April 12, 2008, 4-12-08, 4/12/08 Eastern Magic

[DisneyMomforLife]

They also send you a birthday card (slipped under the cabin door) and they sing to you in the restaurant too!!

kat

 

[Skuba2]

Bumping us up to first page.

Deb

 

[Skuba2]

whoever wanted parasailing on castaway cay---there are time slots open now!! Just FYI!

Deb

 

[DisneyMomforLife]

Yeah, what happened with that???

Thanks to the wonderful words of wisdom you gave me, I checked back a day or so later and BAM! There were plenty open so I was able to reserve them.

Thanks for the advice!!

kat

 

[cindyd1@optonline.ne]

Bumping us up!!! Hope everyone is doing well!!!!! Counting down the days until 75!!!!!

 

[dsnyfangoofy2]

Those of you who have been to Castaway Cay before -- what are your opinions about ordering the package deal on the floats and snorkeling equipment and bikes? And how much bike riding can you actually do? Does anyone know when they start serving and finish serving lunch on CC?

Bev

 

[cindyd1@optonline.ne]

Just made our final payment!!!!!: OOOOOOOch!!!!!

 

[momto3angels]

Hi Everyone,
I thought I was subscribing to this thread but have not gotten any emails. Imagine my surprise when their were 22 pages. I am going to go ahead and read all of them...we are getting so excited.!

 

[Skuba2]

Those of you who have been to Castaway Cay before -- what are your opinions about ordering the package deal on the floats and snorkeling equipment and bikes? And how much bike riding can you actually do? Does anyone know when they start serving and finish serving lunch on CC?

Bev

I wish I could help. I would almost stick this on the main board or look in the trip reports for the same time period we are going.

As far as snorkeling goes. I brought a pair of swim goggles and just zoomed around on the top of the water---but I was a swimmer in my youth. We stayed mainly on the adult beach last time. We saw a wild stingray, some live sand dollars, and some huge starfish. As soon as you put on a snorkle, they will make you wear the vest. Also, remember to bring a t-shirt you can wear if you do intend to snorkle. Keeps the vest from rubbing wrong and it helps with the sun.

I haven't done the biking.

I would suggest getting a float and/or tube per family. The floats make nice beach loungers and a place to put your tray to eat.

Lunch runs for a while I think. I remember them picking it up around 2 or 3. They bring everything onto the island when they dock and then they take everything off after. The food is really good.

Personally, I would just rent all the stuff when I get there. It sounds like a lot of stuff to do in the short time. The water and beach are just so gorgeous, you may not want to spend the time biking. I also can't imagine them running out of bikes--maybe baby seats and/or kid bikes.

Our day at cc last time---two youngest to the club on the island, dh went to work out and hung out in the cabin. Oldest and I went on jetski tour---dh took pictures from the balcony. I took my daughter back to the cabin. Got lotioned up again. Daughter stayed in cabin and ordered lunch in while dh and I went to the adult beach. We were able to find a lounger. We went swimming. Went and got lunch and brought it to the lounger. We went swimming again. Went and got the kids. Played a little as a family. Then went to shower for dinner.

A nice, relaxing day.

Hope this helps somewhat.

Deb

 

[mcwolf]

This is our first family cruise ever. We booked the April 12th, 7 night cruise, last year. Yes we made our final payment!!!

We are now waiting for the ability to pick out our excursions. Does anyone have any valuable sites regarding St. Maarten, St. Thomas or Castaway?

From what I can see, St. Maarten (Martin) looks to be the place to eat, St. Thomas the place to shop and Castaway the place to play.

I am glad we found this board. Sounds like many ideas/notes are exchanging. I haven't read through them all yet.

Any good ideas for the islands?


Family of four;
myself
dw
dd 10
ds 8

 

[okwmember92]

Welcome aboard mcwolf. The dis boards are a great wealth of info and get us excited about cruisin! I try to read all eastern trip reports to see what others have done that fit our style. Keep reading and it will help you decide what works.

See ya real soon, Kim

 

[mcwolf]

Thanks Kim.

 

[cindyd1@optonline.ne]

Welcome!!!! We are all getting sooooo excited it will be here before with know it. We are DW, DH DD13, DD9, DS5

 

[mcwolf]

Need to ask a crazy question.
I am assuming these shorthands mean......

DD - Dear Daughter
DS - Dear Son
DW - Dear Wife
DH - Dear Husband

I came across a couple of sites last night having the street maps for Philipsburg and Marigot.

I also noticed the open flea market for Marigot falls on Wednesday and Sunday, we port on Tuesday. Looks like we will miss it.

 

[Skuba2]

Hello and welcome. You are correct on the abbreviations unless you are mad at them--then it is darn husband or maybe worse. LOL! (laugh out loud).

St. Thomas is known for its shopping-jewelry-but the deals today aren't as great as they were. I find the quality better though. St. Thomas has a really good golf course and some nice snorkling/diving. If you do go walking through the shops, be aware that you will be accosted by salesmen.

Enjoy your planning.

Deb

 

[dsnyfangoofy2]

Skuba 2, thanks for the hints about CC. NOT being a water baby myself – I almost drowned when I was about 5, so I CAN swim but it’s not my favorite sport -- I found I actually enjoy the snorkeling more when they give me a vest, so I’m glad they’ll have them. The hint for the T-shirt was a great reminder.

The float tip was also helpful. I would never have thought of multi-tasking it! What a great idea!

McWolf: As for the abbreviations, we are such fanatics we translate them as “Disney Husband” and “Disney Son!” After all, the hubby was even born in Anaheim! (You may not want to be around us!!)

Less than a week until we can finally start booking our excursions. Yea!

Bev

 

[cindyd1@optonline.ne]

Do you have to rent the floats ahead of time or can you rent them that day?

 

[KathleenlovesMickey]

Not a day go's by that I am not online checking something for our trip. I am trying not to get the suitcases down even tho I have a few drawers full of what I am plannng on bringing. We got to make our resies at 105 days out an because I am in CA it was actually 104 days out. One glitch to our trip is my mother in law is 90 and some days are good others are near deaths door. My husband has the power of att. and we get all the calls from the care facility so afraid that something will happen right before we leave or we get the call while we are gone. Wish us luck
Just a note we are celebrating our 25th anniversary on the 17th of April.
Looking forward to putting faces with names.

 

[Skuba2]

I tried buying clothes for my daughter for one cruise a few months before. Luckily, I had her try them on again a week before because she went through a growth spurt and none of them fit. Talk about panic.

All I can say about clothes---don't go crazy with multiple outfits for each day. It will drive you nuts and you'll need a second car to drive your luggage. Multiple swimsuits work well to allow one to dry. And, there is a laundry room.

Deb

 

[dsnyfangoofy2]

Here is a totally off-the-wall question for some of you.

We here in Utah are called "Utahns." We have "Californians" and "Kansans" in our group. But when I talk about all my new friends on this board from Connecticut, what do I call you????

Bev