raising4boys.com » Travel http://www.raising4boys.com parenting tips, tricks and commentary Sat, 18 Dec 2010 20:20:44 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 Disney Cruise, Take Two http://www.raising4boys.com/2009/03/16/disney-cruise-review-2/ http://www.raising4boys.com/2009/03/16/disney-cruise-review-2/#comments Tue, 17 Mar 2009 03:00:33 +0000 dad http://www.raising4boys.com/?p=636 Last week we went on another Disney Cruise. Those of you who were around a year ago might remember the Disney Cruise review that I published back in March of 2008. Instead of writing another full review, I thought I’d just write up some details of how this year differed from last year.

For starters, we had the exact same itinerary, and we stayed in the exact same staterooms. The ship was in great shape — in fact, it was actually taken out of service for a few weeks last fall for refurbishing and a number of upgrades. A nice change in the staterooms was that they replaced all of the old TVs with brand new 22″ LCD TVs. Topside, the ship also sports a new “Splash Zone” near the Mickey Pool for kids that are still in diapers and thus aren’t allowed in the regular pools.

Another change was that they re-did the age groups for kids programs. The Oceaneer’s Club is now home to the 3-4 and 5-7 year old programs, with the Oceaneer’s Lab housing the 8-10 year old program, and Ocean Quest housing the 11-13 year olds.

As before, the kids loved their programs, though they were once again a bit slow to warm up to being dropped off. Early in the week, they complained about not wanting to go the Club/Lab/Quest, but by the end of the week they didn’t want to leave.

Another big difference this year had to do with shore excursions. After our fantastic experience at Castaway Cay last year, we decided that we wanted to spend as much time as possible at the beach. Thus, we went to Seven Mile Beach at Grand Cayman, and then we hit up a private beach club called Nachi Cocom in Cozumel. We booked the former through Disney, and the latter on our own (we just caught a cab from the pier in Cozumel). Both beaches were beautiful, and very relaxing.

The only downside this year was that I got sick and spent one of our sea days recovering in our stateroom. Aside from that, we had a great time. It’s not cheap but, if you can swing it, a Disney Cruise makes for a great family vacation. For more details, check out last year’s review.

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]]> http://www.raising4boys.com/2009/03/16/disney-cruise-review-2/feed/ 0 Disney Magic Caribbean Cruise Review http://www.raising4boys.com/2008/03/09/disney-magic-caribbean-cruise-review/ http://www.raising4boys.com/2008/03/09/disney-magic-caribbean-cruise-review/#comments Mon, 10 Mar 2008 03:07:25 +0000 dad http://www.raising4boys.com/2008/03/09/disney-magic-caribbean-cruise-review/

It seems like just yesterday that we were in the early stages of planning a Disney cruise, and yet… Here we are in March, having returned from the Western Caribbean over a week ago. Given that it’s still relatively fresh in my mind, I thought I’d put pen to paper (so to speak) and hammer out a review of our trip. With all that transpired, I hope I don’t leave out anything major…

Our Disney Cruise Itinerary

Day 1: Departure
Day 2: Key West
Day 3: At sea
Day 4: Grand Cayman
Day 5: Cozumel, Mexico
Day 6: At sea
Day 7: Castaway Cay (Disney’s private island in the Bahamas)

Accomodations Aboard the Disney Magic

We had a pair of adjoining, interior rooms on Deck 2, Midship. While we didn’t have exterior windows, this was a blessing in disguise as we were able to regulate the boys sleep patterns a bit by keeping them up a bit later than normal and then letting them sleep in longer than they’d normally be able to if the sun was peaking in. Our cabin steward was great, and we were greeted every night with turn down service complete towel creatures of various sorts that he had whipped up (this sort of towel origami is one of their trademarks).

Overall, our cabins were “efficient” but totally sufficient. The fact that we very close to dead center in the ship meant that we were convenient to pretty much everything, and we experienced far less in the way of rocking and rolling when we got into heavier seas. This difference was really evident when we’d return from the upper decks in the bow or stern to our room. While we could still feel the ship rocking, it got a bit rough at times and I can only imagine what it was like trying to sleep elsewhere on the ship.

Recreation Onboard the Magic

Once aboard the ship, there were tons of recreation options. For example, there were three pools topside, including two family pools and one “adults only” pool. One of the family pools (Mickey’s pool) had a big water slide whereas the other (Goofy’s pool) had a huge video screen at one end where they showed Disney movies.

There was also a full-size cinema screening first-run movies, a basketball court near the bow on Deck 10 (the top of the ship), and a fitness center (we worked out nearly every day) and spa (yes, my wife and I got a couples massage).

Children’s Activities

There was a ton of stuff for the kids to do and, best of all, they could do nearly all of it on their own. When we first checked in, they put wrist bands on the kids and issued us a pager. From that point on, we were free to check the kids into age-appropriate areas known as the Oceaneer’s Club, the Oceaneer’s Lab, and Ocean Quest (there is also stuff for teens as well as a nursery, though the nursery costs extra).

The kids are generally split up into 3-4 year olds, 5-7 year olds, 8-9 year olds, and 10-12 year olds and they did activities ranging from sports to games to free play to lab activities. These activities are available from shortly after breakfast until midnight, and your kids can even eat there if you’re so inclined.

We typically checked the kids in for a stretch in the morning so we could go work out, and then again in the evenings after dinner and the show so we could get a bit of time to ourselves in the “adults only” section of the ship.

Disney Entertainment

Given that this was a Disney cruise, it should come as no surprise that the live entertainment was top notch. There were nightly after-dinner shows for the whole family, and there was also a good bit of live music as well as a number of adult shows in the various bars/night clubs on board. Note that when I say “adult,” I don’t mean adult as in risque — rather, these were just comedy and/or variety shows that weren’t really appropriate for young kids.

They also had a number of other events, including a couple of family-friendly deck parties, Disney character appearances, etc. And I’m sure that there was a lot of other stuff going on that simply escaped our notice (I recall hearing about bingo, art auctions, trivia contests, etc.).

Dining

Dining aboard the ship was quite good, though I wouldn’t go so far as to classify it as great. There are three main dinner venues, known as Parrot Cay, Lumiere’s, and Animator’s Palate and you get to rotate through each. One of the nice aspects of the rotational dining (aside from the changing scenery) is that your waitstaff rotates with you, such that they get to know you and your kids and are able to quickly accommodate your preferences. For example, by the second or third night, the kids preferred drinks were waiting on the table when we arrived.

Breakfast and lunch are typically on your own, and you have several choices ranging from buffets in some of the more informal restaurants to sit down service in some of the nicer restaurants. There are also a number of burger/sandwich/pizza-type options at snack bars near the pool. Since all food and non-alcoholic drinks are included in the price of the cruise, you’re free to do whatever you want when it comes to eating.

One dining option that deserves a special mention is Palo, which is the adults-only fine dining option. Palo requires a special reservation and a small additional payment (currently $15/person) but the food and atmosphere are both fantastic. Highly recommended.

Shore Excursions

First stop, Key West. Instead of booking our Key West shore excursions through Disney, my lovely and talented wife did a bit of research on her own and saved a good bit of money by purchasing tickets directly for the Pirate Soul Museum and the Key West Aquarium. Disney has a fantastic docking location in Key West, allowing you to walk off the boat and straight into the middle of the action.

The Pirate Soul Museum was great. It was located just a few blocks from the port, and the boys loved seeing all of the pirate paraphernalia and getting their picture taken with a pirate. The Aquarium, on the other hand, was a bit disappointing. Given what we paid to get in, it was a pretty small-time operation and didn’t have all that much to offer.

Our next stop was Grand Cayman, where we booked an excursion to Stingray City through the cruise line. I went with the three older boys while my lovely and talented wife stayed aboard with Son #4 and got a pedicure while he hung out in the Oceaneer’s Club.

If you’ve never been there, Stingray City is a Cayman Islands must-see. While it was a bit harder for Son #2 and Son #3 to enjoy themselves since the water was a bit choppy and they could barely touch bottom, Son #1 had an absolute blast snorkeling with the stingrays (as did I). He’ll definitely carry those memories with him for a long, long time to come.

Our last ‘regular’ stop was in Cozumel, Mexico. While Cozumel is famous for it’s world-class snorkeling, we were fortunate not to have scheduled any excursions as it was incredibly windy and there were 8-13 foot swells up and down the coast. Definitely not ideal snorkeling conditions. Instead, we just walked around town a bit and then headed back aboard the ship for some swimming and relaxation.

The last stop was a day at Castaway Cay, which is Disney’s private island in the Bahamas. The island was gorgeous, the weather was perfect, and we had a blast snorkeling, swimming, and eating.

Disney Cruise Retrospective

All in all, we had a great time. It was a tiring, but fun and relaxing week. And ever since we got home, the boys have been pretending to be back on board the ship, wanting to have “Cruise Parties” almost every night.

Photo Credit: lemoncat1

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]]> http://www.raising4boys.com/2008/03/09/disney-magic-caribbean-cruise-review/feed/ 4 Happy New Year, and a Holiday Recap http://www.raising4boys.com/2008/01/02/happy-new-year-and-a-holiday-recap/ http://www.raising4boys.com/2008/01/02/happy-new-year-and-a-holiday-recap/#comments Thu, 03 Jan 2008 00:09:37 +0000 dad http://www.raising4boys.com/2008/01/02/happy-new-year-and-a-holiday-recap/ This is just a quick note to wish you all a (slightly belated) Happy New Year! We just returned from a trip to visit family (where we got a much-needed dose of snow) and are still recovering. All in all, things went very well.

We had actually planned to stay home for the holidays, but I snagged a great deal on airfare, so we decided to go visit the grandparents (on my side). And we actually managed to keep the nature of our trip a secret until we pulled into the airport!

We live about an hour and a half from the “big city” (and the airport) and the boys only knew that we were going on a fun trip to the city. They were under the (mistaken) impression that we were going to drive in and spend some time away from home doing semi-local stuff. Imagine their surprise when we ended up pulling into the airport and jetting of to visit family…

The outbound trip was uneventful, but tiring. We flew Christmas evening after having gotten up early for the usual festivities. But the return trip was a snap. We even managed to turn it into a nap flight for Son #4 (we didn’t push the sleep thing on the outbound trip since it was an evening flight and we wanted them to sleep when we got there).

So there you have it… We’re back, the trip was great, and we’re now settling back into our routine.

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]]> http://www.raising4boys.com/2008/01/02/happy-new-year-and-a-holiday-recap/feed/ 2 One Child Left Behind: The Life of a Fourth Child http://www.raising4boys.com/2007/04/03/one-child-left-behind-the-life-of-a-fourth-child/ http://www.raising4boys.com/2007/04/03/one-child-left-behind-the-life-of-a-fourth-child/#comments Tue, 03 Apr 2007 10:14:12 +0000 dad http://www.raising4boys.com/2007/04/03/one-child-left-behind-the-life-of-a-fourth-child/ We’ve previously written about the life of a third child, and how you need to be careful not to let their needs slip between the cracks. Well, it turns out that the same sorts of things need to be said in defense of the fourth child, as well…

My lovely and talented wife was recently gathering the necessary paperwork to get passports for herself and the kids (I applied for my passport awhile back). When it got down to Son #4, she couldn’t find his birth certificate — all she could come up with was the unofficial “mother’s copy.” It seems that we managed to get through the first 2+ years of his life without having applied for his official birth certificate! Whoops! This is why we’ve lovingly labeled him “One Child Left Behind.”

Fortunately, getting the official copy was straightforward… We simply had to fill a bit of information on the unofficial copy, enclose a small fee, and mail it in.

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]]> http://www.raising4boys.com/2007/04/03/one-child-left-behind-the-life-of-a-fourth-child/feed/ 5 Passport Restrictions Being Loosened http://www.raising4boys.com/2007/02/22/passport-restrictions-being-loosened/ http://www.raising4boys.com/2007/02/22/passport-restrictions-being-loosened/#comments Thu, 22 Feb 2007 18:57:24 +0000 dad http://www.raising4boys.com/2007/02/22/passport-restrictions-being-loosened/ This just in from the Department of Homeland Security…

The Bush administration is expected to announce on Thursday that it will exempt children from new rules that will require people to show passports when entering the U.S. at land or sea borders.

In case you haven’t heard, new passport restrictions that went into effect in late January require a passport when entering this country from North, Central, or South America as well as the Carribean (and Bermuda). Previously, U.S. and Canadian citizens were allowed to enter the U.S. from select countries if they presented a birth certificate or driver’s license, and some Mexicans could enter without a passport if they had a special border crossing card.

Under the expected announcement, kids 15 and under will be allowed to cross the borders at land and sea entry points with a certified copy of their birth certificates rather than passports. Moreover, kids aged 16-18 traveling with school, religious, cultural or athletic groups and under adult supervision will be allowed to travel with only their birth certificates.

Children entering the U.S. by air will still have to show passports, which means that the passports that we just applied for on behalf of our kids won’t go to waste…

[Source: NPR]

(Hat tip to my lovely and talented wife for finding this.)

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]]> http://www.raising4boys.com/2007/02/22/passport-restrictions-being-loosened/feed/ 2 Sick Kids and Creative Clothes http://www.raising4boys.com/2007/01/25/sick-kids-and-creative-clothes/ http://www.raising4boys.com/2007/01/25/sick-kids-and-creative-clothes/#comments Thu, 25 Jan 2007 16:17:28 +0000 mom http://www.raising4boys.com/2007/01/25/sick-kids-and-creative-clothes/ Son #4 had some “intestinal distress” on the drive back home from Disney World. Since we had been visiting Florida, I hadn’t packed very many pairs of long pants. As we drove further north the weather became very chilly. Unfortunately for him, he had exhausted his supply of long pants because of the illness. What to do? I decided to use my big cozy sweatshirt to keep him warm. I turned the sweatshirt upside down, stuck his little legs in the arm holes, and pulled the rest of the sweatshirt up and over his body. It worked perfectly! He had a warm and cozy “bunting” to snuggle in for the rest of the journey. (And thankfully he didn’t soil the sweatshirt.)

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]]> http://www.raising4boys.com/2007/01/25/sick-kids-and-creative-clothes/feed/ 0 Florida Travel Recommendations? http://www.raising4boys.com/2007/01/07/florida-travel-recommendations/ http://www.raising4boys.com/2007/01/07/florida-travel-recommendations/#comments Sun, 07 Jan 2007 22:23:57 +0000 dad http://www.raising4boys.com/2007/01/07/florida-travel-recommendations/ We’re looking for a nice family-type vacation spot along the Florida panhandle that would be suitable for a 3-5 day trip in mid-February. Does anyone have any recommendations? We’re looking for both general information (cities and whatnot) as well as specific information (e.g., hotel/resort recommendations and things to do). Please don’t be shy…

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]]> http://www.raising4boys.com/2007/01/07/florida-travel-recommendations/feed/ 1 Disney World and a Nasty RSV http://www.raising4boys.com/2006/12/11/disney-world-and-a-nasty-rsv/ http://www.raising4boys.com/2006/12/11/disney-world-and-a-nasty-rsv/#comments Tue, 12 Dec 2006 04:14:47 +0000 dad http://www.raising4boys.com/2006/12/11/disney-world-and-a-nasty-rsv/ After a whirlwind week at Disney World, we arrived home Friday night just in time to take our sick two year old to the pediatrician before they closed for the weekend. As it turns out, there’s been a nasty RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) making the rounds, and he came down with it about halfway through our vacation. Fever, coughing, gagging, a bit of vomiting, and some sleepless nights… Just what you want to experience in the midst of a vacation while living out of a suitcase in a hotel. The good news is that he hasn’t developed a secondary infection (yet) and he’s finally turned the corner and is feeling better. Anyway, things around here are now slowly returning to normal… The only remaining problem is that we now need a vacation to recover from our vacation!

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]]> http://www.raising4boys.com/2006/12/11/disney-world-and-a-nasty-rsv/feed/ 0 Roll Your Own Discount on Disney Tickets http://www.raising4boys.com/2006/12/07/discount-disney-tickets/ http://www.raising4boys.com/2006/12/07/discount-disney-tickets/#comments Thu, 07 Dec 2006 11:21:15 +0000 dad http://www.raising4boys.com/2006/12/07/discount-disney-tickets/ We’re a little over halfway through our Disney World vacation, and I wanted to share a bit about how we got a ‘discount’ on our park tickets. First off, I should say that Disney is pretty stingy when it comes to getting a ‘deal’ on park admission — people will pretty much pay what they’re asking when it comes to ticket prices, and they know it. But if you vacation there fairly regularly, you can create your own deal by buying a multi-day pass and splitting it across trips. This is what we did, and I thought I’d explain how it works…

Disney World offers what they call ‘Magic Your Way’ tickets that vary in terms of both duration and options. The price per day is on a sliding scale, such that you pay progressively less for each day that you purchase. You can then ‘upgrade’ your tickets to include things like Park Hopper privileges, as well as a non-expiring option. Park Hopper refers the ability to go in and out of any of their parks each day, rather than being restricted to just one. Thus, you can visit the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, the Animal Kingdom, and Disney/MGM Studios all in the same day.

And the non-expiring option means just that — you can spread the days on your pass over as much time as you wish, rather than having your tickets expire two weeks after your first use. You can also add access to their water parks, Pleasure Island (their night club complex), etc. if that’s your thing.

So how do you make your own discount? Simple. Just buy enough days for two visits and add the non-expiring option. As I said above, this really only works if you’re a semi-regular visitor. But if you are, you can save a bundle. Just don’t lose your tickets! (Actually, you can get replacements as long as you save the pertinent paperwork — so at the very least, don’t lose the paperwork.)

Since we fall into the ‘frequent Disney World visitor’ category (it doesn’t hurt that we’re within a day’s drive), we went ahead and purchased eight day passes for our 2005 trip such that we could make two four day visits (last year and this year). Based on the going rates when we bought the tickets, we saved around $300 as compared to buying two separate four day tickets without the non-expiration option for each person (note that we have a pretty big family, so you might not save as much if you do this yourself).

We also locked in the then-current price when we bought, so our savings went up a bit when Disney raised their ticket prices earlier this year. Sure, we could’ve been earning interest on the money that we put toward our second visit, but there’s no way we’d come anywhere near earning $300+ on this amount over the course of a year, so buying the longer-term tickets and stashing them in our safe deposit box in between trips really was a no-brainer.

Oh, and for those of you thinking about buying a longer-term ticket, using part of it, and then selling the remaining days to cover a portion of your vacation expenses, think again. Last year they were using a biometric hand-reader-thingy at the gate to make sure you’re using your own ticket, and this year they’ve replaced that with a fingerprint scanner.

Note: This post is based on my earlier writings about gettting Disney tickets at a discount.

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]]> http://www.raising4boys.com/2006/12/07/discount-disney-tickets/feed/ 3 On the Road http://www.raising4boys.com/2006/12/04/on-the-road-2/ http://www.raising4boys.com/2006/12/04/on-the-road-2/#comments Tue, 05 Dec 2006 03:31:34 +0000 dad http://www.raising4boys.com/2006/12/04/on-the-road-2/ I’m writing this from a hotel room in Orlando (actually Lake Buena Vista) where we’re on vacation at Disney World for the week. We’re two days into our vacation (three if you count the drive). Day One was spent at Epcot (with a quick bit of ParkHopped to the Magic Kingdom at the end of the day), and Day Two was Disney/MGM Studios. Tomorrow we’re laying low for a day to check out the resorts, bop around Downtown Disney, and recover before two more days at the parks. Next up, Magic Kingdom followed by Animal Kingdom (and more than likely a bit more ParkHopping).

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