12/29/07 Western - New Year's Eve

[birkner]

So my DW and I are out for our weekly date...

And she says to me while we are just eating our salad, "Do you realize that is the third time you have said that since we sat down?"

"That" which she was referring to was my comment about being only one week away from being on the Magic! Okay, so I am a little excited.

Am I the only one looking forward to the cruise more than Christmas. Ouch.

So sorry your wife is not excited but sounds a whole lot like my family until we get here!! I am the OCD vacation planner!!

[birkner]

Jim,

You're not alone. It's not that we're not giving Christmas all its due excitement, attention and traditions, but we're MORE excited about vacation. Here at GreenAcres we believe that if you work hard, you get to play hard. That's what vacation is for...reward for working hard. In this case it's reward mostly for my DD's hard work in school and her upcoming high school graduation.

I've been meaning to ask (yup, I'm too busy/lazy to read back over all the previous pages)....Does anyone else have a 17 year old (or close) cruising with us? What about anyone 12-13? My DS doesn't care for the lab and it would be fantastic if he had someone to hang out with.

Last night on our way out to dinner we were discussing exactly where we'd be and what we'd be doing in a week. We figured we'd be at a show at that time since we have late dinner seating...we've been doing that a LOT! LOL

Lisa

Lisa:

My GD Aspen is 13 but she is dying to go to the Stack!! Look for us in the terminal in our green shirts so we can introduce them to each other.

Noel

[birkner]

I agree Jim! I am just looking forward to being away from work and actually relaxing a bit. We are leaving on Wed. and I don't have the first item packed or even close to being packed. But I figure that I can do that Christmas Day. Because we do everything with most of the family on Christmas Eve. Except this year my baby sister will not be here until Christmas Day. My work as Santa's helper has almost finished. However, it is now time to begin my personal stitching and boy, I didn't realize how much I had. So right after church, it's back to the machines at least for a good 8 hours.

Hope you had a Very Merry Birthday Noel, say hey to the Main Mouse for us. Hoping all of you have a Blessed Christmas and safe travels to Port Canaveral.

Merry Christmas,
Pam:santa:

Pam:

Thanks for the warm birthday wishes!! I have sent everyone's greetings to the Main Mouse.

Merry Christmas to you and your family.

Noel

[birkner]

Okay -- cleared one big event this morning with the Christmas service at church. It was an excellent service and DW (choir director/music coordinator) did a wonderful job with all of the choirs, bells, music, etc.

Tonight, DD21's birthday (today) hang out with the family. Everybody's busy getting the house touched up before 4:00. (Then why am I on the computer??)

Anyway, Christmas feels a little more special right now, and we will enjoy the celebrations and then panic, pack, pencil things off the list, plan, and propel ourselves forward to the plane.

We are under a winter storm warning. 40+ MPH winds that blew down the basketball hoop this morning. Near white-out from the snow with the mercury at 17 degrees. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. And, can't wait for Key West a week from today :yay:

Merry Christmas Jim to you and your family. Please tell your DD that Samantha is really looking forward to meeting someone her own age.

80 degrees here in Orlando!:banana: :banana:

[birkner]

Happy belated b-day Noel!!

Change of plans for us Friday we are not going to the candlelight now we are going to MGM ( I know I know it has a new name), but to me it will always be MGM. We watched a special on the travel channel about Disney for the holidays and Joe reallys wants to see the lights so that is now where we are heading with dinner at the Brown Derby. Not a bad way to start our trip.

Here is hoping that AirTran is on time Friday!!!

Maureen

Thanks for the birthday wishes!! I don't have a clue what we are doing Friday yet as we are still in the planning and negotiation stage!!

[JimV]

So sorry your wife is not excited but sounds a whole lot like my family until we get here!! I am the OCD vacation planner!!

Oh no! Don't get that wrong, Ann can't wait and is extremely excited about the trip. She just found my comments amusing. In fact, she asked me yesterday if we could switch our flights to go out Thursday instead of Friday so she could have a full day at WDW...

Our Friday plans are still to check in at the resort, and head over to MGM for dinner and to see the lights. We know it will be busy, but I am (at least) looking forward to that part of the trip. We switched our hotel due to some earlier confusion and we booked a (small) family suite at ASM. I am debating surprising my family and switching to one of the DVC suites that still have room, but since I was planning on using Magical Express to get to the parks and not have to hassle with luggage, I don't think I can get new tags fast enough for our Friday AM flights.

Anyway, just opened the last of DW's gifts that I needed to wrap, and it was empty so off to the mall for an unexpected trip... (I guess I could give her an empty box -- then we can learn the truth about, "It's the thought that counts" :santa: ). Hmmm... Probably not. I think that would go over about as well as the year I got a free cosmetic gift box with a perfume purchase. I took out the contents, slipped it into Ann's stocking and you should have seen her reaction when she pulled out...









anti-aging cream






Okay, will someone please tell me what kind of store gives out gift boxes to husbands that are buying pre-wrapped perfume on Dec 22 that includes ANTI-AGING WRINKLE CREAM!!!! :eek: Somebody at that store has a diabolical sense of humor.:rotfl2:


So, off to the mall I go.

[JimV]

Yippee. DCL website is finally back online. After being down since Thursday I can finally do the online check-in and get that off my to-do list.

[birkner]

Most all of my family is down either in the swimming pool or in the hot tub so I thought I would post an update.

Where we last left off, I had gone to bed on Friday night about 1:00 AM. I set the alarm for 9:00 so I could get a good night sleep before having to move hotels and pick everyone up.

Once I was up and showered, I had a nice light breakfast in my room and finished packing. Talked to my DH and DD Samantha who were up and getting ready to go to the airport. I reminded my DH to get to the airport at least 2 hours early. Famous last words!!

DD Jen and her family arrived at the airport 2 1/2 hours early, sailed through baggage checkin in 35 minutes and breezed through security in 10 minutes and were at the gate.

Here is where everything went wrong for DH. DD had dropped him off only one hour early for the flight and by that point the baggage line was over 2 hours long. I was glabbergasted at his noncholance in thinking he was going to make the flight. He was still in the baggage line as were 20 others on his flight when the flight took off for Orlando!!

Needless to say, I called Southwest and even the flight he could have gone stand by on had left. DD Samantha was at SFO with the house keys and the burglar alarm in the house was one. I made a split second decision to get him on the next flight from ANY nearby airport. One seat was left on the next day from SFO at 11:10, so I grabbed the seat.

I next called the Marriott at the SFO airport and got him a room. DH checked with Information and was told that at 2:30 he could take the Monterrey airporter to SFO and then he could catch the shuttle to Marriott.

By this point, DH was realizing I was beyond upset that all he had to do is go to the airport and he had messed up big time!! He had our DVD players with us so the kids were not able to watch movies on the flight.

DD Samantha sailed through security and baggage, however her flight that was scheduled for 1:14PM did not take off until 3:59 PM so she just sat around the airport talking on her phone and typing on her computer.

As for me, I checked out at about 1:00 PM so I could do some shopping for groceries for my DD and her family to put in the condo. Luckily, I was able to check into the Dolphin by 3:00PM though I didn't unpack, just dropped off the bags.

Next, I headed back to International Drive and my DD's condo. I was able to check into her condo, get her keys and unload the groceries I had bought for breakfast etc. I also dropped off the $10 tree for them to assemble. Afterward, I made myself some taboleuh for dinner and watched tv until time to head toward the airport at 11:00 since both flights were running late and were not schedule to arrive until 11:30 PM.

DH calls from the shuttle and when he arrives at the hotel. He is very contrite. Maybe next time he will listen to me and not have selective hearing!! He hits happy hour and decides he is going to bed early so he can get to the airport on time!! Better happen or else!!

I go to airport and sat waiting for about 10 minutes in the cell lot until I got my first call from Samantha at 11:40 PM. I only had to circle twice for her as her bags came pretty quickly.

Now here comes the next debacle. I get a call about 11:44 PM from DD Jen and crew that they are at baggage claim and to come get them. Of course, another terminal from DD Samantha and this one has a really, really long line to get in. We finally get up to gate 14 where everyone has their bags except SIL Pete. His bag which has ALL of his clothes is missing. We wait about another 15 minutes and no luck. Pete goes to the baggage counter and they discover that the bag was taken off at first stop Burbank. Right BUR looks just MCO. You wouldn't believe how many bags on the carousel were destined for other airports!! Southwest promises to deliver bag to the condo by 3:00 PM.

At this point, it is about 1:00 AM, everyone is starving!! No meal service on Southwest as you all probably know, so the goal is fast food. My DD Jen makes the funniest comment so far, "Oh, there is a 24 hour drive through, I wonder if it is open?" We all laugh hysterically and I pull into Mickey D's. DD Jen orders and of course everything is wrong when we get it but we take it anyway.

As we are driving away, she realizes that she didn't order any drinks so we stop at a Chevron mini mart for sodas and beer!! Finally, we arrive at the condo, unload and then Pete rides with me to the Dolphin as they are keeping the car.

Once in my room, I can't sleep so I unpack until about 3:00 AM, take a shower and fall asleep. More tomorrow.

[WiscBill]

DD-5 is definitely getting excited about Christmas and the cruise. She can't wait to get to open presents, but I think going to the Oceaneer's Club is definitely second on the list.

We are also going through the last check lists for the trip. Waterproof cameras, Purel, and sunscreen all packed up and ready. Summer clothese are all laid out, along with windbreakers just in case we hit a real cold front. Right now, all the weather forecasts are very positive, except for the last few days in which we might get a cold front (i.e., the lower 70s) for Castaway Cay.

I admire all of you going to WDW on Friday. DW has made that a definite no for us. She does not like crowds. However, she says we can see the trees at the Yacht and Beach club if I buy her dinner at the Yachtmans' Steakhouse. Having done that, I think I'll opt for the free happy hour at the Embassy Suites and save the money for the cruise.


Bill

[JimV]

We haven't even made our packing list yet!! :scared1:

I think we will start tomorrow, or maybe today. Then when DW said let's go Thursday, I thought, "get completely packed, ready to go in one day." Yeah right.

[pit303]

We haven't even made our packing list yet!! :scared1:

I think we will start tomorrow, or maybe today. Then when DW said let's go Thursday, I thought, "get completely packed, ready to go in one day." Yeah right.

You are not alone we still haven't started packing yet. Thinking more and more that Thursday maybe another vacation day!! And of course I booked the first flight out Friday AM which means getting to the airport by 5:15 AM!!!:scared1: :scared1:

[JimV]

Noel,

Sorry for all of the travel travails. Nothing like missing a few flights and having things not go quite the right way to get one in the holiday spirit.

I hope things are better this Friday. That's why I booked a 10:00 AM flight so we have time at the airport. Seat assignments are done. I can checkin and do curbside baggage claim. All of the tricks of an experienced business traveller and...

it could still go completely wrong.

Fingers crossed and counting down...

[birkner]

DD-5 is definitely getting excited about Christmas and the cruise. She can't wait to get to open presents, but I think going to the Oceaneer's Club is definitely second on the list.

We are also going through the last check lists for the trip. Waterproof cameras, Purel, and sunscreen all packed up and ready. Summer clothese are all laid out, along with windbreakers just in case we hit a real cold front. Right now, all the weather forecasts are very positive, except for the last few days in which we might get a cold front (i.e., the lower 70s) for Castaway Cay.

I admire all of you going to WDW on Friday. DW has made that a definite no for us. She does not like crowds. However, she says we can see the trees at the Yacht and Beach club if I buy her dinner at the Yachtmans' Steakhouse. Having done that, I think I'll opt for the free happy hour at the Embassy Suites and save the money for the cruise.


Bill
Bill:

Mid 70's here in Orlando today. We braved the crowds at Animal World today and family did Expedition Everest at least 4 times.

Tomorrow it MK day and that out to be a complete zoo!!

[birkner]

We haven't even made our packing list yet!! :scared1:

I think we will start tomorrow, or maybe today. Then when DW said let's go Thursday, I thought, "get completely packed, ready to go in one day." Yeah right.

OCD Vacation planners must pack at least one week before trip and have all clothes ironed as they are so wrinkled from being packed so long!!

:rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2:

[birkner]

You are not alone we still haven't started packing yet. Thinking more and more that Thursday maybe another vacation day!! And of course I booked the first flight out Friday AM which means getting to the airport by 5:15 AM!!!:scared1: :scared1:


Yikes!! I am not sure I could be ANYWHERE by 5 AM!!

[birkner]

Noel,

Sorry for all of the travel travails. Nothing like missing a few flights and having things not go quite the right way to get one in the holiday spirit.

I hope things are better this Friday. That's why I booked a 10:00 AM flight so we have time at the airport. Seat assignments are done. I can checkin and do curbside baggage claim. All of the tricks of an experienced business traveller and...

it could still go completely wrong.

Fingers crossed and counting down...

All body parts crossed for you guys to have a smooth and event free flight!!

[birkner]

Well, the saga continues with a phone call from DD Jennifer at 11:45 am on Sunday morning to let me know that they were stirring. I was still comatose but decided I better get up and get moving. Staggering to the shower, it took me at least 10 minutes to fully wake up under a steady stream of water.

Next thing on the agenda was to call DH since he should already be at airport and no phone call. Call his cell phone and no answer. Call the hotel and have them ring the room, no answer. About now I am completely freaking out that he is still sleeping and going to miss this flight when the cell phone rings and it is DH! He has bags checked, gone through security and flight is on time!! HOOORAY!!

DD's Jen and Samantha call and say they are on the way to pick me up to go grocery shopping and to get some clean clothes for Pete. Doesn't that sound fun? NOT!! They pick me up and we spend the next two hours buying out the grocery store to the tune of $400. and three carts.

After unloading, DD Samantha makes lunch and I am told our next mission is to go shopping for a swim suit for GD Aspen and Rash Guard shirt for Pete. Next two hours are spent in a dressing room with GD who can not decide which suit she wants. Finally a decision is made and we can go home!!

At this point, I am blitzed and I want to sleep but can't because still have to pick up DH at 10:00 PM. Can't have a glass of wine either because I have to drive!! So everyone goes swimming or into the hot tub and I type on the computer for a bit.

DD Samantha comes upstairs at 9:30 and we are off to the airport. All goes smoothly with DH's flight and he is off the plane and has his bags by 10:25 PM. We drive back to the Dolphin and DD Samantha drives back to condo.

After unpacking DH's suitcases and plugging in all electronic gizmo's, we are ready for bed by 12:40 AM.

Much better end to this day.

[birkner]

duplicate

[iloveokw]

Got our green lies in the mail yesterday - Merry Christmas everyone - see you soon.

Kathy pirate:

[Caitsmama]

Noel.. Wow.. you have had quite the trip already! LOL I am seriously tired reading about all your saga! :)

We had a great Christmas, dd was THRILLED with her new acoustic guitar - and took it everywhere today.. I am happy too, got an MP3 player - yes, my first.. so... after about 2 hrs of sitting here trying to figure out how to work this, i got it! Oh, but in my defense, probably about 1 hr of that time was spent trying to figure out how to change the language back to english, b/c when i first started it up, i must have hit the wrong button, and everything was chinese or something, and i had NO idea where the settings were, so after about an hour of guessing and pressing buttons, and on the verge of tears (yes, i don't deal well when i screw up something).. i got lucky. :) So, we are all set now! I love it.

I feel like i gained 10lbs b/w yesterday and today.. hoping i can walk/run on the treadmill tomorrow at some point, cuz man.. the thought of my bathing suit in the other room is scaring me!!!! LOL

Hope everyone had a great Christmas!

Pam, still hoping the shirts come, We leave friday am, and no sign of them yet, but i have faith.. :)
Glad you guys got your green lei's! I will be looking for all of you! ( Oh and Jim.. who will be lei-less) :( ;)

[JimV]

Yes -- I will be lei-less.

That enables me to scope all of you out before I introduce myself. You know, one has to take these online relationships slowly and not rush things. :lmao:

Can't wait to meet everyone. Much more laid back than our last cruise. Just made our list this afternoon. We have tuxes rented for DS's just to make it special on NYE. DS15 actually wants to wear a white dinner jacket for the semi-formal night. We'll see how that goes (he loves to dress up and look good -- I think the attention he gets from the young ladies might be part of the reason for that...)

Good night everyone.

[Ky Cruisin]

Hey guys,

I checked the tracking info and you should have your shirts tomorrow. They were scheduled for today, but seeing it is Christmas, it will have to wait until then. I am packing as I type. We are leaving tomorrow afternoon. Spent today sewing our shirts and finishing FE. Boy did that turn out to be a project!!! Pulling the summer clothes out and trying them on after eating for two days straight was a depressing thing!! I guess I'll have to starve until Sat. to fit into everything!! And please, the thought of putting on a bathing suit, you will be snow blinded!:rotfl: I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and everyone travel safely. See you on Sat!!!

Pam

[Caitsmama]

Pam -- thanks so much, And have a great trip today!!! I am a bit jealous of all you that are leaving before me! LOL But, i guess i can be patient til Friday am.. LOL Gotta finish up those FE gifts anyway.. ;)

[pit303]

Pam -- thanks so much, And have a great trip today!!! I am a bit jealous of all you that are leaving before me! LOL But, i guess i can be patient til Friday am.. LOL Gotta finish up those FE gifts anyway.. ;)

You are not alone Joe and I aren't leaving until Friday either. Just think this time next week we will be in Cozumel :cool1: :cool1: :cool1:

[JimV]

Will be in Orlando at 4:00 PM... (providing we do not run into Noel-like travel situations). We leave Grand Rapids, MI (GRR) at the relatively comfortable time of 10:30 AM.

No FE gifts for me. But we do have to start packing...

[birkner]

Just a quick driveby post. Having a wonderful time at WDW. Glad everyone had wonderful a Christmas. Will post links to my trip blogs later. See everyone on the ship!!

[pit303]

Will be in Orlando at 4:00 PM... (providing we do not run into Noel-like travel situations). We leave Grand Rapids, MI (GRR) at the relatively comfortable time of 10:30 AM.

No FE gifts for me. But we do have to start packing...

No FE gifts for me either. We still haven't started packing either. Need to do that tonight when we get home.

We leave PHL at 7 AM :scared1: :scared1:

[GreenAcres]

Stacy....the leis came in and are in my carry-on bag already. Thanks again!

Noel....You're story scared me. We're flying out on Southwest from Jackson, MS airport. I had originally planned to leave our house at 6:45 am for the hour and a half drive and 9:45 flight. Now I'm worried that we need to leave a lot earlier...YIKES. I need some advice. DS12 is a very mature 12...not in the worldly way, but more an old soul if you know what I mean. If he goes anywhere away from us, he will want to go to the stack with his sister. Is there a chance the crew will let him? I guess it depends on how many teens are sailing.

All.....Santa brought me an new digital camera and it's GREAT! My old one was getting very tired. I will, of course, be practicing with my new toy so I'll be ready to take some great pictures of all of you in your tee shirts and leis. I am SO excited...just wish I didn't have so much packing left to do.

Lisa

[JimV]

I've flown out of Jackson before and it is not the kind of airport that usually sees two hour boarding times (just aren't that many people going in and out). So you are planning 6:45 leave, 8:15 at the airport for a boarding that will begin at 9:10-15. That gives you an hour to park, check bags, security before boarding and with the way SW does boarding, you want to be there early, right? If everything goes well, you are in great shape and might end up with 20 extra minutes.

But you don't have a lot of wiggle room.

I might leave 10-15 minutes earlier. Holiday travel is always dicey, because you might get behind the person that didn't realize that having his child carrying a toy gun in his carry-on is a bad idea (had that happen -- caused a lock-down in security and I almost missed my flight -- the child and parents were brought back to the "little room" for further discussions), or complains because the 24 oz bottle of shampoo has to be trashed.

Once you get to the airport the delays are either weather somewhere (not as much of an issue in a morning flight down south) or people. And the more people and the less experienced they are in traveling the slower it goes.

Just my $0.02.

[GreenAcres]

Jim, Thanks for the pep talk. That's just how I had it figured. We always fly from Jackson because it's Southwest and non-stop. I just get nervous when there are so many holiday travelers. I will plan to leave at 6:15 instead, which means 6:30 because I have a 17yoDD.:) Lately there's been quite a bit of road construction on I-20 in Jackson and we'll be there during going-to-work traffic (for what it is in Jackson). Now...if another barge hits the Mississippi River Bridge...well....we'll never make it.

DH is in charge of getting the boarding passes printed out tomorrow morning. Southwest has a new boarding procedure that's supposed to be an improvement over the waiting in the "chutes like cattle". One can only hope. Poor DH hardly ever gets to get his boarding pass in advance...I guess he has a suspicious name? It sure makes him mad, but I'm nice and I save him a seat.:laughing:

Lisa

[JimV]

Lisa,

You're welcome.

BTW, I was struck by your cruise ticker which says...

3 DAYS UNTIL DEC 2007 NYE MAGIC!!

:dance3: :banana: :dance3:

I have so much to do :eek: :scared1: :eek:

[MarcyIn Florida]

Hi everyone! For those of you not down here yet, I just wanted to pop in and wish you safe travels. Our local Orlando weather has been gorgeous -- almost unseasonably so! The nights have been cool, though, so make sure you have a fleece or light jacket for the evenings. (Okay, maybe 10 plus years of living in Florida have thinned my blood.)

Saturday should be highs in the low 80s, so we should have great weather when we cast off.

[Catwoman22]

Hey guys,

I checked the tracking info and you should have your shirts tomorrow. They were scheduled for today, but seeing it is Christmas, it will have to wait until then.


Pam,

The shirts came today and they are beautiful. Can't wait to wear them Saturday. Thank you so much for doing them.

See you soon!

Kate

[JimV]

I am certain I will have shirt and lei envy before we even get on the ship...

[Caitsmama]

Pam, got my shirts!! Thanks so much!! We won't be in them on Sat. - as there are 9 of us traveling together, and i made us all matching shirts - and couldn't see asking anyone (you) to do 9 shirts.. LOL So, the ones you made us, we will definately be sporting on board, just not on saturday..

Jim.... don't worry, i have ONE extra lei here with your name on it -- i'll have it with me at Sail away! LOL ;)

Safe travels for all you leaving today -- we are getting picked up by the inlaws at 9am tomorrow.. and land at mco about 6pm.. (ugh, long day!)

[WiscBill]

I am certain I will have shirt and lei envy before we even get on the ship...

Real men don't wear leis at the sail away party anyway. We drink at the Outlook bar.:hourglass

Checked in for Sourthwest just a few minutes ago. We were given A27,28.and A 29 I guess that means that Southwest reserves 25 A slots for the full paying passengers and one person has faster fingers than me. Weather is expected to be good for those of us in the Northeast tomorrow, so here's hoping we all have smooth flights. We are celebrating DWs birthday tonight, so we will probably have to finish the packing early tomorrow morning.

Any temperature above 60 sounds warm now. However, I am bringing a fleece with as I remember mornings could be chilly while drinking coffee on the verandah. See most of you on Saturday at the terminal.
We will be there early so we can change those pesky dinner times.

[JimV]

What dinner seating do you have Bill?

I know I have a late seating, and we were debating changing to an earlier one.

I have to look out for Stacy so I don't get lei'd by surprise :eek:

Here are the changes we need to make:

1. Add two more to parasailing if we can
2. Drop the KW tour (booked it ourselves)
3. Drop Tulum tour (booked a private tour)
4. Get a full massage for DD18
5. Switch massage time for DD21
6. Get hair appt for DD18 for Monday (she wants an up-do for NYE and with her brain tumor scar/bald spot, that can be a challenge)
7. Palos is taken care of
8. We have a private excursion for horseback riding at GC.
9. Drop one from Stingray excursion at CC
10. dining time (maybe)

So I will be headed to the spa, then dining (maybe) then tours...

Then I can relax. :cheer2:

Just did the online check-in for NWA -- all is set, except that since my reservation is separate from the family one, NWA upgraded me to first class automatically. I don't know I will break it to the family that I am sitting in first class and the rest of them are in coach :rolleyes1

Just kidding, I called NWA and had them put me back in the cattle car section.

[WiscBill]

What dinner seating do you have Bill?

I know I have a late seating, and we were debating changing to an earlier one..



We have late seating also. DD, who will be 6 in February, definitely can't handle eating at 8PM or later. I've been calling once a week since we made the reservations for the cruise back in February, but apparently no one has cancelled for the early seating in nine months. Or, maybe DCL just doesn't change them anymore until you get onboard.

Then I can relax. ..


Outlook Bar 2 PM.


Just kidding, I called NWA and had them put me back in the cattle car section..


You are a better man than me. I probably would have upgraded DW using miles.

[MarcyIn Florida]

We have late seating also. DD, who will be 6 in February, definitely can't handle eating at 8PM or later. I've been calling once a week since we made the reservations for the cruise back in February, but apparently no one has cancelled for the early seating in nine months. Or, maybe DCL just doesn't change them anymore until you get onboard.




You may not be able to get a first seating permanent table for this very full cruise, but you may want to do what we're doing -- ask the head waiter if he can rotate you into different tables in first seating. Since there are always people who will be dining at Palo or have other plans each day, they can usually get you into an empty table on a day to day basis. Otherwise, they know that you'll end up eating the buffets instead of the sit down and that their waiters may get short changed in the process. We've done this in the past and while it takes away the consistency of one table, it's nice to be able to have a sit down meal.

[Caitsmama]

I have to look out for Stacy so I don't get lei'd by surprise :eek:


.

:lmao: :thumbsup2

We have early seating.. :)
Jim, why are you cancelling the KW tour? I plan on getting off the boat myself, and buying a trolley ticket there - so i can get on/off as i please.. DH and DD will most likely stay on the boat.. party poopers. :rotfl: That's ok, i can shop in peace.. :cool1:

I am stressing over this packing issue -- i keep packing and repacking my suitcase a million times, i still think i am bringing too much.. Gotta leave room for all those FE gifts - and Jim's lei. :rolleyes1
I don't know if i should pack my workout clothes or if i am just kidding myself.. :yay: Well, ya, i guess i should. :rolleyes:

Ok, back to packing.. and doing shirts.. and door signs, and fe gifts.. :upsidedow

[iloveokw]

pirate: Well, Melissa and I spent the morning packing too many clothes.

Then we ran out to do some errands before having to do our online check in for SWA. That's when the fun began - all morning I have been having trouble with the electrical breaker that the garage door opener(s) are on but only on the way OUT not IN. We drive 10 min before check in time and the doors won't open so I send Melissa around the sidedoor to unlock it and get the the garage - well someone had also locked the deadbolt which decided to give out. She ran around to the backdoor - of course the screendoor was locked and we've never had a key that worked for the front door. Thank goodess for cell phones and the phone book in the van about 20 minutes later the locksmith came and $50 and 30 minutes later we get in. Needless to say, we unlocked some doors and detached the garage doors from the opening mechanism.

Like I told her (I like to look at the bright side) at least it wasn't xmas eve at 10 p.m. when we got home and/or Christmas day and it wasn't snowing or icing yet. LOL

Things have to go smoother from now on.

pirate:

[Catwoman22]

we are getting picked up by the inlaws at 9am tomorrow.. and land at mco about 6pm.. (ugh, long day!)

We leave for the airport at 6:00 a.m.-flight leaves at 8:30 a.m.(hopefully) with a plane change in Dallas we get into MCO at 5:50pm. A very long day for us too.

Kate

[Catwoman22]

:lmao: :thumbsup2

We have early seating.. :)

I am stressing over this packing issue -- i keep packing and repacking my suitcase a million times, i still think i am bringing too much.. Gotta leave room for all those FE gifts - and Jim's lei. :rolleyes1
I don't know if i should pack my workout clothes or if i am just kidding myself.. :yay: Well, ya, i guess i should. :rolleyes:


I debated about the workout clothes too, but decided they don't take up much room so they're coming with. We can always go workout (suffer) together.:goodvibes

Kate

[Caitsmama]

Kate, sounds good! LOL I ended up bringing 2 sets of workout clothes, figured i can do a load of laundry if i have to - but i have been doing too good not to work out - i signed up to run the 5k in May at WDW, so i am trying to get into that..
Have a good night everyone! See you at the terminal!!

We (the 9 of us) are all wearing white tshirts with a solid black pirate mickey flag - and our last name on it, with our sail dates.. I did all the shirts.. so look for 9 of us,all dressed in white tshirts with black decal.

[JimV]

Stacy,

We canceled the KW tour because it is (a) cheaper and (b) more flexible to book with the local agency. Still planning on doing it.

DW handled all of the packing today. Just have the last minute things to do, but we are ahead of schedule (for now):woohoo:

12 hours from now we are boarding.

[JimV]

Just finished our packing.

Going to bed.

Leaving in 6.5 hours for the airport.

Rats -- just realized I didn't leave a copy of the itinerary with anyone. Better send a quick email...

See y'all tomorrow!

[Caitsmama]

Jim, gotcha. That's what i am plannin on doing too - just getting off and buying a ticket at the trolley booth,and doing it on my own.. I used that co. in Savannah for trolley tours, and they were great..

Ok guys, this will be my last post here for today - getting picked up for the airport at about 8:30 am. Decided to get up early for some peace and quiet and coffee. :)

I will see you guys all tomorrow!!!!!! Finally!!!! Have a great trip everyone!

[JimV]

Just compulsively posting. No reason (and checking for delays before going to the airport)

[iloveokw]

Posting from the RI Cape Canaveral. Got to the IND airport wwwaaaayy too early. Ate lunch, went thu security and then because our SWA flight was coming from Chicago we sat, sat and sat some more. Finally after a FOUR hour delay we took off and finally got here by 10:30 p.m. But, I sure was glad we did this the day before sailing. See you onboardpirate:

[WiscBill]

Pam and I are at the terminal. Her family looks great in the T-Shirts. I'll post a picture later.:banana:

We had an uneventful trip down yesterday. Southwest was fine and screwdrivers only cost $4.

[JimV]

Have a lot to say, (can I really stomach a trip report?) but between the waves, the wind, the cool temps, the sunny Monday, the great time we had on shore, meeting some of you, enjoying the DCL staff (esp. Sameer our server), having fun with our kids, etc...

It was a great week

We made it home fine yesterday. How did everyone else do?

[pit303]

Have a lot to say, (can I really stomach a trip report?) but between the waves, the wind, the cool temps, the sunny Monday, the great time we had on shore, meeting some of you, enjoying the DCL staff (esp. Sameer our server), having fun with our kids, etc...

It was a great week

We made it home fine yesterday. How did everyone else do?

Also, made it home fine yesterday. Was a great time even with the weather:dance3:

Jim you did have a great server Sameer was our server on the last cruise and we requested him for our next cruise in Sept.

[WiscBill]

We also arrived back safe, with one small problem. Our DD got sick the last night of the cruise. Fair warning, the medical center and the desk don't answer the phone on embarkation morning. She slept through the flight home on Southwest and is back to her usual self this morning. :hippie:

I'll post some picture up later today. I could not get the wireless connection to work on the ship, so I couldn't post the photos I took at the terminal.
Great meeting everyone!

[Caitsmama]

We made it safe home last night too.. (Jim, i am very disappointed that i didn't meet you - but i did speak to your dd when she was looking for you in Noel's suite.. and she was very nice) :)

Well, i have to say, being our first cruise, I am pretty disappointed that we had such crappy weather towards the end of the trip.. and CC day. I was seriously sad.. :sad1:
I did get sick on Tues. night,when it was that really rough night.. :sick: And i actually wondered why people do this.. and from then on.. it just wasn't great.
However, after seeing the potential for how great CC COULD BE.. i am more excited to go on the double dip cruise in Sept.
There was just no way i was getting in that water on Friday.. :sad2:
It was so nice to get to meet all of you that i did.. nice to put a face to the names. :) I am sorry i didn't get to stay too long at the meet, and Noel, i am really bummed i didn't get to chat with you.. seems like we have been talking for so long.. lol.. but i had to pick up Cait from the kids club and get to dinner, we had the earliest seating.

Caitlin was very happy to meet her two new friends Cassie and Abby.. :goodvibes

Overall it was a good time, but wished the weather would have been better.. as you plan and look forward to it for a year and a half, and it was our first. But, we will see what Sept brings.. (ya, i know.. hurricane season.) :laughing:

[iloveokw]

Stacy - thanks for the leipirate: s and Noel thanks for hosting the party in your lovely suite. It was great to meet new people. Trying to catch up with laundry and bookwork for Mike's office.

Kathy

[Ky Cruisin]

We just got back ourselves and my last load of laundry is in the washer. I am sorry I didn't get to meet everyone. When we returned from the Cayman's I laid down with my DH to watch a movie and slept right through the get together at Noel's, I'm so sorry. Then we had first dining and didn't make it to that either, we did room service that night. I really enjoyed meeting everyone in the terminal and seeing you throughout the ship. I am sorry I didn't meet you Jim, but I did look around and wondered if I did spy you and not know it!! Hope everyone had a restful trip, that was my goal and I achieved it even if I did it in roller coaster fashion. I agree CC weather was a downer, but when the weather is good, there is no beating it. So, we are just planning to go back, that's the way to solve that.

I must say, we had the greatest server, Ricardo...yes, it's 6pm and it's time to go to dinner...oh! I forgot I'm not on Disney anymore, there is no food in
the fridge and I'm too tired to go to the drive-thru. So I guess that means the after cruise diet has begun. Until we meet again.:cutie:

Pam

[WiscBill]

Just a few pictures from the terminal and the sail away of all of us in our special shirts thanks to Pam (who gets her picture first). More to follow.
http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc145/WHorakNY/IMG_0661.jpg


http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc145/WHorakNY/IMG_0663.jpg

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc145/WHorakNY/IMG_0676.jpg

[Caitsmama]

Bill --- my dh made it into your pic! LOL The second pic, the bald guy on the right -- we were sitting there, i had done matching shirts for our group of 9. :) That was just weird to see him in your shot.. LOL

[JimV]

Stacy,

I walked up to someone in your party (recognize your husband's shirt) and asked about Stacy -- got a blank look and a shake of the head; and then I said "Hi Stacy" to someone that looked like you, quite loudly, with no recognition, so I gave up trying to find you in that group and was unsuccessful for the rest of the cruise (since that was your group after all...).

Sorry :confused3

-- Jim

[Caitsmama]

Stacy,

I walked up to someone in your party (recognize your husband's shirt) and asked about Stacy -- got a blank look and a shake of the head; and then I said "Hi Stacy" to someone that looked like you, quite loudly, with no recognition, so I gave up trying to find you in that group and was unsuccessful for the rest of the cruise (since that was your group after all...).

Sorry :confused3

-- Jim

:lmao: :lmao: Jim, thanks for trying to find me.. LOL As for the blank look, who knows, if it was a guy, then that would explain the blankness..:lmao: I just realized, that i don't have one pic of myself on this trip, other than the pic that i bought from Shutters of embarkation.. LOL :rolleyes1 Oh well.. I will have to make it a point to take more pics of myself in Sept when i go with my dd.. I will start saving for a Shutters package. ;)

[Catwoman22]

Hi everyone,

We made it home safely, but Saturday was sure a long day. We didn't make it in the door until 9:00 pm PT. We were difinitely tired. I made it though mounds of laundry Sunday and back to school and work Monday.

We enjoyed meeting everyone that we did, but like everyone else wish the weather was better. Our next cruise will be an Alaska cruise, but at least we'll have the right clothes for it!

Bill-You got me and my daughter's picture posted - did I mention I hate cameras????? The shirts were wonderful and we sure stood out!

Take care-
Kate

[44Majestic]

We had a great time! The weather was better than expected for the first half and worse than we ever experienced for the last half. High winds and high seas made for rough conditions. We consider it a learning experience. Parasailing on CC for the first time is something we'll surely remember.

New Years Eve was a fun time. Although, we were pretty annoyed with the "live Hannah Montana" stunt they pulled right before midnight. I thought it was unprofessional and a cruel joke. I didn't expect Disney to provide us with special entertainment that night, but once they started whipping up the crowd we were getting pretty excited. Poor judgement on the part of whoever set that up. Rich Purpura is a good entertainer who we enjoy seeing. I hope it wasn't his idea.

We love Disney Cruises. The crew was tremendous.

[Bullseyebaby]

Hope everyone had a safe trip home. It was so unfortunate to have that bad weather. 1st time in 4 cruises for us. At least we had a couple of really nice warm days too. We went down for the count too... first DD, then DS, then DH and last but not least, me.

It was nice to meet the people I did, and I'm sorry I didn't get to meet all of you. My kids loved the Fish extender, and referred to it as "Tree mail" after their beloved show Survivor. Thank you for the many wonderful gifts we received. I loved the cookbook!

Thank you Noel & Jim for hosting the party. The suite was amazing, and it was so cool to see it as we've only heard about it. Hope you have a great time on the Westbound. We're trying to think of the next time we can go.... we have always gone around New Years, but would like to try a different time of year to have a little more tropical weather. Perhaps April?

~janie

[gossipgirl]

any pics of the stage shows.

[gossipgirl]

any twice charmed pics.

[granmaz]

Hi guys.

We folk over on the Westbound Repo thread are looking for Noel Birkner. Since your cruise she has disappeared and hasn't posted anywhere, and she was a very active poster as you know.:confused3

So any of you have any contact, or have had since your cruise?

We would all love to know how she is as we are missing her.

Thanks.

[DisneyBride'03]

Hi guys.

We folk over on the Westbound Repo thread are looking for Noel Birkner. Since your cruise she has disappeared and hasn't posted anywhere, and she was a very active poster as you know.:confused3

So any of you have any contact, or have had since your cruise?

We would all love to know how she is as we are missing her.

Thanks.

I am concerned.....I have been lurking here to see if she shows up:) We had conversed abt many things, in particular California, and my hubby's family! I really hope that she is ok, and her family.
She was going to send my 2 DD's postcards for our cruise, they never came, so that is why I am worried. Not abt the postcards....about her!:flower3:
Hoping she returns and all is well:goodvibes

[granmaz]

I am concerned.....I have been lurking here to see if she shows up:) We had conversed abt many things, in particular California, and my hubby's family! I really hope that she is ok, and her family.
She was going to send my 2 DD's postcards for our cruise, they never came, so that is why I am worried. Not abt the postcards....about her!:flower3:
Hoping she returns and all is well:goodvibes


We heard from her today. I am sure she won't mind me copying her post.

Dear friends:

This morning I picked up all of our accumulated mail at our neighbors who had been collecting it for us and saw the letter from Carol (pahrumpgil). This is just a brief note to thank everyone for their concern.

Finding this thread was confusing until I read about the new rules. I thought my DH has posted our status in the old thread but I guess not.

To everyone who has been worried about me, I am doing well. My DD Samantha developed a blood clot in her leg and lungs due to her use of birth control pills. She had been limping thinking she had pulled a muscle, had a deep tissue massage which made things worse.

A few hours before we were to fly home she was in so much pain that we went to the local ER. The life threating clots luckily were discovered before we flew home. She spent some time in the hospital in Orlando before we were able to take her home. She is on the mend but will be on Coumadin for at least 6 months to dissolve the clots. Her visits to the doctor now only consist of a weekly meeting at the Coumadin clinic to measure her INR levels.

Right after that my SIL became ill, so I needed to go help DD with him. She also need surgery on her nose for old scar tissue so I have not been home much. DH has been traveling for work since we returned home so he has not been able to be much help with family issues.

I had asked DH to post what was going on with our family but clearly though he said he did , he must have posted in another board. Since he is in Asia, I will have to check where he posted via email. Since I thought everyone knew, I have not been checking on the board here as we canceled this cruise for family reasons. With all my travels and issues, I been checking not been checking my email so if anyone has emailed me, please give me a few days to get caught up.

To add insult to injury, my main computer crashed and I will have to wait until DH gets home to get any info from the computer. The lists I was keeping were on that computer so if you guys need any info from me, please let me know. Right now I am using my notebook computer which is my travel computer and has very little information on the drive.

Sorry to miss all of you on this special cruise.

Warm Regards,

Noel

[WiscBill]

Thanks for posting this. We have been worried about Noel and her family. I talked with her SIL on the last night of the cruise and all seemed well, so all of this must have happened on embarkation day. Glad to hear her daughter is doing better. She is a truly remarkable young woman. Blood clots are very scary, but it looks like she will be ok.