April 12, 2008, 4-12-08, 4/12/08 Eastern Magic

[DisneyMomforLife]

Ok, I don't really have anything productive to add ... just that I totally LOVE seeing this little guy rolling around on the floor! :rotfl2: and this little guy is hysterical too!! :lmao: with his little mohawk hairdo!

omg, i'm losing it. :eek:

kat

[PokerGrumpy]

My DH came with me on Saturday and had a pedi done to! Its called a "gentleman's pedi" He loved the chair, and the hot water for his feet to soak, but he was not thrilled with someone touching his toes...I told him he was lucky she did do pink polish on them.

How can you say such a thing?!!!:scared1:

[ROIE01581]

How can you say such a thing?!!!:scared1:

Did you notice that two other husbands had their's done tooo!
Gland to see you...I guess i am buying dinner?

[ajeent]

Ok, I don't really have anything productive to add ... just that I totally LOVE seeing this little guy rolling around on the floor! :rotfl2: and this little guy is hysterical too!! :lmao: with his little mohawk hairdo!

omg, i'm losing it. :eek:

kat

OMG - you are too much!
I like this one! :cool1:

and here I am right now :banana: as I am putting the finishing touches on my last work email.... well right after I read the rest of the thread of course...

[motherofsons]

I think I need to get blocked from this site. I read and reply on the board instead of getting acomplished. At this point I am in overload and do not know where to start other than to go out and spend more money on some last minute things
Kathy

[PokerGrumpy]

Did you notice that two other husbands had (pedicures) done too!


And if those two husbands spent the entire cruise eating hot dogs and drinking beer, does that mean I should eat hot dogs and drink beer too?

Come to think of it, that's not a half bad idea. hmmmmm :cool2:

[DisneyMomforLife]

And if those two husbands spent the entire cruise eating hot dogs and drinking beer, does that mean I should eat hot dogs and drink beer too?

Come to think of it, that's not a half bad idea. hmmmmm :cool2:

Sounds like SOMEONE might be looking for an excuse to eat hot dogs and drink beer all week!! :rotfl2:

Well, you won't see my husband setting THAT example. He's the GRUMPY one ... he's dieting down for a bodybuilding competition in June and he's super mean with no carbs in him, lol. He'll most likely be in the gym :yay: doing his obligatory 55 mins of cardio a day or running around frantically trying to find more chicken. :lmao:

More hot dogs and beer for you! :banana:

kat

[gfolchick]

Kat,
We're on the 7:55am Jet Blue flight out of White Plains on Friday. Is this your flight too? We'll be at the Country Inns for the day.

It's official, my husband broke his foot. The ortho isn't going to put a cast on it. He'll be the one at the pool with his foot propped up and a bag of ice on it with a drink in his hand. The doc did say excursions might be a problem, but we didn't book any. I'm sure he'll hobble off the boat to get to the Guavaberry store-we love that stuff! I ended up ordering a case of it once they were able to ship to the states.

The toes will have to wait until tomorrow along with putting the stuff in suitcases. Two more days and we're out of here!!

[Mickey1Fan]

Here I sit at work 'taking a break' when there is so much to get done. My counter notes 1 day, 17 hours, 20 minutes until departure.

We are flying to WDW on Friday and spending the night at Port Orleans Riverside. Pick up is at noon for the DCL motocoach to the Port.

I made a trip to Wal-mart at lunch time too :). I think it was my last.

We had an accident in our household too. My son was in a car accident on Monday night so it is in the shop for an estimate. He is not coming on the trip and thankfully he was not hurt. Just angry that is car is hurt!

I can't forget I have a final exam tonight for my college course.

[dsnyfangoofy2]

Did I miss something some where? I don't think I've met "Poker Grumpy" before. If you're new, "welcome aboard." If not, "I'm old!" :confused3

Mother-of-sons, you are not nearly as evil a mother as I am. When the boys get together they can compare notes on how mean their moms are, and I'm gonna win!!! :rotfl:

Shouldn't WalMart be giving us group discounts?????

I have to go to the dive shop for a water-proof case; Babies-R-Us for a couple of Neat Sheets; Staples for some bubble wrap and other stuff; Big 5 Sports for a UV shirt for the very Norwegian-skinned DH; and, of couse, back to the big "W" for miscellaneous items!!

Meanwhile, I'm sewing pirate vests!!! So why am I on the computer????

Bev

[TaraMom22]

UGH!!! Just gave myself a stomach ache - the stress is going to do me in! :scared1: :scared1: :scared1: :scared1: :scared1: :scared1: :scared1:

Our flights are already as late as I can handle without panicking. We leave San Francisco at 2:40pm and arrive at MCO at 10:48pm. United has changed that flight time twice. If it had been that late when I booked it, I probably would have chosen a connecting flight that was earlier.

That almost messed up our hotel (Residence Inn, which I hadn't guaranteed, but now I have) and did mess up our rental car (called to let them know the later arrival time, and when they put that in my record it lost all of my hard sought out discounts)

Now, people keep mentioning airlines that are canceling flights. I just can't stand the worry of getting our flight cancelled! :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

I cannot figure out what to feed everybody for dinner. I can't find anything about restaurants at the airport that might still be open at 11pm, and I don't even know if I want to take the time to feed everybody given how late we will be arriving. After we get our luggage, rental car and drive an hour it is going to be SOOOO LATE - and that is if we are on time.

What if the flight is delayed??? What if it is canceled? Waaaaahhhhhh! I am stressing myself out so badly I can't get anything done!!!

[aprince&princess]

I think he belongs to ROIEO1581, just like Pecos Bill is mine!

Welcome Poker Grumpy.

[aprince&princess]

OK I started packing. Well I actually laid out the kids clothes on there beds with notes about other things that are missing from the pile.

Definetly one more walmart trip, DS doesn't have enough underwear. :scared1: How can that be? I don't know. (Now I'm talking to myself.) Thank goodness Tom comes home from a business trip tonight. (He is actually staying in Disney)

[aprince&princess]

UGH!!! Just gave myself a stomach ache - the stress is going to do me in! :scared1: :scared1: :scared1: :scared1: :scared1: :scared1: :scared1:

Our flights are already as late as I can handle without panicking. We leave San Francisco at 2:40pm and arrive at MCO at 10:48pm. United has changed that flight time twice. If it had been that late when I booked it, I probably would have chosen a connecting flight that was earlier.

That almost messed up our hotel (Residence Inn, which I hadn't guaranteed, but now I have) and did mess up our rental car (called to let them know the later arrival time, and when they put that in my record it lost all of my hard sought out discounts)

Now, people keep mentioning airlines that are canceling flights. I just can't stand the worry of getting our flight cancelled! :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

I cannot figure out what to feed everybody for dinner. I can't find anything about restaurants at the airport that might still be open at 11pm, and I don't even know if I want to take the time to feed everybody given how late we will be arriving. After we get our luggage, rental car and drive an hour it is going to be SOOOO LATE - and that is if we are on time.

What if the flight is delayed??? What if it is canceled? Waaaaahhhhhh! I am stressing myself out so badly I can't get anything done!!!


I was thinking the same thing about flights today. Ours is only 2 1/2 hours, but we don't take off till 9pm and land at 11:40pm. Just this morning I was thinking if the flight got cancelled it would completely screw up everything.

We are staying at the airport hotel because we thought that was easier, especially because of the time. There are restaurants at the airport, but I don't know what time they stay open until.

We will just grab fast food on the way to the airport. Flying during dinner time is tough. We did that once and by the time we got luggage, were picked up by the car service and dropped off at the hotel all of the restaurants were closed. We ordered room service, which we never do, and by the time it came it was 11:30 at night and the kids were falling asleep and didn't even want to eat it.

OK, back to packing. I'm sure I will be back here later!

[DisneyMomforLife]

Kat,
We're on the 7:55am Jet Blue flight out of White Plains on Friday. Is this your flight too? We'll be at the Country Inns for the day.

It's official, my husband broke his foot. The ortho isn't going to put a cast on it. He'll be the one at the pool with his foot propped up and a bag of ice on it with a drink in his hand. The doc did say excursions might be a problem, but we didn't book any. I'm sure he'll hobble off the boat to get to the Guavaberry store-we love that stuff! I ended up ordering a case of it once they were able to ship to the states.

The toes will have to wait until tomorrow along with putting the stuff in suitcases. Two more days and we're out of here!!

Yes!! We are on that flight!! See you there!!!

OMG, :scared1: what else can get broken before we board the ship???? Maybe I shouldn't even ask that??? Poor thing!!

kat

[hannahguad]

:wizard: You all are a riot! Everything that I am thinking and doing, I come on to clear my mind and you all are chatting about it all! :rotfl: I have no time to run and get a pedicure-please don't look at the lousy job I did on my own!:rolleyes: My husband needs it more than I do:rotfl2: , but, he wouldn't be caught dead in there! Even though I know that he would secretly enjoy it! :cool2: I did manage to book a spa treatment though on one of the sea days!
Sadly, I have contributed to the Walmart fund also. Every evening this past week and this morning. That 'just one more thing' does have a tendency to act like it is a bunny! Finished making my door magnets this morning!
I can't believe it is almost time. WAAA HOOOO!!! Hopefully I remember be at the meet!! BTW, when does the bar open???? Right when we leave???:upsidedow See you all in a few days! We are in 5628, 5630!!

Karen

[KathleenlovesMickey]

OK I am sore from laughing. Yes Walmart should give us a group discount! I would add all the little icons but do not have a clue how to add them to my posts. I have 12 hours to go before flight so far no flight changes. I do feel a bit stressed only because of those "what ifs " I guess. Reading here has helped tons!
Can someone post again our meet time. I am sorry I really dont want to go back and find it. I guess I could look for men with beautiful feet tee hee to all who have not packed have fun.

[Jeanne62]

My daughter, Katie and I will be taking off in 24 hours!!! I just printed the boarding passes for our flight :cool1:

A funny thing happened at work today. At lunch time, I sat with two women that I hadn't had a an opportunity to see in a couple of months. As we were talking, one of the woman mentioned that she was going to be on a cruise next week.....well you guessed it....we are on the same cruise....it is such a small world!!!

I am so excited!!! I just know that I'm forgetting something important. I spent so much time reading through the disboards, and getting so much great information....but of course I didn't write any of it down...so I'm relying on my memory (which isn't a good thing).

I have a quick question if an experienced cruiser has a minute to answer. I understand that is recommended that we take a carryon bag with medication, swimsuits, etc.. on the first day. My question is ...can we get in our room right away so that we don't have to carry it during the sail away party? I know that this is probably a stupid question, but I just wanted to know for sure. Thanks

-Jeanne

[DisneyMomforLife]

Did I miss something some where? I don't think I've met "Poker Grumpy" before. If you're new, "welcome aboard." If not, "I'm old!" :confused3

Mother-of-sons, you are not nearly as evil a mother as I am. When the boys get together they can compare notes on how mean their moms are, and I'm gonna win!!! :rotfl:

Shouldn't WalMart be giving us group discounts?????

I have to go to the dive shop for a water-proof case; Babies-R-Us for a couple of Neat Sheets; Staples for some bubble wrap and other stuff; Big 5 Sports for a UV shirt for the very Norwegian-skinned DH; and, of couse, back to the big "W" for miscellaneous items!!

Meanwhile, I'm sewing pirate vests!!! So why am I on the computer????

Bev


Bev,

As you can see from Ro's post ... that is her husband chiming in to defend himself in regards to getting a pedicure!!! :)

kat

[DisneyMomforLife]

OK I started packing. Well I actually laid out the kids clothes on there beds with notes about other things that are missing from the pile.

Definetly one more walmart trip, DS doesn't have enough underwear. :scared1: How can that be? I don't know. (Now I'm talking to myself.) Thank goodness Tom comes home from a business trip tonight. (He is actually staying in Disney)

What the heck is going on? Are the underwear elves stealing our DH's undies in the middle of the night? Mine sent me for new ones too!

Kat

[DisneyMomforLife]

My daughter, Katie and I will be taking off in 24 hours!!! I just printed the boarding passes for our flight :cool1:

A funny thing happened at work today. At lunch time, I sat with two women that I hadn't had a an opportunity to see in a couple of months. As we were talking, one of the woman mentioned that she was going to be on a cruise next week.....well you guessed it....we are on the same cruise....it is such a small world!!!

I am so excited!!! I just know that I'm forgetting something important. I spent so much time reading through the disboards, and getting so much great information....but of course I didn't write any of it down...so I'm relying on my memory (which isn't a good thing).

I have a quick question if an experienced cruiser has a minute to answer. I understand that is recommended that we take a carryon bag with medication, swimsuits, etc.. on the first day. My question is ...can we get in our room right away so that we don't have to carry it during the sail away party? I know that this is probably a stupid question, but I just wanted to know for sure. Thanks

-Jeanne

Jeanne,

No, you cannot access your rooms until 1:30 and for those who are early to the port and getting onboard around 11:45 or so ... it helps to have everything you might need (a swimsuit, suits for the kids, medications) right there with you. We usually have the kids put theirs on under their clothes or I carry them in my pool bag.

You will, however, have access to your room before the sailaway party so that is something entirely different. You can go back to put stuff away.

Kat

[Jeanne62]

Thanks Kat,

We am taking the DCL transportation from WDW and our pickup is 11:45, so I would expect that we won't get on board until 1:30-2:00?...I'm really not sure about how long it will take to check-in, board, etc, but it sounds like we will be okay.

My poor daughter...she has a mother that tends to freak out as vacation time arrives...she just got back from a SAT prep course (which means she has been going nonstop since 6:30 this morning), and of course I started asking about a million questions about her readiness to leave tomorrow night. Thankfully she is old (and wise) enough to just deal with me and answer in a way to keep me happy...I'm going to try and keep calm...:rolleyes1

-Jeanne

[Mduff]

It's been weeks since I've had a chance to pop in - I've been waaay too busy for a stay-at-home mom!!

DH and I just finished packing, the kids are excited, and I watched the news tonight showing all those airline cancellations. My fingers are crossed since I'm on Delta and a Boeing plane. Our friends and us decided to get a car service to take us to the airport so we have a stretch limo picking us up Friday morning!! Hopefully all our luggage will fit!!

Have I missed anything big? I haven't had a chance to go back 15 pages - you guys have been chatty!!

[Mickey1Fan]

Jeanne,

What resort are you staying at. We are going to be at Port Orleans - Riverside.

Lynda

[Mickey1Fan]

Two more sleeps until we fly to the World. Three sleeps until DCL :yay:

[Megand3779]

Friday we are off at 4am...:scared1: No dunkin donuts till the airport.

Um, Mom, I thought we already had this discussion. Mike is going to get it for us...or maybe I should since we know what happened last time he drove my car!! :eek:..

Ok I FINALLY finished packing, except now I just remembered one or two things I still need before we get to FL on Friday (to make life easier for people on the flight with us....) plus I bought some stuff earlier that I really didn't need, so tomorrow I will get DD on the bus, pack up DS and off we go to return stuff and buy more! Then I'm done shopping..until we get to FL and I get all the last minute baby extras. Maybe I'll be so sick of shopping I won't go anymore.

If I don't get on here again before Saturday, I hope everyone has nice relaxing flights, no more stress, no more injuries, and we can't wait to meet you all soon!

[Jeanne62]

Jeanne,

What resort are you staying at. We are going to be at Port Orleans - Riverside.

Lynda

Lynda,

We will be at Wilderness Lodge on Thursday and Friday night...when we get back next Saturday will be be staying at Port Orleans - French Quarter and then we fly out on the 20th.

I'd don't know how many buses they will have on Saturday, but Katie and i will be wearing our lime green name tags when we get on the bus...perhaps we will be on the same bus!

Safe travels to everyone!!! See you all at the Goofy pool on Saturday!!! :woohoo:

-Jeanne

[DisneyMomforLife]

Wow, people are dropping like flies around here!! LOL

For everyone leaving soon ... have a safe trip!!! We will see you at the terminal or at the pool!!!!

Kat

[okwmember92]

Just so you all know, the weather down here has been sunshine & hot;
:cool1: so if you do nothing else make sure your swimsuits and sunscreen are packed. We should have fantastic weather. By the way, is there going to be anyone left in Connecticut after tomorrow?

Hope everyone stays safe and well, and what I tell my kids as they are walking out the door "BE CAREFUL".

See ya Saturday!

Kim

[DisneyMomforLife]

Just so you all know, the weather down here has been sunshine & hot;
:cool1: so if you do nothing else make sure your swimsuits and sunscreen are packed. We should have fantastic weather. By the way, is there going to be anyone left in Connecticut after tomorrow?

Hope everyone stays safe and well, and what I tell my kids as they are walking out the door "BE CAREFUL".

See ya Saturday!

Kim

Kim,

There won't be many, that's for sure!!! Thanks for the well travel wishes ... and the warning about the weather!! That's great news. Although it's been spring-like warm the last day or so, hot would be a nice change!!

We'll be boarding our plane 24 hours from now ... a 7:55 am flight to Orlando. After lunch at the Rainforest Cafe, we'll be on our way to the PORT!!! :woohoo:

Kat

[Mickey1Fan]

My countdown is 23 hours, 28 minutes until we depart Toronto for Orlando. A day shopping at Downtown Disney is going to be a nice start to our cruise :)

I may not post any more today (who are we kidding) I have lots of work to get done, should be working instead of posting. I am only in the office until noon.

I am looking forward to seeing everyone at the Goofy pool and I will have my LMGMH attached to my bag tomorrow at Downtown Disney :)

[ROIE01581]

hi, i am done packing, printing and shopping..I am just spending the day at work watching the clock until 3pm. Then I am waiting for Meg to show up with last minute panic items, while she talks to Kim...Then its bed and up at 4am to get on a Jet plane.

See you Saturday...We will be the group of red tee shirts!

Harkins
Harrington
Laurent
Family vacation
2008:yay:

Count down begins...:rolleyes1

[DisneyMomforLife]

My countdown is 23 hours, 28 minutes until we depart Toronto for Orlando. A day shopping at Downtown Disney is going to be a nice start to our cruise :)

I may not post any more today (who are we kidding) I have lots of work to get done, should be working instead of posting. I am only in the office until noon.

I am looking forward to seeing everyone at the Goofy pool and I will have my LMGMH attached to my bag tomorrow at Downtown Disney :)

We are looking forward to meeting you and I won't have a name tag or other distinguishing label, lol ... but we'll be with Deb, who will.

kat

[dsnyfangoofy2]

Looks like some of us are still around for one more day!

If you buy a waterproof case thing on board does it have Mickey on it? I'm not finding any great bargains around here -- $6 -- so if I have to pay $6 or $7 on board it would be worth it if if has a logo.

Bev

[gfolchick]

For anyone doing online check in the information needs to be done TODAY.

Bev, the waterproof case I bought is white with a black DCL logo, no MM. I think they came in red or black too and there were two sizes to choose from. I can't remember how much, I'm thinking around $6

Safe travels to all!

[dsnyfangoofy2]

DCL logo sounds good to me!

Bev

[motherofsons]

We are out of here on Friday arriving and off to Disney for a nights stay at the Boardwalk.

We will keep our eyes open for the lime green mickeys!

Safe travels to all and I vow I will not be on here again, doubt it.

See you on Ship!!!!!
Kathy, Dave, Drew and Collin

[aprince&princess]

We don't leave until tomorrow night. Will I be here talking to myself tomorrow? I have packed Myself, DS & DD. I just have to add formal clothes, which I didn't want to put in too far ahead. DH still has to pack, which he will do tomorrow while I do my manicure and pedicure.

We have lgmh also. So look for those!

I wish everyone a safe trip and will see you Sat.

[cvspsych]

hi everyone

We arrived today. The weather is perfect!!!!! We are taking it easy until cruise time. We are at the radisson at the port sitting by the pool. By the way, there will be 3 of us now. DH and I are reconciling and he is joining us last minute. We have our lime green mickeys and will be looking for everyone.

[DisneyMomforLife]

Well everybody, the car is here and we are takin off in fifteen!!!!! We hope everyone has a safe trip!!!!!! :banana:

[TaraMom22]

We are leaving in one hour :scared1: :yay: :yay: :woohoo: :woohoo: :banana: :banana:

I never got around to "re"locating the great info I found on St. Thomas and St. Maarten. We are not doing any excursions. We thought we would create our own low key one. If anybody has information on good things to do in St. Thomas and St. Maarten on our own - best beaches, tours by cab, fun places to go with the kids (6 & 8) - Could you PLEASE share when we meet on board? Either bring to the meet or slide under stateroom #6548's door???

THANK YOU!!!

[Skuba2]

Hello all and welcome home! I hope everyone checks in here when they get back.

I loved meeting you onboard. I am sorry we missed others. We showed up at the meet late due to some scheduling changes--but we were there.

I plan on filing a trip report as we had some things happen that were unexpected, ugly and fun. I will probably print out the post and include it in my letter to Disney.

My dh is talking about going again, but not or a few years.

Deb

[TaraMom22]

Hello all and welcome home! I hope everyone checks in here when they get back.

I loved meeting you onboard. I am sorry we missed others. We showed up at the meet late due to some scheduling changes--but we were there.

I plan on filing a trip report as we had some things happen that were unexpected, ugly and fun. I will probably print out the post and include it in my letter to Disney.

My dh is talking about going again, but not or a few years.

Deb

Hi Deb,
I will be very curious to read your report. We had a great time, but we also are thinking 2011 would be a good year to try another disney cruise. I am not sure we will do a trip report, but maybe we can reply to yours and give our few comments.

One thing I learned is that it takes a lot of work to do a cruise "right"... the packing, travel, boarding, unpacking, getting the layout of the ship, getting in sync with the schedule of everything, making the most of the ports, making the most of everything, packing again, disembarking, getting back to Orlando, and then the long travel day today. I am really not convinced that the cruise was relaxing. Fun - Definitely! But I am feeling in need of a week-long nap to recover from my vacation.

[okwmember92]

Welcome Home! It was fun meeting everyone and actually had a relaxing cruise. Our new friends Kathleen and Ron were a delight and even let me crash their dinner one night due to DH's head rockin from the ship rollin.
Deb, the regatta race was a blast! Best excursion ever, wished our boys had been on that one. Your daughter was fun. And if you allow me a little ribbin, we won!! Dressing up for pirate's night was a hoot. I posted a trip report, with a link to my pictures, not a creative writer, so it just gives some of my highlights from the trip.

Looks like we lucked out docking at CC, the previous Wonder cruise was not able to. Too bad, also we really need to stay there longer.

See ya! Kim

[rachaellou]

We had a great trip and it was great to meet some of you - but somehow didn't manage to meet that many!

Our best excursion was the kayak, hike and snorkel of Cas Cay on St John - it was fab and I would thoroughly recommend it.

Our only hitch was a problem with our cabin (serious metal grating noise in that night with the really rolling sea) but they found us an empty cabin to sleep in the following night when it was also rough - that was after they had taken our ceiling down to try and find out what was making the noise...... they tried hard to keep us happy as they attempted to rectify, then moved us, then gave us a bottle of champagne by way of apology, so all round they dealt with the issue as well as they could have done I guess.

Debbie my mum tells me your new nickname is Debbie-tini!!

Now I need to pay off my credit card bill (cost of the trip and flights and spending money!!) which will take about 3 years then we'll be cruising again!

Byeeee

[DisneyMomforLife]

Hello everyone!!

We too are safely home ... and I agree that it was FUN but not necessarily relaxing!! We were fortunate enough to meet quite a few people but sadly, due to the kids being everywhere and very hard to keep up with, we missed the 2pm goofy pool meet. Maybe as we all post pics or do reports, we'll say "HEY, I SAW YOU!!!"

We kept threatening the kids that next time we cruise Disney, they stay home!

I am thinking that we will probably wait until the new ships come out to sail Disney again. We'll get the Western under our belts on one of the new ships and see where we end up from there. We really need to start utilizing the timeshare we bought so next April, I believe we decided on Turks & Caicos or Barbados.

I am going to do a trip report but it might be a week or so before I can get to it. My back went out again yesterday and I've been basically bed-ridden since. I am at work today but using my cane again which is never very efficient but it's what I need to do.

Hope everyone is getting back in the groove!!

Kat

[Skuba2]

We had a great trip and it was great to meet some of you - but somehow didn't manage to meet that many!

Our best excursion was the kayak, hike and snorkel of Cas Cay on St John - it was fab and I would thoroughly recommend it.

Our only hitch was a problem with our cabin (serious metal grating noise in that night with the really rolling sea) but they found us an empty cabin to sleep in the following night when it was also rough - that was after they had taken our ceiling down to try and find out what was making the noise...... they tried hard to keep us happy as they attempted to rectify, then moved us, then gave us a bottle of champagne by way of apology, so all round they dealt with the issue as well as they could have done I guess.

Debbie my mum tells me your new nickname is Debbie-tini!!

Now I need to pay off my credit card bill (cost of the trip and flights and spending money!!) which will take about 3 years then we'll be cruising again!

Byeeee

LOl---yep. Was she in the martini tasting. LOL! I did a little experiment and came up with a beautiful tanzinite martini by combining two of the already made ones. I don't think any of us was liking them. But, we all loved the Debbitini.

[ajeent]

Hello all and welcome home! I hope everyone checks in here when they get back.

I loved meeting you onboard. I am sorry we missed others. We showed up at the meet late due to some scheduling changes--but we were there.

I plan on filing a trip report as we had some things happen that were unexpected, ugly and fun. I will probably print out the post and include it in my letter to Disney.

My dh is talking about going again, but not or a few years.

Deb

Ahoy there!
We got back yesterday and after a full day getting back into the swing of things, I crashed last night. Now I am swamped with work and life...
I am sorry I didn't meet all of you... although I did pass by a bunch of you a few times going from here to there....

We had an awesome time - well my 10yo and I did anyway. the 13 yo liked it, but didn't love it. DH says "everyone should go on a cruise... at least once" He won't go again.. of course that did not stop me from booking another cruise to take my mom and boys again - :cool1:

I booked for a June western next year - but will probably push it to 2010. I can't wait, but I can't start planning now or I will get sucked into board surfing again! LOL


I might do a trip report over the weekend depending on how work is going.
Why must we pay for taking some time off??? :sad2:

I hope to upload some pictures sometime as well. We got great shots from the photographers. Nice to have a new family photo, it has been more than a few years.
Catch ya later!

[gfolchick]

We're back, laundry's done. We ended up pushing it and took the kids to Epcot on Saturday and then the 9pm show of Cirque. The park was beyond crowded and we were all struggling to stay awake for Cirque.

Sorry I didn't meet too many of you. I ended up giving my parents a tour of the ship around the time of the meet. We did bump into the CT folks a lot. We came home to beautiful weather here. The trees and flowers are blooming so it makes it not so bad.

We had booked for the August 2009 Tortola cruise before leaving and I priced it on the ship and it was much more so we have that to look forward to. My parents really enjoyed themselves. Everyone is missing our great servers, Sunny and Bonim. The kids want towel animals.

After 5 cruises I you'd think I'd have my sea legs, but Thursday the cruise gods were not with me and I ended up not feeling so good.:sick: I missed semi-formal night. My dad came down with it later in the evening, but by Castaway Cay all was good. I am still feeling the rocking though!

Well, back to real life now. Take care.

[cindyd1@optonline.ne]

Welcome back everybody!!!:) We are back into the swing of things homework...getting up early..softball, baseball and dance!!!:scared1: My kids are already asking when can we go again!!!!:thumbsup2 Sunday we were lying in bed wondering if room service was going to come:lmao: My dd9 has been making towel animals ever since we got home!

[aprince&princess]

We just returned last night, or should I say this morning. I think we finally arrived at home around 12:30am. And since Tommy has Jazz band this morning at 7am we were up early!

I thought we didn't sit still at all on the cruise, but then we spent Sat, Sunday and Monday at the parks with a flight out last night at 8:30pm. So today I am doing laundry and catching up on emails.

We had a great time meeting some DIS board members, but also wish that we could have met more.

The kids both had a great time and we all wished that we could of had a few more days to do activities that just didn't fit in the schedule for us. We went to Orient Bay in St Maarten where Kayla kindly pointed out all of the topless woman that maybe we didn't notice. We snorkeled in St John, which was great, but too short time wise. We would have liked to have stayed longer and enjoyed the beach at Trunk Bay a little longer. And we did the Catamaran/Snorkel in Castaway Cay. We didn't want to get back on the boat knowing that we then had to pack and leave the next morning.

We debated booking another cruise, but couldn't make up our minds. In the end (at 10:30pm on Friday night) we decided to add more points to our DVC membership. We figured for only a little more that the price of one cruise we could have more points until 2054!

Hey Deb, when you figure out the recipe for the Debitini let us know!

[rachaellou]

Anyone else still swaying?? It is TUESDAY and still the floor rocks and rolls for me!!

[dsnyfangoofy2]

We all got home safe and sound Saturday evening. Church on Sunday and laundry ever since!!

I'm also still rocking. I didn't have this problem on the other two cruises we've done. I think it's because the seas were exceptionally rough for so much of this cruise. Not enough to cause any problems for our group, though.

Wish I could have met more of you, but we were busy associating with the fam of 36 as much as possible.

Do we post reports here or do we need to switch over to the reports board?

Bev

[Megand3779]

I finally stopped rocking yesterday (I hop). We got home Sunday evening, and ended up at the doctor's office Monday- son has double ear infections and daughter has strep....at least it waited until we finished the cruise! If I ever get some free time I will do a trip report as well.

[BirdLover]

Hey to all those that just came back, I leave on YOUR ship this Saturday, can't wait. One thing though, it's just 3 of us in my family. I requested to be at a large table for dinner. How well did/does the cruise line do in accomodating these types of requests? I'dd hate to be sitting just the 3 of us...we want to socialize during dinner.

[PokerGrumpy]

Ro and I and the rest of our crew got back Sunday afternoon, pretty well exhausted. At least the ground has finally stopped moving. The only remaining problem is that I seem to have lost the phone number for room service. I miss those chocolate chip cookies!

The cruise was great but Air Tran was a major headache both going down and coming back - screwed up seating both ways, one lost bag (caught up with us thanks to Southwest and Disney), and four damaged bags. If you ever hear of us on Air Tran again, it will be because someone gave us free tickets and put us on the plane at gunpoint. :scared:

The kids and grandkids are already making plans for the next trip. We told them to start saving now!

One of my son-in-laws said that a DVC rep told him that I had bought another 160 points. It's something we discussed so Ro believed him! I told her that I didn't, or at least I didn't think I did. I'll just keep an eye on the mail for DVC paperwork. :confused3

[cvspsych]

We returned Sunday afternoon as well. We stayed at the Orlando Hyatt Saturday night-I would highly recommend this hotel to anyone staying in the area. They offer a day rate as well-we saw some cruisers at the pool who were relaxing and waiting for evening flights.

Facing the reality of life and work has been very difficult after such an amazing vacation. I keep finding myself daydreaming about the cruise.

It was great to meet the people from the boards, but unfortunately there were many others we didn't get to meet.

I am not sure when we will cruise again-I think we will probably wait for the new ships.

Take care for now

[aprince&princess]

OK, it is now Wednesday and I am still trying to catch up on laundry. We did get the suitcases emptied and put away, so that is always good.

Yesterday afternoon we were out for baseball practice for Tommy and Kayla was trying to catch up on class work missed on Monday.

And we have had great weather since we got back, so that is a plus.

[DisneyMomforLife]

We returned Sunday afternoon as well. We stayed at the Orlando Hyatt Saturday night-I would highly recommend this hotel to anyone staying in the area. They offer a day rate as well-we saw some cruisers at the pool who were relaxing and waiting for evening flights.

Facing the reality of life and work has been very difficult after such an amazing vacation. I keep finding myself daydreaming about the cruise.

It was great to meet the people from the boards, but unfortunately there were many others we didn't get to meet.

I am not sure when we will cruise again-I think we will probably wait for the new ships.

Take care for now

Bonnie,

We feel the same way on a few levels ... it only took about 1/2 a day before we felt like we never left. At least we have hundreds of dollars of Shutters photographs to look at to convince us we were there for a week!

I think I posted this as well, but we will probably try another cruiseline to save some $ while we wait for the new ships. I just wish we knew when they would be booking them. It would at least be nice to know if the 2011 one will replace the Magic or the Wonder. I'm thinking the Magic, simply because it's the older of the two and they would most likely try to get more people on the Eastern and Western cruises. Man, I think Castaway Cay is packed now ... imagine with one and a half times more people on it!

Kat

[DisneyMomforLife]

Hey to all those that just came back, I leave on YOUR ship this Saturday, can't wait. One thing though, it's just 3 of us in my family. I requested to be at a large table for dinner. How well did/does the cruise line do in accomodating these types of requests? I'dd hate to be sitting just the 3 of us...we want to socialize during dinner.


I found that DCL goes above and beyond in trying to fill small requests like this one. Not only were we able to change our dining time, but we were also able to change our rotation as well. Double check with your TA (if you booked with one) and remind them. If you booked directly with DCL, give them a call.

The first time we sailed, we were a party of 4 and didn't request to sit alone, but we did ... and I actually liked it. Good luck and have a great time!!

Kat

[BirdLover]

Thanks Kat :goodvibes

[TaraMom22]

Can you all recommend the best place to post hints from our experiences? I don't want to do a full blown trip report, but I do have a few things that worked well, and a few things we would do differently.

The biggest issue for us was the complex travel from California to the port. I tried to save money by making our own arrangements, but United made sure to increase the complexity from borderline to completely insane. No matter how good the cruise, it is easy to forget what a great time you had when you spend so much time getting home.

We struggled with whether to book another cruise while on board, and decided not to. We will wait until 2011 and hope for an Alaskan cruise. Now that we know the ports are 10% of the fun, and just being on the Magic is 90% of the fun, we will save ourselves the huge travel exhaustion and catch the Mexican Riviera cruise if they don't do an Alaska cruise.

I think the second biggest issue was that I wasn't prepared for how much my mom, DH and kids expected me to be their "everything". I envisioned long hours with my book and a drink with an umbrella in it, but they didn't have the same vision. It seemed every time I got relaxed, one of them needed me for something.

That is it for now. Let me know the best place to post my hints.

[aprince&princess]

I would post hints right the main cruise thread. I know that is where I went when I wanted to find out as much as I could before the cruise. Just add a title like "Things you should know while Cruising" or something like that. I'm sure plenty of people would appreciate it.

[aprince&princess]

I know what you mean about getting a chance to sit and read your book. I brought along a new James Patterson book that I barely opened. I think I boarded the plane home having read 89 pages and read most of it coming back on our 2 1/2 hour plane ride. It seemed every time I sat down the beeper for the kids club would buzz. I would then get Kayla and by the time she changed into her bathing suit, swam a few minutes, had something to eat put her clothes back on and then head back to the club the cycle would start all over again.

[Skuba2]

There is an advantage to scheduling pool time. We tell our kids that we will do such-and-such at a certain time before we check them into the club. Our problem, we budget our time and go to check them out and they usually stomp their feet and whine they don't want to come out. LOL!! There has to be a middle ground.

Deb

[ajeent]

I know what you mean about getting a chance to sit and read your book. I brought along a new James Patterson book that I barely opened. I think I boarded the plane home having read 89 pages and read most of it coming back on our 2 1/2 hour plane ride. It seemed every time I sat down the beeper for the kids club would buzz. I would then get Kayla and by the time she changed into her bathing suit, swam a few minutes, had something to eat put her clothes back on and then head back to the club the cycle would start all over again.

Since I am a night owl - I was thrilled that there were lights on the verandah - I sat out there most nights reading and watching other ships pass... while I waited for the boys to wander in from OQ :rolleyes1

[ajeent]

There is an advantage to scheduling pool time. We tell our kids that we will do such-and-such at a certain time before we check them into the club. Our problem, we budget our time and go to check them out and they usually stomp their feet and whine they don't want to come out. LOL!! There has to be a middle ground.

Deb

I am not a pool person, so I only went in one day - St Thomas day we got back by noon and went in the adult pool for a while. That is the only time the boys went in as well - all other times it was too crowded for them.

[ajeent]

Welcome back everybody!!!:) We are back into the swing of things homework...getting up early..softball, baseball and dance!!!:scared1: My kids are already asking when can we go again!!!!:thumbsup2 Sunday we were lying in bed wondering if room service was going to come:lmao: My dd9 has been making towel animals ever since we got home!

I found a copy of the room service door tag today - I put it on my bedroom door, but still no CC cookies :(

I still have things to unpack and all of my pictures to download and then upload! It is starting to seem like so long ago!!!

[KathleenlovesMickey]

I am not sure if anyone is reading this thread any more but... We were lucky enough to continue our WDW stay until last night. We had a fantastic time on the cruise and I still feel that "rocking" feeling sometimes maybe its just wishful thinking. I am sorry we didnt get to meet more people just not enough time we have to take at least a 10 day next time. Which I think for us will be on the new ships. Ron and I are still talking about our new friends Dennis and Kim. We had a great time with you guys.
I do have a question did anyone have hot water problems with the shower? We only had hot water the first day we complained many times and when they would check of course the water was hot. I know they thought we were crazy. We did have hot water in the sinks which made it even stranger to us. Oh well I was not at all thrilled with how they handled this but it is over now. I would still rather be back on that ship then going to work in the morning.
Heres to more sailings for all that want too!

[Megand3779]

I am not sure if anyone is reading this thread any more but... We were lucky enough to continue our WDW stay until last night. We had a fantastic time on the cruise and I still feel that "rocking" feeling sometimes maybe its just wishful thinking. I am sorry we didnt get to meet more people just not enough time we have to take at least a 10 day next time. Which I think for us will be on the new ships. Ron and I are still talking about our new friends Dennis and Kim. We had a great time with you guys.
I do have a question did anyone have hot water problems with the shower? We only had hot water the first day we complained many times and when they would check of course the water was hot. I know they thought we were crazy. We did have hot water in the sinks which made it even stranger to us. Oh well I was not at all thrilled with how they handled this but it is over now. I would still rather be back on that ship then going to work in the morning.
Heres to more sailings for all that want too!

Sorry about your hot water problems, we didn't have a problem with that, but one of the days there was a severe decrease in pressure, as compared to other days. Maybe everyone was taking showers at that time? :confused3

I have been considering booking a four night for 2009, but haven't decided yet. The first one we went on was 3 nights, way too short, and now that we have done the seven, I think the four will seem even shorter. I would love to do longer than 7.....we will probably wait for the new ships and go then, and do WDW in 2010.

[DisneyMomforLife]

That seems to be a pretty popular plan ... we too think we will wait until one of the new ships to cruise DCL again. Not for any reason other than the money. We'll probably try RCCL ... probably compare the heck out of it to DCL ... and then be glad to pay that hefty price again, lol.

kat

[TaraMom22]

We are also thinking of waiting until 2011 for a few reasons. First, we are hoping for an Alaska cruise (or at least more choices of destinations). Second, we hope the kids won't need so much supervision. Third, we need to do a few years of cheaper vacations so we can afford another Disney Cruise.

[KathleenlovesMickey]

2011 sounds so far away but it is only 3 years! We had to wait 4 years for this past one so three is a piece of cake. One question can I start my count down clock now? We can pass the time dreaming of the new ships and where we will get to go!

[Megand3779]

2011 sounds so far away but it is only 3 years! We had to wait 4 years for this past one so three is a piece of cake. One question can I start my count down clock now? We can pass the time dreaming of the new ships and where we will get to go!

I say start your countdown clock now! I did mine for WDW in 2010. Now if I can just stop looking at the cost for a DC in 2009 I would be all set. I keep hoping the numbers will go down, and that I can justify it (wishful thinking). :rolleyes1

[Mickey1Fan]

I love the room service order on your door. It is too bad no cookies have been delivered.

I have been honoured by being invited to be a group leader for Dreams Take Flight. It is an Air Canada initiative that takes children to WDW for a day. I go on May 14. We leave at around 7 a.m., from Toronto, spend the day and land back home around 1 a.m.

check out dreamstakeflight.org They are amazing. There is no paid position within the organization, the aircraft are donated for the day, the flight crew, including pilots volunteer their time. I am so excited, I have to plan the day for the children and the two assistants I have. So much to do, so little time.

To make a long story longer, the cookies reminded me of the trin on May 14. A friend of mine says I have to get the children (all 8) that I am leading Nestle Toll House cookies at the bakery on main street.

I ate more cookies on the ship than I have in years and none at home live up to those DCL chocolate chip cookies.