NEW March 3-10, 2012 - Western Caribbean with the Magic!

[jessrose18]

grand cayman tour is through nativeways i believe... there are many tour company's in the gc that do city tours, stingray tours etc that will get you to the ship back on time that are cheaper than disney. Congrats on the free airfare! We rented points at AKV last year and loved it! Booked a value studio and was on the savannah for 9 points a night in December!

 

[aberrydisneygirl]

Hi Kungaloosh,
The island tour at GC that we are going to do is with Disney. They do have one with Native Ways, but the price was not that different from Disney's so We decided to just stick with Disney, that way transportation would be taken care of and we could just add it to our bill. We just have to wait til paid in full date to book it. The tour looks like it will be a lot of fun!!!!

I have come to know the DCL website very well. On the main page Under the tab "Cruises and destinations" (just run your mouse over that tab), click on port adventures, then once on that page there is a dropdown box on the right side for you to choose the port.

Awesome about your plane tickets. I noticed you are from MA. I lived in Allston and then Revere about 7 years ago. Loved the fall with all the beautiful colors, but hated the winter, of course I hate the winter where I live now. Don't like snow.

 

[kungaloosh]

Everyone,
An awesome person named Scott just got back from the Magic for the same itinerary we have in March and posted every document you can imagine. They've got all the navigators, the internet info, the shopping docs, entertainment, the gratuity letters etc. Hopefully copying a link to the post will work. Looking at these answered a lot of my questions.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2814906

aberrydisneygirl,
I did spend some time on the Disney cruise line site yesterday and feel more comfortable with it. I realized I even had an account already and they sent me my password and I can see my reservation.
Yes, I am from central MA and the foliage is just starting to kick in. We have heavy rain today and tomorrow so hopefully it won't bring down too many leaves.
I'm considering doing the island tour on Cayman thru Disney also. The thing I'm most interested in is seeing the turtles.

Cathy

 

[aberrydisneygirl]

The tour only covers a part of the turtle farm and I think we would be there about an hour. I have read that others have done the full turtle farm park and you can swim with the turtles, but have heard that that is really not very exciting, and there are only about 2-3 turtles you get to swim with. Most say that the best part is the place where you get to pet/hold the turtles, which is part of the tour. If you do go on the tour, it will be fun to have someone else from our disgroup there. Since this will be our first cruise and my first time at the ports I liked the idea of going to a few things with the tour.

 

[kungaloosh]

Hi aberrydisneygirl,
I just read the island tour description again. I think it would be perfect. Thanks for the tip on how to find the port adventures on the Disney page. I wonder if there will be multiple departure times. Sometimes with a tour like that they will offer more than one. If they do I would prefer the earlier the better. Would that work for you? I would love to have some time after just to walk around the port and shops. When I log in to the Disney page under my reservation it says I can book things starting December 4th.

I noticed you are going to IOA the day before the cruise. We were just there in July. The HP area and ride are amazing. If your husband is nervous about riding it you can do the castle tour and then you can use the single riders line to ride and not have to wait in the line that's usually a minimun of 60-90 minutes. Most of the rides at IOA have single riders lines which makes it awesome if you don't mind not riding together because you get to practically walk on the rides.

Cathy

 

[kungaloosh]

If anyone else was interested in the Cozumel Beach Break Excursion at Nachi Cocom there is still availabilty. I just booked it for DH and I. Counting the weeks!

Cathy

 

[Keurigirl]

We want to do the Nachi Cocom thing too - I booked it for March 7th, would that be the right day?? Just want to be sure.

 

[kungaloosh]

Keurigirl,
Yes March 7th! I checked the itinerary 3 times myself because I wanted to make sure I had the correct day.

Cathy

 

[aberrydisneygirl]

kungaloosh,
I also would prefer an early island tour. And would like some time to walk around, sightsee and shop. Can't wait!!! Since I have never cruised DCL before I can't book anything until Dec. 19th. Hopefully I will be able to get the excersions and times I want. And hopefully a time at Palo.

Thanks for the tip for IOA. I won't mind the single rider line if it helps us skip the long lines. I love HP and am so exited for that area of IOA.

 

[kungaloosh]

Where is everybody? Isn't everyone as excited as me?

I've had a tough year physically. I've had 2 back surgeries, 5 cortisone injections and weeks of physical therapy. Needless to say I put on some weight because during all this my drug of choice was ice cream! I am using this cruise as a goal to get this weight off! I've lost 12 lbs in 7 weeks. I'm finally walking better now and I'm trying to get my exercise level up. Is anyone else on a cruise goal diet?

Cathy

 

[aberrydisneygirl]

kungaloosh,
I planned on starting a cruise diet after Christmas. Too many goodies to eat before then. I too have put on a little weight from 2 surgeries this year, but back surgeries sound not so fun. After my last surgery in April I had to be on a clear liquid diet for 5 days. I was so hungry for actual food after that I think I over did it, actual food just tasted so good. Hope you are healing well. I understand trying to get the energy level back up. I think that is one of the hardest things after surgeries. That is one reason we chose the cruise for our vacation next year, so we could relax and not have to worry about walking a lot and doing busy vacation stuff. However, I'm a little worried that with all the yummy food on the cruise I will gain back whatever I lose before. Oh well. It will be worth it. I can't wait. Only 4 months and 7 days left.

 

[FoxFMX22]

Hi all. I'm new to the site, came up as I was researching cruise options. My fiance and I will be on this cruise for our honeymoon. The day we are leaving will also be my 30th birthday so it will be extra special. This is the first cruise for both of us so not really sure what to expect. Any tips would be greatly appreciated. See you all aboard.

Ryan

 

[FoxFMX22]

Slow thread.

 

[jessrose18]

Ok, ok guys I havent been around on the thread much..cause we are now going to Europe instead of on this cruise However we are very excited Just booked my airfare yesterday, didnt want to write it until I was for sure. I am sorry to jump ship on everyone, but I will be reading your trip reports and wishing I was there with you!!! I will be cancelling my stateroom sometime next week, as my agent is out of town. If anyone is interested in the sideways cat 11b I had reserved look for that back in inventory, it is a great room. Also I paid my deposit for Nachi Cocum, which was $28 for 2 adults. Instead of cancelling I can forward my confirmation to the first person on this cruise that pm's me that wants my spot. I checked with the people on cruise critic who have been there before and this is how that works out. Anybody can take my confirmation and bring it to the front and pay the remaining balance in cash, they do not check id's to make sure that you are the same 2 people. So if anybody wants it, I will forward it to you, if not I will wait a bit and then cancel, as they only have spots for 100 ppl. Again, happy sailing, and I will keep reading this thread and live vicariously through you.

p.s. I am still going to get my disney fix in europe 1 day in disneyland paris!!!!

 

[jessrose18]

On a side note if anybody has any suggestions/tips for our trip please let me know!!! We are flying into London for 5 nights and have already booked our tickets to the new harry potter studio tour! Then we are staying in Normandy for 2 nights and going on a dday band of brothers tour. Then 5 nights in Paris where we rented an apartment, and 1 day in Disneyland Paris. I know we are going to try to fit in: Hampton Court, Imperial War Museum, Chelsea football game, British Museum, Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, harry Potter tour, dday beach tour, Bayeux tapestry museum, Versailles, Disneyland, Notre Dame, Eiffel Tower, lourve, and as much other stuff as we can..... We did go to Paris on our honeymoon 7 years ago, we we know what we must go to again.. but always open to suggestions!!! Thanks again

 

[aberrydisneygirl]

Jessrose18,
Sad to hear you will not be on our cruise anymore, but I'm sure you will have a great time on your new trip. That sounds like so much fun!!!

 

[aberrydisneygirl]

Welcome new cruisers, FoxFMx22,
It has been a slow thread lately. Hopefully closer to cruise date we will get a lot more interaction. This will be our first cruise as well, so we are very excited.

 

[kungaloosh]

Welcome Ryan,
I'm from the New England and we had a nasty storm last week that knocked power out for several days so no internet and hence my delay in welcoming you. You and your fiance are going to have such a great honeymoon. I've been on the Disney Magic twice before and it's wonderful. You should definitely plan on booking a romantic dinner at Palo's. That can be done online in advance. I can't remember how many days in advance for first time cruisers but if you set up an account on the Disney Cruiseline site it will tell you when you can make your reservations.

Jessrose,
Sorry to see you go but your trip sounds amazing. We already have reservations for Nachi Cocum but I hope someone else takes you up on your offer so that we have someone else from the ship there that day.

Cathy

 

[FoxFMX22]

Thanks Cathy I'll have to look into that. We're both very excited for our first cruise. She's a huge Disney fan so this was a no brainer when we were deciding what to do for our honeymoon. We got engaged at Disney World almost a year ago in front of the castle. The wedding is in two months, can't believe the day is almost here. Then we get to relax and get settled in for a couple months before enjoying our honeymoon. We decided to not leave right away to save some money and cut down on the stress of rushing around right after the wedding.

 

[aberrydisneygirl]

Dec. 19th is the day first time cruisers can make reservations and book excersions. That's the day we are waiting for too. With it starting to get cold I really can't wait to get away to some warmer weather. Only 3 months and 24 days to go!!!