Miscellaneous cruise questions.....

[SeaSpray]

1. Do many parents use 2-way radios on the cruise? We have a good set of these radios and are considering bringing them with us because our DSs will be teens and we won't have a pager if they happen to need us for anything. Older DS will be 16, younger DS will be 13, so I think we'd give it to the younger one to carry because he's the one more likely to want to contact us, if he should want to reach us. I'm sure they will go their separate ways throughout the cruise. Does this sound logical?? lol

2. Will we know, in advance of leaving our home, what our dining rotation will be? Or do we have to wait until we check in to find out? I'm asking this because I know that once you board, you have to rush to make reservations for dinner, brunch, and tea at Palo's, and I'd like to choose to miss dinner at a specific restaurant on a specific night, and not just leave it to chance. Is this possible? If we arrive early at the port, do we check in right away and then find out our dining rotation? I'm thinking this would give us at least a few minutes to look at it and see which night we'd want for Palo, before boarding. Do they tell you in advance which night is the Mexicali/Tropical night, and when the other special nights are? P.S. I really agree that they should charge for people who cancel out on the high tea, leaving the restaurant practically empty, when others could've used their reservations. High tea is going to be my priority to book, and I hope I can get a reservation!!

3. How much is the Rainforest room? It's for adults only, correct? How much is it for week-long, and how much is it for the day only?

4. How many of you recommend the couples mud bath? For $68 a couple, it sounds like fun and not very expensive!

5. Who has done the Ruins in Tulum (Cozumel) excursion? It's $90 per person. We'd like to take DSs on this excursion because they've studied the Mayans in school and found it interesting. But I've heard that this is a LONG, HOT excursion, although the people who told me this did NOT get to go to a beach along with it. In the description on the Disney web site, it says you have access to a "nearby beach". How nearby is this beach? Is it very difficult terrain to get to the ruins?? ANY and all info on this excursion is GREATLY appreciated as we want to know as much as possible before deciding to book it or not.

6. Swimming with the stingrays. Should we book this tour through Disney or are there other tour companies that are reputable? Ever since seeing the Royal Caribbean commercial where the family is swimming with the rays, I've really wanted to do this!

7. Excursion transportation. When you book excursions through Disney, is all transportation included? Are there ever situations where it's not included?

8. Animator's Palette. From what I've read, they only do the "show" on the first night you dine there?? Is the show where the room changes color? What happens on the second night, is it already in color when you enter, or does it stay black and white all evening? I don't understand why they don't just have the room change color each time.

That's all I can think of for now. Thanks so much, in advance, for any help and info!!!!

 

[lrmillen]

I can answer ques. #8 about animator's palette. they only have the "show" the first time (i wouldn't even call it that, more like background entertainment). my MIL was disappointed about that because she ate at palo's that time and missed it. however, i was glad that they didn't do it again. the pictures were lit the whole time.

 

[Lloyd Dobler]

Regarding question #2, you will know your rotation when you get your room key. Printed on the card, on the right-hand side, as I recall, will be a string that looks like this:

LAPLAPL

This is your dining rotation for the week. L = Lumière's, A = Animator's, P = Parrot Cay. You start the rotation on Saturday night. This will let you know which nights you eat in which restaurant.

Since you're on the Western, you'll get "Mexicalifragilistic..." night. I believe this is Wednesay night.

#7, I believe transport is included in all excursions sold by the ship. I've never heard of one where passengers had to arrange for their own.

 

[Masonpips]

I'll answer what I can

For #2, I printed the dining rotation chart (there's a link to it on one of the threads here) and dh and I made choices on Palo based on all rotations. We thought we'd get APL (and did) so we worked the hardest on that. We'll do the same this year even though we requested APL (and booked a year in advance so I hope to get it). We used the time standing in line to board as time to decide exactly what to pick.

#4 - we loved the surial bath - it's totally unqiue and very economical from a spa perspective

#6 - we used Captain Marvin's and were thrilled beyond belief - it was cheaper than DCL and from I understand, the boats are not as big so they're not as crowded either. I have heard very few negative comments on Captain Marvin's - you really can't go wrong

#8 - only the first night has the show - take that into consideration when planning #2 above - you should be able to do it all!

 

[krhardy]

question #1..... you could bring the walkies I suppose, but there's always a chance that they're not going to work b/c of interference etc. Also, you'd better be prepared with a LARGE supply of batteries if you do this b/c the ones on the boat are EXPENSIVE!
When we cruise with a large group, we bring a roll of white magnetic tape that you can get at home depot, and a overhead projector pen that you can get at Wal Mart (Vis a Vis pens)
you cut a small piece of the tape off, and it magnetizes itself to your door, then you simply write where you are. ie....11:00-Art of Entertaining. You can wash it off with a wet cloth, and use the same strip the whole cruise. This works great with adults, and don't see why it wouldn't work with older kids...you could even have 1 strip for each child.

question #4.....the surial bath is DEFINITELY worth it!!!!!!!

question #8.....beware of assuming that Animators will run on the first night.....our first night at animators was "formal night" and they DEFINITELY did NOT run the show that night, so it was OUR 2nd night in Animators that they ran the show.

Relax, have fun, and enjoy the cruise!

 

[Favorite Auntie]

I might be able to help with #3

The rainforest is $15 for the day, or $50 for the week. I haven't done it on my past cruises, but I plan on doing it for the next cruisein November.

I might also suggest that you go to Barnes and Noble and get the DCL Passporter. It has a lot of great info in there, I just got mine, even though I have been on 2 Disney Cruises, I still learned a lot from it.

 

[Woobie]

Originally posted by Masonpips


For #2, I printed the dining rotation chart (there's a link to it on one of the threads here) and dh and I made choices on Palo based on all rotations. We thought we'd get APL (and did) so we worked the hardest on that.

This is exactly what I did! Now DH can't rag on me anymore. He thinks I'm crazy. I also included the character breakfast so I could pick a brunch at Palo as well.

Woobie

 

[figment52]

Another alternative to the two way radios -

We kept a legal pad in the cabin and every time we were in the cabin we noted the time and where we were headed. We also reviewed general plans for the day with everyone either the night before or in the morning. BY creating a "log" every time anyone passed through the cabin you also have a diary of where everyone spent each day. It was a great help when doing the trip report and scrapbook.

It isn't as immediate as the radios would be be we never had any trouble find ing someone when we were looking for them (and we had a 12 and a 14 yr old with us)

 

[SeaSpray]

Thanks everyone for the answers so far!!

Does anyone have the link to the dining rotation site? Also, we don't want to miss the character breakfast by doing the brunch the same day, so does that coincide with your dining rotation, or is that assigned randomly?

Also, I thought I read somewhere about the Magic going into drydock and some changes being made to it. Does anyone have info on that??

thanks again!

 

[Masonpips]

I found the rotation link:


http://community.webshots.com/photo/52061656/70619159vOgOUi


that's Eastern, you should be able to click somewhere near the top to go back to the choice and choose Western

 

[Fins2TheRight]

We took the two-way radios and they were great for us. My 13 and 11 yo DS's loved using them ... but then what kid doesn't love using a walkie talkie? We didn't notice any interference, and when we hit a channel that was getting used, we just switched to another one until we found a clear one.

 

[buzzdad100]

This has been helpful to me also, thanks

 

[CruzNMom]

We did the Tulum Ruins last August and loved it. It is a long day and it is hot but that would not prevent me from doing it again.

From the Magic, you board a high-speed ferry (air conditioned) for a ride (maybe 50 minutes) over to the mainland. You are met there by a very charming gentleman of Mayan descent (more later). He walks you through the town for about 1/4 mile to a bus area. You get on an airconditioned bus and head down the highway for another hour or so. On the bus trip, the tour guide gives you some background about the Mayans. He is an excellent speaker/teacher and is obviously very proud of his heritage.

On the way down, you stop once at a roadside shopping area. There are also bathrooms (a bit primative). The shopping is fine - a lot of pressure but good natured. We bought a few items - a shawl for me, a couple of ankle bracelets for my daughter, a hat for my son, etc.

Once at Tulum you go with the guide through the ruins. The walk is hilly and rocky but not strenuous for someone in reasonable health. Your kids should be fine but it is definitely not for very young kids who lack the attention span. I found it very interesting - your sons should if they have studied the Mayans. You can actually see how they built their structures so that the sun shining through a slit in the wall and through successive windows in walls provided them with a calendar. After the tour you are free to walk about the ruins on your own or go down to the beach or back to the bus area where there are more shops.

We had about an hour at one of the most beautiful beaches I have seen. The only people at the beach are from the busses so it is not crowded at all and the water is crystal clear. We also shopped briefly but I don't recall buying anything there - prices were higher than at roadside if I remember correctly.

On the way back you get Subway sandwiches and drinks.

 

[SeaSpray]

Masonpips: thanks for the link, I will check it out!

Fins2TheRight: How did your 13 yr old son like the teen program on the ship??

CruzNMom: Thanks SO much for that detailed review. You gave me the exact info I was wondering about. I think we will definitely do this excursion, it sounds exactly how we had hoped it would be!!

 

[Jeanny]

Originally posted by krhardy

When we cruise with a large group, we bring a roll of white magnetic tape that you can get at home depot, and a overhead projector pen that you can get at Wal Mart (Vis a Vis pens)
you cut a small piece of the tape off, and it magnetizes itself to your door, then you simply write where you are. ie....11:00-Art of Entertaining. You can wash it off with a wet cloth, and use the same strip the whole cruise. This works great with adults, and don't see why it wouldn't work with older kids...you could even have 1 strip for each child.

OR you could just get a pad of post it notes

 

[Y2KMOM]

I read that your dinner rotation is based on who you are traveling with. If you have young children, older children or all adults. I think I saw it on the passporter web site. You can sign up and read some sample pages. I believe it is on there.