March 20, 2010*** Mickey's Magic Matey's Cruise the Western!***

[mommyofthreeboys]

On my to do list: book the night before the cruise hotel room.

However…..

Slight problem.

Well, the latest battle in my head is what day should we leave?

We will be driving down. Originally I was thinking Thursday after school—the kids would miss a day of school but this is worth it (right?).

Right?

Missing school is a big deal for them as they usually get perfect attendance but after seeing the so-called “award” for perfect attendance this past year, I’m not too worried about it.

By the way- the award was a coupon for a free kids meal at Frisch’s with the purchase of an adult meal.

I think the value was 3 bucks.

But I have to buy a meal…so I have to spend money to get this “award”.

Ohh…valid in the dining room only and not the drive through so add the tip and I’m now this free coupon is really costing me.

I mean….

I am appreciative of the gesture however…

Wait…

Let’s be honest.

No, I’m not really.

I mean…I know budgets are low or even non-existent but take a piece of paper and create a certificate saying “good job!”

Do you know how many doctor visits, dentist appts, and other activities I schedule AFTER school so they are always in school?

And the vitamins I make them take to keep them healthy?

And don’t get me started on the gallons of milk I buy every week because of all the commercials I have seen that says “milk does a body good”.

Where’s the love?

Anyway…back to the regularly scheduled madness in my head…..

So we’ll leave after school around 4pm. We will drive through the night arriving somewhere in Florida around 9am. (depending where we stay) Which brings up another question in my head—where is “somewhere”?

To me—a trip to Florida is not complete if we don’t stop somewhere in Disney so I was thinking we could do a little shopping in Downtown Disney. (and eat at Wolfgang Puck Express- a favorite of mine!)
BUT if I shop before the cruise, that’ll be less money we’ll have for the cruise. So would even a little stop at DTD be worth it?

BECAUSE we are coming from Indiana and we can take 75 to 95 (coming down through Jacksonville) and by-pass Orlando all together. This would save us an hour of driving time.

AND driving through the night, we will be exhausted and probably won’t feel like shopping at DTD BUT I would love to start off with a little bit of Disney.

SO we could leave Wednesday after school which would give us an extra day before the cruise.

But that means the kids would miss TWO days of school AND another vacation day used for mom and dad.

But with an extra day--We could check in and relax when we arrive in Florida on Thursday and then shop on Friday??? Then we would be really refreshed before the cruise. But then I go back to “spending too much money before the cruise”.

THEN I think about the several things I would like to do in the Port Canaveral area and that sounds fun too. If we leave Thursday after school and drive straight through to PC—we would arrive somewhere between 8am-10am on Friday. We would check in and relax (sleep!). If the room isn’t ready, we normally find a lounge chair and relax by the pool. We then could have a nice dinner and then get a good nights sleep before the cruise. But this doesn’t leave us any time to sightsee the area.

Like the space center. Remember I have 3 boys….they would love this—right?

BUT my head is also telling me of other options—like staying in Jacksonville instead—stopping at the outlet mall that has a Disney store in it (about an hour past Jax)—visiting St. Augustine and the list goes on.

Why stay in Jacksonville instead? Well, I am booking the hotel room using my Marriott Rewards points and Jacksonville is wayyyy cheaper than Port Canaveral. 7,500 vs. 20,000. But then there is always that risk of staying in Jax and driving to PC on Saturday morning….

….the risk of missing the boat!

***GASP!!!*****

Yes, if I have nightmares, that’s what it is about.

Missing the boat.

So I THINK I should do whatever it takes that this doesn’t happen…..which means staying in PC the night before.

Because ANYTHING could happen between Jax and PC.

Car trouble.

Traffic.

My youngest gets car sick VERY easy. It would be my luck that he would get car sick that morning and then denied boarding due to vomiting.

***GASP!!!!****

Did someone say denied boarding?

I didn’t even think about that…..


I think my mind just made up its mind.


Leave Thursday after school. Drive through the night. Arrive in PC around 9am with plans to relax all day. Check in at Residence Inn using points. Dinner somewhere nice. Have a good night sleep. Wake up, repack and head to the MAGIC!!!!

After ALL of that….

What do you think?

 

[wegs3000]

Christina-
You just articulated the kind of ongoing conversations I have in my head regularly regarding planning although my "what day to leave" issue was resolved because we have to fly from Portland and our school district is off the Friday BEFORE spring break because I guess the teachers need one extra day to prepare for the 10 days off following! What evs. We are leaving on a 6am flight on Friday and will be at MCO at 4pm. IMO, and everyone has one and man the flaming dialog on the DIS board regarding this issue is crazy, one or two days off from school won't hurt your kids, their teachers or their continued educational development. Two weeks is a different story. And for me, going to WDW but not having time to do the park or any piece of it for more than a bit is just a big tease. We are bypassing it entirely and getting our Disney on at the Port.

Also, keep this in mind. We went to WDW at spring break 2008 (same week every year) and it was the second busiest park week of the entire year (Christmas week is #1). I did not know that or we would have picked another time. It was insane. Everything around the park was insane. We hung at the Wilderness Lodge pool more than I wanted but the parks were crazy. So you will have to deal with a lot of extra people, cars, buses and crappola to even swing through downtown Disney. Counter point: if your trip will not be complete because you didn't go and you will regret it for the rest of the year then do it! Those are things only you can decide.

We did do the Kennedy Space Center and it is terrific. Your boys might get really into it. There is a space shuttle similator ride that is great. My dad is an aeronautical engineer so of course WDW was for us and Kennedy was for him that week. We had lunch with an astronaut which turned out to be really interesting. So I would highly recommend that if you have the time.

We are staying in PC on Friday night at the Country Inn and Suites for all the reasons you just listed for potential panic attacks. We will be at the port between 10 and 10:30 when the gates open and will hope for early boarding. If you end up doing the same maybe we can meet up in the terminal just to say hi - that goes for all of you!

Good luck with all the planning! My big ones right now are much uncertainty over main dining time making us mental in rushing to dinner and getting us booked on a dolphin excursion in Cozumel. I guess I could have worse things to worry about...

 

[Clari]

We are also on the West Coast so we are getting there Friday and staying at the Hyatt. i won't go through what happen on our last trip to WDW. The person who booked our flight booked it for the wrong day. We were supoose to leave here on Nov 30 on a red eye to arrive there on Nov 1st. But when we got to the airport they told us "no your filght is tomorrow Nov 1". And I had called Disney about this like a month before we left. and they said everything was fine that it was a typo. But luck was on our side they had 8 seats left on the flight we need to get to WDW when we needed to. Now I look very closely at the time and dates on the flight.

 

[pixie08]

Christina-

I agree a trip to Fl. is not complete with out some Disney but remember you are going on a Disney cruise and you will have your fill!

No but seriously we drive from NY sometimes and if we were I would skip Disney, stay near the Port (there are a lot of good recommendations on the board) rest and wake up early, maybe take a dip in the pool, have breakfast and go to port. The days on the cruise are sooooo long and there is so much to do. The first day is so much to absorb I say be rested, but that my opinion.

Last time we flew in late Fri night and stayed at MCO Hyatt. It was a great experience. In March Dan and I may take Fri off so we will fly in Thurs night so we have a day in WDW. Otherwise I would skip it all together.

 

[pixie08]

every now and then to keep things interesting and get us more excited (like we need motivation to get excited lol) I thought I would post a DCL pic...feel free to join in!

 

[Clari]

found this picture online.

 

[mommyofthreeboys]

That picture is beautiful!!!!!!!!!!!!!


My friend at work just got back from the Western cruise and brought me back her navigators and other paperwork. The excursion packet really caught my eye. So I’ve been spending the last 2 days looking at excursions.

I know I want to swim with the dolphins. There are so many options that I don’t know which one to go with! Here are my options if I book with Disney:

Grand Cayman: Dolphin Extreme Swim and Turtle Farm (at Dolphin Discovery Cayman) $625 for our family.

Cozumel: Dolphin Push, Pull and Swim (at Chankanaab) $695 for our family.

Cozumel: Dolphin Swim (at Dolphinaris) $789 for our family

They all look pretty much the same (at least for what I am looking for). All are the same length (between 3-4 hours).

Sooooo….I don’t know which one to do. I guess I’ll go read reviews and decide. I know I want to take an underwater camera in the water with me but I know some don’t let you do that.

I would also like to find out how much each charges for the pics and DVD at the end. I’m always a sucker for them.

Decisions….Decisions…..

PS. She went on the (new?) Four Elements: A Mayan Experience in Cozumel and LOVED it. Too bad it’s for 10 and older….boo hoo!!!

 

[pixie08]

Awesome pic Clari!

Christina they all look great and swimming with Dolphins is an amzing experience. Is there something else you prefered to do on GC or Cozumel? That's how I would make up my mind which port I chose for Dolphins. Also did you read the reviews in the faq section? That might help.

 

[wegs3000]

Those pictures are great! And inspirational as I get more excited every day. Yesterday I found navigators in a pdf file online from a June 2009 Western and I combed them last night. PM me and I will send the file to you if anyone is interested. I change my mind regularly on our excursions but as I've posted before, if my daughter doesn't get to swim with dolphins there will be hell to pay so that is the #1 priority. None of us have any other driving desire to see anything in Cozumel and since we are going there first this trip I'm getting the dolphins done first. We are all interested in Boatswains in Grand Cayman - I really want to do the stingrays but my daughter is not very keen on it (looks too scary out in open ocean) and my dad sounds like he could take or leave it. Boatswains sounds like it has enough for all of us to be happy even though it is spendy.

Please keep the photos and the explanations coming as it is really helping me plan!

Christina- for $700 you ought to be able to take a dolphin home with you!

 

[mommyofthreeboys]

Ugh! These excursion options are giving me a headache. I don’t know what to do. Just when I think I got it figured out- something else pops up.

For example: When did Disney change the itinerary? Cozumel is now before Grand Cayman??? I found that out yesterday. Where have I been?

Apparently stuck in all these navigators and the excursion list. Oh- and reading all kinds of reviews on the excursions.

Anyway…flip flop the 2.

Got it.

That means less time in Grand Cayman and more time in Cozumel (if my calculations are right)

I’m not sure about the dolphins. I really want to do this. Notice the emphasis on I.
I wish I could ask the boys. I can’t.

Remember- this is a surprise. They won’t find out until Christmas.

So I can’t ask them. I can’t ask DH- he could care less. I can’t even bring up the cruise with him. I’ve been doing all this planning by myself….well…that’s where you come in. You all get the privilege to read all this mindless stuff.

Privilege?

Yeah right.

I know…but keep reading.

So about the dolphins. I have been thinking. Angela- you're right-- $700 is a lot of money. I have been looking into the stingrays instead. I thought I had a lot of options with the dolphins. Shoot—there are even more stingray options!

I think I got it narrowed down between 2 different options in Grand Cayman- running about $300 for the 5 of us.

For Cozumel, I really like the option of an all inclusive beach. Nachi Cocum gets good reviews. That’ll run $151 to get in. $20 for a tip. $40 cab fare round trip. I think 2 of the kids might want to parasail there so I better budget another $100 for that. Plus souvenirs……so the total I have budgeted would be about $400.

That leaves Key West. I have read a lot of people don’t even get off the ship here but we have never been so we intend to get off and explore. Probably the trolley…go to the Southernmost point….get some key lime pie…have a drink at Hogs Breath….maybe a few other things. My budget estimate is $250 for this day.

Then I start thinking.

I know scary.

Budget.

I am going to add up all these “extras”. OMGosh…I’m not sure I should have done this.

Have ya’ll done this yet?

Yes, I said ya’ll. Get used to it.

Here’s what I came up with:

Gratuities: $450
Key West: $250
Grand Cayman: $400
Cozumel: $300
Castaway Cay: $250
Shutters: $300 (I am planning the big package….I can always downgrade!)
Alcohol on board: $100 (drink of the day, wine, beer….options are open)
Bingo: $100 (I know its expensive and a rip off BUT I have to try it at least once)
Souvenirs/misc: $500 (I have NO idea what I should budget. This is a wild guess)
Parking at terminal: $120
Gas: $200 (remember we are driving)
And finally…rebooking on board: $750

WOW!

WOW!

WOW!


And another one because I am still shocked……WOW!

Why did I total this all up?

Oh yeah…the total. $3720.

Maybe we can’t do this cruise.

Where is my backspace key? I didn’t just write that.

We are going. I just need a plan.

A better plan.

We don’t do credit cards so that’s not an option. I guess we’ll be pinching our pennies even more.

That’s A LOT of money….for us anyways!

Am I way high on this? Just right? Or even too low?

I look back up at the budget and I am trying to figure out what I can cut out or minimize.

The first thing that catches my eye is our Cozumel day. We can cut out the all inclusive beach and just stay on the boat…that’s a “free” all inclusive excursion. We can get off and do a little shopping….maybe have a drink at Senior Frogs.

What do you think? Will I feel like I am missing out on something?

We can always cut out the rebooking expense. I mean- it’ll be 2012 before we can afford to go again. That’s the year my oldest graduates high school so we might not be able to afford to go then either. Who knows. In 2013 my entire immediate family…33 of us…are planning a trip for our mom and dad’s 50th Anniversary. So any longer than that and I feel the rebooking is not worth it. IMO.

Anyway…I don’t see anything else I can cut back on. What do you think?


On to other questions I have…

***I looked at the cruise tips….why do they have duct tape on the packing list?

***If we leave our car parked at one of the hotels (instead of parking at terminal), will we be able to get a ride/shuttle back to our car quickly? We don’t want to spend a lot of time waiting around.

Check that.

DH will not want to wait.

At the end of a vacation- DH loses his patience. That’s why it may be worth it just to pay for parking at the terminal. Getting there will be no problem—we’ll all be excited. It’s departing that worries me.

***the ice cream on deck….are there really no cones available?



Okay—that’s my ramblings for the week. How is everything going with you?

 

[Clari]

I got a letter in the snail mail about the change in itinerary. I think it came in like 2 months ago.

 

[wegs3000]

I noticed the port schedule change when we booked and I posted on the main board asking if this would affect any other shipboard activities and moderator Lisa said no. Just need to know when making excursion plans especially if you book your own.

This is not a cheap vacation by any standard and Christina, you are not alone in the pricing panic attacks. I guess you have to decide what your pain threshold is and what are hills to die and then make it work. It would be a shame to have to miss excursions when you've already spent this much to get there. Castaway Cay seems like a place where you can have a great time and not spend one extra nickel. I expect your load to lighten considerably after Christmas when you can tell your kids, get their feedback and get excited as a family to do things. Of course you only have until Jan. 4to get cracking on booking stuff! No time to dawdle. And I am selfishly hoping for lots of dawdlers so I don't get aced out of the dolphin excursion I want but can't book early as a first time cruiser...

Speaking of, I made the mistake of reading Trip Advisor dolphin excursion reviews and now my head hurts. I'm a huge animal lover and have a mini dr. doolittle gig at home but I'm no PETA member. So the threads on TA were filled with animal rights activists posting on dolphin encounters and I just backed out and won't do that again. Blah. Now I'm partially conflicted but will go with a tinge of guilt. This clearly had as much flaming posts as the topic of non-potty trained kids in this ship pools!

A much more entertaining and valuable post was written by a guy who had just come off his DCL cruise and posted on his experience with all the tips. It was hilarious. He didn't understand the need for duct tape, shoe holders and many of the other tips. You could probably search to find it. I suppose a tip is only valuable if you loved it and used it!

Glad we have each other to share. And more photos please! I love them.

 

[mommyofthreeboys]

A much more entertaining and valuable post was written by a guy who had just come off his DCL cruise and posted on his experience with all the tips. It was hilarious. He didn't understand the need for duct tape, shoe holders and many of the other tips. You could probably search to find it. I suppose a tip is only valuable if you loved it and used it!

Any idea what the title was or the poster? I would love to read it.

 

[wegs3000]

As is getting more and more usual now that I'm over 40 (please do not ever acknowledge that! aack!) my memory is crappy. After way too long searching, I did find this post which was what I was thinking of but I'm obviously mixing it up with another post in which a guy commented on the tip stuff they brought and never used and then wondered why they ever thought they would use it:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2188149&highlight=don't+understand

Happy Friday everyone!

 

[pixie08]

I created a pretty in depth spread sheet for costs. It has formulas so it adds and subtracts (it's in excel) if you know excel a little it may really help (or I can help you if you want) PM me if a anyone wants it!

 

[pixie08]

Happy Friday!

Sunset from deck...Key West

 

[Clari]

 

[pixie08]

Amazing Clari! Why can't it be Feb?????

 

[disney-akj]

I am so glad I found this thread! My family will also be on board this cruise. We are so excited. This will be our first cruise and I am sure I will be full of questions! I am a big planner as well! I would like to participate in the FE if there isn't too many in our party. There are 8 of us. My father-in-law (75), mother-in-law(71), my mother(67), DH(32), DD(9), DD(7), DS(3), and myself (Michelle). We have requested the early dining time. Can't wait for the cruise!!!

Christina, My kids are also interested in swimming with the dolphins at Dolphinaris in Cozumel. I have read several places that it is only a 1/2 mile walk to Dolphinaris from the port and you can book through Dolphinaris cheaper than the Disney excursion. Just thought since you seem concerned about the $$$$, that I would pass that information to you. I know I am going to look into it for my girls, if I find anything else out I will let you know. Money is going to be tight for us I know. We are unsure of our Key West plans, we are thinking about renting an electric car. I have no idea about Grand Cayman yet?? So excited!!!!!!! : ) Michelle

 

[wegs3000]

Welcome, Michelle! It is great to have your "big" group doing FE with us! The more the merrier. Christina has a son and I have a daughter that will both be 9 at cruise time so we will have the 9 year old dream team.

As you can tell from my posts, the only excursion that matters to DD is the dolphins and I've been posting on the regular DIS board to figure it out. WE are definitely doing Dolphanarius in Cozumel and yes, you can walk from the ship and yes it is much cheaper to book yourself. The downside is no Chakanaab park after the dolphins but we are ok with that. And I think we've decided on Boatswains in Grand Cayman. My DD is a bit freaked out to be in open ocean with the sting rays even though that would be my pick. That's ok - I'm happy to do anything on that cruise.

We are a blended group also with my dad treating myself and DD to this cruise as our Christmas present. These trips with my dad getting to go on great adventures with his granddaughter and daughter have been priceless.

Clari - thank you for the great pics!!!! They keep me going.

Mary (or anyone) did you figure out the tip calculator electronically? I need help there.

It's almost Friday...
Angela