Was Live Now Great Memories From the May 27th Double Scoop Cruise

[justmestace]

Well, was that fun, or what??

We just hit the house...about 8:30 our time, 11:30 Florida time. What a long day. Had a day room at the Hyatt and we all slept all afternoon.

I love being on the ship, but after a long day of travel, it's sure nice to be home. And our furry friend was really happy to see us!

 

[McFamily2]

Didn't get a chance to post during the trip, barely got a chance to check my work email.

Not going to do a full trip report but a couple comments.

Everything far exceeded our expectations and what we remembered from our first cruise.

I know someone asked about the "Cozumel" (it was not in Cozumel) Dolphin excursion. We did this and it was great. The ride there was long but comfortable. You stood on a platform and had a lot of interaction with the dolphins. The food was great, as was the beach but you only got about an hour at the beach before the bus left. It was in the middle of this exclusive private complex with nice shops, a small zoo and a private beach. In comparison the Costa Maya dolphin excursion you actually were swimming in the water, some people might prefer this but it would not have worked for my kids (DS4, DDs7&8). Also that excursion did not include lunch. Only other issue with "Cozumel" was that you were there all day, no option to leave early.

Double Dip was great, fantastic weather, got some nice shots of the rainbow!!!

Was lucky enough for my kids to get picked to go on stage in the Golden Mickeys (the 1st 3 dwarves at the 8:30 show) as well as DS4 getting called for "Who...Mouseketeer" (Jimmie on Thursday night) and DD7 and DW for "How well do you know your family?"

I will probably post some photos at some point.

I heard that someone was airlifted out from Costa Maya. Anyone else hear of this?

Hope everyone had as great a time as we did.

Jim

 

[justmestace]

I'll post about the trip, too...but need to catch my breath and some "zzz's" first. Will answer a couple of questions.

Cozumel....they've come a long way since we were there in December. Trees planted, lots more plants and flowers, more shops and restaurants are open now. Still not much sand for beaches. Chankanaab is still hauling in sand to make their beach. No dolphins at Chankanaab...there won't be for quite I while yet, we were told.
From Mary's angle on the ship, it DID look like the Carnival ship was docked, but it wasn't. They were anchored at the tip of the third pier (furthest south) and had to tender in also.
We tendered into the International pier. It is being worked on, but the completion date is still set for December. They are coming along well with rebuilding the shopping area at the International pier.

Someone asked about transportation in Costa Maya.....they have nice, shiny new yellow taxi's.

The special Two Times the Magic t-shirts and bags are great. Word of warning: The size Adult XL sold out quickly, so if you need an XL, buy it early.
I asked several different CM's in Treasure Ketch why they hadn't made any special merchandise for these cruises, with the Costa Maya port listed...particularly on the white and yellow gold "Disney Cruise Line" charms that they have, and I was told by everyone I asked "Costa Maya is just a temporary port, a replacement because of the hurricane". I pointed out to a few of them that starting with our cruise, Costa Maya was no longer a "replacement"...but didn't say anything after that because the CM's aren't the ones who design the merchandise. Once again, Disney is losing an opportunity to make money. Oh well.

Will add details later.

 

[RCBA]

Any recommendations for Costa Maya w/ a toddler?

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

Oh so this is where everyone was and I am just now realizing it now that I'm back? LOL

I'm LMAO about the sleeping all day at the Hyatt, Stacey! Seems like a lot of people were there but were sleeping! When we left that evening we saw a lot of DIS'ers/doublescoop group but hadn't seen them all day any of the time we spent at the pool and now I know we were there- just mostly everyone was sleeping. I got in about 1.5hrs sleep during a time DH took the kids swimming without me. Soon as they came back they were too loud and woke me up. Brats.
LOL

(I only slept 3hrs the night before- I couldn't go to sleep knowing we were leaving in the morning, plus I'm a nightowl anyway... it was just worse that night)

About the airlifting- I don't know about costa maya but I was standing out on deck 4 facing the gangway area when a helicopter came down in Castaway cay on Friday-- and I yelled down at one of the cast members there (in white uniform) if someone was leaving- and he said yes. I said are they said? He said "they are". Later today when leaving the hyatt- our bellhop helping us with the luggage to check them mentioned he heard someone died of a heart attack on Friday on the Disney cruise. (where's the crying emoticon?) So maybe that's what you are referring to? It appears unless rumor changed things that apparently someone died of a heart attack the day of CC on Friday.. but if that is not the case- at the very least someone was taken off by helicopter. I didn't stay on deck long enough to see whoever was taken or what condition they were in because I had to shower and get ready for the show and dinner- but someone was obviously being taken off. The helicopter set down about 4:40pm and was there a few minutes until I went to my stateroom- all I saw was someone "official" looking put up his hand with fingers splayed like wait 5 minutes (to the helicopter pilot) and then went inside then I yelled down asking what I already mentioned above- then I went inside.

Ps. our flight was a little delayed and by the time we got to DFW, got our vehicle and drove home- it was after midnight. Going off the ship was WAY faster and smoother than I thought it would be. Do you know they didn't even ask for our IDs or birth certificates? The guy just asked for our customs form and put it down and waved us thru. By the time I handed that to him- the porter with our luggage was stopped by a lady who just asked me what was in the soft sided cooler- I told her it was can beers and plastic bottle wine coolers we'd brought with us and didn't consume (told ya we're not big drinkers LOL) and she just waved us on thru without looking also. That was it! Our limo was waiting outside and we were at the Hyatt by 9:30. And we had late breakfast at 7:45am and didn't leave there until 8:30am. ONE HOUR from sitting at breakfast until walking into our room at the Hyatt. We so could have taken the 10:30am or 11:30am -ish flights to DFW... but ohwell. We stayed at the Hyatt all day and our 6:32pm flight was a bit delayed and left at 7:15pm. Even with the time change (going back an hour for CST) we still didn't get home until after midnight though (we have an hour or so drive home from airport though).
I'm just now finding this thread so now I need to read it all. LOL

 

[chip&dale&fun]

Bon Voyage!

Pj

Hi PJ - I see you like Chipn Dale also....thanks for the well wishes....

 

[chip&dale&fun]

**********
Also the DVC Member meet is today at 4pm - after a day on the island. We had stopped by to ask at the DVC desk when it was since we weren't booked on points and were assured they knew we were members and would be invited but it was at 4pm. Sure enough when we got back to the room after the show there was a call waiting for us. This morning on our door was a Welcome Home Magnet (you Member Cruisers will remember those - we all had them on our doors) and an invitation in our message fish.

Well I'm off to read the boards a bit more and then go see if Mark got up.

Mary helped me out....We are DVC members and did NOT get door magnets...We were disappointed as they were cute....So Mary and I stopped by the DVC desk....apparently they do miss you - we aalso did not get an invite to the DVC meet....

So here is a hint to others - See if you can review your portfolio - not sure if there is an entry on the Castaway Club meet - but if you book trhough a travel agent that does not know Disney, it might be worth a call to Disney before you board to make sure you are listed as DVC.

Thanks to Mary, I did get my door magnet....

 

[justmestace]

I really should be unpacking....but I've been downloading my pictures. Here's one of DJ Hollywood at formal night. My daughter is the blonde, the brunette is her friend Amber.

 

[justmestace]

I didn't ask Hollywood how long he'd be onboard, but I did talk to Pike (aka DJ Pike) and he said that his job for our cruise was to assist Don "Ducky" Williams. So I don't know for sure if that meant that Pike would be back as DJ after our cruise. Will have to wait for reports from future cruisers.

I can say that Hollywood did a great job. He's got TONS of energy!

 

[DVCDebb]

Well guys this wonderful cruise is coming to an end and this will be the last live report from the ship from me for this trip.

The weather for our second CC day was fantastic! Woke up to some showers but they were soon replaced with not only sunshine but rainbows! We had breakfast at Topsiders while watching a beautiful rainbow and a second one forming.

When the ship got cleared Mark headed over to the adult beach to get a great spot and I stopped for our t-shirts (plenty left for all you future Double Dip. The water was crystal clear and we headed in quickly. Ducky was there as well and pointed out a great spot to see fish. We saw tons of them. Then I saw the barracuda . So I headed back to shore! Went for a ride in our tubes and then said goodbye to serenity bay and over to Cookies. Met up with some fellow DISers for lunch. Tried to stop by the post office but it was closed for a Bahamian holiday - so why weren't they open on Sunday. Anyway guest services took the cards and some money and left them with someone on the island to mail tomorrow then the Wonder docks.

At 4:30 we headed up to the bridge where we were with 3 other families and introduced to both Captain Tom and Captain Mickey! Got to spend about 15 minutes there and since one of the other families was a DIS family and staying in the Roy Suite we got a tour of that as well. Very nice! Thanks Debb!

The ship was a bit late in leaving due to having to evacuate a passenger via helicopter.

Soon we were on our way back to Port Canaveral. Dinner was great as usual and we passed out all our tips. Then to the farewell variety show and now here. Our bags are packed - just need to do a final check and put them in the hall.

I'm sitting in my favorite terminal down on 3 and looking out the window at a Carnival ship all lit up and running parallel to us.

Thanks to the Captain and crew of the Disney Magic for a fantastic week. Thanks also to all the wonderful DISers from the Blabbermouth thread who have become such great friends over the last 16 months. Hope you have enjoyed reading our live reports. Look for a trip report (either here or another thread) with pictures from Mark sometime next week.

We're off to 2 days at WDW and then home!

Your welcome Mary. It was great to finally meet everyone. What a great bunch you all are.

 

[becka]

Did they have different activities for the kids on the CC days or did they just repeat most of the activities?

 

[kikipug]

I heard that someone was airlifted out from Costa Maya. Anyone else hear of this?

Jim

We saw a child taken off the ship in an ambulance in Costa Maya (it was parked directly under our stateroom)... they loaded all his luggage, including his stuffed Stitch, into the ambulance, put his family inside, and drove off...

We also saw the helicopter land at CC... also directly outside our porthole... it wasn't a medical helicopter- just a regular 4-passenger... so whoever left in it must have been able to sit upright... the two guys who got out were talking to a crew member and pointing at the large coral 'rocks'... looked more like construction contractors if you ask me... both were smoking and chatting.. definitely not in a big hurry to get anyone anywhere...

 

[lbgraves]

Becka, it seems that they had a different schedule for the kids each time.

 

[feelin'therays]

Re: the passenger leaving via helicopter from CC...

There was a gentleman having issues with his appendix at CC. The copter came in around 4pm (we saw it from our veranda). We saw the man and a couple of people with him board with the pilot of the copter about 15 minutes before we left the dock. At the time he was leaving we didn't think much because he was waving from his wheelchair. I heard what was wrong later in the evening from another cast member.

 

[McFamily2]

What I had heard was that a child almost drowned at the pool in Costa Maya and was airlifted out. So this must be the same story.

On our previous cruise (3 years ago) someone was airlifted out of CC by the US Coast Guard.

I figured the the regular helipcopter at CC was just someone surveying for future development.

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

We saw a child taken off the ship in an ambulance in Costa Maya (it was parked directly under our stateroom)... they loaded all his luggage, including his stuffed Stitch, into the ambulance, put his family inside, and drove off...

We also saw the helicopter land at CC... also directly outside our porthole... it wasn't a medical helicopter- just a regular 4-passenger... so whoever left in it must have been able to sit upright... the two guys who got out were talking to a crew member and pointing at the large coral 'rocks'... looked more like construction contractors if you ask me... both were smoking and chatting.. definitely not in a big hurry to get anyone anywhere...

Yeah, that's why I hollered down to ask if someone was leaving/if someone was sick because the 2 guys that got out- well they were dressed like they were going on a cruise or something. You know- docker type shorts, polo shirts and just standing around. The crewmember for DCL just put his hand up to like say give him 5 minutes when they landed- they sat there for a few minutes then got out and walked around... and like I said were dressed like they were going on a cruise or just normal- no uniforms and such. It definitely didn't look like there was room in there for someone to lay down or anything.
But I did ask if someone was leaving and the guy in white said yes- then I asked if someone was sick- and he said "they are" and then walked inside on the gangway. So I guess it was the appendix- and the rumor just swelled to heartattack by the time we got to the hyatt the next day. You know how rumors go!

 

[itdjbw]

This is fun reading we just got off the Magic 28.I hope someone gets the great server Ivan. He was the best,he does magic and helps you with the cruise. Our room host was Erwinalso great hope you get him also. Hope your weather is as great as ours was. Have a magic time. Keep the posts comming so we can enjoy your trip with you.

Ivan was our server, he was great and the couple of nights the kids joined us they enjoyed his magic.

 

[itdjbw]

Didn't get a chance to post during the trip, barely got a chance to check my work email.

Not going to do a full trip report but a couple comments.

Everything far exceeded our expectations and what we remembered from our first cruise.

I know someone asked about the "Cozumel" (it was not in Cozumel) Dolphin excursion. We did this and it was great. The ride there was long but comfortable. You stood on a platform and had a lot of interaction with the dolphins. The food was great, as was the beach but you only got about an hour at the beach before the bus left. It was in the middle of this exclusive private complex with nice shops, a small zoo and a private beach. In comparison the Costa Maya dolphin excursion you actually were swimming in the water, some people might prefer this but it would not have worked for my kids (DS4, DDs7&8). Also that excursion did not include lunch. Only other issue with "Cozumel" was that you were there all day, no option to leave early.

Double Dip was great, fantastic weather, got some nice shots of the rainbow!!!

Was lucky enough for my kids to get picked to go on stage in the Golden Mickeys (the 1st 3 dwarves at the 8:30 show) as well as DS4 getting called for "Who...Mouseketeer" (Jimmie on Thursday night) and DD7 and DW for "How well do you know your family?"

I will probably post some photos at some point.

I heard that someone was airlifted out from Costa Maya. Anyone else hear of this?

Hope everyone had as great a time as we did.

Jim

Yes I heard from Alex our head server that a 4 year old was flown back to Miami after getting too much water in his lungs, they were on early dinner and that is how she heard about it.
Hope all is okay for the family and child

 

[chip&dale&fun]

Thanks for the update, Mary. Sounds like a perfect day at sea!

How does one arrange for the 'group' room at Palo? Does someone in the group need to be staying concierge? I also remember reading trip reports that say it gets pretty 'toasty' in there during the day...did you experience that?

I'm anxious to hear from anyone who does the David & Ivan, Native Choice, ruins tour today. I'm so looking forward to that excursion!
Edited to add: We also want to know about the 'tourist transportation' that takes you into Mahahual for $3 per person....is it car/taxi, trolly, bus...what kind of vehicle (some of our families are large groups and they're wondering if they have to split up for the ride to the village).

Thanks for keeping us future double-dippers 'in the loop' (especially the obsessive planners)!

Posting on the Native Choice Tour - It was GREAT! We took a taxi downtown. You walk through the port and end up where there are very orgaized rentals. It is $3.00 per person in large vans. They take you to the start of town and we were met by one of the guides as we were the first group. However, it is right by Cats Meow so you cannot miss it. You will need to wait for all the touring parties that time slot to arrive, so you might as well relax for about 15 minues in the shade. Here are a few pre-tour HINTS.

You will be walking through trails - in the summer and by the time you arrive, the rainy season will have started, so I suggest tennis shoes and socks and loose clothing. Comng from swampy south Florida, we always wear long sleeves and slacks....AND HATS.....that might be hard to convince teenagers to do, but it is a HINT for comfort. We had no trouble with bugs or leaves or sand....

You are then taken via small van which seats about 9-10 about 45-60 minutes to the ruins. Carolina was our guide in the van and very informative. She explained the Mayon life style, home construction, history of the port, the villages along the way etc......

Then a ruin looms before you - WOW. You are dropped off at the visitors Center. Be warned.....all the cruise buses arrive about the same time and there is a long, long line for ladies restrooms....which are quite clean. Some small shops and souveniers are available. Native Choice was very well stocked with bottled water and juice for the kids, all sealed, all quite safe.

We waited, in the shade.....remember you are on Mexican time, so relax....and finally it was time for us to leave. Ivan was our guide and he was excellent. He provided a commentary on the excavations and explained everything that you would see.....I will not spoil the surpise with an explaination here, unless requested.

You do a bit of walking, but it is slow paced, with stops for pictures and exploring. I did not feel rushed at all.....

We went on to the lunch with the Mayon Family - again, I will recommend this heartily......Additional discussions along the way were provided, water etc and the van was air-conditioned. Lunch was not as expected, and again, will not post the details yet.

Take some small bills as the guide may offer home-made articles the family is selling. It is a nice way of providing a "tip" without seeming insulting.

The van dropped us off at the port, saving another cab-fare and also time....We were able to walk around the shops at the port and have a local brew before it was all-aboard time.

Any questions??? Will be glad to provide more details.

We were dropped off at the port.

 

[chip&dale&fun]

Guess which one I am.....

Hint.....Photo was taken by Sam...