February 7, 2009 Western early check in! [Archive] - The DIS Discussion Forums

tinkerone

12-20-2007, 10:41 PM

414 days.

My parents are going on a Western Carribean cruise leaving in two days. This is not a Disney cruise, but still visiting the same ports. I told them to take notes since we'll be there in a little over a year! Once I get the dish from them I'll share....

Has anyone on this cruise been on a Western before?

me, me, me....i have. i did like it.
found key west interesting as i had never been there before. as this was a stop on day one, i did not take a case of water with me or purchase it on board. you can pick up a case (if you want one) at a store very near the port. it will save tons of money if you are going to buy it on the ship.
the only stop i did not really like was grand cayman. i like to shop around town and there was not a lot there. we ended up at the beach and even at that it was something like 15 dollars a person for cab fares just to get to 5 mile beach. this time i will probably skip it and stay on the boat. you may like it, there also may be an excursion we could have gone on. we are not big excursion people. like to do it on our own. cozumel was very interesting. you could walk to all the little shops and booths.
you should like this cruise. heck i like any curise.
see you there!:flower3:

Billinaz

12-21-2007, 01:38 AM

Count us in... and yes I am a compulsive planner too!!:rotfl:
There will be 8 of us all together.
4 adults, 4 kids ranging in age from 17 - 9

When it gets closer, we have to get the kids emailing each other.... then they have somone right away they can get together with on the ship....

cdnstitchfan

12-21-2007, 10:13 AM

When it gets closer, we have to get the kids emailing each other.... then they have somone right away they can get together with on the ship....

Yes that sounds like a excellent idea. :thumbsup2 We did this with the last one we were on it, turned out great!! My oldest DS is a bit shy, so it help break the ice before boarding the ship.

Now only it would hurry up and get here!!!

Have a Happy Holidays everyone.:santa:

pgsahm2

12-21-2007, 12:01 PM

Hi there,

414 days....wow that still seems like a long ways away.:(

We did a Western on another cruise line way back in 2004. The only port that is the same as this one is Cozumel.

Will be interesting to hear what your parents have to say.

Today it's only 413 days! LOL We've moved up a day already!:lmao:

me, me, me....i have. i did like it.
found key west interesting as i had never been there before. as this was a stop on day one, i did not take a case of water with me or purchase it on board. you can pick up a case (if you want one) at a store very near the port. it will save tons of money if you are going to buy it on the ship.
the only stop i did not really like was grand cayman. i like to shop around town and there was not a lot there. we ended up at the beach and even at that it was something like 15 dollars a person for cab fares just to get to 5 mile beach. this time i will probably skip it and stay on the boat. you may like it, there also may be an excursion we could have gone on. we are not big excursion people. like to do it on our own. cozumel was very interesting. you could walk to all the little shops and booths.
you should like this cruise. heck i like any curise.
see you there!:flower3:

I've never been to Key West either. I am one of those geeky freaks that think standing at the most southern point of the US is very cool. I look forward to it!

Is there a liquor store close by to the port on Key West? We may need it by that time.... lol

We are not sure if we are doing excursions this time either. The money really adds up quickly. But we still have long way to go so we could change our minds. Thanks for the information about Cozumel and Grand Cayman.

When it gets closer, we have to get the kids emailing each other.... then they have somone right away they can get together with on the ship....

Oh that's a neat idea! And what perfect timing since the boys are getting a computer from Santa this year! lol My boys will be 9, 7 and almost 3 at the time of the cruise.

My parents leave tomorrow from Charleston on the Norwegian Majesty for a Western Carribean cruise. I do not like their itinerary nearly as much as Disney's. Same ports, but the break up of days is not very friendly to me. Their itinerary is:

12/22 depart from Charleston
12/23 at sea
12/24 Key West
12/25 Cozumel
12/26 Grand Cayman
12/27 at sea
12/28 at sea
12/29 debark at Charleston

See what I mean? It's 3 ports in 3 days time and then 2 at sea days following that. Yuck.

I guess that's another reason to love Disney!:cloud9:

pgsahm2

12-31-2007, 08:27 AM

403 days! We're almost to an even 400!

My parents are back from their Norwegian cruise and they had a great time at the ports.

Anyone else keeping their cruise secret until NEXT Christmas? :)

cdnstitchfan

01-01-2008, 11:50 AM

403 days! We're almost to an even 400!

My parents are back from their Norwegian cruise and they had a great time at the ports.

Anyone else keeping their cruise secret until NEXT Christmas? :)

Nope, I cann't kept secrets that long... :rotfl2:

Happy New Year everyone.

dclcruzer

01-02-2008, 03:08 PM

yes we are definitlely compulsive planners!
we booked our christmas cruise for 2009 leaving on the 19th!!!
and of course, being the disney freak i am...i made my countdown chain....715 days to go! only! :rotfl:

pgsahm2

01-05-2008, 01:16 PM

What excursions are you guys looking in to? Anything specific? I know it's still early....

cdnstitchfan

01-06-2008, 11:38 PM

I haven't even thought about execursions yet. We may just walk around and find beaches to hang out at all the stops.

Our group has expanded this week, there are now three families going.

What execursions did your parents do if any on their recent cruise?

tinkerone

01-06-2008, 11:42 PM

i'm thinking no excursions for us. i like to walk around and see whats just outside the gates. on grand cayman we will probably only take a quick boo in the shops and then go right back to the boat. wasn't my favorite spot.:surfweb:

pgsahm2

01-09-2008, 10:38 AM

My parents went to Tulum. That was the only paid excursion they did. On Grand Cayman they took a taxi to Seven Mile Beach.

I know it's early but I can't believe there's so few of us booked on this cruise! Maybe we need to keep bumping this thread to the first page in hopes of finding new cruisers!

We're under 400 days now! Woohoo!

pgsahm2

01-11-2008, 12:41 PM

Today's bump!

cdnstitchfan

01-12-2008, 11:17 PM

Hi there pgsahm2,

Been a crazy week. Even had to go into the office today. Yuck.

I have never been to the Grand Cayman, does the pictures of Seven Mile beach look great (I assume your parents took some!!). Was it a very long cab ride?

Awesome another milestone under 400 days!!! :banana: :woohoo: Can only hope the time flies by.

pgsahm2

01-13-2008, 12:35 PM

Actually, sadly I have yet to see their pics from their vacation. Once I finally do I will let you know! I do remember them saying that the cab ride was not that long but that the cab driver was insane! LOL Apparently all of the cabbies drive like bats outta hell.

Anyone else buying the new Passporter Guide once it comes out in March? I plan on getting it. I've never bought a Passporter before but it seems like a good idea! I think my MIL will enjoy reading it as well since she's never been on a Disney cruise before. Newbies! :)

pgsahm2

01-15-2008, 12:56 PM

I looked at my parents' pictures this morning. I want to go NOW! lol Everything looks just perfect! I cannot wait! I know I've probably said that a trillion times already.

We're down to 389 days now! Whoop!

cdnstitchfan

01-15-2008, 02:24 PM

I take that to mean, the beaches and places were beautiful in the pictures. I can hardly wait to go either. I am glad we are off to Mexico for a week in Feb. :yay: It is helping the waiting process a little bit.

I bought the Passporter book before our last cruise. I really found it very useful. I haven't decided if I am going to get the new one or not yet.

pgsahm2

01-16-2008, 08:47 AM

Yes, all of the pictures were beautiful. Tulum was really neat looking. My mom said that the pics did not do it justice considering how large the place was.

They also had some pictures of iguanas they ran across while walking near Tulum. That was kinda creepy!

cdnstitchfan, where in Mexico are you going? That must be great knowing you're skipping some cold weather next month! I'm jealous! We have nothing planned between now and our cruise next year. Blah...

pgsahm2

01-18-2008, 07:33 AM

I wonder how booked our cruise is. What would you guess? 20%? 50%? 75%?

cdnstitchfan

01-19-2008, 01:16 PM

We are going to Nuevo Vallarta about the middle of Feb. Yes, it will be nice to miss some of the cold weather. It is not very nice today. Snowing and cold. Suppose to stay like this all weekend.

I wonder too how full the ship will be, since it is the week before most kids are off school.

pgsahm2

01-23-2008, 12:33 PM

I think there is such a thing as too much planning.... I have had many sleepless nights lately because my brain is constantly thinking about our trip. I cannot go without sleep for an entire year!! What's a compulsive planner to do?? :)

pgsahm2

01-26-2008, 12:41 PM

Giving us a bump for the day. Hoping more DISers are signing onto this cruise! We're closing in on the 1 year mark!

HOORAY!!

pgsahm2

01-28-2008, 12:43 PM

February 08 is in just a few days.... That means we're THAT much closer to our cruise! :) And THAT much closer to having to pay for it! LOL

SeattleGirl

01-28-2008, 01:33 PM

I was steered here by pgsahm2. We just booked for this cruise while onboard the Wonder last week. I have no idea how we are going to wait this long to go again! DBF always has to have something new going on, so he's already planning a million "mini-vacations" to hold us over:).

At this point, it will be just me and DBF. I am trying to convince my dad (he was in the Navy during Vietnam and somehow assumes that cruise ships will be just like that...) or my mom and stepdad to come with, but we'll see.

Now to find things to keep us occupied for the next year...

pgsahm2

01-29-2008, 02:00 PM

Welcome SeattleGirl!

So how was your cruise last week? Were you on a 3 or 4 night? We sailed on the Wonder last March and that short little 3 nighter had us hooked. We loved every second of it!

We booked this upcoming cruise not too long after the 2009 dates were released. It's been a little over a month since we made our deposit. I feel like I've accomplished something making it for an entire month already! LOL

What category/room number are you in?

SeattleGirl

01-30-2008, 10:13 PM

Our last cruise was great. We were on a 4 night. I'm working on a trip report, which I will link in my signature soon.

Our room number for the 7-day is 2105. This is pretty close to 2605, which was our room for the 4-day. It's a category 10. We can't really afford anything more and we were really happy with the room we had this past cruise.

Our room stewardess was so great this last cruise. We couldn't afford to leave her much more than the recommended tip, but we did leave a good bottle of wine and vodka (we overestimated our ability to drink in 4-days). I hope we have the same luck next time!

pgsahm2

01-31-2008, 08:11 AM

Awww! How sweet to leave alcohol for your room stewardess! ROFL :) I'm sure it was put to great use! ;)

I look forward to reading your report.

We're in a cat 10 also, though it's a secret porthole room. Did you check to see if any of those were still available on the cruise? We have 5022 and 5024, which are connectors. And I think one other person on this thread has one on the other side of the ship, but that leaves 3. It's worth checking to see if one is available. Free sunlight! lol

tinkerone

01-31-2008, 09:37 AM

yup, i'm 5520:cool1: :banana: :yay: :dance3:

cdnstitchfan

01-31-2008, 02:43 PM

Seattlegirl,

We are not far apart. We are in rooms 2098 and 2100. :thumbsup2 I like being down on the lower decks...

SeattleGirl

01-31-2008, 03:02 PM

I really liked the lower deck. It was nice being right below the restaurants and things. We did check for SPH, but they were booked. Actually, a lot of rooms were booked from what I could tell while we were going through it with the lady at the booking desk. I was hoping to miss out on some of the kids' spring breaks with this week, but I guess we'll see!

pgsahm2

02-01-2008, 12:25 PM

I'm surprised that there are already a lot of bookings for this cruise. I figured it was sort of an off time. Plus there is still such a long time to go.

Maybe if the ship continues to fill up the "cheaper" categories we'll all get lucky and receive upgrades! We can wish right? ;)

pgsahm2

02-03-2008, 12:32 PM

SOOOO close to being able to say "only a year until my cruise!"

Is anyone doing anything special for countdowns? We will once we surprise the kids at Christmas. We'll probably do some kind of countdown calendar that the kids can do every day.

Oh, yesterday my MIL slipped up and said something about the cruise in front of the kids! Doh! Thank goodness we were able to cover up what she'd said by telling the kids she was talking about a cruise she'd taken years ago. It was our first close call though!

pgsahm2

02-07-2008, 08:05 AM

Who's excited?

Today is our 1 year mark!!! Exactly one year from now we'll all be gearing up to board the Magic!

tinkerone

02-07-2008, 10:07 AM

Who's excited?

Today is our 1 year mark!!! Exactly one year from now we'll all be gearing up to board the Magic!

:cool1: :banana: :yay: :cheer2: :dance3: who's excited? ME thats who!

cdnstitchfan

02-07-2008, 02:33 PM

Me too....

:banana: :cool1: :banana: :cool1: :laughing: :goodvibes

pgsahm2

02-12-2008, 08:04 AM

Bumping in case anyone is lurking and wants to join us!

I wonder how the current Western is going right now. We'll be on that cruise next year!!!!

WDW Dreamer

02-17-2008, 01:16 AM

First off forgive me, I'm not familiar with chatting so I'm just getting used to the acronyms. We finally just got internet service. Anyway, our family has just booked for this cruise. There will be 12 of us including my 2 kids, son 9, and daughter 6. What a great idea for kids to get to know some of the kids that will be there before they even leave home!!

tinkerone

02-17-2008, 08:44 AM

pgsahm2

02-17-2008, 09:37 AM

Welcome! My oldest son will be 9 at cruise time too.

Tinker, you only have a little over 2 months before cruising! How exciting for you!

tinkerone

02-17-2008, 11:02 AM

Welcome! My oldest son will be 9 at cruise time too.

Tinker, you only have a little over 2 months before cruising! How exciting for you!

yup! doing my happy dance!:banana: :banana: :banana:

SeattleGirl

02-17-2008, 12:40 PM

12? Wow! We're desperately trying to convince my dad or my mom and stepdad to join us on the cruise, but so far, no luck. I'm sure you'll have a great time!

WDW Dreamer

02-17-2008, 09:32 PM

Yes, this our first cruise. Everyone is very excited! Unfortunately, I now have mixed feelings as I've suddenly become a TA to the whole group. Not sure exactly how it happened. My husband and I mentioned that we were planning a cruise with the kids and next thing I know we're booking rooms for my parents, my grandparents, my MIL, my sis and friend, and my uncle!!!! I know it will be great fun, but feeling a little overwhelmed with the planning.

pgsahm2

02-19-2008, 08:06 AM

I can imagine being a travel agent for 12 people is quite exhausting! :) It will all work out eventually. Just ask your family to repay you in the form of Disney dollars! LOL

I have planned our trip all by myself too. Granted it's only for my family (me, dh and 3 boys) and my inlaws. In fact my MIL (she's a dingbat, but in a good way lol ;) ) was telling me over the weekend that they had told my FILs mother about the trip and to make sure she didn't say anything to the boys about it. Well, my FILs mother said "So where are you going?" My MIL said she laughed and told her she had no idea! LOL "I trust Amanda and I know she'll take us somewhere great!" :)

So basically it comes down to... they're spending several thousand dollars on a surprise trip to "somewhere." I had to laugh. I am SOOOOO not like that. I need to know all of the details WAAAAAAYYYY in advance!

WDW Dreamer

02-19-2008, 11:36 PM

So it turns out that planning for 12 people is indeed some work. Especially when 12 is turning into 15! But that's not the big one....we've changed dates. Yep, you heard right. Luckily we didn't have any price increases and there was availability for everyone. Good news is we switched to January 24 making the countdown less!

So, it's been a pleasure chatting with everyone, but I won't be sailing on the 7th afterall. Hope you all have a great trip!

pgsahm2

02-20-2008, 07:43 AM

Good luck WDW Dreamer!

Our group is shrinking! Doh! ;)

Where are all the people who are booking onboard in the month of February? Aren't they supposed to LOVE February so much that they rebook for 2009? LOL :)

allears

02-21-2008, 06:36 PM

We couldn't stand it, got off the ship Saturday the 16th and booked 2/7/09 on Tuesday of this week!

pgsahm2

02-21-2008, 07:27 PM

allears

02-22-2008, 12:09 PM

Welcome allears! How was your cruise? Did you do any excursions?

March is sneaking up quickly. Pretty soon we'll be completely out of the month of February of 2008! That means the next time we see a February date we'll be prepping for much warmer weather! Woohoo!

The cruise was AWESOME!! I can't believe this time last week we were having lunch at Cookies. The weather was great all week and the whole trip was incredible.

We did an island Tour at Grand Cayman, jet ski tour and banana boat, and bike ride on Castaway Cay. This cruise will be our I think 5th western, we may just spend most of it on the ship, which is what we go for anyway.

Billinaz

02-23-2008, 04:12 AM

We couldn't stand it, got off the ship Saturday the 16th and booked 2/7/09 on Tuesday of this week!

Too bad you didnt book onboard and get the credit!

I booked another 'dummy'reservation onboard that I will transfer to out Feb 2010 cruise when it opens up....

pgsahm2

02-23-2008, 07:42 AM

The cruise was AWESOME!! I can't believe this time last week we were having lunch at Cookies. The weather was great all week and the whole trip was incredible.

We did an island Tour at Grand Cayman, jet ski tour and banana boat, and bike ride on Castaway Cay. This cruise will be our I think 5th western, we may just spend most of it on the ship, which is what we go for anyway.

That's great that you've been on the Western so many times that you don't even have to leave the boat! This will be our 2nd cruise. Our first was March of last year and it was just a 3 night one. I'm ecstatic at the thought of being on the ship for SEVEN nights! :woohoo:

The weather this week in Virginia has made me long for warmer temps. It's been in the 30s and just nasty drizzle. It's hard to believe that in another 6 weeks (or less depending on crazy VA weather!) we'll be sweating! That's the great thing about cruising in February, you have nice weather to look forward to. While cruising in the summer months would be great too, but then you are not really escaping from any cold temps! (But any day on a Disney cruise is better than not right?! :cutie: )

allears

02-23-2008, 09:54 AM

Since we rebooked with DVC points we did get the "onboard" discount that applies. If you use points you just have to book within 3 days of disembarking. Even though we say we may not even get off the ship, we found ourselves online at the same time at work looking at possible excursions for next year already! I think it's just so we can have something cruise related to do! We're so ready to go back!:yay:

allears

02-23-2008, 02:07 PM

That's great that you've been on the Western so many times that you don't even have to leave the boat! This will be our 2nd cruise. Our first was March of last year and it was just a 3 night one. I'm ecstatic at the thought of being on the ship for SEVEN nights! :woohoo:

The weather this week in Virginia has made me long for warmer temps. It's been in the 30s and just nasty drizzle. It's hard to believe that in another 6 weeks (or less depending on crazy VA weather!) we'll be sweating! That's the great thing about cruising in February, you have nice weather to look forward to. While cruising in the summer months would be great too, but then you are not really escaping from any cold temps! (But any day on a Disney cruise is better than not right?! :cutie: )

That's why we really like to cruise in February. We actually like the cold weather and are not fond of summer temps. But in Feb. the weather on the cruise is quite pleasant and a nice change from here in South Jersey.

Though we may not get off the ship much, we've found ourselves looking at some different excursions for next year. That's the fun of going back multiple times, trying things you either didn't have the time or money for before. And the truth is, this last cruise was the first time we actaully got to step foot on Grand Cayman, so we're probably going to do something there again.

durango kid

02-26-2008, 12:39 PM

Hello to All!!

My DW & DD (13) will be joining you (if no one minds) on board.

We just got off the Magic this past Saturday :sad: I'm sure they had to sand my fingernail marks off the deck, because I was kicking and screaming the whole way. I left my beach chairs on Castaway Cay, right where I like them

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f144/danansue0214/123.jpg

I hope nobody moves them while I'm gone.

The weather was PERFECT and I didn't gain any weight, so I call that a successful trip. So good in fact that we rebooked for this cruise while still onboard. I was happy that suite 7120 had not been booked yet, so I took that and early dining, life looks pretty good. I'm far to old to wish that time would pass faster but...well you know.

pgsahm2

02-27-2008, 08:06 AM

Welcome durangokid!

I'd hope that nobody was rude enough to move your chairs while you're away. How dare they!?!! ;)

Only 345 days y'all! :)

allears

03-04-2008, 08:47 AM

Only 340 days left! I often wonder how long it will take to come down off the cruise 'high' and get back to normal life...Well the answer is not 3 weeks cause we're still totally cruise focused! :beach: Maybe when you book again right away, it never goes away. Is that a good thing or a bad thing????????

SeattleGirl

03-04-2008, 11:32 AM

We just bought a new camera (with next year's cruise in mind!). This time, my pictures will look GOOD.

durango kid

03-04-2008, 12:53 PM

It's almost crazy to book a crusie while still onboard the ship.

We were excited for months about that cruise, then loving the cruise, followed by post-cruisal depression and complaining that next year is so far away, while still being excited about the upcoming cruise.

I at least have it a bit better than the rest of you- I can get a Disney fix any time I want. Seriously, Sunday we started off meaning to go to the grocery store, my wife mentioned that she hadn't been on ToT in a month...so we went. Ran in, Ran out. Ate leftovers for dinner.

pgsahm2

03-04-2008, 01:58 PM

It hit me this morning... One year ago today we left the Wonder behind... boooohooo!!! I still miss it. I can't believe it will be almost a full 2 year hiatus from a Disney ship for us. Yikes!

I bought two dresses this morning with the cruise in mind... :) Who cares if it's still 11 months away?!! lol

Billinaz

03-08-2008, 03:10 PM

If anyone wants their kids to get to know a friend before boarding, I set our kids up with an email address....

kids-disney-cruise@cox.net

I monitor it ......

We will have Kim (13),Dan (11), and Melanie (9) on our cruise.....

allears

03-12-2008, 12:36 PM

Our DS 12(at time of next year's cruise) will be on without siblings for the first time. So it might be nice for him to try this out. He does not have his own e-mail though, so I'll have to look into doing that for him first. Thanks!

durango kid

03-13-2008, 01:35 PM

pgsahm2

03-18-2008, 03:16 PM

Our daughter is on the Wonder today!! She is doing the 3-day, as a castmember she is going for about Half Price, it is her first cruise. She called to tell me from the waiting area to say that check in too 2 minutes and she had a boarding pass #3. My DW dropped her off at the port, she said it was so hard to see the ship right there in front of her and not just park and get on.

I'm depressed now, and then she'll come home and we'll have to look at her stupid pictures :mad: and hear all about the trip and how wonderful it was on Castaway Cay:headache: !! Little brat probably won't even remember to check on my beach chairs. I hate kids!!:rolleyes1

How was her trip? Did anyone touch your chairs? :scared:

I'm starting to sweat over the announcement today that the Coast Guard isn't allowing you to bring liquor or bottled water in your bags! Doh! :headache: :sad2: I hope they work out the quirks before February.

So how many days before we can book Palo? :rotfl2: Is it time yet?

durango kid

03-18-2008, 04:13 PM

DD Loved her trip, to the point that she and her BF said they cried a little when they packed for home. The weather was perfect the whole trip. They are vegans and could not have been happier with the food choices, which suprised even me. Poor kids then had to fly home to Denver which was getting snow. Serves them right for not bringing me with them. But you know what REALLY BURNS MY BACKSIDE? They used Frequent Flyer miles to get here, so no air fare. We picked picked them up at the airport and took them to Port Canaveral and back, so no car rental or parking fee. With her CM discount they spent less than $500 total. For both of them, including excursions. :eek:

I'm thinking about getting a part time job as the balloon guy in the Magic Kingdom, just for the discount ;)

pgsahm2

03-20-2008, 08:51 AM

Wow, $500!!!! What a deal!

If I lived closer I'd definitely cruise more often. We're a bit far away though to cruise whenever...

I am thrilled that Disney has announced that the new ships will be based out of PC. I am hoping we will rebook while onboard next year and move our reservation to one of the new ships at a later date. I still cannot imagine the ships being any bigger than the Wonder or Magic. They already seem so HUGE!!

durango kid

03-21-2008, 08:20 AM

The downside to the CM discount is, since it is such a good discount you can only book a cruise inside the 30 day mark to get the discount. At least I THINK that's what she told me. So, great for a college age single girl, not so good for old man with wife and kids.

DizNutDad

03-26-2008, 08:05 PM

I just got on board with DISboards and set up on the Feb 7th cruise. Yippee!

All tips welcome.

:cool1: :yay: :jumping1:

durango kid

03-27-2008, 02:42 PM

Welcome Aboard!!

SeattleGirl

03-29-2008, 01:20 PM

Is anyone visiting the parks before the cruise? We're thinking we may have to schedule our trip on a different week because the Super Bowl is in Tampa the week before (just figured this out!). And on the theme parks board they are saying that the days before and after the super bowl are predicted to be a 9/10 on the crowd predictor. It is so hard to find weeks where there is no holiday!

DizNutDad

03-29-2008, 09:06 PM

We stayed at AKL during the Super Bowl. We didn't see any crowd problems before or after (and even on Super Bowl Sunday) at any of the parks. I wouldn't be too concerned.

SeattleGirl

03-29-2008, 10:51 PM

Thanks for the response!

Was it when the Super Bowl was last in Tampa? I'm worried about the proximity of the event...

DizNutDad

03-31-2008, 06:36 AM

Good point. It was this year and the Super Bowl was in Arizona.

cdnstitchfan

03-31-2008, 10:23 PM

Hi everyone,

I see there are a few new cruise members since the last time I checked in. Welcome Aboard !!!!! :cool1:

Now that we are back from an excellent trip to Puerto Vallarta, it is time to start really thinking about what we are going to do on this cruise.

SeattleGirl, thanks for posting about the Superbowl, I hadn't even thought that it might be an issue. I guess the good thing is, we are not planning on visiting any of the theme parks this time around. For now just plan on spending time around the port and see what is there. Not sure yet what day we are going to arrive, but our selection on direct flights are limited...

pgsahm2

04-07-2008, 02:49 PM

Welcome DizNutDad!

SeattleGirl, did you decide if you were sticking with the Feb 7 date? I thought about the timing after we'd already booked and that's why I went ahead and secured us a hotel as soon as I could. Within 2 weeks of each other there's two huge events in Florida. The Super Bowl and then the Daytona 500!!!! I'm hoping it does not affect us in anyway. I guess we'll survive either way...

cdnstitchfan, what kind of exciting things did you do in Puerto Vallarta? I'd love to escape to some consistent warm weather right now. So far the month of April has brought RAIN the entire time. It's depressing!

I've been reading through the Passporter the past few weeks and it's really added to my excitement for the trip. Especially reading the menus! lol

I feel like we need a name for our cruise. A lot of the cruise meets have these fun names... We need one too! Any ideas? :)

SeattleGirl

04-07-2008, 03:53 PM

I'm sticking with this date. We don't want to go on the Eastern and I figure there are just competing holidays/events every other week. It's still the off season. Even if there is a rise in crowds for a day or two, it won't kill our trip. I am most worried about my mom and stepdad who will be arriving in WDW the day before the Super Bowl and will be totally confused (my mom hasn't been there since the early 70's). I don't want them to have a bad impression of WDW just because it's a "holiday" weekend.

DizNutDad

04-07-2008, 09:37 PM

SeattleGirl...

If you and Antonio are looking to sit with a family of four again, we would be more than glad to have you join us. I hope to see you are the ship.

SeattleGirl

04-08-2008, 05:53 PM

DizNutDad - Did I mention our dining woes before? Either that or you glanced at my trip report:). Just so it doesn't seem all gloomy, we did actually have very nice dinner mates. We had late dining (I'm unsure as to whether we should do that again - soooo loong) and sat with two nice couples and then a single father and his child. We like having people to chat with! (though we seem to be the only ones because I read thread after thread with people trying to request tables alone...it's not so bad!)

DizNutDad

04-09-2008, 06:02 AM

I did take a look at the trip report. Things seemed fun. Some people can be pretty stuffy and not just enjoy themselves.

Here's to making our trip great.

...For Everyone

brinalyn530

04-10-2008, 03:24 PM

Hello everyone!:goodvibes

It only took four months and two registrations, but I am now finally able to post on the DIS! I have been lurking since before our last trip but there were some issues with my registration and I was able to view everything but not post. So glad that is finally fixed.:woohoo:

My family (Me, DS who will be 8, DMom, and DDad) will be cruising with you all in February. I took my son and my brother on the Land/Sea in January (looks like we just missed you on the Wonder SeattleGirl) and couldn't resist booking a seven day for next year while still onboard (I mean come on, 10% off + OBC, what a deal;) )l. I convinced my parents to come along with us this time since my brother will be immersed in college life at that point and I know my mom will just be in heaven on the Magic.

I am beyond excited - we were so rushed and exhausted from the parks by the time we got on the Wonder that we missed so much (or were just too cranky to enjoy it properly). I think the 7 day will give us a chance to really enjoy the ship and relax.

I would love for DS to join the kids' email group - I'll have to tell him about it tonight and see what he says. He didn't really enjoy the limited time he spent in the club last time and I think if he has some buddies beforehand it will be more fun.

I am also very excited about setting up a meet and fish extender exchange. We got to the port later than expected last time and missed our meet, but we all loved checking the fish extender when we got back to the room (and I loved shopping for the gifts to hand out). I was lucky to find a DISer on the CruiseCritic board who introduced me to everyone for the FE exchange - otherwise we would've missed out since I couldn't post.

Anyway, enough blabbering from me. Just wanted to finally say hello :wave2: to everyone!

Take care,

S

cdnstitchfan

04-10-2008, 07:02 PM

Welcome brinalyn530!!! :banana: :banana:

"cdnstitchfan, what kind of exciting things did you do in Puerto Vallarta? I'd love to escape to some consistent warm weather right now. So far the month of April has brought RAIN the entire time. It's depressing! "

Pgsahm2 we mainly relaxed by the pool on this trip. The weather was awesome.

The weather here is not great today, we had one of our freak snow storms this morning. :eek: Good thing I am an early bird and I was at work already.

A name for our group would be great, I am not that creative, so will have to think on it for awhile.

Has everyone booked hotels already for the nights they are going to be in the area before the cruise. I haven't got that far yet. I am considering staying near the port, we have spend much time around the area yet, checking things out. I think we will probably be coming in on the Wednesday night, we have limited direct flights from here and I don't like doing connecting flights.

Has any one started a thread for the kids yet?

pgsahm2

04-12-2008, 07:38 AM

Welcome brinalyn! We've spoken on the cruisecritic board about this cruise! I have 3 boys who will be 9, 7 and just shy of 3 when we cruise.

cdnstitch, keep your snow! ;) It's been in the 80s the last few days here. I love it! I've finally been able to get outside and work in the dirt again. :)

We booked the Country Inn & Suites for the Friday night before our trip. We'll be driving down from VA that day and only staying one night. We really just need a place to sleep and that's it. But the free breakfast and free parking at CI&S couldn't be beat.

300 days and counting!!!!!!!

Paxton's Mom

04-23-2008, 05:06 PM

Hi everyone!

We did a four day in March 2007 and while onboard my mom and DD convinced my husband and me that we ABSOLUTELY had to book a seven day. (It didn't really take all that much convincing as we were all having a blast!) We booked a dummy res and rolled it over when the 2009 dates were released. I've held off on checking in on the DIS since I found myself spending WAY too much time reading posts before our last cruise. Glad to see all of you are already getting pumped up. I love the anticipation and planning but I make my family crazy.

It will be me, DH, DD9 and my mother, who will be celebrating her 60th b-day while on board. Just wanted to check in and say hi! :)

DizNutDad

04-23-2008, 08:25 PM

Paxton's Mom,

Welcome on board.

Will your DD be 9 on the cruise or 9 now?
I will have our DD on and she'll be 9.

Paxton's Mom

04-23-2008, 08:40 PM

Hi DizNutDad-

Paxton's Mom here. She will be 9 on the cruise (August b-day). She is in 3rd grade now and of course will be more than happy to miss a week of school next February.

cdnstitchfan

05-06-2008, 08:01 AM

Figured we need to be bump up.

Welcome Aboard Paxton Mom's.

Finally we are having spring like weather. Hopefully the last of our snow is gone.

We have good news are party has just increased in size. There will be 16 of us in total. Kids ranging from 1 to 18. I think just in our party, we will have most age groups covered!!! :rotfl2:

Still haven't decided where we are going to stay before the cruise. Any one else coming in early? We will probably arriving the Wednesday evening before. Planning on staying around Cocoa Beach. We haven't explored this area yet.

pgsahm2

05-10-2008, 08:55 AM

Another bump. The Magic will soon be on its way to California and then it comes back to the East Coast for some plastic surgery. THEN just 5 months later we'll all be boarding!

I'm contemplating booking flights this weekend. We were originally going to drive but AirTran is running a coupon special through tomorrow and we can fly roundtrip for about $150 a person. HOWEVER that's guessing on the return flight because they haven't released the rates for Feb 14. I have my fingers crossed that maybe they'll release this tonight and we can book a cheapie flight.

Billinaz

05-10-2008, 09:37 AM

cdnstitchfan

05-10-2008, 09:05 PM

I already booked ours. It was $350.00 each but we used $99 companion coupons and saved quite a bit!

Companion coupons??? Do only certain airlines offer these? Am interested in finding out how I can save money.

3-MER

05-20-2008, 06:32 PM

We are booked for this one as well. First time cruise, myself, DW, and DD12.

I am looking forward to the experience and Magic

:wizard:

dissydebb

05-20-2008, 10:29 PM

We are also booked for this cruise! DH, DS 6, DD 5 and myself. We are all so excited for this trip but it seems so far away!

cdnstitchfan

05-21-2008, 10:26 PM

Welcome :welcome: Dissydebb and 3-MER.

Alway glad to have more people joining us. As for my group, there will be myself, DH, DS17 and DS14.

pgsahm2

05-22-2008, 07:27 AM

cdnstitchfan

05-22-2008, 08:00 AM

Welcome to the newbies!

Is anyone headed to WDW in the months before the cruise? My sister and I are going to be at POR 8/14 thru 8/18. It's a girls only trip and I'm super excited. It'll be a nice way to tide me over until cruise time in February.

Hi pgsahm2, a girls trip to WDW sounds like a great trip. We have no plans to get to WDW before the cruise in Feb.

Michellepooh

06-08-2008, 08:19 PM

Hi everyone! Add me to the roster! We just got off of the 6/1 Wonder and rebooked for the 2/7/09 Western! WooHoo!!! It will be me, DH, DS (will be 4), and a new baby DS due in September (gotta start them young!).

Is it February yet?! :goodvibes

DizNutDad

06-08-2008, 10:16 PM

Michelle,
How exciting! We have a DS age 4 as well. It would be great to get them together if possible.:) :yay:

Billinaz

06-15-2008, 04:54 PM

I booked onboard and transferred our ressies to Costco for this trip...

I get an $800 cash card to use at Costco when we get back.

That kind of 'rebate' was hard to pass up!

SeattleGirl

07-02-2008, 11:54 PM

Hey February Westerners:
How are you arranging your airfare? I have been keeping an eye open and it's going to cost us over $1000 round trip just for two people!:scared1: Last cruise we only paid $600ish. *sigh* I am afraid this is going to be just too much for us to afford and I would love any ideas you have. I might post this on the transportation board at some point, too.

pgsahm2

07-03-2008, 07:18 AM

We haven't booked air yet and probably won't unless something great comes along. We plan to drive down from Virginia, about 12 1/2 hours. I realize driving from the west coast is a bit different! ;) I hope you able to come up with something. Airfare is depressing.

In fact when I booked airfare for my sister and I for our August WDW trip I was on cloud nine. $103 roundtrip per person. BUT 2 weeks ago AirTran started switching our flights around and now we have HORRIBLE times. So we are in need of changing dates and times and now are planning on a layover. It's not a complete disaster but it definitely caused us some annoyance and some replanning.

So keep in mind even if you purchase airfare nothing is set in stone, especially nowadays with all of the cutbacks.

Good luck!

DizNutDad

07-04-2008, 01:29 PM

Airtran got us this morning. They emailed me with flight changes. It wasn't a big time change, but it does affect our flight in and flight out. I hope it doesn't keep changing.

SeattleGirl

07-08-2008, 12:19 AM

I am sad to report that Antonio and I are bowing out of this cruise. We've decided that it is just far more feasible to take a cruise out of LA next year (we are gung ho for Disney to put a ship there permanently). We'll be on the February 22nd, 2009 Mariner of the Seas to the Mexican Riviera. All things considered, this will be about $2000 less than our trip to Florida would have been (and was this year).

I enjoyed chatting with you all and I know you will have a fabulous time! We'll be back on DCL soon, I'm sure:).

dissydebb

07-08-2008, 06:30 PM

We have not booked our flights yet. I see you are from Pa, are you flying out of Phila? I keep meaning to book but for some odd reason I think I am going to find a special. Am I crazy for thinking that?

SoCalDCLfan

07-11-2008, 09:02 PM

Hi everyone! Just found this thread. We're on this cruise also! :yay: Me, DH, DS(almost 13 by then), DD(11) and DD(8). Can't wait!! Luckily, we're on the 8/3/08 Mexican Riviera cruise too. our countdown for 2/7 begins the second we disembark in August...

pgsahm2

07-12-2008, 07:12 AM

Welcome to the newest 2/7 cruisers!

SeattleGirl, sorry to see you go. I completely understand the need to save a few dollars. We are fortunate because we live on the east coast so driving to Disney is do-able. However we will be spending a fortune in gas alone once February gets here! What will gas be by that time? 8 bucks a gallon! :(

In case you guys are unaware... we are closing in on the 200 day mark!! :) Yay!

DizNutDad

07-19-2008, 04:43 PM

dissydebb...We are actually flying our of Dulles (DC). We got a great deal and just had to book it. We are going down on Fri Feb 6.

dissydebb

07-29-2008, 10:21 PM

Ok I finally booked my air! :banana: Now I have to keep my fingers crosses they don't change it! We are heading down to Fl the day before the crusie. Next up is to book a room and a car! Oh so much fun!

deedeedubbs

08-07-2008, 05:46 PM

Silly, I know, but I'm nervous writing this and joining. I've been reading the Disboards since 2007 to get ready for our Feb 07 cruise to the Bahamas and visit to the parks. I cried the entire time we drove to the ship, entered the ship and then again when we left the ship and drove home!

I'm soooooo happy to say that we are joining all of you for Feb 7, 09's cruise to Mexico! The Bahamas cruise was such a tease we booked for next year before we got off!

When we cruise next year we are me (29 now for a few years), DH (38), DD (9) and DS (6).

I have enjoyed everyone's info and posts and I look forward to continue reading and enjoying!
- Dee

DizNutDad

08-08-2008, 11:01 PM

DeeDee

My DD9 will be so excited to see another there.

We can't wait!!!

deedeedubbs

08-09-2008, 09:55 AM

Hi DizNutDad,

I just explained your reply posting to my daughter about your daughter and she is also very excited:woohoo: .

She asked if they could try to be penpals so they can buddy up with each other during the cruise. She's in my ear at this moment saying over and over again, "This is cool, this is cool!". :cool1:

Since I'm new to this stuff, how does one share an email for penpal things? :confused3

Dee

3-MER

08-11-2008, 05:25 PM

Ok, I know that it is still early, but my DD (12) wants to know if any other kids will be on the cruise?

Paxton's Mom

08-12-2008, 03:09 PM

Does my husband count? :rotfl: He's a kid at heart! And we'll have our daughter with us-she'll be 9 during the cruise.

Wow, I just realized we're less than 6 months out now! Yea for us! :banana:

deedeedubbs

08-12-2008, 04:48 PM

I had just stopped obsesseing about our cruise and stopped reading trip reports and googling everything there was to google :surfweb: . I was pretty proud of myself for going cold turkey. Well...We were just at a family wedding on Saturday and my DH mentiond to my cousin about our last cruise and our next cruise plans and she got me hooked again :scared: ! She did the Eastern and Western cruises twice each and shared with me some of the highlights, great websites (which Disboards was one) and we have a phone call set up so she can share more with me.

Six months away...I don't think I will be able to handle 6 more months of this Addiction most people call a family vacation :scared1:

Paxton's Mom - our DD will be nine when cruising also and she has already told me she would love to email a buddy before the cruise to have a friend on a cruise :cutie:

-Dee

DizNutDad

08-17-2008, 06:39 PM

I know my DD9 would love to email a pen pal prior to going on the trip.

I have one slight problem. We weren't going to tell her about the trip for another 4 months.

It is so difficult to not spill the beans. I will get her in touch with your DD9 prior to the trip as soon as she knows. That will be great to have a buddy in advance.

:cool1:

Billinaz

08-17-2008, 07:03 PM

I have a simple answer for this.

The kids dont get their email until AFTER I look at them. I also dont send them until after I check it.

I can delete any reference to the Feb cruise, but they can chat about the cruises they have been on!

I have a 9 YO that would love to email her. Just have her send the email to:

kids-disney-cruise@cox.net

I have a DD13 and DS 11 that like to email ahead of time as well!

Billinaz

08-17-2008, 07:06 PM

We are staying at the Country Inn and Suites on the 6th..... anyone else?

Our flight gets in at 5ish so we would be there about dinnertime.

I have a vehicle rented already.

Billinaz

08-17-2008, 07:07 PM

Hey, I almost forgot.

We get to the terminal at 10 ish (my vacation starts when Im there... )

So look for us, we will be in the area that is roped off for the concierge suites........

MyLove4Disney

08-27-2008, 11:41 PM

Billinaz we were on the same cruise with you last year. It was funny last year there were people that we had cruised with on other cruise that remembered us. People came up to us asking if we were on the cruise in prior years. Real nobody celebs. It was cool to see people that cruise about the same time of year as you, and see them from year to year.

It will be myself and my DD(24) again this trip. Are there any kidless cruisers in our group? This will be our 5th DCL but we have not taken a western, we hope that we like it as much as the eastern...

Being that it is my DD last year of college locally and will be going away to grad school next year we hope for lots of fun together to celebrate our last vacation together for a long time as well as I will celebrate a birthday on board also. We live in NorCal and she wants to go away to Manhattan School of Music if she get scholarships. Otherwise it will be in SoCal

We still have not booked airfare yet, very high, but did find some on united today for about 250 each, but the flight times on the 14th are not to good. Still looking... We are going to go a few days early to enjoy the parks... Probably stay at SSR our home resort... Or maybe KW...

You will see us at the adult pool and Beat street hot spots most of the time. Stop us and say hi!

We always go all out for the pirates night outfits so be looking for us in full costume. Hope all will join us, it really makes the events even more fun.

My sig has a small preview of our outsfits.

It is always nice to chat with fellow cruiser before the trip, makes it that much more exciting when we all meet up...

Waiting and Counting...

Billinaz

08-27-2008, 11:52 PM

MyLove4Disney

08-28-2008, 02:09 AM

I dont remember you from the last cruise... did we meet somewhere?

We will be in the same cabin.......

This is our first Western also... I like the Eastern for the 2 sea days........and I like getting more South in the Caribbean.

Its great that you are getting the same cabin, will really feel like home away from home. With the Western you will have new views this time....

Not sure we met,
But if you went to Rock N Bar D, we went every night and sat usually up front. DD did a lot of singing on karaoke night (pirates night) sinatra and ella fitzgerald stuff. She also sang with Tim on the Piano in Session a couple of songs one night. But since I don't have any small kids we probably just past by occasionally not knowing each other. Hopefully this group will want to plan a meet. Last year they did pretty early on the first day I believe in the promenad lounge. We didn't board ship until after the crowd and rooms were available. We had plans in the morning doing some stuff in Cocoa Beach...

I have only been on dis since just before our 3rd and 4th cruise. The 3rd cruise they had a hugh meet, it was the crusie that was the 1st full week in January. I think there was something like 50-60 people that met up and the Mickey statue. Disney photographers took a group shot. I didn't buy one but it was very nice. It was great, people passed out information and some even past out pins from their states as a memory for orther dis'ers. That one we all got the rubber wrist band with the cruise dates on it. We had a name for the cruise as well.

Maybe this group will want to do something of the same, a little early yet I guess.

Well I Hope we will have a chance to meet this year.

Happy planning...

cdnstitchfan

08-31-2008, 10:38 PM

Hi everyone, has been a busy summer, so I haven't check the board much. Seems we have a few new cruisers. Welcome to all.

We haven't book our flights yet, but should do it soon, before the price gets worst than it already is.

We are staying at the Radisson on Thursday and Friday night before the cruise. Anyone else staying there?

Any one else have teenagers on the cruise. My two DS would love to chat with a few before the cruise. They are going to 17 and 15 at the time of the cruise.

Has anyone decided on execurisions yet? Cann't decide if we are going to do something on our own or book thru Disney. Thoughts and/or opinions are welcome.

Every day we get closer to the cruise date!!!:banana: :banana:

allears

09-01-2008, 12:35 PM

We just added our DD (21) to our reservation, as a special gift to her. We're now a party of 4 and can't wait to get back on our ship. Our friend Verandaman and his wife boarded this morning for the special 5 day cruise, we hope to hear some reliable advance word about the changes being made to the ship during the upcoming dry dock.

pgsahm2

09-05-2008, 11:27 AM

We are also staying at CI&S on the night of the 6th. We're still not sure if we're driving or flying so we might be arriving late at the hotel, just long enough to sleep and then get up immediately in the morning. lol

I also plan on getting to the terminal early early!

Only 3 months until we finally tell the boys! And 5 months until the cruise! Yay!

Mini Sorcerer's Mom

09-05-2008, 07:23 PM

Hi fellow Westerners! We will be joining you! My gang consists of me, DH and DS (who will be celebrating his 8th birthday on Feb. the 7th!) Our friends will also be joining us and they have three children; two sons age 5 and 12 and a daughter age 8.
We are looking into the Captain Marvin stringray, snorkle excursion though I read the pirate excursion through Disney is not to be missed. Also, swimming with the dolphins in Cozumel. I'd love to hear everyones plans!

5 months 2 days and counting!:cloud9:

Michellepooh

09-06-2008, 02:09 PM

Just thought I'd check in. Looks like there will quite a few of us DISers on this cruise. Should be lots of fun!!! I can't wait - I've already started pulling together outfits to pack! Our new baby (scheduled to arrive Tuesday by C-section!) already has his first cruise wardrobe ready to go.

Can't wait! :cool1: :banana:

MyLove4Disney

09-11-2008, 01:19 AM

Here is a list I have compiled from the posts, not sure if it is all correct, If something needs to be updated or changed, let me know and I will update this post. Thanks.

ID->Home Location->DCL Home Location->Is this your 1st DCL cruise or other->Arriving in Florida When->Staying where the night before cruise->Who’s Traveling

SoCalDCLfan->CA->8068->->->->self(Meg), DH(Joe) DS13(Jack) DD11(Madeline) DD8(Charlotte)
Billinaz->AZ->8532->7th DCL->Fri 6th->Country Inn and Suites->2 adults 3 kids dd13 dd9 and ds11
Patrsn->MA->8566->4th DCL->Tues 3rd->WL->Self (Michelle) DH(Tucker) DD17(Shelby) DS12(Tucker) DD7(Sophie)
Dceks Cruisers->MN->7074->1st DCL->Fri 6th->CBR->Self(Connie) DH(David) DS13(Erik) DD8(Katelyn)
DizNutDad->PA->7514->->->->Self(Phil) DW(Vicky) DD9(Marissa) DS4(Zachary)
DisRaders->VA->7536->->Fri 6th->Residence Inn->self(Patrick) DW(Jennifer) DS5.8(Aiden)
Brinalyn530->MD->7628 & 7631->2nd and 1st for Prnts DCL->Fri 6th->Radisson->self(Sabrina), DS8(Payton), DMom(Barbara) and DDad(Walter) JRandAJsMom->WV->6041->1st DCL->Fri 6th->Holiday Inn Oceanfront->Self(Jen) DH(Chad) DS6(Joey) DS4(Alex)
Newbies08 -> BrtClb CAN->6054->1st DCL->Sun 1st->Grand Beach (timeshare)->Self(Kath) DH(Garry) DS4(Cam) DS18mos(Lachlan)
Margolyn->OH->6132->1st DCL->->Courtyard in Cocoa->Self(Margo) DH(Steve) DS9(Freddie)
JJCJFL->FL->6146->40 to 50->->->Self(Jill) DH(Bob)
MyLove4Disney->CA->6511 sideways->5th DCL->Mon 2nd ->SSR->self(Susan), DD24(MeDisneyCM Monica)
Paxton’s Mom->MN->6550->->Fri 6th->Raddison->3 adults and dd9
Deedeedubbs->CT ->6556->2nd->Sat 7th->at home-> self(Dee) DH(Jerry) DD9(Jordan) DS6(Bailey)
Princessmeesh->FL->6568->2nd DCL->->->self(Michelle), DH(David), DD8(Lillie) DD6(Lola)
Namsupak->WV->6652->2nd DCL->Sat 7th->->self(Lauren), DH(James) and (+baby in Lauren's belly) Disney "Newlyweds"
Marieeb->Ont CAN->5000->1st DCL->Wed 4th->-> self(Marie) DH(Mark) DD9(Cleo)
Pgsahm2->VA->5022 & 5024->2nd DCL->Fri 6th->Country Inn and Suites->self(Amanda), DH(Shawn), DS9(Braxton), DS7(Camden) DS2(Dawson) MickChick6->IL->5129 & 5131->2nd DCL->Wed 4th->OKW-> self(Linda) DH(Scotty) DS17(Charlie) DS13(Logan) DS12(Christian) DS10(Wesley)
Tinkerone->->5520 sph room->->->->
GPLarge and LittleCat123 ->CT->5626->1st DCL-Fri 6th->Raddison->->self(Al) DW(AKA LittleCat123 - Jeanne) DD18(Ashley)
TinkerKat->NY->2020 & 2018->5th DCL->Sat 7th->->self(Kathy) DH(Alex) DD5(Eleni) DS22(Alex) DS15(Nicolas) DS11(Christian)
Cdnstichfan->Alberta CAN->2098 & 2100->2nd DCL cruise->Wed 4th->Radisson->self(Pam), DH(Harry), DS18(Alex), DS15(Jason) plus 3 other families 6 adults and 6 kids from 1.5-13
Michellepooh->MA->2510->10th DCL cruise->Sun 1st->Local Timeshare near WDW->self(Michelle), DH(Bill), DS4(Matthew), and DS4months(Zachary)
Allears->NJ ->->->->->DS12
Durango kid->FL->->->->->2 adults and dd13
3-MER->NH->->1th DCL cruise->->->2 adults and dd12
Dissydebb->PA->->->->->2 adults ds6 and dd5
Mini Sorcerer’s Mom->NY->->->->->2 adults ds8 and friends 2 adults ds5 ds12 dd 8
Princess Sprinkle P ->OH->->3rd DCL->Wed 4th->AKV->4 adults

Orlando Disney Guy ->FL->-> 11th and 2nd DCL->->->2 adults
FrostRhonda->MI->->8th DCL->->->2 adults
JD1Mom->MD...->Self(Brigette) DH(Jim) DS10(Jimmy) DD7(Kayelin)

members 126 ish
cabins 41 ish
families 36 ish:grouphug:
the memories we will have to many to count...

DizNutDad

09-11-2008, 08:57 PM

MyLove4Disney,

2 adults, DD9, DS4

MyLove4Disney

09-12-2008, 12:38 AM

Thanks I have added your update to the post

Appears to be 17 families with 38 adults and 30 children so far. Wow! the ship is really going to be empty for us, we are going to be very pampered don’t you think, with only 66 people on board.

Billinaz

09-12-2008, 12:51 AM

ID->Billinaz
Home Location->Goodyear AZ
DCL Home Location->8532
Is this your 1st DCL cruise or other->7th DCL cruise
Arriving in Florida When->Friday the 6th
Staying where the night before cruise->Country Inn and Suites
Who’s Traveling->2 adults 3 kids dd13 dd9 and ds11

cdnstitchfan

09-12-2008, 09:51 PM

MyLove4Disney

09-12-2008, 11:06 PM

Great job in compiling the list, MyLove4Disney.

ID->Cdnstichfan
Home Location->Alberta Canada
DCL Home Location->2098&2100
Is this your 1st DCL cruise or other->2th DCL cruise
Arriving in Florida When->Wednesday the 4th
Staying where the night before cruise->Radisson
Who’s Traveling->2 adults 2 kids ds18 and ds 15

As well there other 3 other families in our group. They are just not as addicted to the disboards as I am!! Each family has two kids ranging in ages from 1.5 to 13.

That means with us being a group of 16. That brings the count up to So that brings the total up to 82!! Still lots of room on the ship.:rotfl:

I think I got your line item updated correctly. Let me know if it still needs upgating.

Your signature says you went last year in Feb as well. What week did you go. We went 2.2.7 superbowl weekend it was great. It won't be superbowl weekend but I hope this cruise will be just as wonderful...

cdnstitchfan

09-12-2008, 11:29 PM

MyLove4Disney

09-13-2008, 12:43 AM

It looks good. Thanks again.

In 2007 we were on the Feb 17 Eastern. It was a full cruise. We really wanted to do the Western this time, so we picked the week earlier. How did you find the cruise last time you went? It was a full cruise as well. We thought this week might not be as busy as the other one. But we could be just Dreaming! We did enjoy the one on the 17th was a blast, the kids loved it. So far there doesn't seem to be as many kids their age's as last time, but I am sure the Stack will still be busy.

OK, that was two weeks later than ours. Our cruise was full as well I believe. Since We stayed out of the area of deck nine except to get some snacks and pop... as we didn't want to take up space the families wanted to enjoy kids and family pool, when we had lots of space in the adults only area. I don't remember there being a lot of Teens on the cruise though. As our cabin was in forward of the ship we only occasionally saw some kids at the elevators in the forward area of deck 10 setting area. They were all very good. We have only taken the Eastern and thought it was about time to take a western, I hope we are not disappointed. We are not into the excurision just enjoying some limited shopping and the local beaches and people watching.

JRandAJsMom

09-15-2008, 08:53 AM

ID->JRandAJsMom
Home Location->WV
DCL Home Location->6041
Is this your 1st DCL cruise or other->2nd cruise for DW, 1st for DH and boys... 1st DCL cruise for all!
Arriving in Florida When->Friday, Feb. 6
Staying where the night before cruise->Holiday Inn Oceanfront
Who’s Traveling->2 adults 2 kids ds 4 and ds 6

How fun is it to be able to use my first official post on here to say I just finalized our reservations for this cruise last week! It'll be me, DH, and 2 DS's (ages 4 and 6). I've cruised Western before, but not with DCL, so I'm really excited about that! It's the first cruise for the rest of the fam :-) I booked an inside room, but now I think I'm regretting that and I'm really nervous about feeling claustrophobic. Anyone ever do an inside on DCL? I had an outside room last time and LOVED it, but wasn't sure how the DH and boys would do with the extra motion, so we decided on inside. AFTER the ressies were made, DH mentions an outside room... Doh! However, the up-side is I don't really plan on spending a whole lot of time in the room, so wherever we are I'll be happy I'm on the boat!!! I CAN'T WAIT!!!! See ya real soon!

pgsahm2

09-15-2008, 11:30 AM

ID->Home Location->DCL Home Location->Is this your 1st DCL cruise or other->Arriving in Florida When->Staying where the night before cruise->Who’s Traveling

Pgsahm2->VA->5022 5024->->->->ds9 ds7 and ds2

Wow! Thanks for compiling the list. I was actually thinking about doing it soon but you beat me to it. Great! :thumbsup2

Our updated info:

This is our 2nd DCL cruise (first on the Magic though)
We arrive on 2/6 and are staying at Country Inn and Suites
In addition to our 3 boys, it's me and my dh and his parents (their first DCL). So a total of 4 adults and 3 kids.

The days are ticking away! Hooray! :dance3:

MyLove4Disney

09-15-2008, 11:59 PM

How fun is it to be able to use my first official post on here to say I just finalized our reservations for this cruise last week! It'll be me, DH, and 2 DS's (ages 4 and 6). I've cruised Western before, but not with DCL, so I'm really excited about that! It's the first cruise for the rest of the fam :-) I booked an inside room, but now I think I'm regretting that and I'm really nervous about feeling claustrophobic. Anyone ever do an inside on DCL? I had an outside room last time and LOVED it, but wasn't sure how the DH and boys would do with the extra motion, so we decided on inside. AFTER the ressies were made, DH mentions an outside room... Doh! However, the up-side is I don't really plan on spending a whole lot of time in the room, so wherever we are I'll be happy I'm on the boat!!! I CAN'T WAIT!!!! See ya real soon!

Don't worry about being in an inside cabin there are a lot of benefits. The size of a cat 10 vs 9 are identical just one has a window. I have been in cat 9 twice cat 10 twice and cat 11 sideways and would do a cat 11 over a 10 just for the location and dollar savings to spend on other things. Cat 11 does not have the split bath, but this was ok because there is only 2 of us girls, we used the desk area to do makeup and hair. We don't really spend that much time in the cabin. It's nice because if you want to take a nap in the afternoon, the room is nice and dark.

Any room is better than no room at all. :cool1:

MyLove4Disney

09-16-2008, 12:01 AM

Wow! Thanks for compiling the list. I was actually thinking about doing it soon but you beat me to it. Great! :thumbsup2

Our updated info:

This is our 2nd DCL cruise (first on the Magic though)
We arrive on 2/6 and are staying at Country Inn and Suites
In addition to our 3 boys, it's me and my dh and his parents (their first DCL). So a total of 4 adults and 3 kids.

The days are ticking away! Hooray! :dance3:

Got you update glad even more are coming along with us.

Michellepooh

09-16-2008, 01:57 PM

Thanks for creating a list!

We are from MA, this is our 10th Disney Cruise (3rd on the Magic), we arrive in Florida on Feb. 1 and are staying at our timeshare near WDW until the cruise.

MyLove4Disney

09-17-2008, 01:37 AM

Thanks Michelle. I got your information added. Looks like you will be having a nice long holiday enjoying the World and the Cruise.

Really looking forward to meeting everyone. Eventhough it will be our 5th on the Magic we are still very excited. Can't wait for all the fun and the ports as we have not been on a Western before. We really like the Eastern and I enjoy the jewelery shopping, but I understand that it is not as good on the western, so we will be enjoying the beach more I think. :banana:

Billinaz

09-17-2008, 02:08 AM

Our cabin is off a bit.

We are in 8532.

Here is a list I have compiled from the posts, not sure if it is all correct, If something needs to be updated or changed, let me know and I will update this post. Thanks.

[FONT="Courier New"][SIZE="2"]ID->Home Location->DCL Home Location->Is this your 1st DCL cruise or other->Arriving in Florida When->Staying where the night before cruise->Who’s Traveling
Billinaz->AZ->8543 ->7th DCL->Fri 6th->Country Inn and Suites->2 adults 3 kids dd13 dd9 and ds11.

MyLove4Disney

09-17-2008, 02:29 AM

Our cabin is off a bit.

We are in 8532.

Sorry about that it was a typo there isn't even an 8643 on the ship... Hmm we would have been hunting for your non existing room....

Got you back in your home a way from home cat 3....

Billinaz

09-17-2008, 02:44 AM

If only you knew how true that statement is!

I don't know how we are going to be able to handle the 2 new ships! We REALLY like this cabin.... obviously!

MyLove4Disney

09-17-2008, 10:57 PM

If only you knew how true that statement is!

I don't know how we are going to be able to handle the 2 new ships! We REALLY like this cabin.... obviously!

Yes that will be a problem. I have stayed in 4 different rooms, but I do not the area I like the best, but I do know the area that I like the least. I have to go budgetwise so have stayed in cat 9, 10, and sideways 11. This last time we did the sideway 11 and really enjoyed it for the savings we had the extra bucks to spend on the cruise on jewels and this next cruise.

I never thought I would every be able to afford a cruise aboard a Disney ship, and now I am doing our 5th 7 day. It is great and I really enjoy it and I am not traveling with young childern and never have. I keep thinking I should try another line, but am afraid to give up all the Disney has to offer. I know what Disney is going to cost me right from the beginning the other lines it seems like there are to many extra this and thats... I think in the end they would cost the same or even more and I would get less for the same money. Less quality entertainment, less quality food services, less events... But we are looking for something new and I think by going on the Western it will add to our adventure.

I still testing out the cabins for our home away from home....

:rotfl:

Billinaz

09-20-2008, 10:49 PM

I got a fat envelope in the mail today from DCL and I was sitting there thinking that I NEVER had my cruise docs this early. Ive had them arrive 2 days AFTER I was on the cruise (Expedia.... NEVER again).

I opened the envleope only to realize it was the little packet with the booklet that describes excursions, etc and the concierge contact info......

Oh well, 138 days until I can finally relax.............

MyLove4Disney

09-21-2008, 12:31 AM

We got ours today also. How about everyone else. Did you get your packet yet?

pgsahm2

09-21-2008, 07:07 AM

Nope, haven't rec'd ours yet. But I'm glad you guys mentioned it so I can be sure to confiscate it from the mailbox early next week. I don't need my kids to see it! Not when we're "this" close to the big reveal. I've gone for almost 10 months with this secret, what's another 3 right? ;)

Michellepooh

09-22-2008, 08:15 PM

We got ours, too! It's that much closer to cruise time! :cool1:

dissydebb

09-23-2008, 08:44 PM

Yes also got our little book! So exciting!

cdnstitchfan

09-23-2008, 08:55 PM

OK, that was two weeks later than ours. Our cruise was full as well I believe. Since We stayed out of the area of deck nine except to get some snacks and pop... as we didn't want to take up space the families wanted to enjoy kids and family pool, when we had lots of space in the adults only area. I don't remember there being a lot of Teens on the cruise though. As our cabin was in forward of the ship we only occasionally saw some kids at the elevators in the forward area of deck 10 setting area. They were all very good. We have only taken the Eastern and thought it was about time to take a western, I hope we are not disappointed. We are not into the excurision just enjoying some limited shopping and the local beaches and people watching.

People watching that is one of my favorite things to do too....

DizNutDad

09-24-2008, 06:23 AM

We got ours. It is great. What a nice way to keep up the excitement!

pgsahm2

09-24-2008, 07:27 AM

Still no book here. Huh.... I wonder why.

pgsahm2

09-26-2008, 07:29 AM

Finally got our packet yesterday! Yay!! I hid it away so the kids wouldn't see it and after they went to bed I pulled it out so dh could look at it. I had just handed it to him when the phone rang. It was my MIL. She was calling to say she got her packet too! LOL

After looking through it she had some questions. They've never been on DCL before so this is all new for them. Once we started talking about it I realized again how excited I am! :)

margolyn

09-27-2008, 05:21 PM

MyLove4Disney

09-27-2008, 08:21 PM

2-7-09 starts our first disney Cruise and its my son's first disney experience. He will be 9 and he chose to cruise instead of visit themeparks...

So, what should I know? Many of you all have done this before - we've cruised on Norwegian but not Disney and I am a compulsive planner!

Thanks for any insights...

Margo in Cinci

:cool1:

Welcome Margolyn, you found the right place. The Disboards is a wealth of information. There are a lot of threads with information on tips and trip information. Read through some of the trip reports, they are very informative. I can help with some things, but since we are not big on excurision nor do I have any children I'll leave that information to others to help. This will be DD and my 5th DCL, we have taken one other cruise but is was a small carnival ship, no compairson to DCL. But if you have any specific questions ask away and I am sure we will be able to help you. If you have read through this tread you will see that we have a running list of who on the thread is going. I'll add you to the list.

I see it is you and your ds9 will be joining the rest of us and you are from OH. If you care to share where you will be staying the night before and what cabin you are in I will add that to the list as well. I believe there is an email group out there for the kids to get to know each other before we travel.

A lot of dis groups have dis meets on board so that we can all meet each other of those that have been talking on this thread and see each other in person. This groups doesn't have anything planned yet, but it is still a little early.

Again welcome aboard it will be a fantastic trip.

Sue

DisRaders

09-28-2008, 10:19 PM

Hello everyone,

I just booked us on the 7 February Western cruise. We will be in cabin 7536. It will be the two of us and our 5 year old.

Look forward to seeing you on board!

DisRaders

Paxton's Mom

09-29-2008, 05:00 PM

Just wanted to say hi to everyone. We got our package too (sometime last week) but I haven't had a chance to look at it yet. I just got back from a fabulous 10 day vacation to Hawaii with my college girl friends (yes....I know I am VERY lucky!), so I've been pre-occupied with that lately. I realized that I hadn't even logged on for almost two months!

Now I'm ready to focus on the cruise and start figuring out details. I phoned Northwest today because my mom, who is cruising with us but flying seperately (the rest of us are using frequently flyer miles and it was substantially cheaper to have her take a different flight) got a notice that her flight times have changed. She went from a direct flight to leaving two hours earlier and having to connect in Memphis, with less than a half hour between flights. Not cool! I worry about her missing the connection. :confused3 I called NW and they were nice about it and switched her back to a direct flight for us. Now she will get into Orlando a few hours before us, but I'll tell her to bring a good book or something.

We're staying at the Radisson at the Port, got a great deal on-line. We had to pre-pay but it was only $120 for the four of us and then of course the parking and the shuttle are free. We stayed there last time too and it worked out fine for us. We won't be getting in until late, so it will be good to have some familiarity with where we are going in the dark.

MyLove4Disney

09-30-2008, 12:44 AM

Glad you had fun at the islands with the Girls. I would love to do a Hawaiian trip. We so love our DCL and WDW it is hard to change. But I think when the DVC get completed over there I'll have to try it out.

Have fun planning for this trip.

Hopefully the thread will get move active in the next months to come we are down to 130 days.

I haven't booked my flights cash values is running me 330 per person from CA through united going though Denver. I'm a little worried about that as a few years ago Denver was so snowed in for days and people were stuck there when we went in Feb. That year we flew to LAX and then non stop to MCO and the same way in reverse. We missed all the weather. Our
other choice is through Chicago. Well at least for the lowest priced flights.

margolyn

09-30-2008, 07:46 PM

Billinaz

09-30-2008, 07:52 PM

From LAX to MCO I found this:

$348.00 + $38.50 taxes & fees = $386.50

10:40 am Depart Los Angeles (LAX)
Arrive Orlando (MCO) 6:31 pm Fri 6-Feb
Duration: 4hr 51mn United 272
Nonstop flight

It looks like the return United flights stop once. There is a non stop but its not till 7PM......

But at least you can do a non stop to the port....

MyLove4Disney

09-30-2008, 08:39 PM

Hi!

See, I am so stupid I do not know what DS9 means ;--) Oh well...

We are in 6132 and there are 3 of us.... we are staying in Cocoa at one of the Marriotts the night before...

We actually only plan (as of now) to do one structured excursion too - our other cruise took us to the same places and we got a sense of exactly what "Beach Break" means :-)

We are super excited and one of my questions is about pins - do kids and even adults exchange them?

Also, can we bring a bottle of something adult on board? Is that allowed?

Do people decorate their doors? I've read you can use magnets only?

Those are my "starter" questions.... looking forward to fun in the sun!

Thanks y'all!

Margo :hippie:

Margo so cute DS9 = Disney Son 9 years old...

Pins we exchange pins both of us are adults.
I go to the local ABC and get plastic bottles of the hard stuff, people to bring cases of water and beer, but you can not bring it packed in ice. Although there are signs up saying you can't but I have 3 out of the 4 DCL's that I have taken. I even bring my magic bullet blender. Not sure this year, but I know we will miss it if I don't.

MyLove4Disney

10-06-2008, 02:07 AM

Hello everyone,

I just booked us on the 7 February Western cruise. We will be in cabin 7536. It will be the two of us and our 5 year old.

Look forward to seeing you on board!

DisRaders

Welcome DisRaders, Hope you are getting some great information on this board as well as meeting some of your fellow cruisers. If you have any questions ask away. There are many of us here that have cruised before and we might be able to help you. Looking forward to meeting you also.

DisRaders

10-07-2008, 09:00 PM

Welcome DisRaders, Hope you are getting some great information on this board as well as meeting some of your fellow cruisers. If you have any questions ask away. There are many of us here that have cruised before and we might be able to help you. Looking forward to meeting you also.

OK, I read the PassPorter Disney Cruise Line Book and got a ton of info out of it. We made most of our plans based on the information in that book and I recommend it to anyone looking at their first Disney Cruise. I was reading through this thread and ran across a note about these things that you hang outside your door for presents. Can somebody give me the history and low down on these pocket things? :confused:

Thanks for your help,
Disraders

Michellepooh

10-08-2008, 07:44 PM

DisRaders - Those are called "fish extenders". Outside each stateroom door there is a metal fish clip for notices, mail, etc. A lot of Disers have made long organizer type pockets to hang from this fish and participate in gift exchanges with their fellow Dis cruisers. We did a fish gift exchange on our cruise in June and it was so much fun to return to our stateroom each day and see what surprises were left for us. I would definitely be interested in doing this again if there is interest.

cdnstitchfan

10-08-2008, 09:29 PM

margolyn

10-13-2008, 11:20 AM

Hi! This is margo of i hate it when this happens - my DH (as in Disney Husband, right?) will be with us as well.... We are staying at the Courtyard in Cocoa....

You guys totally rock - thanks for compiling the list. I think its cool even if I am a bit of recluse to shout out to folks on the same cruise! :-) I am getting VERY excited!

Going DISNEY SHOPPING at lunch.... YAY!

So, is it appropriate to list like non cruise stuff with my name - like the three trips to DisneyWorld and the 2 trips to Disneyland?

Thanks for helping me to EARN MY EARS!

margolyn

10-13-2008, 11:22 AM

Originally Posted by Michellepooh
DisRaders - Those are called "fish extenders". Outside each stateroom door there is a metal fish clip for notices, mail, etc. A lot of Disers have made long organizer type pockets to hang from this fish and participate in gift exchanges with their fellow Dis cruisers. We did a fish gift exchange on our cruise in June and it was so much fun to return to our stateroom each day and see what surprises were left for us. I would definitely be interested in doing this again if there is interest.

What kinds of things did people leave? This sounds interesting both from a grown up perspective and 9 year old (my DS) perspective.

Thanks for your insight!

MyLove4Disney

10-13-2008, 12:50 PM

So, is it appropriate to list like non cruise stuff with my name - like the three trips to DisneyWorld and the 2 trips to Disneyland?

Thanks for helping me to EARN MY EARS!

Sure, because your signature shows in all areas cruise,parks etc. on the Disboards, but there are rules about your signature size, I think there is a sticky that talks about that.

Have fun making your sig...

I put mine included with this one. I like a lot out. I'm from nor cal so I have been to DL way to many times to list... Almost the same for WDW. probably will be shortening my list soon....:laughing:

Michellepooh

10-13-2008, 04:45 PM

margolyn - people left a little bit of everything! Some stuff was fancier than others, but it was still fun! Let's see.... small toys, candy, pencils, pirate stuff, anything Disney. Some of the threads on the main cruise board show pictures of what people have received.

Those of you who need cruise clothes might want to check Sears. I was there today and got capris and summer skirts on clearance for $3.99. I just had a baby about a month ago, so not sure what size I'll be for the cruise (hopefully much smaller!) so I picked up stuff in a few sizes so I'll have something that will fit. Lots of cute stuff at great prices.

Billinaz

10-25-2008, 10:26 PM

I completed my cruise contract today:

*Guest Information
Completed 10/25/2008

*Payment Authorization
Completed 10/25/2008

Flight Information
Completed 10/25/2008

I looked at the Palo openings (Brunch, High Tea, Dinner) but didn't see anything that I'd want on this trip so we are skipping that.

The kids are registered for the clubs.....

Im ready to go!

pgsahm2

10-28-2008, 11:53 AM

Billinaz, congrats on being COMPLETELY ready! (besides packing of course :))

Were there still a lot of openings for Palo? I'm sweating it right now as I HAVE to book it or else dh will be very disappointed. We can book our ressies on Nov 9th. Only 10 days to go!

In case you guys don't know it already... 100 days from now we'll be stepping onto the MAGIC!! Yay!!!!

Billinaz

10-28-2008, 07:38 PM

There was alot of openings when I looked last. I didnt book any of them though.... not our thing.............

DizNutDad

10-28-2008, 08:30 PM

Anyone have a good thought on how to get passports with the kids, but still keep the trip a secret?

We want to get it quiet until December. We are planning on getting the passports in the next week.

I'm racking my brain to think how we can come up with a good story to get it by the DD9 and DS4.

Help........:confused3

Billinaz

10-29-2008, 12:26 AM

Do the photos yourself at home.

I did that and took the kids to the post office, and they just need to be present, they dont have to sign anythihng... I bet you can get the help of the employee at the post office to help you keepo the secret.

pgsahm2

10-29-2008, 06:53 AM

princess sparkle p

11-01-2008, 09:18 AM

We will be there too!!! Can't wait only 97 days and counting!!!

For us only 94 days, we are hitting SSR for a few days of pre-cruise relaxation:woohoo:

pgsahm2

11-08-2008, 08:21 AM

Tomorrow is the 90 day mark. Anyone else staying up til midnight to book Palo? I know I am! lol

cdnstitchfan

11-08-2008, 02:12 PM

Me too....

Does any one know which night is the pirates night and which night is the formal night?

allears

11-08-2008, 03:42 PM

Me too....

Does any one know which night is the pirates night and which night is the formal night?

Formal night has typically been Monday night and Pirate night on Wednesday.

cdnstitchfan

11-08-2008, 03:52 PM

Formal night has typically been Monday night and Pirate night on Wednesday.

Thanks for the info....:goodvibes

MyLove4Disney

11-08-2008, 05:47 PM

Hope everyone got the PALO ressi you wanted. We are skipping it this time as it is our 5th cruise with DCL.

We finally got our plane ticket, between AA and Delta, DD and I are going to fly sperately as I got us both 1st class tickets on my air points from Sacramento to Orlando Yahoo. It is such a long travel day I was happy to fly for free and 1st class ta' boot. :banana: Since we got our airfare on points, I decided to come in on Monday the 2nd and stay at DVC SSR before the cruise and uses my points there also. So we are trying to go as low cash out of pocket and inexpensively as possible. We have annual passes that we bought back in June when I had to attend a conference, so those tickets are covered for the Parks. We will be staying in a one bedroom, it has a full kitchen so I'll be cooking in the room breakfast and evening light meals and only have one meal at the parks each day. Did that last June and it worked out great. It was also great having washer and driers right in the room, we used them. That way all our clothing will be clean before boarding the ship. We haven't picked any excursion yet. I generally don't do disney excurision, but we are thinking that with using points for most of the vacation except for the cruise and rental car we might splurge and do one. We haven't done a western before, not sure what we will do yet. I don't snorkle I'm a chicken in that regards, I Freek out when I get that close to the fishies and that they can touch me :laughing: I'm more of a site see'er/shopper, so if you have any suggestions let me know.

Anyway happy reservation planning and enjoy our under the 3month mark...

Let's all do the happy dance...:dancer: :dancer: :rockband:

princess sparkle p

11-09-2008, 06:34 PM

I decided to come in on Monday the 2nd and stay at DVC SSR before the cruise and uses my points there also.

We will be at SSR on points too! :banana: :banana: :banana: We arrive on the 4th! I am sooo looking forward to our pre cruise chill...

MyLove4Disney

11-09-2008, 07:49 PM

We will be at SSR on points too! :banana: :banana: :banana: We arrive on the 4th! I am sooo looking forward to our pre cruise chill...

Hello, great news, I missed your add a few messages back, I would like to add you to the list on page 10.

Please add your stats of where you are from who is traveling with you, ages of your children if you are bring them and how many DCL's you have been on in the past and I'll add that all to the list.

I see you cruised in Feb last year, what week, we were on 2/2/08 eastern..

I think our group is slowly growing, should begin planning a dis meet on board or at least all those staying at SSR before should have a pre cruise meet at the World.

This weekend I have been getting some of our stuff ready. Pirates outfits, summer shorts and shirts that we won't be using between now and then, creating new formal dresses. I have the patterns, but we havent decided on color yet, trying to find some colorful material, everything in to wedding looking. I have to burn some vacation time between now and the end of the calendar year so I'll be doing so sewing and getting ready for Christmas.

Counting Down the days... 89 day:dance3:

Michellepooh

11-09-2008, 08:18 PM

Made my Palo and Flounder's reservations this morning. It's starting to seem more real now! I can almost taste the konk koolers and chocolate souffle' (although, not to be consumed at the same time :sick: ;) ).

pgsahm2

11-10-2008, 07:24 AM

Okay, so when is everyone eating at Palo? Here's us:

Tea -- Monday 3:00 pm
Dinner -- Tuesday 8:30 pm
Brunch -- Thursday 10:30 am

Not sure about the tea. But we have the time set in case we decide to do it. Has anyone done the tea before? Is it worth it?

Michellepooh

11-10-2008, 10:48 AM

I have dinner at Palo on Thursday at 8:00.

allears

11-10-2008, 12:19 PM

Brunch Sunday at 10:30
Dinner Tuesday at 7:00
Tea on Thursday

Had a little trouble with the site Saturday night, but pretty much what we wanted, it's actually our "typcial" Western schedule, though dinner is earlier than usual, but that should be nice.

We just found out today that my DW's Godmother and a friend are going to be joining us. We're very excited to have some newbies to share with.

JRandAJsMom

11-11-2008, 08:57 PM

I just verified with my travel agent yesterday that passports are not needed for February. I needed to get one for my youngest (2 yr old) as the rest of us have one. However a birth certificate will suffice! Yay! One expense that isn't needed! More money to spend on fun things on the ship!

I just came across this post and wondered if this is the case for everyone? I need to order passports for my DS's (4 and 6) and my DH needs to renew his. I already have one... Are they allowed to have birth certificates?? If they are that will be some GREAT spending money!!!

pgsahm2

11-12-2008, 07:27 AM

If you google information about the 2009 passport requirements for cruisers you'll see most of the cruise companies have listed that June 1, 2009 is the new gov't requirement. I tried to look it up and post a link to the main gov't website but my computer is being a pain and is slow today. Based on what I've read and been told by my travel agent (who works for Dreams Unlimited) I feel confident travelling without one for my youngest son. The rest of us have passports. In fact we got them for myself and my boys when we cruised in March 2007 because at that time the gov't said we needed them by December 2006 and after (or something like that). But lo and behold, they changed their minds yet again and here we are several years later and they keep pushing the date back. And they wonder why some people don't take laws and regulations seriously. lol Half the time they don't know what they really want!

On another note, I read on another thread that the Western formal nights and such have changed. Please say it ain't so! Does anyone know for certain what our nights would be? I read that recently Pirate night was Tuesday. If that's the case than our Palo reservations are going to suck for that night. I really didn't want to go there for Pirate night. I need to find out for sure because I want to change our reservations if that's true.

princess sparkle p

11-12-2008, 09:12 PM

Hello, great news, I missed your add a few messages back, I would like to add you to the list on page 10.

Please add your stats of where you are from who is traveling with you, ages of your children if you are bring them and how many DCL's you have been on in the past and I'll add that all to the list.

I see you cruised in Feb last year, what week, we were on 2/2/08 eastern..

I think our group is slowly growing, should begin planning a dis meet on board or at least all those staying at SSR before should have a pre cruise meet at the World.

It is ME!!! DH and DBIL that will be on the cruise. We do not have kids yet. This wil be our 3rd DCL cruise!!:woohoo:

We were on the same 2/2/08 cruise!! What a small DISworld :wizard:

ONLY 86 DAYS!!!

MyLove4Disney

11-12-2008, 11:23 PM

It is ME!!! DH and DBIL that will be on the cruise. We do not have kids yet. This wil be our 3rd DCL cruise!!:woohoo:

We were on the same 2/2/08 cruise!! What a small DISworld :wizard:

ONLY 86 DAYS!!!

That was a great cruise, I'm getting very excited about this one as well.
Glad to see there will be other adults only on this group. It will be me and DD24 and myself, so I consider myself sort of traveling without children. Well we will have to meet up at Beat Street, we usually end our evening there, it is always so much fun there.

I have no idea how it would be to take a cruise with young children, I will have to wait until my DD gets married and has children, but it probably won't be anytime soon. I CAN wait though the two of us are having a lot of fun now. She has plans for a performing career first.

Well looking forward to meeting you :yay:

deedeedubbs

11-15-2008, 09:42 PM

MyLove4Disney

11-16-2008, 12:39 AM

Hi Everyone! I was active on the this thread for a short time a while ago and then our Disney Cruise plans became very shaky so I had to stay away :sad1: :. It was too painful to think we might not be going with everyone. I'm happy to say that as of 3:30 pm today WE ARE SAILING ONCE AGAIN!!!:yay:

I haven't had time to catch up with all the new additions since I left. Have any dis meets been set or fish extenders or kid meets?

I look forward to getting to know you all over the next 3 months!:grouphug:
Dee

Welcome back, No the thread is still very quite but is starting to be more active. On Page 10, I created a list of all that have stated they were coming with some of their stats. Take a look and give me an update of yours and I will edit. That way if anyone want to work on fish extender exchanges, etc. There will be a lot of information available.

deedeedubbs

11-16-2008, 06:23 PM

Thanks MyLove4Disney! You actually did a great job and did include much of our info for the cruise.

I believe I saw others share some of this data with you:

Home Location->Prospect, CT
DCL Home Location->tentatively 6556 (hoping for an upgrade again!)
Is this your 1st DCL cruise or other->2nd cruise, 1st was 4 day Bahama 2/10/08
Arriving in Florida When->Saturday the 7th
Staying where the night before cruise->CT, we're driving straight through from home
Who’s Traveling->2 adults dd9 ds6

I'll be checking in daily for new info and new people!

Take care everyone,
Dee

princess sparkle p

11-16-2008, 09:33 PM

That was a great cruise, I'm getting very excited about this one as well.
Glad to see there will be other adults only on this group. It will be me and DD24 and myself, so I consider myself sort of traveling without children. Well we will have to meet up at Beat Street, we usually end our evening there, it is always so much fun there.

I have no idea how it would be to take a cruise with young children, I will have to wait until my DD gets married and has children, but it probably won't be anytime soon. I CAN wait though the two of us are having a lot of fun now. She has plans for a performing career first.

Well looking forward to meeting you :yay:

Sounds like a plan. We love the comedy acts and performers in Rockin' Bar D at night. They are great! We saw some of the acts from DCL on America's Got talent and Last comic standing this past season. DH and I squealed at the same time because we recognized them.

I am a little nervous doing the western since we have only done the eastern up to now. I love the extra sea day and I don’t know that I am all that excited about the western islands. I could spend the entire cruise on the ship and be very content.

On the 2/08 cruise we took by parents and same DBIL with us. DH and I were celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary. We had a great time and really enjoyed sharing the experience with my parents.

We actually re-booked onboard and were given our room assignment then. I wonder if that will prevent us from any chance of an upgrade…we can always hope!:wizard:

I wonder when we will know who our cruise director is. I am sure someone has it tentatively figured out I just have not looked on the boards.

Only 82 days and counting!!!

pgsahm2

11-17-2008, 07:31 AM

Welcome back Dee! I cannot imagine what it's like to book a trip and then potentially have to cancel it. Yikes!

I'm anxiously awaiting Christmas morning now. I made up a treasure hunt for our boys to open to find out about the cruise. They are going to be so surprised and excited. But maybe not as excited as me! lol

It's funny because my in-laws are going with us and they always come over on Xmas morning along with my parents. We cook a big breakfast for the family and then we exchange gifts. Well, since MY parents are not going on this cruise with us my MIL was being courteous and asked if we NOT tell the boys that morning that they will be joining us for the cruise. I thought that was very sweet of her, because she doesn't want to hurt my parents' feelings since they will sorta be left out. So, not only will we be surprising the boys that morning with the cruise but we'll have to wait to surprise them a few days later when we announce that their grandparents will be going too! They will love having extra family around.

Has anyone added on the $99 cruise deal to their current cruise? I had our travel agent add the code so we'll get the vouchers. I do wonder how much it's truly going to cost though. I can't imagine the port charges are THAT much considering the total price of the port charges for the Western, and that's 3 ports versus one that you pay for on the 3 nighter. I'm hoping we can get a bunch of the family to go with us in December 09 for the 3 night. For us it would be cheap, cheap. And for those that don't have the vouchers it's still fairly cheap. I saw the cheapest rate on vacationstogo at $349 a person. Then we could all celebrate Christmas early next year! Anyhow, that's still way off, but I'm hopeful that things will work out.

Well, I'm off to put my boys on the scool bus. Have a great day! Let's start some chatter. Should we do a fun questionnaire of some kind to get to know one another more? I'd be glad to come up with some questions!

deedeedubbs

11-17-2008, 03:24 PM

Welcome back Dee! I cannot imagine what it's like to book a trip and then potentially have to cancel it. Yikes!

I was crushed at the thought of cancelling and then overjoyed with actual tears when we learned it was on again!

I'm anxiously awaiting Christmas morning now. I made up a treasure hunt for our boys to open to find out about the cruise. They are going to be so surprised and excited. But maybe not as excited as me! lol

How wonderful of a surprise for your family. You are the creative, make every moment extra special -type aren't you?

Has anyone added on the $99 cruise deal to their current cruise? I had our travel agent add the code so we'll get the vouchers. I do wonder how much it's truly going to cost though.

What is this $99 cruise deal thing? Is it like an onboard credit or something very different?

deedeedubbs

11-17-2008, 03:40 PM

Should we do a fun questionnaire of some kind to get to know one another more? I'd be glad to come up with some questions!

Sounds like fun...I'm in!:banana:

Michellepooh

11-17-2008, 04:05 PM

I'm glad to see some more action on this thread. I'm getting so excited for our cruise!!! My DS4 asks everyday when we can go on the Mickey Boat.

What is everyone's favorite thing about Disney Cruises? Or, if it's your first cruise, what are you most looking forward to? I love hearing the ship's horn while relaxing on Deck 4 in a big, comfy chair while drinking a Konk Kooler!!! Now that is relaxation! :lovestruc

deedeedubbs

11-17-2008, 05:04 PM

Most favorite thing? Uhmmm...there were so many and I expect going on a short 4 day vs a 7 with two days at sea I'll have many more!!!

I loved being pampered. I loved all the wonderful "surprises"...big and small. The Mickey Mouse shaped ketchup, special times with each of my children alone, going back to the room and having a special tea with Mickey Mouse ice cream with my DD9, driving up to the port and seeing the ship for the 1st time, getting a #2 boarding pass, the look on my kids' faces when Tinkle Bell and Jack Sparrow sneeked into cabin and left gifts for them upon our arrival and then decorated our cabin door, oh my goodness...I could go on and on and that is just the 1st day! Oh and yes...hearing the beautiful "When you wish a upon a star"...I really teared up for that the 1st time.
-------------------
Dee

pgsahm2

11-19-2008, 07:25 AM

Dee, check out this link for more information on the $99 Bounceback (http://www.disboards.com/announcement.php?f=9&a=220)...

After only experiencing one 3 night cruise in the past, I'd have to say my most favorite thing is pretty close to what Dee described. It's just magical and special overall. There is really nothing I can put my finger on and say why it's that way, it just "is". lol I loved our last cruise and I know I'll love this one even more.

For the newbies, only 5 more days until the 75 day mark. Make sure you do your bookings then!

pgsahm2

11-19-2008, 07:46 AM

Well, I guess in order for us to get to know one another a bit more I will attempt a fun questionnaire. I would love for our group to be as active as the other groups are on the Meets board! :upsidedow

So just for fun here are some questions to answer when you have a few minutes.:teacher:

1. Tell us about yourself and your family. Hometown, occupation, kids' ages, grandchildren, etc. Anything that you feel is relevant to share.

2. Do you travel often? Name some of the places you've been. Which is your favorite?

3. Which of the upcoming ports on our Western cruise are you most looking forward to and why? Please share if you've been there before.

That's enough to get us started. I'll share my answers later. I have to get the kids off the school for the day! Yay!!!:rolleyes1

Michellepooh

11-19-2008, 02:26 PM

Guess I'll go first! I'm from a small city in northeast MA, near the NH border. I have 2 boys, one is 4 and the other will be 4 months when we cruise. I used to be a teacher, but now I'm a stay at home mom. DH is a firefighter in our city. We travel a lot!!! We own 3 weeks of timeshare, and own DVC as well. Our favorite places to go are DCL, WDW, and Aruba. This will be my 10th Disney Cruise, my 3rd Western. We don't really do much in the ports, we prefer to be on the ship on port days because it is much less crowded.

Paxton's Mom

11-19-2008, 04:44 PM

Hi-I'm Dawn and cruising with me will be my DH, my DD9 (4th grade)and my mom (celebrating her 60th b-day while on board). We live in St. Paul, MN and no, it doesn't snow here all the time! (Enough though that we like to get away for a week in the winter.) I work as an assistant to an independent financial advisor and my husband is a logistics manager for IKEA.

I don't know if we travel "a lot", but let's just say that I never let a vacation day go unused. We usually take one "big" vacation each winter, a week in Florida or California. We love Disney, can't stay away for very long! Then we supplement with long weekends away to Wisconsin Dells each June and the North Shore (Lake Superior) each October. Might seem boring to some, but we keep going back to the same places over and over, just because we like them so much. I did venture out-of-the box a little with an awesome 10 day trip to Hawaii in September, no family, just a girls trip with my college friends to celebrate our 40th b-days. Can't wait to go back, I want to share it with my family. I also had the opportunity to visit New York with my friends this year and would like to take the family there too. Oh, hubby and I like Vegas too, we try to fit that in once every few years. (Now if only I could win the lottery to support my travel habit!) Impossible to pick a favorite.

We've been on two cruises. One week long western (non-Disney) before our daughter was born and a four-day Disney a couple of years ago. My mom and my daughter begged us to re-book while onboard, so now here we are. We choose Western because I have always been interested in visiting Key West, plus DH and I enjoyed the sting ray thing at Grand Cayman (10 years ago now!) and thought it would be fun to do with our daughter. And the turtle farm is supposed to be really cool now, so we're planning on seeing that too.

Less than 80 days to go. Can't wait! :cool1:

deedeedubbs

11-19-2008, 06:42 PM

Thank you Pgsahm2 for starting the questions :D

1. Tell us about yourself and your family. Hometown, occupation, kids' ages, grandchildren, etc. Anything that you feel is relevant to share.

I'm Dee. I'm 29 years old for about 13 years now and still holding :lmao: . I'm the PTO prez for our schools during the day and consult for Pampered Chef at night. My DH is wonderful and I love him in spite of the fact he is not a Disney Fanatic like myself, he humors me! He works at Sikorsky making helicopters and loves it. I have a DD9 and DS6 who I'd have to say I'm grooming perfectly as future Disney Fanatics. We live in small town named Prospect, CT. I'm from the NJ shore originally and still consider myself a Jersey Girl after 14 years of living in CT.

2. Do you travel often? Name some of the places you've been. Which is your favorite?

Not as often as we'd like now that I have a family. I am a Navy Brat and did live in Sicily for two years when much younger. When I was single I was lucky enough to go on a cruise where we visited 6 Eastern Caribean islands in 7 days, then Bahamas 2X, Turks and Caicos with friends, Canada with Mom and Dad, Pa all the time, up and down New England and then in a former life as a Corporate Trainer I traveled to San Diego, Puerto Rico, Denver, parts of Georgia, North & South Carolina, Minnesota, Michigan, Illinois, etc...MY family does travel to Florida for 2 weeks every Feb since 2004 or '05.

My dream locations if I won the lottery are New Zealand, Antartica, Iceland, the major national parks of USA, and a camera safari in Africa somewhere, finally I'd love to sail the world :sail:

3. Which of the upcoming ports on our Western cruise are you most looking forward to and why? Please share if you've been there before

I remember seeing swimming with the rays on the Travel Channel and wanted to do it ever since so Grand Caymen and I want my kids to experiece seeing the ruins in Cozumel (the full day long excursion to the mainland) and I can't wait for Disney's Island which I would pay to stay there for the whole week alone.

4) even though you didn't ask..."YES!" I do tend to not know when to stop typing or talking :rolleyes1

DizNutDad

11-19-2008, 11:17 PM

1. Tell us about yourself and your family. Hometown, occupation, kids' ages, grandchildren, etc. Anything that you feel is relevant to share.
We are DVC members for 3 years now. And I have become officially addicted to all things Disney. I can't get enough info. We live in Central Pennsylvania, but I am originally from Philadelphia. I work at a TV station. :happytv: Our family of 4 will be making this our first family cruise. My wife was pregnant with our DD9 during our 4 day RC cruise and we now have a DS4 as well. They know nothing about this trip yet. We are waiting for about 5 more weeks to surprise them.

2. Do you travel often? Name some of the places you've been. Which is your favorite?
We are not big travelers, although we'd love to be. The lottery would help us out on that front too. When I was a kid we did the 4day/3night land/cruise deal on the Oceanic cruise line. Maybe it all started then. We love Hawaii (Maui), WDW and Vegas.

3. Which of the upcoming ports on our Western cruise are you most looking forward to and why? Please share if you've been there before. Castaway Cay has gotten such great reviews. It seems like a really great day.

I think the kids would love to have some pals figured out prior to the trip. It would be great to get them pen pals via email. Let me know if there are any DD9 (or so) and DS4 takers on that and we can eventually get them together.

:yay: :yay: :yay: :yay: :yay: :yay: :yay: :yay:
:cool1: :cool1: :cool1: :cool1: :cool1: :cool1: :cool1:

pgsahm2

11-20-2008, 06:53 AM

My turn!

1. Tell us about yourself and your family. Hometown, occupation, kids' ages, grandchildren, etc. Anything that you feel is relevant to share.

My testosterone driven family lives in Virginia. Dh and I still live in our hometown (and are high school sweethearts to boot! ;) ) with our three boys. B is 9, C will be 7 next month, and D will be 3 about a month after our cruise. And yes, their names really are B-C-D! :thumbsup2

Dh works for a pharmaceutical company and I'm a full-time mom. Depending on the time of year we are heavily involved in whatever sport is offered by the rec league. We just finished up tackle football and now we have a break until spring when baseball starts.

2. Do you travel often? Name some of the places you've been. Which is your favorite?

The older I get the more I want to travel. Dh and I married fairly young and didn't really have the chance to travel prior to starting our family. So now it's catching up with me and I'm itching to see the world. Dh has been to Germany twice on business trips (his family is Czech and German heritage so it was like going home for him) and loved it a lot. He has promised to take me there one day. :cool2: As for myself I haven't been too many places. Growing up my family took car trips and traveled to Canada once, and various states up and down the East Coast. Last year we went to Disney with the two older boys and took a 3 night cruise. That was my first plane ride too! :laughing:

3. Which of the upcoming ports on our Western cruise are you most looking forward to and why? Please share if you've been there before.

I think Cozumel interests me a lot as it's in a foreign country. I've never been to Mexico so it sounds so exciting when I say "I'm going to Mexico!" :rolleyes: But Key West intrigues me too because of it's unique lifestyle and culture.

I also have a tendency to not know when to stop typing and just shut up... :lmao:

Thanks to everyone who's answered so far. I like reading more about you!

One thing I realized is there are sure going to be a lot of 9 year old girls on this trip! lol My poor 9 year old boy won't know what to do with himself! :rotfl:

deedeedubbs

11-20-2008, 08:16 AM

:yay: I'm loving the info everyone is sharing! I'm getting excited buterflies in my tummy just thinking of the cruise and all the nice people that we are going to meet. By the way...it was so nice of all of you to book your cruise just so that you could vacation with me. :rotfl2:

one quick addition...my DD9 would love to have a pen pal. My DS6 would also but it would need to be more parent driven.

brinalyn530

11-21-2008, 05:24 PM

ID - brinalyn530
Home Location – Maryland
DCL Home Location – Me and DS8 7628, DMom and DDad 7631
Is this your 1st DCL Cruise – My DS8 and I were on a land and sea 3 day in January of this year, but it was way too short! This will be my parents 1st cruise of any kind.
Arriving in FL – Friday the 6th, staying at the Radisson that night
Who’s Traveling – Me, of course :cool1: !, DS8 (third grade), DMom, and DDad

1.Tell us about yourself and your family. Hometown, occupation, kids' ages, grandchildren, etc. Anything that you feel is relevant to share.

My DS8 and I were fortunate enough to be able to move recently (which is why I’ve been so quiet for so long – that probably won’t happen again:rolleyes1 ) so now our hometown is Damascus, MD. I am in HR for a recycling company and absolutely love my job. I am a single mom of one so I have no one to share my Disney obsession with – my son just tolerates it for now because he has no choice :sad2: . My brother came with us in January on the land and sea vacation, but he is away at college now so he will not be joining us, however, I did manage to convince my parents to come along with us on the Magic.

2. Do you travel often? Name some of the places you've been. Which is your favorite?

We do not get to travel much, although we have had a few nice vacations in the past few years. We (my DS and I) do try to get to the beach in the summer, we discovered Myrtle Beach this year and we will not be going back to Ocean City (MD) ever again! The whole family went to WDW in 2006 (which officially began my Disney obsession!), the three of us did the land and sea this year, and we get to be on the Magic for 7 days in just a few months! Before I had my DS I was fortunate enough to travel to Oregon (where I lived for about 6 months), Washington state, most states along the East Coast, Vegas (which was technically after my son was born, but I digress), and England (which was amazing, but that’s for another board!). My dream is to be on a transatlantic cruise and/or a Mediterranean cruise, but after buying the new house and seeing the dates and prices for 2010, that’ll have to wait a few years:headache: .

3. Which of the upcoming ports on our Western cruise are you most looking forward to and why? Please share if you've been there before.

Actually I’m most looking forward to being on the ship again! I was too exhausted after being at the parks for four days to really enjoy the little bit of time we had on the ship. Castaway Cay day was really the only relaxing day of the whole trip, but then you had to hurry back on the ship to get ready for dinner and pack which kind of ruins the relaxation part! We are going to do the dolphin thing on Cozumel for my DS so I guess I’m pretty excited about that, and of course, lounging on Castaway Cay is right at the top of my things to do on the cruise list!

I think it’s a great idea for the kids to get talking before the cruise – I know my DS can be a little shy, and didn’t really want to go to the clubs the first time around because he didn’t know anyone there. Is anyone savvy enough to set them up with a chat/blog/whatever page so they can introduce themselves and chat (while we all monitor it without them knowing :surfweb: !)? I’m not unfortunately…

Also, I am super excited to get the fish extender exchange going – please let me know if you all are interested. And did someone say DIS Meet? I am definitely there!

I guess you should probably add me to the list of talkers ::yes:: ! Sorry, I’ll let someone else have a turn now…

3-MER

11-22-2008, 04:55 PM

1.Tell us about yourself and your family. Hometown, occupation, kids' ages, grandchildren, etc. Anything that you feel is relevant to share.

It is myself, DW and DD age 12. We are from NH. I am a Safety Engineer. Really love everything Disney! Own DVC at SSR.

2. Do you travel often? Name some of the places you've been. Which is your favorite?

Work has offered a lot of travel options. The family vacation is Disney, Washington DC, and anyplace else that may be fun, but Disney is tops

3. Which of the upcoming ports on our Western cruise are you most looking forward to and why? Please share if you've been there before.

This is our first cruise, so it is all very exciting. I am looking forward to CC.This should be a great experience, and the boards have offered a lot of valuable info. Looking forward to the cruise! :banana: :banana: :banana:

cdnstitchfan

11-22-2008, 07:11 PM

Wow, I don’t look at the disboard for two weeks and wouldn’t you know it, the conversation starts to pick up....

My turn...

1. Tell us about yourself and your family. Hometown, occupation, kids' ages, grandchildren, etc. Anything that you feel is relevant to share.
There is me and my DH and DS18 and DS15 going on the cruise. As well my brother and his family has decided to join us, we are very excited to have them with us, they have never cruised before. We are from and still live in Calgary, Alberta. Both my husband and I work and we really enjoy our jobs.

2. Do you travel often? Name some of the places you've been. Which is your favorite?
We have been lucky enough the last few years that we have been able to do a winter holiday every Feb. This will be our second Disney Cruise. The first one was in Feb 2007, we loved it and just had to online. Feburary 2008 we visit Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. I have been to Beijing, China and just recently my husband and I just returned from Cuba, which was our first vacation without the kids. I don’t have a real favourite yet, we love trying new places. We do love cruising thou!!

3. Which of the upcoming ports on our Western cruise are you most looking forward to and why? Please share if you've been there before.
The port I am looking forward to most is Castaway Cay!! We have been to Cozumel before, we found it really crowd, as there was alot of cruise ships in port that day. Then again it has been a few years since we were there.

We are very excited to get back on the Magic...:banana: :cool1:

pgsahm2

11-23-2008, 12:14 PM

Good early afternoon everyone!

I was playing around on the Disney site and found that category 6 is currently being sold as GTY. So is cat 12, but that's almost always anyhow. Just thought I'd share. If you check cat 5 there's still plenty of rooms available though. I wonder what this means for the upgrade fairy and which of us will be surprised with an upgrade!! :)

I checked to see how many ships are in port with us too. Cozumel there are 5 not including the Magic! Yikes! Cozumel is going to be busy, busy that day.

Grand Cayman has 2 other ships and Key West has 1. I just realized I told the ports in complete reverse... lol Sorry!

Time is flying! Before you know it we'll be boarding!!!! Yay!!

deedeedubbs

11-23-2008, 07:13 PM

I may have said this already but I am so excited about reading everyone's bit 'o info about themselves. Keep 'em comin' !:cheer2:

I guess the 1st step to setting up a Dis-Meet and fish extenders is to have someone begin it and say, "Who's in?" so I'll begin...

"Who's in for the dismeet?" - we are:yay: !

"Who's in for the fish extenders?" - we are:woohoo: !

We didn't get involved in any of it for our 4 day cruise in Feb 2008 because I was a lurker on the disboards and not a member. After reading many of the trip reports I felt like we missed a real opportunity for something special :sad2: .

Did any of you decorate your doors on any of your cruises? My DH and I had this whole Tink :tinker: and Jack Sparrow pirate: thing playing out for a few months before our cruise with letters from the respective characters, gifts waiting for them in our cabin from each of the respective characters and finally our door decoration. As soon as we boarded my DH and I slip up. He took the kids to the pool and I changed our dinner seating and then waited until I could get down our hall to our cabin where I decorated our door to my kids absolute delight. I don't know how to upload pix into this so I can't share...but I'd love to see some of yours or if someone could talk me through it I'd give it a try to post them (they were fun but nothing special to brag about).

I just told my DH that I'm meeting all of you online and he said how great it is and also how wonderful it would be if we got to know anyone on board the ship...He's so wonderful :lovestruc .

Did I write too much again :scared: ?

dceks cruisers

11-24-2008, 01:15 AM

Hi everyone! I've been reading this thread since it began but wasn't ready to post until I knew for sure we were really going! YIPPEE!:dance3:

We had other family members signed up to go with us but it will be just my family. DH, DW (me), DS13 and DD8. This is our first cruise and we are celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary.

I booked excursions tonight along with Palo for Sunday night. I'm not sure if there's any good time I want to book Palo for - seems there is something going on every night that I don't want to miss for the kids.

Talk to you later!
:cool1:

JRandAJsMom

11-24-2008, 09:47 AM

Well, it's feeling more and more real!!! And I'm gathering all the pixie dust ideas you all are leaving on here to try and make it as magical as I can for my boys :-) I can't wait to decorate the door and leave gifts from their favorite characters :-) Trying to figure out some super pixie dust for the hubby who isn't so keen on the Disney scene, but humors my obsession :-) Speaking of him-- I was really excited about taking him to Palo. I did get in for a late night reservation on a casual night (I stayed up til midnight so I could do them first thing this morning, haha) but missed the brunch and tea. Can you book those when you get on the ship or is that a hopeless cause at this point? I'm perfectly happy with just dinner, but still wondering :-)

I was also wondering if anyone out there has done one of the all-inclusive-beach excursions in Cozumel or Chankanaab Lagoon Beach? I was thinking about the latter, but read it gets crowded, but from some of the pictures I saw, it looked like it had some good things for the boys to explore (DS's 6 and 4-1/2). I know there are things to do right when you get off the ship in all the others (shopping and beaches in Cayman, same in Key West plus the sunset party they have, and well-- Castaway Cay-- what can I say??? haha), but I'm a little stuck on what to do in Cozumel... Any suggestions?

AHHHH!!! I'm SOOOO excited!!! :-)

deedeedubbs

11-24-2008, 12:16 PM

Hi everyone! I've been reading this thread since it began but wasn't ready to post until I knew for sure we were really going! YIPPEE!:dance3:

Welcome aboard! Being in Disney Limbo is tough. We too weren't sure until just recently it was a go for us.

This is our first cruise and we are celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary.

Congratulations! What a wonderful way to celebrate your anniversary. I read somewhere in our Disney paperwork where they asked if a special celebration was planned or taking place while onboard. Have you contacted a cast member to inquire if the cruise line does something special due to your 25th anniversary happening while onboard?

dissydebb

11-24-2008, 02:52 PM

After many months of planning and reading the boards. We have to bail out! I just found out that I have breast cancer. Who would've have thought at the age of 37 and no family history. It was quite a shocker I must say. We are still unsure as to what treatment I will need. I just canceled my cruise on Saturday and my airline tickets today. It was a sad day for me. On a good note I told my husband that we will be doing another cruise. I went ahead and booked one for the end of Feb and one for next Nov and I also booked WDW for March. I will get on atleast one of these trips if not two. I hope you all have a wonderful time! Have a drink or two or three for me!

deedeedubbs

11-24-2008, 04:30 PM

I am so sorry to hear about your diagnosis! Our family has been hit by breast cancer and other types and it is never easy. I pray you have a wonderful support system, excellent care and wonderful family and friends to help you through.

My family and I will remember you in our dinner prayers tonight and our goodnight prayers.

Stay well!

This is for you...:grouphug:

DizNutDad

11-25-2008, 06:14 AM

dissydebb...

We are thinking about you. Keep your mouse ears on and spirits high. Our prayers are with you as well.

Jackie Psarianos

11-25-2008, 06:39 AM

I'm a big planner also. I have calendars everywhere I sit or stand around to plan (computer area, kitchen counter, fridge, purse where I use the calendar to plan when at Starbucks, in the car while waiting for kids to finish stuff).

Yes, I'm weird, but I love planning and calendars.:santa:

pgsahm2

11-25-2008, 06:53 AM

dissydebb, I cannot imagine what you are going through right now. Take care of yourself and know that we're all pulling for you. Stay positive!

pgsahm2

11-25-2008, 01:39 PM

I guess the 1st step to setting up a Dis-Meet and fish extenders is to have someone begin it and say, "Who's in?" so I'll begin...

"Who's in for the dismeet?" - we are:yay: !

"Who's in for the fish extenders?" - we are:woohoo: !

Did any of you decorate your doors on any of your cruises?

Dismeet -- Absolutely!:banana:
Fish extenders -- yes, as long as we're not the only ones! :laughing:
Door decor -- not last time but we'll do a little something this time. I'm going to wait and let the kids help me decide what we want to do. Only ONE month until Christmas and our big surprise! :dance3:

pgsahm2

11-25-2008, 01:48 PM

It looks like we have DISers coming from various states (and Canada!) for our cruise. Is everyone planning on flying? Have you booked flights?

We are still up in the air about driving. From Virginia it's probably a 13 hour drive. It's very do-able but we've never taken a road trip that long with all 3 kids. The plane tickets keeping coming down in price so we'll still consider flying if the price is right. Since we have 5 plane tickets to buy it's going to be more expensive that way since gas prices have come down A LOT in the past few months. It was $1.64 when we filled up my Tahoe this morning. No complaints! :)

Has anyone booked excursions thru Disney? We are not booking anything specific. I think we're just going to wing it at each port based on the research that I've done. Having a 2 year old limits us anyhow. There are not very many excursions for young kids. We'll save quite a bit of money doing things on our own anyhow.

Okay, what else can we talk about to get to know one another and start up some conversation? Hmmmm... How about some non-Disney questions? Here's a few for those that want to play along! Someone else feel free to make up some questions too!

1. What are your favorite TV shows? Is there one that you CANNOT miss a single episode?

2. What's the weather like at your house today?

3. What kind of hobbies do you enjoy?

4. What was the last book you read?

5. With Thanksgiving this week, what are your holiday plans (if any)?

Who's first? :)

deedeedubbs

11-25-2008, 07:11 PM

Has anyone booked excursions thru Disney? We are not booking anything specific.

I've booked snorkeling with the rays and sailing in Caymen and a boat ride to the ruins on the Mexican mainland (the full day excursion). I hope we can keep them but $ is always an issue. Our car just died Sunday and we were forced to buy a car tonight so $ is tighter than usual.

Who's first? :)

Ooooh, me , me...pick me...I'll go first! :yay:
1. What are your favorite TV shows? Is there one that you CANNOT miss a single episode?
I love Bonnie Hunt and have been a big fan for years so I love her new talk show. Night TV just doesn't have much that we can watch as a family anymore so we rely on DVD's mostly.

2. What's the weather like at your house today?
Rainy but warmer today. It has been in the 20's and 30's but today it is up a bit.

3. What kind of hobbies do you enjoy?
It is sad but I really don't have any hobbies anymore :sad2: I need to get a life I guess.

4. What was the last book you read?
It was either Last Patriot by Brad Thor or Night by Ellie Wassel (sp?) or Dead Heat by Joel Rosenberg. I read them all in fast succession so I don't remember the order. I'd highly recommend all three

5. With Thanksgiving this week, what are your holiday plans (if any)?
We are celebrating a real "Thanks"giving! Oct. 12th we received a call from my dad that my mom was in ICU all the way in South Carolina (they were on vacation there from New Jersey). She was dying due to her colon bursting. Her heart stopped a few times, her organs began shutting down, etc...My brother and I rushed down there to be with her for 5 days and had to come home (I hated leaving her because I was so afraid I'd never see her again alive). God answered our prayers with a, "YES" and my mom has just been released from ICU this week and has begun therapy and will be home for Christmas. My kids and DH and I are driving down to South Carolina to be with my mom and dad. We are just filled with such joy I tear up just thinking about it! God is great!

Michellepooh

11-25-2008, 10:24 PM

dissydeb - so sorry to hear about what you are going through. :hug:

I am definitely in for fish extenders!! We had so much fun with those on our last cruise.

No excursions planned. Not much you can do with a 4 year old and a 4 month old!

We've bought our plane tickets to Orlando, but haven't booked our return flight because I'm hoping prices will come down. Hmm...maybe that means we won't have to go home!

Weather today? Pouring rain!!! (better than snow!)

Hobbies? I'm a scrapbooking addict!

Don't have much time to read.

Looking forward to meeting all of you!! :banana:

MyLove4Disney

11-26-2008, 12:47 AM

Hey eveyone it looks like we have had some good and bad news this week. My thoughts will be with you. Just wanted to say, that I am thankful this year that everyone is doing well with my family and my friends, my DD is graduating from college this year and that I have a good job. Thank you God

We are in for a dis meet, I don't have any children, so if the FE is going to be for everyone I would be happy to join in on that as well. Just let us know. Thanks

I didn't answer the other survey questions but I'll take a jab at these

1. What are your favorite TV shows? Is there one that you CANNOT miss a single episode? Well was sex and the city, now I think it is NCIS, some really good lookers in that group.

2. What's the weather like at your house today?
it was pretty nice today. 65 just a little overcast, suppose to have a little rain in the morning, but I don't think there will be anything, We have been having a very warm fall, two weeks ago it was 91. I live in northern california. Tahoe had 2 feet of snow weeks ago, now they only have 2 inches. No snowboarding for Turkey day.

3. What kind of hobbies do you enjoy?
Well I enjoy motorcycle riding, sewing, playing piano and traveling, Well most of all traveling to DISNEY :rotfl:

4. What was the last book you read?
Sorry, I'm not a pleasure book reader. I work in the computer industry and have to read to many how-to books.

5. With Thanksgiving this week, what are your holiday plans (if any)?
My close family all live in the same town, so we spend time together a lot, and TG will be at my oldest brothers house. I usually always host most of our family gatherings since my mom past. I have a house that is large enough to have everyone and space for everyone to sit confortablely. So it will be a change at my bothers home. Not sure how it will work out, but it will be nice that I don't have to cook.

deedeedubbs

11-26-2008, 11:08 AM

We are heading down to South Carolina within minutes and just wanted to say, "Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!"

I'll be going though Disboards withdrawal while I'm away!

pgsahm2

11-29-2008, 07:46 AM

1. What are your favorite TV shows? Is there one that you CANNOT miss a single episode?

I refuse to miss an episode of LOST. I am a huge LOST fan, even though I stay frustrated about not knowing what the heck is really going on... :rotfl2: I also rarely miss an episode of The Office, Survivor, The Amazing Race, Celebrity Rehab and American Idol. I'm not a tv junkie but since we got a DVR a few months ago I have fallen in love with adding things to record!

2. What's the weather like at your house today?

Right now it's overcast and dreary looking and around 40. We've had a weird fall in Virginia this year. We rarely ever see snow but we had flurries twice in the month of November! That's very odd in these parts! :upsidedow

3. What kind of hobbies do you enjoy?

I like to garden. I have a beautiful yard in the spring and summer. And this year I had my very first veggie garden. It went really well and hopefully next year will be even better. I also enjoy baking sometimes, but mainly cookies at Christmas. And reading and writing. Oh and movies. I am addicted to Netflix.

4. What was the last book you read?

Unfortunately I stay so tired that I'm lucky if I read a page or two before falling asleep (I have a 2 yr old that has decided he wants to get up every single night at least once. This has been going on for months now. It has made me a walking zombie). So the very last book I read from start to finish was probably The Other Boleyn Girl.

5. With Thanksgiving this week, what are your holiday plans (if any)?

This was the 4th year in a row that we've hosted Thanksgiving at our house. We started doing it here when we moved into this house (we built it and moved in March 2005). It makes it so much easier because our families come and bring food and since we're the only ones with kids we don't have to drag our kids anywhere. All of our family is local anyhow so it makes it easy. Prior to this new tradition we would go to my in-laws for lunch and then to my parents for dinner. Oof. That made for a miserable belly ache that evening. Nowadays we eat ONE big meal and call it quits!

I always cook the turkey. And this year I did the stuffing, green beans, mashed potatoes, rolls and a peanut butter/chocolate trifle for dessert. Others brought everything from shrimp appetizers to collards to dump cake. It was another great Thanksgiving! I am avoiding the scales to see how much weight I've gained in the past few days! :scared:

Anyone else want to answer? :cool2:

pgsahm2

11-29-2008, 07:55 AM

I've booked snorkeling with the rays and sailing in Caymen and a boat ride to the ruins on the Mexican mainland (the full day excursion). I hope we can keep them but $ is always an issue. Our car just died Sunday and we were forced to buy a car tonight so $ is tighter than usual.

Oh yikes! What kind of car did you buy? We just put new tires on my Tahoe and that was bad enough! :scared1:

5. With Thanksgiving this week, what are your holiday plans (if any)?
We are celebrating a real "Thanks"giving! Oct. 12th we received a call from my dad that my mom was in ICU all the way in South Carolina (they were on vacation there from New Jersey). She was dying due to her colon bursting. Her heart stopped a few times, her organs began shutting down, etc...My brother and I rushed down there to be with her for 5 days and had to come home (I hated leaving her because I was so afraid I'd never see her again alive). God answered our prayers with a, "YES" and my mom has just been released from ICU this week and has begun therapy and will be home for Christmas. My kids and DH and I are driving down to South Carolina to be with my mom and dad. We are just filled with such joy I tear up just thinking about it! God is great!

Wow! That is something to be thankful for! I hope she has a full and easy recovery.

We've bought our plane tickets to Orlando, but haven't booked our return flight because I'm hoping prices will come down. Hmm...maybe that means we won't have to go home!

We still haven't made a decision about flying. I have coupon codes for AirTran $20 off each flight that expire on Monday. It's a great deal but we're having a hard time justifying spending around $700 for transportation (between 5 tickets and then ground transportation) when the price of gas is so good right now. We can probably drive for less than half BUT it's also 24 hours total of driving roundtrip. Oy. I can't make up my mind!

3. What kind of hobbies do you enjoy?
Well I enjoy motorcycle riding, sewing, playing piano and traveling, Well most of all traveling to DISNEY :rotfl:

Do you own a motorcycle? How cool!

How far are you from Disneyland? I've never made it to California but hope to one day. I want to experience Disneyland eventually. I'm just grateful I've been to the World as many times as I have (which compared to some is not that much!). It's amazing how many people I've run into over the last few years that have never been to Disney World. I cannot imagine! lol My MIL took her 80 year old mother on a trip to WDW in May. It was the first time for both of them!princess:

MyLove4Disney

11-29-2008, 01:00 PM

Do you own a motorcycle? How cool!

How far are you from Disneyland? I've never made it to California but hope to one day. I want to experience Disneyland eventually. I'm just grateful I've been to the World as many times as I have (which compared to some is not that much!). It's amazing how many people I've run into over the last few years that have never been to Disney World. I cannot imagine! lol My MIL took her 80 year old mother on a trip to WDW in May. It was the first time for both of them!princess:

Hello Everyone Hope all had a great holiday. my Turkey Day was nice, since this is the first time all I had to do was make the pies and show up.

I own 3 motorcycles of 3 different levels. My 1st that I have is a very old 1972 Honda Trail 90, it still runs and is fun to ride around on. My second is a 2004 Suzuki Burgman 400, A mega Scooter bike, it is Freeway legal out here I have gotten it up to 85 mph and my 3rd bike is a 2001 Suzuki Volusia my true motorcycle, I wish it was a Harley, but can't afford that yet, I've been enjoying my DCL cruises to much and paying for my DD college education.

Disneyland is 409 miles from my house. I have lived here my entire life and the first time I ever went to disneyland was when I was 12 and we only went for about 3 hours. The 2nd time I went I was 25 years old with my oldest brother, my dd was 2 and I left her at home can you believe that. I'm such a bad mom, we only went for a couple of days. The first year I went to WDW was 1991 my works software company was based out of Orlando so they had a national users conference at WDW, one every year in June. Well by the time my DD was in the 3rd grade, I wanted her to come and meet me in WDW, my mom wouldn't let her fly alone, so she had to come also. My mom got hooked also we went to WDW every year up until 2 years before my mom past, but we went in my Feb because of the humid in June. We only went to DL one time in between all that time that was 7 years ago.

Then my DD decided to go to college down in Long Beach which is 15 miles from DL. Her 2nd semester she got a job at DL, which she just loved (she didn't make much money but she had a blast), so it wasn't until she moved down there that we could say we had been to DL more times than WDW. She hopes to work for Disney someday in a very differnt capacity than in the parks. She hopes someday you will hear her voice as the voice of some new princess singing one of their new songs. :) But for now you just have to hear her in the Rock'n Bar D on beat street.

can't wait for my clock to show this at zero, but for now it is 69 until cruise day and 64 days until WDW

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b310/MyLove4Disney/timeclock-1.jpg

cdnstitchfan

11-29-2008, 02:07 PM

My turn....

We didn’t book any excursions this time. We didn’t see anything that we really wanted to do. So we decided to just sort of wing it and spend more time enjoying the ship and decide on port days whether we wanted to get off the ship and maybe walk around and maybe find a beach to enjoy. We did get Palo reservations for Tuesday night at 7:00 and Palo brunch on Thursday for 10:30.
We have book our flights and are coming in Wednesday night before the cruise and are staying at the Radission to spend some time exploring the area, before we board the ship.

1. What are your favorite TV shows? Is there one that you CANNOT miss a single episode?
Since I am the only female in the house, beside the dog, are tv is usually tuned into sports. Of course our favourite is hockey and we do enjoy watching golf. Both DS enjoying playing and watching Rugby. As we try to never miss an episode of the Amazing Race. Really enjoying watching how people cope in situations they are not familiar with and enjoying seeing the places they are travelling too.

2. What's the weather like at your house today?
Today it is cool but at least it is sunny. Temp is currently 5c which is approx. 41f.

3. What kind of hobbies do you enjoy?For hobbies don’t have many but in the warm months enjoy golfing and in the winter months enjoy Traveling to warmer climates.

4. What was the last book you read?
I do enjoy reading as well. It helps pass the time while I take the public transit into the downtown core. The last book I read was The Archimedes Effect by Tom Clancy.

5. With Thanksgiving this week, what are your holiday plans (if any)?Our thanksgiving was in October, so this week and weekend is a normal weekend for us. But do wish everyone in the US a Happy Thanksgiving!!

JRandAJsMom

12-01-2008, 12:32 PM

Dissydebb-- my thoughts and prayers are with you. Take care of yourself and soon you can go on a cruise to celebrate your recovery :-) :hugs:

I've never done anything like this, so I've kind of been a little shy on the board. I don't know much about the fish extenders, but they sound fun and I'm interested :) I thought I'd take a stab at the questions :-)

1. What are your favorite TV shows? Is there one that you CANNOT miss a single episode? LOVE House and ER :-) I am loving that USA is showing House almost every day-- I was in heaven on Thanksgiving :-)

2. What's the weather like at your house today? GROSS!!! It's cold and wet. I figure if it's going to be cold, we might as well get some pretty snow out of it, but it's slushing outside :-)

3. What kind of hobbies do you enjoy? I'm working 2 part time jobs right now, so I'm not left much time for hobbies after that-- especially with 2 young boys. I love being a mom and spending time doing whatever I can with them so I try to make my schedules around their school times. I'm a kids soccer coach and class mom. And I'm sure that it goes without saying that I am a Disney addict :-)

4. What was the last book you read? Sad, I know, but I'm a Harry Potter nut. I'm reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince... Started it so I could read it again before the movie came out before they pushed the opening to summer :-P

5. With Thanksgiving this week, what are your holiday plans (if any)? We were supposed to go to my grandmother-in-law's house, but everyone ended up sick with the flu (and one with pinkeye) so we were quarantined... It was actually kind of nice to get a quiet day to ourselves... And we did get a doggy bag on our doorstep :)

SoCalDCLfan

12-01-2008, 02:13 PM

OK, my turn :yay:

excursions - we booked the semi-sub/snorkel in Grand Cayman (DH really wanted the full 90 foot diving sub but was nice enough to agree to the one that doesn't submerge), cozumel beach break (really wanted to see the Tulum ruins, but for a family of 5 it was too much $$ for us), and DH and DS are doing the bottom fishing at CC

flights - yep, we're booked. coming in from LA. thrilled to be on non-stop. last time we took Southwest to get great rate, and between plane changes and layovers it took us 17 hours to get home. never again!

fish extenders - never done it, but would love to join in

1. What are your favorite TV shows? Is there one that you CANNOT miss a single episode? we love House, Three and a Half Men, Daily Show with Jon Stewart and Colbert Report. I try to catch Samantha Brown on the travel channel. and the elections made me somewhat of a CNN junkie. trying to wean myself off of that

2. What's the weather like at your house today? it's beautiful. supposed to be 80 degrees. sunny, clear skies

3. What kind of hobbies do you enjoy? i love horseback riding. not doing much of it lately as the kids are keeping me super busy. and of course, researching and planning for all our future Disney trips. just ordered a stack of Rick Steves books on London, France and Spain for our 2010 Disney cruise. can't wait to dig in

4. What was the last book you read?
Secret Life of Bees. thoroughly enjoyed it, and a quick read. currently reading Barack Obama's Audacity of Hope

5. With Thanksgiving this week, what are your holiday plans (if any)?Thanksgiving was great. now on to Christmas. House is decorated, lights are up. We'll get the tree this weekend. and i'm done with almost all my shopping!! :cool1:

So excited we passed the 10 week mark for the cruise. It'll be here before we know it! :banana: :banana:

pgsahm2

12-02-2008, 12:17 PM

67 DAYS!!

Can you believe that January is NEXT month? I hate thinking about the month of January. For me it means, Christmas is over, cold weather is here, and there's nothing to do except sit inside and wish for spring. EXCEPT this January when I'll be wishing the month away just so our cruise will hurry up and start!

I've been watching the "fuel surcharge" thread on the cruise board with excitement. I really hope we are credited for our fuel surcharge. It really adds up! A nice little (or not so little depending on your number of passengers!) onboard credit would be SOOOO nice.

How much cash does everyone bring? (I swear that question is not meant to sound rude and imposing... lol :)) I want to make sure we have enough to pay for taxis and drinks/food while in the ports. And then the tips for room services, etc. I can't remember what we brought with us last time for our 3 night.

As for packing, who's started? lol I haven't started packing per se, but I have been eyeing my summer clothes and considering what I will be taking with me. I've picked up a few things on sale and also been to Goodwill a bunch of times and found some decent dresses to wear on the cruise. I love Goodwill!

brinalyn530

12-03-2008, 09:50 AM

I've been keeping an eye on those fuel surcharge threads also, to the point that I priced out our cruise to see if they were still charging the fuel surcharge on the website - they are not. I am really hoping for that extra onboard credit as well - it does add up!

I read through the 2008 DCL Passporter last week and I am getting super excited, but I wish the 2009 version was being released earlier than 2/1/09 - I am running out of things to read and I want to save something for the cruise!

I am officially finished Christmas shopping!:cool1: I did most of it online this year (gotta love free shipping!) and I'm just waiting for one more delivery then I can finish wrapping everything and relax until baking day on the 21st! It helps that my big present to my parents was the cruise so I just had to pick up a few little things for them. My brother was definitely the hardest this year - last year my gift to him was the land and sea vacation so it was easy peasy - this year he doesn't even know what he wants! How can you not know what you want for Christmas :confused: ? I start on my list right after my birthday ;) !

I am totally a jeans and tshirts/sweatshirts girl so I hit Kohls on Black Friday (afternoon - I'm not crazy enough to venture out in the morning on that day :scared1:) and picked up some dress pants and tops for the cruise. All of those clothes are together with a few other "cruise outfits" in my closet - same thing with my son's "cruise clothes", they are separated in his closet. So we're not really packed, but are getting prepared. I have also been picking up other little things for the cruise and have been sticking those in our suitcases, so I guess technically I have started packing :rolleyes: ! Hey, they don't call me OCD for nothing :thumbsup2 !

I still would like to get some of the kids to start chatting before the cruise - I'm just not sure how to go about doing so. Any ideas?

I am also starting to look for FE surprises! I know we still have a while, but should we do some sort of roll call for the FE so we can get an idea of how many people/staterooms we're looking at?

Michellepooh

12-03-2008, 11:09 AM

I've been trying to get ideas for the FE, too!

So, who's in for FE? I definitely am. It's me, DH, DS4, and DS4months.

pgsahm2

12-03-2008, 01:08 PM

Yay! Another early "packer"! LOL Good for you! :)

I would like to do FE but I'm new to it. So if someone else wants to head up the list that'd be great! Add us! Me, dh, inlaws, DS's 2, 7, and 9.

Oh, and based on the other cruise meets on this board I'm really feeling like we need a name. LOL Some of the names of the cruise meets are hysterical! Any ideas?

deedeedubbs

12-03-2008, 09:16 PM

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! I was so filled with joy to see my mom and see that she is well again and will be home for Christmas! Her surviving her health emergency is nothing less than a miracle.

Someone asked what kind of car did we buy when our 2000 Honda Odyssey died...well, we got a 2008 Honda Odyssey LX (not the fancy one but much nicer than my 2000 that's for sure!)

I looked back through our discussion and these are the families I found that mentioned either interest or a definite yes to FE's.

So we can keep the list growing and update/correct it let's copy the list from the most current message and then paste it into our reply so we can edit and just add the next name to the list.

That should work, right?

Brinalyn530 - self, DS8, DMom, and DDad
Michellepooh – self, DH, DS4, and DS4months
Cdnstitchfan – 4 families This family 2 adults ds18 ds14 and 6 adults and 6 kids from 1.5-13
Deedeedubbs – self, DH, DD9, DS6
Pgsahm2 – self, dh, inlaws, DS's 2, 7, and 9
MyLove4Disney – 1 adult and DD 24 adult
SoCalDCLfan - 2 adults ds13 dd11 dd8

For those of you who have done FE's before...do you set limits or ranges on the gifts? Do we need to establish some basic groundrules or am I being too much of a mom? I'm knew to FE's.