November 15, 2008 7 night Western 11/15/08 11-15-08 [Archive] - The DIS Discussion Forums

mommykeg

03-16-2007, 11:46 AM

Anyone else signed up for November 15, 2008?

We rebooked onboard for this one AND the Thanksgiving Double Dip, but we'll only be keeping one...and this will probably be it because the cost is SOOOOO much better than Thanksgiving week!

It will be me (who will be turning 40 shortly after this cruise), DH (38 at time of cruise), DD (11 at time of cruise), and DS (7 at time of cruise). This will be our 3rd Disney cruise...our 1st was the West Coast Cruise to Mexico, our 2nd was the Eastern Caribbean, and now we will be doing the Western.

We had a great time meeting and mingling with our fellow DISers on our past cruises, and we look forward to doing the same on this one!

mommykeg

03-16-2007, 11:08 PM

Nobody else is sailing with us? Well...I guess it IS a little early! ;)

mommykeg

08-31-2007, 12:39 PM

anyone? :confused3

Disneyday

09-02-2007, 04:33 AM

This will be our first cruise and we are sooooo excited. I have been checking out all the tips on this board since we booked in April and have already made a list of things I need to get!

There will be me (41) DH (34) DD (15) DD(9) and DDBF(16) traveling. We've booked 2 cat 10 connecting staterooms (girls & boys)

I'm really looking forward to meeting fellow cruisers,and hopefully find a friend for DD (10 when we cruise) who is quite shy.

This is my first post and I was wondering how you get the ticker on the bottom as it keeps coming up as error?

Disneyday

09-15-2007, 10:44 AM

Looks like it is just the two of us.:sad2:

At least we will get in the pool!

mommykeg

09-17-2007, 10:13 PM

Hi!!! So glad someone else is going to join us!! :banana: This is our 3rd cruise and we are really excited too! Ask away if you have any specific questions...I'll do my best to answer.

My DD will be 11 at the time of our cruise...so she would probably be in the same club with your DD (the 10-12 group). Maybe we can get the girls e-mailing (or regular mailing) so they can get to know each other a bit before the cruise...maybe when we get a little bit closer to the sail date? We did that with girls on our last two cruises, and they couldn't wait to meet each other and spend time in the lab together!

Pretty soon, we'll be under the year mark!! :cool1:

Disneyday

09-19-2007, 11:00 AM

That would be great, perhaps your DD could tell mine about the lab.

I think I am starting to get a bit obsessed with counting down. My DD 15 told me she had an exam on 8th Nov and I replied 'that would be exactly 53 weeks to her cruise'
Thanks for the offer of 'tips' I'm sure I will be asking in the near future

Dan & Su Thome

09-19-2007, 12:51 PM

Don't cruise without us!! We are also booked on the Western Cruise the 15th-22nd of November. This is going to be our first Disney cruise.:goodvibes We are soooo excited to go. We are going with some friends that have been on a few DCL. Can you tell me what to expect??:love:

Thanks,
Su

Disneyday

09-19-2007, 01:21 PM

Hi Dan & Su Thome
So glad to see another newbie like me:) .Are you becoming a DCL expert by reading all the posts.
How many of you are travelling?

MommyTo5

09-24-2007, 07:04 PM

Count us in too!!! :banana:

I tried to start a thread a few months ago, but received no response. We booked VERY early! I'm so glad to see that so many fellow DISers have now booked too!!!

Our group includes: (*ages at time of travel)

Me (35)
DH (turning 40 on the first day of our cruise, 11-15-08!!!)
DD (18)
DS (12)
DD (turning 11 at WDW during the week following our cruise!)
DS (turning 11 at WDW during the week following our cruise!)
DS (8)
DD (3)

Looking forward to getting to know you all!!!

~ Angie

Zak's Pack2

09-27-2007, 06:14 PM

Hello, everyone -

We (DH and myself) have talked to our travel agent about the Nov. 15 '08 Western Caribbbean trip - she advised us to hold off until we have taken our first-ever cruise this year (4 day Wonder on 11/4-11/8/07) to "see if we like cruising":rolleyes: so we may be joining your group, too! Enjoy the countdown!!:goodvibes

Disneyday

09-28-2007, 10:02 AM

Zak's Pack2

09-29-2007, 10:42 AM

Lucky you. Not long to wait
Will you let us know how it goes and also pass on any tips we may find useful.
Have fun!
Sue
Thanks! and we sure will let you know how the cruise was! You will find a lot of info on the Disney Cruise Reports, too. Hubby and I are soooo excited about this trip (doing 4 days at WDW before the cruise - our 3rd trip to WDW) - you'll see how much fun it is talking on the boards with everyone :goodvibes You definitely will feel like a DCL expert before you finally get there!:thumbsup2

Dan & Su Thome

10-04-2007, 03:49 PM

Silly Little Pixie

10-04-2007, 11:00 PM

anyone? :confused3

HAHA I knew I'd see you here sooner or later, Kim! Too bad we won't be joining you on the Magic since we'll be on the Wonder! I think we'll be at WDW for the second leg of our stay when you sail away. :)

BTW, we need to plan another happy hour soon!:goodvibes

mommykeg

10-04-2007, 11:32 PM

HAHA I knew I'd see you here sooner or later, Kim! Too bad we won't be joining you on the Magic since we'll be on the Wonder! I think we'll be at WDW for the second leg of our stay when you sail away. :)

BTW, we need to plan another happy hour soon!:goodvibes

Yeah...haven't had much time to post lately!!! You won't be sorry you booked your Disney cruise--you're gonna love it!

mommykeg

10-04-2007, 11:33 PM

I am so addicted to this silly site. I have it opened all day at work and check it all the time. My DD :yay: & I have fun checking different threads out. Maybe it is just us few that are going cruising!!

If I could just get the first graders in my classroom to be completely independent, I would be on this site all day too! :rotfl2:

Disneyday

10-05-2007, 09:32 AM

I am so addicted to this silly site. I have it opened all day at work and check it all the time. My DD :yay: & I have fun checking different threads out. Maybe it is just us few that are going cruising!!

Do you think there is a cure for Disboarditis? I can't wait to get home from work to switch on the computer. The rest of the family just don't get it. What is wrong with them???:confused3

Dan & Su Thome

10-10-2007, 12:58 PM

Disneyday

10-10-2007, 03:03 PM

This is really off the subject......but, I have read so many people talking about reading that their stateroom was right above the props or it has obstructed view, or it was really noisy at night.....etc. Where can I find that information about our stateroom??:lmao:

Su

If you click on 'staterooms at the top of this page and then go to stateroom reports, you can enter your stateroom number and see a cruisers report.
Alternatively if anyone has stayed in the room you are staying in on the main cruise line board. Good luck
Sue

crash2000

10-21-2007, 12:28 PM

were on this cruise also....

Dan & Su Thome

10-22-2007, 02:37 PM

Crash2000: Do you have children traveling with you??

crash2000

10-22-2007, 06:38 PM

Crash2000: Do you have children traveling with you??

yes it will be myself 38 "at cruise time"
my wife also 38
and daughter 5

the wife will be the tough one to please, she's more the "party carnival crowd", so I hope she can just play along and enjoy herself...

crash2000

10-22-2007, 06:40 PM

This is really off the subject......but, I have read so many people talking about reading that their stateroom was right above the props or it has obstructed view, or it was really noisy at night.....etc. Where can I find that information about our stateroom??:lmao:

Su

2 ways:
goto wdwinfo.com, click staterooms, the room reports, its a great site!!!
also i use the search feature of the forums, and enter the stateroom number...

Dan & Su Thome

10-24-2007, 11:50 AM

Thanks for the info. I have checked in the Stateroom site. Our room is not listed. The rooms on both side of us are......so we just read them to get the jist of things. We are staying on deck 6. Not a lot of positive replies on the rooms near us. I understand it is someone else's comments. I am a very postitive person. :love: Plus, I am on vacation.........ha ha ha ha!!!!

Disneyday

11-06-2007, 05:16 PM

Just giving this a bump before it disappears. Only 9 days until the one year mark:woohoo:

MommyTo5

11-06-2007, 09:07 PM

Just giving this a bump before it disappears. Only 9 days until the one year mark:woohoo:

We're very excited to be nearing the one year mark... then the real planning can begin! ;)

Has anyone started to make plans yet? We originally thought we'd spend a week at WDW following the cruise, but since it's Thanksgiving week, I'm not sure that we'll want to fight the crowds after all. We may just spend Saturday at the Nick Hotel and fly home Sunday. My kiddos really love that place!

TwoOwls

11-07-2007, 06:13 AM

I guess I'll set up camp in here now, so I can find this thread later. It will be myself, my dh, ds who will be 2 and ds who will be 7. This will be our first time on the Magic and we will be celebrating my birthday while we sail. I am so excited.

Hi everyone!

dmja716

11-07-2007, 08:37 AM

Hello fellow 11/15/08 cruisers.

We just booked today and we are so excited.

My name is Dana and it will be me, DH and DS who will be 4.

We have not even thought about excursions yet. I plan on starting the research soon.

Only a year and a week away.

I hope we can all meet up on the ship.

BTW, It is our first cruise together.

Disneyday

11-07-2007, 01:18 PM

Hi Two owls and Dmja716

So glad you're coming along too. Its just sooooooo long to wait:sad1:
Hopefully we will be able to meet up at least once and put faces to names.

Has anyone seen the 'pass it on' thread on the main cruise board. It seems a really good idea but probably a bit soon to be thinking of those things

Sue:goodvibes

dmja716

11-15-2007, 09:07 AM

It's One Year Away........

Disneyday

11-15-2007, 03:40 PM

:cheer2: Happy one year to go anniversary everyone:cheer2:

I've just thought, if its Thursday today and we sail on a Saturday does that mean its a leap year next year and we have an EXTRA day to wait

dmja716

11-21-2007, 02:52 PM

That is a good question if it will be leap year.
I must find out.
If we've waited this long, what is one more day??

Pegsta

11-21-2007, 03:15 PM

Can I join in? :flower3:

dmja - thank you for pointing me this way!

I just booked today. This will be our first ever cruise. It will be me (34), DH (42), DS1 (3) and DS2 (16 months) at time of cruise. I look forward to getting to know you all.

Happy Turkey Day to all!

dmja716

11-21-2007, 04:01 PM

Welcome Pegsta.

My name is Dana and my DS will be 4 at cruise time.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone too!!

I havent booked our flights yet, but I definitely know I am coming in the day before and staying with relatives in the Orlando area. I have DCL transfers set up at this time, but I might change my mind and rent a car.

Reading through the boards here I have a slight idea what excursions we want to do, but Im not 100% sure.
We have a long time to decide.

We are first time Disney Cruisers too.
Take care everyone:grouphug:

TwoOwls

11-23-2007, 10:24 AM

Welcome Dana.

Woohoo we passed the year mark. :cool1:

I think at the time of our sailing the Christmas party will be in going on. Anyone thinking about going?

MommyTo5

11-23-2007, 10:55 AM

Welcome Dana.

Woohoo we passed the year mark. :cool1:

I think at the time of our sailing the Christmas party will be in going on. Anyone thinking about going?

I'd love for the 2008 MVMCP schedule to include Saturday, November 22, as I think this would be our only opportunity to attend. It seems the November dates usually don't include Saturdays though so I'm not that hopeful. :( I recently read the dates are usually released in May.

dmja716

11-24-2007, 01:10 PM

We will not be attending the MVMCP since we are only flying in the night before and leaving the day of. It sounds awesome though!!

Hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving.

MommyTo5

11-24-2007, 01:32 PM

I'm so excited! Yesterday, we went ahead and booked our pre-cruise night at the Hyatt inside Orlando International Airport! The hotel looks beautiful from the pics I've seen and I imagine it will be so nice to get off that plane and be just steps away from our rooms. DH has to work Friday so we'll be taking the last flight of the day which doesn't arrive until after 10 p.m. We are planning on breakfast at the Hemisphere Restaurant the next morning before taking a private van to the port.

Is anyone else planning on staying at the Hyatt?

MommyTo5

11-24-2007, 02:12 PM

For anyone who's interested in keeping track of who's cruising with us...

.•*´¯`*•. I will do my best to keep this updated! .•*´¯`*•.

mommykeg - Kim (39) cruising with DH (38), DD (11), DS (7)

Disneyday - Sue (41) cruising with DH (34), DD-Rosie (15), DDBF-Rhys (16), DD-Alice (9)

Dan & Su Thome / splashmountainsu - Su (48), DH (46), DD (8)

MommyTo5 - Angie (35) cruising with DH-John (40 on 11-15!), DD-Ashley (18), DS-Zack (12), DD-Cassidy (almost 11), DS-Cody (almost 11), DS-Nick (8), DD-Olivia (3)

crash2000 (38) cruising with DW (38), DD (5)

TwoOwls cruising with DH, DS (7), DS (2)

dmja716 - Dana crusing with DH-Ray, DS-Joey (4)

Pegsta (34) cruising with DH (42), DS (3), DS (16 months)

crazykunis (37) cruising with DH (43), DS (15), DS (11), DS (9)

Donyale cruising with DH, DS (15), DD(12)

odhrty (41) cruising with DH (42), DS (almost 12), DD (10)

izma - Les (40) cruising with DH (41), DS (11), DD-Kennedy (10)

coastiewifern - Christie (37) cruising with DH-John (38), DS-Connor (9), DD-Ainslie (6)

dthogue - Tammy cruising with DH, DD (16), DD (10)

bambilin - Lin cruising with DH-Derrick, DS-Dillon (almost 4), DS-Trevor (15 months) and Friends: DH-Davin, DW-Alice, DD-Rhiannon (10), DD-Patty (8)

LauraLap - Laura (29) cruising with DH-Tim (33), DS-Josh (4), DD-Kaia (2.5)

ALawley - Audie cruising with DH and Friends: DW, DH, DD (16) & DW, DH, DD (16)

mommycarlo - Michelle (38) cruising with DH-Anthony (37), DD-Kaila (13), DD-Sara (10)

Mikana99 - Robert (35) cruising with DF-Nancy (30), DD-Erika (11), DS-Anakim (9), DS-Emrick (2), MIL Lise (51)

maegan cruising with DD (5)

o0lissa0o - Melissa cruising with DS-Keegan (6) and DSIS-Joyce, BIL-Chris, DN-Lauren (12), DN-Sarah (10), DN-Kelsey (6), Grandma-Thoris, Grandpa-Frank

dmja716

11-24-2007, 03:21 PM

Thank you for the list Angie.

We will be staying the night before with relatives in the area. The Hyatt sounds wonderful. That will be so convenient for your family.

My relatives will be driving us to the port, so we are hoping to get there around 10'ish. If all goes well:)

Disneyday

11-25-2007, 10:18 AM

Thanks for the list Angie, it would be great if you could keep it updated.(How depressing seeing I am the oldest one on there!)

We haven't decided where we are staying yet or even which airport we are flying to. I am still shopping around for cheap flights and the best deals are about £1700 which is about $3400.

Is anyone interested in doing the Fish Extender thing? I've been reading the threads and it looks like lots of fun.

Sue

dmja716

11-25-2007, 07:11 PM

I have a slight idea of what a fish extender is, can you tell me for sure what one is???
Thank you.

Disneyday

11-26-2007, 08:54 AM

Its a kind of pocket organiser that you hang from the fish plaque at the side of your door. You leave a small gift for your fellow DISers, it could be something homemade or a postcard or something from where you live.

Don't quote me on this, but I think thats what you do
Here's the link for the thread

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1219607

splashmountainsu

11-27-2007, 04:00 PM

Angie;

It's me Su Thome. I have my own personal account. Idon't the rest of the family to think that is all I do is eat, sleep, and drink DCL. Angie, I want to Thank you for keeping track of everyone's records. In our Cabin we have:

ME (48 shhhh don't tell ):rotfl2:
Dan 46 :goofy:
DD 8 princess:

Can't wait to meet all of you.

MommyTo5

12-01-2007, 04:17 PM

MommyTo5

12-01-2007, 04:19 PM

Disneyday

12-02-2007, 11:44 AM

I'd love to do this! Sounds fun!!!

Thats great! Did you see many of these on your cruise in 2005?

MommyTo5

12-04-2007, 10:29 PM

Thats great! Did you see many of these on your cruise in 2005?

None that I remember... I don't think I saw it mentioned on the DIS boards (or anywhere else for that matter) until after I got back.

dmja716

12-05-2007, 08:27 AM

Hello Everyone,

I would love to do the fish extenders with everyone. Good thing I have almost a year because I can't even sew a button. This should be a challenge:lmao:

Disneyday

12-06-2007, 09:34 AM

Hello Everyone,

I would love to do the fish extenders with everyone. Good thing I have almost a year because I can't even sew a button. This should be a challenge:lmao:

Neither can I , but its amazing what you can do with fabric glue! I think my daughter is making one for a 'surpise' for me for Xmas.

I have seen them for sale on Ebay under hanging organisers, you could always personalise them with iron on transfers.

crazykunis

12-19-2007, 04:49 PM

YEAH....Just booked our cruise. This is our 2nd Disney Cruise...the last was a short 3 day with the land package. The boys loved it so much they want to go back but longer and only Disney will do for them...they were so spoiled with everything disney had to offer!!

This is my first time posting though...I hope to develop some great friendships prior the the cruise....and this time I am traveling without my parents so I can REALLY relax!!:banana:

Traveling with me (age 36...oh no 37 then....:lmao: ) will be my DH (43) DS 15, DS 11 and DS 9...yes a mom of 3 boys...I need a cruise that occupies them and feeds them WELL!!popcorn::

I look forward to getting to know everyone...I already seen one mom with a large family and boys around my boys ages.

My boys are into Spongebob, Webkinz, Football, Baseball, the WII, Basketball and very very active...the 15 year old is interested in GIRLS...

Can't wait....:woohoo:

splashmountainsu

12-20-2007, 11:52 PM

dmja716

12-21-2007, 09:05 AM

Welcome to the thread. Congrats on booking.

Happy Holidays to everyone:santa:

crazykunis

12-21-2007, 01:01 PM

Your 15 year old must meet my husband sometime during the cruise. He is a high school baseball coach. We are blessed with a daughter...........so, he would love to talk baseball with someone other than us girls. :goodvibes!!

That is to funny...with me and all boys maybe I can hook up with you and the girls to do some shopping. The boys are tired of hearing mom talk shopping...LOL

I am looking forward to a 7 day cruise. Last Disney cruise was way to short!! Dreaming of warm weather is getting me through the cold days of winter that is yet to come our way!!

MommyTo5

12-25-2007, 03:08 PM

MommyTo5

12-25-2007, 03:29 PM

Merry Christmas everyone!

So sorry that I've haven't had much time to post lately. I've been very busy with Christmas preparations and now finally today, I have a chance to relax! You all are not going to believe this... my oldest daughter (who turned 17 in October) made our entire Christmas dinner today - and we go all out with the menu, so cooking for our family is no easy task! Having a day to myself in which I have to do nothing is truly the best present that my family could give me! ;) I'm loving it!!!

Donyale

12-27-2007, 12:08 AM

dmja716

12-27-2007, 01:11 PM

Happy Holidays to my fellow cruisers!!

Welcome Crazykunis and Donyale.

Happy New Year too:cool1:

Donyale

12-27-2007, 07:33 PM

Thank you very much dmja716! What deck will everyone be located?

MommyTo5

12-27-2007, 08:14 PM

Hello!! I just told my two children we will be going on a Disney cruise sailing November 15, 2008!! This will be our second cruise on the Magic! I am too excited and so are they!!! Our last one was March 2004. The experience was so wonderful we just had to do it again!! When I booked in '04, my husband was so not into it. As soon as we boarded the ship, he turned into a whole different person. He has been eagerly awaiting a return trip!! I can't wait to meet you all!
Donyale :hippie:

Welcome aboard, Donyale!

How old are your kids? Boys or girls?

We haven't cruised since January '05. My kids are really looking forward to cruising again too... and my husband, he was the same way yours was --- but he actually LOVED cruising! This particular trip is in celebration of his 40th birthday which is the day we'll be boarding - November 15th!

MommyTo5

12-27-2007, 08:23 PM

What deck will everyone be located?

We are on Deck 5 (Forward).

dmja716

12-27-2007, 09:19 PM

We have booked a Cat 12 GTY so we will have to wait and see.

Im hoping for the upgrade fairypixiedust:

Donyale

12-28-2007, 03:34 PM

My son will be 15 and my daughter 12 when we actually cruise. Probably a bit older than your children MommyTo5.
My husband is so happy about this trip. He would like to cruise a couple times a year but time (and money) won't allow that just yet!! We are not celebrating anything in particular for this cruise but hey I can make up something!! LOL
We will be on deck 7 this time. We were on deck 5 last time and we absoluetly loved it. Very close to the kids area but still quiet. My daughter requested to be higher up on the ship this time so money would only allow us to go to deck 7, ha ha ha!
I have not "officially" booked a room yet. I have one on hold while I am price shopping but will definately book in the next two weeks. I went through All Seasons travel last time. Who did everyone else use, or whom do you suggest? (I really liked All Seasons and I got a very, very, very low price out of them the last time, my little secret, lol but that was in 2004 and I am a huge bargain shopper). Please give me all the suggestions you have!! :)
Can't wait to see you all!!
Donyale
:yay:

crash2000

12-28-2007, 07:06 PM

deck 7, not sure of room number...

dmja716

12-29-2007, 12:58 PM

We booked through Dreams Unlimited. The price was the same as DCL website but we got $75 shipboard credit from them so we booked through them.

So far all interaction has been through email and responses have been prompt. The only thing I have been thinking about is, shouldn't we have received some sort of confirmation in the mail??? Can someone help me on that? Thanks:)

We have a DCL confirmation number also so I can do all the stuff online too when that date comes.

crazykunis

12-29-2007, 05:35 PM

With the holidays over, the stomache flu hitting the family...I so am ready to get away!!

I wanted to answer the question on Deck #...we are on Deck 8 middle of the ship...My family thinks I am nuts planning another huge expensive vacation...but it will so be worth it..plus I am going to use as my excuse to not buy them more junk at walmart...

I can't wait to get to know everyone!!

crazykunis

12-29-2007, 05:37 PM

Maybe we can get your 15 year old son and mine to start chatting prior to the cruise...does he happen to have xbox live...My son just rec'd it for xmas...crazy what kids can do to communicate these days. Also is your 12 year old daughter into Webkinz....my 11 year old son is....it's funny but the boys are so into the computer game of it...

Donyale

12-30-2007, 12:05 AM

DMJA716-I've only been on a Disney cruise one other time but if I remember correctly I didn't receive confirmation and such in the mail until after final payment was made. I just printed off confirmations from disney's website or travel agent's site until they arrived in the mail.
CRAZYKUNIS-Sorry but we do not have xbox-only playstation and gamecube and my daughter isn't into webkins :( However I wish our boys would chat before cruising. Maybe we can set something up sometime. My son plays soccer and is into skateboarding. Maybe they will have that or something else in common.
CRASH2000-a fellow deck 7!! Sweet!!! Maybe we will run into each other. Who knows, we may even be neighbors!!:cheer2:

odhrty

12-30-2007, 12:38 AM

I haven't read through your whole thread yet. But I switched our Double dip Thanksgiving trip to the 11/15 today due to the $3000 savings. I almost went with RCL due to the cost but my DH really likes the family feel of the Disneyline. We had our first cruise 11/01/01 for three nights and we're really excited to try a 7 night. We will do Universal Studios for 4 nights before the cruise. My kids told me not to tell them a year in advance like I did last time but they know I'm on the computer planning. They loved emailing other kids just before they went. DS will be almost 12 and DD will be 10. My son likes most sports, the Wii, webkinz, and trading disney pins(his fav is the chipmunks). My DD likes crafts, webkinz, Wii, volleyball and theater. I could hardly keep them out the kids club last year. DH will be 42 and enjoyed cruising even though he was sea sick until we purchased the wristbands. It didn't help that we cruised right behind tropical storm Noel. (the boat was rocking and I wasn't the only one eating alone half the dining room emptied out) I'll be 41 this cruise and work as a dental hygienist, take care of my kids, and love planning our yearly vacation. We are on deck seven mid to aft. I booked my flights today from Spokane WA so we are committed. I can't wait to read this whole thread and get to know everyone.:yay:

crazykunis

12-30-2007, 11:32 AM

Donyale-Oh yes...Skateboarding definately...My oldest just loved the basketball court on the ship!! He is very shy until you get to know him!! We will definately get them chatting...

ODhrty-Welcome!!! Sounds like your son and daughter are like my 2 boys. They don't understand why I plan everything so far in advance and talk about it so early...LOL!! And pin trading...OH MY...both boys loved that in disney and on the ship. My youngest is not shy so my oldest who will be 11 followed his lead to get pins. They are into hidden mickey pins!!

I will have to get my boys webkins name and they can add them to their friends list. I am just starting to understand this whole webkinz thing. We were the same way thinking of going on Royal but we just are to afraid to go on anything but disney they were so family oriented and I always felt my kids were safe. This will be our first 7 day cruise with the family so I am excited. Although everyone thinks I am nuts for saving for such a large vacation....but you only live once..right?? LOL

MommyTo5

12-30-2007, 04:09 PM

Welcome aboard, odhrty! :welcome:

Woohoo! We are up to 11 DISers!!! I just updated post #40 with the everyone's info!
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1389702&page=3
*If I've posted anything incorrectly, or anyone wants any missing info added, please post here (or PM me) and I'll get that fixed! ;)

You know I'm leaving for WDW in 20 days and I haven't planned (or packed) a thing yet! I'm so addicted to these darn cruise boards! LOL

dmja716

12-30-2007, 05:55 PM

Thank you Angie!

Happy New Year everyoneparty:

-Dana

Disneyday

01-01-2008, 07:47 AM

Happy New Year everyone!

Oh no is everyone on deck 7?
I just changed our res from deck 7 forward to deck 2 mid because I was so worried about seasickness. It must be better up there because my TA tried to talk me out of it.
Oh well, all the exercise climbing stairs will work some of the food off!

Disneyday

01-20-2008, 01:15 PM

Just giving us a bump.
Anyone else out there joining us?

izma

01-23-2008, 01:06 PM

We have been booked for some time now but I'm just starting to research...

I will be traveling with DH (41), DS (11) and DD (10). This will be my third cruise, but my first DISNEY cruise. The rest are cruise rookies.

The children do not know yet, they only know that we are going on a holiday next fall. I give them one letter each month and they have to figure out where they are going. DISNEY CRUISE. Of course I have scrambled the letters. They have SSC and have already guessed DISNEYCRUISE...clever little people...but I have not flinched and I don't think they believe it's possible.

We will follow the cruise with a week at WDW. We won't be sharing that with them until the boat's back in port.

I am interested in any tips you veteran Disney Cruisers have. I have about a million questions!

Oh.....and I am SO EXCITED!!!!:yay:

dmja716

01-23-2008, 01:42 PM

Welcome to the list Izma.

I am a Disney Cruise newbie also.

Less than 10 months to go everyone:cool1:

Just wanted to share that we have decided on excursions for Grand Cayman, we have booked the Rays, Reef and Rumpoint tour with Native Way Watersports and my DH has booked the Royal Dolphin swim in Cozumel, we will just spend the day at Chankanaab park and maybe do a little shopping there if time allows.
As far as Key West, I want to do the Trolley Tour and the Aquarium. I think we are just going to decide when we dock that day what we are up for. We have been to Key West before and we are excited to go back.

Anyone else give any thought to excursions yet??

I hope everyone is surviving winter. It hasn't been to bad here in New Jersey.

izma

01-23-2008, 02:03 PM

I need some advice from you veterans on shore excursions.

Should I book through the cruise or on my own?

My kids are excellent swimmers and love to snorkel.

Any suggestions for Key West?

Do we get breakfast on board on the last day...even snacks of some kind in the morning?

How long is the bus ride from port to park?

...told you I had a lot of questions!!!:yo-yo:

Disneyday

01-24-2008, 09:21 AM

Hi izma, welcome aboard!
Sorry can't answer your questions being a newbie myself.
I think we are doing Excaret excursion at Cozumel and the stingrays at GC.

dmja716 did you book the excursions yourself? I can't decide whether to do that or go with Disney.

Would you get a refund if the ship didn't dock for some reason

dmja716

01-24-2008, 03:01 PM

Here is the rundown on the excursions we booked.

Cozumel.
I booked DH for the Royal Dolphin Swim directly through dolphindiscovery dot com. DS and I will just watch, then we are going to hang out for the rest of the day at Chankaanaab park. I heard its pretty nice. I originally wanted to do Paradise Beach but DH really wanted to do the dolphin thing and I dont want to be going all over the place in one day. After Chankanaab we will probably shop for a little and call it a day. I had to pay in advance for this tour and they WILL refund if the ship doesnt dock that day.

Cayman
I booked the tour through nativewaywatersports dot com directly. Disney's similar tour doesnt let children under a certain age go on their excursion. This tour allows any age to go. Even if we arent comfortable with DS going in the water at least he will be on the boat with us. Im sure it will work out fine. I only had to give my credit card info via email to this company to hold our spot, but we dont pay till the day of the tour and they WILL NOT charge you if your ship cant dock that day.
The fact that both tours dont charge you in case of not being able to dock, gave me peace of mind to go ahead and book.

I got alot of info on the cruise critic boards also. they have boards for each port you stop at. Very informative.

Ask away if you have anymore questions.

izma

01-24-2008, 06:29 PM

Well...I have certainly found the right place!

You people are a wealth of knowledge!

I am waffling between a day of snorkeling at cozumel and a dolphin swim. Perhaps we will snorkel at Grand Cayman. Anybody have an opinion on which place has better snorkeling?

I WILL have more questions!!!

A girlfriend might be joining us on our cruise with her 3.5 yr old. It's nice to know which companies will take little kids.

Is there any one here who is a runner and fancies a morning run on the cruise? It's so much easier to do if you have a running buddy....:cool1:

Thanks for all the info!

dmja716

01-24-2008, 07:07 PM

I heard there is awesome snorkeling in both Cozumel and Grand Cayman. The tour we are doing has 2 snorkeling stops. There are a couple companies I researched that do snorkeling in Cayman, the one we booked with and Captain Marvins dot com, I heard they were good too.
My DH is a runner. He said he will be glad to join you if it is early enough and he is not hungover:)

Well...I have certainly found the right place!

You people are a wealth of knowledge!

I am waffling between a day of snorkeling at cozumel and a dolphin swim. Perhaps we will snorkel at Grand Cayman. Anybody have an opinion on which place has better snorkeling?

I WILL have more questions!!!

A girlfriend might be joining us on our cruise with her 3.5 yr old. It's nice to know which companies will take little kids.

Is there any one here who is a runner and fancies a morning run on the cruise? It's so much easier to do if you have a running buddy....:cool1:

Thanks for all the info!

Disneyday

01-25-2008, 04:30 AM

Thanks dmja716
I will certainly book our excursions independently now I know you can get a refund. With 5 of us I am looking to save all the $ I can.

Izma, you get breakfast on the last morning at either 6.45 or 8am. :( You have to vacate your stateroom by 8am and I don't think they do room service that morning

Disneyday

01-25-2008, 04:51 AM

OOps posted twice. Why can't I delete the whole thing?

dmja716

01-25-2008, 08:30 AM

The only thing I am worried about is tendering in Grand Cayman. I heard they save the first tender for people who booked excursions through Disney but that is at 7:30am. Our tour operator told us to meet them at the pier at 8:45am so I am pretty sure that is do-able and we will have plenty of time.
In Cozumel you usually are docked so you can just step off the boat which is easier.

I would just be careful if you book excursions on your own to not do it too early/close to the time you are supposed to dock.

I also read a good tip to order room service the night before for whatever snacks/sandwiches you would like to bring ashore with you to eat on your excursions. Bring Ziploc bags from home too for this reason.

izma

01-25-2008, 02:46 PM

dmja716

01-25-2008, 07:21 PM

Running is the best cure for a hangover, along with bacon and eggs!! I am not very fast but I can run for a loooong time! Perhaps I will work on my speed so that I don't hold hubby up.

Ooooh...I like the room service/ziplock idea. I am glad to hear we get breakfast the last day. My kids eat like a football team!!

What's there to do in Key West? I know a fair bit about many things but sadly nothing about Key West. My kids are ACTIVE - not hyper, but they'll be looking for action!

You guys are great.:goodvibes

To answer your question on Key West, i have some websites I got from a woman here on the DIS named snelsonbrown "shirley" she used to live there. keywesttravelguide dot com, keywest dot com, and shoretrips dot com. We might do the aquarium , trolley tour or pirate museum, but I know they have waverunning and some fishing excursions there. Im sure you will find something to do there.

MommyTo5

01-28-2008, 11:23 AM

Hi Everyone!

We just got back from WDW yesterday and had an absolutely wonderful time --- of course, I'm now 100% ready to get on with my DCL vacation planning. We haven't looked into excursions yet, but I'm planning to do that this week. We weren't able to tender to Grand Cayman on our last Western so the Stringray excursion is pretty much a given. I'll let you all know what we decide on.

Oh, and welcome izma!!! ;)

~ Angie

izma

01-29-2008, 04:14 PM

Hello all!

It's -39C here today...that's a fantastic -49C with the wind. For my friends south of the CAN/US border -40F is the same as -40C.

I have booked the dolphin swim. The time they gave me is 3pm. The Itinerary says we leave port at 6:30pm. Is this enough time? How long is the cab ride from the park to port?

Hellllp!!

coastiewifern

01-30-2008, 06:57 AM

Disneyday

01-30-2008, 09:13 AM

Welcome coastiewifern :welcome:

Yes you do have a lot of reading to do but be warned, the Disboards are very addictive. I have got the afternoon off work and here I am on the computer. If DH asks what i've done with my afternoon I just say 'Oh Dis and that'

I think alot of people dress up for pirate night, some with just a pirate T-shirt and others with the whole outfit. I've read trip reports where people didn't dress up and wish they had.

I managed to get DD an Elizabeth Swann outfit ( its kind of black chinese style) in the Disney Store Sale for £3 ($6). I am still hunting for a bargain for the rest of us since I am hopeless at sewing

Izma -40!!! I thought it was cold here at +2c. Oh well just keep thinking of the Caribbean sun
Sue

dmja716

01-30-2008, 09:18 AM

Welcome to the cruise thread coastiewifern:cheer2:

To answer your question on Pirate Night. I have never been on a Disney Cruise, but Ive seen pictures and read reports that yes adults do dress up.
If I can find a reasonably priced costume, I may just dress up. It makes for real cute pictures:cool2:

izma, to answer your question. I am pretty sure you will have enough time to do your swim at the time you scheduled. I booked ours for 11am to be extra safe. Wow it is cold up by you.

Welcome back from your trip Angie. Im glad you had a wonderful trip to WDW.

Take care everyone.

MommyTo5

01-30-2008, 10:02 AM

Welcome back from your trip Angie. Im glad you had a wonderful trip to WDW.

Thanks Dana! If I can figure out how, I'll try and post a couple pics! ;)

We're finally looking into excursions... I think DH and I may do the parasailing at Castaway Cay. Is anyone else thinking of doing this?

Parasailing (45 minutes, airborne 7-9 minutes)
Come experience the fun, thrills and excitement of the most enjoyable parasail ride in The Bahamas. No experience required. Our parasailing ride is designed to be enjoyed by guests ages 8 and older. While soaring single or tandem high above beautiful Castaway Cay you will enjoy a spectacular view of the shimmering sand, turquoise water, and breath-taking skyline. An unforgettable experience with an ultra-modern, state-of-the-art winch-boat for a fun and comfortable ride. Children under age 13 must be accompanied by an adult.
$75.00 all ages 8 and up

~ Angie

MommyTo5

01-30-2008, 10:10 AM

Hi everyone. We are excited we just booked our first disney cruise:cool1:
This will be our first cruise with the kids. Myself-37, DH-38, son-9, daughter-6. I am beyond excited and have much reading up to do. I have one question for those who have been on DCL before. Do adults dress up for the pirate's dinner?

Welcome aboard, coastiewifern! :wave2:

I've updated post #40 (Page 3)... it should now be up-to-date with all of our DIS cruisers! I'm so glad to see so many DIS kids on this cruise! We'll have to figure out a way for them to chat and make friends prior to the cruise! ;)

~ Angie

izma

01-30-2008, 10:16 AM

Welcome coastiewifern!

I think dressing up for the pirate night is the way to go. Adults don't get enough chances to do this kind of thing and I think it makes it more fun for everyone! It also makes for better pictures and sets an example for your kids. It's way more fun to join in than just stand back and watch everyone else have fun!! That said...I've never been to a pirate party!!! SO full of opinions but lacking in experience!! I'll be wearing something piratey for certain! What night is the pirate party on? I'll put it in my itinerary....

I tried to get the dolphin swim for 11 (following your lead) but they gave me 3. I have to confirm and I think I'lll ask if we can get bumped into an earlier time slot. Just for my piece of mind!

It's cold here again today. I am esperately hoping P.Phil does not see his shadow!!!

Thanks for all your answers. I am glad that I am not the only person who plans incessantly months in advance!

Disneyday

01-30-2008, 11:56 AM

izma

01-30-2008, 12:35 PM

Welcome aboard, coastiewifern! :wave2:

I've updated post #40 (Page 3)... it should now be up-to-date with all of our DIS cruisers! I'm so glad to see so many DIS kids on this cruise! We'll have to figure out a way for them to chat and make friends prior to the cruise! ;)

~ Angie

Oh Angie....I am having a little laugh at myself!

I just read back to post #40 and realized I hadn't stated my age. I'll be 40 in about 5 weeks! Denial I should think!! We are also following the cruise with a week at WDW. I have never been but I have been to DL. Do you mind if I ask you a few questions regarding strategy? I will keep the posts on WDW down - this is a cruise thread afterall!

There sure are a lot of kids/families here that are close in age and have similar interests. They will have sooooo much fun! My two are fans of the Wii and like their webkins as well. We will have to get them hooked up pre-cruise but...I'm not telling my kids for awhile yet!!

MommyTo5

01-30-2008, 01:58 PM

Hi Angie
My DH and DD(16) are going to do the parasailing but I am too chicken.

I really wanted to go along to take pictures but apparently unless you are parasailing yourself, you can't go in the boat. :sad1: and I think they go about a mile out so you would need a good zoom on your camera.

We are all doing the banana boat though. That looks alot of fun
Sue
p.s looking forward to seeing your pics

Awesome, Sue! Maybe we can all get the same parasailing time slot/boat and I can take some pics for you! :)

I really want to do the banana boat too... seems like it would be a wild ride! :banana:

~ Angie

MommyTo5

01-30-2008, 02:03 PM

Oh Angie....I am having a little laugh at myself!

I just read back to post #40 and realized I hadn't stated my age. I'll be 40 in about 5 weeks! Denial I should think!! We are also following the cruise with a week at WDW. I have never been but I have been to DL. Do you mind if I ask you a few questions regarding strategy? I will keep the posts on WDW down - this is a cruise thread afterall!

There sure are a lot of kids/families here that are close in age and have similar interests. They will have sooooo much fun! My two are fans of the Wii and like their webkins as well. We will have to get them hooked up pre-cruise but...I'm not telling my kids for awhile yet!!

Congrats on turning 40 soon, izma! My DH is turning 40 on the cruise, so I'm trying to think of some ways to make it MAGICal for him. ;)

Feel free to ask me anything regarding WDW. We've been 8 times now since our first family trip in 2001. We are usually in the parks for 2 weeks although this year it was only one due to the fact that we had to save part of DH's vacation time for the cruise. I absolutely love our time there... some many wonderful family memories. :lovestruc

~ Angie

izma

01-30-2008, 03:07 PM

dthogue

01-31-2008, 08:28 PM

Hello,

So glad to have found you - we will be on the 11/15th cruise as well. It will be me, my DH and my DD's (16 and 10). This is oue 2nd DCL, we did the Eastern the first time. I haven't had time to read the entire thread, but I will. In the meantime, I'm looking forward to getting to know everyone.

Tammy

dmja716

01-31-2008, 08:51 PM

Welcome dthogue.

Only 9.5 months to go everyone.

I was up late the other night reading the DCL boards here and I had a dream that night, that I was on the cruise and I didnt get to do everything that I wanted to, so I was trying to do everything the last morning and they were trying to get me to leave and they had to chase me off the boat. It was pretty funny. I hope that doesnt happen:lmao:

izma

01-31-2008, 08:52 PM

Hello dthogue!

There's so much information here...I'm overwhelmed!

Glad to have you join us!

izma

02-01-2008, 02:31 PM

MommyTo5

02-01-2008, 03:45 PM

Oh!!!!

I forgot all about Thanksgiving (ours is different than yours)!!!

Would I be better off to go to WDW for 6 days BEFORE the cruise, store a suitcase full of cruise-unnecessaries at Bell services, and then spend a couple of days back at WDW AFTER the cruise...just to finish things off?

If you have the option to avoid Thanksgiving week in the parks, I would absolutely rearrange your schedule to do that. The week before our cruise would definitely be MUCH less busy and you should have just light to moderate crowds. Any time the kids are out of school here, the park attendance increases significantly - not to mention the fact that many families choose to plan their holiday get-togethers at WDW. We've been on busy days (President's Day weekend in February is pretty bad) - and on some of the slowest days on the year and I guarantee that you will have a much better time when you have shorter wait times, less crowded restaurants, etc...

And...I have another question. Can anyone tell me if there is a charge for bottles of water ordered through room service? I see soda's are free at meals and deck 9, but not water. We are big water drinkers.

Just curious.

They DO charge for bottled water, unfortunately. They have a case (24 bottle) deal that would save you a bit over purchasing individual bottles onboard... but your best bet would be to carry-on your own case(s) of water. If you'll have a rental car while you are in the area before the cruise, you could pick it up then or if you are taking a towncar/van/limo to port, you can generally request a free 15-30 minute grocery stop with most companies. Officially, DCL says you aren't supposed to bring your own food or drinks BUT many do it and I've never heard of anyone being questioned. I believe they do confiscate any opened food containers during the scanning process after you enter the DCL terminal, but you should be fine taking any sealed food or drink (even alcohol) items onboard. Note that hardsided coolers or ice inside of any cooler is not allowed.

MommyTo5

02-01-2008, 09:39 PM

They DO charge for bottled water, unfortunately. They have a case (24 bottle) deal that would save you a bit over purchasing individual bottles onboard...

Oops! I meant to add that the water on board is Evian - 16 oz. bottles and last I heard, it was $40/case.

Disneyday

02-03-2008, 09:56 AM

[QUOTE=MommyTo5;22924939]If you have the option to avoid Thanksgiving week in the parks, I would absolutely rearrange your schedule to do that. The week before our cruise would definitely be MUCH less busy and you should have just light to moderate crowds. Any time the kids are out of school here, the park attendance increases significantly - not to mention the fact that many families choose to plan their holiday get-togethers at WDW. We've been on busy days (President's Day weekend in February is pretty bad) - and on some of the slowest days on the year and I guarantee that you will have a much better time when you have shorter wait times, less crowded restaurants, etc...

Angie
Is it busy all week at WDW? We have 8 days after the cruise and were hoping to have a couple of days at the parks but have never been at holiday time before.
We decided to take our 2nd week after the cruise so at least theres something to look forward to. Imagine having to get off the ship AND fly home :sad1:
Sue

Welcome Dthogue!

MommyTo5

02-03-2008, 11:08 AM

Angie
Is it busy all week at WDW? We have 8 days after the cruise and were hoping to have a couple of days at the parks but have never been at holiday time before.
We decided to take our 2nd week after the cruise so at least theres something to look forward to. Imagine having to get off the ship AND fly home :sad1:
Sue

First, let me say that I haven't actually visted the parks this particular week, but I've been on these boards and other Disney lists since back on 2000 when we started planning our first family trip. I am obsessive about my Disney trips, so I read everything!!! I actually did some moderating for quite awhile (elsewhere - not here on the Dis) so I do feel qualified to give some advice on many topics! ;)

Anyhow, the parks will become increasingly crowded as the week goes on. Saturday thru Tuesday shouldn't be near as bad as later in the week. Wednesday - Saturday will be extremely crowded. The crowds will begin to lighten again on Sunday as many will head home that day.

Your best bet to avoid the crowds would be to go early in the week and avoid the park that's offering Extra Magic Hours to the WDW resort guests on that particular day. Also, make sure you plan you make a list of your must-do attractions, arrive early, and grab those Fast Passes!

izma

02-03-2008, 11:13 AM

Thanks for all the info Angie.

I am trying to work it out so we will spend 7 days at WDW before the cruise and 2 days after. I think that this is the best option;
- Avoiding the let down of having to go home right after the cruise
- Avoiding the big Thanksgiving crowds in the parks
- getting the RnR in after the 7 days at the parks
- still having two days after to try and sneak in a few of our favourite attractions before we head back to the icky Canadian winter!!

Can you get water instead of soda at the food spots on Deck 9 or are the "free" beverages strictly sodas? What about milk and juice? I am not a health food nut, we just aren't soda drinkers...and $40!, that's hysterical but I guess we'll pay it if we have to!!

I think it's rather short sighted of DCL to have the soda free instead of the water. A boat load of sugared up kids and checked-out parents?!?! My kids aren't used to all that sugar so one or two sodas and they're swinging from the chandelier!!

Sue, if your schedule is at all flexible maybe you should try to change it? Disney is so good at handling crowds though, I am sure you'll have a great time regardless!!

My kids got an E on Feb 1. They now have S S C and E. They were guessing San Fransisco (and Disney Cruise) and secretly hoping for the cruise, now the E has eliminated SF. I think I'm going to have to get mean and toss them a rogue letter...maybe an F next month - throw them off the scent!

I have decided to not tell them the date of departure, even after they have guessed our destination and I have confirmed. Then wake them up on the morning we leave with a full blast of the Magic's horn. I think this will be quite funny.

izma

02-03-2008, 11:18 AM

Hi Angie,

Why avoid the parks with the EMH day? We are staying at POP for the first 7 and then AKL for the last two. I was thinking we'd spend the day at another park and then go to whichever park has the EMH just for the EMH time. I hope that made sense!LOL!!!

izma

02-03-2008, 11:35 AM

DMJA716,

I heard there is awesome snorkeling in both Cozumel and Grand Cayman. The tour we are doing has 2 snorkeling stops. There are a couple companies I researched that do snorkeling in Cayman, the one we booked with and Captain Marvins dot com, I heard they were good too.
My DH is a runner. He said he will be glad to join you if it is early enough and he is not hungover:)[/QUOTE]

Has your husband ever done or considered the WDW marathon?

Has anyone here done or considered the WDW marathon?

I was going to do it to celebrate my big 40 but then booked the cruise and 2 trips in one year is just too much $$$.

I am over that line of thought now and I am pretty sold on the idea of doing the Goofy challenge in Jan 09. If you are a runner or know someone who has done this ...give me the skinny!!!

Disneyday

02-04-2008, 01:17 PM

Thanks for the advice Angie. I think we will do the parks until Tuesday and then shop and relax the rest of the week.

The busiest we have seen was in late June but I guess nothing like Thanksgiving. I always have a plan, the kids moan that I am like a military commander but at least they're never stuck in long lines
Sue

dmja716

02-04-2008, 01:25 PM

Hello izma,
My DH has only done about 8 miles tops, so no marathons in his near future. My close friend did the Disney Marathon in 07 and loved it. She stopped and took pictures with all characters on the way through the parks. She trained with Team in Training, a cancer fundraising group. She ran a marathon and raised alot of money, i give her a lot of credit. Let me know if you have any other questions and I can ask her.

DMJA716,

I heard there is awesome snorkeling in both Cozumel and Grand Cayman. The tour we are doing has 2 snorkeling stops. There are a couple companies I researched that do snorkeling in Cayman, the one we booked with and Captain Marvins dot com, I heard they were good too.
My DH is a runner. He said he will be glad to join you if it is early enough and he is not hungover:)

izma

02-04-2008, 02:57 PM

Thanks Dmja,

The Disney Marathon experience looks like fun to me. The Goofy Challenge is a half marathon (the Donald) on Saturday and the full marathon (the Mickey) on Sunday. If you complete both...you're Goofy! I think that's so funny!!! I think I will look into signing up and giving it a go. A big congratulations to your friend, it's a very empowering experience...and not as hard as you might think!

If we get the opportunity, I am sure your husband and I could run together nicely ( I mean that in the runningest way!LOL!!) Now...can we get you running!?!?!

izma

02-06-2008, 12:11 PM

I am reading through these boards a little at a time. There is certainly a load of information here. I have a couple of questions for my fellow Nov.15 08 cruisers.

What is your opinion on taking beach towels?

What is your opinion on taking your own snorkelling equipment? There is some decent/fun stuff at Costco/Sams right now. I thought maybe for valentines...or easter...HEY there aren't many holidays between now and DEPARTURE.OOoooooh I'm excited. what am I going to be like in OCT!?!?! Thanks goodness I've had the sense not to tell the kids!

What is your opinion on taking those beach shoes? We're going to the park at Cozumel - rocky corally or sandy?...not flipflops (I am of the "thong" vintage), but those ones that are good on rocks and coral.

Thanks!

izma

02-06-2008, 04:57 PM

It's me again.:wave:

I have a little info. I looked up sunrise and sunset times for our dates. Sunrise falls anywhere between 5:36 and 6:48 - depending on where we are. Sunset falls between 4:42 and 5:46 - depending on where we are.

I thought this might help people decide on early/late seatings for dinner and some of the excursions.

I must have OCD...but there it is!!!

Disneyday

02-06-2008, 05:25 PM

Hi Izma

We chose our dinner times when we booked last year. We booked the main seating, but I'm wondering if we might miss out on excursion days :confused3
This planing is really difficult even when you've read everything. Do you have a Passporter guide? There's loads of info in there, I read mine over and over just in case I've missed something.

I'm definately not packing any towels, I need the space for clothes, clothes and more clothes. I know that you are given towels when you go on excursions so that is a big help

Good question about shoes, I really want to keep these at a minimum as they weigh so much. Any suggestions anyone?

izma

02-06-2008, 05:44 PM

We booked for the earlier dinner seating. I just figured that the excursions would likely be back by sunset. What is considered the "main" seating? I was hoping to have time to fit the shows in after supper.

I do not have a passporter but I am tring to order them (DCL and WDW) at the local library.

crazykunis

02-06-2008, 05:58 PM

I found this on another site just to confirm memory was correct...you never know anymore...LOL. Yes, water, milk, lemonade available on deck 9. It's not bottle water but there are other options besides soda!!

There is also a milk, water, soft drinks, lemonade, tea and coffee station on Deck 9 aft that is available most of the time each day.

crazykunis

02-06-2008, 06:01 PM

:banana:

I remembered my password...yahooooo I can blog with everyone now!! Just as an update this will be our 2nd cruise and it will be me age (36) dh( 42) and our 3 son's 15, 11 and 9. Just follow 3 noisy boys to any of the food buffets and that will be us!!:rotfl2:

One of the excursions we want to do is the Sea Trek...anyone do that?? Is it fun??

dmja716

02-06-2008, 06:05 PM

We have first seating too and I was a little concerned about rushing back to the ship to get ready but I think we will be ok. It helps that Im traveling with 2 males, I will take the longest to get ready.
The only day Im worried about making dinner is Key West day. Sunset is at 5:40 pm. and the ship is there till 7:30, so I may just miss dinner that night to stay in port. But Im not planning that day, wherever it takes us.

My son will be 4 so, Im not too sure how many shows we will make after dinner, but if he is awake we will go if not I wont be too disappointed.

I made a packing list for the trip, It seems I need a lot of luggage. I did ask for a garment bag for Christmas so Im excited about that for our nicer clothing and it has alot of small compartments to put shoes and such. This should be fun packing in November, time to get creative;)

Disneyday

02-07-2008, 02:55 PM

[QUOTE=izma;23035619]We booked for the earlier dinner seating. I just figured that the excursions would likely be back by sunset. What is considered the "main" seating? I was hoping to have time to fit the shows in after supper.

Just looked in my Passporter and main (early) seating is at 5.30, 5.45 and 6.pm. Late is at 8.oo, 8.15 and 8.30. I think this will be a problem for us on Cozumel day as we are doing the Excaret excursion which is 7.5 hours. This would leave us 15mins to get ready for pirate night :eek: Do you think we could get away with a 'look what the tide washed up' look?

Talking of dinners is anyone trying to work out which day is best for Palo? I think because we have older kids our rotation will be PLAPLAP. Do you think that Parrot Cay maybe the one to miss?

coastiewifern

02-07-2008, 09:36 PM

I believe we have the 6 pm seating. My kids would never be able to wait for the late seating without being crabby during dinner.:sad2:
We really want to see the shows as well so I am hoping that will be a good time. When we went to WDW for DS 7th bday the were exhausted by 8 pm. Hoping this cruise won't be so energy depleting and more relaxing. My dd is a very picky eater which is one of the reasons we are taking the disney cruise. I figure they will have menus that cater to kids and if nothing else they will have cheese pizza right. Question is her favorite drink is chocolate milk. I hope they have this. My kids don't drink pop.

izma

02-07-2008, 10:51 PM

Xcaret looks marvelous but I have booked the royal dolphin swim at chanakaab park. Perhaps we'll have to leave Xcaret to another holiday. I will be anxious to hear your reviews!

I think a "look what's washed up" look is ENTIRELY appropriate for pirate night!!!

How "formal" do we dress our children for formal night? The most formal my DS has been is dress jeans! I was going to make him wear dress pants and a shirt and tie to the formal night. I think kids look silly in tuxes. Will we stick out like a sore thumb? It will be hard enough to get my first husband :rotfl2: into a suit, let alone DS!!

We are in the process of changing our park stay to pre-cruise. Is anyone else going to the parks pre-cruise? We will be at the POP century and I understand the buses do not go there. How the heck do we get to one of the hotels the bus does go to? Hauling the luggage could be dreadful! Should we just book other transportation?

Can you leave a parcel for the next occupants of your cabin? I was thinking of leaving sand pails and floats. I am sure someone on the next cruise could use them and it saves me from hauling them back or just throwing them out which seems so wasteful. What do you guys think?

I think we will stick to the main seating. I don't want to be too tired to eat (we're all foodies, that's the real reason I run:thumbsup2 ), and I am hoping to try and catch a show after supper.

Here's my crab...I looked into the Goofy Challenge for Jan 09 and it is already filled up!!! :sad2: I was all resigned to start training and !!POOF!! there went that plan. 2010 just sounds so spooky. Oh well I guess I'll just have longer to train (ruin my knees, blow a tendon, crap out a hip...I am no spring chicken!).

Angie, should I ask you park questions here or do we go to another thread?

Thanks AGAIN everyone!!

Disneyday

02-08-2008, 06:40 AM

Izma

Heres a link for the 'Passing it on' thread
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1627762

Ive not read it for a while, but there may be someone who is on the cruise before us that could leave sand toys for you. You just return the favour by passing it on.

Don't quote me on this, but I'm sure I've also seen a 'pass it on' thread for fridges at some of the Disney resorts

izma

02-08-2008, 09:55 AM

Another plan gone...DCL does not allow this anymore. I can understand why.

Disneyday

02-10-2008, 01:42 PM

Another plan gone...DCL does not allow this anymore. I can understand why.

Thats a shame it was a great idea, but I suppose a lot of work for Guest Services.
We had started making magnets for our door but I'm in 2 minds now after reading this thread
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1710271&page=1

I am still going to make the fish extender though
sue:)

izma

02-10-2008, 02:47 PM

I think DCL probably prohibits "pass it on" for legal reasons. As in...if someone were to leave you something that is banned in the US or any of the ports on the itinerary. I imagine the liability issue is pretty sticky!!

I would go ahead with the magnets. They sound like fun!

For any of you who are going to be in the area prior to the cruise. There is a space shuttle launch scheduled for Nov. 6, 11pm-ish (a rare night launch). NASA hasn't announced it officially yet...at least they hadn't last time I checked.

As a result, I have changes my holiday schedule AGAIN!!! We have added 2 extra days...I wonder if I will qualify for the residents discount:rotfl2:

crazykunis

02-10-2008, 06:04 PM

My thought was to come in a few days early so I don't have to worry about flying out of PA in November and missing the boat leaving. Plus we can extend and visit the space center that the kids have wanted to do. Now I am thinking I should make it a longer vacation and visit sea world too...LOL....

I can't wait though...November seems ages away...

izma

02-12-2008, 10:51 AM

Hello all!!

More questions!!!

I have read something on this thread about a Christmas Party. Is there one on the ship during our cruise?

Are we doing fish extenders? It could be fun!

Oh, and how about boycotting Feb. 29th. I thinks it's unfair that we have an extra day to wait. Let's just ignore it!!

crazykunis

02-12-2008, 05:59 PM

I need to read up a little more on the fish extenders but I think it would be fun. I hope to meet everyone on the ship and form some great friendships. Especially for my boys. 2 of 3 can be shy but when the make friends they are at peace (ie: leave us alone..LOL)

I was wondering if the ship would be decorated at all since it is the week before thanksgiving!! Anyone else a little stressed about that....I am thinking I should of made it a full 2 weeks and just have thanksgiving in Florida.

bambilin

02-12-2008, 08:04 PM

I just figured out how to find this boar, duh!! I am on Cruise Critic thread as well. Will be on the 11/15/08 cruise with my hubby and two boys who will be ages 4 (well 6 weeks shy of 4 that is!) and 15 months. We are also sailing with another couple with two girls ages 8 and 10. I have not read all of the posts yet, but I will as soon as I get some free time. We are all from New York, sailed on the Magic in 2002 when we were single and no kids. Guess we won't be visiting Serenity Bay this time around!! :0)

Just wanted to jump on to join the party!

Linda:goodvibes

izma

02-13-2008, 09:43 AM

Welcome Bambilin! :welcome:

LauraLap

02-13-2008, 11:10 AM

Hi Everyone! I'm new too. We just booked this cruise. Looking forward to getting ot know everyone!

:)

MommyTo5

02-13-2008, 12:12 PM

Welcome aboard, bambilin and LauraLap! :welcome:

Glad you joined us!!!

MommyTo5

02-13-2008, 12:13 PM

I was wondering if the ship would be decorated at all since it is the week before thanksgiving!! Anyone else a little stressed about that....I am thinking I should of made it a full 2 weeks and just have thanksgiving in Florida.

I've read that we should definitely catch some/most of the Christmas decorations! I'm considering packing Santa Hats and taking a nice family pic in front of the tree to put on our Holiday cards this year! :)

MommyTo5

02-13-2008, 12:15 PM

Hello all!!

More questions!!!

I have read something on this thread about a Christmas Party. Is there one on the ship during our cruise?

The Christmas party we were discussing at one point is Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party (MVMCP) and it takes place on several dates in November/December at the Magic Kingdom. I've always read wonderful things about it!!!

MommyTo5

02-13-2008, 12:36 PM

How "formal" do we dress our children for formal night? The most formal my DS has been is dress jeans! I was going to make him wear dress pants and a shirt and tie to the formal night. I think kids look silly in tuxes. Will we stick out like a sore thumb? It will be hard enough to get my first husband :rotfl2: into a suit, let alone DS!!

I think this is what most do... ;)

On our first cruise (and I'm 99% sure that I will do the same for this cruise), I made our Palo reservation for Formal Night solely to avoid having to purchase/pack the extra clothes & shoes the boys would need to dress 'formal'. It wouldn't be an issue for my girls (they have the clothes and already take up more suitcase room - lol), but the boys are really hard on their clothes and generally live in jeans/shorts and hoodies/t-shirts. I'd rather just bring khakis & polos for them. With 6 kids, our packing space will be limited anyway! (We are shooting for 4 large suitcases, 3 medium suitcases, & 1 carry-on for the 7-night cruise & 2 nights hotel) So --- on formal night, we'll just feed the kiddos an early Dinner from Pluto's and send them to their clubs.

We are in the process of changing our park stay to pre-cruise. Is anyone else going to the parks pre-cruise? We will be at the POP century and I understand the buses do not go there. How the heck do we get to one of the hotels the bus does go to? Hauling the luggage could be dreadful! Should we just book other transportation?

If it were me, I would book private transportation. As a bonus, you will likely save money this way! If you'd like to PM me, I can tell you the service that we've used before and will use again in November along with a discount code. I plan on booking as soon as I figure out our pick-up/drop-off times.

Angie, should I ask you park questions here or do we go to another thread?

I don't mind answering them here! ;)

MommyTo5

02-13-2008, 12:50 PM

I figure they will have menus that cater to kids and if nothing else they will have cheese pizza right.

At Pinnochio's Pizzeria. The restaurant is (walk-up) poolside, but you can carry the pizza anywhere you wish! :)

Question is her favorite drink is chocolate milk. I hope they have this. My kids don't drink pop.

They do have chocolate milk at the buffets (definitely at breakfast, not sure about at lunch time), in the 3 Dining Rooms during evening meals, and thru room service. You may want to grab and few extra off the buffet and keep in your room just in case your son wants a drink at an off-time.

bambilin

02-13-2008, 12:54 PM

I may be late in jumping in on this but when we sailed on the Disney Magic in 2002, most of the shows were set up so if you had early seating you went after dinner and if you had late seating you went before. Don't know if that helps anyone.

We took second seating, luckily my kids are used to eating late because of our work schedules.

I really have to take the time to read all of the posts and get better aquainted, just kind of hard with a 3 year old and a 5 month old!! :rotfl:

bambilin

02-13-2008, 12:56 PM

Wow that would be great if the ship has started ecorating. We got a great Christmas Card pic on RCCL the week after Thanksgiving in 2006. We will make sure to bring appropriate outfits for the kids just in case.

Mickey's Very Merry Christmas party doesn't start till Thanksgiving weekend I am petty sure. We have made it a few times. We are going to stay one night pre-cruise at Caribbean Beach Resort. I got a postcard for 40% off for the stay and the Disney bus will pick us up there to take us to the ship! :goodvibes

MommyTo5

02-13-2008, 01:09 PM

We chose our dinner times when we booked last year. We booked the main seating, but I'm wondering if we might miss out on excursion days :confused3

We had Early Seating (now referred to as Main Seating) on our last cruise and missed dinner twice due to being in port... if we had actually made our other two ports, I probably would have missed dinner more than we did!
:rolleyes: Even though we'll have a 3-yr-old this cruise, I chose Late Seating to see if it works out any better. I figure we can always feed her early if we need to.

MommyTo5

02-13-2008, 01:19 PM

I am reading through these boards a little at a time. There is certainly a load of information here. I have a couple of questions for my fellow Nov.15 08 cruisers.

What is your opinion on taking beach towels?

No towels for us - we simply won't have room in the suitcases!

What is your opinion on taking your own snorkelling equipment? There is some decent/fun stuff at Costco/Sams right now. I thought maybe for valentines...or easter...HEY there aren't many holidays between now and DEPARTURE.OOoooooh I'm excited. what am I going to be like in OCT!?!?! Thanks goodness I've had the sense not to tell the kids!

If you'll have the room, go for it! I thought about waiting and checking the Summer Clearance sales... again, we'll have the issue whether or not we'll have the room, but if I can get a really great bargain, I may pick up a few things.

What is your opinion on taking those beach shoes? We're going to the park at Cozumel - rocky corally or sandy?...not flipflops (I am of the "thong" vintage), but those ones that are good on rocks and coral.

Thanks!

Yes - definitely bring the beach/swim shoes! I think you'll definitely be thankful you did.

pirate:

MommyTo5

02-13-2008, 01:26 PM

Mickey's Very Merry Christmas party doesn't start till Thanksgiving weekend I am petty sure.

2007 MVMCP dates were:
November 12, 15, 16, 25, 27, 29, 30

December 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11, 13, 14, 16, 18, 20, 21

Last year, there were no Saturday dates... I'm bummed!

I was hoping for a November 22 MVMCP this year since we'll be flying home on Sunday. :santa:

LauraLap

02-13-2008, 01:27 PM

Well, since I am extremely new to this Disney cruising thing I'm hoping you all could help me out some. We have done Royal Caribbean twice, but I'm thinking this is going to be a completely different experience!

We're thinking of flying in on the 13th and staying at a disney resort for one or two nights, and doing Magic Kindom on the 14th. What is the best way to get a good deal to do all this? PLUS transportation to the port. Any tips? I'm not even sure we can afford all that! Maybe it's wishful thinking........

bambilin

02-13-2008, 06:51 PM

Well, we booked Caribbean Beach Resort for $111.67 for one night on 11/14 and we could have gotten All Star for $67 for the night. We did not do tickets since it will only be one day, we will wait.

The Disney Bus picks you up at the airport, you do not even need to wait for your luggage at the airport, they deliver it for you.

If you purchase transfers from DCL, they will pick you up at many of the resorts and then of course back to the airport. They don't pick up from the value resorts but do from moderate, that's why we went with Caribeean Beach so we wouldn't have to schlep around on the shuttle.

My email address home is bambilin@aol.com if you wanted to touch base!:wizard:

bambilin

02-13-2008, 06:52 PM

I am with you on the late seating for sure and hey thanks for the info on the dates for MVMC Party. I had no idea they start it before Thanksgiving. We are staying at WDW on 11/14 maybe we will get lucky!!! Hope you do also.:rotfl:

LauraLap

02-14-2008, 08:21 AM

LauraLap

02-15-2008, 08:08 PM

LOL....hmmmm......seems I'm a thread killer! LOL

bambilin

02-15-2008, 09:08 PM

I got a postcard, probably because we have a Disney Visa card, and it gave me a special offer code. As I understand from my TA, I am allowed to book 3 rooms with that code. I am not sure if the rooms would all have to be the same details, you know like since we booked 1 night at Caribbean Beach, the other two rooms would have to be the same?

Anyway, the folks travelling with us already have points they are using for their room, so if you wanted to book the room for 1 nite at Caribbean Beach, I coudl give you my TA's info and he could book you as well.

We paid for "ground transfers" when we booked the cruise. Since Disney already picks you up for free at the airport and brings you to the hotel, our first "transfer" will be from Caribbean Beach to the pier. If you already paid for transfers, you would be able to do the same.

I gave you my home email so feel free to PM me if you wanted to discuss further. My MOm is having hip replacement surgery tomorrow, so don't think I am ignoring you if it takes a little while to get back to you!!:goodvibes

izma

02-16-2008, 01:21 PM

...9 months! :cool1:

Disneyday

02-16-2008, 02:00 PM

Izma- Yes I would love to do fish extenders and I think Dana mentioned in an earlier post that she would like to.

Anyone else interested? I think it would be fun for the kids.

Heres the thread on how to make them
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1219607
Sue

dmja716

02-16-2008, 02:40 PM

Hello Everyone!!
Yeah, it is less than 9 months today:cool1:

I will definitely be up for doing fish extenders. I am going to try and make it myself:idea: Ive seen here on the boards where some people just made a satchel looking fish extender if that might be easier for some of us. But I am definitely bringing a zip tie to lock it up.

I think the kids will love the fish extender exchange. I have been trying to think of some New Jersey related goodies for the kids.

I made a spreadsheet of all our names and info, if anyone wants it let me know and I can send it to you. It will be good for doing the fish extender goodie delivering on board.

Hope everyone has a good weekend,
Dana

izma

02-16-2008, 03:19 PM

I shall extend my fish!

I'll be wanting a copy of that spreadsheet when the date gets closer!

Disneyday

02-16-2008, 03:23 PM

Wow you are so organised Dana! I would like a copy of the spread sheet later on if that would be ok. I could get some London souveniers or perhaps something from Sherwood Forest as we live about 30mins from there

I am with you on the zip tie after reading about things getting pinched. I can't believe people would do that:confused3
Sue

dmja716

02-16-2008, 04:57 PM

I will be happy to share it with everyone.

I have a read a few stories here on the board about people's room # changing at the port, etc. I guess we will figure it all out when we board. Maybe we could arrange a DIS meet the first or second day, get everyone's room numbers squared away and introduce ourselves to each other.

I have been checking airfare everyday from Newark to Orlando and prices just arent going down to where I would like. I am still waiting on Jet Blue to release their rates. Has anyone else booked their flights yet??

izma

02-16-2008, 05:10 PM

Perhaps someone familiar with the ship (I'm a newbie) could suggest a meeting spot for sometime after we board. We could figure things out then.

Of all the places in the world, a Disney cruise shouldn't be somewhere you'd have to worry about your extender getting pinched!!! Shame.:sad2:

izma

02-16-2008, 05:37 PM

LauraLap

02-16-2008, 07:05 PM

Hey everyone! I've been perusing the DIS boards, and getting soooo excited. I mean, this 9 months is going to go so S-L-O-W-L-Y! Yikes. I'm really hoping that Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party is on that Friday night before the cruise, that would be awesome.

As for Fish Extenders, I'm not too familiar with them just yet, I'll have to go digging through posts to figure it out......but sounds like fun to me. I'm sure the kids will love it. Maybe I can fit some little Canada Geese in there or something, LOL.

Lin....thanks for the offer, you're so sweet! For now I don't know if we're coming 1 or 2 nights ahead, and what's going on, so for now I'm not going to book anything. Then again, that's probably not too smart, huh?

MommyTo5

02-16-2008, 09:49 PM

I shall extend my fish!

I'll be wanting a copy of that spreadsheet when the date gets closer!

Me too! Sounds fun!

MommyTo5

02-16-2008, 10:06 PM

Hey Mommy to 5...or 6... (9months until the cruise!?!) Just teasing.

I see you are looking for a hanging toiletries bag. I think the Mary Kay is too small for your gang. I might suggest the Mary Kay for your Mommy things and a Medium LLBean for the shared items for the rest.

Just a thought!

Good suggestion! I'm getting lots of great feedback on that... and I think I'm now aiming towards 2 bags. Then again, I don't know if we will have the room for 2. Decisions, decisions! We'll have the usually slew of meds and first aid products (just in case), going to aim for all trial sizes of all of the health/beauty products (I even bought 2 of the cutest mini hairbrushes! LOL), then DDs #2 and #3 will have some hair accesories that I'd love to squeeze in there, and of course, my daily contacts & make-up. I'm wondering if maybe 1 of the LL Bean large bags might even work? Just thinking out loud here. I suppose I could order and return if the size isn't right. ;)

I want to start packing now! :laughing:

MommyTo5

02-16-2008, 10:22 PM

Perhaps someone familiar with the ship (I'm a newbie) could suggest a meeting spot for sometime after we board.

I'd love to meet you all on Day #1!!! Maybe we could get together for the Sailaway Party? I have a great spot in mind. :) We could grab some tables on Deck #10 and we'd overlook the action without being imersed IN the action.

Our view would be similar to this... (post #113)
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1709938&page=8

We could hopefully secure tables a bit closer to the stage though. Anyone that wanted to stand along the railing could - obviously.

dmja716

02-17-2008, 12:53 AM

Meeting up at the Sailaway party sounds like a great idea.

I kind of did start "packing". I put stuff I have bought already in a drawer, like my over the door shoe organizer (Target $5.99) , Downy wrinkle release spray, and a few other travel size toiletries.

I found some great websites for matching family Hawaiian style outfits if anyone is interested just let me know.

I am already getting jealous of my fellow cruisers who are planning to stay at the parks for a few days around this vacation. Im really trying to talk DH into it. Wish me luck:thumbsup2

LauraLap

02-17-2008, 08:39 AM

Morning everyone! So, it's now LESS than 9 months, right? Does that mean we can say 8 months? LOL.

The exciting thing happening for us is that we're looking at buying a new washer/dryer set.....very exciting. I think we're getting candy apple red set, too bad I can't get it with white dots so I can channel Minnie Mouse as I'm doing my laundry.

dmja716 - I'm very impressed with your early packing. I'm sure I'll be packing on November 12th or so.

Mommyto6 - Sounds like a good place to meet for the sailaway party. I'll follow your lead.

bambilin

02-17-2008, 10:32 PM

OK I am really lost, don't knwo anything about the "fish extenders" but I will try to find out what you are all talking about. If anyone would be kind enough to PM me that would be great! LOL

My Mom had her right hip replaced yesterday and between that, a 3 year oldf and an almost 6 month old, I do not get much time for the computer, LOL.

No problem Laura, I think I can use my code till 3/21 if you change your mind!

I arranged a Cruise Critic get together on NCL for my last Cruise. They arranged a spot for us, had cookies, coffee, juice and sent several of the ship's officers to greet us. We could still meet for the sail-a-way party but I would be happy to check if they can arrange it for us on the Magic. Everyone OK with me checking?

Anyone know how many of us there are so far? They will ask that and probably won't confrim anything this early but it's good to check.

I haven't started looking into airfare yet, guess I better get moving.

:goodvibes

bambilin

02-17-2008, 10:34 PM

I meant I would check to see if they do the same via the DIS boards :surfweb: !!

bambilin

02-17-2008, 11:29 PM

Oh boy, guess what? I have two Fish extenders" in my son Dillon's room. I bought them for $1.99 each at a 99 cents and up store before my RCCL cruise in 2005. Used them for milk and juice boxes, lotions, etc, in our cabin. Have a blue one and a green one both with Mickey on them, I use them for the boys' shoes. Who knew?? LOL

Sorry to monopolize with so many posts!!!:rotfl:

dmja716

02-18-2008, 08:45 AM

Good morning.

So far there are 66 of us, including kids. Wow that is a lot of us.

I dont mind if you check Lin.

Im definitely going to make my fish extender in the next couple months and get it over with. Maybe at work I can go through the thread, take notes, and then make a plan of attack.

Have a nice day:goodvibes

LauraLap

02-18-2008, 02:40 PM

Hey everyone! Did some shopping this morning and we're now going to be the owners of new front loading washer/dryer set :yay: :yay: :woohoo: I'm hoping having a red laundry set will make me more happy to do laundry! :laundy:

My grandmother is a sewer/embroiderer......I'm emailed her some of the dis threads re: the fish extenders and I'm hoping she'll make one for us as she's soooo talented.

Other than that, I've been obsessively reading these boards and I'm in full Disney mode - not good considering it's still 9 months away!

Lin - So, we've decided to go 2 nights before, do you think I could use the code if we're going for two nights? I'm fine with you looking into having a little party for us. I met some people from Cruise Critic on my Liberty cruise (Royal Caribbean) and that was really cool.

:wizard:

Disneyday

02-18-2008, 04:13 PM

Laura
What do you mean 9 months away! Its 8 months and 4 weeks and I won't accept any hours, minutes or seconds more than that ;)

Lin
That would be great if you could organise a get together. I'm sure I read that they will section off a part of a lounge or restaurant for you. Trouble is I read so much on these boards I can never remember where I've seen it.
Sue

LauraLap

02-18-2008, 06:20 PM

Laura
What do you mean 9 months away! Its 8 months and 4 weeks and I won't accept any hours, minutes or seconds more than that ;)

Sorry, what was I thinking adding time like that? :scared1:

crazykunis

02-18-2008, 08:58 PM

I would definately love to do this...and bring something from pgh to share with all!! I have to read up on a little more but count me in.

Definately think meeting place a great idea!!

bambilin

02-19-2008, 04:28 PM

I emailed my TA to find out if they will allow you to do 2 nites since we are using the code for only 1.

Will let you know when I hear back from him:rolleyes:

LauraLap

02-19-2008, 05:41 PM

I emailed my TA to find out if they will allow you to do 2 nites since we are using the code for only 1.

Will let you know when I hear back from him:rolleyes:

Thanks! You're too sweet helping a completel stranger :lovestruc

izma

02-19-2008, 06:28 PM

LauraLap - fellow canuck, we are staying at the park before the cruise but we are booked on the disney bus to get to the port. I figured it was just part of the disney cruise experience. If anyone here can give me a worthy reason to arrange transport other than the disney bus (like gettting to port extra early in hopes of receiving a cabin upgrade) perhaps we could share some kind of transportation to the port? I guess we'll just see.

A change in laundry equipment helped my attitude towards Mt. Washmore last year, hope the red serves you likewise!

OK Mommytofive where are we meeting!

ALawley

02-19-2008, 10:51 PM

Just got through reading the whole thread and wanted to say howdy from Texas and we are sailing on the Western 11/15 as well! We are a group of friends who sailed together on our first cruise Halloween '07, on the Eastern cruise and LOVED it so much we all booked onboard for the 11/15 Western. There will be 8 of us total from 3 different families:my husband & me, bf, bf's husband & daughter (16), bf#2, bf#2's husband & daughter (16). This is our second cruise together and our 5th vacation together! We cannot wait & look forward to meeting & greeting ya'll onboard!

My hubby & I have been disney vacationing quite regularly since 1992 and our DVC members as well, we will do a week before and 2 days after! Our friends will do a couple of days before and a couple of days after.

We are so excited as this will be our first trip to Castaway Cay.....Hurricane Noel decided to visit CC the night before we were scheduled to arrive, so we were diverted to Nassau Bahamas! We actually woke up to the sounds of 'battling' ship horns, as the Disney Wonder was ported right next to the Magic and they were blasting away! It was quite a sight!

We shall keep checking for plans to meet!

Disneyday

02-20-2008, 10:01 AM

:welcome: ALawley

Looking forward to meeting you and your BF's

Shame about Castaway Cay last year. Fingers crossed it doesn't happen again

I saw a video of the 'battling' ships horns on You tube, it must have been an awesome sound to wake up to.

Sue:goodvibes

LauraLap

02-20-2008, 12:15 PM

bambilin

02-20-2008, 05:20 PM

Hey Laura, bad news. With my "special offer code" any of the other two rooms booked would also have to be for only 1 night at the Caribbean Beach. I know you want to stay for two so I guess that is not much help.
If for any reason you change your mind and only need the one night, I will be happy to give you my TA info. We know we are only using the one room, so why not help my fellow cruisers if possible!! :goodvibes

For you first timers at Castaway Cay, it is just beautiful!! We spent most of the time at Serenity Bay last time (single then!) but did go over to the family beach to meet up with our family and friends and go snorkeling. We had a blast. And since we have been, they added the stingrays, and towed in the Ghost Ship, so I am sure it will be even more fun this time around.

I am hoping I can convince Dillon (3) to be a pirate for Halloween because then Trevor can be one as well and we can bring the costumes for the priate party. Not sure how much influence I have though, at 16 months Dillon announced that he wanted to be Emeril for Halloween. My MOm said, "Elmo?" and he said "no Nanny Emeril, BAM!" So you see he definitely has a minf od his own!! LOL:wizard:

LauraLap

02-20-2008, 06:51 PM

Thanks Lin! No worries. I think we're going to use airmiles to book and I'd like to stay at the POFQ I think. Dillon sounds HILARIOUS!!

ALawley

02-20-2008, 10:26 PM

I don't know what we're doing for transportation yet. I would really love to get a Palo reservation so I probably need to be really early onboard, so I'm thinking about renting a car. But I haven't decided yet. Too many decisions....I could have worse problems though :laughing:

Last year we used the services of a private shuttle to get us to the port. We left Coronado Springs at around 9:30 am, stopped at a grocery store before arriving at the port and still arrived by 10:45. We were boarding group 8, we think....that's what we remember at least....and we went straight to sign up for Palo and got reservations. There were not many choices and we ended up taking a reservation on the night of the pirate party...missed a good deal of the party! We won't do that again, but we will do Palo, it was amazing! We paid less than the Disney Cruise Line Buss for the service and really liked the control of time and the convenience of not stopping at multiple resorts and such, send me a pm and i'll give you the name of the service if you are interested.

This year we will stay at the Radisson at the Cape the night before. We want to wake up and see the ship!

ALawley

02-21-2008, 10:43 PM

Disneyday ~ I found the battling horns of the Wonder and Magic on youtube and it made me want to go NOW right NOW. I shared the link with my bf's and we all agreed Nov. 15 just cannot get here soon enough! thanks for telling me it was out there!

bambilin

02-22-2008, 03:43 PM

Hey, I forgot to let you know we are in cabin 6562. I have to ask my friend Alice her cabin number.

So in all we are:

Linda & Derrick
Dillon 3, Trevor 1

Alice & Davin
Rhiannon 10, Patty 8

We just booked the Dolphin Encounter and Swim today over the phone.
Davin and Rhiannon will do the swim at 1 and we can all watch and then the rest of us do the encounter at 3:30. We paid sooo much less by booking directly, even got 5% off the website rate and a voucher for the taxi as well. The lady was sooo nice, and it was a toll free number so....

Bye for now!:cutie:

LauraLap

02-22-2008, 09:54 PM

Lin, what is the recommended ages for the Dolphin Encounter? And do you have a link?

Audie, thanks....I'll look into it.

Disneyday

02-23-2008, 11:36 AM

izma

02-23-2008, 11:55 PM

Hello i'm alice, I am 9 (10, when i am on the cruise) My favourite disney character is Tinkerbell .Ilove fairies :tinker: and high school musical.:cutie:

I can't wait for the cruise :woohoo: i am going to eat lots of:mickeybar yum yum .
I have a :dogdance: called Mickey, a :cat: called Mog, a rabbit called Bob

Would anyone like to write to me :rainbow: :jumping1:

richard.day2@talktalk.net

Hello Alice! I'm Leslie. :flower3: I have a daughter who will be on the cruise, she doesn't know yet though! Her name is Kennedy and guess what? She is nine years old as well...but she will be ten on the cruise!!!! When I finally tell her, I'll make sure that she writes you a note here. It won't be for awhile though!

We have a dog named Coco, a cat named Empress Woo, and a cat named Tonks (she is very white and very deaf!!). We live on a farm.

Do you like cadbury flake bars? They have been a favourite of mine since I visited the UK a long time ago! Yummmm!!!

LauraLap

02-24-2008, 09:31 AM

Hi Alice! You sound so sweet. I love Tinkerbell too :)

Well, we're off to Great Wolf Lodge today......can't wait. It's not Disney, but I think it is the next best thing to it I hope.

coastiewifern

02-24-2008, 09:31 AM

I am interested in joining in doing fish extenders for my 9(DS) and 6(DD) year old. How does this work exactly? Do you do this like a secret santa where you would be assigned kids to buy things for? I am hoping we can arrange a meet on the ship. Sounds like someone is working on that. I saw someone booked a dolphin excursion on their own. Where did you do that through? I'd like to look at the website and see age requirements.

Thanks
Christie

dmja716

02-24-2008, 10:23 AM

Good morning,
I dont know for sure how the fish extender gifts work?? I was thinking I would just count how many kids we have and get that many presents. But whatever we all come up with is fine. Anyone have ideas???

I booked the Royal swim at Chankaanaab park at dolphindiscovery dot com.
They charged our credit card already. My DH is doing it not me. Hopefully I can watch.

Im pretty sure as the cruise date gets closer we will have all the details worked out of a meet and the fish extenders. I think Angie suggested meeting up at the Sailaway party. Im a newbie so whatever everyone wants to do is fine with me.

Have a great day,
Dana

bambilin

02-24-2008, 11:37 AM

I'm Linda (my frineds all call me Lin!). My boys are little, Dillon and Trevor and we have a cat named Simba!

My friend's daughters Patty & Rhiannon will be on the cruise with us also.
Rhiannon will be 10 and Patty will be 8 so you are right in the middle. They are not on these bords yet but I am sure they will be happy to know about the other girls in the crowd!!

To all:

I sent an email off to see who I need to speak to to coordinate the meet on the ship.

Are there real rules for the fish extender things? I have a little present for the adults as well. (it is really nothing at all but a little trick an elderly gentleman from England shared with me on my first cruise and it has always come in handy!!)

We also booked through Dolphin Discovery but I called the 800#(well 866 really but still toll free!) and spoke to Ana Rojas and she was able to get me the extra 5% off and since there were 4 adults, we got the taxi couchers as well. You can cancel up to 4 days before and get full refund and if for any reason the ship cannot dock in Cozumel, a letter from the Concierge sent to Dolphin Discovery also gets you a refund. Davin and Rhiannon (10) are doing the swim and Alice, Patty (8) Me and hubby Derrick, adn Dillon (3) and Trevor (1) are all doing the encounter. If you book through them all kids under 5 are free with a paying adult!

OK you are all probably tired of reading now, and off to visit Mom at rehab for her hip surgery!! :rolleyes:

bambilin

02-24-2008, 11:39 AM

Oh yes and I agree we should meet at the Sail-a-way party, they are so much fun!!

And then let the ship arrange another formal meet as well!:goodvibes

Disneyday

02-24-2008, 11:59 AM

Looking forward to meeting everone at the sailaway party, but.....
how will we recognise each other?

I'm not sure about how the fish extenders work, perhaps we should ask a question on the main board.
What if there are 100's of us by Nov, it will take a day to deliver gifts and an extra suitcase :faint: Would we split into groups?
Sue

Ps Alice was thrilled by your lovely replies

dmja716

02-24-2008, 12:40 PM

That is a good question on how we will recognize each other. If we meet up at a specific spot at the sailaway party then maybe that will be good. Maybe we can have a second meet at a more precise location also??

As far as the fish extender gifts, it will be cumbersome to bring so many gifts if there are a lot more people that join us. "Secret Santa" is a good idea. We each pick one family to do before the cruise. If someone wants to get extra goodies for everyone in the group they are more than welcome to.
That way everyone only has to bring one family worth of gifts and if they want to do more than that, it is up to them.

coastiewifern

02-24-2008, 02:30 PM

I like the idea of picking one family. Bringing something for everyone would be too time consuming to find everything and too much to pack. I would like to find a family that would like to do a small gift each night in the extender for the kids. Any takers?

ALawley

02-24-2008, 10:31 PM

On our cruise in Oct. 07, a group of DISsers had T'shirts made for the cruise. They were quite noticeable, as they were lime green! We thought they were a family reunion since each time someone arrived in the terminal wearing one of the shirts folks would wave, cheer and greet each other most warmly!

bambilin

02-25-2008, 11:36 AM

When we sailed on the Magic on 2002 my group all wore the same t-shirts. We ordered the t shirts bulk, I decided what would be on them and my friend Kathy did them herself. Ours was a white shirt that said:

Look out Mickey Here We Come
Cruise Crew 2002

On the back, we had everyone's name under the character they had selected to represent themselves. People were asking where could they get one. It was so funny, why would they want a shirt with our names? LOL

I would:beach: ask Kathy, but we had 27 people in our group, I think this is a bit too big of a group. :goodvibes

Disneyday

02-25-2008, 12:53 PM

Perhaps if someone is good at designing a logo, we could buy some iron on transfer paper and each family make their own.
I think lime green is the official Dis board colour

Anyone any ideas?

izma

02-25-2008, 03:58 PM

MommyTo5

02-25-2008, 04:06 PM

OK Mommytofive where are we meeting!

Sounds like everyone is up for meeting for the Sail Away Party ::yes:: so...

How about we meet on Deck 10 overlooking the Goofy Pool (which will be covered for the party at this time - obviously), Starboard Side. We'll plan to meet immediately following the Safety Drill - and actually, if we want to reserve a few tables for our group, it would be great if a few of us could give our lifevests to our families (to take back to our staterooms) and run up to Deck 10 to save tables. This is a popular spot, but I think if maybe 3-4 of us can race up there, we should be able to grab a few tables together.

Just got through reading the whole thread and wanted to say howdy from Texas and we are sailing on the Western 11/15 as well!

Hi ALawley!!! Glad you joined us! :welcome:

I don't know what we're doing for transportation yet.

We went ahead and booked our transportation last week - private van from the Hyatt Regency @ Orlando International Airport to the port... and then back to the Hyatt again for a post cruise night. $192 RT. Not a bad price at all for the 8 of us! ;)

Looking forward to meeting everone at the sailaway party, but.....
how will we recognise each other?

Hmmm... :scratchin

I think we need to post pics of ourselves (and our families) to this thread!

Also, maybe someone could make nametags for everyone - either stickers or pin-back tags! I could possibly do it... if I can convince DH to buy me a new printer. Mine stinks! :rolleyes: The nametag maker could mail the nametags out in advance and we could wear them right from the start as we enter the terminal... or maybe they could be handed out upon arrival at the sail away party. Not sure of the cost of this, but I'd be more than happy to pitch in financially if someone else wants to take this on. :thumbsup2

On our cruise in Oct. 07, a group of DISsers had T'shirts made for the cruise. They were quite noticeable, as they were lime green! We thought they were a family reunion since each time someone arrived in the terminal wearing one of the shirts folks would wave, cheer and greet each other most warmly!

I did this with the group I sailed with last time... my family was not at all thrilled to wear matching bright yellow tees. They've begged me not to force them to do something similar again! :rotfl2:

MommyTo5

02-25-2008, 04:59 PM

I like the idea of the secret santa format. Our group is getting big and it will be hard to bring stuff for everyone. I bet mommytofive will have some great input on this. As far as recognizing each other...that's not an avatar...it's an actual picture of me...LOL!!!! Perhaps we could have at least one member of each family have a lime green t-shirt with their Dis board name...or even just a lime green t-shirt.

We'll come up with something before Nov 15!

Input on the Fish Extenders / Secret Santa???

I have no idea... I'm not sure how the other groups have worked it. My input is ------------- [I think we should probably ask on the main Cruise forum!]

264 days To Go!

:beach:

Woohoo!!!

I still haven't decided on excursions. I'd love to hear what you all are planning!!!

~ Angie

coastiewifern

02-25-2008, 05:12 PM

How hard will it be to find lime green shirts? We are planning to have matching shirts as a family for the set sailing day. There are so many cute designs on these boards. I like the idea of our group doing a design for the t-shirt front and then having our names on the back in a design of our liking. I am concerned about lime green only because trying to find it in adult, kids, toddler, infant (for those geeks like me who want to have their families match) sizes could be hard.
Christie

izma

02-26-2008, 10:01 AM

While DIS-ing in my sleep last night, I came up with this...

How about Cast Member Badges as a way of identifying ourselves?

I have read on the board that you can get them in some gift shops in the park for $4-5. They are opposite in colour to the "real" cast member badges.

They would be inexpensive, easy to pack and a neat little keepsake. You could wear them with almost any outfit, and you can have your name engraved on them (60+ names are quite a few to remember). Also, if you are wearing something special for embarkation pictures, it wouldn't muck that up AND you wouldn't have to lug extra T-shirts in your carry-aboard.

I wonder if guest services would send them out...

Does any one know if the CM Badges are different from the ones at the park? Cruise Veterans?

The only big drawback I can see is that people might think we are actually CM's. I am sure after all of the research that we have all done, we'd likely be able to answer their questions!:rotfl:

Whatdoyathink? Feel free to shoot it down! You won't hurt my feelings!!

Les

MommyTo5

02-26-2008, 04:06 PM

While DIS-ing in my sleep last night, I came up with this...

You do that too, huh? :rotfl2:

How about Cast Member Badges as a way of identifying ourselves?

I have read on the board that you can get them in some gift shops in the park for $4-5. They are opposite in colour to the "real" cast member badges.

The standard Guest of Honor badge is red with Mickey although they now offer several colors/characters/designs.

They would be inexpensive, easy to pack and a neat little keepsake. You could wear them with almost any outfit, and you can have your name engraved on them (60+ names are quite a few to remember). Also, if you are wearing something special for embarkation pictures, it wouldn't muck that up AND you wouldn't have to lug extra T-shirts in your carry-aboard.

Cute idea --- and so true regarding the embarkation photos. We didn't purchase our photo last time due to the bright yellow matching tees we had on... and somehow never managed to all be in the same place at the same time near a photographer the entire cruise. I was quite disappointed.

I wonder if guest services would send them out...

I know it's possible to call/email an order to the Days of Christmas store at Downtown Disney and they will ship them!

Does any one know if the CM Badges are different from the ones at the park? Cruise Veterans?
Check out post #2547 in this thread for the current DCL nametag:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=838817&page=170

Tom / ImTooExcitedToSleep has been making replica graphics of the current DCL nametags...

Check out post #2583 for his design - they are cool!!!

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=838817&page=173

I actually had him make me some graphics a few weeks ago... not sure exactly what I'm going to do with them yet.

The only big drawback I can see is that people might think we are actually CM's. I am sure after all of the research that we have all done, we'd likely be able to answer their questions!:rotfl:

Whatdoyathink? Feel free to shoot it down! You won't hurt my feelings!!

Les

I like your idea! I think the park badges do say WDW on them though...

I found a pic on eBay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Disney-Guest-of-Honor-Name-Badge-Red-Mickey-ANNE_W0QQitemZ6569068029QQihZ002QQcategoryZ1380QQr dZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQ_trksidZp1638.m118.l1247QQcm dZViewItem

That wouldn't bother me though! ;)

LauraLap

02-26-2008, 04:35 PM

Has anyone ever used Cafe Press? If we decide on a logo or a saying or something we could always upload it to Cafe Press and then we could all order the t-shirts.

bambilin

02-27-2008, 01:43 AM

You guys have been busy on here since I last visited.
We will agree on whatever everyone decides for t shirts/badges/hats/whatever. We didn't wear ours on the way down or to board, put them on right before the sail-a-way. That way they didn't ruin any photos and weren't all hot and yucky from the trip!

The sail-a-way suggestion sounds great also.

Oh for the fish-extenders, another suggestion? How about we figure out the total number of kids and everyone just brings 1 small gift for each. I am sure with all of us there would be something in the pockets almost every day anyway, we wouldn't all pick the same say to deliver. That way each of the kids would get something from each family. Just a thought, but we will go with the flow on this subject too.

This will be my 23rd (I think) cruise, (when I was young and single used to do 2 a year!!)but I am a newbie to the DIS boards, only visited briefly right before my 2002 trip, so forgive my ignorance!! :happytv:

Disneyday

02-27-2008, 09:42 AM

Oh for the fish-extenders, another suggestion? How about we figure out the total number of kids and everyone just brings 1 small gift for each. I am sure with all of us there would be something in the pockets almost every day anyway, we wouldn't all pick the same say to deliver. That way each of the kids would get something from each family. Just a thought, but we will go with the flow on this subject too. :

I like the idea of the kids receiving something each day from a different family.I am sure that it would be fun delivering gifts, but it must be time consuming walking up and down corridors on different decks. I'm not sure how many of us are doing FE, but we could have 1 or 2 families delivering each day.

But like Lin said, I will go with the flow:goodvibes
Sue

ps
Just counted..there are 8 families doing FE's, not had time to count up the kids yet! (note to self..must do housework instead of DIS when I have the afternoon off work)

bambilin

02-27-2008, 11:10 AM

Hey I was thinking, if everyone would like to avoid the extra expense and the "matching t-shirts" seem to be sticking point with some, how about just some type of bracelet or wristband, something with bright colors? Then we could all wear them to board without ruining photos and just leave them on for sail-a-way. If anyone else thinks this is a good idea I will check on getting a gross of them, the fabric ones would be really light, couldn't cost much to mail them. Let me know!:rotfl:

Disneyday

02-27-2008, 12:06 PM

bambilin

02-27-2008, 02:58 PM

OK there was a minimum on that site, but we can get them on EBAY for $1 each in our choice of color (they have lime green glow) within an imprint, they recommend less than 20 letters. Shipping would be only about 10 cents each, I am figuring we might need around 75? That is if everyone thought it a good idea. :happytv:

MommyTo5

02-27-2008, 03:19 PM

Here is a link I saw on a trip report. I think they had wristbands or lanyards made but there was a minimum order.
http://www.directwristbands.com/?gclid=CLyToNPGtJECFR9gMAod1WNFNg

I like this idea! The bracelets would be a nice souvenier too! :) I wonder if we'd need enough to do the minimum order though???

I just noticed they have similar bracelets on Oriental Trading... and they are fairly cheap too!

Hey - these are kinda cute... and would fit the pirate theme of the cruise! ;)

Pirate Sayings Bracelets
These silicone sayings bracelets make swashbuckling party gifts! Each 8" bangle is imprinted with a pirate message: PIRATE TREASURE, YO-HO-HO!, AHOY THERE!, SHIVER-ME-TIMBERS!, SWAB THE DECK! or ARRRGH MATEY!
$4.95 Per Dozen
http://www.orientaltrading.com/application?namespace=browse&origin=catalogProducts.jsp&event=link.itemDetails&demandPrefix=12&sku=24/1771&prodCatId=378300&mode=Browsing&erec=8&sp=true&Ntk=all&Ntx=mode%252bmatchallpartial&cm_re=BR-_-BR-_-F2L1&N=378300&Ns=BEST_SELLER%257c1&tabId=Everyday&sd=Pirate+Sayings+Bracelets

They actualy have 3 pages of rubber bracelets:
http://www.orientaltrading.com/application?namespace=browse&origin=catalogProducts.jsp&event=catalog&categoryId=378300&sp=true&tabId=Everyday&cm_re=BR-_-BR-_-F2L1

OR maybe these! The kids would probably love them!!! :rotfl:

Stretchable Red, White and Blue Candy Bracelets. Individually wrapped.
$4.95 48 Piece(s)
http://www.orientaltrading.com/application?namespace=browse&origin=searchMain.jsp&event=link.itemDetails&demandPrefix=12&sku=5/469&mode=Searching&erec=7&D=candy%2Bbracelets&Ntk=all&cm_re=BR-_-BR-_-S1L3&Ntt=candy%2Bbracelets&Dx=mode%252bmatchallpartial&Ntx=mode%252bmatchallpartial&y=0&N=0&Ns=BEST_SELLER%257c1&x=0&sd=R/W/B+Candy+Bracelets

~ Angie

MommyTo5

02-27-2008, 03:26 PM

MommyTo5

02-27-2008, 03:35 PM

Patriotic Cool Glow™ Charm Necklaces
$12.95 Per Dozen
http://www.orientaltrading.com/application?namespace=browse&origin=browseProductMain.jsp&event=link.itemDetails&demandPrefix=11&sku=35/671&xsaleSku=5/469&cm_sp=Cross%2520Sell-_-Product%2520Detail-_-+Product%2520Detail&mode=Searching

Metallic Bead Necklaces
$7.95 48 Piece(s)
http://www.orientaltrading.com/application?namespace=browse&origin=catalogProducts.jsp&event=link.itemDetails&demandPrefix=12&sku=OTCG969&prodCatId=378440&mode=Browsing&erec=10&No=16&sp=true&Ntk=all&Ntx=mode%252bmatchallpartial&cm_re=BD-_-BD-_-F3L1&N=378440&Ns=BEST_SELLER%257c1&tabId=craftSupplies&sd=Metallic+Bead+Necklaces

~ Angie

Disneyday

02-27-2008, 03:56 PM

Do you have the link, Lin? Or auction number?

~ Angie

I think this may be the link
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/CUSTOM-Silicone-BANDS-Rubber-WRISTBANDS-BRACELETS_W0QQitemZ190201292623QQihZ009QQcategoryZ 92727QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Forget the kids, I would love the candy bracelets!

MommyTo5

02-27-2008, 04:11 PM

I think this may be the link
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/CUSTOM-Silicone-BANDS-Rubber-WRISTBANDS-BRACELETS_W0QQitemZ190201292623QQihZ009QQcategoryZ 92727QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Awesome! Lime Green AND it looks like maybe they could even add Mickey Heads for us! ::yes::

Forget the kids, I would love the candy bracelets!

Me too... I just thought the kids would give us a good excuse to order! :rotfl2:

LauraLap

02-27-2008, 06:23 PM

Love the bracelet idea!

dmja716

02-27-2008, 06:54 PM

I LOVE the bracelet idea too.:thumbsup2

I was going to suggest bandanas (lime green of course) but think the bracelet idea is better.

I hope we can do a Mickey head and maybe our cruise date???

I guess everyone can just order their own if they want them personalized.

Maybe by the summer we can get a definite count on who wants to do fish extenders and we can do the "Secret Santa" family assigning then.

izma

02-27-2008, 07:55 PM

Sounds terrific!

They could be worn with whatever. I'm all for it!!! Lanyards were a good idea too! I'll go with whatever everyone decides!

BFF home from WDW yesterday and had a MARVELOUS time!

bambilin

02-28-2008, 12:56 AM

Same seller for the bracelets on EBAY but mine was not from UK. Exactly same info tough. I am sure they could do a Mickey Head and Magic 11/15/08 or something similar. I was going to suggest everyone order their own, but then it is $3.95 for shipping the 1st bracelet and 5 cents for each additional. Seems like everyone would be paying an awful lot extra for shipping. That was why I suggested ordering all at once because the shipping would only be like 10 cents each. But either way is fine. The candy bracelets sound fun but I would be a little afraid of them melting and sticking to me in the heat, LOL. :rotfl:

I will try to remember to post the US item # from ebay!

MommyTo5

02-28-2008, 11:09 AM

Same seller for the bracelets on EBAY but mine was not from UK. Exactly same info tough.

I will try to remember to post the US item # from ebay!

You can pull up the same item number, 190201292623, on the US site (ebay.com)... Sue uses the UK site since she's in the U.K.

I am sure they could do a Mickey Head and Magic 11/15/08 or something similar.

Another decision...

How about one of these?

::MickeyMo DISNEY CRUISE 2008 ::MickeyMo
::MickeyMo DISNEY CRUISE 11/15/08 ::MickeyMo
::MickeyMo DISNEY CRUISE 11/15/2008 ::MickeyMo

::MickeyMo DISNEY MAGIC 2008 ::MickeyMo
::MickeyMo DISNEY MAGIC 11/15/08 ::MickeyMo
::MickeyMo DISNEY MAGIC 11/15/2008 ::MickeyMo

::MickeyMo DCL MAGIC 2008 ::MickeyMo
::MickeyMo DCL MAGIC 11/15/08 ::MickeyMo
::MickeyMo DCL MAGIC 11/15/2008 ::MickeyMo

DISNEY CRUISE ::MickeyMo 2008
DISNEY CRUISE ::MickeyMo 11/15/08
DISNEY CRUISE ::MickeyMo 11/15/2008

DISNEY MAGIC ::MickeyMo 2008
DISNEY MAGIC ::MickeyMo 11/15/08
DISNEY MAGIC ::MickeyMo 11/15/2008

or ??? Does anyone have any other ideas?

I was going to suggest everyone order their own, but then it is $3.95 for shipping the 1st bracelet and 5 cents for each additional. Seems like everyone would be paying an awful lot extra for shipping. That was why I suggested ordering all at once because the shipping would only be like 10 cents each. But either way is fine.

For those in the U.K. and Canada (3 families?), it might be cheaper for them to have theirs shipped direct.

The candy bracelets sound fun but I would be a little afraid of them melting and sticking to me in the heat, LOL. :rotfl:

Good point!

~ Angie

izma

02-28-2008, 02:27 PM

Looks like we have a decision. The wristbands could even be worn in the pool!

Now we just have to decide what goes on them...

Any suggestions?

izma

02-28-2008, 03:14 PM

DISNEY MAGIC ::MickeyMo 2008

is my vote. Perhaps with our names on them, in case they get lost.

dmja716

02-28-2008, 03:36 PM

DISNEY MAGIC ::MickeyMo 2008

dmja716

02-28-2008, 03:41 PM

We can also do blank. I just checked on the EBAY store site.

Disneyday

02-28-2008, 04:40 PM

DISNEY MAGIC::MickeyMo 2008 is ok with me, I think it would be easier if I ordered my own though. Now we have to decide what font to have it in.Do you think they have Disney?

DH is sooo relieved we are not going down the lime green t-shirt line (grumpy)

I have just been to my local Asda supermarket which is owned by Walmart. They have started selling a 'Disney by George' range of clothes which are really cute. I don't know about the US, but the nautical style is really big here this year and I got some sailor Minnie t-shirts and tops for DD9. They even have an adult range too. Have you got these in your Walmart? they are worth a look.

coastiewifern

02-29-2008, 08:52 AM

Yeah I love the idea of the bright colored bracelets. Just let me know how we are going to order them. If anyone is keeping track for a group order I have 2 adults and 2 kids needing bracelets. I like the Mickey head design. We are such a clever group.:cool1:
Christie

MommyTo5

02-29-2008, 10:51 AM

DISNEY MAGIC ::MickeyMo 2008

This works for me! :thumbsup2

izma

02-29-2008, 10:51 AM

We ARE clever!!!

I wish some of the boards I have served on were as agreeable as you guys!!

Swift decision, no ego involvement, practical!

I just know we're going to get along famously.

izma

02-29-2008, 11:01 AM

Mommytofive asked a while back what we all were planning for excursions.

Key West - I think we will do the trolley tour, or an electric car and just bum around. Nothing has really struck me yet and I'm still open to suggestions.

Cozumel - we are going to Chanakaab park for the day and doing the dolphin thing.:)

Grand Cayman - I am thinking about Captain Marvins or Nativeway for some serious snorkelling. I could do with some hard shopping too but I have a feeling that by then I will have spent my entire allowance...for the next six months!:lmao:

Castaway Cay - I have no idea. I might like some serenity bay time and I am not sure what I'll do with my kids. I am still thinking on this one. Any of you who have been to Castaway Cay, feel free to give me some suggestions. My kids LOVE the water and the beach and are excellent swimmers.:confused:

MommyTo5

02-29-2008, 12:48 PM

Mommytofive asked a while back what we all were planning for excursions.

We'll I'm finally starting to plan... of course, this could all change! LOL

Key West:
I'm thinking that we will most likely do the Old Town Trolley Tour (http://www.trolleytours.com/Key-West/) as a family and then bring the kids back onto the ship to hang out in the clubs while DH and I do some shopping and maybe stop for a couple drinks on our own.

Grand Cayman:
I'm thinking of booking one of the following:

Soto's Cruises (http://sotoscruises.com/index.htm)
Stingray City & Reef Tour
2 hours (9:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.)

Adults: $34
Children 4-11 yrs: $25?
Children 3 yrs and younger: FREE

or

Native Way (http://nativewaywatersports.com/index.html)
Stingray Sandbar, Coral Gardens and Star Fish Snorkel
3 hours

Adults: $35 (* $30?)
Children under 12: $25 (* $20)
* I have a family of 8 so if 2+ of my DIS friends would like to book with us, we could all get a $5 per person group discount! ;) Anyone interested???

I'm going to have to get in a bit of shopping here too... since we have to tender, we'll probably do this with the kids before heading back to the ship for a late lunch.

Cozumel:
I thinking we'll get off the ship with the kids and shop (are you seeing a trend here? LOL), then we'll get back on the ship for lunch, drop the kids off in the clubs, and we'll head to Carlos 'n Charlie's (http://www.carlosandcharlies.com/cozumel/) for a frozen margarita. This is a fun place! Anyone want to meet us???

Castaway Cay:
Hmmm... haven't thought too much about it yet! DH and I want to parasail (tandem)... I'm thinking Banana Boat ride for DH and kids... and I really want to check out Serenity Bay! The kids love to swim so we'll have to work in time for that too at the family beach. A family bike ride also sounds fun. Oh, and I want to rent one of those water trikes too!!! I don't think we'll have time to do it all though.

bambilin

02-29-2008, 12:51 PM

I love the simple design. I will email the ebay seller, make sure they can do it and let them know they should expect multiple orders.

I will order mine soon, 8 for our group plus another two for when Dillon loses his so we do not have a meltdown!:goodvibes

Before I order I will post so that if anyone wants me to order theirs as well to cut down on shipping I will. If not no problem at all for us each to order indivdually.

For us our shore excursions will be:

Key West Just a taxi to the beach, the kids are too young for much of anything else. Glass bottom boats are probably the only other thing but they are the only boats I have ever gotten sick on so...

Cozumel Also doing the Dolphins and Park, as I mentioned booked on our own.

Grand Cayman Will taxi it over to Boatswain's Beach Adventure. Big difference in $$$ from the ship's price. Dillon will LOVE the turtle farm and by then I am sure Trevor will too.

I usually book with the ship I am sailing on when I am at an island for the first time and then become more adventurous when back for the next visit!! :wizard:

bambilin

02-29-2008, 01:05 PM

OK I fin:flower3: ally remembered, here is the info:

CUSTOM Silicone BANDS Rubber WRISTBANDS BRACELETS
Buy 1 or Buy 576 any amount YOU choose $1.00 per band Item number: 190201292623

I emailed them, will let you know!

MommyTo5

02-29-2008, 01:13 PM

DISNEY MAGIC::MickeyMo 2008 is ok with me, I think it would be easier if I ordered my own though. Now we have to decide what font to have it in.Do you think they have Disney?

Wouldn't that be great?

DH is sooo relieved we are not going down the lime green t-shirt line (grumpy)

My DH is too! ;)

I have just been to my local Asda supermarket which is owned by Walmart. They have started selling a 'Disney by George' range of clothes which are really cute. I don't know about the US, but the nautical style is really big here this year and I got some sailor Minnie t-shirts and tops for DD9. They even have an adult range too. Have you got these in your Walmart? they are worth a look.

How cool!!! I will be sure to check our Wal-Mart. I've already purchased a bunch of nautical theme clothing for DD-10 and DD-2... Gymboree had a really cute Bon Voyage line last year. Haven't bought a thing for the boys yet though... guess I should get started on that.

dmja716

02-29-2008, 04:11 PM

Hello everyone.

Here is our excursion info:

Key West
The Aquarium probably, and the Old Town Trolley Tour.

Grand Cayman
Nativeway - Rays,Reef and RumPoint Beach Tour.

Cozumel
Chankaanaab park and DH only is doing the royal dolphin swim.

Castaway Cay
Hang on the beach, eat, drink and see all the sights to be seen.

Sounds like alot of us will be at Chankaanaab:)

Have a good weekend.
Im really excited about the bracelets. Thank you Lin for organizing this. Im sure I should order extras too in case of an emergency:rotfl:

Disneyday

03-01-2008, 06:45 AM

We will easily recognise each other now! Just look for somebody scrutinizing everones wrist as they embark. LOL

Has everyone booked their excursions already? I must get organised.
Here is what I think we are doing.

Key West
Looking for the place that sells frozen key lime pie on a stick!

Grand Cayman
Stingray City

Cozumel
Excaret - booking this one through Disney as they will hold the ship for you if your bus is back late

CC
DH & DD16 are parasailing.This is not for me, I can't even go on 'Soarin' at Epcot.
We are all doing the banana boat.:banana:

Sue

mommycarlo

03-01-2008, 11:07 AM

hey we are from long island NY and are sailing on the western carib. 11/15 :bride: dw 38 pirate: dh 37 dd 13:hippie: dd 10 princess: this is our 2nd cruise and we are addicted we did the 4 night last nov to the eastern carib and LOVED it so much..we booked this one on the boat!

My hubby surprised me and we are doing a vow renewal on the boat 11/20
cant wait:goodvibes

anyone else ..form L.I. going? would love to make new friends and would like to know about the braceletts..sounds cool!:grouphug:

dmja716

03-01-2008, 11:35 AM

Welcome Mommycarlo.

Glad you are joining us:)

Disneyday

03-01-2008, 12:32 PM

:welcome: Mommycarlo and family

Your DH must be so romantic :love: Please tell us more about your vow renewal

mommycarlo

03-01-2008, 03:48 PM

:cool1: goldengirrafe.com is the place you should be looking for in Key West

izma

03-01-2008, 09:41 PM

:cheer2:

We made it thorough that awful EXTRA leap day!!!!

I hardly noticed...I was sooooo busy planning:surfweb:

LauraLap

03-02-2008, 06:49 AM

Morning everyone! Sounds like everyong is busy planning planning. I'll have to order the bracelet's directly.....just let me know when you've placed the orders and then I'll be sure to ask for the same ones!

As for excursions, well DH and I did Cozumel and Grand Cayman last year (October 2007), so not sure what we'll do there now that we have the kids with us. We went scuba diving and it was wonderful!

Key West - I think we'll do the trolley tour or maybe the aquarium.

Grand Cayman - Angie, I would definitely consider doing the Soto's cruises thing with you guys. I think 2 hours is about right for my two little ones. Do you think it would be too scary for them?

CC - We would LOVE to do some snorkeling or scuba diving (do they have that?) on our own and keep the kids in the club, but we'll have to see. Can I just decide on CC excursions when we get there?

Cozumel - The plan is to stay on the boat. I'm not so much into the Dolphins thing and that seems to be our only option.

MommyTo5

03-02-2008, 10:12 AM

Grand Cayman - Angie, I would definitely consider doing the Soto's cruises thing with you guys. I think 2 hours is about right for my two little ones. Do you think it would be too scary for them?

Awesome, Laura! I wonder if Soto's would be willing to give us any kind of discount if we book together... with Native Way giving a discount for a group of 10 or more, it probably wouldn't hurt to ask. I was also thinking the shorter time frame of Soto's might work out better. Our youngest will be 3 (she turns 3 on September 16th) and I'm really not sure how she'll feel about the whole thing. I figure if she doesn't want to get in the water, DH and I (or even DD-18) can just take a shorter turn with the stingrays, so one of us can stay on the boat with her and we'll watch the action from above. From the reviews I've read, Soto's is very personalized and always deals with small groups - generally 15-20 or less - so this would probably be the best choice with little ones. I've heard that sometimes the 'guides' will even dive and bring a small sea creature up on the boat for little ones to see before they release it back into the water. Olivia loves animals, so I think she would enjoy something like this - even if she was too scared to get into the water. I think your little ones would also have fun. :)

Let me know what you think... there is so much more I wanted to write this morning, but DH and the kids are waiting on me to get off the computer. ;)

LauraLap

03-02-2008, 07:11 PM

Awesome, Laura! I wonder if Soto's would be willing to give us any kind of discount if we book together... with Native Way giving a discount for a group of 10 or more, it probably wouldn't hurt to ask. I was also thinking the shorter time frame of Soto's might work out better. Our youngest will be 3 (she turns 3 on September 16th) and I'm really not sure how she'll feel about the whole thing. I figure if she doesn't want to get in the water, DH and I (or even DD-18) can just take a shorter turn with the stingrays, so one of us can stay on the boat with her and we'll watch the action from above. From the reviews I've read, Soto's is very personalized and always deals with small groups - generally 15-20 or less - so this would probably be the best choice with little ones. I've heard that sometimes the 'guides' will even dive and bring a small sea creature up on the boat for little ones to see before they release it back into the water. Olivia loves animals, so I think she would enjoy something like this - even if she was too scared to get into the water. I think your little ones would also have fun. :)

Let me know what you think... there is so much more I wanted to write this morning, but DH and the kids are waiting on me to get off the computer. ;)

Well, I think it sounds like it is right up our alley......sounds like fun! :yay: :yay:

MommyTo5

03-02-2008, 08:40 PM

Well, I think it sounds like it is right up our alley......sounds like fun! :yay: :yay:

Awesome! :woohoo:

Anyone else want to join us???

MommyTo5

03-02-2008, 08:46 PM

Welcome mommycarlo!!! Glad you joined us!!! :welcome:

For those of us trying to keep track of who's cruising, I finally updated Post #40! If anyone has additional info that they'd like to share (names, ages, etc...), please let me know! ;)

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1389702&page=3

bambilin

03-02-2008, 10:52 PM

Welcome to the gang! We are from Woodaven, Queens, not exactly Long Island, but.....

Our friends sailing with us are from Babylon, anywhere near you? They will have their two dd's ages 8 and 10 with them.

Everyone else soon as I get that email back on the bracelets will let you know!:rolleyes:

ALawley

03-03-2008, 11:10 PM

I saw today that tenative dates for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party are posted and November 14 is a date!!! NOW, we are thinking of going to the party the night before the cruise! anyone else?

I love the idea of the bracelets, count us in we need 8! Not sure about fish extenders and 'secret santa' for us, as we do not have little ones....just little ones at heart! The group is growing how exciting!

coastiewifern

03-04-2008, 07:32 AM

I am up for margaritas in Cozumel. We haven't really decided on many excursions. My kids are more play in the sand people and don't like to shop. I think we will do the trolley tour in Key West or else just walk around and browse. Grand Caymen I am not sure about. The kids definately won't be up for the stingrays so we might just go to 7 mile beach. Any recommendations for a beach area in GC?
Christie

MommyTo5

03-04-2008, 02:03 PM

I promised to share WDW photos after we got back from our trip a few weeks ago... so sorry for the delay! I finally got our PhotoPass CD so I wanted to share a few! :)

My family (minus DD-17 who didn't want to miss school for this trip... she will be cruising with us though):
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd80/AngieInKC/WDW%202008/wdw3.jpg

My 5 younger kiddos:
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd80/AngieInKC/WDW%202008/wdw2.jpg

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd80/AngieInKC/WDW%202008/wdw1.jpg

I love how Tink made her way into our pics!
:tinker:

bambilin

03-04-2008, 03:25 PM

Hey ALawley. if 11/14 is a definite date we will definitely be there. I have done MVMC Party twice but before hubby and the kids. I LOVED it!! I will be waiting patiently for the tickets to go on sale. We are staying at Caribbean Beach on 11/14.

Those kids are just georgeous!! I am challenged, I have a hard enough time getting my pictures on my computer, never mind uploading here. Maybe one day!

But you all will have NO PROBLEM picking us out on the ship.

Derrick is from Guyana and is about as dark as can be. I am of Irish/German descent with auburn hair and about as light as can be with freckles. It will be obvious by my hips and his belly we both love good food. And the boys, well of course they are just absoultely adorable, perfect blends of the two of us. :rotfl: