November 26, 2011 Western Carribean

[MamaLuvBunny31]

My mom was a single mother from the time I was 2, and I am an only child. We went on so many different trips together, not just Disney, all throughout the years. Our last trip that was just the two of us was to California in 2008, including a stop at Disneyland. You would be surprised with how much fun just a mother and daughter can have. We still do things just the two of us whenever we can (she remarried in 2006 and I have my DH2b, so it's hard to find a moment away from our men ). I have so many wonderful memories of all the things we have done together and I can honestly say they are the most precious memories of my life, so far

Thanks for sharing that. <3

 

[CherylA]

Hello all! I just booked my cruise! I'm a first time cruiser and this will be the first time I've traveled anywhere by myself! It will be just me (I'll be 32 when we cruise) and my daughter who will be 6 when we go. I'm a single mom and slightly worried that I won't have as much fun as those traveling with big families. I am terrified and super excited at the same time!

Welcome! I think you'll have a great time don't worry and you'll know lots of people from our DIS meet

 

[MamaLuvBunny31]

Hi all! I have a few newbie questions.

1. For those of you that book excursions on your own, can anyone recommend a website or company that I can look into? Booking excursions through Disney is super expensive, but being a first time cruiser I'm a little nervous about going out on my own.

2. I wanted to do the dolphin excursion but it's so expensive! I see that there are dolphin excursions on Grand Cayman and Cozumel. Has anyone done any of these? Which one is better? The Grand Cayman tour with the Turtle Farm sounds good too. DD also wants to pet stingrays. Can you tell she loves animals? I have to make sure I book an excursion involving interacting with animals because that's all dd wants to do. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

3. Regarding FE, can you give me an idea of the kinds of gifts you are talking about? I will search the boards when I have time for more info, because I'm a little confused about it.

4. I am in room 7063 which is an 11A. I booked it because I read that the higher decks are less noisy and midship is good if you are scared of getting seasick. Did I book a good room, or does anyone have any better recommendations?

Thanks. I know it's a lot of questions.

 

[TJGorman]

Hi all! I have a few newbie questions.

1. For those of you that book excursions on your own, can anyone recommend a website or company that I can look into? Booking excursions through Disney is super expensive, but being a first time cruiser I'm a little nervous about going out on my own.

2. I wanted to do the dolphin excursion but it's so expensive! I see that there are dolphin excursions on Grand Cayman and Cozumel. Has anyone done any of these? Which one is better? The Grand Cayman tour with the Turtle Farm sounds good too. DD also wants to pet stingrays. Can you tell she loves animals? I have to make sure I book an excursion involving interacting with animals because that's all dd wants to do. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

3. Regarding FE, can you give me an idea of the kinds of gifts you are talking about? I will search the boards when I have time for more info, because I'm a little confused about it.

4. I am in room 7063 which is an 11A. I booked it because I read that the higher decks are less noisy and midship is good if you are scared of getting seasick. Did I book a good room, or does anyone have any better recommendations?

Thanks. I know it's a lot of questions.

The FE is nothing to stress over, honest!

It can (and should) be whatever you would like to share! It could be magnets from your hometown, stickers, etc.

I have gotten so many interesting items over the years, from little pirate rubber duckies (that always reminds me of the cruise we received it on) to a CD, to Disney recipes, bookmarks, pirate night stickers, glow sticks...it really is supposed to be about the thought that counts. I can say I just enjoyed coming back to the stateroom each night to find a little goodie waiting for us!

If you have the means and creativity for something grand, awesome! If you are thinking, I like the idea of stickers and rubber ducks, awesome! If you are thinking all I have time for is to pick up some hometown magnets and your favorite recipe card, awesome!

I hope you join us for the FE as I am sure your two girls will enjoying getting little surprises each night. My children were so excited getting surprises each night, they didn't ask for anymore souvenirs, as they already had a ton of stuff to bring home, LOL!

 

[CherylA]

Hi all! I have a few newbie questions.

1. For those of you that book excursions on your own, can anyone recommend a website or company that I can look into? Booking excursions through Disney is super expensive, but being a first time cruiser I'm a little nervous about going out on my own.

2. I wanted to do the dolphin excursion but it's so expensive! I see that there are dolphin excursions on Grand Cayman and Cozumel. Has anyone done any of these? Which one is better? The Grand Cayman tour with the Turtle Farm sounds good too. DD also wants to pet stingrays. Can you tell she loves animals? I have to make sure I book an excursion involving interacting with animals because that's all dd wants to do. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

3. Regarding FE, can you give me an idea of the kinds of gifts you are talking about? I will search the boards when I have time for more info, because I'm a little confused about it.

4. I am in room 7063 which is an 11A. I booked it because I read that the higher decks are less noisy and midship is good if you are scared of getting seasick. Did I book a good room, or does anyone have any better recommendations?

Thanks. I know it's a lot of questions.

On Grand Cayman Captain Marvin's gets great reviews. They do a tour that includes the stingray city and the turtle farm. http://www.captainmarvins.com/

 

[MamaLuvBunny31]

On Grand Cayman Captain Marvin's gets great reviews. They do a tour that includes the stingray city and the turtle farm. http://www.captainmarvins.com/

Thanks!

 

[goofy's gal]

We just booked our cruise TODAY! Our first ever cruise! We are sooooo excited to be joining all of you! We were informed today that our inside stateroom cabin (5020) has a "secret porthole", how cool is that?! We were able to look it up & see an actual photo of the porthole. It is just barely obstructed, but hey I'm not complaining! It will be my husband, myself & the kiddos will be 12 (DS), & 10 (DD) at the time. I've got ALOT of reading to do here, but I cannot wait to chat with all of you. Can you tell I'm excited?! LOL

 

[TJGorman]

Welcome, welcome, welcome!

The first cruise is so exciting! All the new experiences, and of course, the warm places we will be visiting!

Enjoy the planning!

 

[SKR]

My family is so excited for this cruise! It will be our first cruise and first "big" vacation as a family outside of our local beach. My DD will be 9 and my DS will be 3 at the time of the cruise. I am new at these message boards and I feel like there is so much information to learn! I saw that someone was in a room near our stateroom 7065.

 

[monami7]

Just booked this cruise!!! So excited!! The whole family is going. It will be myself, my boyfriend, the kids (mad is 8, ry is 6) My sister and her hubby there two girls (lilly 4, and Rory 3). My parents and grandparents. Super excited it will be our second disney cruise but for the rest there first. We would love to do the FE at least for the kids. It can't get here soon enough.

I am the sister! We are so excited!!! Only 7 more months to go!

 

[TJGorman]

Welcome everyone!

It is getting much closer, I can't wait!

If you are interested in joining the FE, just let me know! I have already started a list!


Look forward to meeting everyone!

 

[madry2009]

Hello all! I just booked my cruise! I'm a first time cruiser and this will be the first time I've traveled anywhere by myself! It will be just me (I'll be 32 when we cruise) and my daughter who will be 6 when we go. I'm a single mom and slightly worried that I won't have as much fun as those traveling with big families. I am terrified and super excited at the same time!

Just read your post and I will be on the cruise as well. But this time I will be taking my whole family. But I did the four night cruise a year and half ago alone as a single mom with my two children - they were 5 and 7 at the time. They had an awesome time and I had a great time. But it really helped being on here and meeting people. I actually met a couple and hung out with them the whole cruise. Be prepared!! Your daughter will probably completely ditch you. I had to beg mine to hang out on the private island. They couldn't wait to get back to the rest of the kids. So meet people and bring reading material. It is very relaxing having a cocktail and sitting by the pool!! You will be suprised how much you will actually enjoy it. I travel all the time and I have to say this was one of the best trips with my children ever!! And I believe I was actually around the same age at the time. don't worry

 

[madry2009]

Hope I can help a little. I know it can be a little stressful when you are doing this on your own. But take it slow and do what you can. First the FE thing is great. It is alot of fun and you make it what you want. I did not know what kind of gifts to do the first time and ended up with different things. For example I tried to look for small pirate eye patches for pirate night, I did hot chocolate packets one day, we did picture frames, ornaments we made different things like that as I did a christmas cruise last time. Some people made homemade things with disney logos it was fun. I got a scrapbook and magnet that was for the whole family for that day.
Next as for the shore excursions - If you are really concerned I would spend the money and go with Disney. The benefit is if something happens with weather for example they will refund your money and guarantee you are there in time. If you book on your own many people do that just know what your cancellation policy is. As for Grand Cayman it is one of my favorite islands. It is VERY safe. So if you were going to go off on your own this is where I would reccomend to do it. This island is awesome. I have done the dolphin thing and honestly I would pass unless you are going to pay and do the actual swim. Otherwise it is maybe standing in the water waist deep and petting it. The stingray city is amazing. I highly suggest it. I have not done turtle farm, but I know 7 mile beach was very nice. In cozumel be more careful being alone. I would suggest going with a disney excursion or going in a group. Last time I was there I took a taxi to a restaurant I think senor frog or something and sat there the entire time. I do not like to feel uncomfortable and unsafe. When people come up to me begging for money I get nervous. So I would say do an excursion or go with a group. Key west is fun and you could really just walk around the main street. It is alot of fun. You will have a great time. As for the sea sick worries. My daughter get motion sickness all the time and did great on the cruise. I gave her 1/2 a pill and had the bands on hand if needed. She did fine. With the 1/2 pill it didn't make her drousy or knock her out. Hope all this info helps.

 

[madry2009]

<a href="http://distickers.com/ticker/"><img src="http://distickers.com/ticker/tickers/g6wxcs7m4keuo2tx.png" alt="DIStickers.com Ticker" border="0"/></a>

 

[MamaLuvBunny31]

Hope I can help a little. I know it can be a little stressful when you are doing this on your own. But take it slow and do what you can. First the FE thing is great. It is alot of fun and you make it what you want. I did not know what kind of gifts to do the first time and ended up with different things. For example I tried to look for small pirate eye patches for pirate night, I did hot chocolate packets one day, we did picture frames, ornaments we made different things like that as I did a christmas cruise last time. Some people made homemade things with disney logos it was fun. I got a scrapbook and magnet that was for the whole family for that day.
Next as for the shore excursions - If you are really concerned I would spend the money and go with Disney. The benefit is if something happens with weather for example they will refund your money and guarantee you are there in time. If you book on your own many people do that just know what your cancellation policy is. As for Grand Cayman it is one of my favorite islands. It is VERY safe. So if you were going to go off on your own this is where I would reccomend to do it. This island is awesome. I have done the dolphin thing and honestly I would pass unless you are going to pay and do the actual swim. Otherwise it is maybe standing in the water waist deep and petting it. The stingray city is amazing. I highly suggest it. I have not done turtle farm, but I know 7 mile beach was very nice. In cozumel be more careful being alone. I would suggest going with a disney excursion or going in a group. Last time I was there I took a taxi to a restaurant I think senor frog or something and sat there the entire time. I do not like to feel uncomfortable and unsafe. When people come up to me begging for money I get nervous. So I would say do an excursion or go with a group. Key west is fun and you could really just walk around the main street. It is alot of fun. You will have a great time. As for the sea sick worries. My daughter get motion sickness all the time and did great on the cruise. I gave her 1/2 a pill and had the bands on hand if needed. She did fine. With the 1/2 pill it didn't make her drousy or knock her out. Hope all this info helps.

Thanks so much! You helped a lot!

 

[MamaLuvBunny31]

Hello all. I had to cancel my reservation because I have to find a new place to live (in other words, finances). I am devastated. Just wanted to give a heads up and thank all of you for being so nice and giving me so much helpful information. I will get on that boat one day and I will use all the info I got on these boards. I hope you all have a wonderful time on your cruise.

 

[CherylA]

Hello all. I had to cancel my reservation because I have to find a new place to live (in other words, finances). I am devastated. Just wanted to give a heads up and thank all of you for being so nice and giving me so much helpful information. I will get on that boat one day and I will use all the info I got on these boards. I hope you all have a wonderful time on your cruise.

Oh how disappointing! I hope it works pout for yo uand you are able to book a new cruise soon.

 

[ALMPeters11-11-11]

Hello all. I had to cancel my reservation because I have to find a new place to live (in other words, finances). I am devastated. Just wanted to give a heads up and thank all of you for being so nice and giving me so much helpful information. I will get on that boat one day and I will use all the info I got on these boards. I hope you all have a wonderful time on your cruise.

Oh, my! That is very disappointing...not the fact that you had to cancel, but the circumstances! I wish you and your daughter luck with finding a new home

 

[Ksbrn65]

Can' wait to go. Me, hubby, two sons. 10, 8:

 

[Ksbrn65]

What is FE? How to join? And where can I buy magnets?