December 03, 2005 Western Magic?

[CJLKIM]

Diane,

Also sent you a PM. Here's our info for the list:

Kris (33) and boyfriend Jeff (48....on 12/4). We're down in 2062 this year.

Have linked with Kim's group for meals so we'll be seeing everyone at least every night!

Kris

 

[CJLKIM]

Saw this on another board I have been monitoring. You know how rumors go but we'll see how accurate this is hopefully soon

I have been watching another board. thought I should share this:


On a message board for Cozumel, the board moderator has quoted from a source (the spelling is not mine(!):
"News from Coz.....Got it off a message board:

"Word from Cozumel @8:15pm"

I just got off the phone with a very close Cozumeleno friend of ours who owns sereval businesses on the island. He lives on 2 about two blocks from the waterfront. He and his family are okay as is everyone else they know. (Thank God) His house he said was ok but "a little messed up" with some minor damages. Despite his positive sounding voice after that, everything he said broke my heart. He runs the 1st dive palapa in Chanaknaab and went out to see how it faired ... "Chankanaab is destroyed" he said. He said nothing is there but jungle. The clear lagoon, it is full of sand and debris. He said the buildings in the park did not survive either. I kept asking about certain things in the park and he kept having to tell me over and over again ... "It is all gone". The only pier they have now that is functional is the one to Playa del Carmen. Puerta Maya (Carnival's pier) is also destroyed. He said all of the shops that were there are gone. Poncho's Backyard at Puerta Maya is "just gone" along with all of the other shops there. He told me that the hotel we always stay at (Casa Mexicana) was "mostly okay", but the rug store below it, along with all of the other ocean front stores were completely gutted. He said that the sea came two blocks into San Miguel. He has taken and will continue taking pictures to email to us. I will post them as soon as he is able to send them. I cannot tell you how painful it is know that all of the places I love so dearly are gone. Thoughts of moving to cozumel are what keeps me going when I have a bad day at work. I think about it all the time. We have pictures all over our house of our favorite places on the island. It really is a part of us, and this is just so hard to grasp. Worse than the loss of our favorite place to drink margaritas, or our beloved drives to the wild side of the island, is how badly the locals will be hurt from this. No piers = No cruise ships = No money. So many locals will be struggling for money to rebuild there homes, but they cant go to work until the places they worked are rebuilt. Our hearts and our prayers go out to the people of Cozumel. Carmelita!"
The moderator has been asked the source.

 

[macphrsn]

Hi Kris & everyone,

I have been watching this whole hurricane situation. Right now our Western Caribbean trip doesn't look too good. I expect that Disney will reroute this trip, does anyone have any idea of how Disney will be handling this situation? Like you Kris, I also saw the above posting this morning. I really thought everyone would be on here chatting about three of our ports being destroyed or at least under water.

DH said, "just get a refund, if we can't go where you had planned then let's not go at all." I want to go no matter where we end up cruising to. I want to meet everyone that we have been talking with on disboards. I guess I am the positive one in this house.

What does everyone think?

 

[kennygee]

Hi Cindy,

We've been on the Western several times and the Eastern only once. I don't think I would cancel just because the ship will have to go to other destinations. If you think about it, we cruise for a lot of reasons, one of which is the ports of call. As long as DCL doesn't choose horrible alternate destinations, which I would be surprised if they did, I would think the cruise will still be a great time. Remember, they really do want you to come back again.

We mostly look for sunny, warm, beaches....you know. We just want to get away from the cold Cleveland weather.

All of the alternatives I have heard on this board seem OK

- Eastern Itinerary
- Costa Maya insead of Cozumel
- Two stops at Castaway Cay

Has anyone heard about any other alternatives?

It will be hard to make everyone happy. Are you going on this cruise only because of the itinerary? If not, I would just wait and see what they decide. It will take a few days to figure out what is really going on at the ports.

I hope to see you on the ship.

Ken

 

[GrayFal]

Hi Cindy,

We've been on the Western several times and the Eastern only once. I don't think I would cancel just because the ship will have to go to other destinations. If you think about it, we cruise for a lot of reasons, one of which is the ports of call. As long as DCL doesn't choose horrible alternate destinations, which I would be surprised if they did, I would think the cruise will still be a great time. Remember, they really do want you to come back again.

We mostly look for sunny, warm, beaches....you know. We just want to get away from the cold Cleveland weather.

All of the alternatives I have heard on this board seem OK

- Eastern Itinerary
- Costa Maya insead of Cozumel
- Two stops at Castaway Cay

Has anyone heard about any other alternatives?

It will be hard to make everyone happy. Are you going on this cruise only because of the itinerary? If not, I would just wait and see what they decide. It will take a few days to figure out what is really going on at the ports.

I hope to see you on the ship.

Ken

I agree with Ken.....any day on DCL is better then a FABULOUS day at home........
But then again, I would cruise even if we didn't stop anywhere ......

 

[macphrsn]

No, I am not going just because the itinerary. But DH is the one who wants to cancel. He felt that I spent alot of time trying to choose the best excursion for our family and that I might feel disappointed. Yes of course I'm disappointed, I was looking forward to the excursions we had choosen. I certainly will not be able to spend the time researching other places like I did for GC, Cozumel and KW.

I guess the unknown is the hard part now. How will Disney make the announcement to everyone? I have been to DCL site but see nothing. I think as long as I get away from Michigan anywhere is good.

 

[kennygee]

You're right about all the work researching the excursions. But what can you do? It's mother nature. Those poor people in Cozumel and KW are having a much tougher day than us.

I don't know how DCL will notify us. I can only guess that they will as soon as they know what they are going to do. I would be surprised if they waited until the last minute. It isn't like they are waiting for a weather report to make the decision. It just isn't what I would expect from Disney.

I would take a minute and look at the Eastern itinerary so you have at least an idea what you want to do if they choose that.

I'll post here if/when I hear anything.

Ken

 

[CJLKIM]

Cindy,

I'm not sure how fast Key West will recover. There was only ankle deep water at Sloppy Joe's but other parts were under waist deep water. All accounts so far is that Cozumel is gone....but people have said that cruise lines will stop if the port is reopened and the mall is functioning...there just won't be much to do beyond that. I also cannot imagine that Disney would abandon Grand Cayman just because Cozumel had issues so my bet is currently on Disney simply replacing Cozumel with either a day at sea or with perhaps Costa Maya (which would be cool for those of us scheduled to go on the "Double Dip" next year...kind of a sneak preview).

I've been taking a look at the other ports of call and I'm working up a quick reference sheet of the excursions that I like for each of them...that way there will be no surprises when the final itinerary is annouced. If there are some things available at Castaway Cay that you were going to do elsewhere you could go ahead and book them as backups. In any case, it's been a nice diversion from focusing on Wilma's destruction.

Whatever Disney will decide....it's Disney...it can't be bad. Just encourage DH not to abandon ship....we're all right there with you. It Disney, it's the Carribbean....count on fun in the sun and the time of your life....Disney style!

Of course...we'll all keep one another posted on what we hear. I've been posting with people on the 11/5 sailing and they've agreed to keep us posted on what itinerary they end up with...of course...that'll still be a whole month before we sail and anything could happen in a month!

Have a good night!

 

[chichihoney]

http://dive.scubadiving.com/members...ries.php?s=8185 this what i got on the dcruisel board it the pictures of cozmel dock

 

[LAMPSKIES]

Don't mind me peeking in here, we are on the 11/19 Western and were told we are still sailing to Cozumel......I don't believe that those pics are of the dock that the Magic stays at.....

 

[kennygee]

Hey guys...

From the DCL web site...

IMPORTANT INFORMATION


As of 5:00 p.m. EST - Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Thank you for your interest in the ports of call featured on our western Caribbean itinerary.

As you may be aware, Hurricane Wilma passed directly over the island of Cozumel. While the island of Cozumel is involved in its recovery, we will be unable to call on this port. Therefore, we have changed our itinerary for our November 5, 2005, and November 19, 2005, western Caribbean cruises as follows:

November 5, 2005 Sailing
Saturday Port Canaveral, Florida
Sunday Key West, Florida
Monday Day at Sea
Tuesday Grand Cayman, The Cayman Islands
Wednesday Costa Maya, Mexico
Thursday Day at Sea
Friday Disney’s Castaway Cay, Bahamas
Saturday Port Canaveral, Florida


November 19, 2005 Sailing
Saturday Port Canaveral, Florida
Sunday Disney’s Castaway Cay, Bahamas
Monday Day at Sea
Tuesday Grand Cayman, The Cayman Islands
Wednesday Costa Maya, Mexico
Thursday Day at Sea
Friday Disney’s Castaway Cay, Bahamas
Saturday Port Canaveral, Florida

We anticipate additional western Caribbean voyages will need to be modified, as damage evaluation continues in Cozumel. We will post any updates as they occur on the website, so feel free to check back with us often.

For more information, call (800) 951-3532†.


Ken

 

[kennygee]

Does anyone know where to find the shore excursions for Costa Maya?

Ken

 

[CJLKIM]

Does anyone know where to find the shore excursions for Costa Maya?

Ken

I'll look for you but I know that it is posted on the 11/05 thread because i saw it earlier today....one of the girls had a copy of an old navigator.

Found it.....



Originally Posted by SeaSpray
I am taking this directly from our Navigator the day we stopped at Costa Maya on Thursday, Sept 2, 2004, due to Hurricane Frances (we were on the 10-night cruise, so Costa Maya was actually an extra port for us on that trip):

Costa Maya Shore Excursions:

Costa Maya Beach Snorkel 7:45am
Costa Maya Boat Snorkel 7:45am
Outdoor Bike and Kayak 7:45am
Chacchoben Mayan Ruins 8:00am
All Terrain Expedition 8:00am
Jungle Beach Break 9:00am
Costa Maya Boat Snorkel 11:45am
Outdoor Bike and Kayak 11:45am


I am sorry that I don't have the page they gave us that listed the descriptions and the prices. But the above excursions were what was available to us to book, if we so chose to do so.


I see that we departed that port at 5:30pm on that day, in case anyone was wondering about this.

 

[kennygee]

Thanks. I found a couple of links also...


http://costamayacruiseexcursions.com/

and

http://www.puertocostamaya.com/eng/chinchorro.cfm

Not sure if these are any good though.

 

[CJLKIM]

I was reading last night some reviews and the people said how they originally thought the ruins tours would be boring but they turned out to be really good. I'm just not sure now exactly where I read it....I was browsing so much. I'll keep you posted on what I find.

I'm keeping in touch with the people on the 11/05 cruise so I'll see what I can find out from them as soon as they get back too.....that'll give us first hand experiences.

 

[kennygee]

Sounds good. Thanks

 

[CJLKIM]

http://www.puertocostamaya.com/

 

[kennygee]

If you haven't seen the Cozumel pics...check these out. This is horrible. It's hard to imagine a storm with this much power.

http://dive.scubadiving.com/members/photogalleries.php?s=8185

I'm pretty sure the 2nd pic is the pier DCL uses (or used to).

Sad

 

[GrayFal]

I wonder why they are going to Key West on the 11/05 cruise and NOT 11/19....was it always planned that way - as a "Double Dip" Castaway Cay Cruise.......seems odd.

Only time will tell where we will end up....kind if exciting, isn't it

 

[HallsofVA]

I believe the 11/19 cruise was always planned to skip Key West and do a double dip at Castaway Cay. I think I've heard there's a big event in Key West at that time. I don't think it's weather related at all.