December 12 - 19, 2009 Western Magic

[pamrob]

We were in Cozumel in 1992 and then again in 2004. We were surprised how much commercialization had gone on between the two visits. I'm just not the shop til you drop kind of girl. It was, however, the port the girls had decided they wanted to buy a souvenir so we hit the shops. I think off the beaten path is definitely the way to go there.

In 1992 we did the Tulum ruins tour. It's a bit of a bus ride but very cool.

 

[HallsofVA]

Our first DCL cruise in Dec 2005 was a Western Caribbean cruise, but our schedule was modified due to the hurricane (Wilma?) that wiped out Cozumel in November. They'd originally planned to divert us to Nassau (leading a bunch of folks to book rooms for Atlantis), but the day we checked in we were informed that we were going to Costa Maya instead. So we can't give any advice on Cozumel. We also had our 23 month old with us, so we didn't do anything adventurous.

We just wandered around Key West without doing any excursions. (David Yurman fans - Jewels in Key West claims to be the largest David Yurman dealer in the US). We were celebrating our 10th anniversary so I got some nice treats from that visit!

I do remember that Grand Cayman was very hot when we were there, so after a brief semi-sub tour in the morning, we walked around for about 10 minutes, then tendered back to the ship and had a great afternoon enjoying having the ship to ourselves. My brother did the scuba excursion and had fun, and my in-laws did the island tour and enjoyed that as well.

We were at Castaway Cay 9 days earlier in December than we will be there this year, and the weather that year was wonderful. Our cruise last December was at CC about 6 days earlier than us, and it was a chilly, windy and mostly cloudy day that was good for playing on the beach, but very chilly for being in the water except when the sun was out (not that it stopped us very much.)

 

[Shoog]

Jordan is really excited. She is a fish too and loves swimming buddies. Are your kids snorkelers?

Lexi is the same age and loves to snorkel. Looks like we should have quite a fun group this age.

 

[Shoog]

We are taking the Stingray City tour in Grand Cayman. Also, booked privately. Have you been out there?[/QUOTE]

Stingray City is great - one of the reasons we choose western over eastern was to visit the Cayman's again - never cruised before, spent a week on the island and loved it.

 

[CRSNDSNY]

Sounds like it is a nice place! We've never been to any Mexican ports so we're excited to see something new.
It also sounds like you have a great plan for the day! I'm sure you'll have tons of fun.

We have a 2 and 4yo, though, so we won't be driving anywhere. That's also why I'd rather not even take a cab anywhere. Without car seats to properly make my children safe we'd rather just foot it somewhere even if it is only shopping at this port.

Thanks for the post, though!

I've vacationed on Cozumel before, although it's been a few years. It's my second favorite place in the world. You can probably guess the first.

There are actually two cruise ports, north and south. IDK which one we will be using. The port is touristy. Safe. Interesting. I could spend a few hours there.

We didn't book anything in advance either. I'm just going to get a rental jeep and go to a few beaches. There is a great snorkeling park just south of the cruise terminals that is easy to drive to. We are planning on some beach time and lunch at Coconuts. Great food. Quirky atmosphere. There are some small nice Mayan ruins also.

The island is easy to drive on. Roads are good. Drivers are not as aggressive as the drivers in Chicago. Rental Jeeps are about 60$ a day and always buy the insurance in Mexico. I can better show you when we are on the boat then tell you online where to go.

 

[bevtoy]

Are there any Jimmy Buffet fans on board? The three Margueritavilles are at each port on this cruise!

We plan to see all three. Not really big drinkers, just want to see them.

 

[Shelebeen]

We didn't stay in downtown too much. And yes, raining sideways would have impaired my memory of Cozumel also. Boy I hope the weather is nice on this cruise. There are beaches like the bahamas, that I love. Great customer service on many of them.

We are taking the Stingray City tour in Grand Cayman. Also, booked privately. Have you been out there?

We have.. we went out last year (we are going with the same company this year too..) We loved it ALOT!

I hope the weather is good too... We haven't had great luck in the Caribbean with weather yet

 

[Shelebeen]

My TA emailed me yesterday to tell me our cruise docs are at her office (she doesn't work on Fridays) and she will review them on Monday and then arrange a time to deliver them to me...

 

[HallsofVA]

We're hosting a Disney Cruise Line House Party tomorrow. If anyone is interested in a chance to win a free 4-nt cruise on the Wonder (Cat 9!) you can send me your email and we'll send you and entry one way or another.

 

[pamrob]

Got our cruise docs yesterday. Pretty exciting. I am, however, really starting to think of everything I need to do for the cruise and take care of while we are gone. Yikes. I must start this week or I'll be overwhelmed. Throw in there two birthday parties to host, a preThanksgiving dinner, the DCL house party, and two daughters performing in the Nutcracker the weekend prior to the cruise. I will remain calm, I will remain calm . . . .

 

[redshoe9]

Wow! Our kids are close in age and both like Phineas & Ferb!! Sounds like a good match. My son Chris turns 6 in January, and my daughter Sophia turns 3 at the end of this month. Did you see the cool Phineas & Ferb pillowcases I had made on ebay?

*hey this sounds great because my DS is 6 and is always looking for a buddy when we travel. He loves the kids club on other ships (this is our 1st disney cruise) and is a huge water child. I can hardly get him to leave the beach.

I'm looking forward to seeing all the kids on the ship.

 

[redshoe9]

I have a 6 1/2 year old named Phillip who is a huge lego freak and also loves Phineas and Ferb. I am sure he would love to meet Jordan..

I hate to be a kid match maker but I also have a 6 year old named Kai who would love to meet as many new playmates as he can. He loves to play w legos, bionicles, swim, snorkel and any sort of hero action figures (spiderman, transformers etc) -- I'm sure he will be spending a lot of time at kids club since he practically begs to go there and participate.

 

[redshoe9]

Usually I research and book plenty of shore excursions but this trip I have not found any of them to be thrilling except for the one I self booked on Cozumel. Anyone else feeling this way or are there some fantastic excursions not to be missed that I'm just not finding?

It also zaps the desire when you have a toddler but maybe I am just looking forward to the empty ship when everyone takes off to port?

 

[kcashner]

I don't care for most of Cozumel. It's not a place where you want to get off the beaten path. However, if you're up for a beach day, Paradise beach costs a taxi ride. Admission is free, for $10 per person you get the full day's use of all "non-motorized water toys."

Taxis in Cozumel are priced by the cab, not by the person...making them a good deal.

Chankanaub park is nice, but depending on what you want, can be costly. If I just wanted a beach, I'd do Paradise.

In Grand Cayman, it's the turtle farm and Stingray City. We did the turtle farm as part of an island tour for $30, admission to the turtle farm alone is $30 and you still need transportation! Obviously, Stingray City isn't for toddlers.

 

[pamrob]

I don't care for most of Cozumel. It's not a place where you want to get off the beaten path. However, if you're up for a beach day, Paradise beach costs a taxi ride. Admission is free, for $10 per person you get the full day's use of all "non-motorized water toys."

Taxis in Cozumel are priced by the cab, not by the person...making them a good deal.

Chankanaub park is nice, but depending on what you want, can be costly. If I just wanted a beach, I'd do Paradise.

In Grand Cayman, it's the turtle farm and Stingray City. We did the turtle farm as part of an island tour for $30, admission to the turtle farm alone is $30 and you still need transportation! Obviously, Stingray City isn't for toddlers.

Perhaps I should have chosen my words more carefully . . . when I said off the beaten path I was really referring to getting away from the port area. There are tons of great beaches which really cater to the cruise crowd. If you look at the cruise reports you will find a few brave individuals who do some touring via rentals. I always like to ask the crew where they go. Seems like on our last cruise the crew told us about an excellent place to have fish in Cozumel. Can't remember the details. Also check the boards at cruise critic.com You'll find lots of recommendations regarding excursions and such listed by port.

 

[Juney]

Are there any Jimmy Buffet fans on board? The three Margueritavilles are at each port on this cruise!

We plan to see all three. Not really big drinkers, just want to see them.

We LOVE Buffet. But our daughter collects Hard Rock guitar pins .. so we will be stopping at the Hard Rocks in each of the three ports. Also, being originally from Destin, Florida, there is absolutely no way we can go to Key West and not have a drink at Hogs Breath. Yes, sadly we our vacation planning based on bars.

 

[Scooby3x1y]

Yes, sadly we are vacation planning based on bars.

Whatever floats your boat....

 

[Scooby3x1y]

Pam,

Your inbox is full!

 

[CRSNDSNY]

I've been to a Margaritaville in Phoenix. Perhaps we'll seek one out in Cozumel...my husband has never been to one.

 

[pamrob]

Pam,

Your inbox is full!

I cleaned it out (a little)., Sorry.