"Once Upon a Dream" 4 Night Dream Cruise 10/16/2011

[loveysbydesign]

We leave this Sat. the 8th morning for the long drive down!

 

[tinkmom2]

We leave this Sat. the 8th morning for the long drive down!

Have a great trip

 

[Twinprincesses]

WE just found out one of the girls classmates will be cruising with us too. Small world!!

 

[Tngrl78]

Have safe trips everybody!

We head out early on the 14th.

 

[Karen Mouse]

We leave this Sat. the 8th morning for the long drive down!

Oooooh, I'm jealous! - wish we were going so soon - safe trip to you

 

[Twinprincesses]

Have safe trips everybody!

We head out early on the 14th.

Us too!! I cannot believe it is next Friday!!

 

[plutolovr]

The DH and I are driving down 10/15 (our anniversary) to St. Augustine, FL for the night (heard it's really nice there) and then driving to the port early on Sunday. We have the earliest port arrival time. After the cruise we check into the Boardwalk for the rest of the weekend.

We have reservations for Shula's on Thursday night, but in the afternoon we will be sampling food around the World Showcase. We have the 3-D Dessert Discovery on Friday Night and the Party for the Senses on Saturday night.

 

[sherlovesmickey]

So sorry. We've been there not fun but you can make it and come out on top.

 

[Karen Mouse]

I reckon its time we put faces to Disnames or we'll all be wandering round at the Dismeet looking for each other! - I'll start first...


Ok folks, this is us... remember those faces and say hi everytime you see us on the ship

I'm Karen, hubby is Neil and DS is Ellis

 

[moneyhappy]

I'm going to need this vacation big time! They just told my department Wednesday that they were letting us all go come december . Stupid economy. BRING ON THE BIG FRUITY DRINKS FOR THIS GIRL

So sorry about your job Enough fruity drinks and you might even forget that you had a job

 

[Twinprincesses]

What is everyones plans in Nassau??? We are on the fence. Do we pay for the Sheraton or go for the free beach??

We cancelled our Cabana at Castaway and will just hang on the family beach. Maybe all of us with little ones can hang together on the beach.

 

[tinkmom2]

What is everyones plans in Nassau??? We are on the fence. Do we pay for the Sheraton or go for the free beach??

We cancelled our Cabana at Castaway and will just hang on the family beach. Maybe all of us with little ones can hang together on the beach.

Come to the free beach with us I am not sure which beach is better Cabbage or Cable? We have to get off the ship to get rum cakes after all lol

I also want to walk the 5K on Castaway but I just hurt my ankle so I hope it's better before then!

PS PS I bought one of those umbrella finders from Gradysmommy on ebay so look for an umbrella that has the name Franks on it lol

 

[loveysbydesign]

What is everyones plans in Nassau??? We are on the fence. Do we pay for the Sheraton or go for the free beach??

We cancelled our Cabana at Castaway and will just hang on the family beach. Maybe all of us with little ones can hang together on the beach.

We really want to go to the Sheraton but money is so tight now I don't think we are Will have to look for reviews on the free beaches on cruisecritic.com I guess. There is also Junkanoo beach which is right past the British Colonial Hilton.

 

[loveysbydesign]

Posted this thread on cc. hopefully we'll get some good answers
http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=30853703#post30853703

 

[tinkmom2]

Here is a thread with Cabbage beach in it. It looks beautiful!
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2550250

 

[Karen Mouse]

What is everyones plans in Nassau??? We are on the fence. Do we pay for the Sheraton or go for the free beach??

We cancelled our Cabana at Castaway and will just hang on the family beach. Maybe all of us with little ones can hang together on the beach.

Come to the free beach with us I am not sure which beach is better Cabbage or Cable? We have to get off the ship to get rum cakes after all lol

I also want to walk the 5K on Castaway but I just hurt my ankle so I hope it's better before then!

PS PS I bought one of those umbrella finders from Gradysmommy on ebay so look for an umbrella that has the name Franks on it lol

We're planning on doing Cabbage beach - it looks the nicest and only a few $ in a taxi. We're also doing the pirate museum and wahst left of the straw market on the other half of our cruise

 

[loveysbydesign]

I pulled this off of a post by scubagirl who live in Nassua in regards to 2 of the beaches.
http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1432760&highlight=cabbage

"The only Free beach with any amenities is Junkanoo Beach. It's located just outside of town. You can rent a chair or chaise ($5/$10) and there is a concession stand.. (i think it's just hot dogs and ice cream). There's also a daiquri stand and restrooms.

There is no water activities as this is an area that is considered the harbour, and jet ski's are not allowed. Occasionally an independent jet ski will go by to solicit, but I wouldn't count on it.


Cabbage Beach, which is on paradise island has rougher water, no restrooms or concession stands. They rent chairs and have vendors roaming the beach selling t shirts and jewelry etc. This beach has jet ski's and parasailing etc. It's popular, but it's a 10 minute walk to the nearest bathroom. Cab will take you here for $4 pp.
This beach is red flagged often when the water get's rough. There is no way of telling whether it's open or closed on any given day without going their and checking it out.

NONE of the free beaches have lifeguards. "

Also found this review for Junkanoo http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1464580&highlight=junkanoo
Junkanoo beach in Nassau 8/10/11
"We were at Junkanoo beach on 8/10 and thought I would post some comments here since so many people ask about it. This is the free beach in downtown Nassau.

Beach - The beach is fairly rocky, corally. If you are looking for white powder, this is not it. The beach is fairly wide. The day we went, while there were some people on the beach, it was never crowded.

Surf - Beautiful water, calm surf. Fairly level walk out into the water. There was some seaweed in the water.
Caution 1 - there was green broken glass everywhere in the surf. Not a large amount in any one place but here & there. Beach shoes are a must. The glass seemed "smooth" but still. Caution 2 - there are 2 large concrete jetty into the water that people jumped off into the water.

Snorkeling - Because of the seaweed, there was an abundance of tiny fish. My daughter enjoyed watching them. Otherwise this isn't the place for snorkeling.

Food - Beach vendors sold drinks & food. My daugher had a hamburger which she enjoyed. We had Pina coladas which were very good. $7 each.

Bathrooms - Pretty decent, reasonably clean. Stall doors closed, there was TP, soap & paper towels. There were changing rooms in the bathrooms too.

Rentals - Pricey. Old rickety lounge chairs are $10. Plastic upright chairs are $8. Umbrellas are $8.

Vendors - When we arrived, several people offered to rent us chairs etc. After that we were approached by several women selling jewelry throughout our time there but they were polite when we said No Thank You. We didn't feel harassed in any way.

Safety - We felt safe walking there and hanging out there. However similar to a large public beach anywhere, we didn't feel it was wise to leave all of our stuff on the beach while we all went into the water together. One person always stayed with our belongings.

Getting there - We walked with our 11 year old and were fine. It might be too far if you are coming with very small children unless they were in strollers. Note - there is a Dunkin Donuts and a McDonalds on the way. We got large sodas from the McD's and took them to the beach. Smart move!

Fish Fry - My husband walked down to the Fish Fry (Arawak Cay). It is a fair walk from the beach (so a good long walk directly from the ship). He loved the Conch but I didn't care for the grilled fish. He says there is NO fried fish. It is grilled (head, tail & fins on). I was hoping for more of a Fish & Chips thing but that isn't what is sold. Just FYI.
On our way to the beach, we toured the Pirates museum. I confess I did not have high expectations of this place but my 11 year old wanted to tour it so we went.

This museum is quite well done! If you or your kids enjoy the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disney, they will enjoy this museum. Fun and informative - I recommend it. Warning - it is somewhat pricey (maybe not for the Caribbean!!). $30 for the 3 of us together. Takes about an hour or two to tour.

Easy walk from the ship to the museum. Fairly easy walk from the museum to Junkanoo beach.

Bonus #1 - Clean, large bathrooms at the museum!
Bonus #2 - There is a gift shop but it is not one of those "larger than the museum itself & filled with with "Made in...." merchandise you could get from the Dollar store.

http://pirates-of-nassau.com/home.htm
"

 

[Twinprincesses]

We need a beach that has restrooms. It never fails that we get to the beach and one of the girls has to go to the restroom.

 

[elle9597]

I'm going to need this vacation big time! They just told my department Wednesday that they were letting us all go come december . Stupid economy. BRING ON THE BIG FRUITY DRINKS FOR THIS GIRL

So sorry to hear this. I second the fruity drinks with umbrellas. I say bring them on!

I cannot believe how close we are to Embarkation Day! I have heard many stories about the Cruise Terminal and how hectic it can be. Does anyone have advice/tips on how to make the embarkation process go smoothly? Aside from patience and a laid back attitude!

Thanks for the tips for Nassau. My family wants to stay on the Ship, but I want to go to the beach!

 

[tinkmom2]

We need a beach that has restrooms. It never fails that we get to the beach and one of the girls has to go to the restroom.

That's what the ocean is for No that would be my luck too!