August 22nd 2009 Western Carribbean Anyone?

[fluffy bunny]

Yippee...:woohoo: ..we have just booked our 2009 summer cruise (we beleive in forward planning..lol) Since disembarking the Wonder on 21st Aug 07 we have been waiting and waiting...and now we have just gone and done it! Counting the days...:rotfl2:
Any DIS-ers? DIS-meets? Fish Extenders? pirate:

[Ski-and-Sea]

We're booked!!!!

It was either this cruise or the 15th Aug but our schedule is better for the 22nd cruise.

We are so excited to be going back to Cozumel again. That was the deal clincher. We did the double dip western back in 2006 and did a snorkeling excursion with Eagle Ray Divers and had a fantastic time. So we want to do it again.

We cannot believe that the Magic is back in the Caribbean. We were actually looking at other cruise lines for August 2009. So this is a nice Christmas present from DCL.

Its me, DH and DS (14 on this cruise) and DD (13 on this cruise). So both kids will be in the Stack.

[Maza]

Fantastic....our DD will be 13 and 15 on the cruise (sorry....i didnt introduce myself...I am Fluffy Bunnys DW- very dear, especially when i want to book holidays..lol)
We had our first DCL experience in August...and have been waiting with baited breath for the 2009 dates (we knew 2008 was a non-starter for us, what with airfare and the compulsory 2 weeks in Florida before Cruise (atleast thats what DH thinks...shhhhh ...dont tell him! :lmao: )

So we will board the Magic 2 years and 1 day after coming off the Wonder. I cant wait!

so...you up for DISmeet? Fish Extending? Big style pirates ? any other ideas that us relative newbys still dont know about? I am sooooooooooo...happy we have booked. A reason to get out of bed in the morning, especially in Winter. I start work at stupid o'clock...its always easier with something to look forward to...even if it is 20 months away:)


So, welcome aboard shipmatespirate:

[Rachie0507]

I just got my quote and we are booking this cruise:cool1: This will be our third cruise with DCL but first on the Magic. I am so psyched:banana: :banana: I'll be cruising with my DH, our DD who will be turning 9 on during the cruise and our DS who will be 7. Only 20 months to go:cool1:

[Maza]

. Only 20 months to go:cool1:

20 months 2 weeks...but who is counting...lol

welcolm aboard:cool1:

[Ski-and-Sea]

Welcome everyone.

Yes, we will do the full DIS experience. Onboard meet, fish extenders, DIS tag (I'll explain later), door decorations, etc, etc.

I will admit I am not a creative person so I'm open to anyone who has ideas for t-shirt designs or nicknames/slogans for this cruise.

This cruise is our 20th wedding anniversary cruise. For once, I want to do Palo brunch.

We have not been on the Magic since 2006 so we are so excited to be going back.....can't wait to see the drydock changes.

[Rachie0507]

Welcome everyone.

Yes, we will do the full DIS experience. Onboard meet, fish extenders, DIS tag (I'll explain later), door decorations, etc, etc.

I will admit I am not a creative person so I'm open to anyone who has ideas for t-shirt designs or nicknames/slogans for this cruise.

This cruise is our 20th wedding anniversary cruise. For once, I want to do Palo brunch.

We have not been on the Magic since 2006 so we are so excited to be going back.....can't wait to see the drydock changes.

Hey Ski-and-Sea,

I noticed in your signature that you will be on the Wonder 8/17/08. One of my best friends will be on that cruise too!

We have never cruised Dis-style before, lol. Our past cruises didn't have a lot of dis-members onboard and no body was interested in meeting. I'm good for anything! I'm looking forward to all the time on we'll have on the Magic. We have only done 3nt cruises before!!

[Maza]

DIS tag? sounds interesting...:rotfl:
Themes...well...we have never been to Mexico before..so any suggestions?

[Ski-and-Sea]

DIS tag? sounds interesting...:rotfl:
Themes...well...we have never been to Mexico before..so any suggestions?

Okay....a Mexican-themed slogan for us.....

DIS tag is fun.....a large magnetic Mickey head gets passed around room to room but we need everyone's stateroom number and some people get a little concerned about giving out their room numbers.

We had two Mickey head's going on my August 2006 cruise and about halfway through the week both disappeared and neither one made it to our stateroom. :sad1: We were so bummed. Every afternoon I'd head back to our room and nothing. :sad2:

You'd think Christmas had been canceled :rotfl:

My guess is that the Mickey heads accidentally got put on non-DISers doors.

[Maza]

Okay....a Mexican-themed slogan for us.....

DIS tag is fun.....a large magnetic Mickey head gets passed around room to room but we need everyone's stateroom number and some people get a little concerned about giving out their room numbers.
.


we did DIS-gifting on our last cruise, one lucky DISer co-ordinated everyones room number and we gave gifts in the Fish Extenders. Not everyone took part, but most of us did, so no problem with the Stateroomnumber here! Our door(s) will be SO decorated anyway. we had such fun doing it the last time...I think the kids enjoyed it too...but not as much as us:rotfl:

[Ski-and-Sea]

Hey Ski-and-Sea,

I noticed in your signature that you will be on the Wonder 8/17/08. One of my best friends will be on that cruise too!

We have never cruised Dis-style before, lol. Our past cruises didn't have a lot of dis-members onboard and no body was interested in meeting. I'm good for anything! I'm looking forward to all the time on we'll have on the Magic. We have only done 3nt cruises before!!

That's great that you know someone on our Wonder cruise this summer. Just booked our flights for that cruise.

The first time we did a four night cruise on the Wonder there was no DIS meet thread at all. It was so sad. I guess I should have started one myself but never got around to it. It felt kind of lonely on the ship.

My 3-night Wonder cruise back in August didn't have that many DISers on it but we were a terrific group and we kept on running into each other everywhere on the ship. It was so weird. It wasn't planned or anything but it was lovely to see familiar faces and everyone was easy to talk to.

So it really is a case of quality over quantity. Sometimes with a large DIS group there are so many people that it can be a bit overwhelming and you feel a bit intimidated trying to introduce yourself. Whereas with a small group the conversations flow easily.

You will really enjoy the 7-night cruises....the different ports, the two sea days, the theme nights.....just really, really lovely. Wait until you see the officers dressed up for formal night. Wow :love:

[Maza]

just how big was the Mickey Head...DH reacons we could russell up a A3 one...in the appropriate colour ofcourse:)

[Maza]

but never got around to it. It felt kind of lonely on the ship.

.... Wait until you see the officers dressed up for formal night. Wow :love:

Just gotta love a man in uniform...:rolleyes1

[Ski-and-Sea]

we did DIS-gifting on our last cruise, one lucky DISer co-ordinated everyones room number and we gave gifts in the Fish Extenders. Not everyone took part, but most of us did, so no problem with the Stateroomnumber here! Our door(s) will be SO decorated anyway. we had such fun doing it the last time...I think the kids enjoyed it too...but not as much as us:rotfl:

I totally get into the door decorating. On our last cruise we were near the elevators so everyone made comments to our stateroom host about our door signs.

I've never done the fish extenders so I'd love to do that.

And of course, we adults enjoy all things Disney more than the kids. :lmao:

[Ski-and-Sea]

just how big was the Mickey Head...DH reacons we could russell up a A3 one...in the appropriate colour ofcourse:)

Of course lime green.......the size was about the size of the stateroom number sign on the door. Which does present a problem if your door is fully covered in door signs....guess just hang it on the fish extender.

Just gotta love a man in uniform...:rolleyes1

Absolutely.....and DCL has had some cute cruise directors. :thumbsup2

(actually I think the women officers look the nicest in their dress uniforms)

[Maza]

Anyone involved in marketing? :idea: Publicity..?..creative -ness? (I am an RN/RM so very little imagination here folks...and DH is an Engineer...so...dont hold your breath:rotfl:
what have we got...mexico,mickey and.mojitos? Pirates, Pluto and punch?
dunno...i suppose we have got loadssss of time to get our a*** in gear...lol
Mind you, the way we are at the minute, we could be the three amigos! early days I suppose...:lmao:
Just trying to get a bit excited...the long winter nights will just fly by...

[Ski-and-Sea]

Anyone involved in marketing? :idea: Publicity..?..creative -ness? (I am an RN/RM so very little imagination here folks...and DH is an Engineer...so...dont hold your breath:rotfl:
what have we got...mexico,mickey and.mojitos? Pirates, Pluto and punch?
dunno...i suppose we have got loadssss of time to get our a*** in gear...lol
Mind you, the way we are at the minute, we could be the three amigos! early days I suppose...:lmao:
Just trying to get a bit excited...the long winter nights will just fly by...

Absolutely no creative-ness at all here. I'm good at taking other people's ideas and modifying them but zippo talent on coming up with anything new.

Yeah, I was playing around with the words "Mickey" "magic" "mexico".....something to do with the Magic finally being back in Caribbean in the summer.

I've got to talk to my TA about the deposits for this cruise. We rebooked onboard a dummy date for December 2008 to transfer over to 2009 and it looks like DCL forgot to transfer my deposit over to 2009 because I just got billed for another deposit.

I haven't gotten my confirmation yet from my TA so maybe DCL just charged the deposit twice to the same sailing date.

[Maza]

hope you get your deposit sorted....we didnt rebook on last cruise...long story, involving vodka and sunstoke...a bad combination! Probably cost us around $1000 in total....get a lot of bahama mamas for that , but what the hell. Bygones..;)

[Ski-and-Sea]

hope you get your deposit sorted....we didnt rebook on last cruise...long story, involving vodka and sunstoke...a bad combination! Probably cost us around $1000 in total....get a lot of bahama mamas for that , but what the hell. Bygones..;)

:rotfl:

lessons learned.....

[JoiseyMom]

We're booked!!!!

It was either this cruise or the 15th Aug but our schedule is better for the 22nd cruise.

We are so excited to be going back to Cozumel again. That was the deal clincher. We did the double dip western back in 2006 and did a snorkeling excursion with Eagle Ray Divers and had a fantastic time. So we want to do it again.

We cannot believe that the Magic is back in the Caribbean. We were actually looking at other cruise lines for August 2009. So this is a nice Christmas present from DCL.

Its me, DH and DS (14 on this cruise) and DD (13 on this cruise). So both kids will be in the Stack.


I just found the thread, I am still unpacking from last weeks cruise! I just told DD, and she is very excited to hang out with your DD again.

Hey everyone, it will be me, DH, DD 13 and DS 8.

[JoiseyMom]

Fantastic....our DD will be 13 and 15 on the cruise (sorry....i didnt introduce myself...I am Fluffy Bunnys DW- very dear, especially when i want to book holidays..lol)
We had our first DCL experience in August...and have been waiting with baited breath for the 2009 dates (we knew 2008 was a non-starter for us, what with airfare and the compulsory 2 weeks in Florida before Cruise (atleast thats what DH thinks...shhhhh ...dont tell him! :lmao: )

So we will board the Magic 2 years and 1 day after coming off the Wonder. I cant wait!

so...you up for DISmeet? Fish Extending? Big style pirates ? any other ideas that us relative newbys still dont know about? I am sooooooooooo...happy we have booked. A reason to get out of bed in the morning, especially in Winter. I start work at stupid o'clock...its always easier with something to look forward to...even if it is 20 months away:)


So, welcome aboard shipmatespirate:

We were on our first DCL this August. We did a 3 nite on the Wonder with the kids. DH and I just got off the Magic this past Saturday too.

[Ski-and-Sea]

Joiseymom.......YAAAAAAAY!!!!! That's great you booked this cruise. Kristine will be so excited. Both girls will be in the Stack. I'm not worried about Kristine being in the Stack but more her brother who gets a lot of attention by teen age girls who make interesting comments to him. :eek:

I was so jealous you got to cruise the Magic this month. Glad you got to experience the 7-night cruise. Was it a western or eastern?

My TA emailed me last night and said DCL charged me twice for the deposits so I've got both deposits already credited for this cruise. Oh well, forced savings.

I was playing around for theme ideas.....something like "Mickeys Magical Mexican Maniacs" sort of thing.

Christmas shopping is done....presents wrapped.....now food shopping for next week.

[JoiseyMom]

Joiseymom.......YAAAAAAAY!!!!! That's great you booked this cruise. Kristine will be so excited. Both girls will be in the Stack. I'm not worried about Kristine being in the Stack but more her brother who gets a lot of attention by teen age girls who make interesting comments to him. :eek:

I was so jealous you got to cruise the Magic this month. Glad you got to experience the 7-night cruise. Was it a western or eastern?

My TA emailed me last night and said DCL charged me twice for the deposits so I've got both deposits already credited for this cruise. Oh well, forced savings.

I was playing around for theme ideas.....something like "Mickeys Magical Mexican Maniacs" sort of thing.

Christmas shopping is done....presents wrapped.....now food shopping for next week.

We did the Eastern and it was wonderful!! It was a no brainer..they dropped the price for the cat 12's to 599/person. DH could get off work, MIL could watch the kids (yes this was a vacation), DS 24 could watch the pets, airfare was cheap... It was great! We got to try the Magic and are so looking forward to this coming August with the kids. We were able to book a CAT 10 in the EB on Dec 7.

I told Rachel last nite when I read your post, and she started screaming with happiness! Then she realized she would be 13 that summer and was like, wow, I will be haning in the stack!! Should be a fun time!!

I like the Maniacs portion!! DH calls us a Cult!! :) But he did have as much time with our Diser Dining partners as I did. We linked ressies with 13 other diser's, and they split us into 2 tables right next to each other. Our table we all had cabins next to each other. Our server at first though we were all together and were family or freinds that knew each other. He was rather suprised when he found out that we first really met on the ship, but had spoken online only!!

Well off to work I go!!

[Ski-and-Sea]

Wow - you're doing the panama canal cruise?!!?!?!?

We thought long and hard about it and the timing just didn't fit with our schedule so we booked back-to-back Wonder cruises leaving the very same day (Aug 17).

I told Kristine the news about this cruise and her screams of joy darn near shattered the windows.

We have late dining for this cruise.

[JoiseyMom]

Wow - you're doing the panama canal cruise?!!?!?!?

We thought long and hard about it and the timing just didn't fit with our schedule so we booked back-to-back Wonder cruises leaving the very same day (Aug 17).

I told Kristine the news about this cruise and her screams of joy darn near shattered the windows.

We have late dining for this cruise.


I wanted to book the Panama Canal cruise when we were on the Wonder, but of course it was sold out. I was told that they had over booked by 30% and there were no waitlists anywhere. The end of August is when we can go, after camp and before school. The kids will miss the last week of camp to go on the cruise though, since camp is starting later than I thought, because school is ending later.

The day the 2009 dates were released I read a post here that the EB had openings. I went to check it out and they were gone already. I got a pm from a TA who had some ressies on hold that they were giving up the next day, and the TA was able to get me the cat 10 for the 4 of us :). Now I have to figure out airfare to CA!! And hopefully be able to get in early to visit our DS who lives in LA county :).

We have main dining for both cruises. We just had late dining last week, and DH and I decided that it was too late for us. We didn't enjoy finishing dinner at 10:15 at nite.

[Ski-and-Sea]

Aaaaaaahhhh, I tried to post this last night and the DIS boards kept going into a coma. :headache:

Returning on Labor Day was the deal killer for us for the PC cruise. Plus, we're celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary in 2009 so we want to focus more on that.

That said, I am envious you are going, sounds like a great group of DISers. Truly a TOAL cruise.

I cannot believe rooms opened up this early, I, too, heard that the cruise was oversold by 30%. That's a lot of cancellations.

We choose late dinner seating because we don't want to be rushed getting ready for dinner plus we tend to stay late onshore during excursions. The last western we did the Captain changed the departure time in Cozumel to 1:00am. I asked him about that the next day and he said he did it as a gift to the CMs so that they could stay off the ship longer. But they have to travel in pairs for safety.

Captain said at 12:30am there was still 150 people off the ship.

Yes, the downside of late dining is that dinners go past 10pm.

Hmmm....still playing with the idea of a slogan. I like the words "Mexican" and "maniacs". We should throw in "mojitos" as we are passing around Cuba.

Oh, remember to pack the binoculars as the ships sails pretty close to Cuba on the way to Grand Cayman, not so on the way to Castaway Cay.

[Ski-and-Sea]

Merry Christmas everyone and all the best in 2008 :santa:

87 weeks till we cruise (rounding up).

[wayneg]

Happy New Year to you all!!
We will be joining you on the Magic Aug 2009.
Not had time to read all posts but will give you info about us then read them all later.
It will be myself Wayne, DW Karen and DS Mathew who will be 15. We are from the UK but spend about 60 days a year over in US (usually near a Disney park). We have done 1 x 4 night on Wonder, 2 x 7 night's on Magic (both East and West) also going back on Wonder in a few week (30th Mar).
Last 7 nighter we did we had a great DisTag group. The Western itinery we did before was disrupted with hurricanes so we did not do GC so looking forward to there. We considered doing the week before this one with the new itinery but a few things swayed us to the 22nd including bagging a SPR.
Think thats enough for now.

[fluffy bunny]

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE FROM THE UK

Big Ben has just struck midnight and the fireworks are going off here in Stafford and accross the UK judging by the TV.

We can now officially say we are sailing Next Year:banana: :)

Dave & Maria
(Fluffy Bunny and Maza)

[wayneg]

We can now officially say we are sailing Next Year:banana: :)

Dave & Maria
(Fluffy Bunny and Maza)

It will be here before you know it.
Its 7 years since we spent a NYE in UK, can't believe how many fireworks went off. Was like being at EPCOT last year.:)

[Ski-and-Sea]

Happy New Year everyone!!!!!!

We spent New Year's Eve day driving back from Vermont having spent five nights at the Smuggler's Notch ski resort. Unloaded the car then went to a family New Year's Eve party. So a very long day for us.

The snow was plentiful in Vermont and we had an amazing time. There is something very magical about skiing through the woods.

Funny story....our dishwasher broke down completely on the morning of Christmas Eve. We tried everything and the machine was completely dead. Thank goodness we just had my mother with us that day so not a whole lot of dishes to wash.

We left for Vermont on the 26th and I was never so happy to see a working dishwasher in our condo.

The repairman is coming tomorrow to fix our dishwasher. Hopefully the damage isn't too bad.

[Ski-and-Sea]

How's this for a slogan......The Red Hot Chilli Cruisers.

I had the radio on in the car and heard a song by the Red Hot Chilli Peppers so that got me thinking....."chilli peppers" since we are cruising to Mexico, "red hot" since we are cruising in late August and it will be hot, hot, hot (hopefully that won't be our skin after being in the sun).

I'll see if I can find some good Mickey clip art of him sitting in the sun sipping a tropical drink and then paste in a picture of a chilli pepper.

Hmmmm....thinking of Mexican food, the best chips and salsa we've ever had was in Cozumel. Can't find anything as good here in New Jersey. That was one of the reasons we picked the western itinerary over going to Tortola.

[Maza]

red hot chillis...sounds good to me...lol
will get DH to mess around witha logo..he got a fab photoshop for Christmas:)
Oh and happy new year...its NEXT YEAR NOW...doesnt seem as far away!

And welcome aboard Wayne,Karen and Mathew. Both our DDs will be in the stack on this cruise...15 and 13 respectfully.!

[fluffy bunny]

HI everyone,

I have been playing and this is the first attempt at a logo. Any thoughts/changes?

I will keep playing, so if you've got any ideas I will have a go at putting them to paper as it were.

Dave

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z257/moninc/RHCC-001.gif

[Ski-and-Sea]

AWESOME!!!! :thumbsup2 :cool1: :thumbsup2

We just need the dates and the word "Disney Magic"

[fluffy bunny]

Morning All,

here's last nights burst of creativity and amendments to the first one.

Dave

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z257/moninc/rhcc-003.gif

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z257/moninc/RHCC-002.gif

[Ski-and-Sea]

Both are fabulous......I can't decide......love them both!!!!!

HUGE day in the New York area this morning as our Giants football team will be playing in the Superbowl!!!!!

Walt Disney himself could not have scripted a more unlikely story.

What a game last night.

[Maza]

just saying hiang us up the boards...we are slipping....lol

[Maza]

that was supposed to be ..hi, just to bang us up the boards...' i should read before submission...:)

[Ski-and-Sea]

that was supposed to be ..hi, just to bang us up the boards...' i should read before submission...:)

:rotfl: :rotfl:

Happens to all of us. The funniest goof I read on DIS was a guy who referred to his wife as his "wide" due to a typo. :rotfl2: He didn't notice it until someone pointed it out.

All four of us have been hit hard by head colds - really nasty and it just lingers and lingers and lingers :sick:

Gotta get better before Sunday so I can stay awake and watch the Giants play in the Superbowl.

[Maza]

hope your head cold is better!
Dh has been messing with his photoshop again! No doubt he will post anything worth looking at!

[Ski-and-Sea]

hope your head cold is better!
Dh has been messing with his photoshop again! No doubt he will post anything worth looking at!

Thanks for asking - I think the cold is bottoming out. We went skiing yesterday and I'm feeling okay today. Its been one of those "two steps forward, one step back" kind of illness.

Looking forward to just relaxing and watching the Superbowl tonight!!!!

[Maza]

bumping...although i found out yesterday that friends of ours will be on the cruise with us ! small world huh!:)

[Ski-and-Sea]

bumping...although i found out yesterday that friends of ours will be on the cruise with us ! small world huh!:)

Excellent news.....small world after all.

Did any of you watch the Superbowl? If you can watch a replay of it you should definitely watch. It was the most thrilling game EVER. It was a nailbiter from start to finish.

It was the only Superbowl where I watched every second. And the last two minutes were so tense I was actually on the floor on my knees in front of the TV.

Walt Disney himself could not come up with a better script.

[Maza]

dont really 'get' american football...give me a nice game of rugby any day...now the wales england game last week...now your talking!lol

[Ski-and-Sea]

dont really 'get' american football...give me a nice game of rugby any day...now the wales england game last week...now your talking!lol

Did I mention DH is a Brit and basically lives in front of the TV watching the Fox international soccer channel.

DCL used to have a wonderful English CM (she's on another cruiseline now) who one time during a bingo session said to the audience "I just don't get American football".

Even my kids tell me they can't understand all the complexities of the game. Drives DH crazy when a play is nullified for some obscure penalty.

[wayneg]

dont really 'get' american football...give me a nice game of rugby any day...now the wales england game last week...now your talking!lol

Glad I am not the only one, watched it so many times and just don't understand it, are there any rules?:rotfl2:
More Rubgy League myself but the England Wales was a great game.

[Ski-and-Sea]

Glad I am not the only one, watched it so many times and just don't understand it, are there any rules?:rotfl2:


:lmao:

I swear the referees make up the rules as they go. ;)

[wayneg]

DCL used to have a wonder English CM (she's on another cruiseline now)

We have had same English cruise director on all 3 Disney cruises (2 on Magic, 1 on Wonder) I believe she moved to a different cruiseline but read a few days ago a Rachel will be CD on Wonder next month when we sail, dont know if it true or if its same Rachel. She was born near us in South Yorkshire.

[Ski-and-Sea]

We have had same English cruise director on all 3 Disney cruises (2 on Magic, 1 on Wonder) I believe she moved to a different cruiseline but read a few days ago a Rachel will be CD on Wonder next month when we sail, dont know if it true or if its same Rachel. She was born near us in South Yorkshire.

Rachel has been with DCL since the beginning. She has long blond hair. She is considered the senior CD at DCL. I was surprised that someone posted that she will be CD on the Wonder soon. She usually sails on the Magic but maybe she's helping to train a new CD on the Wonder.

We had her as CD back in 2004 on the Magic. We didn't have any contact with her at all - its just the way things worked out.

How funny to have the same CD for every cruise. If you see her on your next cruise you should mention that to her.

[wayneg]

How funny to have the same CD for every cruise. If you see her on your next cruise you should mention that to her.

I hope it is her, won't be same if its someone new. Just managed to say a quick hello to her on last cruise. Hopefully get a few more minutes for a chat next time we see her. 7 weeks and 2 days to getting onboard Wonder, can't come soon enough.

[Ski-and-Sea]

I hope it is her, won't be same if its someone new.

I know what you mean. Its great when you sail with CMs that you know.

The worst we had was learning that our favorite CM was working for DCL at that very time we were onboard, but on the other ship. :sad1:

[wayneg]

The worst we had was learning that our favorite CM was working for DCL at that very time we were onboard, but on the other ship. :sad1:

No that would not be good.

Just seen your plans for this year. You sail day before us in August. You go on the 17th we sail 18th on Soveriegn of The Seas.
We almost went on the same as you but the cost was crazy, Inside cabin for 3 of us almost $3,000 but RCCL is just over $1,000 for outside cabin. Also prefer food on RCCL. If we had not been going on Wonder next month I might have paid it but just too much spent this year with 3 trips to Florida planned.
Last 7 night we did Oct 05 only cost $2,200 for all 3 of us, that seems so cheap now, its what we are paying for 4 nights.:scared1:

[Ski-and-Sea]

Just seen your plans for this year. You sail day before us in August. You go on the 17th we sail 18th on Soveriegn of The Seas.
We almost went on the same as you but the cost was crazy,

The prices of the Wonder double dip cruises this summer have just skyrocketed.

With the Magic in CA and the Wonder doing the two stops at CC it seems like everyone booked the Wonder this summer. I think that was a big role in DCL returning to the Caribbean in the summer of 2009.

My Wonder cruise this summer is sold out if you book with kids.

October is a great month to cruise - cheap and the ocean water is still warm.

[Maza]

i am soooooooo jealous! we have no 'exotic' holiday plans at all for this year...just looking forward to next! We like nice hotels,reasonable cabins, premiur seats on flights etc...so we have to save! So no Florida for us this year:confused3 .

[wayneg]

i am soooooooo jealous! we have no 'exotic' holiday plans at all for this year...just looking forward to next! We like nice hotels,reasonable cabins, premiur seats on flights etc...so we have to save! So no Florida for us this year:confused3 .

On some of our trips we have stayed in 5* suites and been upgrade to verandah cabins but over the years realised we enjoy staying somewhere like a courtyard by Marriott just as much or a inside cabin on a ship, we just never used the verandah. For us a room is to sleep 11pm-8am and out doesn't matter if it cost £20 or £200. Same with flights we sleep perfectly well in economy so never needed to upgrade.
So now we go for quantity, shut the business down 8-10 weeks a year and have 3 or 4 trips a year to the States plus European trips.
Its great feeling have 3 Florida trips planned and 3 cruises, No way could I go back to waiting a year to go on holiday.
It will be here before you know it, can't believe another Valentines day is here already.

[Maza]

bmping..
although we received our confirmation yesterday...as well as our postcand from Mickey...so its all coming together. Decided to go to Las Vegas for a few days prior to the cruise next year...then a week or so in Orlando afterwards. Seems more real now the Travel companies have brouchers out now too:)

[wayneg]

Our thoughts are all on this months trip just now, leave in 17 days, cruise on the 30th, 4 night on Wonder. Docs should be here soon.
We did 4 nights in Vegas last Oct, loved it. Lunch in the Bellagio buffet was amazing, driving out to the Grand Canyon the highlight.

[Maza]

yeah...we have been to Las Vegas before...taking DM this time, she has always wanted to go...big CSI fan. Thinks shes going to bump into Gil Grissom et al...lol
She and my DB might do the Canyon Flight trip....not my idea of a good time...don't like helicopters *shudders* The Canyon is truly grand though!

[Ski-and-Sea]

Our thoughts are all on this months trip just now, leave in 17 days, cruise on the 30th, 4 night on Wonder. Docs should be here soon.
We did 4 nights in Vegas last Oct, loved it. Lunch in the Bellagio buffet was amazing, driving out to the Grand Canyon the highlight.

Have a fantastic trip - I've got about five months till mine.

Funny enough - the kids and I were skiing locally on Saturday and riding on the chair lift DD asks how long is it till our Disney cruise.

Sadly I have never been to the Grand Canyon or Las Vegas. We keep meaning on taking a ski trip out "west" (Colorado/Utah) but the thought of having to lug all our ski gear/equipment on a plane defeats the thought. We prefer driving in a car to the ski resorts in Vermont.

[Maza]

it is worth the trip...the canyon anyway.never skied in the US...but beleive vermont is excellent, so why bother to shlep all the way aross country:) Have skied at Whistler though...and that was fab!

[Ski-and-Sea]

Have skied at Whistler though...and that was fab!

Its kind of ironic...but the risk of snowstorms is what keeps us from flying out west. It wasn't so bad this winter but last winter there were terrible snow/ice storms that fell on the weekends shutting down major airports. People could not get another flight for days which meant you canceled the trip.

So we worry that we book some fab vacation in the Rockies and along comes some snowstorm that shuts down the airport and we can't go.

On the other side, I know someone who had to spend a few extra days at a ski resort in Wyoming because there was a big snow storm on the day he left and the airport shut down and he couldn't leave. Poor guy. :laughing:

Speaking of storms....we had a bad one Friday night-Saturday and we had no power for 24 hours exactly. We have a generator so we survived.

[soccermom10]

Hello all. We just returned from the 3/1 Eastern & we booked for the 8/22/09 Western :cool1: We couldn't leave the ship without booking again. It made me feel a little better, but I'm still having withdrawl :sad2:

[Ski-and-Sea]

Hello all. We just returned from the 3/1 Eastern & we booked for the 8/22/09 Western :cool1: We couldn't leave the ship without booking again. It made me feel a little better, but I'm still having withdrawl :sad2:

Welcome, welcome, welcome......

Yes, the withdrawals never really go away....you just learn to live with the pain.

But having another cruise booked is the only way to cope.

We've never done an eastern - all western cruises for us, just the way the dates worked out.

[stsomewhere]

We have changed from Explorer 9 night on 3/09 to this wonderful Disney cruise. We just sailed on Carnival triumph in Jan., ready for another cruise.
This will be our first on DCL.
Me, DH, DS-11(on Sailing), DD-8 at sailing. We received the DCL dvd in the mail and that was it. The kids wanted to switch. MIL,FIL,SIL, BIL, nephew are condering it too.

It didn't see it is someone making at list of cruisers, ages and cabins?

Christi

[stsomewhere]

* kids age are at time of sailing

FluffyBunny
Maza- DW of Fluffy Bunny,DS-14, DD-13
Ski-and-Sea, DH, DD-13, DD-15
Rachie0507,DH, DD-13, DS-8
Wayneg: Wayne,DW- Karen, DS-15 Mathew
Soccermom10-
Stsomewhere:Christi, DH ERik, DS-11 Matt, DD-8 Marina

We will keep adding.

[Ski-and-Sea]

* kids age are at time of sailing

FluffyBunny
Maza- DW of Fluffy Bunny,DS-14, DD-13
Ski-and-Sea, DH, DD-13, DD-15
Rachie0507,DH, DD-13, DS-8
Wayneg: Wayne,DW- Karen, DS-15 Mathew
Soccermom10-
Stsomewhere:Christi, DH ERik, DS-11 Matt, DD-8 Marina

We will keep adding.

Welcome, welcome....glad there are more booking this great cruise.

We need to edit my kids' ages......DS will be 14 and DD will 13 on this cruise....boy it took me a while to figure out what their ages will be in August 2009.

[fluffy bunny]

* kids age are at time of sailing

FluffyBunny
Maza- DW of Fluffy Bunny,DS-14, DD-13
Ski-and-Sea, DH, DD-13, DD-15
Rachie0507,DH, DD-13, DS-8
Wayneg: Wayne,DW- Karen, DS-15 Mathew
Soccermom10-
Stsomewhere:Christi, DH ERik, DS-11 Matt, DD-8 Marina

We will keep adding.

Welcome to the Red Hot Chili Cruisers.

Looks like we have mixed up Ski-and-sea kids with ours. Ours should be as follows:

FluffyBunny
Maza- DW of Fluffy Bunny, DD-15, DD-13

Just been reading the Times Travel pull out with a great picture of Aquatica on the front and we are all wishing we were going to Orlando this year. Oh well, just have to look at last years photo's again and keep putting the money into the holiday account.

[wayneg]

Welcome Christi and Family.

Thank you for putting list together. When a few more have joined I can put the data on my webpage if you want, makes it look more tidy than posting in a thread.
Have a look and see what you think, I have done it for our Wonder cruise this month www.astersflorist.co.uk bottom link on left.
If anyone has a better suggestion that would be great.
Don't think we are doing Aquatica this year. Our SW/Busch passports are due for renewal end of year, will probably add Aquatica then as its only $40 for 2 years.
Wayne

[soccermom10]

My DS will be 13 & DD will be 8 when we sail.

We will also be traveling with my DH's family. A total of 14 of us definite so far & several more that are considering it. My twin nieces will be 12 & my nephews will be 13, 9 & 3.

Jackie

[soccermom10]

Ski-and-Sea, I noticed that you are from New Jersey. I live in New Jersey also.

[stsomewhere]

Wayne,
I check out your webpage. That would be great if you could keep one for our cruise.
:thumbsup2

[stsomewhere]

FluffyBunny
Maza- DW of Fluffy Bunny,DD-15, DD-13
Ski-and-Sea, DH, DS-14, DD-13
Rachie0507,DH, DD-13, DS-8
Wayneg: Wayne,DW- Karen, DS-15 Mathew
Soccermom10-Jackie, DH, DS-13, DD8
Stsomewhere:Christi, DH ERik, DS-11 Matt, DD-8 Marina

A group of 14 with Soccermom, maybe more.

We will keep adding.

[stsomewhere]

My SIL, BIL and DS-3 plus grandparents want to come, too.

Since you have all been on DCL before, is it as great as it looks on the dvd?
We have been on many cruises on different lines.
We just cruised 1/19/08. The kids love cruising. We asked them if they wanted to go to Disney World or a cruise next year. They choose a cruise.

We are very excited. We are going through post cruise depression.
I agree the only way to cure it ....is book another:jumping1:

[wayneg]

Wayne,
I check out your webpage. That would be great if you could keep one for our cruise.
:thumbsup2

No problem, I will do it when we get back from Florida (22nd Mar-6th Apr) if no-one posts a better option before then.

[Ski-and-Sea]

That would be great to create a web page for our cruise. Thanks for doing that.

Late August is a popular time for people from NJ to cruise since it gets cheaper and our kids are still off for the summer whereas many in the southern US are back at school.

I think cruising with the extended family is a wonderful thing. I've tried to get my relatives to come and we were all set to book when DB and DSIL decided to go in October instead of August.:mad: Funny enough they were the ones that got impacted by a hurricane....not us in August.:laughing:

Yes, a Disney cruise is as good as it looks in the DVD. I think the people who work for DCL as well as the adult who sail DCL really buy into the whole Magic of a Disney experience. We're the ones who believe pixie dust exists and for those set number of days that we are onboard we can cast aside all the problems at home and in the world and escape to a place of Magic and Wonder.

I think the key is to recognize that you will find magic on the ship but it shows up in unexpected places and in unexpected ways. It just sneaks up on you.

Yes, be careful not to set expectations too high. We did have one cruise where our dining room experience wasn't very good and I did end up writing a letter to DCL. I've been on cruises where the weather on the sea days was just dreadful.

We are so looking forward to going back to Grand Cayman and Cozumel. We will be doing snorkeling excursions on both days. We'll be going with Eagle Ray Divers in Cozumel and I'm still undecided on who to go with in Grand Cayman.

[stsomewhere]

Our kids are looking forward to snorkeling. We took them on their first "real " trip in January. We rented a 44ft sailboat to take us to ST. John. It was awesome.
Our kids have only been on eastern routes because we have felt it was safer while they were little. They are looking forward to seeing something different.
We may do a ruins trip.
SIL is worried about hurricanes and is unsure about cruise now. We have tried to reassure her that they will sail around/out of its path.
We have sailed in Sept 1996 and had to sail around 3 storms. It was very rough. But, we survived.
I hate cold water, so I am looking forward to sailing during the summer. We usually sail in Dec, Jan, or Feb. When it is zero here.

[Ski-and-Sea]

SIL is worried about hurricanes and is unsure about cruise now. We have tried to reassure her that they will sail around/out of its path.

I tell people to never let the risk of hurricanes prevent you from cruising in August. I'd be more worried about the middle of September than August.

Hurricanes can hit anytime between June and November. We cruised the first week of July and got chased by a hurricane.

The worst that can happen is a change in itinerary and missing a port. Otherwise the captain steers well clear of any storms.


I hate cold water, so I am looking forward to sailing during the summer. We usually sail in Dec, Jan, or Feb. When it is zero here.

Me too. I love that the water is so warm in August. I would never cruise DCL in the winter. Why fly/sail all that way when you can't go in the water. :confused3

[Maza]

Just been reading the Times Travel pull out with a great picture of Aquatica on the front and we are all wishing we were going to Orlando this year. Oh well, just have to look at last years photo's again and keep putting the money into the holiday account.


WWWWWWWHHHHHHHHHHHHHHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!! lol

[stsomewhere]

I tell people to never let the risk of hurricanes prevent you from cruising in August. I'd be more worried about the middle of September than August.

Hurricanes can hit anytime between June and November. We cruised the first week of July and got chased by a hurricane.

The worst that can happen is a change in itinerary and missing a port. Otherwise the captain steers well clear of any storms.



Me too. I love that the water is so warm in August. I would never cruise DCL in the winter. Why fly/sail all that way when you can't go in the water. :confused3

We have explained all of this to her. She really has her heart set on going to Key West. She got married there. We sailed on NCL and she has her ceremony on the isalnd. She will be celebrating 10th anniversary during the cruise. We told her not to get her hopes up about going. There could be a change in ports.

DH and I are the cruise /vacation planners in our families. Everyone wants to go with us, but back out at the last minute. Plus, we try to take into consideration everyones wishes, dates and budgets. We usually have a few families come with us.

On DCL, we decided we would go when and where we wanted. I don't think grandparents will go if SIL doesn't. People complaining about how hot it will be.:goodvibes

[soccermom10]

We have some friends that were considering the trip, but are nervous about it being hurricane season as well. I don't mind changing our itinerary or ports, I just hope we don't miss Castaway Cay again. We were on the 3/1 Eastern that everyone seems to be talking about & unfortunately were not able to dock :sad1:

[Ski-and-Sea]

We have some friends that were considering the trip, but are nervous about it being hurricane season as well. I don't mind changing our itinerary or ports, I just hope we don't miss Castaway Cay again. We were on the 3/1 Eastern that everyone seems to be talking about & unfortunately were not able to dock :sad1:

Never say never, but the bigger risk with sailing in August is the heat at Castaway Cay.

In terms of hurricanes, I think the bigger risk is missing a port like Grand Cayman than CC. The hurricanes in August tend to track south of the Bahamas and follow the extremely warm waters of the southern Caribbean.

We cruised last August when it looked like Hurricane Dean would head for the Bahamas and instead it made landfall in Costa Maya, Mexico.

I think I read a post on DIS a few years ago that listed the days when the ships couldn't dock at CC and I believe most of them happen during the winter months than the summer months.

I tell people I never let the risk of hurricanes prevent me from booking in August.

[stsomewhere]

We hae some friends that are also considering it. They really want to go, they don't care about the ports or weather. One of them is starting a new job and they are waiting to put down deposit. They want to make sure everyting is ok before they book. They really want to go. They would also be celebrating theoor 10th ann.
Their kids got very upset because they did not go on our cruise in Jan. They begged too come along.What they did not know was they were getting a surprise trip to WDW the next week.

I have been on ships where we have had to miss Grand Cayman. I can't remember the months, though. If we have to have an extra sea day, I would not mind.
We were looking at the eastern because of that reason. But, the kids wanted to see something different.

[stsomewhere]

Yes, a Disney cruise is as good as it looks in the DVD. on the sea days was

.

I can not wait. We have sailed on NCL, RCCL, Carnival, HAL, and Majesty lines. They were all similar and different experiences. We love to cruise.
We thought we would try DCl because the kids are getting older. Neither one of them are interested in going back to WDW. But, they love the idea of a Disney cruise.

[Ski-and-Sea]

I can not wait. We have sailed on NCL, RCCL, Carnival, HAL, and Majesty lines. They were all similar and different experiences. We love to cruise.
We thought we would try DCl because the kids are getting older. Neither one of them are interested in going back to WDW. But, they love the idea of a Disney cruise.

My kids won't cruise anything but DCL. A while back when there were rumors that the Magic would not be in the Caribbean in the summer of 2009 we were looking at other cruiselines and the kids were devastated.

We're celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary on this cruise.

[stsomewhere]

DS is already talking about taking another DCL crise when he is able to go to the teen program.
I have heard so many mixed reviews about DCL. But, all lines have things that make them good and bad.

A cruise is what you make of it.
: :beach: :party:

[wayneg]

We're celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary on this cruise.

Us too, it will be our 20th on 2nd Sept just a few days after the cruise:thumbsup2

[soccermom10]

Our last 2 trips were in the winter. For those of you that have sailed during the summer months, how hot does it normally get in August? I was thinking about bringing my mom along, but she has some health issues and she doesn't do well in extreme heat.

[stsomewhere]

Our last 2 trips were in the winter. For those of you that have sailed during the summer months, how hot does it normally get in August? I was thinking about bringing my mom along, but she has some health issues and she doesn't do well in extreme heat.

I got this of the DCL site Average temp for Aug
Castaway Cay-high 88/ low 78
Key West 90/ 79
Cozemel 89/ 74
Grand Cay. 88/80

Not as hot as I thought. We usually visit my dad in Texas during this week and it is 105.

[Ski-and-Sea]

Our last 2 trips were in the winter. For those of you that have sailed during the summer months, how hot does it normally get in August? I was thinking about bringing my mom along, but she has some health issues and she doesn't do well in extreme heat.

It can be mixed with the heat in August. I've seen it so hot in Grand Cayman and Cozumel that it felt like my clothes would literally melt off.

But then I've had it hotter in New Jersey than in Cozumel.

Same with Castaway Cay. I've seen it so hot that I'm running to the outdoor showers to cool off and other times when it was cool, cloudy and windy.

It all comes down to the weather and how overcast it is that day.

I can't deny that there is the risk of it being very hot.

What happens is that you tend to do water-based shore excursions: snorkeling/swimming and less of the walking/hiking tours.

But the sea days are just glorious with the sea breezes and being outside at night is just wonderful not matter how hot it got during the day.

[soccermom10]

Thanks for the info. I guess I'll have to leave the decision to my mom, but I have a feeling she won't want to go.

We've only been home for 9 days & I feel like the cruise was 3 months ago. I can't believe I have to wait until next August to go again :sad2: . Wow, I never expected to be so addicted to cruising.....and now I'm addicted to the dis boards! I need help! :laughing:

[stsomewhere]

Wayneg-
Have a wonderful time on vacation. I wish I was going ,too.
I am sick of all this cold weather.

[wayneg]

Wayneg-
Have a wonderful time on vacation. I wish I was going ,too.
I am sick of all this cold weather.

It feels like its been a long winter here, not been bad weather really but long. We usually go away for Xmas but not been away since October so that has not helped. Taxi collects us on Saturday morning 10am, soon be here and forcasts look to be 80-90 so thats good.

[stsomewhere]

It has been a very long winter in Michigan. Snowfall has been 14 inches above average this year. :eek:

[stsomewhere]

:scared1: The snow is falling now. By tomorrow morning, there should be at least 8 inches. I wish I was leaving soon. ALot of airports are being delayed because of snow/ wind.

I feel soory for those who are trying to get somweplace warm from the midwest. Most flights from chicago have been canceled or 6 hour delays. New York is a 1-3 hour delay becasue of wind. Detroit has no problemas as of now. They have over 100 snow plows t keep the runways clean. But, soon snow willing be falling at 2 inches an hour.

[soccermom10]

:scared1: The snow is falling now. By tomorrow morning, there should be at least 8 inches.

Do you get sick of all the snow? We really haven't had any snow at all this winter. I do wish we could have had one good storm, but now I'm just ready for warm weather.

It supposed to be chilly/rainy/light snow tomorrow for us. Unfortunately my DS is in a soccer tournament all day, so I get to be stuck an hour away from home & in the rain for 3 games.

[stsomewhere]

This year we have gotten several big storms +8 inches. Then, it melts and we start all over. It was 65 degrees last week.
The kids always look forward to snow days.
Winter just seems to go on and on and on this year. Last year, we hardly had any snow.

They wanted to go to the park this week to unse the clinbing sturtures but, I guess we will go sleding instead.

[stsomewhere]

Winter is still here. We got 10 inches of snow last night.:scared1:

[Ski-and-Sea]

The winter in NJ has been schizophrenic for the past two years. Warm followed a freeze up followed by warm.

Last winter we had two severe ice storms.

This winter has been heavy rain and almost no snow. I read we had the wettest February on record.

I've been reading on DIS about that snowstorm in WI and MI. I thought that "storm" was supposed to be just a clipper and fast moving. That storm looked like it wouldn't budge and by the time it made it to NJ we just had overcast skies.

As an avid skier I am a winter weather junkie. Last November Accuweather published their long range winter forecast and it was absolutely right. They predicted it would be stormy at the beginning and end of the winter and mild in the middle. That's exactly what happened in NJ.

I think the la nina had a lot to do with the crazy weather this winter.

I'll be blunt - I'm so reluctant to take a winter vacation that involves flying anywhere because of the risk of airport closures and that it can take days to reschedule a flight.

Last winter my DB and SIL had to cancel a vacation to Cancun when we got hit by an ice storm. Couldn't get another flight for four days so they bailed out completely.

And people worry about the risk of sailing in August and hurricanes. :confused3

BTW....we just got back from our last ski day of the season. It was slushy in the afternoon but we had a blast.

[stsomewhere]

DH has been wanting to teach the kids how to ski. They have not been interested. Every time we have a "free" weekend, the snow has melted.
DH and DS are both heavily involved with Cub Scouts. DD is in Brownies. It keps us all busy.

Today was pretty exciting. We got into a car accident. Everyone is okay but, DH's car not. We are waiting until Monday to find out IF its fixable. Dh is hoping its not because he has been wanting a new car- but we still have a year left to pay it off. He's hoping to get enough $ back to cover loan and more. I told him reat! We can take the $$$ and pay off DCL and book another. :confused3 I don't see the problem. He just laughed.

[soccermom10]

stsomewhere - sorry to hear about your car accident. Hope all is well.

Jackie

[stsomewhere]

stsomewhere - sorry to hear about your car accident. Hope all is well.

Jackie

We are good. We went car shopping today. Just waiting on AAA. They are suppose to total it. My DH has been wanting to get a new car, so now he has an excuse.
It happened at the right time because we were thinking about doing some work to it. He had a seal leak and it would of been about $2000 for a new engine.


How was your son's soccer tournament?
Hope he did well.

[soccermom10]

Good luck with whatever car you choose. I recently had to go car shopping as well & I was a little shocked at some of the prices. I don't know how people can afford some of these cars today? I have to admit that I love my new car though.

It was a very long day, but my son's tournament went well, thanks.

[stsomewhere]

I was shocked at how expensive cars are. Especially the ones DH needs. He is 6'5'' and has trouble fitting into cars because he can't see out of front window. I told him he could just use my van. He laughed. He needs a car with good gas mileage because of work.
I need a big van to haul kids and friends around. Also, to pull our trailer.

[Ski-and-Sea]

DH has been wanting to teach the kids how to ski. They have not been interested. Every time we have a "free" weekend, the snow has melted.
DH and DS are both heavily involved with Cub Scouts. DD is in Brownies. It keps us all busy.

Today was pretty exciting. We got into a car accident. Everyone is okay but, DH's car not. We are waiting until Monday to find out IF its fixable. Dh is hoping its not because he has been wanting a new car- but we still have a year left to pay it off. He's hoping to get enough $ back to cover loan and more. I told him reat! We can take the $$$ and pay off DCL and book another. :confused3 I don't see the problem. He just laughed.

OMG...how terrible. Are you sure everyone is okay? You all might be feeling a bit sore in a couple of days.

We drive old cars so we've escaped (knock on wood) having to look at new car prices. But now we're getting hit with the big ticket repair bills. Ouch.

I'm a Girl Scout leader myself. Actually I'm going to be service unit manager soon. So that keeps me very busy. Fortunately I can do a lot through emails, but its a lot of emails.

That's why I constantly take a peek on DIS to get a good chuckle.

Actually we started skiing because of Girl Scouts. My co-leader organized a trip to Camelback in PA and fortunately my kids had a terrific instructor and we've been hooked ever since.

Taking up skiing is way easier now with the parabolic shaped skis. Makes turning a whole lot easier. Now my DB and family have taken up skiing as well.

Our high school recently started a ski race team and my kids are looking forward to doing that.

[stsomewhere]

I'm a Girl Scout leader myself. .

I had volunteered to be the Brownie leader, but was not needed. The leader, also, has a senior troop. The older girls help out with the younger. We are going ice skating over weekend with scouts. Marina can't wait.

I use to be a Cub Scout leader, but when Marina joined scouts it was to much.
DH is Cubmaster, and on the district traing staff. They are trying to recuit me to be a disrtict commionioner,requires only 1 hour a week. :lmao: :rotfl2: I know better than that.

We usually have scouts activites 3-4 times a week. (meetings. outings, training, Etc.)

[stsomewhere]

[QUOTE=Ski-and-Sea;24044154]We drive old cars so we've escaped (knock on wood) having to look at new car prices. But now we're getting hit with the big ticket repair bills. Ouch.

I understand. I was dreading putting new engine in DH car when we were still paying on it. At least , it wasn't my van. It was paid off in Jan.:cool1:

Dh last car, we ran until it gould no longer go. We love not have car payments.

My dad use to be a manager at an auto dealer in TX. We would get some good deals and fly down and pay cash. We would get them at trade in price.
We would tell him we were looking for a new car and he would keep his eye out. DH worked for airline, we would fly standby and go pick it up.

princess: Marina wanted to add a smilie

[stsomewhere]

Dh just found out he quailfies for Ford X plan- since he is a contracted to a project there right now.

[stsomewhere]

Good Morning everyone!
We got another 5 inches of snow last night:scared1:
The good news is that most of it should be gone by tomorrow. It's suppose to rain.

We got our new car last night:woohoo:

[Ski-and-Sea]

Good Morning everyone!
We got another 5 inches of snow last night:scared1:
The good news is that most of it should be gone by tomorrow. It's suppose to rain.

We got our new car last night:woohoo:

Congrats on the new car!!!!

Man...I'm so envious about the snow. We've only had a rain-infested winter this year. One snowstorm and that was it.

[stsomewhere]

I am hoping that it is the last of the snow. I am ready for spring.

I can't hear it sliding off the roof. It's starting to melt!

[JoiseyMom]

How's this for a slogan......The Red Hot Chilli Cruisers.

I had the radio on in the car and heard a song by the Red Hot Chilli Peppers so that got me thinking....."chilli peppers" since we are cruising to Mexico, "red hot" since we are cruising in late August and it will be hot, hot, hot (hopefully that won't be our skin after being in the sun).

I'll see if I can find some good Mickey clip art of him sitting in the sun sipping a tropical drink and then paste in a picture of a chilli pepper.

Hmmmm....thinking of Mexican food, the best chips and salsa we've ever had was in Cozumel. Can't find anything as good here in New Jersey. That was one of the reasons we picked the western itinerary over going to Tortola.


Hi all, I've neglected this thread, but I am back playing catch up! Welcome to the newbies!!

Have you guys ever been to Jose Tejas in Woodbridge? They have great home made chips. I don't do salsa, but my family loves it! They are tex-mex and very good, the place is always packed.

[stsomewhere]

Downtown Detroit has a wonderful Mexcian Town. It's very good.

[Ski-and-Sea]

Hi all, I've neglected this thread, but I am back playing catch up! Welcome to the newbies!!

Have you guys ever been to Jose Tejas in Woodbridge? They have great home made chips. I don't do salsa, but my family loves it! They are tex-mex and very good, the place is always packed.

Good to see you back.

Woodbridge is a bit too far for us to go. Plus, with the price of gas :scared1: I'm just not willing to drive very far to go out to eat anymore.

But I do loooooove good chips. Yeah, I'm not too much of a salsa person myself.

Speaking of hot food.....last night our school district had its biggest fundraiser - a chilli cookoff. Twenty two entrants. Never did get around to try them all but there was one I totally regretted. The teachers union had an entry and their chilli was so hot I actually was crying and I thought my tongue had burned off.

Don't understand the need to make something so hot that you can't enjoy the flavors.

Did try a yummy one that had chocolate and pineapples in it.

And my dentist always enters. Last year he was one of the top winners. Sadly he didn't win this year - he had a turkey chilli this year. But a friend of ours was the top winner.

[soccermom10]

I guess I'm the only whimp that doesn't like spicey food!

I am getting better though, I can handle most "mild" sauces now :laughing:

[stsomewhere]

I guess I'm the only whimp that doesn't like spicey food!

I am getting better though, I can handle most "mild" sauces now :laughing:

I don't like anything hot either. There are a few places that make salsa that is very tasty but, mild. When I was pregnant, DH was constantly going to get me some.

[Ski-and-Sea]

Count me in as not liking things too spicy, either. On a scale of 1 to 10 I can handle about a 3 in terms of spicy.

My husband can handle about a 12.

[stsomewhere]

My husband can handle about a 12.

My DH with a lady from India. She made a specail lunch for o few of the people in the office. Dh said it was so spicy. I had to sleep in the other room because it was coming out of his pores. Just going by him made my eyes water.

[Ski-and-Sea]

My DH with a lady from India. She made a specail lunch for o few of the people in the office. Dh said it was so spicy. I had to sleep in the other room because it was coming out of his pores. Just going by him made my eyes water.

:rotfl:

Last summer on the Wonder our head server tried to get DH some hot peppers from the crew's dining room but turns out CMs can't bring food from their dining area to the passenger restaurants.

DH was bummed because he knew the food would have been extremely hot.

DH will admit a dish is hot if his face starts to sweat.

[stsomewhere]

We went to Planet Hollywood in HAwaii. I ordered a pasta dish. It was not spicy. but, by the end of dinner. I was swaeting and started to hallucinate. I hated it. Dh laughed because he knew the ingredients would "build" up. He never told me.

[Ski-and-Sea]

We went to Planet Hollywood in HAwaii. I ordered a pasta dish. It was not spicy. but, by the end of dinner. I was swaeting and started to hallucinate. I hated it. Dh laughed because he knew the ingredients would "build" up. He never told me.

That's a guy for you :mad:

[stsomewhere]

I got him back. :woohoo: I told him we would be able to walk to Diamond Head. It was not too far. ( He hates walking!) He wanted to kill me after 2 hours of walking up hill and we still weren't there.

[soccermom10]

I got him back. :woohoo: I told him we would be able to walk to Diamond Head. It was not too far. ( He hates walking!) He wanted to kill me after 2 hours of walking up hill and we still weren't there.


Good for you....paybacks are the best :thumbsup2

[Ski-and-Sea]

Good for you....paybacks are the best :thumbsup2

:thumbsup2 :thumbsup2

[JoiseyMom]

Good to see you back.

Woodbridge is a bit too far for us to go. Plus, with the price of gas :scared1: I'm just not willing to drive very far to go out to eat anymore.

But I do loooooove good chips. Yeah, I'm not too much of a salsa person myself.

Speaking of hot food.....last night our school district had its biggest fundraiser - a chilli cookoff. Twenty two entrants. Never did get around to try them all but there was one I totally regretted. The teachers union had an entry and their chilli was so hot I actually was crying and I thought my tongue had burned off.

Don't understand the need to make something so hot that you can't enjoy the flavors.

Did try a yummy one that had chocolate and pineapples in it.

And my dentist always enters. Last year he was one of the top winners. Sadly he didn't win this year - he had a turkey chilli this year. But a friend of ours was the top winner.

My eldest should enter one of those. He makes (or so I am told, I don't do chili) a kick-butt chili. He doesn't make it too spicey that you cry though!!

[Ski-and-Sea]

My eldest should enter one of those. He makes (or so I am told, I don't do chili) a kick-butt chili. He doesn't make it too spicey that you cry though!!

The only hot chili I tried was the teacher's one. That will be the last time I try any of their chili.

The cook-off is such a great fundraiser because the dress is casual, you get to try all the chili and run your silent auctions/basket raffles/50-50 raffles as well. So lots for people for do. The biggest problem is it sells out very quickly.

Its a massive undertaking - takes about 50 people to run it and months to plan.

But they raise ridiculous amount of money.

[fluffy bunny]

Hi All, just been catching up on the last few weeks exchanges. We are also a scouting family. I am a cub scout leader (have been for over 20 years now, so you can tell the madness has really set in:rotfl2: ) Maza is currently our quartermaster and both the girls are currently scouts, so that all takes up a fair amount of our free time. Looks like this years holiday may be a weeks scout camp either in Scotland or Norfolk. Roll on August 2009.

Just reading about you cook-off and it's potential for fund raising, as we are always looking for more money for both the scout group and the girls school as we help on the PTA there as well. It's something I have heard of, but don't have a clue on how it's works. I don't want to bore everybody with an explanation on this thread, but would appreciate a PM with some basic details on how it works. It may be something new we can try over here, as people get fed up with doing the same things every year.
Not over keen on spicy hot food myself, much prefer to actually taste what I'm eating rather than remove skin from my taste buds.

[stsomewhere]

DH and DS are planning on attending the BSA National Jamboree in 2010.
Dh is planning on volunteering so he can go.

DD just had her first cookie sale. They did fantastic. They are using someof the money to spend the night at a hotel with a waterpark. All the girls are looking forward to it. I am probably going.

The last time I chaperoned an overnight , it was at a gymnastics placewith all the troops in our neighborhood. About 100 scouts. They asked what time we wanted them to go to bed, I said midnight. Did they take our suggestions? NO!! They stopped using the equipment at 3:30AM. We had to get up at 6AM to leave.

Last week, DH and DS had WEbelos den meeting on Monday, Tuesday-DD and I Brownie meeting, Wednesday-DH and DS outing to Zap ZOne Laser Tag, Sunday-DD and I went ice skating with the neighborhood troops. 75 scouts.

Fluffy Bunny-
are your scouts mixes male and female?
We have friends that live in Canada and they are combined.
We keep hearing rumors that this could happen in USA, but so far rumors.

[stsomewhere]

DH is interseted in doing a patch swap with you. Council strips, or patrol badges, or 100 years of scouting stuff.

He was a Cub Scout and Boy scout. He just went to Wood badge training in the FAll. Our Pack is commited to sending 2 leaders from our Pack each year.

I don't know enjoys scouts more DH or DS.

[Ski-and-Sea]

How interesting so many of us are involved with Scouts.

Our Council sells cookies in the fall. A few years ago our Council started a program where we ask our customers to buy boxes to donate to a charity picked by each troop. Its been incredibly sucessful because a lot of people watch their diet and won't buy cookies but they will buy a box if its going to be donated to a needy group.

Regarding hosting a chili cook-off.....ours was a mixture of professional entrants and local "amateurs". Area caterers/restaurants/grocery stores were invited to participate as well as individuals.

I believe each group had to prepare six gallons worth of chili and provide all their own equipment to heat/serve the chili. That included plastic cups/spoons so people can sample your chili.

I think the organizers supplied the tables and they found a venue big enough to hold it in.

Tickets were sold in advance and every ticket gives you a gold coin and you go around sampling the chili and then give the gold coin to the people who's chili you liked the most. At the end of the night the coins are counted and a winner announced.

The tickets were priced so that all the drinks and alcohol were included.

Local businesses donated soda and water and the local wine stores discounted the price of the alcohol.

This was an adult only event.

[fluffy bunny]

Fluffy Bunny-
are your scouts mixes male and female?
We have friends that live in Canada and they are combined.
We keep hearing rumors that this could happen in USA, but so far rumors.

Yes our scouts have been able to be mixed for a good few years now and as of this year, scout groups have to take girls should they ask to join a group. Our eldest has been through the Beavers, Cubs and Scouts and is about to join the Explorers which is the 14-18 year group. Our youngest started in the Brownies, but decided to come to scouts rather than continue on with Guides.I know I am biased having two girls, but I feel that mixed groups work really well.

Badge Swap sounds like a plan. I will get some stuff together for next year. Lets hope I remember to bring it with me. :rotfl2:

[stsomewhere]

Ski- That sounds like a terrfic fundraiser. I know it took alot of people to pull it off. I use to be very invovled in the PTA.. I was the Presidenet for a year. DS attended the school around the block for K and 1st.

We decided to change schools.

Both kids go to a Charter school. It focus in performaning arts. It has been in the top three charter school in MIchigan for the last three years. DS's teacher last year was Mi teacher of the year. The staff is excellent. They have drama, tap, orchestra, mural painting, creative writing etc. as elective classes for 3rd-6th grade.

What we really like is the building is two years old. They just built the high school addition over the summer. They will not have to switch schools. Both kids hate that they have to wear a uniform.

:thumbsup2 It is wonderful to have so many of us interested in scouting.
I think that over time we will have mixed troops. It is hard to get parents involved in scouting. We are lucky our Pack has 50 boys. When they cross over, they move into the Troop, then Venturing. We will push DD into venturing.

Fluffy Bunny- DH will be excited about Badge Swap. I'll have to remind him, too. If we forget them, we can always mail them.
It

[fluffy bunny]

Ski-and-Sea

thanks for the info on the cook-off. Sounds like a great idea, but I am not sure whether it would work over here. I can't see many businesses wanting to take part, but you never know. May just have to stick to the summar fair's and chocolate bingo.

stsomewhere, 50 kids in one pack!:eek: We have a maximum of 24, mainly due to the number of leaders and the size of the school hall we meet in, and that seems like to many at times. I know what you mean with regards getting parents to help. We have a few which are always there helping transport kit to camps, summar fairs etc, but most just drop the kids off and pick them up later. Saying that, we had nearly 100 at our family camp last September (two weeks after we got off the Wonder), made up of Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and Parents. Thankfully we have a strong leadership team at the moment, which means we don't have to rely on parents to help at our weekly meetings.

[trimix]

Twelve years ago I first dreamed of a Disney cruise and, unfortunately, life has very effectively prevented me from taking a cruise. Until now! In late February, discussing the subject with my DW, she agreed to let me book a cruise for summer 2009 - it will give us ample time to save everything needed beyond the deposit.

I cannot tell you all how happy I have been for the last few weeks, as I have known that I will finally be taking a cruise and returning to some of my favorite dive locations!

Is anybody here besides me an avid diver? My DW likes to say "I'm not afraid of the water, I'm afraid of what's in the water!" DD-14 is not interested in diving, and DS-6 is too young. I won't be doing any technical diving on this trip; as tempting as it is to visit the ancient beach 300 feet below the sea off Grand Cayman, I don't want an elevated risk of DCS to cut the trip short. So if you are an active recreational diver, let me know!

I am looking forward to getting to know you all, and meeting you on the cruise!

[soccermom10]

Welcome Trimix!

Congrats on finally booking your trip:yay: You and your family are going to love it!

[Ski-and-Sea]

Welcome Trimix......

How wonderful you finally get to live your DCL dream!!!!!

You are going to love the western itinerary.

We're avid snorkelers ourselves. We're interested in diving but haven't taken the classes/certification yet.

In Cozumel I would book with Eagle Ray Divers. We did the 3-reef snorkeling tour with them in 2006 and we will be booking that same tour in 2009.

I know DIS people have done their dives with Eagle Ray and loved it.

At Grand Cayman we plan to snorkel with one of the local operators - Captain Marvins is very popular so I will be checking them out. I don't know if any DIS people have done dives at Grand Cayman.

There is nothing wrong with booking the DCL excursions other than they tend to be on the shorter side and a bit more crowded. We've found its better to go with a different local shop. And usually cheaper, too.

[trimix]

Thanks for the welcomes!

I will probably book Cozumel with Aldora; they use 120 cubic foot tanks - 50% larger than the common aluminum 80 cf tanks so you get more bottom time. There are also plenty of good ops on Grand Cayman. It would be tempting to do a two or three tank boat trip in the morning, then a beach dive or two in the afternoon. But if I spend more than half my shore time in the water my DW won't be very happy...

Experienced diver/cruisers have told me that the cruise line excursions involve an excessive amount of hand holding; they may have very experienced divers in the group but they will also have people who haven't been diving in several years, so they cater to the lowest common denominator. I look for an operator who will let me dive to the limits of my experience and computer's no decompression limit.

If you are really interested in learning to dive, let me suggest you do your training and certification dives at home. That way you will have an exposure to local diving, you will not pack all the training into two days and will be more likely to remember vital information, and without the rush you will have more time to master the basic skills. And when you are on your vacation you can enjoy the dives without having to take time out to demonstrate the skills your instructor will require.

Brian

[stsomewhere]

Welcome Trimix!

Great to have you and your family on board.

[stsomewhere]

We have alot of scouts because we are the oldest one in the area. 76years.
We are charted to a church. Alot of parents seek out our Pack because it does have a lot of parental involvement. Each family is required to hold some type of job. Setting up chiars before meeting, take down, pinewood derby, etc.

The 50 scouts are broken into 5 dens ( by grade 1-5). There are about 10 boys in each. The chursh has plenty of rooms for us to meet. The only time they meet together is at the Pack meeting once a month. Plus, the Boy Scouts meet in the basement dining room on the same night.
As you know, not everyone goes to every outing. But, there are always enough boys to make it fun.

They are going to spend the night on a submarine in June. DS is looking forward to it. I believe there are 25 scouts and 25 parent going. They will be sharing it with another group.

DD only has 7 girls in her troop. Maybe only 6. We are having a problem with one mom. She owes us cookie money. We are trying to figure out how to handle it. She has missed 5 weeks and always has some "outlandish" excuse why they couldn't not make it. The leader has assured the other moms that the council will place her on a collections list. But, we feel that she has ripped off the girls.

Oh, the drama :eek:

[Ski-and-Sea]

They are going to spend the night on a submarine in June. DS is looking forward to it. I believe there are 25 scouts and 25 parent going. They will be sharing it with another group.

DD only has 7 girls in her troop. Maybe only 6. We are having a problem with one mom. She owes us cookie money. We are trying to figure out how to handle it. She has missed 5 weeks and always has some "outlandish" excuse why they couldn't not make it. The leader has assured the other moms that the council will place her on a collections list. But, we feel that she has ripped off the girls.

Oh, the drama :eek:

I'm the service unit cookie manager in our area and I am well aware of the cookie money collection problems. If the leader passed on the name of the mom to Council then Council will definitely handle that. Usually a single phone call from Council will get the late payers to pay. Otherwise it does go to a collection agency because the parent signed a consent form saying that she is responsible for payment. It is taken very seriously.

Its a shame when these things happen. But if the mom continues to not pay then Council will deduct the cost of her cookies from the troop cookie bill while Council goes after the mom.

We've had troops in our service unit sleep on the Battleship NJ. They loved it. Said it was a fantastic trip and recommend it highly.

[stsomewhere]

Our leader is the cookie person for our area. She has assured us that we will get her money.

It is just very frustrating for everyone else.

[stsomewhere]

DS made honorable mention in the schools science fair.:cool1:

He is in 4th grade and was competing 4th-8th grade.

[Ski-and-Sea]

DS made honorable mention in the schools science fair.:cool1:

He is in 4th grade and was competing 4th-8th grade.

Awesome.....cause those older kids can sure build some wicked stuff. :thumbsup2

It is frustrating dealing with uncooperative moms in Scout troops. Its just plain selfish. I have heard stories where parents will "borrow" the cookie money because they are strapped financially.

I believe in kharma - what comes around goes around.

[Ski-and-Sea]

Thanks for the welcomes!

I will probably book Cozumel with Aldora; they use 120 cubic foot tanks - 50% larger than the common aluminum 80 cf tanks so you get more bottom time. There are also plenty of good ops on Grand Cayman. It would be tempting to do a two or three tank boat trip in the morning, then a beach dive or two in the afternoon. But if I spend more than half my shore time in the water my DW won't be very happy...

Experienced diver/cruisers have told me that the cruise line excursions involve an excessive amount of hand holding; they may have very experienced divers in the group but they will also have people who haven't been diving in several years, so they cater to the lowest common denominator. I look for an operator who will let me dive to the limits of my experience and computer's no decompression limit.

If you are really interested in learning to dive, let me suggest you do your training and certification dives at home. That way you will have an exposure to local diving, you will not pack all the training into two days and will be more likely to remember vital information, and without the rush you will have more time to master the basic skills. And when you are on your vacation you can enjoy the dives without having to take time out to demonstrate the skills your instructor will require.

Brian

ITA!!!! Nothing against cruise excursions but there is so much "wasted" time that the actual amount of time doing the activity is minimal.

I am hoping that by 2009 that the fish population is sufficiently recovered in Cozumel. When we went snorkeling there in 2006 the fish population hadn't recovered from the hurricane a year earlier.

We still had a great time snorkeling but you didn't see the variety and amount of fish that existed before.

Funny enough....my memories of that trip were less of the snorkeling and more the great time we had with everyone else on the boat because there were only 12 of us and everyone was from the Magic. It took 90 minutes to get to the first reef and the kids sat on the boat's roof during the ride. Then right before it was time to head to the next reef all the kids were allowed to jump into the water from the boat's roof. Even some of the adults did it.

[stsomewhere]

.
It took 90 minutes to get to the first reef and the kids sat on the boat's roof during the ride. Then right before it was time to head to the next reef all the kids were allowed to jump into the water from the boat's roof. Even some of the adults did it.

My kids would love this. My dad has 2 boats-a large cabin cruiser and a speed/ ski baot. They can never decide which boat the want to yake because they enjoy tubing on one and jumping off the top deck on the other.

On cruise in Jan., we charted a 44ft sailboat. It was just the 4 of us with a capt. and first mate.
It was the kids first time snorkling.( Can't see much in the great lakes- they have practiced alot). We went to small coves off of St. John's. The guide was terrific. He would swim ahead and find different types of fish and coral. He would explain to us what we were seeing and swim down and point it out.

We saw so many different types of fish and coral. The highlights were moose antler coral, an octopus eating a conch, a sea turtle and a remora.

[Maza]

bumping
i have been away for a week...have just read DHs posts. Now i have to add group scout badges to our packing lists. Does anyone else think its funny that so may of us are scouting families? maybe its all part of the madness...lol
I might bring some neckers...neckers anyone???

[stsomewhere]

At what age do you let your kids sign themselves out?

DS will be 11 when we cruise. I was planning on putting him in the the Lab group. But, I have been reading about the Quest group and they don't have to sign in or out.

What are your thoughts or experience since some of you have teenagers? How did you deal with this?

I am sure that the subject will come up. I know he is responsible, but unsure how safe it will be. I don't like the idea of him wondering around alone.
Am I just being over protective?

What is the difference between Lab and Quest?

Thanks.


Maza- Do you mean neckerchiefs? Dh would probably like to bring those to. He needs to just get on here, too.

[Ski-and-Sea]

This may change when the Magic goes through drydock later this year but as it stands now Ocean Quest is located on the second floor where the conference rooms used to be.

Its a place where ages 10-14 get to hang out and do unstructured activities. The bridge simulator machine is located there.

There are couches, a big screen TV, personal computers, tables to play board games. And counselors are there as well to play with the kids.

The big difference between OQ and the Lab is that OQ has no scheduled activities where at the lab there are set times to do set activities. Or the kids can hang out and play video games.

Yes, kids signs themselves in/out of OQ. Kids don't have to go to OQ at all. They can happily spend time at the Lab.

Now we are hearing rumors that OQ will be turned into a teen club for the 13-15 year olds. That might happen when the Magic is in drydock this fall.

I let my kids have the ability to sign themselves in/out of the clubs when it become a major pain in the butt to be constantly going back and forth to the clubs when the kids want to come/leave. My kids were in two different age groups with different schedules and DH & I were constantly running back and forth to sign in/out each kid. It meant we couldn't relax at all.

DD was 10 and DS was 11 at the time. They only needed to sign themselves out on the sea days and we worked out in advance where they were to meet us when they wanted to leave the clubs.

11 is not a bad age to try it. I believe DS can ask the lab counselors to page you when DS is ready to leave and then you know that he has left.

The only time we've had problems with the kids checking themselves out is when the kids decided on their own that they wanted to stay longer at the clubs and don't tell us. Then DH & I were left wondering what happened to them. So of course we head down to the lab looking for them and take one set of stairs while the kids headed back up to the room taking a different set of stairs and we couldn't find each other for a while. One of those comedy of errors things.

[Maza]

we let our youngest DD sign herself out last year..she was 11. No problems!

[Ski-and-Sea]

My kids would love this. My dad has 2 boats-a large cabin cruiser and a speed/ ski baot. They can never decide which boat the want to yake because they enjoy tubing on one and jumping off the top deck on the other.



We are definitely snorkeling with Eagle Ray again. They have a 2 reef snorkeling trip and a 3 reef snorkeling trip. The 3 reef trip includes lunch at a private beach club. That was really neat - we sailed up to a dock and got off and literally sat down at a table to eat.

The only thing with the 3 reef is that is gets back rather late in the afternoon so its a bit of a push if you have early dinner seating.

[stsomewhere]

We are definitely snorkeling with Eagle Ray again. They have a 2 reef snorkeling trip and a 3 reef snorkeling trip. The 3 reef trip includes lunch at a private beach club. That was really neat - we sailed up to a dock and got off and literally sat down at a table to eat.

The only thing with the 3 reef is that is gets back rather late in the afternoon so its a bit of a push if you have early dinner seating.

This sounds great. Is this in Cozumel?
We haven't done a western cruise in many years. I think the last one I was pregant with DD. We sailed on HAL.
We prefered to take eastern iteraries with the kids.

[BlueMarlin]

:cool1:

St.Somewhere mentioned I should join the thread and discuss my own Scout swapping activities.

Neckers and Patches sound good. I might ask what both of you think is cool so that I can bring good stuff. I might even be able to make a run to Canada and get patrol patches that are unique from there if interest shows.

Erik

PS: Really glad I took the time to read your posts, because when DW mentioned swapping "knickers" :confused3 to me, I thought she was hanging with a really strange crew. Once I read the post I :rotfl2: and made the reference.

[Maza]

:cool1:





PS: Really glad I took the time to read your posts, because when DW mentioned swapping "knickers" :confused3 to me, I thought she was hanging with a really strange crew. Once I read the post I :rotfl2: and made the reference.

glad you sorted out the confusion. two countries separeted by a common language! :) I had a weird experience last year when i first joined DIS. In my ignorance i typed fish extenders into ebay...and it came up with bra extendered and for one mad moment i though about hanging underwear outside our cabin:confused3 Glad i got that one cleared up before the cruise too ! You bring knickers if you want Erik....infact a guess they will also be required...but i dont think we'd be up for swapping:rolleyes1

[Maza]

i just remembered.:rotfl: When our DD(11) left the Lab...they paged us. Except they never did. Or rather we would receive random pages , usually when Lucy was with us, informing us she had left the club! Cant help but wonder if she had been confused with someone else...but it gave us a few laughs. 'Oh No...shes loose..' :scared1:

[soccermom10]

We gave our DS11 the ability to sign himself out. The only problem is that my kids never even tried the clubs. We've traveled with my DH's entire family on both of our previous cruises, so all of our kids just hang out with each other all day. The older kids in our group were okay with having a little freedom & we had two way radios to keep in contact. It worked well.

[Ski-and-Sea]

glad you sorted out the confusion. two countries separeted by a common language! :) I had a weird experience last year when i first joined DIS. In my ignorance i typed fish extenders into ebay...and it came up with bra extendered and for one mad moment i though about hanging underwear outside our cabin:confused3 Glad i got that one cleared up before the cruise too ! You bring knickers if you want Erik....infact a guess they will also be required...but i dont think we'd be up for swapping:rolleyes1

:lmao: OMG that is so funny!!!!

You know what would be a great inside joke for us on our cruise is to hang a bra on our fish extenders. Could you imagine what people would think passing by our rooms!!!! Our room stewarts would wonder what kind of nuts we are :rotfl2:

Sigh.....so true, countries separated by a common language.

I, too, saw the neckers referenced and was wondering what on earth are those. Thankfully we don't have those in Girl Scouts here.

[Ski-and-Sea]

Oh, speaking of reading things that make you chuckle....here's a good one for all us scout families......a fellow Scout leader told me she once saw a registration form for a camping trip and at the bottom it said..."no alcohol or illegal drugs".

Hmmm.....so we guessed legal drugs are okay......:rotfl:

[Maza]

Oh, speaking of reading things that make you chuckle....here's a good one for all us scout families......a fellow Scout leader told me she once saw a registration form for a camping trip and at the bottom it said..."no alcohol or illegal drugs".

Hmmm.....so we guessed legal drugs are okay......:rotfl:

actually...its not so strange. In correct medical terminology drugs are for medication, not for recreation! Narcotics are legal is prescribed! My dad takes prescribed morphine...he could make a fortune if he thought of selling them on street corners. Fortunatly he just takes them for pain releif! I can prescribe diamorphine (aka Heroine) and pethidine ( another synthetic narcotic) but only to labouring women!:)
We were a bit more concerned about the no alcohol bit....our camps wouldn't be the same without a beer at the end of the day ( for the over 18s only ..:rotfl: ) Our scout association has enough trouble recruiting leaders without insisting they take the pledge too:scared1: As long as atleast 2 adults dont drink they dont restrict alacohol. They dont tend to get blind drunk though!:laughing:

[Maza]

:lmao: OMG that is so funny!!!!

You know what would be a great inside joke for us on our cruise is to hang a bra on our fish extenders. Could you imagine what people would think passing by our rooms!!!! Our room stewarts would wonder what kind of nuts we are :rotfl2:

.

incidently...it would take ALOT of gifts to fill my bra!:rolleyes1

[stsomewhere]

incidently...it would take ALOT of gifts to fill my bra!:rolleyes1

Mine, too.

[stsomewhere]

I have never been on a cruise that I have seen these. Is it something that alot of people do? Is it just on a Disney cruise?

I have only seen 1 door sign on any of the cruises we have been on.

I have read online that people hang the extenders outside of their cabins and people put small gifts and notes in them.
How does this work?

[stsomewhere]

We gave our DS11 the ability to sign himself out. The only problem is that my kids never even tried the clubs. We've traveled with my DH's entire family on both of our previous cruises, so all of our kids just hang out with each other all day. The older kids in our group were okay with having a little freedom & we had two way radios to keep in contact. It worked well.

We have a over a year :sad1: to decide. I wish we were going this summer.

Our kids both love going to kids club. They think it is great to have a vacation away from mom and dad.

They have been studing the DVD and the Travel channel show- Disney cruises. They are looking forward to watching a movie while in the pool. Something they have not been able to do on previous cruises.

[Maza]

Fish Extenders....where to begin! lol
In my vast experience of cruising (ie 4 days last year) lots of ppl decorated their doors and we did a huge gift exchange with fellow DISers we met on here. The gifts ranged from pirate bits, specially made m&ms, chocolate wrapped in special wrappers, disney bits, bouncy balls, bubbles for sail away, glow sticks....loads of stuff. We also got a fantastic CD of Disney music...something I am considering doing myself for our Fish Extender gifts for adults :) There are loads of different threads to read on the subject of Fish Extenders and door decorations. Loads of fun for all the family. This was, and remains, my DHs domain...hes a dab hand with a sewing machine ( its genetic his mum was a soft furnishings expert) and he enjoys playing with photoshop etc...so i leave the logistics of all this to him. I will ask him to post some pics. from our last ( and first :) ) cruise. We are definatly up for Fish Extending....and DIS tag....and anything else more experienced DISers can come up with. It really livened up our cruise.

[Maza]

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z257/moninc/DSC01071.jpg

here...did it myself :)

[Maza]

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z257/moninc/DSC01245.jpg
the fish extender.....fresh from the sewing machine
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z257/moninc/DSC00620.jpg

[BlueMarlin]

actually...its not so strange. In correct medical terminology drugs are for medication, not for recreation! Narcotics are legal is prescribed! My dad takes prescribed morphine...he could make a fortune if he thought of selling them on street corners. Fortunatly he just takes them for pain releif! I can prescribe diamorphine (aka Heroine) and pethidine ( another synthetic narcotic) but only to labouring women!:)
We were a bit more concerned about the no alcohol bit....our camps wouldn't be the same without a beer at the end of the day ( for the over 18s only ..:rotfl: ) Our scout association has enough trouble recruiting leaders without insisting they take the pledge too:scared1: As long as atleast 2 adults dont drink they dont restrict alacohol. They dont tend to get blind drunk though!:laughing:


Can you bring me a volunteer leader form, please. :thumbsup2 Our camps have a zero tolerance policy with a lifetime ban for any alcohol. You even have to register all your prescribed meds, and I wonder if I might get in trouble for rogue ibuprofin.

:laundy: Better bras than knickers on the fish, drawers are far too holey to hold gifts.

[Maza]

Can you bring me a volunteer leader form, please. :thumbsup2 Our camps have a zero tolerance policy with a lifetime ban for any alcohol. You even have to register all your prescribed meds, and I wonder if I might get in trouble for rogue ibuprofin.
.

when can you start? we need a warranted scout leader...I think your DW mentioned wood badge...:cool1:

seriously....The scout Association Policies and Regulations dont 'forbid' alcohol..like i said, as long as two responsible adults are 'dry' at any one time they are cool...However as a vetren of many Camps, 'responsible adult' might be stretching it:laughing: We all have to be Police Checked...ie never been convicted/caught / accused of..offences against children or of a sexual nature, we are good to go:rotfl: This also includes our parent volunteers or committee members( like myself). Lots of our campsites ( the better ones:lmao: have 'Leaders Bars' although i have heard that some campsites are 'dry'- we have never visited one:confused3 cant think why;)
God, i make us sound like a load of boozers dont I ? well, come to think of it lol

[soccermom10]

We have a over a year :sad1: to decide. I wish we were going this summer.

I agree! It feels like we have to wait forever!

Wow....I'm worse than my kids :sad2:

[stsomewhere]

I agree! It feels like we have to wait forever!

Wow....I'm worse than my kids :sad2:

So am I.

DH was a little reluctant to book on DIsney. But, once he saw the the DVD...
he was ready.

I hope that he gets as addicted to these boards as me.
He always asks if I have checked the boards. Now, I can tell him to do it himself.

[soccermom10]

I've made door signs for the past 2 cruises, but I was surprised to not see more doors decorated. Never done the fish extenders, what is DIS tag?

Maza - nice job on your door signs & fish extender:thumbsup2 . I'm not nearly as creative as you!

[soccermom10]

So am I.

DH was a little reluctant to book on DIsney. But, once he saw the the DVD...
he was ready.

I hope that he gets as addicted to these boards as me.
He always asks if I have checked the boards. Now, I can tell him to do it himself.

My DH thinks I'm crazy with these boards, so I don't think he will ever start posting....although I I have caught him lurking sometimes;) .

I honestly can't believe how addicting this all is.

[stsomewhere]

For a theme..
someone had mentioned earlier about, mexico, mickey and mojotos.

How about a compass rose with Magic, mexico, margaritas and mojitos as the "navigational beacons".

You can find us as Jimmy Buffets' Margaritaville in Key West, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel.

We are big Buffet fans.

I am not computer whiz.
DH will tell you that I hate computer and do not want to learn how to use it. I can check my email and the DISboard, what else do I need.

So, either Flufffy Bunny or BlueMarlin could take care of designs.

[Ski-and-Sea]

WOW - those fish extenders are gorgeous!!!!!

Can you post the directions on how you made them? I would love to make one for our room.

Its been hit and miss with the door decorations. I find it varies by cruise and by which floor you are on. My 2006 Magic cruise had plenty of door signs. My Wonder cruise last summer had very little. But it was a 3-night cruise dominated by first timers so they didn't know.

I have to laugh at all our posts regarding drugs and alcohol on camping trips. Our Girl Scout Council prohibits alcohol completely but I think there's a fine line about you can't drink in the presence of the girls. I think a cabin of only adults can have alcohol in the cabin.

And I know this opens a can of worms but I can't see the big deal about adults enjoying a beer or glass of wine at the end of a long camping day. I think its good to show kids that people drink responsibly. Let's face it - camping with Scouts is tiring.....its fun, but I'm exhausted by the end of the day and need to unwind.

And yes, I can see an issue about what is considered an "illegal" drug.

Oh, and regarding using bras as fish extenders......mine wouldn't hold much....a few pieces of candy in the stocking.....or a lump of coal for the naughty kids.:laughing:

[stsomewhere]

what is DIS tag?

I would like to know, too.

[Ski-and-Sea]

what is DIS tag?

I would like to know, too.

Its fun but you have to be willing to post your stateroom numbers. We all have a list of each other's stateroom numbers.

Someone makes a magnetic mickey head. This mickey head gets passed around from room to room and left on your stateroom door. When you find the mickey head on your door you have been "tagged". You write your room number on it. Then you see what other stateroom numbers are already marked on the mickey head. Those are the people who have already been "tagged".

You then check your list of people who are playing and find a stateroom number of someone who has not yet gotten the mickey head and go put the mickey head on their stateroom door and now that person has been "tagged".

Hopefully by the end of the cruise everyone gets tagged. Sadly that did not happen on our last cruise. We think the two mickey heads got lost mid week.

[wayneg]

Hi all, got back from Florida on Sunday. Sailed on Wonder again, as good as ever. Could not believe Rachel being cruise director again, thats twice on Wonder and twice on Magic, I think she must look for our booking and cruise with us. Hope she is on Magic next August.
We called to see the rebooking agent while onboard, and saved $252 off the price we paid originally for next Aug, and an extra $200 OBC(thats now $300:goodvibes) Got home emailed Sue Ellen at DU and she cancelled our original booking and transferred our SPR to new reservation.
Just uploaded a few pics for now see link below, we took about 2500 total so not had time to sort them yet. last 2 are not from the cruise, we did airboat ride day we got of Wonder, saw my 1st wild Bald Eagle.
Our server Vijay from India was the best we have had, brought out what we ordered and something extra every meal, one eve 3 extra deserts between 4 of us. (back on diet now before our August trip and RCCL 4 nighter)

Had Dismeet but no Distag this year, I agree Distag is great, did it on last Magic cruise, we all took little bits from our local area to give to others, pens postcards with our hometown on etc.

Just been having a quick read thru posts, no scouting connection here now, I was in cubs and scouts when younger(30 years ago:scared1: )
Fish extenders looks great, never seen one before.

http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y236/wayneg1/Disney%20Cruise%20Spring%2008/

[JoiseyMom]

At what age do you let your kids sign themselves out?

DS will be 11 when we cruise. I was planning on putting him in the the Lab group. But, I have been reading about the Quest group and they don't have to sign in or out.

What are your thoughts or experience since some of you have teenagers? How did you deal with this?

I am sure that the subject will come up. I know he is responsible, but unsure how safe it will be. I don't like the idea of him wondering around alone.
Am I just being over protective?

What is the difference between Lab and Quest?

Thanks.


Maza- Do you mean neckerchiefs? Dh would probably like to bring those to. He needs to just get on here, too.


Our first cruise was this past August, and DD was 11. We hadn;t planned on letting her sign herself out, but then she made friends with Ski's DD, so we let her and she did great with it. We were very happy with how she handled her responsibility.

[Ski-and-Sea]

Hi all, got back from Florida on Sunday. Sailed on Wonder again, as good as ever. Could not believe Rachel being cruise director again, thats twice on Wonder and twice on Magic, I think she must look for our booking and cruise with us. Hope she is on Magic next August.
We called to see the rebooking agent while onboard, and saved $252 off the price we paid originally for next Aug, and an extra $200 OBC(thats now $300:goodvibes) Got home emailed Sue Ellen at DU and she cancelled our original booking and transferred our SPR to new reservation.
Just uploaded a few pics for now see link below, we took about 2500 total so not had time to sort them yet. last 2 are not from the cruise, we did airboat ride day we got of Wonder, saw my 1st wild Bald Eagle.
Our server Vijay from India was the best we have had, brought out what we ordered and something extra every meal, one eve 3 extra deserts between 4 of us. (back on diet now before our August trip and RCCL 4 nighter)



That is so wild to have Rachel as CD for all those cruises. We've only had the same CD twice.

Did you talk to her? Will she onboard the Wonder this summer. Brent and Christiaan will be CDs on the Magic this summer so I wonder if Rachel will be back on the Wonder.

Our first cruise was this past August, and DD was 11. We hadn;t planned on letting her sign herself out, but then she made friends with Ski's DD, so we let her and she did great with it. We were very happy with how she handled her responsibility.

That was funny how the girls got on so well together. We really lucked out that there was a nice group of 10-12 year olds on that cruise. Even DS had a great time.

[JoiseyMom]

That is so wild to have Rachel as CD for all those cruises. We've only had the same CD twice.

Did you talk to her? Will she onboard the Wonder this summer. Brent and Christiaan will be CDs on the Magic this summer so I wonder if Rachel will be back on the Wonder.



That was funny how the girls got on so well together. We really lucked out that there was a nice group of 10-12 year olds on that cruise. Even DS had a great time.

Nod. Rachel had so much fun with your DD, she is so excited to be cruisin with her again next year :).

[Ski-and-Sea]

Nod. Rachel had so much fun with your DD, she is so excited to be cruisin with her again next year :).

Same here - and the girls will be old enough to be in the Stack.

Hey, I had completely forgotten you're going on the EB PC cruise. I am so jealous that it looks like Christiaan will be CD on that cruise.

Can you imagine 15 days with that man :cloud9: :love: :cloud9: :love: :worship:

You have to post some pictures of him on formal night when he wears his dress uniform. He doesn't wear that when he's on the Wonder.

[trimix]

You can find us as Jimmy Buffets' Margaritaville in Key West, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel.

We are big Buffet fans.

I am a major Parrothead, too. But the Key West Margaritaville? Having been there, at the Margaritaville in New Orleans, and the one in Las Vegas, I was really disappointed by the food in KW. Have you been to GC or Coz? Is the food better than KW?

[wayneg]

That is so wild to have Rachel as CD for all those cruises. We've only had the same CD twice.

Did you talk to her? Will she onboard the Wonder this summer. Brent and Christiaan will be CDs on the Magic this summer so I wonder if Rachel will be back on the Wonder.


Unfortunately no we did not. DS Mathew got to speak to her one evening and she asked him if we were about but we were in theatre getting seats for show.

[Maza]

?

Maza - nice job on your door signs & fish extender:thumbsup2 . I'm not nearly as creative as you!

nothing to do with me im afraid...all Fluffy Bunnys doing:) Making the FE was highly technical...involved sewing machines and everything lol...not decorative stiching found 'pockets'...lol...and also nothing to do with me! I ironed on the names:) and sewed on the union flag :)

[Maza]

This mickey head gets passed around from room to room and left on your stateroom door. When you find the mickey head on your door you have been "tagged". You write your room number on it. Then you see what other stateroom numbers are already marked on the mickey head. Those are the people who have already been "tagged".

You then check your list of people who are playing and find a stateroom number of someone who has not yet gotten the mickey head and go put the mickey head on their stateroom door and now that person has been "tagged".

.

we have 3 rooms...shouldn't have to walk too far :cool1:
Last year we all submitted room numbers to a central 'DISer' who collated no. of kids, adults and cabin numbers...and posted them a couple of weeks before the cruise. we had a cut off date as some of us had a 2 week holiday before the cruise first:cool1: so a date was set..and anybody in our dis group could participate...or not. no pressure. We exchanged gifts via the fish extenders. there where about 40 of us in the end :laughing: some ppl gave gifts for 'family' others just bought for the kids. some ppl gave gifts relative to their home...we had door magnets from Scotland ( my home) and stonehenge...the most identifiable thing from my DHs home county (Wiltshire). we also did pirate goodie bags for the kids taking part. my DDs went round and delivered some of the gifts and DH and I did the rest.Some ppl spent alot of money. others did not. it doesnt matter. we got allsorts. it was great fun...and we are already keeping an eye open for likely 'gifts' for next year...assuming we (as a group) do it!

[Ski-and-Sea]

We're in on doing the fish extender gift exchange. Now I need to come up with some creative gift ideas.

[stsomewhere]

I am a major Parrothead, too. But the Key West Margaritaville? Having been there, at the Margaritaville in New Orleans, and the one in Las Vegas, I was really disappointed by the food in KW. Have you been to GC or Coz? Is the food better than KW?

Food? They have food? :lmao:

We only care about the margaritas.:banana:

We have been to the KW and Orlando .
We haven't been to Grand cayman or Cozumel since Margaritavilles went in.

We are looking forward to the one in Grand Cayman. It has a water slide.

We will hit them for a drink and maybe a t shirt. The kids won't want to sit there all day.

[stsomewhere]

we have 3 rooms...shouldn't have to walk too far :cool1:
Last year we all submitted room numbers to a central 'DISer' who collated no. of kids, adults and cabin numbers...and posted them a couple of weeks before the cruise. we had a cut off date as some of us had a 2 week holiday before the cruise first:cool1: so a date was set..and anybody in our dis group could participate...or not. no pressure. We exchanged gifts via the fish extenders. there where about 40 of us in the end :laughing: some ppl gave gifts for 'family' others just bought for the kids. some ppl gave gifts relative to their home...we had door magnets from Scotland ( my home) and stonehenge...the most identifiable thing from my DHs home county (Wiltshire). we also did pirate goodie bags for the kids taking part. my DDs went round and delivered some of the gifts and DH and I did the rest.Some ppl spent alot of money. others did not. it doesnt matter. we got allsorts. it was great fun...and we are already keeping an eye open for likely 'gifts' for next year...assuming we (as a group) do it!


This sounds like a great idea.

Now to start thinking of some ideas.

[Maza]

This sounds like a great idea.

Now to start thinking of some ideas.


well....we got nothin but time...:lmao:

infact i have worked out how many working days i have left b4 the cruise....roughly...
and its 126...more or less...makes it all seem a bit nearer. :laughing:

who am i kidding??? lol

[stsomewhere]

I am working hard today.
Both kids are home sick. .
I will be spending all afternoon at the doctors.

DD needs to be touching me..
But, I have escaped for a few minutes to check the board. LOL

I was thinking about the fish extenders. The ones I saw online had a few pockets on them.
Isn't just like a Christmas stocking? We would just need a large one for all the goodies we are going to get.
I received the Orential Trading catalog in the mail yesterday. I got some good ideas. But, I will not buy anything until closer to the cruise.

DS-Matt keeps confirming that we are going on this cruise.
He is excited about pirate night. He plans on dressing up.

How dressed up does everyone get for pirate night? Should I buy or make costumes?

[wayneg]

He is excited about pirate night. He plans on dressing up.

How dressed up does everyone get for pirate night? Should I buy or make costumes?

I was very suprised on Wonder last week how few people dressed up, no more than a handful. Plenty had bandana's on but no costumes.

This was us, Met sue and she took our pic.
http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=24246746&postcount=200

[Ski-and-Sea]

Yes, fish extenders are like a stocking but I think it works better with the multi pockets rather than just one big one.

Or at least - most DISers have the multi pocket ones.

Stsomewhere.....sorry to hear both kids are sick. I went through that last week!!! And this was the second round of stomach flu. Had it very bad in February and then a more mild version last week. Its like a vicious never ending cycle of viruses this winter.

I totally sympathize!!!!

I blame the hot and cold weather we had this winter.

We do have the full pirate outfits. I bought all the pieces from different places online and mix and match. I will admit that our pants are just black pants that we usually wear on the other nights.

Its easier to buy the costumes rather than make them but that's just me. Don't stress too much over buying them. The point is to have fun wearing them.

Wayneg......yes, its true that not as many on the Wonder dress up for pirate night. I think its because most passengers don't know about it!!!! Last summer on the Wonder I had tons of people coming up to me asking where we bought our costumes.

I love your pirate outfits!!!!

[stsomewhere]

The kids have strep. They will be home again tomorrow.
They can't seem to get well.
They had strep 5 weeks ago, too.
The doctor prescribed some stronger meds, so hopefully they will stay well.

They have had strep about 4 times this school year.
Last year, they had it all the time. They kept passing it back and forth. I was at the doctor's at least once a week.

Both of them got their tonsils taken out last spring. so, I hoping they would not get that sick this year.

[stsomewhere]

We do have the full pirate outfits. I bought all the pieces from different places online and mix and match. I will admit that our pants are just black pants that we usually wear on the other nights.

Its easier to buy the costumes rather than make them but that's just me. Don't stress too much over buying them. The point is to have fun wearing them.

Wayneg......yes, its true that not as many on the Wonder dress up for pirate night. I think its because most passengers don't know about it!!!! Last summer on the Wonder I had tons of people coming up to me asking where we bought our costumes.

I love your pirate outfits!!!!

We would love to get costumes. I may mix and match.
Do people not dress up on the Wonder because it is a short cruise or because
they are first timers? Do more people dres up on the longer cruises?

[Ski-and-Sea]

We would love to get costumes. I may mix and match.
Do people not dress up on the Wonder because it is a short cruise or because
they are first timers? Do more people dres up on the longer cruises?

My experience with the Wonder is that people are unaware that they can bring costumes. Talked to a lot of disappointed people who said if they knew in advance they would have packed a costume.

The Wonder tends to get the first time cruisers. The castaway club reception I went to was empty whereas its packed wall to wall on the Magic cruises.

[wayneg]

The Wonder tends to get the first time cruisers. The castaway club reception I went to was empty whereas its packed wall to wall on the Magic cruises.

Last week when they asked how many of the crowd were castaway members about 1 third put their hands up and cheered but then at the Castaway welcome back meeting there were only about 35-40 of us.

After the lack of pirates I was considering not wearing mine next August, now not sure if you think more wear them on Magic.

[stsomewhere]

After the lack of pirates I was considering not wearing mine next August, now not sure if you think more wear them on Magic.

I think you should wear it. We are planning on pirate costumes.pirate: ARRRGG....

[stsomewhere]

How was your DISboard meets?
Did you do fish extenders? Gifts?

What was the best thing on your vacation?

[Ski-and-Sea]

stsomewhere.....wow - that's amazing the kids are still getting strep even with the tonsils removed. Both my kids had their tonsils and adenoids removed and we rarely get infections anymore. Viruses are a completely different story.

That's not right that the kids keep re-infecting themselves. I don't like the idea of giving stronger and stronger antibiotics. DH does that and I think his immune system is completely shot.

Keeping fingers crossed the stronger antibiotics work for your kids and the infection is gone for good....

Wayneg.....definitely bring the pirate costumes. Magic cruisers in the summer are a very outgoing bunch and you will definitely see more pirate costumes. I've also been told by a DCL captain that the western cruises tend to get a more livelier crowd than the eastern cruises.

[JoiseyMom]

Same here - and the girls will be old enough to be in the Stack.

Hey, I had completely forgotten you're going on the EB PC cruise. I am so jealous that it looks like Christiaan will be CD on that cruise.

Can you imagine 15 days with that man :cloud9: :love: :cloud9: :love: :worship:

You have to post some pictures of him on formal night when he wears his dress uniform. He doesn't wear that when he's on the Wonder.


Mmmmm...15 nites of Christiaan!! I will def get picks!! :love:

[stsomewhere]

SKi and sea- The doctor wants them to get checked in 2 weks to find out if they are " strep carriers".

I think that they got strep from our neighbor.
They play together all the time. She was sick last week and missed school on Thursday and Friday. On Saturday, they let DD-Marina play in their house. I did not know she was sick.
Marina played with the other sister all day Saturday( at our house).

The parents took the sick girl to the doctors on Monday and she was put in the hospital. She came home Wednesday.

This is a big pet peeve. If your child is sick, keep them home. I don't want them around my kids.

DS- Matt was born with an absent right pulmonary aertery and has pulmonary hypertension.
We were told that he would need a heart /lung transplant. We opted for an experimential surgery. The doctors did 2 surgeries- 1st- get blood flow to the lung. 2nd- open heart to attach heart and lung. They made him an aretery out of donated tissues.
He is doing wonderful.
:thumbsup2 You would never know his has a problem except for his scars-which he is very proud of.
I always worry about him getting sick. What if the strep would get into his blood stream or fever to damage his heart.

[stsomewhere]

Mmmmm...15 nites of Christiaan!! I will def get picks!! :love:

Is he the guy on the Disney DVD?
You need to elaborate.

[Ski-and-Sea]

SKi and sea- The doctor wants them to get checked in 2 weks to find out if they are " strep carriers".

I think that they got strep from our neighbor.
They play together all the time. She was sick last week and missed school on Thursday and Friday. On Saturday, they let DD-Marina play in their house. I did not know she was sick.
Marina played with the other sister all day Saturday( at our house).

The parents took the sick girl to the doctors on Monday and she was put in the hospital. She came home Wednesday.

This is a big pet peeve. If your child is sick, keep them home. I don't want them around my kids.

DS- Matt was born with an absent right pulmonary aertery and has pulmonary hypertension.
We were told that he would need a heart /lung transplant. We opted for an experimential surgery. The doctors did 2 surgeries- 1st- get blood flow to the lung. 2nd- open heart to attach heart and lung. They made him an aretery out of donated tissues.
He is doing wonderful.
:thumbsup2 You would never know his has a problem except for his scars-which he is very proud of.
I always worry about him getting sick. What if the strep would get into his blood stream or fever to damage his heart.

Don't get me started on people letting sick kids be around other kids. Or even sick adults insisting on going to work and infecting everbody else.

I hate that schools have awards for kids who don't miss a single day of school. All that means is that the parents are letting their sick child go to school.

How interesting about your son. That is so wonderful that he is doing so well, but yes, I'd be terrified about him getting infections.

Regarding cruise director Christiaan.....here's a pic with my kids....
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l79/Ski-and-Sea/Disney%20Cruise%202007/ChristianKids.jpg

He has a really sexy voice and is incredibly funny. Plus a super nice guy. He used to be a dancer for DCL and needless to say he can dance extremely well. :love:

[wayneg]

How was your DISboard meets?
Did you do fish extenders? Gifts?

What was the best thing on your vacation?

Dismeet was only a 15 min chat. The Disboarder I had most correspondence with got lost on way to Port Canaveral so missed the meet. I find my way from UK she got lost from Clearwater:rotfl:
No gifts/fish extenders this time. Last time on Magic it was a lot of fun.
Best thing? so many, The airboat ride was something we had not done before, seeing wild gators, bald eagle was amazing. Also being back on Wonder was great, 1st time for 5 years.

Wayneg.....definitely bring the pirate costumes. Magic cruisers in the summer are a very outgoing bunch and you will definitely see more pirate costumes. I've also been told by a DCL captain that the western cruises tend to get a more livelier crowd than the eastern cruises.

Last time we did Magic not one person had a pirate costume but it was almost 3 years ago. I will bring our outfits if we have space, we will be in Florida for 24 nights so luggage space will be limited.

[Maza]

wow....24hours without logging in and soooooo much to catch up on.

1. Sick kids. Where to staart. Its unusual for kids who have had their tonsils out to get a streph throat. did your dr. swab and culture or just guess?Antibiotics...agggghhh....but sometimes they are necessary. Unfortunatly Haemalytic strep is a clever little bugger...and keeps adapting. hence MRSA, VRSA (v.v. nasty).... I have been very lucky, my eldest kid gets tonsilitis, but in the UK we have swing back to not removing Ts&As unless really causing problems.My kid responds to fluids, paracetamol and a couple of days off school! My youngest has the constitution of an ox, and *crosses fingers* has never yet missed a day off school because of illness (holidays a different manner:lmao: ) She has just never been sick ! Like DH ! Strong farming stock i guess...lol. Now I am a nurse...and probably a bit more of the 'ah...youll be ok' school...but she has quite honestly never been ill. Except Chicken Pox...which she had at 2. So 10 years without an illness...the kid is possessed! Wasn't it the kid in the Omen who was never ill??:laughing:
I used to get strep throat...and have to have my tonsils out before I was allowed to do Midwifery training.:eek: Tonsillectomy at 21 is not fun!

2. Going to work when ill. Guilty as charged! It is very difficult when you work in an area where no-one will be able to do your job if you dont turn up! I dont mean as in 'indispensible' i just mean physically if you dont go...no-one will be able to do what you would have done. Stuff gets missed...too few staff spread too thinly...patients get transferred ( I was on nights last night (with a cold i confess)...our labour ward..in a tertiary referral hospital...was closed due to lack of staff! Labouring women would have been transferred! nearest hospital is 20 miles away! So you go ...even when you shouldnt. I spent last night wearing a mask and avoiding patients not in incubators....its bad...really bad!


3. stsomewhere....thank God your son was born in the US. The surgery you mentioned is only available in 1 hospital in the UK.The condition your son had is still pretty much a death sentence here.Wonderful to know its not the case elsewhere! Depressing too....if you get my meaning!

4. Pirates....pirate: we are sooo up for it! Last year we just went with piraty t-shirts and hats ( and a stuffed parrot...which is a whole other story!). I was so jealous when i saw ppl who had actually made an effort! There wernt many of them..(wonder 4 day- go figure) but they made the night! Seriously, how often do adults get to dress up and fool around. ( maybe I should re-phrase that!!). For us the added bonus is that we are several thousand miles away from home. We will big it up next year...the parrot is already in the suitcase!

[Maza]

Dismeet was only a 15 min chat. The Disboarder I had most correspondence with got lost on way to Port Canaveral so missed the meet. I find my way from UK she got lost from Clearwater:rotfl:
No gifts/fish extenders this time. Last time on Magic it was a lot of fun.




Last time we did Magic not one person had a pirate costume but it was almost 3 years ago. I will bring our outfits if we have space, we will be in Florida for 24 nights so luggage space will be limited.

Wayne... im sure we can do better next year. Some DISers really make an effort...others not so much! Our DISmet last year was about 45mins...then we hardly saw anyone again! There where quite a few of us, and we kept crossing paths, but otherwise it was a quick meet on day 1 then gifts in the FEs! It was a little odd....we had spent months chatting on a daily basis (more than i do with my 'real world' friends:confused3 )...but the meet was a little stilted. Note to self...do better next time!

We have a similar prob. with luggae...we are going to Las Vegas first, then the cruise..then 2 weeks in Orlando afterwards. But I am honestly (yes DH..here it is in writing:) )..only going to take enough stuff to do us a week...and not overpack!:scared1: I have 16 months to plan...i can do this:rolleyes1 Needless to say...we will have considerably more luggage on the way home:woohoo:

[stsomewhere]

Both kids had their tonsils out last spring at the same time. It was horrible. They had them out on a Thursday. The doctor told me most kids go back to school on Monday....(the following Monday). It was the longest two weeks of my life. One always felt bad.
One only wanted cold food, the other hot.

They don't push getting your tonsils removed. It had to fight for it. They had to strep so many times in a year. Last year, they had strep constantly. They kept passing it back and forth. Finally, I just scheduled an appointment with ENT. He took one look and agreed the tonsils needed to come out.
DS missed 5 weeks of school due to illness.


On our last cruise(Carnival), we had a quick meet after the muster drill.
We kept seeing everyone all over the ship. The kids enjoyed it because they already knew other kids.
I think we can do better.

It is wonderful that some of you can take such long vacations. DH can only take a wee at a time. We took and cruise in Jan., and have a week long road trip planned in August. Plus, DH has misc. days for scout camps and hunting.

Maza- do you deliver the babies or just help?
I love babies. My friends and family know if thee is a baby around, it will be in my arms.

[stsomewhere]

Don't get me started on people letting sick kids be around other kids. Or even sick adults insisting on going to work and infecting everbody else.

I hate that schools have awards for kids who don't miss a single day of school. All that means is that the parents are letting their sick child go to school.

How interesting about your son. That is so wonderful that he is doing so well, but yes, I'd be terrified about him getting infections.

Regarding cruise director Christiaan.....here's a pic with my kids....
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l79/Ski-and-Sea/Disney%20Cruise%202007/ChristianKids.jpg

He has a really sexy voice and is incredibly funny. Plus a super nice guy. He used to be a dancer for DCL and needless to say he can dance extremely well. :love:

What a great picture. Your kids are lovely.

[Maza]

Maza- do you deliver the babies or just help?
I love babies. My friends and family know if thee is a baby around, it will be in my arms.

used to deliver...now work on NICU. we still essentially beleive that childbirth is a normal physiological process...not an illness. Plus Madwives are cheaper than Obstetricians.:cutie: Low risk deliveries , ie 80% ,done by midwives, although caeserian rates are climbing in the UK...thanks to medical intervention :confused3 stats vary from area to area. Our local home birth rate is , thankfully, increasing....women now beleive home is the best place to have a child.Usually cleaner than hospitals...lol. and you get 1 to 1 care...unlike most labour wards now. We are battling to resist the temptation to adopt a medical model of care..thank God, where things are only normal in retrospect! Doesnt hold up statistically:rotfl: and we are all for statistics in Europe! despite the better tertiary education nurses receive in the US, UK model is alot more Nursing led. I get cross when i see how nurses/midwives are portrayed on TV...the handmaiden thing is sooooooooo 1970's. Most of us are graduates...most with post grad quals many with PhDs. Midwifery Care in the UK (actually most of europe and australisia) is the normal care pathway most pregnant women follow.Pretty well established....second oldest profession:rotfl2:

[Ski-and-Sea]

Maza.......that's fantastic that DD has been so healthy. I wish my kids didn't get so many viruses.

I do blame the fact that the school system in the US is still 19th century agricultural based with the kids getting these loooong breaks in the summer then very few breaks during the school year. It means the schools never close long enough to get rid of germs (and lice for the younger kids).

I totally understand that sometimes you have to be at work no matter what. No problem with that because you take precautions not to infect everyone else.

Its the guys who show up at work coughing and sneezing on everyone else that's the problem. I think its a whole "macho" thing of not admitting something is wrong with you.

I can't understand why the US doesn't switch to the way most of the world operates with a longer school year but longer breaks during the school year.

And yes, its ridiculous that workers in the US get such short vacations. Too many people get a week here and a week there. I'm envious of countries that basically give an entire month off to workers. Let people really unwind and de-stress and spend time with their families.

Stsomewhere....thanks for the compliment on my kids. My kids got their tonsils out when they had speech/sleeping/breathing problems as toddlers. It took the ENT all of five second to look at both of them and tell me that he does surgeries on Tuesdays and Fridays.

Regarding DIS meets and seeing people onboard......its funny how that works. On my 2006 Magic cruise we had a HUGE DIS group - well over 200 people and we chatted regularly for almost two years before the cruise. The DIS meet was a mob scene.

But it was almost too overwhelming when its that big. And sadly I rarely saw most of them during the week. Its like we needed to go on a second cruise together as a do-over and try to spend more time together onboard.

My Wonder cruise last summer had just a handful of DIS families but we kept running into each other all over the place and it was so nice and relaxing to stop and chat with each other.

Joiseymom.....do you post on the EB PC repo thread? A bunch of people I cruised with in 2006 booked that cruise so a few times I've read that thread and was stunned at some of the fights people were getting into :eek: Wow. I kept wondering how these people are going to be able to be on a ship together for 15 days (with all those sea days!!!)

[BlueMarlin]

Food? They have food? :lmao:

We only care about the margaritas.:banana:

We have been to the KW and Orlando .
We haven't been to Grand cayman or Cozumel since Margaritavilles went in.

We are looking forward to the one in Grand Cayman. It has a water slide.

We will hit them for a drink and maybe a t shirt. The kids won't want to sit there all day.


We have eaten at the Margaritaville in Orlando and Key West. The food is way expensive for the quality. Skipped the food in St. Maarten, was guessing the thrid time would not be a charm either. I will stick with the drinks since they are not free anywhere and eat where I have already paid for it.

[BlueMarlin]

I am all for longer vacations. I did a stint in Stuttgart where there was a 7 hr. workday. The first hour was coffee and fellowship and cigarettes. My U.S. supervisor had a warrent out for her arrest due to making her German employees do a 42 hour work week for a few months. The argument is that if you are overworking, you must hire more people, or send them to training because the boss must not have interviewed properly. WOW!! Culture shock!!

On the other topic of Matt's surgery, when Christi says experimental, she means that had we made the right donations, it could be named after him. Since his time, they are now doing the same surgery on newborns that may have had hours to live before. Children's Hospital rocks.

[Maza]

long holidays- because i am old...and have worked for my employer for more that 10 years i get 8 weeks annual leave a year. we are restricted when we take it though...no more than 2 weeks at a time..no holiday at christmas..only 3 weeks in total in school holidays...essentially i end up with a week in Jan, Feb and March...when no-one really wants to be on holiday! hey ho! But..the really cool bit is that I work shifts and part time...so i can work Monday tuesday one week...have 10 days off then work Sat Sun the following week- using up no holiday!This is Pretty much how i manage 3-4 weeks off for our summer holiday...that and insisting on using time owing
(which I have loads of...unpaid overtime...the curse of the UK NHS!) DH has less holidays than me, but gets to have them when he likes. He has all the bank hoildays off...aswell as a good whack of time at Christamas...finishes on Christmas eve and goes back on 2nd Jan. lucky boy!Hes a monday to friday lad:) no nights...no weekends. Standard working week is 37 hours, although neither of us get paid for our meal breaks:cutie: we still work more hours and have less holidays than our fellow europeans:mad: DH works for a french company too:lmao: Our kids still have a long summer break...but they have a week off every 8 weeks or so and 2 weeks off about every 16 weeks.some schools are spreading the holidays out more, but not in our county!

[soccermom10]

Wow, I haven't been on here for a couple of days & I'm sooo lost.

Costumes-my DH & I don't dress up, my DS wears a cool pirate shirt with pirate accessories & my DD wears a complete costume. Our last 7 day was mixed, but either way, it's a great time.

st.somewhere - I hope your kids are feeling better.

Maza-I give you so much credit for being able to work in the NICU. I love babies, but I would have a really hard time anytime something went wrong. Not to mention that I'm one of those people that can't even watch any type of medical procedure on tv. I have to turn my head watching Grey's Anatomy
sometimes.

I haven't done any type of dismeets in the past, but I think it would be a lot fun. Heck, we're going to be talking on here for the next 16 months. Did I mention that my DH thinks I'm nuts :goodvibes

[soccermom10]

Oh yeah, Margaritaville. We had a blast at the one in Grand Cayman. The kids had a great time on the water slide. I don't remember too much about the food, but the drinks were great :laughing:

Am I caught up yet?

[Ski-and-Sea]

I haven't done any type of dismeets in the past, but I think it would be a lot fun. Heck, we're going to be talking on here for the next 16 months. Did I mention that my DH thinks I'm nuts :goodvibes

The funniest at the DIS meets are the spouses of DISers who get to meet the other spouses of DISers and joke about how obsessed we are with the DIS. :laughing:

I booked my 2006 Magic cruise 23 months in advance. That was a loooong time of people posting on that meet thread.

[wayneg]

The funniest at the DIS meets are the spouses of DISers who get to meet the other spouses of DISers and joke about how obsessed we are with the DIS. :laughing:

I booked my 2006 Magic cruise 23 months in advance. That was a loooong time of people posting on that meet thread.

So true, Karen wants a website setting up spousesofDIS.com

[Ski-and-Sea]

So true, Karen wants a website setting up spousesofDIS.com


:rotfl2:

I try to minimize my DIS discussions with DH as I get this reaction from him....:rolleyes:

[stsomewhere]

:cool1: The kids got to go back to school today. They are feeling much better.

But, they are not too happy about having to do ALL the homework.

My sister just got a new job:thumbsup2 . But, she wants me to watch her 3 kids 9,7, and 5months. I don't know what to do. She says it is just for a week, but, she has taken advantage of me in the past. I believe I would watch them until her husband got of work at 10PM. My kids go to bed at 8PM.
we lave for school at 7:20 and school starts at 7:45. My nephews' school starts at 8:30.

I hate to do it and I hate not to do it. I guess I will have to look at our schedule. DH has some meetings so I would be stuck with all 5 every night.



Soccermom- how are the soccer games?

[Ski-and-Sea]

:cool1: The kids got to go back to school today. They are feeling much better.

But, they are not too happy about having to do ALL the homework.

My sister just got a new job:thumbsup2 . But, she wants me to watch her 3 kids 9,7, and 5months. I don't know what to do. She says it is just for a week, but, she has taken advantage of me in the past. I believe I would watch them until her husband got of work at 10PM. My kids go to bed at 8PM.
we lave for school at 7:20 and school starts at 7:45. My nephews' school starts at 8:30.

I hate to do it and I hate not to do it. I guess I will have to look at our schedule. DH has some meetings so I would be stuck with all 5 every night.



Soccermom- how are the soccer games?

Glad to hear the kids are finally better.

My advice with your sister's kids is this....do not do it. If she has a job then she needs to find the child care. Siblings do not provide free child care. Grandparents can do that should they choose to.

I've found as I'm getting older that I find it easier to just say no. And the excuse you give is "that's just the way things are". You don't need to give an explanation.

You are doing enough with your kids. They are your first priority.

Don't feel guilty about it. I don't think its right for people to impose on you like that.

[stsomewhere]

Glad to hear the kids are finally better.

My advice with your sister's kids is this....do not do it. If she has a job then she needs to find the child care. Siblings do not provide free child care. Grandparents can do that should they choose to.

I've found as I'm getting older that I find it easier to just say no. And the excuse you give is "that's just the way things are". You don't need to give an explanation.

You are doing enough with your kids. They are your first priority.

Don't feel guilty about it. I don't think its right for people to impose on you like that.

I am probably not going to do it.
I left her a message asking for exact times and dates. I get upset that people just assume I am available for whatever they need since I don't work.

The only reason I fel so bad abou it is.....I would do it for my other sister. But, then again she is a teacher and she does pay for her own day care.

The one who just got a job is going to be the major bread winner in her home. Her DH is going to drop to part-time and stay home with their kids. I think she could wait a few more days to start or just have DH call in sick.
( He is a telemarketer- he hates it. But, it was the only fulltime job he could get when he moved up here in Nov.)


Last summer, I watched (paid for) my DS's best friend. He was great. But, I did not have the freedom to do what I wanted. Alot of times he came with us.
DS loved it. They were "summer brothers".

I have no problem watching kids. We have a few friends that will watch our kids and they will watch ours. We get a night out without having to pay for a sitter.

DH likes to watch all the kids at the same time, even have them spend the night. :eek: ONe bedroom full of girls, the other boys.

[Ski-and-Sea]

I am probably not going to do it.
I left her a message asking for exact times and dates. I get upset that people just assume I am available for whatever they need since I don't work.

The only reason I fel so bad abou it is.....I would do it for my other sister. But, then again she is a teacher and she does pay for her own day care.

The one who just got a job is going to be the major bread winner in her home. Her DH is going to drop to part-time and stay home with their kids. I think she could wait a few more days to start or just have DH call in sick.
( He is a telemarketer- he hates it. But, it was the only fulltime job he could get when he moved up here in Nov.)


Last summer, I watched (paid for) my DS's best friend. He was great. But, I did not have the freedom to do what I wanted. Alot of times he came with us.
DS loved it. They were "summer brothers".

I have no problem watching kids. We have a few friends that will watch our kids and they will watch ours. We get a night out without having to pay for a sitter.

DH likes to watch all the kids at the same time, even have them spend the night. :eek: ONe bedroom full of girls, the other boys.


I totally agree with your way of thinking. Its one thing when you are in control of the situation and you call the shots. Its another when someone imposes on you and just "assumes" you'll go with it.

And yes, I totally sympathize with the frustration that people think we SAHM moms are available at people's beck and call. Sorry - we work 24/7. We're not doormats.

That's why I never feel guilty about spending the money for DCL vacations. Its how I get "paid".

[stsomewhere]

I totally agree with your way of thinking. That's why I never feel guilty about spending the money for DCL vacations. Its how I get "paid".

I like how you think.

I have been talking with my neighbor about a girls cruise.

Erik always tells me that I have the hardest job in the world.
I usually take somw mini vacations during the summer with the kids while Erik is working.
I am trying ot talk them into visiting my Dad in Texas. We haven't been there in two years. But, he is coming up here. May go anyways.


I told her no. It wasn't as bad as I thought. Thursday and Friday 9-2.
Her Dh is taking off.
I will be "working" the bookfair at school all week.

[Ski-and-Sea]

I like how you think.

I have been talking with my neighbor about a girls cruise.

Erik always tells me that I have the hardest job in the world.
I usually take somw mini vacations during the summer with the kids while Erik is working.
I am trying ot talk them into visiting my Dad in Texas. We haven't been there in two years. But, he is coming up here. May go anyways.


I told her no. It wasn't as bad as I thought. Thursday and Friday 9-2.
Her Dh is taking off.
I will be "working" the bookfair at school all week.

:thumbsup2 Excellent, glad things worked out.

Man, I'd love to do a "girls cruise". Even a 3-night Wonder would be heavenly.

Joiseymom can tell you that most of the DISers on our Wonder cruise last summer were sailing without kids.

[stsomewhere]

My kids gave me strep:sick: .
The doctor told me to get lots of rest the next couple days.
I guess that means no housework.


Does anyone have any pets?

We have a 9 year old dog- LAb/ Dalmation mix named Spot.
A cat named Cleo.
Matt has a black and white short haired guinea pig named Ghost.
Marina has a long haired black and tan g. pig named Fluffy.

But, I take care of all of them.

[kimlam1]

Hi. We just got off a seven day and rebooked for a double dip for Aug 22nd & 29th. It's myself, DH, DD (10), DD(8) and DS(4) - at time of sailing. Both of my girls are in Girls Scouts - Brownies! They also play soccer, basketball and enjoy swimming and riding their bikes. We have an 11 year old yellow lab. We love doing the fish extenders, magnets, meets, dressing up for pirate night etc. I still have green Mickey heads left over! We have main dining.

I'm really looking forward to getting to know all of you. I'm an infrequent poster as we have a hectic schedule and I work full time, but I'll pop in as often as I can.

Kim

[Ski-and-Sea]

Hi. We just got off a seven day and rebooked for a double dip for Aug 22nd & 29th. It's myself, DH, DD (10), DD(8) and DS(4) - at time of sailing. Both of my girls are in Girls Scouts - Brownies! They also play soccer, basketball and enjoy swimming and riding their bikes. We have an 11 year old yellow lab. We love doing the fish extenders, magnets, meets, dressing up for pirate night etc. I still have green Mickey heads left over! We have main dining.

I'm really looking forward to getting to know all of you. I'm an infrequent poster as we have a hectic schedule and I work full time, but I'll pop in as often as I can.

Kim

Welcome Kim!!!!! :welcome:

How awesome to do back-to-back cruises. I'm doing the Wonder b2b cruises in August to get my 7-day DCL fix this summer.

Wow - another Scout family.

And definitely post when you can. (love the avatar pic)

This is going to be a great cruise. I cannot wait to be on the Magic again.

[Ski-and-Sea]

What pets do we have.......

We're cat people in this family so over the years we've had 3-4 cats at one time. Right now we have three. We buy purebred Maine Coon cats so we have two Maine Coon cats and a domestic short hair stray that showed up on our doorstep one day and adopted us.

The kids also each have a hamster.

Its my job to make sure the cats stay away from the hamsters.

I've seen the short haired cat eat an entire squirrel (tail and head and everything).

[wayneg]

Welcome aboard Kim.:goodvibes
I really must get some time to sort out a list of who will be on the cruise, starting to lose track now, I don't want to be going thru 300 pages looking for names. Will try get time this week.

As for pets we have a cat (Thomas) and 2 Goldfish (Dory & Nemo)
Thomas has a page of pics on DS's website http://www.disneymad.co.nr/ its down the right click on My Cat

[wayneg]

What pets do we have.......

We're cat people in this family so over the years we've had 3-4 cats at one time. Right now we have three. We buy purebred Maine Coon cats so we have two Maine Coon cats and a domestic short hair stray that showed up on our doorstep one day and adopted us.

The kids also each have a hamster.

Its my job to make sure the cats stay away from the hamsters.

I've seen the short haired cat eat an entire squirrel (tail and head and everything).

I have always been a cat person, don't really like dogs. My Brother has 4 Maine Coons. Don't think I have any pics of them.

[soccermom10]

Hello all & welcome kimlam1!

Okay, so it's been a rough few days...:sad2:

DH had back surgery yesterday, they put an artificial disc in. He's doing well, just very sore. I'm glad he's home now & he'll hopefully be pain free!

DS has been sick since Monday night, with "flu like symptoms." He had also been complaining about his knee for about a week. My mom took him to the doctor for me while I was at the hospital with DH. The pediatrician is sending him for xrays & to an orthopedic dr. She thinks he may have osgood-schlatter disease. Well I had never heard of it before & the word "disease" completely freaked me out. Of course I looked it up as soon as I got home from the hospital. It's not nearly as bad as it sounds, thank god!

st.somewhere - sorry to hear your sick now too. I hope you're feeling better.

[Ski-and-Sea]

Stsomewhere.....get better soon. And let the family pamper you (like that's going to happen now that the spring sports season is starting :rolleyes: ). But do let the family take care of you.

Soccermom.....yikes, back surgery. I know in the end that DH will feel so much better but that is not an easy recovery. When your back hurts, everything hurts. And its not like the pain comes and goes, it hurts all the time.

So sorry to hear about DS. Glad he went to the doc to get it checked out. DD had a really bad virus last October with her fever spiking to over 103. The doctors ended up giving her an IV and she bounced right back.

Glad the doc is telling you to take DS to the orthopedist. Hoping its just something short term like a growth spurt or maybe some fluid buildup.

[stsomewhere]

Hi. We just got off a seven day and rebooked for a double dip for Aug 22nd & 29th. It's myself, DH, DD (10), DD(8) and DS(4) - at time of sailing. Both of my girls are in Girls Scouts - Brownies! They also play soccer, basketball and enjoy swimming and riding their bikes. We have an 11 year old yellow lab. We love doing the fish extenders, magnets, meets, dressing up for pirate night etc. I still have green Mickey heads left over! We have main dining.

I'm really looking forward to getting to know all of you. I'm an infrequent poster as we have a hectic schedule and I work full time, but I'll pop in as often as I can.

Kim

Welcome.
How lucky youare to be doing a B2B. 14 nights on the ship. I would love it. I am so jealous.

We have main dining, too.

[stsomewhere]

Soccermom- I'm glad to hear your DH is feeling well. Remember to take it easy yourself.

Ski- My kids are not into sports-YET! DD can't wait to goin the dance team though. I have a few more years. They are into scouting, student council, art club, and science club.

They would rather have the free time after school to just hang out.

They do enjoy watching the Japense game shows like Ninja Warrior.

Wayne- take your time with the list, no hurry.


PS- I am feeling much better this afternoon. I have been on meds for 24 hours now. But, I am going to rest for another night.

[Maza]

:) hi all...some catching up to do!

Kim...welcome :cutie: 14 days on DCL...wow!

Hope everyoine who was sick is better....hope no one who was ok is now sick..lol

Pets...we have a dog, Angus. a 7 year old west highland terrier. Hes brill. except when he chews my shoes...still....just mine ! Probably figures I have too many...:thumbsup2
We also have cats...Willow and Spike. Moggies. antisocial except for DH...cats luv him :cat: we were cat ppl until we gave in to pester power and got the dog. Now i wouldnt be without him! best personal trainer ever:) :dogdance:

[Maza]

.

Ski- My kids are not into sports-YET! DD can't wait to goin the dance team though. I have a few more years. They are into scouting, student council, art club, and science club.

They would rather have the free time after school to just hang out.

.

kids activities...is there a smily that groans???

We have done it all...been there...done that probably got a lot more kit than a t-shirt:lmao:

tumble tots...swimming lessons (not so much an activity as a necessity..but anyway...)rainbows (baby brownies) x1, beavers ( baby cubs) x1, Browniesx2, Cubsx2,Footballx1,Tennis x2 ,Gymnastics x 2,Ballet x1, Tap x1,Kindermusic X1,County Choir x1,school choir x2, church youth club x1,violin x 1,cello x1,flute x1,drums x1,electric guitar x1, trampolining x1, hockey x2 ,netball x2, scouts x2,pony club x2 ( yes folks...we even had a pony! But unlike the majority of disgarded hobbies, he is not in the cupboard under the stairs! ) Thankfully, as the girls have got older they have settled on a few activities. Now its just Scouts,Hockey, Netball,Trampolining,choir,youth club, drums and guitar! and they ski or board when they can! Youngest DD is working her way round the orchestra...just the brass section to go! well....you have to have a go eh! The music and netball are all school activities, the rest still involves chauffering them about....mostly by DH...the joys of shift work:laughing:

[stsomewhere]

Maza-
DS is plays the voila. He loves it. He plays the guitar.
He is going to string camp this summer.
DD- loves to sing. I have been trying to convince her to go out for show choir.

[wayneg]

Have we all got musical children? Mathew plays Keyboard, passed 2 exams so far.

[Ski-and-Sea]

More musical children here......both kids play the trumpet.

They were both playing the violin but decided they like the sound of the trumpet better.

DD loves to sing but decided that doing choir and band at the same time was too much.

[JoiseyMom]

We have 2 cats, sisters, and 1 dog. We used to have another dog, but we had to put him down in 2006, he was the baby of the bunch.

I love Maine Coon cats, my babysitter had two and they were the most friendly cats!! I think ours might be part, at least DH thinks so.

Now I need to find a trustworthy pet sitter!! DS moved a few months ago, and he lived here so he watched them. I really don't want to kennel them all, I would rather them be home.

[wayneg]

Looked back thru my photo's found pics of My Brothers Maine Coon's
I think this is a pic of each, I know he has 4 different but they look alike.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y236/wayneg1/Easter20052Medium.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y236/wayneg1/Easter20054Medium.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y236/wayneg1/Easter2005Medium.jpg

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[soccermom10]

We have a Golden Retriever. No cats though, my DD is allergic. wayneg - they are some beautiful pictures.

My children are not into any instruments, at least not yet. My DD dances and sings around the house all day.....she thinks she's the next Hannah Montana :goodvibes

Maza - what is netball?

[stsomewhere]

Soccer mom-
How can YOUR DD be the next Hannah MOntana????
Mine was planning on it! LOL....

Maza- Do your kids take a trampoline class?
We have one in our backyard. Marina is the big winner with 1502 consecutive jumps.

We had a few of our neighbors over last night for a bonfire. The kids had an oudoor movie with popcorn and hot cocoa. The weather was beautiful.

Dh and DS are at a scout service project. They are cleaning the shores of Lake Erie.

DD and I are off to 2 birthday parties. She was also, invited to another tomorrow, but has chosen not to go. DH parents are coming over to celebrate his birthday. Marina wants to see them.

[stsomewhere]

Well, we are short one less pet. Matt's g. pig died last.

Marina went to a birthday party yesterday. She had me come in and see their pets. They had 2 snakes, 8 little lizards(like the kind in FL), a fish tank, a turtle, and 2 tarantulas. Those are NOT my kind of pets.
I was surprised there was not odor in the house. It made my feel kind of funny.

[soccermom10]

Well, we are short one less pet. Matt's g. pig died last.

Marina went to a birthday party yesterday. She had me come in and see their pets. They had 2 snakes, 8 little lizards(like the kind in FL), a fish tank, a turtle, and 2 tarantulas. Those are NOT my kind of pets.
I was surprised there was not odor in the house. It made my feel kind of funny.

Sorry to hear about your guinea pig! How's your son handling it?

Snakes, lizards, tarantulas.......yikes, I don't think I would be able to sleep at night!!!! :scared:

[Maza]

reptiles are not my idea of pet either...yeuch!:confused3

netball-bit like basketball, but without the bouncing! not allowed to move once you have the ball...not terribly complicated but a mainstream of girls PE in the UK...i think it might even be an olympic sport, but dont quote me! if it is...we are probably bad at it...lol

wayne..those cats are gorgeous. we have moggies...typical aloof kitties, except around DH. the man has a way with cats...:)


stsomewhere- youngest DD goes to trampoline lessons, has done for about 6 years now. she can bounce...and bounce...and apparently lots of other technical stuff! She has badges, exams....who knew...lol

we have a trampoline in our back garden ( and very little else...we have a small garden!). she bounces most days! Infact last weekend she had a birthday party /sleepover and her and her friends were bouncing at 2 am! The neighbours were not impressed!:laughing:

[bellebud]

jumping in to say "hi" - just booked our first cruise last week for the august 22 2009 Western and I'm very, very, very excited!! DH is going along for the ride and i'm not really allowed to talk about it anymore w/ him (do they have a party pooper smilie???). I just have to tell him when we're ready to get on the plane. :rotfl: His last statement about disboards a few days ago was "it's crazy enough that people take pictures of their meals to post on this board, but it's even crazier that other people actually take the time to look at the pictures of food posted on here"... :lmao: oh well, he'll never get it!

So it's myself, dh, dd9 at time of cruise and ds7 at time of cruise. I'd love to do fish extenders!! That really sounds like fun!! And we'll be dressing up at least a bit for pirate night (i won't tell dh till pirate night though). ;)

Pets - a 1 year old german shephard male (we've always had dogs - I'd love a cat but dh is allergic). Our dog Odin is the best family pet we could ever hope for... :love:

Kids both do gymnastics, dd is now also doing softball and piano/voice lessons, she did intramural basketball in school over the winter... ds also does T ball. They both love rollerblading, and ds loves his ripstick (he also did snow boarding last winter a bit).

So that's us, and I'm looking forward to getting to know everyone going on this cruise over the next 16 months!

:flower3:

[soccermom10]

:wave:Welcome bellebud!

Congrats on booking your 1st cruise!

[wayneg]

Welcome!!!!!!! you will love the cruise. :welcome:

[soccermom10]

Welcome!!!!!!! you will love the cruise. :welcome:

Okay, so why can't I ever find that "welcome sign" :confused3

[soccermom10]

bellebud - your DH cracks me up. Mine would probably say the same thing if he knew their were pictures of food on here :lmao: