Some first-time cruiser questions

[mcampbell_22]

I've been a lurker for a while. We're (myself, DH, DS7, and DD5) booked on the Eastern Magic 11/15/03 cruise and this board has been so helpful. Yes I too am an obsessive planner. Here goes:

We are still researching which excursions to book (or do on our own) but would love any comments on the Golden Eagle catamaran excursion on St. Maarten (we have made the decision not to visit the French side of the island so we won't need any info on excursions for this area) and whether or not you would recommend doing Coral World on your own or booking it through DCL. In regards to the latter (CW) anyone interested can go to the following site and print out a coupon for $3.00 each adult admission and $1 off each child.

http://www.coralworldvi.com/cpn03.htm

Next question has to do with drinks. Are any of the juices, ice-tea and lemonade options diet or sugar free? If not, would this be something we would need to meet with the Food/Beverage team about?

Along the same sort of vein, my DH only drinks non-alcoholic beer. Is this available on board? If not, could we bring some along?

Finally a question about souveniers. My kids started collecting pressed pennies a few years back. I understand that the machines have been removed from the ships but are any machines available at the DCL terminal? Also, I would love to get some ideas/recommendations from you all on inexpensive souveniers for the kids to get from St. Maarten and St. Thomas. They really love to have things that are not so touristy but are representative of the culture, heritage and environment of where we vacation.

Oh, I just thought of something else! Not a question, but some info. We're booked in cabin 7035 (Cat. 11). If you own the Passporter and looked up this stateroom it would be listed as sleeping 3. Needless to say I called my TA in a panic to verify the information and we've been guaranteed by DCL and our TA that it does indeed sleep 4. In addition, we cancelled our airfare with DCL and chose to book it separately. Saved $450 off of DCL prices for airfare. Since then the price for our flight (Delta RT, non-stop from Boston to ORL) has doubled. We paid $209 RT and as of yesterday it's $420! Another reason obsessive planning is a good thing!

Thanks in advance for what I know will be wonderful advice and information.

 

[Señor Ferrari]

I can help with some of these:

I've never done the Golden Eagle excursion, but have heard from several people that it is very enjoyable. On St. Maarten, as with most ports, we usually go it alone and don't book excursions. Good snorkeling can be had at Dawn Beach, Little Bay Beach, and Orient Bay (although this is on the French side).

On St. Thomas, I'd suggest doing Coral World by yourself. You can catch a cab on the pier to get there, and you usually can arrange a time to be picked up. If not, finding a cab is not really a problem. With the excursion, your time is a little more structured. This is why we usually just wing it.

Regarding the drinks, I believe the iced tea is unsweetened, and can be sweetened with a sugar substitute. They do have diet coke, but I don't know about the juices. You should definitely ask about this if it is a concern.

Most, if not all, bars serve O'Douls or Miller Sharp's n/a beer, I can't remember which, it may have even varied from cruise to cruise, but I do remember that they have it.

As to souvenirs, I'd just wander the downtown streets. There's all kinds of things to be had. I particularly like the open-air markets, where you can find some interesting stuff. On St. Thomas, it's just near Emancipation Park in downtown Charlotte Amalie. On St. Maarten, its a few blocks from the beach in Philipsburg, just down the street from where the water taxi lets you off (the stop further from the ship, I think they called it "downtown" as opposed to "uptown," or something like that).

Hope this helps....

 

[Tinkerbelloncapecod]

Hello,!

We were in stateroom #7038 and we had a queen size bed and a pull out couch with a verandah. I hope this helps you.

 

[mcampbell_22]

Thanks for such a quick response. I think we will do Coral World on our own. Still debating what to do on St. Maarten (besides shop of course!).

Tinkerbelloncapecod. Thanks for the cabin info. I'm sort of hoping that DCL made an error on our cabin and will have to upgrade us to a higher category that sleeps 4. Here's hoping that Disney dreams can come true!

 

[mcampbell_22]

I just thought of another question to ask all you experienced cruisers. Is is possible to celebrate my DS 7th birthday and our 15th anniversary on the cruise even though they technically occur days before we sail on Nov. 15, 2003? I know my son really enjoyed his "Today's my Birthday" pin at WDW and he's hoping they have the same thing on DCL. Any info would be great.

Thanks.