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

[chip&dale&fun]

Here are the menus.

http://www.wdwinfo.com/Photos/DCL-Navigator-Eastern-Dec/pages/Menu-Animators_Dinner_Menu_1.htm

Do you have the menu for Formal night - Lumeriere's?????

The one night I forgot to take a picture....duh!!!

Thanks...

 

[chip&dale&fun]

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...

We saw the passenger leave - he or she was in a wheel chair and was able to board the copter under his own power. There was a medic (or someone in green scrubs who boarded as well.)......I agree with Karen, there was no "hurry" - there was lots of time between the landing and the take-off.....

 

[chip&dale&fun]

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.

Sorry - had not read your report when I posted......thanks...

 

[lbgraves]

Yes, they are all there...but they are not pictures of the menus. The dining room manager printed them out for me from his computer so that the ingredients would be included for those with food allergies or other concerns to review before boarding.

 

[Dancind]

We spent Friday afternoon on the beach at Serenity Bay. A CM was walking around with megaphone, trying to find the "Lopez family". She said they needed to go back to the ship. She didn't find them, but that might have been related to the guy that left in the helicopter?

 

[chip&dale&fun]

I think I have read the thread but not sure I read if anyone posted the specifics of tendering. Much was made about this before we cruised so here goes....

Think of it like taking the ferry from parking to the Kingdom. It is that easy. The tender boat is very large. We had very flat seas so there were no waves or rolling action. On our return tender, the pilot boat came up to the ship so they had to stop until the waives subsided, but really a "walk in the park"...this from one who gets seasick very easy.

If you have a Disney booked excursion, the tender process will be where you assemble for the excursion. For others, we met in the BV Theatre. We were there at 8:00 and did need to wait for quite a time. Be prepared to be patient. Cozumel is still recovering and they need happy tourists, so your excursions, if they are like ours, will adjust.....they will just wait for you.

You are assigned a tender based on the time you arrive. Towels are not provided so the staff makes announcements for one family member to go to deck 9 to get same....plenty of time for this.....

My "take" is that the Mexican security does not want tourists at the port except in daylight hours for safety and that the tenders do not wish to run at night....No clue if this is the reason, but the time frame on shore is cut short....be prepared for that.

If you look at the docks and buildings, you can see the total devestation a Cat 5. huricane can do when it sits off shore for 3 days. Many of these people were totally without work for over 42 days, some are still homeless....

The pier was cut through and does not exist. That is a pier, a concrete and metal structuree....imagine the homes.....

But recovery is happening. We were not able to stop at the shops or local watering holes due to the time crunch, so I will have to let others post on that.....

 

[tinksdad]

What fun! It sounds like Stacey had a ball at the brunch. Can't wait to see some of those shots! Thanks for the word on the HSM on the dumbotron. The kids will love that.

Stacey is a hoot!!!

Here's a link to one of the shots I posted from the brunch!

 

[Dancind]

Stacey posted about this, but thought I would expand a little. We had a really great day at Costa Maya. We booked a private excursion with Dreamtime Diving company. They have a small resort in Mahajual, with a small beach right across the street. They also have at least two very nice boats, and were able to accomodate five of our group diving, and twelve of us for snorkeling. Some of our group just stayed on the beach. They provided a wonderful lunch, towels, cold drinks (beers for $2), and chairs, and there were trees on the beach for shade. They also picked us up at the dock, and paid for taxis to take us back to the port. I'd highly recommend them, it was a really nice day. Take some good bug stuff though, and beware of the sun reflection from the water!

 

[tinksdad]

What an awesome day it was today at CC. We did the noon eco tour and had an absolute blast. Wonderful weather (5th cruise 2nd time with what I would call perfect weather at CC).

The ocean is as calm as I have ever seen it. Lauren (DD11) asked why it looked "funny" - told her it was because it was so calm.....


Virgil

Castaway Cay has not been one of my favorite spots on the cruise. At least up until this cruise. Both days were just WONDERFUL!!! And like Virgil and the others have mentioned, the seas were just beautiful.

Here's a shot from Serenity Bay, where we were both times!!! LOVE IT!!

 

[yippeeDCL]

Just thought I would comment on our day. My DD(14), DH2B and myself just "explored" the island. My DS(10) wanted to stay in the Lab.
We did the pier shopping area...the pool was very nice but, decided to take a taxi to the beach ($2 each). This is THE most beautiful beach I have EVER been to. There were wave runners ($35 1/2 hr). We went to the last section of beach (at the far end)for our day. The last spot is a hut/bar with swings for bar stools..a massage area...we settled at the small spot (lounge and table/chair) next door. The only cost was 1 drink each...ok, twist my arm! That was the best margurita! It was made with REAL lemon and lime and came in a Fish Bowl (well almost! ). Oh, daughter had Coke...said it was much sweeter than US. DH2B EACH had massage...45min for $20! This was a great massage.

Now, the beach. The water was soo warm, clear and shallow. There were beautiful fish swimming all around and soft sand bar about 20ft from shore. My daughter and I just sat in water watching the fish and discussing how blessed we are in our lives. One of the men selling wares chated with us...he lives in Cancun and comes to CM on "The Boat". He stays there for a week..pays "$20 a day for place to live". My daughter agrees...this was our favorite port (not counting CC). If you want a beach day...this is the spot!

Oh, there were guards(?) at several points...I remember one being across the road from the lighthouse..that are carrying automatic weapons. Just a reminder that we ARE on foreign soil.

http://s38.photobucket.com/albums/e...urrent=DSCN0727.jpg&slideshow=true&interval=3

 

[tinksdad]

We are going on the double dip June 24th. Thanks for posting. We are very interested in any details you can give us for our cruise. Did anyone go to Majahaul beach yesterday in Costa Maya? If anyone did, how was it? Also at Cozumel, we booked the Fury Catamaran Snorkeling excursion. We would appreciate any details on that excursion too. Thanks so much.

Majahaul is a very quaint fishing village that is about as "down to earth" as you can imagine. They don't have public electricity and many of the places use wind generators. Dirt roads, little buildings and friendly people! I thoroughly enjoyed myself as did the other members of our little beach party/diving/snorkel expedition!

A look toward the Magic from our little beach in front of Dreamtime Resort

 

[DIS NURSE]

So glad to hear all about your great adventures, Double Dippers! Thanks for all of the reports!

You are so great to let me in on the dining rotation/character breakfast issue! You guys rock! There is no way in heck I want to be inside a restaurant at 9:45 in the AM when I could be on CC! I will change my request immediately through out TA. Thank you!

Irene...too funny that Mark told you guys I said hi! The world really is small, huh? Did you guys get any good dives in? Hope so!

DIS NURSE

 

[chip&dale&fun]

So glad to hear all about your great adventures, Double Dippers! Thanks for all of the reports!

You are so great to let me in on the dining rotation/character breakfast issue! You guys rock! There is no way in heck I want to be inside a restaurant at 9:45 in the AM when I could be on CC! I will change my request immediately through out TA. Thank you!

Irene...too funny that Mark told you guys I said hi! The world really is small, huh? Did you guys get any good dives in? Hope so!

DIS NURSE

We had the most wonderful dive in Cozumel.....Some also dove in Costa Maya....but we wanted ruins one day.

the Coz wall is EVERYTHING that it is described to be....the ocean is hypnotic to the east with the reef to the west (I think....).....the wall goes down and you do need to watch your depth but the guide was professional and marvelous....with pointing out carious critters, fish, coral that were breathtaking......I am having trouble this afternoon trying to edit Sam's photos, so I am sure Kevin will beat me to the punch in posting some.....but check back and I will be posting more.....

 

[itdjbw]

Castaway Cay has not been one of my favorite spots on the cruise. At least up until this cruise. Both days were just WONDERFUL!!! And like Virgil and the others have mentioned, the seas were just beautiful.

Here's a shot from Serenity Bay, where we were both times!!! LOVE IT!!

Great picture and the cloud looks like Goofy lying on his back enjoying the day too

 

[ibouncetoo]

Thanks so much chip&dale&fun for the info on the Native Choice tour! I'm so looking forward to it (and so glad to hear you don't have to be in 'racing trim' to survive it!) Did anybody take a picture of Ivan??? (we have one of David ) I'm sure I'll come up with some additional questions eventually....or one of my OCPD cruise mates will!

oops, I already have. Sounds like you did the "Mayan Experience" $68 5 hour tour (the one that includes lunch with a local family). Most of us have booked the $45 3.5-4 hour tour, which I ASSUME is the same tour, ours just ends...before lunch! Do you think that's a correct assumption?

 

[justmestace]

I have pictures of the shirts and the bag for this cruise. The shirts cost $14.99 and the bag was $15.00. The shirt also came in a tan color.

 

[justmestace]

And the bag.

 

[CajunGirl2]

Any recommendations for Costa Maya w/ a toddler?

We went to Majahual with DDs (almost 6 & 3.5). We walked about 1/2 way down the street & found a place with some shade from trees. We were allowed to use the chairs but were asked to order drinks/food. We got a bucket of beers. We had a table that was set up in the water. Another DIS family was there with us and once there, we ran in to another DIS couple. It was a great day. The girls played in the sand & water.

Angie

 

[CajunGirl2]

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

Ivan was our server at early seating. I don't think any of us at our table were crazy about him. Sounds like you got different service than us! Toward the end of the week, he made the comment that he was worried that I was hard to please. I guess because I didn't finish my plates of food, he must have been concerned. But, knowing that I had 4 courses to eat, there was no way I could finish anything ... other than the last course - dessert.

Ang

 

[CajunGirl2]

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....

One night, can't remember which one, I saw teen/tween kids in the hallway bragging about how many door signs they had stolen. They must have had at least 6 in hand. I wanted to report them but figured they wouldn't be there by the time I found someone.

Ang