From WDW to DL With Love - January 06, 2011 part 3

[LindaBabe]

Hi, all!

I'm afraid I haven't had time to check in here for MONTHS and I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed. I really don't have time to check back through all the threads and posts to see what might be new, so please forgive me for asking if there's a place with all the info condensed?

. . .

Can some one catch me up to speed so maybe I can go forward from here and not feel compelled to spend the next week trying to read the last 2 threads I missed!

Tracy, read the first page of this thread for the most up to date information.

 

[JenKatt]

So I'm on a conference call that has 1. little to do with me and 2. is boring as all heck. So I decided to see how busy each port is the days we are in port.
Turns out, not busy at all!

Aruba - Us and one Holland America ship
Panama Canal crossing - us and Holland America (different ship from Aruba)
Costa Rica - Just us
Manzanillo - Just us again
Puerto Vallarta - busiest day, us plus one Holland America (a different one from the canal and aruba - so our 3rd HA ship) and a Princess ship
Cabo - us plus one Holland America ship (I think it's the one we cross the canal with - the Statendam)

So what does that mean? Well the ports won't be crazy. Getting a jeep rental in Aruba won't be bad at the terminal. But on the flip side, more stuff might be closed. But since the towns themselves are probably busy with other tourists, I'm not to worried about that.

Back to the conference call I guess

 

[WeLuvDCL]

Hi there,

We have 2 children (ages 8 and 10 at the time of the cruise). I did notice the majority of the excursions listed (so far) have an age limit of either 10 or 12, so that won't work for us because we certainly can't leave our 8 year old son out! I wonder if they chose more adult oriented excursions because of the time of year... maybe there won't be a lot of kids on this cruise?? Who knows...

Hi Kathy,
I'm not sure how adventurous your children are but I'm organizing a group zip line excursion in Puerta Vallarta. Here is the website http://www.canopytours-vallarta.com/ They allow children 6 and up to zipline and one of the guides will zip with them if they are too scared to go on their own. Also, if one (or both) of them change their mind at the last minute, a guide will take them down to the water and animal area. We have over 30 people that wanted to book this excursion and about 6-8 others (myself included) that are just going to the water and animal area. They offer a full refund if our ship is unable to dock in PV for any reason.

Here are the prices:
Adults (over 12) in Tour (shuttle included) $79.00 (25% off if our group is over 25 people)
Children (6-12) in Tour (shuttle included) $58.00 (25% off if our group is over 25 people)
Adults (5 and over) with Shuttle (tour not included) $ 20.00
Children (under 5) with Shuttle (tour not included) $ 0.00


It seems like a lot of people have had time to review the DCL excursions and are not impressed so I will be contacting the zip line company either tomorrow or this weekend to get the group started. I'll post the info once it's finalized and also PM LindaBabe and TigFanJeff to have it put in post #1 of this thread and the website.

Thanks again Jen for telling me about this!

 

[KayR]

So I'm on a conference call that has 1. little to do with me and 2. is boring as all heck. So I decided to see how busy each port is the days we are in port.
Turns out, not busy at all!

Aruba - Us and one Holland America ship
Panama Canal crossing - us and Holland America (different ship from Aruba)
Costa Rica - Just us
Manzanillo - Just us again
Puerto Vallarta - busiest day, us plus one Holland America (a different one from the canal and aruba - so our 3rd HA ship) and a Princess ship
Cabo - us plus one Holland America ship (I think it's the one we cross the canal with - the Statendam)

So what does that mean? Well the ports won't be crazy. Getting a jeep rental in Aruba won't be bad at the terminal. But on the flip side, more stuff might be closed. But since the towns themselves are probably busy with other tourists, I'm not to worried about that.

Back to the conference call I guess

Slightly running off at an angle, but this reminded me that, we went to Cabo several years ago (before kids), we were told that when the cruise ships come in the prices in the market place doubles (therefore we were better off buying when there were no cruise ships in). So if you plan on buying something at the local markets, haggle hard!

-Kay

 

[DisneyCruiser83]

I do know one of my excursions will be the SPA on board! hehe!!

-Kathy

Me too! It's funny, because DH and I don't go to the spa at all throughout the year, but it is one of the things we look forward to most each cruise.

 

[JenKatt]

Add Jeff and I to the spa list! We're putting money aside now for it, including time in a spa villa (best.money.spent.ever) I'm going for a wrap this time too, haven't done it in awhile, but I LOVE them!

 

[Tracyvp]

Tracy, read the first page of this thread for the most up to date information.

Thanks, Linda, that was helpful and I DID start there but apparently didn't read all the way to the bottom! I'm a little dense so I still have a couple of questions.

The cruise website will have a column for FE participants. There will NOT be a seperate FE list So am I supposed to PM Jeff and add to my current info that we want to participate in the FE? I'm not 100% sure what this statement is trying to convey.

Tinksmom is organizing a "bracelet" group - especially useful for those who don't want to lug FE gifts but would still like to participate! From this do I assume that you only get a bracelet if you participate in the FE, or is this group doing bracelets for everyone?

Glindamood is organizing the whiteboard FE group. If you would like to participate in the whiteboard group pm Gail - another idea especially useful for those who don't want to lug FE gifts but would still like to participate! Same question as above.

And a NEW question: We are cruising with a friend and her dd who have never cruised before and who is a little overwhelmed by the whole DIS thing because she's dealing with a lot of family issues right now But I know she will want to be involved in the FE and other things as it gets closer. I KNOW she loves the idea of making a FE and we already talked a bit about some gift ideas.

Would it be best to sort of "link" them with us (they're in the statreoom next door) so they can be included in the count, then when and if she is ready to go out on her own she can, but if she doesn't she'll still have the fun experiences on the ship?

 

[Tracyvp]

For those of you doing the Canopy Zipline tour in PV, is there a particular reason you chose PV instead of Costa Rica for the Zipline tour? I've heard that ziplining in CR is spectacular and since we did the Zipline in Mexico last time we were thinking of doing it in CR but I thought maybe you all knew something I didn't!

 

[willoughbyclan]

I have not read anyone organizing something like this (correct me if I am wrong). But, DH and I are planning on renting a jeep in Aruba. So, if we can get some people also interested, I could look into it. It sounds great!

Good Morning everyone!
Jen, I would have freaked out loosing our stuff! I am definitely the one in charge on our trips.

We would definitely be interested and would need 2 jeeps. We really enjoyed this last cruise PC and hope to spend more time touring this time,

 

[willoughbyclan]

For those of you doing the Canopy Zipline tour in PV, is there a particular reason you chose PV instead of Costa Rica for the Zipline tour? I've heard that ziplining in CR is spectacular and since we did the Zipline in Mexico last time we were thinking of doing it in CR but I thought maybe you all knew something I didn't!

I too would like to see this answered as we also did the canopy zipline in PV in 2008. Really enjoyed it but maybe something a little different this time........

 

[JenKatt]

The decision for me to do it in PV versus CR was easy, there's a whole lot more to do in CR, than PV. I wouldn't give up going to a volcano to go ziplining, or any of the other excursions in CR. While the ziplining in CR might have better scenery, I don't go ziplining for the scenery! plus the place were are going to in PV has an option to let a whole family go on the tour, even if some aren't zipping. So my mom and son can go with us and they'll go to the zoo and water area while we zip.
However, YMMV!

 

[LovesToRun]

Hi Kathy,
I'm not sure how adventurous your children are but I'm organizing a group zip line excursion in Puerta Vallarta. Here is the website http://www.canopytours-vallarta.com/ They allow children 6 and up to zipline and one of the guides will zip with them if they are too scared to go on their own. Also, if one (or both) of them change their mind at the last minute, a guide will take them down to the water and animal area. We have over 30 people that wanted to book this excursion and about 6-8 others (myself included) that are just going to the water and animal area. They offer a full refund if our ship is unable to dock in PV for any reason.

Here are the prices:
Adults (over 12) in Tour (shuttle included) $79.00 (25% off if our group is over 25 people)
Children (6-12) in Tour (shuttle included) $58.00 (25% off if our group is over 25 people)
Adults (5 and over) with Shuttle (tour not included) $ 20.00
Children (under 5) with Shuttle (tour not included) $ 0.00


It seems like a lot of people have had time to review the DCL excursions and are not impressed so I will be contacting the zip line company either tomorrow or this weekend to get the group started. I'll post the info once it's finalized and also PM LindaBabe and TigFanJeff to have it put in post #1 of this thread and the website.

Thanks again Jen for telling me about this!

This looks REALLY fun! Ziplining was something I really wanted to do and was hoping it'd work in Costa Rica, but when I saw the age limit was 12 (I think) for Costa Rica, I was a bit bummed.

Let me talk to DH. It was me that really wanted to do this.... Need to talk to the rest of the family to see if they'd be up to it. I will get back to you ASAP!

One question... do you know how long the shuttle ride is from the ship to the zip line area? I couldn't find that on the site. And, do you know how long (hours total) the tour is from when we leave the ship until when we get back on?

Thanks so much!! Get back to you soon...

Kathy

 

[LovesToRun]

Hi All,

for those of you going to WDW before the cruise, my TA was able (somehow) to get us the Free Dining PLUS the special 25% off resort room rates.

I had thought it was one or the other, but she was able to get us both... awesome of a deal... saved us a TON of money!

You might want to check into trying to get both deals at the same time if you're going before hand.

Also, with the free dining, it says Jan 1 - 5, but my TA said there was no reason they can't give the free dining for like Jan 2 - 5 or Jan 3 - 5, etc.

Check with your TA's (if you have a TA) and see what they can finagle you if you're going to WDW.

-Kathy

 

[LovesToRun]

This looks REALLY fun! Ziplining was something I really wanted to do and was hoping it'd work in Costa Rica, but when I saw the age limit was 12 (I think) for Costa Rica, I was a bit bummed.

Let me talk to DH. It was me that really wanted to do this.... Need to talk to the rest of the family to see if they'd be up to it. I will get back to you ASAP!

One question... do you know how long the shuttle ride is from the ship to the zip line area? I couldn't find that on the site. And, do you know how long (hours total) the tour is from when we leave the ship until when we get back on?

Thanks so much!! Get back to you soon...

Kathy

One more thing... just talked to DH about this. Our kids right now are staying with their grandparents and we'll be picking them up on Friday. DH is interested in doing this, but he really wants us to talk to our kids to see if they'd be interested (I totally think they will, and I would commit without even asking them). But, DH wants to ask them and show them the website, etc, before we commit because he doesn't want to commit and then find out they are scared to do this, etc.

So, I won't be able to get back to you until Friday evening! I hope that is ok. If you really do need to know before Friday evening, then no worries at all!!

-Kathy

 

[Tami0220]

For those of you doing the Canopy Zipline tour in PV, is there a particular reason you chose PV instead of Costa Rica for the Zipline tour? I've heard that ziplining in CR is spectacular and since we did the Zipline in Mexico last time we were thinking of doing it in CR but I thought maybe you all knew something I didn't!

I chose to zip in PV because there was other stuff to do in CR. Also, my DH will NOT zip and the PV version gave us an option for him to park himself at the tequila bar. Beside going to Walmart in PV there wasnt anything else I wanted to do.

 

[aan1701]

So I'm on a conference call that has 1. little to do with me and 2. is boring as all heck. So I decided to see how busy each port is the days we are in port.
Turns out, not busy at all!

Aruba - Us and one Holland America ship
Panama Canal crossing - us and Holland America (different ship from Aruba)
Costa Rica - Just us
Manzanillo - Just us again
Puerto Vallarta - busiest day, us plus one Holland America (a different one from the canal and aruba - so our 3rd HA ship) and a Princess ship
Cabo - us plus one Holland America ship (I think it's the one we cross the canal with - the Statendam)

So what does that mean? Well the ports won't be crazy. Getting a jeep rental in Aruba won't be bad at the terminal. But on the flip side, more stuff might be closed. But since the towns themselves are probably busy with other tourists, I'm not to worried about that.

Back to the conference call I guess

Cool list Jen thanks. It will be fun to see the other ships. With any luck we will be in a few horn battles. I would like to add to your list if I may. Castaway Cay. The Magic and the Dream. Hey one can hope. I do have some info but it is not firm yet. Also my friend at DCL told me some info on the theme nights, days they will offer brunch and tea at Palo ( it has not been determined that it will happen in the canal) and so forth may come across their desk next week. When I get the info I will pass it on. So after looking at the excursions with DW we have made a cost cutting move. Only one per person for the cruise. After talking about it, looks like we can easily save about $500-$600 by doing this. That is a good chunck of change. If I do one at all it will be the rafting in Costa Rica. Not thrilled with the 2 hour bus ride each way but it looks like nothing is close to were we dock. If I don't do it I will pass this on to DW. And then she can take two excursions. We just figure right now our tips will be about $300-400 for the both of us, not sure what the bar bill will be, but my guess would be somewhere in the $30 a day range. Count in some PC merch something had to be cut. Since we have been to all but Manzinilo and Costa Rica, we see no reason to spend more on excursions in places we have been. Oh and we are only going to do DCL ones. Both DW and I are paranoid that something will happen while out on tour, if that is the case the ship will not leave us stuck in the port.

 

[LindaBabe]

Hi Kathy,
I'm not sure how adventurous your children are but I'm organizing a group zip line excursion in Puerta Vallarta. Here is the website http://www.canopytours-vallarta.com/ They allow children 6 and up to zipline and one of the guides will zip with them if they are too scared to go on their own. Also, if one (or both) of them change their mind at the last minute, a guide will take them down to the water and animal area. We have over 30 people that wanted to book this excursion and about 6-8 others (myself included) that are just going to the water and animal area. They offer a full refund if our ship is unable to dock in PV for any reason.

Here are the prices:
Adults (over 12) in Tour (shuttle included) $79.00 (25% off if our group is over 25 people)
Children (6-12) in Tour (shuttle included) $58.00 (25% off if our group is over 25 people)
Adults (5 and over) with Shuttle (tour not included) $ 20.00
Children (under 5) with Shuttle (tour not included) $ 0.00


It seems like a lot of people have had time to review the DCL excursions and are not impressed so I will be contacting the zip line company either tomorrow or this weekend to get the group started. I'll post the info once it's finalized and also PM LindaBabe and TigFanJeff to have it put in post #1 of this thread and the website.

Thanks again Jen for telling me about this!

OOps! I should have read all the way through before I posted it on page one . Anyway, you're there. If there's new information, I will just update it.

 

[granmaz]

Cool list Jen thanks. It will be fun to see the other ships. With any luck we will be in a few horn battles. I would like to add to your list if I may. Castaway Cay. The Magic and the Dream. Hey one can hope. I do have some info but it is not firm yet. Also my friend at DCL told me some info on the theme nights, days they will offer brunch and tea at Palo ( it has not been determined that it will happen in the canal) and so forth may come across their desk next week. When I get the info I will pass it on. So after looking at the excursions with DW we have made a cost cutting move. Only one per person for the cruise. After talking about it, looks like we can easily save about $500-$600 by doing this. That is a good chunck of change. If I do one at all it will be the rafting in Costa Rica. Not thrilled with the 2 hour bus ride each way but it looks like nothing is close to were we dock. If I don't do it I will pass this on to DW. And then she can take two excursions. We just figure right now our tips will be about $300-400 for the both of us, not sure what the bar bill will be, but my guess would be somewhere in the $30 a day range. Count in some PC merch something had to be cut. Since we have been to all but Manzinilo and Costa Rica, we see no reason to spend more on excursions in places we have been. Oh and we are only going to do DCL ones. Both DW and I are paranoid that something will happen while out on tour, if that is the case the ship will not leave us stuck in the port.

I'm looking forward to hearing any news on future plans!

What is Manzanillo like? Can we walk around from the port area? There doesn't seem to be any excursions I'm interested in, and we really won't be doing many at all like you. I'm thinking Costa Rica and perhaps Cabo for excursions. If the weather is good at PV then we will walk along to the town, or taxi one way. We just wandered locally last time.

 

[CruznLexi]

I have glanced at shore excursions and are not impressed. Husband and I prefer to do things by ourselves and not the cattle vans. For Costa Rica and other ports not so sure. He used to work on Majesty of the Seas so knows Aruba very good and the rental is $83 and that was the jeep and the lowest price.

 

[WeLuvDCL]

The decision for me to do it in PV versus CR was easy, there's a whole lot more to do in CR, than PV. I wouldn't give up going to a volcano to go ziplining, or any of the other excursions in CR. While the ziplining in CR might have better scenery, I don't go ziplining for the scenery! plus the place were are going to in PV has an option to let a whole family go on the tour, even if some aren't zipping. So my mom and son can go with us and they'll go to the zoo and water area while we zip.
However, YMMV!

Ditto! Never been to CR and would love to do a different excursion there (since I will not be ziplining, only DH). I know I'm not missing anything in PV.