August 12, 2006-DIS DREAMS DO COME TRUE-Magical Western Cruise

[firstmickey]

Good Morning!


Im kind of bummed! I didnt get on the 2pm Dolphin swim with Michelle and family but I was able to get the 3pm time slot. They are filling up fast she said! We will have a big rush to get back and make early dinner for Pirate night though! but at least I got it!

 

[MAGICinMYHEART]

When I went to xcaret's website they say it's 5 miles from playa del carmen. The ferry from cozumel to playa del carmen takes about 45 minutes. Then you take a taxi or bus to xcaret(about 10-15 minutes). Where does the extra hour come in. I called DCL and asked about their excursion in July. They said a tender would take us directly from the boat to playa del carmen and then on to xcaret. Apparently, DCL will still not have a pier to dock at in cozumel in July. They will tender everyone there. I have asked someone who is going to cozumel with DCL this week to find out if anyone can take the tender to playa del carmen or just people who have booked excursions through DCL. If anyone can take the tender to playa del carmen then we plan to do xcaret on our own. If not we will go through DCL (otherwise we would have to tender to cozumel then take the ferry to playa del carmen. We would lose too much time).
If anyone has travelled from the pier at cozumel, please correct me if I am wrong about the travel time and distance.

OK I found this when I was checking on information about XCARET.

As I have never visited Cozumel I was wondering if DCL is actually going to be tendering @ Playa Del Carmen wouldn't this also effect the trip to Tulum, as much of the travel time seems to be getting from Cozumel to the mainland on the Ferry?

I guess this would also effect all the excursion that are located on Cozumel because then everyone would then have to catch the ferry from the Mainland to Cozumel then back?

Beckie

 

[ReggieB]

Beckie - That is one of the reasons we are staying on the ship! I would hate to set my heart on a tour, and then get completely hassled about getting there, getting back and all. I know Disney isn't going to strand you if you've booked a tour with them, but I am such a stress puppy. Disney are probably having to make this up a bit as they go along, but I would imagine after a few trips back to Cozumel they would have a better picture of what is affected and adjusting tours accordingly. They need a land based cruise director, or at least a few people that can help people verify info directly with Disney and get the correct info out.

 

[MAGICinMYHEART]

Louise

I understand what you mean...if DCL is going to be tendering on the Mainland they should notify everyone, I guess we will learn just how the tendering will work when a few of the cruises have returned.

Laura

I sent Marco a PM last Sunday...he hasn't logged on as DGH so he hasn't recieved it yet. So tell him to read his mail....or you can it was sent to both of you.

Ciao, Beckie

 

[MICKEY'S DREAMERS]

Beckie, when we visited Tulum through RCCL our ship stopped in front of the mainland - Playa del Carmen and they tendered us ashore (only people who were booked for excursions departing from Playa del Carmen); at the pier we met our Mayan guide for the excursion to Tulum.
On the way back though it was less convenient :we had to take a "tender" to Cozumel (first stop) and then to our ship.
We had to ask info to Mexican people on the pier at Playa del Carmen - no one from RCCL was there to help our group wishing to get back to the ship !!! I seemed to be the only one who could "understand" the info ... I still remember how I was afraid I misunderstood ...
When the tender stopped at Cozumel I was scared ... OMG !!! All our "Tulum" group had followed us , I was feeling so bad .then someone yelled "Barco de los gringos" or something like that ... only at that time I could whisper to Marco : "We are on the right tender !!!"

HOPEFULLY DCL will take better care of their loved guests !!!
Laura

 

[MICKEY'S DREAMERS]

I sent Marco a PM last Sunday...he hasn't logged on as DGH so he hasn't recieved it yet. So tell him to read his mail....or you can it was sent to both of you.

Ciao, Beckie

I'll try and read your PM !!!! Marco DOES NOT read his mail very often !!!
Thank you darling to let me know !!
Laura

 

[MAGICinMYHEART]

Laura

If in fact we will be tendering at Playa Del Carmen this would be great for the XCARET and the Tulum excursions. I would love to see the underground river.

Beckie

 

[firstmickey]

and here's more rumor for the mill...


the girl I talked to at shoretrips told me today that she heard that tendering is almost done at Cozemel and they will be just docking soon. SHe said by mid August we should definitely be just pulling up to the dock.


but she lives in Wisconsin...so what does she know?

 

[MAGICinMYHEART]

Donna

Let's hope your friend from Wisconsin is correct, that way we wont have to worry about tendering. (not something I'm looking foreward to.)

Beckie

 

[mgbagley]

I am bummed too. Do they keep a waitlist? If you are there at 2pm and someone doesn't show can you come with us?
My daughter is coming home on Thursday and I know my computer time will be limited. She doesn't bring her computer home for short trips, so between my DH and 2 DD I may not be able to chat for awhile. I will try to sneak on in the morning while everyone is asleep!
Michelle

 

[DVC4US]

I thought I read some where that the ship will now be leaving Cozumel at 5:30pm instead of the 10pm it usually does. I assume this is because of the tender. Of course, if we dock instead it might be a mute point but I was wondering if that would give you enough time to do a 3pm dolphin swim? I could be wrong, but I thought I read this when the posting was put out that the Magic will be going back to Cozumel as of the 8th of April.


I found it - although the ship leaves at 6pm and you will need to be on board by 5:30pm. If it is anything like Grand Cayman the last tender will leave the dock at 5pm. Maybe all this will change though. Below is a copy of the posting I found.

Cozumel, April 8th and beyond....

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Just got this from DCL:

Disney Magic® Returns to Cozumel April 8
Starting April 8, the Disney Magic® will return to Cozumel as one of its stops on the 7-night Western Itinerary. As you may know, this island was unavailable as a port of call for several months due to the impact of Hurricane Wilma, which passed directly over Cozumel in October 2005.

Although the cruise ship pier is still in disrepair, tenders will be used to bring your Clients ashore. The ship will depart Cozumel at 6 p.m., which means your Clients will need to be onboard by 5:30 p.m.

 

[ReggieB]

Leilani - That's pretty much what I had read too. I wasn't sure what time the boat normally leaves Cozumel, I see there is quite a few hours difference. Obviously the speed that the dock get's repaired is way out of DCL's control, but would it be really that difficult to post some up to date info on the website? See.... I told you I was a stress puppy, it doesn't even effect me and I'm worrying about it!!! Though I'm also feeling super sore after my Hep A vaccine, which my masocistic (sp?) doctor told me I must have for this trip, even after I promised I wouldn't leave the ship!! Ben had one too, what a trooper. So I'm cursing Cozumel anyhow!!!!! One less thing to stress about though.......You wouldn't believe the amount of vaccines I had to have to get my green card, I was amazed there were any more available!

On a side note, it must have been awful for all the people that live and work in Cozumel, I hope they are able to get on their feet real soon. Let's hope that this hurricane season spares us the devastation of last year.

 

[DVC4US]

Louise - so sorry to hear about the shots you are having to take. Hope you feel better soon. I told DH we should probably look into the Hep A shot even though we have been on several cruises before and have never taken it, but it doesn't hurt to be safe. He has had one since he works in the medical community and he seems to think the girls have had it, but I know I haven't had it so I guess I will talk to our family doctor and see what he says.

I do feel bad for the people in Cozumel and all the islands that were affected by the hurricanes and it is going to be hard to see Cozumel again if a lot of it is still damaged. Someone posted pictures recently and it looked pretty bad still.

We did the dolphin swim several years ago so it doesn't affect me either but I wanted Donna to know so that she can make sure they can get back in time. I can't remember exactly how long it took us, but it seemed like a couple of hours total.

 

[firstmickey]

I asked shoretrips about being back in time for the ship to leave and they said the reason it leaves so early when tendering is because they have to be done before it's dark. In August, it will be dark longer so it shouldnt be a problem. They should be able to tender longer. Or something like that. I know it will be a rush to get back....ok, you guys are worrying me now. I tried to book the earlier one at noon but it was full too!



I will call them back again tomorrow!

 

[MICKEY'S DREAMERS]

I tried to book the earlier one at noon but it was full too!
I will call them back again tomorrow!

Donna, wishing you good luck !!!!

OMG !!!! I too need to start THINKING SERIOUSLY about shore excursions !!!!

I guess we still will need a specific tender/boat to go ashore to the mainland for Xcaret or Tulum .
Is DCL still offering those, right ?

Laura
Hep A shot : why ? Can you explain, please ?

 

[MAGICinMYHEART]

Hep A shot : why ? Can you explain, please ?

Laura

They are talking about receiving a immunization shot against Hepatitas A.

Hepatitis
Many people are unaware that hepatitis literally means the inflammation of your liver. Causes of hepatitis can be quite a number of different things not limited to viruses, bacteria, alcohols and toxins, parasites, and blood transfusions. Hepatitis can be a dangerous disease, especially in third world countries, (Mexico) and the severity depends on the type of hepatitis that is contracted. The most commons types of hepatitis are Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, and Hepatitis C.

Hepatitis A is transmitted through contaminated food and water, while B and C are exchanged through bodily fluids. The biggest fear of hepatitis is that the disease leads to cirrhosis of the liver. People with hepatitis and severly damaged livers may need to get a liver transplant in order to survive. The best way to protect yourself from hepatitis is to get immunized. Hepatitis immunizations are common in the US and can last for a lifetime for certain types of hepatitis. Hepatitis prevention tactics are very important for people who plan to travel abroad in certain countries.

 

[MICKEY'S DREAMERS]

Hepatitis prevention tactics are very important for people who plan to travel abroad in certain countries.

Should I ask my doctor for advice ??? I'm not sure Marco and I got that shot ... in the past years ...

THANK YOU , Beckie !!!
Laura

 

[MAGICinMYHEART]

Laura

Fat Fingers Sorry

 

[MAGICinMYHEART]

Laura

Yes, I think you should check with your Doctor...couldn't hurt. I just spoke with Terry and asked him he said it may be a good idea. So we are going to check into the shot.

Love
Beckie

 

[ReggieB]

Laura

Yes, I think you should check with your Doctor...couldn't hurt. I just spoke with Terry and asked him he said it may be a good idea. So we are going to check into the shot.

Love
Beckie

Thanks for making not feel like the over-protective Mother that I am!! Plus I wasn't sure the differences between them all. My doctor was all for the HepA vaccine, he didn't feel that I needed the HepB one, but Ben should have one, so I'll go with him on that. Ben has to have the HepB one for school anyway, so he's good to go on that one. My arm is SO SORE!!!! Ben hasn't complained once, so scratch what I said a few pages back about him being wimpy!!!

I have been looking at all the gifts again today for the stateroom, I am so excited! The chocolate tower is a definite winner (it's for Ben honest!) Trying to decide what to get Ben for his birthday too, I've seen an awesome Pirate ship at Target, I think that would be a good theme. He refuses to watch Narnia again (the sensitive part of him finds it a bit too real) but I find out that him and Daddy watched Pirates of The Caribbean the other day, and he loved it. I had a bit of a meltdown about the PG13 rating, but I was over ruled by everyone (probably including the cat, that what comes of being the only female in the house, we used to have fish I swear were males too) I shall be doing the told you so dance if Ben has pirate skeleton nightmares! He actually used to loathe going on the Pirates ride, but is now super excited to go back and see the new Jack Sparrow addition. Not sure if that's quite the role model I was looking for!