So, when we last left off I was suring up excursions. As we are doing alot without DCL, it is all in the details. And the pocketbook, as in ours! In working with another family we found that we could do what we wanted to and save lots of money! A big plus to all of us. I am actually surprised at the amount of people that don't look into doing things on their own. Although we didn't go that route on our first cruise, i was able to save over 50% of the excursion fees second time around, and this time is no different. Our private tours right now are at about a 70% savings, which will go right to my D&B bag! LOL!
OK, so here are the plans...
Gibraltar - private tour of the rock, and a possible ride on the cable car - up and down - if the line is short and the little kids are up for it. With both families we will have 3 little girls under the age of 10, a 13 year old boy and then the big kids. So we are trying to be very aware of the limits that each can tolerate.
Madeira - private tour here as well. We have arranged a jeep tour of the island. It is geared to the East side, and was highly recommended. The tour also includes a 3 course lunch at a local restaurant which should be fun. The big kids are looking forward to it, the little ones don't know about it. It will hopefully be a nice change from mac and cheese, chicken fingers, hot dogs and all the other standard little kid foods. However, we also plan to bring stuff the little ones like so we are not dealing with that obstacle.
Our next stop is St. Maarten and we are doing a private tour there too! We have a van /SUV (not sure which) booked for the day and are planning to see the islands best - including a stop at Orient Beach where my boys will parasail, a stop at Maho beach to see the Planes come in. Looking forward to seeing the 12:20 KLM flight buzz the beach. We may get to Paradise Point (Pic?) to look down on things - but we are not sure that our tour guide will take us there. It is supposed to be an amazing view, but is also known for its high crime rate - specifically mugging tourists. This would be bad... however we are a group of 8 plus a driver and a guide, so we may be OK. We are also looking for a short stop (hour and a half or so) at the Butterfly Farm. I have great memories of my little boy when he was 8 (we saw a moth with a wing span as big as his head) but my little one doesn't remember the stop (she was 15 months old). However, as I hand the Christmas ornament with all the butterflies she always asks if she will get to see them. Now she will!! It isn't expensive to get in, and it is incredible to see all of them! The rest of the day will be filled in by the tour company, hopefully it will be a great day!!
We also go to Tortola. At present we have snorkeling and an island tour booked. DH is looking to try out snorkeling, so he may go there with our son and I will take Becca on the island tour. It should be a good day.
Last stop is Castaway Cay. We are booked for Parasailing here as well as the catamaran and snorkel tour. I want to drop the parasail as it is about double what we will pay at Orient Beach. If we do that I hope that we can get the kids settled and then head over to the adult beach for a nice lunch. If the kids wont settle in, then we will do the family beach for lunch and then the snorkeling time. I will snorkel this time as I really enjoy watching Stephen and how excited he gets!
And that is it. It sounds intense, nut as there are 6 sea days in there separating the European and Caribbean ports we should have plenty of time to relax and enjoy some family time.
More later!
