pseudoswede

Can you bring said-bucket into the Buena Vista Theater to watch a movie?

If you can be "off the grid" for a day or two at a time, then T-Mobile cell phone service will allow you to send/receive e-mails and send/receive text messages for free from any Caribbean island including Castaway Cay. Calls are $0.20/min--or free if you have a wifi calling capable phone and connect to a wifi hotspot on an island.

We are embarking on the Magic on 12/18. Given the demand, will there be multiple showings on that day? Heck, the whole cruise?

Why not in this forum? http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=413

Missed that little bit about OP being on Dream. We are on the Magic.

Under My Cruise Activities, it's listed on the day that it will occur. Day 3 for us (on a 5-night cruise). It was also listed on that page as a Ship Activity when I first visited the page. The entry we have is ...

9:45pm (until 10:30pm) Pirate Deck Party

No listing for an earlier party.

Port charges will be refunded. You will CRUISE all day. You bought a cruise not a port.

Snarkiness aside, how are the charges refunded?

Thanks, everyone. Just kind of a bummer that we could only potentially have one stop on our cruise, and it's a private island. That's the risk of a December cruise. :)

Things like the spa are wide open on the day we tender at Grand Cayman, and the ladies got shut out on trying to arrange for something together on the At Sea days. So I'm just thinking out loud how quickly (and how early in the morning) those spa spots fill up on the day we arrive at Grand Cayman and we cannot tender.

We are on a Western Caribbean itinerary in December (only two stops are GC and CC). I know seas can be rough in the winter*, and there is a potential for us not being able to visit Grand Cayman. At what time do they give up? What does Disney do? Just a slow day at sea? Do they put the pedal to the metal and try to get to Castaway Cay early?

Just curious.

* - The last time we tried Grand Cayman (on RCCL), it got cancelled due to rough seas. The captain made up for it with a 2-hour open bar. That was fun. :D

If you have a T-Mobile Simple Choice plan, text messages and data (throttled to 128kbps) is free and unlimited in all Caribbean countries except the Bahamas (not even sure if Castaway Cay even gets cell phone service).

http://www.t-mobile.com/cell-phone-plans/simple-choice-international-plan-countries.html

Even though the data speeds are severely throttled, it's more than enough to check e-mail, use Google Maps, and even post a few pictures to Facebook. I've never tired, but I've been told voice-only Skype works well, too.

If your cruise goes to Mexico, check to see if your plan qualifies for Mobile Without Borders, which will give you unlimited minutes/texts/high-speed data in Mexico.

Even with a 5 hour excursion' date=' we've had plenty of time either before or after (depending on start time) to walk around, check out the shops, or to go to the beach "on our own."[/quote']

 

Thanks for this tidbit.

 

What we have never done is to go back and forth to the ship

 

We don't plan on going back to the ship between excursions.

First hand experiences of doing both the Dolphin Swim/Stingray City excursion and then parasailing afterwards?

Correct. Or what I asked in the OP.

Are if you are thinking of booking the parasailing on your own after or before the Dolphin Swim/Stingray City excursion or have I missed it in the shore ex descriptions?

Is that why you would like the precise times for the Dolphin Swim/Stingray City excursion?

Correct x2. In an ideal situation, the dolphin swim/stingray DCL excursion starts at 8am, and we're back at the tender port at 1pm. I currently have a booking for a 1:30pm parasail excursion with a third-party company leaving from the tender port, who have guaranteed me to be back at the tender port by 2:30pm.

They state the guarantee would be to pay for flights to the next port, but I'm not sure how they'd get to Castaway Cay...

Parasailing is offered on Castaway Cay though, so that is another option?

It's a bit eye-watering at $412 for four when I can get it for $240 in the Caymans. If all else fails, we can do it in Miami for $300 before or after the cruise; which, in reality, is our first option.

Thanks to both of you (again).

Yes, this will be my second attempt to visit Grand Cayman by cruise ship. I've taken three cruises, and I've never had to take a tender boat because all of those stops had to be cancelled due to rough seas.

Anyways, still looking for first-hand experiences asked in OP.

If you read the other dolphin excursions they are using both venues.

D'oh. Thanks for that.

Still looking for answers in the OP.

Here's another question...

According to the Disney Port Adventures website, it says they're going to Dolphin Cove. When I try to contact Dolphin Discovery, they said that Disney has booked them for the day, but the chat agent was unsure. Which is right? Or are they using both places? We are the only cruise ship in port that morning (December 20); an Oceania cruise arrives at noon.

We are taking the Magic to Grand Cayman this December. We are pretty sure we are going to do the Dolphin Swim/Stingray City excursion.

1. What time do you start this excursion? Anchoring time is 7:30am.

2. Is there time to do explore the island before or after the excursion? Was potentially hoping to go parasailing.

Thanks in advance.

If you weren't worried about bumping your head, you could ask the stateroom host to pull down the ceiling bed and store the golf bags (and/or suitcases) up there. Lots of ideas!

I don't think either of my kids would appreciate having to share a bed with a golf bag! :D

If you must know...

My in-laws will be flying in from Sweden, and we will be celebrating Christmas and New Year's in south Florida after our cruise. We plan on playing golf a few times. They will be renting clubs; but, since we will only be taking 2-3 suitcases, I will use our extra baggage allowance to take my golf clubs. They will also most likely not arrive prior to our departure on the cruise, so I will have to keep my clubs in my cabin. In the off-chance that they do arrive prior to our cruise departure, I will keep them at the rental house instead of cruise ship.

I'm a low-handicap, and I'm very picky with the clubs I use. I also need every advantage I can get when I play against my in-laws. :D

The sofa idea sounds great, too. Thanks for that.

Thanks for the prompt replies. Hopefully the bed will be able to fit the golf clubs and 2-3 suitcases. If not, I'm sure the closet can be used as a backup. We aren't light packers, but we also don't take everything in our house.

Who has taken golf clubs onto a Disney ship? How is storage space for such a large object? We have booked a standard cabin with verandah (Cat 5C) on Disney Magic. They will not be used during the cruise at all.