Disney Magic - Dec 10, 2011 - Western Caribbean Cruise - Sun, Fun and Beaches!

[Sinderelly]

I wasn't going to stay up and book anything tonight, but it turned out I took a 3 hr nap earlier so I wasn't sleepy anyway.

I booked Palo Brunch, and on a whim, decided on Palo Dinner. Hopefully DH won't mind. He loves breakfast foods, so I figured brunch would be safe. He's a pretty picky eater, though, and I am concerned how he will handle fancy food for dinner. Oh well! I figure, if he leaves hungry, there is plenty of other food he can eat, and we will have paid for me/the experience. Right??

I also finally decided on doing the Nautilus (semi-sub) and Reef Snorkel excursion on Grand Cayman through DCL. That will give us a bit of what I want to do, and a bit of what DH wants to do, with plenty of time leftover. Something I haven't been able to figure out is... where to go after that? I am assuming/hoping we can just find a (free) beach area and hang out. Is this possible?

During online check-in, I saw that they asked very specific questions about our travel plans, and won't let me get a port arrival time until I answer them. I was hoping to get our time first, and then book a flight/hotel/transportation. Is it a bad idea to put in approximations to get a time, and then correct it once I book everything? This is all so new to me!

And finally... we talked about post-cruise activities. DH is vehemently opposing WDW for some reason, though I'd love to go for a few days and enjoy the holiday decor and such. He did agree to go to Universal Studios, which I am 100% cool with since I have been DYING to visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter! We are thinking of going over Saturday after debarkation, checking in to one of the US on-site hotels and getting our "cut-in-line pass" (whatever they call it there), enjoying the parks, stay the night, take advantage Sunday morning with the hour early access to WWoHP, then fly out Sunday evening. I think the shortened 2 days will be cutting it close, but with the fast pass things and the fact that DH does not like rollercoasters, I think we will see as much as we want in that time frame. This is the first trip to US for either of us; any thoughts on our plans?

Y'all will LOVE Palo brunch. There is such a variety of foods I'm sure your DH will find something he really likes.
No WDW after the cruise.
We are doing MVMCP after the cruise.

 

[aymekae]

Carmen, looks like you're pretty much set! We've got a similar itinerary... I ended up doing Palo brunch on Key West day and Palo dinner on the last sea day. Also doing Nachi Cocom and massages. AND we are doing the Nautilus along with snorkeling first thing in the morning, 7:30 am - 9:30 am.

Thanks Kathy! I am really looking forward to some fine dining. We eat out a LOT, but not at nice places like that. I told DH he had to wear a jacket and he was like but he will get over it. On that note... what is the dress code for brunch? Seems too early in the day to get all dressed up! I am assuming we still need to dress nice, but not all fancy like we would for dinner? I dress up maybe once or twice a year to attend a wedding, so it is not the norm for me.

I think I will work on booking our plane tickets tonight.

 

[Sinderelly]

Carmen, looks like you're pretty much set! We've got a similar itinerary... I ended up doing Palo brunch on Key West day and Palo dinner on the last sea day. Also doing Nachi Cocom and massages. AND we are doing the Nautilus along with snorkeling first thing in the morning, 7:30 am - 9:30 am.

Thanks Kathy! I am really looking forward to some fine dining. We eat out a LOT, but not at nice places like that. I told DH he had to wear a jacket and he was like but he will get over it. On that note... what is the dress code for brunch? Seems too early in the day to get all dressed up! I am assuming we still need to dress nice, but not all fancy like we would for dinner? I dress up maybe once or twice a year to attend a wedding, so it is not the norm for me.

I think I will work on booking our plane tickets tonight.

DH wore a nice polo shirt and Dockers to brunch and I wore a dressy top and black capris. I think your DH can wear a dress shirt (button up) and dress pants to Palo dinner without a jacket. From DCL website:

Dress Code
At Palo, dress pants and shirt or jacket is required for men and a dress or pantsuit is required for women. Please no jeans, shorts, capri pants, flip-flops or tennis shoes.

 

[Sinderelly]

Yay for booking an un-populated cruise! We got everything we wanted.

I stayed up last night and booked our activities. I was VERY happy to see that things were pretty wide open! We finally have our plans nailed down. Just need to make all the appropriate reservations now.

Thursday
Leaving town and staying over in Chicago at the airport so we can catch an EARLY flight.

Friday
Flight leaves at 6:30 a.m., so the girls will be pretty tired. Gets into Orlando around 10:00 a.m. Limo to Country Inn and Suites for some much needed rest and relaxation.

Saturday
Port arrival check-in time of 11:00 am.

Sunday (our 10th Anniversary!)
Key West day. We'll try to get off the ship early and catch the CityView trolley. We'll hop on/hop off at a few places, and will get back to the ship early for a late lunch and some swimming. PALO for our anniversary dinner.

Monday
Nothing scheduled for this sea day. We'll probably try to catch a movie (hopefully they'll be playing the muppet movie?)

Tuesday
We booked the 9:00 a.m. Nautilus in Grand Cayman. Depending on how much we like the port (and how crazy buzy it is) we might go right back on board after the excursion to enjoy the ship. OR we might walk around a shop.

Wednesday
Today is the day for the beach! We reserved Nachi Cocum in Cozumel. Beach massages for both of us.

Thursday
Palo Brunch at 10:30 a.m. Lazy day!

Friday
Time at the family beach at CC. Lunch at Cookies. Other than that I'm not sure.

Saturday
Limo to airport. Flight back to Chicago. Staying at The Drake this night in downtown Chicago and hitting up the American Girl store. Maybe also the Shed Aquarium?

Sunday
Back to reality!

Your itinerary sounds wonderful. I didn't think about the Muppet Movie that would be great if they are showing it onboard.

 

[CitaPita]

Your itinerary sounds wonderful. I didn't think about the Muppet Movie that would be greta if they are showing it onboard.

Unfortunately I think my itenerary is already changing!

We just can't seem to decide what to do after the cruise. We haven't booked the flight yet, so we keep waffling between going home immediately and just having some fun closer to home, or staying in Orlando and doing something fun there. We're not sure we'll want the stress (or expense) of WDW post-cruise.

That said, I've been toying with two options. One, booking Port Orleans for a night, riding the monorail for a while and taking the boat to Downtown Disney. Maybe enjoying some of the activities at the resort. (Not sure if this option is worth the investment of the room since we won't be making use of the magic hours?)

OR staying at some other type of resort off property. I think we'd have to rent a minivan if we decided to do this.

Any other ideas or suggestions? This decision is driving me batty!

 

[Sinderelly]

Unfortunately I think my itenerary is already changing!

We just can't seem to decide what to do after the cruise. We haven't booked the flight yet, so we keep waffling between going home immediately and just having some fun closer to home, or staying in Orlando and doing something fun there. We're not sure we'll want the stress (or expense) of WDW post-cruise.

That said, I've been toying with two options. One, booking Port Orleans for a night, riding the monorail for a while and taking the boat to Downtown Disney. Maybe enjoying some of the activities at the resort. (Not sure if this option is worth the investment of the room since we won't be making use of the magic hours?)

OR staying at some other type of resort off property. I think we'd have to rent a minivan if we decided to do this.

Any other ideas or suggestions? This decision is driving me batty!

We are staying in Orlando 2 nights after the cruise. We booked the Hyatt Grand Cypress for $65/night via Priceline. We are going to MVMCP on Dec 18 (last night of the party) Just had to have a little bit of WDW. We wanted to enjoy the holiday decor since neither one of us has been to WDW during the holidays. We will also do a little Christmas shopping, have a holiday sandwich at EOS and eat at Sweet Tomatoes.
...So I vote for staying in Orlando after the cruise. Plenty to do there and it will be warm (hopefully).

 

[CitaPita]

We are staying in Orlando 2 nigjhts after the cruise. We booked the Hyatt Grand Cypress for $65/night via Priceline.

Sinderelly, that is a fantastic deal! Did you do the name your own price? If so, do you mind sharing the star level and area? We typically use Priceline everytime we travel. I'm trying to get the Country Inn through the bidding option. No luck yet, but I try every couple of days, so I'm sure I'll get it eventually.

BTW, you have got to be bursting with excitment. You'll be on the Dream in less than a month! We expect a full report when you return.

 

[Sinderelly]

Yes, we got the Hyatt by naming our own price. It is in the RESORT level. My advice is to pick an area that has either resort, 5 star or maybe 4 star but don't go below that. There are some 3 1/2 star hotels in the DTD area that have some bad reviews. Some areas do not have 5 star or resort level hotels. Don't forget if you bid on a resort level there are additional resort fees to be paid at the hotel. I just looked at the listing of hotels first to make sure we'd be happy with all listed in the star level we were bidding. I picked the lowest price hotel in that level and bid about 40%.
Cape Canaveral is MUCH easier to bid. There are only 3 hotels in the Cape Canaveral area. You can't go wrong. The CIS is the lowest at 2 1/2 stars. We got it for $65 the night before the cruise. DO NOT go outside the Cape Canaveral area as you will risk getting something dumpy
I hope you find a great deal! Please let us all know what you get.

 

[CitaPita]

Thank you, Sinderelly! I'll use your tips and try to get some similarly awesome deals.

 

[KikiMouse]

I know, me too!! According to the roll call (Thanks Kiki) there are currently 9 staterooms doing the FE. 17 adults (my count) and 11 kids (my count)

I think I will plan on these numbers but throw in a few extras in case. I would really like to know the slogan as I would like to include that into my gifts somehow. If you haven't voted please do so!!

Carmen, How exciting to have the cruise paid and only a couple more days until you can access online booking!! I hope you are able to get everything you want!!

Hi Guys, yes so far there are 9 cabins participating. I've sent a PM to three more people who were interested in FE back in April, and june but I've not heard from them yet.

In terms of the slogan:
the frontrunner is "Mickey's Mates cruise Magically" followed by "Mickey's Very Merry Cruisers"
There are still some cabins that have not voted yet. Someone suggested that we set the deadline for the slogan vote at Oct 1st. What do you guys think? I know some of you woulod like to know to do your FE gifts and magnets.

For those participating in the FE exchange, I believe we decided on Nov. 1st, right?

Sorry I've been out of pocket for awhile, but I've been traveling and this is the first chance I've had to take a look at this.
Sounds like you have some really great excursions planned!
Kiki

 

[Sinderelly]

We are an awesome group no matter what we call ourselves

Oct 1 and Nov 1 sound great for deadlines. OKay everyone who hasn't voted. Do your patriotic duty and get out there and vote!

 

[HannahNoahMommy]

I keep going to hit the "like" button, and then forgetting this isn't Facebook. Lol! So yes, vote! I'm really hoping it's not the merry one since we don't celebrate Christmas (no Hanukkah sayings )... But we'll go with the flow.

Anyway, we are getting more & more excited! We still haven't booked any excursions yet.... Trying to save $$$. And life has been to hectic to have conversations about it. Hopefully we'll be able to make some decisions some time this weekend. I'm enjoying hearing what everyone else is doing.

-Renee

 

[CitaPita]

I keep going to hit the "like" button, and then forgetting this isn't Facebook. Lol!

I have thought the same things on several occasions! Too funny. It's October now, just two more months! So is our name decided, then?

 

[KikiMouse]

Updates and Notes:

Hi Guys, well we have a clear winner for the slogan!
Mickeys Mates cruise Magically got the most votes.

Do we want a graphic to go with the slogan? I looked through one of the threads for one and found a couple that might work- I don't have time to post them right now- as soon as I get a little time, I'll do this.

Also, I'm adding any notes or special requests for the FE Group under their listing on the roll call. If you want to add anything just PM me!

Cutoff date for FE exchange- Nov 1st.

Kiki

 

[WDW Enabler]

Kikimouse,
thank you so much for completing and keeping up with the roll call. DH volunteered us before he knew his schedule and I am on the computer each night but it is to do school work and not fun disboard stuff. He will hopefully be home soon to get to caught up on what is going on. I love the slogan for the cruise.
Our DD is Taylor and she will be 6 if you want to update that information for roll call.
I am so ready for the cruise to get here, but haven't even started to get things ready.
I think that there are days I need a few extra hours.
thank you again Kikimouse.
I promise we are fun people and love the disboards, but DH really is the enabler and keeps things going around here.
Rose

 

[KikiMouse]

Kikimouse,
thank you so much for completing and keeping up with the roll call. DH volunteered us before he knew his schedule and I am on the computer each night but it is to do school work and not fun disboard stuff. He will hopefully be home soon to get to caught up on what is going on. I love the slogan for the cruise.
Our DD is Taylor and she will be 6 if you want to update that information for roll call.
I am so ready for the cruise to get here, but haven't even started to get things ready.
I think that there are days I need a few extra hours.
thank you again Kikimouse.
I promise we are fun people and love the disboards, but DH really is the enabler and keeps things going around here.
Rose

Thanks, Rose! I knew you were really busy, it was crazy for me when I was in grad school too!
In terms of a FE spreadsheet, do you guys still want to do one in google docs?
Thanks, Kiki

 

[KikiMouse]

what about something like this?
I need to work on adding the slogan...

 

[KikiMouse]

Can anyone add the slogan? (see above)
I don't have photoshop...Thanks, Kiki

 

[mareeld86]

here you go

 

[MandyO]

This Disney Rookie is in need of your help!

It is my first time to a Disney Cruise- any booking/scheduling suggestions that you would like to offer if you've been before?! We will be traveling with a 3,4, 7,8 year old.

Any excursionsor onboard activities that are a "Must"?!

Also, can anyone suggest where I can buy a fish exchange holder or thingy?! I am the uncraftiest uncreative person known to man.

I'm also loving packing ideas/suggestions since I am a 'Type A Plan Ahead Kind of Girl'.

Also, I've been reading that there are discounts if you book another cruise on the boat... what is the savings? Do you have to preselect the dates/locations- Is this worth it?!

This is our first family vacation ever and we want to have an experience that will be amazing and memorable!