???Land/Sea Transfer & Excursions

[Oh Son of Ours]

We are booked for Sept. 2005 Land & Sea and I did buy Disney transfers, so, that means we won't have to check in at PC, and that our luggage will be taken care of, but how early will we get there and will we really be able to just board the ship?

What if any excursions do you like in the Bahamas and at CC.

I don't think I'm planning any for CC, but want to know if we'd miss out on them.

 

[BethC1952]

We've done Disney transfers on each of our cruises. Our buses have left the hotel no later than 12:30, and we were on the ship before 2 PM.

Your room key for the land portion is also your room key for the cruise, and you fill out all of your cruise paperwork and check in for that while you're at the hotel, so all you have to do is go through the security check, have your key card scanned and get ready to have fun on your cruise!

We haven't done any excursions either at Nassau or CC, although I think this time we might try the kayaking at CC. While in Nassau, we've gotten off the ship and walked around in the shopping area. On our last cruise, I stopped in at the Bahamian Government's equivalent of the office I work for and chatted with them for a while. It was fun! This time, we're considering a few options. We may go to Atlantis (on our own, not an excursion), or take a tour of the city. We actually prefer to spend the afternoon on the ship while most people are in Nassau. This way, the pool's not quite so crowded, we can get some hot tub time, and just relax and enjoy ourselves.

Beth

 

[weluv M&M]

We used Disney transfers on our June 2004 land/sea pkg. We loved it. The bus left about 12:00 and we were at the port about 1:15. We did have to wait in line to go through security but since we had "checked in" at the resort on our day of arrival we did not have to checkin on the ship. They just scanned our key to the world cards (KTTW card keys) and we were done. Our bags were waiting for us at our stateroom. Very simple and very painless. Especially nice if you have young children.

We plan to use Disney Transfers again next June on our land/sea pkg.


We did not do any shore excursions on CC. We did do the Dophin encounter in Nassau. We booked it independently so that it did take all day. We were able to enjoy the uncrowded ship until lunch. Have lunch on the ship and then go to Blue Lagoon for the dolphin encounter. It was magical.

 

[pvangordon]

Keep in mind that when you do the transfer for the land/sea package, they pick up your luggage early in the morning before you check out. So you'll most likely want to pack up your main suitcase first and keep your day bag with any items you will need before you get on the ship.

DH and I did the land/sea last year and the transfers were very convenient. We're late sleepers, so even though our luggage was gone, we were still able to stay in the room, check out at the normal time, and get an early lunch before heading to the port.

We did the nature walk/kayak tour at CC on our cruise a couple weeks ago. You can check out more details on my cruise report in the Trips forum. I enjoyed it a lot, but bring lots of sunscreen and bug repellent.

 

[Oh Son of Ours]

Weluv M&M---------Can you give me the booking info on the Dolphin Encounter?

Thanks for the info, I am looking forward and the transfers seem painless. We have always used Mears when going to Disney World, but last year I wasn't happy with the service. It took way too long to wait for a bus to take us over.

I'm aslo thinking of doing the Bridge Tour while docked in Nassau, we thought our DS, 8 yrs, would like it.

 

[KMovies]

You can do one of the following:

--- get on the DCL buses from your hotel (anywhere from 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM depending on the resort, each resort has it's own time)

OR

take your day bag to the Animal Kingdom, check it with the DCL folks, enjoy the morning at Animal Kingdom, and then take the DCL bus from the Animal Kingdom to the ship.

If you want to meet the bus at AK, you must let DCL know the night before so that they have enough buses at AK and not too many at the Resort.

They also have a special time for the character breakfast at AK for the DCL folks. So you can breakfast with the characters and people going on the cruise.

I believe that you also got Fast Passes for one of the shows and maybe on of the rides to help you get as much done at AK as possible that morning. The buses leave around 12:30 PM from AK.

 

[Oh Son of Ours]

KMOVIES------ Or anyone who knows.

Where did you learn about getting the bus at AK and the breakfast? It sounds like a good idea and I'l like to check it out. We were not really planning on visiting AK this time, since we are doing the 3land/4 sea, and have been to Disney several other times, we planned to concentrate on MK, Epcot, & MGM.

I just purchased Birnbaum's Cruise Guide and it really doesn't any tips on the land/sea package. So any info would be great.

 

[weluv M&M]

Oh Son of Ours...

We booked the dolphin encounters through (dolphinencounters.com). They will give you a chioce of times. we chose the one around 2:30. We were able to enjoy a very uncrowded ship and eat lunch. We letft the ship about 1:00.You have to get a cab, water taxi or bus to the ferrry terminal (very short trip). We shared a taxi van with another family and shared the expense.You then check in, at the Dolphin Encounters window, at the ferry terminal. They will give you tickets for the ferry which will take you to their facility at Blue Lagoon. This about a 45 min ferry ride. It is a scenic ride. After the dophin encounter the ferry will take you back to the terminal. we thought we needed a taxi to go back to the ship...but the folks at the ferry terminal said that there was a boat just for Disney Cruise people that would come to the ferry terminal and take us back to the dock. We waited a very short time and the boat/ferry came and took us and some others back to the ship. Where they let us off was much closer to the ship than where the taxis come. I think that this boat/ferry is intended for those that book this excursion through Disney but there was more than enough space. If you book through Disney you go as a group early in the morning but you can return whenever a ferry is available from Blue lagoon back to the ferry terminal and Disney provides transportation from the terminal back to the ship.

As far as the morning at Ak...they will ask you when you arrive at the resort, upon check in, if you intend on departing from the resort or AK, on the day of your sailing. You don't have to tell them at that time but they will tell you by when you need to let them know.

Good Luck