Just Back Western 1/26-2/2

[JENR]

We just returned late last night from our first 7 night Western Cruise. 7 nights is so much better than the 4. We had an awesome time. We did two awesome excursions. We did Eco Outrage Tour in Grand Cayman, which was so much fun. We had the boat to ourself for 6 hours. We did Stringray City, which did not go over to well with my kids). My seven year old went in the water with me and then freaked out when the rays came near us. My 4 year old and 16 year old did not even get out of the boat. They he took us to a snorkeling spot which was awesome. It was the most beatiful think I have seen. My 16 year old and I snorkeled for a while, then we went to Starfish Beach and Rum Point Beach, this is where my 4 and 7 year olds had a ball. They loved seeing the playing with the starfish and playing on the beach. We had lunch at Rum Point. It was very good but expensive. On the way back he took my boys fishing. It was wonderful.

In Mexico, we did the dune buggies. They were alot of fun, we drove all over, saw some ruins, went snorkeling and hung out at the beach. It was great.

Our cruise was awesome. The seas were very calm. Our wait staff was great and our room hostess was awesome.

Can't wait to do it again in two years. I did rebook on board for next year but when the 2010 dates come out, I will change the date. I will do the Western again because we loved it so much.

 

[LJC1861]

JENR,

I am glad to hear about your Eco Outrage Tour. We have the same tour booked on our upcoming May 3 Western. I am so excited about it and it seems like everyone who has done it has had a good time.

What time did you board your tender and how long did it take to get from the Tender dock to the meeting point for the excursion.

I am a bit anxious about getting off the ship and to the meeting point by the suggested time.

Linda

 

[gossipgirl]

Did you see twice charmed.

 

[bornin49]

We just returned late last night from our first 7 night Western Cruise. 7 nights is so much better than the 4. We had an awesome time. We did two awesome excursions. We did Eco Outrage Tour in Grand Cayman, which was so much fun. We had the boat to ourself for 6 hours. We did Stringray City, which did not go over to well with my kids). My seven year old went in the water with me and then freaked out when the rays came near us. My 4 year old and 16 year old did not even get out of the boat. They he took us to a snorkeling spot which was awesome. It was the most beatiful think I have seen. My 16 year old and I snorkeled for a while, then we went to Starfish Beach and Rum Point Beach, this is where my 4 and 7 year olds had a ball. They loved seeing the playing with the starfish and playing on the beach. We had lunch at Rum Point. It was very good but expensive. On the way back he took my boys fishing. It was wonderful.

In Mexico, we did the dune buggies. They were alot of fun, we drove all over, saw some ruins, went snorkeling and hung out at the beach. It was great.

Our cruise was awesome. The seas were very calm. Our wait staff was great and our room hostess was awesome.

Can't wait to do it again in two years. I did rebook on board for next year but when the 2010 dates come out, I will change the date. I will do the Western again because we loved it so much.

hi;
Iam so glad you and your family had a great time my family and I are leaving this sat 2\9 on the western all 16 of us 2 married sons and a married daughter and their children[ 3 grand children] and some cousins and an aunt and two of their in laws.every one is buzzing around trying to get packed before this week end since we are flying in on friday.... thank you very much for the report
joe.

 

[JENR]

JENR,

I am glad to hear about your Eco Outrage Tour. We have the same tour booked on our upcoming May 3 Western. I am so excited about it and it seems like everyone who has done it has had a good time.

What time did you board your tender and how long did it take to get from the Tender dock to the meeting point for the excursion.

I am a bit anxious about getting off the ship and to the meeting point by the suggested time.

Linda

They started to give out tender tickets at about 7:15 a.m. I was the first in line so I got a ticket and then we waited in the Buena Vista theatre for about 15 min. We were then taken to the tender and we were on the island by 7:40 a.m. I was about 45 minutes early so we just walked around for a little bit. It was a very smooth process and very easy. The meeting point was just across the street to the right a little. It took about 5 min. to walk over to the spot.

 

[JENR]

Did you see twice charmed.

Yes, we went to the shows every night. It was very good. We already had been Golden Mickeys and Dreams but we went and saw them both again.

 

[kshabare]

Who was your Cruise Director that week? Did you like the band? Entertainment? Glad to hear you had a great time.

Norm

 

[gossipgirl]

Yes, we went to the shows every night. It was very good. We already had been Golden Mickeys and Dreams but we went and saw them both again.

did you take any pics of twice charmed.

 

[LJC1861]

JENR,

Was your whole party together when you got your tender ticket? Also, I have heard that they give priority to DCL excursions. Was this the case, or was it first come first served.......

Sorry to be a pain, but we have a few first time cruisers in our group and none of us have tendered before. We are SO looking forward to this fantastic excursion and don't want to be even a minute late or rushed.

Linda

 

[CraftyMouse]

JENR,

Was your whole party together when you got your tender ticket? Also, I have heard that they give priority to DCL excursions. Was this the case, or was it first come first served.......

Sorry to be a pain, but we have a few first time cruisers in our group and none of us have tendered before. We are SO looking forward to this fantastic excursion and don't want to be even a minute late or rushed.

Linda

I'm not JENR but I can share our Dec. experience. We all had to be present to get the tender tickets. They would not give them to us until my DH arrived. They give one ticket per person. They then direct you to a row in the Buena Vista Theater where you wait for your tender to be called.

If you need to get off of the ship early, try to get to the Buena Vista Theater 15 minutes before tender start time. We did this and made it on the first tender of the day. The first few tenders do take non-DCL excursion guests. After that most of the next tenders are DCL-excusion guests only. If you don't make one of the first few tenders you'll have to wait until all of the DCL-excursion folks are off which could make you late for your meet time.

 

[LJC1861]

Thanks Crafty Mouse!

That is exactly the information I needed. I am the official "Cruise Director" for our group and want to make sure that I am giving everyone the correct information, especially if it means lining up for a tender that early.

Linda

 

[Evans Family]

who is this excursion with? I take it that it's not Disney. Can someone send me some info?

Thanks.

 

[JENR]

Who was your Cruise Director that week? Did you like the band? Entertainment? Glad to hear you had a great time.

Norm

Ray from South Africa. He was great. The entertainment was really good. There were 4 different comedians/jugglers. They were all great. One was Freddy Fushion, Heath Heich, Pearson and can't remember the other.

 

[JENR]

JENR,

Was your whole party together when you got your tender ticket? Also, I have heard that they give priority to DCL excursions. Was this the case, or was it first come first served.......

Sorry to be a pain, but we have a few first time cruisers in our group and none of us have tendered before. We are SO looking forward to this fantastic excursion and don't want to be even a minute late or rushed.

Linda

Yes your whole party had to be there to get a ticket. They were pretty firm on that. There were boats going out continuously. We were on the 3rd boat I believe. The other 2 were probably DCL excursions but like I said we went right out at about 7:30 a.m. They didn't even wait to totally fill the tender boat, which I thought they would. It was very quick and like I said I ended up being very early to my meeting location. Next time I will probably not rush so much and wait a little longer but I was not sure how long the whole process would take.

 

[JENR]

who is this excursion with? I take it that it's not Disney. Can someone send me some info?

Thanks.

I booked my excursions through Island Marketing. It is called the Eco Outrage Tour. There is a half day and a full day. I would recommend the full day. Even after 6 hours, I could have stayed longer.

 

[dduffin]

Was your 6 hour considered the full day? Because if that was only the 1/2 day I don't know how you would fit in the full day. We were on this same cruise with you and I thought the time to be back on board for Grand Cayman was fairly early (somewhere around 4:30/5:00 if I recall). We will definetely keep it in mind if we go again because the snorkeling we did there was too short but being 1st timers we were afraid of not getting back.

 

[JENR]

Was your 6 hour considered the full day? Because if that was only the 1/2 day I don't know how you would fit in the full day. We were on this same cruise with you and I thought the time to be back on board for Grand Cayman was fairly early (somewhere around 4:30/5:00 if I recall). We will definetely keep it in mind if we go again because the snorkeling we did there was too short but being 1st timers we were afraid of not getting back.

I think the actual time is 9-2 for a full day (5 hours) but he was not in a rush. We got back to port at 3:30 p.m. The 1/2 day tour is 9-12 but you don't do as much. I think you only pick two things to do on the 1/2 day. The nice thing is you can do whatever you want for as long as you want. I loved it and it was so flexible.

 

[Terri730]

Did you hear any feedback on the ship on any of the dolphin excursions? I am trying to book my own dolphin excursion. There are 2 places Discovery which I read a lot about on this site and the new one Dolphinaris. I like the Dolphinaris much better. They just cannot be contacted via web site or e-mail. I have to actually call Mexico and my phone service has to be pre-paid in order for me to call. So if you heard anything please let me know.
Thanks
Terri