Questions for the 7 night Western Car. Cruise - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Okay, so I'm so excited I could POP (we just went to final last week).
We are taking our 2nd cruise (our 1st was a 4 night Disney - we live in Florida, it really is tragic we've only cruised once!). My hubby and I are trying to plan a Palo night. Our kids are 4 and 1. We would like to skip the formal night (we don't have tuxes for the boys and my hubby and don't really want to rent one). But, we don't want to miss Lumieres. Are the only nights with the restaurant specific menus the 1st 3 nights? I would prefer to skip Parrot Cay (too much noise and chaos for the kids), but I don't think Parrot Cay is going to be our formal night (I still have a lot of fun with my kids).
Also, any comment on the Spa treatments? We were thinking a couples massage or a Rasul thingy treatment room. We are looking forward to the cruise, but don't want to waste money on anything over rated.
Also, any suggestions on shore excursions in Grand Cayman or Cozumel with the boys? I'm just as happy to stay on the ship.
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Formal night is within the first 3 nights -- I can't remember which. Tuxedoes are not required -- my husband simply wore a suit, and my 8-year-old son wore nice slacks and a dress shirt.
We did the Nautilus semi-submersible excursion on Grand Cayman. After taking the tender boat ashore from the ship, we had a short walk to a bus which brought us to the semi-submersible (the seats are under the water line, but the complete boat doesn't submerge). The voyage took us through a coral reef and a couple of shipwrecks, with numerous fish and other sights. I think that would be a great choice with young kids -- there was plenty of space, so everyone could easily watch out the window.
In Cozumel, unless you really want to try a beach, staying onboard may be your best option. We wandered around the area near the port, but it was just full of tourist-oriented shops and aggressive vendors.
We just got back from the 7 day Western Caribbean, the last one the Magic did before she sailed overseas!
Formal night was day 3, and it didn't matter which restaurant you were in. We were in Animator's, and it was the show dinner. If you end up in Animator's for fomal night, you do not want to miss it, because they only do the show dinenr the first rotation. If you miss Lumiere's because your formal night is there, you will catch the same atmosphere on your second rotation.
Parrot Cay is not really noisy and chaotic at all. It's a sit-down meal, like the rest of the dinners, and they offered some really awesome choices when we were there.
My DH wore a suit, I wore a dress, but our table mates were not dressed in formal wear at all. : And everyone was fine!
As far as Palo goes, it is another wonderful experience. For dinner, my DH wore a suit, but lots of guys wore nice pants and a polo shirt in there. For brunch, DH wore khakis and a polo. I wore a skirt and blouse for dinner and a sundress for brunch.
I would highly recommend the couples massage on Castaway Cay. It is pricey, but oh so relaxing. It was my first ever massage, and it was wonderful. We are going to try one of the spa villas next cruise.
On Grand caymen, we did the Rum Point Beach Adventure, which was fun, but the ride to get there might be a bit much for your little one. it's a 30 minute bus ride followed by a 45 minute ferry ride. in Cozumel, we stayed on the ship. If you do stay on the ship, you'll find the pools are alot less crowded, there are movies to go to, and Topsider's will be open for lunch 9along with all the other quick food places.) It's really nice being on the ship when alot of people are off!
Hope this helps...feel free to ask any other questions you might have!
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Questions for the 7 night Western Car. Cruise
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