Spring starts 1/30/2010. Punxsutawney Phil can kiss my...

[Duckfan-in-Chicago]

boarding pass.

When that little rodent pokes his head out on Feb. 2nd we'll be pulling into St. Maarten.

And unlike the people around us, this cruise is sandwiched in the off-week of NFL playoffs. Now it will be with a bit of sadness that this year I won't be watching the Probowl at sea instead of not watching it at home since they moved it to the week before the Superbowl, but I will survive.

We're now 'officially' booked.

So who's sailing on this cruise? You're either with us, or against us.

There's going to be four of us (wife and two kids 5 and 1 at the time) and my two baby sitte...parents.
...and now my brother, sil and their 4 kids (boys 7,6 and girls 4 and 1)
...and now my cousin and his GF
...and now my SIL's niece
Edit in a Roll Call

Duckfan-in-Chicago- four of us (wife and two boys 5 and 1) my parents and now my brother, sil and their 4 kids (boys 7,6 and girls 4 and 1) , my cousin and his GF, my SIL's niece
JanDave-Cruising with me (Jan) is Carla, my DD's m-i-l.
Mousecruzer-Me, DH, and two princess cruisers ages 12 and 2.5...Also sailing will be one G-ma
Michellepooh-It will be me, DH, and our 2 boys who will be 5 and 1
becca-becca-Those going are me, DH, DS 12, DD 10, DD 6 ,My DSIL and DBIL and their three children DN 6, DN will turn 5 on the boat and DN 1, My DMIL and DFIL, My DM, A friend of our family
Virginia_Native - me, wife, daughter(3), MIL, FIL, brother-in-law and GF. Also aunt, uncle and 2 cousins (one 15)
Go CyclonesVince (dad)Wendy (mom) Brooke (4 at sailing)
allearsDH, DW and my DW's DGod Mother. We will also be on board with our good friend from Canada!
rhinosbiggestfanPARENTS-Goofy and Minnie KIDS-Me-rhinosbiggestfan 13, Stitch-12,Tinkerbell-7, Woody-5 ,Buzz-1
Paragd911my wife & I(plus my service dog)
Jack & MonicaMe -- Jack, DW -- Monica ,DD -- Disney Princess Reilly 4+ (going on 27), MIL-- Ingegerd (Ingrid)
Lucille1963Me - Niki -33 - but I turn 34 the day we set sail!, DH - Sean 40, DS - William 2 yo
Sandy At Sea Me, Sandy (54) and DH Dan (will be 46 on Jan. 30) Dan's brother Tony and his wife Cindy (late 40's) and their 18-year old son Bridger. And Dan and Tony's dad, Don (about 83).
Chris_Ronda_EvelynDH(37) ME(37 and DD(4 at the time, 5 in march)
acourtwdwAnnette (40 bday on cruise) and Amanda(Dsis) (41) from Lansing, MI.
jfahomeDH (Jeff) DW (April) and DD Elizabeth (age5)
indycruisin Joe (33), Shawna (32 & pregnant), & Elise (2.5)
Aimelyn1DH 35 Me 34 DS 4 2nd DS 1
fasttj2004Our son who is active duty in the Air Force will be joining us
cnewportMyself, my wife and two boys (9 and 5)
CaninoceDH, and two lovely princesses 9 & 6
IneedavacaDH (Davey), DW (Carey), DD 4 (Carmen), DD 6 (Olympia),cabin #2 DH (Rob), DW (Denise), DD 13 (Mackenzie), DD 9 (Samantha)

Fish Extenders committed:
So far we have 20 Cabins.
Adults:
22 Females
19 Males
Kids:
16 Girls aged 14,13,10,10,9,7,7,6 or 7,6,6,5,5,4,4,3,1
12 boys aged 15,12,12,5,5,5,4,2,1,1,1,1
Dogs:
1

Duckfan-in-Chicago- four of us (wife and two boys 5 and 1)
Chris_Ronda_EvelynDH(37) ME(37 and DD(4 at the time, 5 in march)
acourtwdwAnnette (40 bday on cruise) and Amanda(Dsis) (41) from Lansing, MI.
Michellepooh-It will be me, DH, and our 2 boys who will be 5 and 1
Lucille1963Me - Niki -33 - but I turn 34 the day we set sail!, DH - Sean 40, DS - William 2 yo
Paragd911my wife & I(plus my service dog)
jfahomeFE, but actually just for Elizabeth
Aimelyn1DH 35 Me 34 DS 4 2nd DS 1
rhinosbiggestfanPARENTS-Goofy and Minnie KIDS-Me-rhinosbiggestfan 14, Stitch-12,Tinkerbell-7, Woody-5 ,Buzz-1
becca-beccaMe, Rebecca, age 39,Husband, Anthony, age 37,Son, age 12; ALLERGIC TO NUTS,Daughter, age 10, Daughter, age 6
Mother-in-law, age 65,Father-in-law, age 63
Sister-in-law, age 36, Brother-in-law, age 35, Niece, age 7,Niece, age 4 but turns 5 on February 1!!, Niece, age 1
Mom, age 68 ,Family Friend, age 65, female
friends of ours:Mom is around 36-38,Dad is around 36-38, Daughter, age 10, Daughter, age 6-7
love2disneycruiseKevin - Dad, Cathy - Mom, Kyle - Age 15 ,Casey - Age 18
Arthur - Birthday Grandpa (Celebrating February 4th), Janet - Grandma, Katy - Age 3
Wayne - Adult , Amber - Adult , Chris - Adult , Sylvia - Adult
Ray - Great Grandpa, Winnie - Great Grandma
IneedavacaDH (Davey), DW (Carey), DD 4 (Carmen), DD 6 (Olympia)
DH (Rob), DW (Denise), DD 13 (Mackenzie), DD 9 (Samantha)

[JanDave]

We're with you!!!!

Cruising with me (Jan) is Carla, my DD's m-i-l. My DH is not allowed to go on girls' cruises....
This cruise will be DCL #13 for me! Carla and I cruised the Magic on 1-10-09, and the rebooking desk on deck 4 was calling out to us!

Jan

[JanDave]

Love the pics of your kids! My grandkids are drawn to our blinds, too.

Jan

[princess kates mum]

Hi

We are thinking about this cruise will do either Jan 30/10 eastern or Feb 27/10 eastern. Thinking we might get warmer weather at the end of Feb.

[Duckfan-in-Chicago]

We're with you!!!!

Cruising with me (Jan) is Carla, my DD's m-i-l. My DH is not allowed to go on girls' cruises....
This cruise will be DCL #13 for me! Carla and I cruised the Magic on 1-10-09, and the rebooking desk on deck 4 was calling out to us!

Jan
13 Disney cruises? This is our second. We did a three day on the Wonder in it's first season. Things have changed a lot since then from what I've read.

Hi

We are thinking about this cruise will do either Jan 30/10 eastern or Feb 27/10 eastern. Thinking we might get warmer weather at the end of Feb.We've sailed on over a dozen cruises. Weather is never the major factor in our deciding between two weeks. Of course there is a chance that it may be a little cooler on the private islands to take part in everything they have to offer. Or it could be beautiful. But I've been on a few ships in the caribbean where they had to cancel their private island because it was too rough to tender in. I've also had ports canceled. On a cruise to Hawaii we were 'stuck' on the ship in Honolulu over night because of a storm instead of going to Maui. I've been on an Alaska cruise (the last one of the season) wearing shorts into every port where the people tell me the weeks prior were freezing and this was out of the ordinary warm. When you're only in a port for 6 hours a rainy day can destroy all plans for that day. You can't really predict these kinds of things. It will for sure be warm enough to wear shorts on the two port islands on either of these dates.

We picked the last week in Jan. because it's the longest and darkest month. We figure we'll be so busy with post Christmas/pre vacation stuff that it will fly by. It's a little mind trick that has worked for us before. Plus by the time we get home, we're almost at the middle of Feb, which is a short month anyway and then Winter is almost over.

From what I've seen, the average temps in Feb are a few degrees warmer than Jan so playing by that it will prob. be a little warmer. The other side of the coin is mid Feb to mid Apr. is spring break and the crowds on the ships will be a little different. I'd guess the last week in Feb is going to be priced slightly higher than the last week in Jan.

[JanDave]

On the 1-10-09 cruise, it was cooler than I expected, but the US was in a deep freeze, 40 degrees in Orlando one day while we were on our cruise. The cooler temps didn't bother us at all. It was better being on a cruise ship than being in Michigan!

Jan

[mousecruzer]

We will be sailing on this cruise and can't wait!
Me, DH, and two princess cruisers ages 12 and 2.5 at that time. This is our second cruise. We did a W. Caribbean in Feb. 2008 and fell in LOVE with the ship. Also sailing will be one G-ma to help babysit so we can FINALLY see the ADULT ONLY areas of the boat.:dance3:

[JanDave]

Welcome Mousecruzer!!!

Where do you live in the Upper? I live near Lansing. We'll both love the weather in late Jan-early Feb, even if it's cooler than we expect.

Jan

[Duckfan-in-Chicago]

Welcome Mousecruzer!!!

Where do you live in the Upper? I live near Lansing. We'll both love the weather in late Jan-early Feb, even if it's cooler than we expect.

JanI know even if they hit record lows in the Carrib. it will be warmer there than here in Chicago.

Worse case I can always lay in a hammock in my winter jacket. It beats a sunny day at work.

[JanDave]

On our January 09 cruise, we were at Serenity Bay with jeans on and sweaters. But, it was sunny, windy, warmer than Michigan, and we were on vacation!

Jan

[Michellepooh]

Hi everyone! We will also be sailing on this cruise! We just took cruise #10 on the Magic last month (Western) and have already rebooked for next year. It will be me, DH, and our 2 boys who will be 5 and 1 (what a coincidence Duckfan-in-Chicago!).

I'm looking forward to getting to know all of you! :goodvibes

[JanDave]

Welcome Michelle and Family!!!

Can't wait for January 30 to arrive!!! Too many months to count.

Jan

[Duckfan-in-Chicago]

Hi everyone! We will also be sailing on this cruise! We just took cruise #10 on the Magic last month (Western) and have already rebooked for next year. It will be me, DH, and our 2 boys who will be 5 and 1 (what a coincidence Duckfan-in-Chicago!).

I'm looking forward to getting to know all of you! :goodvibesI said two kids in the OP, but they're both boys too. The little one may also be possesed. We're running tests.

[becca-becca]

We are going on this cruise. We can't wait!

Those going are me, DH, DS 12, DD 10, DD 6

My DSIL and DBIL and their three children DN 6, DN will turn 5 on the boat and DN 1

My DMIL and DFIL

My DM

A friend of our family

So, that makes 14 for our total!

[Duckfan-in-Chicago]

We are going on this cruise. We can't wait!

Those going are me, DH, DS 12, DD 10, DD 6

My DSIL and DBIL and their three children DN 6, DN will turn 5 on the boat and DN 1

My DMIL and DFIL

My DM

A friend of our family

So, that makes 14 for our total!
Is that a AKV deal in your sig? It's cut off on my screen. Are you members? We're doing a pretty big group at WDW in Oct. We're staying at BLT. I don't know if I have the strength to do a big group on a cruise ship. I might be tempted to make some people walk the plank.

[JanDave]

Welome Becca-Becca and Family!!!!

Our group is growing!

By the way, Duck Fan, I love the title of our thread!


Jan

[Duckfan-in-Chicago]

So....has anyone confirmed their dining when they booked?

We'd usually try for the early dinner, but I'm thinking with the two little kids I almost think we'd have more fun and they'd remember the shows more so if they're too tired for dinner or a little out of it, that's better than them snoozing during the later shows.

[JanDave]

Early seating for us.

Jan

[JanDave]

Just some useful or useless info about being a Michigander.....

If you define Summer as three months of bad sledding...
If your definition of a small town is one that doesn't have a lake...
If your family breaks into violence during the UM-MSU game (any sport!)...
If snow tires come standard on all your cars...
If at least 50% of your relatives work for the auto industry...
If you have ever gotten frostbitten and sunburned in the same week...
If you can identify an Ohio accent...
If owning a Japanese car was a hanging offense in your home town...
If you learned to pilot a boat before the training wheels were off your bike...
If you think Alkaline batteries were named after a Tiger outfielder...
If you point at the palm of your right hand when telling people where you grew up...
If "Down South" to you means Toledo...
If you have any idea who Bob Ufer was...
If octopus and hockey go together as naturally as hot dogs and baseball...
If traveling coast to coast means going from Port Huron to Muskegon...
If the "Big Three" can mean either Ford, Chrysler and GM or Domino's, Little Caesar's and Hungry Howie's...
If a Big Mac is something you can drive across...
If you have no problem spelling Mackinac Island...
If you have as many Canadian coins in your pockets as American ones...
If your kid's baseball or softball games have been ever been snowed out..
If you bake with "soda" and drink "pop"...
If you know what a pastie is...
If you drive 80 mph on the highway and pass on the right...
If you think there are only TWO seasons, Hockey Season and Off-Season...
If you don't have a coughing fit from one sip of Vernor's...
If you know how to play Euchre...
If You classify your friends & relatives as "yoopers," "trolls," "Canadians," or "not from 'round here," (also classified as "Green Bay Fans," "Detroit Fans," "Toronto Fans," and "not from 'round here")...
If You know at least 2 yooper jokes (like the one about the 2 brothers from Ipsheming who run red lights)...
If Fudge and Bicycles remind you of your honeymoon...
If You can name all 5 of the Great Lakes, and point to their locations around your left and right hands...
If You don't cross picket lines...
If You used to think Deer Season was included as an official school holiday...
If You know that Pontiac and Cadillac are cities...
If You've been to Hell and to Paradise & back again...
If a Friday night out is taking your girlfriend shining for deer...
If you go "Up North" for every possible holiday...
If you have more fishing poles than teeth...
If you know that there are two ways to spell Mackinaw/Mackinac...and know when to use them...
If you look forward to your retirement "Up North" rather than Florida or Arizona...
If you know where the Cherry Capital of the World is...
If three out of four of your friends work for "The Big Three"...
If you know what "The Big Three" means...
If November 15 is a paid holiday from work...
If "thumb" is a geographical rather than an anatomical term...
If your fishing shanty is better than your house...

[becca-becca]

The Michigan jokes were great. I will have to share them with my mother. She grew up in Kalamazoo and I have been there many, many times.

Yes, we are AKV members. I will have to try to fix my signature.

In the past, our groups have been pretty good about knowing when to split off from each other. My kids will have 3 of their 4 grandparents on board and everyone gets along very well.

We are really looking forward to it. We are getting our kids' passports soon. I am going to try to get their passport pictures taken this weekend.

We can't wait!!

[becca-becca]

And we are on first seating for dinner.

We also got 5 of the 6 SPH rooms:banana: :banana: and, one was gotten using points. I thought that room would be on the opposite end of the ship, but when the MS agent came on and said it was a SPH I was shocked!!!

[Duckfan-in-Chicago]

We've been DVC members for over 10 years now. We did our first DCL cruise on the Wonder on points and this one is free from the promo they are running.

They have that stupid doorway to dreams place about 15 mins from my house. We had no intention of adding on at AKV or at BLT but we were bored and we walked through the models. We were going to book a DCL cruise in Jan of 2010 anyway so to get one for free was a big perk/motivator.

I have the oldest one's passport done from a previous trip. Going to wait until after the summer for the youngest because he'll change so much in 1/2 a year and the thing is good for 5 years.

[JanDave]

The Michigan jokes were great. I will have to share them with my mother. She grew up in Kalamazoo and I have been there many, many times.

Yes, we are AKV members. I will have to try to fix my signature.

In the past, our groups have been pretty good about knowing when to split off from each other. My kids will have 3 of their 4 grandparents on board and everyone gets along very well.

We are really looking forward to it. We are getting our kids' passports soon. I am going to try to get their passport pictures taken this weekend.

We can't wait!!

My DD and family live in Kalamazoo. I'm there frequently. Will be there this weekend for my grandsn's 5th birthday. She lives off Portage Avenue.

[JanDave]

And we are on first seating for dinner.

We also got 5 of the 6 SPH rooms:banana: :banana: and, one was gotten using points. I thought that room would be on the opposite end of the ship, but when the MS agent came on and said it was a SPH I was shocked!!!


You wil love the SPH rooms! We've had them twice. We have 2 SPH rooms booked for the 11-21-10 Wonder cruise.

Jan

[JanDave]

We've been DVC members for over 10 years now. We did our first DCL cruise on the Wonder on points and this one is free from the promo they are running.

They have that stupid doorway to dreams place about 15 mins from my house. We had no intention of adding on at AKV or at BLT but we were bored and we walked through the models. We were going to book a DCL cruise in Jan of 2010 anyway so to get one for free was a big perk/motivator.


We've been DVC members for 8 years. Bought our first contract (HH) on the Magic. We again bought another contract on the Magic in 2004 (SSR). Where is Dreams Place located?

On our September 08 Wonder cruise, there were 11 family members and 10 of us cruised on points!!! No, I don't have that many points. My DD from the Detroit area bought DVC points on the Magic in 2007 and with the extra points given to them to use within a year, we booked 3 staterooms. My DH, Dave, was a late add on, just a few weeks before the cruise, as he didn't know if he could get off work. He was laid off work that week and fortunately, DCL could accommodate one more adult. What a trooper he was, though. He is 6' and slept on the futon!!! Carla, my DD's m-i-l, who is my cruise mate for our cruise, and I had the beds split up and we slept well throughout the cruise!

I am out of points until 2012. I used our last batch of DVC points for our November 2010 Wonder cruise. Booked the two SPH rooms for my DS and his family who live in Morgantown, WV and us. Then with the remaining points, I offered to use points for our Michigan grandkids if the parents wanted to book a stateroom. My Kalamazoo DD booked a sideways room across from ours and I used points for her two kids. We're waiting for our Detroit DD and family to decide to go with us. I am SO looking forward to having ALL the family together for 3 days on the cruise.

Jan

[Duckfan-in-Chicago]

Doorway to Dreams is located in Woodfield Mall in Schaumberg, Il. It's just down I-90 a few minutes from Ohare.

The place is EVIL. Disney doesn't do high pressure sales. They just friendly you to submission. They had full models of AKV rooms and now have models of BLT.

[becca-becca]

Doorway to Dreams is located in Woodfield Mall in Schaumberg, Il. It's just down I-90 a few minutes from Ohare.

The place is EVIL. Disney doesn't do high pressure sales. They just friendly you to submission. They had full models of AKV rooms and now have models of BLT.

OMG!! It would be SOOO bad if I actually lived near a DVC "store". I would be in trouble:rolleyes1 I forgot about the deals they offer you on a cruise. I might have to save up for that!!!

We are thinking about going to WDW in August for the 4/3 special and are not using points.

[Duckfan-in-Chicago]

OMG!! It would be SOOO bad if I actually lived near a DVC "store". I would be in trouble:rolleyes1 I forgot about the deals they offer you on a cruise. I might have to save up for that!!!

We are thinking about going to WDW in August for the 4/3 special and are not using points.
The people at the Doorway store gave my 4 year old a pin. We told the woman he doesn't collect them and she said it was not a big deal he could have one anyway with a big smile on her face. They know exactly what they're doing. The first one's free-sounds familiar. If my kid gets hooked on these pins I'm going to have to get a second job or something.

A brief recap of my day. I guess in this case, the tree doesn't fall far from the apple.

I just talked to my parents today-the ones going on this cruise with us. They're in WDW as I'm typing this. (insert bannable words) They called me on the way to our guide's office. They have toured the BLT models and have purchased points also so they're now getting this cruise for free too as of today.

Everyone stay away from DVC. It's like a sick cult.

[becca-becca]

Tell me about it. We joined in February of 2008 and have added on twice already. (Luckily my Mom bought in too and in our account, so all the points are in our name to make it simpler). We have 350 points and I feel like I need MORE. I have addonitis bad even after just having added on 75 points less than one month ago. What is wrong with me?

[platamama]

Hi, I'm a newbie and just booked on the 1/30/10 sailing for my family for our very first cruise. I'm very excited! I've been learning a lot from this site and am so looking forward to the cruise! DD will have just turned 5 when we go so I hope it's something she'll always remember.

[Duckfan-in-Chicago]

Hi, I'm a newbie and just booked on the 1/30/10 sailing for my family for our very first cruise. I'm very excited! I've been learning a lot from this site and am so looking forward to the cruise! DD will have just turned 5 when we go so I hope it's something she'll always remember.What's up? What part of Colorado are you in? My wife has a friend in Broomfield so we've been to Denver a few times in the past few years.

How many people are sailing? I'll add you to the first post. Everyone else seems like they've been on the Magic like 50 times so I'm glad I'm not the only one who hasn't anymore.

My son turns 5 in June. He never shuts up. I'm hoping he starts to forget some of the stuff he's done in his life because I've heard the same stories for years now.

[platamama]

I live next to Broomfield actually - in Lafayette. It's pretty quiet but family friendly. It will be me, DH, and DD (5) on the cruise. I went with late seating since we're from Mountain time and hope that works out smoothly.

So our 5 yr olds will probably be in the OC together. I bet they'll have great new stories after that!:)

[Duckfan-in-Chicago]

I live next to Broomfield actually - in Lafayette. It's pretty quiet but family friendly.
I'm sure we'll be back in the area. The whole area was like a post card.

We did like a sampler plater when we visited.

We stayed at the Radisson Castle both times we were in the area. We went to a Mexican restaurant 3 Margaritas or something like that and Casa Bonita and we went up Mt. Evans and had lunch. 14,000 feet doesn't really agree with me so I'm glad I wasn't the one driving on that toothpick road. We also went to the Hammond's candy factory.

[platamama]

3 Margaritas is one of my favorites. Casa Bonita is a fun experience but you're definitely paying for the surroundings and not for the food quality. Sounds like you've tried some fun things!

I've been reading about fish extenders on here - is there a thread on that for our sailing or is anyone interested in participating in one?

[Duckfan-in-Chicago]

We will for sure have a fish extender on our door even if I have to fill it with crap myself. My kids are the perfect age for that kind of thing. I don't know how they're run. I have to look into it more. I believe they're ran out of the same thread as the roll call, but they didn't have them on my only other Disney cruise.

[JanDave]

We will for sure have a fish extender on our door even if I have to fill it with crap myself. My kids are the perfect age for that kind of thing. I don't know how they're run. I have to look into it more. I believe they're ran out of the same thread as the roll call, but they didn't have them on my only other Disney cruise.

I think there is an FE thread on the main DCL DIS board. I participted in an FE gift exchange on the Magic last October. I've read variations of ways to do the exchange. In the only one I participated in, we bought gifts for each participating stateroom and/or persons in each participating stateroom. We staggered the gift giving so that not all gifts were delivered on a single day. Examples of gifts were candy, handmade items, stickers, pirate themed stuff, postcards, magnets, etc. It was fun. Just an FYI: the gifts will add weight to your suitcase which is important when flying.

Jan

[JanDave]

Hi, I'm a newbie and just booked on the 1/30/10 sailing for my family for our very first cruise. I'm very excited! I've been learning a lot from this site and am so looking forward to the cruise! DD will have just turned 5 when we go so I hope it's something she'll always remember.

Welcome Platamama and family!

Jan

[Duckfan-in-Chicago]

I think there is an FE thread on the main DCL DIS board. I participted in an FE gift exchange on the Magic last October. I've read variations of ways to do the exchange. In the only one I participated in, we bought gifts for each participating stateroom and/or persons in each participating stateroom. We staggered the gift giving so that not all gifts were delivered on a single day. Examples of gifts were candy, handmade items, stickers, pirate themed stuff, postcards, magnets, etc. It was fun. Just an FYI: the gifts will add weight to your suitcase which is important when flying.

Jan
I've started to read the FE thread linked in the sticky. Haven't read it all yet. I haven't come across how they're run, when to do them-stuff like that. I'd guess that's pretty much up to the people on the cruise and as the date gets closer there would be a lot of PMs flying around.

I've seen pics of people's booty from past FE exchanges and I knew I'd have to do that. Little kids don't seem to put the same value on things as bigger kids or adults so that on top of everyone likes a surprise and it becomes even more of an event.

"OMG!!! A $1 Mickey yo-yo!!! This is the best day of my life!"

We took an Alaskan Cruise with Princess before #2 was born. Everytime my oldest left the kids area they let him pick a cheapy toy from a box. He'd go from ready to meltdown to see ya ladies in a few seconds as he was trying to figure the new toy out walking down the hall. I can see using the FE as a motivational tool to get some people back into their cabin.

[platamama]

Welcome Platamama and family!

Jan

Thanks Jan!

[Duckfan-in-Chicago]

Well, my brother, his wife, and their four kids (age at sailing-boys 7,6 girls 4,1) are going now from what I understand.

[platamama]

Hi all,

Well, I ended up being a wimp and changed our cruise dates for sometime in the fall instead in hopes of warmer water temperatures. It's a little bit of a bummer because I was going to celebrate my birthday on this cruise but in the end we decided that for us spending money on a cruise was a splurge and we need it to be as worthwhile a splurge as possible. Hope everyone has a fantastic time!:wave2:

[Virginia_Native]

My family and extended family will be on this cruise. This will be our 5th cruise, first for my daughter and 1st on Disney.

So far it's me, wife, daughter, MIL, FIL, brother-in-law and GF. Also aunt, uncle and 2 cousins who have been on about 5 disney cruises. So about 10 of us in total.

[JanDave]

Welcome Virginia Native and Family!!!

Spring can't come soon enough in mid-Michigan. Several inches of snow fell today.

Can't wait to cheer the MSU Spartans to victory tonight!

Jan

[Virginia_Native]

Welcome Virginia Native and Family!!!

Spring can't come soon enough in mid-Michigan. Several inches of snow fell today.

Can't wait to cheer the MSU Spartans to victory tonight!

Jan

Sorry about your Spartans, I hate UNC with a passion but they had a great season this year.

My wife has been all over these fish extenders she is going to make 2 or 3 of them I'm sure. She has never been this excited about a cruise, think because it's Disney and our 3 year old daughter is going with us this time.

[Duckfan-in-Chicago]

My family and extended family will be on this cruise. This will be our 5th cruise, first for my daughter and 1st on Disney.

So far it's me, wife, daughter, MIL, FIL, brother-in-law and GF. Also aunt, uncle and 2 cousins who have been on about 5 disney cruises. So about 10 of us in total.
OK...I'll put you up in the total in the OP. I'm getting 11, but it's late here? How many are kids and what are the ages?

We're going to have four cabins for the three families in our group. We'll prob. have FE on at least 3 of the doors and a bunch of magnets.

[Virginia_Native]

OK...I'll put you up in the total in the OP. I'm getting 11, but it's late here? How many are kids and what are the ages?

We're going to have four cabins for the three families in our group. We'll prob. have FE on at least 3 of the doors and a bunch of magnets.

Only 2 kids, my daughter will be 3 in October, so we have to get her potty trained in order to get into the camp. The other kid is my cousin he's 15 and has been on about 5 disney cruises.

[Go Cyclones]

Hiya,
This will be our second disney cruise, we went this past January and it was unbelievable...our server even fed me dinner!! Long story..:)
We are:
Vince (dad)
Wendy (mom) and..
Brooke (4 at sailing)

Look forward to seeing all of you soon!
Vince

[JanDave]

Welcome Vince, Wendy and Brooke!!!

When did you cruise in January? I was on the January 10 Magic.

Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Jan

[Duckfan-in-Chicago]

Hiya,
This will be our second disney cruise, we went this past January and it was unbelievable...our server even fed me dinner!! Long story..:)
We are:
Vince (dad)
Wendy (mom) and..
Brooke (4 at sailing)

Look forward to seeing all of you soon!
Vince
I updated the OP and you're in the club.

[Virginia_Native]

Hiya,
This will be our second disney cruise, we went this past January and it was unbelievable...our server even fed me dinner!! Long story..:)
We are:
Vince (dad)
Wendy (mom) and..
Brooke (4 at sailing)

Look forward to seeing all of you soon!
Vince

Welcome Vince, It sounds like your daughter took her first cruise the same age as mine will be. What type of activities did she like the best, what ship and itinerary did you guys do in January?

[Go Cyclones]

We went on the Wonder on Jan 22 for 4 days. We loved it, we had been carnival customers in the past, but after ..i dunno, 10 minutes, we were hooked on disney!

Brooke loved the outdoors, we literally almost couldn't get her out of the pool/waterslide. She also liked the shows...a 3 year old paid attention for 1/2 hour! The only thing she didn't like was when the picture of Cruella DeVille lit upo the first night in Animator's Palate..she wan't tooo happy about that!

[Virginia_Native]

Wow, I can't believe a month has gone by since someone has posted on this thread. We are booked! 8 more months we will be on vacation! It will be here before you know it!

[Duckfan-in-Chicago]

Wow, I can't believe a month has gone by since someone has posted on this thread. We are booked! 8 more months we will be on vacation! It will be here before you know it!I actually updated the OP a little over a week ago because we've gone from for sure going to book to booked, but didn't get a chance to post since then. We have four confirmed cabins now. Two connecting for my brother and his family, Cat. 8 I believe, and two Cat. 6-one for my parents and one for my family. We're all on the 6th floor.

[CanadianDisneyDad]

Whoot....countdown is on :dance3:

our second cruise...first one was Jan this year and before we debarked we rebooked :)

cheers see you in the Carib!

[mousecruzer]

Hello everyone!

Sorry I haven't checked back in for awhile. Does anyone have any plans or heard any feedback about any excursions? I would like to start researching some now while I have the time.

We have first dinning option. I did the FE on our last cruise. It was fun but ALOT OF PLANNING!!! Depending on how many kids you have it can be alot of space in a suitcase unless you have a rental and can carry stuff onboard in a carry-on case after you buy it down in Florida.

Is Summer here in Michigan?:confused:

[Duckfan-in-Chicago]

Whoot....countdown is on :dance3:

our second cruise...first one was Jan this year and before we debarked we rebooked :)

cheers see you in the Carib!
Who's in your group? I can add you to the OP.
Hello everyone!

Sorry I haven't checked back in for awhile. Does anyone have any plans or heard any feedback about any excursions? I would like to start researching some now while I have the time.

We have first dinning option. I did the FE on our last cruise. It was fun but ALOT OF PLANNING!!! Depending on how many kids you have it can be alot of space in a suitcase unless you have a rental and can carry stuff onboard in a carry-on case after you buy it down in Florida.

Is Summer here in Michigan?:confused:There are a few sites that list the excursions. They don't seem to change much from year to year. The plus to doing any cruise ship excursions is you know you'll get back on the ship. The down side is they're limited and over priced. We're prob. going to Coral World in St. Thomas and maybe the cable car up the island if we have time then stick near the boat in St. Maarten and maybe do a little shopping and walk around a little. On the private island we'll prob. try to do as much as possible.

I'm not complaining much about summer. If I can go for a few months with no furnace or AC I'm all for it. It may be a shock to the system when we haven't had a day over low 80's here and we go to WDW next month and every day is mid 90's but I hear they have a lot of ice cream.

[JanDave]

Whoot....countdown is on :dance3:

our second cruise...first one was Jan this year and before we debarked we rebooked :)

cheers see you in the Carib!

CanadianDisneyDad: Did you cruise the Magic on 1/10/09? Your screen name is familiar to me. I cruised in January with Carla, my DD's m-i-l.

Great day today - I am at the 90 day mark today for our 9/19/09 Magic cruise!!! :thumbsup2 Booked Palo brunch and dinner; excursions at Grand Cayman and fishing for my DH on CC.

Jan

[Lucille1963]

I am wishing, hoping and dreaming of this cruise!

IF we go it will be our first cruise ever and will be booked with DVC points (our 3rd DVC trip, none of which has ever been at a dvc resort). We'll be a party of 3 from Chicago, DH and DS who will be 2.

Any spare pixie dust would be wonderful.

[allears]

Subscribing and sailing on 1/30/10! Number 9 here we come!

There will be three of us, DH, DW and my DW's DGod Mother. We will also be on board with our good friend from Canada! Pretty much the reason we booked this trip rather than skip the year as we had planned.

[Duckfan-in-Chicago]

Subscribing and sailing on 1/30/10! Number 9 here we come!

There will be three of us, DH, DW and my DW's DGod Mother. We will also be on board with our good friend from Canada! Pretty much the reason we booked this trip rather than skip the year as we had planned.OK...added you to the OP.

[Duckfan-in-Chicago]

Great day today - I am at the 90 day mark today for our 9/19/09 Magic cruise!!! :thumbsup2 Booked Palo brunch and dinner; excursions at Grand Cayman and fishing for my DH on CC.

Jan
We have a trip in 3 weeks to WDW at BCV and then in Oct at the BLT to hold us over till the cruise.
I am wishing, hoping and dreaming of this cruise!

IF we go it will be our first cruise ever and will be booked with DVC points (our 3rd DVC trip, none of which has ever been at a dvc resort). We'll be a party of 3 from Chicago, DH and DS who will be 2.

Any spare pixie dust would be wonderful.So what is the questions/doubts you're having as far as booking this trip? We've booked a cruise on points before. I think when we did it, we booked the first two on points and then cash for the other because it can be cheaper for the 3rd and 4th at times depending on the specials, etc.

[Lucille1963]

We have a trip in 3 weeks to WDW at BCV and then in Oct at the BLT to hold us over till the cruise.
So what is the questions/doubts you're having as far as booking this trip? We've booked a cruise on points before. I think when we did it, we booked the first two on points and then cash for the other because it can be cheaper for the 3rd and 4th at times depending on the specials, etc.

Wow! It sounds like you have some wonderful trips planned.

We're not sure about this cruise yet because we're seeing how some money situations work out.

Our plan was to visit Disneyland for a week in January and stay at the new GC Villas. When we got our most recent DVC planner I realized that a cruise wasn't really out of the question (like I always assumed it was). I then realized that if we did take a cruise that would be less out of pocket cash expenses.

Then, a few weeks ago, we took our DS ( 20 months old) to a little amusement park where he wanted no part of any type of ride. We're super laid back park tourists and before we had kids it wasn't unusual to spend a day at a park without ever going on a ride, but now that we have a little one we can't really fill our days with 2 hour breakfasts and beer soaked afternoons :)

January is our favorite month to vacation and this cruise leaves on my birthday!

Upon further consideration and after hours of reading these boards cruising is really seeming like it is the best option.

We'll probably make our final decision in the next month.

[Duckfan-in-Chicago]

Then, a few weeks ago, we took our DS ( 20 months old) to a little amusement park where he wanted no part of any type of ride. We're super laid back park tourists and before we had kids it wasn't unusual to spend a day at a park without ever going on a ride, but now that we have a little one we can't really fill our days with 2 hour breakfasts and beer soaked afternoons :)
This may or may not change over the years. Our 5 year old thinks Toy Story Mania is a thrill ride. I got him on Test Track last Oct. And I've prob. heard about 50 times since then that he's not going on that one again. Soarin' I think I might get him on again. Maybe not this next trip.

Now unless there's a major shift in personality, his little brother is going to be the adrenaline junky.

Our trips to WDW are so far from commando these days. They never were much to begin with, but now that we're DVC members and with little kids, much less so.

This will be the 1 yo's first cruise, but the 5 yo has been on a few. I know a lot of people frown on tots on cruiselines especially if you go to a place like cruise critic and read on some of those boards, but it's really a great vacation for them if you understand what's involved.

We were really nervous going on a Princess cruise the first time when our oldest was 16 months because of some of the stuff we read on the boards, but once we got on the ship so many people came up to us and loved our kid because they missed their grand kids. The average age on that boat was about 60. DCL is definitely more family friendly.

[Lucille1963]

Only SIX more months!!

[Duckfan-in-Chicago]

We'll probably make our final decision in the next month.
So...any decision???

In other news my cousin and his GF might be going now. More likely they will. They have a cabin reserved. Have to wait till early Oct to see if she can get the time off. Shes a nurse. So with my parents, my brother and them they have 4 consecutive cabins. We're down a ways on the other side of the ship.

I'm book smart.

[Duckfan-in-Chicago]

Great day today - I am at the 90 day mark today for our 9/19/09 Magic cruise!!! :thumbsup2 Booked Palo brunch and dinner; excursions at Grand Cayman and fishing for my DH on CC.

JanTime flies. Less than a month now and you can get things ready for us.

[rhinosbiggestfan]

HI!!!! im rhinosbiggestfan and im 13. this will be our 3rd disney cruise!!! we hope to go on this cruise but we may change the date due to school vacations!!!!!
THE FAM- (in code names)
PARENTS-
Goofy:surfweb: :worship:
and Minnie:worship:

KIDS-
Me-rhinosbiggestfan:cool1::littleangel:
Stitch-12:yay:
Tinkerbell-7princess:
Woody-5:banana:
Buzz-1:woohoo:

[Lucille1963]

So...any decision???





UUUGGGGHHH.....No cruise ressies yet, but we do have the 29th booked at BLT. It was fun picking a DVC resort for one and discussing all of the pros and cons. I'm excited to be staying at the new resort and our only solid plans are to take the Monorail over to the Poly and have DH buy me a Lapu Lapu for my birthday!

We joined DVC in 2007 and this will be our first time in a DVC room!

I'm not even really sure why we haven't booked yet. We talk about how "we are going" all the time. It just seems like bad thing after bad thing keep happening lately. Hopefully things will calm down soon.

Thanks for asking! How was your recent trip?

HI!!!! im rhinosbiggestfan and im 13. this will be our 3rd disney cruise!!! we hope to go on this cruise but we may change the date due to school vacations!!!!!
THE FAM- (in code names)
PARENTS-
Goofy:surfweb: :worship:
and Minnie:worship:

KIDS-
Me-rhinosbiggestfan:cool1::littleangel:
Stitch-12:yay:
Tinkerbell-7princess:
Woody-5:banana:
Buzz-1:woohoo:

Welcome Rhino!

[JanDave]

Welcome Rhino and Family!!!

Nicole - Hopefully things will calm down enough so that you can book the 1-30-10 cruise. Do you plan to book through DVC? We've done both - DVC and cash. We bought both DVC contracts while on the Magic - in 2001 and 2004.

Just 2.3 weeks from now, I will be on the Magic enjoying dinner! September 19th can't come soon enough.

Even though I've been on many DCL cruises, it's still exciting each time I board the Magic or Wonder.

Have a great long weekend everyone.

Jan

[Duckfan-in-Chicago]

UUUGGGGHHH.....No cruise ressies yet, but we do have the 29th booked at BLT. It was fun picking a DVC resort for one and discussing all of the pros and cons. I'm excited to be staying at the new resort and our only solid plans are to take the Monorail over to the Poly and have DH buy me a Lapu Lapu for my birthday!

We joined DVC in 2007 and this will be our first time in a DVC room!

I'm not even really sure why we haven't booked yet. We talk about how "we are going" all the time. It just seems like bad thing after bad thing keep happening lately. Hopefully things will calm down soon.

Thanks for asking! How was your recent trip?
The trip in July was good, but hot. We can cross July off of our list now. We did get to tour where we're staying next month (and where you'll be on the 29th) about a week prior to opening day and it was cool. I've been a DVC member since '98 and I've never set foot in a GV until touring the one at BLT. That place was bigger than the apartment my wife and I lived in after we got married. We can't wait to go back next month to stay. Most of our ADRs are either in the MK, or at monorail resorts. I wasn't really interested in the lounge when we added on there but now that I've been up there I definitely want to try it out on our stay.

[Paragd911]

Hi Guys!

We are joining you on this cruise!

Its just my wife & I(plus my service dog) It will be are 5th cruise on Disney. even the dogs too! (and its my birthday)

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh222/paragd911/CCI11252008_00000-1.jpg

[Lucille1963]

Welcome Mark!

Great logo!

When is your birthday? Mine is Jan 30.

[Paragd911]

Welcome Mark!

Great logo!

When is your birthday? Mine is Jan 30.

the same !!!!!

I saw you where in Chicago. I grew up in Arlington Hts. IL (near the Track)

[JanDave]

Hi Guys!

We are joining you on this cruise!

Its just my wife & I(plus my service dog) It will be are 5th cruise on Disney. (and its my birthday) even the dogs too!

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh222/paragd911/CCI11252008_00000-1.jpg

Welcome, Joy Mark and Shadow! Mark, were you on the 1/10/09 Magic? We met a couple on that cruise with a service dog. Just wondering.

Jan

[Paragd911]

Welcome, Joy Mark and Shadow! Mark, were you on the 1/10/09 Magic? We met a couple on that cruise with a service dog. Just wondering.

Jan


No this will be my first time on the Magic! We were on the Wonder for New Year 2009

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh222/paragd911/100_0607-1.jpg

[Duckfan-in-Chicago]

Hi Guys!

We are joining you on this cruise!

Its just my wife & I(plus my service dog) It will be are 5th cruise on Disney. even the dogs too! (and its my birthday)

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh222/paragd911/CCI11252008_00000-1.jpgWelcome to the thread and the cruise.

the same !!!!!

I saw you where in Chicago. I grew up in Arlington Hts. IL (near the Track)I just saw this. I don't know if you cracked my code (or if I mentioned it on this thread), but I'm from Chicago too. I actually live in the city and I'm about 4 miles from Ohare. I think we got our last minivan from Arlington Hts. I know there's a Yankee Candle store near the track so at the very least my wife has spent a car payment in the area.

No this will be my first time on the Magic! We were on the Wonder for New Year 2009

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh222/paragd911/100_0607-1.jpg
That is a beautiful dog.

[JanDave]

Mark - Welcome to the Magic! We'll be on the Magic two weeks from TODAY!!! Can't wait!!!!

Jan

[JanDave]

Just an FYI about my afternoon phone calls to DCL.

My cruisemate, Carla, and I were talking this afternoon and we decided to switch from at Cat.11 to a GTY 12 to save $200 each. There isn't much difference between the two categories, primarily location. On our last cruise on 1/10/09, we booked a GTY 12 and got a comp upgrade to a Cat 9. We are seldom in our stateroom and decided to spend the extra $200 on spa, excursions, coffee, beverages, etc. So, the first CM at DCL told me that a 12 is more expensive than an 11???:confused3 So, I hung up, went back to the DCL website and looked at the cost difference which showed $400. So, I called back and CM#2 repeated the same info as CM#1. I told her that I was looking at the website and that a 12 was $400 less than the cat. 11 we booked onboard. She put me on hold for several minutes and came back to explain that her manager had to manually change our reservation with the quoted price on the website. :confused3 I'm still confused but glad I knew what I was talking about. Just wondering how many potential cruisers will call in and pay incorrect DCL prices. I wonder if each reservation is audited for correct amounts. Anyway, our onboard credit carried over but we did lose the 10% discount as it does not apply to a cat. 12. Also, there are so few 12s on the ship and several are taken by DVC CMs, so our chances to get an upgrade, even to an 11, are good.

Several years ago, I had to call DCL twice in order to get the correct price of an "obstructed" verandah stateroom. The first CM told me there was no price difference. I thanked her, hung up, called again, and CM#2 gave me the correct quote.

Hope everyone enjoyed the weekend.

Jan

[rhinosbiggestfan]

YAY we got our cruise books today!!!!!!!
Only like four months to go! lol

[Paragd911]

YAY we got our cruise books today!!!!!!!
Only like four months to go! lol

cool beans!!

[rhinosbiggestfan]

Was wondering if we wanted to do like a fish extender thing for the cruise? On our last 2 cruises we didnt but it seems like a cool idea!

[Paragd911]

Was wondering if we wanted to do like a fish extender thing for the cruise? On our last 2 cruises we didnt but it seems like a cool idea!

Sure we would like that :)

[Michellepooh]

Hi Everyone! Just stopping by to say hi. :yay: We are getting excited about this cruise, I've never done the Eastern before. We will be doing the 10/22 Wonder so have been busy getting ready for that.

I'd love to be part of a fish extender exchange, that is always so much fun! :)

[JanDave]

Welcome Michelle and Family :cheer2:

Ok, guys, 3 days 10 hours and I will be on the MAGIC!!! :dance3: We leave Friday afternoon from Detroit. Will check back after the cruise.

Jan

[rhinosbiggestfan]

Yay! Glad you guys like the fish extender idea!

[JanDave]

Okay, DIS friends, I am off to Detroit Metro Airport for a 2pm flight to Orlando for a wonderful 9-19-09 Magic cruise!!!!!!!!!!!!:cool1::dance3::cheer2:

I will not remember details of the cruise/ship when I return, so let me know ahead of time whether you have any specific questions about the Magic that you want me to check out. I'd be happy to get answers for you.

Hard to believe that we're under the 5 month mark for our cruise.

Jan

[Paragd911]

Okay, DIS friends, I am off to Detroit Metro Airport for a 2pm flight to Orlando for a wonderful 9-19-09 Magic cruise!!!!!!!!!!!!:cool1::dance3::cheer2:

I will not remember details of the cruise/ship when I return, so let me know ahead of time whether you have any specific questions about the Magic that you want me to check out. I'd be happy to get answers for you.

Hard to believe that we're under the 5 month mark for our cruise.

Jan

Have a great time!!!!

[rhinosbiggestfan]

Okay, DIS friends, I am off to Detroit Metro Airport for a 2pm flight to Orlando for a wonderful 9-19-09 Magic cruise!!!!!!!!!!!!:cool1::dance3::cheer2:

I will not remember details of the cruise/ship when I return, so let me know ahead of time whether you have any specific questions about the Magic that you want me to check out. I'd be happy to get answers for you.

Hard to believe that we're under the 5 month mark for our cruise.

Jan

Have a fun, awesometasticspectacular trip!!!!!!!!!:cool1:

[Jack & Monica]

Booked for the JAN 30th Eastern CAR Cruise. This will be our third Disney Cruise.
Me -- Jack
DW -- Monica
DD -- Disney Princess Reilly 4+ (going on 27)
MIL -- Ingegerd (Ingrid)
We hail from Northern Virginia.

Monica and I love to cruise. Since Reilly's arrival, we are exclusively Disney Cruisers!

See you real soon...
Jack

[Paragd911]

Booked for the JAN 30th Eastern CAR Cruise. This will be our third Disney Cruise.
Me -- Jack
DW -- Monica
DD -- Disney Princess Reilly 4+ (going on 27)
MIL -- Ingegerd (Ingrid)
We hail from Northern Virginia.

Monica and I love to cruise. Since Reilly's arrival, we are exclusively Disney Cruisers!

See you real soon...
Jack

Hi Jack

welcome!!!

[Lucille1963]

Welcome Jack!!

[Lucille1963]

:banana::banana:Count us in!!!:banana::banana:

We booked our airfare today (great rates out of Midway!). We haven't technically booked the cruise because we can't quite settle on a category but that should be done by the end of the weekend!

We have the night before the cruise booked at BLT.

I am just so darn excited!!!

Me - Niki -33 - but I turn 34 the day we set sail!
DH - Sean 40
DS - William 2 yo

[Paragd911]

if any one is Active duty or retried Military. Check out the Special Rates on this Cruise.

[Paragd911]

Welcome Mark!

Great logo!

When is your birthday? Mine is Jan 30.



My Birthday is on the 30th too!!!!

I saw you where in Chicago. I grew up in Arlington Hts. IL (near the Track)

[Lucille1963]

My Birthday is on the 30th too!!!!

I saw you where in Chicago. I grew up in Arlington Hts. IL (near the Track)


We're Birthday Twins!!

Wow! Arlington Heights isn't far at all. I grew up in Wood Dale but live in Chicago now.

What a small world!

[Duckfan-in-Chicago]

Booked for the JAN 30th Eastern CAR Cruise. This will be our third Disney Cruise.
Me -- Jack
DW -- Monica
DD -- Disney Princess Reilly 4+ (going on 27)
MIL -- Ingegerd (Ingrid)
We hail from Northern Virginia.

Monica and I love to cruise. Since Reilly's arrival, we are exclusively Disney Cruisers!

See you real soon...
JackWelcome!

:banana::banana:Count us in!!!:banana::banana:

We booked our airfare today (great rates out of Midway!). We haven't technically booked the cruise because we can't quite settle on a category but that should be done by the end of the weekend!

We have the night before the cruise booked at BLT.

I am just so darn excited!!!

Me - Niki -33 - but I turn 34 the day we set sail!
DH - Sean 40
DS - William 2 yo
My Brother's family and my parents will be at BLT the night before too. We'll be sleeping near the cape.

I finally updated the OP to include 5 more groups. I hadn't done that since May. I guess I took the summer off.

Okay, DIS friends, I am off to Detroit Metro Airport for a 2pm flight to Orlando for a wonderful 9-19-09 Magic cruise!!!!!!!!!!!!:cool1::dance3::cheer2:

I will not remember details of the cruise/ship when I return, so let me know ahead of time whether you have any specific questions about the Magic that you want me to check out. I'd be happy to get answers for you.

Hard to believe that we're under the 5 month mark for our cruise.

JanWell, in the good news/bad news department today is the day you should be getting off your ship but now you can come back here and tell us all about it and in just about a month start to make your reservations for the next one.



I've posted before that we're doing the fish extender deal even if it's just us filling up our own so I have no idea who is or isn't interested. They didn't have them when I was on DCL last time and I've never been involved or seen one in person. But I have heard numerous reports from real friends that they're fun.

[Paragd911]

Welcome!

I've posted before that we're doing the fish extender deal even if it's just us filling up our own so I have no idea who is or isn't interested. They didn't have them when I was on DCL last time and I've never been involved or seen one in person. But I have heard numerous reports from real friends that they're fun.

Count us in for the FE!

we are staying in the Airport Hyatt the night before. It works out better for us. (and its Easy)

[JanDave]

Booked for the JAN 30th Eastern CAR Cruise. This will be our third Disney Cruise.
Me -- Jack
DW -- Monica
DD -- Disney Princess Reilly 4+ (going on 27)
MIL -- Ingegerd (Ingrid)
We hail from Northern Virginia.

Monica and I love to cruise. Since Reilly's arrival, we are exclusively Disney Cruisers!

See you real soon...
Jack

Welcome Jack, Monica and Family!!!

Jan

[JanDave]

We're home after a wonderful week on the Magic. What a fun, relaxing time we had and the beautiful weather was a great complement to the week. If anyone is considering parasailing at CC, I strongly encourage it. My DD and I parasailed and it was an awesome experience. I wish we could have parasailed several more times that day.

Now back to planning for the January 30 cruise.

Jan

[Paragd911]

We're home after a wonderful week on the Magic. What a fun, relaxing time we had and the beautiful weather was a great complement to the week. If anyone is considering parasailing at CC, I strongly encourage it. My DD and I parasailed and it was an awesome experience. I wish we could have parasailed several more times that day.

Now back to planning for the January 30 cruise.

Jan

Hi Jan,

Im glad you had good weather for your cruise!

I parasailed at CC the last time. It was GREAT!

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh222/paragd911/100_0775.jpg

[rhinosbiggestfan]

Wow parasailing looks so much fun!
Was the view awesome?
We will definatly be trying that next time!!!!!

[JanDave]

Awesome views. Now to let you know about a Disney parasailing magical moment. My DH and DSIL were on the morning bottom fishing excursion at CC. Our parasailing time was 10:30 am. DD and I signed the required form, then sat on the deck next to Marges Barges. One of the Marges Barges employees came up to us and asked if we were Janet and Kim. She told us that the captain of the fishing excursion called her to let her know our DHs were with him and we were to go on Tomiko's parasailing boat. So, when it was our times to parasail, Tomiko passed over the fishing boat so our DHs could see us. Amazing! I hope to post a pic or two when DD emails them to me.

Jan

[Lucille1963]

My Brother's family and my parents will be at BLT the night before too. We'll be sleeping near the cape.


I've posted before that we're doing the fish extender deal even if it's just us filling up our own so I have no idea who is or isn't interested. They didn't have them when I was on DCL last time and I've never been involved or seen one in person. But I have heard numerous reports from real friends that they're fun.

We went back and forth between staying at WDW and staying near the port. It came down to wanting to do the trip without lugging around a car seat. I think it will be kind of odd to be at WDW and not visiting a park. We picked BLT because a) it seemed awesome b) we can entertain William (2yo) with boats and monorails c) I can zip over to the Poly to get myself a Lapu Lapu!

I'm definitely in for Fish Extenders! I have read about them and I was really hoping an exchange would be done on this cruise. It reminds me of being in the Girl Scouts!

Is anyone else worrying about luggage already? I was sorting through my summer clothing and picking out what needs to be stored for next summer, what I will sell and what I will bring on the cruise! Of course, this is the perfect time to shop for new items too! I just don't know how we'll be able to pack formal, semi-formal, pirate gear etc. I'm a bit of a clothes horse and a sucker for dress up events. Years ago when we went to MNSSHP we had to pack an additional suitcase for just that one night!

[rhinosbiggestfan]

So is the fish extender exchange on then? Because I cant wait to get started!

[Michellepooh]

I'm definitely in for the fish extenders!!! That's always a lot of fun! :cool1:

[JanDave]

Along the lines of future planning for our Magical week, what about a DIS meet on Saturday at 3pm in the Promenade Lounge? It's comfortable, we won't be squeezed into a small space, weather is not an issue, restrooms and beverages are nearby.

Last week on the Magic, our Saturday DIS meet was near the ice cream station. We were in tight quarters and tried our best to stay out of everyone's way. Also, it was loud due to the number of cruisers in that area of the ship.

Just my opinion.

Jan

[JanDave]

Good Morning!!! We're under the 4 month mark!!!! :cheer2:

Jan

[Lucille1963]

what about a DIS meet on Saturday at 3pm in the Promenade Lounge?
Jan

Sounds good to me!

[Jack & Monica]

For the warm welcome. I have to check in more often. Had to google "fish extender" -- came right back to the DIS Cruise Line Forum! Lots of photos of what they are -- looks sort of like a mini shoe hanger with only 4 or 5 verticle pockets. What do we use them for? Communication with each other during the cruise?

We are staying at the Airport Hyatt the night of 29 January. Looked at staying close to the Port but could not bear the hassle of getting our luggage to the port. We'll be using the Disney transfer from the airport. Staying at the airport actually saves the small fare for the trip from the hotel to the ship.

Thanks for the mention of the Military Discount -- Will not be able to use it for much longer -- getting ready to retire soon. Hope we will be able to afford Disney. In the general scope of things, I think we will -- we just may have to space out our cruises a little bit longer. Cannot think of taking my DD (4 yr old) on any cruise other than a Disney cruise.

Happened upon a box full of cruise memorabilia from a previous Disney Cruise. The Norwalk virus was running rampant everywhere (and not just on the Magic, our ship). Apparently it was a fairly big outbreak affecting many cruise lines. Disney handled it quite well -- you think they clean the ship pretty well during a normal cruise -- sheesh! -- I remember feeling bad for the cast members. There was always a cast member cleaning in the common areas. Dispite that I was one of the stricken -- came down with it on the first day out to sea -- actually thought I was sea sick! UGH! Spent most of the first 3 - 4 days in bed. Got really familiar with the offerings on the TV.

Reason I bring this up -- is because of all of the hoopla regarding the H1N1 virus. Don't know where everyone falls in the vaccinate or don't vaccinate arguement -- but I am getting vaccinated (actually I have to LOL -- they make us!). My family will also though. We are adding a bunch of Purell bottles to our packing list. We may be travelling smack dab in the middle of flu season. Can't think of too many things worse than getting the flu two days before you are supposed to leave on vacation!

Sorry -- don't want to be a downer --- just want to take all precautions necessary.

See you real soon...
Jack

[Jack & Monica]

Time and place sound good. Thanks! Jack

[Paragd911]

Thanks for the mention of the Military Discount -- Will not be able to use it for much longer -- getting ready to retire soon. Hope we will be able to afford Disney. In the general scope of things, I think we will -- we just may have to space out our cruises a little bit longer. Cannot think of taking my DD (4 yr old) on any cruise other than a Disney cruise.

..
Jack

Im retired from the Air Force. If you are AD or Retired you can use the military discount. :) :yay::yay:

[Michellepooh]

Booked all of my Palo and nursery reservations this morning. Only doing one excursion. On St. Thomas we are doing the Coral World Ocean Park and Scenic Drive tour. It's hard to do much with the baby.

Only 120 days to go!!!!!!! :cool1::banana:

[Lucille1963]

Michelle-

How exciting! Excuse my newbie question but, you get to book earlier than others, right?

Your excursion plans sound great!

[rhinosbiggestfan]

oh yay thats a good meet time!
Ill be wearing a rhinosbiggestfan t-shirt

yikes-flu season! hope nobody get sick!
Palo- My parents really want to make a reservation, I looked at pics of the dessert buffet (yum yum)!

[JanDave]

Our cruise is getting closer!!!

Just noticed today that there is another "event" falling within our cruise week aside from Punxsutawney Phil's special day -- on January 30, there will be a full moon!!!! Our cruise is geared to be a great one!

Yesterday I was able to book Palo for brunch and dinnr and booked parasailing at CC. No, I'm not in a Cat 1-3 stateroom, but I'm a Platinum member. Love the perk!

We have no plans for St. Maarten, and we booked Sunny Liston's tour for St. Thomas.

Wonder if upgrades will start with DCL calling any of us now that we are close to the 90 day mark. On the 9-19-09 cruise I was just on, several DISers received calls for an upgrade (paid not complementary). Carla and I were lucky on our first girls' cruise this past January - from a GTY 12 to a 9 and no charge to us. Thank you DCL!

Have a great week everyone.

Jan

[Paragd911]

Our cruise is getting closer!!!
Wonder if upgrades will start with DCL calling any of us now that we are close to the 90 day mark. On the 9-19-09 cruise I was just on, several DISers received calls for an upgrade (paid not complementary). Carla and I were lucky on our first girls' cruise this past January - from a GTY 12 to a 9 and no charge to us. Thank you DCL!
Jan

Hi Jan,

I don't know if i will get a upgrade.:) We're in a wheelchair room (cat 6) the only "upgrade" for me is Cat 3 wheelchair room.. :yay::yay: LOL I called DCL 10 days ago. Its still available for a extra $5000.00 . I said..."ah no" lol

This is are 5th Cruise..Gold here we come! (I know after)

[Lucille1963]

Just noticed today that there is another "event" falling within our cruise week aside from Punxsutawney Phil's special day -- on January 30, there will be a full moon!!!! Our cruise is geared to be a great one!

Jan

Great news Jan! Thanks for sharing.

Today is cold and rainy and I'm buried under a pile of work. Its nice to imagine cruising on a beautiful night in January with the full moon shining. Sigh......

BACK TO WORK! Cruises don't pay for themselves!

[rhinosbiggestfan]

oooh that will be the most beautiful photo.....the full moon reflected on the ocean.
That would be cool to have fireworks that night!

[Lucille1963]

Has anyone started shopping yet?

Planned any excursions?

[JanDave]

Hi Jan,

I don't know if i will get a upgrade.:) We're in a wheelchair room (cat 6) the only "upgrade" for me is Cat 3 wheelchair room.. :yay::yay: LOL I called DCL 10 days ago. Its still available for a extra $5000.00 . I said..."ah no" lol

This is are 5th Cruise..Gold here we come! (I know after)

I've been in "your" stateroom! On the 9-19-09 Magic, friends of ours had a Cat 6 wheelchair stateroom - last room on starboard side aft. It's huge!! Love the wrap around deck.

Jan

[JanDave]

Hi Nicole

I haven't started shopping yet and probably won't, just pick up a few miscellaneous items before the cruise.

A couple of weeks ago, I was able to book Palo brunch and dinner. Carla and I are booked on the 10:30 am parasailing excursion at Castaway Cay.

The time is getting closer!

Jan

[JanDave]

Forgot to add that we booked Sunny Liston's tour at St. Thomas (not a DCL excursion). No plans for St. Martin.

Jan

[Paragd911]

I've been in "your" stateroom! On the 9-19-09 Magic, friends of ours had a Cat 6 wheelchair stateroom - last room on starboard side aft. It's huge!! Love the wrap around deck.

Jan

i know!!! i wouldnt want a up grade!! I can play football on it!

here is a photo

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh222/paragd911/Verandah.jpg

[Sandy At Sea]

Hi everybody! I'm mosying over here from the Cruise Critic board. I started a thread there for this cruise, and Jan suggested I come on over here also.

We are:

Me, Sandy (54) and DH Dan (will be 46 on Jan. 30 - there seem to be alot of birthdays that day!) - we met on a cruise a few years ago. Neither of us have kids. He came with dog though. Mark - our dog Maggie looks just like Shadow. Aren't black labs just the sweetest?

We'll be traveling with Dan's brother Tony and his wife Cindy (late 40's) and their 18-year old son Bridger. And Dan and Tony's dad, Don (about 83).

Dan and I live in Seattle (he moved here from Wyoming to marry me), Don lives in Ft. Wayne Indiana, and Tony/Cindy live in Jackson, Wyoming.

I've been reading all of your postings so far and gotta admit, seems like you are talking in a foreign language! What is BLT (besides bacon, lettuce & tomato)? Oh well, I'll learn.

Dan and I spent the week before this past Christmas with Dad Don in WDW - so much fun! We mostly just went on all the scary rides. Don, Dan and Tony are Disney freaks. The rest of us just play along...

We'll be joining Jan and Carla on the Sunny Liston tour in St. Thomas. Since there will be 5 ships in port that day (including the Freedom), that's around 13,000 passengers or so. So I think this private tour is a great idea to get around a very crowded island!

In St. Maarten, we're just taking the water taxi over to the boardwalk and finding a beach. There are great shops and restaurants over there. No reason to go very far from the terminal.

[JanDave]

Sandy, Welcome! You found us!!! :cheer2:

BLT - Bay Lake Towers, one of the DVC resorts at WDW. It's walking distance to Magic Kingdom.

For returning cruisers, I hope you get your preferred reservations for the 90 day mark this weekend.

Jan

[JanDave]

Sandy, forgot to mention that we're have a group meet on Saturday, the day we board, at the Promenade Lounge at 3pm. Promenade Lounge is on deck 3 between the atrium and Parrot Cay. It's a great location for a group meet.

Jan

[Sandy At Sea]

Sandy, Welcome! You found us!!! :cheer2:

BLT - Bay Lake Towers, one of the DVC resorts at WDW. It's walking distance to Magic Kingdom.

For returning cruisers, I hope you get your preferred reservations for the 90 day mark this weekend.

Jan

DVC? So much Disney-Speak!

We'll probably be staying at Dad Don's time-share condo, if he can change his week from December to the week before the cruise.

[Sandy At Sea]

Sandy, forgot to mention that we're have a group meet on Saturday, the day we board, at the Promenade Lounge at 3pm. Promenade Lounge is on deck 3 between the atrium and Parrot Cay. It's a great location for a group meet.

Jan

Thanks! I'll write that down. Sounds like fun.

[Sandy At Sea]

DVC = Disney Vacation Club. Ok, one more Disney Speak figured out!

I found a birthday ears sign for the door - will try to surprise Dan with it. Ha ha.

I'm having fun exploring the DIS board!

Have a great weekend and enjoy the extra hour of sleep we get!

[Duckfan-in-Chicago]

Hi everybody! I'm mosying over here from the Cruise Critic board. I started a thread there for this cruise, and Jan suggested I come on over here also.

We are:

Me, Sandy (54) and DH Dan (will be 46 on Jan. 30 - there seem to be alot of birthdays that day!) - we met on a cruise a few years ago. Neither of us have kids. He came with dog though. Mark - our dog Maggie looks just like Shadow. Aren't black labs just the sweetest?

We'll be traveling with Dan's brother Tony and his wife Cindy (late 40's) and their 18-year old son Bridger. And Dan and Tony's dad, Don (about 83).

Dan and I live in Seattle (he moved here from Wyoming to marry me), Don lives in Ft. Wayne Indiana, and Tony/Cindy live in Jackson, Wyoming.

I've been reading all of your postings so far and gotta admit, seems like you are talking in a foreign language! What is BLT (besides bacon, lettuce & tomato)? Oh well, I'll learn.

Dan and I spent the week before this past Christmas with Dad Don in WDW - so much fun! We mostly just went on all the scary rides. Don, Dan and Tony are Disney freaks. The rest of us just play along...

We'll be joining Jan and Carla on the Sunny Liston tour in St. Thomas. Since there will be 5 ships in port that day (including the Freedom), that's around 13,000 passengers or so. So I think this private tour is a great idea to get around a very crowded island!

In St. Maarten, we're just taking the water taxi over to the boardwalk and finding a beach. There are great shops and restaurants over there. No reason to go very far from the terminal.
Welcome...I'll add you to the OP one of these days. Maybe today if I get around to it.

I haven't been over to Cruise Critic in a few months. There wasn't much Disney Cruise activity last time I was there. It's great for other lines.

[Duckfan-in-Chicago]

For returning cruisers, I hope you get your preferred reservations for the 90 day mark this weekend.

Jan
I got a brunch, the Extreme Getaway pkg on Castaway Cay for my older son and I and a Tea for two that I have to get for three when my mother and cousin's reservations are in 75 days out.

We're going to wing it on the other two islands. We've done them both. The only thing we really want to do is the St. Thomas Sky Ride. We've been in Juneau about a half dozen times and always wanted to do that one and either never had time or it was too cloudy.

[disjest8]

Hi All,

I haven't booked yet, but got pricing today and that Military rate is really almost too good to pass up. Here's what I need help with. We have sailed Disney many times, but our last DCL cruise was over a year ago and we have sailed on RCL and Carnival since then and really liked them.
I'm afraid there might not be enough for us to do on a DCL cruise especially with several sea days. We are me (46), DH (52), DS (7) and DS (8). Can you all help remind me of how we will stay busy? Here are the DCL advantages I can think of so far...
1. Kids club is open all day and my kids liked it better than RCL.
2. No casino to waste tons of money on.
3. Movie theatre with good, family friendly movies.
4. Pools aren't salt water.

Please help me out if you can; I would really like to join you all.

Thanks in advance,
-Kristi

[JanDave]

Hi Kristi! Hope you decide to join us on our Magical cruise.

I hope I can add to your list for kids activities. Since I usually cruise without kids, I am sure other DIS cruisers can add to the list. Also, you might want to post on the DCL general board.

Jumbotron
Arcade
Pirate night
Kids activities during the day outside of the kids clubs
Character meet and greets
Studio Sea
Bingo - kids are welcome to join their parents
Diversions and Promenade Lounge - board games, Wii in Diversions

Jan

[Chris_Ronda_Evelyn]

Hello, Y'all,

Just wanted you to know that we just booked our cruise last night. There will be DH(37) ME(37 and DD(4 at the time, 5 in march). This is our 2nd cruise, our 1st was in September 2009 on Wonder. So, our first cruise for Magic. We are all so excited about it.

Is there going to be a FE? I was reading that some of you are going to do it, but I did not see a head count or where any rooms were located we are in Cat 5 (7000s). On our last cruise we did not do the FE, but on that cruise link they had roll call what rooms and how many people in each room and they even had a cut off date, because of getting all of the goodies for each room(per person goodie). I do know that if we do FE you can put it in your goodie bags at anytime during the cruise and it is always a secret when people place goodies in there. Just let me know would love to be included in the FE, but just do not want to be in charge of roll call(up keeping the list).pixiedust:pixiedust:

We can not wait so soon for the cruise!
Anyone booking any excursions?
:disrocks::disrocks:

[JanDave]

Hello, Y'all,

Just wanted you to know that we just booked our cruise last night. There will be DH(37) ME(37 and DD(4 at the time, 5 in march). This is our 2nd cruise, our 1st was in September 2009 on Wonder. So, our first cruise for Magic. We are all so excited about it.

Is there going to be a FE? I was reading that some of you are going to do it, but I did not see a head count or where any rooms were located we are in Cat 5 (7000s). On our last cruise we did not do the FE, but on that cruise link they had roll call what rooms and how many people in each room and they even had a cut off date, because of getting all of the goodies for each room(per person goodie). I do know that if we do FE you can put it in your goodie bags at anytime during the cruise and it is always a secret when people place goodies in there. Just let me know would love to be included in the FE, but just do not want to be in charge of roll call(up keeping the list).pixiedust:pixiedust:

We can not wait so soon for the cruise!
Anyone booking any excursions?
:disrocks::disrocks:

Welcome to the DIS, and our January 30, 2010 cruise!!!

Cruising with me is my DD's m-i-l, Carla. It's our 2nd annual DCL girls' cruise. We have no excursion plans for St. Martin. We booked the Sunny Liston tour (on our own) for St. Thomas. This will be my 3rd time seeing St. Thomas with Sunny. At Castaway Cay, Carla and I are parasailing.

We are not participating in FEs, but I know someone will respond to your FE questions.

Looking forward to meeting everyone.

Jan

[Duckfan-in-Chicago]

Hello, Y'all,

Just wanted you to know that we just booked our cruise last night. There will be DH(37) ME(37 and DD(4 at the time, 5 in march). This is our 2nd cruise, our 1st was in September 2009 on Wonder. So, our first cruise for Magic. We are all so excited about it.

Is there going to be a FE? I was reading that some of you are going to do it, but I did not see a head count or where any rooms were located we are in Cat 5 (7000s). On our last cruise we did not do the FE, but on that cruise link they had roll call what rooms and how many people in each room and they even had a cut off date, because of getting all of the goodies for each room(per person goodie). I do know that if we do FE you can put it in your goodie bags at anytime during the cruise and it is always a secret when people place goodies in there. Just let me know would love to be included in the FE, but just do not want to be in charge of roll call(up keeping the list).pixiedust:pixiedust:

We can not wait so soon for the cruise!
Anyone booking any excursions?
:disrocks::disrocks:
Welcome...I edited you into the OP.

We're going to do the FE-like I've said-even if I'm just putting stuff in my own for my kids. I think they'll be thrilled getting back to the cabin to see if anything is there and it would maybe help to get them out of the kids area without a total meltdown. I can update the OP and list who's going to do this to get numbers and then as we get closer we can figure out how we're going to get cabin numbers or whatever. I've never done anything remotely like this so I don't have a clue how to run one or how they'd work.

As far as excursions go, we're going to wing it on the two islands. My parents are going to take a cab to Magans bay in St. Thomas. They've been on about 30 cruises and that's one of the places they like to go. They've talked my cousin/his GF into going there. All of the boys in our group and my cousin's GF are doing the 4 activity deal (stingray, snorkle, bike, tube or something?) on Castaway Cay.

I've booked a brunch for my wife and I and a tea for my wife and my mother at Palo. My wife and mother both love going to the Grand Floridian for tea when we're at WDW so they should have a good time there. And we've done tea a few times on Princess ships but they weren't adult exclusive so son #1 could sit in.

[Duckfan-in-Chicago]

Hi All,

I haven't booked yet, but got pricing today and that Military rate is really almost too good to pass up. Here's what I need help with. We have sailed Disney many times, but our last DCL cruise was over a year ago and we have sailed on RCL and Carnival since then and really liked them.
I'm afraid there might not be enough for us to do on a DCL cruise especially with several sea days. We are me (46), DH (52), DS (7) and DS (8). Can you all help remind me of how we will stay busy? Here are the DCL advantages I can think of so far...
1. Kids club is open all day and my kids liked it better than RCL.
2. No casino to waste tons of money on.
3. Movie theatre with good, family friendly movies.
4. Pools aren't salt water.

Please help me out if you can; I would really like to join you all.

Thanks in advance,
-Kristi

One of the biggest selling points is #1. If your kids are happy, you're happy. DCL's kids club sounds so cool, I'm almost jealous. I know a bunch of people who have to drag their kids out of the club. As much as I love my kids, knowing they're having a great time and being able to spend some quite time with my wife is priceless. There is always something to do. Usually with a good cruise director there are too many things to do on sea days at the same time. I've found on other lines with a bad cruise director the only thing to do was hours in the casino.

ETA:And sometimes the best thing to do involves a lounge chair and nothing else. A cruise vacation is different than commando at WDW. You usually don't feel like you need a week off after your vacation.

[acourtwdw]

We just made our ressies tonight about 1/2 hour ago for this cruise!!! We are Annette (40 bday on cruise) and Amanda(Dsis) (41) from Lansing, MI. This will be our 8th DCL vacation. Can't wait to cruise again :) Is there a F/E going on and can we join? Any other activities that we need to be aware of? I promise to read the entire thread but right now, just excited!!!

[JanDave]

We just made our ressies tonight about 1/2 hour ago for this cruise!!! We are Annette (40 bday on cruise) and Amanda (41) from Lansing, MI. This will be our 8th DCL vacation. Can't wait to cruise again :) Is there a F/E going on and can we join? Any other activities that we need to be aware of? I promise to read the entire thread but right now, just excited!!!

I'm from Lansing, too (live in Williamston and work in East Lansing)! I know I met you two on a previous cruise. Was it in 2006 - right after Thanksgiving?

Jan

[JanDave]

A DIS meet is planned on Saturday at 3pm in the Promenade Lounge.

Jan

[acourtwdw]

I'm from Lansing, too (live in Williamston and work in East Lansing)! I know I met you two on a previous cruise. Was it in 2006 - right after Thanksgiving?

Jan

It was the 07 DVC Member Cruise! I thought that was you when I saw your location and name :)

[JanDave]

It was the 07 DVC Member Cruise! I thought that was you when I saw your location and name :)


You're right. It's a small world! Looking forward to cruising with you again. This cruise, I'll be with my DD's m-i-l, Carla - our 2nd annual girls' cruise.


Jan

[Chris_Ronda_Evelyn]

Getting closer and closer to our cruise! less than 10 weeks to go!
Just go our fish extender to put out on the fish. Now time to look at gifts to be placed in it. We can not wait to meet everyone.
Hope everyone has a safe Thanksgiving Holiday. Happy Thanksgiving to all.

The Schwartz Family
:jumping1:

[IrishCowboy]

Subscribing

[Sandy At Sea]

Happy Thanksgiving to everybody!

Airline tickets have just been purchased, rental car reserved, shuttle back to airport reserved, BD sign for the door has been finalized - almost ready to go!

[Lucille1963]

I can't believe it is Thanksgiving already!

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday!!

[JanDave]

Hello Everyone --

We just found out today that Carla and I had to cancel our cruise due to health issues. We called DCL this afternoon and moved our cruise to October 2009. So sorry that we will not meet you on January 30. Enjoy the cruise and I can't wait to read your trip reports and comments.

Jan

[acourtwdw2]

Hello Everyone --

We just found out today that Carla and I had to cancel our cruise due to health issues. We called DCL this afternoon and moved our cruise to October 2009. So sorry that we will not meet you on January 30. Enjoy the cruise and I can't wait to read your trip reports and comments.

Jan

Sorry to hear you wont be joining us. Hope everyone will be well soon.


HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE

[Lucille1963]

Jan and Carla- Sorry you won't be on this cruise. I am happy that you were able to reschedule.

Health issues haven't been strangers to our house lately. Thankfully, we have been given the green light from DS's Dr., but I really thought that we would be canceling too.

I hope everyone has a fantastic Thanksgiving!!

[rhinosbiggestfan]

Have a very Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!!!!

[Duckfan-in-Chicago]

We just made our ressies tonight about 1/2 hour ago for this cruise!!! We are Annette (40 bday on cruise) and Amanda(Dsis) (41) from Lansing, MI. This will be our 8th DCL vacation. Can't wait to cruise again :) Is there a F/E going on and can we join? Any other activities that we need to be aware of? I promise to read the entire thread but right now, just excited!!!Welcome aboard. I added you to the OP.

I also started a new section on the OP. Anyone from here on out who for sure 100% who wants to take part in the FE deal can just post it in some way on this thread and I'll add them to the OP for right now. My wife is in the process of gathering materials to make ours now.

[Duckfan-in-Chicago]

Hello Everyone --

We just found out today that Carla and I had to cancel our cruise due to health issues. We called DCL this afternoon and moved our cruise to October 2009. So sorry that we will not meet you on January 30. Enjoy the cruise and I can't wait to read your trip reports and comments.

JanThat's too bad, but hopefully you'll be cruising again soon enough. You meant Oct 2010, right? (If not, hopefully they gave you a great rate) By that time Castaway Cay will be finished with their redo so you'll have that to look forward to.

[Chris_Ronda_Evelyn]

Hope everyone had a HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

FE is a lot of fun and doesn't have to be expensive or time consuming. First you need some sort of "Holder" to hang from the metal fish that is outside each stateroom (hence "fish extender"). Most people use a 3 or 4 pocket holder, but you can use a small tote bag or anything else you want to use. It cannot be more than about 8 1/2 inches wide to fit in the space under the fish, though. There are several threads on the main board about making/buying fish extenders, some with photos.

Once you have your container to receive the gifts the fun begins. People who have joined will then secretly put surprises in your fish extender, so when you come back to the cabin there is a surprise waiting for you. The items have to be small enough to fit in the holders and people can be so creative! Some groups assign each participant a certain day, others just let people deliver when they want to. Popular gifts seem to be Disney items, cruise/beach , pirate night things, hand sanitizer, door magnets, special things from your hometown, etc. You get the idea. Some people give a per- cabin gift, others go with per-person . Some have a standard gift for everyone, others personalize their gift based on the age and sex of the recipient. It's all up to the giver to decide how to do it.

The participation list is generally closed about 2 weeks before sailing to allow the coordinator to finalize the list and get it to everyone, and also so participants can buy/package their FE items for travel, especially those who may be doing WDW first, but again, this is something that the group decides. Also on the list is your room #'s so we know where to go to put our FE gift.

So... who's in for a Week FE Fun ?

[Chris_Ronda_Evelyn]

Welcome aboard. I added you to the OP.

I also started a new section on the OP. Anyone from here on out who for sure 100% who wants to take part in the FE deal can just post it in some way on this thread and I'll add them to the OP for right now. My wife is in the process of gathering materials to make ours now.

I think what you are doing will be perfect for our List! (Great Job!)

Just got our FE, I looked at making one, it was a little more what I thought I would have spent, so I decided to get one off of e-bay and not only that it is embroidered. Love it. Cant wait less than 10 weeks! WOO HOO!!!!! :)

Also, not sure if we want to do a per cabin, per person, or per child FE. We are up to whatever anyone would like to do...

[Chris_Ronda_Evelyn]

You can also put us down as a committed FE family. DW 37(ME), DH 37 and DD 4yrs.
Also, our room is #7112

[acourtwdw2]

Please add Annette (acourtwdw) and myself to the fish extender list

Amanda

[Michellepooh]

Hi Everyone!! Only 2 months to go!!!

We are definitely in for the FE exchange. DS5 loves to get fish mail! :)

[Chris_Ronda_Evelyn]

Duck fan in Chicago,

You are doing a great job and thank you for taking on who will be on the FE. I have 1 request of you, can you add the peoples room#'s for us also on the 1st post just so we can plan on where the rooms are and when we will give them out(personally). I do know that it will be easier for people to know where the rooms are located ahead of time. We plan on doing our FE gifts through out the cruise so, its not just 1 day then no more FE fun. Thank You once agian for taking this on. Our room # is 7112.

Ronda
:dance3:

[acourtwdw]

Duck fan in Chicago,

You are doing a great job and thank you for taking on who will be on the FE. I have 1 request of you, can you add the peoples room#'s for us also on the 1st post just so we can plan on where the rooms are and when we will give them out(personally). I do know that it will be easier for people to know where the rooms are located ahead of time. We plan on doing our FE gifts through out the cruise so, its not just 1 day then no more FE fun. Thank You once agian for taking this on. Our room # is 7112.

Ronda
:dance3:

Great idea but we have a GTY and don't know where we will be yet. We will post it as soon as we know.

[Lucille1963]

Count us in for the FE!

I can't believe the cruise is less than 2 months away! We have so much to do to get ready!!

Passports were on our list for November, but due to circumstances it didn't happen. We MUST get that done asap. Has anyone else put it off?

[Duckfan-in-Chicago]

Duck fan in Chicago,

You are doing a great job and thank you for taking on who will be on the FE. I have 1 request of you, can you add the peoples room#'s for us also on the 1st post just so we can plan on where the rooms are and when we will give them out(personally). I do know that it will be easier for people to know where the rooms are located ahead of time. We plan on doing our FE gifts through out the cruise so, its not just 1 day then no more FE fun. Thank You once agian for taking this on. Our room # is 7112.

Ronda
:dance3:
We're not 100% sure on our room number and I could do this at a later date, but I've read that a lot of people prefer to PM a list like this as it gets closer to the date involved. Some people have privacy issues with what they post on the net. I've posted my e-mail address before and have my kids pics, but others have boundries they don't cross so maybe I'll wait and see first.

Hi Everyone!! Only 2 months to go!!!

We are definitely in for the FE exchange. DS5 loves to get fish mail! :)
I see by your countdown ticker you're going on the first sailing of the Dream. That ship looks so cool.

[Duckfan-in-Chicago]

Count us in for the FE!

I can't believe the cruise is less than 2 months away! We have so much to do to get ready!!

Passports were on our list for November, but due to circumstances it didn't happen. We MUST get that done asap. Has anyone else put it off?
I had to get my youngest a passport and a few people going with us had to get them recently and they're coming in 2-3 weeks. The only issue is my cousin just got flagged for some reason and now has to submit 5 more forms of ID. They're looking for things like a copy of his HS yearbook photo and his baptism cert. This is pretty time consuming to track down some of the stuff.

[Paragd911]

Count us in for the Fish Extenders its, Me (Mark turning 41 on the cruise) DW Joy & Shadow Ddog. We will be #6154. or up grade to Cat 3. I will put our FE photo. !

i found it

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh222/paragd911/015.jpg

[Chris_Ronda_Evelyn]

[QUOTE=Duckfan-in-Chicago;34534351]We're not 100% sure on our room number and I could do this at a later date, but I've read that a lot of people prefer to PM a list like this as it gets closer to the date involved. Some people have privacy issues with what they post on the net. I've posted my e-mail address before and have my kids pics, but others have boundries they don't cross so maybe I'll wait and see first.




Duckfan-in-Chicago,

The PM will be fine also. Soon we will all meet and that will mean we are cruising! :)

[Michellepooh]

I see by your countdown ticker you're going on the first sailing of the Dream. That ship looks so cool.


I am so excited to be on the maiden voyage!! Before they even announced the new ship, I told DH I was going to be the first one on it!!! Well worth the points/cash to me!!! :goodvibes

Can't wait to meet all of you on the Magic! DS5 is really getting excited, too. When asked, he says his favorite part of a Disney Cruise is the "couch bed"!!

[Chris_Ronda_Evelyn]

Paragd911,

Love your FE. Ours is very similar, but we have the 4 pocket one w/out our names only because its just me(37), DH(37) and DD(4 1/2) and we are trying for more, so once that happens we will then have the names placed on it. Love yours! Oh and what can we bring special for your pup. Just let us all know so he can get his FE gift too! :) My daughter is a huge animal lover is there anything I need to have a talk to her about before. If so, please let me know and I can talk to her now about it. Only because I have seen/head some people say that you are not supposed to pet or play w/them, that they are only "working" dogs, my daughter goes up to every animal and just wants to pet and love(gently) on them and tell them how "CUTE" or "BEAUTIFUL" they are. Just let us know. Thank You. Looking forward to meeting you and everyone else that is on the cruise!!!!:woohoo::woohoo:

Ronda
:disrocks:

[Chris_Ronda_Evelyn]

I was just noticing that some cruises, fellow cruisers have picked a name for their CRUISE/GROUP. Is this something we would/might want to do?
Please give feedback and if you do, pick a "NAME" and then we all can decide what we want to call us/our cruise group.

Our friends are on the Magic over Valentines day in 2010, and their group is calling themselves "The Love Boat Cruise". Just an example..

8 weeks left to go :)
Ronda
:dance3:

[acourtwdw2]

:cheer2:We sail in 8 Weeks!!!:yay:

[jfahome]

Hello, we booked this cruise about 2 weeks ago. We are so excited about going on our second Disney cruise. We went on our first in May09. This time we aren't telling our daughter about it ahead of time. Oh DH (Jeff) DW (April) and DD Elizabeth (age5). We would like to participate in the FE, but actually just for Elizabeth. Can you add her/us to the list as well please? We didn't do it last time, but I think she'd enjoy finding something special when going back to the room. We are in 5622. Our first cruise was so "magical" that we are just so thrilled to be going again! I see the Meet time so we'll be there! Only 56 days (I think). See you all soon! :goodvibes

[Chris_Ronda_Evelyn]

WELCOME JFAHOME! 8 weeks to go! woohooo! This is our 2nd cruise also. The first was a 'Wonder"ful cruise in september 2009. We wanted a little taste before we went out on a 7nighter. Can not wait to meet you all. See you Saturday.

[acourtwdw2]

WELCOME JFAHOME! 8 weeks to go! woohooo! This is our 2nd cruise also. The first was a 'Wonder"ful cruise in september 2009. We wanted a little taste before we went out on a 7nighter. Can not wait to meet you all. See you Saturday.

Were you on the Sept 10th wonder? Annette and I were on that cruise and Annette started the thread for that one. We just never got to meet the people on the thread we never had time. We brought our Mom and Dad and they hadn't been on the wonder before so we were tour guide barbies.

We love crusing this will be our 8th and we have 2 more booked(WB transalantic and Alaska Aug 2011

[Chris_Ronda_Evelyn]

Were you on the Sept 10th wonder? Annette and I were on that cruise and Annette started the thread for that one. We just never got to meet the people on the thread we never had time. We brought our Mom and Dad and they hadn't been on the wonder before so we were tour guide barbies.

We love crusing this will be our 8th and we have 2 more booked(WB transalantic and Alaska Aug 2011


No we were on the Sept 6th 4night cruise. On that cruise we did not do FE, or do the meet. We did not because we wanted to see the cruise through our eyes. Ad now we our hooked! Cant wait to meet ya.

[Chris_Ronda_Evelyn]

Started to make the FE gifts! Can not wait to give them out.... So far, 8 FE gifts are 1/2 way done.. :jumping1:


Ronda

[Michellepooh]

Getting more excited each day! Is it a bad thing that I can't wait for Christmas to be over so that I can start packing? :rotfl: Is anyone else spending time at WDW before the cruise? We are doing a week at our timeshare pre-cruise.

Welcome aboard JFAHOME! Our older son is 5, so I'm sure he'll be seeing your DD in the kids club. :)

[acourtwdw2]

Anyone else having a hard time finding airfare. Since we booked the cruise last month we thought airfare would be easy to find but we cant find anything from detroit for less tha 350. Since we usually pay less than 100 pp this is hard to grasp.

[Lucille1963]

Getting more excited each day! Is it a bad thing that I can't wait for Christmas to be over so that I can start packing? :rotfl: Is anyone else spending time at WDW before the cruise? We are doing a week at our timeshare pre-cruise.


We're just coming in the day before. We'll be staying the night at BLT. We won't be going to the parks, we figure we can amuse the 2yo with the pool, monorail and boat rides. We have dinner booked at Kona Cafe (so I can get a Lapu Lapu!) and I just made a adr for Chef Mickey's breakfast for the morning of the 30th, but I'm not 100% we'll do that.

Anyone else having a hard time finding airfare. Since we booked the cruise last month we thought airfare would be easy to find but we cant find anything from detroit for less tha 350. Since we usually pay less than 100 pp this is hard to grasp.

Oh No! We actually booked airfare before the cruise because we were afraid of something like this happening. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.

I've barely started to think about FE gifts. I'm hoping that working on them will make January fly by!

[Lucille1963]

I had an odd dream regarding the cruise last night. Things kept going terribly wrong, but I was just so happy that I didn't seem to care so much.

At one point we were excited because we were "upgraded" to a higher deck. Upon getting to our room we discovered that it wasn't a regular room, but more like a bunk house with bunk beds and regular beds crammed into every possible space. There were lots of Australians there.

At another point DH and I showed up for our rasul spa appointment. We were only in the room a moment when other people started to come in. It was some type of family gathering and there was a buffet set up. When I complained to the girl at the desk, she seemed surprised that we minded, but she rescheduled for another time.

I also remember trying to find the right deck for our meet. We kept getting in the wrong elevator, one of which took us off the boat.

All of this was happening before the ship even sailed.

Despite all of these terrible things happening, it didn't seem like a nightmare. We were just so happy to be on the ship!!

[Michellepooh]

Lucille1963 - We are having breakfast at Chef Mickey's on the 30th before heading to the port! :) Our ADR is for 8:30.

[Duckfan-in-Chicago]

We're just coming in the day before. We'll be staying the night at BLT. We won't be going to the parks, we figure we can amuse the 2yo with the pool, monorail and boat rides. We have dinner booked at Kona Cafe (so I can get a Lapu Lapu!) and I just made a adr for Chef Mickey's breakfast for the morning of the 30th, but I'm not 100% we'll do that.
My parents, brother and his family and my cousin and his GF will all be at BLT that night. We'll be at the BCV. And at 9:30 we've rented two vans to take us all to the pier. It's half the price of Disney's transfers and it leaves when we want instead of closer to 11-12.

Lucille1963 - We are having breakfast at Chef Mickey's on the 30th before heading to the port! :) Our ADR is for 8:30.
This is kinda funny because we also have an ADR at Chef Mickey's-for 8:25. We're not 100% sure we're going though because it will be a busy morning.

[Michellepooh]

That is a funny coincidence, DuckFan!! I have a feeling our boys will be seeing a lot of each other in the clubs, etc. since they are the same ages.

[Virginia_Native]

Sorry I haven't posted to the forum in awhile, I usually am all over the boards preparing for a cruise, I haven't done to much on this one. I'm starting to get a bit stir crazy about going on a vacation, haven't had a week off work since June of 2008, which was our 5th anniversary cruise. We have 13 in our party now my wife's grandparents who live in Bradenton FL, are coming with us as well. They use to cruise a lot but cant get around as much any more. They will probably just stay on the ship all week.

I'm really getting excited about the Disney theme of this cruise. I haven't done anything Disney since I was 12 years old and am a huge fan of most of their movies that have come out lately.

This cruise is a suprise trip for my FIL 60th birthday. He still has no idea, and has been mentioning wanting to take my daughter on a Disney cruise, little does he know!

[Lucille1963]

I can't believe how fast time is passing!!

[acourtwdw]

We got our stateroom assignment today! From a cat 12 to cat 9! Yippee!! Stateroom 2502 for the FE list!

[Lucille1963]

Great news! What a wonderful upgrade!!!!!!

[Michellepooh]

Congrats on the upgrade, acourtwdw! You will be a few doors down from us, we're in 2508! :goodvibes

[indycruisin]

Hi all,

Joe (33), Shawna (32 & pregnant), & Elise (2.5) will be joining the Magic on the Jan 30 E Carib sailing. Our first DCL cruise and only 2nd with the little one. We have cruised many times on several other lines in the Caribbean & Med. Looking forward to our first Disney experience in a few weeks!

[Lucille1963]

Welcome Joe, Shawn and Elise!

My son turned 2 in October!

[Chris_Ronda_Evelyn]

Welcome indycruisin! Glad to have you aboard! Do y'all plan on doing FE(Fish Extenders) or our Meet? Just let us know. only 4 /2 weeks left to go! WOO HOO!

[acourtwdw]

Meery Christmas Everyone!!!

[Chris_Ronda_Evelyn]

MERRY CHRISTMAS! THIS MEANS WE ARE EVEN CLOSER TO OUR CRUISE!! WOO HOO!:santa::santa:

[Chris_Ronda_Evelyn]

4 weeks to go and we will be on our MAGIC vacation!:cool1::cool1:

[Aimelyn1]

Hi Everyone,

I just recently stumbled across this website a few weeks ago and have been eavesdropping ever since. We are very excited to say that we will also be joining all of you on this cruise :banana:. My husband and I have been on Carnival and RC but this will be our first cruise on Disney. We took our oldest son to WDW in 2007 and we all had a blast. We are hoping for the same success with our youngest on this vacation. We are a little nervous about traveling with a toddler :scared1: but trying to be as prepared as possible and hoping for the best. We look forward to meeting all of you.

Duckfan - We are practically neighbors. We live in DeKalb, IL. :flower3:

[acourtwdw]

Hi Everyone,

I just recently stumbled across this website a few weeks ago and have been eavesdropping ever since. We are very excited to say that we will also be joining all of you on this cruise :banana:. My husband and I have been on Carnival and RC but this will be our first cruise on Disney. We took our oldest son to WDW in 2007 and we all had a blast. We are hoping for the same success with our youngest on this vacation.l We are a little nervous about traveling with a toddler :scared1: but trying to be as prepared as possible and hoping for the best. We look forward to meeting all of you.

Duckfan - We are practically neighbors. We live in DeKalb, IL. :flower3:

Welcome!!!

[Chris_Ronda_Evelyn]

Welcome Aimelyn1! Are y'all going to meet with us on Saturday? and another question is, are you going to join in the Fish Extenders fun(FE). Let us know as soon as you can. I am making our FE Gifts, they are turning out really nice. we have a 4 yr old(DD). We can not wait to meet everyone really soon!! Less than 4 weeks away!! WOO HOO!!:woohoo::woohoo:

[Lucille1963]

Welcome Aimelynn!

I love DeKalb. We have family there and I love shopping in the downtown area!

We're nervous about traveling with our toddler (DS2) also.

[Aimelyn1]

Welcome Aimelyn1! Are y'all going to meet with us on Saturday? and another question is, are you going to join in the Fish Extenders fun(FE). Let us know as soon as you can. I am making our FE Gifts, they are turning out really nice. we have a 4 yr old(DD). We can not wait to meet everyone really soon!! Less than 4 weeks away!! WOO HOO!!:woohoo::woohoo:

Yes, we plan on being at the meet on Saturday and put us down for the FE. I'm Amie and my husband's name is Jamie. (I know, it rhymes. :rolleyes:)Our son, Matthew, is 4 and Brody turned 1 in November.

Matthew is so excited. We made a countdown and hung it on the fridge. Everyday he gets to rip a page off to show the number of days. He loves it...ok ok, so do I :woohoo:

[Aimelyn1]

Welcome Aimelynn!

I love DeKalb. We have family there and I love shopping in the downtown area!

We're nervous about traveling with our toddler (DS2) also.

It's good to hear that you are from the area, also. It's nice to meet people close to home. Have you heard of Babies Travel Lites? You can order baby supplies and have them delivered directly to your stateroom so you don't have to pack diapers and such. We are thinking about using it. :idea:

[Aimelyn1]

Yes, we plan on being at the meet on Saturday and put us down for the FE. I'm Amie and my husband's name is Jamie. (I know, it rhymes. :rolleyes:)Our son, Matthew, is 4 and Brody turned 1 in November.

Matthew is so excited. We made a countdown and hung it on the fridge. Everyday he gets to rip a page off to show the number of days. He loves it...ok ok, so do I :woohoo:

We are in room 6047 for the FE.

[Aimelyn1]

Who's in your group? I can add you to the OP.
There are a few sites that list the excursions. They don't seem to change much from year to year. The plus to doing any cruise ship excursions is you know you'll get back on the ship. The down side is they're limited and over priced. We're prob. going to Coral World in St. Thomas and maybe the cable car up the island if we have time then stick near the boat in St. Maarten and maybe do a little shopping and walk around a little.

I saw on another site that the cable car up to Paradise Point is gone because of a fire in September. Has anyone else heard about that? It explains why I couldn't book it as an excursion.:sad2:

[Duckfan-in-Chicago]

OK...been sick for a week and finally feeling better so I have a few new people to welcome and add to the OP. I'll do that today hopefully.

For people that are worried about their kids, I think I mentioned this but I took my oldest on a cruise when he was 16 months. Cruising is much more laid back of a vacation than theme parking. There is a lot less concern for keeping them out of the sun and disrupting their sleep scheds. on most of the days. And DCL is a less stuffy line than I was on so they'll be much more accommodating and you'll feel more comfortable.

As for the cable car up the mountain being gone, it wouldn't shock me, but I can't find anything about it on google. What I did find though is the top bar/restaurant/shopping area on the top of the mountain is for sure gone due to a fire that happened in May of last year.

http://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/index.pl/article_home?id=17635924

This cable car is the one thing my wife wanted to do since we never got a chance to do it in Juneau.

[Paragd911]

I got my Cruise Doc's today!!!!!! It was in a nice package this time.. 30 days!!!!!!

[Michellepooh]

Looks like the document lookout is on!!

Welcome, Amielyn1! My 5 year old's name is also Matthew! :)

Only one month to go!!

[Chris_Ronda_Evelyn]

happy new year 2010!

[rhinosbiggestfan]

Happy New Year everyone! This means we only have 30 more days until our cruise!:cool1: :banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana:



Also, we would like to participate in the fish extender exchange. Our room number is 6608.
yay! can't wait!

[mousecruzer]

:flower3:We are still coming! I haven't posted in awhile but have everything set. No cruise documents yet.

Welcome to all the new members who have posted. I can't wait to meet all of you. Should we wear a certain color? On our last trip we all had something lime green on, be it a shirt, or handkerchief. A lot of other people gather around and it can be confusing. Just a thought....

Sounds like quite a few toddlers. My 2.5 yo is going to have alot of others to share the little pool with! Not potty trained yet....unless by some miracle she decides to get to it and then we won't have the swim diapers!

Started packing already!:cheer2:

@Rhinosbiggestfan: Are you in the Oceans Quest Club? I am registering my 12 yo daughter for that one. She is REALLY pumped for this cruise!


Rae

[Duckfan-in-Chicago]

OK...I'm doing a little thread housekeeping. We did a little shopping yesterday for FE stuff and I didn't really have numbers with me. I had no idea the there were so many more boys than girls. At least half of the boys are 1 or 2 so they're not getting the same stuff anyway.

I put this in the OP, but this is for anyone who is wondering.
Fish Extenders committed:
So far we have 9 Cabins.
Adults:
9 Females
7 Males
Kids:
4 Girls aged 13,7,5,4
10 boys aged 12,5,5,5,4,2,1,1,1,1
Dogs:
1

[acourtwdw2]

OK...I'm doing a little thread housekeeping. We did a little shopping yesterday for FE stuff and I didn't really have numbers with me. I had no idea the there were so many more boys than girls. At least half of the boys are 1 or 2 so they're not getting the same stuff anyway.

I put this in the OP, but this is for anyone who is wondering.
Fish Extenders committed:
So far we have 9 Cabins.
Adults:
9 Females
7 Males
Kids:
4 Girls aged 13,7,5,4
10 boys aged 12,5,5,5,4,2,1,1,1,1
Dogs:
1

how strange usually girls out number boys. Thank you for posting the numbers now it will be easier to get things started.
Only four more sailings without us.:banana:
We haven't received our documents yet:mad:

Have a great Saturday everyone.

[rhinosbiggestfan]

mousecruzer-
I wont be in the Ocean Quest Club because I recently turned 14 so I would be in the teen club. (But Ocean Quest looks so cool!)


For the Fish Extenders-
Here is an age update for the kids in my family-me 14, brother 12, sister 7, brother 5, and brother 1.


IM GETTING SO EXCITED!

[acourtwdw]

First of all HAPPY NEW YEAR and we are only 28 days from sailing!!!!
:cool1::cool1::cool1::cool1::cool1::cool1::cool1:

Is there a cut off for the fish extender?

What's everyone doing before and after the cruise? We are staying off property on Friday with Chef Mickey bfast at 730am Saturday morning, then off to the port. We are staying at BWV on the Saturday that we come back but just for that night since we are leaving very early Sunday morning. Not sure if we are doing any parks that day.

Have a great night everyone :)

[Duckfan-in-Chicago]

First of all HAPPY NEW YEAR and we are only 28 days from sailing!!!!
:cool1::cool1::cool1::cool1::cool1::cool1::cool1:

Is there a cut off for the fish extender?

What's everyone doing before and after the cruise? We are staying off property on Friday with Chef Mickey bfast at 730am Saturday morning, then off to the port. We are staying at BWV on the Saturday that we come back but just for that night since we are leaving very early Sunday morning. Not sure if we are doing any parks that day.

Have a great night everyone :)Seems like with you included now, 4 of the groups have reservations at Chef Mickeys that Sat. before the cruise, but not everyone is sure they're going.

What do you mean by a cut off for the FE's? If you're talking about a final list I was thinking I could stop adding people and PM everyone with a list that has cabin numbers/names and ages two weeks from today. That's two weeks prior to the cruise.

We're not planning on giving the adults the same stuff as the 1 year olds so my wife asked me if I knew which pocket we're going to be putting the stuff in. I never thought about it but a lot of the people listed the people in their cabin (me included) as DS1 or DH and that's going to make it harder to guess who gets what for some people. So I'd like to try to match up names with ages in the next two weeks. If people don't want to post it online here they can PM me and I'll keep it just in the loop of people in the FE.

The two in the pics at the bottom of the screen are Joey (5) and Danny (1). I expect DCL to make up some new rules after Danny hits the ship. He's a force of nature.

[mousecruzer]

Here's a list of movies that will be on at the Buena Vista Theatre:
Princess and the Frog, Old Dogs, Race to Witch Mountain, Hannah Montana, Earth, Up (3D), The Proposal, G Force, Surrogates, Toy Story 1 & 2 (3D), and A Christmas Carol (3D).

I also requested a bed rail for DD #2 since I don't know where she will be sleeping. Last time we sailed she was 9 months old and was in a pack & play. I figured if I don't use it I can always give it back to the cabin hostess. Planning a traveling much lighter this time! No bottles and formula~yee haw!!

Since this will be our second cruise, can anyone give me a hint about what your Castaway Club benefits are? I see we get to "check-in" in a different line at the Port. And then you meet later onboard....just curious.pirate:

The night before the cruise we are driving straight to Cape Canaveral from Orlando International since we fly in that day. I pray for good weather for all of us and no other incidentals!!!

Rae

[Michellepooh]

My boys are Matthew (5) and Zachary (1). Duckfan, I think your Danny and my Zach are gonna get along just fine! He is very worthy of the title "Zach Attack"!!! I feel bad for the Flounders' staff..... ;)

Two weeks from now would be fine for a FE cutoff. We are leaving the 23rd to spend a week at WDW before the cruise. Can't believe it's so close!!

[acourtwdw]

I agree that the 17th is perfect for the cut off date for the FE.

Could everyone please post anything that they maybe celebrating while on board (ie anniversary, bday) and what day? We are celebrating my 40th bday which is 2/3. The F/E fairy may drop off something a little special to commerate the day :)

[becca-becca]

Are those movies for sure the ones on our cruise?

We are still going on cruise, but are not doing FE. We decided it would be more than we can handle this first time. Maybe next time!!

[Duckfan-in-Chicago]

Are those movies for sure the ones on our cruise?

We are still going on cruise, but are not doing FE. We decided it would be more than we can handle this first time. Maybe next time!!

That's almost the identical movie list I've seen foe every cruise report/pre-cruise from early Dec to our sailing. Surrogates is the only one I've never seen listed before.

[Chris_Ronda_Evelyn]

Hello All! I agree w/the fish extender cut of being 2 weeks before the cruise, especially since I am making the "cabin's" gift and I am busy the 2 weeks prior to our cruise w/work and lots of other things. And I second that of anyone celebrating anything special while we are on the cruise, and if there is a date along with what you are celebrating that would be wonderful! See y'all real soon!

[Paragd911]

cool with me for the cut off date. I'm turning 41 on the 30 Jan!! :rolleyes1:rolleyes1 :)

[love2disneycruise]

We're in!

Cabin 6118
Kevin - Dad
Cathy - Mom
Kyle - Age 15
Casey - Age 18

Cabin 6113
Arthur - Birthday Grandpa (Celebrating February 4th)
Janet - Grandma
Katy - Age 3

Cabin 6111
Wayne - Adult (Dad of Katy)
Amber - Adult (Mom of Katy)
Chris - Adult (Uncle of Katy)
Sylvia - Adult (Girlfriend of Uncle of Katy) ;)

Cabin 6147
Ray - Great Grandpa
Winnie - Great Grandma

[acourtwdw]

That's almost the identical movie list I've seen foe every cruise report/pre-cruise from early Dec to our sailing. Surrogates is the only one I've never seen listed before.

The new "Tooth Fairy" movie with Dwayne Johnson hits theaters on Jan 22. That will probably be added since it's a Disney movie, I would guess.

[Michellepooh]

UPS just delivered my documents!!! :cool1::woohoo: Love the new booklet format.

[Virginia_Native]

We're in!

Cabin 6118
Kevin - Dad
Cathy - Mom
Kyle - Age 15
Casey - Age 18

Cabin 6113
Arthur - Birthday Grandpa (Celebrating February 4th)
Janet - Grandma
Katy - Age 3

Cabin 6111
Wayne - Adult (Dad of Katy)
Amber - Adult (Mom of Katy)
Chris - Adult (Uncle of Katy)
Sylvia - Adult (Girlfriend of Uncle of Katy) ;)

Cabin 6147
Ray - Great Grandpa
Winnie - Great Grandma

Hey Kathy, it's Wayne-Adult (Dad of Katy). I've been posting on the Roll Call. They have our info up top under my user name. Just need to add your dad and Winnie. We can't participate in the FE stuff for obvious reasons. Less than 4 weeks to go now!!!

[becca-becca]

I was not going to do FE's, but after following this thread, I am thinking about it.

Can someone summarize FE's? What do they look like (the actual FE)? How often do you give gifts? Are you assigned days or is it every day or just a few times.

I have read a little bit about them in the past, but am not really sure exactly what is involved. I am not terribly crafty but am getting more interested.

Is there a thread to link to with pictures or something of what they look like and more about the whole exchange thing? Or can someone nicely explain in in sort of detail?

THANKS!!!

[mousecruzer]

I think on the main DCL forum there is DCL FAQ sticky that has this posted. Alot of good information there. I am opting out this trip for the FE. It was SUPER fun to get back from an event and find goodies in your FE! :) I had a hard time finding space in our luggage for all the goodies. Plus, our DD#2 keeps us so busy that I just want to "go with the flow" on this cruise. We also have my mom traveling with us so she is going to keeping us busy too! This is her first cruise! :woohoo:

[becca-becca]

I need to update our info.

We have 5 cabins (SPH).

In addition to the 14 already on the first page, we have another family,
DH, DW, DD10 and DD6 coming with us.

I ordered a FE on Ebay. I am committing my immediate family (5 of us). I am still debating on the other 4 cabins. I will decide in the next day or so.

So, right now, cabin 5024, with DH37, me-39, DS12, DD10 and DD6 are in.

Do we just bring one gift to give out at a certain time? I am going to review the sticky. It just looks like fun and I decided I didn't want to miss out!!

[becca-becca]

We are all in for the FE's!!

We have 5 cabins. Since some of these kids are not mine, I am not posting names here, only ages and male/female. If you need names, please PM me.

Cabin 5024
Me, Rebecca, age 39
Husband, Anthony, age 37
Son, age 12; ALLERGIC TO NUTS
Daughter, age 10
Daughter, age 6

Cabin 5022
Mother-in-law, age 65
Father-in-law, age 63

Cabin 5020
Sister-in-law, age 36
Brother-in-law, age 35
Niece, age 7
Niece, age 4 but turns 5 on February 1!!
Niece, age 1

Cabin 5524
Mom, age 68
Family Friend, age 65, female

Cabin 5520-friends of ours
Mom is around 36-38
Dad is around 36-38
Daughter, age 10
Daughter, age 6-7

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Have we set days to deliver, or is it just when you wish? Are we just bringing what we want (one item up to several depending on personal choice)?

Thanks!! We look forward to seeing everyone!!!

[Duckfan-in-Chicago]

We're in!

Cabin 6118
Kevin - Dad
Cathy - Mom
Kyle - Age 15
Casey - Age 18

Cabin 6113
Arthur - Birthday Grandpa (Celebrating February 4th)
Janet - Grandma
Katy - Age 3

Cabin 6111
Wayne - Adult (Dad of Katy)
Amber - Adult (Mom of Katy)
Chris - Adult (Uncle of Katy)
Sylvia - Adult (Girlfriend of Uncle of Katy) ;)

Cabin 6147
Ray - Great Grandpa
Winnie - Great Grandma

Hey Kathy, it's Wayne-Adult (Dad of Katy). I've been posting on the Roll Call. They have our info up top under my user name. Just need to add your dad and Winnie. We can't participate in the FE stuff for obvious reasons. Less than 4 weeks to go now!!!

So, are some of the cabins in and some not in, are all out???

[Duckfan-in-Chicago]

UPS just delivered my documents!!! :cool1::woohoo: Love the new booklet format.We got our docs yesterday and so did my parents. We both got the free cruise with the DVC add-on. There are three other cabins in our group who are paying with DVC points and they didn't get theirs yesterday.

[becca-becca]

Yes, we are DVC members at AKV. My signature needs to be re-vamped. It is too big and I need to add another trip. Maybe I will get to it after the cruise!!!

[Duckfan-in-Chicago]

OK...what I know as of today...the girls have caught up to the boys and I think at least 8 of the 14 cabins are going to be on the 6th floor.

Fish Extenders committed:
So far we have 14 Cabins.
Adults:
15 Females
11 Males
Kids:
11 Girls aged 14,10,10,7,7,6 or 7,6,5,5,4,1
11 boys aged 12,12,5,5,5,4,2,1,1,1,1
Dogs:
1

[Paragd911]

Im really looking forward to this cruise. its 10 deg here.:sad2:

I had a cpl of folks ask me about Shadow.

Normally I let "little kids" & other folks in wheelchairs pet him. But when its a ship Full of kids i dont let anyone.:sad1:

He works for the "petting" that i give him. If i let everyone pet him, He wont work for me. (sorry)

I'm a trainer of Service dogs.

For FE "gifts" Toys are allways good lol. He cant have "food" of any type. (his tummie)

This is one he got the last time. (And the collar too)

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh222/paragd911/100_0622.jpg


Mark & Joy

[Chris_Ronda_Evelyn]

OK...what I know as of today...the girls have caught up to the boys and I think at least 8 of the 14 cabins are going to be on the 6th floor.

Fish Extenders committed:
So far we have 14 Cabins.
Adults:
15 Females
11 Males
Kids:
11 Girls aged 14,10,10,7,7,6 or 7,6,5,5,4,1
11 boys aged 12,12,5,5,5,4,2,1,1,1,1
Dogs:
1


Duckfan,

I went through the list last night, and I was coming up with a total of 18 cabins(that is including us). 18 is including rooms 6118/6113/6111/6147, thats the ones you had a question if they were in or out. I was just curious cause I have to go out and get more things(I cant say cause I am making them). Bought more gift today for the kids though :)

See y'all real soon.

[Chris_Ronda_Evelyn]

We are all in for the FE's!!

We have 5 cabins. Since some of these kids are not mine, I am not posting names here, only ages and male/female. If you need names, please PM me.

Have we set days to deliver, or is it just when you wish? Are we just bringing what we want (one item up to several depending on personal choice)?

Thanks!! We look forward to seeing everyone!!!

Beccabecca,

Hello. Just wanted for you to know that you can deliver them anytime you want too(its all a secret) :)

And to answer your question as to gift its all personal choice.

Cant wait to meet y'all.

See ya soon!

[Duckfan-in-Chicago]

Duckfan,

I went through the list last night, and I was coming up with a total of 18 cabins(that is including us). 18 is including rooms 6118/6113/6111/6147, thats the ones you had a question if they were in or out. I was just curious cause I have to go out and get more things(I cant say cause I am making them). Bought more gift today for the kids though :)

See y'all real soon.It's 14 cabins and I'm not sure who in that group does and doesn't want to do the FE so I didn't add any of them to the total yet.

[Paragd911]

Are FE!!

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh222/paragd911/015.jpg

[becca-becca]

I love your FE!! I am not a talented sewer, so I ordered our off of Ebay!! It should be here sometime soon.

[Paragd911]

I love your FE!! I am not a talented sewer, so I ordered our off of Ebay!! It should be here sometime soon.

That was a "ebay FE" 2 years ago :)

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh222/paragd911/CCI11252008_00000-1.jpg

[Chris_Ronda_Evelyn]

We bought ours off of E-bay also. Cant wait to see y'all really soon.

[jfahome]

Hi Paragd911, I just wanted to say hello to a neighbor. I see you are in Nashville? We live in Spring Hill. We are going to be on this cruise as well, so nice to meet you. BRRRR>....it's snowing outside so I really can't wait for this cruise to start!

[rhinosbiggestfan]

I can't wait to escape this insanely cold Wisconsin weather!

2 and a half weeks to go!

[love2disneycruise]

So, are some of the cabins in and some not in, are all out???

Discussions have been concluded and we are all IN!

Cabins 6111, 6113, 6118, 6147!

[Sandy At Sea]

Hi Mark - I love the picture of Shadow with his toy! I promise to resist petting him. We have to put our black lab Maggie (who just turned 8 the other day) in the kennel for the week! But she just LOVES her stuff animals - the squirrel is her fave. Maggie would make a horrible service dog - way too skittish.

22 days!

[acourtwdw]

Just for fun I searched DCL for our cruise and its no longe available on the website. I don't think we are sold out. Crazy! The only sail date available was Jan 16.

[Duckfan-in-Chicago]

Discussions have been concluded and we are all IN!

Cabins 6111, 6113, 6118, 6147!OK...I've added you all to the total.

As of right now what I have (and I'll double check everything by next weekend) is:

Fish Extenders committed:
So far we have 18 Cabins.
Adults:
20 Females
17 Males
Kids:
12 Girls aged 14,10,10,7,7,6 or 7,6,5,5,4,3,1
12 boys aged 15,12,12,5,5,5,4,2,1,1,1,1
Dogs:
1

I'll be sending the completed room list to people in PMs.
As an FYI, people who wish to send PMs need to have posted at least 10 posts on the DIS. It's an anti-spam deal. I think anyone will be able to receive the PMs though.

[fasttj2004]

Hi All, we are on the Jan.30th cruise to. I would love to know about it being sold out. We got our GTY cat- 6 cabin assignment and got a metal balcony and was really hoping to change rooms. Our son who is active duty in the Air Force will be joining us so we had to book last minute - Dec. I had been tracking the cruise for months on availability and there seemed like there was plenty of room even in Dec.

[Paragd911]

Hi All, we are on the Jan.30th cruise to. I would love to know about it being sold out. We got our GTY cat- 6 cabin assignment and got a metal balcony and was really hoping to change rooms. Our son who is active duty in the Air Force will be joining us so we had to book last minute - Dec. I had been tracking the cruise for months on availability and there seemed like there was plenty of room even in Dec.

did you get the Military rate on the Cruise?

Mark

[fasttj2004]

The didn't not have it open for this cruise and due to son's schedule we were limited on when and where

[Paragd911]

The didn't not have it open for this cruise and due to son's schedule we were limited on when and where

that stinks.. I got it, but i booked it 4 months ago

[cnewport]

Hi-

We'll join this thread, and will be on the cruise. Myself, my wife and two boys (9 and 5). Our firs Disney Cruise, but very excited. We 'cheaped out' and did the Cat 12 inside view. Hope we don't regret being inside, but am really exicted about the cruise, and really looking forward. Trying to learn more about the Fish Extenders, etc. Boys will be in the Oceaneers clubs, etc, a lot of the time. Hoping that will occasionally give us some 'grown up' time, too.

Arriving in Cape Canaveral the night before, from Virginia, so hopefully we can get on the ship early. What time time do they REALLY start boarding?

See you there!

[Paragd911]

Hi-
Arriving in Cape Canaveral the night before, from Virginia, so hopefully we can get on the ship early. What time time do they REALLY start boarding?

See you there!

They try to start boarding around 11am

[Chris_Ronda_Evelyn]

Hello ALL!

We got our Docs on Friday! Sorry I did not post it then, but we went up to Michigan and had a lot of family functions going on up there. Always great to see my family.

It is getting so close to our Bon Voyage Date!! WOO! HOO!

And Welcome to the new comers on our trip...Can not wait to meet everyone soon!