How Exotic Can A Western (Cruise) Get?

[loribell]

But I can't believe Ally wouldn't be happy on Royal Caribbean. Unless she's in this "It MUST be Disney" mindset, but I really just don't think it's worth paying twice as much for Disney.

I believe Janet's son is 14 (or at least was at some point on the thread!).

Well then I will take your word for it. When we get ready to cruise I am coming to you.

 

[marciemi]

Well, Lori, I'm certainly not an expert - especially about 9 year old girls!

I'm just always surprised at how "cult-like" a following DCL has - similar to how some of the folks on these boards act about Disney versus Universal, you get some of the same from the DCL versus any other cruise line folks. Like it's a sin to admit anyone else might be as good or better than Disney. But we did Big Red Boat (Premier Cruise Lines) with the boys first before they folded, paid less than half what we paid on DCL and had a much better time. Also thought Royal Caribbean was better. But we LOVE Princess and if we did another cruise, would definitely do that. But with kids they'd be more limited as to the number of kids on board and the activities. But I think my kids would enjoy meeting and hanging with 10 kids more than 1000!

On our DCL cruise (in early December!), there were like 2500 people on the ship and 1000 of them were kids! It was just overload. Going to the clubs was a major scene. Yes, my kids were younger (5-8 at the time), but they didn't care for the "scan your wristband" to get in and out. Plus there were a zillion counselors so they never saw familiar faces -either from kids or staff. Seems like on other cruises lines, they got a chance to know everyone more. I don't think there's any time to go on DCL and not have a ton of kids. It was just too much for my guys.

But if you do become serious about a cruise, I really recommend cruisecritic.com. There you can hear the good, the bad and the ugly. Just keep in mind that DCL groupies are a bit more "clique-y" than any of the other boards. Seems like if you're on the RCCI board, people can reasonably express pros and cons of all the cruise lines. If you're on the DCL board and mention something bad about DCL (or something good about another line), well, it's like saying Uni is better than Disney here on the TPA&S boards!

 

[JawsCPA]

Janet - enjoying your trippie. Love the pics. So far, it sounds like a nice time. Hope to see the water pics soon.

 

[keishashadow]

barb - when DH does "get mad" it's more of a silent treatment (that i hate w/a passion); outside the family get "special treatment" always said it's the quiet ones you need to watch out for when they're angry.

youngest is finally 14 (gave up trying to pass him off as a child on the DP a few years ago ; shameful lol)

At the risk of repeating myself, carnival made me an offer I couldn't refuse! This cruise (via a military discount and traveling low season) was

2/3 the price of a lesser-type balcony on DCL, more than made up for the loss of magic ; way better port selection too - nassau is not my fav. Hope to just spend the day @ Atlantis area next time.

however, if all things were considered equal (including price); i'd pick DCL for overall quality/customer service.

Also, hate to admit it; i try to book when most children are IN skool. I hate unsupervised (small) children running amuck (at the buffets, yuk) & especially when water is involved -makes me nervous for their safety and I cannot relax.

 

[keishashadow]

Janet - enjoying your trippie. Love the pics. So far, it sounds like a nice time. Hope to see the water pics soon.

thanx - should've got the CDs; just that mine rarely come out well. This time almost all of them were fine (used all Fuji this time, think they're def. better for us than Kodak)

 

[AlexandNessa]

What an old curmudgeon that guy was. Hmpphh. Doesn't he know you are a friendly DISer?!

How did you do with the patch? I think they work very well for motion sickness (and hangovers), but I found that they left my mouth intolerably dry, and I couldn't suck down enough water. Also, since I have a habit of pushing my hair behind my ears and then rubbing my eyes, my pupils dilated to the size of dimes and I couldn't see squat!

Agree with you about the Disney cruise pricing! Mike and I would've canceled had they not made our deposit non-refundable. They are quite expensive!

Upload those water camera pics! Can't wait to see them!

 

[Laurabearz]

Great Report! Cant wait to read the rest of it AND see those underwater Camera shots!

 

[keishashadow]

dh has promised this weekend for the pics

jodie - only problem with the patch was when i tried to "stretch" on of them over three days...got a rash to reward my cheapness

didn't have a problem with motion sickness until i got a virus of some sort & woke up unable to stay upright; slamming into walls . Went to ER; they told me i had vertigo related to said virus; evidently was running rampant thru Pittsburgh area. Some drugs & all was well; until i tried to ride a "spin-ny type" amusement ride, heights makes me woozy too now...patch takes care of all of that for me. Didn't notice a dry mouth...i tend to drink alot any way lol.

i'm thinking of the cat in Shrek w/those big peepers

 

[wwessing]

a real turn the other cheek sorta guy, rises above the fray;

I got one of those too

 

[keishashadow]

As promised here they are:

1st Stop - Coral Gardens

First snorkeling stop was in the Coral Gardens area. The day had turned to heavy overcast & windy, high 60's; yet the water was warm. As mentioned earlier our guide was very helpful & eager to please. Our small group consisted of only us from the Carnival Legend. The rest of our group were 2 woman retirees on a land vacation and 3 groups (single parent mums & their kiddos from DCL cruise). Two pleasant teens were in the one group; the other had hellions . Would guess their age to be 8? Kept running around the boat screaming & sitting up forward on the bow. The water was choppy; guide kept asking nicely for the kids to sit in the seats; the mothers just ignored him. Figured they must be seasoned water dogs....NOPE.

There were life vests for those who wanted to utilize, good for floating & taking pics. The kids starting screaming as soon as the mothers tried to put them in the water; evidently, couldn't swim. It continued the entire stop with the mums ranting how their "...vacations were ruined". The photographer offered to stay aboard & watch them while the mom's snorkeled. We swam as far away as we could so as not to hear their wails.

coral on a rock & fishies

more

these weren't the domesticated ones that we met later @ Stingray point; were told to keep our distance as they could get cranky

thankfully, they kept on the bottom & we stayed near water surface

this one was bigger than the others who were all about 2 feet across; he kept coming up higher near the surface; time to head back to the boat lol

 

[keishashadow]

2nd Stop Stingrays

back onboard for another 10 min ride to interact with the Rays

was hoping to get lots of "face time"; based on reviews of booking with this operator (Nativeway); we were @ the site for approx 40 mins

Guide found just the right spot (shallow for the younger kids-who still refused to get off the boat & continued whining; holed up on lower deck in the head lol ) Glad he did; noticed several of the other groups were neck high.

This is their tail & stinger - do not grab or touch "gotcha chief" Made sure to do the stingray shuffle to avoid stepping on them & startling them; risking an incident.

such an experience; they are domesticated (to a point) where they starting hanging around when the fishing boats cleaned their catch. Over the years, the locals started to interact and had the idea of transporting tourists out.

I cannot describe how many Rays were in the area; when the boat pulled in you could see a wave of darkness off the boat. I thought it was a reef until it moved.

On the order of going into a petting zoo & being mobbed lol; way cooler though. They are gentle and incredibly soft. we had fed & snorkeled @ Castaway Cay; cannot compare the two experiences. would say DCLs would be better for squeamish children

photo ops galore! DS holding one, they swim right up to you and luv to swim past you & nuzzle

They give great back massages

check out his underbelly, looks to be smiling lol

Last, but not least; puckering up for that big wet kiss...7 years' good luck baby

DH said it was bad enough to post a pic of his beer belly, promised not to put up the actual deed (here he is swooping in lol)

btw, check out the throngs in the background; way too many peeps to have much time with the Rays

 

[keishashadow]

3rd Stop; Barrier Reef & Starfish

a 15 minute boat ride out further into the ocean & we moored near the barrier reef

could see the water was deeper here, although still clear & you could see the bottoom (approx 20 -30 ft deep).

The guide went down 1st to make sure there weren't any sharks in the area and brought up starfish for us to examine; then we were good to go

When we got the go ahead I was very confident thinking i'd play jacque c osteau - HA!

We were on the shallow side of the barrier reef; you could see where the deep water began on the other side. I consider myself to be a good swimmer; was shocked by the undertow & strong current. About all i could do to keep being sucked out to the deep water in the breaks of the coral/reef. Was able to swim over about 50 yards to an area full of moray eels; shot didn't come out though - nuts. Way bigger than I thought, about a foot in height (skinny though) and long - about 7 feet. We were offered a chance to hold him (passed lol).

DH & DS followed the guide over across the reef into the deep water; planning to circle back to the boat. Glad DS had flotation device on at this point. I doubled back and dived down to the reef area near the boat.

Fascinating as to how much marine life darted in and out of it...a critter condo of sorts

a couple stingrays were milling about here too

got some nerve & swan over the reef (just a bit )

soon time to leave; the guide kept apologizing that he wished we had more time. I was shivering at this point, glad i had a beach towel. off to Rum Point for grub.

This is on our short list to do again!

 

[bubba's mom]

where's Nemo

 

[loribell]

It looks like so much fun! Thanks for sharing.

 

[Sharon G]

I'm not sure I would want to get that close to the rays. They are huge! Are they slimey? Looks like you picked the right tourboat!

 

[keishashadow]

i think nemo was lunch for the mean looking Ray

the rays are more "velvet-like" than slimy; and surprising heavy for their size when the guides wanted us to pick them up in our arms for a photo...course that could've been because they were slippery when wet

 

[bubba's mom]

I loved all your pix on the rays and such....brought back memories of our stingray snorkel when we traveled on RCI. Took a boat to an island and got to hang out in their pen. It was eatin' time...they were all around us. They do feel slimy and I can believe they are heavy. We would stand with our feet apart (a la 'stingray shuffle') and they would swim in & out of our ankles...like a cat would....and they would curl their tails up around your calves....again, like a cat. Only, THEIR tails were more prickly than a cats (think, a sharp toothed comb scratching you)... They would 'bump' into us with the force of a medium size dog...I was really surprised at their weight.....

We plan to do the rays at CC...hope Bubba don't freak

 

[bubba's mom]

2nd Stop Stingrays

check out his underbelly, looks to be smiling lol

That IS his face....he IS smiling!!

 

[keishashadow]

I loved all your pix on the rays and such....brought back memories of our stingray snorkel when we traveled on RCI. Took a boat to an island and got to hang out in their pen. It was eatin' time...they were all around us. They do feel slimy and I can believe they are heavy. We would stand with our feet apart (a la 'stingray shuffle') and they would swim in & out of our ankles...like a cat would....and they would curl their tails up around your calves....again, like a cat. Only, THEIR tails were more prickly than a cats (think, a sharp toothed comb scratching you)... They would 'bump' into us with the force of a medium size dog...I was really surprised at their weight.....

We plan to do the rays at CC...hope Bubba don't freak

yep, they'd come up behind us and give us a good nudge and then keep prodding us.

funny thing, after handling the squid that they luv to eat; we were cautioned NOT to wipe our hands on our skin...evidently, they will attach themselves to you ala a leech until they are satisfied you aren't a giant squid def. could cause a freak-out if you didn't know

barb - if u do the one @ Castaway Cay my rec is to book it early. We had the 2nd one of the day & the sand was already stirred up to the point where you could barely see the bottom...this in 3-1/2 feet of water. This was back when they 1st started the tour; not sure if they've tweaked it since then.

it was sorta cold with the wind blowing so we crouched down in the water to keep warm...they swam right over our shoulders...up against our faces

while they were very calm & gentle; they were strong. DH had a loose fitting pair of board shorts on; rrom the constant nuzzling - they kept pulling his trunks down low ala plumber pants (i posted the lesser of results above lol ).

 

[RVGal]

So, what are you saying... that those of us that post links are showoff-y?

Huh?

Is that what you're saying?

When you DON'T post, it takes me, what a week or more to remember you mentioned (briefly, with no link) that you started your Trippie.

So, going back to one of your first cruise pics... Did the sign that statue was holding say Big Black... *ahem*... Did it say what I think it said?

And then the pic of you below that with the coral looked like Little White... *ahem*... nevermind...