Roll call 3/13/2004 Western Magic cruisers...

[Northwoods]

We cancelled our cruise. DH didn't feel he could be gone 9 days - he is in a new job. But we will be at Grand Cayman when you dock. We are spending 5 days at the Reef Resort on the East End.

At least we will get to swim with the stingrays. We missed it last year.

Have fun.

 

[decolady]

Sorry Jane. We almost had to leave hubby home for the same reason, but he caught the boss on a good day when he asked for the time off!!


Bee and Once, we are first seating.

 

[MerryPoppins]

Hi. Our family of 4 will be on the March 13 cruise. We are from Norman, Oklahoma and the kids are out of school that week. Our DS is 16 (he'll be 17 in June) and DD will turn 13 on April 1st. She is trying to decide whether or not she wants to bump up to the teen group.

Any teens/kids interested in making friends in advance of the trip? We could start a thread on the teen board or start a kid one here. They might all like "knowing" someone in advance.

This is our second Disney cruise as a family. DH and I also went on a cruise for our honeymoon and two of our stops were Cozumel and Grand Cayman. This cruise is partly to celebrate our 20th anniversary in July.

We haven't decided what to do in port. Probably we'll do our own thing unless we decide to do the stingrays. Not sure what seating we have. I'll ask DH. Probably the first seating because our DS is ALWAYS hungry!

We arrive in Orlando on the 12th and we are driving to the port to spend the night. DH made the reservation. Can't recall the name of the hotel. When we get back, we are spending a night in Orlando and doing a Disney outlet and other shopping.

Now that I've found this thread I'll try to keep up with it. Feel free to PM me if you want to get to know me better.

 

[onceuponadream]

Northwoods...what a bummer. I hope you'll be able to rebook soon .

Welcome MerryPoppins! I'm sure my kids would love to introduce themselves on the thread...not sure how great they would be at keeping up with it but we could try.

Weather here is beautiful..this is our "nice" time of year as summers are merciless. It's 60 and partly cloudy so the kids never come inside after school!

 

[MerryPoppins]

We've had a couple of cold snaps and cold nights, but afternoons are beautiful. It's a nice break from summer's humidity.

DD wants to know where all the girls are? Seems like an abundance of boys and few girls.

 

[BeeSkip]

Hi....It's Bee again...

Northwoods.....That must have been hard to cancel the cruise. At least you still have a very nice vacation to look forward to.

As far as girls, My DD is turning 17 in a few weeks.

I am sure the Teens and kids would love to introduce themselves prior to the cruise... After all, they all seem in front of the computer all the time anyway!!!

We are looking into one of the stingray excursions. Does anyone have any suggestions as to which one is best? Last year on our cruise, we were unable to dock in the Caymans and our stingray excursion was cancelled. We also want to snorkle in Cozumel. I think we will just sightsee on our own in Key West.

It's not as cold here today( high around 50) however on Friday, the high is forcasted to be 8 degrees. BRRRRRRR.

The tropical sun and breezes are looking good!!! Bee

 

[ThomS]

I am quite happy to say my family will also be on the 3/13/04 Magic. We will have 5 myself, DW, DD5 and DD1, with my father-in-law. This is our 3rd DCL cruise, our first western.

Thom

 

[LikesMagic]

Hello --
Single dad here with two daughters, 9 and 15, on our first cruise. Really looking forward to it!
Fred, Austin, TX

 

[decolady]

Hi everyone!!

As of today, it is only 2 months till we step aboard the ship!!!

 

[BeeSkip]

Just a quick note: I just got ff the phone with the shore excursion desk. I was told that the 3-13-04 sailing is one which doesn't tender in the Caymans but actually docks. I didn't know this ever happened. The lady was very certain of this even though I questioned her over and over. This may impact which the times of the shore excursions everyone wants to do. Just verify this fact, if you call. I don't have a countdown clock but I guess we have 59days left to go.

See you on board!!! Bee

 

[mike2beach]

Here are some of the Stingray City charters. I think Native Way is the cheapest and you do not need to leave a deposit. Watch of for Capt. Bryan's. If for some reason you cancel, they will not refund your deposit.

http://www.nativewaywatersports.com/about.html
http://www.captainmarvins.com/
http://caymanislandsdiscounts.com/CaptainBryan.htm

 

[trgthatsme]

Hello everyone,

We are a family of four. My DH and I are in our 40s, DS is 16 and DD is 14. We are really excited for our first cruise together as a family (DH and I have gone on one other cruise prior to kids).

We have been curious about excursions and appreciate the comments that have been posted. I'm glad to know that exploring the ports on our own is an option.

Does anyone know anything specific about the Mayan ruins in Cozumel?

We are looking forward to meeting everyone in March!

 

[decolady]

Welcome, trgthatsme!!!

Sorry, I don't know anything about the Mayan ruins!! We are going to wander around on our own near the dock in both Key West and Grand Cayman. Doing the Dolphin Encounter in Cozumel.

Deb

 

[MerryPoppins]

Trgthatsme, I think the only impressive ruins are on the mainland. Look for a thread about Cozumel started by Coz Minigolf Sally. She lives in Cozumel and will be glad to answer your questions.

By the way, DH and I are also in our 40's. Our kids will be along with us. DS is 16 and DD will be almost 13. It's our family's second cruise on the Magic. We'll have to meet!

 

[BeeSkip]

Hello March 13th cruisers.

I got our shore excursion confirmation today in the mail!!!

When are you all getting to Florida? We are flying in early Saturday morning. We debated about going Friday evening but the flights didn't work out.

When do you all book this cruise, We booked last spring

It's so cold here.....Sunshine. Palm trees, coconuts here we come!


See you on board, Bee

 

[MerryPoppins]

We are getting there Friday night. Still haven't decided on our excursions. We need to get on the ball. It's getting close and I'm excited.

 

[decolady]

Hello gang!

We are getting in around 9PM Friday night and staying by the airport. We are coming into the Sanford (North Orlando) Airport, about an hour drive to Cape Canaveral.

We booked the one excursion we want to do, the Dolphin Encounter in Cozumel.

Getting close now!!

 

[trgthatsme]

Thank-you to everyone for the warm welcome!

We are arriving Saturday morning and taking the Disney Cruise Line transportation to the port. Our flight gets in around 11:00 am.

Does anyone know if we will have the time and opportunity to purchase soda/ wine at the port before boarding?

We have not booked any excursions yet. I've been doing a lot of research and we will probably make our decisions this weekend.

MerryPoppins, it would be nice to meet you and your family.

Have a great weekend everyone!

 

[MerryPoppins]

We've never done the Disney Cruise Line transportation, so I can't answer your question. It'll probably take an hour or hour and a half to make the drive, if I remember correctly.

Don't really know where you'd go to buy wine and pop? They'll drop you off in the parking lot of the terminal. I'm not sure how far it would be to go shopping.

Good luck getting the answer you want. If you don't find out here, you could ask on the regular cruise line forum.

 

[BeeSkip]

This is our 4th Disney Cruise, 1 4 day Wonder, 1 3 day Wonder (too short) 1 7 day Western and now the upcoming March 13th cruise. Each time we took the Disney transportation to the port and to my 1st hand knowledge, there is not an opportunity to purchase drinks etc. as you are dropped off at the terminal. There are no stores or shopping centers that I've seen visually near the terminal. My suggestion would be to have one person from your party take a taxi from the terminal to a local store (? as to how far away) make your purchase and then return before boarding. You would have to decide if this was worth it or not.

50 days and counting, Bee

Decolady, we are practically neighbors!!