A MAGICal trip to Key West and the Western Caribbean March 29/15

[heathermorey]

Hey!! We will be on this cruise too..there is a large group of us at least 16, but may be more like 20 going

Hello, I am part of this group as well

 

[dizneeat]

Hello, I am part of this group as well

to the DISboards and to our cruise thread.

I will add you to the list of cruisers in my first post right away. Are you interested in the FE as well?

 

[heathermorey]

Ok, and yes

 

[dizneeat]

Ok, and yes

Added you!

 

[IrishCowboy]

I have added your thread to the cruise meet list
Have a great cruise!

 

[RllngRckBrw]

I stumbled on this thread while searcing out things to do on our Key West day. There will be 6 of us (across 3 generations) going on our first cruise ever. I am the only DISer out of te 6. I would love to be part of a meet up and will really need some help in trip planning as the trip gets closer. The rest of the family relies on me for the planning as I am the only one that enjoys the excitement of planning. We cant wait for this trip! This is a "once in a lifetime" trip for us and are beyond excited.

 

[dizneeat]

I stumbled on this thread while searcing out things to do on our Key West day. There will be 6 of us (across 3 generations) going on our first cruise ever. I am the only DISer out of te 6. I would love to be part of a meet up and will really need some help in trip planning as the trip gets closer. The rest of the family relies on me for the planning as I am the only one that enjoys the excitement of planning. We cant wait for this trip! This is a "once in a lifetime" trip for us and are beyond excited.

to our cruise thead!
You could not have picked a better cruise line for your first cruise. Disney does it best.

Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. This will be our 15th cruise with DCL (our next one, no 13, is next week! ) and we cannot get enough of it.
We just love Key West too! For the last few years we have spent a few days of our summer vacation there and have so enjoyed it. It will be awesome to arrive there by ship.

 

[RllngRckBrw]

The big thing we are trying to figure out now is excursions. We think we want to book through Disney because of the piece of mind of not missing the ship. (I am that guy that will ruin the excursion by looking at the time every 5 min in a panic if we go off on an excursion that is not through Disney.) right now we are looking to do a trip though ruins in Cozumel. We are currently torn between "Cozumel Highlights, Ruins and Discover Mexico Cultural Park" and the "Tulum Ruins". Also we were wanting to swim with dolphins so I figured we could do that in GC. (If there happens to be a way better dolphin experience in Cozumel we may be willing to look into that instead of the ruins.) The trip we are looking at is "The Dolphin Extreme Swim and Turtle Farm". Any feedback anyone has on any f these experiences would be awesome.

Finally, Key West. There wasn't anything that stood out in the way of paid excursions so we thought about going off on our own. How easy is this. Is the port close to beaches and shopping? We were thinking a laid back afternoon of shopping, a cafe lunch, and the beach. Is that possible?

Thanks for any feedback anyone has. I am sure there will be more questions to follow.

 

[theboysmommy]

Unfortunately we had to change our cursing dates to the following week since spring break for the schools is the week after Easter next year..have a magical time! We will be getting on when you guys get off now.

 

[jseiden420]

Unfortunately we had to change our cursing dates to the following week since spring break for the schools is the week after Easter next year..have a magical time! We will be getting on when you guys get off now.

This goes for us too.

 

[dizneeat]

I am so sorry I never got a chance to answer any earlier, but we left on another vacation/cruise on Feb 15th. When we got back it was straight back to work until I came down with the flu.
Feeling better now, I am trying to catch up on all the posts I have missed to get to before.

The big thing we are trying to figure out now is excursions. We think we want to book through Disney because of the piece of mind of not missing the ship. (I am that guy that will ruin the excursion by looking at the time every 5 min in a panic if we go off on an excursion that is not through Disney.)

Usually we book through Disney if it is a new destination for us. Disney takes really good care of its guests and the excursions are really fun.
And you can be sure THEY get you back on board in time.

right now we are looking to do a trip though ruins in Cozumel. We are currently torn between "Cozumel Highlights, Ruins and Discover Mexico Cultural Park" and the "Tulum Ruins".

We did the Cozumel Highlights last summer (if you want to read all about it and see some pics, come on over to my trip report - I am about to post about that excursion) and really liked it. Gave you a good overview. Just be sure to bring insect repellent - there are A LOT of mosquitos out there at the ruins.

We have not done the Tulum Ruins, but from what I heard it might be a bit to intense for kids. You need to tender for a while and then there is a drive to the ruins itself. You might take that into consideration.

Also we were wanting to swim with dolphins so I figured we could do that in GC. (If there happens to be a way better dolphin experience in Cozumel we may be willing to look into that instead of the ruins.) The trip we are looking at is "The Dolphin Extreme Swim and Turtle Farm". Any feedback anyone has on any f these experiences would be awesome.

Sorry, no help on swimming with the dolphins, but we did visit the GC Turtle Farm on our excursion last summer. I just posted the update in which I wrote about it in my TR (it's the "Get off the ship" one )

Finally, Key West. There wasn't anything that stood out in the way of paid excursions so we thought about going off on our own. How easy is this. Is the port close to beaches and shopping? We were thinking a laid back afternoon of shopping, a cafe lunch, and the beach. Is that possible?

I can help you out on Key West though, one of our favourite vacation spots.
Cruise ships dock either directly at Mallory Square or at the Truman Annex. There will be three ships in port when we dock there, so we will see where the Magic is going to dock. But once on the island it is VERY easily managable on foot.
If you want to do some sightseeing, there are the trams and a little train, but easiest is grabbing yourself a map and walk to wherever you want to. There is a great beach out by Fort Zachery, which is close enough.
But there are so many interesting things to do and see there. What about climbing the lighthouse and a visit to Hemingway House, home to six toed cats or a visit to Sloppy Joe's? Don't miss a stroll along Duval Street and check out Mallory Square itself. And don't forget to try a Keylime Pie on a stick (best are from Kermit's) - they are SO good!
So you see - it IS possible to do some shopping, have a nice lunch and even a bit of beach time.

Thanks for any feedback anyone has. I am sure there will be more questions to follow.

Let me know if you have any more questions. I would love to help you out.

Unfortunately we had to change our cursing dates to the following week since spring break for the schools is the week after Easter next year..have a magical time! We will be getting on when you guys get off now.

This goes for us too.

Sorry to see the two of you leave! Enjoy the cruise you had to change too.

I guess the other three families will change the date as well. Could you please let me know?

 

[WDWaddictt]

Joining in..

Hope you are feeling better!

 

[Dixielady908]

Morning all:

Wow, this thread has taken off:

Will be joining you, I booked this cruise while on the 12-7-13 Fantasy. I loved the Fantasy, such a beautiful ship. Would not mind going back, but I chose another Western, as my DH was unable to make the previous and he would like to see Cozumel and Grand Caymen. So the Magic it is, which is our 4th time on the Magic and first time since they upgraded it.

So just me and DH. Looking forward to going.

Karin, I have not met you but I have read your trips reports and loved them. It will be nice to finally meet you.

have a good day

 

[Dixielady908]

Ok, I just had a senior moment.....I am booked on the April cruise sorry not this one......

 

[lisah0711]

Hello!

Just booked this cruise today. Already feeling gauche since we are "just" a group of 3. This is our second cruise and second cruise on the Magic. Can't wait to see the newly imagined ship.

We won't be doing FE but will love to hear all about the stuff you all are doing. We had a great Disboards group on our Med cruise last year -- we still chat!

Looking forward to getting to know all of you nice folks.

 

[linetbo]

Hi, I am waiting for my TA to book this cruise. We are from Puerto Rico, will be my DD's quinceañera on the cruise. Karin, I can wait to finally meet you and your brother. Love your reports.

 

[linetbo]

I am in!!! I am interested on doing FE, but first I need to know how many cabins per group.

 

[browerjs]

We just moved our OBB to this cruise, it will be my DW, and 2 DS (7,5 when sailing). This will be our second cruise, we did the Fantasy on 2/22/14.

We are interested in doing the FE.

 

[staley98]

Woo-hoo! Just got off the Wonder this morning and rebooked this cruise while on board! This will be our third DCL cruise. We preferred the Wonder to the Fantasy and are excited about checking out the reimagined Magic.
It will be me, Anne, DH (Jeff), DS (11), DD(9), & DS (8). We would like to participate in the fe and hail from Louisville, Kentucky. We are encouraging another family that we met on the Wonder to book this cruise as well, so we'll hopefully be increasing our numbers.
I've DEFINITELY drank the Disney Cruise Koolaid (or drink of the day)!

 

[dizneeat]

Joining in..

Hope you are feeling better!

I am feeling better - not quite all the way healthy, but much better! Are you cruising with us?

Morning all:

Wow, this thread has taken off:

Will be joining you, I booked this cruise while on the 12-7-13 Fantasy. I loved the Fantasy, such a beautiful ship. Would not mind going back, but I chose another Western, as my DH was unable to make the previous and he would like to see Cozumel and Grand Caymen. So the Magic it is, which is our 4th time on the Magic and first time since they upgraded it.

So just me and DH. Looking forward to going.

Karin, I have not met you but I have read your trips reports and loved them. It will be nice to finally meet you.

have a good day

Ok, I just had a senior moment.....I am booked on the April cruise sorry not this one......

Ah, what a shame we don't get to cruise together, but one day we will!

Hello!

Just booked this cruise today. Already feeling gauche since we are "just" a group of 3. This is our second cruise and second cruise on the Magic. Can't wait to see the newly imagined ship.

We won't be doing FE but will love to hear all about the stuff you all are doing. We had a great Disboards group on our Med cruise last year -- we still chat!

Looking forward to getting to know all of you nice folks.

Welcome!
Group of three is perfect - we are a party of two.
This will be our second cruise on the Magic as well, but 15th cruise with DCL overall.
So you have done the Med last year? That is what we are going to do this summer - I might have some questions.

Hi, I am waiting for my TA to book this cruise. We are from Puerto Rico, will be my DD's quinceañera on the cruise. Karin, I can wait to finally meet you and your brother. Love your reports.

I am in!!! I am interested on doing FE, but first I need to know how many cabins per group.

Welcome!
So happy to have you on board and am looking forward to meet you in person. It is awesome to meet someone, who actually reads my TRs. And those DISfriends have turned out to be awesome.

As for the FE - depending on how many people will sign up (it looks a bit slow still at the moment) once we reach our cut off date we will divide a larger group into smaller ones. We usually have groups of 25 staterooms.
There is a reason why I wait until the cut off date - I divide the group by decks (think - pulling together upper decks) as it saves a lot on running around.
If you are looking for a smaller group - wait until the cut off date and join the latecomers. I always run a latecomers group which usually does not go up to 25 staterooms.