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

[zakerdog]

What am I missing I only see

Manzanillo - 9

Sorry - recount (I told you the site was wonky by times) this time I see 17 for Manzanillo, I notice that at the bottom of the view it sometimes has more pages. I guess my main point was that the deeper I dig into this site the more I find and I just want to let everyone know that there may be more there that meets the eye.

http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/cruises-destinations/shore-excursions/search/

 

[JenKatt]

I'm with poohs4me, I only see 9 in Manzanillo

 

[zakerdog]

I'm with poohs4me, I only see 9 in Manzanillo

Sorry - I stand corrected - I was looking at Manzatlan

9 is correct

 

[JenKatt]

LOL, so'k. Many of us wish we were going to Mazatlan!

 

[LindaBabe]

Morning Linda! I meant to ask earlier but forgot. Will cabs in NY (or anywhere else in the states for that matter) take all 5 of us in the one cab, or will we have to get a maxi-taxi? I read somewhere that children under a certain age can sit on their parents laps. Also, not sure if sitting in the front is the done thing there? People do it here, but I didn't want to assume anything.

Haven't got a clue, sorry! IT's been 15 years since I was in NYC, and only took a cab once. Alone.

Morning all,

I have been reading the comments about excursions and just wonder if everyone is seeing everything that is available? The DCL site is not the most user friendly by times and depending how you access information you may get different snapshots. For example when I look at the PC cruise info going through cruise destinations I see 4 excursions for each port. However if I go in through ships activites I see a different picture.

Not counting Castaway Cay activites I see lots of excursions available. I haven't even had a chance to read them all yet to determine if there is anything there I want to do. I personally would be nervous doing an outside excursion if the return time was anything close to departure. (just me) but Disney excursions are pricey.

Number of excursions so far for each port =

Aruba - 12
Cabo San Luca - 34
Puntarenas - 16
Manzanillo - 9
Puerto Vallarta - 26

Happy planning,

I've seen them all but have a lot of trouble finding them again. Isn't it weird how difficult it is?

 

[jl]

We're doing DLR after PC cruise & want to fly home to Rochester, NY via JetBlue from Long Beach...how's/what's transportation offered from resort to airport? Does anyone have any experiences? Is it a small airport, how far from DLR; also there will be 4 of us. thanks

 

[poohs4me]

Sorry - I stand corrected - I was looking at Manzatlan

9 is correct

No problem. I was wishing (with fingers crossed) that I was missing something.

 

[cardidog]

Well, I guess there is no turning back now! Just sent Dreams my balance due payment---why wait until September 7th---right?

I too have been looking at the port adventures and I am such a big chicken about heights---and I really hate long bus rides---I might not be getting off of the boat in Costa Rica. I wish there were more cultural ventures---there must be museums somewhere---coffee picking just doesn't float my boat. Sigh.

The spa onboard just might be getting the balance of my shore excursion money. Oh well.

 

[JenKatt]

Most of the cabs now are minivans in NYC, so they can take 5 people. You can squeeze into a regular one, but I wouldn't!

 

[ACDSNY]

Disney proper to my house is roughly 75 miles. It's all interstate. January is one of the best times to see the manatees since the bay is so cold. Last year with the unseasonable temps we had, the manatees were literally dying if they left the power plants waters. If you decided to come down to Apollo Beach, let me know, I can reccomend some other things to do/ eat/ etc.
Don't know anything about Blue Springs. Where is it?

Here's the info I found on Blue Springs State Park in Orange City. I'd love to have some more info on the Apollo Beach area too. We don't plan on going into the parks so I'm looking for some other things to do. We'll have a car and love to drive around to see the sites.

 

[KayR]

If you are looking for something to do near Orlando, Florida Eco Safaris. I have never tried this place myself (as my kids are too young), but I've heard good things about it.

http://www.floridaecosafaris.com/

--Kay

 

[LovesToRun]

Well, I guess there is no turning back now! Just sent Dreams my balance due payment---why wait until September 7th---right?

We paid our balance due a couple days ago! So, we're paid in full now, too. It's official!! Can't wait !!

 

[danfromca]

Hello all!

Been reading through all your thoughts on the shore excursions. Took a while! It looks like we will be doing most ports on our own. Unfortunately, like on the med cruise, DCL just isn't offering a great choice for families with very young children.

Was hoping that someone could help with some post-cruise advice/suggestions.

Our flight back to Sydney after the cruise doesn't leave until 1045pm. We're flying with Delta. At Barcelona, they offered at port check in for international Delta flights. However, DCL won't tell us if they will do this at LA which makes it hard for us to plan! There are 14 of us flying home that day, 7 of whom are young children. And we'll have a tonne of luggage with us as well full from our shopping expeditions. (LOVE shopping in the states)

So just wondering if anyone can think of something that we can do or someplace we can go to spend the day before our flight? There's probably something that I'm overlooking or don't know about.

There's a lot to consider: transportation, luggage storage, budget...

If renting a car at the airport is an option, that can handle the luggage storage and transportation issue.

If not, your best bet might be to find a hotel near the airport and use their bell desk. Many hotels don't require you to be a guest to do this (just tip the bellman). Or you can grab a day room on hotwire.

In terms of things to do for the day... that's trickier. There isn't much right near the airport that I know of. But you're not terribly far from the Hollywood area. A lot depends on your budget.

One option to consider: the California Science Center near USC. Lots of cool exhibits. Good for kids. Free admission. IMAX (not free). About a $50 taxi ride from LAX, but you can probably arrange for transportation both ways with one of the shuttle/limo companies for your group without too much trouble.

 

[aan1701]

I did not find it hard at all to find the Port Adventures once I took Jens instructions. On the home page just go to cruises and destinations. Then from the drop down menu select Port Adventures. Once on that page there is a drop down menu for every port DCL goes to. Hope that helped.

 

[Shoshie]

Our plans are:
cabana massage in CC (for me)
snorkel in Aruba
all-day zipline in Costa rica
tequila tasting in PV

All through DCL. -- we only book through the line because, in the event of a cancellation -- which has happened to us in the past - it is much easier to get money back.

In the other ports (cabo and Manzanillo) we'll either stay on the boat or walk around for a bit. We just did Cabo in may.

We had long drives on our last cruise in PV, plus when we did the Med -- going to Rome and Florence were long rides.... but we figure, when is the next time we'd get to Costa Rica?

 

[WDW Princess 71]

Ok for everyone who is still possibly interested in doing Tortuga Island as an on-your-own excursion in Puntarenas, Costa Rica, I have been emailing several tour companies and the one that gets you back to the ship the earliest is Caldera Boating Tours, and they return you to Puntarenas at 5:00 PM. They arrive back to Caldera beach at 4:30 but it is a 25 minute drive from there to Puntarenas, which they transport you for.

I've gone over this in my head a lot, but I just cant seem to justify the stress of possibly being left behind if the ship leaves without us. I wouldnt even know how to begin figuring out how to get back on board, and that isnt something I want to have to figure out. 1 hour is just cutting it too close for my comfort level. How about the rest of you- as far as CR is concerned, if you dont do one of the 1.5-2 hour each way DCL excursions, are you just staying onboard or checking out the beach/tourist strip right there? The drive time to the further excursions is annoying, but at the same time I'm afraid I'm going to miss the unique Costa Rican rainforest and island experience if I dont do anything. What are your thoughts?

 

[shushh]

Most of the cabs now are minivans in NYC, so they can take 5 people. You can squeeze into a regular one, but I wouldn't!

Thank you! Reading things online is never quite the same and up to date as getting information from a real person who his familiar with the area.

There's a lot to consider: transportation, luggage storage, budget...

If renting a car at the airport is an option, that can handle the luggage storage and transportation issue.

If not, your best bet might be to find a hotel near the airport and use their bell desk. Many hotels don't require you to be a guest to do this (just tip the bellman). Or you can grab a day room on hotwire.

In terms of things to do for the day... that's trickier. There isn't much right near the airport that I know of. But you're not terribly far from the Hollywood area. A lot depends on your budget.

One option to consider: the California Science Center near USC. Lots of cool exhibits. Good for kids. Free admission. IMAX (not free). About a $50 taxi ride from LAX, but you can probably arrange for transportation both ways with one of the shuttle/limo companies for your group without too much trouble.

Thank you so much for the detail!

I didn't know that you could use the bell desk of a hotel without getting a room. Do you mind me asking what a reasonable amount to tip is? (we don't tip at all here) We will have approximately 12-14 pieces of luggage.

We were initially going to go to Longbeach but didn't know what to do with all the suitcases. Will check out the Science Centre as well.

 

[WDW Princess 71]

Jen, what are your plans for Cabo? I'm pretty sure it was you who mentioned going to Cabo Wabo? That is something I was interested in too, and I was wondering where Cabo Wabo is in relation to some of the beach excursions offered in Cabo. We also want to make sure we get to the Hard Rock Cafe for our collection. What are your plans?

 

[Tami0220]

Ok for everyone who is still possibly interested in doing Tortuga Island as an on-your-own excursion in Puntarenas, Costa Rica, I have been emailing several tour companies and the one that gets you back to the ship the earliest is Caldera Boating Tours, and they return you to Puntarenas at 5:00 PM. They arrive back to Caldera beach at 4:30 but it is a 25 minute drive from there to Puntarenas, which they transport you for.

I've gone over this in my head a lot, but I just cant seem to justify the stress of possibly being left behind if the ship leaves without us. I wouldnt even know how to begin figuring out how to get back on board, and that isnt something I want to have to figure out. 1 hour is just cutting it too close for my comfort level. How about the rest of you- as far as CR is concerned, if you dont do one of the 1.5-2 hour each way DCL excursions, are you just staying onboard or checking out the beach/tourist strip right there? The drive time to the further excursions is annoying, but at the same time I'm afraid I'm going to miss the unique Costa Rican rainforest and island experience if I dont do anything. What are your thoughts?

Zumatours.net is the company that says they are back at 4pm. Just sent them an email yesterday, but maybe if you contact them too, they will see there are more people interested? Just a thought. I would definitely feel more comfortable with 4pm. They say they leave from Montezuma, but will leave out of other areas.

 

[glindamood]

Ok for everyone who is still possibly interested in doing Tortuga Island as an on-your-own excursion in Puntarenas, Costa Rica, I have been emailing several tour companies and the one that gets you back to the ship the earliest is Caldera Boating Tours, and they return you to Puntarenas at 5:00 PM. They arrive back to Caldera beach at 4:30 but it is a 25 minute drive from there to Puntarenas, which they transport you for.

I've gone over this in my head a lot, but I just cant seem to justify the stress of possibly being left behind if the ship leaves without us. I wouldnt even know how to begin figuring out how to get back on board, and that isnt something I want to have to figure out. 1 hour is just cutting it too close for my comfort level. How about the rest of you- as far as CR is concerned, if you dont do one of the 1.5-2 hour each way DCL excursions, are you just staying onboard or checking out the beach/tourist strip right there? The drive time to the further excursions is annoying, but at the same time I'm afraid I'm going to miss the unique Costa Rican rainforest and island experience if I dont do anything. What are your thoughts?

Even gutsy Gail thinks an hour is cutting it too close - 90 minutes, maybe. I think the spa or something else will call my name that day.