FANTASY FANTASTIC:::September 8, 2012

[technoarch]

The computers on Castaway Cay are tied to the ship thus all you need is your key to the world card (except for the post office, bring cash for this if you want to send post cards from CC).

In terms of port activities we plan to Scuba Dive during our stop at St. Thomas. The company seems really good and the cost is reasonable. It's called the "Certified Scuba in St. Thomas" on the Disney port adventure page.

We also plan to do a snorkel excusion while in St. Maarten.

 

[lmhall2000]

The computers on Castaway Cay are tied to the ship thus all you need is your key to the world card (except for the post office, bring cash for this if you want to send post cards from CC).

In terms of port activities we plan to Scuba Dive during our stop at St. Thomas. The company seems really good and the cost is reasonable. It's called the "Certified Scuba in St. Thomas" on the Disney port adventure page.

We also plan to do a snorkel excusion while in St. Maarten.

Thanks!! That is great to know! We hope to snorkel in St. Maarten, I think I would rather snorkel there than CC....just hope my kids are up for it! I think they would love it! None of us have ever scuba'd...so not sure if we're up for that yet...I keep reading about something called SNUBA? I know they have SNUBA stuff on both islands, just have no clue what it is...need to research it a bit more.

I think we're going to go over to St. John's and hit Trunk Bay for the day...and hit an early beach for snorkeling at St. Maarten then go over to the food place where you can watch the planes come in...there is a beach about a 15 minute walk from there that is not so bad and I think they have snorkel equipment for rental...

So excited!! Now to go get on my treadmill and get in shape, I kind of want to do the 5k on CC as well....I love early morning outside stuff....

Thanks for the tips!!

 

[technoarch]

SNUBA is a hybrid of snorkeling and SCUBA. The air tank floats on a raft or similar device on the surface and you are tethered to a ~20' tube that supplies the air. That way you can reach the bottom of the dive area (or close to it) whithout the worries or some of the hazards of SCUBA. You also do not have to be certified to do SNUBA so thats also a plus.

 

[lmhall2000]

SNUBA is a hybrid of snorkeling and SCUBA. The air tank floats on a raft or similar device on the surface and you are tethered to a ~20' tube that supplies the air. That way you can reach the bottom of the dive area (or close to it) whithout the worries or some of the hazards of SCUBA. You also do not have to be certified to do SNUBA so thats also a plus.

Hmmm....tempting!! I am a huge risk taker...I've climbed a mountain with just a bagel and M&M's in my pack, took classes for a skydiving trip..but missed the fly day...but something about being tethered to tube under water freaks the bejeebies out of me! I am so claustrophobic, I don't know if I could do it! I admire y'all that can! Just take a really good camera with you so you can share the pictures and I can pretend I SNUBA'd or SCUBA'd!

I'll be the body floating on the water afraid to go down into the water!

Thanks for the information!

 

[technoarch]

Oh yes we have a nice small camera (canon s95) with the underwater housing that we used at CC this past trip and it worked great. We normally scuba at EPCOT (Living Seas) and they don't allow personal cameras in the tank so we are excited to use the camera during our scuba excursion at St. Thomas.

I am a little paranoid about the potential weather next year so we will be at WDW right before the cruise so I can get some scuba in at EPCOT in case any of our excursions are cancelled .

 

[lmhall2000]

Oh yes we have a nice small camera (canon s95) with the underwater housing that we used at CC this past trip and it worked great. We normally scuba at EPCOT (Living Seas) and they don't allow personal cameras in the tank so we are excited to use the camera during our scuba excursion at St. Thomas.

I am a little paranoid about the potential weather next year so we will be at WDW right before the cruise so I can get some scuba in at EPCOT in case any of our excursions are cancelled .[/QUOTE

I am leary of the weather, too...it will pretty much determine our port plans...if waters are choppy, we'll forego St. John and just hit Sapphire Beach..hoping we'll be there between storms I really hope my kids like snorkeling..we all snorkeled the frigid waters at Typhoon Lagoon at Disney...they clung to me like magnets and were petrified due to the chilly water...so, when I mention snorkeling they draw from fear!

I had no clue you could scuba at Living Seas! I don't think we've even seen that in all our visits because I guess we thought it was just a restaurant or something..not sure how we missed that!

But I bet it's amazing!

 

[ukmickeyc]

Hi folks. Just booked for this cruise. Soooooo excited This will be our 4th Disney Cruise and we will also be celebrating our 30th anniversary & my birthday whilst on the cruise. Combining this with 7 days at Old Key West with friends we met on our 2nd Disney cruise. Sadly, they can't make the cruise so looking forward to meeting new folks. We are DH, DW & DD aged 18.

 

[malacajo]

Welcome our Sept 8 board!! Cannot wait, so excited! Would be great if we could have a meet in person session for everyone here and get a group pic! You'll have to keep everyone here posted if you have any ideas for shore excursions or any tips...!

 

[lmhall2000]

Welcome our Sept 8 board!! Cannot wait, so excited! Would be great if we could have a meet in person session for everyone here and get a group pic! You'll have to keep everyone here posted if you have any ideas for shore excursions or any tips...!

Welcome UKMickeyC! I'll add you to our cruising list! There are a lot of nice places we all can meet for a Dis Pic! It's usually hectic trying to meet until after the life vest safety drill..we'll try to set up to meet in the area on the Fantasy that is similar to Diversions..I forget the name of it!

Where is Hertferdshire (sp?)? My writing class (15-17 year olds) are eager for me to plan a trip to Oxford to see where some of the authors we're studying this year lived...I'm trying to arrange it but gee the airfare is horrendous!! Last year one of the airlines had a quick sale of $99 RT to London!! Wish we could find that this year! We're trying to make it an education/mission trip...hope it works out...

I just got our water shoes in the mail today, Land's End had them for $6 a pair! Unfortunately, one pair is way too big!! My daughter really wears a size 10 but they were sold out of 10's so I bought the next size available (11.5!) So, if any of you are in need of a pair of 11.5 water shoes, we'll bring them as a gift!

Almost down to 11 months!!

 

[lmhall2000]

Hi folks. Just booked for this cruise. Soooooo excited This will be our 4th Disney Cruise and we will also be celebrating our 30th anniversary & my birthday whilst on the cruise. Combining this with 7 days at Old Key West with friends we met on our 2nd Disney cruise. Sadly, they can't make the cruise so looking forward to meeting new folks. We are DH, DW & DD aged 18.

Ooh! Meant to add Happy Anniversary!! We'll be celebrating our 20th and my birthday is the 13th! I'm planning on getting a birthday cake at a bakery in St. Maarten! We'll give half to your family!!

 

[ukmickeyc]

Hi, thanks for adding us to your list. Sorry, but looks like the aqua shoes may be too big for my daughter, but thanks anyway. Seems a great coincidence we are celebrating birthdays & anniversaries & thanks for the cake offer! Did you know that if you let Disney know, then they will arrange a cake for you - we got them to do this for our friends on our last cruise.

Herefordshire is a county north of London & not too far away but about 90 minutes drive of Oxford which is west of London. Know what you mean about air fares -anything around $800 return seems good. You can fly to Gatwick or Heathrow for best choices but some other regional airports may be cheaper. Depends where you are flying from I suppose!

 

[malacajo]

Ok so now that looks like 3 of us our celebrating anniversaries-we need to celebrate! IMHall, you like to shop at Land's End too it looks like-that's the only place I buy bathing suits from anymore because they are a good bit more conservative than other stores....Even had to buy one for my daughter this summer because we couldn't find one that wasn't a string bikini for a 14 yr old...

 

[lmhall2000]

Hi, thanks for adding us to your list. Sorry, but looks like the aqua shoes may be too big for my daughter, but thanks anyway. Seems a great coincidence we are celebrating birthdays & anniversaries & thanks for the cake offer! Did you know that if you let Disney know, then they will arrange a cake for you - we got them to do this for our friends on our last cruise.

Herefordshire is a county north of London & not too far away but about 90 minutes drive of Oxford which is west of London. Know what you mean about air fares -anything around $800 return seems good. You can fly to Gatwick or Heathrow for best choices but some other regional airports may be cheaper. Depends where you are flying from I suppose!

For some reason they have stopped doing the cakes on the ships, they will still give you a single dessert but it is not birthday cake and for mr 45th, I want a traditional cake!. My grandmother used to make cakes for weddings and birthdays..they were the best! She is 96 now and can't remember much, wish I could get her to make just one more But i found this great bakery on the island so we will stop there and get one!

I think we may have stayed in Herefordshire..a very small village called Bruern? Even the locals did not know where it was! But it was beautiful and one of our best family trips!

Yes! Trying to find anything modest for a teen is a challenge! I shop thrift stores now for jeans...the older levis have more cotton and just last longer!
I just hope they do not outgrow their new swimsuits I bought them!

Just 11 months and a week to go!

 

[lmhall2000]

Are you all going to do anything for your spouses for anniversary? I am thinking about Palo, Remy maybe but so pricey...we did Palo last time, view and server were incredible...I do recommend booking it on a port night, really cool to see the sunset over an island. My husband would like a massage but I do not think I would like it...any other ideas? Thanks!

 

[Spoonces]

My family and I booked our 5th Disney Cruise with this one. This will be our longest to date and we are really looking forward to it! We have never been to any of these islands, the closest is Nassau for us.

It will be myself Tony, DW Lisa, DS Alex (9) and DS Andy who will turn 7 on board!!
We all live in Orlando, I am a Light Designer and my wife works for LaNouba.
So, Hello!

 

[lmhall2000]

My family and I booked our 5th Disney Cruise with this one. This will be our longest to date and we are really looking forward to it! We have never been to any of these islands, the closest is Nassau for us.

It will be myself Tony, DW Lisa, DS Alex (9) and DS Andy who will turn 7 on board!!
We all live in Orlando, I am a Light Designer and my wife works for LaNouba.
So, Hello!

Welcome SPOONCES!!

Does this mean you'll now be Gold? I don't know if we'll ever hit that, but one can dream! Another birthday cruiser!!! Seven is a GREAT age! Happy pre-birthday, what a great way to celebrate I'll add your fam to the cruisers list!

 

[Spoonces]

Welcome SPOONCES!!

Does this mean you'll now be Gold? I don't know if we'll ever hit that, but one can dream! Another birthday cruiser!!! Seven is a GREAT age! Happy pre-birthday, what a great way to celebrate I'll add your fam to the cruisers list!

When we walk off the boat after this cruise, we will be Gold. I guess that means that we will have to book another one some day.

 

[malacajo]

Ok Spoonces, I think I can speak for everyone when I say how envious we are-you just have to pack up your car and drive a little drive to get to port....Oh how I wish!!!! No headaches of freaking out if you leave on thing behind...Sigh sigh...! 11 mos to go for us all!!!

 

[lmhall2000]

Ok Spoonces, I think I can speak for everyone when I say how envious we are-you just have to pack up your car and drive a little drive to get to port....Oh how I wish!!!! No headaches of freaking out if you leave on thing behind...Sigh sigh...! 11 mos to go for us all!!!

I'm not sure that would be good for our family, we would spend all our food money on booking cruises!!

Malacajo! We are going to fix your signature!!! Go to User CP, Edit My Signature...then copy the section that starts with http (leave out the ,<a> stuff at the beginning and end) then hit the little mountain picture (Insert Image) put the http link in the box that pops up and oila! Your siggie picture should show up! If you can access the distickers it's best to get the http: link directly from there...hope this helps!! I know you'd like to see that ticker ticking down!

I'm so hoping they offer a special for our cruise, I am finding more excursion things I'd like to do but they cost $$!

 

[Spoonces]

Ok Spoonces, I think I can speak for everyone when I say how envious we are-you just have to pack up your car and drive a little drive to get to port....Oh how I wish!!!! No headaches of freaking out if you leave on thing behind...Sigh sigh...! 11 mos to go for us all!!!

It is nice but the temptation is strong. At least I am not quite as lured by the theme parks as I used to be, that said we do go almost weekly, thanks to my DS

I grew up in Minnesota and always dreamed of living here, I wanted to be surrounded by and work with the parks. You do get over that eventually but there are the other perks. At least we don't have snow but the Hurricanes can be unnerving...