A Christmas Ship Comes Sailing In (A Cam and Luke TR) Completed 2/18 - Page 17 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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That's too bad your tour was cancelled as I wanted to see if the two of you enjoyed it as I'll be taking that one on my cruise. At least you took a nice backup tour!
Where did you go to get currency for Grand Cayman and Cozumel as I'm wondering about this and how much I'll need for these two port stops!
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
I think this day was the most unusual days of any trip you've taken. Lol I never thought I would say Cam & Luke went to Hell & got the postcard to prove it.
That's too bad your tour was cancelled as I wanted to see if the two of you enjoyed it as I'll be taking that one on my cruise. At least you took a nice backup tour!
Where did you go to get currency for Grand Cayman and Cozumel as I'm wondering about this and how much I'll need for these two port stops!
Hopefully, you'll have calm seas so the tour goes on as planned. We did not get currency for Grand Cayman. I paid for the post cards with 2 US dollars and a quarter. The change I received was in the form of a Cayman coin. We didn't spend any money at Cozumel, but I did tip the attendant in the restroom using a US dollar.
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Originally Posted by PhilsEagles08
I think this day was the most unusual days of any trip you've taken. Lol I never thought I would say Cam & Luke went to Hell & got the postcard to prove it.
Back on the road, our next destination was the Turtle Farm. Our guide took us first to the breeding area, filling us in on all things turtle. We spent a bit of time, maybe 10 or 15 minutes, observing the turtles in the water. Just beyond the water was a sand area where the turtle lay their eggs.
Then we moved to the holding area. Initially, I did NOT want to hold a turtle. But then our tablemate Connie held one, so I decided to give it a try. Our guide handed me a little fellow who was quite cute, and not the least bit slimy.
Connie is in the photo above.
After my close up with the turtle, we explored the whole area since we had some time on our own now. The farm also includes a rescued alligator.
This turtle swam the entire square pool that was his home with his nose just over the edge.
We browsed the shop next, but found nothing that appealed to us. In fact the postcards were $2 each while the ones at Key West had been 50 cents and the ones at Hell were $1 each. Back out front we talked for a few minutes with Paul and Connie who were waiting for a taxi.
Then we crossed the street to the parking area to check out the ocean overlook. This area by the sea resembled the land formations at Hell. We didn’t stay long as we were to meet our guide and our bus on the drive in front of the Turtle Farm.
The next leg of the journey was returning us to where we had begun. I probably wouldn’t do this particular excursion again, but it is a good overview of the island’s 24 miles. We’ve done it, so next time (and hopefully, there will be a next time), we can do that Nautilus Underwater Tour. We had talked about his particular Port Adventure when we were browsing through them in the planning stages. If we’d originally picked it, we would have chosen the adult only version. But not for the reason you might be thinking. The kids on our particular bus were well behaved. But a couple of mom’s had these extra-large totes that they exactly careful in wielding. The bus was small with a very narrow aisle to the seats. When we boarded among the last few to get on, I had taken the window seat as it was right over the wheel, requiring short legs. In the aisle seat, Luke was whacked in the head by one of the monster totes. As we reloaded in Hell, everyone just naturally went back to their original seats. This time Luke leaned in toward me as the mom came through. Unfortunately, the dude across from Luke didn’t know to duck, and was hit pretty hard in the head with her hip. No “excuse me” or “I’m sorry”. He looked at us when she sat down, rolling his eyes. Back at port, we wandered the touristy areas for about an hour and a half.
This photo was taken from the second story of a shopping center. Luke and I remember climbing up here to a food court of sorts. We also remember having trouble finding anything to eat that sounded good and wasn't overpriced. But neither of us can remember if we got anything or not. We're thinking maybe drinks or ice cream, but we wouldn't swear to it. We did sit at a table for a while and this photo was taken while we sat. I forgot to write anything in my notes, so I guess we'll never know.
Then we decided to return to the Magic for some pool time.
This sign was on our tender boat.
This dude is very brave.
The above water photos were my attempt to show the different colors of the ocean from shore to ship. Beside the ship it looked nearly black.
The tender ride back was just as rocky as going had been. When we pulled up to the ship, they were letting us off in small groups so no one was standing on the plank in the rough waters. We hung back for a while as sitting in the boat was much easier than standing. We finally got in line, and the small group in front of us was let off. I was trying to remain steady and firm in my spot as they had asked me to stop, but then the boat rocked even more propelling me forward. The crew repeated that it wasn’t my turn, and I squealed, “I’d stop if I could.” Thank goodness Luke grabbed me from behind, and one of the crew held me by the arm. And in a few minutes it was our turn to board the Magic again.
Bathing suit and turnks on we were ready for sun – and lunch. We stopped at Pete’s Boiler Bites where I had a hamburger and fries while Luke chose a hot dog to go with his fries. We refilled our DVC Tervis mugs at the Drink Station. We also got a cone of self-serve ice cream in a cone. Before we headed up to Deck 10, we refilled the mugs again. Once that was done, we climbed up to Deck 10 to find two lounge chairs, scoring two where we could also watch Toy Story 2 on the big screen. We spent a little over an hour sunning, napping, and movie watching.
At 2:30 we returned to the room to relax. I worked on notes and read for a while.
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Thanks for the review on the tour as that is one we're considering. I like that you get an overview and get to see the turtles and still back on the boat for lunch and pool time.
All caught up. It sounds like you are having a wonderful time so far. My kids and I took our first ever Disney Cruise on the Dream 12/22-26. It was truly amazing. I am enjoying hearing about a different ship.
What a bummer that your excursion in Cayman had to be cancelled, but sounds like you made the best of it. Would love to visit the turtles!
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Stephanie
Last edited by CountryTink; 01-27-2015 at 10:17 PM..
I'm sorry that your planned excursion was cancelled, but nice work Disney on getting you booked for something else so quickly. I've been on the fence with this port, we would love to see the turtle farm as I think it would be fun with all the kids in our group ( 6 of them...ages 8-3) but I read the drive is about 30 minutes. Is that correct you think? We also are tossing around the idea of staying on board this day and enjoying the less crowded pool decks with the kids, not sure what to do just yet.
I adore your red dress BTW, you guys looked really amazing!
Well, you made it to hell and back-- how funny! The water is so beautiful, but it's not fun to nearly land in it from the tender. I can't even consider the tenders, so it limits what itineraries are good for me. Then again, there's nothing wrong with taking an extra sea day and staying on board. I don't like the sound of your teaser.
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Reading your discussions on Key West and the comments on Nassau have helped me decide. We are doing a 3 night on the Dream and I was hesitating about shore on Nassau as we have such a short time on the ship. Decided now we are having a ship day.
Grand Cayman is one place I've always wanted to go! I love all of your turtle farm pictures!! That looks like something I would love to do if I ever get there!
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The kids were such a hoot, and their poor parents were pretty funny, too. 
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We had talked about his particular Port Adventure when we were browsing through them in the planning stages. If we’d originally picked it, we would have chosen the adult only version. But not for the reason you might be thinking. The kids on our particular bus were well behaved. But a couple of mom’s had these extra-large totes that they exactly careful in wielding. The bus was small with a very narrow aisle to the seats. When we boarded among the last few to get on, I had taken the window seat as it was right over the wheel, requiring short legs. In the aisle seat, Luke was whacked in the head by one of the monster totes. As we reloaded in Hell, everyone just naturally went back to their original seats. This time Luke leaned in toward me as the mom came through. Unfortunately, the dude across from Luke didn’t know to duck, and was hit pretty hard in the head with her hip. No “excuse me” or “I’m sorry”. He looked at us when she sat down, rolling his eyes. Back at port, we wandered the touristy areas for about an hour and a half. 
Disney Magic - Oct 2015
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I love your turtle photos and especially that one with his nose poking out - too cute! 
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