February 25, 2006 Western Magic Cruisers!!

[jayv1]

I am in Bellingham and we have about a foot of snow now! I can't believe that it is still coming down! They say we are in a lull and that in another hour or so it is going to get heavy again! Doesn't look like a lull to me! I can't even imagine it getting any heavier than it already is!

Less than two weeks now and we will all be partying Mardi Gras style in the warm Caribbean sun!!

Moira

Ps - My family LOVES the Ice Cream Machine!!! We go there all the time in the summer!!

wow, what a small world MoiraRd, the ice cream macine is about 3 mi. from my house! happy shoveling!

 

[Mr508MA]

a few shots for those that are warm
[ just cleaned 12+" & still comin]
Pics never seem to justify snow depth

 

[SallyB]

Has anyone been to the Monkey farm in Coata Maya before? I was reading reviews in Cruise Critic and came across info on a monkey farm there... check this out.. I wanna go!!

Costa maya

June 18th, 2004, 12:49 PM
I visited the Monkey Farm a couple of times about 6 months ago and enjoyed it very much. The very second we arrived, a very curious monkey hopped on our car to check it out. The people who owned the Monkey Farm were very nice and gave us a tour of the place. There were a few monkeys roaming freely around our feet as we walked and one particular monkey would come running up with arms wide open, just begging to be picked up. There are other monkeys that are fenced in because of their dangerous threat to people. There are other animals as well, like eagles, crocodiles, and and some wild boars I can't remember the name of. They don't charge anything to get in to the Monkey Farm but they do accept donations. Overall, I really enjoyed the Monkey Farm and wish I could go back as soon as possible.\
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Uyumil Che (nicknamed the Monkey Farm) (The pics aren't showing) but they have a website
http://www.mayanbeachgarden.com/Monkey_farm.html

It's a fact that nature doesn't always accommodate the desire to dive or snorkel. On those days when the water is too rough, it's the perfect time to visit Uyumil Che, or the "Monkey Farm" as it is referred to in Placer. The monkey farm originated as a place to reintroduce monkeys into the wild. It is illegal in Mexico to make a pet of a wild monkey, without a very expensive permit, but it doesn't stop people from taking them home. You may even see other animals there as well. But this is not a zoo, so the animals you will see are those that have been recently brought in, are injured, or have been determined to be so tame that they will never be successful in the wild.

Map showing location of Uyumil Che

As you can see from this picture of a baby spider monkey that was born at the farm, that they are about as cute as anything you've ever seen. The problem is that people fall in love with these sweet lovable little babies. But like any baby, it soon grows up. As spider monkeys grow up, they can be quite a pain, destroying things, stealing and basically becoming a nuisance. When this happens, people don't know what to do with them, and the monkeys usually end up either chained or in cages. The Monkey farm takes these unwanted monkeys and tries to introduce them back into the wild. The nonprofit organization accepts donations, and is privately funded.
Cheryl is an animal lover and neighbor. She raised the mother of this baby, but has realized that the monkeys belong in the wild and supports the monkey farm's efforts. Just like many human babies, this little fellow won't give up his purple blanket.
The last time I visited (February of 2003) I had a chance to feed this baby. You can see how tiny he is. He held my finger as I fed him one ounce of formula and I noticed that spider monkeys have four fingers with no thumb. Their feet however, have five digits with an opposing "thumb." You can tell by the number of pictures that I was quite enamored of this little guy.
Monkey's aren't the only type of animal you can find at the Monkey farm. At the time I was there, there were over 20 wild javelinas. We often see groups of javelinas crossing the road as we are driving along the jungle road, but I never manage to get a picture of them, so I was pretty happy to get this picture.

 

[BusyMomIANH8115]

a few shots for those that are warm
[ just cleaned 12+" & still comin]
Pics never seem to justify snow depth

Wow, that looks sufficiently cold and wet ...ok all you north easterners you deserve the cruise We actually have a tiny bit of sun today, rather rare lately.....

 

[feiste]

a few shots for those that are warm
[ just cleaned 12+" & still comin]
Pics never seem to justify snow depth

Yuck, I feel for you! Maybe a snow day tomorrow?

 

[kellimomo3]

We have almost two feet of snow here in Tolland, CT!!! The boys are having a blast outside playing in the snow .I am sitting by the fire, filling out our cruise docs !!! Can't wait!!

Kelli

 

[hjensen]

Ok even though were in the north and are used to the snow and cold just like you easteners...I feel sooooooooooooo bad for you!! I hope it stops snowing for you all SOON!!! Try to think of sunshine umbrella drinks and about being on that ship in 2 weeks!

 

[Acctng Lady]

Hi, I just found this board. My husband and I will be on the February 25, 2006 cruise. We also have our daughter, son-in-law, grandson and granddaughter in the party.

While reading some of the posts, I noticed that several people said that we were not going to Cozumel. So far, no one in our party has been told anything different. Our tickets arrived on Friday, and the tickets read Cozumel.

How did some of you find out that the ship was going to Costa Maya, instead?

Also, since none of us has been on a Disney Cruise before, what are some of things we should bring, besides our clothes, etc. I noticed that some people mentioned door signs, pirate patches, bottles of bubbles, etc. If someone could reply and answer my questions, I would appreciate it.

Also, is there anyone else from Virginia on the cruise?

By the way, our grandson is 4 years old, and our grand daughter is 18 months. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

Leta Shannon

 

[BusyMomIANH8115]

Isn't there an utimate packing list somewhere on this board? I know I've seen one I just can't remember where.... Thanks.

I found a list on :
Please change DOT to . to make it work for you
mouseforless[DOT]com/downloads/trip/UltimatePackingList.shtml[/url]

if you go to downloads section on main page they also have some journal pages for kids.
The Monkey farm looks cool, I wonder if DH would have any interest in this if we are too tired of the sunny beaches

 

[Mr508MA]

Yuck, I feel for you! Maybe a snow day tomorrow?

No Snow day Monday, should be all done by midnight (if not sooner here..
Plows will clean up thru night... all will be set for AM

week ahead is sunny everyday and reaching 40s by thurs
Thursday: Morning clouds followed by afternoon sun. Highs in the mid 40s

Focus CRUISE... then when we return, March is almost spring

 

[hjensen]

Hi Acctng Lady and
I will do my best to answer some of your questions! If you go to disneycruiseline.com you will see that it now lists Costa Maya on the itinerary instead of Cozumel. I'm pretty sure that all of cruise docs still say Cozumel but it has been changed!

Some of us DISers make up door signs with magnetic paper and such to put on the outside of our stateroom doors. Some people bring with tiny bottles of bubbles for the children to use at the sail away party. On Wed. night it is Pirate night and some of the passengers will dress up like pirates and there are fireworks later on that night.

I'm sure Jeff or Rick will be able to answer your questions better!! But I tried!

 

[BusyMomIANH8115]

Hi Acctng Lady and

Some of us DISers make up door signs with magnetic paper and such to put on the outside of our stateroom doors. Some people bring with tiny bottles of bubbles for the children to use at the sail away party. On Wed. night it is Pirate night and some of the passengers will dress up like pirates and there are fireworks later on that night.

I'm sure Jeff or Rick will be able to answer your questions better!! But I tried!

Ok Jeff It's up to you . Can you still type after removing all that snow ? Rick has only limited access - if at all - while he is gone. He does however report that it was a lovely winter day, temps in the 30's, in Germany.

See you in 13 days

 

[GDUL]

We just signed up for the Chaccohoben Mayan Ruin tours through DCL while in Costa Maya. Anyone else doing this?

 

[SallyB]

Hi, I just found this board. My husband and I will be on the February 25, 2006 cruise. We also have our daughter, son-in-law, grandson and granddaughter in the party.

While reading some of the posts, I noticed that several people said that we were not going to Cozumel. So far, no one in our party has been told anything different. Our tickets arrived on Friday, and the tickets read Cozumel.

How did some of you find out that the ship was going to Costa Maya, instead?

Also, since none of us has been on a Disney Cruise before, what are some of things we should bring, besides our clothes, etc. I noticed that some people mentioned door signs, pirate patches, bottles of bubbles, etc. If someone could reply and answer my questions, I would appreciate it.

Also, is there anyone else from Virginia on the cruise?

By the way, our grandson is 4 years old, and our grand daughter is 18 months. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

Leta Shannon

Hi Leta!! Welcome to our little group. Jeff (Mr508ma) and myself are from Mass. If you sign into your online reservations at DisneyCruise.com you can see the change from Cozumel to Costa Maya. You just need your confirmation number and date of birth to sign in.

Some bring bubbles to blow when we start sailing away from the pier on the first night The door signs are just whatever you'd like to put on your door. OUr first xcruise we never did anything because we'd never heard of people doing this. But this time we have some Disney stuff to put on our door. They are metal so magnets will work. My hubby is printing a cute Disney design on some magnetic printer paper so we can stick it to our door.
:

There are other little girls in this group for your grandchildren to play with too. The 4 yr. old can play in the toddler play room (free) and for the 18 mo there is a nursery, but I believe there is a charge for that. We are all planning to meet at the pier near the model boat at 11am on Sat. We've all gotten a green Mickey paint swatch from Home Depot to pin to our shirt so we can know it's our little group. On Monday we are planning on celebrating Mardi Gras somewhere. So bring your beads and whatever else to celebrate!! I have some tiara's if you want one.

Wednesday night is a Pirate night Party. If you plan to attend you can dress up.. many do, and have fun. I forget who, but it was said that Disney will give you a red bandana for the occasion.

Monday night is formal night and Thursday night is Semi-formal night.

There are different thigns to do at each port. We've done some research on different ports and found some fun things to do. It's just personal preference. You can book some excursions through Disney, but they are alot more expensive then if you book directly through some of the places on the islands. At Grand Caymen, everyone says not to miss the Stingray swim and snorkeling. My whole family is going on that one, including my little nieces that are 2,4,and 6. The reviews on this say to book with www.CaptainMarvins.com. They come highly recommended!!

At costa Maya there isn't a whole lot to do but if you want a great beach day.. take a $5 taxi into Mahahual and spend the day on the beach. As long as you eat or drink at the establishment in the part of the beach you are on they will be happy. THe beaches there are beautiful. The ones at the port are not very good, and very rocky. But many still go there to lounge on the small beach. If you want to see the Mayan Ruins, the most recommended people to take you are David and Ivan. You can see their site at http://www.chacchobenruins.com . There is a monkey farm on this island as well. It's free of charge to go visit. http://www.mayanbeachgarden.com/Monkey_farm.html

On Key West just be careful of the stores with the grandkids (if they go here), some can be pretty raunchy. On the pier at sunset there are many individual acts that you can watch that sound incredible. The sunsets here are awesome too!! (So I hear..lol) http://www.keywest.com/



Probably too much info.. but I hope this helps
~Sally

 

[SallyB]

Ok Jeff It's up to you . Can you still type after removing all that snow ? Rick has only limited access - if at all - while he is gone. He does however report that it was a lovely winter day, temps in the 30's, in Germany.

See you in 13 days

Ilene you crack me up!!!

 

[SallyB]

We just signed up for the Chaccohoben Mayan Ruin tours through DCL while in Costa Maya. Anyone else doing this?

Hi Gary we just signed up with David and Ivan for this tour. They come highly recommended and it was only $43 a person. http://www.chacchobenruins.com

I can't wait to see this place!!
Sally

 

[Mr508MA]

Hello Acctng Lady... email Kshabare & let her know where you are from & members in your party w/ ages & she'll add you to the list (nearing 200 in here)

Hi Acctng Lady and
I'm sure Jeff or Rick will be able to answer your questions better!! But I tried!

Comon, don't put it all on me, Rick's the expert (and Ilene), along with Kim..
This is my 1st..... Disney Cruise... even though I have been doing my homework. I think you got a few answers...

Ok Jeff It's up to you . Can you still type after removing all that snow ? Rick has only limited access - if at all - while he is gone. He does however report that it was a lovely winter day, temps in the 30's, in Germany.

Ha Ha Ilene 6" on the 12" I blew off already & still coming down.. is lightening up a little.... I hope Disney has "Frozen Drinks of the day", cause I am going to NEED them

 

[Mr508MA]

missed something, Just so we all know who members of this DIS forum is when on the boat, we get Mickey Paint swatch samples at your local Home Depot. Some pin them on, others may be creative

Get the Alien Green

 

[beaner720]

I am SO far behind in reading the threads ... I think I just spent an hour reading through them all!

I, too, was looking forward to Paradise Beach in Cozumel ... but I guess I trust Disney's decision ... they just want to give us the best experience possible. We may do the Mahahual beach in Costa Maya too ... though I was looking at the the Chacchoben ruins too. Someone asked about the Monkey Farm. It sounds neat ... but I did read somewhere that you definitely need INSECT REPELLENT/DEET when you go there ... so be prepared for BUGS! I also heard that it's not well known as some locals had no clue when asked about it ... not sure how true that is ... just repeating what I read.

Pirate Night ... DH and I have matching pirate t-shirts that I purchased on clearance back in October. Also have pirate cap thingies and some jewelry. I believe they give us eye patches on the ship? I think I read a post that someone is bringing a boatload of patches along too ... very nice to share your extras! Everyone is so friendly on here ... can't wait to meet everyone.

Dressing for dinner ... while we're certainly not "dress up" people, I am bringing along a casual pantsuit (pants/vest) and 2 or 3 sundresses. DH will have khaki and black dress pants with a few mix/match shirts ... and one suit jacket and tie for formal night/Palo.

Our friends and their 2 kids going on the cruise with us were visiting us this weekend. We made our alien green name tags and they turned out pretty nice! Thanks for the tips Holli!

My DH is not excited about the cruise yet! E-gads what's wrong with him!

Anyone else schedule any spa services on the ship? The day before we leave I've got a massage and pedicure scheduled. I wanted to do something on the ship so I scheduled a manicure for formal night day. Also may do the rainforest room ... that sounds awful relaxing!

8 more days of work left for me ... but who's counting!

Have a great week everyone!

 

[Aruba]

Gary and Sally- I have booked the tour with DCL and David and Ivan... I am so nervous about not being on a DCL excursion... what if??? I have no idea what time we are getting into Costa Maya.. Ivan said meet at 11:30 what if we do not get there till 11:00- I am wondering if I should just stay with DCL and know I am safe?? I really thought all my planning was done to some extent.