Jammin' to Jamaica - Aug 30 2014 ~ Fantasy ~ 7-Night Western

[LiseG]

Thank you Lisa!! We are from Asturias, in the North of Spain.
My daugther is 13, nearly 14 at cruise time. May be she is interesting but the language can be a hándicap to meet friends.

Wow, how perfect Sabrina is also 13 and will also be nearly 14 at cruise time... her birthday is Sept 21, 2000.

I think Nuria will be OK on the kids' threads. The conversations look pretty basic. Sabrina loves meeting cruise friends from other countries. She continues to stay in touch with two friends in England who she met on our Disney Cruise last year. I bet Sabrina would love to meet Nuria and try to type un poquito en español. I will help her, and they can use Google Translate

I think we have another Spanish speaking family on the thread. Mariana (marianc) and family are from Argentina. Their son, Alejo, will be 14 and daughter, Brisa, will be 10. Their second cabin is more family from Argentina including cousins who are 8 and 10. Their third cabin has family from California.

It sounds like we will have a mix of languages... that will be fun!

 

[Smartiewdw]

Hi everyone!! We will be in cabin 12522. Me (Haidee), my husband (Jose), Adrian (16), Joseph (12), and my daughter Ava (5). Super excited and can't wait for this cruise!! This is our first Disney cruise too! Any info regarding how to get to the port would really help. Disney charges $75 pp and that's too much money

I know I'm late but if you see this Haidee I always use Tiffany Town Car from MCO (have since 1999). For a van round trip is $280 and it can take up to 7 Passengers so there'd be plenty of room for your family. If you wanted to try and break the price down further ($56/pp) you could see if there's a couple on here that'd be willing to share the van with you!

http://www.tiffanytowncar.com/van_rates.html

 

[CarolyninCO]

Am I the only one who is starting to look at port excursions? I'm so looking forward to this cruise...I guess I need to be doing something to pass the time!

 

[UK mum of 4]

As it's our first cruise I'm debating doing no excursions and just getting off, wandering round for a couple of hours and re boarding to enjoy the ship. What's your opinion on this?
Sooo very excited.

 

[LiseG]

As it's our first cruise I'm debating doing no excursions and just getting off, wandering round for a couple of hours and re boarding to enjoy the ship. What's your opinion on this?
Sooo very excited.

We like excursions... it might depend how much beach time you want. Excursions can be a good way to spend time on the sand.

Cozumel - In 2004, we did a beach excursion at Playa Mia Grand Beach. DCL now calls the excursion the Cozumel Beach Break and I see Playa Mia has added a water park since we were there. In 2005, we did Dolphin Discovery Cozumel which magically includes beach time, if you plan it right. In 2009, we just checked out a few shops along the waterfront. I'm thinking Cozumel Ruins And Beach Tour this time... or stay on the ship

Grand Cayman - In 2005, we did a little shopping and did the Atlantis Submarine Expedition. In 2009, we took the Grand Cayman Island Tour that included a stop at the Caymans Turtle Farm. Next year, I think we'll do the Boatswain's Adventure Marine Park to spend best part of a day with the turtles and swimming in Breaker's Lagoon

Of couse we'll get fantastic beach time at Castaway Cay!

 

[CarolyninCO]

I'm thinking we might like a mix of excursions and doing nothing. We'd like to see turtles and dolphins. It sounds like we might be able to do either of these on our own - is that right, Lise? We're definitely comfortable getting around Cozumel - we honeymooned there. Not sure about GC.

Castaway Cay will probably be enough beach for us. We lived in LA and never went to the beach.

Falmouth might be "little bit of shopping then back to the boat" day. I didn't see much that interested me. Any excursion that starts with "You'll begin your journey with a one-hour drive...." is going to be a NO for me, especially with a 4-year old in tow.

Have either of you been to Jamaica? Will we be missing out on something spectacular?

 

[LiseG]

I'm thinking we might like a mix of excursions and doing nothing. We'd like to see turtles and dolphins. It sounds like we might be able to do either of these on our own - is that right, Lise? We're definitely comfortable getting around Cozumel - we honeymooned there. Not sure about GC.

Castaway Cay will probably be enough beach for us. We lived in LA and never went to the beach.

Falmouth might be "little bit of shopping then back to the boat" day. I didn't see much that interested me. Any excursion that starts with "You'll begin your journey with a one-hour drive...." is going to be a NO for me, especially with a 4-year old in tow.

Have either of you been to Jamaica? Will we be missing out on something spectacular?

You can usually do similar excursions on your own. I have two reasons we haven't:
* If the ship itinerary changes, Disney handles rebooking the excursions
* I have the illusion that if an entire DCL organized excursions hasn't arrived back at the ship, DCL will wait or make some arrangements
. (This could be completely wrong, I'm sure the answer is somewhere in the fine print).

We did the Dolphin Encounter on Sabrina's 5th birthday. It was fun. The Magic had an itinerary change after we set sail, and we ended up in Cozumel that day, so why not. The ship wasn't scheduled for Cozumel, but DCL made it all work magically with the local tour operators. We went to the Dolphin Encounter in taxis and had the option to grab a cab and come back at any time we wanted. We stayed and played on their little beach for a while. I'm not sure if the return is always on your own (this defeats my idea the ship won't leave without us). I think they've remodeled after some hurricanes. I see they have snorkeling. Here's a direct link

We haven't been to Jamaica. It will be out 20th Wedding Anniversary that day so we'll likely do something unforgettable...go to a plantation or ride the bobsleds!

 

[LiseG]

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

[LiseG]

In 9 months and we'll be s on the Fantasy to a

 

[Haidee]

When is the FE list going to stop growing? I kinda wanna start making gifts but I'm not sure if more ppl will be added

 

[CarolyninCO]

When is the FE list going to stop growing? I kinda wanna start making gifts but I'm not sure if more ppl will be added

I'm thinking this as well. I sort of feel that too many more people might be a little much for me.

What does everyone else think?

 

[UK mum of 4]

I'm thinking this as well. I sort of feel that too many more people might be a little much for me.

What does everyone else think?

I don't know how many are on the list but was there mention of a second list if it hit too long or am u imagining that? X

 

[CarolyninCO]

I don't know how many are on the list but was there mention of a second list if it hit too long or am u imagining that? X

I thought I saw a post that the current number is in the 70's. My memory is sometimes way off, though.

 

[Haidee]

I remember somebody mentioning making another group if needed to but i don't think it has been done. I kinda counted the current FE and I believe there's more than 60 ppl.....

 

[LiseG]

We've talked about closing the FE group and starting a 2nd one. Maybe calling group #1 Mickey and #2 Donald or something like that. No specific number was picked that I remember.

The current FE number are:
Cabins: 24
Individuals: 78
Adults: 47 (Women 25, Men 22)
Kids: 31 (Girls 19, Boys 12)

This includes Sweetlovin' and her two girls

So what do you think... time to close group #1?

Lise

 

[Haidee]

I think so. I want to be able to give each family a decent gift plus a little something else. What does everyone else think?

 

[CarolyninCO]

I think so. I want to be able to give each family a decent gift plus a little something else. What does everyone else think?

I second that!

 

[UK mum of 4]

I have no previous experience of this and am happy to go with the majority x

 

[maiyoli]

I second that!

I agree also! Maybe at 25 cabins ?

 

[Thistles Sticks]

We've talked about closing the FE group and starting a 2nd one. Maybe calling group #1 Mickey and #2 Donald or something like that. No specific number was picked that I remember.

The current FE number are:
Cabins: 24
Individuals: 78
Adults: 47 (Women 25, Men 22)
Kids: 31 (Girls 19, Boys 12)

This includes Sweetlovin' and her two girls

So what do you think... time to close group #1?

Lise

Very good thought. I still need room for clothes and Adult beverages.