April 11th 2009 Magic Eastern Easter cruise--UPDATED WITH ROLL CALL PG 1

[kellimomo3]

We have no thread yet, so I thought I would start one! My name is Kelli and this will be my family's 4th Magic cruise. DH and I have 3 sons. Their ages at the time of the cruise will be 12, 11 and 8. Every time we have cruised in the past it has been great for the kids to "meet" friends on this board before we leave. We have left each cruise with great friends and memories! I know there must be more Dissers on this cruise. I have never cruised during a holiday and I'm looking forward to seeing what they do onboard for Easter. We also have never cruised during a school vacation so I am wondering if we will notice a big difference in the crowds. I look forward to watching this thread grow!

Kelli
:dance3:


:cheer2: OFFICIAL ROLE CALL--CONTINUOUSLY UPDATED HERE::cheer2:

PPFQP: Pam & Brian from Virginia Beach, VA
(2) daughters Meredith & Lauren both 14
also traveling with three other families whose children are girls ages 14, 13, 13, 11, 9 & 9 and a boy age 14


Kellimomo3: Kelli & Ron from CT
(3) sons Griffin, Ryan & Jason ages 12, 11 & 8
This is our fourth DCL Magic cruise and we are very excited!!


Freddyfishstix: Tom & Carrie from Greensboro, NC
daughter Katie age 11
son Drake age 8



TBRox: Sally & Michael from NJ with
daughter, Sarah, 20 (w/special needs)
son, Davey, 11


juliebird27: Julie & Rory from NY
1st Cruise/Anniversary trip




oatmealdivs: Amy, DM Margaret
DS Myles (nearly 8)
Los Angeles, CA
Cabin 7116


floridacruiser14: Dan & Deanna from Clermont FL
DDS: Lauren 11, Akeya 10 and Olivia 8. This Olivia's first ever cruise as she was adopted from Ukraine. She is very very excited.


PrincessRow:
4/11/09 cruise roll call
randma- Carol
Mom- Lanette
DD- Rochelle 14
DD Isabelle 4
2 disney cruise on magic from california :]


wendygator: James & Wendy
DS Robby (12) and DS Kirk (9)
This is our third Disney cruise. (2005 Western Carribean, 2007 3 Night Bahamas) We have been to WDW lots of times as my husband worked on Main Street in the Magic Kingdom during college.



Goofy'sGrl: Dorie and Pete from NJ
daughter Jennifer 12
First Cruise!



sdzm: Debbie & Steve
DS-Zac - 16
DD-Mary Kate - 14


AnaRN: Ana & Nick
Daughters: Jade age 17 & Jasmine age 2
My parents: Aida and John (1st cruise ever)
This will be mine, Nick and Jasmine's 2nd DCL - we went on a 4 day the 1st week in January while Jade and my parents were in the Philippines.


anjiellisvt: Anjie & David from Mooresville, NC
daughter Taylor age 10
daughter Jordan age 6



cruising fun:Ann & Brian from Buffalo NY
daughter Haley age 5
my parents are traveling with us too and they are early 60s.
I am a 4th grade teacher and Brian is a paramedic.



ititorfortravel: Kimberly & Tom from NC
daughter Morgan age 7
first Disney Cruise!


Had2disneycruz: Jerilyn & Bill from Virginia Beach, VA
daughters: Lauren, 15, Ashlyn, 12, Samantha, 9, Justine, 4
This is our second Disney cruise (1st cruise was 2/01), but it will be our first time on the Magic.We are joining Pam & Brian and 3 other families from VB.


Big Willie:Family from Chesapeake/Portsmouth, VA
3 rooms
11 cruisers:
Willie, Corlis, Christyn (DD6)
Roderick, Cassandra, Ryne (DS14), Maya (DD10)
Cherie, Aysia (DD11)
Esther (Grandma)
Caleb (15) Family Friend
_______

Alicia87: from WV
Myself (40) 3rd DCL Cruise
DD (18) 2nd DCL Cruise and we're celebrating her upcoming HS graduation!!
DM (59) 1st Cruise ever!!
DM's BFF (55) 1st Cruise ever and terrified!!

[kmclickn]

We have reservations for this spring break cruise. We have twins (boy/girl) who will be 13 when we set sale. We have been on several Disney crusies in the past, but never an Eastern cruise...we are really looking forward to it

[kellimomo3]

Hi!!!

We cruised the Eastern itinerary last year and really liked it!

Kelli
:dance3:

[GreatDaneMom]

...

[PPFQP]

We're booked too! Spring Break cruise with four other families.

kmclickn - I have twins also! (girls) They'll turn 14 a few days before the cruise. And we're also from Virginia Beach!

We did the Disney Magic (Western itin.) for Spring Break in 2005. We also did a cruise on the Mariner (Royal Caribbean) over Christmas last year, and liked that a lot as well. I never thought we'd do another Disney cruise, but our friends convinced dh and he booked it as a surprise!

[GreatDaneMom]

...

[PPFQP]

Cool! Lots of friendly hometown faces. Are you all flying or driving to Port Canaveral?

Will your DD be in 8th or 9th grade at the time of the cruise? My girls will have just turned 14 a few days before the cruise.

[GreatDaneMom]

...

[PPFQP]

Hopefully we'll be flying. Just for kicks I did a search of airfares on Kayak the other day and they were over $1,000 per person on Continental. Yikes! :scared1: I sure hope that was just an introductory price and they'll drop over the coming months. We usually try to catch Southwest out of Norfolk since they have direct flights. Are you also flying?

My DD turns 14 this November and she'll be in the 8th grade when we sail. In some ways she's very mature and grownup and in others she's so naive and innocent. It's such an age to deal with! You're certainly blessed having two at once. This is my last teen after raising her 5 older siblings and I'm really enjoying every minute of it. It's so nice to mellow with age. :thumbsup2


Yes, we're flying Southwest. No flights booked yet, of course, but that's our plan.

Your dd is the same age as my girls!

In some ways, it's nice having two at once, yet at the same time... I don't have the luxury of "mellowing" with age LOL! No chance to learn from my mistakes! I wouldn't trade it or the world, but there sure are a lot of things I would do differently if I had another shot at it. (For example, take more Disney cruises! LOL!)

[vic32]

Hi there we are not from Virginia beach, but we are coming anyway!!!
Ver excited this will only be our second cruise. There is me dh, ds17,ds11, and dd6. Don't know how long till sail, but I am sure I can hardly wait!!!

Look forward to getting to know our fellow cruisers!

[PPFQP]

HI Vic32 - welcome! Don't know why there are so many cruisers from Virginia Beach this time. :confused3

I see you are from Peoria. My dd's friend is moving there this summer.

[vic32]

Thank you!
Does your dd's friend's parents work for CAT? Just curious.
We have no beach- that will be a tough adjustment. P-town is great we love it.

[PPFQP]

Thank you!
Does your dd's friend's parents work for CAT? Just curious.
We have no beach- that will be a tough adjustment. P-town is great we love it.

I have do idea, actually! She is excited about it, although I know she will miss the beach. Well, my daughter is not excited - she will miss her friend!

[vic32]

I know we have a ways to go but my 17yoDS is not overly enthused!!! Anyone with "older" teens out there yet?

[PPFQP]

I know we have a ways to go but my 17yoDS is not overly enthused!!! Anyone with "older" teens out there yet?

The oldest in our group of friends will be 15 by the time of the cruise (9th grade). I'm sure there will be some older kids. It's just so far away at this point that there aren't many families posting in the thread so far.

[GreatDaneMom]

...

[kellimomo3]

Hi Vic32,

I also have an 11 year old DS, he will be twelve by the time of the cruise but me 10 year old DS will be 11. This will be our 4th cruise and the boys love "meeting" other kids on the boards before we go. They love the clubs and completely immerse themselves in it! When the cruise gets closer maybe they can email each other?

Kelli
pirate: princess: :yay: :yay: :yay:

[vic32]

kellimomo3- That would be great! My ds will just turn 11 before we go. He is an april fool baby!! My other ds will be 17 and my dd will be 6.
We are excited, this will only be our second cruise. We are shooting for every 2 years.
That would be awesome if they could "meet" before. Our first cruise was suprise for the kids, but he had no trouble making friends. I just think it would help with "dealing" with the anticipation of going to "talk with new friends!

[kellimomo3]

vic32,
One of my DS's just turns 11 the end of March! The 10/12s is a great group on the ship! Looking forward to chatting more as it gets closer.
Kelli
pirate: :bride: :dance3:

[kellimomo3]

Anyone else joining us????

[Alicia87]

Hi! Yeah, we're booked now!! I'm taking DD17 (will be 18 in January), my mom, and my mom's two best friends on this cruise to celebrate DD's high school graduation. It's an all girls' trip....leaving hubbies at home!!

DD and I have cruised Disney before, but my mom and two honorary grandmas have never flown or cruised! Lemme tell ya, this is gonna be one wild adventure :rotfl2:

[Freddyfishstix]

Hi Also going. Formerly of Chesapeake VA as well. Me DW, DD (11) and DS
(8) will be taking our first cruise:yay: :cool1:

[sdzm]

I am so excited to be cruising with all of you. This will be the first cruise for my DH, DS16 and DD14 and I. We will be traveling with my family (14 of us). Some of them have been on the Disney cruise before.

We live about an hour and a half from Peoria, IL.

I'm excited to watch this board and learn more about Disney cruising.:cool1:

[abayaflowers]

-

[Big Willie]

We're In for Spring Break!!!! There will be ELEVEN of us this time around all from Portsmouth and Chesapeake.

Me(DH), DW (Scrapbooker), DD (6);
My Sister's Family: Mom, Dad, DS(14), DS(15), DD(10);
Friend's Family: Mom, DD(10)
and of course Grandma!

Will be flying Southwest out of Norfolk as before. Because its spring break we won't be able to spend our usual post cruise week at Ron Jon's.

See ya on board.

***Virginians - Don't forget the Magic will be in drydock in September. You'll have perfect view from the Portsmouth waterfront.

[PPFQP]

Anyone still out there? We got a packet in the mail yesterday and I realized that it is getting closer and closer! I want to start thinking about some details now, before I get too busy with the holidays. We booked our flights a couple of weeks ago. We'll fly in Friday morning and spend the night in Port Canaveral. Anyone else getting excited?

[Freddyfishstix]

We are driving down Friday and also staying in Port Canaveral at the Radisson . Only 123 days away.:)

[itutorfortravel]

Hi there! We will be joining you! Our family is me, DH, and DD7. This cruise is just a couple weeks after DD's birthday so we are going to surprise her with the cruise on her birthday - we're so excited!!! :banana: This is our first Disney cruise and though DH and I have cruised before, DD never has. Anyone else ever done this cruise over spring break? I am so surprised that there are not more people on this thread...I would think it would be pretty active since it's such a big travel week. Do you think we might have the boat all to ourselves?! Ha, not a chance I know ;)

[itutorfortravel]

Good Morning Everyone!


It is only 17 Weeks until We Sail!!!

:hourglass :hourglass :hourglass :hourglass :hourglass

[kellimomo3]

OMG!! It's getting so close! We have to pay so we can make our spa and Palo ressies in a few weeks!! Hard to believe. Nice to see so many new families joining us. Freddie Fish, I noticed you have an 8 year old DS. My youngest is also 8 and I am hoping to find him a friend on here before we board. It's nice for them to look forward to meeting someone they've chatted with on the boards. This is our fourth Disney Magic cruise and my older two sons will be together so I need a buddy for my youngest!

The countdown is on!

Kelli

[Freddyfishstix]

OMG!! It's getting so close! We have to pay so we can make our spa and Palo ressies in a few weeks!! Hard to believe. Nice to see so many new families joining us. Freddie Fish, I noticed you have an 8 year old DS. My youngest is also 8 and I am hoping to find him a friend on here before we board. It's nice for them to look forward to meeting someone they've chatted with on the boards. This is our fourth Disney Magic cruise and my older two sons will be together so I need a buddy for my youngest!

The countdown is on!

Kelli


Kelli,

I think it would be great also if our DS can have a buddy before we board. I am new to these boards but I am sure I can talk my DS into "chatting":goodvibes . His name is Drake.

Like you, I was also wondering :confused3 about Holiday crowds on board. Of course I have nothing to compare it to. I guess the ship can only hold a certain amount so hopefully it will not be too crazy. I see where you are from Connecticut so I assume you will be flying down? We will be driving from NC and staying at the Radisson in Port Canaveral.

You are lucky you get to book Palo early. Hopefully my DW and I can still get a spot later! Look forward to future chats and of course the Cruise:cool1:

[kellimomo3]

Hi Freddy!
My DS's name is Jason. He is really into Bakugan, skiing and Star Wars and would love a friend to look for in the Lab. I hope the crowds will be manageable but as we have never cruised over a holiday, I'm not sure! I can't believe I can book Palo and spa in three weeks!!

Kelli

[itutorfortravel]

Kelli,

I think it would be great also if our DS can have a buddy before we board. I am new to these boards but I am sure I can talk my DS into "chatting":goodvibes . His name is Drake.

Like you, I was also wondering :confused3 about Holiday crowds on board. Of course I have nothing to compare it to. I guess the ship can only hold a certain amount so hopefully it will not be too crazy. I see where you are from Connecticut so I assume you will be flying down? We will be driving from NC and staying at the Radisson in Port Canaveral.

You are lucky you get to book Palo early. Hopefully my DW and I can still get a spot later! Look forward to future chats and of course the Cruise:cool1:

Hi Freddyfish, what part of NC are you from? We live in the Charlotte area and will also be driving down the night before. Here's to hoping the traffic isn't too bad! I've seen I-95 backed up at the I-26 exchange before on trips home to Charleston and I hope we don't have that kind of traffic!

[Freddyfishstix]

Kelli,

My son has not graduated to Bakugan.:) He still is a Pokemon guy. He loves Star Wars and anything with Mario & Luigi. Have you done any excursions in St. Thomas? If so can you recommend any for us (DD11 DS8). Hopefully the boys can meet up in the Lab. We will figure out something as we get closer.

[Freddyfishstix]

Hey Tutor,

We are from Greensboro and hoping a very early morning start:drive: will give us a jump on some of the traffic. Hopefully we will be putting Charlotte in the rear view mirror by 5:00 AM. Are you planning on going all the way down to Port Canaveral on Friday?

[itutorfortravel]

Hey Tutor,

We are from Greensboro and hoping a very early morning start:drive: will give us a jump on some of the traffic. Hopefully we will be putting Charlotte in the rear view mirror by 5:00 AM. Are you planning on going all the way down to Port Canaveral on Friday?


Hey Freddy, yes we are driving all the way on Friday unless we get a wild hair and decide to drive part of the way after school on Thursday night, which we have been known to do on trips to WDW. It's a manageable 9 hour drive from here but sometimes it's nice to break up the trip. You guys are going to be leaving super early! Don't know that I could get DH to leave quite that early - I am the morning person but he likes to do the driving! I can't believe how close the cruise is getting...we are surprising DD with the trip on her birthday, which is less than 2 weeks before we leave! She will freak!!! :yay:

[kellimomo3]

Kelli,

My son has not graduated to Bakugan.:) He still is a Pokemon guy. He loves Star Wars and anything with Mario & Luigi. Have you done any excursions in St. Thomas? If so can you recommend any for us (DD11 DS8). Hopefully the boys can meet up in the Lab. We will figure out something as we get closer.

Hi Freddie!
Jason is still into Pokemon as well! We have gone to Magen's Bay in ST. Thomas twice. We do it on our own so that we control the length of our visit. It's a beautiful beach and a beautiful cab ride there. This year we are going to take the ferry over to St. John since we have never been.
Kelli

[itutorfortravel]

Hi Freddie!
Jason is still into Pokemon as well! We have gone to Magen's Bay in ST. Thomas twice. We do it on our own so that we control the length of our visit. It's a beautiful beach and a beautiful cab ride there. This year we are going to take the ferry over to St. John since we have never been.
Kelli


Hi Kelli, do you know much about taking the ferry to St. John? I had read somewhere that it was a long ride...is that true? Also, do you know what there is to do once you get over there? We are hesitant to book an excursion for the St. Thomas port b/c we understand pirate night (and fireworks) are the night before and DD (who will be 7) just cannot do an early morning if she is going to stay up for the fireworks. DH has always wanted to go to St. John so maybe we will consider that as well. We also thought about getting a cab ourselves and going over to coral world...have you done that? Thanks, Kimberly

[PPFQP]

Hi all! Hope you had a happy holiday. It's almost 2009 - and we can say our cruise is "this year" instead of "next year"!

We did a spring break cruise a couple of years ago. I think that the ship sails nearly full every week, so I don't think there are necessarily more crowds. But I think there are probably more kids than when school is in session, and that the prices are definitely higher than at other times of the year!!!

Getting excited!!!

[itutorfortravel]

Hi all! Hope you had a happy holiday. It's almost 2009 - and we can say our cruise is "this year" instead of "next year"!

We did a spring break cruise a couple of years ago. I think that the ship sails nearly full every week, so I don't think there are necessarily more crowds. But I think there are probably more kids than when school is in session, and that the prices are definitely higher than at other times of the year!!!

Getting excited!!!

i'm getting excited too! now that the holidays are over, i am going to get organized and start stashing things that i know we want to take and don't use now...dd doesn't know we are going and won't know until her birthday which is 2 weeks before we cruise - she is going to freak!

this is our first disney cruise, dh and i have cruised rccl (many years ago) and we are looking forward to the disney experience. dd has never cruised so i think she is going to be really excited about it.

i heard that a theatre length hannah montana movie is being released the friday before we sail so perhaps we'll get to see that on our cruise - a perk for all the girls sailing :)

[PPFQP]

We are hesitant to book an excursion for the St. Thomas port b/c we understand pirate night (and fireworks) are the night before and DD (who will be 7) just cannot do an early morning if she is going to stay up for the fireworks.

Doesn't everyone have to get up early the morning of St. Thomas to go through immigration? We did the Western on our last cruise, so we didn't have this issue, but I thought I remembered reading about this. I know we had to do it on our RCCL cruise last December.

[itutorfortravel]

Doesn't everyone have to get up early the morning of St. Thomas to go through immigration? We did the Western on our last cruise, so we didn't have this issue, but I thought I remembered reading about this. I know we had to do it on our RCCL cruise last December.

yes, i think you are right about having to get up for customs...but after doing that we can just take our time getting ready and going somewhere if we don't book an excursion. i just know dd would not do well if we pushed her to be up and ready to go early in the morning after pirate night...neither would her parents for that matter - LOL!

[kellimomo3]

Yes, everyone has to get up early for immigration on St. Thomas day even if you are not getting off the ship! As far as the ferry to St. John, I think it's about 45 minutes. We have not decided if we are going to do the Disney excursion there or go on our own. I have heard that the Disney excursion doesn't have enough beach time so we are leaning toward going on our own.
I'm making my final payment today so I am set to book Palo next week!!!

Kelli

[Freddyfishstix]

Yes, everyone has to get up early for immigration on St. Thomas day even if you are not getting off the ship! As far as the ferry to St. John, I think it's about 45 minutes. We have not decided if we are going to do the Disney excursion there or go on our own. I have heard that the Disney excursion doesn't have enough beach time so we are leaning toward going on our own.
I'm making my final payment today so I am set to book Palo next week!!!

Kelli

Okay as a newbie, why immigration at St. Thomas? St Thomas is a US Virgin Island. Is it because we will be coming from St Maarten? Just wondering:confused3

[kellimomo3]

Okay as a newbie, why immigration at St. Thomas? St Thomas is a US Virgin Island. Is it because we will be coming from St Maarten? Just wondering:confused3

Yes, I believe it is because we are arriving from St. Maarten back into a US port. It IS a bit of a pain to have to go down so early but it's worth the sacrifice for the Eastern itinerary vs. Western in my experience.

[cruising fun]

Hi everyone! Just found you all. My family is also traveling with you. My husband and I, our daughter (5) and my parents. Can you believe how close we are to sailing. My parents are experienced cruisers. I haven't cruised in many years and this is my husband and daughters first cruise. We are all very excited!!

[TBRox]

Hi Everyone!
Well, I've never done this before, so I beg your patience! My family (special needs daughter of 20 at cruise time, son 11 at cruise time and me and my husband) will be on the Magic this April for the second time! We had such a blast on the Western Cruise last year that we just had to book again! (and everyone treated our daughter soooo well and she gained such confidence and independence on board that we just had to come back-it really gave her the opportunity to 'feel like a teen'!)

So - we too - made our final payment over break and can't wait to start planning - this time we're not too inclined to do too many excursions but would love to hear some recommendations on any 'must do's' that are gentler but will give us a feel for the islands.

Looking forward to hearing from some of you and perhaps meeting on board! Now - we just have to work off all those Christmas cookies before sailing! :tinker: :rotfl2:

[itutorfortravel]

Hi everyone! Just found you all. My family is also traveling with you. My husband and I, our daughter (5) and my parents. Can you believe how close we are to sailing. My parents are experienced cruisers. I haven't cruised in many years and this is my husband and daughters first cruise. We are all very excited!!

Welcome to the thread! Glad to see some new people joining us...I had begun to think there were only a few of us going ;)

Will you DD be closer to 5 or 6? Our DD will have just turned 7 so maybe our girls will meet in the kids club.

My DH and I have not cruised in about 10 years. This is our DD's first cruise, and our family's first DCL cruise. We can't wait!

:banana:

[itutorfortravel]

Hi Everyone!
Well, I've never done this before, so I beg your patience! My family (special needs daughter of 20 at cruise time, son 11 at cruise time and me and my husband) will be on the Magic this April for the second time! We had such a blast on the Western Cruise last year that we just had to book again! (and everyone treated our daughter soooo well and she gained such confidence and independence on board that we just had to come back-it really gave her the opportunity to 'feel like a teen'!)

So - we too - made our final payment over break and can't wait to start planning - this time we're not too inclined to do too many excursions but would love to hear some recommendations on any 'must do's' that are gentler but will give us a feel for the islands.

Looking forward to hearing from some of you and perhaps meeting on board! Now - we just have to work off all those Christmas cookies before sailing! :tinker: :rotfl2:

Welcome! Our family is not thinking of doing many pre-arranged excursions either. I hope I don't regret it, but I just would like to relax and go with the flow! We may get a taxi in the ports and go to the same places that some of the excursions go, but we will have the flexibility of changing our plans or staying longer or shorter in places as we want to.

[TBRox]

Welcome! Our family is not thinking of doing many pre-arranged excursions either. I hope I don't regret it, but I just would like to relax and go with the flow! We may get a taxi in the ports and go to the same places that some of the excursions go, but we will have the flexibility of changing our plans or staying longer or shorter in places as we want to.

Sounds like we might do the same - nice to have the flexibility. We'd like to take a tour but looks like they're hours long! YIKES! I just need a little beach time and a little shopping! (much to DH's dismay!).

Looking so forward to meeting many of you!!

[Freddyfishstix]

Hi Everyone!
Well, I've never done this before, so I beg your patience! My family (special needs daughter of 20 at cruise time, son 11 at cruise time and me and my husband) will be on the Magic this April for the second time! We had such a blast on the Western Cruise last year that we just had to book again! (and everyone treated our daughter soooo well and she gained such confidence and independence on board that we just had to come back-it really gave her the opportunity to 'feel like a teen'!)

So - we too - made our final payment over break and can't wait to start planning - this time we're not too inclined to do too many excursions but would love to hear some recommendations on any 'must do's' that are gentler but will give us a feel for the islands.

Looking forward to hearing from some of you and perhaps meeting on board! Now - we just have to work off all those Christmas cookies before sailing! :tinker: :rotfl2:

Hello and welcome. I am getting ready to start the napkin countdown very soon. That is, leave a little note on my kids lunch napkins about how many more days to go!:yay:

You can tell I am more excited then the DW. She is the practicle one in the family but she is finally starting to get into the groove.

The no-planned-excursion idea does sound good. I know for sure we are not planning any on St Maarten, but are considering the Doubloon Pirate Ship/ snorkeling trip on St. Thomas. Has any one heard anything about this excursion?pirate:

[sdzm]

We are talking about the Doubloon Pirate Ship/snorkeling excursion too! I'd love to hear if anyone has any insight.

Also, has anyone done the dolphin excursion on St. Maarten?

Can't wait for the trip!

[cruising fun]

Our DD will be closer to 5. She just turned 5 a few weeks ago. She is very excited to go.



Welcome to the thread! Glad to see some new people joining us...I had begun to think there were only a few of us going ;)

Will you DD be closer to 5 or 6? Our DD will have just turned 7 so maybe our girls will meet in the kids club.

My DH and I have not cruised in about 10 years. This is our DD's first cruise, and our family's first DCL cruise. We can't wait!

:banana:

[cruising fun]

Does anyone know if the outlets on the Magic are just like home, or should we bring an adapter?

[PPFQP]

Does anyone know if the outlets on the Magic are just like home, or should we bring an adapter?

They're the same as at home. (If US is home!) But there is only one outlet, so we bring a power strip so that we can plug in additional things (think iPod charger, camera, hair straightener -- times two!)

The one in the bathroom is not standard. I think I read it is only for shavers or something? I don't really know much about it, except that it is not a regular outlet.

[Alicia87]

I'm soooo excited about the cruise, but kinda down in the dumps about travelling to Florida. We had planned on flying, but airfare via Southwest (our usual flights of choice) just does not seem to be going down in price at all!! I'm not about to pay $400/rt for myself and DD18!!! Guess we'll just take off after school on Thursday and drive until maybe 10 or 11 and then get up Friday and head the rest of the way down. Looking forward to just relaxing Friday evening at the Radisson!!!!

[cruising fun]

Thank you. This is very helpful. I will add a power strip to my packing list! Is there anything else you have found to pack that may not seem obvious to bring?

[kellimomo3]

Thank you. This is very helpful. I will add a power strip to my packing list! Is there anything else you have found to pack that may not seem obvious to bring?


An over the door shoe organizer if great. We have used it every time to store all our bathroom toiletries/sunscreen, etc.


Anyone else making their Spa/Palo ressies tomorrow??!! I am!!

Kelli

[PPFQP]

An over the door shoe organizer if great. We have used it every time to store all our bathroom toiletries/sunscreen, etc.


Anyone else making their Spa/Palo ressies tomorrow??!! I am!!

Kelli

Me! And two of the other families that we are traveling with. The other family will have to wait a few days; it's their first cruise.

We also use the over-the-door shoe organizer, the clear plastic kind. We found it really helpful. I also bring a plastic "sweater hanger" type of thing that we use in the closet. It's great for organizing shoes, small bits of clothing, swim suits, etc. And a mesh laundry bag. I don't plan to do laundry on the ship, but it holds all the dirty clothes, and then I just pack the whole thing in a suitcase to get it home. ::::sigh::::: I hate packing to come home!

[cruising fun]

This is our first time on DCL so we have to wait to make our reservations. I wish we could do it now! I think we have to wait two weeks to make them. I can also register my daughter for the Oceaneers Club at that time too right? I know our travel agent has her registered but I have to plug in some information I was told. (?) Can anyone help clarify this for me? I want to make sure she is all set to go with that! It is 20 degrees and snowing hard here today, but we were out at the mall buying our DD swimsuits today!!! We are getting so excited!

[kellimomo3]

I DID IT!!!!

Last night at 2am when I woke up to use the bathroom, I went on-line and made the Palo/Spa ressies. All the brunches at Palo on Sunday were already taken and that's what we had hoped for but we got Palo brunch on Monday, Palo dinner on Thursday and a couple's massage!! I can't wait.

[itutorfortravel]

I DID IT!!!!

Last night at 2am when I woke up to use the bathroom, I went on-line and made the Palo/Spa ressies. All the brunches at Palo on Sunday were already taken and that's what we had hoped for but we got Palo brunch on Monday, Palo dinner on Thursday and a couple's massage!! I can't wait.

Good for you! I so wish we could book early. Were there still plenty of Palo brunch times open if you weren't particular on day / time? DH and I aren't overly concerned about whether we get dinner there but we are hoping to get lunch. I know we can get on a waitlist on board so if all else fails, we'll do that. We had considered booking the REAS to be able to book 105 days out, but since we weren't really all that interested in all the perks of that package, it just didn't seem like a good value to pay $359 for the luxury of booking early for Palo...don't think we are going to plan on any excursions either, but do it on our own. so i guess we just have to take our chances at getting palo.

What is everyone wearing for pirate night? I got a cute POC denim skirt awhile back at the disney store and dd has an elizabeth swan outfit (the one that kinda looks like mulan) so she and i are set. dh isn't too much into dressing up but i wish i could find something that would at least have some pirate flavor to it. any suggestions?


the cruise is 3 months from today!:yay:

[PPFQP]

I DID IT!!!!

Last night at 2am when I woke up to use the bathroom, I went on-line and made the Palo/Spa ressies. All the brunches at Palo on Sunday were already taken and that's what we had hoped for but we got Palo brunch on Monday, Palo dinner on Thursday and a couple's massage!! I can't wait.

I stayed up until midnight and booked it as soon as it was available online. We're doing brunch on Sunday, spa on Monday and Wed. morning, and dinner at Palo Thursday. My friends also booked excursions, but we are doing ours on our own.

For brunch, there is still a 10:30 on Sunday, and Monday and Thursday are still open (for parties of 2). But I also think that they don't make all the slots available; you should still be able to book something at the 75-day window or on board, especially if you do it first thing when you board.

Good luck! I definitely recommend trying to get online as early as you can on the day your window opens. I was able to log in about 12:01.

[PPFQP]

What is everyone wearing for pirate night? I got a cute POC denim skirt awhile back at the disney store and dd has an elizabeth swan outfit (the one that kinda looks like mulan) so she and i are set. dh isn't too much into dressing up but i wish i could find something that would at least have some pirate flavor to it. any suggestions?

We are traveling with some other families, and all the adults have pirate costumes from a Mardi Gras party last year. I will see if I can dig up the pictures and post them here. Mostly we are doing it to embarrass our kids. :rotfl2:

[kellimomo3]

There were no Sunday brunches left when I booked at 2am. I am going to keep checking maybe some will open up at 75 days out. We also booked the St.John beach excursion.

Kelli

[jrgmom]

Hello Everyone,
Can't wait for our second Eastern carribean cruise...We have one daughter age 7. anyone want to go snorkeling at CC?:woohoo:

[PPFQP]

Okay, I found a picture of our pirate party last year, so you can see my pirate costume. (I edited the faces of all my friends -- some of whom will be on the cruise with me! -- for privacy.) That's me on the left. That is NOT my real hair! It's a crazy pirate wig. I was laughing hysterically about something when they took the picture. And, in case you are wondering, that is a temporary tattoo of a "third eye" on my forehead.

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o216/ppfqp/Feb2008021-1.jpg

And here is one of DH and me.
http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o216/ppfqp/FebMarch2008_033.jpg

[itutorfortravel]

We are traveling with some other families, and all the adults have pirate costumes from a Mardi Gras party last year. I will see if I can dig up the pictures and post them here. Mostly we are doing it to embarrass our kids. :rotfl2:

the pics are great and so are your costumes! i'm not sure we'll be able to find anything that good for us! i wish i knew where to find something without spending a fortune by hey at least we'll be on the boat!

[itutorfortravel]

Hello Everyone,
Can't wait for our second Eastern carribean cruise...We have one daughter age 7. anyone want to go snorkeling at CC?:woohoo:

Hi, we also have a DD age 7! Maybe our girls will become friends in the kids club :)

[TBRox]

Hi All! Well I've reached the obsessing point - can't STOP thinking about cruise now!!

Anyone know who will be our Cruise Director, Brent Davies, I hope! DS (11) and DD dying to know what other 'staff' will be on board this year (we did Western Magic in '08 over Easter Break) - Are there any staff boards to check out?

15 degrees in NJ today! Snow tonight and single digits by Friday - Disney take me away!!!!!! :cold:

[itutorfortravel]

Hi All! Well I've reached the obsessing point - can't STOP thinking about cruise now!!

Anyone know who will be our Cruise Director, Brent Davies, I hope! DS (11) and DD dying to know what other 'staff' will be on board this year (we did Western Magic in '08 over Easter Break) - Are there any staff boards to check out?

15 degrees in NJ today! Snow tonight and single digits by Friday - Disney take me away!!!!!! :cold:

i've been at the obsessing point for over a year now!!! :rotfl2:

we are getting excited here, too. this is our first disney cruise and dd's first cruise ever! not only am i trying to start thinking ahead in terms of packing and picking up things we will need, but i am also in the process of planning dd's 7th birthday party, which is just a couple weeks before we sail! she does not know we are going on this cruise and we are going to tell her after her party! her party, btw, is an island theme...she's all into it but has no idea why mommy really pushed that theme this year :banana: i think i am almost as excited to tell her as i am to be going!!!

if anyone has cute ideas for the bday party, bring 'em on...or a creative way to tell dd that she's going on a disney cruise!

[cruising fun]

i've been at the obsessing point for over a year now!!! :rotfl2:

we are getting excited here, too. this is our first disney cruise and dd's first cruise ever! not only am i trying to start thinking ahead in terms of packing and picking up things we will need, but i am also in the process of planning dd's 7th birthday party, which is just a couple weeks before we sail! she does not know we are going on this cruise and we are going to tell her after her party! her party, btw, is an island theme...she's all into it but has no idea why mommy really pushed that theme this year :banana: i think i am almost as excited to tell her as i am to be going!!!

if anyone has cute ideas for the bday party, bring 'em on...or a creative way to tell dd that she's going on a disney cruise!


We are also really excited. I have a packing list going on my computer and every day I add something to it when I think about it so I don't forget to pack it.

How excited your DD will be when she finds out you are going. Our DD just turned 5 and offen asks in the morning if this is the day we go on the big boat! She can't wait either.

What a fun idea to do the island theme for her bday party. We gave our daughter a box filled with stuff for the cruise for Christmas and said it was from Mickey Mouse. Everything was princess themed since she loves all the Disney princesses. We had sunglasses, flip flops, bathingsuits, cover up, and bunch of other stuff. She thought Mickey really did send it to her and got a kick out of it. A box of things for the cruise and have a card from her favorite character inviting her to the cruise may be an idea on how to tell her.

Another idea is if she like photos or to scrapbook buy her some disney paper, disney scrapbooking stickers, and a small photo book for her to create with the pictures you take. Wrap it all in a box and when she opens it you can pop the surprise.

Just some ideas. Well...wish we were leaving tomorrow. It is 7 degrees in buffalo today and tomorrow's high is 5......where are the warm sandy beaches?

[itutorfortravel]

wow, and i thought it was cold here in nc! we are having highs in the low 30's and that is cold to us!

you're smart to start a packing list on the computer. i need to do that too. i am usually more organized than i am right now, but my schedule is really hectic for the next couple weeks b/c i am tutoring for exams so once that is over maybe i can get my act together a little better. for now i just allow myself to drift off and daydream and plan our trip and my dd's bday party.

i like your ideas! i may have to use one of those :) thanks!

[mreinke]

This will be our first cruise. It will be myself, DH, DS 13, and DS 10. We can't wait!

[PPFQP]

This will be our first cruise. It will be myself, DH, DS 13, and DS 10. We can't wait!

Hi! Welcome!

[cruising fun]

wow, and i thought it was cold here in nc! we are having highs in the low 30's and that is cold to us!

you're smart to start a packing list on the computer. i need to do that too. i am usually more organized than i am right now, but my schedule is really hectic for the next couple weeks b/c i am tutoring for exams so once that is over maybe i can get my act together a little better. for now i just allow myself to drift off and daydream and plan our trip and my dd's bday party.

i like your ideas! i may have to use one of those :) thanks!


You are welcome. Good luck getting the students prepared for the exams. I am a teacher also (elementary) and we just finished a week of a big state test here in ny. i am glad it is over!

[itutorfortravel]

This will be our first cruise. It will be myself, DH, DS 13, and DS 10. We can't wait!

:flower3: Hello, and welcome! This is our first cruise as a family, DH and I cruised pre-child but not on DCL. DH was not too excited about the cruise when I started talking about it OVER ONE YEAR AGO :lmao: but now I think he is just as excited at I am...DD doesn't know about the trip...we are surprising her with the news on her birthday, which is less than 3 weeks before we sail! Boy, is she going to be excited! ::yes::

[itutorfortravel]

You are welcome. Good luck getting the students prepared for the exams. I am a teacher also (elementary) and we just finished a week of a big state test here in ny. i am glad it is over!

wow, i really admire elementary school teachers...you guys have SO much preparation! and i know to be a really good one you have to spend hours and hours on your job...we've been blessed with an awesome kindergarten teacher and a really good 1st grade one as well. i'm glad b/c i'm secondary certified so knowing what to do and how to help DD is something i rely heavily on our teachers to tell me!

congrats on having your big state tests done! our high school kids here take their courses on a semester based schedule vs. all year. so in other words, they cram the entire course (for example algebra 2) into 18 weeks rather than 36! it allows the kids to double up and take more math in high school, but it is very stressful to both kids and teachers that they have to cover the entire curriculum in 1/2 the time.

well, have a great day everyone! we're getting really close now! i cannot believe my countdown says 2 months and something - i never thought it would get there!!!

[cruising fun]

wow, i really admire elementary school teachers...you guys have SO much preparation! and i know to be a really good one you have to spend hours and hours on your job...we've been blessed with an awesome kindergarten teacher and a really good 1st grade one as well. i'm glad b/c i'm secondary certified so knowing what to do and how to help DD is something i rely heavily on our teachers to tell me!

congrats on having your big state tests done! our high school kids here take their courses on a semester based schedule vs. all year. so in other words, they cram the entire course (for example algebra 2) into 18 weeks rather than 36! it allows the kids to double up and take more math in high school, but it is very stressful to both kids and teachers that they have to cover the entire curriculum in 1/2 the time.

well, have a great day everyone! we're getting really close now! i cannot believe my countdown says 2 months and something - i never thought it would get there!!!


Thank you for your kind words about elementary teachers. I am glad you children have had dedicated teachers. Good luck getting the kids ready for the test...wow that is a lot of prep in a short time.

I am starting to get obsessive when I go to a store...looking to see what I should buy to take on the cruise. We are anxiously awaiting April to come!!

[sdzm]

Does anyone know about the dolphin encounter excursion in St. Maarten?

[kellimomo3]

Does anyone know about the dolphin encounter excursion in St. Maarten?

I thought the only dolphin encounter on the eastern cruise was at st.thomas?? And actually, it's a ferry to tortola for the dolphin encounter.

Kelli

[itutorfortravel]

Just paid off the cruise yesterday! :cool1:

:cheer2: Can't believe I can start booking excursions in just a few days! I'm sure glad I'm not trying to do it today...DCL has been having trouble with their site all morning long :scared:

Every now and then I check our cruise to see what's available. The cat 12's were gone last week but I see that they've been coming up again the past couple days. Must be a lot of cancellations with the PIF date approaching.

Well, just wanted to check in! Anyone else finding it hard to not be smiling all the time now?! :hyper:

[PPFQP]

Well, what's everyone up to? It has been quiet around here!

[itutorfortravel]

Well, what's everyone up to? It has been quiet around here!

Hi there! :wave2:

I have been thinking the same thing! Do you think this sailing is not going to be full?! We are so excited for the trip...I've been out shopping for formal wear and getting great deals, gathering up odds and ends that I want to pack, etc. Also, DD's bday party is rapidly approaching and I am working on that. Plus, that is when we tell her we are going on the cruise :cheer2:

DH and I are still trying to make some final decisions about shore excursions. I thought I would be ready by now but I still don't know for sure!

[Freddyfishstix]

Hi there! :wave2:

I have been thinking the same thing! Do you think this sailing is not going to be full?! We are so excited for the trip...I've been out shopping for formal wear and getting great deals, gathering up odds and ends that I want to pack, etc. Also, DD's bday party is rapidly approaching and I am working on that. Plus, that is when we tell her we are going on the cruise :cheer2:

DH and I are still trying to make some final decisions about shore excursions. I thought I would be ready by now but I still don't know for sure!

Hello All,

We are getting ready to try to make some reservations. Hopefully we can still get in Palo:cool1: Does anyone have an idea of what the dinning rotation will be or when the the formal and semi formall nights are?

[PPFQP]

Does anyone have an idea of what the dinning rotation will be or when the the formal and semi formall nights are?

Formal night = Sunday (sea day)
Semi-Formal = Thursday (sea day)

Otherwise I am confused by how the menus and rotation work. What I have figured out is:

Sat: Let the Magic Begin menu
Sun: Formal Night; Golden Mickeys menu
Mon: ?
Tues: Pirate Night; Pirate menu
Wed: ?
Thurs: Semi-Formal Night; ? menu
Fri: Til We Meet Again Menu

I am assuming that the other three nights (Mon/Wed/Thurs) are the menus for the dining room you're in for that night. But if it follows the rotations that are posted most recently (LAPLAPL/APLAPLA/PLAPLAP) then you would be in the same restaurant on Monday and Thursday night so you'd repeat the menu. That doesn't make sense to me.

I'm confused and I've asked for clarification, but no one seems to know!

[mreinke]

Hi! This is our first cruise. We have a 13 year old son and we're traveling with another family that has a 13 year old son. They're really looking forward to hanging out in the Stack. We also have a 10 year old son. He's looking for someone to hang out with in the Oceaneers Lab!

[PPFQP]

Hi! This is our first cruise. We have a 13 year old son and we're traveling with another family that has a 13 year old son. They're really looking forward to hanging out in the Stack. We also have a 10 year old son. He's looking for someone to hang out with in the Oceaneers Lab!

Welcome! We are traveling with a group that includes several 13-14 year olds (mostly girls though).

Actually, I confirmed with Disney that The Stack is only for ages 14 and up. The Quest is for ages 11-13. The information on disneycruise.com is wrong. We called Disney and researched recent Navigators to confirm it because of the ages of the kids in our group.

[kellimomo3]

Good morning cruisers!!

Did you all get the ressies you wanted last night? Is anyone joining us on the St. John Beach break to Trunk Bay? I can't believe we are coming down to the wire!! My boys would love to start emailing with other boys that will be in their age groups on board. I have two boys that will be in Ocean Quest, they will be 11 & 12. I also have a 8 year old son that will be in the Lab. All three are experienced DCL cruisers after three Magic cruises and love meeting kids on-line before arriving. If you would be interested, you can let me know and I'll share my email. Freddiefish, Jason is excited to start communicating with Drake. I got your email and will sit with him to type something up soon.

Kelli

[itutorfortravel]

Good morning cruisers!!

Did you all get the ressies you wanted last night? Is anyone joining us on the St. John Beach break to Trunk Bay? I can't believe we are coming down to the wire!! My boys would love to start emailing with other boys that will be in their age groups on board. I have two boys that will be in Ocean Quest, they will be 11 & 12. I also have a 8 year old son that will be in the Lab. All three are experienced DCL cruisers after three Magic cruises and love meeting kids on-line before arriving. If you would be interested, you can let me know and I'll share my email. Freddiefish, Jason is excited to start communicating with Drake. I got your email and will sit with him to type something up soon.

Kelli


Hi Kelli!

We stayed up and logged in at exactly 12:01 AM...and we are pooped today but it was worth it! We almost got everything we wanted...

I was able to get Palo dinner on Friday. I also signed up for high tea that day but I think that's going to be too much so we will probably drop the tea. But that was all they had so I figured it was something. There were no Palo brunch ressies available and that was disappointing, as that was what we really wanted was brunch. But I will keep checking - maybe one will show up between now and the cruise.

We were going to do the same Trunk Bay excursion you are but then realized that pirate night is the night before. Our DD does not do well on limited sleep so I knew I couldn't push her to stay up for pirate night and then be ready to go on the excursion first thing the next morning! I know we have to get up to go thru immigration but at least we can go back and catch a few more zzz's after that or at least just chill out and start the day at a relaxed pace. I was excited to find the Doubloon Sail & Snorkel available in the afternoon, I had heard that was good so that is what we are going to do. I am very excited. :cool1:

We also signed up for the Butterfly Farm tour in St. Maarten and the extreme getaway at CC. We got the first time for the stingray experience, which I hear is the best time to go before the sands get churned up. We've done stingray city in Grand Cayman and DD loved it, so I think this will be a hit again.

Have you done any of the excursions we're signed up for, and can you tell me how you liked them?

I was surprised that it looked like everything was still available in terms of excursions, even the dolphin ones...I thought being spring break they would be booking up quickly. The only thing that was limited was Palo, and even that wasn't too bad in terms of having choices for dinner times. I wonder if it's a sign that this sailing isn't going to be totally full? I find that hard to believe given the week it's sailing, but maybe a lot of schools decided to do their spring breaks earlier since it is rather a long stretch from Christmas to the week of Easter. But whatever the reason, I'm just thankful that we were able to get what we wanted...I almost sprung for the $359 REAS package to be able to book earlier and now I am glad that I didn't.

Well, now the countdown really begins! I cannot believe after talking, no wait, OBSESSING over a Disney cruise for a couple years now that we are really going! YIPPEE!!!:cheer2:

Have a great day!

Kimberly

[kellimomo3]

Hi Kim!

I agree with you about the timing of pirate night and early morning excursion! My family will have to suck it up because I really want to visit St. John. I bet if you check back while on board, you will be able to get Palo brunch ressies. It is REALLY good. We actually like it better than dinner! I have not done any DCL excursions in all of the cruises we have done. We always explore on our own. The ones you have chosen do sound fun though!! I got your email and have been thinking about helpful hints. I'll get back to you....
Kelli

[Freddyfishstix]

Hi Kelli!

We stayed up and logged in at exactly 12:01 AM...and we are pooped today but it was worth it! We almost got everything we wanted...

I was able to get Palo dinner on Friday. I also signed up for high tea that day but I think that's going to be too much so we will probably drop the tea. But that was all they had so I figured it was something. There were no Palo brunch ressies available and that was disappointing, as that was what we really wanted was brunch. But I will keep checking - maybe one will show up between now and the cruise.

We were going to do the same Trunk Bay excursion you are but then realized that pirate night is the night before. Our DD does not do well on limited sleep so I knew I couldn't push her to stay up for pirate night and then be ready to go on the excursion first thing the next morning! I know we have to get up to go thru immigration but at least we can go back and catch a few more zzz's after that or at least just chill out and start the day at a relaxed pace. I was excited to find the Doubloon Sail & Snorkel available in the afternoon, I had heard that was good so that is what we are going to do. I am very excited. :cool1:

We also signed up for the Butterfly Farm tour in St. Maarten and the extreme getaway at CC. We got the first time for the stingray experience, which I hear is the best time to go before the sands get churned up. We've done stingray city in Grand Cayman and DD loved it, so I think this will be a hit again.

Have you done any of the excursions we're signed up for, and can you tell me how you liked them?

I was surprised that it looked like everything was still available in terms of excursions, even the dolphin ones...I thought being spring break they would be booking up quickly. The only thing that was limited was Palo, and even that wasn't too bad in terms of having choices for dinner times. I wonder if it's a sign that this sailing isn't going to be totally full? I find that hard to believe given the week it's sailing, but maybe a lot of schools decided to do their spring breaks earlier since it is rather a long stretch from Christmas to the week of Easter. But whatever the reason, I'm just thankful that we were able to get what we wanted...I almost sprung for the $359 REAS package to be able to book earlier and now I am glad that I didn't.

Well, now the countdown really begins! I cannot believe after talking, no wait, OBSESSING over a Disney cruise for a couple years now that we are really going! YIPPEE!!!:cheer2:

Have a great day!

Kimberly

We booked Palo for a late night, 9pm, on Monday. I sure hope DD and DS will be okay in the Lab until late that night. We booked the turtle bay snorkel trip and, for now, are planning to do our own thing on St Maarten.

[kellimomo3]

We booked Palo for a late night, 9pm, on Monday. I sure hope DD and DS will be okay in the Lab until late that night. We booked the turtle bay snorkel trip and, for now, are planning to do our own thing on St Maarten.

We found a great beach in St. Maarten on our last cruise and the boys loved it so much they are begging to go back. It's called Bikini Beach. It was beautiful and had surf which they love. We just took a cab there and back and did it on our own.

Kelli

[Freddyfishstix]

We found a great beach in St. Maarten on our last cruise and the boys loved it so much they are begging to go back. It's called Bikini Beach. It was beautiful and had surf which they love. We just took a cab there and back and did it on our own.

Kelli

That sounds fantasic:beach: Are you planning on that again this time? I guess the big question that DW will have is, does the beach live up to its name? Do they keep them on, on this beach?:)

[kellimomo3]

The boys are demanding that we go again, so yes we are. For the most part, yes people had bathing suits but we did she a few women strolling the beach topless. My husband and I noticed and held our breath but the boys never even noticed. I think they are still too young to even be phased by that other than maybe a giggle. I think it is pretty rare in St. Maarten to find a beach where you won't see anyone topless but this one was pretty close. I'm sure your wife and kids would enjoy it!

[kellimomo3]

We booked Palo for a late night, 9pm, on Monday. I sure hope DD and DS will be okay in the Lab until late that night. We booked the turtle bay snorkel trip and, for now, are planning to do our own thing on St Maarten.

I also wanted to say that I think you will be surprised by how much time the kids want to spend in the clubs at night. On our first DCL cruise, we were unprepared for this. I pictured all this family time. After a couple days, it became apparent that the kids were having so much fun in the clubs they didn't want to leave! Once we figured that out and embraced it, it was like a second honeymoon for us! DH and I are the ones ready for bed and begging them to call it a night. We have discovered so many fun adult areas of the ship that we had not expected. We love the adult comedy shows!

Kelli

[Freddyfishstix]

I also wanted to say that I think you will be surprised by how much time the kids want to spend in the clubs at night. On our first DCL cruise, we were unprepared for this. I pictured all this family time. After a couple days, it became apparent that the kids were having so much fun in the clubs they didn't want to leave! Once we figured that out and embraced it, it was like a second honeymoon for us! DH and I are the ones ready for bed and begging them to call it a night. We have discovered so many fun adult areas of the ship that we had not expected. We love the adult comedy shows!

Kelli

Then bikini beach it is! Thanks Kelli.

I just hit another snag that maybe you can help me with. I just realized that my DD(11) is not elgible for the Lab on the Magic. I was hoping that she and her DB(8) would be in the same group. Do you know if they make any exceptions on this. My DD is pretty shy and I know she would at least want to start off in the same activities as my DS.

[kellimomo3]

Then bikini beach it is! Thanks Kelli.

I just hit another snag that maybe you can help me with. I just realized that my DD(11) is not elgible for the Lab on the Magic. I was hoping that she and her DB(8) would be in the same group. Do you know if they make any exceptions on this. My DD is pretty shy and I know she would at least want to start off in the same activities as my DS.


This will be our first time with the new age brackets. I had been looking forward to all three boys being in the lab but it is not to be. Short answer, yes they are flexible and will probably let her try out being moved down. But, because it is a school vacation, they may have less wiggle room, not sure. If they had kept the Lab 8/9s and 10/12s, your kids would not have been together anyway. You may be surprised at how quickly they make friends and how good the counselers are at fostering those friendships. Your daughter may start to feel really mature with the 8/9s and want to hang with some girls her own age. I know that if you switch groups, they will allow you to switch back only once. That rule is enforced. The kids can't jump back and forth between age groups. Another issues with the Ocean Quest group (11-13s) is that there is no pager/check in. Those kids come and go as they please which may or may not sit well with you. This will be the first cruise that my older two (11 & 12) have been able to do this. DH & I are okay with it because this is our 4th cruise and we have made the rules very clear to them. They must let us know where they are going and MUST stay together. I'm rambling but I hope some of it helped...

[itutorfortravel]

i am trying to go back and read thru all the posts to see who is going and how old the kids are to see who might have kids together in the clubs...would you guys like to do a roll call? if so, how can we anchor a post at the beginning of the thread that we can keep updating as people join our thread?

[PPFQP]

i am trying to go back and read thru all the posts to see who is going and how old the kids are to see who might have kids together in the clubs...would you guys like to do a roll call? if so, how can we anchor a post at the beginning of the thread that we can keep updating as people join our thread?

Great idea - but I don't know how to do that.

[PPFQP]

I just noticed ... all of our countdown tickers say

2 months ... 2 weeks... 2 days

until our cruise!

2 cool! :cool1: :cool1:

[kellimomo3]

I think a roll call is a great idea. If everyone PM's me with their names and children's names and ages, I will amend the original starting post to the thread to include the roll call and then anyone joining out thread can pm me to add their group. Does that work for everyone??

Kelli

[itutorfortravel]

I just noticed ... all of our countdown tickers say

2 months ... 2 weeks... 2 days

until our cruise!

2 cool! :cool1: :cool1:

Hey, yeah that IS cool!

[PPFQP]

I just booked the Radisson for the night before our cruise. We stayed there for 3 nights in Dec. 2007 and LOVED it. Very nice property. I've been watching the rates, but I found a really good deal tonight. $90 for a room with 2 double beds, $120 for a 2-room suite (that's what we stayed in last time). It has a king-sized bed and whirlpool tub in the bedroom, and a pull out sofa in the second room. There's also a fridge and microwave. It's the same rate with or without AAA, but with the AAA rate, you can cancel up to the day before.
I checked Country Inn & Suites and the lowest rate I could find was $147 and Residence Inn was $169. Even though these include breakfast (the Radisson doesn't), we still come out ahead. We'll only eat a light breakfast that morning before we get on the ship and definitely wouldn't spend that much on breakfast!
I thought that was a great rate - other times I've looked it's been $149-$179 for the same room. (All the rate are pre-tax, so be sure to budget the extra amount for tax.)
Anyone else staying at the Radisson Fri night?

[itutorfortravel]

Hey! I saw that rate at the Radisson a couple days ago and was tempted as well...so you've stayed there and liked it? We are currently set up to stay in Melbourne for a couple nights before the cruise at an oceanfront hotel just to get the vacation started but I may change my mind. The pool at the Radisson looks wonderful!

[PPFQP]

Hey! I saw that rate at the Radisson a couple days ago and was tempted as well...so you've stayed there and liked it? We are currently set up to stay in Melbourne for a couple nights before the cruise at an oceanfront hotel just to get the vacation started but I may change my mind. The pool at the Radisson looks wonderful!

Yes, we loved staying there. They treated us very well and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay. We stayed there for 3 nights before our cruise, with my parents, in laws and my brother and his fiancee. The pool area is lovely, and we thoroughly enjoyed sitting around the pool and visiting. The whole resort has a nice, tropical feel - you feel like you are at a destination rather than a chain hotel.

One downside is that this rate does *not* include breakfast. They did have a breakfast buffet when we were there, but I thought it was kind of pricey for what it was. The other downside is that this is NOT at the beach. No ocean view, no walking on the sand. It's not far away, but it's not right there. It is definitely very close and convenient to the port, though.

I'm pretty sure you can park there and use the shuttle no matter what rate you have. BUT, I would recommend calling and getting your name on the list for the shuttle if you want to be on the first early shuttle. At least that is how it worked when we stayed there in Dec. 2007. We probalby won't use the shuttle -- either use our rental car or arrange a private shuttle for our whole group.

[kellimomo3]

Hi guys!
I updated the first posting to give you an idea of how the role call would work. I need you all to PM me with your family's info so I can add you. Once it's complete, it will be a great way to see who is on our cruise in one location!

kelli

[itutorfortravel]

hey kelli, i just emailed you our family's info :)

[Freddyfishstix]

I just booked the Radisson for the night before our cruise. We stayed there for 3 nights in Dec. 2007 and LOVED it. Very nice property. I've been watching the rates, but I found a really good deal tonight. $90 for a room with 2 double beds, $120 for a 2-room suite (that's what we stayed in last time). It has a king-sized bed and whirlpool tub in the bedroom, and a pull out sofa in the second room. There's also a fridge and microwave. It's the same rate with or without AAA, but with the AAA rate, you can cancel up to the day before.
I checked Country Inn & Suites and the lowest rate I could find was $147 and Residence Inn was $169. Even though these include breakfast (the Radisson doesn't), we still come out ahead. We'll only eat a light breakfast that morning before we get on the ship and definitely wouldn't spend that much on breakfast!
I thought that was a great rate - other times I've looked it's been $149-$179 for the same room. (All the rate are pre-tax, so be sure to budget the extra amount for tax.)
Anyone else staying at the Radisson Fri night?


We are staying at the Raddison as well. Our rate was not quite as good but it probably equals out because it included the parking for the week. Are you driving in or flying? We will be there only on Friday night. We hope to see you there.:)

[kellimomo3]

We are staying at the Coronado Springs resort at Disney for three nights prior to the cruise. We will be taking a limo (surprise) from the resort to the port arriving around 10am Saturday morning. What time are you all planning to arrive?

[itutorfortravel]

Hello everyone! We are currently booked at the Hilton Oceanfront for 2 nights before the cruise. DD has off school on Friday and we'll be taking her out of school on Thursday to drive down and hopefully beat some of the Easter weekend traffic!

[PPFQP]

We are staying at the Raddison as well. Our rate was not quite as good but it probably equals out because it included the parking for the week. Are you driving in or flying? We will be there only on Friday night. We hope to see you there.:)

Just a note - parking (and the shuttle) are included in ANY rate, so it might be worth another look.

Check the website and see if you can get the lower rate. Or call them and see if they will work with you. With the regular "hot deals" rate, there was a $25 cancellation fee, but I got the same rate with AAA, and no cancellation fee. (Not that we are planning to cancel anyway, but I am always wary about it!)

We are flying in on Friday morning and staying over Friday night. We'll see you there!

[sdzm]

Sorry, I'm new to this . . . what does PM mean?

[kellimomo3]

Sorry, I'm new to this . . . what does PM mean?

private message. click on my name in the left and it will give you send a private message as an option. let me know if it does not work!
Kelli

[sdzm]

private message. click on my name in the left and it will give you send a private message as an option. let me know if it does not work!
Kelli

It only allows me to see a public profile and your previous posts.

[itutorfortravel]

It only allows me to see a public profile and your previous posts.

Hi, I think it might not allow you to send a private msg. until you have reached 10 posts...:)

[Alicia87]

Would love to find out if anyone on here has kids in DD18's age range.

[sdzm]

I need to keep posting so that I can send our family info.

My niece who will be traveling with us is 18 :)

[sdzm]

I need to keep posting so that I can send our family info.

My niece who will be traveling with us is 18 :)

OOPS! She is already 19.

[itutorfortravel]

OOPS! She is already 19.

You're almost there! Only 2 more...:)

[kellimomo3]

Sorry, I'm new to this . . . what does PM mean?

I sent you a PM. You can just respond to it.

[itutorfortravel]

WOO HOO!!! :cool1:

Did any of you guys see on the boards that passengers no longer have to wake up early on the day we dock at St. Thomas to go through immigration?! I am so excited! Now I feel like I can let DD enjoy pirate night the night before St. Thomas b/c she can sleep in the next morning...actually b/c we can all sleep in the next morning! ::yes::

It's a GOOD day!

[Freddyfishstix]

WOO HOO!!! :cool1:

Did any of you guys see on the boards that passengers no longer have to wake up early on the day we dock at St. Thomas to go through immigration?! I am so excited! Now I feel like I can let DD enjoy pirate night the night before St. Thomas b/c she can sleep in the next morning...actually b/c we can all sleep in the next morning! ::yes::

It's a GOOD day!

I just went back and found the post!:cool1: Thanks for pointing that out. :thumbsup2 What great news. We have an 8:15 excursion, the Doubloon Pirate Ship pirate:, that morning. Now we won't feel as rushed at breakfest.:coffee:

[itutorfortravel]

I just went back and found the post!:cool1: Thanks for pointing that out. :thumbsup2 What great news. We have an 8:15 excursion, the Doubloon Pirate Ship pirate:, that morning. Now we won't feel as rushed at breakfest.:coffee:

we are doing the doubloon sail & snorkel too! We are going in the afternoon so we can sleep in after pirate night b/c dd is such a sloooow poke :) ! i hope it's good, i heard it is!

[sdzm]

We're booked on the Golden Eagle Catamaran excursion in St. Maarten and the Kayak, Hike, Snorkel trip to Cas Cay when we dock in St. Thomas . . . anyone with us???
:cool1:

[itutorfortravel]

Good morning everyone! I wanted to let you know I found an awesome trip report for a Jan 09 Eastern Caribbean on the boards...the girl who did it posted it using the link below....she took awesome pics and also put Navigators on there. We printed them to get an idea of what will happen on our cruise...check out the story and introduction to the TR on her first page - SO funny!

Anyway, here goes:

http://photogreetingsgalore.com/cruise09

[kellimomo3]

I am trying to post some photos of Bikini Beach in St. Maarten. A couple of you have asked about it. It was my kid's favorite beach that they have ever been too!!
Kelli

/Users/kelliregan/Desktop/403009796405_0_SM.jpg

/Users/kelliregan/Desktop/583009796405_0_SM.jpg

/Users/kelliregan/Desktop/556348796405_0_SM.jpg

/Users/kelliregan/Desktop/274009796405_0_SM.jpg

[kellimomo3]

Obviously, it's not working. Guess I can't just click and drag. ANyone know how to get the pics in here??

[cruising fun]

Hi guys!
I updated the first posting to give you an idea of how the role call would work. I need you all to PM me with your family's info so I can add you. Once it's complete, it will be a great way to see who is on our cruise in one location!

kelli

I haven't been able to get on in a few days and have missed so much!!1 Iwas trying to catch up on sleep from the midnight booking! We are so excited....Kelli..I am new to this board thing and am not sure what PMing is...maybe I am doing that now and don't even know it!!! Anyway, my husband and I are traveling with our 5 yr old daughter and my parents...we would love to be in the roll call you are setting up.

[cruising fun]

Obviously, it's not working. Guess I can't just click and drag. ANyone know how to get the pics in here??

I just figured the whole PMing thing out....except I need one more post so here it is!....


We are booked for the butterfly farm on St. Marteen and the land and sea tour at St. Thomas...our DD will enjoy both...anyone else going?

[itutorfortravel]

I just figured the whole PMing thing out....except I need one more post so here it is!....


We are booked for the butterfly farm on St. Marteen and the land and sea tour at St. Thomas...our DD will enjoy both...anyone else going?


we are currently scheduled on the butterfly farm tour, too! our dd will be in the kids club with your dd - she will have just turned 7 when we sail :)

[kellimomo3]

I just figured the whole PMing thing out....except I need one more post so here it is!....


We are booked for the butterfly farm on St. Marteen and the land and sea tour at St. Thomas...our DD will enjoy both...anyone else going?

check your pms. I need a little more info from you

[itutorfortravel]

Hello everyone! We sail in 10 Weeks from Yesterday! WOO HOO!!!

:cheer2: :cheer2: :cheer2: :cheer2: :cheer2: :cheer2: :cheer2:

[itutorfortravel]

Good morning everyone! It's been quiet here lately...are you guys doing any shopping yet for the cruise? I have been shopping for over a year now - LOL! I have started to get DD to try on some things we bought at the end of the season last year...just told her that I needed to be sure things looked like they would fit in case I needed to return any, since she doesn't know about our trip yet.

I've gotten a couple nice dresses. It's a good time of year to buy formalwear since the NYE dresses are all on sale. DH is thinking of renting a tux...anyone else do this? He's got nice suits but my dresses are black and he doesn't have a black suit so we might not look wonderful together for pics if he wears a dark navy or charcoal suit...

[cruising fun]

I have been doing some shopping too. I have started to get suntan lotion and all that kind of stuff we don't think about in Buffalo at this time of year. We have a pile of DD's clothes for the cruise...we bought a lot of sundresses at the end of the season last year and now it is time to take them all in (she is so tiny...I don't know where she gets it from!) We are getting really excited! My DH is going out this week to get another memory card for the camera. It is fun to see the different piles building up. We still have cold temps and snow here so we are very anxious to go and enjoy some nice weather.

[itutorfortravel]

we've had a light dusting of snow here in nc overnight and they cancelled school today! i think it's due to the "black ice" and being careful about school buses being out there driving our kids around. this is our 2nd snow day this year, so another make up day down the road...ugh.

it's hard to imagine that in only a couple months we'll be in warm sunny weather when it's 19 degrees outside!

have a great day everyone :)

[Freddyfishstix]

I am still here and still counting down the days. :hourglass . Kelli, I did get your email about Jason talking with Drake. I just have to tie my DS, and I am using "D" lightly, down and get him to respond. I am getting more pumped by the hour/:cool1: Definitely been too cold here in Carolina lately. I need to cruise to St. Somewhere soon. :boat:

[itutorfortravel]

I am still here and still counting down the days. :hourglass . Kelli, I did get your email about Jason talking with Drake. I just have to tie my DS, and I am using "D" lightly, down and get him to respond. I am getting more pumped by the hour/:cool1: Definitely been too cold here in Carolina lately. I need to cruise to St. Somewhere soon. :boat:


No kidding about the cold! We've had 2 snow days this month down near Charlotte! How about you guys? This weekend, tho we are supposed to see temps near 70 degrees...crazy!

[itutorfortravel]

We're in the single digits! It's only 9 Weeks till we sail!!!

[PPFQP]

We're in the single digits! It's only 9 Weeks till we sail!!!

Woohoo!

[cruising fun]

We are getting so excited here! I am starting to pull out clothes and make lists. I just stocked up on the suntan lotion when I went shopping today! Counting the days!!!

Question for you experienced Disney cruisers. What toiletries do they supply and do you like them. I especially wondered about shampoo and conditioner. My hair gets real dry in the sun and sometimes the "hotel" stuff just doesn't cut it. Your thoughts on this would be appreciated. (I hope you don't think this is a wierd question...my husband is rolling his eyes at me right now...7 days is a long time to go with crappy shampoo though!) :)

[kellimomo3]

We are getting so excited here! I am starting to pull out clothes and make lists. I just stocked up on the suntan lotion when I went shopping today! Counting the days!!!

Question for you experienced Disney cruisers. What toiletries do they supply and do you like them. I especially wondered about shampoo and conditioner. My hair gets real dry in the sun and sometimes the "hotel" stuff just doesn't cut it. Your thoughts on this would be appreciated. (I hope you don't think this is a wierd question...my husband is rolling his eyes at me right now...7 days is a long time to go with crappy shampoo though!) :)

I remember loving the body lotion. The shampoo and conditioner had a strong smell but I liked them.

[Had2disneycruz]

Hi. I am new at this so here goes: DW belle (me), DH grumpy, DD tink (15), DD aurora (12), DD jasmine (9) & DD ariel (4) are all set to sail on 4/11 on the Magic. We are one of the several families sailing with PPFQP from Va. Beach. This is our second Disney cruise. We did a land/sea package back in 2001 and spent 3 days on the Wonder. It was great but too short. We originally booked this cruise last April and the DH's job was outsourced so we canceled in Oct. Good news, DH got a new job in Dec. and we rebooked last week! (It was going to be hard to be left behind when all of our friends were going.) We are very thankful that it all worked out so this cruise means a lot to us! We love everything Disney and try to get to WDW every two years. Looking forward to meeting everyone.

[PPFQP]

Hi. I am new at this so here goes: DW belle (me), DH grumpy, DD tink (15), DD aurora (12), DD jasmine (9) & DD ariel (4) are all set to sail on 4/11 on the Magic. We are one of the several families sailing with PPFQP from Va. Beach. This is our second Disney cruise. We did a land/sea package back in 2001 and spent 3 days on the Wonder. It was great but too short. We originally booked this cruise last April and the DH's job was outsourced so we canceled in Oct. Good news, DH got a new job in Dec. and we rebooked last week! (It was going to be hard to be left behind when all of our friends were going.) We are very thankful that it all worked out so this cruise means a lot to us! We love everything Disney and try to get to WDW every two years. Looking forward to meeting everyone.

::::waving:::: Hi belle! SO GLAD that you are cruising! :banana:

[Had2disneycruz]

Hi PPFQP! I am so excited. DD tink wants to know if any cute boys will be on the cruise. Great!

[cruising fun]

Welcome! "Belle" We are really excited to go also! Our DD is 5! Will your DD be joining the Oceaneer Club? Our DD is very excited. She was driving us crazy asking how many more days until we go so we made a special count down calendar that we put on the fridge. The days aren't going fast enough!!!

[cruising fun]

Kelli..at one point you mentioned making an additional thread (or something that we sent you info for) for this cruise. I am so new to this stuff that I may have missed something. Are you still working on that and if so .....where do I need to go to find it?

[Had2disneycruz]

Welcome! "Belle" We are really excited to go also! Our DD is 5! Will your DD be joining the Oceaneer Club? Our DD is very excited. She was driving us crazy asking how many more days until we go so we made a special count down calendar that we put on the fridge. The days aren't going fast enough!!!

Hi Cruising Fun! Yes, our DD "ariel" will be in the Oceaneer Club. We have been pumping her up about her "very own club" on the "big boat"! We look at pictures online and she is getting excited. She hasn't cruised before but her sisters have. The calendar is a great idea and we will do that soon. It will be here before we know it!

[Had2disneycruz]

We are getting so excited here! I am starting to pull out clothes and make lists. I just stocked up on the suntan lotion when I went shopping today! Counting the days!!!

Question for you experienced Disney cruisers. What toiletries do they supply and do you like them. I especially wondered about shampoo and conditioner. My hair gets real dry in the sun and sometimes the "hotel" stuff just doesn't cut it. Your thoughts on this would be appreciated. (I hope you don't think this is a wierd question...my husband is rolling his eyes at me right now...7 days is a long time to go with crappy shampoo though!) :)

We learned the hard way on our last cruise never to travel without conditioner. I'm sure things have changed but when we cruised in 2001, Disney did not supply conditioner and with 2 girls with long hair, it was rough. We had the girls' braided at Castaway Cay and there were lots of tears and tangles. We now bring our own conditioner whenever we travel!

[kellimomo3]

Kelli..at one point you mentioned making an additional thread (or something that we sent you info for) for this cruise. I am so new to this stuff that I may have missed something. Are you still working on that and if so .....where do I need to go to find it?

Yes, I did it. It's on the first page of this thread in the original post I did. It's the section called roll call. Counting down....

Kelli

[Freddyfishstix]

Woo Hoo 2 months to go!:cool1:

[Big Willie]

We are getting closer and everyone has caught the fever. Not a day goes by without some DCL plan being discussed.

We have Southwest flights set to arrive Friday night then we stay at the Hyatt Airport. Airfare is ridiculous this time around. Normally we can get to Orlando for under $200 roundtrip. This time its $375ea. Plus I have three award trips which Southwest has blacked out my travel dates. I still love them for family travel.

We got the Hyatt at $150/night. I'm not doing the Hotwire thing.

Ordered a Navigator Limo to take use to the port on Saturday. (Happy Limo - $255 one way, 11 persons) The kids think we have rental minivans. Can't wait to see their faces. We reserved two minivans for the return as we are spending Saturday night in Orlando. Got a great rate using a SWA code on Mousesavers. $110 for a two day rental. I wanted to take the DCL bus for the return to the airport as we orginally had a Saturday return flight. But since we are spending the night I'll try that another time.

On the return day we are going to the new Aquatica Waterpark. Its part of the Seaworld, Busch Gardens family. We are Platinum Pass holders so t doesn't cost us anything extra. We are staying at Staybridge Suites Saturday night. We have two of the two bedroom suites.

I get to go to Tony Romas!!!!!!!!!!! (next door to Staybridge). LUV Their RIBS!

[kellimomo3]

We are getting closer and everyone has caught the fever. Not a day goes by without some DCL plan being discussed.

We have Southwest flights set to arrive Friday night then we stay at the Hyatt Airport. Airfare is ridiculous this time around. Normally we can get to Orlando for under $200 roundtrip. This time its $375ea. Plus I have three award trips which Southwest has blacked out my travel dates. I still love them for family travel.

We got the Hyatt at $150/night. I'm not doing the Hotwire thing.

Ordered a Navigator Limo to take use to the port on Saturday. (Happy Limo - $255 one way, 11 persons) The kids think we have rental minivans. Can't wait to see their faces. We reserved two minivans for the return as we are spending Saturday night in Orlando. Got a great rate using a SWA code on Mousesavers. $110 for a two day rental. I wanted to take the DCL bus for the return to the airport as we orginally had a Saturday return flight. But since we are spending the night I'll try that another time.

On the return day we are going to the new Aquatica Waterpark. Its part of the Seaworld, Busch Gardens family. We are Platinum Pass holders so t doesn't cost us anything extra. We are staying at Staybridge Suites Saturday night. We have two of the two bedroom suites.

I get to go to Tony Romas!!!!!!!!!!! (next door to Staybridge). LUV Their RIBS!


Willie,
We have a Navigator Limo through Happy Limo taking us to the port too!! Same thing as you, the kids don't know! We will be arriving in Orlando on the 8th and spending a few days at the Coranado SPrings Resort at Disney. I can't believe it's less than two months!!!:banana:

[PPFQP]

We have Southwest flights set to arrive Friday night then we stay at the Hyatt Airport. Airfare is ridiculous this time around. Normally we can get to Orlando for under $200 roundtrip. This time its $375ea. Plus I have three award trips which Southwest has blacked out my travel dates. I still love them for family travel.

Southwest has gotten much more restrictive about their award travel. We booked exactly at the very second that reservations opened up for this time period and were able to get our flights for this trip, but we had to rearrange our times a little bit. We had wanted to fly in Thursday night (schools are closed Friday) and spend 2 nights before the cruise, but we could only get the Friday am flight.

I still love them too. When we fly other airlines, you notice such a difference in the quality of service and the attitudes of the employees.

[Big Willie]

Hey Kelli

I just left CT. My job takes me to Groton (New London) area there on the Submarine Base and Electric Boat Shipyard.

I'm on to Seattle for a week and then back to Hawaii.

What a life!

[cruising fun]

Thanks for the tips on the conditioner...I will keep that in mind!

Kelli thanks for setting up the roll call....that was nice of you to do that for all of us!!!!

[Had2disneycruz]

I have been checking out other threads getting info.....what is a fish extender? I don't want to miss anything! Thanks!

[itutorfortravel]

Hey everyone! Sounds like you guys are on the ball with your plans for traveling down...wish I could say the same! I've had so many other things distracting me lately that I haven't made a final decision on hotel or travel plans yet - YIKES! We do have a room booked in Melbourne for 2 nights prior to the cruise but I think I might change that and stay closer to the port...I don't know, what do you veteran DCL cruisers think? Our hotel in Melbourne is oceanfront and I thought that might be nice...it costs about the same to stay there as it does to stay somewhere closer to the port with no beach...but of course it's like 30 miles from Cocoa Beach. And it's south at that, so it means even MORE driving!:car:

Getting excited about telling DD we are going! I am in bday party planning mode right now and she is driving me nuts! It is so hard to cut down the guest list...you know, you invite this one and you have to invite that one...the party that was supposed to be 10 little girls has now grown to 15 - and it's at my house so that is major! party:

I just hope I survive it :):crazy2:
Well, hope everyone is doing well. See ya soon!

[PPFQP]

We do have a room booked in Melbourne for 2 nights prior to the cruise but I think I might change that and stay closer to the port...I don't know, what do you veteran DCL cruisers think? Our hotel in Melbourne is oceanfront and I thought that might be nice...it costs about the same to stay there as it does to stay somewhere closer to the port with no beach...but of course it's like 30 miles from Cocoa Beach. And it's south at that, so it means even MORE driving!:car:

If it's a treat for you to see the ocean, then stay there, especially if you are going to be there for two nights and will have time to actually enjoy the beach. For us, we live near the ocean, so our priority is more on being as close as possible to the cruise terminal so that we can get there quickly on Sat. morning.
I've never been to Melbourne, so many someone else will have an opinion. But it doesn't sound like it's that far away.
Good luck with the party planning!

[Had2disneycruz]

I agree with staying closer to the port. I just want to make it there safe and sound sometime Friday night. (If the car doesn't start or if we accidentally sleep in Saturday morning, I want to be close! The less stress, the better.) We will either stay at the Radisson with our friends, or use rewards at a Holiday Inn Express. It will depend on when we get in that night or morning. DH does not have Friday off so we will get a late start! As long as we are at the terminal by 10am-11am, we are good to go!!! Can't wait!!! The warm weather here has been a teaser!

[itutorfortravel]

Only 8 More Weeks Till We're Cruisin' !!!!!!!!!

:woohoo:

[cruising fun]

Only 8 More Weeks Till We're Cruisin' !!!!!!!!!

:woohoo:

WOW! We can't wait...wish we were leaving tomorrow!!! It has been fun starting to get ready to go though...shopping has been fun lately!!!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! Too bad we weren't celebrating at Palo!

[itutorfortravel]

We are getting SO excited too! A friend of mine just booked a 4 nite Disney cruise in May for her DD's bday :) So now I have a dear friend here who I feel that I can talk Disney with until I'm blue in the face and she won't mind!!!

[cruising fun]

:cool2: We are getting SO excited too! A friend of mine just booked a 4 nite Disney cruise in May for her DD's bday :) So now I have a dear friend here who I feel that I can talk Disney with until I'm blue in the face and she won't mind!!!

How exciting! It will be nice to have someone to talk to about the cruise. I can't believe the excitement...the 8 weeks will not go by fast enough!

We just had that tragic plane crash in our area...I am sure you have heard about it where you are it is all over national TV. So we have been fielding questions from our DD about it. Keep your fingers crossed she doesn't give us a hard time about getting on the plane when the time comes.

Well to get our minds back in cruising mode my DH and I went and did some damage at the store yesterday. He got a great deal on a new suit and shorts and I bought myself some new bathsuits and other things for the cruise. That helped bring the cruising spirits back!!!!

Just think....8 weeks from now we will be enjoying another day at sea!!!!! Bring on the sunshine!:cool1:

[Had2disneycruz]

:cool2:

How exciting! It will be nice to have someone to talk to about the cruise. I can't believe the excitement...the 8 weeks will not go by fast enough!

We just had that tragic plane crash in our area...I am sure you have heard about it where you are it is all over national TV. So we have been fielding questions from our DD about it. Keep your fingers crossed she doesn't give us a hard time about getting on the plane when the time comes.

Well to get our minds back in cruising mode my DH and I went and did some damage at the store yesterday. He got a great deal on a new suit and shorts and I bought myself some new bathsuits and other things for the cruise. That helped bring the cruising spirits back!!!!

Just think....8 weeks from now we will be enjoying another day at sea!!!!! Bring on the sunshine!:cool1:

I am so sorry about that tragic plane crash in your area. It was awful. It is so hard to explain these things to kids when we can't understand it ourselves. I wish you luck with your DD.

I have yet to do any shopping, packing or even organizing! Are any of your DH's renting tuxedos on the ship? I think my DH is just bringing a suit. My DD's and I have dresses from a wedding last summer so we are set. We need new bathing suits though. Oh fun....bathing suit shopping...in winter! I need to get new sunscreen and bug spray. I heard it is helpful to have bug spray on Castaway Cay. I don't remember having a problem with bugs there, but I will probably need it if we don't have it.

54 days to go!!

[cruising fun]

I did the dreadful bathsuit shopping yesterday...even though it was fun to think about warm weather the trying on experience made me spend more time working out this morning!

My DH is just bringing a suit. He is not a tux fan as it is. I have stocked up on the suntan lotion, but never thought about the bug spray. Have you heard enough about the bugs that it is needed? Anything else out of the ordinary you can think of to bring?

Thanks your thoughts about the crash...it has been somber here as people mourn. The crash was only a few miles from our house...in fact my best friend heard the entire thing...she lives right around the corner from the crash site. The community is pulling together though....each day gets a bit easier. I personally didn't know anyone on the plane, but know some of the relatives of those who died. The ironic thing is a good friend of mine was on the aircraft that morning...thank goodness she made it to her destination safely.

[Had2disneycruz]

I did the dreadful bathsuit shopping yesterday...even though it was fun to think about warm weather the trying on experience made me spend more time working out this morning!

My DH is just bringing a suit. He is not a tux fan as it is. I have stocked up on the suntan lotion, but never thought about the bug spray. Have you heard enough about the bugs that it is needed? Anything else out of the ordinary you can think of to bring?

Thanks your thoughts about the crash...it has been somber here as people mourn. The crash was only a few miles from our house...in fact my best friend heard the entire thing...she lives right around the corner from the crash site. The community is pulling together though....each day gets a bit easier. I personally didn't know anyone on the plane, but know some of the relatives of those who died. The ironic thing is a good friend of mine was on the aircraft that morning...thank goodness she made it to her destination safely.

I read on one of the cruise line posts to bring bug spray. We didn't have a problem with bugs last time, but I think I will bring it anyway. I only read about it in one place.

With four girls to pack for, I think everything is out of the ordinary! For every Disney trip, I always pack our ears, tiaras, light up toys, princess wand, glow sticks, autograph books, a costume or two and anything else Disney that my DD, age 4, will "need". I try to bring what we've bought on previous trips so we don't have to buy more! I am not saying we won't buy more on the cruise but we do try to buy different things everytime. How many light up toys can one child have? They are cheaper at the Disney store and travel well! I will also bring our own small water toys like goggles, a float for Castaway Cay and sand toys. Last time, I spent a small fortune buying sand toys at CC so I might as well bring what I bought! It all sounds like a lot of stuff, but we'll pick and choose exactly what we'll need for the week. Tiaras and autograph books are a must!

Once again, so sorry about what your community is going through. Thank God your friend is ok.

[cruising fun]

I read on one of the cruise line posts to bring bug spray. We didn't have a problem with bugs last time, but I think I will bring it anyway. I only read about it in one place.

With four girls to pack for, I think everything is out of the ordinary! For every Disney trip, I always pack our ears, tiaras, light up toys, princess wand, glow sticks, autograph books, a costume or two and anything else Disney that my DD, age 4, will "need". I try to bring what we've bought on previous trips so we don't have to buy more! I am not saying we won't buy more on the cruise but we do try to buy different things everytime. How many light up toys can one child have? They are cheaper at the Disney store and travel well! I will also bring our own small water toys like goggles, a float for Castaway Cay and sand toys. Last time, I spent a small fortune buying sand toys at CC so I might as well bring what I bought! It all sounds like a lot of stuff, but we'll pick and choose exactly what we'll need for the week. Tiaras and autograph books are a must!

Once again, so sorry about what your community is going through. Thank God your friend is ok.

Great tips! Our DD got a new Belle dress with a light up tiara, wand, and shoes for Christmas so it is already in the pile. I will add on bug spray and sand toys.

One more question...sorry I am probably driving you nuts but I keep thinking of things and want to be prepared...For the pools onboard our DD is just learning how to swim without floaties or a vest...to swim for a length of time she still needs them...do you remember what their policy is on these things? Do I pack her vest or floaties?

[itutorfortravel]

:cool2:

How exciting! It will be nice to have someone to talk to about the cruise. I can't believe the excitement...the 8 weeks will not go by fast enough!

We just had that tragic plane crash in our area...I am sure you have heard about it where you are it is all over national TV. So we have been fielding questions from our DD about it. Keep your fingers crossed she doesn't give us a hard time about getting on the plane when the time comes.

Well to get our minds back in cruising mode my DH and I went and did some damage at the store yesterday. He got a great deal on a new suit and shorts and I bought myself some new bathsuits and other things for the cruise. That helped bring the cruising spirits back!!!!

Just think....8 weeks from now we will be enjoying another day at sea!!!!! Bring on the sunshine!:cool1:


I was also sorry to hear about the recent plane crash. I do hope your DD is feeling okay about flying when the time comes to fly to FL. Hopefully the excitement of getting on the cruise boat will overshadow any fears she may have...we've still got more than 7 weeks till we cruise and doing all the pre-cruise activities will hopefully keep her mind off of it, like you mentioned! :hug:

[Had2disneycruz]

Great tips! Our DD got a new Belle dress with a light up tiara, wand, and shoes for Christmas so it is already in the pile. I will add on bug spray and sand toys.

One more question...sorry I am probably driving you nuts but I keep thinking of things and want to be prepared...For the pools onboard our DD is just learning how to swim without floaties or a vest...to swim for a length of time she still needs them...do you remember what their policy is on these things? Do I pack her vest or floaties?


We all want to be prepared, so ask away....I have been asking lots of questions on other threads.....

I don't know what Disney's policy is on vests or floaties, but you'd think they would want the kids to be safe. I would pack floaties since you could let the air out and they are easy to pack. You could use them at CC too.

Does anyone know if they charge for the wine/tequila/margarita or beer tastings on the ship? Sounds like fun!

53 days....

[cruising fun]

I was also sorry to hear about the recent plane crash. I do hope your DD is feeling okay about flying when the time comes to fly to FL. Hopefully the excitement of getting on the cruise boat will overshadow any fears she may have...we've still got more than 7 weeks till we cruise and doing all the pre-cruise activities will hopefully keep her mind off of it, like you mentioned! :hug:

Thank you. Luckily we have been able to keep DD away from all the news coverage. She does know about it since friends of ours live so close to where it happened..when we go there we pass the patrol cars that still have the area blocked off, but she doesn't seem too bothered by it. I think we are in the clear!!!

So on a happier note...I seem to have a problem (well my husband thinks so!) Everytime I go into a store I have to search for things for the cruise! I found a really cute beach bag today...not that I needed a new one, but it was too fun to pass up!

In love with shopping for the cruise!:love:

[AnaRN]

Hi All,

We're traveling too!

Our family is myself, my husband Nick and our 2 daughters - Jade age 17 and Jasmine age 2.

We also managed - and I still do not know how - to talk my parents into taking taking their first cruise ever with us! They will be 4 door down from us.

Looking forward to cruising over Easter!

[AnaRN]

Oh...forgot to mention....

My name is Ana

and this is my family's second Disney cruise.

:banana:

[Had2disneycruz]

Hi All,

We're traveling too!

Our family is myself, my husband Nick and our 2 daughters - Jade age 17 and Jasmine age 2.

We also managed - and I still do not know how - to talk my parents into taking taking their first cruise ever with us! They will be 4 door down from us.

Looking forward to cruising over Easter!

Hi Ana,
My daughter is 15 so maybe they will see each other in The Stack! Looking forward to seeing you on the boat. Only 51 days to go!!!!!!

[cruising fun]

Oh...forgot to mention....

My name is Ana

and this is my family's second Disney cruise.

:banana:


Welcome! We are excited you are traveling with us! Our DD is 5. We also have my parents coming with us. It will be nice to have grandma and grandpa there!

[PPFQP]

Hi!! Haven't been here in ages! We have been swamped with volleyball. It is the crunch time where the middle school season overlaps with travel tournaments and results in CHAOS for our family.

::::catching breath:::::

Hi Ana -- welcome!

I think they *do* charge for those tastings.

I don't know about floaties. If I remember, the pool is pretty shallow, and very, very small. I think whatever is easiest to pack would be sufficient.

[juliebird27]

My husband Rory and I will be on the April 11th sailing. It's our first cruise and we're very excited. We've been married for two years but we'll be celebrating 10 years since our first date on April 17th.

[PPFQP]

My husband Rory and I will be on the April 11th sailing. It's our first cruise and we're very excited. We've been married for two years but we'll be celebrating 10 years since our first date on April 17th.

Awwww! Romantic!
Welcome!

(How many !!! can I use in one post?!?!? Sheesh)

[itutorfortravel]

Hi juliebird and Ana - welcome to the meets thread! Glad to see more folks joining this group :) It's been strangely quiet on this thread for a spring break week?!

Be sure to send a PM to kellimomo3 if you want to be included in the roll call on the first page!

[juliebird27]

Thanks! We just decided to book it last weekend so we're trying to plan as best as we can. I'm curious as to whether there will be anything special for Easter on the ship.

[AnaRN]

I have to tell you....we JUST booked the cruise LAST WEEK! We were absolutely shocked that they still had cabins available AND we got an outside view?!? :eek:

Actually, we booked 2 cabins because my parents will be a few doors down from us. I just couldn't believe it. I guess Disney is hurting just like everyone else.

But really, we've been looking around for a vacation to take over Spring Break and this cruise was the cheapest we could find. We got the Fl. Resident rate which is out of this world, crazy cheap. They actually came in UNDER Royal Caribbean by about $500.

Needless to say we were thrilled and so excited!!!

I've been looking at the fish extender threads and was wondering....with so few of us going....will there be an exchange? I've been teetering on the fence trying to decide if I want to try to make one & participate and then I saw some threads where there were 100+ people and thought - there is no way I could even try to get enough gifts together for that many.

Thoughts? Feelings?

[itutorfortravel]

Only 7 Weeks from today till we are on the Magic!!!

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

[kellimomo3]

I've been looking at the fish extender threads and was wondering....with so few of us going....will there be an exchange? I've been teetering on the fence trying to decide if I want to try to make one & participate and then I saw some threads where there were 100+ people and thought - there is no way I could even try to get enough gifts together for that many.[/QUOTE]

No, we have not discussed this. I can't believe only 7 weeks!! I need to get organized!:scared1:

Kelli

[cruising fun]

I am new to this thread thing...what is a fish extender thread?

[Had2disneycruz]

I am new to this thread thing...what is a fish extender thread?

After extensive research a few weeks ago, I found what a fish extender (FE) is! If you read other cruise threads, you will see how people use them. Outside of your cabin door is a fish plaque and apparently, the cast members (CM) will leave your excursion info on top of this fish. Folks started decorating the fish and then making these fish extenders to hang from the fish. Dis'ers leave gifts in the fish extenders for other dis'ers. If you check out other threads or google, you will find pictures. Some folks get them from ebay, and if you do enough research on the disboards, you can find someone who makes amazing FE's. I also learned how fellow dis'ers organize meets on the cruise, have Secret Mickeys, and decorate their doors with magnets. It's all really cool. My husband wants us to make our FE. I think it will be fun to leave gifts for my kids and the other folks we are traveling with. If we see other FE's on board, we would leave something for them too.....just for fun!

[Had2disneycruz]

I have to tell you....we JUST booked the cruise LAST WEEK! We were absolutely shocked that they still had cabins available AND we got an outside view?!? :eek:

Actually, we booked 2 cabins because my parents will be a few doors down from us. I just couldn't believe it. I guess Disney is hurting just like everyone else.

But really, we've been looking around for a vacation to take over Spring Break and this cruise was the cheapest we could find. We got the Fl. Resident rate which is out of this world, crazy cheap. They actually came in UNDER Royal Caribbean by about $500.

Needless to say we were thrilled and so excited!!!

I've been looking at the fish extender threads and was wondering....with so few of us going....will there be an exchange? I've been teetering on the fence trying to decide if I want to try to make one & participate and then I saw some threads where there were 100+ people and thought - there is no way I could even try to get enough gifts together for that many.

Thoughts? Feelings?

I think the fish extender idea is really cute. I want to make one and will leave stuff for the kids in it. If we see others on the ship, we will leave gifts for them too. If you check out more threads, you will see that folks keep the gifts simple and cute. Dollar store items, items from oriental trading, and candy were some things I read about. I am trying to find items that are from our area and state. It think it would be fun but don't feel obligated.

I saw that Disney still had Cat. 12 available yesterday. I guess this cruise is not sold out. Cat. 12 is a great deal. We have 2 cabins for our family. We have 4 kids so it was our only option. This trip was also the cheapest vacation we could find for all 6 of us.

Only 48 days to go!

[AnaRN]

I think the fish extender idea is really cute. I want to make one and will leave stuff for the kids in it. If we see others on the ship, we will leave gifts for them too. If you check out more threads, you will see that folks keep the gifts simple and cute. Dollar store items, items from oriental trading, and candy were some things I read about. I am trying to find items that are from our area and state. It think it would be fun but don't feel obligated.

I saw that Disney still had Cat. 12 available yesterday. I guess this cruise is not sold out. Cat. 12 is a great deal. We have 2 cabins for our family. We have 4 kids so it was our only option. This trip was also the cheapest vacation we could find for all 6 of us.

Only 48 days to go!



Isn't that SILLY that the cheapest family vacation either of us could find for our families was a Disney Cruise? I never thought I would hear myself say such a thing!

We even looked at driving somewhere and staying in a hotel...this was STILL the cheapest we could find. :scared1:

We are getting SO super excited.

We did get some magnets together too....I'm in the process of creating a few more too.

Hmmmmmmmmmmm......so you are going to leave little things for your family in your FE...they are just so darn cute. Well, I've got a little more time to ponder....not much though...

Hurray!!!!!

[Freddyfishstix]

Hi all, We are still here and ready to go! We have added another day to our vacation and will be ariving at the Radisson on Thursday:banana: We will either go over to Kennedy or just chill by the pool for the day on Friday.

FYI in case no one has noticed on Disney's Gifts and Amenities part of the Cruise Site, they have added an Easter Gift section.:goodvibes SEE YOU ALL SOON

[itutorfortravel]

Welcome to all the new cruisers on the thread! Glad to see more people are joining us...I can't believe you can still get a cabin in all cats on this sailing...I thought spring break was a popular time to go?!:confused3

Anyhow, if you want to, go to the first page of this thread and send a PM to kellimomo3 so she can add you and your family to the roll call...many of us have found that we have kids close in age going on the trip!

[juliebird27]

Thanks for the explanation of the Fish Extenders. Sounds cute. We actually booked a catergory 12 bc its just the two of us and it was a really great deal. I was certainly suprised to see it posted just two months before the sailing date.

[AnaRN]

Am I the only one who is ready to pack up and get on with this cruise? :yay:

I don't know if I'm going to last......do you think the authorities at Port Canaveral will get suspicious if I just get a tent and camp out?

Okay....so for sure 1 person is doing a F.E.

Is anyone else sure they want to do a F.E. and if so.....do we want to do an official organization where people sign up to participate and then exchange?

Maybe if there are only a few families wanting to participate -- it wouldn't be too hard to organize and gather presents?

I'm very tempted to do one for our family with it being the Easter cruise and leaving little treats for everyone daily.

[sdzm]

Exactly how does this work? Do we have a count of how many people will be participating and we bring that many gifts and just drop them off at some random time during the cruise?:confused3

[oatmealdiva]

Hi, got room for three more?

We (myself, DM and DS) will be joining you on this sailing. My mom has cruised too many times to count; this will be my 6th cruise, and this will be DS's first cruise. We are all DCL newbies and very excited! Well, my mom and I are excited...DS has no idea that this is going on. I haven't figured out when to tell him either!

We will be celebrating a couple of milestone birthdays on this trip. I turn 40 one month before the sailing, and my mom turns 70 in June. DS will turn 8 in May.

We'll be flying in from Los Angeles on Friday. I have been such a slacker that I have not made ANY reservations for us. Hopefully my mom and I will be able to get a Palo reservation for brunch or high tea once we board.

See you on board!

[PPFQP]

Hi, got room for three more?

We (myself, DM and DS) will be joining you on this sailing. My mom has cruised too many times to count; this will be my 6th cruise, and this will be DS's first cruise. We are all DCL newbies and very excited! Well, my mom and I are excited...DS has no idea that this is going on. I haven't figured out when to tell him either!

We will be celebrating a couple of milestone birthdays on this trip. I turn 40 one month before the sailing, and my mom turns 70 in June. DS will turn 8 in May.

We'll be flying in from Los Angeles on Friday. I have been such a slacker that I have not made ANY reservations for us. Hopefully my mom and I will be able to get a Palo reservation for brunch or high tea once we board.

See you on board!

Welcome! Glad you're joining us! Your ds will be so excited!

[AnaRN]

Exactly how does this work? Do we have a count of how many people will be participating and we bring that many gifts and just drop them off at some random time during the cruise?:confused3


Well, I've never participated in one before but from what I've read about.....Yes...that is how it is done.

We'd just have to know how many will be participating so you can plan on a [B]small[B] gift for each participant.

I was looking on this board as well as cruise critic and there are very elaborate extenders, some with a felt bucket and used paint to write the family's names on it, some did tote bags tied together...all kinds of ideas.

The same with gifts...some have done very labor intensive home made gifts....some put a piece of candy in the extender every day....again...all sorts of ideas.

I think I am leaning toward doing one. Even if it ends up just being for my family. I know there is one other family who will be putting one up as well.

It looks like this might be a small group going anyway....so even if we all end up putting an extender up....it would not be too costly or time consuming to make sure everyone got a little gift.

I think I just talked myself into definitely doing one! :scared1:

And if you are going to put one up...the one thing that I've gathered from all the threads I've looked at....bring zip ties to secure it to the fish so it doesn't grow legs and wander off.

Perhaps as a family decides to participate -- on the roll call page, it could be noted that they will have a F.E. up?

[itutorfortravel]

Hi, got room for three more?

We (myself, DM and DS) will be joining you on this sailing. My mom has cruised too many times to count; this will be my 6th cruise, and this will be DS's first cruise. We are all DCL newbies and very excited! Well, my mom and I are excited...DS has no idea that this is going on. I haven't figured out when to tell him either!

We will be celebrating a couple of milestone birthdays on this trip. I turn 40 one month before the sailing, and my mom turns 70 in June. DS will turn 8 in May.

We'll be flying in from Los Angeles on Friday. I have been such a slacker that I have not made ANY reservations for us. Hopefully my mom and I will be able to get a Palo reservation for brunch or high tea once we board.

See you on board!

Welcome! Your DS and my DD should be in the same club together unless you are moving him up since his bday is soon after the cruise :) We haven't told our DD about the trip yet either. She will find out in just a few weeks after her 7th birthday party...boy will she be surprised!

[itutorfortravel]

I wanted to ask what you ladies and gentlemen plan to wear on formal night? Do you go all out with evening gowns and tuxes or just suits and cocktail length dresses? I have a beautiful dress I thought of wearing and DH was thinking about a tux but then we read less and less people are getting that dressed up and we don't want to look like the oddballs...I know I shouldn't worry about what other people are wearing, but we don't want to look like the DCL newbies, even tho we are! :goodvibes

[PPFQP]

I wanted to ask what you ladies and gentlemen plan to wear on formal night? Do you go all out with evening gowns and tuxes or just suits and cocktail length dresses? I have a beautiful dress I thought of wearing and DH was thinking about a tux but then we read less and less people are getting that dressed up and we don't want to look like the oddballs...I know I shouldn't worry about what other people are wearing, but we don't want to look like the DCL newbies, even tho we are! :goodvibes

We have formal wear from a previous cruise, so we're wearing that. Here's a picture from last year.

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o216/ppfqp/FierroFormal-1.gif

[TBRox]

Hi - could you please add us to the Roll Call:

TBRox: Sally & Michael from NJ with
daughter, Sarah, 20 (w/special needs)
son, Davey, 11

[Had2disneycruz]

Exactly how does this work? Do we have a count of how many people will be participating and we bring that many gifts and just drop them off at some random time during the cruise?:confused3

Hi sdzm. Yes, that is pretty much it. Keep in mind, you don't have to spend a lot to get cute things for the FE. Ideas I have read are candy, items from oriental trading or the dollar store. Some folks have made magnets for other dis'ers cabin doors. It's a fun idea for the kids...to give and receive. My DD's will love trying to be stealth, leaving goodies for other kids. Of course, all this is optional.

[Had2disneycruz]

Hi, got room for three more?

We (myself, DM and DS) will be joining you on this sailing. My mom has cruised too many times to count; this will be my 6th cruise, and this will be DS's first cruise. We are all DCL newbies and very excited! Well, my mom and I are excited...DS has no idea that this is going on. I haven't figured out when to tell him either!

We will be celebrating a couple of milestone birthdays on this trip. I turn 40 one month before the sailing, and my mom turns 70 in June. DS will turn 8 in May.

We'll be flying in from Los Angeles on Friday. I have been such a slacker that I have not made ANY reservations for us. Hopefully my mom and I will be able to get a Palo reservation for brunch or high tea once we board.

See you on board!


Welcome Oatmealdiva! Congrats on all your milestone birthdays! What a great surprise for your DS! Wow...all the way from LA! Hope you all have a great flight!

[Had2disneycruz]

I wanted to ask what you ladies and gentlemen plan to wear on formal night? Do you go all out with evening gowns and tuxes or just suits and cocktail length dresses? I have a beautiful dress I thought of wearing and DH was thinking about a tux but then we read less and less people are getting that dressed up and we don't want to look like the oddballs...I know I shouldn't worry about what other people are wearing, but we don't want to look like the DCL newbies, even tho we are! :goodvibes

I asked my DH if he wanted to rent a tux and he said no. He will wear a nice suit. My four DD and I will wear dresses from a wedding we went to last summer. All the dresses are above the knee length. I don't have a gown and I don't know if I want to buy one. I love the shoes I have for the dress I already have! I read about a few dis'ers getting awesome deals on formal gowns on ebay. They were beautiful dresses. I would rather spend my money on DOTD's instead of a new formal dress! I have no idea what I'll wear for semi-formal night! Itutorfortravel...if your DH wants to rent a tux, go for it! Don't worry about being oddballs! When else do you get to go all out!?

Nice family shot, PPFQP!!

[AnaRN]

I wanted to ask what you ladies and gentlemen plan to wear on formal night? Do you go all out with evening gowns and tuxes or just suits and cocktail length dresses? I have a beautiful dress I thought of wearing and DH was thinking about a tux but then we read less and less people are getting that dressed up and we don't want to look like the oddballs...I know I shouldn't worry about what other people are wearing, but we don't want to look like the DCL newbies, even tho we are! :goodvibes

We were slightly concerned as well....from all the reading I've done....It appears that some people have VERY firm ideas of what you should wear at formal night.

For us...we have a 2 year old....I am not and refuse to wear anything too fancy that I know will end up with food all over it. :laughing:

And....I just cannot see myself running down the hall ways after her trying to hike up a big ole fancy dress either. :rotfl: Although I'm sure tons of people would get a kick out of it!

I'll wear a nice cocktail dress and hubby will wear slacks with a shirt and tie -- he absolutely refuses to wear a jacket. We considered Palo until he read about wearing a jacket.

I say - it's your vacation - wear what you would feel comfortable with. If others don't like it, they can look the other way. :thumbsup2

[kellimomo3]

I just realized that our flight leaves in 39 days!!!!!! OMG! We fly to Orlando on the 8th. I better start getting organized. We are dressing up for formal night but not doing the tux thing this time around. There will be so many different clothing styles, you will see some people wear jean shorts on formal night and some wearing tuxes. Whatever you want to do, I say do it!!

Kelli

[cruising fun]

My husband refuses to wear a tux so he is wearing a suit for formal night and I am bringing a nice cocktail dress to wear.

As I was searching and checking out some other treads I came across someone's pics from their cruise and they had some beautiful family portraits taken onboard. My family is looking to update our family photos and are thinking of doing it on the boat since we liked this other family's pics so much. Does anyone know is there a "portrait studio" onboard and if there is came we make appointments now or do we have to wait until we are onboard?

And can you believe........

6 WEEKS UNTIL WE CRUISE!!!!!:yay:

[anjiellisvt]

Hi everyone. I've never posted a thread before, but we are only six weeks away and I can hardly stand it. I can't be excited at home because we are going to surprise the kids with it. So this will be a nice place to get out some of my excitement.

We have never been on a Disney Cruise before but have been on a couple of others. My kids love to cruise and have been asking to do this. I have a DD that is 6 and a DD that is 10.

We plan on telling them on Thursday night that we are heading to the beach. We live in NC and will be driving down on Friday to the Radisson. I think we will try our best to wait until Saturday morning to tell them where we are really going.

I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!:banana:

[cruising fun]

Hi everyone. I've never posted a thread before, but we are only six weeks away and I can hardly stand it. I can't be excited at home because we are going to surprise the kids with it. So this will be a nice place to get out some of my excitement.

We have never been on a Disney Cruise before but have been on a couple of others. My kids love to cruise and have been asking to do this. I have a DD that is 6 and a DD that is 10.

We plan on telling them on Thursday night that we are heading to the beach. We live in NC and will be driving down on Friday to the Radisson. I think we will try our best to wait until Saturday morning to tell them where we are really going.

I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!:banana:

WELCOME!!! This is our first Disney Cruise too. We are really excited! I give you credit, I would have a really hard time not talking about it at home! What a great surprise for your girls though!! Our DD is 5 so maybe the girls will meet at the oceaneers club!

[AnaRN]

Hi everyone. I've never posted a thread before, but we are only six weeks away and I can hardly stand it. I can't be excited at home because we are going to surprise the kids with it. So this will be a nice place to get out some of my excitement.

We have never been on a Disney Cruise before but have been on a couple of others. My kids love to cruise and have been asking to do this. I have a DD that is 6 and a DD that is 10.

We plan on telling them on Thursday night that we are heading to the beach. We live in NC and will be driving down on Friday to the Radisson. I think we will try our best to wait until Saturday morning to tell them where we are really going.

I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!:banana:



Oh wow!!! How exciting!!! You and the kids will LOVE it. You have will power that I can only envy. :thumbsup2

Could you imagine when the shuttle pulls up to the ship??? A total "Kodak moment" for sure.

[AnaRN]

My husband refuses to wear a tux so he is wearing a suit for formal night and I am bringing a nice cocktail dress to wear.

As I was searching and checking out some other treads I came across someone's pics from their cruise and they had some beautiful family portraits taken onboard. My family is looking to update our family photos and are thinking of doing it on the boat since we liked this other family's pics so much. Does anyone know is there a "portrait studio" onboard and if there is came we make appointments now or do we have to wait until we are onboard?

And can you believe........

6 WEEKS UNTIL WE CRUISE!!!!!:yay:


Isn't it exciting??!!??

We just went on a 4 day DCL in Jan. so I think the pricing should be the same.

Each night, there will be "photo stations" set up so you can have pics taken by yourselves or in front of places, ect. You can then purchase the pic individually or purchase a picture package. I believe the least expensive picture package was around $80 and it was for a few 8X10. They went all the way up to $200 for a whole bunch of pics.

They also had a Lifestyle portrait available -- where you were photographed with a white background...they had those packages for around $20.....and you got a 8X10 and a few smaller sizes...around 5 photos total I think.

Now....I have to tell you...these Disney photographers are GREAT. And they will take a picture for you using your own camera as well. Soooooo....you may not have to purchase too many if you get what I mean ;)

[PPFQP]

Hi everyone. I've never posted a thread before, but we are only six weeks away and I can hardly stand it. I can't be excited at home because we are going to surprise the kids with it. So this will be a nice place to get out some of my excitement.

We have never been on a Disney Cruise before but have been on a couple of others. My kids love to cruise and have been asking to do this. I have a DD that is 6 and a DD that is 10.

We plan on telling them on Thursday night that we are heading to the beach. We live in NC and will be driving down on Friday to the Radisson. I think we will try our best to wait until Saturday morning to tell them where we are really going.

I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!:banana:

We will see you at the Radisson Friday night. Don't worry, we will keep the secret!:rolleyes1

[Had2disneycruz]

We will see you at the Radisson Friday night. Don't worry, we will keep the secret!:rolleyes1

Hey PPFQP! Speak for yourself! You know how well I can keep a secret! I raise my future DOTD (drink of the day) to all of you who have not told your kids! I could not do that! I would blow it the very first day. I booked some cool excursions and I couldn't even keep that to myself! I would love to hear the reactions of your kids when you tell them!

I started shopping yesterday! Got very important things like Pepto, Imodium and Bonine! With all that I've read about upset stomachs from rich food, I thought it would be best to be prepared. I don't want any one in our group having to go to the medic for Imodium and have the possible threat of 24 hour lockdown.

I read some great tips about having a separate toiletries bag for Friday night so we won't have to root through the luggage for toothbrushes, so I bought extra of those. Also bought a small baby powder for removing sand at the beaches. (Something we don't go to the beach without!) I got our shoe organizer for the bathroom. We will need it since we are cat. 12 and don't have the split bath. (Still hoping for an upgrade!) It was so much fun to start shopping! Even looked at bathing suits for DD. We need a few more of those.

I booked the Radisson today for Friday night! We will be in late but we will see everyone at breakfast! I wish we could leave a day early just so we can enjoy the hotel!

Six weeks to go......six weeks to diet!!!!!!!!!!!! Can't wait!

[cruising fun]

Isn't it exciting??!!??

We just went on a 4 day DCL in Jan. so I think the pricing should be the same.

Each night, there will be "photo stations" set up so you can have pics taken by yourselves or in front of places, ect. You can then purchase the pic individually or purchase a picture package. I believe the least expensive picture package was around $80 and it was for a few 8X10. They went all the way up to $200 for a whole bunch of pics.

They also had a Lifestyle portrait available -- where you were photographed with a white background...they had those packages for around $20.....and you got a 8X10 and a few smaller sizes...around 5 photos total I think.

Now....I have to tell you...these Disney photographers are GREAT. And they will take a picture for you using your own camera as well. Soooooo....you may not have to purchase too many if you get what I mean ;)

AHHHH...thank you for the "tips"!!!!! We will definitely keep that in mind!!

[anjiellisvt]

Thanks for the tip on the photos. My husband doesn't get excited about vacations until we get there and then he goes a little nuts. Our last cruise he bought wayyy too many of the photos they took. Although they were really cute.

Yes, the secret is extremely hard to keep. One of the hardest parts is getting my growing girls to buy new summer clothes when we are expecting 6inches of snow today.

So can anyone give me into any insight into what sort of activities they have at the kids clubs. My oldest DD is 10 and is can be shy around other kids her age. Do the kids get confined to a playroom or do they have shipwide activities that they can do on their own? Do parents have to check that age group in and out? Do they have a way of contacting their parents if they aren't enjoying it?


Love, Life Is Short

[PPFQP]

Hey PPFQP! Speak for yourself! You know how well I can keep a secret! I raise my future DOTD (drink of the day) to all of you who have not told your kids! I could not do that! I would blow it the very first day. I booked some cool excursions and I couldn't even keep that to myself! I would love to hear the reactions of your kids when you tell them!

For our first cruise in 2005, we kept it a secret for a looooonog time. I think my husband booked the cruise in May 2004 and we didn't tell the girls until February 2005 (for an April 2005 cruise). I even took them to buy formal dresses and told them it was for their grandfather's birthday party.
Now that they're older, they figure things out too easily.

[PPFQP]

I booked the Radisson today for Friday night! We will be in late but we will see everyone at breakfast! I wish we could leave a day early just so we can enjoy the hotel!

Yay! We'll keep the light on for ya. (Oh wait, that's a different hotel chain.)

[Had2disneycruz]

Yay! We'll keep the light on for ya. (Oh wait, that's a different hotel chain.)


Leave the POOL light on for us! We are trying to figure out a way to leave earlier and get to the hotel sooner! We want to enjoy the pool and the very cool room we have booked!!!!!!! Regardless, a light would be nice...thanks!

[Had2disneycruz]

[QUOTE=anjiellisvt;30561451]Thanks for the tip on the photos. My husband doesn't get excited about vacations until we get there and then he goes a little nuts. Our last cruise he bought wayyy too many of the photos they took. Although they were really cute.

Yes, the secret is extremely hard to keep. One of the hardest parts is getting my growing girls to buy new summer clothes when we are expecting 6inches of snow today.

So can anyone give me into any insight into what sort of activities they have at the kids clubs. My oldest DD is 10 and is can be shy around other kids her age. Do the kids get confined to a playroom or do they have shipwide activities that they can do on their own? Do parents have to check that age group in and out? Do they have a way of contacting their parents if they aren't enjoying it?

As much as some of you are going to CRINGE at what I am about to say, I actually jealous of the snow! We can't BUY snow here. We actually had a fake snow day this year. The kids stayed home from school and the snow never came! They are calling for 6" of snow tomorrow, but all we've had is rain nonstop since yesterday. It has been cold and windy. Anyway, can anyone send some snow our way? Even northeastern Carolina gets more snow than us! Just one snow day would be nice!

Anyway, my DD (9) and two other friends (9) that are traveling with us will be in the Oceaneer Lab. I hope your DD will meet them. They are very sweet and can understand being shy. The kids will have shipwide activities that they can participate in. Your DD is old enough to check herself in and out of the club and yes, you will have a pager so your daughter can reach you if needed. (I consulted my Passporter to answer your question!) The kids can participate in Ocean Quest, check out the lab, make flubber (my DD (15) loved that when she was little). According to the Passporter, the Navigator will post all activities such as games, crafts, movies, dancing, and theme parties. My DD's are all looking forward to it!

Keep us posted on when you tell the kids! Can't wait to hear!!!

[itutorfortravel]

Hi everyone. I've never posted a thread before, but we are only six weeks away and I can hardly stand it. I can't be excited at home because we are going to surprise the kids with it. So this will be a nice place to get out some of my excitement.

We have never been on a Disney Cruise before but have been on a couple of others. My kids love to cruise and have been asking to do this. I have a DD that is 6 and a DD that is 10.

We plan on telling them on Thursday night that we are heading to the beach. We live in NC and will be driving down on Friday to the Radisson. I think we will try our best to wait until Saturday morning to tell them where we are really going.

I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!:banana:

Hey there! I know where Mooresville is - my in-laws live there! We are in Union County, near Weddington...we are getting lots of snow now - how about you?

We are also waiting to tell our DD about the cruise for another few weeks. Actually, we are telling her after her birthday party. I've made a scavenger hunt for her and at each stop she'll get a set of letters. Each set of letters will spell a word in the message "You are going on a Disney cruise". She's going to be so excited! She is turning 7 - I hope our DD's meet in the kids' club!

Only downer...with this snow, we now have a snow day and it is my understanding that they will now take away from our spring break (we've already lost Memorial Day for the last snow day). Anyhow, we of course will not be making up the day during spring break (LOL), but I just hate getting the nasty-grams that come in the mail whenever your child misses more than 3 days in our district...DD has only missed 2 days so far this year, so that week will probably be our 3rd absence. Oh well, I'm sure the schools expect lots of absences if they have make up days on weeks like spring break.

Can you all believe it's less than 6 weeks till we sail? It sounds SO CLOSE when I think about it! :banana:

[anjiellisvt]

Yes, we got about 4-5" of snow here so the entire place is shut down. I'm a little concerned that we won't get much melted today and they might be out of school tomorrow too. I think our next make up days come out spring break too but I won't lose too much sleep over it. The girls did lose some days when they got the winter bug a few weeks ago but until then they both had no absences. I'd rather they get sick now instead of in six weeks!! (I know that's terrible)

I like the scavenger hunt idea. I think I may use that for telling them we are actually going on vacation and they don't have to spend the week at grandma's.



Love, Life Is Short

[Had2disneycruz]

We got snow too!! Granted, you can HARDLY see it, but we did have a two hour delay!!! WooHoo!!! Yes, you can see all the grass through it, but it does count as snow. Thanks for sending some our way. If anyone sends more, we'd appreciate it! I don't care if it's on the weekend or during the week. My kids just want to play in snow this year. If we were to have a make up day, I doubt they would take it from spring break. One year, after a hurricane, the kids missed a week of school so they added 10 minutes to the school day for a few months. It was nutty! We do have the Friday off before Easter so maybe they would take that away! Who cares....we'll be on our way to sunny Florida!

40 days to go!

[TBRox]

Nearly one foot of snow in NJ today! A snow day...in March! I suppose this is that 'in like a lion' thing! Can't wait for smooth seas and sunny days! Hope everyone is warm and safe!

[Had2disneycruz]

Nearly one foot of snow in NJ today! A snow day...in March! I suppose this is that 'in like a lion' thing! Can't wait for smooth seas and sunny days! Hope everyone is warm and safe!

Virginia Beach has nearly one inch of snow and it's still snowing (barely)!! DD's are out playing in it! Looking forward to warm weather soon too!

[cruising fun]

I hope you are all making it through the snow you are getting. I have to say it is nice that someone other than Buffalo is getting snow!!! We have snow days built into our school calendar but we have used them all up. If we do have another day off we loose it at spring break too. I will keep my fingers crossed for all you!!!

[itutorfortravel]

We had a great snow day today! Glad to hear you all in VA got some, too and that your kids got to enjoy it. Ours melted quickly, so DD and a friend of hers got to play in it for about an hour and a half. This has been a fabulous day off, though! We got together with some mommy and little girl friends and just played and chatted the day away...

I think they are going to take our last Friday of spring break away. But we won't be there and I would guess neither will a lot of people. The teachers should have a quiet, easy day. That is, those who aren't skipping b/c of their plans!;)

DD's "island themed" birthday is just a few weeks away! It better warm up soon or else that theme is going to be harder to pull off - LOL!:rotfl:

[anjiellisvt]

Warm weather is coming. Although I hope it doesn't get too warm. It can keep a little chill in the air until after we get back. That will make the warm weather on the cruise seem soooo much sweeter.


Love, Life Is Short

[TBRox]

Hi All!

Any past Cruisers know if I can get "Easter Baskets" delivered to our stateroom for Easter? We've never vacationed over a holiday before and it's just starting to sink in that I don't have to color eggs this year! BUT, then also remembered that it might be kinda tough to pack Easter Baskets for the kids!

[oatmealdiva]

Hi All!

Any past Cruisers know if I can get "Easter Baskets" delivered to our stateroom for Easter? We've never vacationed over a holiday before and it's just starting to sink in that I don't have to color eggs this year! BUT, then also remembered that it might be kinda tough to pack Easter Baskets for the kids!
Hi Everybody,

There are Easter Baskets available on the cruise...if you go on disneycruise.com, click on "My Disney Cruise" and then click on "Cruise Gifts and Amenities," they are in a section called "Easter Gifts." My mom is insisting on getting a basket for DS, even though the selections are a little "stuffed animal-y" for his taste. ;-)

[oatmealdiva]

Hi Everybody,

I can't stand it...the cruise will be here in 6 weeks!!!!

I still haven't figured out how to tell DS (nearly 8) that we'll be going on a Disney Cruise. He didn't bat an eye when we applied for our passports in January (he thinks the passports are for a trip to Paris, dunno where he got that idea :confused3 ). He hasn't questioned me pulling out all of his flip flops to see if they still fit. We DID have a long discussion about what a cruise is, based on a radio commercial for Norwegian Cruise Line that we heard in the car on the way to school one day. But he hasn't put any of these pieces together.

I am thinking about telling him next Tuesday, which is my birthday, and will be exactly one month out from the start of our trip. But HOW to tell him? Ideas please!!

Thanks in advance!!

[TBRox]

Fabulous! I'll check it out - just to have a little something to surprise them with will be great! Thanks for the info!

[PPFQP]

Hi All!

Any past Cruisers know if I can get "Easter Baskets" delivered to our stateroom for Easter? We've never vacationed over a holiday before and it's just starting to sink in that I don't have to color eggs this year! BUT, then also remembered that it might be kinda tough to pack Easter Baskets for the kids!


Yes -- as someone else mentioned they are featuring them in the "gifts" section on the Disney Cruise Line site. You could also arrange something with Shirley from The Perfect Gift. She's a florist in Cape Canaveral who can deliver to the ship. If you want something more custom, that would be the way to go. We have used her on 2 past cruises and highly recommend her. If you need her contact info, let me know, but it should be available in the FAQ section of the board.

[TBRox]

Awesome! Thanks for the lead - I wasn't that impressed with the ones I saw on the DCL site (my kids are a little old for the stuffed animals) - I'll check out The Perfect Gift (If I have trouble finding her - I'll give you a shout out!) Thanks again!

[Grumpymom73]

Hi Everyone!

I'm SOOOOO excited. We just booked!!!:cool1: We sailed last year on a 3 day and knew that next time we would have to do a 7. Honestly I thought we would have to wait a while longer, but we got a great FL resident deal. So we will be joining you all!!:woohoo:

Our family includeds my DH, DS15, DS10 and me!

The kids don't know yet since we just booked this morning but I think we will tell them tonight. They usually know something is up when Mom spends hours with the computer, checkbook and Disney Guide Books! :rotfl2:

I'm sure in another hour the excitement will change into complete panic when I realize all that we have to do in such a short time. I'm already stressing trying to decide if we should apply for passports and hope then come back in time or just use BC. While I know most people are getting theirs back really quick it seems the Miami office is behind. Of course that's where ours will go and I know of several people who have been waiting over 3 weeks and still haven't received them.:scared1:

Anyway, thanks for listening to my rant. Looking forward to talking to you all more.

Janine

[AnaRN]

Hi Everyone!

I'm SOOOOO excited. We just booked!!!:cool1: We sailed last year on a 3 day and knew that next time we would have to do a 7. Honestly I thought we would have to wait a while longer, but we got a great FL resident deal. So we will be joining you all!!:woohoo:

Our family includeds my DH, DS15, DS10 and me!

The kids don't know yet since we just booked this morning but I think we will tell them tonight. They usually know something is up when Mom spends hours with the computer, checkbook and Disney Guide Books! :rotfl2:

I'm sure in another hour the excitement will change into complete panic when I realize all that we have to do in such a short time. I'm already stressing trying to decide if we should apply for passports and hope then come back in time or just use BC. While I know most people are getting theirs back really quick it seems the Miami office is behind. Of course that's where ours will go and I know of several people who have been waiting over 3 weeks and still haven't received them.:scared1:

Anyway, thanks for listening to my rant. Looking forward to talking to you all more.

Janine

Hello and welcome!

We did an expedited passport for our DD - 17 earlier this year. She was headed to the Philippines with the grandparents when we realized that her passport had expired. We got the passport back in ONE WEEK! :woohoo:

If you were to send for one regular service this week.....you would have a good chance at getting it back before the cruise.

Isn't the Fl. Resident rate CRAZY?!? This will be our second DCL this year! :rotfl2:

[AnaRN]

Hi Everybody,

I can't stand it...the cruise will be here in 6 weeks!!!!

I still haven't figured out how to tell DS (nearly 8) that we'll be going on a Disney Cruise. He didn't bat an eye when we applied for our passports in January (he thinks the passports are for a trip to Paris, dunno where he got that idea :confused3 ). He hasn't questioned me pulling out all of his flip flops to see if they still fit. We DID have a long discussion about what a cruise is, based on a radio commercial for Norwegian Cruise Line that we heard in the car on the way to school one day. But he hasn't put any of these pieces together.

I am thinking about telling him next Tuesday, which is my birthday, and will be exactly one month out from the start of our trip. But HOW to tell him? Ideas please!!

Thanks in advance!!

One of the other cruisers posted an idea about doing a scavenger hunt type thing and at each stop would be a word and at the end it would spell out You are going on a Disney cruise --- or something to that effect. I think it is a tremendous idea and tons of fun too! :yay:

[itutorfortravel]

Hi Everybody,

I can't stand it...the cruise will be here in 6 weeks!!!!

I still haven't figured out how to tell DS (nearly 8) that we'll be going on a Disney Cruise. He didn't bat an eye when we applied for our passports in January (he thinks the passports are for a trip to Paris, dunno where he got that idea :confused3 ). He hasn't questioned me pulling out all of his flip flops to see if they still fit. We DID have a long discussion about what a cruise is, based on a radio commercial for Norwegian Cruise Line that we heard in the car on the way to school one day. But he hasn't put any of these pieces together.

I am thinking about telling him next Tuesday, which is my birthday, and will be exactly one month out from the start of our trip. But HOW to tell him? Ideas please!!

Thanks in advance!!

We are doing a scavenger hunt for DD after everyone leaves her birthday party in a few weeks. I have already made all the verses and I am ready to go! At each stop along the way, she will get a little bag of letters (scrabble tiles). Once she collects all the bags, she will then take each set of letters to spell out "You are going on a Disney cruise". She is going to FREAK! I am making DH buy a video camera just to capture it all!:cheer2:

[anjiellisvt]

Hi Everyone!

I'm SOOOOO excited. We just booked!!!:cool1: We sailed last year on a 3 day and knew that next time we would have to do a 7. Honestly I thought we would have to wait a while longer, but we got a great FL resident deal. So we will be joining you all!!:woohoo:

Our family includeds my DH, DS15, DS10 and me!

The kids don't know yet since we just booked this morning but I think we will tell them tonight. They usually know something is up when Mom spends hours with the computer, checkbook and Disney Guide Books! :rotfl2:

I'm sure in another hour the excitement will change into complete panic when I realize all that we have to do in such a short time. I'm already stressing trying to decide if we should apply for passports and hope then come back in time or just use BC. While I know most people are getting theirs back really quick it seems the Miami office is behind. Of course that's where ours will go and I know of several people who have been waiting over 3 weeks and still haven't received them.:scared1:

Anyway, thanks for listening to my rant. Looking forward to talking to you all more.

Janine

Welcome. I wish I lived in Florida. I hear so many people talking about the great deals. Good luck with the passports!


Love, Life Is Short

[anjiellisvt]

I had read on some old posts that you could drop off a shirt or pillowcase in a labeled plastic bag when you check in at the boat and they will have the characters sign it and return it to your cabin. Does anyone know if this is something they still do or not?

Love, Life Is Short

[cruising fun]

Yes -- as someone else mentioned they are featuring them in the "gifts" section on the Disney Cruise Line site. You could also arrange something with Shirley from The Perfect Gift. She's a florist in Cape Canaveral who can deliver to the ship. If you want something more custom, that would be the way to go. We have used her on 2 past cruises and highly recommend her. If you need her contact info, let me know, but it should be available in the FAQ section of the board.

My DD is writing to the Easter Bunny to ask him to come a week early since we will be on the cruise. We are bringing a little something special for her to give to her on Easter (something small and easy to pack)

I would love Shirley's contact info. My husband and I want to do something special for my parents who are traveling with us. They do so much for our DD and have provided child care for us the last 5 years when we are at work and DD is not at Pre K (which saved us tons of money!). Anyways, maybe we can do something through the Perfect Gift. It would be a nice surprise.

[Grumpymom73]

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome!

AnaRN It really is a small world! We are also from Clermont!

I don't think we will be doing any Easter baskets for my boys as they are older. I have heard that Shirley is great though so if you were interested I would check her out. She seems like a really sweet lady.

I still don't know what to do about the passports. We sailed before without them but it makes me nervous. However, spending almost $400 to apply and not getting them in time is a bad thing too. I only have 1 copy of each of our Birth Cert. so if the passport didn't come back at least 10 days before we leave I will be spending another $100 to get certifided copies of our Birth Certs! Then with my luck the passport would come in the mail the day AFTER I ordered fast copies of the Birth Certificates.:rolleyes: Uugh! I just don't know what to do. Someone told me that if you had an emergency and could hold on til the ship reaches St. Thomas that you could fly back to US from there with just Birth Cert. because it is a US territory. Does anyone know if that is true? I've read on other threads that there seems to still be a lot of people who said without passports. Is anyone here going with just Birth Certs?

I guess I need to change my countdown clock! LOL

[PPFQP]

Awesome! Thanks for the lead - I wasn't that impressed with the ones I saw on the DCL site (my kids are a little old for the stuffed animals) - I'll check out The Perfect Gift (If I have trouble finding her - I'll give you a shout out!) Thanks again!


Shirley will customize it with whatever you might want in it - that's probably a better way to go. The only thing is that it will be delivered on the day you board (not Easter Sunday). You could always try to hide them for a day!

[PPFQP]

Welcome! Glad you're joining us!

Hi Everyone!

I'm SOOOOO excited. We just booked!!!:cool1: We sailed last year on a 3 day and knew that next time we would have to do a 7. Honestly I thought we would have to wait a while longer, but we got a great FL resident deal. So we will be joining you all!!:woohoo:

Our family includeds my DH, DS15, DS10 and me!

The kids don't know yet since we just booked this morning but I think we will tell them tonight. They usually know something is up when Mom spends hours with the computer, checkbook and Disney Guide Books! :rotfl2:

I'm sure in another hour the excitement will change into complete panic when I realize all that we have to do in such a short time. I'm already stressing trying to decide if we should apply for passports and hope then come back in time or just use BC. While I know most people are getting theirs back really quick it seems the Miami office is behind. Of course that's where ours will go and I know of several people who have been waiting over 3 weeks and still haven't received them.:scared1:

Anyway, thanks for listening to my rant. Looking forward to talking to you all more.

Janine

[PPFQP]

I would love Shirley's contact info. My husband and I want to do something special for my parents who are traveling with us. They do so much for our DD and have provided child care for us the last 5 years when we are at work and DD is not at Pre K (which saved us tons of money!). Anyways, maybe we can do something through the Perfect Gift. It would be a nice surprise.

Here's the website with the phone number: http://www.theperfectgift.cc/index.html

If you call her, make sure you tell her you're from the Disboards.

My parents used her to deliver flowers and gift baskets to my girls when we did our 2005 cruise. They were really beautiful and she will come up with something nice for you.

[juliebird27]

Has anyone cruised during Easter before? Anything special occur on the ship?

[cruising fun]

Here's the website with the phone number: http://www.theperfectgift.cc/index.html

If you call her, make sure you tell her you're from the Disboards.

My parents used her to deliver flowers and gift baskets to my girls when we did our 2005 cruise. They were really beautiful and she will come up with something nice for you.

Thank you so much! I will check out the site when I get home from work today

[kellimomo3]

Has anyone cruised during Easter before? Anything special occur on the ship?


I'm also very curious about this. Do they have an egg hunt for the kids or something? I know they have church services but I'm wondering what else.

Also more praise here for the Perfect gift. We have used them for two of our Disney Cruises. Shirley will customize any basket how you want. You may want to think about having her fill a big bucket instead of basket so your kids can then use it at any beaches you may visit on the cruise including Castaway Cay!

[Grumpymom73]

I tried looking at some trip reports from last years Easter cruise, but all I've seen so far is the Easter Services and a few Easter crafts in the kids clubs. I'll keeping looking and let you know if I find anything else. I'm happy that our formal night lands on Easter. It will make spending the holiday on board a little nicer IMO.

[PPFQP]

Has anyone cruised during Easter before? Anything special occur on the ship?

We did -- in 2005. I think there were pictures with Donald and Daisy in Eastery/springy outfits. At breakfast (that was the morning of our character breakfast), everyone got a dyed Easter egg (hard boiled egg). I think there was an Easter egg hunt for younger kids at some point in the day. We didn't do it because we were in port that day (Key West) and wanted to sightsee. Since it will be a sea day this time, there may be more to it.

I also believe there was a church service, but we didn't go to that either.

I think we have brunch scheduled for that morning this time around.

[TBRox]

Shirley will customize it with whatever you might want in it - that's probably a better way to go. The only thing is that it will be delivered on the day you board (not Easter Sunday). You could always try to hide them for a day!
Shirley sounds like the way to go! And I'd either have to try to "hide it all in a suitcase" or try to hide it in the room somewhere - Fortunately, both kids are a little older so the "necessity" to have it there on "Easter Morning" has passed (sadly) - but the Mom in me still feels the need to have something there (they are so excited about the Cruise itself that having a surprise in there room when we get there or the next day probably won't matter much) -
Does anyone know what time and where Church services will be on Easter morning?

[AnaRN]

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome!

AnaRN It really is a small world! We are also from Clermont!



Oh wow! How neat is that?!? Clermont will be well represented!

When my husband and I went on our honeymoon cruise - there was a guy that had a Lakeridge Winery shirt on and we started chatting....turns out they live in a subdivision right behind ours!!! We joked that we both could have saved a ton of money and car pooled to the port if we knew. :rotfl:

That was then....and now....we'd need a mini van to load our crew for the trip in. :thumbsup2

[Grumpymom73]

Oh wow! How neat is that?!? Clermont will be well represented!

When my husband and I went on our honeymoon cruise - there was a guy that had a Lakeridge Winery shirt on and we started chatting....turns out they live in a subdivision right behind ours!!! We joked that we both could have saved a ton of money and car pooled to the port if we knew. :rotfl:

That was then....and now....we'd need a mini van to load our crew for the trip in. :thumbsup2

It's funny for a small town we end up meeting up with other people from Clermont wherever we go. Two years ago we went up to the Disney Hilton Head resort and when we were walking around a shopping area I hear someone yelling hello to us. Turns out it was the Pharmacy Tech from Publix. She was also there with her family. Now everytime I go to the pharmacy we talk about how we wish we were back there.:rotfl:

As for the expense of parking I'm starting to consider getting a room at the Radisson for Friday night and leaving the car there. It will only save us about $5 but it's one extra night of vacation. I just don't know if I want to wait on the shuttle. On our last cruise we got to the port early and had to go to the waiting area but we were the first car allowed to pull into the drop off area. I like my cruise to start as early as possible.:goodvibes