Atlantica 12/12/04 Anyone Joining Us?

[Kimbahh]

My husband and I are so excited about our upcoming cruise on the Atlantica 12/12. Will any of you be joining us?

[jeb9860]

We'll be there. My Hubby , me , 2 boys 4 & 5 and Grandparents are joining us from England. We are so excited.

[Anthony DeCarlo]

My wife Kathy and I will be aboard. We take about one cruise each year and have been on Costa previously, as well as NCL and Celebrity. We got a great deal on a suite which is why we chose this sailing.

[glcruiser]

My husband and I are so glad to find other people that are going to be on the 12/12/04 Costa Atlantica cruise also. We haven't taken a vacation from work since last year when we went on the RCCL Serenade in November 2003. We really think we need this one. This will be our 10th cruise and we get more excited every time we look forward to our next one. We have never sailed on a Costa ship and are ready for this new experience! We chose a suite this time, too, Anthony and Kathy, and that will be a special treat. We had an aft balcony cabin on the Serenade and loved it!

 

We are excited about getting our documents soon! That is when the sailing day starts to seem really close.

[Kimbahh]

Thanks so much for replying. We are so glad to hear from others that you will be joining us. We booked this cruise in May, and are so glad its finally close. We are leaving our little one at home with Grammy and Grampa, so we are calling this our second honeymoon. We will be ready to party and have the best time. We are in our mid 30's. Tell us about all of you!

[jeb9860]

We are both in our 30's too. As I said boys are 4 & 5, we are looking forward to some nights on our own with the babysitting they offer. Nanny and Grandad are joining us from England where my husband and I were born. We are all excited and will be counting counting down the next few weeks. We are doing a back to back from Dec 5 - 19 and have a PS Suite so plenty of room for the 4 of us. Grand Cayman is up and running and we are booking with Captain Marvin's, we have been there before and that will be the highlight for the boys they are excited to see the stingrays. Enjoy

[debbierobie]

My family & I are experienced cruisers but meeting fellow cruisers before embarkation is new. I was given this site from a company I found on the web. I was looking for things to do in Key West. I found what I thought would be a fun activity www.keywesthunt.com however when I contacted them I found out we needed 10 people to have a scavenger hunt. We have 8. They suggested this site for possibly recruiting more people. If you are interested please check out the web site and email me if you would like to join us on the 13th. My web address is debbierobie@msn.com. My family includes: My self & my husband, My Mom, our children, daughter & son-in-law (30's), grandson (4) and son, 17 & possibly a daughter (21 - who's trying to talk her professor into giving the final early so she can join us.). This is very exciting. We have never been on Costa before. I look forward to meeting everyone. That is one of the best things about cruises. Meeting people.

[glcruiser]

This is George, 1/2 of Jeanie and George. Just wanted to say Hi to all fellow passengers.

On the first port that we visit, Key West, we saw a travel channel show with Rachael Ray. She goes around visiting different cities for $40.00 a day to spend for food. Anyway she mentioned a few restaurants that sounded and looked good. We looked on a map, and the whole Key West area is very small, only a few miles long. Everything looked in walking distance.

I think we are going to get on the Conch train, then sight-see, then one of the restaurants we saw on TV. My wife will write later with the names.

We booked a Dunns Fall/tubing adventure in Ocho Rios on line.

Again my wife knows all the particulars, if interested. We have found that

booking on line is easy and generally cheaper than the ships prices. Haven't checked out that Conch train yet.

I am 56 years old, and my wife Jeanie is a few years younger. We like to book the more physical excursions; ie snorkel, hiking, cataram, horseback,

etc. We are not bringing anybody else, our kids are grown. We're just saving up for retirement so we can take more cruises. My hobby is close-up magic, so if anybody enjoys it, I will gladly give you a mini show.

Have to get ready for work, I am sure we will write more. :)

[jeb9860]

The Conch Train is a good way to see Key West. It's about $20 for adults $10 for kids, cheaper booked online than with Costa. As for Ocho Rios the Falls are great we did them last time. It is $15 entrance and I checked out the Jamaican Tourist website and it says that you can safely take a private Taxi in Jamaica as long as it says JUTA on the side. In Grand Cayman you must see the Stingrays, we are booking directly with Captainmarvins.com which is around $34 for 2.5 hours. Counting down the days now. Any ideas for a good limo service from FLL to hotels ???

[glcruiser]

Here's a map of Key West with most of the main points of interest:

 

http://www.frommers.com/images/destinations/maps/jpg/12_keywest.jpg

 

Is anybody going to bring a toga for the party on the last day?

Just wondering.

 

George & Jeanie

[debbierobie]

I think a toga would be fun but I like the suggestion of using the bed sheets and just bringing your own accessories. Less to pack. I will probably be the only one in my party to wear a toga unless my daughter gets to come.

[debbierobie]

Hey George I would like to see your magic. On a previous cruise we met a man that did magic and animal balloons. Because of him my daughter became interested in learning to make animal ballons. She became quite good in that art form.

If you like horseback riding there is a place in Jamaica that we think is awesome. You get to ride your horse in the ocean! The ride is 4 hrs including transfer, 1hr transportation to and from the pier and 1hr 30mins ride to and from the farm and 45 minutes at the beach, the rest of time is spent on mounting at the farm and beach, restroom and shopping. Pick-up would be 9:15 a.m. drop off is 4 hrs after. The cost is $65.00. My son & I are going on that tour. For more information on this tour and to view pictures, please visit our new website at www.chukkaadventuretours.com.

Later, Debbie

[DonP]

My husband and I are so excited about our upcoming cruise on the Atlantica 12/12. Will any of you be joining us?

I am booked on the Atlantica on Jan 16...please let me know how it is! I've seen such mixed reviews on Costa.

[glcruiser]

Hi to Everybody!

 

George says he will be glad to show you some card tricks, Debbie. Thank you for the Chukka Adventure Tours website address. The horseback ride looks like it would be a lot of fun. We have already booked a Dunn's River Falls and River Tubing tour through a website recommended by other cruise critic cruisers - http://www.a-zjamaicaplanners.com/

 

I have heard that climbing the Falls is not too physically difficult. However, I think that I might slip and sprain my ankle (again). Some people have said that you don't see what you are stepping on. Several have reported minor and not-so-minor injuries. If I had not sprained the same ankle three times in the last 20 years, I would definitely want to do the climb. We are looking forward to seeing the Falls though. We went snorkeling when we went to Jamaica in November 2001. We (bravely?) walked from the ship to the Jamaica Grand Hotel where we were set up on a snorkeling trip by one of the employees. It was a fun trip - just us and another couple we knew from the ship.

 

Exactly one month from today we will be sailing!!!

 

Have a nice weekend.

 

Jeanie & George

[Kimbahh]

Hi all,

 

Well it seems as though everyone is very excited in planning the tours. We have decided that we may do the Scavenger hunt with Debbie's family, as it seems like a great way to see Key West. We will be going to the Melia Resort on an All inclusive day pass in Cozumel, doing the Moby Dick Stingray tour in Grand Cayman, and we are still up in the air about Jamaica. We have already done the falls before, so we really aren't sure if we will go tubing, or get a day pass to Sandals. We are really into the beach, and just want to relax, and have some cocktails, and soak up the rays!

 

30 days and counting!!! Yeah!

 

Kim & Mike

[debbierobie]

Hey Kim & Mike, Thanks for your interest in the Key West Scavenger Hunt but we just learned that the company will be on vacation starting the Monday we are in port. So...no scavanger hunt. Sorry. Hopefully we'll meet you on some other excursion.

[debbierobie]

Everyone's been pretty quite lately. It won't be long now. Is everyone packed & ready to go? Should we all try & meet somewhere, sometime?

[Host Star]

Hi all,

 

Well it seems as though everyone is very excited in planning the tours. We have decided that we may do the Scavenger hunt with Debbie's family, as it seems like a great way to see Key West. We will be going to the Melia Resort on an All inclusive day pass in Cozumel, doing the Moby Dick Stingray tour in Grand Cayman, and we are still up in the air about Jamaica. We have already done the falls before, so we really aren't sure if we will go tubing, or get a day pass to Sandals. We are really into the beach, and just want to relax, and have some cocktails, and soak up the rays!

 

30 days and counting!!! Yeah!

 

Kim & Mike

can you please pass on some info as to the melia Resort day pass>> cost and how to contact them.. thanks

[Kimbahh]

The day pass to the Melia resort is $30.00 per person. Tickets are available at the hotel. This is the email I recieved back from the Melia Cozumel regarding the day pass.

 

Hola Dear Kim,

 

Yes, we have the day pass all inlcusive in Melia Cozumel, and you can buy when arriving to the hotel no in advance; the cost is $30.00usd per person childrens pay 50%, schedule from 10am to 18pm.

 

 

Hope this answers your question.

[Kimbahh]

We Are Only A Week Away.....hooray!

[debbierobie]

:D Bon Voyage to us! Is anyone going in a day early? We're flying in on Saturday. See ya real soon. Have a good flight.

[glcruiser]

How was everybody's 12/12/04 Costa Atlantica cruise?

 

We loved every day. The Paradise Beach in Cozumel was very relaxing and the food and drinks there were delicious. The lady sitting next to us pointed out Paradise Tom and we called him over to meet him. He said that about 30% of the people on the Paradise Beach that day were there because they heard about it on Cruise Critic.

 

In Jamaica we went on a tour with Walter from A-Z Jamaica Planners. We decided to climb Dunn's Falls and are so glad that we made it all the way with no injuries. Next, we went on a wonderful tubing ride down the White River. After that we visited the Wassi Art Company. We were taken on a very interesting tour of the company and met many of the employees. The pottery there was beautiful. The artists were very talented. After that, we rode up to Fern Gulley to see the beautiful rain forest. We were then ready for a jerk chicken lunch (not included in the tour price) at Bibibops right by the beach. We listened to an excellent singer there. Lastly, we visited the craft market shopping area. We would highly recommend Walter as a tour guide.

 

In Grand Cayman, we took a snorkeling tour with Soto's Cruises. We visited two snorkeling sites, and then went to the sting ray sandbar. We were there before the arrival of the larger crowds from the big boats. I think our boat had about 12 people, though it probably would have accomodated twice that number. One of the crew members showed us a shark while we were snorkeling. It was a friendly shark.

 

We enjoyed the ship. We liked the colors and the cut glass. We enjoyed the nice weather - not too hot or humid.

 

The ship food was very good. We used room service for one dinner and the specialty restaurant for another. For our taste, the lobster tail was rather dry and chewy, but we ate it, anyway. Our favorites were the Beef Wellington at dinner and the pesto at lunch on Friday.

 

We skipped seeing the ship entertainment on all but one night. That night was below average, as cruise ship entertainment goes.

 

Smoking in the casino did not bother us as much as it has on other ships.

 

This was one of our best cruises out of ten.

 

Hope to hear from you soon!

 

George & Jeanie