Mince Pie In The Sky - A Hopeful Pre-trip Report

[jedijill]

Jill in CO

 

[PJB71]

Corinna hope you had a lovely day

 

[dolphingirl47]

Thanks for the birthday wishes. They mean a lot to me. I had a busy day at work yesterday, but then went to have my nails done after work and then Graham took me out for a lovely dinner. I am now on leave for most of the week, but this is already growing old and I have only been home about 5 hours. I am just not cut out to spend any length of time off work without any plans.


Corinna

 

[PJB71]

Thanks for the birthday wishes. They mean a lot to me. I had a busy day at work yesterday, but then went to have my nails done after work and then Graham took me out for a lovely dinner. I am now on leave for most of the week, but this is already growing old and I have only been home about 5 hours. I am just not cut out to spend any length of time off work without any plans.


Corinna

OMG sounds as though it could endup being expensive "Corinna at home with nothing to do" better tell Graham to hide the credit cards

Any news on the cruise??

 

[dolphingirl47]

OMG sounds as though it could endup being expensive "Corinna at home with nothing to do" better tell Graham to hide the credit cards

Any news on the cruise??

Funny you should say that He has just handed me the credit card for our joint credit card account. We had a Virgin Money branded card which was issued by MBNA and they have severed that partnership so now we have brand new MBNA cards.

Yes, there is an updated on the cruise of sorts, but I will post this in a separate post coming up in a moment.

Corinna

 

[franandaj]

I've been spotty on the boards so I guess I missed your birthday, so Happy late Birthday!!!!!

 

[dolphingirl47]

Well, it looks like Captain Mickey has finally come to his senses ... and in turn I have lost the plot .

As you all know, I have been watching the DCL website and Cruise Fish like a hawk. Apart from our cruise, I also watched the 29th November sailing as this has the same itinerary as ours and therefore would provide a good indication what may be happening with ours. Anyway, that cruise had IGT, OGT, VGT rates last weekend and I spotted that they had travel industry rates this morning.

I also spotted that my cruise now has IGT, OGT, VGT rates out and availability is up to 83%. So people seem to have cancelled in droves. As I can add two and two together and usually come out with 4, I have decided to hold off and see if the same will happen for our cruise.

I have spend far too much time watching developments for other cruises and the IGT, OGT, VGT rates tend to be available for a while. The saving that the travel industry rate would mean and the fact that it includes pre-paid tips would pay for the photo CD.

Even though I still have not anything booked. I am so excited that I am bouncing around the apartment.

Corinna

 

[dolphingirl47]

I've been spotty on the boards so I guess I missed your birthday, so Happy late Birthday!!!!!

Thanks for the birthday wishes. My next birthday I will spend in California/ Hawaii

Corinna

 

[Pinkocto]

I was going to say with all this extra time you could start planning your next trip but it sounds like you've already found something hopefully the wait won't be much longer.

 

[dolphingirl47]

I was going to say with all this extra time you could start planning your next trip but it sounds like you've already found something hopefully the wait won't be much longer.

There are two trips for next year in the preliminary planning stages: a Panama Canal cruise on the Wonder in May and then Disneyland and Hawaii in November. However, I can't do anything concrete about either yet.

My week has suddenly become a lot busier though. I have a few crafty projects to take care of and need to finish my magnets. Most of them are laminated, but I have to add the magnet strips. I think I will spend a happy afternoon watching a movie and finish the magnets.

The reason that my week has become busier is actually an item of clothing. I spotted a gorgeous jacket in one of our department stores and just fell in love with it. The local store does not have it in the size I want. I tried it on in a size smaller than I would normally need and it does fit, but it is a little tight across the chest. It is also sold out online. So I am going to visit a few other branches around the area to try and get it in the right size. This would go perfectly with one of the dresses that I bought for this trip.



I also seen that our Christmas markets have now started so I will spend an afternoon checking those out. I am actually starting to look rather forward to this week.

Corinna

 

[dolphingirl47]

Whereas I can take or leave Grand Cayman, Cozumel is one of my favourite ports. Cozumel is not without its issues, but on the whole this is a great port. The one drawback is that when you get off the ship and want to go anywhere, you have to walk through a shopping centre. All the tour buses and taxis are on the other side of this. The shopping centre consists of shops selling souvenirs, Mexican silver jewellery, arts and crafts as well as some of the jewellery shops and shops with goods that change colour in the sun that you find in pretty much any cruise port. Of course, they all want to sell you their wares. For the most part a firm and polite "no thank you" is all that is needed to put a stop to this. Some of the sales staff from the international jewellery shops are a bit more pesky, but I have never felt threatened by anybody in Cozumel unlike my visit to Nassau. I had been warned before my first visit that Cozumel is Nassau on steroids, but that has not been my experience at all.

The reason why we both love Cozumel so much is the Chankanaab National Park. This is probably the most unusual National Park that I have visited. There are some land-based attractions like botanical gardens, some minor Mayan ruins and some shows, but the reason why this was designated a National Park is actually under the water, a huge coral reef. This is what tempts us to go there on every visit. I suppose you can only fully appreciate the coral reef if you are a scuba diver, but the snorkelling is pretty stunning, too. There are loads of beautiful colourful fish and you do not have to go very far from the beach to see them. We always bring our wetsuits, which are black and blue. We found on our first visit that the staff that feed the fish wear wetsuits that are very similar to ours. So we very quickly had literally hundreds of new best friends.














Apart from the amazing snorkelling and a very pretty beach, they also have a Dolphin Discoveries facility there. This is what brought us to Chankanaab the first time when I had booked a dolphin excursion through Disney. I did the Dolphin Swim Encounter the first time round and did a Manatee Encounter last year, which was amazing. This year I am kind of torn between the Dolphin Royal Swim that includes behaviours like a double foot push and a double dorsal tow or the Sea Lion Encounter. I will make that decision the day after Thanksgiving as they normally have amazing offers that day.











On the whole, this is not only a very enjoyable day out, but also very good value. The dolphin swim obviously adds to the cost, but includes admission to the National Park. Even though this is quite a way from the port, the taxi is only about $10 each way and admission to just the park is about $20. It also could not be any easier. There are plenty of taxis by the port and also at Chankanaab.

 

[Pinkocto]

That looks like a fabulous day! I'm almost convinced this is what I'll do for Cozumel. Does the $10 include tip or do I need to remember some $1's?

 

[dolphingirl47]

That looks like a fabulous day! I'm almost convinced this is what I'll do for Cozumel. Does the $10 include tip or do I need to remember some $1's?

I will report back when I get back from the trip, but I think it was actually $8 and we rounded it up to $10.

Corinna

 

[franandaj]

Well I hope it all works out for you and they release the travel rates soon! Would you do the dolphin or the manatee swim?

 

[dolphingirl47]

Well I hope it all works out for you and they release the travel rates soon! Would you do the dolphin or the manatee swim?

I am sure it will. I am more optimistic now than I have been for the last month.

I was torn at one stage between the Sea Lion Encounter and the Dolphin Royal Swim, but I have pretty much decided on the Dolphin Royal Swim.

Corinna

 

[jedijill]

Fingers crossed on the cruise! I did the Royal Swim there in Cozumel in 2007 and it was amazing! Well worth the money.

Jill in CO

 

[dolphingirl47]

Fingers crossed on the cruise! I did the Royal Swim there in Cozumel in 2007 and it was amazing! Well worth the money.

Jill in CO

Thanks for the good wishes. Not in my worst nightmares would I have thought that so much would still be in the air 15 days before we leave on this trip.

Corinna

 

[dolphingirl47]

I mentioned before that for every cruise or sets of cruises in the case of the back to backs that I have done, I commissioned some special jewellery. This cruise is no exception. Initially I commissioned some Christmas themed jewellery to go with the gown that I had made for the dress up night. Fairly early on we were talking materials and agreed on rubies, emeralds, garnets and glass leaves with gold wire.

I had envisioned a kind of collar style similar to this:



Or even like this:



However, this turned out completely different from what I imagined. I have to say though, I really loved how this turned out. I can't wait to wear this. I had originally planned to take a different set of jewellery to go with the gown I bought for Palo, but I think I will just wear this. I have a monthly subscription with her and we agreed that she will make some companion pieces to go with the necklace.













Further down the line, I decided to commission a pirate necklace. I provided the pirate medallion and some synthetic suede and I ask her to use some fabric in this as well. Again, this turned out very different from what I had imagined, but I love it.







(Photos above all courtesy of Wyrding Studios.)

The last piece of jewellery was not commissioned and did not go quite according to plan, but I love it nevertheless. Very early on in the game, I fell in love with this tiara:



It was out of stock and remains so to this day. So I started to look for alternatives. I came across a great vintage tiara on Ebay. On the photo it looked gold so I decided to go for it. It actually turned out to be silver, but I have really fallen in love with it. I can't wait to wear it.

 

[jedijill]

Beautiful jewelry. I love all the pieces....that tiara is gorgeous!

Jill in CO

 

[ForTheLoveOfDCL]

I am sure it will. I am more optimistic now than I have been for the last month.

I was torn at one stage between the Sea Lion Encounter and the Dolphin Royal Swim, but I have pretty much decided on the Dolphin Royal Swim.

Corinna

I am hoping for the deal on that swim. I am hoping they have a conversion taxi van for the 9 of us and maybe you and Graham too if they have one. If it's cheaper to split then I will split my crew.. Nelia is doing the Sea Lion encounter!

I mentioned before that for every cruise or sets of cruises in the case of the back to backs that I have done, I commissioned some special jewellery. This cruise is no exception. Initially I commissioned some Christmas themed jewellery to go with the gown that I had made for the dress up night. Fairly early on we were talking materials and agreed on rubies, emeralds, garnets and glass leaves with gold wire.

I had envisioned a kind of collar style similar to this:



Or even like this:



However, this turned out completely different from what I imagined. I have to say though, I really loved how this turned out. I can't wait to wear this. I had originally planned to take a different set of jewellery to go with the gown I bought for Palo, but I think I will just wear this. I have a monthly subscription with her and we agreed that she will make some companion pieces to go with the necklace.













Further down the line, I decided to commission a pirate necklace. I provided the pirate medallion and some synthetic suede and I ask her to use some fabric in this as well. Again, this turned out very different from what I had imagined, but I love it.







(Photos above all courtesy of Wyrding Studios.)

The last piece of jewellery was not commissioned and did not go quite according to plan, but I love it nevertheless. Very early on in the game, I fell in love with this tiara:



It was out of stock and remains so to this day. So I started to look for alternatives. I came across a great vintage tiara on Ebay. On the photo it looked gold so I decided to go for it. It actually turned out to be silver, but I have really fallen in love with it. I can't wait to wear it.

Love the pieces... one day I will commission a piece. There was a piece of yours I love so I will look for something done similar.