We Booked!!

[dolphinmickey9170]

Yeay, we booked a cruise for Oct '09 with our close friends. Thank you, John and Karen, without you...I would never have gotten Ben to agree.

Tell me all about cruising. What to do, what to eat, what excursions you enjoyed!!

Also, tell me what you didn't like.

Thanks!

[ElenitaB]

:woohoo:

Which itinerary are you going on?

[scootch713]

:party:Looking forward to the answers you get... we are doing western caribbean double hop castaway in Nov 09.

[Ed]

With your cruise leaving on Halloween, when you get to your first stop - Key West - I'll give you a little hint....some of those outfits you'll see on folks down there are NOT costumes! :eek:

We haven't been on the Western cruise, but we did do a 7 night Eastern trip, and it was magnificent! We definitely did not want to leave the ship at the end of the cruise.

Onboard you'll find plenty of activities, shows, lectures, etc. to keep you more than busy. But, if you prefer, you can choose to do virtually nothing, and still enjoy every peaceful second of it. Stake out a table and chairs near the pool, read a good book, or simply "people watch". We were sitting there one day snacking on a plate of delicious cookies when we suddenly had an extra at the table - - Goofy stopped by and sat with us for a while! :goofy:

The food is top notch, and the fact that you'll have the same servers every day makes it extra special. By the second night, our servers knew our names, where we lived, what we do for a living, our preferred drinks, and exactly how we liked our food prepared. But definitely plan to abandon your regular servers for a dinner at Palo. Even better food, atmosphere and service. Very memorable!

Choose your shore excursions carefully. We took tours of both St. Martin and St. Thomas; the one in St. Martin was great; the one in St. Thomas, while it took us to some beautiful places, scared the devil out of us with the wild driving prevalent on the island. Think of the Jones Falls Expressway on steroids.

The ladies loved the shopping on both islands, and our credit card companies loved it even more.

Castaway Cay is magnificent! I'd like to live there. On our first cruise, unfortunately, weather and waves conspired against us, and the ship was unable to safely dock despite three attempts over a few hour period, so we spent an extra day at sea. :( But on our next trip, the crew slipped the ship in there like they were docking an 18 foot runabout.

Again, we haven't done the Western route yet, but I'm sure someone who has will come along and fill you in. Only part we're familiar with is Key West, having visited there several times. Neat town!

Above all else, remember to take a bajillion pictures!

Have a ball; I know you'll love it.

:captain:

[dolphinmickey9170]

:woohoo:

Which itinerary are you going on?

7 night Western Caribbean

[dolphinmickey9170]

With your cruise leaving on Halloween, when you get to your first stop - Key West - I'll give you a little hint....some of those outfits you'll see on folks down there are NOT costumes! :eek:

We haven't been on the Western cruise, but we did do a 7 night Eastern trip, and it was magnificent! We definitely did not want to leave the ship at the end of the cruise.

Onboard you'll find plenty of activities, shows, lectures, etc. to keep you more than busy. But, if you prefer, you can choose to do virtually nothing, and still enjoy every peaceful second of it. Stake out a table and chairs near the pool, read a good book, or simply "people watch". We were sitting there one day snacking on a plate of delicious cookies when we suddenly had an extra at the table - - Goofy stopped by and sat with us for a while! :goofy:

The food is top notch, and the fact that you'll have the same servers every day makes it extra special. By the second night, our servers knew our names, where we lived, what we do for a living, our preferred drinks, and exactly how we liked our food prepared. But definitely plan to abandon your regular servers for a dinner at Palo. Even better food, atmosphere and service. Very memorable!

Choose your shore excursions carefully. We took tours of both St. Martin and St. Thomas; the one in St. Martin was great; the one in St. Thomas, while it took us to some beautiful places, scared the devil out of us with the wild driving prevalent on the island. Think of the Jones Falls Expressway on steroids.

Above all else, remember to take a bajillion pictures!

Have a ball; I know you'll love it.

:captain:

Ed, what KIND of costumes are you talking? Too much flesh for my eyes?

I would love to have a visitor like Goofy at my table. That would be awesome.

I am a bit concerned about the menus I looked at on the cruise website. Some of the items listed scare me half to death....What happens when I scared half to death twice? Hmm? Ben and I are simple foodie folk. I prefer just a plain old filet, mashed taters, a veggie, a salad, whatever...not this crazy flavor stuff with weird additions.

The JFX comment almost killed me, I couldn't stop laughing. I hate it and avoid it all costs. We are looking at maybe a dolphin encounter and maybe some Mayan history.

Thanks so much Ed!! You are awesome!

[Ed]

Ed, what KIND of costumes are you talking? Too much flesh for my eyes?

I am a bit concerned about the menus I looked at on the cruise website. Some of the items listed scare me half to death....What happens when I scared half to death twice? Hmm? Ben and I are simple foodie folk. I prefer just a plain old filet, mashed taters, a veggie, a salad, whatever...not this crazy flavor stuff with weird additions.

Not just flesh, but some of the strangest attire you'll ever see. We spotted one guy (at least we THINK it was a guy) riding a bike, and dressed like a genie. And he was one of the better-dressed locals we saw.

Don't sweat the menus onboard. The first night on our 7-nighter, roast duck was on the menu. I hadn't had duck in many, many moons, so I ordered it. Our server kinda tilted his head and gave me one of those "well, okay, if that's what you REALLY want, but I don't recommend it" looks. After taking the other orders he told me he'd bring me a little piece of the duck to try. He did...I did... he was absolutely right. It was pretty bad. So he brought me a nice steak, cooked exactly the way I liked it. Bottom line is don't be bashful about telling your servers the first night that you are "meat and taters" folks, and that you'd appreciate their suggestions. They can get you just about anything you want.

And again... don't miss a meal at Palo! (Can you tell I really like that place???) :tasty:


BTW: What's this "GO REDSOX" stuff? Shouldn't that be "Gimme an O....Gimme an R......" :nono:

[DisneyWhirled]

Thanks Ed, some great info!

We are travelling with dolphinmickey9170 (Kristen and her DH Ben), and it is our first cruise as well.

We will be absorbing as much info as possible from Intercot and buying the Birnbaum book.

Kristen, a couple of tips I have read about include:

-bring a clear plastic shoe rack that hangs over the door to keep bathroom essentials in b/c the counters are on the small side
-bring a power strip cord to plug in items that need to be charged
-bring 3M hooks (the kind that has tape that adheres to the wall) for drying bathing suits
-get chocolate dipped key lime pie on a stick in Key West
-get on the ship as early as possible


I am sure that I will find more to share soon.

Keep the tips coming!!

[dolphinmickey9170]

Not just flesh, but some of the strangest attire you'll ever see. We spotted one guy (at least we THINK it was a guy) riding a bike, and dressed like a genie. And he was one of the better-dressed locals we saw.

Don't sweat the menus onboard. The first night on our 7-nighter, roast duck was on the menu. I hadn't had duck in many, many moons, so I ordered it. Our server kinda tilted his head and gave me one of those "well, okay, if that's what you REALLY want, but I don't recommend it" looks. After taking the other orders he told me he'd bring me a little piece of the duck to try. He did...I did... he was absolutely right. It was pretty bad. So he brought me a nice steak, cooked exactly the way I liked it. Bottom line is don't be bashful about telling your servers the first night that you are "meat and taters" folks, and that you'd appreciate their suggestions. They can get you just about anything you want.

And again... don't miss a meal at Palo! (Can you tell I really like that place???) :tasty:


BTW: What's this "GO REDSOX" stuff? Shouldn't that be "Gimme an O....Gimme an R......" :nono:

Sorry, Ed, born and raised in Maine...makes me a Red Sox Fan!! WOOHOO!! However, when the Orioles aren't playing the Sox, I'll root for them.


Thanks Ed, some great info!

We are travelling with dolphinmickey9170 (Kristen and her DH Ben), and it is our first cruise as well.

We will be absorbing as much info as possible from Intercot and buying the Birnbaum book.

Kristen, a couple of tips I have read about include:

-bring a clear plastic shoe rack that hangs over the door to keep bathroom essentials in b/c the counters are on the small side
-bring a power strip cord to plug in items that need to be charged
-bring 3M hooks (the kind that has tape that adheres to the wall) for drying bathing suits
-get chocolate dipped key lime pie on a stick in Key West
-get on the ship as early as possible


I am sure that I will find more to share soon.

Keep the tips coming!!

Karen, these are great ideas. Keep them coming. I have never had key lime pie before, but if it's dipped in chocolate, it can't be all bad!!

[ElenitaB]

If I ever get to sail for an entire week, it will be a Western itinerary... so many places I actually want to visit!

Don't worry about the food... as Ed says, they cater to you (and they are very serious about your having an "excellent experience"). Also, every night on the menu, there is a section called "Lighter Fare" which offers steak, chicken and salmon with veggies and potatoes or rice. But you can mix and match with things that appeal to you from the rest of the menu as well.

I agree with all of Karen's recommendations but found that we never really did need the over the door hanger (on two cruises) and I would not bring the 3M hangers. There is a place in the tub area for hanging bathing suits to dry. Do NOT forget the power strip though!