2/28/08 Wonder 3-night

[pouncingpluto]

Anyone else?

My husband doesn't know! He only knows we're going to WDW for the week, not that we're capping it off with the cruise. I'm not sure when I'll tell him. Either once we get to WDW, or if I can get away with it, not until Wednesday night or Thursday morning.

[jamielynn]

DH2B and I will be there and on the one following. We are doing our own double dip. :banana: Wedding first trip :bride: Honeymoon the 2nd :cool1: We figured it was the only way WE would get to see what we wanted with 30+ other people attending the first cruise.

[pouncingpluto]

Oh, that's great!! So, your guests will be there on the 3-night, then just the two of you on the 4-night? Very smart way to do it.

OK, so this cruise is no longer a secret from my husband. :) Damn. One of these days.

[jamielynn]

We were originally debating IF and when we would take a honeymoon. About 2 weeks after booking the wedding cruise, we decided we will not have a chance to do much on our own that cruise so why not... :rotfl2: The next morning we booked the second cruise, same room etc. no need to pack up and move :cool1:

Sorry the suprise didn't work out. You can always book a couples massage or the romance package and have that as the suprise, or even a night at Palo. :idea:

[pouncingpluto]

Bump. Anyone else on this cruise?

[jamielynn]

My turn to bump... :banana:

I know that we can not be the only ones on this cruise! :goodvibes

[jamielynn]

Well I have not run into anyone but us on here or Passporters for the 2/28 sailing. :sad2: If this is indeed true, I say we should both get GREAT upgrades. :cool1:

CHECK OUT THE SIG DATES!!! :rotfl2: getting closer!

[pouncingpluto]

Yeah, I'm excited too! I know come February, I'll be ready for some nice weather and relaxation.

[jamielynn]

Checking in...

ONE MORE WEEK UNTIL EXCURSION BOOKINGS for 1st time cruisers. :cool1:

CC Club you are already late booking! :scared:

[krdisneybound]

I am also booked for this cruise with my friend, Linda (Seaulater).

It is my birthday cruise for March 1st.

YIPEE -------------------------

[jamielynn]

YAY!!! PouncingPluto its not just us anymore :rotfl2:

Welcome Kay! :goodvibes

74 more days!!!! :cheer2:

[krdisneybound]

Now it is a PARTYYYYYYYYYYYYY.


YIPEE !!!!!

[krdisneybound]

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b133/disney_gems33/ELVISHAPPYHOLIDAYS.gif

[krdisneybound]

Happy Christmas Eve to everyone - have a joyous day


http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b133/disney_gems33/ELVISHAPPYHOLIDAYS.gif

[jamielynn]

And a VERY HAPPY New Year!

-J :)

[luv2tvl]

Hey girls! My DH and I are going to be on the 2/28 sailing.
We haven't been on DCL for quite a few years and now that we have the munchkin we are doing our first "adults only" cruise!
Totally can't wait!

[jamielynn]

WOO HOO Welcome! The more the merrier! :cool1:

[pouncingpluto]

Woohooo! Welcome guys!

I've been really busy with finals and totally forgot about Palo and excursion booking. But I figure it doesn't matter too much, since I won't know what day we want Palo until I know our dining rotation!

[krdisneybound]

WELCOME to the new cruisers on our little thread.

61 days and counting down

[pouncingpluto]

So, I made a shore excursion and Palo reservation today, and there were no problems getting what we wanted. Though I may want to change the latter if it interferes with Animator's Palette!

[luv2tvl]

What shore excursion are you going to do? We've been to the Bahamas quite a few times and I'm thinking we are just going to enjoy an empty ship while in the Bahamas.

I'm torn about Palo. I don't know if I should book it ahead and *hope* I pick a good night, or just book it once on board. Sounds like you guys all booked in advance?

Can't wait!

[pouncingpluto]

I booked Palo for the last night, but I'll probably change it on board if it turns out it's not our Parrot Cay night.

For shore excursions, we're registered for the stingrays on Castaway Cay and for the $155 Atlantis one on Nassau. I'm not sure we're going to keep the latter. It's sooooo expensive. And I'm not sure about whether it will be warm enough to really enjoy a water park... I'm really wimpy about that. But my husband isn't really interested in the other excursions. So if we don't do that, we'll probably stay on ship.

But if we stayed on ship at Nassau and then had crappy weather on our CC day, I'd be disappointed about not having a good beach day. So, we'll see! We plan to book a 7 night Western for 2009, so maybe the promise of a return to the Caribbean is enough to let me relax and just stay on ship at Nassau (we've been three times before, including once for a several night stay).

So, let's introduce ourselves... who is in your sailing party?

It'll be just my husband (36) and me (29). We're big Disney fans, DVC owners (SSR and AKV), and got married at WDW (ceremony on the Boardwalk and reception at Great Movie Ride) a couple years ago. I just started law school this fall, so this trip will be on my spring break. My husband is a graphic artist. We're spending Saturday through Wednesday nights at AKV before the cruise.

[luv2tvl]

Hey everyone! I'm not sure what to do about Palo. I know if I book it now I'll pick the wrong night. Oh well....

I'm Emily (34) and my hubby Mike (42) is cruising with me. We got married almost 8 years ago and we have a 18 month old daughter, Joey. She's amazing, but we are so excited to have an "adult trip". We took her to Disneyworld just a few months ago and she loved it!

I am a travel agent and just started nursing school, so this is during my break as well! I can't wait!

[krdisneybound]

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b133/disney_gems33/HAPPYNEWYEAR.gif


Hope everyone has a great day and a wonderful start for the New Year.

[jamielynn]

Hi!

I am Jamie (35) and DH2B is Scott (36). As I posted earlier we are getting married on this cruise, so Palo is set for 6pm on the 29th for us. The final total for our group (UNLESS it changes again...:eek: I swear that people are trying to drive this bride to drink) is 29. Then we are staying on for a back-to-back cruise for the Honeymoon portion. The only excursion that we booked for this cruise is the Stingray Adventure at CC. I am completely excited that we are getting Fireworks on our wedding night. :laughing: Only thing that we are debating on right now is whether or not to pack costumes for Pirate night. We have them so no need to shop for them, just do I REALLY want to pack even more stuff... :lmao:

Anyone else dressing up???

[pouncingpluto]

What time are you doing stingrays on CC? We're doing 9 AM!

[jamielynn]

Scott thinks it is at 10am. Hoping for GREAT weather. :cool2: I am so looking forward to snorkeling. :cool1:

I have been too consumed on the little things... such as, how to get gift bags to the rooms prior to dinner, doesn't look like it can happen <sighs> unless I ship each bag to each room prior to sailing. :confused3 The concierge said that he could have house keeping do it during turn down, so I am trying to figure out if I want to do that or HOPE that shipping them ahead of time they will arrive with the luggage.

IF we had the time, Atlantis sounds like a blast. Are you two planning on the casino or the water park?

[pouncingpluto]

Water park! We're not really casino people.

We were originally scheduled for the stingrays at 10, since I thought by then it would be a little warmer and the water shouldn't be too cloudy yet. But then I did more reading, and people really recommended the first feeding of the day (for water clarity and I guess also hunger/enthusiasm of the rays), so I switched to 9.

I don't envy you with the wedding stress... I remember what that was like. Overall, planning a wedding was very fun, but that doesn't mean it wasn't stressful!

If I were you, I wouldn't deal with shipping them if you have to ship each one separately. That's just too much! It'll be a nice surprise for your guests for them to appear when they return to their rooms at night.

[luv2tvl]

We are also doing the 9am Stingray on CC! Can't wait! I'm going to try to find a decent pic of Mike and I and then you'll know us when you see us!

This cruise can't come fast enough for me.... I'm already sick of winter and it really just started! Uggg.....

[pouncingpluto]

Can you recognize us from the wedding pic? He's 6'3"; I'm 5'9". He's got black hair and a goatee. I've got long reddish brown or maybe auburn hair.

[seaulater]

Well, guess I'll post since Kay told you that I am on the cruise also. She called my on a whim one day and told me I needed to come, so I will fly across the country to come on this cruise! Yippee. This will be Disney Cruise #16 for me (I think). I'll have to go back and add up again.

Anyway, I love to cruise, and will leave my husband and teenage daughter home and it will be just Kay and I this cruise unless Kay has added someone else I don't know about!

[seaulater]

I have been too consumed on the little things... such as, how to get gift bags to the rooms prior to dinner, doesn't look like it can happen <sighs> unless I ship each bag to each room prior to sailing. :confused3 The concierge said that he could have house keeping do it during turn down, so I am trying to figure out if I want to do that or HOPE that shipping them ahead of time they will arrive with the luggage.



I am reading your post and realized that my daughter has the same name, but she is Jamie Lynn and it looks like you use one word for yours!

Anyway, if you are wanting to give gift bags to each of your guests, don't worry ANYMORE ABOUT IT! I will be more than happy to personally deliver them to the appropriate people/staterooms on the day and time you would like. In fact, if your whole group is going to the same dinner (main or late) I could arrange so that I could give directly to the stateroom host put it in their room right when he is doing turn down. I am sure Kay would help me deliver also. And believe me, we have delivered to more than 100 staterooms on one of our cruises, so I am sure that I can get these delivered for you no problem. Hope that takes a little stress off of you!

[krdisneybound]

LInda - we never know what each other will be doing at the last minute.

SURPRISE !!! ha ha


if Linda delivers, it is a given that I deliver also - she runs ahead and I folllow behind. :rotfl:

whatever it is, we'll get it done in a timely manner :thumbsup2



Well, guess I'll post since Kay told you that I am on the cruise also. She called my on a whim one day and told me I needed to come, so I will fly across the country to come on this cruise! Yippee. This will be Disney Cruise #16 for me (I think). I'll have to go back and add up again.

Anyway, I love to cruise, and will leave my husband and teenage daughter home and it will be just Kay and I this cruise unless Kay has added someone else I don't know about!

I am reading your post and realized that my daughter has the same name, but she is Jamie Lynn and it looks like you use one word for yours!

Anyway, if you are wanting to give gift bags to each of your guests, don't worry ANYMORE ABOUT IT! I will be more than happy to personally deliver them to the appropriate people/staterooms on the day and time you would like. In fact, if your whole group is going to the same dinner (main or late) I could arrange so that I could give directly to the stateroom host put it in their room right when he is doing turn down. I am sure Kay would help me deliver also. And believe me, we have delivered to more than 100 staterooms on one of our cruises, so I am sure that I can get these delivered for you no problem. Hope that takes a little stress off of you!

[jamielynn]

Thank you both! I do appreciate it :goodvibes

Jamie Lynn was already taken, so I went with the combination.;)


Lets see...
Glowneck laces for Pirate Night <Check>

Dress FINALLY Bought last Sunday <Check> Yeah, Pouncing Pluto I have been a procrastinator on that one. :rotfl2: But I do have a really good excuse.

Reservations for Stingray adventure <Check> They are for 10am but I am thinking about moving it to 9am to be with the Disers ;) Now to convince DH2B that 9am is better

DEEP Breath ...

Deciding that I really ONLY have to worry about Scott and I. Working on that <Half Check>

If is GREAT to see that others will be on this adventure too.

Here is wishing some Magic for everyone! :wizard:

[jamielynn]

GOOD MORNING!!!

Is it just ME... :cool1: We are only ONE MONTH and ONE WEEK from SAILING!!

YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!! :woohoo:

[mjsagain]

Is it OK for a guy to to join you ladies here on this thread? It's a little intimidating to be the only man in the room. If it's not OK with all of you, I'll just be content to go back and stand against the wall like I did at dances in junior high school!

By way of introduction, my name is Mike and my wife Linda and our three children (Stephanie[21], Nicole[15] and Michael[13]) are taking our first cruise on 2/28. We're Disney veterans, but are very excited and looking forward to the new experience.

We just recently decided to book it, so I'm kind of playing catch-up on all the planning aspects. Luckily, there really deosn't seem to be all that much planning needed for a 3-day cruise. Still, any advice you have for us is very much welcome.

[jamielynn]

Welcome Mike!

DO not feel intimidated! My DH2B lurks on here and is content :lmao: to see what I have written. or it could be his new saying... "Let's not upset the Bride-to-be.. " :rotfl2: I am definately marrying a wise man. ;)

There are a few links on the main board you might want to check out. ESPECIALLY the tips links. if you cant find them let me know and I will post the links.

Great to have you here.

-J

[mjsagain]

Thanks for the welcome and pointing me to the tips link, Jamielynn. There's definitely a lot of info to be had there. My DW works at the local public library and brought home a copy of the Passporter's guide, which seems to be chock full of info as well.

Hope your wedding planning hasn't hit too many speedbumps. Your DH2B sounds like a wise man indeed. All he will soon need to do is replace the words "bride-to-be" with "wife", and he will have a philosophy that should work well for quite some time!

[pouncingpluto]

Welcome, Mike!

[mjsagain]

Welcome, Mike!

Thanks for the welcome. It's always nice to be recognized by the thread starter :worship:. I feel official now!

Back to shore excursion planning I go....

[jamielynn]

Ok... Who else has started "packing" ? :confused: We leave in 34 days... and I mentioned to DH2B that I wanted to start packing items that there is NO way we will be using anytime soon, in Jan/Feb., here in N. VA. :rolleyes1 He gave me a look like I had finally flipped my lid. PLEASE tell me others have started packing and I am not nuts. :lmao:

[krdisneybound]

Hi Jamielynn:

nope, I haven't started packing. I have another cruise before this one on Feb. 10th. Maybe I'll just keep my luggage onboard. ha ha

I am at Linda's house rightnow in Salt Lake City.

She is ready to cruise now, though. I fly back home on Sunday.

[mjsagain]

I don think anyone in my family has really started packing yet, Jamielynn. The only possible exception to that is my oldest DD who just went back to school in Virginia and won't be back home before the cruise. She kind of pre-packed some stuff that we're going to bring down with us when we meet her at MCO.

My DW is a chronic early packer, so she may be doing some secret packing without my knowledge to avoid ridicule (now that I think about it, I may have seen a few telltale signs.....). In your defense, you're really taking a 7-day cruise versus the rest of us taking a 3-day. Plus, there's that little matter of your wedding perhaps adding a bit of to your level of anticipation! Perfectly understandable.

[pouncingpluto]

Yeah, I started packing long before my wedding too! There's a lot to think about.

For me with this trip, not so much. I probably won't pack until the day before. Normally I would start further in advance than that, but these days I have very little time (second semester of law school). Which is why I need this trip!

[jamielynn]

You definately deserve this break! Keep up with the studies and ENJOY the cruise.. 32 more days:cool1:

[elmo2200]

Hi! This will be our first family vacation not spent at my in-laws. We are a homeschool family from the Dallas area. My kids 9 &13 are So excited! We plan to cruise first then spend 3 days at Universal and Islands of Adventure. My husband says I spent more time choosing a hotel than a husband!!! How are you guys getting to the port from MCO? I think I want a town car... TIA, Tracey

[pouncingpluto]

Welcome, Elmo!

We're spending 5 nights at WDW before the trip, so we're renting a car for the whole week. It's only a little more expensive than using DCL transfers, and we get the use of the car the whole time.

[jamielynn]

Hi Elmo!

Because we are booking everything through Disney this time, we are using their transport <bus> from the airport and back.

For the Disney Marathon next year though, we have already decided to just rent a car. It will be a lot cheaper.

-J :surfweb:

[mjsagain]

Hi Tracey,

We've decided to just rent a car at MCO and park at the port. The 5 of us are arriving from two different places late wednesday night, so co-ordinating that complicates things a little. The cost of DCL transfers would be $345, so I ruled that out pretty quickly. A towncar is not an option because of the number in our party, so we would need to hire a private van.

The cost of renting a full-sized car from Dollar for 4 days (Wednesday night to Sunday morning) plus gas and parking is going to be about $225. This is comparable to the cost of hiring a van to drive the 5 of us to and from MCO, plus we'll have the convenience of having the transporation at our discretion and not dealing with any shuttles. As first-time cruisers, this makes us feel a little more comfortable about things.

That said, if we were taking a 7-day cruise, I would have gone with the van. If we only had 4 in our party, I might have opted for a towncar because it would be a little less expensive but still more flexible than DCL transfers or one of the Port Canaveral hotel shuttles.

[krdisneybound]

just FYI, and maybe you know already, that parking at the Port is $15.00 per day now.

[krdisneybound]

26 days and counting.............................

[mjsagain]

Thanks for the heads-up on the parking increase, Kay. I did know about it already thanks to all the helpful folks on the DIS boards.

It seems like the parking rates have gone up pretty dramatically in a short period of time. When I first started researching DCL info a couple of months ago, everthing I read said the rate was $10. I don't know when it went up to $12/day, but the increase to $15/day certainly caused me to consider all of our options. If it wasn't our first cruise and only a 3-day, I doubt we would have opted for parking at the port.

[jamielynn]

26 days and counting.............................

Yes, KAY! BUT I expect a report on Weather and Water Tempature from you before that since you are going later this week. :upsidedow

Have a BLAST!!! :goodvibes

[krdisneybound]

well, Jamielynn - it is supposed to get up to 85 today......

guess that is why I live in FL - no snow plowing for me.

I'll let you know how things are when I return from my cruise next week.

Then Linda and I will be ready for this one - so that we can meet up with everyone

Have a wonderful day, everyone

[krdisneybound]

is there anyone that will be on this cruise??

perhaps all Cats are open at this time.

Jamielynn and others that have posted: hey guys, we have the whole ship to ourselves :lmao:

[pouncingpluto]

Two weeks from today we'll be arriving at WDW!!! Five days in the parks before the cruise. I'm trying to balance fun with relaxation... we'll see how I do!

Right now, the weather looks good, at least for the days leading up to the trip... high 70s and low 80s.

[amys37]

Hi Everyone!

We'll be there filling up at least one more cabin. We just booked about 5 days ago and are so excited!

We live in Pennsylvania and will be bringing our two kids ages 4.5 and 3. Our biggest problem is that our 3 year old is not yet potty trained. We didn't realize until after we booked what a problem this will be. He won't be allowed in the kids club with his sister and can't swim. So now we're trying to potty train but boy is he stubborn!!

We are leaving Philadelphia at 6:45AM on the 28th, arriving in Orlando by 9:30. We are also renting a car and parking at the pier just to save time and hassle. We got a great deal on it too. Then after the cruise we are staying at the Holiday Inn in Cocoa beach until Tuesday.

[elmo2200]

We are leaving Philadelphia at 6:45AM on the 28th, arriving in Orlando by 9:30. We are also renting a car and parking at the pier just to save time and hassle. We got a great deal on it too. Then after the cruise we are staying at the Holiday Inn in Cocoa beach until Tuesday.

Can I ask what deal you got on car rental?

[SoDakMinnie]

I know it kind of late to join in the group, but my DD13 and I will be there as well. The reason it will be just us two is a story of what a wonderful husband I have.:lovestruc

For the past several years, we have been taking a trip to Florida in Feb or March to try to break up the winter (we live in blustery SD). We had started with the idea of going every 2 to 3 years, but this will now be 4 years in a row. Last year, we took our first Disney Cruise--a
4 day with DH, DS (15 at the time) DD (1 week shy of 13) and myself. IT WAS A BLAST!! :yay: However, we decided that DS missing 3-4 days of school was much harder now, especially since he is in several sports and misses quite a few classes when they travel. So, we decided we would have to put the trips on hold. Unfortunately, our school does not take a week long spring break, but has a few weeks in the spring where they have 1-2 day of vacation.

About a month ago, DH and I were snatching a rare moment from our busy schedules and went out for supper by ourselves (actually, McDonald's before a wrestling match but, hey, we take what we can get). He told me he did not think DS could miss school and that it would be difficult for him to miss work this year. I said, yeah, I know we can't go to Florida this year. He says he's been thinking.:idea: He knows I've been very stressed at work and putting in alot of overtime, so there would be no reason why I couldn't go and take DD with me (she is in 8th grade so missing school is still not a big problem). I was shocked--would never have considered it until he planted the idea in my head. Needless to say, within a few days I was planning what we would do...a 3 day cruise and a few days in Orlando fit the bill!

Anyway, I know my introduction was long winded, but DD and I will be there, too. CAN'T WAIT!!!!!!:dance3:

[amys37]

Rental car - we used hotwire.com. you put in your info, they give you a quote but don't tell you which company until you buy - like priceline. Ours came to just under $200. considering this is the price of the disney transfer for four, it's worth it to us. We were hoping to get a hotel where we could park the car there but that didn't work out.

[mjsagain]

Hi amys37 and SoDakMinnie!

It's not too late to join this thread as far as I'm concerned, but I was kind of late to join myself. I bet we'll have a couple more people show up with last-minute questions before the 28th.

I'm still waiting for another male person to formally join in :rolleyes1. My DW thinks it's pretty funny that I've been the only man to post here so far:lmao:. She asked if I'm going to get together on the cruise with my new DISboards friends to watch Oprah or something!

[elmo2200]

We got airline tickets cheap through my husband's job. The tickets are standby so we arrive on the 27th and will stay at the Radisson Resort near the port and leave the car there. It looks nice and relaxing, I hope it is!

[mjsagain]

SoDakMinnie, did either of your kids go to The Stack on your first cruise? If so, did they like it? It sounds like your DD was just short of technically being a teenager, but perhaps somehow she still was able to go there with her brother?

This will be our first cruise, and I'm not sure how interested in going to Aloft my DD(15) and DS(13) will be. They have pretty different personailities, but get along really well. It's not really that big of a deal if they don't spend much time there since it's such a short cruise. Still, we're kind of hoping they will take advantage of it since we're kind of doing the 3-day as a test to see how much we might like doing a longer Disney cruise as a family.

Any opinions on experiences with the teen clubs from other posters would also be greatly appreciated as well.

Thanks,
Mike

[SoDakMinnie]

msjagain--
DCL had said DD was close enough in age for the teen club. They both went the first night and stayed a while. The first night parents can go and meet the counselors and look the club over. It seemed nice and the counselors were very welcoming. However, DS is rather shy, and didn't meet anyone and DD felt like everyone would "know I'm not 13 yet" and would not go without her brother. She did say that she may go this year since she is now "a teenager". She is more outgoing and seemed to think it would be a nice place but felt uncomfortable last year. Sorry I can't give you any more insight.

[jamielynn]

Documents JUST arrived!!!!!!!!!:rotfl:

Doing the Happy Dance!!! :cool1:

-J

[mjsagain]

Our cruise documents came today as well. I know I sound like the cruise newbie that I am (or perhaps just old!) when I say it's really cool to get actual travel documents in the mail. It makes it seem much more like an old-fashioned travel adventure. None of this newfangled fax or email stuff.

Did everyone else who has received documents also not have the Bahamas immigration form included? I've read on another thread how DCL is supposedly "taking care of this" form for cruisers based on check-in information.

[jamielynn]

Did everyone else who has received documents also not have the Bahamas immigration form included? I've read on another thread how DCL is supposedly "taking care of this" form for cruisers based on check-in information.

I called about that once I read the thread too. We will get those at port now. :surfweb: Now if a time machine could get us there sooner rather then later!! :lmao:

[elmo2200]

My kids already have so much Valentines candy that I gave them travel size hygiene products!!! Hubby got them too. I kinda bought myself a cute swimsuit cover up.... Can't wait!! :cool1:

[luckee37]

We just booked our ressie last night and are coming along too! woo hoo!

[jamielynn]

WELCOME! :cool1:

5 more days gang!