November 3, 2007 - Western on the Magic

[mommynt]

bump --- we were on page 3

 

[VeronicaWest]

well plans have changed we are not going to be able to go to do the space thing but we have finally decided on some excusrions....

 

[iwannabeminnie]

what were we doing on page 3?

What shore excursions did you decide on?

 

[VeronicaWest]

lol so far just snorkeling n stingray package on castaway cay. DH doesnt want to do it so me n dd are going to with the rest of my fam, but what DH doesnt know is that since hes the only one who doesnt want to do it, hes gotta babysit my niece who is going to be almost 1 ! im thinkin im going to break it to him tonight lol. i know that in key west i want to just wander around and see as much on my own by foot or maybe bike..we will see...on grand caymen im not sure whats going to happen..originally i was going to do horseback riding with dd through someplace on the island, but i havnt decided for sure yet. cozumel, my plan is to do some window shopping(and shopping shopping) but theres been talk of going to see the ruins so thats in the air as well.

 

[DuncanLL]

Looks like there will be a lot going on when we're in Key West...

November 01-04

Parrot Heads in Key West

Fans of musician Jimmy Buffett are to flock to the island dubbed Margaritaville for their annual "Meeting of the Minds" convention.

November 04 - 11

Key West World Championship

High-speed powerboats continue Key West's longstanding tradition in a challenge described as the Indianapolis 500 of powerboat racing.

Hopefully, the crowds won't make it too hard to enjoy our day there.

LD

 

[Deemarch]

Kidding! Hey, as long as you know it's going to be crowded, you won't be disappointed. I'm looking for a Margarita, Key Lime Pie, and watching the sunset (and maybe that will be from the ship). I'll be happy!!

 

[love2travel]

Kidding! Hey, as long as you know it's going to be crowded, you won't be disappointed. I'm looking for a Margarita, Key Lime Pie, and watching the sunset (and maybe that will be from the ship). I'll be happy!!

Sounds like a good plan!

 

[iwannabeminnie]

Give me a margarita, some key lime pie, another margarita, a glimpse of Ernest Hemingway's house, a margarita, a photo op at Southernmost Point, a margarita, a spectacular sunset, and a margarita and I'll have no complaints. If I get to see a speed boat race and have a margarita, well that will just be the icing on the cake.

 

[chop003]

Give me a margarita, some key lime pie, another margarita, a glimpse of Ernest Hemingway's house, a margarita, a photo op at Southernmost Point, a margarita, a spectacular sunset, and a margarita and I'll have no complaints. If I get to see a speed boat race and have a margarita, well that will just be the icing on the cake.

We made the mistake of walking to the Southernmost point. While the town near the port is an enjoyable walk with shops to browse, it gets pretty boring and becomes a long walk to The Point.

 

[SamIAm21]

Just a little hint for those of you who just want to do the Conch Train or Trolley Tour on Key West. You can go to www.keywest.com and scroll down until you see "Sightseeing". Click there! From there, you can buy tickets for the Conch Train or Trolley (or both) that are a lot cheaper than a Disney tour. Better still, you can buy the Trolley pass for the day and just get on and off all day, stopping here and there. Buying them on line gets you a nice discount too. I think if you buy the excursion through Disney, you get one 90 minute tour rather than being able to hop off and on all day.

This seemed the better way to go for what we wanted to do. It may help out others as well.

 

[Deemarch]

Do you know the price of the Old Town Trolley once you arrive in Key West? And would you really recommend this?

 

[SamIAm21]

The price for an all day ticket on the Old Town Trolley from keywest.com is $24.30. The Disney Tour is $24, but that's just for the 60 minute tour. I am not sure you get the on and off privileges with the Disney Tour. I don't want to misspeak, but it doesn't sound like it from the way it is described in the shore excursion booklet.

I have never been on this tour before, so I can't say I personally recommend it, only that I feel that buying my tickets beforehand, having the ability to tour at my leisure for the whole day, is far better than the one hour tour offered from Disney.

Here's some of what the web site says.

Sit back while the expert tour guides turn back the
pages of history to the days of Indians, pirates, wreckers and the Civil War. Old Town Trolley Tours of Key West is the best way to explore the southernmost city.

Key West's Most Popular Tour Includes:

An exciting 90+ minute fully narrated tour of Key West covering over 100 points of interest.

eTicket Good for All Day Use! *
"On and Off" privileges at all conveniently located stops.

A 100% Money Back Guarantee!!!

Learn about Key West's lucrative (ship) wrecking industry. Hear the stories of success and disaster of Henry Flagler's railroad... the railroad that went to sea. Listen to the legends of the fierce Calusa Indians that were said to leave the remains of their enemies on the beaches of Key West, thus creating Key West's first name, Cayo Hueso... Island of Bones.

Tour at your own pace!
Old Town Trolley Tours allows you to get off at any of it's convenient stops. When you're ready, just re-board and it's on with the tour. Spend as much time as you like as you make one complete loop.

On your tour you'll also find out where to dine, shop, and just relax and have good time. The Old Town Trolley Tours are Key West's most comprehensive tours, covering over 100 points of interest. The guides have been extensively trained and are proud to share the history, lore and legends of Key West.

* Your eTicket is good for all day use from 9am, with the last re-boarding at 4:30pm. If you chose to stay on the trolley, the tour is approximately 90 minutes. You may "hop on" and "hop off" as many times as you like during the hours of operation.

Now, we are getting into port at about noon, and the ticket is good til 4:30 p.m., so, that isn't a really long time, but it still seems like a better deal than Disney. I'm just throwing it out there for all those who mentioned that they would rather do Key West on their own.

 

[Deemarch]

We are doing all of the islands on our own, and I have been gathering everyone's opinions and suggestions, to help make our final decisions. In Key West we'd just like to get to some local flavor...Grand Cayman will probably be a beach day, if it's good weather and Mexico is for shopping! I have no real plans off the ship. We do have Palo reservations and I have a hot stone massage booked!!! I've always wanted to do this. DH says that he will gladly heat up some rocks for a massage anytime I'd like. LOL

 

[kowalchicky]

Anyone plan on stopping in at Sloppy Joe's in Key West?

 

[SamIAm21]

We are doing all of the islands on our own, and I have been gathering everyone's opinions and suggestions, to help make our final decisions. In Key West we'd just like to get to some local flavor...Grand Cayman will probably be a beach day, if it's good weather and Mexico is for shopping! I have no real plans off the ship. We do have Palo reservations and I have a hot stone massage booked!!! I've always wanted to do this. DH says that he will gladly heat up some rocks for a massage anytime I'd like. LOL

That sounds like something my DH would say too! We are only doing one excursion, which is the Pirate adventure on GC. I don't want to overload my daughter as we both tend to be easily overwhelmed. I know DH & I just want to relax and not have to go go go. The Trolley sounds nice because you can do it at your own pace. I didn't get any Palo ressies, but I did get a facial appt for Thursday, our sea day. That will be very nice!

 

[iwannabeminnie]

I'm a go, go, goer. If somebody plopped me down on a beach and told me I had to sit there all day I would go stark, raving mad.

 

[SamIAm21]

Well, we don't plan to just plop on beaches the whole time, although we may do just that on CC. We'd like to just take a "steady as she goes" pace. We did the go go go thing a few years ago on our Royal Caribbean cruise without our daughter and we do the "commando" style touring in WDW or DL. So, for the cruise, we'll just make it up as we go along.

I think we'll visit Chankanaab on our own in Cozumel. It's easy enough and it's right down the road from the boat dock, a short taxi ride away! Not only that, but if I come home without Mexican Vanilla Extract, I'll probably be hog-tied and thrown in Lake Michigan, so I need to head into town for a short spell. My sisters-in-law are eagerly awaiting their vanilla for the upcoming holiday baking season!

 

[iwannabeminnie]

ACK! It never even DAWNED on me that we would be in Mexico! When I lived in Texas we made a border run about once a year for vanilla (and other necessities). Now I just have to figure how to get it home on the plane. Maybe I should pack a PLASTIC bottle and transfer it over, put it in a plastic bag, and pack it in dirty clothes.

Things that make you go hmmmmmmmmmmm.

 

[NJMermaid]

Hello y'all.

We are a group of 5, 3 adults and 2 kids. 15 yr boy and 14 yr girl. Have Palo on Key West day, 6pm, hope to see the sunset from the restaurant.

I was poking around the internet for KW tourist sites, specifically electric cars. We were on the jersey week cruise last year, and I really wanted to try out one of these cars, but did not. So, I made sure to plan for it this year. In KW we will rent a car for the whole day, the kids will parasail and we will all go to the butterfly place.

On Grand Cayman, we will do the Disney excursion for helmet diving.

Cozumel, not decided yet.

We're flying down Friday night and are hoping to stay at the Hyatt in the airport.

 

[SamIAm21]

ACK! It never even DAWNED on me that we would be in Mexico! When I lived in Texas we made a border run about once a year for vanilla (and other necessities). Now I just have to figure how to get it home on the plane. Maybe I should pack a PLASTIC bottle and transfer it over, put it in a plastic bag, and pack it in dirty clothes.

Things that make you go hmmmmmmmmmmm.

Dang, I can't remember if the bottles we had last time were glass or plastic?? For some reason, I don't remember being really worried about them, so maybe it was plastic? All I know is that you can definitely tell the difference between the vanilla stuff they sell up here and the real vanilla they sell down there! Holiday cookies never tasted so gooooodd!!