Costa Maya DD or Western???

[disneypoor]

We are cruising in a few weeks, and we want to rebook onboard the ship. We actually already booked the Thanksgiving 08 cruise to Costa Maya, Cozumel, and a DD to CC because I was afraid the prices might go up. We do plan to cancel our current reservation if the onboard offer is better.

Now to my real question---what would all of you experts suggest? I'm torn between sailing at Thanksgiving for the Costa Maya cruise and waiting until the New Year's Eve western sailing. The Costa Maya cruise is literally over $2000 cheaper for our family of four, and we like traveling at Thanksgiving. However, I've always thought it would be so much fun to give our kids a surprise vacation at Christmas (if I can keep my mouth shut for that long ).

Would you spend the 2000 more and do the western, or would you go with the costa maya cruise at Thanksgiving? Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

 

[disneypoor]

Bump!

 

[ragdoll]

This is a no brainer for me. You like to travel at Thanksgiving and it is $2000 cheaper. Costa Maya DD without a doubt! DH and I did the DD last Sept. The two days at CC were wonderful and the beach at Costa Maya was great. If you are beach people this is the trip for you!

 

[musicgirl]

Yeah, the DD at CC was pretty awesome! I remember going back to the ship after the 1st CC day and thinking how sad, the trip is almost over. NO, NO WAIT, I don't have to be sad this is our 1st stop at CC and I have the whole trip ahead of me AND I get to go to CC a 2nd time!!!

Plus you get an extra $2000 to spend!!!

 

[ragdoll]

Or you get an extra $1000 to spend and you will still have $1000 left for your deposit when you rebook onboard.

 

[disneypoor]

Thanks for the replies. I am leaning more and more towards Costa Maya for the DD and the money. I had just read some sortof negative responses on Costa Maya, so I was a little worried. We would like to see the ruins though, and I have read good things about that excursion. Again, thanks for the input--Costa Maya here we come!

 

[disneypoor]

Or you get an extra $1000 to spend and you will still have $1000 left for your deposit when you rebook onboard.

Ragdoll----we think alike!

 

[RayRing]

A couple of thoughts...

I didn't see the ages of your kids. Ours were 6 and 5 when we did a DD cruise. My kids are more interested in going to a beach, then going on tours. So CC is perfect for them. They spend the whole day, playing in and around the water. Two stops at CC is better than one for us.

Weather. Thanksgiving week should give you a better chance of warmer weather, than a month or so later.

I think the ship will be decerated for Christmas at Thanksgiving. That will give you a little bit of feeling, of traveling at Chrisitmas. It will also jump start you Christmas season. You can get your picture taken at the main christmas tree in the lobby, and use that for your Christmas cards.

What ever you pick will be great. Don't drive yourself crazy. Pick one, and then forget the other.

 

[disneypoor]

RayRing--your thought are exactly why I chose Thanksgiving week in the first place. My kids (almost 12 and 9) loved their day at CC! I would say that was the best part of our cruise last summer. My husband is a farmer, and Thanksgiving is a time when everything sortof slows down for him, so it's a good time to be gone. I also thought the weather might be a lot nicer around Thanksgiving time than at Christmas. One of the things I have been most excited about is getting to see the ship decorated for Christmas! That's what I've been going on and on about to my husband. I think he's already getting tired of hearing about this Costa Maya trip!

Plus, the difference in the prices between the two trips will more than pay for our airfare. That part is definitely a no brainer for me. I can't figure out why it would be that much cheaper???

 

[cjckclan]

We are cruising in a few weeks, and we want to rebook onboard the ship. We actually already booked the Thanksgiving 08 cruise to Costa Maya, Cozumel, and a DD to CC because I was afraid the prices might go up. We do plan to cancel our current reservation if the onboard offer is better.

Would you spend the 2000 more and do the western, or would you go with the costa maya cruise at Thanksgiving? Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

We are booked on the Thanksgiving 08! We wanted a summer 08 western, but obviously that wasn't happening. We considered Christmas since we wouldn't have to take the kids out of school (both will be in high school by then), but the extra $$$$$ and the probability of cooler weather pulled us to Thanksgiving. They will only have to miss 3 days of school, which I am hoping is something we can work with. Anyway, we are excited about the DD at CC. If you decide on this one, pop over to the cruise meets thread; there is one started for Thanksgiving 08. Enjoy!

 

[disneypoor]

OMG! The people on the DIS are fast! I can't believe there is already a thread started for Thanksgiving 08, but I'm sure going to go over and check it out! I'll see you in 08!

 

[disneypoor]

Thank you to those of you who replied to my thread. We have for sure decided on the DD to Costa Maya, and I've been so excited that I can't sleep at night! I know it's a long ways off, but now I will have a reason after our March Eastern to keep checking these boards every day!

 

[Kimmielee]

It's even less expensive than Thanksgiving!!

 

[imlazar]

This is a no brainer for me. You like to travel at Thanksgiving and it is $2000 cheaper. Costa Maya DD without a doubt! DH and I did the DD last Sept. The two days at CC were wonderful and the beach at Costa Maya was great. If you are beach people this is the trip for you!

We did the DD last November, I agree 100% with your post. I'd take a 7 day cruise with 5 days at CC if I could!!!

We are going in Jan of '08, we looked at doing another DD in the fall but we didn't want to miss a holiday at home with the family. It's too bad they don't run them other times.

If I ran DCL, I'd drop Costa Maya all together and do a third day at CC.

 

[disneypoor]

Kimmielee--I wish I could do the Halloween cruise! I'm a teacher, so I'd be pushing it if I asked my principal for a week off!

 

[Kimmielee]

Kimmielee--I wish I could do the Halloween cruise! I'm a teacher, so I'd be pushing it if I asked my principal for a week off!

So noted... I think they need to give Teachers discounts... since you are forced to go during the holidays and summers when the cost is so much higher!

Thanks for what you do! It's a very noble profession!

 

[disneypoor]

So noted... I think they need to give Teachers discounts... since you are forced to go during the holidays and summers when the cost is so much higher!

Thanks for what you do! It's a very noble profession!

Thank you so much for your kind words! There are days where I wonder what in the world I'm doing, but then I look into the eyes of my 23 little 8 and 9 year olds and quickly remember! Touching the lives of children is priceless. It makes having to travel at peak/expensive times all worth it.