April 18th, 2009! - PATRIOT'S OF THE CARIBBEAN - Western Magic! [Archive] - The DIS Discussion Forums

castlegazer

02-19-2008, 11:26 AM

At this time, my family is booked on to this cruise - It will be our second Disney Cruise!

We have a three year old girl and a five year old boy - They will be 4 and 7 (birthday during the cruise) for the cruise.

Please come start a thread with me! It won't be the first time I was able to hang out over a year waiting to cruise, getting to know everyone!

:woohoo:

Here is the list of families checked in so far [in red are the families we still know are cruising as of 2/09]:

Castlegazer Central Massachusetts 2nd disney cruise
DH 37
DW 38
DS 7
DD 4

yogibigdog Central Massachusetts cruise expert!
DW
DH
DS 7
DS 9

bobbbrick Cape Cod Massachusetts
DH
DW
DD 11
DD 9
DD 9

cctimmom Metrowest Massachussets 1st cruise
DH ?
DW 37
DD 12 almost 13
DS 8

aljsmom Metrowest Massachusetts 1st cruise
DH (aljsdad)
DW
DD 11
DD 11
DD 13

bdwk1997 North Shore Massachusetts 3rd cruise 4/19/08 cruise
DW 41
DH 42
DS 14
DD 11
DS 8

STS51 Metrowest Massachusetts 5th cruise 4/19/08
DW
DH - Kevin
DD 12
DD 11

deboss Ohio

DS 14
DD 11

deboss friends Ohio
DW
DH
DD 11
DD 9

jontheref UK
DH
DW

rala Germany 4/19/08 cruise - married - This will be their anniversary Cruise
Marion 38
Michael 37

okwminnnie Massachusetts

okwminnie Daughter and Fiance

o4me2playn California
Wes (50)
Deanna (52)

Tinkerbelle77 Willow Springs, IL - :wave: GETTING MARRIED ON THE CRUISE!!!!!!! :wave:
Tina - 31
Tim - 34
Krystina - 12
Haylee - 10
Lauren - 5
Tim's Dad
Tina's Dad and Aunt

sandyam76 Massachusetts
DW
DH
DD (15) (Turning 16 the day before the cruise leaves)
Mom, Dad, Grandma, and two of my retired neighbors !!

epcotrulz Elliot City, MD - fourth Disney cruise - also going on 2010 Northern Europe cruise - lucky dogs!!!!!
Jeff
Dale

annronnieb South Shore MAssachusetts
DW
DH
DS - 9
DS - 7

Beginsters
DW 38
DH 41
DGM
DD15
DD13
DD7 turning 8 before cruise

pkoles central MA
DH 51
DW 44
DD 14 going on 15

KandiB - Wisconsin (anniversary cruise!)
DW
DH
DS - 2

Kmaboo - Louisiana - 2nd Anniversary!!!
DW
DH

Brooke3L - Greenville, SC
Brooke
Ethan
Kim (KimMs)
Gabby - age 5

GUSDMH - North Andover, MA
DH - Gus
DW
DS-13
DS-21
DM-I-L(mother-in-law).
Will be at SSR on the 16th. After the cruise, will stay at SSR till the 27th

Ender - Venezuela
Ender dh, me
Natahlie dw
Ender Enrique ds 15
Daniela dd 10

Outahere - 7th DCL cruise - 4th Magic Cruise - Metro West, MA
me,
DW
DS14

WahKoMom - Foxboro, MA
DW 43
DH - 40
DD 11
DS 9

peaches26 - North Carolina - 1st Disney Cruise Anniversary cruise
DH
DW
DS - 10th Birthday cruise
DS 10 Months old

coconutsunshine - Ottawa, Canada - 1st Disney Cruise
DW - 28
DH - 28

sewallmom - East Bridgewater, MA
DW
DH both 40s
DD 8

kpflillirpf

02-22-2008, 04:49 PM

Hi castlegazer. My family is supposed to be joining you on this cruise as well. We have a daughter who will be 6 at cruise time and we are expecting another little girl sometime this year by adoption. Not sure yet how old she will be. We have cruised with Disney once before and LOVED it. We are also having our best friends and my husband's parents come along on this trip. They are first timers. We are still in the process of getting everyone on the same page and getting everyone booked but hopefully it won't be long before it's all complete. We had booked when we were on our cruise last year but will transfer the date we had to the April 18th date. The parents and friends haven't booked at all yet. Sooo, I'll keep you informed! Thanks so much for starting a thread! I look forward to getting to know you and whoever else joins this thread. Kristi

castlegazer

02-25-2008, 01:34 PM

:wave: WELCOME :wave:

I have moved my cruise date, um, let me think, oh about, four times now. Is this your April vacation in Penn? That is why this is our new cruise date. I just gave up a Halloween double dip cruise at the end of this year for this one because of school vacation and fear of death from evil eyes of the school administrators. IT'S FIRST GRADE!!!!! :rolleyes: :guilty: But alas, It's fine, we were not ready to go at the end of this year anyways so this works great.

We have done the Eastern route three times now on different lines including Disney. The Western will be a fun change!

Oh, I am a truly terrible choice for a thread administrator - I just felt pulled by the terrible gap, so please do not feel because I started this that I am in any way head :crazy: This is anyone's and everyone's thread! I am an infrequent DIS visitor lately but I will pop in as much as I can.
Again, welcome! :thumbsup2 :tinker:

kpflillirpf

02-25-2008, 03:10 PM

The cruise we booked was an October 2008 cruise. It fell on our anniversary (Oct 3rd). We did the Eastern and loved it. My husband feels that we should go somewhere different every time we go on vacation. Never do the same thing twice he says. However, just having him on another Disney cruise is basically the same so I guess I win. :) HEEE HEEE As for the change, both my father-in-law and I deal with tax returns thus needing the trip to happen after tax season. And, it also made sense with school. It's hard to believe that 1st grade is just around the corner. Ugh. Anyway, as for you being the "head" I promise not to think that way. I just was clueless as to how to even get a thread started and thus am very impressed you took the initiative. It meant I didn't have to. :) When some more people hook up we'll have to make up a name for our cruise. Not sure if you did that for your other Disney cruises but I have to say that we had a blast deciding on a name for our cruise. What a hoot. We had a name, a logo, we played a tag game onboard and we all took the time to meet and get pictures done together. It was wonderful and my family felt like we were a part of a family even before we did the cruise itself. I do like to check back often to see if others logged onto this thread so if you don't get here I'll do my best to welcome people when they do. :) Take care and have a great week! Kristi

yogibigdog

03-01-2008, 12:00 PM

We are going! I was on the Wonder when 2009 dates opened up so I booked.

It will be me, my husband and my boys will be 7 and 9. I am going this Arpil too it is also a Western.

castlegazer

03-04-2008, 11:51 AM

:tinker: ::MickeyMo WELCOME! ::MickeyMo :tinker:

My son will be 7 also! He is obessed with cruising after just one cruise! I feel I need to be an enabler to that obsession! ;)

I am in Central MA!

castlegazer

03-04-2008, 11:56 AM

Are you going on a 10 day cruise in April this year too!!!!??????

I am very jealous! :thumbsup2

yogibigdog

03-06-2008, 08:33 AM

I am going on a 7 night Western I will fly home then head back to a couple days later for 3 nights on the Wonder.

My boys are hooked on cruising. My older son knows the ship better than most adults! He told the other families going with us -who are going for the first time- that he plans on giving them a ship tour.

I like my MIL and mom will be going us. Hopefully some of our friends from this cruise will rebook onboard.

castlegazer

03-10-2008, 02:46 PM

bobbbrick

03-16-2008, 07:32 PM

castlegazer

03-17-2008, 01:15 PM

bobbbrick

03-17-2008, 05:52 PM

http://smilies.vidahost.com/contrib/ruinkai/biggrininvasion.gif

Massachusetts is taking over the CRUISE! :lmao:

Ah, well, some would be very scared right now - but welcome! :scared1:

You were right to do the two cabins, I think. Although, now you don't have a verandah....... I just can't seem to cruise without a verandah anymore.

So, grab a seat, come along for the ride - it's a long one. :cutie:

How old are you're kids? I am making a MASS assumption there - you may be cruising with others.........

Hi Castlgazer,

I have 3 dd at cruise time they will be 11,9and9,(going on 18!) if you know what I mean,that's why I'll give up an awesome verandah for my space!!
look forward to talking with you all these coming months!
Bye for now.

kpflillirpf

03-21-2008, 06:52 AM

:hyper: I think it's just that time of year, but I am totally overly obsessed with thinking about this cruise! :bitelip: It truly is a sickness.

I am very jealous yogibigdog, although I so am not ready to cruise right now. I am a total long range planner - I think I need a year to plan (and build up the travel account). Then when we get close, I will totally drop off in my planning routine and will forget things like making reservations and stuff. :eek:

My family knows this about me and knows to keep an eye on me as the date approaches. Last time I recruited our ship mates too to help me. These threads are like lifesavers for me. They keep me on track with my planning. :laughing: :rolleyes: :crazy:

I am focused on figuring out Chankanaab to see if that is better for us, with such small kids, versus just a beach day (i.e. like this: http://cozumelcruiseexcursions.com/CozumelBeachBreak.htm). I may also add here that we are VERY fair skinned people. We called our wee one, on our last cruise, the little vampiress. I even had a chemical warfare suit (you know, one of those full body keep-out-of-the-sun things) for her for Castaway Cay. She is so fair and was only 14 months old.

I figure if I do one port every month, this will eat up some of the waiting time.

OK - just touching base. Hope all is well with you guys - we're such a small group for a vacation week cruise............ :confused3

Kristi, how are things going? How is the adoption going?

Hi there! Gosh it seems like forever since I last checked this thread. Things have been very crazy here. We're still waiting for word on the adoption. We just keep getting either bad news or no news so we're struggling. And, on top of it, both my grandmother and my husband's grandmother (the last two grandparents remaining) passed away this month. And, on top of that, all three of us (hubby, me and dd age 5) have gotten the flu bug. I can't wait for April. All that craziness aside, we're still here and we're doing well now. We're hoping to hear something (anything!) about the adoption by the end of this month. We'll keep you informed. :)

So neat to see this thread slowing starting to add people. Welcome everyone! Pretty neat to see that you are all Mass. people. :) At least I'm on the same side of the country as you all. :) LOL

You take care and I'll try to get back into the swing of things with checking in! Kristi

castlegazer

03-21-2008, 10:36 AM

kpflillirpf

03-26-2008, 03:16 AM

Kristi -

Oh, so sorry to hear about your grandparents. That is very difficult regardless of how long and full of a life they led - truly difficult. My thoughts are with you. I also have my fingers crossed for good news soon! I got the flu too a few weeks back - that was horrific!

sending your good thoughts and our deepest sympathies:

http://www.fromtheheartpostcards.com/greetingcards/sympathy_beach.jpg

Thank you for your kind words and expressions. We are doing well and are slowing getting life back to normal. I wish this cruise were this April. It's going to be a LOOOOOONG year. Take care and hopefully really soon I'll have good news. :) Kristi

cctimmom

03-31-2008, 11:19 AM

We've just booked on this cruise!

This will be our very first Disney cruise (and the kids' first cruise!)

The kids will be 12 years old and 8 years old.

WE CAN'T WAIT!

kpflillirpf

03-31-2008, 02:55 PM

Hi all! I wanted to let you know that my family will not be joining you for this cruise after all. Our adoption is taking alot longer than we had hoped and it looks as if we would be pushing it to finish the adoption with enough time to get a passport, etc. for our second child. So, we have pushed our trip off until October of 09. It was a pleasure e-mailing with you if even for a short time. Have a blast on your cruise! Kristi

cctimmom

03-31-2008, 04:25 PM

kpflillirpf

04-01-2008, 06:32 AM

Right now we're rebooked on the Oct. 3rd cruise. :)

castlegazer

04-01-2008, 09:36 AM

Kristi - you know now that what you have done is to leave the only people on this cruise as Massachusetts people, right?

You will be missed. As one who has been in may a meet thread and then changed my mind as to when we will be cruising, I say, HAVE FUN! I hope all goes well for you guys!

cctimmom - welcome! WELCOME TO THE DIS TOO!!!!!

Seriously, we have an overabundance of Mass people here! I have always been the only one from MA on the meet threads! This is either cool, or scary! :upsidedow Definitely lopsided. :banana: What fun!

This is our second cruise on DCL and will be our 4th overall cruise! You are going to love it! I cruised in 2006 on DCL so some of my font of information is a bit stale, but I can try and answer any questions. I also have not been on a Western yet, on any line, so this is a whole new set of learning potential. I love the planning stage so it's good that it's all new for me. :surfweb: :thumbsup2

kpflillirpf

04-02-2008, 03:25 PM

I did realize I was leaving only Mass. people on this ship. kinda scary. :) Have a blast! Thanks for everything! Kristi

cctimmom

04-05-2008, 08:22 PM

Wow I've looked at a lot of these threads and now I'm really excited!! :woohoo: why can't this cruise come faster?

castlegazer

04-05-2008, 08:43 PM

Planning and reading and sharing are half the fun of doing a Disney Cruise! The DIS is very addicting - consider yourself fairly warned. :wizard:

castlegazer

04-15-2008, 01:55 PM

Just saying hi everyone!

Enjoy this beautiful day here in MA! :goodvibes

cctimmom

04-15-2008, 02:02 PM

hi!!!! from my end of MA (MetroWest) :cheer2:

aljsmom

04-16-2008, 08:48 PM

hi!!!! from my end of MA (MetroWest) :cheer2:

And guess what...we're from Metrowest as well! We are about to finalize booking the week of April 18th and will have three girls with us...11,11 and 13 at the time of the cruise.

First time Disney cruisers, we can't wait. I'm so happy to have found this board, I've got a lot to learn, but fortunately lots of time to do it. The anticipation is going to make it even better.

aljsmom

04-16-2008, 09:01 PM

Hello all,
Just came back from a 4day wonder 3/13 it was our first cruise and loved it so much booked this 7day, hopefully weather is better in April than our March trip,with 5 people our AAA ta said we needed to get a cat 4 verandah deck,
but found out we could get 2 rooms in a cat 10 for almost half the cost:banana: this trip,now we have somthing to look forward to again! that's all the fun!

We were given the option of doing one room for five or two of the connecting rooms. I'm still debating because I love the idea of a verandah, and being able to get outside in my own space. How much time did you actually use it? Hubby is campaigning for the two inside connecting rooms. I am afraid I'll get claustrophobic!

Looking forward to this!

aljsmom

04-16-2008, 09:06 PM

Hi Castlgazer,

I have 3 dd at cruise time they will be 11,9and9,(going on 18!) if you know what I mean,that's why I'll give up an awesome verandah for my space!!
look forward to talking with you all these coming months!
Bye for now.

Hi bobbbrick,
Looks like we have more in common than just being from Mass. We have three girls and they will be 13, 11 and 11 at the time of the cruise. I totally agree about the going on 18 aspect.:scared1: Looking very much forward to chatting here!

cctimmom

04-16-2008, 10:21 PM

aljsmom! FABULOUS! My daughter is going to be almost 13 when we set sail. She'll be within 7 weeks of her 13th birthday. I'm debating about which "club" to put her in (the 8-12 or 13+)

How cool is it that you are local to us!?!?!

I hope you definitely book! It's be great if our girls could get to know each other (I also have a will-be-8-year-old son... poor guy... lol)

aljsmom

04-17-2008, 10:40 PM

And the countdown begins!!
One year from tonight and counting.........:cool1:

castlegazer

04-24-2008, 04:03 PM

WOW! Guys, this is gretting freaky!

My husband works in Westborough - I work in Worcester.

I have the younguns for the cruise so far with a then to be 7 year old and a then to be 4 year old.

Oh, hey, to stick with the metro west talk, we went to Ted's Montana Grill the other night at Bay State Commons and it was phenomenal! Really awesome! We were pretty blown away by it. You should definitely check it out if you can! :thumbsup2

Oh, and come into Worcester for the Hanover Theater soon too! Totally awesome! We were at the opening night and then saw David Copperfield and it really is a very neat place!

I'm really just throwing this all out there because, well, it's the first time I can do something like that and know that people know what the heck I am talking about!

So, thanks for the post on the year anniversary until we cruise, aljsmom, and WELCOME! :cutie:

OK - this is pretty cool! I can't believe we are all so close together! I always am running into people either that I know here on the DIS that I had no idea DIS'd or that live within a mile of me. Disney addicts are abundant in Massachusetts! :hug:

bobbbrick

04-25-2008, 08:00 PM

]We were given the

aljsmom

04-25-2008, 08:05 PM

bobbbrick

04-26-2008, 11:13 AM

I don't know what happened to my post,not to computer literate as you can see, but I guess you got the info, you made a good choice your family will have the best of both worlds a view and room, Have fun!

castlegazer

04-28-2008, 10:38 AM

We decided to compromise and go for two connecting outside rooms. No verandah, but I do have a window. We figured not only would we have more space, but TWO bathrooms and extra beds and two tvs...not that I expect to spend much time in the cabin watching tv! If I had younger kids who would be napping then I might spend time on a verandah, but there seems to be SO much to do I doubt we will spend much time in the room.

I think that is a good choice too. :thumbsup2 I LOVE verandahs, but that is because I had napping kids. It's definitely a huge difference in cost that is at most times not worth it, because there is soooo much to do that it takes great effort to just sit and stop for a minute and sitting and stopping looking out over the water can be done at so many places on the ship.

You can also consider the "secret" deck area on deck 7 to be your personal verandah if you ever felt you needed some quiet time out on a deck.

bdwk1997

04-28-2008, 08:33 PM

Hi guys, we just got off the Western 4/19-4/26 and rebooked for next April vacation. This will be our third cruise:cool1: I hope this year goes by fast...:rotfl:

castlegazer

04-29-2008, 01:45 PM

WELCOME!

How was it?

How was flying?

How were the crowds? I think it's just a certain few NE states with this week as vacation?

Did you have a blast?

Who's in your family?

Inquiring minds want to know. This will be my first time traveling/cruising in a so called vacation period - I am nervous. :bitelip:

I was just talking to a friend at my son's baseball game that just came back from WDW and she had a horrendous time with flights. :bitelip::scared:

bdwk1997

04-29-2008, 02:21 PM

:wave2: WELCOME!

How was it?

How was flying?

How were the crowds? I think it's just a certain few NE states with this week as vacation?

Did you have a blast?

Who's in your family?

Inquiring minds want to know. This will be my first time traveling/cruising in a so called vacation period - I am nervous. :bitelip:

I was just talking to a friend at my son's baseball game that just came back from WDW and she had a horrendous time with flights. :bitelip::scared:

Here goes: 1. Our best family vacation yet...:cool1: We met another family from Mass on the disboard and their 2 children were the same ages as two of mine. Everyone from our cruise on the disboard met in the Promanade Lounge at 2:00 the day of sailing. I have a DS12, DD10 and DS7. We moved my DS7 into the Lab ages 8-9 just because he is 7 going on 12 and he did the Club last April and thought it was too babyish...He never wanted to leave. He was in the clubs until midnight, with us dragging him out. :scared1: Keep in mind he is usually in bed by 8:00. 2. Flying was no problem at all. Three years ago, we flew Southwest out of Manchester...I will never go to Logan again...3. We did 2 nights at the Nickelodean and one night at the BeachClub. We went into the Magic Kingdom the Friday before the cruise. Longest we waited in a line was 15 minutes. We were last there in October so my kids just picked what rides they really wanted to go on. There were alot of NY and NJ on the boat but next year their vacation week is the week before ours. :cool1: 4. We had a blast,:banana: :banana: that is why we rebooked. Up until my oldest was in 4th grade we pulled the kids out of school on non-vacation weeks. Now that they are older, I can't.:headache: They did miss 2 days prior to vacation, but they have never been out sick so I didn't feel it was a big deal. My husband and I had sooo much time to ourselves this trip. I do have friends with younger children who wouldn't go in the kids clubs and it wasn't as much fun for them. I even think the family that we met this year will book again with us for next year. Hope this answers all you questions. :goodvibes

cctimmom

05-01-2008, 04:16 PM

How cool that everyone so far is from MA... and even a lot from MetroWest!

Maybe we should have a preCruise GTG with the kids so they/we can see if we think we are as cool as we are IRL.

DD (will be almost 13 for cruise) and DS (will be 8) just got back from Disney World with their dad. They had a fabulous time, but are REALLY looking forward to our cruise next April.

While they were away, we did a RCCL cruise. It was so much fun, but I hear that Disney is even better, so I'm rabid to go on again (am having post-vacation depression right now). The RCCL itinerary was very similar to what we are doing next year -- but couldn't do much about the dates, seeing as it's vacation week, and like pp said -- can't take older kids out of school as easily.

SO SO SO SO EXCITED! :banana:

bobbbrick

05-03-2008, 08:58 AM

Sorry to be an outsider ,but we are from the right end of mass. Cape Cod ,it is good you all booked now because as of may 28 DCL is charging fuel surcharges per person per stateroom not cheap either!

cctimmom

05-03-2008, 12:13 PM

WOW! I wonder how much that will total up to be?!

So excited that for ONCE, I booked at the right time!

bdwk1997

05-03-2008, 12:27 PM

Now my husband will be happy that I convinced him to rebook while onboard last week. For once I have "saved" him $$:rotfl: Although he is still telling everyone that when he asked guest services for a print out of what we had charged while on board, the CM said "Wow" four pages, don't usually see that many....Oops...It wasn't all my fault....::rolleyes1

STS51

05-05-2008, 10:00 AM

Add another Bay State family to the mix! We were just on the Magic & the 7 night western cruise 4/19-4/26. We had a great time as usual! We live in MetroWest and work in Wellesley & Belmont. Great to see such a large contingent from Mass. This will be our 5th Disney Cruise.

cctimmom

05-05-2008, 10:03 AM

WA-WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! (doing the Elaine Benis dance :cool1: )

Any kids? Or just a cool Disney couple?

STS51

05-05-2008, 10:08 AM

Two girls 11 & 12.

cctimmom

05-05-2008, 10:12 AM

My daughter is going to be soooooooooooooooooooooo excited!

bdwk1997

05-05-2008, 10:26 AM

STS51

05-06-2008, 07:42 AM

We were on the same cruise!!!!!

That's wonderful! What shore excursions did you do?

bdwk1997

05-06-2008, 08:07 AM

That's wonderful! What shore excursions did you do?

We just walked around Key West. In Grand Cayman we got a room at the Westin Hotel. My husband had a bunch of Westin points, so we used them, spent the day on the beach and used all the facilities. Then went up to the room, showered the kids and back to the boat. We will definiately do that again...In Cozumel we did the Beach Break, which was ok, I will not do that again. I did enjoy the shopping there though. The kids expressed an interest in the dolphin excursion, so I will look into that. We were in cabin 8544. What about you?

STS51

05-06-2008, 09:10 AM

In Key West we made a quick stop at the Aquarium and then strolled down Duval St. We stopped in Irish Kevin's (Never pass a pub with your name on it) and did some shopping before grabbing a few drinks on the way back to the ship. I very much enjoyed Key West, very ecclectic, laid back lifestyle. Great for people watching! It seemed to march to the beat of its own drum and reminded me of P-town with palm trees.

Grand Cayman was great. The water was awesome!! We spent the morning wandering around shopping. Some of the jewelry stores were unbelievable. By the way some of the shops on Grand Cayman have the best air conditioning in the world. Around lunch time we stopped at Margaritaville and grabed some nachos and beer. The Margaritaville in Grand Cayman is way better than its brethren in Key West. Much more spacious, open air bar, and they even have a small pool for kids.

In Cozumel we went on the Tulum ruins tour. It was very long and ardous around 6-7 hours. We had to take a ferry over to Playa del Carmen on the mainland and then took a bus about an hour south. The ruins were spectacular though. They are located along cliffs and there was a beach which they allowed you time for a quick dip. We made it back to the ship at around 5:10 just in time to take showers and get to dinner by 6:00.

Castaway Cay is the best! We did our usual, float tubes, snorkling, bike rentals etc. We also did Castaway Ray's Sting Ray Adventure which was very cool, and my daughters got their hair braided.

It truly was the best vacation ever!! Whenever anyone asks though I always tell them that my favorite vacation is the next one!

bdwk1997

05-06-2008, 10:03 AM

[QUOTE=STS51;24945720]Great for people watching! It seemed to march to the beat of its own drum and reminded me of P-town with palm trees./QUOTE]

I can't believe you just said that....that is exactly how my husband described it and told me if he was ever missing, I could find him in Key West (he used to say the Vineyard)...everyone just hanging out...Didn't do much shopping in Grand Cayman, my DS7 was not into shopping but didn't mind since they told us on the ship that diamonds were the best deal in Cozumel. Where I did get a beautiful bracelet. How old are your girls? My DD will be 11, DS 13 and DS8I wonder if they met on the ship?:)

STS51

05-06-2008, 10:45 AM

11 & 12

castlegazer

05-07-2008, 10:06 AM

AWESOME! I feel bad for the first non-MA person who checks in, though.

ISH MY BIRTHDAY TODAY!!! :banana: :cutie:

Well, kinda psyched would be the word for it actually - I must be hitting a certain age that things start to fall apart because this weekend I found out I need to have my gallbladder out. Kinda puts the whole food thing on the cruise into a different light for me as after the surgery you can't really eat any fats.

I think I am going to go back to Ted Montana Grill tonight for their superb crab cakes - I can't partake in the steaks, though, anymore.
:sad1:

OK - so yes, we will do a Get together sometime in the future for everyone.

On our last cruise we put together a separate Yahoo page for everyone to share photos and I then put them onto a single page for everyone with names and children as a cheat sheet for when we get onboard. It was great to know you had a ship full of friends at every turn.

We also were one of the first cruises to start using the wrist bands.

These were easy things to do that made it much nicer and fun for us as a family.

But this is all wayy into the future. We have such a long ways to go.

BUT, I was just looking into airfare, because I may not wait for SW this time around - although, I have not flown any other airline for many many years - and book Delta or USAir out of Providence and the opening window happens in about a month.

Good to hear that you had no issues with the flights - I love SW!

I still have the youngun kids on the ship with a 4 and 7 year old. My husband and I are in our mid to late thirties, though. I Turn 37 today!

bdwk1997

05-07-2008, 01:10 PM

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!! Sorry about the gallbladder!!:upsidedow Well on the brighter side, at least it happened now not next year!!!! Wouldn't want to have to postpone the cruise. :scared1: 37 isn't that old...I'm 41!! Keep us posted on what you get for airfare!!!

STS51

05-08-2008, 07:05 PM

Happy belated birthday! Hope everything turns out ok with the gall bladder!

We drove to Florida this last time and plan on doing it again. It was a long ride but we saved about $1500 dollars. Plus we didn't have to deal with TSA.

yogibigdog

05-08-2008, 09:19 PM

I am just getting back from my 7 night DCL Western Massachusetts school vacation. I came home for two days and went back on a 3 night DCL Wonder.

The weather was perfect on the April Western and the had the smoothest seas of all my 10 cruises.

Yes, Key West was a lot like P-town with palm trees! LOL

In Grand Cayman we just took the island tour and stopped at the turtle farm which the kids really enjoyed. Last time I did the Stingray excursion.

On Cozumel - we did the Fury Catamaran - a lot of fun and the price isn't too bad. Last time we did the Tulum ruins - good but a loooooong day!

So far we have a category 5 with a connecting stateroom for my MIL and my mom. Should be a lot of fun!

Now I am ready to start looking forward to my next trip. Adventures by Disney to France!

STS51

05-10-2008, 01:15 PM

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY to all you moms, Grandma's, aunt's and sisters! Hope you all have a great day.

My mother passed away in 2005 and I miss her dearly. She first took me to WDW back in 1975 and again in 76, 80 and 84. In 2000 she sailed with us on the Wonder for a 4 night cruise. When she passed away we ended up using some of her inheritance and became DVC members. I find great comfort knowing that because of her my family will enjoy Disney vacations for many years to come.

cctimmom

05-10-2008, 02:54 PM

I Turn 37 today!

Castlegazer... I'm 37 this year too (not for a few months)! But HAPPY BIRTHDAY (a little late... I didn't get the notification about a few of these posts)

I saw the post about a Yahoo page... sounds like a great way to "get to know each other" before the cruise!

cctimmom

05-10-2008, 02:59 PM

STS -- I'm sorry to hear about the loss of your mom, even if it was years ago. I can imagine that Mother's Day can be bittersweet -- enjoying being a mother yourself, but missing your own.

It's nice, though, that you were able to use your inheritance for such a great thing -- time with your family, year after year. That really is the greatest gift!

Happy Mother's Day to you all!

deboss

05-12-2008, 12:59 PM

cctimmom

05-12-2008, 01:44 PM

wahoo... another state represented! Welcome aboard!

bdwk1997

05-12-2008, 02:37 PM

Hi everyone! Looks like I'm a PARTY CRASHER! (this is my very first post, so I apologize in advance for any misitakes) We're from Ohio, and are looking forward to this cruise. This will be our second cruise. . .we did the 4 day Wonder last year and immediately rebooked. My son will turn 14 on the cruise and my daughter will be almost 11 when we cruise. There is another family joining us--it will be their first cruise. They have 2 sons one will turn 9 on the cruise and the other will be almost 11. Look forward to getting to know all of you!

Welcome!!!pixiedust: I also have a son who will turning 14 and a daughter 11!!! Also an 8 year old so he will be in the same clubs with your friend's son!! Its such a nicer cruise when the kids find someone their ages to hang out with...that's what happened on last month's cruise and my husband and I got time alone:banana:

castlegazer

05-15-2008, 03:04 PM

THANKS EVERYONE FOR MY BIRTHDAY WISHES!

I am having a terrible time getting notified when posts are made and I keep forgetting to check back! Sorry for the that.

deboss - first,

:cheer2: WELCOME TO THE DIS!!! :cheer2:

Welcome to the thread! I Love Ohio! :grouphug:

Welcome back yogibigdog!!!

cctimmom - I keep telling myself the same thing - we're not old - but I did just also have our anniversary and I told my husband that I loved that he still loved me after my warranty expired :flower3:

STS51 - Totally great thing to do with an inheritence! What a great way to remember her! I really love that!

Not only is this a huge group from MA (and OHio) but also a huge contingent with children in the same age range!

I've gotta run, and there is a good chance I won't get to this soon, but if anyone has any time on their hands, you may want to create a log of the people who have checked in and their kids ages. It would be fun to see. If no one has done it, I will get to it at some point, so never fear, it will get done. I just wanted to throw it out there that that is one super helpful thing to have, prior to the thread getting to page 100, which is usally when I get around to it.

cctimmom

05-15-2008, 03:11 PM

I noticed the kids all in the same range... My daughter (if I ever refer to her as CC, instead of DD, it's cause those are her initials)... 17 kids that have been accounted for so far, and pretty much fall in the same ranges - I think it's going to be great for them (well, of course it will be -- it's DISNEY!)

11 months and 3 days (although I think we will be flying down as soon as school gets out on the 17th)

jontheref

05-16-2008, 04:51 PM

Hey All

Jonathan and Kirsty here - well we got engaged on the Disney Wonder on 9th February this year and following our wedding on 10th April 2009 we will be going to Eurodisney for a few days, then flying out to Orlando.
We will then Cruise with you guys before driving down to Miami for a week after the cruise!!!

We have been on here for some time, before our first cruise . . .

Have not had a chance to read the first 5 pages as yet, but will make it a priority to catch up with everyone in due course!!!!

cctimmom

05-16-2008, 08:35 PM

Happy Engagement!!! princess:

Nice to have a little international representation on here!

Good luck with the wedding planning!

DisneyBride'03

05-16-2008, 10:24 PM

jontheref

05-17-2008, 05:54 AM

Stop gate crashing our Honeymoon cruise!! lol . . . .

Your invited to come. . . . we would love to see you guys there!!!

For everyone on this board - meet Diana (aka DisneyBride'03), we met on Dis boards last year and chatted until well until right up until meeting at WDW and then cruisin together in Feb.
They were the first people to celebrate our engagement on Feb 9th this year on the Disney Wonder!

cctimmom

05-17-2008, 07:19 AM

I was going to say... I'm sure there's more room on the boat for you :cool2:

DisneyBride'03

05-17-2008, 07:59 AM

I was going to say... I'm sure there's more room on the boat for you :cool2:

:goodvibes Thanks..I know..however not sure if their is more money in DH's wallet to help support and finance my Disney trips!:lmao:
Tried..or trying to coordinate something with jontheref:)

However, I know he will miss me on this cruise, and all his pre trip planning on this thread....popcorn::

cctimmom

05-17-2008, 08:09 AM

We know the feeling... we rather impulsively booked this trip at the AAA Travel Fair, and after the renovations we have done on our house (windows, new office, etc), we like to say that we are "waiting for the money tree to bloom again.".... man, those things are NOT like daffodils, which pop up every year!... lol:shamrock:

DisneyBride'03

05-17-2008, 10:34 AM

Our local Home Depot are currently out of those Money Tree's! Darn! There is never a good season for them to bloom here in IL!

deboss

05-17-2008, 12:06 PM

That's my plan. . .find some kids for them to hang out with and then I'm off to Palo's, Martini tasting and hopefully some adult evening entertainment-none of which we particpated in last cruise.

jontheref

05-17-2008, 12:27 PM

Well he will miss all the pre trip planning and have to say I still think I might be able to talk you round...... hmmmm I wonder!!!!!!

Are you sure that your Cruise in May will be as fun as cruising with me?????

bdwk1997

05-17-2008, 12:54 PM

That's my plan. . .find some kids for them to hang out with and then I'm off to Palo's, Martini tasting and hopefully some adult evening entertainment-none of which we particpated in last cruise.

Make sure you book a brunch a Palo's. We actually enjoyed that more than dinner this time.:yay: The 7night is much different than the 3/4 day cruises. YOU WILL have FUN (without kids)!!!!! I just wish it was sooner. The family we met on the last cruise didn't like the Martini tasting. She said there was only one she drank...Now the Margarita one!!!!!:rolleyes1

cctimmom

05-17-2008, 02:34 PM

wait wait wait... there's a MARTINI tasting?!?!? (and a margarita tasting?!?)

WA-WHO!... I'm so there (while the kids are having fun doing their own activities, of course!)

jontheref

05-19-2008, 04:48 AM

Has anyone on here heard of or done Fish Extenders before??????

We took part on our first cruise and it was great! Therefore would love to again . . .

cctimmom

05-19-2008, 08:06 AM

never heard of it

he he he... I'm from New England and I don't like fish :rotfl2:

rala

05-19-2008, 09:24 AM

Hi everybody, we will join you.
We just got off the Western 4/19-4/26 and rebooked for this vacation.
We are me, Marion (at the time of the cruise 38) and my husband Michael (37). We got married at the last cruise and thought it would be nice, to have our first anniversary at the same place as our wedding.

We are from Germany, so please excuse my bad english.
:wave2:

bdwk1997

05-19-2008, 09:41 AM

rala

05-19-2008, 09:58 AM

I believe it's me. It was the 24th of April.

cctimmom

05-19-2008, 10:00 AM

Congratulations on your wedding, and being able to celebrate your first anniversary on another cruise!

bdwk1997

05-19-2008, 10:10 AM

I believe it's me. It was the 24th of April.

It was you!!!! :goodvibes Just checked to see what day we were there. It was Thursday!!!! CONGRATULATIONS AGAIN. :flower3: We actually congratuled you guys at the entrance of Palo's!!!!

jontheref

05-19-2008, 11:00 AM

Well isn't it a small world!!!

Congratulations!

It will be our honeymoon cruise - good to see some more from Europe!!

rala

05-19-2008, 01:45 PM

Thank you for all the nice congratulations.

bdwk1997: are you the couple, who invited us for a drink a palo?

jontheref: I read you'll go to Disneyland Paris before. I love it. We are there about 4 - 5 times a year. The castle is wo beautiful, but the park is much smaller than Disneyworld.

jontheref

05-19-2008, 05:07 PM

rala

Yeah we are Annual Passholders so tend to go over there quite a bit. We live in Ashford so its really easy to hop on the eurostar at the moment . . . Plus its like £58 for return train travel for 2 at the moment as there is a promotion on so its cheaper than going to any of the UK parks!!!But your right its much too small!!!

bdwk1997

05-20-2008, 08:52 AM

Thank you for all the nice congratulations.

bdwk1997: are you the couple, who invited us for a drink a palo?

No, we were the ones rushing in to meet up with friends, we are always running late and I can't even blame the kids for that one...

castlegazer

05-20-2008, 09:17 AM

http://bp2.blogger.com/_oUaxON3evn4/RsjYo0jtsiI/AAAAAAAAAHI/Ib7e-VVc5E0/s1600/wedding3.jpg

castlegazer

05-20-2008, 09:21 AM

SO EXCITING!

Welcome! rala and Jontheref, I am so happy for you all to be celebrating your anniversaries!

Jontheref - I totally know what Fish Extenders are!

For everyone else;

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1219607&referrerid=&highlight=fish+extenders

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f267/alikat99/SSMC05door.jpg

castlegazer

05-20-2008, 09:32 AM

We just spent the weekend at the Joisey Shore for a baptism. I have never been before to that part of New Jersey and I have to say, it's actually kindof nice!

rala, my family, a generation removed, is from Germany. The Baden-Wurttemberg region. My Grandparents spoke German - they were the first generation to be in America. My father served in germany in WWII. He is no longer with us. What city/state are you from? My husband and I are also that age!

As for tastings, I think there may be a Tequila tasting on the Western that I want to check out. I don't really want to do the Martini tasting simply because it looks like many of them are very sweet martinis, which I don't love. Beer tasting may also be in the cards for us. :cutie:

I am so looking forward to this cruise - as it's our second cruise. I think everything will go much smoother because you know where you actualy want to spend your time and where you don't. I also am looking forward to it because my daughter can now go into the clubs too and we don't have to live only by Flounders times. Not really an issue for any of you with the older kids, but us with the wee ones, it's a big deal! :thumbsup2 ;)

castlegazer

05-20-2008, 10:39 AM

OK - guys, I did it!

The list of those checked in so far is on the first page in the first post!

I am having some formatting problems, so bear with me. I also think I got most things OK, but please let me know changes, corrections, and additions too!

:goodvibes

jontheref

05-20-2008, 11:54 AM

Superb!!!

So will we be starting a fish extender section for our cruise!?!? Can not wait!!!!!

As for being a Soccer Mom - cool! I am a Soccer referee in the Uk and travel to the US to referee soccer matches normally once a year!!

SO EXCITING!

Welcome! rala and Jontheref, I am so happy for you all to be celebrating your anniversaries!

Jontheref - I totally know what Fish Extenders are!

For everyone else;

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1219607&referrerid=&highlight=fish+extenders

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f267/alikat99/SSMC05door.jpg

castlegazer

05-20-2008, 03:50 PM

OK - I will have more time soon when I get the surgery to get it right on the front page and make it look better. I am alittle wishy washy on the Fish Extender thing - we didn't do that as it wasn't a fad then for our last cruise. Tell me how it was?

Well, Jon, back in 2003 when I joined the DIS I was playing soccer - right after I had my son even - but now, alas, sadly I am not playing anymore. :sad2: :blush: :worried:

I have broken both ankles and needed to stop any running. Turns out I was born with big holes in my Talus bones, so I am lucky to have had such a good run at playing both soccer and lacrosse. I do dearly love the sports - so I am honored to be in the presence of a Ref - and a Ref for the great and mighty UK teams! I played semi-pro back in the day! In 2003 I was playing just regional co-ed teams.

So as you can see, I mentioned that I loved my husband for sticking by me even after my warranty has expired, I truly meant it. It seems that everything is breaking down on me right now.

rala

05-20-2008, 03:54 PM

I'm from Dortmund. It's near Cologne. But I believe a soccer Mom heard about Dortmund, because our city was a scene of the last soccer world championship. It was a great party.

jontheref

05-20-2008, 04:36 PM

I am also a Tennis Umpire, including Wimbledon so its quite a busy time for me.
I also referee on the Womens Premier League over here so officiate the big womens team (including Kelly Smith who spent a lot of time in the US) so all our Internationals are good friends of mine.

We had a group of about 7/8 of us from a board on here that all swapped stuff. We had a large extender and it was filled up 3 times! It was great fun!!! We all had different nights (only a 3 day cruise) where we went round and put stuff in everyone else's... I loved going out buying Uk bits and pieces knowing I was the only one from here doing it!!!.

OK - I will have more time soon when I get the surgery to get it right on the front page and make it look better. I am alittle wishy washy on the Fish Extender thing - we didn't do that as it wasn't a fad then for our last cruise. Tell me how it was?

Well, Jon, back in 2003 when I joined the DIS I was playing soccer - right after I had my son even - but now, alas, sadly I am not playing anymore. :sad2: :blush: :worried:

I have broken both ankles and needed to stop any running. Turns out I was born with big holes in my Talus bones, so I am lucky to have had such a good run at playing both soccer and lacrosse. I do dearly love the sports - so I am honored to be in the presence of a Ref - and a Ref for the great and mighty UK teams! I played semi-pro back in the day! In 2003 I was playing just regional co-ed teams.

So as you can see, I mentioned that I loved my husband for sticking by me even after my warranty has expired, I truly meant it. It seems that everything is breaking down on me right now.

castlegazer

05-20-2008, 04:39 PM

http://assets.espn.go.com/photo/2006/0427/dortmund.jpg

"A city where football and beer are revered, Dortmund could be described as heaven on earth for the average soccer fan."

bdwk1997

05-20-2008, 06:10 PM

[QUOTE=castlegazer;25221928]OK - I will have more time soon when I get the surgery to get it right on the front page and make it look better. /QUOTE]

Best of luck with the surgery. Do you have a date scheduled yet?:confused:

castlegazer

05-20-2008, 08:52 PM

June 2nd. I think it's going to be just fine. I have been talking to lots of people who have had this done.

castlegazer

05-22-2008, 09:04 AM

rala, I just realized that I have been reading about you on King Charming's and HyperMommy's trip report:

Next up was a trip to deck 9 for cake. Michael and Marion invited us to share some wedding cake:yay: . They don't look too happy when they show up without cake.:headache: . Seems they have to sift through 400 wedding photos and pare it down to 80 keepers.:sad2: .

Congratulations again!

castlegazer

05-22-2008, 09:32 AM

Sorry for the three posts right in a row, but Jon, wanted to let you know that I broke down and bought a FISH EXTENDER!

I was just curious what they were going for on e-bay, and I saw a great Princess one for my daughter that she can use now in her room, and I figure then I will have a template to make another one if need be - i.e. if she breaks it prior to the cruise! It was a great deal, and I certainly could not have made one for as little as it was selling for ($6.99). It's not super original, and I am sure the seller isn't making it like the ones that the DISr sells on there, but as I said, at least now I have a template.

Voila, you have brought me over to the FISH EXCHANGE!

jontheref

05-22-2008, 12:51 PM

HE HE HE

I am so glad and can not wait to be exchanging gifts with you and the other Fish Extender crew I will convert between now and April.

We paid for our Cruise yesterday so are all booked now. Have our initial room number but hope and prey for an upgrade before then!

We were upgraded on our february cruise from Cat 12 to Cat 9 so hope for similar next time!!!

Sorry for the three posts right in a row, but Jon, wanted to let you know that I broke down and bought a FISH EXTENDER!

I was just curious what they were going for on e-bay, and I saw a great Princess one for my daughter that she can use now in her room, and I figure then I will have a template to make another one if need be - i.e. if she breaks it prior to the cruise! It was a great deal, and I certainly could not have made one for as little as it was selling for ($6.99). It's not super original, and I am sure the seller isn't making it like the ones that the DISr sells on there, but as I said, at least now I have a template.

Voila, you have brought me over to the FISH EXCHANGE!

rala

05-22-2008, 02:36 PM

okwminnie

05-22-2008, 06:50 PM

We will be on the April 18th cruise, too - and we are also from Massachusetts!
This will be our third Disney cruise (first 2 on the Wonder) but the first Disney cruise for our daughter and her fiance. We cannot wait!!

castlegazer

05-23-2008, 10:55 AM

Yes, that was us. The last day was such a busy day for us. At first we were at Castaway Cay. By taken the dinner (second dinner seating) the photographer came with the pictures and we had to choose our pictures till 11.00 o'clock. So we hadn't any time to search our wedding cake. It was so embarassing to come without the wedding cake. The last day was so stressful, that we first realized at home, that we didn't get our wedding gift and the pins. We are waiting eagerly, if they will send us our wedding gift to germany.

I know how stressful it is simply to try and and go through the Shutters photos, I CAN NOT IMAGINE going through wedding photos and pairing them down. Bless you for doing that! I truly hope they send the gift and pins to you!

:cheer2: WELCOME okwminnie! :cheer2:

What part of the state? Who makes up your group? Sounds like a wonderful trip - plus you are going to the 7 day cruise which is soooooo nice!

okwminnie

05-23-2008, 06:39 PM

Thank you for the warm welcome!
We are from the North Shore of Massachusetts, and we have been DVC members since 1992!
me - 55
DH - 59
DD - 25
DD's Fiance -27

castlegazer

05-27-2008, 09:43 AM

Happy belated Memorial Day Weekend everyone!

You know, we tried to talk friends into joining us for this cruise this weekend, but I have to say that the cost is really becoming an issue for people. It really does work out to be roughly equivalent to a similar land based vacation, but people really were having some difficulty thinking about such a large expense at this time. :worried: It's getting a little worrisome how deeply the strain on people's wallets is striking, including our own.

Didn't mean to start out on a depressing note. So, to lighten it up, did anyone else cruise talk this weekend - oh, and in a good way, not my depressing way? :cutie:

jontheref

05-27-2008, 04:54 PM

Well I have to say its cruise talk everyday in this house!!!

Has anyone else done this exact same cruise itinerary before???

Would be great to hear about each port.......

Happy belated Memorial Day Weekend everyone!

You know, we tried to talk friends into joining us for this cruise this weekend, but I have to say that the cost is really becoming an issue for people. It really does work out to be roughly equivalent to a similar land based vacation, but people really were having some difficulty thinking about such a large expense at this time. :worried: It's getting a little worrisome how deeply the strain on people's wallets is striking, including our own.

Didn't mean to start out on a depressing note. So, to lighten it up, did anyone else cruise talk this weekend - oh, and in a good way, not my depressing way? :cutie:

bdwk1997

05-27-2008, 10:15 PM

Well I have to say its cruise talk everyday in this house!!!

Has anyone else done this exact same cruise itinerary before???

Would be great to hear about each port.......

We just did this itinerary on 4/19. I believe there are a few others who did as well.

castlegazer

05-28-2008, 09:20 AM

Oh yes, we have a lot of experienced Western Itineraries on here I believe! And YogiBigDog is a font of information!

Ask away! This is my very first Western Itinerary too!

I am struggling with Grand Cayman.

I really wanted to take a 5 person private charter sailboat, but I - believe this or not - put in a reservation form for it and it was already booked OVER A YEAR OUT! Yikes! I was into the allure of being able to go to Rum Point, the Sand Bar, Star Fish Beach, and to the Mangroves all in one trip. It sounded heavenly. They offered the next size boat up, but it was at the tipping point for me in cost. I just couldn't justify it.

Now I don't exactly know what to do with my small kids who probably will be scared to get in the water with the sting rays - but I totally want to see them, love to see fish underwater, are so fair I am worried about simply doing a beach day. I am totally uninterested in Hell and the Turtle Farm.

We are doing Chankanaab on Cozumel and would love people to come with us - we will just be taking a cab over. :)

Key West we will just walk around a little and then back on the boat.

So given all this, I want to get out on the water in Grand Cayman - maybe like a glass bottom boat trip or semi submarine. This is kind of where I am with my thoughts on this.

Any insights would be much appreciated! ::yes::

(I am the planner in the family) :)

rala

05-28-2008, 12:00 PM

We did it too at 4/19.

At Grand Cayman we did the stingray snorkeling tour with captain marvin. It was really a great experience and we will do it again at the next cruise.

At Key West we walked around and visited the butterfly farm.

At Cozumel we did the tulum ruins tour. This was an hard day. It was very hot and the bus ride took a long time. The time to visit the ruins were only about 2 hours. We planned to got to the beach, but we didn't have enough time. I liked this trip, but I'm very interesting in the maya culture. My husband didn't this trip.

jontheref

05-28-2008, 04:02 PM

Well when I went to Nassau before we didn't do any particular excursion just went off into town and explored so I think we will probably do an excursion on one or some of these stops.
Also we didn't do any of the snorkelling tasks as I am a wimp and do not get paid enough to get cold!!! (Yes I know its the caribbean!!!)

So I think I will have to get a bit braver this time.... If I can manage it!!! lol
:rotfl2:

We did it too at 4/19.

At Grand Cayman we did the stingray snorkeling tour with captain marvin. It was really a great experience and we will do it again at the next cruise.

At Key West we walked around and visited the butterfly farm.

At Cozumel we did the tulum ruins tour. This was an hard day. It was very hot and the bus ride took a long time. The time to visit the ruins were only about 2 hours. We planned to got to the beach, but we didn't have enough time. I liked this trip, but I'm very interesting in the maya culture. My husband didn't this trip.

castlegazer

05-30-2008, 09:21 AM

At Cozumel we did the tulum ruins tour. This was an hard day. It was very hot and the bus ride took a long time. The time to visit the ruins were only about 2 hours. We planned to got to the beach, but we didn't have enough time. I liked this trip, but I'm very interesting in the maya culture. My husband didn't this trip.

I'd love to do the ruins, but it just seems like you said, a little too much. I am going for the fake ruins over at Chankanaab instead. seems about right for a 4 and 7 year old. :goodvibes

jontheref, we LOVE snorkeling! We don't get to do it as much as we used to because of the kids and wanting to do things all together, but you really should experience it. The only issue we have is that my husband wears glasses, and we have never invested in the expensive perscription goggles for him to wear, so things are a little bleary down there for him. But he still really likes to do it. Being cold is not going to be a problem for you, trust me! :rotfl:

bdwk1997

05-31-2008, 05:05 AM

Castlegazer, good luck with the surgery this week;)

brushnfloss

05-31-2008, 08:34 AM

Castlegazer, thanks for the invite to this thread! I actually THOUGHT I just posted a "Hello" here, but I don't see it so I must have clicked where I shouldn't have!! :rolleyes1 heh heh heh Anyway...
Hi 4/18/09 Cruisers!! :goodvibes This will be our very first cruise EVER! We're so excited! It'll be my hubby and I and our 2 sons (they'll be 8 and 10 at the time of the trip). We're also travelling with our good friends (Hi Maria!), also from NH. We've been skulking around reading various threads for a while now, so it's nice to finally join in on the fun here! Now I don't have to just think about the cruise continuously and talk about the cruise continuously...I can also type about the cruise continuously!! :lmao:

tw2

06-06-2008, 03:44 PM

Hi fella,

Me and the misses did that cruise, fantastic. what can i say.

We picked up some stuff from the ports.
Let me know and ill send you some copies.

You will have a fab time, good for you... lol

Cant PM cause of my post count or whatever...

TW

tw2

06-06-2008, 04:01 PM

very cool, your a ref over here and US. I'm impressed.
Must be a great life, good for you.

tinkerbelle77

06-08-2008, 08:57 PM

Hi everyone! We just booked this cruise with a little arm twisting from Jontheref!! Just kidding, he really didnt have to do or say much to convince us to book! We cruised with Jon when he got engaged, and he invited us along this time with him! It's just myself and DBF going this time, the kids are staying at home! I have glanced over the thread, and noticed you are doing fish extenders, this is great! This will be our 7th cruise (including the 2 we have booked in September), and have done fish extenders on all but one!

This will be the 1st western for us, we have done eastern, 3 and 4 night and member cruises...So I am excited.

castlegazer

06-09-2008, 11:09 AM

Hi everyone! I am back!

Surgery went just fine - thanks for the good wishes!

I was laid up for most of last week, but am back at work today. I actually thought I would be able to be on the boards more while I was home, but I could not sit at the computer.

Good to see Jon is working magic getting more along on the trip!

:dance3: Welcome!!! :dance3:

brushnfloss

tinkerbelle77

and I think tw2??? Are you going on this cruise too? Put up a higher post count by joining along jibber jabbering with us!

cctimmom

06-09-2008, 05:31 PM

OMG how have I missed so much? I wasn't getting any notifications. :confused3

Random comments since my last time here based on previous posts.....

Totally missed about the surgery... but glad to hear it went well.

What IS a fish extender? I saw the pic but couldn't figure out what it is (sorry... newbie here).

I still have to make some payments on the cruise. We have only put the $1K deposit down. DOH!

I did the the Tulum ruins on the RCCL cruise MH and I did in April... when the song says "can you feel it, HOT HOT HOT?"... I was like YES YES (gasp) YES. But i have to say, it was absolutely gorgeous and am thankful we did it. But this next trip, when the kids are with us, it'll be beaches... (or trying to find dolphins to swim with, instead of sting rays... channeling Steve Irwin... shudders! (yes... I'm a wuss)

castlegazer

06-10-2008, 02:41 PM

Nope - the thought has also crossed my mind too. :worried:

I think I will let the experts describe the fish extenders - but essentially they are pockets that extend off your fish door number which is at the side of the door that the cruise staff use to provide you with notes - it's like a clip. Exhanges will have fellow cruisers putting little gifts into it or notes during the cruise. It's simply a way to further connect and communicate with your fellow DIS'rs while cruising. :bitelip: :cutie: Hope that serves as a quicky answer and the experts can elaborate.

I had my gallbladder out last Monday. Not too much of a big deal. Thanks!

Do not panic! I only have a deposit down - DCL has had my deposit for two years now. No need to provide them with further money to earn interest on. I don't provide them the final payment until final payment day. I have a special savings account entitled "Travel" that is where I put the money to pay that final payment off on my credit card immediately after it is made. This seems to work and is why I need a couple years between cruises.

cctimmom

06-10-2008, 03:00 PM

Great suggestion about not paying until the due date!

I'm going to see if I can set up a separate bank account for our travel funds. If I don't start transferring now, I'll never have the money later! lol

castlegazer

06-11-2008, 09:08 AM

It works for me. But know that others like to pay off directly to Disney with payments along the way so they know it's there and they can't get at it, or use it for other things. I drew down my travel account this past December to buy a house - I thought it was OK to do that, but now I have to build it back up again. :faint:

I am not getting notifications about posts either. I think it may not be working right now. I have to check my User CP when I log in to see if new posts have been made to the thread.

OH, thank God the heat broke last night!

The sorm that blew through was awful though and we lost our umbrella on our patio. It sits in a very heavy tile top table - probably about 400 pounds, and the wind took that thing and threw it, table, umbrella, and chairs, about ten feet completely sideways last night at midnight. We were lucky it didn't go through any of our windows. It was down too. But the wind still go under it and took that thing for a ride. Amazing. It's in pieces this morning. It was one of those market umbrellas, so all wood. Bummer. :worried:

tinkerbelle77

06-11-2008, 03:08 PM

We had those storms here in the Chicago area a few days ago, and they were awful. Glad to hear all is well for you!

castlegazer

06-16-2008, 09:47 AM

:wave: good morning!

I am still in airfare nightmares. I can't decide whether to buy now or wait for JetBlue or SW.

This is going to hurt whatever way we end up going.

On our last meet thread prior to my 2006 cruise, we used to do pictures of the day to pass the time while we waited for that long off cruise. Please add yours here too and take us wherever you want to show us!

Today I present you with Key West, our first stop:

http://www.keywestcommercial.com/graphics/Key_West_island.gif

http://www.destination360.com/north-america/us/florida/images/s/florida-key-west.jpg

From Destination360.com:

A Key West vacation will take you to the furthest of the Florida Keys (http://www.destination360.com/north-america/us/florida/florida-keys.php) and southernmost point in the continental U.S. When Spaniards first came here, they called it Key of Bones, or Cayo Hueso, which the English pronounced Key West. Home to laid-back literati and body painted ladies, this independently minded island proclaimed itself The Conch Republic in a mock secession in the 1980s.

The Sun Also Sets

Key West was muse to writers like Ernest Hemmingway, John Dos Passos, Robert Frost, and Tennessee Williams. Even Jimmy Buffet wrote novels here. The tradition continues each January at the Key West Literary Seminar.

Hemingway wrote some of his best works here, including A Farewell to Arms and For Whom The Bell Tolls. To locals, he was “Papa,” a regular at the saloons, boxing rings, and fishing piers. Today, descendants of his six-toed cat will greet you at the home where wrote most of his life’s work.

Sky, Sea, and Sand

Key West also offers home tours of another famous resident, bird painter John James Audubon. To glimpse the lush paradise Audubon knew, visit Nancy Forrester’s Secret Garden in Old Town.

A treasure trove of doubloons and pieces-of-eight from a sunken Spanish galleon are displayed at the Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Museum. You can explore a coral reef without leaving town at the Key West Marine Park, or debark on an excursion to Dry Tortugas National Park (http://www.nps.gov/drto/). Hemingway fished from Garrison Bight, where charters are available for tarpon, cobia, and shark.

Key West has a few lovely small beaches. Fort Zachary Taylor State Park has one of the least crowded. Smathers Beach is popular with teens, while Higgs Beach appeals to the gay crowd.

Fantasies Fulfilled

Duval Street is Key West’s Bourbon Street, and local bars are legend. Hemingway characterized Sloppy Joe’s owner in one of his books. He also drank at Captain Tony’s Saloon, mentioned in a Jimmy Buffet song. Another of Buffet’s hits sets the tequila-haze ambiance of his Margaritaville Café.

Each October, Key West travel means Fantasy Fest, a Halloween-meets-Mardi-Gras body-painted bacchanal. Although public nudity is officially taboo, it happens there, so if that’s not your thing, don’t go. If it is, however, the Garden of Eden rooftop bar is clothing-optional year-round. Clothing is also optional poolside at Tea by the Sea, popular with the longstanding local gay scene.

Key Lime Time

The Key Lime Pie Company dishes out the real deal at two locations. Hemingway once boxed at what is now Ricky’s Blue Heaven restaurant. After dinner, fire up an El Hemingway from the Conch Republic Cigar Factory on “Cigar Alley.”

For an authentic Key West Florida experience, pick up a free copy of Sharon Wells' Walking & Biking Guide to Historic Key West, and head up the back-streets of Bahama Village before it becomes over-gentrified.

castlegazer

06-16-2008, 04:06 PM

:bitelip: Well, I did it! I did book airfare. I found a great rate today out of Boston for non-stop flights (that is they are non-stop right now :worried: ) and I just went ahead and did it. I checked out JetBlue's vacation week prices and SW's prices for heavily traveled weeks and I felt I got a pretty good deal. I booked a Delta flight out on Orbitz. Orbitz offers a price guarantee that provides you a check if the price of the flight goes down at any time up until the day you fly, so in that way I am protected from making a huge mistake, but it's not SW or JetBlue.

If anyone else wants to look into it, it's a flight out of Boston on Thursday the 16th returning on the 26th. Delta.com has the same deal too, but without the price guarantee. It's a heart attack price, but from what everyone has been counseling me about over on the transportation forum, I think I got a price that seems in line with what I have been seeing for non-vacation weeks for direct flights lately.

This will prevent my innevitable gut wrench every year trying to hit the booking window for SW. I also always loose money with SW - I have $40 right now about to expire with no hope of using it.

I sooo hope I don't regret this. :worried: But even my very cautious and frugal husband said to do it.

The awesome news is that I think we really are going on this cruise this time :banana:

o4me2playn

06-20-2008, 03:01 PM

We're Wes (50) and Deanna (52) Treigle from Hollister, CA and we're booked on this cruise also!

This is our second Disney Cruise and first "Western".

We too are struggling with airfare costs but hopefull they will drop a little in $$ before too long.

Look forward to meeting everyone!

cctimmom

06-21-2008, 12:41 AM

welcome aboard Wes and Deanna!

flights... UGH! I just checked, and out of Boston, lowest I'm finding is $350+ How come I'm betting that's considered a "good price"? It just wasn't non-stop.

PS... I'll post some Key West pics from our RCCL cruise back in April. I'm still doing a write up on that cruise... I've written 7 pages and only gotten through 3 days.

tinkerbelle77

06-21-2008, 10:23 AM

Welcome Wes and Deanna!

As far as airfare goes, we will be using Southwest, and free flights! The whole family will be earning one this year, so we will have 5. And only need to use 2, since its the 2 of us! I just have to wait for them to open up the schedule and book it immediately!

o4me2playn

06-22-2008, 06:45 AM

Well, I have just about enough frequent flyer miles on American for 2 free flights. Right now the schedules are terrible. We want to fly in a day early but we're still almost 10 hours in the air! We'll be exhausted even before we get to the ship HA!

So here's to hoping and praying that the economy and airfares get better soon!

Deanna(and Wes) Treigle
Hollister, CA

castlegazer

06-23-2008, 09:09 AM

HI there Deanna and Wes! :wave:

Welcome! :yay:

My sister's name is Deanna and she is 53!

Oh, man, this airfare thing. I think I actually got a good deal. I have been watching since I booked and it's doing nothing but go up. I am paying about $340 roundtrip for direct flights on Delta out of Boston mid day, right when I want the flights to be - so hopefully I don't get time shifts, but that would be OK if it happens. What I would really be mad about would be losing the direct flight.

If anyone else books this flight, we are on the 11:10 am flight out on Thursday and the 3:00 pm flight back home on Sunday.

I wanted the whole day on Friday to be at the beach or park. We have a condo in Cocoa Beach at the pier. :cool1: It's such a beautiful place!

Well, I just sent my son off for his first day of outdoor camp, and first day ever of camp, and it's a severe thunderstorms right now, with hail the size of pennies pelting my car just a minute ago. I am having major Mommy anxiety right now. :worried:

OK - so I need a big photo break so here goes Deck 9/10 - ah, I didn't get to spend much time here last trip - The mickey pool was more my speed with a 14 month old, but alas, I have high hopes for the next cruise!:

http://www.kolbfamily.com/2000cruise/images/adult_pool.jpg

castlegazer

06-24-2008, 09:00 AM

Lesson learned from yesterday: the resiliency of children will never cease to amaze.

Everything went just fine at the camp yesterday and he came home in one piece with not one word about the storm or scary lightning! :laughing:

Hope all is well with everyone today.

castlegazer

06-25-2008, 08:41 AM

FYI: The Delta direct flight out of Boston is at a low price (or as low as it as been lately) again right now. About $353 roundtrip.

If anyone is looking to jump prior to JetBlue or SW.

aljsmom

06-28-2008, 09:34 AM

:lmao:
I didn't get any notifications, checked the board for a while and then got too busy and stopped. What a mistake! Wow, I've got a lot to catch up on.

My girls are very excited to know there will be so many local kids their ages to hang with.

More later, I have to go mow the lawn before the next wave of thunderstorms hits.

cctimmom

06-28-2008, 09:42 PM

:confused3

I'm only having the Delta flights come up at almost $566/each. I'll have to just keep checking...

In the meantime... I just came up with a question... the kids' clubs... is there an additional charge to put your kids in these, or is it part of the cost of the cruise?

cctimmom

06-28-2008, 09:46 PM

ps.... when do JetBlue and Southwest open up their tickets for April? (we will probably fly down Friday afternoon/evening)

aljsmom

06-28-2008, 09:55 PM

My understanding is the kids clubs are part of the cruise. It might be different for babysitting after Flounder's Club, but not for kids during the day.

Our airfare was around $450/ticket but that also included transportation to/from the airport. We ended up booking it through Disney because we were told if we did that Disney would be responsible for getting us on that cruise even if the flights got messed up.

Has anyone heard of the Disney Passport? It's supposed to be some book that tells all about Disney and traveling and the cruise? Kind of a planning guide of some sort?

o4me2playn

06-30-2008, 10:56 AM

Wes and I will be traveling companions with another couple (she is a TA with a different agency) from Ohio and we will be celebrating Tom's B'day while we're on this cruise.

My question is: Does anyone know the length and width of the veranda enclosure as I was thinking of having a sign made up and attaching to their veranda. I'm thinking it's about 6.5 ft or longer.

Hopefully somebody knows!

Thanks in advance!

Deanna (and Wes)

castlegazer

06-30-2008, 02:44 PM

I am sorry, I have no idea. Go ask this on the main forum page - someone will know. They will also know, from the repo cruises through the canal, if you can do this. I know people seem to get them for that cruise for the pics.

I wrote out a LONG post twice this morning and lost it when posting - I even know better to copy it first, but alas - -- frustrating! :mad:

OK - so here goes again.

Hopefully in order of questions asked that I can answer:

Delta - yes, the flight is back up in price again. It's been seesawing lately - and I don't know if we will see the $350 price again. I posted it when it was down hoping someone would see it.

Notifications: I think I figured this out. there is an extra step on the subscription page of your user CP - there seems to be a check box to the right hand side of the page next to the thread name that you can check to receive instant notification of posts. I would caution people using this. Sometimes, as we get closer, it becomes a nuisance.

I will try and post every few days, so you can always come and check for a new picture.

JetBlue should be opening up sometime soon, actually. They are out ot January now, I think.

SW opens up betwene 3-5 months out. They just opened the November dates and there is a lot of weeping and nashing of teeth going on over on the TRansportation board. I think the days of $79 fares one-way are out of the picture.

If you haven't found it yet, definitely check out the TRansportation board. That moves quicker than the cruise board - so it's tough to keep up with sometimes, but it is a font of info and a friend of mine is the moderator! Goofy4Tink and she loves to cruise!
There will be a thread designed specifically to notify you of any rumors or news that the dats have opened for SW.

Also be sure to download DINg to your desktop! You will be dinged the minute they open the bookings.

aljsmom - you most likely got the best deal out there for airfare and transportation! :thumbsup2 You are definitely covered and insured that they will get you on that boat!

Kidsclubs - yes, they are included in your cruise fare for your kids. When my duaghter was under 3 for our cruise, we only paid port charges for her to cruise! :cool1: But that was because she wasn't accessing any clubs.

Flounder's Reef Bursery, for those under 3 and not potty trained, is about $6.50 an hour with a two hour minimum per booking. I don't know if it's gone up or not.

TIPS: NOTE: Make sure you all have seen the posts about the new tipping guidelines that will be going into affect!

Now to our pic of the day - I am going to move us onto a sea day:

This is for our tweeners - Ocean's Quest!
http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/00bE3IA0L5b6j/610x.jpg

And for the adults - This is definitely out after the airfare for us this trip, though!:
The Spa Villas

http://www.southerncruising.com/images/contentmanaged/1117AV_0112KP%20Small%20Web%20view.jpg

castlegazer

06-30-2008, 03:01 PM

Shoot - I knew I would forget something.

Passporter is an excellent guide book. You can find most of the info right here at the DIS and get more too, but it's handy to have it along with you and at hand for reference.

I don't use it, but wish I did on the last cruise. I couldn't remember half the stuff people had told me five months earlier.

I do receive their e-mails, though.

I actually prefer Birnbaums for the pictures :rotfl: But their info is not as complete as the Passporter's. The editors are DIS members too! :disrocks:

Maybe others of the veteran cruisers can chime in here with answers to these questions - hint, hint......... :rolleyes1

castlegazer

07-08-2008, 03:28 PM

Hello????

http://www.southerncruising.com/images/contentmanaged/0217AU_1000%20Small%20Web%20view.jpg

Today's pic is in honor of the fireworks of the Fourth of July!

Happy belated Independence Day everyone!

castlegazer

07-09-2008, 10:35 AM

I think we need to do a roll call to ensure that the same people are still booked onto the cruise as are listed on the front page.

please check in, even if it's just a wave and a hi!

I am getting very self contientious about being the only poster here.

:wave:

castlegazer: we are going!

bdwk1997

07-09-2008, 11:33 AM

:wave2:

o4me2playn

07-10-2008, 05:29 AM

Wes and I are checking in!

tinkerbelle77

07-10-2008, 12:03 PM

Hi! Tim and I checking in!

castlegazer

07-11-2008, 11:40 AM

Thanks Guys. Just making sure there were people out there! :wave:

More sea day activities:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/188/437890099_5269b97838.jpg?v=0

You need to click on this one. I can't seem to make it appear, but it is worth it and seems to be fine for a link - no issues. the flickr tour for this guy is really good too, so see if you can go back to all his photos. They are very good.

Just awesome! We didn't take advantage of this enough last cruise. I plan to eat breakfast here in the morning and just sit sometimes - it was tough to do on your first cruise. But the thing I want to do more of this time, is to just stop, slow down and relax.

popcorn::

castlegazer

07-15-2008, 10:23 AM

Ok - I have a lot of days to pass, so today's photo is down a corridor:

http://www.davidstauffer.com/caribbean2007/pictures/small/Caribbean%20Cruise%202007%20-%20Disney%20Magic%20-%20Hallway.jpg (http://www.davidstauffer.com/caribbean2007/pictures/Caribbean%20Cruise%202007%20-%20Disney%20Magic%20-%20Hallway.jpg)

I had to show one more, though, from this web site - which is a good picture review of a guy's cruise, David Stauffer - which can be found at: www.davidstauffer.com/caribbean2007/index.php (http://www.davidstauffer.com/caribbean2007/index.php)

Check out what he did with a setting on his camera he called, the color accent mode:

http://www.davidstauffer.com/caribbean2007/pictures/small/Caribbean%20Cruise%202007%20-%20Life%20Boat%20Drill%2001.jpg (http://www.davidstauffer.com/caribbean2007/pictures/Caribbean%20Cruise%202007%20-%20Life%20Boat%20Drill%2001.jpg)

Now that is a cool picture of a very uncool event for every cruise!

Does anyone know how to do this? I have a Cannon, and I don't know if I can do this or not, but I am sure to go check it out. :thumbsup2

castlegazer

07-15-2008, 10:37 AM

Was anyone else at the Massachusetts Symphony Orchestra's concert Saturday night of Disney music?

I realized, too late as I was already there, that that would have been a good meet to do. It's always a good time, free, and the kids can run around and see Mickey Mouse too (or a mild representation thereof)!

castlegazer

07-15-2008, 11:04 AM

Funny shot angle:

http://inlinethumb57.webshots.com/10936/2397886160078178852S425x425Q85.jpg (http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2397886160078178852gZOInK)

o4me2playn

07-15-2008, 03:04 PM

Just needed to "pipe in" and say that I WISH it was next April and I was getting ready to board the ship!

Can anyone make the next 275 days go by faster???? :dance3:

(I guess I need a vacation!)

castlegazer

07-18-2008, 09:36 AM

No, but I did notice that the stores were hauling out the Halloween stuff into the aisles recently - never been so happy to see retailers rushing the season before.

After Halloween comes Thanksgiving after Thanksgiving comes Christmas after Christmas comes Spring!!!!!!!! with a lot of stuff inbetween unfortunately

aljsmom

07-19-2008, 08:35 PM

We were off visiting relatives, then got real busy at home. Can't wait for the cruise, I was just checking out bathing suits for the girls for the cruise online.
Talbots is closing the kids division and you can get their bathings suits for next to nothing!

castlegazer

07-24-2008, 11:52 AM

Welcome back!
I am a HUGE fan of Talbot's kids and I have spent a ridiculous amount of money stocking up on all sizes of everything essential like pants and sweaters there for my kids over the past after the announcement! I find that their clothes last a very long time and are great for sizing purposes - i.e. they fit for a long time too.

I am headed to check them out again now! Thanks for the heads-up/reminder! BUT FYI, Disney has their bathing suits on sale too and I have gotten our whole family suits that we are using this year and for next.

I just got back from vacation!!! :guilty: We were just up in Maine, but it was nice to be away for a while.

o4me2playn

07-25-2008, 03:07 PM

we've only done the Eastern cruise in the past. Is the weather different in April for the Western ports?

Thanks!

castlegazer

07-28-2008, 09:58 AM

Good question.

I am just guessing, but I would guess that it is hotter. I have always found that our cruises in April and May have been HOT, but not excrutiating. St. Maarten is always HOT then, so I am figuring that Key West will be it's usual unbearable humid and hot and most likely the rest of the ports will be HOT, but less humid.

:confused3

Here is our photo for today of Cozumel simply because I really like this idea of looking out a window at these waters:
http://www.concierge.com/cntraveler/contests/?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=742926

o4me2playn

07-28-2008, 02:18 PM

Thanks!

Our first Cruise was in Sept and the weather was not too bad. Of course, being from CA, summers are always Hot but April is still rather cool.

I'm usually okay if it's cool - not cold - so maybe I'll just bring a light windbreaker or jacket if it cools at night. Wes and I like to sit on the Verandah at night and watch the seas - very calming to us.

BTW - LOVE the pics. Keep them coming!

castlegazer

07-31-2008, 10:08 AM

A Cozumel web site says that it will be in the 70's to 80's when we are there in April. :confused3

I seemed to find that I needed a sweater or light jacket a lot on our cruise last time which also was at the end of April. Simply for the indoor areas of the ship which I found to be super cold. I think it was chilly on our verandah at night too. I remember that I had warm nighties for the kids.

Picture of the day:
Moving on from key West and Sea Days (I know I just posted Cozumel, but that was out of order) to Grand Cayman
Today's pic is actually the link to the web site for the Cayman Islands, because I was just on it and found it to be sooo much fun! I also found the sea School with Diego and I totally wish this was something that was going on when we will be there, but alas, it's not unless they change the dates next year, but even then it is meant for people staying on the island.
http://www.caymanislands.ky/

o4me2playn

08-02-2008, 10:40 AM

I believe that it's just you and I posting here now-a-days :laughing:

But I noticed that we don't have a "name" for our cruise yet and since I'm not that clever - maybe we can get the rest of the group to chime in and give us an idea of what everyone would like?

Thoughts?

castlegazer

08-04-2008, 12:30 PM

:listen: :surfweb:

I love this picture - I see it everywhere!

http://www.wayfaring.info/wp-content/uploads/2007/03/grand-cayman_9_500x330.jpg

and for all this into Scuba Diving - here are the sites:

http://beust.com/pics/grand-cayman-map.gif (http://beust.com/pics/grand-cayman-map.gif)

aljsmom

08-05-2008, 11:15 PM

Had to go to Florida to pick up my mom and drive her up to Mass. 1600 miles, three days, I did all the driving and didn't get to do any sightseeing...sigh...
I vow never to do that to my kids!!

Castlegazer, we were up in Maine as well. Where do you go? We were in Damariscotta.

castlegazer

08-06-2008, 12:15 PM

I can't believe you just did that! I used to drive to Atlanta a lot and we do drive to Florida sometimes, but definitely not often. I am glad you are home... and in one piece!

Damariscotta - Oh that is such a beautiful place - I always tell people Wiscasset, Damariscotta, Pemaquid Point are some of my favorite places to just be in Maine - Boothbay Harbor is another one too. My husband and I spent a miserable Valentine's day in Pemaquid point at a great inn. It was miserable because he had come down with pneumonia and was stuck in bed and the inn didn't have TVs in the room and all he wanted to do was just to lay there and watch TV. No such luck - our romantic little trip was a bit off kilter due to the illness.

We are headed back this weekend to Maine. York Beach. My family has a cottage there and a lot of my family either lives there year round or summers there. My husband went to college in Maine too.

I will be back in a minute to do the photo of the day - it will be off topic, but I have to show you all this amazing photo that someone posted recently....

castlegazer

08-06-2008, 12:29 PM

This was posted by granmaz on the DCL pic of the day thread and I was loving it! It's totally not the Western Caribbean, but it's such a cool shot I had to share:

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m86/maz48/n688753659_591606_6869.jpg

aljsmom

08-06-2008, 12:52 PM

Where is that? What a cooool shot!

aljsmom

08-06-2008, 01:03 PM

I love Coastal Maine. We explored the St. George and Port Clyde area this trip. Our cottage is actually in Newcastle, but on the lake. We use it as a 'jumping off' point a lot to explore other areas. Love Boothbay, the kids get a kick out of all the shops.
York is so nice and CLOSE! The only problem with Maine is the distance!

Have you ever gone to Moody's Diner in Waldoboro?

sandyam76

08-06-2008, 01:22 PM

Well it seems I am very late signing up!! Well we are also from Massachusetts and have a bunch of Cruise newbies coming with us!! On the cruise it will be.....ME :upsidedow , DHpirate: , DD (15):cutie: (Turning 16 the day before the cruise leaves), Mom:) , Dad, :thumbsup2 , Grandma :yay: ,and two of my retired neighbors :banana: !!
We (my family) have been on 1 Disney Cruise, 1 Norwegian, & 1 Royal Carribbean!! Cant wait for the next Disney Cruise!! Thank goodness it is school vacation...as DD is going to be a Sophomore...and boy would I get the EVIL EYE!! See you all there!!

castlegazer

08-07-2008, 09:42 AM

http://i-love-disney.com/disney-gallery/albums/Clipart/Extrasani/Disney/Welcome/thumb_WhistlingMickey-Welcome.jpg

WELCOME sandyam76!!!! :welcome: :jumping1: Of course you're from MA! :rotfl:

Glad you are joining us. I too have been on other cruises, but only one other Disney cruise in 2006!

Oh I totally remember giving my parents total grief when they took me away from school on vacation - how dare they take me on vacation when I have this dreamy boyfriend back home who would totally miss me (yeah right) and I would totally wicked miss out on the gossip, man...totally :rolleyes:

oh, yeah, can't wait for the teen years with my kids :guilty:

I am thinking the Royal Caribbean commercial for you - the rare sighting of the smile, it's ellusive but can be found on a cruise from teenage girls! :lmao:

aljsmom - nope never been there. Is it cool? Yup, love our 1 1/2 hour drive!

I think the photo is Cabo - it's definitely on the West Coast cruise to Mexico.

aljsmom

08-07-2008, 09:47 AM

Welcome from another MA family. We're in Metrowest.
You have quite an entourage coming with you, should be fun.
It worked out nicely that this was MA vacation week...the cruise prices for the next week are much more expensive.
I will have a newly minted teen (turns 13 in two weeks) and two teen wannabee's (will be 11) when we cruise.

castlegazer

08-07-2008, 11:51 AM

Hey guys, I updated our front page with everyone's info. I realized that after my surgery I didn't go back and update with a ton of people's info like Wes and Deanna and Tinkerbelle77's, so please let me know if I have missed you, if you are out there reading along and just want to be included in the roll of who's going and not post, and anything else I may have screwed up on. I told you all from the start that I was a reluctant starter of a meet thread.

So everyone waiting for SW airlines, have you seen this?

According to the SW website:

Quote:
Travel Tools
We are currently accepting air reservations through January 9, 2009. On August 21, we plan to open the schedule for purchase through March 6, 2009. This date is subject to change. Please check back frequently.
http://southwest.com/travel_center/t...ref=trvltls_gn

I guess the April dates will be yet another wait beyond that.

o4me2playn

08-07-2008, 03:41 PM

Dang, we can't be the ONLY west coast folks on this cruise!

Good News is - this weekend I saw quite a few "Spirit" Halloween stores starting to be set up - so we're one holiday closer!

I also made our airline reservations this morning as AA is changing their frequent flyer program come Oct 1st. We'll be staying at Mickey's "World" for one night before heading to the ship. On our last cruise (also our first), we didn't have any luggage for over 2 days as our flight from Miami to Orlando was cancelled and we had to take a 4.5 hour bus ride and almost missed the boat at that! DCL held the last bus for us and we got to the ship just in time for the drill. So this time I want to make SURE we have no hiccups (and clean clothes) for this trip!

castlegazer

08-07-2008, 03:57 PM

OMG! :eek:

We're coming in on Thursday afternoon.

We will be eating at Chef Mickey's (I think) and then heading over to Cocoa Beach for two nights. :cool1: Oh...... could I be more excited!!!! :banana:

My favorite friends last cruise were the California people we were sailing with, so, totally awesome to have you west coasters in the mix! :cool2:

Today's pic has to be the view I will have that Thursday night, although it's taken from a little lower than I will be in the building - my home away from home in Florida!:

http://www.chateaubythesea.net/Images/pier.jpg

o4me2playn

08-07-2008, 04:06 PM

OMG! We're actually flying in LATE Thursday night (my husband just reminded me that I was WRONG - we're staying 2 nights before we meet Mickey on the boat and 2 nights after - Gotta make those reservations too!) :hug:

I too am SO EXCITED! After having to cancel the EB Canal Crossing (I know..I know... old boss refused to approve my vacation time so I changed depts! NEW bosses said..vacation? Go when you want - just let us know where you are so that we don't worry about you :worship: gotta love them

aljsmom

08-07-2008, 06:15 PM

We're not flying in until Saturday, then going directly to the boat....
it's making me nervous, I DON'T want to miss this boat!

o4me2playn

08-07-2008, 06:27 PM

Several people had told me before the 1st cruise to fly in a day early but I said - NAW...we're taking a red eye out of San Francisco thru Miami - we'll be there in PLENTY of time! HA! No we were not. AND when we got our luggage in St. Maarten, AA had gone thru our belongings and had stolen all my new makeup, new perfume bottle, husband's new cologne, etc..etc. At least we were smart enough to bring our valuables in our carryon.

One more thing to add - Disney CruiseLine was WONDERFUL!! When they finally received the luggage and found that it had been broken into AND the seam on one of the pieces totally ripped - gotta LOVE Miami airport - they called us in our state room and told us at 3am in morning but at least we knew and when we got to St. Maarten - the room steward told us to empty the ripped bag and they would try to repair it or replace it (it was Mickey Luggage). They repaired it and the repair looks beautiful - could hardly tell!

Long story short - Hubby and I have made the decision to ALWAYS fly in a day or 2 early before a cruise just so we won't "almost" miss it again! OH and never to fly thru Miami again :rotfl2:

KandiB47

08-07-2008, 10:46 PM

Hello everybody!

It looks like we will be sailing together:goodvibes This is the second Disney cruise for DH (will be 30) and me (28). We are also bringing our DS, who will be one month away from 3 years old.

We live in Wisconsin and we will be celebrating our 5 year anniversary on this cruise (April 24). The first Disney cruise was for our honeymoon so it's been almost 5 years. I miss cruising!

I look forward to meeting my fellow DISers. Now that I've introduced us I will go back and read this 12 page thread:)

castlegazer

08-08-2008, 10:05 AM

Welcome KandiB47!!! :goodvibes

You are rounding out our US contingent by adding some more middle geography people in!

We were married a couple weeks later on May 13th - but almost 10 years ago.

aljsmom - weren't you booked through Disney, though? They will hold the ship for you if you are. At least it's not January so you will most likely not be held up by weather.

I would be more nervous about the airline changing the flight time, but if they do, I have learned that what you do is not accept it and ask for a different time or flight and they need to try to accomodate that.

Todays pic:

I am going back to Cozumel:

Carlos & Charlie's at the foot of the pier:
http://www.caribbeanportreviews.com/images/CozCarlosandCharlies.jpg

and where we will be:
Chankanaab:

http://www.caribbeanportreviews.com/ChankanaabPictures/OceanfrontRestaurant.jpg

I was going to put in the other beahces that people may be going to, but I wasn't sure which ones everyone was htinking of so here is the link to all of them - and it's a just spectacular pictures that make you drool:

http://www.caribbeanportreviews.com/CozumelWestBeaches.htm

aljsmom

08-09-2008, 08:41 PM

Really? They will hold the entire ship for one family??
Cool - I hope we don't have to do that though!

I wanted to go down a day or two early, but my oldest is in high school and they get really nasty about them leaving early.

KandiB47

08-09-2008, 10:52 PM

Okay, I finally got around to reading the whole 12 pages.

I'm sailing with a lot of people from Massachusetts:scared1: Just kidding;)

I see I have the same wedding anniversary as Rala from Germany. Maybe we will see you at Palo that night. April 24th is our Castaway Cay day, I believe.

I'm surprised that a good price from Boston is $350. Milwaukee to Orlando was about $200 when I booked for this December. That was several months ago though. I hope I can fly for under $250 round trip but maybe it's wishful thinking.

castlegazer

08-11-2008, 11:10 AM

depends on if it's your kids school vacation week in Wisconsin like it is here in MA. The problem is that it's most of the northeast's vacation week, which is why there's so many of us from MA on the cruise.

aljsmom, they will only hold the ship if you booked airfare through Disney and if it's a whole contingent of the people booked that way that are delayed. I don't book airfare through Disney, so I don't know the contract specifics, but I do know that that is one reason why people do book it with them and pay the amount they want. It provides peace of mind.

I, on the other hand, have no peace of mind, so I come in early. Plus, no way do I like getting up that early. :laughing: I like mid morning flights.

So we had a great weekend up in Maine! It was beautiful each afternoon and I am sitting here with one nasty sunburn on my back - the portion of my body I forgot when sunscreening. :guilty: Had the best lobster I have had in a long time, and am steamered out from some of the best steamers I could ask for too.

Here is our picture of the day:

snorkeling! http://bp2.blogger.com/_4rNcd-xCT8w/R_HUhlKp6PI/AAAAAAAAAKM/paKoEezamcE/s400/P3250143.jpg

castlegazer

08-11-2008, 11:32 AM

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll23/tiggerger5/IMG_1775.jpg

Over on the pic of the day thread by TIGGER/POOH 4

It's taken from Deck 10 of Cozumel! :love:

KandiB47

08-13-2008, 05:42 PM

I wish I could post pictures from my last cruise but that was in 2004. I was still using a disposable camera back then and the pictures didn't turn out so well:upsidedow

All this talk of expensive flights made me start searching. The cheapest I could find was Milwaukee to Tampa $192 round trip with a stop in Atlanta (Airtran). I decided to pay extra for the convenience of a non-stop flight. We ended up paying $229 for Chicago to Orlando. I also had to pay extra for assigned seats so the final price was $241 per ticket. I am usually an pretty cheap:) but imagining a lay over, an extra hours drive, and sitting away from my husband on the plane was worth the $150 extra. If we didn't have DS2 with us I would consider just saving the money. I know from experience that a whole day of traveling in planes and cars does not work well for my toddler:laughing:

Are flight prices from the Boston area still $350 if you are lucky?

o4me2playn

08-13-2008, 06:50 PM

LOVE the picture!

Can we leave tomorrow, PLEASE!!!!! I promise to be good - honest I will be!

I guess I really DO NEED a vacation - more than I thought! :rotfl2:

aljsmom

08-13-2008, 11:01 PM

yikes, I just went on Expedia. Even using the 'flexible travel dates' a non-stop flight was over $600/pp.

castlegazer

08-15-2008, 11:17 AM

Yeah.... :guilty: :sad2: I've been watching it like a hawk. Not good....

I watch it because I get cash back if anyone books for less than I did on that particular route at the same times through Orbitz.

I really think that being able to fly out of Chicago is giving you a whole heap of better options for getting airfares that are closer to what you are used to for the trip even if it's higher than you would like to pay, KandiB47. I think you got a great deal.

It's now riding, for us in the NE, on JetBlue and SW coming in at reasonable rates. I wonder if the legacy airlines will come down once they release their fares.

Again, SW looks like absolute geniuses because gasoline prices are coming down, so they will be able to price based on that and, hopefully for all of you waiting to book, again scoop all competition on price.

well, on that note,

here is a a picture of the day to help all of us needing a vacation!

http://www.concierge.com/images/destinations/hotels/americas/central_south_america/mexico/cozumel/presidente_intercontinental/cozumel_hotel_001p.jpg

Cozumel again! ahhhhhhh - my shoulders just lowered by about six inches :cloud9:

o4me2playn

08-16-2008, 06:31 AM

Mine too!! Especially since I hope to have had a massage by then!

castlegazer

08-18-2008, 11:19 AM

What a beautiful weekend!

We did some neat stuff out in the Berkshires this weekend - went to a play about a Mad Pirate and a Mermaid at Shakespeare and Co. and then went to Sunday's performance at Tanglewood - such a beautiful day! It was great being outside, plus my children behaved which wa a bonus plan! :goodvibes

Here is today's pic of the day:

http://www.themouseforless.com/tripplanning/dcl/PhotoWeek/2008/05.11.08.jpg

This is the Splash Zone on the Wonder, which, if rumors be true....arrrgggghhh....the Magic will be getting in dry dock in a few weeks! :banana:

So excited to be sailing, yet agaim after a dry dock! We sailed after the last dry dock and it was great to have all the new stuff like the Aerial Vision TV!!!!! :cutie:

cctimmom

08-18-2008, 02:37 PM

when do JetBlue and Southwest open their fares up? I've been checking like a hawk almost every day. Even my daughter is looking. I even contemplated driving, but that's two days on the way there and on the way back, and that will never work. I just can't imagine paying $2000 for us to fly down there!

:scared1:

castlegazer

08-19-2008, 03:00 PM

You have a while to go before they open up.

JetBlue is 180 days and SW is between 3-4 months out depending. For example, like a I said a few posts back, SW announced they would open fares on a specific date but only to the end of March, so April will be another wait. Go to each airlines web site and they will tell you when they will be opening up. I would then go that day prior to 10 am.

I HIGHLY suggest signing up for DING. No need to watch like a hawk if you have DING. they will DINg you the minute they open up the fares and you can click immediately to get the best prices since fewer seats are now in the lowest price categories.

I also HIGHLY recommend paying close attention to the Transportation forum here at the DIS. This truly is the best information forum out there. People know the day and time that the fares will open. There is usually a watch thread you can subscribe to.

I am even stalking that forum right now because of the info on there and watching to see what trends are and that was the place I found out about bag fees prior to it being reported by the news media and airlines made it public. It is stunning what info you can glean over there and at FlyerTalk.com!

OK, yesterday pic didn't seem to work and it was good too!

I will post it again and a new one in a minute.

castlegazer

08-19-2008, 03:17 PM

Yesterday's pic of the new splash area:
(best I could do)
http://www.dclnews.com/assets/images/ThumbL/1019AU_2646GD34652245.jpg

Today's pic of Goofy's Galley - which was one of my favorite eating places while at the pool with the fresh vegetables and fruit and great wraps. I felt so healthy....for about three minutes prior to thinking about the other stuff I had eaten for breakfast and dinner....

http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u19/mcruises/IMG_0232.jpg

castlegazer

08-19-2008, 03:24 PM

I think we need a question of the day too to allow people to get involved.

Please feel free to ask questions too (as I stink at this).

Today's question:

if you have sailed DCL previously, what was you favorite food memory and what do you think it tells us about you?

if you have not, what are you most looking forward to related to food and what does this tell us about you?

My answer is two memories. I really loved the seafood lunch buffet in Parrot Cay one of the days - it was an amazing assortment of seafood! I also loved having at breakfast oatmeal with all the exotic fruit mixed in like lychees and the pineapple was to die for! :lovestruc having posted the innaugural question of the day as all about food, I would say that my answer tells you that I am a foodie and spend a good deal of time thinking about great food!

castlegazer

08-19-2008, 03:43 PM

Just to prove my point about the Transportation forum, here is apost made in the last few days by someone from JetBlue (BriBri1984 - Or at least he purports to be from JB) - GO HANG OUT ON THE TRANSPORTATION FORUM, MY FRIEND, THEY ARE BECOMING RESTLESS WAITING FOR JET BLUE AND I CAN BET SOMEONE THERE WILL FIND OUT WHEN AND WHAT TIME FARES WILL BE RELEASED BY JETBLUE!:

Hey
Do not get Frusteated!!

Trust me :)

I am sorry they are not out yet, but they will be the best prices when they 1st come out.

May seem frustrating. But with Oil Sliding on Friday again, we are constantly adjusting prices..... ( Its all for the good of the customer, you! )

Just rrest assure we are doing things to help you.. And Remember Alot of our prices drop, so if you see you you can get a credit!

We are not looking to Stick it to anyone. We are here for you and do our best ( despite some of th negitave comments we do get from time to time )

But like i say, please send those comments in to JB, good and bad...

Thank you for flying JB. I am here to help, and i have a whole network of crewmembers to find answers..

Bri

o4me2playn

08-19-2008, 06:11 PM

Well I can't really comment on the transportation issues as I was fortunate enough to have enough frequent flyer miles to "cash in" for the flights - good thing as flights out of CA are over the roof!

As far as food goes, I'm looking forward to Palo's - we missed this on our first cruise because our luggage was stuck in Miami for the first 2 1/2 days of the trip. I'm also a breakfast person so I like eating at the breakfast buffet in Topsider's. We missed the seafood buffet - I'll be checking this out also!

aljsmom

08-19-2008, 09:35 PM

hmmmm...foood!
I am looking forward to all of it! This is our first Disney cruise and I've heard so many good things. I am looking forward to Palo, but also the Goofy place you just mentioned. If I eat 'healthier' during the day, I won't feel so bad about dessert!

cctimmom

08-19-2008, 10:03 PM

can I be lazy and ask you to post the link to the Transportation forum?... lol

:worship:

cctimmom

08-19-2008, 10:08 PM

I'm going to try PIPing...

Here's a little taste of Key West

nope... sorry... I don't know how to PIP on this board... booooo

castlegazer

08-20-2008, 09:30 AM

http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=16

That should help!

So, picture posting......Woohoo! I would love to see your photos!

If it's your own photos, you will need to have them hosted somewhere on the Internet, like Snapfish or here at the DIS using this link: http://photopost.wdwinfo.com/

Then you can copy it and paste it here. I think you also have to have a minimum number of posts to be able to post photos also.

I go to web sites and copy and paste here.

:thumbsup2 Big thumbs up for trying!

castlegazer

08-20-2008, 11:16 AM

As I know you all don't read many posts on the main board, I wanted to let you all know about a post I just made over there:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1926268

Frances came at Cocoa Beach on September 6th, so I have to say that I KNOW I DO NOT vacation in Florida during these weeks at the end of August and beginning of Sept. Frances wiped out our condo - it was actually a tornado. So having another direct hit, but this time of a TS, is a bit disconcerting.

So My pic of the day is where my mind is today:

This is a currrent radar image:

http://sirocco.accuweather.com/sat_mosaic_640x480_public/ei/isehatl.jpg

KandiB47

08-20-2008, 04:13 PM

I hope things turn out alright with your condo. Good luck!:hug:

castlegazer

08-21-2008, 01:11 PM

Everyone is fine - stir crazy, but fine! Thanks for the well wishes!

OK today's photo of the day can be no other than this:

http://hosted.stats.com/olympics/photos/200808211123410105424-p4.jpeg

Oh YEAH!!!! :banana:

Woohoooooooooo!!! Jon, you and I didn't think they could pull it through, but THEY DID!!!!!!!!!!!

castlegazer

08-22-2008, 11:01 AM

Question of the Day:

Do you like to:

Snorkel?

Swim?

SunBathe?

Scuba Dive?

Water Sports?

Drink Konk Koolers?

or simply read a book under shade?

or other?
When you are at the beach?

My answer is to swim, drink Konk Koolers, and read a book - I am fair so I can't sunbathe with abandon.

I spent a lot of the day just luxuriating in the water at Castaway Cay - that was heaven on earth in my opinion!

Today's pic of the day:

http://www.jaredbradshaw.com/images/689_DCLcharactersbeach.JPG

http://www.disneytop10.com/images/castawaycay.jpg

o4me2playn

08-23-2008, 12:32 PM

Since Wes and I are "young" adults HA! We like to venture down to Serenity Bay. I like to spend as much time in the water as possible, even putting one of the chairs in the sand at the waters edge and taking a snooze :cool1: The water is SO WARM and so calm that I want to spend as much time in it as possible!!!!

A Konk Kooler or 2 is welcoming also!

Wes likes to sunbathe and drink BEER!!! Anyways... he'll venture in the water for a short while, but he would rather sit in the shade.

aljsmom

08-23-2008, 11:46 PM

Hmmm...what is a Konk kooler?? Sounds intriguing.
I love being in the water, but a good book and a chair in the water sounds just right!
Can't wait to snorkel as well.

o4me2playn

08-24-2008, 11:25 AM

I found this online.....

Konk Kooler

Ingredients:

1/2 oz. dark rum
3/4 oz. light rum
1 oz. passion fruit juice
1 oz. piña colada mix
1 oz. orange juice
Directions:

Place all ingredients in a cocktail shaker and shake vigorously
Serve in a tall glass filled with crushed ice. Garnish with a wedge of tropical fruit
This is the signature drink on Castaway Cay (Disney's private island in the Bahamas)

aljsmom

08-24-2008, 04:39 PM

yummmm....thanks for the recipe.
I might just have to try this out before we sail!

castlegazer

08-27-2008, 11:31 AM

I did try out the recipe one time, and it just wasn't the same.... :guilty:

I needed to be sitting in a chair, feet in the castaway cay water, drinking one to have it really taste right.

The picture of the day today is a share from me. I violated a rule I set a long time ago about not posting my scrap book pages, recently to ask for help with inspiration on how to scrap our verandah pictures from our last cruise - if you are a scrappbooker, you should check out the DCL scrapbook thread. So, I wanted to make sure I wasn't leaving you all out of the loop and post it here too. I blurred the images and took out my son's name - the credits for the picture are at the thread (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1710064&page=24):

http://www.digitalscrapbookplace.com/gallery/data/500/Florida_vacation_2006_Mickey_Pool_-_SHARE.JPG

I am working like a maniac right now on a photobook from our last cruise. I am staying up waaaaay too late every night getting pages done, and I am only on day two! This is going to take forever! :headache:

castlegazer

08-27-2008, 11:34 AM

Here's the verandah picture in question:

http://www.digitalscrapbookplace.com/gallery/data/500/Florida_Vacation_2006_Verandah_-3.JPG

I am not happy with it - but I have such a hard time because I have a lot of photos that tell the tsory better than any paper could.

o4me2playn

08-27-2008, 12:59 PM

All these beautiful pictures and we're STILL 7 months and 22 days out :( Well the good news is .. summer ends this weekend and then comes fall and then SPRING!!!

I really want the time to pass quickly, can you tell?:woohoo:

castlegazer

08-27-2008, 01:52 PM

http://images.jupiterimages.com/common/detail/42/86/22248642.jpg

o4me2playn

08-27-2008, 04:23 PM

LOVE IT!!!!!!!

http://images.jupiterimages.com/common/detail/42/86/22248642.jpg

tinkerbelle77

08-28-2008, 06:36 PM

Hi everyone! I know its been a long time since I've posted! Things have been crazy this summer...Now that the girls are back in school, I have a lil more time! I have been catching up on posts and these great pics all along, just havent had the time to comment! Hepe everyone has a great Labor Day weekend!

cctimmom

08-28-2008, 08:26 PM

ok... I keep missing the notifications that people are posting... grrrrr

My question of the moment... do I grab AirTran tickets for $354/pp or wait it out some more?????

KandiB47

08-28-2008, 11:45 PM

My question of the moment... do I grab AirTran tickets for $354/pp or wait it out some more?????

I was wondering the same thing because I don't have the money for three plane tickets just sitting around right now. I was planning on waiting until I read an article by Pete Werner on the Dis Boards. Read #5: http://www.wdwinfo.com/discounts/beat-high-cost-airfare.htm

I feel like I got off very lucky compared to what the people from Mass. are paying. Good luck with prices.

cctimmom

08-29-2008, 12:12 AM

I ended up booking it. I really don't like AirTran, and I'm fearful that they will change the flights/times sometime over the next 7 months... but my bigger fear is $2000 to fly us all down for this magical adventure.

So... we ended up booking the non-stop AirTran flights. We'll arrive Friday late morning (have to take the kids out of school)... stay overnight (which we would have anyway since I don't want to fly on embarkation day)... and we fly out the Saturday evening we disembark.

AirTran did sneak in $6 seating fees for the return trip home (but not the flight down) for me to reserve our seats now (I wanted to make sure we were each sitting with one of the children)... and we bought the $15 insurance (if we have to cancel due to sickness, etc.) All told, it came to about $375/ticket. And no baggage fees...

Not great by any stretch, but I've seen so much worse...

Now I'm just hoping I don't get snookered if they totally change the flights/routes, etc. (I've had that happen on two previous trips... not for a cruise and not to MCO)

o4me2playn

08-29-2008, 03:23 AM

I feel for all of you on trying to guess what the airfare is going to be. If I didn't have the frequent flyer miles with AA, I would be sweating out the prices also.

Right now it's all a guessing game but I know one thing for sure, at least knowing that you have reservations has got to be a relief.

cctimmom

08-29-2008, 08:18 AM

I have frequent flier miles through AA too, but the flights to Orlando, at least right now are insane (no non-stops, and the one stops are along the lines of Boston to Chicago to Orlando... or through Miami with longer layovers).

Sigh... it's never easy...

castlegazer

08-29-2008, 11:01 AM

I think you did the right thing.

It will be interesting to see what JetBlue and SW come out with for fares.

:surfweb:

I am killing myself staying up late every night doing these scrapbook pages from our last cruise. I need a vacation this weekend from scrapping.

I did some really cute ones last night while watching the speeches. I then felt guilty that I hadn't done anything with the photos of the first day of school this week, so I did one for that too. :guilty: I am very tired.

Have a great weekend everyone! We're headed to Maine. :banana:

tinkerbelle77

08-29-2008, 12:29 PM

As far as airfare goes from Chicago, I was sweating it...We paid $280 pp for our september flight, and it didnt look like it was going to come down at all. So I feared the worst for April, but was thankful that we had free flight credits coming. But just in the last 2 weeks it came down to $89pp. So after taxes, we are looking at about $210 pp. Hopefully its like this in April, and then we will save our free flights for July with the whole family! Good Luck to all!

o4me2playn

08-30-2008, 10:48 AM

DO NOT BOOK IT!!! The airlines tend to cancel those flights and put you on a bus for 4.5 hours with NO LUGGAGE!

That is what happened to us in 2006 - no luggage for almost 3 days of the cruise - terrible experience. I was on the phone with AA for hours (we arrived in Miami at 2:30 am for a 5:30 flt to Orlando - should have been plenty of time) We AA said that is was Miami that would not release our luggage..back and forth..back and forth...no info..no flt...BARELY made the last bus to port (Disney Cruise held it for us) - but without any clothes our trip was all but spoiled. I guess that's one of the reasons that we're so excited about this one!

BTW - I'm visiting my parents in Fresno, CA this weekend and their local WM had a few XMas decorations on shelves... YIPPIE time is moving faster! :cool1: :banana: :yay: :dance3: :woohoo: :cheer2:

cctimmom

08-30-2008, 11:48 AM

yikes! already booked it... so I'll just have to pray to the Disney fairies that it all works out for us.

But your story does provide some lessons -- maybe I'll pack at least a day's worth of clothing, and especially bathing suits, that we carry on the plane. The good news, for us, too, is that we are arriving a day early. So hope-hope-hoping we don't have an evil flight experience.

I have been burned on other trips (non cruises) by early booking (we are still 7+ months out). They cancel the entire route and the selection of options is slim to none by the time they do that.

In the meantime... I've already created a spreadsheet for my Packing List and the Itinerary (ideas of things to do) ---- yes, I'm insane with my spreadsheets... only way to keep myself organized.

:wizard:

castlegazer

09-02-2008, 10:40 AM

you didn't book into Miami did you?

I thought you booked non-stops to Orlando from BOS?

Oh, you don't know spreadsheets until you see mine from the last cruise! We shared them on the yahoo shared site. I had color coding, pictures, everything.

So you are in good company doing spreadsheets around here.

Although... I am going to go a little more laid back this time around. The spreadsheets did nothing for me. The packing lists didn't really help, and I basically had a lot of things wrong. But I do have a spreadhseet already made to visualize the days - I need to see everything laid out - i.e. docking times, trip times, etc. To make sure I am not overbooking myself.

So, I am going to plan out a general plan of attack, and then go with the flow more this trip. Essentially studying my navigator very thoroughly every day with highlighters in hand! :teacher:

castlegazer

09-02-2008, 10:47 AM

That didn't work.

Day Port Ashore Onboard
18 Saturday Port Canaveral — 4:00 p.m.

19 Sunday Key West 11:30 a.m. 7:30 p.m.

20 Monday At Sea — FORMAL Golden Mickey's

21 Tuesday Grand Cayman 7:30 a.m. 4:30 p.m.

22 Wednesday Cozumel 9:30 a.m. PIRATE 6:30 p.m.

23 Thursday At Sea — SEMI-F Disney Dreams

24 Friday Castaway Cay 9:30 a.m. 5:00 p.m.

25 Saturday Port Canaveral 7:35 a.m.

cctimmom

09-02-2008, 10:59 AM

I wish they'd publish the Navigators before the cruise... ugh... I'm too much of a planner... lol

On our RCCL we didn't really read the Compass too well because it was too overwhelming to make "last minute" decisions.

But yes... we are going non-stop BOS to MCO. I figure getting in so early the day before will also help. IF our bags get lost, WORST CASE, we'll just buy what we need (hate to buy frivolously, but if necessary, we can do that).

Any recommendations of where we should stay overnight the Friday night?

Also... is there a DCL shuttle from the airport to the port the next morning? Do we have to make reservations for that (especially since we are getting in the day before)?

Looking at your list below... WE already know (meaning I don't know) when the formal nights are, etc????

Gosh... I need to reengage in my planning!!!!

castlegazer

09-02-2008, 11:34 AM

I really highly recommend the Hyatt - right in the airport. It is so nice, convenient, and then the next morning they will take your bags right from in front of your room down to the DCl buses and put them right on - you just get up and walk down to check out and then to the bus transfers.

You can get great prices on the rooms too.

I get prices from Hyatt.com and Priceline, and Hotwire.

We always stay here if we get in late. This trip we are not because we get in mid day.

As for transfers, we rent cars, but you can do as I described above and purchase bus transfers through DCL and it's super easy. They go right from the airport out to the port - or they also go from certain Disney World resorts right out to the port.

Navigators are posted here on the DIS.

Let me go get the link......

castlegazer

09-02-2008, 11:40 AM

You should probably start here: http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/cruise-new/cr-overview.htm for info on transfers, etc.

and then go to the navigators here:
http://www.wdwinfo.com/Photos/DCL-Navigators/2-24-07/index.htm

The link to the most recent navigator for the western itinerary doesn't work - so this is the best one and its way back to 2/07. But it gives you what you may need.

Remember that we will be cruising after the dry dock, so I am looking forward to the navigators that will be posted after October! :banana:

cctimmom

09-02-2008, 11:42 AM

is this the right Hyatt?

Hyatt Regency Orlando International Airport
9300 Airport Boulevard
Orlando, Florida, USA

castlegazer

09-02-2008, 11:44 AM

Oh, by the way, my spreadsheet also has that sunset is 7:50 pm at that time of year in Key West! :rotfl: But I am going much more laid back with the spreadsheets this year! :lmao: ;) :rolleyes:

OK - I am off to book an excursion........ :surfweb: No, seriously, I need to book a private charter in Grand Cayman for our party! WooHOOOOO!!!! :cool1:

castlegazer

09-02-2008, 11:45 AM

is this the right Hyatt?

Hyatt Regency Orlando International Airport
9300 Airport Boulevard
Orlando, Florida, USA

Yes!

It's totally awesome!

It works great for us when renting cars too. I get up early in the morning and go get the car prior to the crush of passengers and then bring it around to the hotel parking and it's ready to go when my family gets up.

cctimmom

09-02-2008, 12:10 PM

I just booked the hotel... he he he... checked off the list :dance3:

It's showing as $229/night. Through my company, I just got executive/concierge service for $2 more. I hope that was a good deal... lol

So... tell me how you deal with a rental car vs. the Disney bus. On our RCCL cruise, I thought we were told that you could take a rental car up to the port... is there are rental drop off location at the Disney port? Is it a specific rental agency that you can use, or can you use any of them?

Thank you soooooooooooooooooooooo much for answering all of my questions. I like to know what to expect and what I should do and not second guess afterwards that I should have done it differently... lol

cctimmom

09-02-2008, 12:32 PM

ok... next question of the day.

What are the sleeping arrangements for a family of 4 ON the cruise? Anyone have any pictures?

(My 12 years old does NOT want to sleep in the same bed with her little brother... we're already having a who-ha over the fact that the Hyatt only has double beds and won't allow a rollaway bed in the room due to fire hazards... oh boy! :confused3 )

castlegazer

09-02-2008, 02:22 PM

I posted a huge response and lost it when posting - I HATE IT WHEN THAT HAPPENS!!!!! :mad:

Ok - In response to your questions I have several links for everyone to check out:

Here is a really great compilation of all things one needs to know when cruising DCL http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1002071

Here is a link for all things one needs to know about traveling to the port: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1520273
Shirley is an angel and puts everything you can think of in this thread and updates it often. There is a HUGE portion of this dedicated to rental cars.

She goes and checks out the managers, companies, everything prior to reocmmeding them on this thread.

I usually get about $199 for the Hyatt but haven't booked it in a year or so, so I think you did very well.

As for sleeping arrangements, I will see if I can post a picture of the cabins for you to see.

As for kids sleeping at the Hyatt, there is an awesome roof top pool, and yu can tell them you'll buy them something downstairs in the airport shops - which are soo awesome - if they'll suck it up for one night! LOL!!!

castlegazer

09-02-2008, 02:32 PM

http://www.wdwinfo.com/Photos/DCL_Stateroom-cat-5-6/images/DSC00315a.jpg (http://www.wdwinfo.com/Photos/DCL_Stateroom-cat-5-6/pages/DSC00323.htm) You see how over the couch there are some knob thingies, well these are where the pull down bed is. I have aphoto of it all deployed, but I don't think I will post it as my kids are sitting on the floor and in the bed. The couch slides out to be a flat surface - comfy by the way - and the bed comes down from the ceiling and has a rail on it. It was pretty comfy for us sleeping - no idea about teenagers, though.

castlegazer

09-03-2008, 09:49 AM

http://images.snapfish.com/345%3C74963%7Ffp335%3Enu%3D3233%3E3%3C%3A%3E247%3E WSNRCG%3D32335232635%3A6nu0mrj

There's a cool virtual stateroom tour thread going on right now:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1025732

This is posted by SeaSpray and she has a couple of BIG teenagers:

castlegazer

09-03-2008, 09:54 AM

http://www.brownfamilyvacations.com/images/D1940171.JPG

http://www.brownfamilyvacations.com/images/D1940213.JPG

castlegazer

09-03-2008, 10:08 AM

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o224/jackiec2/IMG_5467-1.jpg

:banana: :banana: Konk Kooler!!!! Mine looked a lot more ornage than this I thought, but nevertheless - here is a pic!!! My absolute favorite thing in the world to drink while on a cruise!!!!!!!!!!!!!

castlegazer

09-03-2008, 10:12 AM

OK - this is more like what I remembered! And exactly how I was drinking mine! This is Christi though, not me.

http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii198/cristit14/100_1559.jpg

castlegazer

09-03-2008, 10:14 AM

and to keep up the good mood today on our thread - here is a Bahama Mama:

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii87/disneycruise08/DisneyCruise274.jpg

castlegazer

09-03-2008, 10:15 AM

Oh man I am on a roll!!!!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v241/RobinMarie/PanamaCanalCruise080.jpg

castlegazer

09-03-2008, 10:18 AM

and for coffee fanatics like myself and my husband!

http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o277/mdangerf/Xmas%20Disney%20Cruise%2006/Day%204%20-%20at%20sea/IMG_2494.jpg

castlegazer

09-03-2008, 10:22 AM

OK - should I now post a question of the Day?

:upsidedow I can't think of any - my brain has gone sloshy with these pics...

Sorry - feel free to post your own

aljsdad

09-03-2008, 11:02 AM

OK - so I'm sure you can tell who I'm attached to by the user name :rotfl2:

My question is, What are our options for the kids when we go to Palo's

castlegazer

09-03-2008, 11:33 AM

Hey there!!!

It was the pics of the drinks, wasn't it, that got you posting??!!! Admit it!!! :rotfl: :woohoo:

Ok, now in all seriousness, I had to go back and check the ages of your kids.

You know I heard of someone actually sending their kids, about your kids' ages, to dinner at the restaurant and then letting them go off to the clubs.

They let the servers know they would be doing that and it worked out great and their kids had the BEST time. They were treated like royalty and pampered by the servers.

But the clubs do serve dinner to the kids - they take them up to Topsiders for dinner. So, you send them to the club and off you go to Palo!

We had the worst scenario on our cruise trying to do this because my daughter was in Flounders Reef Nursery at the time.

We were struggling to get them fed prior to us heading to the spa and then to Palo - we ended up being late to the spa, then rushing and not relaxing through the whole treatment and then rushing off - all oily from a massage, to Palo. It was not relaxing at all. But Palo was very very nice when we finally sat down, relaxed, had a drink and began to enjoy ourselves.

So I say, do whatever it takes to be as calm and carefree about the children as possible. :cutie:

cctimmom

09-03-2008, 06:21 PM

I think the Konk Kooler is going to be my new BFF! Thanks for posting not only the pics, but also the pic of the descriptions!

cctimmom

09-03-2008, 06:25 PM

my question of the day...

what are your favorite activites to do on the Magic?

castlegazer

09-03-2008, 10:19 PM

My husband answered this one:

Dinner with my wife in Palo :lovestruc
Watching the kids meet the characters and get all excited :goodvibes

o4me2playn

09-04-2008, 12:23 PM

my question of the day...

what are your favorite activites to do on the Magic?

Some of our favorite activities is spending time in the adult pool and hot tubs in the evening. Very few other folks around and the sound of the ship moving thru the water is very relaxing. We also like to walk around Deck 4 and take in all the sights!

castlegazer

09-04-2008, 01:34 PM

CELEBRATION, Fla. – An exciting collection of enhancements awaits the Disney Magic as the ship heads into dry dock Sept. 6-24, 2008. The 2,700 passenger cruise ship will undergo a series of upgrades for guests of all ages.

Here is a glimpse at what’s in store:

Indulgence and Relaxation
Quiet Cove, the serene pool retreat reserved for the enjoyment of adults, will undergo a makeover including upgrades to Cove Café, the pool and the deck area. Cove Café, the ship’s sophisticated coffee lounge, will incorporate a new seating area with plush, comfortable chairs providing the perfect venue to relax while sipping a cup of gourmet coffee. Meanwhile, the adult pool will be outfitted with soothing, cascading waterfalls from the two hot tubs. Teak deck and lounge chairs with plush cushions will line the pool, creating an inviting, stylish ambiance in line with the Vista Spa and Salon.

Fun for the Little Ones
The Oceaneer Club, a Neverland-themed play space for 3-7 year olds, and the Oceaneer Lab, a whacky and interactive laboratory exclusively for 8-12 year olds, will be enhanced with new registration areas that make the check-in process more efficient and hassle-free. This sets the stage for incorporating Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology in the youth activity areas later this year, which will further enhance and streamline the check-in process. The technology uses RFID tags embedded on wristbands, allowing children to simply tap a sensor to check in and out of the clubs.
Even the youngest cruisers will have a splashtacular time in “Mickey’s Splash Zone,” a new toddler water playground inspired by Fantasia’s Sorcerer’s Apprentice. This 385-square-foot extension to the Mickey Pool on deck 9 will feature star- and moon-shaped interactive fountains, a soft play surface and whimsical splash zones; creating an inviting environment for children not yet toilet trained and in swim diapers.

New Conveniences
The guest staterooms onboard the Disney Magic are receiving an infusion of technology with the installation of flat-screen LCD television sets. The new 22-inch units will be mounted on a swivel arm to allow easy viewing from multiple locations within the stateroom.

- They are also upgrading the theater, animator's palette, and rugs.

o4me2playn

09-04-2008, 06:09 PM

- They are also upgrading the theater, animator's palette, and rugs.

I'm thinking the flat screens will give "us" more room to set things in or around the vanity..correct???

castlegazer

09-05-2008, 01:33 PM

Let's all hope - although, I didn't find I had much trouble with space issues. We had the overthedoor shoe holder withus too, though.

Here ye, here ye!!!!! I bid you all (Mass people, that is) good hunting for airfares with this news announcement today!!!!!!:

New air service planned

WORCESTER - The Massachusetts Port Authority today released initial schedules for flights from Worcester Regional Airport to Florida that will be offered by Direct Air beginning Nov. 22, the newest attempt to re-establish commercial air service at the airport.
Massport said in a news release that flights from Worcester to Punta Gorda and Orlando Sanford International Airport will be offered three times a week. Flights will depart Worcester for Punta Gorda at 5:15 p.m. on Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Return flights from Punta Gorda are scheduled for 7 a.m. Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Flights to Orlando are scheduled to depart from Worcester at 10:35 a.m. on Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Return flights on the same days will leave Orlando at 2 p.m., Massport reported. Direct Air plans to use 149-seat Airbus-320 planes leased from and staffed by Virgin America. Massport reported that Direct Air plans to offer flights from Worcester to Myrtle Beach, S.C., in spring 2009, although dates have not yet been announced. Direct Air is a charter service based in Myrtle Beach. It offers flights out of Newark, N.J.; Columbus, Ohio; Niagara Falls and Plattsburgh, N.Y.; and Pittsburgh.