October 14, 2007 - 10/14/2007 Wonder

[iankh]

Well, less than 1 year to go. I thought I'd start a thread for this 4-night cruise. Anyone else going????

[lbcrosby]

Yes we will be there as well. We are actually doing the Seven day land and sea but ending with the cruise for four days. My husband thought I was crazy to have planned things so far in advance but when the prices started going up I think he understood. There will be three of us (me, my DH and our DS who will be 8) plus a friend in another cabin. The friend will help us balance out when we are doing the rides at Disney World. Which basically means they will hang out at the pool and the men type rides while our DS and I will find every kid type place imaginable and take in the full magical experience. We are curious to see how Disney Cruise Line compares to Princess which we have done before.

[iankh]

I just got back from a 4-night with 8 nights in WDW afterwards. It was fantastic!

Although I had already booked the October 14th trip before we left, I booked again onboard to take advantage of the special offer. I was able to get the 10% discount plus a $100 credit per stateroom.

There will be 5 of us, and we're going to do the 8 nights again in WDW afterwards, again!

[lbcrosby]

Eight days . . . Wow! That would be awesome. We are already taking our DS out of school for five days and that is with utilizing three days when the school is out for conferences so it is not as bad. We most likely will be flying in the Wednesday before the cruise and spending until Sunday at Disney World. We know there is no way possible to see all of it even probably with the eight days you will be having. Our DS and I have begun figuring out what he wants to do. Once they have the new informational DVD available for 2007 from Disney World we will most likely get that and the books so we can narrow it down. We will start with Disney and then after the cruise we will most likely do Kennedy and Sea World.

So what were your favorite things you did at Disney World? What are the ages of your group.

[iankh]

There will be only 1 child in the group, our grandson, who will be 7 years old at the time of the cruise.

We've been to WDW many, many, many times and we own an interests in the Disney Vacation Club (DVC) which is a Disney timeshare.

Our trips tend to be less commando in nature and more leisurely these days.

Have you been to WDW before?

It's hard to pinpoint our absolute favorites, let see, some "must dos" in my oppinion are:

- Space Mountain
- Splash Mountain
- Big Thunder Mountain
- Pirates of the Caribbean
- Haunted Mansion
- Mickey's Philharmagic
- Test Track
- Spaceship Earth
- Expedition Everest
- Kali River Rapids (you will get wet)
- Tough to be a Bug
- Rockin Roller Coaster
- Tower of Terror
- Motor Stunt Show
- Muppetvision 3-D

[lbcrosby]

Yes, I have been to WDW twice but it was some time ago. My DH actually had a business trip there several years ago (without family in tow) but our DS has never been there. We were going to go when he was 7 but told him that if we went when he was 8 then he would be in the older age group on the Disney Cruise. Which means that our DS and your grandson will most likely be in different rooms.

I will keep your must dos in mind. I know the test track is definitely on my husband's must dos.

We are most likely going to come in a day earlier then our package and stay in the concierge level at Animal Kingdom so we can do the Sunrise Safari but we still have to work out the details. That would allow us a day of relaxing at the pool before we jump in to Disney World the next day. Also, we would get three full days at Disney World instead of two and a half. I was told you get a 7 day pass but we want to save the remaining time for another visit instead of again wasting a half day.

I am so excited about the trip but my DH thinks I am crazy. I guess I like to overplan.

[iankh]

You'll love Animal Kingdom Lodge. One of our favorite restaurants is there Boma.

It is probably easier for me to rattle off my list of favorite restaurants rather than attractions. I think that's why our trips are long, so we can eat our way through the world!

We have a shorter trip coming up in May and I'm busy planning where we'll eat!

[lbcrosby]

Trying to make a decision of where to eat seems to be quite a large one. I could see why you would need extra days just to make sure you hit everything. We only have a short amount of time to fit in all that wonderful food. I have started trying to decide where to go for meals and so far the only things I know for certain is trying to get breakfast at Cinderella's Castle and Ohana breakfast at the Poly (my son loves Lilo and Stitch). We want to go to the Halloween Party one night and the Haunted hayride another. Most likely we will go to either the BBQ or the Hoop Dee Doo prior to the hayride as they are in the same vicinity. In seeing everyone's reviews it appears that it comes down to preference and opinion which means everyones is completely different.

[iankh]

Not too sure about the breakfast at Cinderella's Castle. I've heard very mixed things about it. Usually, it is more of a mother and daughter thing.

I have done the breakfasts at GF (1900 Park Fare) CR (Chef Mickey) and BC (Cape May). I myself perfer either 1900 Park Fare or Cape May because it is a tolerable noise level and more layed back, with Cape May probably being the nicest and calmest (in my opinion).

Are you planning on doing the dining plan? We did it on this last trip and it really saved us a lot of money, though we ate more than we would have done otherwise.

We did the hoop de doo revue some years ago. As you said, it really all comes down to taste. If you are at MK, you might want to look at popping over to WL Whispering Canyon for Lunch. Kids really seem to love it and have a blast. It could also be a nice relaxing break away from the park.

We will definitely be doing Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween party. I'm also going to be looking into what other trick or treating opportunities there might be.

He doesn't know about the cruise or the trip to WDW. His parents aren't going to tell him until they get on the plane.

[lbcrosby]

For some reason I am not getting notified when responses are made to this thread. I guess I need to check into that.

I think the idea of eating in the castle is probably the main reason our DS would enjoy the Cinderella Castle breakfast.

Since we are doing the cruise package (3 days at Disney, 4 on the boat) I was told we cannot do the dining plan which I thought was awesome. What I appreciate is knowing how much money you are going to spend and be able to budget. Unfortunately, that doesn't work when you pay for every meal. That is kind of why I am scoping out the different Character meals, etc. so you have an idea of how much you are going to spend. We also are staying in the Concierge level for both the Animal Kingdom and the Poly. Not so much for the food but for knowing it is available for snacking if we need to. Also, I figured my husband might appreciate finding an area that it might be quiet without tons of people. He does not like crowds.

I would love to pull off a surprise but I get so excited and since my husband just goes with the flow I need to have my son to get excited with me. I might hold out on telling him abut some of the character breakfasts but we will see. My parents did a trip to Disland Land (after I was grown and out of the house) for my younger sisters as a surpise, even getting on a plane, etc. and they loved the surprise.

It looks like they will have trick-or-treating at the Halloween Party so we are excited. We will most likely have pirate type costumes since they have a theme night on the ship and that way we can get a few uses out of those costumes.

I wonder how many other people are going to be coming in October? Is it less crowded then? That is kind of why we chose this time.

Thanks for letting me pick your brain :goodvibes

I just noticed it is exactly nine months from today!!!! Yeah!!

[iankh]

I usally budgeted between $30 and $40 a day for meals. It can vary depending on whether you do sit-down for dinner or counter-service.

We typically don't do sit down for breakfast, except 1 character breakfast during a trip.

Have you looked at some of the menus you can find here on http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/dining/diningmain.cfm#disneydining or http://www.allearsnet.com/din/dining.htm? They can be a huge help when trying to plan out reservations.

I always try to plan around what park I think we will be in that day or evening, though I typically only make reservations for dinner.

The dining plan has caused a big change from the way it used to be and now, you really must make reservations, when I was just there I saw lots of people being turned away. It used to be no problem to just walk in and get a table after a little wait.

You're going to be in WDW before us, right? Your DS will have a great time. My DDIL is now starting to get excited. This is the first time in 20 years I've seen her get excited about anything!

I can see wanting to find some quiet places for your DH. October is a really great time of year to be going. It is not as crowded as it can be other times of the year, not as hot as the summer, but still warm enough.

We chose October because that is when there is a school break in the UK which is where DDIL, DDSIL and grandson live, so we had to work around the UK school schedule.

I'm excited that we'll be able to go trick or treating and am looking forward to surprising them with the tickets to MNSHP.

I also hope they have special events on the ship.

What kind of cabin did you book? We were lucky enough to get two adjoining secret porthole cabins.

We had a cat 11 in this past December, and I would have been perfectly happy with that again, but this time, I thought for our family they would need at least a cat 10 for the split bathroom. The secret porthole rooms were quite a surprise. I was fortunate that my TA was able to grab them.

I am sure that we will see more people join this thread over time. After all, the ship does hold a couple of thousand people. There has to be someone else on it other than the 8 of us, or we're going to have one great time with the Wonder to ourselves!

[lbcrosby]

Is that $30 - $40 per person per day? It has been years since I have been there and I am sure the prices have gone up.

I will start exploring the menus so thanks for the links. I was informed that most of the character meals you have to book a long ways in advance so I have a few months to prepare for that.

Have you ever staying in the Concierge? We know it is not worth it money wise for what you get but we probably will only do this big trip once. We might catch a small one another time.

We are arriving in WDW on Wednesday the 10th and then we get on the boat on the 14th. Not a lot of time but from what I remembered when I went you couldn't do the whole place even if you stayed a week and that was before there were so many additional parks.

That is the same reason we picked October. Our DS has Thursday, Friday and Monday off due to teacher conferences. We still will have to take him out for five days but since the cost was about half the price as going on a break or in the summer we thought it would be worth it. Also, he will only be 8. If he was in high school we would have thought otherwise. I am sure that there will be a lot of people that would give us grief but you are only young once.

I will probably keep that event at WDW a surprise for our DS as well. I hope they have something as well on board but most likely we are too far away from Halloween. We will see though.

We have a category 6 balcony. We took an Alaskan Cruise a few years ago and loved having a balcony. Just so we can have a little outside space. Our friend most likely will have a category 11 across the hallway. He will be by himself so it will be quite costly for him. That is neat you were able to get the secret porthole rooms. My son was actually complaining that we were getting a balcony because he wanted a porthole so he would be jealous to see you actually get the secret ones? He would have no clue what that means but just the idea that it has secret and porthole in the same sentence he would think is cool.

Wouldn't that be a blast if we were by ourselves. Just think how much spoiling we would have.:banana:

[iankh]

Three days is a bit short for WDW, now more than ever because of the 4 parks. Were you planning to hit all 4 during that time or just focus on one or two?

I think that it would be about $40 a day per person, but do recommend you look at the menus, you could spend less or more depending on what and where you like to eat.

Regarding the character breakfast, were you going to try to book the princess breakfast at the castle? If you do, I recommend you start trying to do that right at the 6 month mark as soon as you can. I understand that Cindy's breakfast is VERY hard to get.

I'm probably going to book Chef Mickey's for GS. WDW doesn't seem to have much focus on little boys. It seems to focus on girls with the whole princess thing. There were rumors that there was going to be a character breakfast at MGM focused more on little boys with Buzz Lightyear called "Breakfast and Beyond," but that never matrialized.

We've never stayed on the concierge level, not at least when were paying cash. I've heard great things about it. Now we strictly stay in DVC.

It would be great to have a veranda. I was tempted to upgrade at the port for our last cruise but opted to keep our inside cabin. I'm really pleased that I was able to nab the secret porthole rooms, a port hole is a port hole, even if it is obstructed.

GS knows nothing about the trip and won't learn where they're going until they get on the plane. I understand my DDIL on this completely, if she told him, she would be hearing about it non-stop for the next 9 months!

[lbcrosby]

Yes, we do realize three days is a bit short but basically my DH and I wanted to take a Disney Cruise but promised our DS we would go to Disney World as well so we will just touch a few of the parks. I understand you get a full seven day package but we want to only use three days now. I think we can pay the extra and make the remaining four days last indefinately and that way we will return for another four days another time. We didn't want to use up two full days by just going to the parks for a few hours on the day we arrive and the day we leave. Our DS and I will scope out the parks and decide what few rides he wants to see before we get there. We have ordered their new video which hopefully will help.

Yes we will try for Cinderella's Castle and yes, I do realize you need to call early and hope for the best. My son will be excited no matter which character breakfast we do and I won't get his hopes up one way or the other. I heard mention of the Toy Story breakfast and I, along with all the other parents who have only boys, was quite disappointed. They do focus on the girls more and I think that is why you need to take boys there when they are younger so they can still enjoy the magic. I think I heard that you can still see the Toy Story Characters and also the Power Rangers somewhere at the parks so we most definitely have to find them. I think it is MGM.

What is Chef Mickeys?

One thing I have learned about cruises of today is just getting on the boat in any type of cabin you still get to participate in everything. If we ever do Disney again we most likely will get a smaller cabin so we can spend more money on the activities. This was the splurge vacation. My DH and I were on the largest cabin on the ship on our honeymoon (mind you it was on Carnival so it wasn't that outrageous compared to like the largest cabin on the Wonder) and we were at a table that had people in all different levels on the ship. Which I thought was great. No classes . . . that way everyone felt important and spoiled.

I know my DH is getting sick of hearing me talk about it all the time. However, I am a planner so every vacation we take I plan a long way out so hopefully there are not too many surprises.

Hope you had a nice weekend.

[iankh]

Chef Mickey's is the buffet restaurant at the Contemporary. They do a character breakfast and dinner and both are great. It features Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and I think Chip and Dale.

I think you're right, how can a kid not have a great time no matter what you do?

It seemed to me on the ship that there was much more "quality" time with the characters. Once morning I went to get coffee on deck 9 and there was Goofy, playing ping pong with a boy. No crowds, no rushing, just Goofy playing ping pong. That was great, and I'm sure it made the cruise for the boy.

It seemed to me there were more things for boys at MGM. While I was there I saw the Power Rangers, toy soldiers from Toy Story, just more boy stuff. Though having said that, there is now Woody's Cowboy Camp in Frontierland in MK, an audience participation street show, and the pirate lessons in front of Pirates of the Caribbean with Captan Jack Sparrow.

I'm still trying to nail down many aspects of our trip. I'm not sure if the family is flying from England to MCO or will be coming to Chicago first and we'll all fly down together. I'm also trying to figure out the best option for getting to the port.

We did DCL transfers last time, but there was only 2 of us, whereas for 5 of us airport to port and port to resort comes out to $350. So I'm trying to decide if I will get a limo service which would be about $220 or do a one way car rental and drive to the port, drop off the car and then get another car afterwards and drive us to WDW and keep the car for that stay. The only issue is that I don't like driving when I'm on vacation and don't know where I'm going.

I also have to figure out where we'll be staying the night before the cruise. I had thought of the POP, but since is their very first trip to WDW, I'd rather that their first sight of a Disney hotel be the Wilderness Lodge.

So, it's decisions, decisions, decisions and no one in the family is contributing towards them.

Disney hasn't quite figured out how to cater to boys, but there is probably more money in little girls, what with the Bibbidi Bobbity Boutique and all.

You're also absolutely right, that no matter what the cabin category, everyone is treated the same.

[Disneyannasdad]

Thanks to my in-laws my family will be taking our first trip to WDW in October. We are doing the three days on land and four on the cruise. All are excited. I have two girls who are 14 and 10 years old and my son who will be celebrating his 9th birthday on the boat. All seven of us are looking forward to having a great time.

[iankh]

Thanks to my in-laws my family will be taking our first trip to WDW in October. We are doing the three days on land and four on the cruise. All are excited. I have two girls who are 14 and 10 years old and my son who will be celebrating his 9th birthday on the boat. All seven of us are looking forward to having a great time.

Welcome to the thread for the October 14th cruise!

[lbcrosby]

Glad you could join us on the Wonder and this thread. Our DS and your DS most likely will be in the same kids program on the ship. He will be 8 and 1/2 when we travel. How fun for him to have a birthday on the ship. I know on other cruises we have traveled on they have a yummy birthday cake you can order and they do that at Disney World as well. My DH's birthday is the week before but we are going to celebrate it on land and on sea . . . just for the fun of it.

Good luck on all your preparations. Iankh is a wealth of information so you should be glad you joined this board.

[iankh]

Iankh is a wealth of information so you should be glad you joined this board.

You're going to make me blush :blush:!

I feel sort of like the elder statesman of Disney!

If anyone has any questions please ask away! We were just on our first Disney cruise (a 4-night) this past December, and have been to WDW about 15 times.

I'm also releasing a Disney vacation planning software program I've written (it's called Mouse Manager and it will be free) in the spring, as well as having a vacation planning podcast launching in the spring called, The Sophisticated Mouse. It's probably good practice for when I start getting listener questions!

There will be 5 of us. We're taking DDIL, DDSIL and grandson, age 7 (at that time) on their very first trip to WDW. We're doing the 4-night cruise, followed by 8 nights in WDW.

[lbcrosby]

I'm also releasing a Disney vacation planning software program I've written (it's called Mouse Manager and it will be free) in the spring, as well as having a vacation planning podcast launching in the spring called, The Sophisticated Mouse. It's probably good practice for when I start getting listener questions!


Are you really doing this or just kidding? Let me know when it happens if you are really doing this.

So, one question I know that my DH has but he will never admit to is how did you find the dress code in the dining rooms? On our Princess Cruise no jeans were allowed which basically killed my husband since even dressed up he wears a nice pair of jeans and cowboy boots. Right before we went to eat he would grudgingly change into a pair of slacks and then immediately change back when we were finished. It appeared from the websites that jeans are acceptable but what did you see?

We are still trying to figure out the port transfers as well. We did not pay for the transfers since we most likely will go to Kennedy Space Center when we come back into port and will probably rent a car. However, the question always is when to rent the car? Do you pick it up at the airport or get to Disney and then pick up the car later, etc., etc. I have seen that some people turn their car in down at the port and then get a new one afterwards but I am thinking that the cost you save might not be worth the hassle.

Do you know if you can add transfers later? I bet my cruise questions might eventually exhaust your knowledge and, if so, it is fine for me to go to the global knowledge of the board. However, I am sure I cannot exhaust your WDW questions as after 15 times visiting that you probably have heard most of the basic questions.

[iankh]

Are you really doing this or just kidding? Let me know when it happens if you are really doing this.

I'm serious, I and my co-host are hoping to launch sometime in March. It is supposed to be a more upmarket, sort of Conde Nast world traveler take on Disney. Our plan is to "broadcast" every other week. It will be a magazine format, with resort reports, restaurant reviews, travel tips, etc. We also have contributors lined up. One woman I was introduced to wrote a cookbook for parents with kids with allergies. It turns out she's loves WDW and has agree to do a regular "Mouse Mom" segment, focused on traveling with kids. Someone else who lives down in Orlando will be doing a "hidden treasures" segment.

We're going to do a show on DCL, because I interviewed people I met here on DIS before my last cruise and on the ship during the cruise.

This is a new world for me. The Sophisticated Mouse is going to be an adventure.

So, one question I know that my DH has but he will never admit to is how did you find the dress code in the dining rooms? On our Princess Cruise no jeans were allowed which basically killed my husband since even dressed up he wears a nice pair of jeans and cowboy boots. Right before we went to eat he would grudgingly change into a pair of slacks and then immediately change back when we were finished. It appeared from the websites that jeans are acceptable but what did you see?

I'm with your husband ... I don't want to dress up either, and I didn't. Tell him not to worry, wearing jeans is just fine.

Most guys I think were wearing jeans to the restaurants. The only place where they really do want you to dress a little nicer is Palos, but even there, just a nice pair of dockers type pants would be fine. I definitely would not wear a suit. I just wore a pair of docker type pants and a button shirt and there were plenty of other guys dressed the same way for Palo. I mean, who really want to pack a suit for a vacation anyway?

I think there is a dress-up night one night of the cruise, but frankly I can't be bothered with that. I figure that when I'm paying as much as I am, I can dress how I want. Now if DCL wants to start paying me, I might entertain getting dressed up! :lmao:

Now some people did get dressed up, but I suppose they enjoy it, but to me that's not my idea of a good time.


We are still trying to figure out the port transfers as well. We did not pay for the transfers since we most likely will go to Kennedy Space Center when we come back into port and will probably rent a car. However, the question always is when to rent the car? Do you pick it up at the airport or get to Disney and then pick up the car later, etc., etc. I have seen that some people turn their car in down at the port and then get a new one afterwards but I am thinking that the cost you save might not be worth the hassle.

Did you book the land/sea? I thought that came with transfers?

Renting a car comes down to personal preference and how you feel about driving. I hate driving, but somehow seem to rent a car more often than not.

When it comes to renting a car, there are a couple of ways you can go. You can rent a car at MCO and then drop it off at the port. Budget is located right near the port and have a shuttle to take you to the ship.

If you are planning on doing Magical Express to get to your resort (which I really like, especially if you use a participating airline), you can get to your resort with little hassle and your bags will appear in your room later in the day.

I personally don't think a rental car is necessary, but some people prefer having a car rather than relying on the buses. BUT ... since your stay in WDW is short, a car might be an advantage, as you can go an come as you please and not be dependent on the buses. Also, if you make dining reservations at another resort, it will be easier to get to if you have a car. A car might allow you to maximize your time there.

Having said all that, I believe that Budget has a rental location located at the Doubletree hotel which is on hotel blvd, in WDW near DTD. I think they also have a pickup service, so if you phone 24 hours ahead, they'll come and pick you up at your resort and bring you to the location.

So, in theory, you could use ME to get to the resort, and then pick up the car later.

Avis is located at the Hilton, also in the same row of hotels as the Doubletree, but I don't think they'll pick you up at your resort.

Disney will always be happy to take your money for the transfers, you can add them on later, but I would do it no later than 90 days before the cruise, just so you get the vouchers in time.

I think the resort to port/port to airport is a bit pricey, about $70 a person, so a rental car would be cheaper.

Because there are 5 of us, I have decided to knuckle under and get a car (I hate driving). I did all the math and even if I got a limo company, it would be $220 plus a tip for use to do the airport to port/port to resort, which is cheaper than the $350 it would be for DCL but still pricey. I got a Budget one-way rental from MCO to the port and then another one for after the cruise. Even keeping the car for 7 of the 8 nights we're in WDW it come out in total only about $260 for the two rentals. How could I argue with paying the $40 more than the limo and having a car. I'm still saving nearly $100 over the DCL transfers.

Now I'm just trying to figure out where we're going to stay the night before the cruise.

Don't worry about asking questions. Lots of people have helped me out, and still do :banana:

[lbcrosby]

Ok, I remembered a Disney Cruise question I have. When do they tell you the order in which you are dining in the different dining rooms? I thought it would be nice to go to Palo on the one night that repeats but I don't know if there is any method to their madness or what. Also, do you think that Palo books up instantly on the day of the cruise or do most people not know about it?

Thanks.

[iankh]

Ok, I remembered a Disney Cruise question I have. When do they tell you the order in which you are dining in the different dining rooms? I thought it would be nice to go to Palo on the one night that repeats but I don't know if there is any method to their madness or what. Also, do you think that Palo books up instantly on the day of the cruise or do most people not know about it?

Thanks.

Unfortunately, you don't find out about your dining rotation until you check in for the cruise and get your KTTW card.

I had booked Palo online in advance but wanted to change it based on our rotation, so we could do Palo on the night we repeated a restaurant. I also wanted to book the brunch which was unavailable for online booking.

It was possible to change around such things on board in Wavebands. I think they opened at 1:30 PM and there was a queue when I got there at about 1:15 PM. While I did have to wait in line, I had no trouble changing my Palo reservation or booking the brunch, which is held on Wednesday, the at sea day. I do recommend that you do this as soon as possible, right around the time they open. I'm not sure how soon they book up.

BTW, are you doing the early or late seating at dinner?

[lbcrosby]

Ok, I guess we will just take a guess then on booking Palo. I thought it would be nice to have one dinner with my DH. The restaurants seem so fun that we most likely will have our DS there instead of letting him stay in the kid's program the entire time. Although he might complain as he loved the kid's program so much on the last one. Which night is the Pirate theme night? Is that consistent? I want to make sure I take an educated guess.

What is the brunch? I mean I know what a brunch is but what is it when it is referred to on the Wonder.

We are doing late seating. Since we will be coming from Denver we figured late seating would be close to the normal time we eat here and with what I have read on the boards you can spend more time at the ports without having to rush to get back on the Wonder to eat.

Oh, I remembered another question. Are the shows they have in the big theater the same every night or different and do they assign you as to what night you see the show?

[iankh]

The Pirate theme night is on the third night, and I think they always do it on that night.

The shows change every night of the cruise, so if you have a late seating, you would go to the early show and then dinner after the show. The first night is an entertainer of some sort (we were more interested in exploring the ship), the 2nd night is Hercules the Museical, the 3rd is the Golden Mickeys, and the 4th is Disney Dreams.

Palo's has a brunch on the at sea day, and you have to book it. They do a $5.00 up-charge for the brunch, similar to the $10.00 up-charge for dinner at Palo. It is very nice and is also adults only. They have a 10:00 AM seating an an 11:00 AM seating.

It is buffet style, except for the entree which you order from the server.

We did Palo on the third night, because it turned out that that was when our repeat night was, so I really don't know what the pirate dinner is like. We weren't that interested and prefered to experience all 3 restaurants.

We're doing the early seating which has me sort of bummed out because to me, 5:45 to 6:00 is just too early for dinner and I prefered the later seating. But with a 7 year old that just might be too late. I need to see what DDIL thinks. They're coming from the UK, and the cruise is at the beginning of the trip so they'll be 6 hours ahead.

[lbcrosby]

So, is there enough room in the show for everyone that is in each seating to see the show or do they anticipate that everyone doesn't attend? I might send out an e-mail on the main board to confirm that the pirate night is on the third night. That way we can pick another night to do Palo. Since we have a boy I am sure I would never hear the end of it if we did not attend that night.

So what type of food do they serve at the brunch at Palos? It is worth paying the difference?

From what I hear most of the parents prefer the early seating because of bedtime, etc. So if you find out that you want to switch it might be easier going from early to late versus the other way around. However, I know from the experience we had with our son when we went to Alaska (he was six at the time) that bedtime is relative. We would show up to pick him up from the kid's program at 10:00 and he would be upset we were there so early. My theory is it is a vacation and bedtimes are going to slide. I am sure some other parents will feel differently but our DS usually does fine. One nice thing with having a late seating is you can also have a late seating for breakfast. Who wants to get up early on a vacation unless it is to go off to port. We often ate at the buffet for breakfast on our last cruise.

So, anyone else out there that is going along with us??

[iankh]

I just checked the navigators and, I was right, the Pirates Party is the third day of the cruise. You can find copies of the navigators on the FAQ thread at the top of the main cruise forum.

The food was quite good at the Palos brunch. The real star is the buffet and the desserts. It's quite an assortment with breakfast type food and lunch type foods. The charge is only and additional $5 a person, so it might be worth trying. Just be aware that it adults only and kids are not admitted.

You make a good point about switching when you have late vs early. We had late and there were empty tables during our seating. I'm not sure how packed the early seating was. I think a good night for Palo might be either the second or fourth nights.

You mentioned seatings and breakfast, your dinner seating doesn't impact breakfast, only dinner.

We never did the sit down breakfast. We really liked Beach Blanket Buffet, there was something layed back about it and we really liked sitting out on deck and looking at the water. We also typically did Beach Blanket again for lunch, for the same reason. We didn't go to Parrot Cay because we preferred to be outdoors.

Though to be honest the lines between breakfast, lunch, snacks just blurred because it seemed like we ate pretty frequently.

We're planning on doing the early seating for dinner in October, which sort of bums me out. I would much prefer a late seating. My biggest fear is getting the 5:45 PM time slot. That just seems too early to me. I have not yet discussed it with DDIL because I'm having enough trouble getting her to focus on this trip. I think she just feels overwhelmed by it, so the planning has fallen on me.

I have no idea when our grandson wants to eat. Coming from the UK they will be 6 or 7 hours ahead, so probably for him, dinner time is more at 1:00 PM east coast time until they all adjust to the time change.

She didn't think that they were going to register him for the Oceaneers Club. They recently went to Cuba for vacation, and said they had something for kids but he didn't do it. I told her that I thought the DCL Oceaneer Club might be a very different thing altogether and that she should register him because then he could always decide whether he would go or not.

I'm just having a hard time getting the point across that this trip is going to be a very different experience and that going to WDW is not the same as going to an ordinary amusement park.

Not sure why we are the only 2 on this thread. For my December cruise, the thread did not seem to get busy until about 4 months before the sailing, then it became very active.

[Kborn]

I hope you said yes, because we are sailing no matter what...Just kidding!

We will be joining the party, if anyone is keeping a "roster" we are:

Keith (DH 45)
Tina (DW 42)
Joshua (DS 6)

My wife and I are going to be renewing our vows on Castaway Cay, we are celebrating 10 years...I still can not believe she has put up with me THAT LONG! (My smilies are not working or there would have been a rolling smilie there)

This will be our 7th cruise with Disney, our last was the 11 day in 2006, so going on a 4 day may just make me mad! We had a 7 day planned for Sept., but with Josh starting school, they did not think it would be wise to pull him out. But my wife wants to renew our vows and he is out of school for 2 days that week. So let the party begin!

[lbcrosby]

Yes, you can. The more the merrier. Wow, you are the pros on Disney cruises and Iankh is a pro at Disney World. So, I am covered all around. This will be our (DW 40, DH 39 and DS 7 (he will be 8 when we go) and a Dear Friend (how do you write that) of my husband may go as well, 39) first Disney Cruise. However, we did a 7 day Alaskan Princess cruise for our 10 year a few years ago with our son and we took our honeymoon on a Carnival cruise. Cruising is our favorite method of travel so I am sure there will be more to come. Since you live in Alabama do you drive or fly to Florida? For us flying from Denver the cost to take cruises on either side of the continent adds up when you put airfare on top of it.

I think right now there are four families that are on board. The fun with Disney is you know that almost everyone will have kids or at least don't mind kids. You have to expect you will come across them on a Disney cruise. There were a lot fewer kids on Princess but our DS loved the kid's program because there was more one on one and he was always able to get a computer whenever he wanted one. How did you find the program on Disney for the kids?

[iankh]

I hope you said yes, because we are sailing no matter what...Just kidding!

We will be joining the party, if anyone is keeping a "roster" we are:

Keith (DH 45)
Tina (DW 42)
Joshua (DS 6)

My wife and I are going to be renewing our vows on Castaway Cay, we are celebrating 10 years...I still can not believe she has put up with me THAT LONG! (My smilies are not working or there would have been a rolling smilie there)

This will be our 7th cruise with Disney, our last was the 11 day in 2006, so going on a 4 day may just make me mad! We had a 7 day planned for Sept., but with Josh starting school, they did not think it would be wise to pull him out. But my wife wants to renew our vows and he is out of school for 2 days that week. So let the party begin!

Welcome Keith! We are traveling with DDIL, DDSIL and our grandson who is now 6 but will be 7 years old by the time of the cruise. They will be flying in from the UK.

For the October trip we'll be doing the 4-night cruise, followed by 8-nights in WDW staying at VWL. This will be the first visit to WDW for DDIL, DDSIL and grandson.

We took our first DCL cruise this past December, so this one will be our second. I think we were bitten by the bug.

Yesterday I booked the 15-night westbound Panama Canal repositioning cruise. I can't believe I've got a vacation booked as far out as 2008!

[Kborn]

Yes, you can. The more the merrier. Wow, you are the pros on Disney cruises and Iankh is a pro at Disney World. So, I am covered all around. This will be our (DW 40, DH 39 and DS 7 (he will be 8 when we go) and a Dear Friend (how do you write that) of my husband may go as well, 39) first Disney Cruise. However, we did a 7 day Alaskan Princess cruise for our 10 year a few years ago with our son and we took our honeymoon on a Carnival cruise. Cruising is our favorite method of travel so I am sure there will be more to come. Since you live in Alabama do you drive or fly to Florida? For us flying from Denver the cost to take cruises on either side of the continent adds up when you put airfare on top of it.

I think right now there are four families that are on board. The fun with Disney is you know that almost everyone will have kids or at least don't mind kids. You have to expect you will come across them on a Disney cruise. There were a lot fewer kids on Princess but our DS loved the kid's program because there was more one on one and he was always able to get a computer whenever he wanted one. How did you find the program on Disney for the kids?

Thanks for the welcome...cruising is the ONLY method of travel! We do spend a 1 week at WDW, but the cruise is so much better. Going to WDW with a 6 yr. old is alot of work (Walking), I'm not complaining, but the cruise is so much more relaxing. My wife and I all ways get a couple's massage on Castaway Cay the last day, that is the iciing on the cake!:goodvibes :goodvibes

We drive down from ALA, it takes me about 7 1/2 hrs. I like to leave around midnight, that way everyone sleeps, and theres no traffic. There should not be that many Kids on this cruise, most are in school. Most of the kids on the cruise will be "HOME SCHOOLED" kids. We have cruised in Sept. or Oct. on all our cruises, I say 85 % of the kids are home schooled or under the age to start school. We were going to home school Josh, but we were able to enroll him into one of the best private schools in B'ham. He had been on a wait list since he was 3 weeks old! This time of year, there will be more Adults traveling without kids, than families. Even if there is alot of kids on board, you will not even notice them, unless you are looking for them. They take great care of the kids, they even have their "secret passages" to get them from the clubs to the restuarants.

You'll notice I tend to ramble...:sad2: :goodvibes :sad2:

[Kborn]

Welcome Keith! We are traveling with DDIL, DDSIL and our grandson who is now 6 but will be 7 years old by the time of the cruise. They will be flying in from the UK.

For the October trip we'll be doing the 4-night cruise, followed by 8-nights in WDW staying at VWL. This will be the first visit to WDW for DDIL, DDSIL and grandson.

We took our first DCL cruise this past December, so this one will be our second. I think we were bitten by the bug.

Yesterday I booked the 15-night westbound Panama Canal repositioning cruise. I can't believe I've got a vacation booked as far out as 2008!

Thanks for the welcome....It's easy to get "THE BUG" when you cruise with Disney!::yes:: ::yes:: We have sailed with Carnaval once, it was OK, but once you do Disney, there is no other ship on the sea. Disney has the best shows, the best service, the best staterooms, the best food, it's just the best in our book!:cool1: :thumbsup2 :cool1:

How early are the kids coming in from the UK? Are they going to have time to get over the jet lag? and get over the time differences?

We are booked on the 15day :cool1: west bound cruise as well, we received permission from Joshua's principle to take him out of school 2 weeks early. We think it will be very educational for him. Josh does not like video games, he would rather build with lego's or blocks. We saw a special on the panama canal on the Discovery channel on Wed., he thought it was cool the way they used trains to pull the ships through the locks. He is very excited about seeing it in person.

OK, there I go rambling again...sorry:rotfl: :rotfl:

[iankh]

Thanks for the welcome....It's easy to get "THE BUG" when you cruise with Disney!::yes:: ::yes:: We have sailed with Carnaval once, it was OK, but once you do Disney, there is no other ship on the sea. Disney has the best shows, the best service, the best staterooms, the best food, it's just the best in our book!:cool1: :thumbsup2 :cool1:

How early are the kids coming in from the UK? Are they going to have time to get over the jet lag? and get over the time differences?

We are booked on the 15day :cool1: west bound cruise as well, we received permission from Joshua's principle to take him out of school 2 weeks early. We think it will be very educational for him. Josh does not like video games, he would rather build with lego's or blocks. We saw a special on the panama canal on the Discovery channel on Wed., he thought it was cool the way they used trains to pull the ships through the locks. He is very excited about seeing it in person.

OK, there I go rambling again...sorry:rotfl: :rotfl:

We haven't worked out the specifics of the flights yet, but they will probably fly to Chicago first and then we'll all fly down to MCO the day before together, that will probably work out cheaper for them than a direct flight from the UK to MCO. I'm thinking they would come to Chicago a day or two early, so they might have a little time to adjust. Ben won't even know they're going on a Disney cruise or to WDW until they get on the airplane. DDIL says she wouldn't hear the end of it if she told him now.

[Kborn]

We haven't worked out the specifics of the flights yet, but they will probably fly to Chicago first and then we'll all fly down to MCO the day before together, that will probably work out cheaper for them than a direct flight from the UK to MCO. I'm thinking they would come to Chicago a day or two early, so they might have a little time to adjust. Ben won't even know they're going on a Disney cruise or to WDW until they get on the airplane. DDIL says she wouldn't hear the end of it if she told him now.

That will be good, with only 4 days on the ship, you would not want them sleeping through it. Our motto, 'YOU CAN SLEEP WHEN YOU GET HOME'.

BTW, we may be from B'ham, but my wife was raised in Chicago, she moved to Atlanta when she was 19 and moved to B'ham 9 yrs later. She will most likely talk your ear off...she wants to go back and visit, but with our schedules, I don't think it will be this year.

[iankh]

That will be good, with only 4 days on the ship, you would not want them sleeping through it. Our motto, 'YOU CAN SLEEP WHEN YOU GET HOME'.

BTW, we may be from B'ham, but my wife was raised in Chicago, she moved to Atlanta when she was 19 and moved to B'ham 9 yrs later. She will most likely talk your ear off...she wants to go back and visit, but with our schedules, I don't think it will be this year.

I think I finally convinced the UK side of the Atlantic that this vacation is not going to be like going to a Six Flags (or Alton Towers which is the UK equivilent).

I think your Josh is just about the same age as our Ben. I think they'll be in the same age group in the Oceaneer Club.

[iankh]

So, I wonder where all the other DISers on this sailing are hiding?

[Kborn]

So, I wonder where all the other DISers on this sailing are hiding?

Don't type to loud....it would be nice to have the ship to ourselves!

[Kborn]

I think I finally convinced the UK side of the Atlantic that this vacation is not going to be like going to a Six Flags (or Alton Towers which is the UK equivilent).

I think your Josh is just about the same age as our Ben. I think they'll be in the same age group in the Oceaneer Club.

Josh will turn 7 on Oct. 31, that's right, he's a halloween baby. He thinks everyone dresses up for his birthday. (My smilies are not working, again!)(If they were there would be one on the ground laughing). All the kids have a great time in the club.

[lbcrosby]

Don't type to loud....it would be nice to have the ship to ourselves!

I agree. However, our DS would be disappointed if he did not have lots of friends to play with on the ship. My bet is most of the people don't realize how important it is to plan ahead of time. I know I have April in mind for when I have to have everything nailed down as to what we want to do at Disney World in case we want to make any type of reservations. I know my DH and some friends we mentioned that vacation to thought I was crazy for booking so far in advance. Now, a year later after booking the cost has gone up almost $1,000 for the same thing. Basically, we are going to get the concierge level at Disney World for the same price that people joining for the regular level are getting it now.

There may be more people just monitoring as there were close to 200 views of the post. And, I don't think the four families on the board now have looked at it that many times . . . but, perhaps we have.

[iankh]

Josh will turn 7 on Oct. 31, that's right, he's a halloween baby. He thinks everyone dresses up for his birthday. (My smilies are not working, again!)(If they were there would be one on the ground laughing). All the kids have a great time in the club.

Ben will be 7 years old by the time the cruise rolls around, so they will be in the same age grouping.

I agree. However, our DS would be disappointed if he did not have lots of friends to play with on the ship. My bet is most of the people don't realize how important it is to plan ahead of time. I know I have April in mind for when I have to have everything nailed down as to what we want to do at Disney World in case we want to make any type of reservations. I know my DH and some friends we mentioned that vacation to thought I was crazy for booking so far in advance. Now, a year later after booking the cost has gone up almost $1,000 for the same thing. Basically, we are going to get the concierge level at Disney World for the same price that people joining for the regular level are getting it now.

There may be more people just monitoring as there were close to 200 views of the post. And, I don't think the four families on the board now have looked at it that many times . . . but, perhaps we have.

I'm not sure of what your friends would make of me. Not only do I have the October cruise booked, but I'm booked for the Panama Canal westbound as well! Talk about prices going up, prices rose by the hour for that cruise! DCL must have some sort of algorithm where they automatically start jacking up the price as the fill level of the ship goes up.

400 views of our little old thread? Must be more than us peeking in.

Speaking of which, having a small thread is not necessarily a bad thing. For our cruise this past December there were only about a dozen or so people max on the thread and it was great.

I just unsubscribed from the thread for our 2008 Panama Canal westbound. Just too many people, and just too noisy. Lot's of "talking" and little listening. It was like being in a crowded room of people all talking at the same time. I found that if you posted something, within an hour it was buried many pages down.

No, I think I prefer a smaller thread myself.

[Kborn]

I agree. However, our DS would be disappointed if he did not have lots of friends to play with on the ship. My bet is most of the people don't realize how important it is to plan ahead of time. I know I have April in mind for when I have to have everything nailed down as to what we want to do at Disney World in case we want to make any type of reservations. I know my DH and some friends we mentioned that vacation to thought I was crazy for booking so far in advance. Now, a year later after booking the cost has gone up almost $1,000 for the same thing. Basically, we are going to get the concierge level at Disney World for the same price that people joining for the regular level are getting it now.

There may be more people just monitoring as there were close to 200 views of the post. And, I don't think the four families on the board now have looked at it that many times . . . but, perhaps we have.

I know I have looked a lot at this thread and not posted, I know, shame,shame, I could at least say hi. From now on, I will at least post something.

How old will you son be? I know of at least 2 7 yr olds...I know Josh will be at the Mickey Slide every chance he can. You know it's bad when the lifeguards get to know your son by name. On our last cruise, he went down 26 times none stop. That was only the first day, I lost count after the second day...

I always book in advance, it's so much easier to pay small monthly payments, than to come up with the bulk sum at once. We have already booked the 15 Panama crossings as well, and we will probably book the 2008 double dip for Christmas on this cruise.

[lbcrosby]

Our DS will be 8 so he will be a different room then both your boys. We gave him the option of going last year or this year and knowing that we wanted to push him off a year we told him he would be with the bigger kids if he went when he was 8. It worked and it gave us more time to plan and save.:banana: I wanted to spread the cost out over a longer period of time and that way you don't ever realize how much you spent.

[iankh]

Someone I met on our December cruise, who has now become a friend, is taking the tactic on her next cruise of paying a bit over time and paying a little more on top of it. She is calling it, giving herself an Onboard Credit. Her goal is to have everything completely paid for, including her tip and extras, rather than get hit with a bill at the end.

[lbcrosby]

So, who is she paying? Can you overpay the cruise and put money into the shipboard credit or is she just put money in a savings account back in her home town? My theory is out of sight out of mind. If I have money I spend it. So, that would be great if you could put money in an account somewhere. I paid originally through AAA so I am not sure if I can pay directly to Disney or through AAA. I guess I will find out when I get closer.

I think when you book all the character meals that you have to pay for those ahead of time so that should be taken care of in April.

[iankh]

So, who is she paying? Can you overpay the cruise and put money into the shipboard credit or is she just put money in a savings account back in her home town? My theory is out of sight out of mind. If I have money I spend it. So, that would be great if you could put money in an account somewhere. I paid originally through AAA so I am not sure if I can pay directly to Disney or through AAA. I guess I will find out when I get closer.

I think when you book all the character meals that you have to pay for those ahead of time so that should be taken care of in April.

No, she'll be paying to DCL. I think you can do that, also through a TA and specify that it is for your on board account.

The westbound cruise is 14 months away, so I imagine that she start hitting the credit side in the last month or two before the cruise.

It's sort of a good idea for tips. For ourselves, we didn't spend much aside from the tips, a couple of coffees in the Cove Cafe, and float rentals, and just a couple of things we bought in the shops. That was about it.

[Kborn]

No, she'll be paying to DCL. I think you can do that, also through a TA and specify that it is for your on board account.

The westbound cruise is 14 months away, so I imagine that she start hitting the credit side in the last month or two before the cruise.

It's sort of a good idea for tips. For ourselves, we didn't spend much aside from the tips, a couple of coffees in the Cove Cafe, and float rentals, and just a couple of things we bought in the shops. That was about it.

I wish we could say the same about not spending much on the ship, I think my wife owns atleast 1 of everything from Mickey's Mate and Treasure Ketch...I know we have every beach towel they sell on Castaway Cay. My wife loves to buy from the ship, because she knows it's the only place to buy DCL merchandise. We also collect the limited edition Cruise watches, we have everyone except 2000...we did not sail that year. We were building a house and having a baby.

[lbcrosby]

That is a great idea about the tips. Those always come out of nowhere. You know you have to give them out but in the same breath it seems like a lot of money when it comes time. Can you pay them out of your onboard ship credit or do you have to pay cash?

I know I spend a lot of money in the picture area and also in the gift shops. I am sure we will be in trouble in those places. I have never been on DCL and I am thrilled to hear they have watches. That is where I normally splurge in the jewelry department.

My DH and I love cruises because they are all inclusive. Especially since we don't drink alcohol where a lot of people can rack up the expenses. Isn't ice cream even included on the DCL? On Princess it wasn't so we just avoided the ice cream shop. However, we were in Alaska so it wasn't as tempting as it will be in a warm climate.

[iankh]

That is a great idea about the tips. Those always come out of nowhere. You know you have to give them out but in the same breath it seems like a lot of money when it comes time. Can you pay them out of your onboard ship credit or do you have to pay cash?

I know I spend a lot of money in the picture area and also in the gift shops. I am sure we will be in trouble in those places. I have never been on DCL and I am thrilled to hear they have watches. That is where I normally splurge in the jewelry department.

My DH and I love cruises because they are all inclusive. Especially since we don't drink alcohol where a lot of people can rack up the expenses. Isn't ice cream even included on the DCL? On Princess it wasn't so we just avoided the ice cream shop. However, we were in Alaska so it wasn't as tempting as it will be in a warm climate.

Onboard credits can be used for anything, including the tips.

We had had the October cruise already booked when we went on the December cruise. I rebooked anyway while on board and was able to get the 10% discount and the $100 per cabin credit. Fortunately, my TA was able to take over the booking and switch out the cabins with the SPH cabins we previously had reserved. The on board credit will cover our tips, so we'll probably only have the few extras. ... Though I say that now, it might be different since we traveling with family.

The ice cream in included on DCL, though it is soft serve. I understand that it used to be more elaborate. The ice cream is located next to Goofy's Galley, one of my favorite snack places on board :banana:

[Kborn]

That is a great idea about the tips. Those always come out of nowhere. You know you have to give them out but in the same breath it seems like a lot of money when it comes time. Can you pay them out of your onboard ship credit or do you have to pay cash?

I know I spend a lot of money in the picture area and also in the gift shops. I am sure we will be in trouble in those places. I have never been on DCL and I am thrilled to hear they have watches. That is where I normally splurge in the jewelry department.

My DH and I love cruises because they are all inclusive. Especially since we don't drink alcohol where a lot of people can rack up the expenses. Isn't ice cream even included on the DCL? On Princess it wasn't so we just avoided the ice cream shop. However, we were in Alaska so it wasn't as tempting as it will be in a warm climate.

Tips can be charged on the KTW card, just visit Guest services and they will print tickets to give to the servers. We always by phone cards to give to the servers and room attendants as well, you would not believe the 'extras' they will do for you. My wife loves to scrapebook, so we always ask for extra navigators, plus we collect the menu's from all the dinners. Your not supposed to get them, but with the extra phone card we give them, they always seem to make there way to our state room or they seem to always be looking in the other direction as we walk out with them under our arm... They make great "framed art". Our son's room is nautical/Disney Cruise line. My wife has made several shadow boxes, from our past DCL cruises. Can you tell we are DCL CRAZY!

[Kborn]

Just checking the board....as I promised, I'm saying hi.:lmao:

[iankh]

I'm trying to figure out where to stay the night before the cruise. Right now I'm leaning towards staying near the port. Any recommendations on accomodations and how to get from the hotel to the port?

[Kborn]

I'm trying to figure out where to stay the night before the cruise. Right now I'm leaning towards staying near the port. Any recommendations on accomodations and how to get from the hotel to the port?

We have stayed at the Hyatt, it is located in the airport. It is nice, but your limited to the hotel. We have also taken the Magical express (it's free) to Pop Century or one of the other value resorts, I guess it all depends on what time you arrive the day before. Staying at Pop Century is cheaper, plus you can take the disney buses into downtown Disney. When we fly, we always take the DCL buses to the port, they show a movie about the ship and it gets everyone excited about the trip. Plus you can see the ship as you cross over the causeway. Everyone usually claps...

You might want to check with Disney and make sure the hotel your staying at is a pick up point for the Cruise Line buses, I would think they would pick up from all the resorts, but I would call anyway. I have heard of some people renting cars, it all depends on how many people you have in your party. The rental car companys are close to the port and will shuttle you back to the port.

I hope this helps...

[iankh]

We really liked the DCL bus to the port, but this time with 5 of us, that's sort of pricey. I am knuckling under and renting a car. It came down to $50 vs. $350.

I'm not sure what time we're going to arrive. I'm still waiting for the UK side of the Atlantic to decide when they are coming in.

I had thought about Pop Century, but am not sure if I want their first Disney experience to be there or Wilderness Lodge.

I was looking at Hotwire today and found an airport hotel for $39 a room. Not bad. We used Hotwire for this past December and had a very nice hotel that was fine for the one night. I think it comes down to whether I prefer to fly in, drive to the port and stay near there or, fly in, check into a hotel and then drive to the port in the morning. I'm just not sure.

You know, I found a hotel near the port called "Fawlty Towers." Now that is extremely tempting.

[lbcrosby]

We most likely will be renting a car but the question is when to rent it. We come in the day before our package and we will be most likely going to the Kennedy Space Center the day we dock and maybe hang out at one of hotels near the beach before heading back to Orlando. So, we have to decide if we want to rent a car from the airport and keep it the entire time or take the shuttle to Disney and get a rental car from Disney to the port or take the shuttle to Disney, take the shuttle to the port and then get a rental car afterwards. Wow. There are sure a lot of options.:lmao: My DS is sitting right here and told me to put that smiley face in.

[Kborn]

We most likely will be renting a car but the question is when to rent it. We come in the day before our package and we will be most likely going to the Kennedy Space Center the day we dock and maybe hang out at one of hotels near the beach before heading back to Orlando. So, we have to decide if we want to rent a car from the airport and keep it the entire time or take the shuttle to Disney and get a rental car from Disney to the port or take the shuttle to Disney, take the shuttle to the port and then get a rental car afterwards. Wow. There are sure a lot of options.:lmao: My DS is sitting right here and told me to put that smiley face in.

I would not keep the car rented while we are on the cruise, the rental car companies have pick up & drop off at the port....why pay for it to sit there?

Tell your son, I like his laughing smilie! I just wish they would turn mine back on!

[Kborn]

We may try and stop by the Space Center on the way home, we drive down from AL, so we will have our car there. My son will have to miss 2 days of school, so we may as well make it worth his time. He loves the Space and Rocket center here in AL, so I know he will like that one as well. Plus my wife read where you can make an appointment and have lunch with one of the astronuts, if they are there training.

[iankh]

I've got a car reserved for the day we arrive. I'll use it to get us to the port. It was about $35, which is 1/10 as much as the DCL bus would have been.

I figure we all go return it and take the rental car shuttle to the port. I also have a car reserved for when we get back from the cruise and will use it to get to WDW and keep it for about 7 of our 8 days. I'll be returning the car at one of the DTS hotels, so we'll all take Magical Express to the airport.

I still haven't figured out where we're staying the night before. I still can't decide if it will be near MCO or the port. Currently I'm leaning towards near the port. That way when we wake up we'll be all that much closer.

[Kborn]

I've got a car reserved for the day we arrive. I'll use it to get us to the port. It was about $35, which is 1/10 as much as the DCL bus would have been.

I figure we all go return it and take the rental car shuttle to the port. I also have a car reserved for when we get back from the cruise and will use it to get to WDW and keep it for about 7 of our 8 days. I'll be returning the car at one of the DTS hotels, so we'll all take Magical Express to the airport.

I still haven't figured out where we're staying the night before. I still can't decide if it will be near MCO or the port. Currently I'm leaning towards near the port. That way when we wake up we'll be all that much closer.

I think we will drive down on Sat. and try and do a day at the park and stay on property that night. We always breakfast w/Chef Mickey before we head down to the port. We used to drive down to the port early, but since they will not let you in the parking lot until 10:30, there is no need to rush. Plus, it is one of the 'traditions' we have started...

[Kborn]

There will be a wedding on Castaway Cay! Ok, it's only our renewal vows, but's it's the wedding we have been looking forward too....our first wedding was on a very tight budget, so this one will make up for it.

My wife found the dress and it's on order, She would not go for the 'White Thong Bikini and veil', she said something about this being a family cruise... So, she has found a dress we both could live with and for some odd reason, she nixed the black SPEEDO and bow tie for me! (Man, I wish my smilies were working). She is getting to be no fun in her old age!

Everyone have a great Wed...

[Kborn]

Hope I didn't scare everyone off with the Speedo and bow tie comment....

Either that or everyone else is still frozen in after last weeks snow storms.

We had it rough here last week, it was only in the 70's, thats right the 70's.
Short pants weather!

Till next time...

[iankh]

Hope I didn't scare everyone off with the Speedo and bow tie comment....

Either that or everyone else is still frozen in after last weeks snow storms.

We had it rough here last week, it was only in the 70's, thats right the 70's.
Short pants weather!

Till next time...

Nah!

I've been swamped trying to get my Mouse Manager tool ready for the next phase of testing. I announced it today on one of the DVC boards and have been swamped with email!

[Kborn]

Nah!

I've been swamped trying to get my Mouse Manager tool ready for the next phase of testing. I announced it today on one of the DVC boards and have been swamped with email!

Just looked at your site...GREAT JOB! Keep us informed when it goes live, we have several trips planned this year and I will put it to good use.

I have read you have had good weather in Chicago to work ON THE COMPUTER....I COULD NOT HANDLE THAT KIND OF COLD! That is why I stay in warm ALABAMA...we worked in the yard yesterday, in SHORTS!.

[Kborn]

I found our thread on page 4...has everyone abandoned ship or is life getting in the way. I know our life is getting hectic, I play Church softball, over 40 baseball and my son had his first baseball practice this weekend, not to mention his acting and modeling class on Sat. and his monologue classes on Monday. Plus, I have been remodeling our master bath (never marry an INTERIOR DESIGNER!) and building Josh a fort/swing set combo. But, I do have a job where I can check on the thread during the week.

Hope everyone has a blessed week!

[iankh]

I found our thread on page 4...has everyone abandoned ship or is life getting in the way. I know our life is getting hectic, I play Church softball, over 40 baseball and my son had his first baseball practice this weekend, not to mention his acting and modeling class on Sat. and his monologue classes on Monday. Plus, I have been remodeling our master bath (never marry an INTERIOR DESIGNER!) and building Josh a fort/swing set combo. But, I do have a job where I can check on the thread during the week.

Hope everyone has a blessed week!

I know the feeling. I have been so busy with work and when not there, busy working on Mouse Manager. I had about 90 replies to my call for alpha testers in a space of about 42 hours. Needless to say that has kept me hopping.

I finally decided to focus on our vacation coming up this May. I finally made my ADRs, and that was a job and half because many restaurants I wanted were already booked at the times I wanted.

I'm not sure that I like the booking at 6 months. I mean, who knows where they will want to eat in a half a year. I sort of preferred when it was 90 days.

I am surprised that no there are more people on this thread since it is now at about 7 months out.

[Kborn]

I know the feeling. I have been so busy with work and when not there, busy working on Mouse Manager. I had about 90 replies to my call for alpha testers in a space of about 42 hours. Needless to say that has kept me hopping.

I finally decided to focus on our vacation coming up this May. I finally made my ADRs, and that was a job and half because many restaurants I wanted were already booked at the times I wanted.

I'm not sure that I like the booking at 6 months. I mean, who knows where they will want to eat in a half a year. I sort of preferred when it was 90 days.

I am surprised that no there are more people on this thread since it is now at about 7 months out.

We are right there with you....we have a trip planned for June. We booked the platium package 8 months ago, which was supposed to have an itiniary planner, but we could not get her to call us back. When she did get around to helping us, everything we had planned on doing was booked or she had us going from park to park every day. That was not that bad, but she only allowed about 20 min. to get from park to park. We are considering canceling the package and doing it on our own. There were things she had us doing that we didn't want to do, so we're looking into planning it ourselves. It will be cheaper and we won't be tied to a schedule. Either way, we will have FUN!

[iankh]

We are right there with you....we have a trip planned for June. We booked the platium package 8 months ago, which was supposed to have an itiniary planner, but we could not get her to call us back. When she did get around to helping us, everything we had planned on doing was booked or she had us going from park to park every day. That was not that bad, but she only allowed about 20 min. to get from park to park. We are considering canceling the package and doing it on our own. There were things she had us doing that we didn't want to do, so we're looking into planning it ourselves. It will be cheaper and we won't be tied to a schedule. Either way, we will have FUN!

We're looking forward to the flower and garden festival, a first for us. I have to remember to book one of the garden tours this week. We're staying in a studio at the Boardwalk, so at least we can walk to Epcot.

I finally booked the last of our restaurants last night!

I'm not sure quite why I haven't focused much on this May trip. The October trip starts with the cruise, and then 8 nights in a 2 bedroom at the Wilderness Lodge. I suppose that is the BIG trip for 2007. Though, I think it will be nice to get away in May, and it will probably be a fairly laid back trip.

[lbcrosby]

Hi everyone. Back from the dead. Sorry, for some reason I have not been getting the messages that people are posting to this thread. Also, our office is getting ready to move next week and I have been putting in major overtime which means no fun time at work to browse the Disboards. I am starting to focus on the trip since we are coming close to six months out. Have to figure out where to eat, tour, etc., etc. I did order a set of those printable maps now so that I can try to order another set in September and hopefully get it before we leave on our trip. I did finally get in touch with the concierge people both at AKL and the Poly. I loved the people from AKL. I am not convinced yet about the Poly. The sad part is we are only staying one night at AKL and the rest of the time at the Poly. I have lined up getting one of those talking Mickeys for our DS so it will be at AKL when we check in. I forget what they are called but I am sure he will love it. This year Mickey is dressed up like a magician. I also have to get all of us our ears. I am sure my DH will never wear them but it is a cute souvenier (sp?).

Well, hopefully my life will slow down a little and I will be able to keep in touch. I wonder when the other people that are on the ship will start joining in. Oh, and no the Speedo talk didn't scare me. It did give me a good laugh, however.

Keep planning and talk to you soon.

[lbcrosby]

I know the feeling. I have been so busy with work and when not there, busy working on Mouse Manager. I had about 90 replies to my call for alpha testers in a space of about 42 hours. Needless to say that has kept me hopping.

Hey, I sent you an e-mail to join the alpha testers as well. I guess I missed the initial call. I am quite impressed that you are pulling this together. It will be a wonderful tool for those people visiting Disney World.

[Kborn]

Hi everyone. Back from the dead. Sorry, for some reason I have not been getting the messages that people are posting to this thread. Also, our office is getting ready to move next week and I have been putting in major overtime which means no fun time at work to browse the Disboards. I am starting to focus on the trip since we are coming close to six months out. Have to figure out where to eat, tour, etc., etc. I did order a set of those printable maps now so that I can try to order another set in September and hopefully get it before we leave on our trip. I did finally get in touch with the concierge people both at AKL and the Poly. I loved the people from AKL. I am not convinced yet about the Poly. The sad part is we are only staying one night at AKL and the rest of the time at the Poly. I have lined up getting one of those talking Mickeys for our DS so it will be at AKL when we check in. I forget what they are called but I am sure he will love it. This year Mickey is dressed up like a magician. I also have to get all of us our ears. I am sure my DH will never wear them but it is a cute souvenier (sp?).

Well, hopefully my life will slow down a little and I will be able to keep in touch. I wonder when the other people that are on the ship will start joining in. Oh, and no the Speedo talk didn't scare me. It did give me a good laugh, however.

Keep planning and talk to you soon.

Hey, you need to get your priorities (sp?) straight, tell your boss the disboards come 1st and work is a far 2nd.:rotfl2: :rotfl2: Life without vacations or vacation planning is just plain WRONG!:confused3 :confused3 Remember to bring you "Mickey ears" on the cruise, we always get our pics taken with them on Formal night. We get some with ears and some without. We are planning on bringing our 'Christmas ears' this year, we have our Christmas cards made on the ship. They were a big hit last year, plus they were cheaper on the ship than what we would have paid at home. I think they were a dollar a piece, my wife bought 40. Plus, she was able to have our greeting printed on them. We are planning on getting our pics taken on Castaway Cay with our 'Christmas ears' and our bathing suits.:scared1: :scared1: :lmao: :lmao:

[iankh]

Still only just we 3 on this thread. It looks like we're going to have the whole place to ourselves!

[Kborn]

Still only just we 3 on this thread. It looks like we're going to have the whole place to ourselves!

That would be incredible!:rotfl2: :rotfl2: Talk about service...we would have every waiter/waitress fighting over us!:woohoo: :banana: :woohoo: . I wonder if we could eat at Palo's EVERY NIGHT.:love: :love: :love: :love: .

If it is just us, I wonder if we could talk the captain into going to Castaway Cay and just park the boat there for the 4 days!:rolleyes1 :rolleyes1 :rolleyes1 Hey, I could eat at cookies BBQ every day. Plus, my wife and I could get our couples massages on the beach, I don't think we are going to have enough time with the wedding renewal.

If only wishes did come true...

[iankh]

That would be incredible!:rotfl2: :rotfl2: Talk about service...we would have every waiter/waitress fighting over us!:woohoo: :banana: :woohoo: . I wonder if we could eat at Palo's EVERY NIGHT.:love: :love: :love: :love: .

If it is just us, I wonder if we could talk the captain into going to Castaway Cay and just park the boat there for the 4 days!:rolleyes1 :rolleyes1 :rolleyes1 Hey, I could eat at cookies BBQ every day. Plus, my wife and I could get our couples massages on the beach, I don't think we are going to have enough time with the wedding renewal.

If only wishes did come true...

It's beginning to look that way. So who's calling dibbs on which deck.

By the Keith, I see that you're also on the westbound PC cruise. So are we! Or did I know you were on the westbound and had a brain poop?

[Kborn]

It's beginning to look that way. So who's calling dibbs on which deck.

By the Keith, I see that you're also on the westbound PC cruise. So are we! Or did I know you were on the westbound and had a brain poop?

Yes we are! :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: I think I posted it earlier on this thread.:surfweb: :surfweb: :surfweb: So no brain fart for you!:laughing: :rolleyes1 :rolleyes1

We can add two more people to the list, My wife invited her best friend and her 4 year old son to join us. She is going to be my wife's Matron of honor and her son is going to be the ring bearer. My son and her son our like brothers. Linda's husband may have to work, if not, he will be joining us and he is going to give my wife away....I know that sounds funny, but it's our renewal.

I call deck 8 or 9, which everyone has the Walt Suite....I did call to see if it was available, NO LUCK!:sad2: :sad2: . I guess we are stuck on deck 7.

[Stephieann]

Well, I may be joining in on this cruise. My dh is currently deployed and will be back in September. We were going to do the Halloween cruise but he is worried he may have to start work back. Hopefully I will know for sure on Monday!!

[Stephieann]

So, I wonder where all the other DISers on this sailing are hiding?
Don't type to loud....it would be nice to have the ship to ourselves!

To late i heard ya!!! :rotfl:

[Kborn]

Well, I may be joining in on this cruise. My dh is currently deployed and will be back in September. We were going to do the Halloween cruise but he is worried he may have to start work back. Hopefully I will know for sure on Monday!!

It would be an honor to have you both join us...the more the merry. Plus, having a service man on board would make us all feel safer. Let your husband know that his service to this country is greatly appreiciated! (sp?) And if you do join us, the first round will be on me! I hope by Sept., everything will be wrapping up and he will not have to go back.

Till next time, GOD BLESS!

[Kborn]

To late i heard ya!!! :rotfl:

Hey, I see your a Southern girl...I'm born and raised in B'ham, AL. My wife was raised in Chicago, but she is learning the Southern way of life.:rotfl2: :rotfl2:

[skiingwife]

I'm thinking about doing the 10/14 Wonder cruise. I got a quote from DU for a cat 7 of approximately $1850 for 2. (actually a little over $1850 but I don't have the exact amount in front of me.) How does that rate sound to you? Do you think this rate would have been lower if I had booked earlier?

Anyway, it will be me and DH's 20th anniversary and first trip EVER without the kids. I'm planning a family cruise but we can't go on that until 2009, so I thought 4 days for DH and I would help get me through until 2009. Hope we can join you all!

[Stephieann]

Hey, I see your a Southern girl...I'm born and raised in B'ham, AL. My wife was raised in Chicago, but she is learning the Southern way of life.:rotfl2: :rotfl2:

I am from Mississippi but we are currently in Tennessee. It is good to hear that another southern is going to be on the cruise. I was surrounded by yankee disboard members our last cruise!!! Not that there is anything wrong with that.. LOL!!

[iankh]

I'm thinking about doing the 10/14 Wonder cruise. I got a quote from DU for a cat 7 of approximately $1850 for 2. (actually a little over $1850 but I don't have the exact amount in front of me.) How does that rate sound to you? Do you think this rate would have been lower if I had booked earlier?

Anyone it will be me and DH's 20th anniversary and first trip EVER without the kids. I'm planning a family cruise but we can't go on that until 2009, so I thought 4 days for DH and I would help get me through until 2009. Hope we can join you all!

The price is quite good, because looking at the rate booking via DCL it's $2103 for a cat 7, but that might include transfers. Still it looks like a good deal nevertheless.

The prices do tend to go up, as you get closer to the cruise. I was lucky enough to get two secret porthole cabins, but the cruise was booked last August, well in advance.

[iankh]

I am from Mississippi but we are currently in Tennessee. It is good to hear that another southern is going to be on the cruise. I was surrounded by yankee disboard members our last cruise!!! Not that there is anything wrong with that.. LOL!!

Welcome! This is a family trip for us. Twenty years too, plus DDIL, DSIL and grandson.

[Stephieann]

It is offical we are cruising with this group!!!!

[iankh]

It is offical we are cruising with this group!!!!

Welcome aboard!

[lbcrosby]

How fun . . . another group with us. As much as we say we would like to have the cruise ship all to ourselves for those of us that are people watchers that would be a little bit boring. Welcome aboard. I join in on Kborn's comments about telling your DH how much we appreciate what he is doing. I couldn't help you at all with regard to cost as we are doing the cruise/Disney World package. My DH the other day asked me if he wanted to know how much it was going to cost. I told him probably not but gave him a ballpark estimate anyway. I keep telling myself and him that it is totaly worth it for the experience we are going to have.

[Kborn]

It is offical we are cruising with this group!!!!

That's great news! Remind your husband, the first round is on me....:woohoo: :woohoo:

We are getting enough people to have a sail away party on deck 10.:banana: :banana:

[Stephieann]

That's great news! Remind your husband, the first round is on me....:woohoo: :woohoo:


I will tell him!!!
Thanks for all the support with dh away.

[Stephieann]

Sure is quiet here... Almost less than 6 months away!!

[iankh]

Sure is quiet here... Almost less than 6 months away!!

For a long, long time there were just 3 of us on this thread. We kept wondering where everyone else was :confused3

So, let's get the ball rolling with an "ice breaker"


Where are you from?
When are you flying in?
If coming before, where are you staying?
What special plans do you have?
What excursions/activities do you want to book?
What are you most looking forward to?
Are you doing door decorations?
Are you doing a fish extender? (Hamburger helper is ok too)

[Stephieann]

Where are you from?
I am currently living in Waynesboro, Tn but i am from Mississippi:wave2:
When are you flying in?
We are flying into Ft. Myers on either friday night or saturday morning and spending the day in LaBelle, FL then driving up to the port on Sunday Morning.:drive:
If coming before, where are you staying?
In Labelle, Fl :)
What special plans do you have?
Visiting with My DH's Aunt and Uncle before the cruise :grouphug: and while on the cruise... Well......see #6
What excursions/activities do you want to book?
Ressies at Palo and maybe the Rasual (however you spell it) bath:rolleyes1
What are you most looking forward to?
The R and R and spending time with my DH seeing as he will just have gotten back from being deployed:lovestruc:rolleyes1
Are you doing door decorations?
OF COURSE...isnt that a must for Disers.. LOL:rotfl2:
Are you doing a fish extender? (Hamburger helper is ok too)
:confused3 WHAT?:confused:

[Kborn]

For a long, long time there were just 3 of us on this thread. We kept wondering where everyone else was :confused3

So, let's get the ball rolling with an "ice breaker"

Where are you from?
When are you flying in?
If coming before, where are you staying?
What special plans do you have?
What excursions/activities do you want to book?
What are you most looking forward to?
Are you doing door decorations?
Are you doing a fish extender? (Hamburger helper is ok too)

I'll play along....

1) Birmingham, AL
2) We are driving in Sat. morning and spending a day @ the MK.:wizard:
3) We have not made plans, but we usually do POP CENTURY, or we may use some DVC points and stay @ Wilderness Lodge.
4) Vow renewal on Castaway Cay.:woohoo: :hug: :woohoo:
5) We usually do a beach excursion & a couples massage on Castaway Cay.
6) THE HONEYMOON!:woohoo: :rolleyes1 :woohoo: :rolleyes1 I know, a typical guy answer!
7) Maybe, with the Castaway Club magnet.
8) Yes, my wife made one for the last cruise.

[Stephieann]

Someone Explain #8.

[iankh]

Someone Explain #8.

Ii thought it was odd too, but that is what people call them nevertheless. A "Fish Extender" is something that hangs down from the fish note clip next to each cabin door. I hear "Fish Extender" and all I can think of is Tuna Helper.

[iankh]

I guess I should answer my own "ice breaker" questions:

1. Where are you from?
I live in Chicago and have done for the past 24 years, but I am originally from Brooklyn, NY

2. When are you flying in?
We're flying in the day before on the 13th. This is a big family trip for us. We're taking DDIL, DSIL and grandson on their first cruise and their very first trip to WDW

3. If coming before, where are you staying?
I don't have a clue yet. I can't decide if we should stay near MCO or near the port. I'm renting a car to get to the port. I hate driving, but with 5 of us, it's much cheaper than any other alternative. Right now I'm leaning towards staying near the port, perhaps the Raddison (is that it) or even better, Fawlty Towers (how can I resist?)

4. What special plans do you have?
Other than the big family trip none. Though we are excited about the cruise and are following it with 8-nights at WDW, staying in a 2-bedroom at the Villas at the Wilderness Lodge.

5. What excursions/activities do you want to book?
For the two of us, absolutely none, but I imagine that DDIL and DSIL will book up excursions.

6. What are you most looking forward to?
Just getting away and being on the ship. Palo's of course. The dessert buffet on Pirates night. And our all time favorite, moving from spot to spot on the ship and falling asleep.

7. Are you doing door decorations?
But of course! How else can we find our cabin?:rotfl2:

8. Are you doing a fish extender? (Hamburger helper is ok too)
We are not Fish Extender sort of people, but we may leave a nice casserole outside our room.

[Stephieann]

Ii thought it was odd too, but that is what people call them nevertheless. A "Fish Extender" is something that hangs down from the fish note clip next to each cabin door. I hear "Fish Extender" and all I can think of is Tuna Helper.

now that i know what it is ... what is it used for? :confused3

[Kborn]

now that i know what it is ... what is it used for? :confused3

A "FISH EXTENDER" is a place where other Dis'er can leave treats...:thumbsup2 We usually take a bag of candy, and my son and I will walk around and look for Fish extenders and leave candy in them. We received all kinds of stuff on the 11 day....candy, note cards, pirate patches, door magnets, beads etc...

We had over 120 fish extenders on the ship...

The one my wife made has four pockets, each pocket is about the size of a post card, and she decorated it with Disney pins and DCL pins. Some people will put their name and kids name on it, it's and easy way for the kids to find their rooms....On the 11 day cruise, they even had a 'FISH EXTENDER' contest. A couple of the ladies, gave out award ribbons for the top 3 designs. DCL will also put your mail in it...plus it's a easy way to find your room. I will try and find picture of one and post it here.

Hope this helps....

[lbcrosby]

For a long, long time there were just 3 of us on this thread. We kept wondering where everyone else was :confused3

So, let's get the ball rolling with an "ice breaker"


Where are you from?
When are you flying in?
If coming before, where are you staying?
What special plans do you have?
What excursions/activities do you want to book?
What are you most looking forward to?
Are you doing door decorations?
Are you doing a fish extender? (Hamburger helper is ok too)

Ok, our computers are down at work except for AOL so I thought I would take a moment and respond.

Where are you from? Me, my DH and DS live in Denver, Colorado.

When are you flying in and where are you staying? We are flying in our Wednesday (thought we don't have plane reservations yet). We will stay one night at the Animal Kingdom and then three nights at the Poly.

What special plans? I am trying to nail those down since the six month window is coming up in less than two weeks.:banana: I have figured out more about Disney World than the cruise. I want to do a night with my husband and I at Palo but we want to be able to experience all of the restaurants so don't know when to book.

What excursions/activities? I think I want to try to coordinate going to Atlantis when we are in Nassau. Both my husband and I have been to Nassau before but that was before Atlantis.

Looking forward to Mickey Mouse and a little time of being a kid again (taking naps, eating tons of food and not worrying about anything).;)

Door Decorations: Will focus on this once six months is passed.

Fish Extender: Loved that idea. Definitely will try to figure that out. Pictures would be great if you find them.

[iankh]

A "FISH EXTENDER" is a place where other Dis'er can leave treats...:thumbsup2 We usually take a bag of candy, and my son and I will walk around and look for Fish extenders and leave candy in them. We received all kinds of stuff on the 11 day....candy, note cards, pirate patches, door magnets, beads etc...

We had over 120 fish extenders on the ship...

The one my wife made has four pockets, each pocket is about the size of a post card, and she decorated it with Disney pins and DCL pins. Some people will put their name and kids name on it, it's and easy way for the kids to find their rooms....On the 11 day cruise, they even had a 'FISH EXTENDER' contest. A couple of the ladies, gave out award ribbons for the top 3 designs. DCL will also put your mail in it...plus it's a easy way to find your room. I will try and find picture of one and post it here.

Hope this helps....

Well at least now I know what they're for!

I still think I'm just going to leave a casserole outside my door, or should I leave a meatloaf instead?

[Kborn]

Well at least now I know what they're for!

I still think I'm just going to leave a casserole outside my door, or should I leave a meatloaf instead?

Meatloaf...Don't be surprised to find a grown man lying in front of your door with a fork in his hand.:rotfl2: :rotfl2: It took me 45 years to get my belly where it is today, so I'm NOT GOING TO MISS A MEAL!:confused3 :rotfl: :confused3 :rolleyes1 Plus, I've got to look good in my speedo!:laughing: :lmao: :laughing: You've got to have the belly hanging out over that speedo to make it look good....:scared1: :scared1: :scared1: :scared1:

I know, I just ruined your lunch....sorry!

till next time....

[Stephieann]

Meatloaf...Don't be surprised to find a grown man lying in front of your door with a fork in his hand.:rotfl2: :rotfl2: It took me 45 years to get my belly where it is today, so I'm NOT GOING TO MISS A MEAL!:confused3 :rotfl: :confused3 :rolleyes1 Plus, I've got to look good in my speedo!:laughing: :lmao: :laughing: You've got to have the belly hanging out over that speedo to make it look good....:scared1: :scared1: :scared1: :scared1:

I know, I just ruined your lunch....sorry!

till next time....

Is that an image i wanna see?:rotfl2:

[iankh]

Meatloaf...Don't be surprised to find a grown man lying in front of your door with a fork in his hand.:rotfl2: :rotfl2: It took me 45 years to get my belly where it is today, so I'm NOT GOING TO MISS A MEAL!:confused3 :rotfl: :confused3 :rolleyes1 Plus, I've got to look good in my speedo!:laughing: :lmao: :laughing: You've got to have the belly hanging out over that speedo to make it look good....:scared1: :scared1: :scared1: :scared1:

I know, I just ruined your lunch....sorry!

till next time....

That may fall into the category of TMI

[Stephieann]

Ita....:rotfl:

[wendym]

Hi all!
Mind if my mum and I join you!! I was orginally booked for an 11 day Med cruise but changed it today for a 4 day and 3 day back to back Wonder cruises.
I'm a High School Biology teacher (37) here in Aberdeen and mum is retired (73) and going through her 2nd childhood. We have done 6 Magic cruises but these are our first Wonder cruises.



Where are you from?
Aberdeen, Scotland
When are you flying in?
Saturday night - very late!
If coming before, where are you staying?
Airport Hotel
What special plans do you have?
Lots of relaxation and Palo of course!
What excursions/activities do you want to book?
Plan to go to Atlantis on our own. Mum may finally get para sailing on Castaway cay!
What are you most looking forward to?
Everything!
Are you doing door decorations?
Probably
Are you doing a fish extender? (Hamburger helper is ok too)
Not yet.

[iankh]

Hi all!
Mind if my mum and I join you!! I was orginally booked for an 11 day Med cruise but changed it today for a 4 day and 3 day back to back Wonder cruises.
I'm a High School Biology teacher (37) here in Aberdeen and mum is retired (73) and going through her 2nd childhood. We have done 6 Magic cruises but these are our first Wonder cruises.



Where are you from?
Aberdeen, Scotland
When are you flying in?
Saturday night - very late!
If coming before, where are you staying?
Airport Hotel
What special plans do you have?
Lots of relaxation and Palo of course!
What excursions/activities do you want to book?
Plan to go to Atlantis on our own. Mum may finally get para sailing on Castaway cay!
What are you most looking forward to?
Everything!
Are you doing door decorations?
Probably
Are you doing a fish extender? (Hamburger helper is ok too)
Not yet.

Wendy,


:yay: Welcome!:yay:

There are 5 of us in my little party, and half coming over from the UK (Bristol).

Welcome to our thread!

[Kborn]

Hi all!
Mind if my mum and I join you!! I was orginally booked for an 11 day Med cruise but changed it today for a 4 day and 3 day back to back Wonder cruises.
I'm a High School Biology teacher (37) here in Aberdeen and mum is retired (73) and going through her 2nd childhood. We have done 6 Magic cruises but these are our first Wonder cruises.



Where are you from?
Aberdeen, Scotland
When are you flying in?
Saturday night - very late!
If coming before, where are you staying?
Airport Hotel
What special plans do you have?
Lots of relaxation and Palo of course!
What excursions/activities do you want to book?
Plan to go to Atlantis on our own. Mum may finally get para sailing on Castaway cay!
What are you most looking forward to?
Everything!
Are you doing door decorations?
Probably
Are you doing a fish extender? (Hamburger helper is ok too)
Not yet.

Welcome!:banana: :yay: :woohoo:

Your Mum and I will get along fine, since I have NEVER GROWN OUT OF MY CHILDHOOD!:laughing: :laughing: :rotfl2:

[lbcrosby]

Welcome to this thread and to the cruise. I agree on the childhood part. Most likely we would not be taking Disney cruises and visting Walt Disney World if we had grown out of our childhood. It is nice to be able to come along with the kids though so you can say you are doing it for kids, however. It is kind of like going to kid's movies and say you are taking your child and then realize you are enjoying it more than they are. I love living in my child's world. :goodvibes

[wendym]

Thank you for the welcome! I don't think I ever grew up - dealing with teenagers all day keeps you young. I have 2 great nieces and a great nephew who are my excuse to go to see Disney movies etc.
Wendy

[Stephieann]

Hi wendy!! Welcome. Glad you joined our Jolly bunch!!

[Kborn]

I wish I could ride the TOWER OF TERROR today!:eek:

Just checking into to say "HI" OK, I said, now I'm going back to work:mad: :scared1: :headache:

That's a 4 letter word I do not like using!:lmao:

[skiingwife]

Hello,

My husband, 8 year old son, and I will be on the October 14 Wonder. This is our first cruise ever. I have two other sons, but they don't want to miss school and sports. It's our 20th wedding anniversary on October 17. It was originally going to just be DH and I, but then I added Nicholas because he is so much fun at this age and we knew he would have a great time. We don't mind.

We can't wait. Hope to see you there!

M

[lbcrosby]

Welcome aboard skiingwife. Our DS (Brandon) will be so excited your DS is going along. Brandon is 8 years old as well. We did the same thing you did but instead it was when we took our 10 year anniversary a few years ago. We took a cruise to Alaska and decided that for the minimal extra cost (considering how much we were already spending) we knew our DS would have a blast. Which he did. This ship is even more kid friendly than that one so I am sure we will not see him much other than an occasional dinner and perhaps a show where we might drag him along. On the last boat I remember he ate really fast and as soon as he was done he asked if he could go back to the kid's program. If your DS wants to add a PS to our DS I will pass it along. That way they will at least feel like they know someone before they get on board.

Exactly six months for us until we head to Florida. :yay: We are doing the Disney World/Cruise package and coming in a day earlier than that so we get three full days at Disney World.

[Stephieann]

Welcome skiingwife!!!

this is our second cruise. We are celebrating my dh's return from deployment on this cruise. He is currently gone and will be back in September

[Kborn]

Hello,

My husband, 8 year old son, and I will be on the October 14 Wonder. This is our first cruise ever. I have two other sons, but they don't want to miss school and sports. It's our 20th wedding anniversary on October 17. It was originally going to just be DH and I, but then I added Nicholas because he is so much fun at this age and we knew he would have a great time. We don't mind.

We can't wait. Hope to see you there!

M

Sorry it took so long to welcome you guys, but LIFE has gotten in the way of posting!:confused: I hate when that happens....:rotfl2: :rotfl2:

My wife and I are renewing our vows on Castaway Cay, it will be our 10 th year ann.:hug: :love:

[Stephieann]

Sorry it took so long to welcome you guys, but LIFE has gotten in the way of posting!:confused: I hate when that happens....:rotfl2: :rotfl2:

Oh i cant stand it when that happens:furious: ...seems like that happens to me alot these days :rotfl2: :rotfl2:

[iankh]

Hello,

My husband, 8 year old son, and I will be on the October 14 Wonder. This is our first cruise ever. I have two other sons, but they don't want to miss school and sports. It's our 20th wedding anniversary on October 17. It was originally going to just be DH and I, but then I added Nicholas because he is so much fun at this age and we knew he would have a great time. We don't mind.

We can't wait. Hope to see you there!

M

Welcome aboard! This is a big family cruise for us. Our 20th anniversary and we will also have DDIL, DSIL and grandson aged 7 with us.

Life has gotten very busy for me, between my real job and Mouse Manager and still trying to get ready for the Podcast, I just don't seem to have much free time.

[Stephieann]

Wow, we were half way down page 3! Is anyone else out there? I know it is still early but are planning any meets or acivities for DISers on this cruise?

[Kborn]

Wow, we were half way down page 3! Is anyone else out there? I know it is still early but are planning any meets or acivities for DISers on this cruise?

We have to have a "Grass Skirt" sailaway party, usually we have one for the guys, but with our small group, everyone should wear one...:cool1: :cool1: We all should plan on meeting around 3:30 on Deck 10, it's a great place to see the sailaway party.

Anyone else with plans, just post them and we will go from there.

[lbcrosby]

We have never been on a Disney cruise so we are up for suggestions. I know the last cruise we took on Princess we met up with people we had met on another board when we first arrived. We didn't do anything with them the rest of the time but it was nice when we saw them passing on the ship. What is a grass skirt sailaway? I am having a hard enough time convincing my DH that he has to wear a pirate shirt. I don't think wearing a grass skirt is going to fly. :rotfl2:

[iankh]

The last cruise (which was also my first cruise) there was a great deal of plans made in advance.

People exchanged door magnets and I met up with lots of the people.

We also met up in the terminal before the cruise.

It was nice to meet people that I had "chatted" with on line for months.

[Kborn]

We have never been on a Disney cruise so we are up for suggestions. I know the last cruise we took on Princess we met up with people we had met on another board when we first arrived. We didn't do anything with them the rest of the time but it was nice when we saw them passing on the ship. What is a grass skirt sailaway? I am having a hard enough time convincing my DH that he has to wear a pirate shirt. I don't think wearing a grass skirt is going to fly.

A grass skirt sailaway, is a way of everyone on this board to meet and greet...we just all wear grass skirts. Disney has a great sailaway party on deck 9, so we all meet on deck 10, midship and you can watch the party and meet everyone we have been chatting with online....and did I mention, we all wear grass skirts!:rotfl2: :cheer2: It just makes it easier to recoginize each other and it's makes great pictures for your scrapbooks. Tell DH not to be a party pooper! It's a vacation, so let loose and have fun, if not, we will all talk about him!:rolleyes1 :confused: :rolleyes1 Just kidding! But a cruise is a place to let loose and have fun. Tell him if he does not dress for pirate night, he will regret it when he gets home. Tell him he will not be allowed to be in any family pictures if he does not dress up.

Hope this helps...

[iankh]

So ... what excursions and activities are on people's lists?

[lbcrosby]

I am still trying to nail down Walt Disney World. I know I want to get to Atlantis. My DH and I (on different cruises) both went to Nassau before and Atlantis wasn't there when we were there. I have heard that several people suggest going through the hotel next to Atlantis to get a room and then you get privileges to use their facilities for the day. Do you know if it is better to do this or go through the Disney package? That is the only thing I have on the list right now. I also read somewhere a post about a pirate shop somewhere but I don't have my notes in front of me yet. We are totally up for suggestions. Got any??:confused3

[iankh]

I am still trying to nail down Walt Disney World. I know I want to get to Atlantis. My DH and I (on different cruises) both went to Nassau before and Atlantis wasn't there when we were there. I have heard that several people suggest going through the hotel next to Atlantis to get a room and then you get privileges to use their facilities for the day. Do you know if it is better to do this or go through the Disney package? That is the only thing I have on the list right now. I also read somewhere a post about a pirate shop somewhere but I don't have my notes in front of me yet. We are totally up for suggestions. Got any??:confused3

It is a pirate museum and we did it the on our first cruise this past December. We liked it, touristy but fun.

We were just talking about Atlantis last night. Not sure what we are going to do, because neither of us particularly like Nassau.

I forget the name of the hotel next to Atlantis. Some people like having a room to go back to and change etc. Regarding cost, you should probably compare the cost of a room with and taxi vs the DCL excursion charge.

I'm still struggling with what hotel to book for the night before the cruise and we don't even have our flights down to MCO booked yet!

[Stephieann]

The last cruise (which was also my first cruise) there was a great deal of plans made in advance.

People exchanged door magnets and I met up with lots of the people.

We also met up in the terminal before the cruise.

It was nice to meet people that I had "chatted" with on line for months.

The last cruise we went on, that was also my first, we had several meets. Met at the one of the hotels the night before, met prior to the sail away, then the ladies met for a ladies brunch. We had lots of fun! I made some magnets so we all had matching ones! Cant wait to get to know everyone!

[lbcrosby]

We will most likely be pretty busy the night before the cruise as we have only three days at WDW and will be using every minute while we are there. We are staying at the Poly and as of right now we (or I am) debating between the fireworks in Epcot or the fireworks in MGM the night before the cruise. We have an ADR at the Ohana breakfast the day of the cruise.

We keep monitoring the flights and know when we want to go but until they have specials into October we don't see a need in purchasing them. We also have Frontier credits and frequent flyer points that we will work with so we want the cheapest flight possible. I figure we are also departing on a Wednesday morning and coming back most likely on Saturday in October so we shouldn't have a problem.

I wasn't really thrilled with Nassau either. I remember stepping off the ship and everyone asking if we wanted our hair braided. Note to self: braid hair before going off the ship and that way they won't ask. I will compare and contrast prices and see what I find out about Atlantis. It is the Comfort Suites that is next door. http://www.choicehotels.com/ires/en-US/html/HotelInfo?hotel=BS003 Here is the link. I know the boards had rumors about it closing and I cannot tell one way or the other from this link but here is the information.

The pirate museum might be fun. Yes, we do expect it to be quite touristy but it sounds cute.

[iankh]

We will most likely be pretty busy the night before the cruise as we have only three days at WDW and will be using every minute while we are there. We are staying at the Poly and as of right now we (or I am) debating between the fireworks in Epcot or the fireworks in MGM the night before the cruise. We have an ADR at the Ohana breakfast the day of the cruise.

We keep monitoring the flights and know when we want to go but until they have specials into October we don't see a need in purchasing them. We also have Frontier credits and frequent flyer points that we will work with so we want the cheapest flight possible. I figure we are also departing on a Wednesday morning and coming back most likely on Saturday in October so we shouldn't have a problem.

I wasn't really thrilled with Nassau either. I remember stepping off the ship and everyone asking if we wanted our hair braided. Note to self: braid hair before going off the ship and that way they won't ask. I will compare and contrast prices and see what I find out about Atlantis. It is the Comfort Suites that is next door. http://www.choicehotels.com/ires/en-US/html/HotelInfo?hotel=BS003 Here is the link. I know the boards had rumors about it closing and I cannot tell one way or the other from this link but here is the information.

The pirate museum might be fun. Yes, we do expect it to be quite touristy but it sounds cute.

We thought the pirate museum was fun and were glad we did it. Your son might really enjoy it.

Right now we're debating if we're going to get off the ship. One of the nice things was how quiet the ship was the day we were in Nassau.

I'm not sure yet what the rest of the family is going to do (DDIL, DSIL and grandson). Not sure if they are going to opt to do an excursion or some water activity.

We have not booked flights yet either. I'm in charge of organizing everything, and I'm waiting for SW to open up booking for October. Right now they're only booking through August.

[Kborn]

So ... what excursions and activities are on people's lists?

We will do a beach excursion in Nassua, might run over to Atlantis and drop a dollar or two. Castaway Cay is still up in the air, we have to see how much time we will have after the vow renewal....Day at sea will be spent at the spa and at the kids pool with Josh and Ryan.

[wendym]

Hi all
Things hectic with the start of the new term so sorry not been on much. I think we will go to Atlantis on our own for a walk round the casino and laze around Serenity Bay at Castaway Cay! Love meeting up with new friends at the Sailaway party.
Wendy

[iankh]

For us, the ship is probably the biggest attraction. We start to channel our dogs and move from place to place on the ship, having serious snoozes.

[Stephieann]

MY Dh and i are planning on spending most of the time on the ship! We will go to Serinity bay at CC and do some snorkling. I cant wait to get to know everyone on the thread and then meet up in person. Hope everyone has a GREAT week!!

[iankh]

Happy May everyone.

We're coming up for the 6 month mark soon.

I realized that I had better get busy and start thinking about restaurants for our WDW portion of the trip. ADRs will be opening up soon.

[Kborn]

Happy May everyone.

We're coming up for the 6 month mark soon.

I realized that I had better get busy and start thinking about restaurants for our WDW portion of the trip. ADRs will be opening up soon.

6 months will go by quickly....:woohoo::banana: We have several trips planned for this summer, including one to WDW at the end of July...(CAN ANYONE EXPLAIN WHY MY WIFE WANTS TO GO TO THE HOTTEST PLACE ON EARTH IN JULY) a cruise I can understand, but walking around Disney World chasing a six year old will kill an old man like me.:confused3 :rotfl2: The only place we make ressie's is for Chef Mickey's the day we sail, we have made it a family tradition. Get up early, have breakfast with Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and Pluto, then head down to the port. We used to get to the port around 8, but since they will not even let you into the parking lot until 10, there is no reason to hurry.

[Stephieann]

6 months will go by quickly....:woohoo::banana:

aren't we past this 6 month mark?:confused3

[iankh]

aren't we past this 6 month mark?:confused3

The cruise is October 14th, so isn't 6 months out May 14th?

[Stephieann]

The cruise is October 14th, so isn't 6 months out May 14th?
nope 5 months!!!!!
look at my ticker!!!!!

[lbcrosby]

When can you start making reservations on the cruise? I have all of our ADRs (including some we will most likely cancel) for WDW.

[Kborn]

nope 5 months!!!!!
look at my ticker!!!!!

See....1 month is gone and it only seems like yesterday :rotfl: :rotfl2: :rotfl:

[Kborn]

When can you start making reservations on the cruise? I have all of our ADRs (including some we will most likely cancel) for WDW.

It could be anywhere from 90, 60 or 45 days before the cruise...they base it on Conceirge (sp?), Castaway Club members and then first time guest. Just check your ressie on line and it will tell you when you can book.

[lbcrosby]

It could be anywhere from 90, 60 or 45 days before the cruise...they base it on Conceirge (sp?), Castaway Club members and then first time guest. Just check your ressie on line and it will tell you when you can book.
Ok, I checked on line and I still can't tell. Is it Concierge on the ship? We are staying concierge at WDW but just a middle of the road cabin on the ship. Here is what it says on line: "Sorry, access to My Cruise Plans is not currently open for this reservation. Access opens 75 days prior to embarkation, 90 days prior for Castaway Club members, and 105 days prior for Concierge Guests. Also, note that access to My Cruise Plans closes 3 days before your cruise departure date."

I guess I will keep checking back and when I can make them I will.

[Kborn]

Ok, I checked on line and I still can't tell. Is it Concierge on the ship? We are staying concierge at WDW but just a middle of the road cabin on the ship. Here is what it says on line: "Sorry, access to My Cruise Plans is not currently open for this reservation. Access opens 75 days prior to embarkation, 90 days prior for Castaway Club members, and 105 days prior for Concierge Guests. Also, note that access to My Cruise Plans closes 3 days before your cruise departure date."

I guess I will keep checking back and when I can make them I will.

If this is your first sailing with Disney, it looks like you will have to wait until 75 days before we sail...Concierge service is for people who booked a Cat. 1 or 2. I don't think you will have much trouble booking anything, it does not look like we have a full ship. Plus, they hold a few spots open for everyone. DCL bends over backwards to try and please everyone, just plan on booking at the 75 day mark.

[lbcrosby]

Thanks. We will calendar 75 days out . . . which is, July 31:banana: I am not too concerned about booking something. The only thing I would like is to eat at Palo's on the one night that is the same rotation but that is like a crap shoot anyway when you make the reservations as you don't know until you get on board, correct? Since we haven't been on the ship before I want to try all the rooms even if it means missing Palo but that would be fun as well. Is it hard to get into Palo?

[Kborn]

Thanks. We will calendar 75 days out . . . which is, July 31:banana: I am not too concerned about booking something. The only thing I would like is to eat at Palo's on the one night that is the same rotation but that is like a crap shoot anyway when you make the reservations as you don't know until you get on board, correct? Since we haven't been on the ship before I want to try all the rooms even if it means missing Palo but that would be fun as well. Is it hard to get into Palo?

Getting Palo Ressis is not that hard to get, remember it's for adults only and I would highly recommend going...it's the best meal on the ship! You can also book a brunch at Palo's...Every resturant on the ship is good, Trition's and Animaters Palates (sp?) are our favorites. You can request your dining rotation, they will do everything possible to make it happen. Remember, most 3 and 4 day cruises are first time cruisers with DCL, most people would like to try and short cruise first.

[lbcrosby]

You can request your dining rotation, they will do everything possible to make it happen. How do you do that? Yes, we do realize it is adults only and looking forward to that. Our DS is eight and has a lot of energy so it is nice to get a night out just the two of us. When we go to WDW our first night there will be our date night as we will be getting there before our park passes are "turned on". So we are going to do Cirque du Soleil and Jiko and put our DS in the kids club. It is nice that Disney realizes that some parents enjoy a time to be a couple and makes it happen.

[Stephieann]

YOu can request but i would not hold my breath on it. Last year when we crusied they told us one thing on the phone prior to the cruise and when we got there it was no where close to it! I am booking my for Pirate night, at least that is what i have planned!!

[lbcrosby]

Having an 8 year old son will mean that if we skip pirate night we will be in big trouble. Don't they usually do that one the night we are at Castaway Cay? I guess I will aim for the last night and see how it goes.

[Stephieann]

Yes, I do believe pirate night is on Castaway Cay night! It is just me and my DH on this cruise so we dont see a big deal of missing Pirate night dinner!

[Stephieann]

Any other CC memebers get new cards yet?

[Stephieann]

:yay: Can you believe not only has the 6 month mark passed but the 5 month one is also about to pass. We need to get this thread a hopping!!:yay:

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ALL THE MOMS!!!

[lbcrosby]

Any other CC memebers get new cards yet?

Ok, I give up . . . what is a CC member and what are the new cards? Probably they are for repeat members and that is why I have no clue but I just had to ask.

Isn't this awesome less than five months until the trip. :banana: This is starting to go really fast. I am starting to collect my pennies so we have spending money. I am so excited. My DH is not there yet.

[Stephieann]

Ok, I give up . . . what is a CC member and what are the new cards? Probably they are for repeat members and that is why I have no clue but I just had to ask.


CC is Castaway Club and Yes it if for repeat cruisers. Don't worry about being lost on these things i was right were you are this time last year.. LOL

[Stephieann]

just peeking in to say hi!

[iankh]

Everyone has been so quiet lately. I know that my life has been consumed with work and trying to get Mouse Manager ready for the Beta test phase to begin in June.

Yesterday, we finally planned out our WDW piece of the vacation that happens after the cruise. I made the ADRs and could not believe that some of the time slots we wanted were already gone! I can remember the days when you could only make a meal booking 30 days in advance. I think I preferred that to trying to decide when I'm going to want to eat and what I'm going to want to eat 6 months before I actually do it.

I can also remember a time when it really wasn't all that necessary to have a meal reservation except for some of the restaurants in Epcot, where it was a good idea to book the day before. There was a time when one could pretty much walk into to a restaurant and not have to wait all that long for a table.

And of course, I have all of my info stored in Mouse Manager (shameless self plug).

Now today comes round 2, replanning the restaurants that don't seem to be going to work out or available when we'd like.

[wendym]

Hi all
Work very hectic - have a student teacher working with me who is wonderful but does take up a lot of time. Really looking forward to meeting you all.
Wendy

[Stephieann]

Well, Things are slowing down for me. I had a change at work and i am so much busier in the area i am in now. I come home and crash, sometimes i am lucky if i eat supper. I am just ready for DH to come home!! Seems like time is standing still!!!

[iankh]

Did anyone else get their DCL mailing this week? Ours arrived yesterday. Actually 2 arrived. I have to forward one to DDIL & DSIL in the UK.

Well, we are off to WDW in two days for a 6-day trip to the world. I can't wait for an escape from reality!

[lbcrosby]

What DCL mailing? We ordered through a travel agent at AAA so if anything came in it most likely will be forwarded later. We got a confirmation sheet a few weeks ago. Ok, either the clock is off or Iankh you were up really early this mroning.

[Stephieann]

nothing from DCL in a long time here!

[iankh]

nothing from DCL in a long time here!

It's probably on it's way. It's more of a very nice and fancy brochure about the excursions, etc.

[matsterrocks]

Hello

My family will be on this cruise aswell:) I've been plannning it for over a year and just found this area of the Dis today:(

Me - Matt (32)
Wife - Thina(33)
Son - Keyano(9)
Daughter - Mateaka(4)

We have cruised a few times before but this will be our first with Disney

We are doing the Land/Sea package the cruise before this one and then staying onboard for the Oct 14th cruise aswell:)

We will be going back to WDW after this cruise for a few days and was wondering if anyone wanted to share a van transfer back to WDW?

[matsterrocks]

"ice breaker" questions:

1. Where are you from?
Leduc, Alberta Canada

2. When are you flying in?
Oct 6th

3. If coming before, where are you staying?
POP Century one night then the Grand Floridian for 4 nights

4. What special plans do you have?
Palo Brunch?

5. What excursions/activities do you want to book?
Atlantis via Comfort Suites

6. What are you most looking forward to?
Hopefully the whole experiance and watching my kids facial expresions

7. Are you doing door decorations?
Thought these we no longer allowed??

8. Are you doing a fish extender? (Hamburger helper is ok too)
First I heard of it????

[Stephieann]

"ice breaker" questions:

7. Are you doing door decorations?
Thought these we no longer allowed??



:scared1: Oh tell me it isn't so!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:scared1:

[iankh]

"ice breaker" questions:

1. Where are you from?
Leduc, Alberta Canada

2. When are you flying in?
Oct 6th

3. If coming before, where are you staying?
POP Century one night then the Grand Floridian for 4 nights

4. What special plans do you have?
Palo Brunch?

5. What excursions/activities do you want to book?
Atlantis via Comfort Suites

6. What are you most looking forward to?
Hopefully the whole experiance and watching my kids facial expresions

7. Are you doing door decorations?
Thought these we no longer allowed??

8. Are you doing a fish extender? (Hamburger helper is ok too)
First I heard of it????

Welcome!

I didn't know that door decorations were not allowed. I hadn't heard anything about it (not that DCL contacts me personally to keep me abreast).

[matsterrocks]

Thanks

One of the Moderators of the DCL forum posted it a little while ago but have not read any trip reports to see if it is actually being enforced? ?? I'll post the question ans see what the response is.

[Stephieann]

I saw your post Masterrocks and they say magnet ones are still allowed just the ones with sticky backing are not!!

[iankh]

OK, I'll bite. You mean there were people who used sticky back stuff for door signs? I'm astonished.:confused3

[lbcrosby]

Welcome Matsterrocks. Our 8 year old DS will be excited to know another boy close to his age will be on board. Not that we will be lacking in kids on this ship or anything :rotfl2: but he feels better knowing they will be there. We are also considering doing Atlantis with Comfort Suites. Have you made those reservations yet?

Question to everyone: when are we going to be in Nassau again? I would feel quite foolish if I made my reservations for the wrong day. I have made reservations for dining at WDW and considering what to do on the cruise in the way of activities but figured we would try to book those items we could . . . such as the Comfort Suites.

We will be heading to the Kennedy Space Center once we arrive after the cruise and then staying a night at Cocoa Beach or somewhere close to there before heading back to Orlando and a day at Sea World so we probably will rent a car for our whole vacation. I get quite ill with motion sickness so unless I am in the front of any of the buses, etc. it is not an enjoyable ride for me. So, it is definitely worth the value of the rental car to not get sick. Yes, I get sick at the drop of a hat in any moving vehicle and yet I love taking cruises . . . go figure.:goodvibes

[matsterrocks]

Welcome Matsterrocks. Our 8 year old DS will be excited to know another boy close to his age will be on board. Not that we will be lacking in kids on this ship or anything :rotfl2: but he feels better knowing they will be there. We are also considering doing Atlantis with Comfort Suites. Have you made those reservations yet?


Yes I'm sure there won't be a shortage of kids:)

We have a reservation with the Comfort Suites already but hoping for a Atlantis sale:goodvibes They had one last fall but we will see. You have to make a two night reservation with them now:( We got a rate of $120 per night pluse taxes/fees. from this link http://www.smartertravel.com/discounts/Save-Quality-Comfort-Clarion.html?id=16348

We actually have a reservation for three nigths as we will be in Nassau on the 12 and the 15th:cool1: :cool1: :cool1: (My wife is really looking forward to Atlantis and when I asked her if we wanted to do Atlantis on both days she said "Of Course" :)

[Stephieann]

Just wanted to say HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!!
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f176/stephieann74/americanflag.jpg

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f176/stephieann74/proudmilwifeus1.gifhttp://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f176/stephieann74/140255wnp83pp9tt.gif

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f176/stephieann74/1deplymentcolor.gif

[lbcrosby]

Stephieann, Be sure to give your husband and his troop a grateful thank you from all of us on this day.

Thank you for your sacrifice as well.

Our DS was able to participate in his first flag ceremony today as a cub scout and it made us proud to know that he is being taught the respect of those people that have fought to give us this freedom.

[skiingwife]

I have a son, Nicholas, who will be 9 in July. Perhaps he and your son will meet. Only 4 1/2 months left, and the summer will fly by. See you real soon!

[matsterrocks]

I'm sure they will have a blast together in the clubs or on the sports deck:) We took our kids on there first cruise in March and they had a real good time. They always seemed to have a ice cream cone in hand:)

[Stephieann]

Just wanted to say hi. I am going through a rough time so i may be on and off with long periods in between. My dad had triple by pass surgery today, my grandparents are ill, and my DH is over seas....i am having a hard time with this seeing as i am doing it alone (well i got my disfriends). Most of my family is 6 hrs away. I am so ready and in need of this cruise!!

[lbcrosby]

Hey Stephieann,

Sorry to hear about the all the problems you are going through. They always say when it rains it pours. But remember that when the sun comes out there is often a rainbow. Hopefully everything will turn out okay. Keep your eyes on the prize . . . Mickey Mouse and basking in the sun.

[lbcrosby]

I was so excited to come home tonight and there was a package from AAA. Yeah!!! Now, I am excited. :banana: Needless to say my husband looked at my and rolled his eyes. So, I have to wait until July 31st to make reservations. What is the chance that the things we are interested in will fill up? Do most people jump on reservations immediately?

[matsterrocks]

I was so excited to come home tonight and there was a package from AAA. Yeah!!! Now, I am excited. :banana: Needless to say my husband looked at my and rolled his eyes. So, I have to wait until July 31st to make reservations. What is the chance that the things we are interested in will fill up? Do most people jump on reservations immediately?

We got our little package of info too:) It was done up pretty nice.

[Stephieann]

i did not get a package! Is it just AAA people?

[matsterrocks]

i did not get a package! Is it just AAA people?

Nope we booked with Costco :)

[lbcrosby]

We have a reservation with the Comfort Suites already but hoping for a Atlantis sale:goodvibes They had one last fall but we will see. You have to make a two night reservation with them now:( We got a rate of $120 per night pluse taxes/fees. from this link http://www.smartertravel.com/discounts/Save-Quality-Comfort-Clarion.html?id=16348



What is the Significant Organization company? It says that someone who qualifies for this organization must occupy the room. $120 is a great rate but I need to know what that means before I chance making the reservations and then find out I don't qualify. I found it for $150 at lots of other places.

[lbcrosby]

We went ahead and booked directly through the Comfort Suites website and with the internet rate got it for $135.00 (or AAA was the same rate). It was a little more than you paid but at least this way I know there won't be a surprise when we check in. The funny thing is that the other websites such as Expedia, Orbitz, etc. the cheapest they had was $150.00 and you can't change your mind. I like the idea of having an option to change my mind.

Matsterrocks, have you done this before? What is the best way to get to the hotel?

[matsterrocks]

We plan on taking a cab over. $4 per person I think. You can take a water taxi but then you end up on the far side of the Atlantis property I think? Did you have to book two nights?

[Stephieann]

so what is in the package you are getting?

[matsterrocks]

so what is in the package you are getting?

I just got our second one today (The one for the Oct 14th sailing) You should hopefully get it in the next day or two? It is just a info package but it is done up really nice. Info re excursions and gifts etc.

[matsterrocks]

We went ahead and booked directly through the Comfort Suites website and with the internet rate got it for $135.00 (or AAA was the same rate). It was a little more than you paid but at least this way I know there won't be a surprise when we check in. The funny thing is that the other websites such as Expedia, Orbitz, etc. the cheapest they had was $150.00 and you can't change your mind. I like the idea of having an option to change my mind.

Matsterrocks, have you done this before? What is the best way to get to the hotel?

These boards are awsome I just cancled my original 3 night booking and booked two seperate nights saved myself $120+ Thanks!!!!

When I originaly booked they had a 2 night min.

This will only be a $40 per person(4 people) tour GREAT PRICE !!!!!!!!!!!!!

[lbcrosby]

I guess you already answered the question before I even got back on. No, one night only at that price. Yes, these boards have definitely been worth their weight in gold. We used another board when we took another cruise (not Disney) and it was nice to know all the details (or at least as much as you can remember).

One thing I was disappointed with in the packet was that the prices were not listed in there. It is probably a standard packet that they send out and that way they don't have to keep reprinting every time the prices change. I do realize they are on line but most likely I will write them down in the booklet.

So, I just booked our hotel rooms for Thursday and Friday night after the cruise and visit to Sea World (Friday and Saturday morning before we fly home). I figured we would visit Kennedy Space Center on Thursday and then when it closes head to Orlando and check into the hotel. We got a great deal and are going to dine with Shamu which our DS will love.

Now all the big ticket items are purchased. I guess I have to save up for the character meals at Disney World and any other excursions on the ship.

[matsterrocks]

One thing I was disappointed with in the packet was that the prices were not listed in there. It is probably a standard packet that they send out and that way they don't have to keep reprinting every time the prices change. I do realize they are on line but most likely I will write them down in the booklet.


I wrote down the prices in the book aswell for the tours I'm interested in. We probably won't do much at Castaway Cay we have our own snorkel gear. Might rent one of the boats for an hour????

[Stephieann]

Well, we were all the way on page 3. That just is not acceptable. LOL
Talked to DH last night and he said he was so ready to come home and go on this cruise. I think he is more ready for the alone time.:rolleyes1 :hug:
hope everyone has a great week.

[lbcrosby]

Well, I feel like I have completely analyzed the whole entire trip and now I am on the wait and see what happens since I have to wait until 75 days out before I can book anything more. My counter says three months and four weeks to go until our trip to Florida.:banana: So, anyone else out there reading this thread that hasn't joined our group. Let us know.

Talk to everyone else later.

[iankh]

Hello everyone! I thought it was about time that I resurfaced. I've been so busy lately, with work and getting ready for the Mouse Manager beta test to start in a few weeks. We also went down to WDW for 7 nights over Memorial Day Weekend.

[Stephieann]

:confused3 Ok, where is everyone one? I know it was mentioned before about having a grass skirt meet, are we still going to do this. i was looking at an oriental trade book and they have them in there. Just let me know something. If anyone needs me to order them one i will be glad to to so.

we will be on the wonder before you know it!!!!!!!!!:cool1:

[Kborn]

:confused3 Ok, where is everyone one? I know it was mentioned before about having a grass skirt meet, are we still going to do this. i was looking at an oriental trade book and they have them in there. Just let me know something. If anyone needs me to order them one i will be glad to to so.

we will be on the wonder before you know it!!!!!!!!!:cool1:

Yes...I'm back from Neverland!!:rotfl2: :rotfl2: Sorry, I've been MIA, but life is still getting in the way!:scared1: :headache: My son just finished baseball, but now my season has started, that's right, I'm still a big kid...I play in an over 38 league. Plus, Josh is in a acting and modeling class. We are going to Atlanta this weekend for one of his training shows. Then we are off to Las Vegas over the 4th of July week. He is auditioning in front of over 200 casting agents and talent scouts. He was 1 of 25 chosen, out of 500, to go and audition. And then we are off to WDW on July 30th. Enough of my excuses...

Too answer your question, yes, I would love to have a grass skirt send off...It is a great way to meet everyone, plus it makes for some great pics.
My son and I bought our grass skirts at party city, we even have Tiki Hats:banana: :banana: I think everyone should wear grass skirts, even the ladies. On the 11 day cruise, it was just the men, but with our little group, the more the merrier!

I will try and post more often...I promise:thumbsup2

[iankh]

I'm hoping that my podcast, The Sophisticated Mouse, has kicked off by then.

Would anyone be interested in being interviewed to be "on the air?"

[Stephieann]

I'm hoping that my podcast, The Sophisticated Mouse, has kicked off by then.

Would anyone be interested in being interviewed to be "on the air?"

i am always a sucker for stuff like this.. do tell more about the interview and the "on air" stuff!!!

[iankh]

i am always a sucker for stuff like this.. do tell more about the interview and the "on air" stuff!!!

I'm thinking of doing a special cruise show, and perhaps interviewing people before the cruise and then during the cruise. I'm also thinking of doing some special atmospheric binaural recordings, where the listener feels like they are really standing in the event.

I have two kinds of microphones, one for interviews and one (actually 2) that go in my ears sort of like headphones. These produce the most amazing recordings. I mean almost scary, because if you hear someone talking behind, you might actually turn around, it sounds that real.

The podcast is intended to be a more sophisticated Conde Nast view of Disney vacationing. Including resort reviews, vacation tips, planning and guide book reviews and possibly interviews with the authors.

I'm currently planning it with a few other people, but it will be launch after Mouse Manager finally get out the door later this summer.

So anyone would like to participate in interviews and the audio cruise postcard would be wonderful.

[Stephieann]

not far from the 90 day mark:banana:

[skiingwife]

Hi everyone - this will be our first cruise ever! I'm getting very excited and will need the vacation. I've been so busy taking care of my mother who is ill. With all of that, I haven't had time to figure out the 75 day mark for calling for Palo and spa appointments. If someone could just tell me that day, I'd really appreciate it. And what time do I start calling and what is the phone number? (Or do you do this online?) Thanks!

Melissa

[Stephieann]

Hi everyone - this will be our first cruise ever! I'm getting very excited and will need the vacation. I've been so busy taking care of my mother who is ill. With all of that, I haven't had time to figure out the 75 day mark for calling for Palo and spa appointments. If someone could just tell me that day, I'd really appreciate it. And what time do I start calling and what is the phone number? (Or do you do this online?) Thanks!

Melissa

The 75 day mark is July 31st. This is my second cruise. I remember this time last year i was all excited. I had already made my magnets for my door and done all other kind of things but this year with DH deployed it is hard to get in the groove of it. I try to. When it is closer for him to get home i will be better because i will have to pack my stuff and his since he gets home about 2 weeks prior to leaving (i hope). I dont get on here near as much as i did last year. Last year our thread was hopping. hope we get a few more going. Cant wait to meet you all.

steph

[lbcrosby]

It seems like forever until we get to the 75 day mark. I had planned so much of our trip that had to be booked by the 180 mark that once all that was nailed down this part is dragging, but on the other hand I can't believe it is almost July :woohoo: My DH is still a little bit worried that he will be disappointed with this trip as we are spending a lot more money then previous trips and he is not sure it will live up to our expectations. Please confirm that it will live up to our expectations. I am thinking we are going to love it since eveything (including pop and ice cream) is included. Unlike our last trip where those were not. Also, it will be nice to be in a family friendly environment.

IANKH we are willing to participate in your little inteviews. At least our DS and I will be willing. DH is a little camera shy. However, if you need any interviews from a child's perspective (he is eight) he is not camera shy at all. Sorry, I haven't been able to get more involved with your Mouse Manager on the computer. I tried it out but life has caught up with me at about the time you launched it. I hope it is going well. It is a wonderful idea and from what I saw it will be awesome when it is completed.

The grass skirt meeting sounds fun but as I think I have mentioned before I am not optimistic my DH will wear the grass skirt. Our DS and I don't mind dressing up and acting like fools on stage or anywhere else but DH is a little more reserved. They say that opposites attract and in this area we are night and day.

[Stephieann]

I don’t think my dh will wear the grass skirt. If anyone can verify there dh will I might can. Tell him well everyone else’s dh is... LOL. I would not mind the interviews either if you need someone. The reason I have not come right out and said yes is that this is a welcome home type trip for DH and we want to spend as much time together and alone as we can.

EXPECTATION of the trip ... I will not take another cruise line because I am scared I will be disappointed. DCL is WONDERFUL!!

Well need to get ready for work.

Anyone want to set up a chat night for all of us to meet here and chat?

[iankh]

I don’t think my dh will wear the grass skirt. If anyone can verify there dh will I might can. Tell him well everyone else’s dh is... LOL. I would not mind the interviews either if you need someone. The reason I have not come right out and said yes is that this is a welcome home type trip for DH and we want to spend as much time together and alone as we can.

EXPECTATION of the trip ... I will not take another cruise line because I am scared I will be disappointed. DCL is WONDERFUL!!

Well need to get ready for work.

Anyone want to set up a chat night for all of us to meet here and chat?

We had never thought we would like a cruise and went on the Wonder last December as an "experiment." Needless to say, we loved it.

[Stephieann]

We had never thought we would like a cruise and went on the Wonder last December as an "experiment." Needless to say, we loved it.

Yea, that is pretty much our story to. My DH and i were talking last year on what we wanted to do for our 10 yr anny and we decided on a cruise. I talked to my sis and they wanted to go on one but the kids wanted to go to Disney. My sis said why not a Disney cruise so we said SURE! Now i am HOOKED!!!! I would go on one every year if i could.

[Stephieann]

Had to post one more time to make it to post 200 on the thread!!

[Stephieann]

Ok, we are almost at the 3 month mark, I am getting excited now. I actually had a dream about it. DH will be home in about 2.5 months. COME ON SEPTEMBER GET HERE!!!!

[matsterrocks]

Made final payment on Friday that means it's getting close:) :yay: :yay: :yay:

[Stephieann]

Made final payment on Friday that means it's getting close:) :yay: :yay: :yay:

:cool1: :cool1: :cool1: i am ready for the cruise:cool1: :cool1: :cool1:

[iankh]

Just a reminder --- Castaway Club members can start making Palo reservations next Thursday, July 12th.

[matsterrocks]

Just a reminder --- Castaway Club members can start making Palo reservations next Thursday, July 12th.

I thought it was the 16th????

[lbcrosby]

Sure, rub it in. We lowly first timers don't get to make reservations until two weeks later. But, you watch out, the next time we will be there scrambling for those choice reservations with the rest of you. I can't believe that we are coming so close. I received in the mail today a Passporter book so now I have something else to explore in my anticipation of the next anticipated day in our schedule.

[iankh]

I thought it was the 16th????

I stand corrected. I just checked the letter again and it is the 16th, so it was just wishful thinking on my part:rotfl:

[matsterrocks]

Sure, rub it in. We lowly first timers don't get to make reservations until two weeks later. But, you watch out, the next time we will be there scrambling for those choice reservations with the rest of you. I can't believe that we are coming so close. I received in the mail today a Passporter book so now I have something else to explore in my anticipation of the next anticipated day in our schedule.


Our first Disney Cruise is 3 days before this one so I was supprised that they were allowing me Castaway Club status for this cruise but hey I'm not going to refuse it thats for sure:)

We can make our bookings 2 weeks eariler for our second cruise then we can for our first cruise:rolleyes1

[Stephieann]

I thought it was the 16th????

i thought the same!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:confused3

[Stephieann]

I stand corrected. I just checked the letter again and it is the 16th, so it was just wishful thinking on my part:rotfl:

jump the gun... lol.. did not see this post till i posted the other

i have my ticker ticking away and waiting to make ressies!!!!

[Stephieann]

Less than a week and some of us get to book our spa and Palo. Did anyone get to do it 105 days out?

[matsterrocks]

My wife will probably like to get her hair done is that something I need to or can prebook?

[Stephieann]

i am not real sure on the hair, might want to throw that out on the main board. my dh and i are getting the rasual bath at the spa and plus a night or brunch at palo

[Stephieann]

2 am central time we can book our ressies...:banana: :cool1: :banana:

[iankh]

2 am central time we can book our ressies...:banana: :cool1: :banana:

Soooooo? Who'd going to be up at 2AM Central?????

[Stephieann]

Soooooo? Who'd going to be up at 2AM Central?????
I AM!!!! Believe it or not alot of people wait up to get these so they can get the palo brunch.

[iankh]

I AM!!!! Believe it or not alot of people wait up to get these so they can get the palo brunch.

I'm still sitting on the fence about whether we will do the Palo brunch or not. I will however be up quite early to make our Palo's bookings. I get up at 4:00 AM anyway for work.

[lbcrosby]

Well, I was up at 5:00 this morning to get our Illuminations cruise at WDW (90 days out - Saturday before the cruise). I didn't set the alarm and figured if I wake up it was meant to be and if I get the reservations it was meant to be. I woke up at 4:58 and immediately went to the laundry room to make the phone call (my DH would probably think I was crazy and I was trying to keep one thing a secret from my family and I blew it with everything else). I am so glad it was meant to be:banana: I was able to get them!!! How fun. So, hopefully your reservations (much earlier) will go better.

So, 2 AM Central would make it 1 AM MST. Is that when you can go online and book the reservations? I am getting myself ready for 75 days out.

Good luck tomorrow morning.

[wendym]

Yippee!!! Got Palo Brunch and Palo dinner on Nassau day. It's 9.30am here - much more civilised time to do this. Everything was avaliable when I tried. Good luck to everybody.
Wendy

[Stephieann]

did not have to wait till 2 am. but could not sleep last night so it did not matter. i got palo brunch and dinner, Wendy when are you doing brunch? We got our dinner on CC day.

[lbcrosby]

Congratulations on your reservations. We have our fingers crossed (and a little bit of prayer) that we can possibly get dinner at Palo's on the night we are at Nassau. Also our son wants to ride the jet ski type things at CC so we want to reserve those. Other than that everything else I am sure will be available as we are interested in doing the combination package at CC and we already have the hotel at Nassau. Do you think the jet ski things will still be available?

[iankh]

I book the Palo Brunch 10:00 AM for the at sea day, and dinner on Tuesday.

[wendym]

I booked brunch for 10.30am for the day at sea and dinner for 7.30pm on Nassau day.

[Stephieann]

Palo Dinner 6pm castaway cay
Palo Brunch at sea day 10:30

[Stephieann]

Wendy! We have brunch together!

[wendym]

That is so funny that we have booked the same time - I think I like Brunch more than dinner!

[Stephieann]

Wendy, we will have to meet up prior to our brunch!

[wendym]

That would be a lovely idea.

[matsterrocks]

We got our Brunch booked aswell. I was actually able to get in over an hour early so that was nice even though I was still up at the normal time 1am MST.

[iankh]

OK, I am now officially getting excited about this cruise.

I can't wait until the next milestone on July 31st, when I can book the grandson's Oceaneer Club.

DDIL is under a separate booking and so cannot be booked right now. She of course doesn't feel one way or another about having the club for him.

I'm thinking, how can we NOT book him into it!

[matsterrocks]

Just checking again to see if anyone want's to split a van transfer back to WDW after the cruise?

[iankh]

Just checking again to see if anyone want's to split a van transfer back to WDW after the cruise?

Let's talk about it off line.

[lbcrosby]

Ok, I am getting close to the point where we can make our reservations and I want to be prepared. How do you do the reservations? I saw the link on line and it has a button that says Palo reservations. Do you then pick the day and time you want or does it show you what is available? I just want to be sure I am as fast as possible. Also, do you think they have changed the times that you can check in to make those reservations. I read somewhere (and it could have been on this thread for all I remember) where it said some people were able to make it before midnight. They were thinking that perhaps it was 12:00 EST and then it backed up from there, so being in MST I would be able to make reservations at 10:00 on the 76th day. Does that sound right or do I have to wait until 3:00 in the morning?

Thanks for your help.

[Stephieann]

Well may have to jump ship on you guys. Looks like DH will not be back until the week before we leave. Hope you guys have a great time. Hope to move it to the Halloween cruise.

[matsterrocks]

Ok, I am getting close to the point where we can make our reservations and I want to be prepared. How do you do the reservations? I saw the link on line and it has a button that says Palo reservations. Do you then pick the day and time you want or does it show you what is available? I just want to be sure I am as fast as possible. Also, do you think they have changed the times that you can check in to make those reservations. I read somewhere (and it could have been on this thread for all I remember) where it said some people were able to make it before midnight. They were thinking that perhaps it was 12:00 EST and then it backed up from there, so being in MST I would be able to make reservations at 10:00 on the 76th day. Does that sound right or do I have to wait until 3:00 in the morning?

Thanks for your help.

When I booked the brunch at 90 days I was able to book at 11:55 MST.
I clicked on the brunch tab entered 2 people and it listed about 6 differant times to chose from super easy! Good luck:)

[matsterrocks]

Well may have to jump ship on you guys. Looks like DH will not be back until the week before we leave. Hope you guys have a great time. Hope to move it to the Halloween cruise.

Have a great time on the hallowen cruise!!!! Just think when we are all having our post cruise withdraw depresion you will still be looking forward to your cruise:)

[skiingwife]

Just made our final payment last night! Can't wait to book our Palo brunch and dinner. I think we're going to do dinner on the second night and brunch on the sea day. I really hope I don't get Animators Palate as my second night restaurant, because I don't want to miss the color change show. I can make these reservations on July 31 at 3 a.m.? or is it midnight? Thanks

Matsterrocks - have you found someone to share a van with? We're a party of 3.

[lbcrosby]

:cool1: Everything is booked!:banana: I decided I would try at 10:00 MST and see what happens last night. Before 10:00 it said you have to wait until 75 days out. Then right close to 10:00 the screen switched and said either you did not pay in full or someone's birthday was wrong. I was upset thinking something was wrong. Then I rebooted my computer (because I was downloading a new program) and when I came back on about five minutes later it let me book everything. :happytv: (Our DS wanted to put this smiley face in).

Anyway, we booked Palo for 9:00 on the night we are in Nassau. I figured that is only 7:00 our time. We also booked brunch for 10:30 on the day we are at sea. We were also able to book all the excursions we were interested in as well. I don't know what would have happened had I waited until 1:00 MST as discussed on the bigger boards but 10:00 would great.

What are the cancellation policies for Palo? If we decide to not do the dinner do we get charged if we cancel on the ship.

Anway, we are quite excited and I can't believe we are 75 days away.:cool1:

[skiingwife]

I'm getting excited for our cruise too! I stayed up until midnight and booked our reservations:

Palo dinner on Nassau night at 7:00 p.m.
Palo brunch on sea day at 11:00 a.m.
catamaran and reef snorkeling in Nassau
Couples massage on sea day. My husband isn't too sure about spending $242for massages, but I'll keep it for now. Has anyone had the couples massage and can you tell me what you thought of it?

I wasn't sure what time to book the brunch - the 10:00 a.m. time would have been good for breakfast but would I want pizza and the lunch entrees at that time? On the other hand, I didn't want to make it too late and still be too full for our early dinner seating. So I went for an inbetween time and decided we could always skip our dinner time and order room service or eat at the buffet.

[lbcrosby]

We signed up for the couples massage as well. I thought it would be fun. We didn't book anything in Nassau as we are getting the hotel at the Atlantis. I wanted to have our Palo reservations as late as possible to give us the full use of the day at Nassau and then give us time to get back and get cleaned up.

That was the funny part about booking the reservations is I knew what day I wanted to aim for but had no clue what time and when it offered it to me it was like closing my eyes and picking a time.

[matsterrocks]

Just made our final payment last night! Can't wait to book our Palo brunch and dinner. I think we're going to do dinner on the second night and brunch on the sea day. I really hope I don't get Animators Palate as my second night restaurant, because I don't want to miss the color change show. I can make these reservations on July 31 at 3 a.m.? or is it midnight? Thanks

Matsterrocks - have you found someone to share a van with? We're a party of 3.

Nope still have not found anyone to share with. Are you interested? Are you going back to WDW after the cruise?

[skiingwife]

Matsterrocks: How much does the van cost? I have a car reserved but if the van is cheaper (and more convenient if it picks us up at the port), I might be interested. Thanks

[matsterrocks]

Matsterrocks: How much does the van cost? I have a car reserved but if the van is cheaper (and more convenient if it picks us up at the port), I might be interested. Thanks

It would be approx $75 for the 3 of you including tip. The rental would be cheaper. I just don't want to bother picking up and droping off a rental. Let me know what you think.

[TLANE30]

HI EVERYONE. I'm glad I found this site and this board. We too are going on a cruise 10-14. This is our very first one and we are soooo excited. I counted down the days until I could reserve my activities!! :cool1:
Here's my activities so far:
Day 2: Nassau Harbor Cruise from 9:30am-11:30am
Day 3: Snorkel Lagoon Equipment Rental - ALL DAY
Couples Cabana Massage 10am-10:50
Day 4: Hydralift Facial 9:15am-10:05am
Palo Dinner 6pm-8pm

**I did read somewhere that the pirate party and dinner is on the 3rd night. Does anyone know if we will miss anything by having dinner at Palo's on the last night??:dance3:

[Kborn]

HI EVERYONE. I'm glad I found this site and this board. We too are going on a cruise 10-14. This is our very first one and we are soooo excited. I counted down the days until I could reserve my activities!! :cool1:
Here's my activities so far:
Day 2: Nassau Harbor Cruise from 9:30am-11:30am
Day 3: Snorkel Lagoon Equipment Rental - ALL DAY
Couples Cabana Massage 10am-10:50
Day 4: Hydralift Facial 9:15am-10:05am
Palo Dinner 6pm-8pm

**I did read somewhere that the pirate party and dinner is on the 3rd night. Does anyone know if we will miss anything by having dinner at Palo's on the last night??:dance3:

Welcome Southern Girl!

You could not have picked a better Cruise Line:thumbsup2 Disney does it right! All your excursions look good, one suggestion, snorkel early at Castaway Cay...after you cabana massage you will be worthless! I mean that in a good way, my wife and I always have a cabana massage and all we want to do is sleep on the beach afterwards. We are not going to have time this cruise, we are renewing our wedding vows on Castaway Cay!:woohoo: :hug: :woohoo: The Pirate party does not start until 9:00, so you should have time to change after you eat at Palo's...that is if you can move. Palo's is so good, everyone tends to over eat...save room for dessert, they make an awesome Chocolate soufflie (sp?)

[TLANE30]

Thanks for the reply. My poor husband is getting so tired of me talking about the Cruise. Everyday I have something new to tell him that I found on the boards. I told him to get ready for me to shed a few tears when I see the ship for the first time. He thinks I'm crazy!!:dance3: He says - Honey it's just a ship - you don't cry when you see OUR boat!! :confused3 HA!
I changed my itinerary up a little bit. We are not doing the cabana massage. I decided I'd rather put my $$$$ toward the dolphin encounter. I can't wait. What a great idea - renewing your vows at CC. I pray for good weather :cool2: :cool2:

[lbcrosby]

Thanks for the reply. My poor husband is getting so tired of me talking about the Cruise. Everyday I have something new to tell him that I found on the boards.

My DH feels the exact same way. I booked this cruise close to two years ago and it has filled by life almost every day since then. The boards are wonderful because those of us on the boards are excited along with everyone else. Now, when he sees me sitting at the computer he says "are you are talking to those people again." :rotfl2: He is worried I am telling some of our deep dark secrets. Na, just the fun ones. A little more than two months and we will be on the boat.:banana:

I was a little disappointed today. They are doing the Dining Plan with the 2008 land and sea cruises but aren't going to give us taking the cruise in 2007 to have the same deal. They probably figure they already have us drawn in and they are trying to attract others.

[iankh]

Two months from today, we'll be heading down for our night before the cruise! Where has the time gone? When I started this thread, the cruise seemed like it was eons away!

On another note, I think I mentioned this before, I am going to be starting a Disney oriented podcast with a few other people and I would like to do some segments on cruising.

I'd love to interview some people in the weeks before the cruise and then again on ship. Sort of the expectations before, and the reality during.

Anyone interested in being interviewed?

[TLANE30]

I'd be willing to be interviewed. Let me know details.
I'M SO EXCITED AND COUNTING THE DAYS UNTIL OUR VERY FIRST DISNEY CRUISE!!

[Kborn]

Two months from today, we'll be heading down for our night before the cruise! Where has the time gone? When I started this thread, the cruise seemed like it was eons away!

On another note, I think I mentioned this before, I am going to be starting a Disney oriented podcast with a few other people and I would like to do some segments on cruising.

I'd love to interview some people in the weeks before the cruise and then again on ship. Sort of the expectations before, and the reality during.

Anyone interested in being interviewed?

I would love to help...this is our 8th Disney Cruise with the 14 day Panama Canal crossing reserved...:woohoo: :woohoo: We are doing a wedding renewal on Castaway Cay, that might be something of interest to other people. Just PM...