January 29, 2011 - 7 Day Eastern - WOOHOO!!

[Paddle_Nut]

Huh? Does this mean we need to bring passports with us when we leave for excursion? A fellow Canadian as well..

 

[cblack]

hello every one first timer here, the DW booked us on this our first cruise and it's my DW (38) and DS (9) first Disney experience. Howell, MI is where we are headed in from. hope to see you all aboard.

Welcome!

 

[NAB]

Huh? Does this mean we need to bring passports with us when we leave for excursion? A fellow Canadian as well..

I can not remember off hand if they keep our passports anymore. They used to and they would give them back to you when you went see the customs people. It is well set up you stand in line and they move you though the night club. Though one door out the other. They have coffee and juice, danishes etc. set up for you to have while waiting. It is well organized but takes time depending on the custom people. If they do take your passport they will give you a paper when you check in that you need to bring with you so they can find your passport. Like I said they may not take them anymore in that case leave them in your safe and bring them on that morning.

We never took our passports off the ship. But we did have other ID with us and our Key to the room. That gets you back on the ship. You have to swipe that going off and on. They also x ray your bags when you come back on.

I guess you could take your passport with you each time but we never needed it. I guess if we missed the boat and had to fly to the next port you would need it. But we never missed the boat. And if your excurison is with Disney they will not leave with out you .....even if it is late. That is the danger of going on your own . But it is so much cheaper to hire a cab and go to these places.

 

[Paddle_Nut]

coffee and snacks in line - how nice! Wish all customs line ups were that comfortable

 

[adventure_woman]

I haven't decided what excursions we are going to be doing. We really want to relax by the beach and see a little bit of the island. We would love to find a place where we can snorkel off the beach (we have to do it separately due to the kiddos).

 

[NAB]

coffee and snacks in line - how nice! Wish all customs line ups were that comfortable

Yes it is nice. Let's of Canadian's going I think do to that discount. Where in Canada are you from? I must have missed it.

 

[denas]

Has anyone else decided what to do for excursions? We have decided to stick to the Disney excursions since this is our first cruise - makes me feel a little more comfortable.

For St. Maarten, we are thinking of doing the butterfly farm tour and then Magen's Bay Beach at St. Thomas. We wanted to go to Trunk Bay at St. John but the Disney excursion is only for 5 years old and up and we didn't want to do it on our own.

What is everyone else thinking about doing????

I've done a bunch of cruises w/o kids and one Disney with oldest 2 when they were 4 and 7 months respectively. I wouldn't book a sight seeing tour with kids again after doing it with Disney in Nassau. We did the Atlantis tour and found that we actually didn't link up with the tour until about 45 minutes after our meet time and then there was a lot of drama with loading buses. We were stuck loading at the end and ended up not sitting together. The tour was supposed to be 2 1/2 hours and with a meet time of around 9:30, I assumed we would be back by lunch. We didn''t even get to Atlantis to start the tour (after bus ride and walk) until almost 12 and by then kids had peaked. We ended up leaving the tour, buying an overpriced lunch at Atlantis, and taking a cab back on our own. I just wouldn't recommend anythibg that you can easily do on your own for anyone with small kids - being stuck with 50 other people when your kids are tired/hungry/have to go potty/etc is awful. If you were going diving, the 12-meter regatta, sightseeing in Europe, etc it would be different - those I would recommend booking through the cruise line.

Anyway - the St. Maartin butterfly house got pretty bad reviews on the main board. We are either going to take the water taxi ($6 all day wrist band and 5 minutes ride from the boat) to the downtown area and do the beach there or shop. Makes for easy return if kids peak. Or we are going to Le Galion beach which is about a 25 minute taxi ride (6-9 pp each way).

In St. Thomas we are going to go on our own to Coral World. Admission is $19 for adults and $10 for kids. Disney offers a package that includes the submarine, but if you google Coral World you will see they offer a bunch of other stuff and I think my kids want to do the Sea Lion encounter.

 

[Paddle_Nut]

Yes it is nice. Let's of Canadian's going I think do to that discount. Where in Canada are you from? I must have missed it.

We are from Fort St. John, BC. It will be our first winter here, and based on our geographic location and what the locals tell me, it can get pretty cold here so getting out during the winter is a must.

 

[adventure_woman]

hello every one first timer here, the DW booked us on this our first cruise and it's my DW (38) and DS (9) first Disney experience. Howell, MI is where we are headed in from. hope to see you all aboard.

Welcome from another Michigander!! (Kalamzoo)

 

[NAB]

We are from Fort St. John, BC. It will be our first winter here, and based on our geographic location and what the locals tell me, it can get pretty cold here so getting out during the winter is a must.

Oh I hate the cold. It was really cold here in Ontario last year and we didn't get as much snow as other years. I can't win, don't like the cold so it is a bit warmer if it snowed. Then the roads are bad. So it is a great time to get away breaks up the winter too. When I think B.C I think milder winters and rain. You must be up north more.

Mind you we were in San Franciso in the summer thinking it would be nice and warm in California. It was cold 52 in the morning. BRRR. Ran our furnance in the morning in the trailer. Even wore our coats in the morning when we went to Disneyland.

 

[denas]

I wanted to ask a question about FE gifts, but can't PM the keeper of the list until I have more posts! Are the FE gifts little toys/games or something nicer and handmade or both? Do we do something for every day?

 

[NAB]

I wanted to ask a question about FE gifts, but can't PM the keeper of the list until I have more posts! Are the FE gifts little toys/games or something nicer and handmade or both? Do we do something for every day?

There is a thread on this topic on the Cruise line forum. It will give you ideas. I do believe it is done once but I could be wrong.

You can pm in two more posts I believe. You have to have 10 or maybe it is 20. Go ahead and post a few times...any thing. Hi, ...etc. no one will mind.

I wish I could do this but I am trying to pack as light as possible. And I am not to crafty either. But of course you can buy something too. Totally up to you.

 

[schimj]

I wanted to ask a question about FE gifts, but can't PM the keeper of the list until I have more posts! Are the FE gifts little toys/games or something nicer and handmade or both? Do we do something for every day?

hi there! I'm the keeper of the FE list and would be happy to answer any questions you might have to the best of my ability. Here's the list of people in the FE exchange so far in this post:

http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=37359577&postcount=26

in that post, there's also a link to a FE how-to. Gifts can be purchased or homemade if you're crafty. In the past, gifts have been given out once per family on a cruise, but I've heard of people breaking up the gifts they're giving out over several days.

You can reply in the thread with your sign-up info since you don't have quite enough posts in yet, or like NAB said, just PM me after you post a couple more times.

again, aboard (and to the boards)! I hope you and your family have a great cruise!

 

[psugal96]

First Time Cruisers here from Maryland. It will be me DH and DD (8). So excited to get away during the cold winter.

 

[denas]

First Time Cruisers here from Maryland. It will be me DH and DD (8). So excited to get away during the cold winter.

You are from our area - we are in Northern Virginia/DC. I also have an 8 year old, but HE doesn't think girls are so much fun at this age!

 

[NAB]

You are from our are - we are in Northern Virginia/DC. I also have an 8 year old, but HE doesn't think girls are so much fun at this age!

What do you mean an 8 year old boys do like girls. I will trade you for a 13 year old boy that does.

psugal96 !

 

[denas]

So I was planning on doing a homemade gift per cabin gift (I won't say more because that would ruin the surprise) and get a few small things for the kids to put in their FEs a few times (maybe 3-4) throughout the cruise - kind of along the lines of halloween type things like candies, stickers, little games, tattoos, etc. Is this about right? I also wanted to know because this will help manage my kids expectations of what they will get in their FEs!!!

And this is my 10th post so I can PM now!

 

[NAB]

So I was planning on doing a homemade gift per cabin gift (I won't say more because that would ruin the surprise) and get a few small things for the kids to put in their FEs a few times (maybe 3-4) throughout the cruise - kind of along the lines of halloween type things like candies, stickers, little games, tattoos, etc. Is this about right? I also wanted to know because this will help manage my kids expectations of what they will get in their FEs!!!

And this is my 10th post so I can PM now!

on being able to PM I thought it was 10.

Be careful, because doing your FE can take time out of your cruise. So you don't want to do it that many times. The cabins are all over the place.

The kids will love it though that is for sure.

 

[Jhieber]

Welcome from another Michigander!! (Kalamzoo)

Thanks adventure_woman.. we're so excited to go. looking fwd to cruising with you.

 

[Jhieber]

You are from our area - we are in Northern Virginia/DC. I also have an 8 year old, but HE doesn't think girls are so much fun at this age!

Well I have a 9 year old boy he can hang with.