~~~ May 16, 2009 ~~~ Western Magic ~~~

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

~~~ May 16, 2009 ~~~ Western Magic ~~~
Welcome Aboard!


Since no one has started a cruise meet thread since the new itinerary came out yesterday, I think I will start it. We are so excited! :yay:

If you'll be joining us on this cruise, please check in and let us know who you are! :wave2:


Our DS's will be 7 & 5 at the time of the cruise, so technically, I won't be "Hudson5&Lennon3" anymore. I will unofficially be Hudson7&Lennon5. :laughing:

LINK TO PART 2 OF THE KEY LIME PIE-RATES CRUISE!
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2163585


~~~Below is a list of those DIS'ers who have joined our thread. I will do my best to keep it up-to-date based on the info posted in the thread or sent to me via PM. You can add whatever other info you want me to put also (stateroom/deck #, early/late seating, excursion/Palo plans, family photos, hotel before the cruise, any previous DCL cruises, ANYTHING you want us to know, etc.). FOR A LIST OF THOSE DISERS THAT HAVE LINKED RESERVATIONS FOR DINNER, SEE THE END OF POST #2!!!~~~
DIS NAME(s)
ADULTS
KIDS (AGES WHEN SAIL)
STATE
---------------------------------
Hudson5&Lennon3
Val (35) & Justin (38)
DS Hudson (7) & DS Lennon (5)
Deck 5/Cat 8 (5518)/Main dining
Grand Island, Nebraska
Previous DCL: Western 04-21-07
Friday night: Radisson with 10 AM shuttle to port
Palo: Wed-dinner @ 6 PM; not sure yet about trying to schedule brunch onboard
Excursions: KW-electric car & FKLP tour; GC-none; Coz-none; CC-bikes?, rays?, floats?
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t23/pfenningv/CSC_0010.jpg
---------------------------------
(not DIS'ers :sad2: )
Val's DMom (Pat) & DStepDad (John)
Deck 5/Cat 8 (5516)/Main dining
Grand Island, Nebraska
1st DCL cruise
Friday night: Radisson wtih 10 AM shuttle to port
---------------------------------
Nik's Mom
Sherri & DH
DS Nik (10) & DS Noah (7)
Kansas
They have decided to reschedule their cruise :sad: We will miss you!!
---------------------------------
modomo
DW & DH
DS (11), DD (8), & DD (7)
Early dining
Missouri
----------------------------------
starlawyermom
DW & DH
DD (8) & DD (7)
Deck 7/Cat 10
Massachusetts
----------------------------------
(? DIS'ers ?)
starlawyermom's FIL & MIL
Arkansas
----------------------------------
(? DIS'ers ?)
starlawyermom's BIL & SIL
DD (5), DD (4), & DD (3)
Florida
----------------------------------
princessljw
Gordon & Carrie
DD Lacy (14)
DMom Helen & DDad Chuck
DNephew Alex (11)
Pennsylvania
Previous DCL: 4-night two years ago
Excursions: KW-GPS walk; GC-nautilus undersea tour & reef snorkel; Coz-Dolphin Discovery; CC-snorkel
http://i575.photobucket.com/albums/ss193/princesslw/FH000008.jpg
Chuck, Alex, and Helen:
http://i575.photobucket.com/albums/ss193/princesslw/FH010030.jpg
----------------------------------
lizzyb
Liz & Jason
DS Brayden (6) & DS Bryce (2)
Deck 6/Early dining
Canada
They had to cancel due to a baby coming! :) But we will miss you!
----------------------------------
2 Eagle Mom
Jane & Jim
Deck 7
Martinez, CA
Excursions: Key West – trolley tour & FKLP Tour; Grand Cayman – Shipwreck and Snorkel Tour (10:15am - 12:55pm); Cozumel – Mexican Cuisine Workshop; CC-Serenity Bay & Bike Rental
Spa: Sun-massage @ 9:15 AM
Palo: Thurs-brunch @ 11 AM
http://i647.photobucket.com/albums/uu200/2_Eagle_Mom/JimandJane2007.jpg
----------------------------------
indigodisney
DW & DH
DD (6 during the cruise!)
Canada
Deck 7/Cat 11
Early dining
-----------------------------------
Mother_Hen
Sara & Dennis
Joel (9)
Deck 7
Main dining
Texas
Excursions: KW-on our own; GC-Boatswain's Adventure Marine Park; Coz-Dolphin push, pull, and swim; CC-stingrays
http://3pixelchicks.com/hortonfamily.jpg
-----------------------------------
suezyq50
Sue & DH
DS (20), DSGF (20), DD (26)
DSIL & her DD, DGD (4), DGD (9 mo)
Early dining
Excursions: KW-trolley; GC-Captain Marvin's; Coz-?; CC-parasailing
-----------------------------------
Disgirl83
Lynsey (25) & Jason (27)
No kids
Southern West Virginia
Early dining/Gty 12
Palo: Sun-brunch @ 10 AM
Excursions: GC-Island Tour @ 11:30 AM; Coz-maybe 3 reef snorkel; CC-maybe Getaway Pkg
Spa: Mon-Metabolic Testing @ 9:30 AM; Thurs-Couples Wellbeing Massage @ 3:15 PM
http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc290/lynzdpwv/DisneyPhotoImage53.jpg
-----------------------------------
shasess
Shawan & John
Adults only this time
North Carolina
Late dining
Excursions: KW-Parasail w/Fury Water Adventures and/or Pirate Museum; GC-Wave Runner Stingray City Adventure; Coz-Playa Uvas Clear Kayak & Snorkel Tour; CC-Beach Day, rent floats, etc.
Celebrations: May 17th-First anniversary; May 18th-Shawan's Birthday
Previous Cruises: RCCL Western - May 2008
Palo: Sun-dinner; Mon-brunch
Spa: Thurs-Rasul
http://i670.photobucket.com/albums/vv61/ourday08/dis.jpg
-----------------------------------
sfrasc2000
Steve & DW
DD
New York
-----------------------------------
lucyddr
Loucinda (32 on sail date) and Adam (36)
No children
Alcoa, Tennessee
Early Dining
Cat 12
Previous cruises: DCL Western September 2005; Carnival Miracle, August 2006 (Honeymoon cruise to GC, Coz, CMaya, and Belize); Carnival Destiny, May 2007 (30th Birthday cruise to St. T, Dominica, Barbados, St. Lucia, and Antigua)
Friday night: Radisson with 10am shuttle.
Celebrations: Saturday 05-16-09 is Cinda's 32nd Birthday!
Palo: Tues-dinner @ 6:00 PM; Thurs-brunch @ 10:30 AM
Excursions: Key West: Rent bikes and ride to Fort Zachary Taylor. Explore and snorkel there. Then off for FKLP (maybe with the group depending on the time) and a little ambling around the port area... (CVS for wine...) My cell is 904-318-9614 if anyone needs to call for meeting up! Grand Cayman: Take a cab to Cemetary Beach and snorkel there at Cemetary Reef. From there, we will walk down 7 Mile Beach towards the ship/port and snorkel at multiple stops. (Cheeseburger Reef, Cali Shipwreck, and a couple of others I found online). This is our Palo night for now, though is subject to change based on our dining rotation. Cozumel: Take a cab to Nachi Cocum for the day and do the 9am Palancar Reef snorkelling trip. We'll also be hoping to find our flavored tequilas/mezcals here. CC: No plans. Just enjoy ourselves!
Spa: Mon-couples massage @ 2 PM; Tues-Rasul @ 3:30 PM
http://i727.photobucket.com/albums/ww279/ldampier/n722628037_1345255_1214.jpg
-----------------------------------
sarasotamom
Crystal (51) & Don (55)
DS Brandon (20)
Category 6
Late Dining
Sarasota, FL
-----------------------------------
lillygator
V & John
Samantha (6) & Haley (4)
V's DMom & DSis
Siesta Key, FL
Main dining
Excursions: Key West - Trolley Tour and Butterfly and probably some restaurants for a few cold ones; Grand Cayman - Rays, Reef and Rum Point Tour; Cozumel - Tour of the island via hired driver and ending the day Paradise Pointl CC - think we are riding bikes and hitting the beach - I think John and my sister want to parasail.
Palo: brunch; dinner (when?)
-----------------------------------
minniemmom
Kathy & John
Sean (21), Andrew (19)
5629 & 5630/cat 6 & inside room
Late dining
http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm72/minniemmom/05-10-2008103820PM.jpg
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briarroselynn
AMY AND BESTBUD SUE
ALL CHILDREN STAYING HOME! JUST THE GIRLS!
-----------------------------------
Tink113 and Quasar281
Amanda & Jason
My Mom (Carole) Tink113smom & dad (Bob) *
My younger Bro (22) (Kevin) & his GF (Melissa) *
My Big Bro (Rob) * & SIL (Alison) ali004*
Nephew #1 (8) (Bobby or Robert) * & Nephew #2 (6) (Adam) *
* = 1st time cruisers
Falls Church, VA
Main dining
Friday: Driving from VA
Celebrations: Carole & Bob's 40th Anniversary
Palo: Dinner - Thurs, Brunch ??? not sure yet
Excursions: Key West - Walking around a bit, possibly back to the ship early; GC - jewelry shopping (Got my best deals here) Maybe catch a cab to hell; Coz - Either Paradise Beach or Chankanaab park
http://inlinethumb24.webshots.com/45015/2213121000102163949S425x425Q85.jpg
Rob, Alison, Bobby, and Adam:
http://inlinethumb41.webshots.com/44968/2004728640102163949S600x600Q85.jpg
-----------------------------------
DisneyTripReports
Tim & DW
DD (12)
Lake Ridge, VA
-----------------------------------
tigger2002
Tim (48) & Donna (48)
Kids: Nathan (22) Hannah (19)
From: Tennessee
Deck 2 / Cat. 9 (rooms 2072 and 2074) Upgraded from a Cat. 12
Previous Cruise: None
Friday Night: Residence Inn
Palo: Thursday Night (may change) and Brunch and High Tea one day
Excursions: KW-walk around, GC-Snorkeling, Reefs, and Rum Point, Coz-rent a VW, CC-Nothing planned (snorkeling and laying around)
Late dining
Celebrations: DD 20 on May 19th
Celebrations: DS graduating from college
-----------------------------------
pwoodson
Phil (23) & Kelly (25)
Michael (1.5)
Early dining
Cat 12
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Tinkattude6
Crystal (41) & Darin (45)
Charissa (18), Trent (16 on May 21st!), Coral (10)
Pennsylvania
Early dining
Previous DCL: Wonder Eastern 2002, Wonder Eastern 2003, Magic Western 2006
Celebrations: DS 16 on Thurs, May 21st
Excursions: KW-Smathers Beach & then To Cheeseburger for lunch and good beer. I want to shop a little also; GC-will also do the beach, but i read Seven mile beach is way better then Rum Beach; Coz-Four Elements excursion, which includes Zipline, bike riding, hiking, swimming, and some culture stuff; CC--I hope to do some snorkeling.
http://photopost.wdwinfo.com/data/747/221736s_Graduation_picture-med.jpg
---------------------------------
jhart901
Jamie (27)
Mom (46), Step dad (46)
little Brother (8)
son (7)
Southaven, Mississippi
Stateroom #: 6043 and 6045/Category 11: Standard Inside Stateroom
Main Dinner Seating
Excursions: Key West – GPS Walking tour; Grand Cayman – Grand Island Tour; Cozumel – Jungle Hike; CC – Nothing planned
Palo Dinner-Wed
Spa: Alone time-Thurs
http://i735.photobucket.com/albums/ww358/jhart901/IMG_0432.jpg
---------------------------------
ilovedale3
DW (33) & DH (36)
NO KIDS!
Cat 12
Late dining
Georgia
---------------------------------
dznyacct
Kathy & Brian
Jake (19) and his friend Johnny
Indiana
Two GTY 12 (because I'm a "frugal" Accountant, hoping for an upgrade!)
Late dining
Friday night: Beach Club Villas
Palo: Tues-dinner @ 8:30 PM; Thurs-brunch @ 11 AM
http://i565.photobucket.com/albums/ss95/dznynut39/image0260.jpg
----------------------------------
krishouse
Kristin & Michael
DS Keaton (9) & DS Declan (5)
Late dining, hoping for early (on the waitlist)
Ottawa, Canada
http://i39.tinypic.com/2hfq32e.jpghttp://i41.tinypic.com/5f2hsk.jpg
----------------------------------
austin77
Andy (20) & DGF Ashley (18)
Ontario, Canada (driving!)
Late dining
Friday night: Riverside Inn
Previous DCL: Jan/6/08 Wonder 4 night
Excursions: KW-Trolly Tickets and explore on our own!; GC-"Grand Cayman Island Tour @ 11:30 AM "I really want to see the turtle farm and Visit "Hell"; Coz-no idea what to do, i dont know what to expect!!!; CC-rent two bikes and do come Geocashing!! (there are 3 that i found!!) Then sit on the beach and Relax!!!
Spa: Sat-Elemis Sole Delight Foot Treatment with Pedicure (for Ashley) at 1:45pm
http://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-sf2p/v173/229/56/564195544/n564195544_2067329_5040.jpg
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~~~CONTINUED ON POST #2~~~

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

Bump!


~~~CONTINUATION FROM POST #1~~~

adedward
Anne & Frank
Costal North Carolina
Cat 12
Celebrations: 33rd Anniversary
http://i576.photobucket.com/albums/ss201/soundharvest/IMG_1472.jpg
----------------------------------
texfinn
Mati (38) & Yoni (34-35)
DD Sabrina (7) & DS Kai (4)
Cat 6 (6568)
Texas
Main dining
Friday night: Swan
Celebrations: Yoni's 35th birthday on Thurs
Excursions: KW-hang out! & KLP; GC-morning island tour (Mati & Sabrina) and diving for Yoni; Coz-Nachi Cocom; CC-stingrays & just hang out on the beach!
Palo: Sun-brunch @ 11 AM; Mon-tea; Thurs-dinner @ 8 PM
Spa: Thurs-couples massage
http://i679.photobucket.com/albums/vv153/mpitkane/P100027962708MeandJoni.jpg
http://i679.photobucket.com/albums/vv153/mpitkane/KaiSabrinaCuervo.jpg
----------------------------------
Albertofreitas
Alberto & Carol
DS Guiherme (10) & DD Gabriela (7)
My parents
A friend, his wife and one kid
Cat 12 x 3
Brazil
Palo: Dinner-Fri @ 8:30
http://photopost.wdwinfo.com/data/500/DSC00041.jpg
----------------------------------
NoodlesMom
Tiffany (28) & Adrien (30)
Marissa (8) & Adrien Jr. (4)
Houston, TX
Main Dining
http://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv133/tiffny111/HPIM0262.jpg
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Faith&Hope
Kym (33) & DH (38)
DD (6) & DD (3)
California
Cat 5 (7598)
Main dining
Previous DCL: Western x 2, Eastern x 1
Excursions: KW-staying on the boat!; GC-enjoy 7 mile beach; Coz-might do Dolphin Discovery at Chankanaab; CC-?
http://i711.photobucket.com/albums/ww116/FaithandHope/t3.jpg
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Pooh's-Honey-Pot
Sonya (31) & Tony (30)
No kids
Norwich, England
Cat 9/2578
Late dining
Excursions: KW-walk to the Southernmost bit. No other plans apart from eating one of the key lime pies on a stick I keep reading about!; GC-DH wants to do the Sea Trek and I have not found a way to talk him out of it so looks like I'm doing that!; Coz-the Tulum Tour - I really want to see these, but the trip does sound a bit long and possibly dull!!!!; CC-Getaway Pkg
Palo: Thurs-dinner @ 7 PM
Spa: Mon-couples massage @ 10:45 AM
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm231/sonyagarland/P1000776.jpg
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tsarina13
Tammy & DD (6)
Mom & Niece (19)
Previous DCL: 3-day (1998) & 4-day (2002)
Friday night: Hyatt
Excursions: GC-Pirate Encounter; CC-bike rental
Palo: Mon-tea
----------------------------------
JohnathanS
Johnathan (36)& DMom Patt (60)
Smyrna, GA
Previous DCL: 4-day Wonder 2005
Palo: Sun-brunch @ 10 AM; Wed-dinner @ 6 PM
----------------------------------
Bellamickey
Belinda (31) & Shawn (30)
Lawton, OK
Gty 12
Late dining
Previous DCL: 3 others, including Eastern last time
Celebrations: Thurs-vow renewal wedding (5/21) at 5:30pm on secret deck 7!! (as of right now, crossing fingers that weather is perfect so maybe you guys can sneek a peak from above)
Palo: On our VR night, we have Palo for our post ceremony at 7pm.
Excursoins: GC-morning island tour; Cozumel-Fury catamaran sail,snorkel and beach party
http://i457.photobucket.com/albums/qq298/harley458/kissface.jpg
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Zeppelin
DH & DW
DD (6)
Previous DCL: 2 others
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SpeedFigure
JorDan aka Princess JorDanella (25) & Chad (30)
No kids
Utah
Cat 12
Previous DCL: 1 Eastern, 2 Western for JorDan, 1st for Chad
Celebrations: 5 yr Wedding anniversary!
Fri night: Travelodge Inn & Suites
Early Dining
Excursions: Key West-renting Sea Doo's, then walking around Key West; Grand Cayman- Island tour with Stringray City (It's a must!! I love my Stingrays); Cozumel- Scuba Diving, not sure where though. Anyone else scuba??????; Castaway Cay- Serinity Bay
Palo: None
Spa: Rain Forest Pass
http://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v350/24/55/594280509/n594280509_4639537_4633.jpg
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minimi.4124
No info given yet
----------------------------------
Dizneyholic
Chasity & DFi Gus (both early 30's)
Southern California
Previous DCL: this will be our 1st cruise!!!
Celebrations: We're also celebrating our 10th Anniversary together!!
Late Dinner Seating
Palo: Sun 5/17 Dinner @ 6:00pm
Excursions: Cozumel Dune Buggy & Snorkel Tour; CC-bike rentals
Spa: Thurs 5/21 Metabolic Testing 9:30am for Chasity & 10:15 for Gus
Would like to do Spinning classes & jog the deck 4 track as well.
----------------------------------
cruisinmama22
Amy & John
Lauryn (9) & Andrew (5)
Oakale, CT
Main seating
Previous cruising on Royal carribean & Carnival
----------------------------------
mambrose
Megan & DH
DD Taylor (11) & DS Chase (3 1/2)
My mom- Nancy
My brother- Michael
His wife- Jackie
Their son Mikey (5 1/2)
Their son ryan (2 1/2)
Grandpop- Joe!
Previous DCL: Wonder in 2008
Friday night: Radisson
Celebrations: Megan's DH's birthday on Sunday!
----------------------------------
DevinDemi2
Demetris (32) & Kerwin (35)
Devin (9) & Demi (3)
Kevin (Kerwin's twin bro) & Aida
DS Christian (3)
Cat 12's
Previous DCL: Eastern Halloween 2007
Demetris & Kerwin's pic
http://i701.photobucket.com/albums/ww13/DemiDevin2/FamilyatParade.jpg
Kevin & Aida's pic
http://i701.photobucket.com/albums/ww13/DemiDevin2/aida_xtian_kev.jpg
-----------------------------------
tazgirl1981
Shauna (27) & Mike (30)
Christopher (3, almost 4)
Miami, FL
#6138
Late dining
Celebrations: 10th anniversary
Previous DCL: Wonder 2007 & 2009, Magic Eastern 2008
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v629/tazgirl1981/P3200011.jpg
------------------------------------
ottermouse
Desiree & Brian
DS (12) & DD (10)
Brian's parents
Friends with DD (10) & DS (7)
Deck 5
Previous DCL: November 2008
Celebrations: Sun-12th Anniversary
Palo: Sun-dinner
Spa: Sun-Exotic Rasul
------------------------------------
yanjan
Nick & Janice
Nick's DMom Joan & DBro Marc
Cat 12 x 2
New Brunswick, Canada
1st DCL
http://i593.photobucket.com/albums/tt17/muffler20c/DisneyAug2007414.jpg
-----------------------------------
aimathy
Amy & DH
DD (12), DS (9), & DD (10 months)
Friday night: Residence Inn
Celebrations: DS 9th birthday on Saturday
-----------------------------------
Marcy Mouse
Marcy (34) & Chris (36)
Adults only
Canada
Cat 12
Excursions: KW-walk around; GC-city tour; Coz-zip line & snorkel, beach?; CC-?
http://i647.photobucket.com/albums/uu199/marcyandchris/MarcyandChris.jpg
-----------------------------------
dta87 and maplemouse
From Williamsburg, VA:
David (dta87) & Susan
DD Hayley (19), DS Graham (17), DD Olivia (15)
From Tennesee:
Margaret (maplemouse) & Bob
DD - Sarah
From California:
DMom - Terry & DDad - Andy
DSis - Nancy
DSis - Michele
DSis - Donna
DN - Taylor
DN - Madison (11)
Friday night: David's family-driving and will be at the CIS trying to get the earliest shuttle. Margaret's family-driving that morning hopefully at port opening. California-flying in the night before and staying at the MCO Hyatt.
From top left to right: Dave, Susan, Hayley, Olivia, Michele, Donna, Nancy. Bottom row: Graham, Terry, Andy.
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm127/dta87/n1356098353_30269383_3681.jpg
And another photo at Colonial Williamsburg left to right: Hayley, Dave, Susan, Margaret, and Sarah:
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm127/dta87/IMG_1433.jpg
Bob, Margaret, and Sarah
http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm127/dta87/BobMargaret.jpghttp://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm127/dta87/of50480360.jpg
------------------------------------
miksilver
Kim (32) & Chris (33)
Chelsea (4)
Hagerstown, MD
Prevoius DCL: 1st DCL but six previous on others
Celebrations: Chris' Birthday May 12th!
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk78/miksilver/image115.jpg
------------------------------------
mariemac
mom and dad first time cruisers from florida
bill and mary and 2 dd from mass
ken and michelle and 3 dd from arkansas
------------------------------------
efoote01
DW & DH
DD (5)
New York
1st Disney cruise
Gty 12
Excursions: KW-maybe trying the aquarium & walking around; GC-Sea Grape; Coz-Nachi Cocum; CC-?
------------------------------------
40-Something Kid
Barbara, 51 (I am still "40-Something," 40-Eleven to be exact)
DSis Mary Ellen, 48
DNiece Alexandra, 15
DNiece Calista, 5 (6 on May 22!!)
McLean, VA
Early seating
#8022 (Cat 3)
Celebrations: Calista's 6th birthday on Fri
Excursions: We have not scheduled any excursions yet, but might go see the dolphins in Cozumel. Key West is so great just to walk around and soak up the relaxed feeling.
Mary Ellen & Barbara:
http://photopost.wdwinfo.com/data/500/Disney_Jan_08_-_102A.jpg
Alexandra & Calista on left:
Barbara & Calista:
-------------------------------------
1littlespark
Robin & David
No kids
Central Florida
1st DCL
Celebrations: Anniversary on Tues & Robin's Birthday on Thurs
Excursions: Key West - Just hanging out, since it's our home state and we've never been there yet; Grand Cayman - Seven Mile Beach Break; Cozumel - Cozumel Beach Break; Castaway Cay - Decided not to book anything, so we can just hang, have fun & explore. I plan on trying to kayak (or something like it) on one of the beaches, but I would like to do it more spur of the moment while there.
http://i41.tinypic.com/54j59y.jpg
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lucky1
DW & DH
DD (7)
Southwest Desert
Friday night: Hyatt @ MCO
-----------------------------------
kandeebunny
Kristi & DMom Patty
Excursions: Key West we booked nothing as we want to see the Hemmingway House; Grand Cayman is the Island Tour from 11:30-1:30; Cozumel is Cozumel Highlights and Mayan Ruins from 12:15-4:45; Castaway is a float rental day.
-----------------------------------
everafter1
Florida
-----------------------------------
mm4mm
Skokie, IL
-----------------------------------
ral68
Rich (41) & Shelly (43)
Alyssa (9) & Alex (8)
Chicago
http://i630.photobucket.com/albums/uu21/ral68/Family%20Photos/RichAlexAlyssa1-27-07.jpg?t=1241136589
-----------------------------------
stichlover87
(21) sailing with Mom
Cousin & her fiance
Naperville, IL
Previous DCL: 5 cruises on Wonder
Celebrations: College graduation!
-----------------------------------



LINKED RESERVATIONS:
Early dining "with kids" (requested APLLAPL):
Faith&Hope
Texfinn
Mother_Hen
Noodlesmom
Hudson5&Lennon3 (x2)
Tinkattude6 (x2)
lillygator (x2)
miksilver

Early dining "without kids" (requested APLLAPL):
SpeedFigure
Disgirl83
lucyddr

Late dining:
2 Eagle Mom
austin77
Bellamickey


ANNIVERSARIES!
SpeedFigure 5th Anniversary on May 14th
Tazgirl1981 10th Anniversary
krishouse 12th Anniversary on 5/17
ottermouse 12th Anniversary on 5/17
shasess 1st Anniversary on 5/17
DisneyTripReports 20th Anniversary on 5/20
2 Eagle Scout 25th Anniversary
Mother_Hen 25th Anniversary
Bellamickey 10th Anniversary and Vow Renewal on 5/21
Dizneyholic 10th Anniversary on 5/12
Tink113sMom 40th Anniversary
adedward 33rd Anniversary in June
1littlespark Anniversary on 5/19

[Nik's Mom]

Hi! We just switched from the Eastern on 5/23 to the Western on 5/16/09! I am so excited. We just went on our first cruise this past May (4 night on the Wonder) and we're totally hooked!!!! I can't wait!

I am traveling with my dh and 2 sons (will be 10 and 7 at the time of the cruise). We're going to have to keep bumping this thread until others join in. I had to search a few pages to find you!

:banana: :banana: :banana: :banana:

[Nik's Mom]

I just noticed that this is your 2nd Western cruise. Which excursions did you all go on last time?

Sherri

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

Yay! :yay: I was beginning to wonder if we were the only ones booked so far! I didn't want to bump the thread too much and seem like I was obsessing with trying to get someone to join in. I've seen your posts around--I love your avatar! :laughing:

My mom & stepdad will also be joining us on our cruise. They wanted to come with in April, but since it was our anniversary cruise, they "let" us go by ourselves for that one. When we rebooked a dummy date onboard, we made their reservations, too. I seriously doubt they will be joining our thread. Whenever I told them about how I met others on our cruise before we even left, she thought that was too strange. :rolleyes2 I know she'll appreciate all the great tip, tricks, and info I've collected from the DIS, though.

Since our April cruise was our first ever, we didn't really know what to expect for excursions, especially with the boys only being 5 & 3. We didn't book a whole lot and decided to mostly just go with the flow. Most of them, especially when booked through Disney, you had to be 10+ or so. I can tell you what we planned to do and then what we actually did:

KW--planned on going to the aquarium; instead, just walked around with 2 crabby kids. :mad: They didn't understand that we were eventualy going to be going back to the boat. They were upset becuase they thought we were leaving it already. We should have gotten the ice cream right away that they wanted because it probably would have made them a lot less mad. On the way back to the boat, though, we did get a frozen chocolate-dipped key lime pie on a stick--HEAVEN! I can't wait for that again! :woohoo: I'm almost as excited for that as I am for CC! :rotfl2:

GC--we did book Stingray City with one snorkeling stop through Cap'n Marvin. There were 3 other families from the DIS that we went with. We knew the boys wouldn't be able to snorkel, so that wasn't a priority to us. We really just wanted to see the rays. We thought we were going to have to cancel, though, because at bedtime the night before GC, we were telling the boys about how we were going to swim with the rays, and DS3 got so nervous that he was sick to his stomach. :crazy2: We decided to go anyway, but I was the only one that got off the charter boat at SC. We didn't force them into the water with the rays like some of the others did. :eek: DH did snorkel for a bit at the next stop. I think they were too young for this excursion, but yours are older and would probably enjoy it. Maybe by then ours would enjoy it, too. Who knows. We then shopped a little, had lunch, and went back to the boat.

Coz--we took a taxi to Paradise Beach for a couple hours and had lots of fun. Then we went back to the shopping area near the port, looked around a little, and rode a donkey carriage back to the port. The boys LOVED that, too!

I don't know if we'll be booking/planning much for the ports again or not. They kinda backfired on us last time, but this was a whole new experience for all of us. I really think they would be ecstatic to just stay on the boat the whole time. We'll just wait and see what happens in the next 17 months, I guess.

When in May was your cruise? I think end of April/beginning of May is a great time to cruise weather-wise. We did end up in some kinda rocky waters, though. I think that's unusual for April, but we survived! We chose to go a little later for this one because I'm thinking (and hoping) that the day before the cruise will be the last day of school for our oldest. If he has to miss any school, it would only be the last day--if even that. Since we'll be disembarking over Memorial Day weekend, I think we're going to stay in FL for a few days afterward and try to hit some of WDW and also Kennedy Space Center. That's going to open up a whole new obsession with planning when I start going to the WDW boards. I don't know if I'm ready to dive into that yet or not. Have you been to WDW before? Will your kids have to miss any school for this cruise? It seems like our schools get out pretty early around here (Nebraska).

Do you know where your stateroom is? We chose almost the same one we had last time (same spot but other side of the ship). 5518--deck 5 forward, cat 8.

Well, Sherri, I'm sorry this got so long. Can you tell I'm excited that someone finally joined in?!?! :dance3: I've noticed there have been a handful of views to the thread, so maybe some lurkers will start posting now, too. :thumbsup2

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

Once I posted, I could see your sig again and where all you've been and when! Wow! :thumbsup2

[Nik's Mom]

Yes, we are obsessed with Disney. We got married at the Disneyland Hotel in 1996, then went to WDW for our honeymoon. Since our oldest ds was 2, we've been going every 2 years. I should buy into DVC.

We went on the Stingray excursion at Castaway Cay and the boys loved it! They are very cautious and I didn't think they would like it, but they loved the stingrays!

I'm just looking at the Western and what it has to offer. We have the added challenge of planning because both of our boys are on the autistic spectrum. They are high functioning, but they don't handle change very well. We always have to prepare them. To us, a cruise is the best way to see the World because every night the boys get to return to a ship that has become familiar to them!:thumbsup2

Things are pretty crazy for us because we will be moving to the Kansas City area in the next few months. I'm thinking that their last day of school will be the day before our cruise. We are also thinking of heading over to WDW for a couple of days after the cruise.

Hopefully we have more people joing our thread!:cool1:

By the way, are you really going to change your Dis user name? How do you do that? I've been on the Dis since 2001, when I only had one child. I'm not just Nik's Mom anymore. I'm Noah's Mom too!

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

Hey! We'll practically be neighbors! We're only about 4-5 hours away from KC. I got out my map to see where West Covina is. Some very good friends of ours used to live in SoCal. He's from here in Nebraska, but she was born and raised in Long Beach and is the ultimate Disney fan. I think I'm a close second, though! :laughing: We went to Cali for their wedding in '96 and stayed in San Clemente, which is where their wedding was--beautiful! They have since moved here to raise their kids. There are two families that they were pretty good friends with in Cali, and within a few months, they both packed up and moved here, too! Hopefully, you'll like it in this neck of the woods, too. What made you decide on the KC area?

I'm glad your boys enjoyed the stingrays on CC. Maybe we should try that next time since it's not out in the middle of the ocean like Cap'n Marvin's was. It was pretty windy that day, and the water was real choppy on that little boat. :scared: How long was the excursion and do you remember the cost? We rented snorkeling equipment on CC, but it was a little disappointing. (We went to Hawaii for our honeymoon and snorkeled there. CC was NOTHING compared to that.) Otherwise, we mostly just swam on CC. They went to Scuttle's Cove for a little bit as soon as we got off the ship so we could at least check out Serenity Bay.

Sounds like our schedules will be very similar with school just getting out before the cruise and then staying for a bit after the cruise! When will Noah turn 7? Hudson will be 7 in October. That's great that you've found a good way to take a vacation and benefit your sons' autism. Do they have Asperger's? (I work in the medical field, so I'm familiar with that.)

No, I'm not going to change my user name. I've seen other user names in reference to their kids that have added a line to their sig about what is different about their family now. I think if you change, you just create a new name and "start over" and end up losing your tags and your post count. Some people would guard those with their lives and don't want to lose them!

[Nik's Mom]

You know, I can't rememeber how much the stingray excursion was. It really wasn't that expensive though. It was an hour long. We chose the early time ( I think it was 9:30am) so that the water would be clear. You can stay in just waist deep water if you want. so it is perfect for little ones!

[Nik's Mom]

Just bumping up to page 1. Maybe we will be the only 2 families on the ship!;)

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

I'm beginning to wonder if anyone else will be joining us, too! Were you wondering if I was even still here? I haven't been around the boards at all this week. :eek: (Shocking, for me.) Unfortunately, the flu has hit me hard. :crazy2: The week before Christmas is NOT a good time to be sick!!!!! Anwyay...on to better things.

After Christmas, I think I'll start researching the WDW boards for our stay after the cruise. I don't really know where to start, though. When I first found the DCL boards, I spent every waking minute just absorbing the incredible amount of information on it. Am I ready for that kind of commitment again?!?! I DON'T KNOW YET!! :rotfl: I'm going to start with the free planning DVD and go from there, I think.

Well, I know the next few days will be pretty busy for us trying to get ready for a bunch of gatherings. I hope you and your family have a Very Wonderful Christmas! :santa: We're supposed to be getting ice/snow tonight. I'm hoping it won't be too bad. At least we won't be doing any travelling. We've already got quite a bit of snow on the ground, so we'll definitely have a White Christmas. I'm sure you'll have great weather! Sunny & 75? ;)

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

Bumping for some exposure. Are there any lurkers that want to stop by and say "Hi?"

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

Anyone? :rolleyes1 Anyone? :rolleyes1

[Nik's Mom]

Hi! Just me! Hopefully we'll get other Dis'rs to join us soon. How was your Holiday? We've been so busy getting our house ready to sell. We're almost done with the remodeling, then we'll put it up on the market.

Once this entire re-locationg thing ends, I'll go back into heavy vacation planning mode!:thumbsup2

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

Well, I think maybe some people are just lurking because I see the number of views for our thread has increased! I keep forgetting about not getting the email notifications anymore, so I forget to come and check. I just assume no emails means no posts. Oops!

Our Christmas was busy but fun. :santa: Santa brought the boys just what they wanted, so they're happy. :thumbsup2

My mom and I went to AAA yesterday to get some info since they had their "Disney Day" yesterday. We went through them last time, but I don't think we will this time. My mom wanted her own information about DCL and Florida in general. I think they're going to go down a few days before the cruise, and we'll stay for a few days after. Then we can each do our own separate things but still get to cruise together. Since she would never get online and check out the DIS, I'm going to order the new Passporter for her when it comes out. Then she can really start planning, too.

Good luck with the remodel/sell/move. What's your timeframe for being moved?

[Nik's Mom]

The time frame to sell was like yesterday!:rotfl2: We are a little behind schedule but I hope to have it on the market in 2 weeks. Hopefully it sells fast, but I know that the chances are slim in this market. I'm praying though!:worship:

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

Here's another bump for our "little" group. :rotfl:

So Sherri, how's the house project coming? Almost ready for selling? What types of remodeling are you doing? We've been through that before. Our previous house was 90 years old, and we updated almost the entire thing in the 11 years we lived there. We built our current house 3 1/2 years ago, and I'm begging to finish the bathroom and play room in the basement (the rest of the basement is already finished). I think that's the last of our home projects for a LONG time--hopefully!!! Justin just finished building his custom motorcycle last week, so I told him that he can't start anything else until that bathroom is done. Fortunately, all it needs is a sink/counter and some finish/touchup work. Have you been to KC yet to look for a house there? I probably would stay away from this area right now. Our wind chill for tonight and tomorrow is predicted at -10 degrees!!!!!!! :cold:

Have a good week! Talk to you soon...

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

Sherri--I'm hoping good things are coming for you and your family and that's why you haven't been around. Moving, are ya? Good luck with everything. :shamrock: I hope it all works out for you! ::yes::

What do you think of putting a list on my first thread post with more info on each family (like other threads do)? I know it's only you and me for right now (and my DMom & DStepF, but they're not on the DIS :rolleyes2 ), but maybe that would get some lurkers to stop by and say "Hi!" :wave2: Let me know what you think. We can wait until more people join our thread, too, if you want. Who knows...maybe we'll be the only families on the ship!!! If we are, do you think they would upgrade us to the Roy and Walt suites?!?! ;) :rotfl2: Wishful thinking, huh?

[Nik's Mom]

Hi Hudson5&Lennon3!
I've been a terrible Dis'r lately. We've been so busy lately. We've had a few buyers come by to check out our house, but no takers yet. :sad2:

Dh is going to Kansas City today. The kids and I will fly out there on Friday to start our search for a new home. The kids are so excited because I told them that there is a T Rex Cafe out there.

Anyway, I've been catching up on the Dis the past few days and thought I'd pop in to see what's new. It looks like it is still just our 2 families...I love the idea start start posting a list of families. It will me just Dh, me and my 2 sons (7 and 10 at the time of the cruise).

:yay: :cheer2:

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

I've started a list on the first post. If any lurkers out there want to be added, just send me a PM or post it here, and I'll add it. :wave2: You can add whatever other info you want me to put also (stateroom #, early/late seating, etc.).

Sherri--I hope all goes well for you in KC this coming weekend. Right now, the extended forecast for central Nebraska says 30-40 degrees on Fri/Sat, so hopefully it won't be too cold there for your trip. That sounds like a heatwave to us, though. Unfortunately, the weatherman has teased us a lot lately with forecasts like that, which then end up being around 20 degrees. Even that's better than it is now, though (12 with a wind chill of minus 3). :cold:

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

Is there anyone else out there that wants to chime in? :confused3 I'm kinda lonely :sad1: with Sherri being so busy lately. :rotfl: (BTW, Sherri, how was KC? Any luck with house hunting?)

Isn't there anyone who is willing to say that they'll be on the boat with us?!?! :rolleyes1 :flower3:

[Nik's Mom]

KC was great. It snowed while we were there and the kids LOVED that! They are so excited to move.
Hey, maybe the lack of Dis'rs chiming in means we will have the ship to ourselves.:lmao:

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

Loved the snow, huh? Well...after the long, cold winter we've had this year, I'm sure they would be very tired of it, too--just like EVERYONE around here is!! I just got an email yesterday of a picture of a snow sculpture with the word "winter" carved along side a hand giving "the bird." :rotfl2: That's how I feel! It's okay for the first 1 or 2 snowfalls (this year, that was just after Thanksgiving!), but then I'm done with it and ready for spring and summer. I'd take 100-degree days anytime! :sunny: :smooth:

With apparently only us on the ship, it looks like our Bingo chances are looking pretty good! :lmao: What else can we do with it all to ourselves? :scratchin Maybe the captain would let us steer for awhile! :sail: How about a massage every day?!?! And Palo for every meal!! Maybe they'd let us adults go down the Mickey slide, too! Front row seats at the shows!! No lines and no waiting for pictures with the characters!! Just think of CC all to ourselves!!!! :woohoo: This is gonna be a great vacation! Just wait 'til the other DIS'ers read our trip reports! They'll be so jealous of us! :rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2:

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

Hi Sherri! I've heard recently about that dinosaur restaurant from our neighbors who are going to KC this weekend to stay at Big Wolf Lodge. It sounds like so much fun! Maybe we'll be planning a long weekend trip there this summer sometime.

Just out of curiosity, did you book through a TA for an OBC? We rebooked onboard and want to transfer to a TA for more OBC but don't know who to go through. We used AAA last time and weren't too happy with the service, although the OBC was great, or so we thought initially. They ended up charging us $25 pp for their services, which ended up making their OBC not much more than DU, whom I've also considered. I'm not sure, but I thought I had seen DU offer quite a bit more for the Caribbean cruises in the past, so I don't know if I was dreaming or if it was a fluke deal that isn't their norm. :confused3 I know the PC and Med cruises were quite a bit more, but I'm almost positive it was for Caribbean. I feel the charges from AAA were out of line when you pay for membership anyway.

Unfortunately, I've not started on my WDW research yet. :sad1: I have the DVD & book that Disney sent me and I also ordered the new WDW Passporter but haven't even opened them. I have watched some of the Disney shows that were on Travel Channel recently. I'm so excited for Animal Kingdom! I preordered the new DCL Passporter for my mom as a gift but won't be getting that for at least a month. :sad2: When I ordered it in Jan, Amazon said it would ship at the end of Jan. When that date came and went, they then said it would be early April. :confused: I'm so excited to give it to her!! I have last year's book but am anxious to see what's new in it. I hope they added color like the WDW one has. I also need to look into airfare and see when I can start trying to plan that. I have a feeling that will be a :headache: .

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

So there really is no one else booked on this cruise? :confused3

How about a fun little "get-to-know-you" quiz to try and bring some others out of the woodwork. :rolleyes1

1. How many times have you been on DCL? Where to and when?

2. What are you looking forward to on this cruise?

3. What are your kids (if any) looking forward to on this cruise?

4. If you've cruised before, what is your favorite food on DCL? If you haven't cruised before, what are you excited to try (if you've looked over the menus already--like I did before our first one!)?

5. What would your "dream" DCL vacation be?

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

1. How many times have you been on DCL? Where to and when? Once before--04-21-07 Western Magic for our 10th Anniversary.

2. What are you looking forward to on this cruise? Eating a frozen chocolate-dipped key lime pie on a stick (or two!) in KW, the alfredo at Palo, FIREWORKS!, DS5 going down the Mickey slide for the first time (he was too scared last time when he was 3), sharing the DCL experience with my parents, Castaway Cay (maybe we'll try the bikes this time).

3. What are your kids (if any) looking forward to on this cruise? Mickey pool and slide! :woohoo: , all the ice cream you can eat, pictures with characters, Castaway Cay.

4. If you've cruised before, what is your favorite food on DCL? If you haven't cruised before, what are you excited to try (if you've looked over the menus already--like I did before our first one!)? Alfredo at Palo, paninis. I'd probably have to check out the menus again to refresh my memory of other faves. :rolleyes2

5. What would your "dream" DCL vacation be? Something LONGER than a 7-night! Either B2B (or B2B2B with a DDip Western in there for 4 stops at CC!) or else a PC repo cruise. Since it's a dream, of course, we'd be in the Walt or Roy suite instead of a Cat 8.

[Nik's Mom]

So there really is no one else booked on this cruise? :confused3

How about a fun little "get-to-know-you" quiz to try and bring some others out of the woodwork. :rolleyes1

1. How many times have you been on DCL? Where to and when?

We have cruised dcl once before in May 2007

2. What are you looking forward to on this cruise?

Spending quality time with dh and the kids

3. What are your kids (if any) looking forward to on this cruise?

They loved the Mickey pool on the last cruise!

4. If you've cruised before, what is your favorite food on DCL? If you haven't cruised before, what are you excited to try (if you've looked over the menus already--like I did before our first one!)?

Everything that we tried was delicious:thumbsup2

5. What would your "dream" DCL vacation be?

I guess my dream DCL vacation would be a European cruise followed by a trip to DL Paris.

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

Just a friendly little bump to get some more exposure...

AND

Sherri, I see your ticker for moving day! Congratulations! :cheer2:

[Nik's Mom]

Yes! We close escrow on April 10th and plan to move May 3rd! We are so excited!

[modomo]

We've just booked our cruise!

It will be myself and husband, our 3 children DS 11, DD8 & DD7.
Early seating

This is our 1st Disney cruise, so we are really excited:banana:

We're from Missouri.

Look forward to planning!

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

GREAT! WONDERFUL!! AWESOME!!! Welcome to our cruise!!!! :banana: :woohoo: :dance3: :yay: :cool1: Looks like we'll all be coming from the middle of the country (so far). Thanks a bunch for popping in and saying hello! If you want, I can add you to the first post that lists us all so far. YAY! :goodvibes

Looks like you'll be taking another Disney vacation pretty soon. How exciting!

[starlawyermom]

Hi - my husband and I will be travelling with our two daughters, 7 & 8 at the time. I have cruised before and LOVE it - this will be new for the kids and husband. Will also be travelling with father and mother in-law, brother-in-law, wife and three girls ages 3, 4 & 5. We can hardly wait and look forward to meeting other cruisers on board. Not sure if my kids can hold out until next May. Are the kids' programs really as good as they sound/look?
See you on Board, and I will keep tabs on this thread.

[starlawyermom]

Oh, by the way, my family is coming from Massachusetts. Hope to meet/connect with others from the area.:thumbsup2

[Nik's Mom]

Yeah! Two more families to join us! Welcome to Modomo and starlawyermom!!!
Modomo, what part of Missouri are you from? You will have a blast on a WDW cruise!!!!:thumbsup2

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

YAY!!!! I'm so happy our little group is finally growing! :banana: :cool1: :woohoo: :yay: :dance3: I knew you guys were out there somewhere!! :rotfl: Anyone else care to come out of hiding?!?! :flower3: :goodvibes

Here's a BIG :welcome: to all the new families. I've got a busy couple days ahead of me, but maybe on Sunday I'll have time to update the list on post 1.

:banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana:

[modomo]

Yes, our kids are pretty excited as well! It hasn't really "sunk in" yet, plus we have a couple of other trips planned between now and then.

I have cruised before (took DD when she was 2), but DH, DS, and youngest DD haven't ever been before. I've only been on Carnival(3x), so I am expecting great things from Disney!

Nik's Mom - We are from South-Central Missouri, about 5 hrs from KC and 3 hours from St. Louis, and about an 1 from Arkansas.

Have you guys planned out all of your tours and excursions yet? The only thing I know we want to do for sure is the Dolphin Encounter in Cozumel. I haven't decided which on yet. I have been to the one at Dolphin Discovery, but Dolpinaris 9(sp) looks really nice. I love the beach at Dophin Discovery, but the actual encounter was just so-so. Do you guys have any experiences with either of these?


Have a great day!

[Nik's Mom]

We have done some research. I also want to try one of the dolphin excursions, but don't know which one yet. I have been pretty busy organizing our relocation to Kansas, sothe cruise has been on the back burner of my brain.;)

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

I've added everyone who is new to the first post. I wasn't sure which of starlawyermom's family was from AK and which was from FL, so I just guessed. If I'm wrong, let me know, and I can change it. :) If any of those family members are DIS'ers, I can add their user name, too.

modomo--I'm not really sure if we're going to do any excursions this time. I think we'll probably try and enjoy the ship a little more this time. I'm sure it was just because our kids were a little young at the time, but the stingray excursion didn't go over so well. We might try the one at CC instead of GC, but I'm not going to push that one on them. If we do anything we might just rent an electric car on KW, but I don't think we'll do much on GC or Coz. I would LOVE to do the dolphins, but my boys had a hard time leaving the ship at each port because they didn't realize we would be going back to it. :rolleyes2

So, new thread members, here's a little quiz for us to try to get to know you a little better. If you'd like to participate, we'd love to hear about you! You can go back and read pg 2 for the answers from me and Sherri (Nik's Mom). Again, it's GREAT to have you abord our thread!!!! :thumbsup2 Now the next 13 months need to just fly by!! :goodvibes


1. How many times have you been on DCL? Where to and when?

2. What are you looking forward to on this cruise?

3. What are your kids (if any) looking forward to on this cruise?

4. If you've cruised before, what is your favorite food on DCL? If you haven't cruised before, what are you excited to try (if you've looked over the menus already--like I did before our first one!)?

5. What would your "dream" DCL vacation be?

[Nik's Mom]

Hi Hudson5&Lennon3!
Thanks for updating our list! Looks like we won't have any empty ship after all.:rotfl2:

Please consider the stingray excursion on CC. My kids loved it! It is right on the shore line, so the water is not deep at all. My boys were 5 and 7 and they had a blast. As you may remember, they are both autistic and are not comfortable trying new things. I thought for sure that they would not want to do this. Instead, they had a great time and were not frightened at all. When my 5 year old got tired, I took him to the sand and we relaxed while DH and ds 7 snorkled. It was only an hour long, so it didn't take too much time at all.

[Nik's Mom]

I've packed up a lot of my pictures for the move, but I pulled this out of the scrapbook that I started from our cruise last May. This is DS7 on the CC stingray excursion. See how shallow the water is? That black object is a mickey head. You need to hold the food between your fingers and place your hand on the Mickey head. Then the stingrays swim right up and suck the food out of your hand. Both of our ds's had difficulty holding the food, so dh had to help them.

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e114/sespino/2008-04-06-1305-58.jpg

[starlawyermom]

Hi - I am a novice at this - where/how can I view the update you are referring to? My mother and father-in-law are in Florida and she is a Dis'er (she was here this weekend and I had to pull her away from the computer). My brother-in-law and his family are from AR. Here are my answers to your quiz:

1. How many times have you been on DCL? Where to and when?

Never - Brother-in-law family have been once. Huge Dis fans - got married there and have vacation club points as wel

2. What are you looking forward to on this cruise?

Seeing my kids' faces light up each and every moment they see something new...

3. What are your kids (if any) looking forward to on this cruise?

4. If you've cruised before, what is your favorite food on DCL? If you haven't cruised before, what are you excited to try (if you've looked over the menus already--like I did before our first one!)?

we eat just about everything, so we are looking forward to trying a bit of everything!

5. What would your "dream" DCL vacation be?

Having my side of the family join us all together on a DLC!

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

Hi - I am a novice at this - where/how can I view the update you are referring to? My mother and father-in-law are in Florida and she is a Dis'er (she was here this weekend and I had to pull her away from the computer).
It's the very first post to this thread on page 1. :thumbsup2

Yeah, the only thing about the DIS boards is that it is SOOOO addicting!!! :rotfl: I've spent many nights staying up waaaaaaaay too late just to see if there's any info that I've missed. :disrocks:

Great answers, too! Seeing the kids' faces is probably the best thing of all! Although I think the fireworks made my face light up more than ANY kid who was on the ship. :blush: And if you really want that "dream" vacation to come true, rebook while you're onboard!!! That's what we did for this one with my parents. We booked a "dummy date" until the 2009 dates came out and then transferred both reservations to this one. We paid their deposit (they paid us back when we got home), and they still got the 10% discount even though this will be their first DCL cruise.

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

Hi Hudson5&Lennon3!Please consider the stingray excursion on CC. My kids loved it! It is right on the shore line, so the water is not deep at all. My boys were 5 and 7 and they had a blast. As you may remember, they are both autistic and are not comfortable trying new things. I thought for sure that they would not want to do this. Instead, they had a great time and were not frightened at all. When my 5 year old got tired, I took him to the sand and we relaxed while DH and ds 7 snorkled. It was only an hour long, so it didn't take too much time at all.

I think the stingrays on CC would be much better than the ones on GC--for our kids anyway. We have also talked about doing the bike tour on CC, so we'll see how much time we actually have to do everything (gotta fit some beach time in there, too!). I really wish this was a DDip cruise (although I would then miss out on the frozen chocolate-dipped key lime pie on a stick at KW!!!!! THAT WOULD BE TRAGIC!!!). We loved CC so much that we could definitely spend two days there and would probably still not "do it all."

[modomo]

1. How many times have you been on DCL? Where to and when? We haven't sailed DCL before, but I've been on Carnival 3 times.

2. What are you looking forward to on this cruise? Sitting on the balcony and looking at the vast ocean.


3. What are your kids (if any) looking forward to on this cruise? It hasn't "sank in" what we are doing yet. I know that they want to swim with the dolphins.


4. If you've cruised before, what is your favorite food on DCL? If you haven't cruised before, what are you excited to try (if you've looked over the menus already--like I did before our first one!)? Each and every dessert! Maybe twice!! My hubby may have to borrow a wheel barrow to get me off the ship!!

5. What would your "dream" DCL vacation be? Complete solitude w/hubby in an overwater bungalow in Bora Bora. Naaaaw......We would miss the kids too much, how about a Disney cruise!:woohoo:

[starlawyermom]

Hi all - on my last cruise (way back in the days when I was a swinging single...too long ago to remember), I only got off in port once. I am not a big shopper, and none of the excursions really appealed to me. If we stay on board as a family while th ship is in port, will there be activities for the kids? Do the kids' programs still run when the boat is in port? I have to admit, I am looking forward to relaxing on a half-empty ship and hopefully be able to keep the kids entertained as well. ;) :beach:

Thanks

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

Hi all - on my last cruise (way back in the days when I was a swinging single...too long ago to remember), I only got off in port once. I am not a big shopper, and none of the excursions really appealed to me. If we stay on board as a family while th ship is in port, will there be activities for the kids? Do the kids' programs still run when the boat is in port? I have to admit, I am looking forward to relaxing on a half-empty ship and hopefully be able to keep the kids entertained as well. ;) :beach:

Thanks

Yes, the kids activities are still going on during port times. The pools are definitely less crowded while in port, too, which is what we're looking forward to. Last time, we were on KW just for a couple hours, and the boys kept insisting on going back to swim, so we did, and it was nice to not fight the crowds then. This time, we're planning on staying on KW just a little longer to try and make up for what we missed out on last time, but we'll probably stay onboard for GC & Coz. I was going to say that the kids' clubs would probably be less busy also, but I know some people (NOT ME!) leave their kids there while they go ashore, but it still wouldn't be as busy as sea days. Leaving them onboard while going ashore just scares the daylights out of me since the pagers aren't guaranteed to work off the ship, so if something happens to your child, you may not get the page. Or just as bad would be if something happened to you in port and didn't make it back onboard, then your kids are on it without you! :scared1:

I guess the "short" answer to your question is that there are activities for kids, families, and adults, too, almost nonstop all day every day whether it's a sea day or port day. I believe around midnight or 1 AM is when the kids areas close, but then they're open again by around 9 AM (I think). Have you checked out the Navigators that have been scanned and posted? If not, I'll do some checking and post the link of where they're at. I know I printed them out beforehand so I had some sort of idea what each day would have in store and made notes about the things we were wanting to do as a family and also what the kids wanted to do in the clubs. Sometimes, though, they throw a wrench into things and change up the Navigators for just one cruise. I don't think that happens very often, though. Looking over the Navigators beforehand will give you an idea of just how many things are going on at the same time. It's amazing! Unfortunately, it's just not possible to "do it all." :rolleyes:

Here's the link to quite a few Navigators. It looks like the newest Western ones are from December 2007.
http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/cruise-new/cr-stateroom-navigator.htm

[starlawyermom]

Thanks - that is helpful. I would never think about leaving the kids on the boat and taking off; however, my in-laws do not intend to do any excursions (my father-in-law uses a walker and wheelchair), so I guess the option is there. I have read about different excusions in the Passporter guide-book and I'm just not that impressed with the reviews, esp. for the price. Given my kids' ages (7 & 8 at the time), I really think they would have more fun staying on board, swimming and having "the run of the place" rather than boarding a bus or taxi and going someplace on land (unless it was simply a beach excursion). Any thoughts? :confused3

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

ITA! We're there for the Disney cruise experience and not necessarily the excursions. My boys would much rather stay on the boat, so that's what we're going to do this time--although last week, my kindergartener brought home a book about dolphins, and after he read it, they both decided they wanted to pet and/or ride a dolphin! I would LOVE to do the dolphin excursion, but it is pretty expensive, so I'm thinking we might pass on it this time, too. We'll see, though...we do have 1 year, 3 weeks, and 4 days to decide for sure! YAY! It's getting closer!! We were just talking this weekend about how a year ago at that time, we were getting ready for our cruise. Actually, now that I think about it, EXACTLY one year ago right NOW, we had just gotten onboard and were getting Palo reservation changed to our anniversary, and then we headed up to the Mickey pool for eats and swims. I CAN'T WAIT!!! :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo:

[Nik's Mom]

My boys would love to pet the dolphins, but not swim with them. I wonder how long that excursion is though? They don't really like to get off the boat for too long.

[princessljw]

we just put our deposit on our second cruise:banana: there will be 6 of us on this trip we only did a 4 night last time and it just wasnt enough time cant go fast enough

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

we just put our deposit on our second cruise:banana: there will be 6 of us on this trip we only did a 4 night last time and it just wasnt enough time cant go fast enough

:welcome: TO OUR CRUISE!! Congratultions on your second cruise! I know what you mean about there not being enough time. Even our 7-day cruise a year ago wasn't long enough! Let me know if you want me to add any extra info to the list of cruisers on post #1.

[Nik's Mom]

we just put our deposit on our second cruise:banana: there will be 6 of us on this trip we only did a 4 night last time and it just wasnt enough time cant go fast enough


Welcome to the Dis, princessljw! Isee this is only your 3rd post. We were on the 4 night cruise last time also. This will be our first 7 nt. Glad you can join us.:thumbsup2

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

Well, I just got some frustrating news today. I thought I had the cruise planned out so well with school schedules that Hudson wouldn't miss any school, but I found out today that his last day of 1st grade will be May 20, 2009, instead of May 15th like I thought it would be. Grrrrrr! :mad: So now he'll be missing the last 3-4 days of school. Since this year's last day is May 16th, I just assumed it would be the same general timeframe as that. Bummer! Oh well...it's not like I'm going to reschedule or anything. Besides the next cruises get to be a lot more money!! Sorry for ranting--I just had to vent a little...

[princessljw]

our dd13 school never gets out till the first or second week of june but we always take her out of school it excused they say its educational. I dont know how getting pampered on cruise is educational lol.

[princessljw]

:welcome: TO OUR CRUISE!! Congratultions on your second cruise! I know what you mean about there not being enough time. Even our 7-day cruise a year ago wasn't long enough! Let me know if you want me to add any extra info to the list of cruisers on post #1.

dw & dh
dd14
mom and dad
dnephew11
pennsylvania

[princessljw]

trying to load a ticker seeing if it works

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

trying to load a ticker seeing if it works

Try doing it again but make sure you cut & paste the link with [img] at the beginning and end of it. It should be the top one that says used on message boards. I think maybe you just cut & paste the wrong one, but I'm not sure. :confused3 I'm excited to see your ticker! I LOVE the new ones that have been showing up on the boards, but there's not enough room for one of the Magical Kingdoms tickers and my photos in my sig line, so instead of taking down my photos, I'll settle for a plain-jane ticker...for now anyway.

Looks like you got it going just as I was posting! Way to go! It looks GREAT and helps build the excitement, too!

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

My DS6 came up with a brilliant idea the other day. He asked if his best friend and her family could come with us on our cruise! :yay: I thought I would let her mom know that he had mentioned it, and now they're looking into it!!!! :dance3: We are all really good friends, and their two DD's are the same ages as our DS's. I think they'll be stopping over to our house later today, and if they do, I'll have to give them my DCL DVD & book. That'll hook 'em for sure! :rotfl2: I'm going to give her the scoop about the DIS, so I'm sure she'll become an addict like I am! There's no better place for info on anything Disney! (Terri, I hope to see you on the DIS--and our cruise thread!)

[starlawyermom]

To those who have cruised in the past, is it REALLY TRUE that you can order more than one entree per person at dinner? My family is not being greedy by any means, but we fortunately have children who love everything from chicken fingures to sushi (in fact, they prefer sushi to chicken fingers). I was looking at a menu with my oldest the other night and there were several dishes she wanted to "try" on one menu alone. My mother in law who is coming on the trip told her she could get as much as she wanted - now she is obsessed (no, we do not have an eating disorder just kids with adventurous palates..... ;) ;)

:scratchin

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

To those who have cruised in the past, is it REALLY TRUE that you can order more than one entree per person at dinner? My family is not being greedy by any means, but we fortunately have children who love everything from chicken fingures to sushi (in fact, they prefer sushi to chicken fingers). I was looking at a menu with my oldest the other night and there were several dishes she wanted to "try" on one menu alone. My mother in law who is coming on the trip told her she could get as much as she wanted - now she is obsessed (no, we do not have an eating disorder just kids with adventurous palates..... ;) ;)

:scratchin

YES, IT'S TRUE! A dream come true! :) We usually had almost all of the desserts every night (I have a sweet tooth :blush: ), and the night after they had rack of lamb on the menu, DH told the head waiter how much he enjoyed it, so he brought out another entree of lamb--on top of what he already ordered from the regular menu for the night! So it's not just that you can have whatever you want, sometimes they surprise you with things you didn't order! :thumbsup2 So if you really like something, mention it to the head waiter, and maybe you'll get it specially made for you the next night.

At least you have adventurous palates in your house..we have the opposite. :sad2: DS6 only eats a certain number of things and is VERY picky about them, although I have to admit that he has gotten MUCH better in the last 2-3 months. He used to only eat cheese pizza, chicken strips, "white chicken with no yucky stuff on it" (seasoning, marinade, etc.), and "pink" steak (he wouldn't eat it if it wasn't rare, which I don't either, so I don't blame him on that one! :laughing: ).

[Nik's Mom]

Yes, I second that. DH and my brother-in-law did this a few times because they wanted to try 2 different entree's. The servers are wonderful!

By the way, we moved to Kansas over the weekend! It was so sad to say goodbye to friends and family, but I'm looking forward to a better life here in Overland Park!

[lizzyb]

We are cruising too. This will be our first cruise. I need to start planning :)

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

:welcome: to the group! YAY! We're growing so fast!

I see you're taking another Disney vacation in a couple months! How exciting! :thumbsup2

If you want any info added to post #1, you can PM me or post it here, and I'll transfer it to the list. :goodvibes

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

Sherry--how's the "new life" in OP, KS? I hope the move went well for you and your family. We'll be going to KC in a few months for a little getaway, and I remember you mentioning the dinosaur restaurant there. I'm thinking we'd like to check that out while we're there, too, so I was wondering what the name of it is so I can get more info about it. Thanks so much! That will probably be the only meal of the entire trip that won't be BBQ. :laughing: DH is a grill enthusiast and loves to cook low-n-slow, so he's anxious to taste the "real" KC BBQ way.

Actually DH just told me this morning that my Mother's Day present is tickets to the American Idol concert in KC in late August, so I'll be going back there with a friend a couple weeks later. (Yes, I'm a BIG Idol fan. GO DAVID COOK!!!) I went to last year's concert in Omaha and had such a good time. Blake was AWESOME!

Well, I hope all the moms are having an AMAZING Mother's Day!!!!!

[lizzyb]

:welcome: to the group! YAY! We're growing so fast!

I see you're taking another Disney vacation in a couple months! How exciting! :thumbsup2

If you want any info added to post #1, you can PM me or post it here, and I'll transfer it to the list. :goodvibes

Thanks for the warm welcome.

DH and I will be travelling with our 2 boys who will be 2(almost 3) and 6 then. We are staying on deck 6 and have the early dinner.

[Nik's Mom]

Hudson5&Lennon3,
Yes, you must try T Rex Cafe! It's a great family restaurant.
We are still unpacking, if you can believe it. We moved in to the house last week after spending a few days at the Great Wolf Lodge just outside of Kansas City. The kids had a great time! Our moving truck didn't arrive until Saturday, so we spent Mother's Day unpacking. We were so eager to get our house set up! I'm just hooking up my computer to the internet today!

So far, we love Overland Park. The tornado alarm went off last week, but it turned out to be a false alarm. How nerve-racking though!

The best part about being in Kansas is that it is a much shorter flight to WDW!

lizzyb, Welcom to our group! You guys will have a blast! Cruising is so much fun. We did the 4 night cruise last year, but found that we didn't have enough time to enjoy the ship. That's why we are doing a longer cruise this time.;)

[Nik's Mom]

Oh, it just occured to me that the cruise is almost a year away now! It's getting closer!:thumbsup2

[lizzyb]

Hudson5&Lennon3,
Yes, you must try T Rex Cafe! It's a great family restaurant.
We are still unpacking, if you can believe it. We moved in to the house last week after spending a few days at the Great Wolf Lodge just outside of Kansas City. The kids had a great time! Our moving truck didn't arrive until Saturday, so we spent Mother's Day unpacking. We were so eager to get our house set up! I'm just hooking up my computer to the internet today!

So far, we love Overland Park. The tornado alarm went off last week, but it turned out to be a false alarm. How nerve-racking though!

The best part about being in Kansas is that it is a much shorter flight to WDW!

lizzyb, Welcom to our group! You guys will have a blast! Cruising is so much fun. We did the 4 night cruise last year, but found that we didn't have enough time to enjoy the ship. That's why we are doing a longer cruise this time.;)

Thank you. We are really looking forward to it.

[starlawyermom]

Hi - I have been reading the forum posts and notice that Palo has been getting mixed reviews. Any thoughts? 15 bucks is no big deal (esp where I come from - $15 will only get you a glass of wine at a fine dining establishment in Boston!). I can handle mediocre food for $15 per person (have had worse and paid gads more), but it sounds like the dining experience is more than just the food: ie., no kids, a little more formal, nice views....anyone? :confused3

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

Hudson5&Lennon3,
Yes, you must try T Rex Cafe! It's a great family restaurant.
We are still unpacking, if you can believe it. We moved in to the house last week after spending a few days at the Great Wolf Lodge just outside of Kansas City. The kids had a great time!
We're excited for the T Rex Cafe and GWL! We'll also be going to a Royals game and WoF/OoF. DH and his business partners are celebrating their 30th anniversary of the company and are giving every family a night in a hotel, tix for WoF/OoF, a celebration meal, and some spending (or gas!) money, so we're pretty excited about going! Then 2 weeks later, a friend and I will be going back to KC for the Idol concert. I wish I could've been there a couple days ago for David Cook's homecoming trip! :worship:

The tornado alarm went off last week, but it turned out to be a false alarm. How nerve-racking though!
Unfortunately, that's part of living in "Tornado Alley." (Have you learned all the "safety rules" of tornadoes yet?) You'll get used to it, but it's still scary when it happens. Our friends who used to live in SoCal have now become "storm chasers" because they are so intrigued by the constantly changing weather. Our city had some pretty ferocious tornadoes (7 of them, actually!) one night in 1980. I was just a wee one at the time, but I still remember that night and how it really destroyed a lot of our town. Some parts of it have just finally been rebuilt in the last couple years.

The best part about being in Kansas is that it is a much shorter flight to WDW!
We're thinking maybe we'll book a flight directly from our city to KC and then on to MCO. Ours is just a small airport, so we've never done that before, but we're getting a new air carrier this summer who will offer $59 flights from GI to KC! The price of a tank of gas to get to the Omaha airport and parking there for more than a week would cost us more than that! Maybe we'll be on the same flight as you out of KC! What are the chances of that?!?! :laughing:

Oh, it just occured to me that the cruise is almost a year away now! It's getting closer!:thumbsup2
We'll be leaving one year from today! YIPEEEEE!

Hi - I have been reading the forum posts and notice that Palo has been getting mixed reviews. Any thoughts? 15 bucks is no big deal (esp where I come from - $15 will only get you a glass of wine at a fine dining establishment in Boston!). I can handle mediocre food for $15 per person (have had worse and paid gads more), but it sounds like the dining experience is more than just the food: ie., no kids, a little more formal, nice views....anyone? :confused3
We LOVED Palo!!! And all the other food on DCL! I haven't been to the main forum for awhile, but there's always people there that have their own opinions and don't think the food on DCL is all that great. I think it just depends on where you come from and what you're used to. Unfortunately, we come from a town of chain restaurants--Applebee's, Carlos O'Kelly, Red Lobster, etc. People around here think those are the best restaurants around when, at the same time, many very nice, upscale, locally owned restaurants can't stay in business because they aren't names that everyone knows. :sad2: (Sorry for the rant--I'm a little peeved by it!) Anyway, back to the question...We thought our Palo meal was definitely worth it! We had the brunch, too, and really enjoyed that, but we're not fans of eating that much so early in the day. We were ready for a nap instead of KW! We'll definitely do dinner again. I had the filet mignon and something like prosciutto alfredo (I know it had a different name, but I can't find the Palo menu right now), and I'll definitely be ordering that again! The brunch had a lot of seafood, which I'm not a fan of, so we're not sure yet if we'll do that again, but the pizza at brunch was WONDERFUL! I think they have it at dinner, too, but I'm not certain. We had dinner there on our 10th anniversary, so it was a special night for us anyway (DH surprised me with a BEAUTIFUL ring, too!!!!!), but it really was nice to have at least one meal without the kids, even though they slept through most of the other dinners anyway!

Just think of it this way...if you're willing to pay the extra $ for it, at least try it once. Then you'll know if you want to do it again when you go back (because you will be rebooking on board, I guarantee it!! ;) ) And if you time your ressies right, you can always go eat at your regular dining time if you don't like your Palo meal. Believe me, you won't go hungry on DCL! :rotfl2:

Any other opinions for starlawyermom?

[Nik's Mom]

We enjoyed Palo. We had the brunch. It gave us an opportunity to have some time to ourselves without the kids.

[starlawyermom]

Thanks for your input. I view food as a very personal thing - what might be yummy to me may be "gross" to someone else. For 15 bucks, its worth it in my opinion -
Hoping that we all meet on the cruise, I was thinking we could share some things about ourselves - and if people choose not to so so, we all understand, right? I am a lawyer = have been practicing law for 18 years. I worked for the same law firm in Boston for 17 years (about 250 lawyers in MA, CT, FL and NYC). Left the big bad city in 9/07 to join a 3 person law firm 6 miles from home (I only live 22 miles from dowtown Boston, but there is very bad traffic in rush hour) - a huge change, but so worth it. The 3-4 hour daily commute round trip was hell and with my husband travelling almost weekly in his new position, being a virtually single mom with the stress of the commute and life in a big law firm was not a good thing for anyone. I now get the kids off to school (I said "so long" to the full-time nanny), drive 10 minutes to work and instead of wearing suits to work, I wear jeans (unless I am in court or meeting with clients!). We love living here in the Northeast (no tornados, but plenty of snow!) - I grew up in the next town over from where we live and now that I am truly a "local" again, I have been getting reacquainted with old friends in the community who have stayed here as well. We love the outdoors as a family (as I write this I am sitting on my deck and just finished planting about 100 flowers!). My hobbies include cooking (I am addicted to the food channel and I collect cookbooks!), needlepoint and skiing (snow, that is).
Cheers!

[Nik's Mom]

starlawyermom,
I think that's a great idea! Here's my short history...

DH and I have been married since 1996. We met while in College.:lovestruc We have 2 sons (age 9 and 6). As some of you know, our children are both high functioning autistic. DH is an Engineer. I was a Financial Aid Advisor at a University in California. I saw was because we just reolcated from California to Kansas 2 weeks ago. DH has worked for the same company for about 10 years. Recently, they offered him the opportunity to transfer to Kansas. We took the leap and went for it. So far, so good.:thumbsup2

Kansas seems like a much better place to raise our family. I've been pretty busy getting us unpacked and trying to get the kids to adjust. I'm now a stay-at-home Mom. Boy, that is hard work, but very rewarding. I do miss my students back at the University though. They were kind of like my kids too.

We are WDW fans. We took our first trip on our honeymoom and have been hooked ever since. 2007 was our first cruise though. Now we are hooked on that!;)

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

I think it's a great idea, too! On our last cruise, we all posted family pictures so that we could recognize each other right away in the terminal, at the first DIS meet, and just along the way. We really did run into the DIS people quite a bit and even scheduled some events together--margarita tasting, beer tasting, wine tasting (we don't drink wine, though). I had some people recognize me from my posted pics who were just lurkers and had never even posted on the thread!! We also linked our ressies so that we could be sat at the same table or at least near each other for both the early and late dining groups. We had requested APL rotation for our late dining with probably at least 5 other families, and we were all right together. Our family had a table just for 4, though, so we didn't get to "bond" like some of the other families did. There was also a group of early dining families that were linked and were sat together, too. Maybe keep that in mind if anyone wants to do it. :goodvibes DH thought it was weird at first and didn't want to "meet" anyone else and feel obligated to do stuff together, but it wasn't like that at all! We did schedule an excursion with 3 other families (Cap'n Marvin's on GC), but other than that, we all went our separate ways and did things with our own families. If we happened to be in the same place at the same time, GREAT! At least we had someone else to talk to that we "knew."

Here's some scoop on us. We celebrated our 10th anniversary last April on the Magic, but we dated for 7 years before we even got married (I was still in high school, and DH was just out of college when we started dating). We were both born and raised right here in Grand Island, Nebraska (just under 50,000 people), and we'll probably never leave. I own a medical transcription service and work at home for the last 10 years. I also just recently signed up as a Mary Kay consultant about three weeks ago so I can get my stuff at a discount and maybe make some money in the process. DH is 1 of 5 partners at a tool & die shop and does designing, engineering, and production of metal stamping dies, etc., and the company also designs and builds plastic injection molds. DH & his partners slowly bought out the original owners starting in 1999, and they did the last of the buyout about 2 1/2 years ago--a week after DH had a kidney removed due to cancer. :scared1: (His 35th birthday present was the cancer diagnosis, but he's doing great and has had no recurrence. He's a SURVIVOR!!!) He started out sweeping the floors at the shop on weekends while he was in college and worked his way up when he was offered the incredible opportunity of the buyout. Our boys are 6 & 4. Hudson's last day of kindergarten was yesterday, and Lennon finished his MWF preschool on Wednesday. He'll turn 5 in August and could go to kindergarten in the fall, but Hudson had such a great experience with the preschool's Monday through Friday program that we would like Lennon to do it, too. They both got awards this week for perfect attendance at school this year, which is why I'm so bummed about having to take Hudson out of school for the cruise, which I thought I had planned around the last day of school, but they're extending the dismissal date a few days next year for some reason and have spoiled my "perfect" plan. :mad: I do a lot of activities with the kids' schools--driving for field trips, helping with special activities, room parent for holiday parties, etc., but my main "hobby" is TV. I'm an addict! popcorn:: Tivo is the BEST INVENTION EVER! :laughing: I like to cook, too, when I have the time, and I'm pretty new to flowers. We put in landscaping about 3 years ago after we built our house, and I definitely don't have a green thumb. :sad2: I can't figure out why some things aren't surviving. Maybe starlawyermom can give me some pointerss! :thumbsup2 Justin is pretty busy with his hobbies. He loves music, electronics, and motorcycles. He's a DIY guy that builds almost everything that he can from his own audio equipment to a custom motorcycle that he just finished in Janurary (it's sweeeeeet!). Hudson's hobbies are Wii and computer games. Lennon loves his bike and his new scooter--and helping with anything he can (especially cooking with me and helping Justin in the garage). I'll post some pics of us when I get on my other computer.

It sounds like big changes were all for the better for Sherry (Nik's Mom) and starlawyermom and your families! What great stories you have!!!

Here's our formal night last year outside the Walt Disney Theater. DH & I haven't changed, so maybe tomorrow I'll find some good photos of the boys that are more recent.
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t23/pfenningv/DSC_0274.jpg

Here's the boys and their favorite stuffed "friends." Hudson is on the left, and Lennon is on the right.
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t23/pfenningv/DSC_0226.jpg

[starlawyermom]

Well, it sounds like we come from all different walks of life from big city to small town!

Can anyone explain how to post a picture? I'd love to send one of my girls. Loved seeing the ones you sent!

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

I'm going to try to find a post from my previous cruise's thread that had it all listed out very well. You'll need to set up a free photobucket account first (if you don't have one already). The instructions looked pretty overwhelming at first, but it really is very easy!

Here's a link to that post.
http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=17171429&postcount=394
Hope it helps! Can't wait to "see ya!" :)

[starlawyermom]

Thanks! Let's see if I can do this...

Here are my two girls at Fenway Park last summer (they had an open day at the park for families of my Boston-based law school and other alums of the University). My oldest is a huge Boston Red Sox fan already and we have to fight to get her to bed on late-night game days! They were sitting just on top of the "Green Monster" - Those of you who know Fenway or follow the Red Sox will know what part of the field this is. Also, a photo from a ski weekend this past winter!





http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn240/marycat_bucket/Skiing.jpg
http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn240/marycat_bucket/fenway.jpg[/IMG]

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

starlawyermom--GREAT pics! They're so cute! :cutie: :cutie: It wasn't too hard to post them, was it? ;)

Sherry--have you had much time to shop in/around KC yet? My friend & I are planning our Idol concert visit, and we want to do some shopping, too. :hyper: I've found about 7 malls to pick from that we might want to go to, and we're thinking we might stay at Hampton Inn in either Overland Park or Merriam since they're close to Oak Park Mall. We'd also like to check out Country Club Plaza. Zona Rosa looks pretty neat, too. Do you have any suggestions? :goodvibes

[Nik's Mom]

Hi Hudson5&Lennon3,

I really haven't ventured out too much. We did visit the Union Station area. It's mostly museums though. We walked around Crown Center. I wouldn't waste my time there, although I don't see it on your list. We liked Country Club Plaza. It has plenty of shops and some interesting architecture around it. I haven't tried Zona Rosa, but I've heard good things

Today we were at the Sprint Center and the Power and Light District is right across the street. People seemed to be having a good time over there. It looks like lots of shops and restaurants.

I've walked around Town Center Plaza in Leawood, but only because it's the closest mall to my house. They have a William Sonoma there!:thumbsup2 They also have a Macy's Pottery Barn, Vera Bradley, Gap, Banana Republic, Bath and Body works...

As for Oak Park Mall, I've never been. I did hear that a woman was kidnapped from the Target right behind the mall. She was murdered.:( Poor thing. Her Parents were just on the news last week to talk because it was the one year anniversary. I have a friend who goes to that mall all of the time though and she says she feels very safe.

I can suggest a nice hotel in Overland Park. When we made our many visits here to research the area, we stayed at Holtz Executive Suites. It's not too far from the freeway. They have reasonably priced one bedroom suites, as well as standard rooms. Breakfast is free in the morning too. We stayed at the Marriot in Overland Park once, but it is being remodeled.

Oh, another shopping area is Legends. It's just outside of Kansas City. That's where the T Rex cafe is. I'll see what else I can find out for you.:)

[lizzyb]

Hello everyone.

IS everyone getting excited. I cannot wait. I will be getting more into our planning after our WDW trip.

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

Yes! We are so excited! :yay: A couple weeks ago, I was showing off our pictures from our cruise last year to some friends, and that got me all pumped up again! :woohoo: It stills seems so far off, but I'm sure it'll come fast! I was also reminded of it when we packed for a quick vacation to Denver a couple weeks ago. When I opened up the suitcases to start packing, there was my over-the-door shoe holder (a must have for toiletries, etc.), the closet organizer, and the fish scale (a cheaper version of a luggage scale). The suitcases hadn't been used since our cruise, so it was kind of a surprise to see it all in there, and it also got me to thinking about how much planning needs to go into packing for it! Is anyone else going to WDW afterwards? We are, but I need to do the planning for that yet. I'm reading the WDW Passporter, and I'm thinking I'd like to stay at AK or Poly--I think there's one other one, too, but I can't remember off the top of my head. Lizzyb--what are the plans for your WDW trip coming up?

Sherry--Thanks for all the KC info! My neighbor's sister lives in KC, so she goes shopping with her quite a bit, and she had mentioned the Town Center Plaza also. For some reason, I hadn't found that one on my search, but it sounds like a great place to go! Between all the info she and you are giving me, I think we'll want to stay for weeks! :rotfl: I wish it wasn't going to be such a short trip. I have a huge map of KC that lists every single street, school, park, museum, etc. There sure are a lot of golf courses in the OP/Leawood area!! :lmao: (I only noticed that because we live on a course. Do you?)

[Nik's Mom]

No, we don't live on a golf course. DH and I both agree that we should learn to play since we are surrounded by golf courses.:)

[lizzyb]

We are staying at POP and will celebrate DS 2nd birthday there. We will be soing some parks but mostly water parks. I cannot wait, but its going to be soo hot there I am almost dreading it.

[starlawyermom]

Hello all! :goodvibes I have become somewhat of an addict of the disboard threads! :surfweb: There is so much great information! I think I am the most excited out of everyone - :banana: I have read the Passporter book from cover to cover, and some partes several times (my mother-in-law bought a copy for me when she visited last). The kids finish school next Monday and we will be keeping them busy with day camp for two weeks, weekend trips to Cape Cod and activities at our pool club. Time is flying by which means it will be cruise time before we know it. :woohoo: BTW, for those who have kids, did you use the clubs and did the kids like them? My kids are thrilled at the thought - but just wondering if they are as good as they sound :confused3

Take care.

[Nik's Mom]

My kids had fun at the clubs. We were reluctant to use them at first, but finally dropped the kids off on our day at sea. The kids had a great time. I wish we would have used the clubs a little more.

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

I have become somewhat of an addict of the disboard threads! :surfweb:
It's very easy to become addicted! When I found the DIS, I only had three months before our cruise, so I had to suck in as much information as I could in a short time! :surfweb: All those late nights of DISing sure paid off. ::yes::
BTW, for those who have kids, did you use the clubs and did the kids like them? My kids are thrilled at the thought - but just wondering if they are as good as they sound :confused3
The thing that our kids liked the best at first was the Mickey pool & slide. They wanted to spend ALL their time there, so they didn't use the clubs in the first few days as much as I thought they would just because they really liked the pool. We sent them to the clubs for almost the entire day of our anniversary (Thursday/sea day) because we did some tastings and ate at Palo. They went for the rehearsal for the "graduation," and then during the "ceremony," we went into the theater and watched it, but they didn't even know we were there. Then they stayed with the group and ate supper with them while we went to Palo. Hudson was so excited to make cookies on the 2nd or 3rd day, but when we went to pick him up, we couldn't find him. As panic mode started setting in, I told a CM that I didn't see him, and she said there was one little boy that wanted to play on the computers instead. I knew right away that it had to be him. Sure enough, there he was playing games instead of making cookies. :rolleyes2 He's such a game enthusiast that he was so excited to play "new games." I still hear about how the Disney Cruise had "such-n-such" game that we don't have. :laughing: And Lennon still talks about how Tinkerbell came to the club and sprinkled pixie dust pixiedust: all over the room during story time. The boys were separated most of the time, though, because Lennon was in the 3-4 group, and Hudson was in the 5-7 group, but this time, they'll be together because they'll be 7 & 5 instead of 5 & 3. I guess it's nice to have the option of sending them or not, but we did want family time, too. Most of that, though, was us sitting at the pool watching them slide & splash. (Acutally, DH was :music: & :drinking1 while I was taking as many pictures as I could!) We played Bingo one day, too. There's just so much stuff to do as a family that we didn't use it as much as we thought we would.

[lizzyb]

We might try to get the kids to stay at the club once or twice just for some quite time... DH is not liking the idea but I have 10mths to work on him. LOL

[2_Eagle_Mom]

Hi Everyone,

I just officially joined the boards today (had been lurking all week reading trip reports).

I'm so excited to find this thread! I just read all six pages to catch up and "meet" everyone.

My DH and I will be on this cruise to celebrate our 25th Anniversary. :love: Looks like we will be the only group without kids (so far). We have two boys (21 and 18) but since this is our anniversary trip we thought we would go solo. We are from Martinez, CA (about 40 miles east of San Francisco). We took the kids on a 3 day cruise in 2004 and knew we wanted to go again and on a longer cruise, but haven't been able to schedule it until now. We are using our DVC points for a week at WDW - OKW studio and then the cruise. Which means we will be celebrating Mothers Day and our actual anniversary at WDW. I've ordered the cruise Passporter and pre-ordered the 2009 WDW guidebook so I'm anxiously waiting for the Passporter to arrive and cruising the DIS and Passporter boards. Since it's been a while since our last cruise and we were on the shorter cruise I have a ton of questions. We're booked for an oceanview stateroom on the 7th deck (can't remember the actual cabin #).

To share a little bit about us: I met my DH in Drama Class in High School. We didn't start dating untill the year after he had graduated. We dated for 6 years before getting married. We still live in the same small town and both boys went to the same high school! Our 21 year old son was diagnosed with Aspergers when he was 12. He is in a program for Adults with Disabilities and learning some fantastic life skills. My youngest graduated in June and will be living at home while going to Jr. College in the fall. The 2_Eagle_Mom refers to my boys. The both earned their Eagle Scout Award after many years in Scouting. In fact DS18 is away at camp this summer as staff.

I hope I haven't bored you all. I'm looking forward to getting to know you all better and REALLY looking forward to planning this vacation.

Happy 4th of July!!!

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

:welcome: Jane (2 Eagle Mom)!!!!!!! We're so glad to have you here with us!! What a great life story you have! It's always nice to get to know people that you really don't "know"...yet. What a wonderful way to celebrate a great accomplishment for the two of you. :worship: Personally, I would recommend trying to get Palo ressies for the night of your anniversary! It'll be unforgettable! :thumbsup2 (That's where we had our 10th anniversary celebration last year. BTW, what day of the week will yours be? Ours was on Thursday--sea day/Captain's Gala menu/semi-formal night) It sounds like you're doing tons of planning and researching, which fits right in with everyone else on the DIS! :laughing:

I haven't been around the boards much lately this summer because of ball games and kids activities taking up so much time, but hopefully once school starts in LESS THAN SIX WEEKS (!), I'll have more time to chat and really get to know everyone on this thread a little better. (It seems so strange that some people's kids on the thread just got out of school a couple weeks ago, and ours are almost ready to go back!)

I hope everyone had a fun & safe Independence Day! We had food & fireworks at our house on Thursday night for about 60+ people and had a great time. Then we went to my mom's house last night to watch the "big" display here in town (she lives just a few blocks from where they're at, and she has a great, unobstructed view). We've had WAAAAY too many late nights for the kids, so I'm anxious to get back to regular schedule with no fireworks (even though I LOVE THEM!) I love fireworks so much that last year on pirate night, I cried during the fireworks!! :blush: (Actually, yesterday was the 18th anniversary of our first date, so that's part of why I love them so much.)

[2_Eagle_Mom]

Hi Val & Everyone!

Sounds like you had a really busy week with everything going on (60+ people I'm impressed). We spent the day at my BILs visiting family, but came home around 6:00pm so my DS21 could go to the train station (his passion is trains and we have an Amtrac station in town) he's an unofficial volunteer and helps passengers get to the right train and helps the station agents with the luggage. Also the train station faces the waterfront where they shoot off the fireworks so he had a fantastic viewing spot. We came home to be with the pets (they get freaked with all the loud noises) so our 4th was really quiet.

I'm so excited that my Passporter arrived in the mail this afternoon. I thought I would check the boards quickly and then dive into filling out the stuff I already know into the book and the start reading and taking notes.

I defiately want to do Palo sometime during the week. Our actual anniversary will be on May 12 while we are at WDW, but we told the ressie agent that we would be "celebrating" the anniversary on Tuesday, May 19 - Day 4 which by just thumbing through the book looks like Master Chef/casual Attire (have no idea what that means).

Well, the book is calling me...

Hope everyone has a safe weekend

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

Our actual anniversary will be on May 12 while we are at WDW, but we told the ressie agent that we would be "celebrating" the anniversary on Tuesday, May 19 - Day 4 which by just thumbing through the book looks like Master Chef/casual Attire (have no idea what that means).
Sorry Jane! After I posted, I remembered that you said your anniversary would be at WDW instead of on the cruise. :rolleyes2 So do you have any plans made yet for that magical day at WDW?

And as I was typing before, I didn't think Master Chef sounded right for the menu we missed for Palo, but I couldn't think of what the others were! You're right...MC is on Tuesday, and Thursday is Captain's Gala (aka "lobster night"--but DH still got lobster at Palo). Those are just the "themes" for the menu each night and what the recommended "dress code" is for dinner. For the first three nights, each restaurant serves their own menu, and you'll rotate through those once each. Then after that, you'll still rotate restaurants, but all the menus are the same.

It sounds like your DS had a great night last night! What a neat way to volunteer with something he's also passionate about.

Enjoy the book! It's just as addicting as the DIS!!!

[Nik's Mom]

Welcome to 2_Eagle_Mom!,
We're glad that you are joining us. Wow, what a small world. We have 2 autistic sons. We just moved from California 2 months ago. It's been a struggle to get the kids adjusted, so I haven't been posting too much. Today we were in Target and they were already setting up the back-to-school supplies.:eek: I can't believe it!

[2_Eagle_Mom]

Hi Niks Mom,

Thanks for the welcome! I read that you had recently moved and you have two special boys. I can only imagine how challenging it can be to have a huge change in your life and then add the stress of getting your boys settled. Hopefully buy the time school is ready to start your boys will be prepared for the new adventure.

I just finished my first read of the Passporter book. It did answer a lot of my questions about dinner rotations, dress, etc. Now we just have to decide if we want to do any of the excursions. My DH knows someone (he met them on Second Life) that lives in Key West so we will probably just do a walking tour and check out some of the local sites. I think I'm going to do some more research on the boards to see what the reviews are for the excursions.

For our actual anniversary at WDW I want to do something special. I'm thinking of doing dinner at either Rose & Crown, California Grill or Narcooses (sp?) so we can see the shows from the restaurant. I would love to do a specialty cruise (we both LOVE Illuminations) but since I'm on the West Coast I would need to call the reservation number at 3:55AM!:eek: . I also just read about the carriage rides at POFQ that sound very romantic.

I feel like I should get everything all planned quickly, and then I realize we have 10 months before the trip and I should calm down. My DH is used to me getting all ramped up and finds ways to bring me back to reality. I asked him if he was planning on just doing carry on for the trip and he said "well since I have almost a year to think about it I'll probably decide sometime after Christmas".:laughing: Well ok, if you want to wait that long....

Planning is ingrained into me. I'm a meeting planner for a corporation and we normally plan things well over a year in advance. I have a couple of programs planned for January and April that may take a lot of overtime and if I can get stuff nailed down early then I won't have to worry about our vacation.

Well back to the boards and reading trip reports!

[starlawyermom]

Welcome new members. :wave2: I have been very busy at work, so have not had any extra time these days to keep up with this - and nights seem impossible to get on-line. My kids are in a day camp just up the street from my office, so my nights have been filled with rinsing out bathing suits, washing towels and wet/dirty clothes :laundy: and making lunch for the next day. My mother-in-law (who will be cruising with us) bought me the passporter book several months ago and I have read it from cover to cover about 5 times, no lie! :hyper: We were party hoppers for the 4th long weekend and even hosted some people (nowhere near 60!) for a cook-out on Saturday night. My DH took Thursday off (a rare occasion) and we spent the day at our pool club. Weather up here has been hot (but I am sure nothing compared to the weather some of you have all the time) and we New Englanders like to complain about the weather!!! Sadly, the summer is flying by - the only good thing is that with every passing day, the cruise gets closer. I am thinking we need to look into flights to FL soon - but the cost is so high, it is insane. :crazy2: My husband's company has even banned intercompany travel - good because he is not on the West Coast every other week, but bad because he is taking conference calls at 9pm east coast time :sad1:
Will people be decorating their stateroom doors? Based on other threads I have read, this seems to be a huge thing. I actually started creating "picture card" that I think I will bring along and use. I have been downloading disney photos from the internet and pasting them into a 8 1/2 x 11 document on my computer. I plan on printing them on a color printer and attaching them to the door with magnetic tape. I thought that for each "picture card" I would do a theme., ie., "Nemo" or "Disney Princesses", and other movies. What about these "Fish Extender" thingamajigs? Any insight would be helpful.....

Take Care and be well.

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

I put up a few things on our door last time. When I get done working and go back upstairs, I'll post a picture. Actually, we have a few of them scattered througout the house still. :laughing: I made one for DH that hangs on the door in the garage as you come into the house. I also had an anniversary one that still hangs on our fridge. The others are tucked away nicely for the next cruise. I'm thinking I'll reuse most of them. I still have a large stash of LGMH (thanks to Home Depot! :thumbsup2), so if the old ones get bent up or ruined, I can always make new ones. I don't know if I would say it's a "huge" thing, though. Some people just make a big deal about it. Personally, we really didn't see too many doors decorated--other than some of the DIS'ers we met here and onboard (someone went around and put special ones on the doors for those celebrating birthdays or anniversaries). I expected to see a lot more, though, but I'm sure some cruises have more than ours did. I did it as a surprise to DH & the boys. I knew DH wouldn't want to do it if I told him about it beforehand (and he even admitted that he would've not wanted it), but he said it was neat after I surprised them with the magnets. Our door wasn't too hard to find anyway just becuase of where it's at (in the corner of deck 5 forward--next to SPH), but it helped the boys out to find their way when they got a little ahead of us. And I can see how it would really be needed if you're in the long hallways with door after door after door. We've got the same room but on the opposite side of the ship this time. Who knows, though. Maybe the magnets were there but I just didn't see them since we weren't really ever on decks 1, 2, 6, 7, or 8.

I think the "theme" idea sounds cool! Instead of magnet paper or tape, I just used 3M MagnaTabs on laminated paper. Then you can peel them off and reuse them.

I've seen pictures of the FE but didn't see any in person last time. I think they're mostly for those DIS groups that give gifts (we didn't last time) because we only got one thing hung on the fish the entire week, and that was a brochure from the art auction people after we checked out their stuff. :confused3

Have any other repeat cruisers done door magnets or FE?

[2_Eagle_Mom]

[quote=Hudson5&Lennon3;26129014]I still have a large stash of LGMH (thanks to Home Depot! :thumbsup2)

Ok, first of all, not quite sure how everyone does the quote thing, hopefully I've figured it out. Since I'm a newbie (just hit 10 posts :cool1:) It takes me a while to figure out the shorthand codes. I can pretty much figure out the rides and restaurants, but LGMH is beyond me. I've been reading TR (see I figured that one out) and you are right some people go WAY overboard on the door decorations. Since I'm pretty sure we will be traveling really light (carry on only?) I don't think I'll be doing the FE (OMG now I'm doing it)!:rotfl: But I did think about putting up a couple of pictures and an anniversary sign. By the look of the ship layout I don't think we will be getting a lot of foot traffic near our cabin, but it should make it a little more decorative. I just wish I had some graphic design skills.

StarLawerMom I agree with you about the summer. It just feels like it started and I can't believe we are basically 1/2 way through. My kids are long out of the summer day camp experience (but I really miss those days now). We are finally going to visit our youngest DS this weekend. He's working at Scout camp as staff and we waited almost a month! I can't believe how much I've missed him. This past year he's really matured and has gone past the teenage grumps and will actually sit and have a deep conversation about life topics (loved this one "Mom, how do you teach kids not to be spoiled") a nice long discussion was had. Made me want to cry...

Anyway, back to vacation planning. I purchased our airline tickets last week. Since we are flying across country and I doubt prices are going to drop that much we picked the best route and bought the tickets at twice the price we've normally had to pay. The way I figure it, by the time the trip comes around the tickets will have been paid off for quite some time and it won't hurt so much next year. Also, we were able to get seats in row 5 of every single flight so we won't have to remember different row numbers for each flight (and nice and close to the front for easy departure). I just have to NOT look at the airline sites so if the flights do drop I won't get depressed.

My question this evening is how "themed" are you thinking of going for the Pirate night?

[Nik's Mom]

Oh, we went all out on our 4 night cruise in May 07. Here are our sons.;) They got a lot of attention because they were the only kids in costume.

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e114/sespino/DSCF0330_edited.jpg

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

Ok, first of all, not quite sure how everyone does the quote thing, hopefully I've figured it out.
You just need to make sure the brackets that say "quote" are at the beginning and end of the quote (just like you need IMG in brackets for posting photos). You can delete as much of the quote as you want in between the brackets (like I did here--I didn't quote your whole message), and you can also do another quote from the same post (like I did below by splitting your quote), but it has to have the same info in brackets at the start of the quote--who it's from and the posting number. You can either manually retype it or copy & paste.
LGMH is beyond me.
Lime Green Mickey Head--the "official" symbol of the DIS. :thumbsup2 If you go to the paint dept at Home Depot and get some samples of the Disney paint in the lime green, you'll have some LGMH to do whatever you want to with them. I'll post my door picture, and you can see what I did with them.
By the look of the ship layout I don't think we will be getting a lot of foot traffic near our cabin, but it should make it a little more decorative. I just wish I had some graphic design skills.
Ours wasn't a high traffic area either, but we did have a couple families notice our "Huskers" magnet and said they were from Nebraska, too, so apparently people did actually look at them. Sometimes they were a little out of place from where I put them, but they were never stolen. The non-personalized ones had our room # & name on the back. For a couple of mine, I had Kristine do them up for us. She has a thread on the main board where you can request her to do something specific for you. I chose to have her made Aladdin & Jasmine on the magic carpet inside a Mickey head (we had "A Whole New World" playing during our slide show at our wedding) with our names and wedding date in the ears. Kristine does an awesome job! And for free, too! Here's her new thread. http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1779688 The other one had too many posts and was shut down. Oh, and you gotta do the "Mickey Ears" on the room # plaque! They're so cute! ;) The "king" one was for Justin...I call him the King of Everything. :rotfl2: The 3 anniversary ones and the ribbons were from another DIS'er, and the top one was a joke that we had amongst some of the DIS'ers...we were all chocoholics and we said we were constantly checking the thread every day in the last months before the cruise, so we were "thread-stalking chocoholics!"
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t23/pfenningv/DSC_0492.jpg

I purchased our airline tickets last week. Since we are flying across country and I doubt prices are going to drop that much we picked the best route and bought the tickets at twice the price we've normally had to pay.
I haven't even thought about plane tix yet! Yikes! We aren't even sure yet how long we'll be staying after the cruise. I guess I need to get in gear and do some planning, huh? :laughing: Unfortunately, the new air carrier that we were supposed to have at our little airport has cancelled their contract, and therefore, there will no longer be $59 flights to KC like we thought we were going to do. It's still questionable when we'll get air service again since we don't know who it'll be or when they'll start, so I'd like to find out more about that first. If it's not going to be as cheap to fly out of our town, then we'll have to drive 2 hours again to the nearest major airport in Omaha. Bummer!
My question this evening is how "themed" are you thinking of going for the Pirate night?
We didn't do anything for pirate night, but it would've been fun! I really didn't want to take up the room in the suitcases for costumes that would be worn for a short time. And the boys aren't realy into the pirate thing anyway, but at dinner that night, Justin said he wished we would have, so we might this time. We'll see... :confused3

Have a great time with your DS this weekend!!! :goodvibes

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

Great pirate picture, Sherry! The boys saw it and want to know all about them now that they can "see" someone who will be on the cruise with us! Hudson is wondering when Noah will be 7. He turns 7 in October.

[Nik's Mom]

I bought the costumes at the Disney Store a couple of Halloweens ago. Noah will be 7 in May.

Wow, I can't believe we are talking airfare. I priced it out a few days ago and nearly fell off my chair! Plus, I could only find one non-stop flight out of Kansas City. I wonder if St. Louis is any cheaper?:confused3

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

Noah will be 7 in May.
Is the cruise his birthday present?!?!
I could only find one non-stop flight out of Kansas City.
Do you remember any specifics (time of day, etc.) about this one flight? (Just in case we decide to go the KC route...)

[Nik's Mom]

I just checked the flight again. It's Midwest Airlines and it looks like the price dropped. It came out to $188 per person. It leaves at 7am though. I think what we may do is leave the day before just to make sure that we get there on time. The problem is, the return flight leaves at 11:10am, so I don't think we would make it from the ship to the airport in time. We may have to stay that night too. I may check Southwest airlines. Too bad United isn't non-stop. DH just got back from a business trip to China and I think between the 2 of us, we have about 80,000 frequent flyer miles.

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

I just checked the flight again. It's Midwest Airlines and it looks like the price dropped. It came out to $188 per person. It leaves at 7am though. I think what we may do is leave the day before just to make sure that we get there on time. The problem is, the return flight leaves at 11:10am, so I don't think we would make it from the ship to the airport in time. We may have to stay that night too. I may check Southwest airlines. Too bad United isn't non-stop. DH just got back from a business trip to China and I think between the 2 of us, we have about 80,000 frequent flyer miles.

I've just started checking flights now, too. I wish I knew what was going on with our local airport though!!!!!! :headache: Last year, we flew in on Friday, and I'm glad we did because we found out firsthand about flight delays! We were supposed to arrive at MCO at 11 PM (that was even pushing it), but we didn't make it until about 2 AM the day of embarkation. Ugh. Then we had to get to the hotel and sleep for just a few hours before our car service picked us up at 8:30. Not fun with 3 & 5 y/o kids! Anyway, we're planning on flying in on Friday again this time and staying until at least Thursday after the cruise. (Sherry, I thought you were staying at WDW after the cruise, too. :confused3) But you're right about the flight times--way too early for us to get to KC & leave again and also too early to leave MCO. I, too, was looking at those nonstop flights from KC because Lennon got sick (yes, again :crazy2:) as we were landing in Omaha with "near misses" at every other takeoff/landing, so I'm wanting to reduce the # of stops to help his tummy.

WTG with the FF miles! What a nice bonus to have just in time for vacation! :thumbsup2 (China, huh? I bet that was a cool business trip!)

BTW--Southwest says they're only booking through 01-09-2009, so no prices yet. Snap!

[Nik's Mom]

I was going to stay at WDW for a few days, but that was before we knew about moving to Kansas. We are now a one-income family and are making adjustments to our budget. Which reminds me, for those of you who have cruised before, have you been in a category 8 or 9 cabin. We've only been in category 5 but I'm thinking of downgrading to cut $1000 off our total cost. I'm just wondering how it is in a category 8 or 9.
Thanks!

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

I was going to stay at WDW for a few days, but that was before we knew about moving to Kansas. We are now a one-income family and are making adjustments to our budget. Which reminds me, for those of you who have cruised before, have you been in a category 8 or 9 cabin. We've only been in category 5 but I'm thinking of downgrading to cut $1000 off our total cost. I'm just wondering how it is in a category 8 or 9.
Thanks!

Bummer about no WDW! I'm sure it's worth it to stay home, though! :goodvibes

We were (and will be again) in Cat 8. We were perfectly happy with it, but then we didn't have anything else to compare it to either. We don't feel the need to upgrade to a verandah for the extra money. There's a bigger price difference going from a porthole to verandah than there is from inside to porthole. As long as I can see outside, I'm happy! (Of course, if we were so lucky to get the magic pixie dust :tinker: for an upgrade, then I wouldn't refuse it. ;) ) We loved deck 5 so much that we're doing it again. I don't think there was too much difference in price between 8 & 9. The only difference is that Cat 9 is on deck 2 (and a few on 1) if that matters to you at all.

[Nik's Mom]

I checked on category 8 rooms, but they are all forward. I can't be forward for too long without getting sea sick. I cannot handle seeing the shows for that reason.:confused3 Even with motion sickness medicine. I checked on category 9 rooms and they are aft. We were in aft category 5 last time and I had no problems. I'm still trying to decide....

[2_Eagle_Mom]

Thanks for all the help. I've tried to do the quote thing and hopefully it works out correctly.


Lime Green Mickey Head--the "official" symbol of the DIS. :thumbsup2 If you go to the paint dept at Home Depot and get some samples of the Disney paint in the lime green, you'll have some LGMH to do whatever you want to with them. I'll post my door picture, and you can see what I did with them.


Thanks for explaining this to me. For the life of me I just couldn't puzzle it out. I'll have to check out the Home Depot for some "samples".

We were out shopping this weekend and we wondered into a toy store and I started scouting out pirate items. Didn't buy anything but just checking to see what is out there. I'm starting to freak out about how much we need to pack for this trip. If it were just the week at WDW I wouldn't have a problem, its the formal/semi-formal nights on the cruise that are getting me nervous. We aren't the dress up type of people (we'd be happy in jeans & polos) but I have to dress up for work functions so I have stuff in the closet to pull from, but its having to pack just one more pair of shoes that I won't be wearing except for those two nights. Jim (DH) keeps shaking his head and saying "its over 10 months away, why are you worring about it now" :confused3 We actually discussed not going to the restaurant on the formal night and ordering room service. Does anyone know if there will be any casual dinning options available on formal night?

[starlawyermom]

Thanks for all the great responses. :thumbsup2 My two girls are not into pirates, so we will probably opt for not dressing up. We are in a category 10 inside stateroom on deck 7 and there appears to be little to no foot traffic (rooms are quiet I am told). While I would prefer a porthole, since the cruise is a gift from my in-laws, we have no reason to complain. Besides, based on my past cruise experience, we will only be sleeping anc changing in the room. When I cruised on RC many moons ago, one of my clients was engaged to a woman who worked for and was pretty "high" up on the food chain at RC. When I arrived, I discovered I had been upgraded to a veranda (I was cruising alone). I was sooo thrilled :woohoo: - but in the end, I realized I spent little time in the room and thought that I probably would not have paid for this given the amount of use I made of the veranda, but it was nice to get for free. :banana: I think I will still decorate the door as I mentioned the idea to the kids and they are all excited and want to help create the decorations. Funnsy story: I was cooking dinner last night and things seemed awfully quiet in our family room - so I peaked around the corner and the girls had popped in the cruise DVD and were glued to the TV. The rest of the evening was filled with "Can we do this, can we do that, I want to see this, I want to go here" and the inevitable "Why can't we go sooner?" :yay:
hope everyone is well and enjoying the rest of the summer!

[Nik's Mom]

We were on deck 7 for our last cruise and it was pretty quiet. We were across from the laundry room and that didn't even bother us.

[2_Eagle_Mom]

The only other cruise that we've been on was in 2004 and I think we were on deck 8. We had the boys so we booked the cabin with a veranda. We did go out on the veranda a couple times, but our oldest DS is facinated by weather storms so he would go out on the veranda when he needed some quiet time and would sit and watch the distant thunderstorms for hours. This trip we have a porthole so we can see where we are going/at but we figured we didn't need to spend the extra money for the veranda.

Nik's Mom I'm so sorry to hear you get motion sick. Fortunately, neither of us have that issue (or at least we hope don't).

I can't believe summer is already half over! We had a heat wave last week (over 100) but this week its been unseasonably cool (in the 80s). This will be the first summer that I don't have anyone going to grade/jr/high school :eek: Now that the boys are "offically adults" it will be really difficult to step back and not worry about homework, assignments, etc.

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

I'm starting to freak out about how much we need to pack for this trip. If it were just the week at WDW I wouldn't have a problem, its the formal/semi-formal nights on the cruise that are getting me nervous. We aren't the dress up type of people (we'd be happy in jeans & polos) but I have to dress up for work functions so I have stuff in the closet to pull from, but its having to pack just one more pair of shoes that I won't be wearing except for those two nights. Jim (DH) keeps shaking his head and saying "its over 10 months away, why are you worring about it now" :confused3 We actually discussed not going to the restaurant on the formal night and ordering room service. Does anyone know if there will be any casual dinning options available on formal night?
We would much rather be in jeans, too, and we seemed to take all our closets with us last time. We double dipped on our dinner pants/capris and even some shorts during the day, but we did end up taking basically 2 shirts for each day (Justin just can't double dip on shirts--it gives him the heebie jeebies! :laughing: ) I had brought along 2 formal dresses (formal night and Palo/anniversary) and Justin wore the same suit both of those nights but had different shirt/tie for each one. I will probably only bring one dress next time and wear it twice since we don't have an anniversary to celebrate this time...unless I just can't decide which one to bring! I haven't worn either one of them since then, so it would be a tough decision. If you're not wanting to dress up for formal night, though, you really don't have to. To tell you the truth, I personally didn't pay ANY attention to what everyone else was wearing. But if you think you'd feel uncomfortable not dressing up, you can always go to Topsiders for the exact same menu(not buffet) that's being served elsewhere , but you obviously won't have your regular servers if you eat there.

Funnsy story: I was cooking dinner last night and things seemed awfully quiet in our family room - so I peaked around the corner and the girls had popped in the cruise DVD and were glued to the TV. The rest of the evening was filled with "Can we do this, can we do that, I want to see this, I want to go here" and the inevitable "Why can't we go sooner?" :yay:
It was the same way at our house last time, too! I think we watched the DVD every night before bed for MONTHS! I know it'll come back out pretty soon and be part of our bedtime routine. :goodvibes I saw the tickers are saying today is exactly 10 months from sail date! Woooohoooo! :yay: The boys were saying tonight how excited they're getting for it and how they just can't wait any longer!! Only 300 days away! This seems like an eternity since our last one we only booked three months out. But it'll be here before we know it! I don't think you can ever plan too far in advance! (Jane, you can tell Jim I said that! :rotfl: )

[2_Eagle_Mom]

I'm sure glad you all are here for me to compare notes. I guess I've had a change of attitude and have stopped freaking out about our clothes. I've changed to worrying about how I'm going to lose the weight that I want to drop. I've been on Weight Watchers for about 5 years and did really well for the first couple of years and lost about 50 lbs. The last two years I've maintained pretty much the same weight. I'm now trying to kick my system back into the weight loss mode and see some results! I HATE to exercise, but I've gone to the gym three times this last week and really tried to watch my diet. I really want to get down a couple of dress sizes before the cruise (hence my not worrying about how much I'm going to need to pack. If I drop those pounds I'll have to buy a complete new wardrobe and I'll be thrilled to pack whatever I buy. I'm actually thinking of shipping a box with our shoes and dress clothes to ourselves while we are at OKW. That way I will have it with us for the cruise and I won't have to carry it on the plane. We will be traveling on USAir and they are one of the carriers that are charging for the first checked bag.

I don't think you can ever plan too far in advance! (Jane, you can tell Jim I said that! :rotfl: )

Oh, I totally agree! The benefit of almost 25 years of marriage is I can completely ignore his comments. Of course my obsessive planning is what he loves about me so he knows that we don't have to worry about forgetting anything or missing things. It's the times when I haven't planned that everything goes caddy-wampus (sp?).

My latest research topic is:
Has anyone used the spa on the cruise? I'm trying to decide if I want to try and book a treatment. I would love to relax, but the prices are kind of steep.

[lizzyb]

Hi Ladies! Now that our Disney world trip is over I can dedicate more time to planning our cruise. Looking forward to spending more time here. :)

[indigodisney]

Ready for a new member? So glad to be here.

We were booked in a category 6 and just switched to a 11 inside cabin on deck 7...I figured we would probably not be spending that much time in the cabin and it was worth it to save the $1400 difference...:goodvibes

I am having some second thoughts - is having a verandah that much better? <sigh>

We live in Canada and are looking forward to celebrating DD's 6th birthday on the cruise next May.

Looking forward to getting to know everyone better before we cruise!

Indigo

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

:welcome: indigodisney! I'll get you updated on post #1 when we get back from a short weekend vacation in Kansas City. (I've been thinking of you Sherry...we were near Overland Park last night when we stopped at Town Center in Leawood for some quick shopping for school clothes.) We're glad you've joined our group, Indigo, and it looks like you've got another big trip coming up in December!! How exciting!! :woohoo: And speaking of other Disney trips, Lizzy, how was your recent trip?

[indigodisney]

Thanks Val!

We are excited - the December 7th trip on the Wonder will be our first Disney cruise and actually my daughter's first cruise and my husband's too. We are all pretty excited around here!

Hope you have a great vacation weekend!

Indigo

[lizzyb]

:welcome: indigodisney! I'll get you updated on post #1 when we get back from a short weekend vacation in Kansas City. (I've been thinking of you Sherry...we were near Overland Park last night when we stopped at Town Center in Leawood for some quick shopping for school clothes.) We're glad you've joined our group, Indigo, and it looks like you've got another big trip coming up in December!! How exciting!! :woohoo: And speaking of other Disney trips, Lizzy, how was your recent trip?

It was great! Thanks for asking. The weather could have been better but we still had a great time!

[mother_hen]

Hi All!
We just booked our cruise and couldn't be more thrilled! We've been to the parks many times with our boys, but we've never cruised with Disney. We'll be celebrating our 25th Anniversary on the ship.

Here's our specs:

DIS NAME(s) Mother_Hen
ADULTS: Sara and Dennis
KIDS (AGES WHEN SAIL): DS - will be 9
STATE: TX
Deck 7
late dining (wait listed for early dining) - if we do late dining, do we miss the shows?

I've read through the posts - it's been fun hearing what everyone else is planning to do. I see I have a lot of work to do researching and planning before we go ;) I've only cruised with Carnival before and it was a lot less scheduled - just mostly relaxing on deck! heee!
When we booked, our agent said the 2nd night was the formal night. Is that right? Is there a way to find out?
Looking forward to getting to know you all better before we go and then meeting up on the cruise.

[2_Eagle_Mom]

Hi Sara!!

Welcome to the boards and to the cruise! So glad to have another anniversary couple on board. We're on Deck 7 as well!

Your travel agent is right (according to the Passporter guidebook) Tuesday night is Formal night, Wednesday is a Pirates IN the Carribean, and Thursday night is Semi-Formal.

You don't have to worry about missing the shows. They are performed twice a night. If you have the late dinning you would see the show before dinner. If you have the early seating you watch them after dinner.

I've been reading trip reports on the boards to get tips. The only actual planning that I've done lately is to reserve rental cars. I did recheck the airline BOY am I glad I already purchased our tickets. The exact same flights have gone up over $100.:scared1:

[mother_hen]

Thanks for the warm welcome, Jane! Congrats on your anniversary, too! Looks like Deck 7 will be the silver anniversary deck ;)

Thanks for the info about the shows - I knew DS wouldn't want to miss those. He will love the pirate night. I'll have to pick up a costume for him.

I need to go pick up the Passporter book tomorrow and get cracking on our plans. I have no idea which excursions to do....

[Nik's Mom]

Hi all,
It looks like we will be postponing our cruise. Our youngest ds missed the first 2 1/2 weeks of school already this year. He is finally in school now, but we don't want him to miss any days unless he is ill.

I don't even know when we will cruise. I'll have to wait until they release 2010dates. To soften the blow, dh says we can go to WDW in March when the kids have their spring break!

Hope you all have a great time on the cruise though!

[mother_hen]

oh no, Sherri! That's such a shame! I'm sorry he's been sick.
Have a great time at Disney at Spring Break and enjoy your next cruise.

[starlawyermom]

Welcome to our new members :woohoo: and sorry to see one of our more active ones go :sad1: Sherri, hope ds gets better soon and has a better year ahead. School year for my two is in full swing - with soccer and other activities, we are running in a thousand different directions - no different than anyone else I suppose. :drive: Indigo, we are in a Cat 10 inside stateroom on deck 7 as well - care to share your room number? I am not too worried about the choice (since this is a gift from my mother-in-law, can't complaint). Sleeping and changing is all we will most likely be doing there - while a veranda or pothole would be nice, I think we will be fine!
Hope to hear more from everyone in the weeks to come.

[mother_hen]

Has anyone planned out their excursions yet?
What are you planning to do? There are so many awesome choices, it's hard to decide!

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

It looks like we will be postponing our cruise.

Awwwwww...Sherri!! I'm so sorry!!! I was really looking forward to meeting you! I've been thinking about you a lot because I've been in KC & the OP area so much lately (and will be next month, too). If I didn't have such a tight schedule every time I was/will be there, I was going to see if you wanted to meet up somewhere. Hopefully the trip to WDW will make the wait until 2010 go a little faster. I hope your DS is doing better now and stays healthy the rest of the school year.

Hi All!
We just booked our cruise and couldn't be more thrilled!
:welcome: to our cruise thread!!! We are thrilled to have you! It's a GREAT way to spend an anniversary! If you can get Palo reservations on your actual anniversary, that makes it even more special. That's how we did it last year, and it's something we will NEVER forget! :hug:

I have you all updated on post #1.

if we do late dining, do we miss the shows?
Like Jane said, the shows are twice a night--early dining = second show time, late dining = first show time. On our last cruise, we had late dining, so we did the shows first, but we now know that we don't have to dress for dinner to go to the shows if we don't want to. We thought we had to get cleaned up and put on our dinner clothes before the show, but actually, there's enough time between the shows and the time late dining starts to do that. We ended up quitting our fun afternoon activities early enough to get ready, but we didn't need to (it wasn't until our cruise ended that we realized that!). Our kids were so tired by suppertime that they slept through it almost every night, but believe me, they didn't go hungry! They had usually just had chicken tenders or pizza or tacos or ice cream or room service cheese & crackers or all of the above just shortly before that, so we actually got some nice dinners with just Justin & me as the kids slept at the table (we had a table for 4 so no dinner mates). Right now, we have early dining for this cruise, but we only did that because it's easier to change to late than it is to change to early. In case for some reason we decide that early would be better for us, we already have it. I'm thinking we'll change, though.


I've read through the posts - it's been fun hearing what everyone else is planning to do. I see I have a lot of work to do researching and planning before we go ;)
I do, too!! I haven't been on the boards for sooooo long! I feel so guilty! And out of touch with DCL! (Gasp!) I really need to do some catching up, especially since the repos are done and the ships are back to their regular schedules now. I hope there haven't been too many changes since I've been away...

Now we need some regular posts happening to make me come here on a regular basis! :laughing:

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

Has anyone planned out their excursions yet?
What are you planning to do? There are so many awesome choices, it's hard to decide!

Our plans aren't too extravagant. Here's what we're thinking so far:

KW = we'll probably rent an electric car for the day...and get a chocolate-dipped key lime pie on a stick as we get off the ship AND as we get back on--they're THAT good!!!
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t23/pfenningv/DSC_0192.jpg

GC = probably enjoy an empty ship.

Coz = probably enjoy an empty ship. If we do anything, it might be the Dolphin Discovery (I can't remember the age requirement for that, though). I would really like to do the Xcaret, but it seems so awesome that I would want to spend much more time there...maybe on a separate trip to Cancun someday.

CC = RELAX IN PARADISE! Maybe do the stingrays.

Last time, we really felt that we enjoyed the ship much more than doing all the excursions--besides, that's what we paid for! This time, I think we're going to just play it by ear or decide as it gets closer. I know most other people don't feel this way, so someone else might have better ideas to get you thinking about what to do. I would definitely get a Passporter, though! It really is all the info you will ever need! Well, besides the DIS, of course...but the book is portable! :laughing:

I'm curious to hear other people's plans, too!

[mother_hen]

Thanks for the warm welcome and the info, Val! And thanks for updating our info. Love the photos - The KLPie on a stick looks *to die for*! I can't wait!

Getting really excited about this cruise. I ordered my Passporter from Amazon yesterday, so it should be here tomorrow. I see they have a new one (2009 version) coming out in the spring, too.

MY DH is laughing that I'm making a full-time job out of the cruise planning. Tonight at dinner he's all... I thought this was supposed to be fun and relaxing?! :rotfl: What can I say? I like to be prepared and know what to expect :)
Looks like we have a while before we have to pull the trigger on excursion plans - the site says we can't make ressies until 75 days before the cruise. I should be able to make a decision by then :laughing:

[indigodisney]

Great to see everyone on here again!

We did decide to go with the inside stateroom on deck 7 and my parents decided to come as well to celebrate my daughter's 6th birthday.

StarLawyermom, I think room 7067 - I read the review and it said it was very very quiet, sounds good to me. I think I will miss the verandah but I am glad to have the $1400 difference or whatever it is.

Things are always crazy at this back to school time - we are on the 4 day Wonder to try everything out in December - has anyone done that trip before?

What about this excitement about the Baltic for 2010? Anyone interested in that? I might have to rob a bank...:rotfl:

Welcome Motherhen!! And HudsonLennon, thank you - I have to say that I have heard about the key lime pie on the stick and did not know what it would look like - wow, it looks good!!!

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

my parents decided to come as well to celebrate my daughter's 6th birthday.
How exciting! My parents are coming with us, too! I think there will be quite a few groups with extended family on our cruise.

The KLPie on a stick looks *to die for*! I can't wait!

And HudsonLennon, thank you - I have to say that I have heard about the key lime pie on the stick and did not know what it would look like - wow, it looks good!!!

Here's my attempt at a map for where the closest KLP on a stick is located. It's literally around the corner from the dock.

BOAT
|
|
|-------|
It's hereX

There are a few shops located along the ------ area, but as soon as you turn the corner, there it is! It's just an ice cream shop that had a sign on the door for the KLP.

I know there are other places around KW that have them, too, but this was the one where we stopped...and will stop again (a couple times!) this time. Justin was the one that wanted to try it, so he forced it on me. :laughing: I had heard all about it on the DIS beforehand, but it was totally not what I was expecting! I thought it would be more like lemon meringue-ish, but it's like cheesecake! YUM! I CAN'T WAIT! :yay: (Actually, the KLP is one of the main reasons I wanted to do the Western again!) :rotfl2:

[2_Eagle_Mom]

Hi all,
It looks like we will be postponing our cruise. Our youngest ds missed the first 2 1/2 weeks of school already this year. He is finally in school now, but we don't want him to miss any days unless he is ill.

I don't even know when we will cruise. I'll have to wait until they release 2010dates. To soften the blow, dh says we can go to WDW in March when the kids have their spring break!

Hope you all have a great time on the cruise though!

I'm glad to hear that your DS has recovered. I can only imagine how difficult those couple of weeks had to be for you. Spring break is a great time to be going to WDW. Not quite what you were hopping for, but still you should have a good time. We'll miss meeting you.

Has anyone planned out their excursions yet?
What are you planning to do? There are so many awesome choices, it's hard to decide! I've read all the descriptions and have highlighted a couple that sound interesting, but I'm having a hard time deciding if we want to just relax on the ship or try and do something on our own or do an actual excursion (so many choices!)

(Actually, the KLP is one of the main reasons I wanted to do the Western again!)[/SIZE] :rotfl2:
Ok, knew I liked you from your posts before, but this just seals the deal. ANYONE that would pick a cruise because of cheesecake has got to be a relative of mine. Cheesecake is one of my "red light foods" meaning if it is around I'll be having some (and d@mn the diet). I've read about, and lusted after, the frozen chocolate dipped key lime pie, and now I have directions on where to get one. Want to find me in Key West? Check out that shop!

Maybe instead of excursions I should plan how much time it will take on the treadmill to negate the pie? Too bad the fridge in the rooms don't have freezers. Mine would be stuffed.

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

Ok, knew I liked you from your posts before, but this just seals the deal. ANYONE that would pick a cruise because of cheesecake has got to be a relative of mine. Cheesecake is one of my "red light foods" meaning if it is around I'll be having some (and d@mn the diet). I've read about, and lusted after, the frozen chocolate dipped key lime pie, and now I have directions on where to get one. Want to find me in Key West? Check out that shop!

Maybe instead of excursions I should plan how much time it will take on the treadmill to negate the pie? Too bad the fridge in the rooms don't have freezers. Mine would be stuffed.

:rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2:
How funny that you say that! My last cruise thread had a handful of us saying that we were all sisters separated as young children (and our husbands were all brothers, too!) because we all had so much in common!

I would be perfectly happy if I spent all day in KW at that shop! Maybe we should make it a "DIS meet" for anyone else that wants to endulge together! Luckily, it's close enough to the ship that we could have a KLP and then go back to the ship for some treadmill time, then another KLP, and more treadmill, KLP, treadmill, KLP, treadmill... :lmao:

I know this isn't the same shop, but check out the prices on these to have them shipped to you! Ouch! http://www.keylimeshop.com/html/key_lime_pie.html (Yes, I looked as soon as we got back home last time because I was already craving them!) At $5 each (and worth EVERY penny of it!), just think how much you would save if you really could stuff the room fridge with them to bring home. Mine would probably be gone by the time we got to GC, though. :laughing: "Excuse me, Mr. Cap'n. Can we turn around and go back to KW. I'm needing a KLP fix. NOW!!!" :rotfl:

[2_Eagle_Mom]

I think a Dis Meet at the FKL shop is a definate! Maybe we can petition the captain to let us have a small section of the kitchen freezers to store our supply.:rotfl:

Maybe we could do a FKL tour. Didn't you say that there were lots of shops that sell them? I think that calls for a taste testing tour to me!

Has anyone thought about creating a custom design for their trip? I was checking out the DISign boards, but its kind of overwhelming.

Ok, got to go and pack for DL. We are leaving at 2:00pm and I've barely packed anything.:scared1: :sad2:

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

I think a Dis Meet at the FKL shop is a definate! Maybe we can petition the captain to let us have a small section of the kitchen freezers to store our supply.:rotfl:
:lmao: :lmao: :lmao:

Maybe we could do a FKL tour. Didn't you say that there were lots of shops that sell them? I think that calls for a taste testing tour to me!
Oooooh!!! Good idea!!! :thumbsup2 Then we could get some exercise in, too, by walking to all of them! :laughing:

Ok, got to go and pack for DL. We are leaving at 2:00pm and I've barely packed anything.:scared1: :sad2:
Have a GREAT time with the girls!!! Tell us all about it when you get back! BTW, how far away from DL are you?

[2_Eagle_Mom]

According to Google Maps we are 398 miles to Disneyland. It should take us about 8 hours to drive (including a dinner break) depending on traffic. I've decided to track my miles on the eliptical machine and "walk my way to Disneyland" and hopefully lose some inches (and hopefully a couple of dress sizes) before the cruise.

Finally all packed (the benefit of traveling a lot for work, I can pack for a weekend in about 30 minutes) now I have time to :surfweb: and let the destressing begin. What is great is that one of the ladies has never been to DL before so we get to show her everything and experience it through new eyes.

[mother_hen]

I'm sitting here giggling! :lmao:
Sign me up for the FKL Tour. I think that's the best excursion I've read about yet! I can see us all with clipboards in hand, *rating* the various shops as we eat our weight in FKLP! hee! "Hmmm... I'm not sure about this one... let me try another so I can rate it properly!"

I definitely think we need a FKLP meet-up.
We also need a door magnet that says "I only took this cruise for the FKLP" ;)

Have a great time with the girls, Jane!
I'm going to WDW in January on a girlfriends' trip. Looking forward to hearing how your trip went!
Good luck with your walking goal! That's an awesome idea!

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

Last time, we did Palo brunch on the morning of KW before we pulled into port. There's NO WAY I could fit that much KLP on top of Palo! Oh well...I guess I'll just have to skip brunch this time. ;) There's nothing stopping me from getting my KLP!!! And lots of it!! :lmao:

I like the door signs idea! Our last cruise thread had a sign made up for a similar fondness of chocolate. Hmmmm...is anyone here good with Photoshop, etc.? (I'm not.) We could even use my KLP picture on it!

Do you think we should post a Q on the main board about other places in KW that have them? I know there's a Blond Giraffe near port that has them. Other than that and the one we went to, I'm not sure where else they are.

[indigodisney]

I am also in on the KLP taste touring - I have already gained 5 lbs just looking at that photo repeatedly.

Jane, have a great time. I have never been to Disneyland and would like to go one day.

I haven't spent too much time looking at the excursions, ruins and beach sound good to me.

Why can't I stop thinking about the KeyLimePie on a Stick? Not good.

[mother_hen]

I can make up a FKLP door sign document for us - I teach Photoshop for a living, so I'm *pretty* familiar with it ;) heee!

I saw a thread where someone had cut out ears to go over the door number plaque to make it look like Mickey. Does anyone have any clue what size those would need to be? I was a ding-dong and didn't bookmark the thread.

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

I can make up a FKLP door sign document for us - I teach Photoshop for a living, so I'm *pretty* familiar with it ;) heee!
Well, Sara, it looks like we have a winner! :thumbsup2 :laughing:

I saw a thread where someone had cut out ears to go over the door number plaque to make it look like Mickey. Does anyone have any clue what size those would need to be? I was a ding-dong and didn't bookmark the thread.
I printed them out for our door last time. Let me check to see if I saved it somewhere...stay tuned!

Here's the link & instructions
http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=14318818&postcount=11498

[mother_hen]

YAY! Thanks so much for the ears file!
Those will be fun to have on the door. :)

[indigodisney]

Just checking in to see how everyone is doing?

Back to school is a hectic time, isn't it?

We have booked a NCL 9 day Caribbean cruise for December 2009 (the ports are amazing) and I am thinking it is going to be so different from the DIsney experience (which we just love).

[indigodisney]

Wow, I just noticed we are at the 8 month mark!!!!

It is going by fast....

[mother_hen]

Hey Indigo!
Yes, it is hectic already! We had teacher appreciation breakfast/lunch at DS's today and then after homework, soccer tonight! What a day!

I can't believe we are under 8 months! ... getting really excited. My Passport arrived and we've been trying to make excursion decisions.

I've been working on the FKLP magnet design inbetween *real* work ;) hee!
It's looking pretty yummy :)

How's everyone doing?

[2_Eagle_Mom]

Dang, I had written a really long reply and then tried to open a new link to check on something and the whole reply dissappeared!

Hopefully I can remember what I had said.

We had a fantastic time at DL. We got home on Sunday and were all exhausted. Monday back at work and it was hard to get back into the swing of things. Tuesday I was at a seminar in San Francisco and could feel myself getting a sore throat. By the time we were on the way home I knew that I would be coming down with something. Wednesday I stayed home and slept most of the day/night. Kept drinking tea and eating sf jello and crackers. Thursday and Friday went back to work, but was in bed by 8:30. Today is the first day that I feel almost normal. If I do too much I start to cough, but other than that I'm good. I've added a bunch of meds to my "packing list" to hopefully avoid needing them while on vacation.

I LOVE the idea of the KLP tour. My husband knows someone who lives in Key West. I'll ask him to ask her for a list of locations. We can then get a map of the city and plan the tour. Val, I had thought of doing our Palo brunch for that morning, but you've made a good point and I don't want to be too full for all the samples. Guess I'll have to get back to the calendar and figure out a different day.

Mother Hen - thanks for offering to make the magnets! I wish I were a power user of Photoshop. Is there a really good tutorial book that walks you through the program? I've been able to make a holiday card by modifying some items, but I would love to create a special logo for this trip.

I can't believe we are less than 8 months away from the cruise!

[indigodisney]

Jane, I hope you are feeling better now!

Everyone seems to be very busy right now - so much going on at this time of year.

We have been busy with horseback riding lessons, swimming and ballet...our vacation in December will be a nice distraction!

hope you all have a great weekend!

[2_Eagle_Mom]

Thanks Indigo, I am feeling much better! Luckily it only lasted a couple of days. Or maybe I just nipped it in the bud with the Zicam.

I can't believe that its almost the end of September. Since I don't drop the boys off at school anymore it almost doesn't feel like they are in school (Brendan is going to Jr. College and Steven goes to a school for Adults with Disabilities). I really don't have a grasp that fall is coming. I can't believe they are already some Christmas decorations!

I know I'm going to miss all the school fall activities.

Anyone see any good trip reports that describe the excursions? I'm really having a hard time deciding if we try one of them (mostly for GC and Cozumel) or if we should just go it on our own.

[indigodisney]

Hi Jane, glad to hear you nipped it in the bud! I am not sure that we have Zicam here in Canada, will have to check. I know we don't have tylenol PM so I have to stock up when I am down in the USA in December.

I would love to see a report on the excursions - I was initially thinking: Key West on our own, Cayman - beach day - Cozumel - ruins and beach if possible.

Do you know if there is any good shopping at these ports? I know that St. Thomas and St. Maarten are well known for shopping, but not sure about these ports on the Western?

If you find a report - please share or let me know what you are thinking of doing...we are able to book the excursions on January 31st so that is not that far away...believe it or not :banana:

Very happy that it is the weekend, hope everyone has a good one!

[2_Eagle_Mom]

I don't know much about the shopping. I'm not a big shopper (and depending on how the mortgage insurance business is affected by everything that is going on) the decision about excursions and/or shopping may be made for us. Luckily we booked the cruise on our DVC points so we are pretending it didn't cost us anything (yeah right).

The first Western cruise (since April) isn't until 10/4. I'm going to check today to see if anyone has started a pre-trip report. Hopefully there will be some trip reports in October so we can check out their excursion choices. I'll let you know if I find anything good. I didn't realize we could book in January the worksheet forms that I had from Passporter said March. :scared1: Now that adds more pressure to make some decisions.

Where in Canada are you from? I've been to Vancouver and Whistler (and loved both of them). I know I bought tylenol with codine (because we can't get it here without a prescription) when I was in Canada and felt guilty when I brought it back.

I have been keeping my eyes open at the stores for pirate items. While in DL I bought Jim a polo shirt that is subtle enough for him to wear. All the girl stuff was pink pirate (yuck). But I don't have anything. I figured it will only get more difficult to find stuff after Halloween.

Have a fantastic weekend!

[mother_hen]

Will this magnet work for everyone?
http://3pixelchicks.com/FKLP.jpg

i uploaded a full res 4x6 here: http://3pixelchicks.com/FKLP_magnet.jpg

I can change it if you'd rather have a different design.

--Sara

[mother_hen]

I don't know anything about the shopping, either. Not much of a shopper (unless you are talking about camera equipment or computers! LOL!)

For those of you who have been on a DCL cruise before, how much do people dress up for pirate night? Are we going to stick out if we dress in full pirate costume?

Also, how formal is formal night? I haven't been able to squeeze myself into a bridesmaid's gown in years! LOL!
I was thinking an ankle length black skirt with a sweater, but I don't know if that's formal enough... seems more like the semi formal description? yikes. I can buy a formal if I need to but I'm wondering if it's necessary.

Excursions:
we are looking at KW on our own (with the FKLP Tour club)
GC: one of the semi submersible tours so DS can see the coral reefs? maybe dolphins?
Coz: the tour to the "natural water park" sounded like fun - it's an all-day affair.
CCay: stingrays

we have nothing set in stone, but those are the ones that appealed to us the most.

--
Sara

[2_Eagle_Mom]

Will this magnet work for everyone?
http://3pixelchicks.com/FKLP.jpg

i uploaded a full res 4x6 here: http://3pixelchicks.com/FKLP_magnet.jpg

I can change it if you'd rather have a different design.

--Sara

Sara - YOU ROCK!!!! This is perfect. Now I have to get some magnet paper! This is getting me excited. Jim asked about the KLP locations (but asked the husband - what was he thinking) I told him to ask the wife!

We are running off to dinner, but will check back later tonight with our possible excursion list.

[indigodisney]

Sara - I agree with Jane, that magnet is great!! Nice work on that...thanks so much for doing it.

Jane, I live outside of Toronto - nice part of the country but not as scenic as Whistler!

I don't really have too much for formal night either...and for pirate night I have a disney pirate tshirt and that is about it at this point, might look around for something for all of us with Halloween costumes out now.

We have our 4 night cruise in December and I can scope out what people are wearing then but i have heard that the 3 and 4 night cruises are a little more casual than the 7 night.

Jane, looking forward to hearing what is on your excursion list.

Have a great night everyone!

[2_Eagle_Mom]

Hi everyone,

We just got back from dinner and a rousing game of Hoopla (hoopla!). We had a fantastic time, but I've got to get to sleep. I'll post tomorrow our excursion list options, pirate and dinner wear.

Good night.

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

Will this magnet work for everyone?
http://3pixelchicks.com/FKLP.jpg

i uploaded a full res 4x6 here: http://3pixelchicks.com/FKLP_magnet.jpg

I can change it if you'd rather have a different design.

--Sara

That is SOOOOO awesome!!!!! FKLP here we come!!
You're the BEST! BTW, I checked out your website, too! How neat!! After I finish the scrapbook that I bought on our last cruise, I want to switch to digital scrapbooking for everything. Unfortunately, I just got started on it last month (I know, I know...our cruise ended 17 months ago!! Better late than never, right?) My neighbor uses Shutterfly so I've seen several of her books and love how they've turned out.

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

I didn't realize we could book in January the worksheet forms that I had from Passporter said March. :scared1: Now that adds more pressure to make some decisions.
If you have sailed before and are a Castaway Club member, you can book excursions and Palo at 90 days out, but for first-time cruisers, you can't book until 75 days out. I'll see if I can find the counter thing that tells you what day you can book these...

I don't know anything about the shopping, either. Not much of a shopper (unless you are talking about camera equipment or computers! LOL!)
So what kind of camera do you have? Before our last cruise, we got a Nikon D40 and just love it! I got Justin an 18-200 mm zoom lens for Father's Day (even though I'm mostly the picture-taker ;) ) and now wish we had just splurged even more from the beginning and got it right away. It's awesome!

Indigo, what kind of shopping are you looking to do? We did a little in GC and Coz but the boys aren't shoppers, so it cut us short quite a bit. On GC, we were mostly looking in jewelry stores. I actually fell in love with a princess cut diamond necklace but just couldn't spend the money on it. I'm glad I didn't because two days later on our anniversary in Palo, Justin presented me with a one-of-a-kind 1.5 t.c.w anniversary ring with three princess cut diamonds that he designed himself! My wedding ring is a heart-shaped diamond, so he thought he was going to totally flunk out going with the princess cuts, but I am just in love with it! And if we hadn't been shopping in jewelry stores in GC, I probably would never have even thought about princess! Coz didn't really have much for jewelry stores (a few, but not as many as GC). They had mostly trinket-type places, but we didn't venture very far. The boys were tired of walking, so we rode a horse and buggy back to the port instead of continuing to shop. I don't think we bought anything at either port.

For those of you who have been on a DCL cruise before, how much do people dress up for pirate night? Are we going to stick out if we dress in full pirate costume?
For pirate night, we "dressed down" a little. Justin wore jeans and a Harley button up shirt (and this was before they "allowed" jeans), but there were definitely people in full pirate costumes, too. I say if you want to do it, GO FOR IT! Seeing a few other people dressed up made us think that we might do it this time, too, especially with Halloween coming up and costumes readily available.

Also, how formal is formal night? I haven't been able to squeeze myself into a bridesmaid's gown in years! LOL!
I was thinking an ankle length black skirt with a sweater, but I don't know if that's formal enough... seems more like the semi formal description? yikes. I can buy a formal if I need to but I'm wondering if it's necessary.
Don't worry about what everyone else is doing. To tell you the truth, I don't think I even looked at what anyone else was wearing the entire time (other than when the pirates caught our attention), and I doubt anyone looked at us either. We actually did two formal nights (on formal night and on semi-formal night, which was our anniversary/Palo), and I will probably bring both dresses again just because I love them so much and haven't worn them since.

Excursions:
we are looking at KW on our own (with the FKLP Tour club)
GC: one of the semi submersible tours so DS can see the coral reefs? maybe dolphins?
Coz: the tour to the "natural water park" sounded like fun - it's an all-day affair.
CCay: stingrays
Sounds like great options! :thumbsup2

Now I have to get some magnet paper!
I didn't do magnet paper since I've heard they don't always go through printers very well and can be expensive. I just printed on regular paper and laminated it (I just got the el cheapo laminate-at-home pack where you just stick two clear sticky pages together...not the best, but it didn't need to be either) and then used the 3M brand MagnaTabs on the back. We use these things all the time for photos on the fridge, etc. They are reuseable and just peel off when you're done so you can put it on something else. Just another option...

[indigodisney]

I had a chance to look at the excursions and these are the ones I am liking:

Key West - on our own...plus the KLP tour :)

Grand Cayman -
SEVEN MILE BEACH BREAK
Feel your cares melt away under the Caribbean sun while you enjoy the relaxing atmosphere of Grand Cayman's newest beach destination. Soak up the tropical ambience and enjoy a refreshing beverage from your cozy beach chair as the tropical breezes surround you and invite you for a swim in the crystal-clear blue waters.
Cozumel -
COZUMEL RUINS & BEACH TOUR
Immerse yourself in the ancient history and present-day fun of historic Cozumel. Wander the fascinating Mayan archeological site, the San Gervasio Ruins, and uncover the mysterious significance of the small red handprints in the Temple of the Hands. Then, venture to the picturesque Playa Mia beach for some fun in the sun.

This is subject to change...hahaha - sorry for the confusion about the booking date for excursions, spa, etc. We are concierge because of the Romance package so we can do 105 days out.

Val, you hit the nail on the head with what I would be shopping for - jewellery....platinum settings for my engagement ring, etc. Good to know that GC would be the place for that...I bought some jewellery in St.Maarten when we were there years ago. Your anniversary present sounds amazing, what a nice surprise!

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

Here's a link to a date calculator. http://pscalculator.net/allearsnet/pscalcae.php If you put in 05/16/2009, it tells you when you can do things ___ days in advance. 90 days for Castaway Club Members is 02/15/2009, and 75 days for new cruisers is 03/02/2009. For those fortunate enough to be in a suite (or booked for the Romantic Escape), you get to book at 105 days on 01/31/2009.


I found some pics of what we wore for formal and semi-formal nights. I don't remember if I've posted these before or not. If so, here they are again.
This was Monday (formal) before the Golden Mickeys:
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t23/pfenningv/DSC_0274.jpg

This doesn't really show much of our outfits, but you can get the picture. The full view pics that we took of each other in our stateroom aren't very appealing. We had just returned from the tequila tasting AND the beer tasting, so we were a little...well..."tipsy," should I say? Needless to say, our facial expressions were pretty hilarious and not something I prefer to post here. ;) Even this one isn't a great picture of us, but it's the best I've got with our Palo outfits.
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t23/pfenningv/DSC_0480.jpg

[indigodisney]

Val, you look beautiful! Great shots! Thanks for sharing.

I have no idea what I would wear to formal night but I am going to make sure that it is something that I am comfortable in....at least we have some time and this is good because I need to get rid of another 5-10 lbs that mysteriously creeps on throughout the summer.

[mother_hen]

So what kind of camera do you have?

I am bringing my Canon 40D. I had a Canon EOS300D for the longest time, but it finally gave up the ghost last week at the soccer fields. All my lenses are Canon, so it's an easy choice :laughing: Your Nikon is a great camera. My friend who is a professional photographer has that one as well. Her photos are amazing!

For pirate night, we "dressed down" a little. ...but there were definitely people in full pirate costumes, too.

Thanks for the low down on the pirate and formal wear. I guess I have some time to think about it and plan for it. I'll probably pick up some fun pirate wear at Halloween. I think I've convinced DS to go as a pirate for Halloween, too pirate:

I didn't do magnet paper since I've heard they don't always go through printers very well and can be expensive. I just printed on regular paper and laminated it (I just got the el cheapo laminate-at-home pack where you just stick two clear sticky pages together...not the best, but it didn't need to be either) and then used the 3M brand MagnaTabs on the back. We use these things all the time for photos on the fridge, etc. They are reuseable and just peel off when you're done so you can put it on something else. Just another option...

I've put magnet paper through my Epson printers and it's been fine - but a little hard to find here. I think the self-laminate thing sounds perfect. Those business-card sized magnets are really great, too. We use those all the time on the backs of schedules and stuff we want to hang on the fridge. I keep a stack of them in my desk drawer.

Thanks for your kind words about my website. I'm going to try to get a bunch of quick pages done before the cruise so all I've got to do is stick my photos in and do a little journaling after we get back. You're welcome to have whatever I come up with.
Shutterfly does a nice job, don't they? I love the books I've ordered through them.

Thanks for the kudos on the FKLP magnet. It will be so fun to see them on people's doors :)

Val, your pictures are so beautiful! What a lovely family! The boys look too cute all spiffed up :)

[2_Eagle_Mom]

We are finally back online! We thought we had a major melt down of our router but Jim was able to figure it out. I had typed up my response below earlier this morning.

Excusions that we are thinking about:

Key West - we are pretty much convinced we are going to do this on our own. As I said before Jim know someone from Key West and besides the KLP locations he is going to get some suggestions on the top things to do. We'll probably end up just walking around town (have to work off that pie somehow).

Grand Caymen - the excursions that we have highlighted as possible choices are either the Seaworld Explorer Semi-Submarine or the Aquaboat & Snorkel Adventure.

Cozumel - were having a real hard time deciding on any activities. I would'nt mind seeing some ruins, but the one tour that looked good is all day long (and expensive). The two tours that are listed as new (from the PassPorter) that I want to see reveiws on before booking are the Mexican Cuisine Workshop and Tasting or the Discover Mexico and Chankanaab. Or I might see if I can talk Jim into doing a couples massage treatment in the spa villa (I know WAY expensive, but since it is our anniversary, it may be well worth the money and mac&cheese nights before hand).

Regarding the Formal & Semi-Formal nights, according to the reports that I've seen online (and also from Val on post 111) earlier in the thread. It pretty much is as much or as little you want to do. We had to buy a sport coat for Jim recently and we figured he'll wear that with slacks for both nights. For the formal night he might add a tie. Depending on how much weight I'm able to lose before the trip will decide what I wear. Every year in January I have to dress up for an awards banquet for work so I might just double duty it and use the same outfit for formal night (last year I wore black slacks and a dressy top). If I get down the two sizes I might surprise Jim and actually buy a dress! For semi-formal night I'll definately be doing some sort of slacks (don't want to get Jim too used to the dress thing) I'll be wearing that same outfit while we are at WDW for our actual anniversary dinner (I'm thinking of Narcoosee's and the Wishes fireworks).

For the Pirates night - I bought Jim a pirate's polo shirt at DL. It is a black and grey striped polo shirt with a pirate patch on the left chest and a very subtle scull and crossbones on the back. I was hoping to find a pheasant shirt that I could add accessories to make "pirate like". We aren't the type to go "all out" but I've seen photos from trip reports and it doesn't look like you would be alone if you did.

Val - the photos are great! Love your black dress! And the boys are adorable. Great idea about laminating the stickers and using the magnets that are re-usable.

Mother_Hen - I also went to your website last night. I didn't get to spend much time there, but I'm going to bookmark it. Can you let me know when you get your PhotoShop Tutorial online? It sounds just like something I could use. I'm much more of a visual person than a read the manual type of person.

Indigo - thanks for clearing up the booking date. I had thought about doing the Romance Package but couldn't rationalize it just yet.

[starlawyermom]

Hi all - I've been so busy at work and in the evenings I have not had a moment to get on line. Thanks for all the great info - I have NOTHING to add because we have never been on DCL, but we are really looking forward to it. :banana: In terms of the excursions, I have read up on them in the new edition of Passporters and none seem all the appealing to me (maybe I am just boring or picky). I have cruised before and the first time I went, I booked excurions in every port and thought that they were less than impressive for the price (and that was when I was single and only had to pay for one :cool2: ). The second time I cruised I hung out on the boat and thought it was just great - plenty to do and you can enjoy the boat without the crowds. I guess it all depends on what brother-in-law and his family want to do - if my kids' cousins are doing something, there is no way my two will allow themselves to be left behind for a second! :laughing:
Keep those great posts coming - :thumbsup2

[indigodisney]

Bumping this back up to the top...and checking in with everyone. Wow, time is flying fast, can't believe we are already in October.

I am anxiously waiting to hear some results from a ct scan I had last week - they had discovered a mass on my kidney and needed some further investigation and the same week (last weekend in fact) our cat ran away from home. It was a rough week to say the least.

I found that thinking about this vacation and hanging with my daughter this weekend helped immensely.

Hope you all have a great week! I am looking forward to this week - it can ony get better I hope. :goodvibes

Indigo

[mother_hen]

I am so sorry to hear you are having such a hard time, Indigo!
Keeping you in my thoughts and hoping all goes well with your CT scan results. And also hoping Kitty finds her way back home. What a week!

Yes, thinking about this vacation is a great way to get through rough days. I keep thinking.... soon we will be gazing out over those beautiful sunsets at sea ..... soon we will be basking on the beach ... soon we will be eating FKLP on a stick :)

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

Indigo--I just sent you a PM...

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

In terms of the excursions, I have read up on them in the new edition of Passporters and none seem all the appealing to me (maybe I am just boring or picky). I have cruised before and the first time I went, I booked excurions in every port and thought that they were less than impressive for the price (and that was when I was single and only had to pay for one :cool2: ). The second time I cruised I hung out on the boat and thought it was just great - plenty to do and you can enjoy the boat without the crowds.

We're pretty much the same way. As much as we are spending on the cruise, we are planning on enjoying the (nearly empty!) ship on port days...other than FKLP, of course! Our "adventures" off the ship really weren't that great last time, and the one excursion we did on GC was kinda pricey, too (and it pained me to spend $65+ on lunch when we could see the ship from the balcony where we were sitting knowing that it had food that we were already paying for, but Justin wanted to try "authentic" Caribbean food, so we did). The excursions are even more expensive if you book them directly through Disney, but most of the Disney-sponsored ones had a minimum age of 5+, so that excluded us from those anyway because Lennon was only 3. We don't feel comfortable leaving the kids in the club while we are in the port either, so that wasn't even an option for us. But we felt "obligated" to at least get off the ship so we could say that we actually went to GC or Coz or KW since we don't know if we'll ever get a chance to go back. Now that we've BTDT, we'll probably spend most of our time onboard. But that's just me--I'm kind of a tight @$$ (Justin says I squeak when I walk :rotfl2:). I'll have to pull out our Navigators from last time and see what activities were available during port times. It seemed like they still had plenty of stuff going on to keep busy. When we got back to the ship early, we just went straight to the Mickey pool again since that's what the boys wanted to do.

[mother_hen]

Any word on your scan, Indigo? Thinking about you...

Thanks for posting your thoughts on the excursions. We are rethinking some of ours - might take shorter ones and head back to the ship instead of staying out all day. Or might just lounge on the beaches .... ahhhh!

[2_Eagle_Mom]

Indigo - I'm crossing my fingers that you will get good news from the scan and your kitty comes home safe and sound.

Unless there is a huge turn around in the economy we will be spending a LOT of time on the boat. I work in the Mortgage Insurance industry and with everything going on we just hope I'm still employed in May.

We used our DVC points to pay for our trip (both the week at OKW and the cruise) we bought out airline and park tickets a couple of months ago so all we will be paying for is food (when we are at WDW) and rental car. So I don't think we will be paying for any excursions. We'll probably get off the ship to take some photos and walk around (maybe pick-up some souvies for the kids - they collect postcards and keychains so these will be really cheap).

Heck after this year I'll probably be thrilled to just sit on a lounge chair and read a book (or listen to some podcasts).

[indigodisney]

Hi everyone, thank you so much for your kind words! That was a crazy week to say the least. Our cat was found by our neighbour 3 doors down and she called us and we went and picked him up. He was outside living in their backyard for over a week, he has lost so much weight! Poor little guy. I am so relieved he is back home, I was not sure I would ever see him again.

My scan revealed that the mass was unremarkable, whatever that means...will have to explore that later. But they did discover multiple kidney stones in my left kidney so I have to see a urologist this week. Yikes. Hopefully they can treat those before they pass, I have heard horror stories about that!

I was really worried and have really realized that you don't have much if you don't have your health. Puts everything in perspective.

The financial situation across the world is scary and our Canadian dollar is falling fast. I have paid off our cruise and flights now so that i don't have to worry about it...not sure about the excursions, and there probably won't be too many extras that week. I agree that the time spent together will be more than enough.

I was excited about the possibility of doing a 2010 Med cruise with Disney and then when I saw the prices and the dates, that made it next to impossible to consider...not gonna happen :lmao:

Have a great weekend - it is Thanksgiving for Canadians so I am looking forward to putting on my stretchy pants on Monday for dinner!

[2_Eagle_Mom]

Hi everyone, thank you so much for your kind words! That was a crazy week to say the least. Our cat was found by our neighbour 3 doors down and she called us and we went and picked him up. He was outside living in their backyard for over a week, he has lost so much weight! Poor little guy. I am so relieved he is back home, I was not sure I would ever see him again.

My scan revealed that the mass was unremarkable, whatever that means...will have to explore that later. But they did discover multiple kidney stones in my left kidney so I have to see a urologist this week. Yikes. Hopefully they can treat those before they pass, I have heard horror stories about that!

I was really worried and have really realized that you don't have much if you don't have your health. Puts everything in perspective.

The financial situation across the world is scary and our Canadian dollar is falling fast. I have paid off our cruise and flights now so that i don't have to worry about it...not sure about the excursions, and there probably won't be too many extras that week. I agree that the time spent together will be more than enough.

I was excited about the possibility of doing a 2010 Med cruise with Disney and then when I saw the prices and the dates, that made it next to impossible to consider...not gonna happen :lmao:

Have a great weekend - it is Thanksgiving for Canadians so I am looking forward to putting on my stretchy pants on Monday for dinner!

I'm SO glad you found your kitty and the results were mostly good. At least kidney stones aren't as bad as the news could have been. Have a fantastic Thanksgiving!

Maybe we should dub this trip the "budget watchers on board" trip. Or something to that effect. I'm going to spend tomorrow creating a budget for the expenses that we need to save up for (tips, rental car, FKLP, etc) so we have a better idea of how much we should put in the vacation account.

Anyone know how much the alcoholic drinks are onboard? We don't drink much, but I'd like to try one or two of the drinks of the day while sitting in a deck chair and relaxing.

Indigo

[mother_hen]

Indigo! I am so relieved for you! So glad your got your sweet Kitty home and your CT Scan results were not as bad as they could have been.
Here's hoping for an easy resolution to the kidney stones.

LOL about the Budget Watchers. Too bad the economy is putting a damper on our collective plans, but we'll all have a great time anyway even if we opt to spend more time on board. :woohoo:

I've convinced DS to go as a Pirate for Halloween so his costume can serve double-duty :rotfl: Good thing he's still pretty easily manipulated! hee!

[indigodisney]

thanks for your kind wishes!! I felt the same way about the kidney stones, I will take it - better than anywhere that my mind was taking me.

Please share your estimated budget if you feel like it. I am going on the 4 day Nassau cruise in December of this year and thought thought would give me an idea.... I am thinking about putting money in our OBC so that we have a zero balance when we check out. We have under two months to go and I could set aside some money for that.

I am up early today with lots of pain in the left side, hopefully they do not pass before I see the urologist on Tuesday - that is my mantra.

My job is so stressful that I know I need these two planned vacations or I will go nuts. Hope you have a great weekend!!:lovestruc

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

Indigo--still thinking about you... :flower3: Remember to keep hydrated so if you are passing the stone(s), you can flush it out easily. When I had my last one, I felt it drop from my ureter into my bladder, but I waited several hours to even try to pass it the rest of the way (to build up a "power stream" :lmao: ) so it wouldn't get stuck again, and I didn't even feel it pass at all.
I'm glad kitty made it home okay. :cat: And Happy Thanksgiving, too!

Jane--hopefully the economy will turn around soon so we don't have to be worrying about jobs, money for the cruise, etc. Fingers are crossed for you! :flower3:
Maybe the ship won't be as empty as I think it will be on sea days. My parents said yesterday what they're wanting to do for excursions, but we probably won't be joining them.

I'm wondering how some of you have your flights booked already. When I check online, I'm finding that they're not booking into May yet. I'm getting frustrated at the prices, too. I check prices for as far out as I can book (usually end of March or early April), and places like Travelocity, Orbitz, etc., give an option of $179ish, but when I click it, it says, "Sorry, that price is not available anymore." Then they go up to ~$450! :faint: Aaaarrrrrgggh!!! I'm kinda waiting anyway to see what our local (very small!) airport is going to do with their flights, so it's probably not that big a deal that I don't have them booked yet. Unfortunately, we've had trouble keeping airlines at our local airport in the last 1-2 years, so we're hoping someone will come in very soon and give us some flights that will fit into our plans. Right now, the only departure flight we have leaves on Thursday for Vegas and comes back on Sunday (we used to have about 3 or 4 flights a day to and from Kansas City). We were hoping for one of those connecting flights from Grand Island to KC, but like Sherry had found out before, the only non-stop flight from KC to MCO leaves at 7AM, and I don't know if we could get there from GI that early. I'm getting way ahead of myself, though, because there aren't even any talks of bringing in any other flights yet. Bummer! Last time, we drove 2 hours to fly out of Omaha and spent $120 for 9 days of parking plus $100 for gas. Yowza! And we will be gone even longer this time! Sorry for all the rambling...it's just getting to be a sore subject with me. :worried:

If we can't get the flight prices any cheaper that what I've been finding, we might cut short our WDW stay after the cruise. We really want to do KSC, AK, and Cirque de Soleil, so if we just have a couple extra days, I'm sure that will be enough to fit in our wish list. Lennon is a little squeamish when it comes to rides, so I don't think MK will end up being a very good outing for us. I need to start doing more research and planning for that part of the trip...


I was excited about the possibility of doing a 2010 Med cruise with Disney and then when I saw the prices and the dates, that made it next to impossible to consider...not gonna happen :lmao:

Those 2010 cruises are outrageous, aren't they?!?! We might just wait for the first new ship to do another one. I got the feeling this weekend that my MIL is a little jealous that she isn't going with us but that my mom is, so maybe she'll want to come with us next time. I just hope the prices aren't too out of control for the new ships.

Maybe we should dub this trip the "budget watchers on board" trip. Or something to that effect. I'm going to spend tomorrow creating a budget for the expenses that we need to save up for (tips, rental car, FKLP, etc) so we have a better idea of how much we should put in the vacation account.

Anyone know how much the alcoholic drinks are onboard? We don't drink much, but I'd like to try one or two of the drinks of the day while sitting in a deck chair and relaxing.
Be sure and budget that FKLP!!! That is a Must-Not-Do-Without expense! :rotfl2:

I was thinking that most drinks are about $4-5 or so. One thing that Justin didn't realize when he ordered drinks was that there's 15% gratuity already added onto the price, so he would round up his total to give a tip, but the tip was already on, so he gave very nice tips, which I'm sure is why the waiters were all very happy to keep his glass mug filled the entire time. :headache:

I've convinced DS to go as a Pirate for Halloween so his costume can serve double-duty :rotfl: Good thing he's still pretty easily manipulated! hee!
Now that's what I like to hear! Any way to save money is my kind of living! Why spend more money if you don't have to?!?! WTG on the convincing! :laughing:

Please share your estimated budget if you feel like it. I am going on the 4 day Nassau cruise in December of this year and thought thought would give me an idea.... I am thinking about putting money in our OBC so that we have a zero balance when we check out. We have under two months to go and I could set aside some money for that.
I haven't figured out an estimated budget yet for this cruise, but here's what we spent last time, which, to me, was quite a bit. But now we know that we don't need to spend this much in order to have a great vacation. We had ~$900 total onboard expenses and had $200 in OBC. Here's what we spent. Drinks were a pretty big expense (for Justin mostly) and tastings, too, but we alo decided to cancel one of our tastings so we could do Bingo as a family instead for basically the same price. Just guessing, I would say maybe $200-250 was alcohol. :eek: Palo brunch & dinner plus tips were probably just under $100 or so for both (I think we overtipped, but how do you know? We did have the same server at the same table, so that was a very nice surprise). We only bought 3 or 4 pictures from Shutters. We took our camera everywhere with us and just had the CM's use our camera for those situations. We took almost 800 pictures in 7 days. :laughing: We did make quite a few purchases in the shops with 2 beach towels, a t-shirt for each of the boys, a shirt for me, 2 stuffed Plutos for each of the boys, a couple trinkets (my DCL Christmas ornament is one of my favorites!), and Mother's Day presents for our moms--necklaces ~$50 each. (BTW girls, even if you don't think you'll need any FHP, bring them anyway because they are NOT cheap in the shops! Another big expense for me. Sorry if there are any guys reading this...) CC expenses were also charged to our account, which were 2 more shirts for each of the boys, postcards, snorkeling gear rental (we shared one set--$25 each--ouch!), and more sunscreen (also not cheap--bring plenty of your own!). We had enough cash with us that we just used that for tips (again, we overtipped, in my mind), including room service.

Shore expenses that were not on our account were ice cream & FKLP in KW, 12-pk of water at the drug store to bring back onboard so we could take them with us in GC & Coz, a t-shirt for each of the boys at Del Sol, stingray/snorkeling tour in GC ~100+, lunch in GC ~$65 (again, the tip was added automatically, but Justin added more without noticing! I'm getting the feeling that I need to be the one in charge of paying from now on! Sheesh!), a shirt for my stepdad at the Harley shop, taxi fare in Coz to get to Paradise Beach ~$15 each way, $20 for a buggy ride around the port shopping area, stamps from the post office at CC. That's all I can think of off the top of my head. I'm sure if I look through pictures or Navigators, I would probably find more.

I will definitely do things different this time and try to not spend so much. Of course we have wonderful memories and lots of things to remind us of those memories (the boys still fit in all of their shirts and still love their stuffed Plutos). Other than shore expenses, though, I don't really know what else I could cut back on onboard.

I'm planning on transferring my ressie to either DU or AAA for even more OBC (hopefully up to $200 more--we got $200 for booking onboard last time), and we have a Disney Visa that we will probably be using the rewards toward our onboard account. They just ended a promotion, though, that gave 5% on certain purchases, so we ended up with quite a bit more in rewards dollars than we thought we would have, so I'm not sure if that will all go toward the onboard account or if we'll use some of it to pay off the cruise. We mostly use a 3% cash back Mastercard that we are using rewards to pay off our cruise, but that extra 2% helps in every way.

Sorry for rambling on and on...I tend to do that from time to time! I hope I didn't bore everyone to sleep! :lmao:

[indigodisney]

Hi everyone!

Thanks Val, I was drinking lots of water this weekend and also had significant pain in my left side - probably more like a dull constant ache which can drive you nuts when it doesn't let up. Appt is tomorrow with the urologist so will be looking forward to hearing what he suggests. I love the idea of the power stream - that rocks!!! You actually made me start to think that I could handle this - you are the best. :lovestruc

We have booked our flights already - did NWA out of Detroit and it came to under $600 for all three of us so I am happy with that. Your situation does seem to be tight with the airport choices being limited. We are about 3 hours away from the Detroit area but it is so much cheaper than flying out of Toronto.

We have booked some days before the cruise - we are staying in one of the new Pirates rooms at Caribbean Beach Resort and then one night at the end at the Hyatt before we fly home.

LOL about the 2010 prices, they have to be on crack (loved the title of that post). If I went on a cruise with my MIL, one of us would not be alive by the end of the trip. Piece of work.

Good to know that the gratuity is already on there...I probably would have double tipped too. I don't think your spending was outrageous, seems reasonable to me...but I can understand the need to tighten it down right now. I would rather have less stuff and more experiences.

Hope everyone had a great day - we are stuffed with turkey over here after a great Thanksgiving....looking forward to seeing the craziness around here on October 14th aka expensive cruise booking day. :cool2:

[2_Eagle_Mom]

Hey everyone,

First of all Val you are not boring anyone, you had some great information. I didn't know that the drinks already included gratuity that is really good to know. I think I'll budget for two drinks a piece for each of us per day. I really don't drink very much at all (puts me to sleep) but the thought of something frozen and fruity sounds good after all the stress.

Indigo - glad to know you are having better days. Hopefully the urologist will be able to help things along. Do they still do the sonic wave thing that breaks up the stone?

Val - I really don't know why you haven't been able to find flights for May. Normally they are available about 230 days out (except for Southwest, they don't book more than 4 months out). If the smaller airport doesn't have flights and you decide to travel to the larger airport you might be able to find an airport hotel that has a cheap rate that you can drive the night before, stay there (find one that has free shuttle service to/from the airport). Since we are going to be gone for two weeks and we didn't want to pay an arm and leg for parking I found it was easier to rent a car from a local agency and then drop it off at the airport (about $45). If you were to go the airport hotel route, you could check into the hotel and one of you could drop the car off at the airport and catch the hotel shuttle back to the hotel. Then on your way home you just need to pick up the rental car at the airport and drive it back home. I just looked at MCI (Kansas City) and it looks like you have quite a lot of options (Delta seems to have the most options) although I didn't see any non-stop flights. There was a flight at 10am and noon (going through Atlanta).

From what I hear about the airline industry, it doesn't look like airlines will be adding flights anytime soon. I was listening to the DIS board podcast archives and there was a great segment on saving money on flights. They recommend the website www.yapta.com you can input the flights you are looking at and it will track them and send you emails if the prices go down. I didn't have time to play around on the site but it will also track flights bought on your own to see if the prices go down so you can request a refund.

I didn't work on the budget yet. I may work on that next week while I sit at a convention looking busy (I'm there to answer questions and make sure the food gets delivered on time). If I can't get internet access then I have to look busy on a computer doing something. They won't know if I'm creating a budget for my vacation or another meeting. It will be better than playing solitaire.

I didnt have the heart to look at the prices for the 2010 cruises. Jim was reading the ports of call for the European cruise and I can only imagine how expensive they are. Of course it will be interesting to see how long before they start offering discounts.

[indigodisney]

Val is definitely not boring!! Plus it is great that you have been on this cruise before - we need you!!

I have to go for surgery for these damn stones, they can't be busted up by the sonic wave. I have to be referred to another specialist. More waiting.

I hope you all have a great week, we are almost at another weekend. Have fun at the convention next week!!

[indigodisney]

Bumping up from page 5....hope everyone is well!

I found out yesterday that my employer really doesn't like me taking vacation in May - oh well, it's booked and she already approved my time.

Work has been crazy for me, it looks like everyone is really busy too - talk to you all soon.:banana:

[2_Eagle_Mom]

Don't you love when you've got something scheduled and then the light bulb goes off in someone's head and says "gee that's really not a good time" Oh, well. I'm glad they aren't making you change your plans. That happened to me once I had rearranged my work schedule to accommodate a meeting and then planned a long weekend. The meeting got scheduled and they told me I would then need to take vacation days to have the long weekend. Needless to say, I quit that job not long after that.

The convention went really well. I was hoping to be able to work on my cruise budget during the down times, but I had to jump up every 10 minutes to giggle a mouse to keep a looped presentation going (dang not having admin rights to change the screensaver options).

I did start to calculate tips. Has anyone ever put money on their shipboard account prior to the trip? Is this possible?

Hope everyone has a good weekend.

[indigodisney]

I was wondering about that - I think you can add money to your account and it is fairly easy...through the form you fax in from the DCL website. I think we might do that for our cruise in May. Will be nice to have everything be paid for - I could set aside some money each week.

Glad the convention was okay and that you were able to spend some time on your budget :woohoo:

I am so tired, always so glad for Friday, the work week just sems so long. :lmao:

Have a great weekend!

[mother_hen]

ah the weekend! hope everyone is having the same beautiful weather we are. love being outdoors this time of the year!

i was wondering about putting $$ in the onboard account ahead of time, too.
DS decorated 2 envelopes with Disney stickers for us. He's putting a portion of his allowance in his envie each week. I've been throwing all of my $1 bills in mine plus any extra grocery $$ I can manage to save each week. It's our attempt at a somewhat painless way to set aside cruise cash & tip $$ :)
I'm hoping to avoid having to put any more on the credit cards.

Lord knows, if I'd just cook what is in my pantry and freezer from now until then, I could save a small fortune at the grocery store. LOL!

Thanks for all the great info, Val. It is really comforting to have your help! It's going to be such a blast to get to meet everyone on the cruise!

Indigo, have they scheduled your surgery yet?

[indigodisney]

I hear you on cooking what is in the pantry and the freezer...I think a grocery exile would save a lot of money! Thanks Mother Hen, I haven't heard anythng from the surgeon, I am going to follow up on Monday.

We are heading to Universal/DCL 4 day Bahamas cruise + MVMCP for the first time in early December and I am thinking about reserving a family portrait photopass session at one of the deluxe resorts - Polynesian probably. Was researching that last night and might do it if it is not a small fortune.

We definitely need a break - although our retirement savings have taken a real beating (along with everyone else in the world) and I think it is a good idea to do what we can to cut back so that NOTHING cuts into our vacation time :rotfl: :dance3:

Have a great weekend!

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

I just looked at MCI (Kansas City) and it looks like you have quite a lot of options (Delta seems to have the most options) although I didn't see any non-stop flights.
I was hoping for a non-stop flight from Kansas City so we could lessen the chances of Lennon getting motion sick. He didn't handle the landing into Omaha very well last time. :crazy2:

Actually our local airport just announced flights beginning in December to Kansas City, so I'll need to do more checking to see what would work with the new schedule. They will be leaving Grand Island at around 6 AM, 1 PM, and 5 PM, so hopefully something will work out right. :confused3

www.yapta.com
Hopefully I'll get a chance to play with this sometime soon.

I didnt have the heart to look at the prices for the 2010 cruises.
Unless you want your socks knocked off, don't even bother looking! Yikes! :scared1: I think I checked the N. European ones, and they were well over 10 G for 4.

Has anyone ever put money on their shipboard account prior to the trip? Is this possible?
We've been collecting Disney gift cards to give as gifts for the boys. Lennon's preschool has a fundraiser program where you buy almost any kind of gift card at face value, but the preschool buys it at a lower price so that a percentage of it goes directly to the preschool, so we've gotten some of those that we will give to the boys for Christmas presents. They can spend it however they want on the cruise, so what we're going to do is give them "play" money in the amount of the gift cards (since they'll be put onto the account when we get onboard), and then they'll "pay" us the amount with the play money so they can keep track of how much they have left and not worry about them carrying around real money. I learned this on the DIS a few months ago, so I hope it works out as easy as it sounds.

hope everyone is having the same beautiful weather we are. love being outdoors this time of the year!
Well, just what kind of beautiful weather are you having?!?! We had four days of rain and SNOW this week!!!! :cold: Luckily we're back up to almost 70 degrees now (so why am I inside doing this?!?! :rotfl: )

Thanks for all the great info, Val. It is really comforting to have your help! It's going to be such a blast to get to meet everyone on the cruise!
Am I the only one that has cruised DCL before? Indigo, I know you'll be going in December, so I'm excited to hear all about it so other people's experiences can be shared, too!

I haven't heard anythng from the surgeon, I am going to follow up on Monday.
Please keep us informed! :flower3:

We are heading to Universal/DCL 4 day Bahamas cruise + MVMCP for the first time in early December and I am thinking about reserving a family portrait photopass session at one of the deluxe resorts - Polynesian probably. Was researching that last night and might do it if it is not a small fortune.
Will you be staying at WDW? (I'm not familiar with Universal, so I don't know if there are resorts there or not.) If so, what resort? We're thinking maybe Poly or AK after the cruise, so I'm just looking for input. :)


It's been driving me crazy not having the time to spend here like I want!!! Last week, this week, and next week are just CRAZY schedules! Between being in KC for 3 days, messed up school schedules for parent/teacher conferences, going to the PTC for both boys, working book fairs at schools, football practice and games, gymnastics classes, Mary Kay meetings, birthdays (mine & Hudson's) and parties, doctor's appts, Halloween parties to plan, PTO meetings, Pampered Chef parties, etc., etc., (the list just goes on and on--and work on top of it, too), I just havent had ANY time to do anything! :worried: We really need to decide on the rest of the vacation after the cruise--how long to stay, where to stay, etc.--before we actually book any flights. We just haven't had any time to even think about talking about it. :sad2: So do you think it would be wrong of us to not go to MK while at WDW? I'm very excited for AK, but MK just seems a little hectic and maybe not "worth it" since Lennon doesn't like many rides. It just doesn't seem right to go to WDW and not go to MK, but I have a feeling it's not going to be a good experience. Hmmmmmmm...

[indigodisney]

Hi Val!

Disney gift cards are a good idea! Haven't found a way to purchase those in Canada yet.

We are so looking forward to our December holiday - I remember years ago when I was 10 years old (yep, that was a very long time ago :rotfl: ) and we went for Christmas and New Year's - we had New Year's Eve at Magic Kingdom, that was a really special memory for me!

I did book the 2010 July 25th Wonder Double Dip cruise before the prices became even more outrageous!

I hope Universal will be fun - I think it probably will be. :cool1: We are staying at the Royal Pacific and this gives us the front of the line pass in the parks for two days. That is a great feature about staying on site at Universal.

So we have three days there, go on the 4 day cruise and then 4 nights at Pop - looking forward to seeing that hotel and the values are fine for us! We have stayed at All Star movies (thought it was just fine) and Animal Kingdom Lodge (in a Savannah room) - that was a huge splurge but it was Dd's 5th birthday and we thought why not, I only recommend that if you are going to be in your room...there are viewing places all over the hotel so you don't need to have this kind of room. The resort itself is beautiful and unique and we loved it! I want to drive over and see it at Christmas time as I have heard the tree there is just gorgeous.

Val, I wouldn't worry about not going to MK while you are there, if you dont get much use from the rides especially. IT is pretty ride intense there. I think we will go to AK only this December and MK for the Christmas party and probably SeaWorld.

Hope you all have a great weekend1!!

[indigodisney]

I heard that Disney has reduced prices for next year - 2009 - has anyone checked to see if their fares have been reduced? I am going to check but probably it is wishful thinking :lmao:

How is everyone doing? This time of year is so busy - have a good halloween tomorrow...

[starlawyermom]

Hi all - I have been remiss by not keeping up with this thread, but I just took some time to read all the posts since my last visit on 10/20 (can't believe its been that long). All those late night Red Sox World Series games last month kept me and others here in Massachusetts in a fog for over a week. Plus, I should count my blessings that with the type of legal work I do, business is booming for me in this economy. Time is flying - before we know it, it will be May. My husband booked our flights a few months ago but I can't recall what we paid. Plus, we have all decided to stay a few days after the cruise at the Doubletree Melbourne Beach Oceanfront Resort on May 23rd and May 24th, 2008. We dont have the opportunity to see my in-laws and my husband's brother & family all that often (they live in FL and AR respectively), so we have all decided to make the most of it. I was thinking about giving something to my kids at Christmas that they could use on the cruise - like a gift card? I saw something in the thread about Disney Gift Cards...what are they, and can we use them on the ship? My girls would get a big kick of selecting their own souvenier - my mother-in-law gave them Disney Dollars the last time we went to WDW and they were thrilled. Any suggestions would be helpful -
Okay, must get back to the grind. I hope everyone is well - keep the good info coming!!!!

[2_Eagle_Mom]

I was thinking about giving something to my kids at Christmas that they could use on the cruise - like a gift card? I saw something in the thread about Disney Gift Cards...what are they, and can we use them on the ship? My girls would get a big kick of selecting their own souvenier - my mother-in-law gave them Disney Dollars the last time we went to WDW and they were thrilled. Any suggestions would be helpful -
Okay, must get back to the grind. I hope everyone is well - keep the good info coming!!!!

I used to use Disney Dollars for my kids when they were little. Give them a specific amount and they could decide what they wanted to spend it on (I ALWAYS told them I had final veto authority so they couldn't get one of those huge suckers or a plastic snake). My boss gave me a Disney Gift Card once, I think she bought it at one of the hotels. I can't imagine that they wouldn't be able to use it on the cruise (in the shops). Do you have a Disney Store nearby? I bet they should be able to find out for you.

We are going to sit down this weekend and firm up our dinning reservations for the time before the cruise since we are only one week away from being able to make those reservations. We also need to decide on which day we want to shoot for Palo brunch reservations. I think we are still planning on doing our own thing for the ports.

Has anyone done the rainforest rooms at the spa? I'm trying to decide whether I want to add that to the budget. Just don't know if DH would be willing to do it as well and don't think it will be as fun without him.

[lizzyb]

Hi ladies!

It's been awhile since I've been on here... and alot has changed.

Unfortunately we had to cancel our cruise :( but for a good reason.... we are expecting. :)

Hopefully we can cruise once this little one is a bit older.

[suezyq50]

Hi everyone. My DH and I are on this cruise, along with our DS, 20, and DD 26. Our DD, DSIL, and GD who will be 4 and GD who will be 9 mo. We are so excited about this cruise. This will be our first Disney.
I briefed this thread. We are "dressing" up for pirate night. GDs have a different costume for each night. I have bought each two, DD bought some. She went to the Disney store after Halloween and got some for $10!
Take care everyone and happy planning!

[Disgirl83]

I've been reading through all your posts today and getting soo excited. Although DH and I have not booked (yet) we are about 90% sure we will be reserving very soon. I'm such a disney fanatic and am slowly converting my husband since our Disney honeymoon in October 2006.

My first and only Disney Cruise was in 2001 and I've been dying to go back since. The door magnets are soo cute, I don't remember seeing any 7 years ago, but I think that it is a wonderful idea.

I hope to be on here soon to let you know that we have definately booked!!!

[indigodisney]

Hi 2_Eagle_Mom - thanks for reminding me about the dining reservations for May - can we book those already? We are there at CBR for 3 days before the cruise. I haven't tried the rainforest room but we leave in 3 weeks, 3 days for our 4 night Bahamas Disney cruise and I am going to try it out then and let you know!

Hi Starlawyermom - you should really busy! I think you can use the Disney gift cards on the ship, it is a good idea I think so that everything doesn't get charged to the on board account.

Lizzyb! So sorry you have had to cancel your cruise, but what a great reason! congratulations!

Welcome Suezyq50! You have a crowd coming on the ship like we do. I am excited that my parents are coming along - I think they will be surprised at how much they enjoy themselves.

Welcome Disgirl83 - hope you end up joining us!

Time is really flying by - wow! The Christmas decorations are up at the malls and I always forget how fast it goes between Halloween and Christmas.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!:banana: :banana: :banana:

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

Sheesh! Looks like I've been missing out here lately! I think I will finally have time to get caught up on some stuff and keep in touch here while also catching up on the main board. It's been driving me crazy not to touch base every day! :laughing:

I did book the 2010 July 25th Wonder Double Dip cruise before the prices became even more outrageous!
Since I haven't kept up on the main board, is there talk of large price jumps? WTG on getting yours at a much better price! :thumbsup2

I hope Universal will be fun - I think it probably will be. :cool1: We are staying at the Royal Pacific and this gives us the front of the line pass in the parks for two days. That is a great feature about staying on site at Universal.

So we have three days there, go on the 4 day cruise and then 4 nights at Pop - looking forward to seeing that hotel and the values are fine for us! We have stayed at All Star movies (thought it was just fine) and Animal Kingdom Lodge (in a Savannah room) - that was a huge splurge but it was Dd's 5th birthday and we thought why not, I only recommend that if you are going to be in your room...there are viewing places all over the hotel so you don't need to have this kind of room. The resort itself is beautiful and unique and we loved it! I want to drive over and see it at Christmas time as I have heard the tree there is just gorgeous.

Cool! Sounds like fun! Have a great time on all the different parts of your upcoming trip, including your "trial" cruise! Then come and tell us all about it! I remember how my excitement was building last year when cruise time was so close! Thanks for the info about some of the resorts. As soon as Justin gets back from running some errands, I'm going to suggest that we watch the WDW DVD so we can plan our stay there. I hope we're not hurting ourselves by waiting this long to do anything. Is it like DCL with early booking to save money? Is there a chance we won't get what we want because they're booked up already? Now I'm starting to freak myself out! :worried: :rolleyes2

Val, I wouldn't worry about not going to MK while you are there, if you dont get much use from the rides especially. IT is pretty ride intense there. I think we will go to AK only this December and MK for the Christmas party and probably SeaWorld.
Thanks for that bit of reassurance. We'll probably decide for sure after watching the DVD. I should spread my wings over to the WDW board, too, huh?

I heard that Disney has reduced prices for next year - 2009 - has anyone checked to see if their fares have been reduced? I am going to check but probably it is wishful thinking :lmao:
No such luck with ours. Anyone else?

have a good halloween tomorrow...
What did everone have for their little trick or treaters? Hudson was a hot dog, and Lennon was Scooby Doo. I'll post pics later today.

we have all decided to stay a few days after the cruise at the Doubletree Melbourne Beach Oceanfront Resort on May 23rd and May 24th, 2008. We dont have the opportunity to see my in-laws and my husband's brother & family all that often (they live in FL and AR respectively), so we have all decided to make the most of it.
Sounds like a nice finishing touch to your vacation!

I was thinking about giving something to my kids at Christmas that they could use on the cruise - like a gift card? I saw something in the thread about Disney Gift Cards...what are they, and can we use them on the ship? My girls would get a big kick of selecting their own souvenier - my mother-in-law gave them Disney Dollars the last time we went to WDW and they were thrilled. Any suggestions would be helpful -
They're just regular gift cards like you would buy/use at any store, but they're for Disney. We get ours as a fundraiser through preschool, but I'm sure you could call Disney direct and get some, too.

We are going to sit down this weekend and firm up our dinning reservations for the time before the cruise since we are only one week away from being able to make those reservations.
Since I'm a newbie to WDW, what does this mean? Is it just for one specific meal (like Palo would be) or is it for the entire time you're there? Just wondering so I know what else I need to be planning! :laughing:

We also need to decide on which day we want to shoot for Palo brunch reservations.
I think I was wrong when I mentioned before that we did brunch on the morning of KW day. When I looked back at some pictures not too long ago, I see that we did the Character Breakfast on the morning of KW (Sun) and then did Palo brunch the next day (Mon--sea day).

Unfortunately we had to cancel our cruise :( but for a good reason.... we are expecting. :)
I'm sad...but happy for you, too!
CONGRATULATIONS!!!!
We'll miss you! Keep us informed on everything!

Hi everyone. My DH and I are on this cruise, along with our DS, 20, and DD 26. Our DD, DSIL, and GD who will be 4 and GD who will be 9 mo. We are so excited about this cruise. This will be our first Disney.
I briefed this thread. We are "dressing" up for pirate night. GDs have a different costume for each night. I have bought each two, DD bought some. She went to the Disney store after Halloween and got some for $10!
Take care everyone and happy planning!

:welcome: to our cruise!!! Just as others are leaving, we have new ones arriving! Glad to "meet" you! You'll love it here--we've got a great bunch of people!

WTG on scoring cheap pirate costumes! :thumbsup2

I've been reading through all your posts today and getting soo excited. Although DH and I have not booked (yet) we are about 90% sure we will be reserving very soon. I'm such a disney fanatic and am slowly converting my husband since our Disney honeymoon in October 2006.

My first and only Disney Cruise was in 2001 and I've been dying to go back since. The door magnets are soo cute, I don't remember seeing any 7 years ago, but I think that it is a wonderful idea.

I hope to be on here soon to let you know that we have definately booked!!!

Yay! Another (potential) new member to our group! I'll give you an official :welcome: anyway!

I think you can use the Disney gift cards on the ship, it is a good idea I think so that everything doesn't get charged to the on board account.
Actually, you can only charge to your account, but when you board that first day, you can take your gift cards to Guest Services, and they'll apply them toward your account so the money is already there for what you buy.



How has the weather been for everyone around here? We've been having a super cold time here lately with 50+ mph winds and 30ish degree days with wind chills making it much worse. :cold: I have no idea why I live in Nebraska when I don't like cold weather at all! You'd think I would be used to it by now, but I'm not. Oh well... It's a perfect day for chili. It's cooking as we speak. :goodvibes

Well, Justin just got home, so we'll see if he's up for a little WDW DVD. I'll let you all know what we decide on.

[Disgirl83]

How has the weather been for everyone around here? We've been having a super cold time here lately with 50+ mph winds and 30ish degree days with wind chills making it much worse. :cold: I have no idea why I live in Nebraska when I don't like cold weather at all! You'd think I would be used to it by now, but I'm not. Oh well... It's a perfect day for chili. It's cooking as we speak. :goodvibes


It been getting much cooler here. The days have been warming up to the upper 50s/lower 60s and nights are getting into the 30s. Before you know it though it will be soo chilly!!!

[Disgirl83]

It's official, we booked the cruise!!! I'm soo excited. It will be me (25) and my DH (27). We don't have any children, well we do have 2 dogs and a cat but I don't think Disney would be too thrilled is they tried to board! :) Now it's time to officially start planning.

[indigodisney]

Hi everyone! 3 weeks until I am on vacation - yippee - work has been too crazy so it will be good to get away.

Val, I think you will be okay with booking your May stay for Disney resorts. Let us know what you decide to do. Hope you had time on the weekend to look at the dvd. Your kids costumes sound so cute - my daughter was a horse and then changed halfway through to be a cheetah...too funny.

The weather was gorgeous here until Monday and then it snowed....:eek:

Oh well, it is almost winter....

welcome aboard disgirl83!!! Congratulations on booking!! :dance3:

[starlawyermom]

Welcome Disgirl83. My brother in law, his wife and three kids are cruising with us. They are Dis fanatics like you - they have points with the Vacation Club - they got married there in 2000. It was a wild few days at the Park - unfortunately, I was unable to attend as I had a three week old at home back then! We have been there with them and our kids a few times -
Can't wait until May..

[Disgirl83]

Ok, so I've been absolutely addicted to reading trip reports during the last week. I've also read about the fish extenders which are too cute. Are any of you all planning on having one on the cruise? I'm thinking about trying to make one just 'cause it is so darn cute eventhough we are 2 adults with no kids, :goodvibes ! The second dining seating is all we could get at time of booking but we have been added to the waitlist for the first rotation. We also don't have a room number yet but I'll be happy wherever we end up.

Hope everyone is doing good and that everyone is getting ready to gear up for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

[indigodisney]

Hi Disgirl83 - Hope you are doing well!

I think I prefer the late seating, we are trying it on our Dec 7th Wonder cruise in a few weeks. My parents are coming on the May cruise and they don't want to eat late so we are on the wait list for the early seating as well.

I am not sure if we are doing fish extenders or not but I am definitely signing up for the KLP magnets. :thumbsup2

It feels like the holidays are approaching too quickly - looking forward to our vacation!

Have a great day!

[2_Eagle_Mom]

I can't believe how long its been since I've checked out our thread!

Hi everyone. My DH and I are on this cruise, along with our DS, 20, and DD 26. Our DD, DSIL, and GD who will be 4 and GD who will be 9 mo. We are so excited about this cruise. This will be our first Disney.
I briefed this thread. We are "dressing" up for pirate night. GDs have a different costume for each night. I have bought each two, DD bought some. She went to the Disney store after Halloween and got some for $10!
Take care everyone and happy planning!
Welcome!! Glad to have you join our group.

Hi 2_Eagle_Mom - thanks for reminding me about the dining reservations for May - can we book those already? We are there at CBR for 3 days before the cruise. I haven't tried the rainforest room but we leave in 3 weeks, 3 days for our 4 night Bahamas Disney cruise and I am going to try it out then and let you know! I tried to call and they are still revamping their reservation system. They said to try and call back in mid-December.


Lizzyb! So sorry you have had to cancel your cruise, but what a great reason! congratulations!

Welcome Suezyq50! You have a crowd coming on the ship like we do. I am excited that my parents are coming along - I think they will be surprised at how much they enjoy themselves.

Welcome Disgirl83 - hope you end up joining us!

Time is really flying by - wow! The Christmas decorations are up at the malls and I always forget how fast it goes between Halloween and Christmas.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!:banana: :banana: :banana:
I agree!


Since I'm a newbie to WDW, what does this mean? Is it just for one specific meal (like Palo would be) or is it for the entire time you're there? Just wondering so I know what else I need to be planning! :laughing: I was talking about making our reservations for our week prior to the cruise, but like I said above they aren't taking reservations for past March right now.


I think I was wrong when I mentioned before that we did brunch on the morning of KW day. When I looked back at some pictures not too long ago, I see that we did the Character Breakfast on the morning of KW (Sun) and then did Palo brunch the next day (Mon--sea day). I think we are going to try for brunch on one of the sea days. Just so we don't have to rush and we can fully enjoy our time.

How has the weather been for everyone around here? We've been having a super cold time here lately with 50+ mph winds and 30ish degree days with wind chills making it much worse. :cold: I have no idea why I live in Nebraska when I don't like cold weather at all! You'd think I would be used to it by now, but I'm not. Oh well... It's a perfect day for chili. It's cooking as we speak. :goodvibes
I'm her in Northern CA and we have been having the weirdest weather? Its been in the 70s (80s over the weekend). I'm not complaining, its just hard to get ramped up for Christmas when we are still in shorts.

I'm with Indigo on the fish extenders - just not sure if we will be doing one, but I have been collecting magnet ideas. I just wish I had the skills to design something cool to surprise DH (Jim).

I'm still waiting to hear back from Jim's friend in Key West on other locations for FKLP. I even sent an email to the Podcast crew to see if they had any suggestions. Hopefully they will read my message on the Podcast (I'd love to earn a t-shirt).

I'm pretty sure that we are going to go on our own in all of the ports. Jim suggested I make a spa appointment. I'd love to, but the budget has been really tight lately and I just can't rationalize spending so much money doing something that I can do here at home.

Indigo, I'll look forward to your report on the rainforest room.

Hope everyone has a fantastic Thanksgiving weekend!

[indigodisney]

Hi 2EagleMom - thanks for the update on the dining - will book my stuff when I get back from my December trip, it will give me some planning to do to help beat the back to work blues. Will definitely check out the rainforest room and let everyone know what it is like.

I just realized when I was up to my neck in work today that I start my vacation in two weeks - can't wait :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana:

Hope everyone is doing well - the snow has arrived here in my part of Canada...yuck. Looking forward to some warmth again.

[2_Eagle_Mom]

:cool1: :woohoo:

Congratulations on the two week countdown!!!!

I wish we were just two weeks away from our cruise. You'll have to come back and give us a mini-trip report! Or tell us what your schedule is so we can track your trip and live vicariously through you.

Just think you'll be basking in warm sunshine and Florida warmth VERY soon!

[indigodisney]

Thanks for the good wishes!! I am pretty excited - :cool1: :thumbsup2 :cool1: :thumbsup2

I don't think DD has realized she is so close to getting away from it all (and seeing Mickey) :rotfl:

[mother_hen]

Hi! Welcome DisGirl! Great to have you with us :)
Indigo, I am so jealous! You are going to have a blast! Can't wait to hear your trip report.
Things have been crazy-busy here this fall. Looks like everyone else has been really busy, too. I haven't even looked into reservations - glad I'm not too late ;)
The travel channel had a Disney Cruise show a couple of weeks ago that we Tivo'd. It will be fun to watch as we prep for the trip.
We've also been watching the Suite Life on Deck show. Pretty silly, but DS loves it.
Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!

[indigodisney]

Hi MotherHen, I haven't watched the Suite Life but we are also remarkably free of Hanna Montana around here so I wont push it...

Wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! :cutie:

Just finished the online check in for our Dec 7th cruise. I can't wait...that makes it so much more real.

Hope everyone had a great weekend.

[indigodisney]

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE....from your fellow Canadian cruiser!!

:woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo:

Only a few more days until my vacation starts - yay!!

Hope you all have a great weekend

[mother_hen]

Have a wonderful trip, Indigo! Can't wait to hear about all the fun and see your pictures. We'll be thinking about you! :cool2:

[indigodisney]

Thanks Mother Hen - will give you a full report when I get back! Going to be so happy to leave my cell phone and computer at home....have a great day!:lovestruc

[Tink113]

Hi all! We have a may 9th Eastern booked that we are thinking about switching to this cruise & I just wanted to say hi. :cheer2:

Disney has released some great deals lately and after checking into the savings, we are almost sure we are going to switch. There are 10 of us total cruising together. For my brother, sister-in-law, 7 their kids the savings would be $750!!!!! For all of us, the savings would be about $1,600! (That's a lot of excursion, spa, and cocktails money for the cruise:thumbsup2 ) We are going to book the cat 12's GTY. I've cruised twice and never stayed in the cat 12's, but i hear there aren't bad. Here's hoping. :wizard:

So, have you guys started a Fish Extender yet?

[shasess]

Hello Everyone!
DH and I just booked the May 16th, 7 night western cruise! We were able to get a wonderful rate so we decided to make it an adult only anniversary cruise. We were married :bride: on May 17th of this year so the date works out pretty good. We will also be going on a family cruise on the Wonder in August of next year. We have never taken a Disney cruise before and we are soooo excited! party: :jumping1: party: :jumping1:

[mother_hen]

Welcome Tink and Shasess! Glad to have you with us!

I haven't done a fish extender yet. We haven't really talked about it much.

Shasess, there are several of us celebrating anniversaries on this cruise :) Yay! We'll all have to toast each other!

[Disgirl83]

Welcome to the new cruisers. Shasess we are also doing an "adults only" cruise. If everyone is interested in doing the fish extender thing I'd be happy to get on the band wagon.

[shasess]

Welcome to the new cruisers. Shasess we are also doing an "adults only" cruise. If everyone is interested in doing the fish extender thing I'd be happy to get on the band wagon.

So cool :thumbsup2

The fish extender exchange sounds great!

[lucyddr]

I just booked this cruise today at an AMAZING rate! This will be our 2nd Disney Magic Western cruise (4th cruise overall) and happens to leave port on my 32nd Birthday! My DH doesn't even know I booked it... He may or may not be able to go based on work issues, but I figure at this price I can always find a substitution... We've never been in an inside room before (2 balconies and 1 OV), but for the price I don't really care. I can sleep anywhere!

Once I know for sure that we are going, I'm certainly willing to engage in the FE activities. They look really fun and cool to me!

BTW We don't have kids, so this will definitely be a "adult" cruise for us!

[Disgirl83]

What a great birthday present! It's just a week before my DH's 28th b-day so it will kind-of be a birthday cruise for him to! We also booked an inside room, I figure we'll hardly ever be in there anyways. Who knows though maybe we will get upgraded! :goodvibes

[2_Eagle_Mom]

I just booked this cruise today at an AMAZING rate! This will be our 2nd Disney Magic Western cruise (3rd cruise overall) and happens to leave port on my 32nd Birthday! My DH doesn't even know I booked it... He may or may not be able to go based on work issues, but I figure at this price I can always find a substitution... We've never been in an inside room before (2 balconies and 1 OV), but for the price I don't really care. I can sleep anywhere!

Once I know for sure that we are going, I'm certainly willing to engage in the FE activities. They look really fun and cool to me!

BTW We don't have kids, so this will definitely be a "adult" cruise for us!


Welcome to all the new joiners! I'm glad we aren't the only "adult only" cruisers.

I just called up to DH to say that we are exactly 5 months away from the start of our vacation (we are going a week early to OKW). Which means we are 5 months and 1 week away from our CRUISE!!!! Just the thought of the relaxing time that awaits us is relaxing. I've been reading through my Passporter and checking out trip reports to take me there mentally. I wish we could make our reservations for Palo. That would just make it seem so much closer.

I'm in for the fish extenders as well. I've been reading all about them and it sounds like a great idea! I'll just have to figure out which characters I want to put on the pockets. Hmm... guess I better do some research!

[sfrasc2000]

Disgirl

Dont worry about a thing my DH and I did the cruise when we did not have a child. It was great. We now have 1 daughter and this will be her second DC. If you guys feel left out we will meet you guys and you can spend time with her. LOLOL

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

OMG!!!!

I feel SO BAD!! I haven't had time to visit here in a couple weeks, but I just assumed everyone else was busy, too, and hadn't been here either since I haven't been getting any email notices about the new postings. SNAP! Now I come here on a whim and find out I've missed out on SO many new cruisers! I can't believe it! Looks like I've got lots of updating on #1 to do! Whomever wants their info put in, let me know.
~~~Below is a list of those DIS'ers who have joined our thread. I will do my best to keep it up-to-date based on the info posted in the thread or sent to me via PM. You can add whatever other info you want me to put also (stateroom/deck #, early/late seating, etc.).~~~
DIS NAME(s)
ADULTS
KIDS (AGES WHEN SAIL)
STATE

Well here's a GIGANTIC :welcome: to ALL the new members! I'm usually more on the ball than this, so I apologize for not doing this sooner! :sad2:

We didn't do the FE on our last cruise, so I'm not familiar with them. I've seen the pix but don't know the details, so I'll have to do some reading! :)

So is Indigo on her trip now? I don't remember when exactly it was scheduled for. Can't wait to hear all the details!

I'm checking the DCL website to see if the price has gone down at all to get our rate reduced. Has anyone had that happen yet? So far, it looks just slightly less...$50 is all...but it'll get me started checking more often now! (I used to be obsessed with it and would check it EVERY day right after I booked it! :laughing: )

[lucyddr]

Assuming we actually get to go, here's our information:

Lucyddr
Loucinda (32 on sail date) and Adam (36)
No children
Tennessee
Late Dining
Cat. 12

We cruised the Magic Western in September, 2005 and loved it! We'd actually like to do the eastern, but the price on this one was so good that we booked it instead. (Plus we've been to St. Thomas before, so the only new port on that itinerary would be St. Marteen. As far as I can tell, there's not much there that would interest us.)

Once again, assuming we get to go... Here are our shore plans (since we've been to the ports before and some more than once).
1. Grand Cayman: Walk down past Eden Rock to the next resort and snorkel off the beach vs Capt. Marvin Sting Ray/Snorkel trip. (We saw the rays once already, so they aren't that important for us to see again. However, I wouldn't mind snorkelling in the other areas.)

2. Key West: Get off the boat, have some KLP on a stick ,and pick up some little cigars at a place that my FIL likes. Otherwise, no plans.

3. Cozumel: Go on the dune buggy tour (not through the ship). We did this before and LOVED it, so DH wants to repeat the experience!

4. CC: Relax, snorkel, and ride the bannana boat if if reappears.

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

Whew! I think I have everyone updated so far. If I've missed anyone, please let me know. If you want more info added, I can do that, too. I'm embarrassed that it had been so long! :blush:

Loucinda (or do you go by Lucy?), sounds like you've got it all planned out! Now all that left to do is hurry up & wait! :rotfl:

Since Christmas is a time when most people take family photos, please feel free to post them so we can see what you look like & can easily recognize you when we get on the ship! Our family photo hasn't been taken yet, but when it does, I'll post it. We did that on our last cruise, and it was nice to put names with faces before we actually met! We could recognize each other from across the terminal!!

[lucyddr]

I asked my husband to dig up some of our photos from our previous Disney cruise (only we are now a little "fluffier") so that I can put them into my signature. I'll get some new photos soon as well.

As for planning, it's easy when you've been to the ports before. We've been to GC and Cozumel twice already, so we kind of know what to expect. (I'd like to try Nachi Cocum in Cozumel, but the DH INSISTS on dune-buggying again!) The KLP thing in Key West is something we missed on the last cruise though, so I'm excited to read about that here on the boards!

I'm really excited to go again, so I'm really hoping and praying that we are able to make the trip!

[Disgirl83]

If you guys feel left out we will meet you guys and you can spend time with her.
Lol! After looking at some of the kids activities that may be a good idea. Is she young enough for Goofy's PJ party! :cutie:

I'm checking the DCL website to see if the price has gone down at all to get our rate reduced. Has anyone had that happen yet? So far, it looks just slightly less...$50 is all...but it'll get me started checking more often now! (I used to be obsessed with it and would check it EVERY day right after I booked it! )

Well I have great news about our cruise. Last night I decided to check and see what the updated rates were. We had booked a gty 12 due to the great price at the time (or at least I thought it was) and had already paid in full. I also figured we wouldn't be spending that much time in the room and would rather use the extra money for excursions or spa treatments! Ok so I check last night and the gty 12 is much cheaper so I decide to call the disney travel agents and see if there is any way to get the reduced rate. All she did was take me reservation number confirm our details and then told me that we would be receiving a credit of $912. :tink: If that isn't some Disney magic I don't know what is!

Also to add to my first page info we are down for the second seating, gty 12, no kids, and we are from West Virginia.

[sarasotamom]

Wow I just found this thread. We will be on this 7-day cruise too. This was originally booked on the ship on New Year's 2006 but we had to keep bumping it up due to family circumstances.

On the cruise will be:
Me 50 something
DH 50 something
DS 20

We are in a category 6. I was tempted to rebook in a 12 but my husband is one of those balcony snobs. We do have the 10 percent discount and stateroom credit.

The last cruise we did was a 4-day RCCL and my son and I could not stop comparing it to Disney. I can't wait to see the Magic again.:banana: :banana: :yay: :yay:

[shasess]

Whew! I think I have everyone updated so far. If I've missed anyone, please let me know. If you want more info added, I can do that, too.

Thank you for adding our info! Can you plaese also include that we are from North Carolina and have late dinning.

Thank You!

[lillygator]

1. How many times have you been on DCL? Where to and when?
3 night to Nassau and CC Cat 9
7 night Eastern Cat 3
7 Night Double Dib Cat 9
15 Night Panama Canal Repo Cat 10

2. What are you looking forward to on this cruise?

Relaxing!


3. What are your kids (if any) looking forward to on this cruise?
the clubs and bowls of cherries!

4. If you've cruised before, what is your favorite food on DCL?
Tuna - hands down - in Palo!

5. What would your "dream" DCL vacation be?
Alaska[/QUOTE]

We enjoyed Palo. We had the brunch. It gave us an opportunity to have some time to ourselves without the kids.

We love Palo brunch and dinner!

Ready for a new member? So glad to be here.

We were booked in a category 6 and just switched to a 11 inside cabin on deck 7...I figured we would probably not be spending that much time in the cabin and it was worth it to save the $1400 difference...:goodvibes

I am having some second thoughts - is having a verandah that much better? <sigh>

We live in Canada and are looking forward to celebrating DD's 6th birthday on the cruise next May.

Looking forward to getting to know everyone better before we cruise!

Indigo

We had a double wide verandah and barely used it!!!!!

Wow I just found this thread. We will be on this 7-day cruise too. This was originally booked on the ship on New Year's 2006 but we had to keep bumping it up due to family circumstances.

On the cruise will be:
Me 50 something
DH 50 something
DS 20

We are in a category 6. I was tempted to rebook in a 12 but my husband is one of those balcony snobs. We do have the 10 percent discount and stateroom credit.

The last cruise we did was a 4-day RCCL and my son and I could not stop comparing it to Disney. I can't wait to see the Magic again.:banana: :banana: :yay: :yay:

are you in Sarasota? We live just off the south bridge to Siesta and I work for the hospital.

[lillygator]

wow ---- a cruise meet and I don't know anyone!!!


it's me, V Dh, John and our princesses Samantha 6 and Haley 3 (6 and 4 at cruise time)......our last cruise was the repo last May....


we are huge Gator fans and are opting out of going to the BCS for the cruise....(tickets to the game are almost the price of the cruise less $500), huge sports fans, huge Disney fans, we live in Florida, love the beach, love cruising.....will post some pics!

[lillygator]

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b373/lillygator/new/018-2.jpg[/IMG]

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b373/lillygator/new/001-2.jpg

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b373/lillygator/new/001-1.jpg
all we packed for the 2 week cruise!

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http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b373/lillygator/new/PC/PC238-1.jpg
wine tasting.....

[lillygator]

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room service!

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http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b373/lillygator/new/PC/PC395.jpg
she thinks these are hair dryers

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b373/lillygator/new/PC/PC397.jpg
invite to the Princess at Sea party

[lillygator]

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b373/lillygator/new/PC/PC258.jpg

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selections at Goofy's Galley!

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b373/lillygator/new/PC/PC101.jpg


http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b373/lillygator/new/PC/PC130.jpg

[sarasotamom]

wow ---- a cruise meet and I don't know anyone!!!


it's me, V Dh, John and our princesses Samantha 6 and Haley 3 (6 and 4 at cruise time)......our last cruise was the repo last May....


we are huge Gator fans and are opting out of going to the BCS for the cruise....(tickets to the game are almost the price of the cruise less $500), huge sports fans, huge Disney fans, we live in Florida, love the beach, love cruising.....will post some pics!


Yes, I was born and raised in Sarasota. All my children attended the same elementary and middle school that I did. My daughters graduated from SHS (like dad). My son graduated from RHS just like his Mom (many moons ago).

Unfortunately, this cruise has been rescheduled ,any times due to family members being in the hospital you work at.

My eldest daughter's boyfriend attended UF School of Law. Believe it or not he doesn't even like football. We have taught him all he knows. So glad the Gators will be in the championship game. We need the title back in Florida where it belongs.

[lillygator]

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our door and FE

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b373/lillygator/new/PC/PC048.jpg

[lillygator]

Yes, I was born and raised in Sarasota. All my children attended the same elementary and middle school that I did. My daughters graduated from SHS (like dad). My son graduated from RHS just like his Mom (many moons ago).

Unfortunately, this cruise has been rescheduled ,any times due to family members being in the hospital you work at.

My eldest daughter's boyfriend attended UF School of Law. Believe it or not he doesn't even like football. We have taught him all he knows. So glad the Gators will be in the championship game. We need the title back in Florida where it belongs.

so sorry to hear you are not going....my thoughts and prayers with your family members and I hope you are getting the best of care.

[lillygator]

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b373/lillygator/new/PC/PC052.jpg
basket ordered from Shirley at the Perfect Gift - they are AWESOME and she and her staff are fantastic to work with.

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b373/lillygator/new/PC/PC055.jpg
CC gifts

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[lillygator]

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[lillygator]

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[lillygator]

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palo

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palo

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more baskets from Shirley

[lillygator]

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[lillygator]

hey guys - sorry to bore/overload with pics. but wow I am so excited.....this is probably the EARLIEST we have booked a DCL cruise! Last cruise was over a year out!

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

we would be receiving a credit of $912. :tink: If that isn't some Disney magic I don't know what is!
Wow! WTG! When I called, they said it was exactly the same as when I booked (it's hard to tell online since we've got the 10% rebooking discount). I'll definitely keep checking, though! :thumbsup2

Here are our most recent family pictures....These were taken in May at our wedding.
Beautiful pictures & beautiful family! Thanks for sharing!

:welcome: to all our other new members! sarasotamom & lillygator, I'll get you added and also make updates to disgirl83 & shasess. We're getting quite the group going now! :yay:

Thanks, lillygator, for sharing all those awesome photos of your family! They're making me relive our cruise, too! I can't wait to go back!

[lillygator]

hey there - I think sarasotamom is not cruising due to nedical circumstances. :(


thanks for the welcome. Sorry to post so many pice but I have been so in the dumps lately, now getting to book this at a deal I am reliving our past cruises.......

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

hey there - I think sarasotamom is not cruising due to nedical circumstances. :(
I think they have rescheduled it several times before and have now decided on this one. I guess I'm assuming that since she just came across our thread & posted for the first time a few hours ago. :confused3

[sarasotamom]

I think they have rescheduled it several times before and have now decided on this one. I guess I'm assuming that since she just came across our thread & posted for the first time a few hours ago. :confused3

Yes, we are going on this cruise. We have had to reschedule 3 times (I think) in the past.

[lillygator]

I am so SORRY!!
I have a bad habit of skimming the threads - great to have you aboard!

[lillygator]

morning guys....sorry to go so overboard with pics. I was so flippin excited last night! DH really didn't have a choice of saying yes or yes. so it was YES!I think we are going to try and hit WDW a few days before hand. We have had ap's for a long time but this was the first year we really didn't use them since we took the big vacation in May.

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

Yes, we are going on this cruise. We have had to reschedule 3 times (I think) in the past.
I figured you would get us all updated! Let's just hope that this will be the one that won't need to be rescheduled! :thumbsup2

sorry to go so overboard with pics. I was so flippin excited last night!
No need to apologize for your excitement about DCL! :laughing: We're all right there with ya! :yay: I know there are quite a few families on our cruise who haven't cruised DCL before, so I'm sure the pictures are great for them to see! Maybe I should post some more of mine sometime, too. :goodvibes

[lillygator]

a wet and rainy day here in Sarasota....makes me wish I was on CC!

We are in late dining wait listed for early. We also don't know our cabin assignment yet.

Is anyone ordering gift baskets from Shirley?

[lucyddr]

Wow, you leave for one day and 2 new pages appear! Welcome Lillygator and Sarasotamom! I have to say that I'm a Bulldog fan (UGA), but Florida deserves to be where they are this year!

If things go well and we are able to make this cruise, I was considering ordering a basket from Shirley (especially if she can send wines)!

Seeing all the photos just reminds me that i HAVE to pull my old ones up from 2005. Our other cruises in 2006 and 2007 were with Carnival
(thanks to no 7 day Dis cruises leaving on Sundays), so those pics probably aren't quite as "cool."

Welcome again!

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

we are huge Gator fans

I have to say that I'm a Bulldog fan (UGA), but Florida deserves to be where they are this year!

Being from Nebraska and how there's "nothing else to do here" except be a Huskers fan, I really think the world of college football should watch out! ;) Coach Bo Pelini has given the entire state the confidence & determination to dominate again like we did in the 90's. Hopefully in the next couple years we'll be back in the BCS bowl games.

GO BIG RED!

[sarasotamom]

So there really is no one else booked on this cruise? :confused3

How about a fun little "get-to-know-you" quiz to try and bring some others out of the woodwork. :rolleyes1

1. How many times have you been on DCL? Where to and when?
[COLOR="RoyalBlue"]3 day 7/02 7 day western 12/02, 7 day western 7/03, 7 day western 12/03, 7 day western (2 stops CC and Costa Maya) 7/06, 4 night New Years Eve 12/06.

2. What are you looking forward to on this cruise?
Relaxing at Serenity Bay and the jeep excursion in Cozumel.

3. What are your kids (if any) looking forward to on this cruise?
My youngest is the only one going and he is 20. He wants to be 21:laughing: :laughing:

4. If you've cruised before, what is your favorite food on DCL? If you haven't cruised before, what are you excited to try (if you've looked over the menus already--like I did before our first one!)?
My DH and DS love the caesar salad and cream of onion soup. I love the paninis and anything at Palo.

5. What would your "dream" DCL vacation be?
a 14 day Southern Caribbean going to Aruba on one of the new ships.

Me Crystal 51
DH Don 55
DS Brandon 20

Category 6
Late Dining

[lillygator]

has anyone linked dining or planning excursions together? or is everyone keeping to themselves? have to admit, aside from my first cruise with DCL we've gone with DIS friends and been linked for all sorts of things.

[Tink113]

Hey everybody, it's official, we are now booked on this cruise. With the great rates they are offering, we switched from the cruise we had booked for the week before (Eastern) & saved about $1700!!! :cool1:

I'm Sooooo excited! We booked the whole family on this cruise for the first time ever!!!!

Here goes:
1) Me:wave:
2) My new hubby :boat:
3) My Mom :tink:
4) My dad :goofy:
5) My younger Bro (22) :music:
6) MY younger bro's GF :cutie:
7) My Big Bro :joker:
8) My Sister-in-law :eeyore:
9) Nephew #1 (8) :tigger:
10) Nephew #2 (6) :simba:

I have been on 2 (7 day) Disney cruises before. One was my Honeymoon! :bride:

We have 4 staterooms booked, but 3 are GTY so I'm not going to know some room numbers for a while. We would love to participate in the Fish Extender!!!! :yay:

[shasess]

Hey everybody, it's official, we are now booked on this cruise. With the great rates they are offering, we switched from the cruise we had booked for the week before (Eastern) & saved about $1700!!! :cool1:

I'm Sooooo excited! We booked the whole family on this cruise for the first time ever!!!!

Here goes:
1) Me:wave:
2) My new hubby :boat:
3) My Mom :tink:
4) My dad :goofy:
5) My younger Bro (22) :music:
6) MY younger bro's GF :cutie:
7) My Big Bro :joker:
8) My Sister-in-law :eeyore:
9) Nephew #1 (8) :tigger:
10) Nephew #2 (6) :simba:

I have been on 2 (7 day) Disney cruises before. One was my Honeymoon! :bride:

We have 4 staterooms booked, but 3 are GTY so I'm not going to know some room numbers for a while. We would love to participate in the Fish Extender!!!! :yay:

Yay!!! Congrats! :dance3: :dance3: :dance3:

[lillygator]

welcome!! Maybe with the great rates we will get lots of newcomers to this thread!! So far looks like an pretty light cruise!