursion booking information? I have not gotten anything from Disney since we completed our payment 3 weeks ago. Should I be expecting something?

iIf you wanted to book a Disney excursion you can call 60 days prior....and that was almost 2 weeks ago! You can go oh rhw disney cruise website and ssee the excursions and call 1-877-566-0968 to book them. If you wanted parasailing or banana boat at castaway cay you should call as soon as you can becuase they book up fast. In Grand Cayman we booked dierctly with Captain Marvins on their website for the stingray feeding and we bought our tickets for the trolly in key west online so save a few dollars. In Cozumel we are taking a cab to either paradise beach or Mr Sanchos, we were going to do the dolphin thing but the 14 yer old changed her mind. But we did book the banana boat in Castaway Cay already. Good luck! I actually have the excursion brochure here and I would snail mail it to you if you PM me your name and address so you can choose if you want to.

 

[goofyguy1958]

Aprilgail2, thanks for the info.. I will go to the cruise web site to check out the excursions. I do not think we will be doing much other than Captain Marvin's, which I already booked thanks to a previous post you replyed to, and parasailing (DD 7 really, really wants to do this with dear dad who can't wait). Thank you for offering to send me the brochure but I will wait a couple of more days to see if I get anything from Disney.

You know that the last few posters have only been you and I. If we keep this up, people are going to start to talk. :jumping4: (my DD just joined me, can you tell) :happy1:

 

[ThreeCircles]

Originally posted by goofyguy1958
I also keep seeing all these posts about booking on shore activities; where do you go to book these activities? Is Disney supposed to send excursion booking information? I have not gotten anything from Disney since we completed our payment 3 weeks ago. Should I be expecting something?

Disney should have sent you a "Shore Excursions - Your Personal Guide" booklet and an order form for pre-ordering your desired selections. (You can view a PDF version of the booklet <a href="http://www.dcltribute.com/excursions/catalog_eastern/">here</a>, but this is actually for the Eastern cruise and not the Western.) We received ours about three weeks ago and am surprised to hear that you haven't gotten anything in the mail from DCL yet, Goofyguy1958!

At any rate, all of the excursions listed in the book are also listed on the Disney Cruise Line web site.

The DCL FAQ states:

Shore Excursion Request

Three easy ways to reserve your shore excursions:

Call the Special Services Desk at (877) 566-0968†.

E-mail your shore excursion requests along with your name and reservation number to dcl.shore.excursions@disneycruise.com*

Click here to download and print a PDF of the Shore Excursion Request Form. Then fill out the form completely and fax to (407) 566-7031† .

Shore excursions can be made within 60 days prior to sailing. Some excursions have capacity limits so be sure to make your request early. Reservations are taken on a first come first served basis. You can alter your shore excursion requests anytime up to two (2) days prior to sailing. You should note that after that time, no new excursion reservations can be made and all existing shore excursion reservations are considered final and unfortunately cannot be changed or refunded. Of course if you decide not to pre-reserve shore excursions prior to your cruise, you can still stop by the ship's Shore Excursion Desk, located on Deck 3, on embarkation day, to check availability and purchase excursions. But remember, some excursions may already be full and therefore unavailable.

When your shore excursion is pre-reserved, you will receive excursion tickets delivered to your stateroom on embarkation day. Payment for confirmed excursions is conveniently billed directly to your shipboard account. We unfortunately will not be able to accept payment in advance.

*We are unable to accept attachments with email requests. Please provide the required detail from the Excursion Request Form into a text email.

† If you are not 18 years of age or older, you must have your parent or guardian's permission to dial this number.


I always e-mail our shore excursion requests in and DCL has always been very prompt about sending a confirmation. In fact, I just booked our excursions for the May 1st Cruise last week!

Hope this helps a little!

BTW, Travis and I have been toying with the notion of doing a back-to-back sailing for the May 1st and May 8th sailings. But, it looks like your cruise may be pretty full and we would have to shell out some major $$$. I think that we're going to keep checking in with DCL but may end up having to wait for our back-to-backs in Aug/Sep later this year. Who knows, maybe Donna will be able to hook us up with the second week while we're onboard! I've actually heard of other Dis Board members doing just that! (Here's keeping my fingers crossed!)

And to all the May 8th Cruisers--

Hope you all enjoy your cruise!!! Us May 1st Cruisers will be sure to have everything top-notch for you before we leave!

 

[goofyguy1958]

Jason, thanks for the information. Now I am getting a little concerned since we paid the balance over 3 weeks ago. Guess I will be calling Disney tomorrow. I hope you have luck getting your back-to-back cruises in May. I and my DW would love to induldge in a couple of foo-fo drinks with you guys.


By the way, if you do get your back-to-back cruises, we need to introduce you to my DD and DS who have become badger, mushroom, snake nuts. I have had to play that blasted thing at least 5 times today. It is such a hoot to see their faces and DS 4 roars laughing each and every time. However, my DW is asking me what that goofy song was that I was humming in my sleep last night.

 

[aprilgail2]

Hey that was a dirty trick threecircles LOL!! For a minute I thought you were goign to be on the May 8th cruise with us!!!!

 

[PoohFan2004]

GoofyGuy1958,

We have not received any information from Disney about the shore excursions either. When I asked my TA about it, she just said to check out the web site. I haven't booked anything yet. I've been thinking about booking the Captain Marvin's trip with you guys (you and aprilgail2), but I might just do the Disney excursion with the sting rays (I don't know if that's Captain Marvins or not). Since this is our first cruise, I'm thinking of just sticking with the Disney excursions so I know everything's taken care of. I guess I should probably make up my mind soon!

Hope all of your snow is melted. We only had a little snow last week and it has melted again. My kids don't quite understand how it can be spring when it still feels like winter! I just keep picturing myself on the ship with a fruity drink in my hand.

 

[PizzieDuster]

Hi everyone!

We have been so busy with kids and their sports, I had to make myself sit down with the family and plan our excursions. I called Disney direct and spent a good 30 minutes with the rep going over all excursions and what would work best for us.

I thought about booking Captain Marvins but I went through Disney and I hope I won't regret it.

Mike, we too are coming from Southern California, flying in on Friday, May 7th staying at the MCO Hyatt! Last year we took a 3 day land/4 day Wonder Cruise and knew immediately upon boarding we wanted to stay longer so we rebooked on board.

We have DS14, DS11 and DD5 and are late seating. We had early seating last year and felt too rushed.

We did not plan anything for Key West. We thought we would explore with the kids and maybe DH and I would get to have some fun in the evening. Our kids are really excited about returning to their respective clubs.

For Grand Cayman, I booked the 1:00 pm Stingray City Snorkel tour because .... I have a teenager and I was so thrilled to have a late excursion! In the brochure and on the website I didn't know that you could book a 1:00 pm. time.

For Cozumel we booked the 12:30 pm Furyman Catamaran Sail & Beach Party.

And on Thursday 5-13, it's our anniversary and a day at sea which works out great!

Castaway Cay, the kids mentioned this time they want to see what their friends are doing on the island with their clubs, my DS14 wants to do the Wild Side - he missed out last year.

Tonight I pulled out my two boxes of "cruise" stuff I put away last year to start my check off list. I feel more relaxed this time, not having to deal with the LAND portion and this time around and we are so much more excited knowing how much fun we will have.

This is the best time now..... looking forward to a vacation that is getting so close now!

I second the 'getting excited about ThreeCircles' on our cruise. I'd love to meet you both!

 

[Katdb]

Hey everyone,

I know how you all feel about getting excited... May8th just can't get here soon enough! Between school, upcoming exams and looking for a job, I'm looking forward to relaxing on DCL.

Anyways, I have 2 e-mails with info for the Dis meet... anyone else?!?!?!?

THanks
Katdb

 

[ohiominnie]

Originally posted by PoohFan2004
I'm thinking of just sticking with the Disney excursions so I know everything's taken care of.

That was our feeling. 3 cruises and we've never done an official excursion, so we're newbie in that sense.

After much discussion with the family and many changes, here's what we're doing:

Key West: my dh and I are doing the walking tour. Kids want to stay in their clubs.

Grand Cayman: Stingray City observatory and island tour.

Cozumel: dh and dd are doing the Tulum Ruins while ds and I are doing the Dolphin discovery thing.

We'll see how this all goes.

 

[aprilgail2]

Originally posted by PoohFan2004
GoofyGuy1958,

I haven't booked anything yet. I've been thinking about booking the Captain Marvin's trip with you guys (you and aprilgail2), but I might just do the Disney excursion with the sting rays (I don't know if that's Captain Marvins or not). Since this is our first cruise, I'm thinking of just sticking with the Disney excursions so I know everything's taken care of. I guess I should probably make up my mind soon!

Let us know if you book with Capt. Marvins or with Disney. I did a Disney excursion and I just hated being herded into on room and then marched out of the bus to the excursion, I just prefer to do it on my own. But I understand wanting to be safe and goign through Disney...I am just trying to save a few dollars here and there so I can spend more time in the spa if my daughter goes to the kids club, still not sure that will work out but if it doesn't I hope to have my god daughter babysit at least once so I can get there.
I wish you were on our Capt. Marvins boat PizzieDuster I have a 14 year old girl going with us and a 4 1/2 year old daughter, not far from your kids ages!!

 

[DisneyForLife]

Hi Everyone, I am happy to see more posts here.
We had the excursion booklet sent out with the ALL PAID invoice. I don't know why you didn't get one Goofyguy but as previously posted you can look online for the same info.
By the way, I would love to have Threecircles sail with us. Here's some pixie dust for those back to backs, (although I will be insanely jealous)********

We have booked the parasailing on CC, we will either be going to Mr. Sanchos or Paradise Beach on Cozumel, and some on us may be doing some type of Dolphin excursion on Grand Cayman. I know we have to move on this booking quickly though. On Key West we are just looking forward to the sunset Ahhhhhh !!!!

We are getting so close now, finally. Before we know it, those Docs will be here.

 

[aprilgail2]

Originally posted by Katdb
I know some people are wondering about the dis meet. I was going to wait until a little closer to the time, but if everyone is getting excited, I'm sure we can start picking dates sooner.
Also, what I'd like to do for the cruise, if you are all willing, is to make up a cruisers list (basically same info as the postcards, but I could send it out before the cruise). It would be totally voluntary, and you could send as much or as little info as you want. For those of you that like this idea, if you could e-mail me (kbrett@uoguelph.ca) ;
names (and Dis ID's) of your group
ages of your group (probably just the young'uns... although at Disney, everyone can be a kid again)
cabin number
dinner seating
email
home address
Something fun like favourite Disney Ride, or activity or character... use that Disney imagination!!!
Hope to hear some suggestions soon
Katdb

Come on May 8th Cruisers...send in your info so we can get a meet organized!!

 

[goofyguy1958]

Aprilgail2,

I just pm'd you with my details. Goofyguy1958 (Mike)

 

[aprilgail2]

Originally posted by goofyguy1958
Aprilgail2,

I just pm'd you with my details. Goofyguy1958 (Mike)

I will forward it to KATDB since she is really the one organizing it...I just wanted to post a reminder to say "COME ON MAY 8th CRUISERS JOIN IN!!!

 

[cindalu]

Hi goofyguy,
Where in Pa are you from. I live in Lansdale which is near Philly. Are you flying or driving to FL. When are you leaving.

Talk to you soon.

 

[goofyguy1958]

cindalu,

We are from Downingtown since May 2000. Before that we lived in the Roxborough section of Philadelphia. We are flying down on Friday the 7th so we can have a nice relaxed breakfast before our towncar picks up at the Hawthorne suites and takes us to the Magic. Each and every time I type that I get all goofy -- man I cannot wait.