Jan. 29, 2012 Dream cruise

[SoCaOC-Mom]

i would think that a port day that the nursery may be fairly open...most people will go out to port, i would guess probably only 25-30% of the boat will pretty much stay onboard

That's what I would have thought, although I have read that as of late not a ton of people are getting off in Nassau. But I'm keeping our fingers crossed that given it's not a full sailing we have ample nursery time available to us if needed.

 

[SoCaOC-Mom]

Going on the 29th and I cant wait. This will be my first cruise ever!!

Welcome aboard

 

[supercards]

i would think that a port day that the nursery may be fairly open...most people will go out to port, i would guess probably only 25-30% of the boat will pretty much stay onboard

Speaking of Nassau day, we're torn as we decided not to do any official excursions and heard the shopping is varied.. I looked at a former Navigator and there were a lot of diamond and jewelry stores advertised, which I'm not looking for.

We thought about getting off for an hour or two, just to sample the 'culture', however I'm not really sure if we'll get any real feel with it being a strip mall of shopping. Anyone have thoughts? We've never been out of the country with the kids (DD's 13, 10, 10) and wanted them to maybe have a little experience, but maybe we'll just stay on the ship and enjoy what's offered.

Does anyone know, is it similar to a shopping experience in Tijuana? i.e. many locals hocking homemade wares and a lot of bargaining going on, or is it really store fronts and commercialized? Any experiences would be welcome.


Welcome MrRob!


PS- One week, we leave for Orlando and IOA/US/Disney before our Cruise!! Can't wait!

 

[SoCaOC-Mom]

Speaking of Nassau day, we're torn as we decided not to do any official excursions and heard the shopping is varied.. I looked at a former Navigator and there were a lot of diamond and jewelry stores advertised, which I'm not looking for.

We thought about getting off for an hour or two, just to sample the 'culture', however I'm not really sure if we'll get any real feel with it being a strip mall of shopping. Anyone have thoughts? We've never been out of the country with the kids (DD's 13, 10, 10) and wanted them to maybe have a little experience, but maybe we'll just stay on the ship and enjoy what's offered.

Does anyone know, is it similar to a shopping experience in Tijuana? i.e. many locals hocking homemade wares and a lot of bargaining going on, or is it really store fronts and commercialized? Any experiences would be welcome.


Welcome MrRob!


PS- One week, we leave for Orlando and IOA/US/Disney before our Cruise!! Can't wait!

There is a straw market near by. Some people like it while others say vendors are very aggressive to the point of being intrusive.

 

[lianne_0325]

I've never been to Nassau but I haven't been reading wonderful things lately. At this point, I'm thinking about just staying on the ship and exploring rather than going onshore. It seems like a lot of passengers elect to stay on the boat and enjoy the amenities.

I *might* go for a bit to take the kids to the Pirate Museum. I don't want to have to worry about our safety if we get off. I bought a new camera around Christmas and I'd be nervous to bring it ashore after reading a few reports.

I was debating doing the Blue Lagoon Beach Day but my husband nixed that idea. We live in Florida and the beach is just minutes away. We couldn't see paying $250 for a couple hours of sitting on a beach when we could be doing the Midship Detective Agency or the AquaDuck which are certainly things we can't do at home.

 

[MrRobM615]

Thanks for the warm welcomes!! I was going to book a bunch of activities to do in Nassau and castaway cay, But considering this is me and my partners first cruise ever, we decided to take it as it comes! We did book dinner at palo and the glass bottom boat tour!! I've been doing a ton of research to get a feel of what to pack and sights to see, one thing I could not wait to do was order a gift basket from my dear friend Shirley at the perfect gift!! It will be nice to have some items aboard the ship before I get there! Lol. Anyone have any other suggestions for a first time cruiser??

 

[mimmi]

I was in Nassau last year and liked it. It's nothing overly exciting but I found the pink houses quite cute. We went up the hill, from there you can see the ship and back via the straw market.
Nobody bothered us, people were really friendly.
I didn't like the straw market, as they didn't have much choice, but I don't think that the vendors were aggressive in any way.

Disclaimer: I've been to India and China many times, so I'm used to the most aggressive vendors in the world. I remember a shopping trip to the silk market where two ladies tried to pull me to their stalls, only that they were in opposite directions, so they pulled my arms until I left.
In India a girl grabbed my hair so hard it brought tears to my eyes and a man followed me for one hour only to convince me to take his taxi, we ended up in front of my hotel, only then did he see that I really didn't need a cab .

So vendors asking me over and over to buy something don't annoy me anymore. Everything is better than New Delhi.

 

[Kaycam71]

Hi to everyone!

We will be joining you all on this cruise. This is our 5th cruise but our 1st on the Dream. We are a family of 7. It will be myself, dh, dd(16), ds(14), dd(9 turning 10 in 3 weeks), ds(7) and ds(3). My oldest daughter posted here early on as Rhinosbiggestfan. She was wondering about the FE. So if it is not to late to join we would also like to participate. Thanks!

 

[supercards]

Thanks all for the comments on Nassau, we will most likely travel in to see it, I like the idea of going up a hill and looking back down on the ship, sounds like a good picture.
Otherwise, I want to spend as much time on the boat as we can, we paid enough to enjoy it, and this being our first cruise ever, I'm sure we won't get bored with being in our room, strolling the decks, eating food, and relaxing!

We also thought of doing the dolphin encounter, but with the weather iffy this time of year and the cost, we decided we'd take a trip to six flags, CA and see them there. An excuse for taking another vacation, yeah!

Nice to see all the activity on here as of late. I hope the weather heats up and we get unseasonably warm! (uh oh, I better not have just jynx'd us!)

 

[lianne_0325]

Yay I love having more people join our little party! I feel like such a dork because I get so excited each time I see kids that are in the same age ranges as mine.

My son was so young when we went on our last cruise (2.5 years) so he didn't have much time in the club programs. We were on Carnival and I wasn't impressed with the child program for that age.

So I have this tiny fear he'll be the only one that age onboard. Looking over our FE group though I'd say he def. isn't the only seven / eight year old. His birthday is March so I feel we are pretty close.

 

[Tigger&Bubba]

Hi everyone,
I guess I need to check the boards everyday for messages. Glad to see the activity. Here is our take on Nassau.

Nassau Day is usually a day we explore on our own. You can grab a cab and go anywhere Disney goes.
We have gone to Atlantis and enjoyed walking the hotel and viewing the aquarium.
Another day we visited Ardastra Gardens. The flamingo show is fun.
We have gone scuba diving at Stuart's Cove. The diving location is great but I found the "tour" rushed. IMO
The straw market isn't bad this time of year. (It is unbearably hot in the summer). It is a good place to buy little trinkets and great fun if you like to haggle,bargain, negotiate or whatever you call it. At any rate, I wouldn't recommend paying the first price quoted.
We have also stayed on board all day. How can you not have fun on the ship.
As mentioned in an earlier post, the view from the hill/fort is worth the climb.

See you soon....
Lamar, Dianna, Esteban(15), & Luis Felipe (14)

 

[canucktinkerbell19]

Looks like there will be a few Canadians on board. We live in Stoney Creek but two of us are native Louisianans (Cajun country).

Excellent! We'll have a QEW party lol!

 

[SoCaOC-Mom]

Hi to everyone!

We will be joining you all on this cruise. This is our 5th cruise but our 1st on the Dream. We are a family of 7. It will be myself, dh, dd(16), ds(14), dd(9 turning 10 in 3 weeks), ds(7) and ds(3). My oldest daughter posted here early on as Rhinosbiggestfan. She was wondering about the FE. So if it is not to late to join we would also like to participate. Thanks!

I think we mentioned a dead line of Wed(all thought there weren't any nays or yays) , so you are good in that aspect. I have enough for 10 families, so I would be happy to drop off a gift for you even if some of the others participants can't manage. Hopefully, they will have a chance to get back to this thread and confirm they can accommodate you.

Please leave your stateroom number if you have it.

I remember a post from your daughter. She is a lovely girl.

 

[SoCaOC-Mom]

Excellent! We'll have a QEW party lol!

We can use Molson Canadian and maple syrup for party favors

 

[SoCaOC-Mom]

Yay I love having more people join our little party! I feel like such a dork because I get so excited each time I see kids that are in the same age ranges as mine.

My son was so young when we went on our last cruise (2.5 years) so he didn't have much time in the club programs. We were on Carnival and I wasn't impressed with the child program for that age.

So I have this tiny fear he'll be the only one that age onboard. Looking over our FE group though I'd say he def. isn't the only seven / eight year old. His birthday is March so I feel we are pretty close.

Me too, hopefully we can all get together to organize a picture together.

I think the meets is great for the other reason you mentioned, in knowing our kids won't be alone.

 

[lianne_0325]

I can def. have enough FE gifts to include you. I concur with Weds as a good cutoff date. I keep overestimating just in case.

I think we mentioned a dead line of Wed(all thought there weren't any nays or yays) , so you are good in that aspect. I have enough for 10 families, so I would be happy to drop off a gift for you even if some of the others participants can't manage. Hopefully, they will have a chance to get back to this thread and confirm they can accommodate you.

Please leave your stateroom number if you have it.

I remember a post from your daughter. She is a lovely girl.

 

[caribear]

Hi to everyone!

We will be joining you all on this cruise. This is our 5th cruise but our 1st on the Dream. We are a family of 7. It will be myself, dh, dd(16), ds(14), dd(9 turning 10 in 3 weeks), ds(7) and ds(3). My oldest daughter posted here early on as Rhinosbiggestfan. She was wondering about the FE. So if it is not to late to join we would also like to participate. Thanks!

I think you're just in time! I bought enough stuff for 10 cabins. Let us know your names and cabin number(s) so we can update the FE list!

 

[imonaboat]

anyone have any kids that are going to be hanging out in the edge?

our DS is 11, extremely mature for his age...but i know how it can be when you try to get a 14yr old hanging out with an 11yr old...thats a tough age grouping they have them in...lots of changes in a kids life in that age range...

anyone have any kids in the 11-12 range?

btw....12 days!!!!

 

[lianne_0325]

My cruise documents finally arrived! I was so excited to see that fat envelope. Just had to share.

Alright now back to your regularly scheduled program.

 

[jilljill]

Is it locked? I thought after the first few voyages they did away with that.
I guess we can always call them though.

I thought the gate was being locked again. I guess it'll be a wait and see thing then.