~May 7, 2011~ 7-night Eastern Caribbean Cruise on the Magic!

[VeroBeach]

Woo hoo!

Please sign in here for our 7-night Eastern Caribbean Cruise on the Magic for May 7, 2011.

Our party consists of 2 rooms, both on deck 7.

Room 1 - myself, my wife, and my DS8.

Room 2 - my DS20 and his cousin also age 20.

I'd love to find someone for my DS8 to get friendly with before the cruise, since he was a bit shy on our August 2009 3-night Wonder Cruise. I think he really needs a friend in the kids program.

Thanks!

[IrishCowboy]

I have added a link to your thread on the main index page. Have a great cruise!:thumbsup2

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Hi there! I am 95% convinced that I am going to book this cruise. It will be my mom and myself probably in an inside cabin. We had a Cat 6 on our last trip and while it was very nice we didn't use the verandah too much so I figure we will save a couple thousand dollars and book an inside cabin.

Me - Lessa - 27 at the time of the cruise

Mom - Beth - 48 at the time of the cruise

[True Romance]

I was just on the Magic last week for the Western cruise and booked onboard for the May 7, 2011. It will be myself, husband, daughter who will be 8, son who will be almost 6, and son who will have just turned 3.

I was able to get connecting SPH rooms on deck 5. Pretty excited about that.

We had a verandah last week and I will miss that. But will save some cash by booking 2 connecting rooms instead.

So hello to everyone 18 months in advance of our cruise. Hoping the weather is better in May then it was last week. It rained on us in port and Castaway Cay every day.

[CoolCanadian]

Hi Folks
Pleased to meet you.
This will be my and my DD's (18 at time of sailing) second cruise - we did the Magic Western in 2008, and this time my folks are joining us. We have two cabins on deck 7. My mom and daughter are night owls and my dad and I are morning birds so between the four of us we're going to see and do everything! (ya right) but the opposite schedules may make for some entertaining room service deliveries.
This will be a completely different trip with a new itinerary, two new travellers and my DD able to come to Cove Cafe, Palo, and enjoy the nightlife. Can't wait.

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Sorry guys, we are no longer going to be on this cruise. I decided to book the May 29. 2011 5-night Dream sailing instead. Have a great cruise!

[IrishCowboy]

subscribing

[AddictedtoMickey]

Hi everyone,

We were on the 7-day eastern (Tortola)(Magic) two weeks ago and booked this cruise. We had great weather on the cruise itself, but Port Canaveral (leaving) and returning wasn't great. Also, overcast in Castaway Cay.

We prefer to head south in April/May anyway, so this date (May 7, 2011) should work out really well.

Hey CoolCanadian, where are you from?

[AddictedtoMickey]

I forgot to introduce my group! It will be myself, DW and three DDs (13, 10 & 7 at time of cruising).

We considered booking on the Dream but I like the itinerary better on the Magic and this will be our third cruise on the Magic...kinda getting used to it, at least we don't get lost as often!

Happy Holidays to everyone!

[CoolCanadian]

Hello Addictedtomickey
Welcome!
We all hail from Wonderful Winterpeg - Winnipeg Manitoba straight north of North Dakota and the namesake of Winnie the Pooh. Most folks would leave here to travel during the colder months however I'm looking forward to cruising in May as our last cruise was in February and there were lots of issues travelling in the winter time.
Shouldn't get snowed in at the airport in May - even in Winnipeg.
Happy New Year to all.

[lolakat]

My husband and I (30s) are booked on this cruise with our DD who will be 3 and a half. We will be traveling with another family who has 2 girls ages 6 and 3 in two adjoining oceanview cabins on deck 2. This will be DD's 5th cruise but it is our family's first time on DCL so we are all very excited.

[jinia]

Hello all!

Going to book this cruise within the next month! Just have to get the deposit together..;):wizard:

Myself-37::MinnieMo
DH - 38:darth:
DS - 8pirate:

First time cruisers so I am very excited! Will also be sailing with my sister and her peeps! She will be along to introduce her family sooner or later!
VeroBeach - DS is not much of a writer but if you would like for the boys to be penpals that would be neat! Maybe exchange some letters or pictures before the cruise! If your interested just PM me! I am not very social but he sure is!

[nswift]

:Hi all ~
Count me in! This will be my 3rd cruise - 2nd with Disney (which we all know is the best). I am fortunate to have several family members joining me... we have 3 cabins, midship, 6th deck...Our Motley Crew:
:surfweb: Me 45 -2nd time Disney Cruiser
:cool2: DH 47 -1st time Disney Cruiser
:ccat: DD 21 -2nd time Disney Cruiser
:music: DD's boyfriend 21 -1st time cruiser, and a little nervous if he will admit it :-),
DS ..will be vacationing elsewhere, we will miss him, but know he will have fun
...and we are super tickled to be joined by Jinia-my DS and her family! :cheer2:...
::MinnieMo DSister - apparently a little older than me :rotfl2:
:darth: DBinLaw
:dog: DNephew...this is their 1st cruise:thumbsup2
Wishing us all fairwinds, and following seas...

And hoping someone will initiate the Fish Extender idea!

[canabrits2]

I forgot to introduce my group! It will be myself, DW and three DDs (13, 10 & 7 at time of cruising).

We considered booking on the Dream but I like the itinerary better on the Magic and this will be our third cruise on the Magic...kinda getting used to it, at least we don't get lost as often!

Happy Holidays to everyone!

Hi!!! I'm waiting for my income tax return to put down the deposit for the May07th sailing!!!! I got a saved courtesy-booking through Small World Vacations today. They seem really good.

We've never been on a cruise before and I'm sooo excited! It's a compromise with my boyfriend. He gets beaches and the Caribbean and my DD (age 7 at time of cruise) and I get our Disney fix!! He has agreed in principle but doesn't know that I'm about to lay out the cash for it. mwahahahaha....

Hey AddictedtoMickey, we're in Antigonish, glad to know more Nova Scotians will be there. If this is your 3rd cruise, we're open to any and all tips and tricks! :)

[nswift]

Your gonna love it :-) :thumbsup2
~Almost anything you need to know, can be found on the Dis Boards...

[canabrits2]

Hooraaaaaay!

BOOKED and deposit down!

Woo-hoo! Mid-ship deck 7! See you all there!

Now a proper count-down can start. :)

[canabrits2]

Is anyone else out there wondering if there will be any different atmosphere being that the May 07th sailing is the last 7 night Caribbean cruise before the European summer season? Do you think the crew will be more tired or excited at all?

[BrytEydBelle]

Hi everyone! First time Disney cruiser here...have cruised once before with Carnival and loved it and expect to have an even better time on Disney. I am 27 and am sailing with my baby sister who will be 21. Leaving my husband home as he doesn't like Disney.

Is anyone else out there wondering if there will be any different atmosphere being that the May 07th sailing is the last 7 night Caribbean cruise before the European summer season? Do you think the crew will be more tired or excited at all?

I think that some may be more excited to be moving on to a new itinerary, some may be tired of the caribbean route, but since it is Disney, they will not show it. After so many visits to WDW, I never felt like the crew at the end of the night was more anxious to get done than the crew at opening. I'm hoping the cruise crew will be similar.

[nswift]

Like your username, BrytEydBelle~
Welcome to the cruise :-)
:thumbsup2

[MinnieMeg]

:banana: We just put our deposit down on this cruise. This will be our second cruise on Disney. We had such a good time in Feb. we couldn't wait to begin to plan another one. DH and I will be travelling alone. Our cabin is deck 2, mid.

And hoping someone will initiate the Fish Extender idea

OK, I'll initiate it. We enjoyed participating in the FE exchange on our last cruise.

Meg

[nswift]

:banana:


OK, I'll initiate it. We enjoyed participating in the FE exchange on our last cruise.

Meg

Thanks MinnieMeg!

[ottermouse]

WooHOO!:woohoo: We booked our third cruise today. We have been on 2 previous cruises and are totally addicted. I am 35 at time of sailing,but I tell people I am 29 sshhhhh!...lol:rotfl2: My DH will be 34, my DS will be 14, and my DD will be 12. We will be cruising with another family and the inlaws:scared1: will be there also. Over all we are very excited.

[MinnieMeg]

Sounds like a lot of fun, Ottermouse. Welcome Aboard!

Meg

[bibbidibobbidiboo07]

Add another four happy Sailors to the list! We're booked!!!!!!
We cruised just DH and I in 2006 on the Magic pretty much same dates and have now booked to return - can't wait. We may be mad but this time we have our DD age 4 and Baby King coming (Baby King due in Sept!!) - so apologies to whoever is in the cabin next to ours. Also coming are my parents (my Mam not a keen water person so hopefully all will be good) and we are meeting up with the couple we met on our 2006 cruise, their DD and Mom. We're from the UK and our friends are from the US. We got on really well and have met up with them several times in WDW but will be great to get back on board.

Lastly I would love to take part in the Fish Extenders - never done it before and not really sure how it all works out but I have been reading up on it carefully, and been lost for hours in all the info.

[canabrits2]

Wow! Our thread is starting to pick up steam. :)

Welcome Ottermouse and Bibbiddi!

Bibbiddi, you cruised last year at this time? How was the weather??

[bibbidibobbidiboo07]

Our last cruise was 2006, and from what I remember we had great weather. I do remember our day at castaway cay being overcast to start with and rain but it soon got out.

I quickly looked at some other cruise dates and from there I think ours is doing really well!!!! Fingers crossed it keeps going.

[ottermouse]

Wow! Our thread is starting to pick up steam. :)

Welcome Ottermouse and Bibbiddi!

Bibbiddi, you cruised last year at this time? How was the weather??

Thanks for the welcome.:) We actually cruised last year in May we were doing the western carribean, Swine flu broke out in Mexico,:sick: and put a damper on cozumel , but everything else was perfect. The weather and the water temperature. We cruised in Nov. air temperature was good but the water temperature was a bit cold. My family is very excited for the cruise now I gotta think up things to keep there minds off the fact that there are over 390 days to go.....lol

[Tarabra]

Hello,

We just booked while on the Wonder last week. This will be DCL number 9. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE cruising in early May. The weather is amazing. My family is myself, Tara, husband, Rob, daughter Ava, 6, and Jonah, 3.

Tara

[ottermouse]

Hello,

We just booked while on the Wonder last week. This will be DCL number 9. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE cruising in early May. The weather is amazing. My family is myself, Tara, husband, Rob, daughter Ava, 6, and Jonah, 3.

Tara

Welcome! :cool1:

[bibbidibobbidiboo07]

Welcome aboard!:cool1:

[dljhowie]

Hi all! Canabrits2 said I should check out this thread after posting in another forum. A little background....My family of 4 were originally going to WDW in Oct. but my parents surprised us( my family and my brothers)with this 7-day cruise. I guess this would be called our family magical gathering/cruise. Since we couldn't afford both trips so close, We decided to use our DVC points to shack up our group of 11 in a Grand Villa at SSR prior to the cruise. We are planning a stop at WDW May 3-7 leading to our first ever cruise.:banana:

We will be on deck 8 in three rooms connected.

Our group consists of:

my happily retired parents
DW 36
Myself 41
DS 9
DD 6
DSiL 45
DB 45
DT's 2 girls one boy 13

I'm not sure if DB means dear brother. It just fit. He wasn't that dear to me until we got older anyways:rotfl2:
DSiL = dear sister in law:flower3:
DT's = Dear triplets:dance3:

I'm pretty new to posting here but have read the forums for a while.

I sure am glad to finally be able to post in this forum!:yay:

[MinnieMeg]

What a magical surprise, dljhowie. Welcome aboard. :yay:

[canabrits2]

Welcome dljhowie!

I have a DD who is 6 but will be 7 at the time of the cruise. They may end up playing together. :)

We're in the middle of trying convince another couple to come with their daughter of the same age as well...

[dljhowie]

My son and daughter are very outgoing so I'm sure they would love to have some friends on board. I listed their ages at the time of cruise. It sould be a great time

[DisneyLover1]

We just booked our 5th cruise on the Magic. My DH, and my two DD's (ages 12 and 9) will be joining me. We can't wait and we count down all the time. 368 more days until the Disney Cruise!

WOO HOO!

[MinnieMeg]

Welcome aboard, DisneyLover1. :cool1:

We have a lot of repeat cruisers on this cruise. Has anyone taken this cruise (7 night Eastern) before?

We're just one year before our cruise! :dance3:

[jinia]

Haven't checked this out in awhile-glad I did! Our meet thread is moving right along! :wizard:

[2BoysMom]

Hi Y'all:wave2:

I haven't booked yet, but I have contacted a travel agency and talked about the cruise with my DH.
We have sailed twice before, last year we did a 7 day Western on the Magic.

My twin boys turn 7 on the 7th, 2011, so I thought it would be a nice birthday gift for them. This summer, we are adopting a little girl from China who will be 6 when we sail. So, now I have to think as a family of 5, instead of family of 4.

I would love some advice on doing this economically. I have always had a verandah (I know...SPOILED), so we could do the Family Suite (but the cost!:scared1:). Last time we sailed we were upgraded to the FS, but I can't book a family of 5 into a standard verandah room. I also considered bringing my mother, and having 4 in a room and then one of the kids with her.

I don't have to have a verandah room. How have people got the best deal on the rooms? Would you care to share? Any advice for me about connecting rooms, etc. We are FL residents. What if I book now, and FL resident rates come out later? Do I get reimbursed, if I am paying higher now? Should I wait to book, until they put out FL resident rates?

I'm sorry for so many questions, considering I am not really a newbie. But when I priced this cruise, it just seemed so much higher than I have paid in the past.

I know I am going, one way or another.... so I can't wait to meet y'all.

[2BoysMom]

Wow. It appears that I killed this thread!:faint: So sorry about that.

Well, just to let you all know, we are FOR SURE going to be on this cruise. "Turning 7 on the 7th for 7 days!!" Can't wait.

Feel free to share any advice with me regarding questions from above. Right now I plan on waiting until FL Resident rates are released, and see what I can get with those. But we are FOR SURE regardless.

"Y'all come back now, ya hear."

[canabrits2]

Hi!
I'm around and lurking. :) We're still booked and coming for our first cruise. I find myself flipping between weeks of wanting to be excited and into the Disney mood and weeks of not wanting to think about it at all because I think time will go by faster that way. I also don't want to wish my life away but I want it to be May 07th, 2011 at the same time! Schizo? hehehe

Oh, and my DD will be 7 at time of cruise as well, so there are turning out to be a lot in that age range for playmates! yaay!

[jinia]

Wow. It appears that I killed this thread!:faint: So sorry about that.

Well, just to let you all know, we are FOR SURE going to be on this cruise. "Turning 7 on the 7th for 7 days!!" Can't wait.

Feel free to share any advice with me regarding questions from above. Right now I plan on waiting until FL Resident rates are released, and see what I can get with those. But we are FOR SURE regardless.

"Y'all come back now, ya hear."

I missed your initial post-sorry! Not that I will be any help...First Congratulations on your almost here adoption! About economical ... I think that is the opposite of DCL. Visit the boards loads and make sure you have a savvy Travel Agent to watch for future pins. This will be my first cruise so I am not much help I'm afraid.

Canabits-I know I feel the same way...I will spend a few days frantically scouring the dis and reading the little cruise book. Then I realize how far away it is and make myself put it away. WDW I plan fanatically so I want to do that with the DCL but there is so much less for me to do....sigh...Here is a little Disney magic so we can just hurry it up a bit!:wizard:

[TNShellBelle]

Hello Everyone! My family will be joining you all on this cruise, I am just waiting for Dreams Unlimited to get back to me. This will be our 4th Disney Cruise and it will be me, dh, dd who will be 5 and ds who will be 3.

Looking forward to meeting everyone!

Michelle

[ottermouse]

Hi Y'all:wave2:

I haven't booked yet, but I have contacted a travel agency and talked about the cruise with my DH.
We have sailed twice before, last year we did a 7 day Western on the Magic.

My twin boys turn 7 on the 7th, 2011, so I thought it would be a nice birthday gift for them. This summer, we are adopting a little girl from China who will be 6 when we sail. So, now I have to think as a family of 5, instead of family of 4.

I would love some advice on doing this economically. I have always had a verandah (I know...SPOILED), so we could do the Family Suite (but the cost!:scared1:). Last time we sailed we were upgraded to the FS, but I can't book a family of 5 into a standard verandah room. I also considered bringing my mother, and having 4 in a room and then one of the kids with her.

I don't have to have a verandah room. How have people got the best deal on the rooms? Would you care to share? Any advice for me about connecting rooms, etc. We are FL residents. What if I book now, and FL resident rates come out later? Do I get reimbursed, if I am paying higher now? Should I wait to book, until they put out FL resident rates?

I'm sorry for so many questions, considering I am not really a newbie. But when I priced this cruise, it just seemed so much higher than I have paid in the past.

I know I am going, one way or another.... so I can't wait to meet y'all.

First let me say welcome back to DCL. This will be our 3rd cruise. We did the magic also, last May on the 7 night western. We have noticed that the prices were a little higher for this cruise. We thought it was just because we were going a little further.:confused3. We are also FL residents. We have called DCL customer service we were told that discounts can come out 6 months to 6 days before the cruise. We were also told that we will be reimbursed If we make the final payment before the discounts are out. As far as making it economical...humm...I have to say we are a family of 4 and stay in a porthole room. We also dont let the kids go near the arcade.:) We have all types of gaming systems at home. That always saves a couple of bucks.:thumbsup2 We actually bring all our snorkel gear from home instead of renting it. We like to enjoy the spa. So instead of doing a massage we did the rosul it was a little cheaper and a lot of fun with your significant other;). Bring your own decorations for the boys birthday and decorate the stateroom. We told the counselers at the oceanseers lab about our sons birthday and they decorated our stateroom door with streamers and balloons and also took a picture of him in the lab and put those on our door. Just a little extra touch that made it more special. If you like your wine they have a package you can purchase for a fee. Little things do go a long way. Good luck!:cool1:

[2BoysMom]

.....We have called DCL customer service we were told that discounts can come out 6 months to 6 days before the cruise. We were also told that we will be reimbursed If we make the final payment before the discounts are out. As far as making it economical...humm...I have to say we are a family of 4 and stay in a porthole room.....

Hi Ottermouse :wave2:

Based on what you said above, yes, I agreed with all of those things. BUT, recently I had a TA tell me that I would not get reimbursed if I ended up paying it all before the FL resident discounts (FRD) came out. That Disney used to do it that way, but has since changed its policy.

That's just what I was told, I can't swear it is true, but that is the reason I haven't booked anything yet, b/c I don't want to pay for it all and then find out FRD were released.

Maybe someone knows, if indeed, this is a new policy of Disney...?:confused3

[hamilton23]

My wife, son (age 7), daughter (age 4), Bro-in-Law, Sis-in-law and their daughter (Age 1) will be on this trip. We have only done one DCL trip before, a 4 night Bahamas jaunt in Jan 2006. We are doing 6 nights at WDW before. This is my first post on this board, but have been reading all the tips for weeks. There is some great information here. Keep the tips coming.

[gg.leigh]

Hi everyone!! We put a deposit on this cruise while we were onboard the 5/15 Med cruise!!! I can't wait!! We are planning on going to WDW after the cruise, but not 100% sure as to how many days (3 - 5) we should go to WDW.

[TNShellBelle]

We are booked and deposit has been paid! Can't wait!:yay:

[AddictedtoMickey]

Hey AddictedtoMickey, we're in Antigonish, glad to know more Nova Scotians will be there. If this is your 3rd cruise, we're open to any and all tips and tricks! :)


Hi Canabrits2,

I've been travelling quite a bit with work lately so I haven't been on here in awhile. Now that it's less than a year, things should really pick up.

This will be our first cruise with fellow Nova Scotians!

[dljhowie]

My wife, son (age 7), daughter (age 4), Bro-in-Law, Sis-in-law and their daughter (Age 1) will be on this trip. We have only done one DCL trip before, a 4 night Bahamas jaunt in Jan 2006. We are doing 6 nights at WDW before. This is my first post on this board, but have been reading all the tips for weeks. There is some great information here. Keep the tips coming.


I set our trip to WDW on the 1st as well. We were going to arrive on the 3rd but when I set up our trip I changed it and surprised us all. We will be staying in 2 Treehouse villas. I was going to try the old creative resies technique by getting it a few days ahead then dropping a day and adding a day up to the date you want. Well when I did it I just added the days on the end right away. I didn't think I would get them but I got lucky enough and thought I may never stay in them again so what the heck!

I just hope we're not too tired by the time the cruise comes.

One thing, I saw magnets on doors. Can I have a brief explanation on haw you do it?

[AddictedtoMickey]

One thing, I saw magnets on doors. Can I have a brief explanation on haw you do it?[/QUOTE]

I stole this from another thread, but it has a lot of helpful tips. I've done a lot of these, so if I can help, let me know.

Addicted to Mickey

REMEMBER – These designs are FREE and they cannot be SOLD or used for profit in ANY way whatsoever!!!!


Here are the links to the last three threads.

Part One: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1523226
Part Two: http://www.disboards.com/showthread....47014&page=255
Part Three: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2299290

If you are looking for the ears to go over the number on your stateroom door check out this thread for some awesome creations:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2172891


If you want to see how others decorate their door, or if you want to post your pics check out this thread:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2281626


FAQ:

Q: How do I print them, they are grainy?
A: If the picture is a thumbnail, you need to click on that. It will take you to the photo hosting site of the DISigner.
Once you are there, click on it again (for photobucket) or the click to enlarge box (4shared) to expand the DISign to it's full size.
You can then right click and save it at it's best quality.

Q: Where do I find these DISigns and how do I get one made for me?
A: Check out the signatures of some of the DISigners. They have links to their shared sites that you can look through. If you see something you would like to have, post a request with the one you would like and what you want on it. If you don't see what you had in mind, describe what you would like and hopefully someone can find a pic for you or make a new DISign.

Q: I would like to share. How do I post them from my computer to here?
A: There are many free image hosting sites you can sign up with. Try ImageShack, Photobucket, Flickr, 4shared. Once you sign up
you can upload your pictures and then post the url from there to your post on here. New pics and Ideas are always welcome and encouraged!
If you just want to share, but don't have time to help personalize, just say so in your post.

[bakalorber]

There are four of us. Me, DW, DD 5 and DD 3. Looking forward to having a blast!!!!!!!

[TNShellBelle]

Hello everyone. I know this thread isn't very active yet but I wanted to let everyone know that we have changed dates. I have a SPH room reserved for this cruise (#5524) that I am planning on canceling tomorrow if anyone is interested.

[dljhowie]

Thanks AddictedtoMickey. I'm already preparing my pictures. I will also make a "Dis" magnet to put up so if you happen by, say hello! That is if we are in our room that is. I don't see that being too often I hope. What a time we will have!:banana:

Dan

[MickeyManiacMom]

Finally booked!

This will be my husband and I's third cruise, but the first one with our kiddos. They are beyond the moon excited about it! (And so are we!)

My daughter will be 9 and my son will be 7 when we cruise.

My husband's best friend has decided he is booking a room, after hearing our stories about how great the cruise is. And now I think we were so excited about it that we may have convinced my BIL and his family and my MIL and her husband to join us as well. Forget it - we're taking over the ship. :rotfl2: I figure the more, the merrier.

Hubby and his best friend are looking at the scuba excursion on St. Thomas. Anyone done that before? The kids and I are just looking forward to soaking up the magic.

[jinia]

Just popping in to see how it goes and can't help but notice a trend or two! Loads of kids 7-9 yrs old and lots of family groups with multiple rooms on this cruise! I am getting more and more excited:goodvibes!

[BlueNoPink]

Just booked this today!!!!!! So excited! We have been on the Western before but not the Eastern! There will be 8 of us all together (parents, in laws, my DH, DD 6 and DD 5).We can't wait!:grouphug:

[Whisky In A VAse]

Only just found this thread, we booked this cruise in June. Our first cruise so very excited, as well as being slightly nervous as I have no idea what to expect. There will be myself 37, DW, 36, DD 7, DS 3, plus the in laws and BIL.

Really looking forward, we have booked an inside stateroom, due to costs as we are having 10 days in a villa first.

Any advise would be appreciated.

Cheers

Neil

[canabrits2]

Welcome!

Our DD will be 7 at time of the cruise and it looks like there are a few playmates on the thread already. :)

We're staying the week before the cruise too but at CBR. It seems so far away.

[MinnieMeg]

We'll also be staying the week before the cruise at WDW . We will be at BWV.

Near the beginning of the thread, I volunteered to organize the FE exchange. I know it is a bit early, but is anyone interested in participating?

[Whisky In A VAse]

You can count me and my family in, first cruise so what ever anybody is doing we will be joining in, if you don't mind us joining in that is!!!!

[MinnieMeg]

Hi Whiskey In A Vase and family. Everyone is welcome to any event we discuss on this thread. The more, the merrier I say. :dance3: As soon as more people start to show an interest in the FE exchange, I'll post more info and we can discuss how we would like to proceed.

[Dianatlol]

We just switched dates to this cruise! This will be our 3rd cruise
DH 47, Me, 36, and DD Casey will be 10.
We are excited!!! Who all is doing the FE's? We need a list going so that we know how much we need to have shipped to the room ahead of time! :)

[MinnieMeg]

The list for the FE exchange is:

MinnieMeg (2) 2 adults

Whiskey in a Vase (7) 2 adults, DD7, DS3, + 3 adults

Dianatlol (3) 2 adults, DD10

Is anyone else interested?

[Dianatlol]

Minnie, on the list you should add the kiddos and the ages so we have an idea of how much goodies to make/buy.

We still have some time, but I like to start getting my stuff together so when the time rolls around I can just ship my package out to the ship

[kventventx]

This will be my first cruise and I will be traveling with my husband and staying on Deck 6. I have several food allergies and Disney was the only curise ship willing to insure that they would accommodate them. So...we hope it will be fun.

[kventventx]

What is a fish extender?

[Dianatlol]

This will be my first cruise and I will be traveling with my husband and staying on Deck 6. I have several food allergies and Disney was the only curise ship willing to insure that they would accommodate them. So...we hope it will be fun.

Just remind your server (who travels with you to each meal) of your allergies

[Dianatlol]

What is a fish extender?

It is something you hang on your Fish (outside of your door) and everyone who is involved goes around at different times and drops goodies in your extender. I recommend checking it throughout the day because kids will steal the items out of them. You can put trinkets, note pads, candy things like that. Most like to add things from their state. It's fun. We mail our package to the ship before and when we arrive our goodies are there! :)

[2BoysMom]

We mail our package to the ship before and when we arrive our goodies are there! :)

Hi Diana-
I have heard of people shipping things to the resorts ahead of time, but not DCL. Do they bring your package to your room once you are on board, or do you pick it up at check-in? This sounds very cool.

-Donna

[Dianatlol]

Hi Diana-
I have heard of people shipping things to the resorts ahead of time, but not DCL. Do they bring your package to your room once you are on board, or do you pick it up at check-in? This sounds very cool.

-Donna

Ours is always sitting on our bed when we get to our room! its nice to do that so that I do not have to pack all of it and put it on the plane!

[Whisky In A VAse]

The list for the FE exchange is:

Whiskey in a Vase (4) 2 adults, DD7, DS3 Will the other family members that are joining you be participating?



Oh yes they want to be involved, we will have MIL who is 60 in January and FIL 60+ also BIL who is a Disney fanatic who is 35, but a very young 35.

Mother In Law, loves all things like this and has already started to get lots of treats from England seas side resorts and cities for you all.....

We are all very very excited.

[MinnieMeg]

[QUOTE=kventventx;38456401]This will be my first cruise and I will be traveling with my husband and staying on Deck 6. I have several food allergies and Disney was the only curise ship willing to insure that they would accommodate them. So...we hope it will be fun.[/QUOTE

I also have food allergies. The dining crew that rotates through the dining rooms with you, have the info. Your server will present the next night's menu to you at the end of dinner. You pick the items that you want and they check for any problems.

When we took a tour of the galley we were told that any special diet meals, including allergies, are made in a side kitchen overseen by the head of the kitchen. This eliminates cross contanimation issues.

[Dianatlol]

My MIL and FIL will be joining us! they have the room next door! We are excited

[kventventx]

Thanks for the information. It really helps. We are doing WDW for 7 days prior to the cruise so it would be hard to pack snacks and extra food to bring on the cruise. Knowing that the staff will work with me really makes me feel better about trying a cruise.

[Dianatlol]

Thanks for the information. It really helps. We are doing WDW for 7 days prior to the cruise so it would be hard to pack snacks and extra food to bring on the cruise. Knowing that the staff will work with me really makes me feel better about trying a cruise.

Remember you can also have a package shipped to the cruise ship that will be deliverd to your stateroom when you get there. We do it every year

[kventventx]

But you can't ship food or beverages to the cruise ship. K

[Dianatlol]

But you can't ship food or beverages to the cruise ship. K

Hm... Does Candy count? I did that last year & the year before

[kventventx]

Not sure but in the "Official" Disney statement about shiped boxes they can only be 12 inches square and no food or beverage. Maybe Candy doesn't count as either.

[kventventx]

Thanks it helps to know that others have traveled successfully.

[BeccaBeeHappy]

My boyfriend and I signed up for this cruise in May but I just found this board. It'll be just the two of us going on this trip, and on May 12th we'll be celebrating his 30th birthday!

Anyway, just wanted to say hi and I look forward to enjoying this special vacation with all of you!

B

[kventventx]

Glad you will be joining us.

[loveadobie]

Hi,

We're booked on this cruise. Looking forward to it very much. We have been on several cruises before. This will
be our first one with Disney. Just paid it off today. Oh yea!

It will be both me and my husband, and college age daughter.

Woo Hoo!: cool1:

[BeccaBeeHappy]

After reading everyone’s posts I thought I should provide a bit more background on who we are and how we ended up booking this cruise. So...

Me: Becca, a 28 yr old full time professional
BF: Frankie, turning 30 on the cruise
Us: We're from Northern California and live together with our dog Sophie.

So the last cruise I was on was the Big Red Boat (almost 20 years ago!). Frankie was on a cruise with his family in Mexico a year ago and saw one of the DCL ships in port (forget where) and was EXTREMELY jealous he wasn't on that ship (he’s pretty sure he saw a giant Wii bowling match on the Jubotron on the top deck….I’m pretty sure it was the adult beverages playing ticks on him – either way he’s been talking about it getting on that boat ever since).

So one night, while laying around in our onsie pajamas we decided the best idea was to research Disney Cruises and found this one that was sailing during his birthday and thought it was perfect since neither one of us had been to any of the islands on the Eastern itinerary. So I paid the deposit as part of his birthday present and have been so excited (and slightly obsessed in planning) since.

So since we've never been on a Disney Cruise or to any of these islands, any personal feedback you could provide us about Port Adventures would be great! I've read the Passporter book, which was extremely helpful but would love to hear from you!

We're also excited to participate in any meet ups or FE's that have been brought up on here.

Happy Monday!
Becca

[MinnieMeg]

Becca, I have added you to the FE list.

What does everyone think about a meet at Promenade Lounge on May 7th at 3:00pm? We can meet each other, :chat: update cabin numbers for FE participants that upgraded at port and still have time to get to the boat drill.

The list for the FE exchange is:

MinnieMeg (2) 2 adults

Whiskey in a Vase (7) 2 adults, DD7, DS3, + 3 adults

Dianatlol (3) 2 adults, DD10 Will your MIL & FIL be interested in the FE?

BeccaBeeHappy (2) 2 adults

MickeyManiacMom (4) 2adults, DD9, DS7

Is anyone else interested?

[MickeyManiacMom]

I'm interested in joining the FE!

It is myself and husband and our 2 kids, daughter Riley (9) and son Tyler (7) at time of sailing!

[MinnieMeg]

MickeyManiacMom, Welcome aboard. I have added your family to the FE list. Meg

[rusafee1183]

Hi, my name's Heather! Myself and my DH Bob will be sailing with you guys! Just us, no kids and it's our 1st DCL cruise. My DH has never cruised before, and it's been so long since my last cruise (like 10 years) that it feels like my 1st time too. :goodvibes

Has anyone decided on any excursions? I am leaning towards not doing one on St Maarten and just taking a taxi to Orient Beach and then maybe doing a St John tour of some kind. Not sure.... I'm open to any suggestions!!

Hopefully people wil start chatting on here more when it gets closer! I need to get some of this excitement off my chest and I am starting to feel like my friends and family are sick of hearing about it ;)

[krispykreme97]

I am going on the 3 day on the Wonder leaving Dec. 16. I plan on booking this cruise with the discount onboard if there are still rooms available. It is looking about 3400 for a inside cabin for the 4 of us.

[krispykreme97]

I am going on the 3 day on the Wonder leaving Dec. 16. I plan on booking this cruise with the discount onboard if there are still rooms available. It is looking about 3400 for a inside cabin for the 4 of us.

We are book just got off the Wonder for a 3 day cruise which wasn't nearly long enough! Decided to leave the kids at home on this one.

[VeroBeach]

We unfortunately need to postpone our participation in this cruise....

My wife and I do get to participate in the Dream Magic Preview Cruise on Jan 23, 2011 but we need to leave the kids at home.

:-(


Enjoy your cruise!

[bibbidibobbidiboo07]

Haven't been on for a while, with a new baby and Christmas coming I haven't had 5 minutes to check in. We would like to join in with the FE, DD, Lucy will be 4 and DS Matthew will be 8 months!

[krispykreme97]

Sign us up for the FE exchange! 2 adults DD 9 DD 2. This is our second disney cruise and we are so excited.

[MinnieMeg]

Bibbidibobbidiboo07 and krispykreme97, I have added you to the FE list.

The list for the FE exchange is:


MinnieMeg (2) 2 adults

Whiskey in a Vase (7) 2 adults, DD 7, DS 3, + 3 adults

Dianatlol (3) 2 adults, DD 10 Will your MIL & FIL be interested in the FE?

MickeyManiacMom (4) 2 adults, DD 9, DS 7

Bibbidibobbidiboo07 (4) 2 adults, DD 4, DS 8mos.

Krispykreme97 (4) 2 adults, DD 9, DD 2


Is anyone else interested?

[Minniemiss]

DH and I will be cruising!! I'm not sure if we will be participating in the FE.

[Minniemiss]

Sign us up for the FE exchange! 2 adults DD 9 DD 2. This is our second disney cruise and we are so excited.

I thought I had read you were cruising without the kids?

They wouldn't let you do Disney with out them. :rotfl:

[krispykreme97]

I thought I had read you were cruising without the kids?

They wouldn't let you do Disney with out them. :rotfl:

I havent quite decided yet! It's a tough decision. Either way I thought I'll bring them some FE gifts back lol.

[MinnieMeg]

Happy New Year party:

[Whisky In A VAse]

Happy New Year party:

Happy New Year all, really looking forward to meeting up on the cruise.

All the best for 2011.

[bibbidibobbidiboo07]

Happy New Year to our fellow sailors, not long til cruise time now!!!!:banana:

[rusafee1183]

Getting so excited!!!!

Has anyone decided which excursions they're doing?

DH and I are leaning towards Capt'n Nautica on St Thomas. :goodvibes

Anyone have any tips for a cruise newbie?

[Whisky In A VAse]

Getting so excited!!!!

Has anyone decided which excursions they're doing?



We are also starting to think about the excursions, what do you all fancy doing?

We want to do some snorkelling, where is best?

[rusafee1183]

I heard that St John Trunk Bay is the best for snorkeling, but have heard that it's one of the most popular destinations so it's more crowded.

We are doing the Captain Nautica excursion from St Thomas, but it stops in 3 dfferent locations if I understood correctly

[Minniemiss]

Happy New Year!!

We are interested in snorkeling with the turtles. Not sure what we will do at St Marten.

[rusafee1183]

Happy New Year!!

We are interested in snorkeling with the turtles. Not sure what we will do at St Marten.

We are stuck on what to do there too..... I am thinking maybe just shopping and then grabbing a cab to one of the beaches. :confused3

Maybe Orient Bay, but not too sure.

[CoolCanadian]

Hi folks
Long time no visit I'm afraid but I'm sure that, like others, things will pick up as the departure date gets closer.
We're still coming!
Me, DD 18, and my folks (or her grandparents depending on how you figure it) whose age I doubt I am allowed to share.
I love the idea of a meet-up. MinniMeg, you seem to be the volunteer organizer of all things DIS related and thank you. While we're not doing FE, it is good of you to track those who are and I look forward to meeting everyone in person that I've met on the boards.
I've noted 3pm May 7 in the Promenade Lounge.
We are looking at signing up for the rainforest hike and I'm trying to check if the 5K is still held at CC in the morning.
I'm also hoping to snag PALO afternoon tea for a sea day if the online reservation system smiles upon me. If anyone else is looking at that too for a particular day, perhaps we can book and then link them once on board for a large table. It will be just the 3 ladies in our party for tea and we'd be happy to join with others.

see you soon!

[MinnieMeg]

Hi CoolCanadian
You're welcome.
DH and I are also interested in attending afternoon tea at Palo. I'm still not sure which day. We will be making our reservations on February 6th.
Has anyone been to Coral World on St. Thomas?
We are looking forward to meeting everyone at Promenade Lounge on May 7 at 3 pm.

[Lexa]

Phew...finally found you guys......we booked and paid deposit today.....oh my...am I still breathing? I guess I am LOL...I'm so excited. This will be our first Disney Cruise (me an DH were on other cruises before kids).


So our family of 4...myself, DH, DS (almost 7) and DD (almost 6). Kids don't know yet and we are planning to keep a secret as long as we can.

Only thing we are trying to figure it out is our transportation from the MCO to the motel and from the ship to MCO.

I'm really looking forward to be will all of you on this trip!

For FE Exchange...will let you know a little later, need to figure it out how all this works first.

[corky441]

Looks like you can add 2 more DISers to this cruise :yay:

DH(Dino) and I just took our first ever cruise this past December. We did the 4 night Wonder with the Podcast team and over 600 DISers. :eek: Needless to say, we found out that we absolutely LOVE cruising.

the 4 night cruise just didn't seem long enough - especially when you consider it is really only 3 1/2 "days". I mean, we just HAD to book a longer cruise - right ? :confused3

Can't wait for the 3 at sea days - R&R here we come ...

I've been looking at shore excursions and right now I think the RainForest trek on St.Maarten sounds great & then we can finish up the day at Great Bay beach and do some shopping in Phillipsburg on Tues
For St.Thomas, I'm thinking of the Maagens Bay beach excursion and then doing the Skyway to Paradise Point before heading back to the ship on Wed.

Somewhere in there I also want dinner and brunch at Palo and maybe one little Spa treatment...

I'm beginning to think 7 nights might not be enough :rotfl2::rotfl2::lmao:

and yes, i am an Uber planner :surfweb:;)

[Lexa]

Kind of quiet here....some posts were made long, long time ago....you guys still going on May 7th? :) I know we have more then 3 months to go, but i hope it will be more lively here. :rotfl:

[bellanapoli]

We were originially booked on a Western cruise but moved to this one. Now that our booking deadline is coming up, I'm starting to get excited planning excursions and such!

It's me, DH and DS (5). It will be our second Disney cruise. While I'm on the fence about FE (I don't craft ;)) I'd be interested in any meet ups.

[MinnieMeg]

Welcome aboard Lexa, corky441 and bellanapoli.

I want to make sure everyone understands that you don't have to craft to particiapate in the FE.

[Lexa]

How will our group do FE (didn't sign up yet) once for duration of the cruise, daily? I'm new to DCL and FE and everything else......it's so exciting and my head is spinning LOL

[Minniemiss]

How will our group do FE (didn't sign up yet) once for duration of the cruise, daily? I'm new to DCL and FE and everything else......it's so exciting and my head is spinning LOL

Some groups have folks sign up for specific days, so you get a little something everyday. Other groups just "go with the flow".

You can craft something or buy something.

Gift one item for the whole cruise or do something everyday or any combo you like.

Some folks give to everyone in the room, some to just the adults, some to just the kids and some give one item per room.

Heck, this time I may be giving each room something different, as I have a small amount of things I have left over from other FE cruises. I purchased extra for those last minute joiners and didn't need them :cool1:

[BeccaBeeHappy]

Hi guys! Just checking back in like everyone else. I hadn't received any email notifications recently that people had been posting here so I've just been busy lurking around the boards gathering as much info as I can!

So first off, in terms of excursions we've bounced back and forth about what we're going to do and currently I think we're down to just explore on our own and doing a combo of shopping and beach time. The beaches we're looking at right now are Orient Beach in St. Maarten and Trunk Bay in St. John? Stay tuned......

Secondly, I'm glad someone mentioned that the FE gifts don't have to be crafty....because somehow in a family of DIYers, I completely missed that gene! But thankfully I'm a fantastic shopper, which I believe completely makes up for it.

Ok and last thing, has anyone been able to make reservations yet and if so, are things completely booked up? Since this is our first cruise we're stuck waiting and I was really hoping to be able to book the Palo on Frankie's actual birthday for Brunch (Thursday - Day 6).

Anyway, that is all for now. Hope everyone has a great week!
Becca

[Lexa]

We need to wait till 2.21 to do any booking so I have no idea what will be still available to book at this date.......

[Minniemiss]

Secondly, I'm glad someone mentioned that the FE gifts don't have to be crafty....because somehow in a family of DIYers, I completely missed that gene! But thankfully I'm a fantastic shopper, which I believe completely makes up for it.

Ok and last thing, has anyone been able to make reservations yet and if so, are things completely booked up? Since this is our first cruise we're stuck waiting and I was really hoping to be able to book the Palo on Frankie's actual birthday for Brunch (Thursday - Day 6).

Anyway, that is all for now. Hope everyone has a great week!
Becca

I have found some cute things in the Target dollar aisle. Others have found things at the dollar stores as well. They don't have to be Disney related or even cruise related.

We will be booking on Feb 6th.

[rusafee1183]

Glad to see that this thread is picking up steam! :goodvibes

I'm so excited for this trip. There are so many things I want to do and I'm not sure what we should book. :confused3

I am definitely looking forward to brunch at Palo, and doing an excursion on St Thomas and the rainforest room :cloud9: I think we are just going to go with the flow on St Maarten and probably do some shopping in Phillipsburg (dying to try the guavaberry drink everyone is talking about!!) and then check out Orient Beach maybe.

Has anyone already been on this cruise before? Or is everyone new to the ports like me?

[Minniemiss]

Glad to see that this thread is picking up steam! :goodvibes

I'm so excited for this trip. There are so many things I want to do and I'm not sure what we should book. :confused3

I am definitely looking forward to brunch at Palo, and doing an excursion on St Thomas and the rainforest room :cloud9: I think we are just going to go with the flow on St Maarten and probably do some shopping in Phillipsburg (dying to try the guavaberry drink everyone is talking about!!) and then check out Orient Beach maybe.

Has anyone already been on this cruise before? Or is everyone new to the ports like me?

This is our first time on a 7 day. I hope to get the Triple Crown of Palo, Brunch, Tea and dinner. :cool1:

We are looking at Doubloon Turtle Cove Sail & Snorkel on St Thomas and possibly doing the 12 Metre Regatta in St. Maarten. We've never been on a sailboat before.

[Lexa]

Glad to see that this thread is picking up steam! :goodvibes

I'm so excited for this trip. There are so many things I want to do and I'm not sure what we should book. :confused3

I am definitely looking forward to brunch at Palo, and doing an excursion on St Thomas and the rainforest room :cloud9: I think we are just going to go with the flow on St Maarten and probably do some shopping in Phillipsburg (dying to try the guavaberry drink everyone is talking about!!) and then check out Orient Beach maybe.

Has anyone already been on this cruise before? Or is everyone new to the ports like me?

I was on St. Maarten and St. Thomas...but not with Disney and long time ago....before kids were born LOL

[BeccaBeeHappy]

Glad to see that this thread is picking up steam! :goodvibes

I'm so excited for this trip. There are so many things I want to do and I'm not sure what we should book. :confused3

I am definitely looking forward to brunch at Palo, and doing an excursion on St Thomas and the rainforest room :cloud9: I think we are just going to go with the flow on St Maarten and probably do some shopping in Phillipsburg (dying to try the guavaberry drink everyone is talking about!!) and then check out Orient Beach maybe.

Has anyone already been on this cruise before? Or is everyone new to the ports like me?


What is this guavaberry drink you speak of?? I haven't heard of it and am very interested! Can you get it anywhere in Philipsburg?

[rusafee1183]

What is this guavaberry drink you speak of?? I haven't heard of it and am very interested! Can you get it anywhere in Philipsburg?

I think it's at the "Guavaberry Emporium" or something. It's on Front Street in Phillipsburg from what I understand. I keep hearing rave reviews about the Guavaberry Colada :goodvibes

I think I may buy a bottle...or two :rolleyes1.... to bring home if we like it :thumbsup2

http://www.guavaberry.com/guavaberry.htm

[BeccaBeeHappy]

We found out Wednesday that there are mandatory days that can't be missed during our planned cruise so we've had to change our trip a bit.

So...although I'm sad we won't be joining you guys on the May 7th cruise, we just re-booked to to do the Westbound Transatlantic on Sep. 10th! We both had the time to take off and the price wasn't much different at all (cruise and flight wise given what we've already handed over to the airlines already) so.....I guess everything does work out sometimes!

Here's wishing you safe travels my friends!
:love:

[Lexa]

Sorry to hear that you are not going with us Becca...but I'm sure you two will enjoy your cruise in September! :) Smooth sailing to you too!

[Minniemiss]

Becca, We are considering the Sept Repo. We may see you there.

Well this thread has convinced me that we will be doing the Turtle excursion.:cool1::cool1:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2639596

[Minniemiss]

Here's a quick question. How dressed up will you be for formal, semi formal and Pirate night?

In the past DH has had a tux for formal, white dinner jacket for semi, and we have black polo shirts with Pirate logo on pocket for Pirate night.

I wore coctail length for formal and short black dress for semi formal.

We're not sure if we are going to dress up as much for Formal and Semi this time.

[Lexa]

We are jeans/shirt family. That said doesn't mean that we will not dress up a little, we will not go to those dinners in jeans. For Pirate night me and DH will have t-shirts with something on it...like pirate or so....didn't buy shirts yet, and I got costumes for my kids (friends helped with used ones).

[MinnieMeg]

Sorry to hear you won't be with us Becca. Have a wonderful time on your repo cruise.

DH will be wearing a suit for formal and semi. I have a dress for semi, but am still hunting for a formal, either cocktail or floor length, whichever looks better.

[bellanapoli]

DH has a dark suit that we'll be bringing and I'm leaning toward doing an onboard tuxedo rental. If I don't, he'll probably wear that suit for both.

I have a black cocktail dress I was planning on wearing for formal night. I haven't quite figured out semi-formal yet.

I'm looking forward to getting dressed up, especially for the photos. It's been a while since we've had a nice night out.

[Minniemiss]

DH has a dark suit that we'll be bringing and I'm leaning toward doing an onboard tuxedo rental. If I don't, he'll probably wear that suit for both.

I have a black cocktail dress I was planning on wearing for formal night. I haven't quite figured out semi-formal yet.

I'm looking forward to getting dressed up, especially for the photos. It's been a while since we've had a nice night out.

We love the onboard tux rental. We get the black and white coat option. Especially the shoe rental as DH wears a 13 and his shoes take up a lot of space. :lmao:

[rusafee1183]

I'm glad you guys are talking about the attire situation - because we're kind of at a loss. This is our 1st cruise and I don't really know what to expect.

For formal and semi-formal nights, I have 2 cocktail length dresses. One is black and has a little sparkle to it. It's a bit tighter and a *little* sexier - and the other one is black, but has big colorful flowers on it and has tulle under it, so it has a little bit of a fuller skirt. Not sure when to wear which one. Any suggestions?

We're not sure what to do for DH yet. At this point all he has is a nice shirt and tie. He doesn't even have a suit....:confused: We aren't sure if we should do a tux rental or buy a suit

[bellanapoli]

Good to hear your experience with the onboard rental. That seems the easiest way to go. I've been toying with trolling ebay for one but then I've got to find him some shoes and all the other pieces... I may be more painless to just rent the whole thing.

[Minniemiss]

Good to hear your experience with the onboard rental. That seems the easiest way to go. I've been toying with trolling ebay for one but then I've got to find him some shoes and all the other pieces... I may be more painless to just rent the whole thing.

We found a Mickey vest and bowtie on ebay.:thumbsup2 We like the rental as it means less to pack and haul.

[Lexa]

We found a Mickey vest and bowtie on ebay.:thumbsup2 We like the rental as it means less to pack and haul.

Wow...thats a good find :)

[rusafee1183]

I'm still trying to figure out what beach to go to at St Maarten.... is anyone else nervous about taking the taxi's?

I think I watch too many crime dramas :rolleyes: ..... :lmao:

[Minniemiss]

I'm still trying to figure out what beach to go to at St Maarten.... is anyone else nervous about taking the taxi's?

I think I watch too many crime dramas :rolleyes: ..... :lmao:

We go on DCL excursions. Murphy's law would get me if I booked on my own. I know it's cheaper to do some on your own, but I look at my watch enough while on vacation and don't want to obsess about it any more than I do.:rotfl:

The Maho beach looks fun. I think it's the one where the planes fly right over. I'm not sure if DCL has an excursion.

We may do the two flags tour.

[bellanapoli]

We just made a reservation for a tour with Bernard's Tours for the day. He got great reviews here and on crusecritic so I figured I'd go for it. I didn't want to deal with taxis - not for the crime but just the fact we don't really know where we want to go.

Bernard does an island tour with a stop at both Maho Beach and Orient Beach which is fine by us. DS is 4 and doesn't have much of an attention span for the beach anyway so we weren't looking for a full day beach experience. Plus, I told DH there may be topless women at Orient Beach and it quickly became a "must" on his list! :rotfl2:

[rusafee1183]

We go on DCL excursions. Murphy's law would get me if I booked on my own. I know it's cheaper to do some on your own, but I look at my watch enough while on vacation and don't want to obsess about it any more than I do.:rotfl: The Maho beach looks fun. I think it's the one where the planes fly right over. I'm not sure if DCL has an excursion.

We may do the two flags tour.

This is what I'm afraid about. I think that if I don't go with DCL, I'll be obsessing the whole time about making it back to ths ship on time that I won't be able to relax fully and enjoy myself. :eek:

We're definitely doing an excursion on our St Thomas day. It's probably going to be Captain Nautica, but maybe the Doubloon sail. Still not too sure.

And I am still up in the air about the FE thing.... I'm trying to see if I can find anything fun first before I commit to doing it :thumbsup2

[Minniemiss]

:cool1::cool1::banana::cool1::cool1:
100 DAYS!
:cheer2::cheer2::cheer2::cheer2:

[Lexa]

:cool1::cool1::banana::cool1::cool1:
100 DAYS!
:cheer2::cheer2::cheer2::cheer2:

YAY...my kids are asking me every day...mom, how many days, how many hours before we leave :)

[Minniemiss]

:yay::yay::mickeyjum:mickeyjum DOUBLE DIGITS CRUISERS :mickeyjum:mickeyjum :yay::yay:

party: 99 more daysparty:

[Whisky In A VAse]

:yay::yay::mickeyjum:mickeyjum DOUBLE DIGITS CRUISERS :mickeyjum:mickeyjum :yay::yay:

party: 99 more daysparty:

Yes, all here really looking forward to the cruise, it will soon be here.

What activities are you all planning to do while the Magic is at the ports? We are trying to decide this weekend. We plan on snorkelling, but not sure which one to do. The wife also fancies some shopping, anyone know where is best?

We are all bursting with excitement here...:banana::dance3::banana:

[rusafee1183]

Yes, all here really looking forward to the cruise, it will soon be here.

What activities are you all planning to do while the Magic is at the ports? We are trying to decide this weekend. We plan on snorkelling, but not sure which one to do. The wife also fancies some shopping, anyone know where is best?

We are all bursting with excitement here...:banana::dance3::banana:

:banana::yay::woohoo::dance3::banana::woohoo::yay: :dance3:

We're so excited here too!!!!!! I can't wait!

We are planning on doing Capt'n Nautica's snorkeling in St Thomas. I have heard nothing but good things about them. :)

Still not sure what we're going to do in St Maarten yet.... I would like to save the money and not pay for an excursion, but I am nervous about missing the ship if we go off on our own. Especially since this is our first time on the islands. :upsidedow

[Lexa]

Another very, very excited family here....I wrote how much days left an kids calendar, cause they are asking me over and over again and it's driving me crazy :):):)

Not sure what activities we will do yet...probably we will decide this weekend or early next week.

[bellanapoli]

Yup, my kid keeps asking when it's time to go on the Mickey Boat again. We did a 4-night just this past August and we had to drag him out of the kids clubs so he's getting antsy to go again!

St. Maarten - we're going to give Bernard's Tours a try and do their island tour for the day. It's the only thing I found that includes Maho Beach.

St. Thomas - we're just going to wander around. Since we'll have dragged my son in a van tour all day the day before, I figured we'd need to get out and walk around a bit. I'm thinking we'll check out that tramway. Apparently it's within walking distance of the pier.

Castaway Cay - sit on the beach and do nothing.

[rusafee1183]

Castaway Cay - sit on the beach and do nothing.

:cloud9:

Yep. Us too! I am probably going to rent the floats and we really want to try the 'big tricycle'

I think it would make for great pictures :laughing:

[MinnieMeg]

Another very excited family here. :dance3:

We've decided to do the Under Two Flags tour on St. Maarten and the Coral World & Island Drive on St Thomas. At Castaway Cay we intend to kick back and relax.

[Lexa]

:cloud9:

Yep. Us too! I am probably going to rent the floats and we really want to try the 'big tricycle'

I think it would make for great pictures :laughing:

Oh yes...for Castaway Cay we will do the same....since we live so far from any coast will be great for kids to enjoy the ocean and the beach.....

[Lexa]

Bibbidibobbidiboo07 and krispykreme97, I have added you to the FE list.

The list for the FE exchange is:


MinnieMeg (2) 2 adults

Whiskey in a Vase (7) 2 adults, DD 7, DS 3, + 3 adults

Dianatlol (3) 2 adults, DD 10 Will your MIL & FIL be interested in the FE?

MickeyManiacMom (4) 2 adults, DD 9, DS 7

Bibbidibobbidiboo07 (4) 2 adults, DD 4, DS 8mos.

Krispykreme97 (4) 2 adults, DD 9, DD 2


Is anyone else interested?

Seems this is our current FE list? I decided we will participate....very nice people here on DIS board convinced me that I don't need to be really crafty do do this and I would like to do it for my kids.......

Lexa (4) 2 adults, DS 7, DD 6

[MinnieMeg]

Lexa- so glad you are joining us. I have added you to the FE list.

MinnieMeg (2) 2 adults

Whiskey in a Vase (7) 2 adults, DD 7, DS 3, + 3 adults

Dianatlol (3) 2 adults, DD 10 Will your MIL & FIL be interested in the FE?

MickeyManiacMom (4) 2 adults, DD 9, DS 7

Bibbidibobbidiboo07 (4) 2 adults, DD 4, DS 8mos.

Krispykreme97 (4) 2 adults, DD 9, DD 2

Lexa (4) 2 adults, DS7, DD 6


Is anyone else interested?

[Minniemiss]

I am a planner and list maker!!!!:rolleyes1

I pulled out our under the seat carryon today. Started throwing things in that we will be bringing.

Went through the travel 1st aid kit and tossed expired items, made a list of what we need to restock.

Checked our toiletry bag for items to restock and added them to the list.

Let the games begin!

[rusafee1183]

I am a planner and list maker!!!!:rolleyes1

I pulled out our under the seat carryon today. Started throwing things in that we will be bringing.

Went through the travel 1st aid kit and tossed expired items, made a list of what we need to restock.

Checked our toiletry bag for items to restock and added them to the list.

Let the games begin!

:thumbsup2

I'm the same way! I started printing out packing lists and buying travel size toiletries. :cloud9:

Does anyone know if they have decent conditioner provided on the ship? I have short hair and it will be a knotty disaster if I don't condition in at least every other day with something decent.

[Minniemiss]

:thumbsup2

I'm the same way! I started printing out packing lists and buying travel size toiletries. :cloud9:

Does anyone know if they have decent conditioner provided on the ship? I have short hair and it will be a knotty disaster if I don't condition in at least every other day with something decent.

They have H2O Marine Collagen conditioner in the bathroom. I don't use conditioner so I'm not sure how good it is. It has good reviews.

This is from the H2o Site.

Sea Marine Collagen Conditioner
2 fl oz - 12.5 fl oz

A marine-rich moisturizing conditioner to make hair shiny, full and manageable with Marine Collagen, Provitamin B and Hydrating Marine Blend

4.8(9 reviews)

Read 9 Reviews
•Marine collagen improves moisture absorption and retention to refine hair's texture, vitality and strength
•Provitamin B deeply nourishes hair and contributes to silky feel and shine without buildup
•Moisture-rich marine botanicals, including Wakame, Sea Lettuce, and Sea Fennel, deeply hydrate to repair and protect hair from environmental stress
•Notes of fresh eucalyptus and cool mint awaken the senses and impart a subtle scent

http://www.h2oplus.com/product/sea+marine+collagen+conditioner.do?sortby=bestSell ers

[rusafee1183]

Well, that looks good enough for me! That's one less thing I have to pack, so I'm happy! :goodvibes

Thanks!! :flower3:

I am trying really REALLY hard to not overpack for this trip. I am guilty of always packing way too much crap and not using half of it. I'm grateful for all of the DCL packing lists (Passporters has an awesome one :thumbsup2) but seriously... I don't need half that stuff.

One more question - anyone used the space saver type bags before? I am thinking of getting some and trying to make room in the suitcases, but I hear they are pretty useless on the way back without a vaccum cleaner.

[Lexa]

You are not the only one. i our spare bedroom i'm collecting stuff we will need to take with us....kids clothes (they don't need shorts now..it's freezing cold here and we just got foot of snow), and some other stuff I know I need to have with me. My DH is laughing at me, but he can as much as he want....he will be thankful for some things he will want/need on the cruise and he would not even think about them now...

[Lexa]

:thumbsup2

I'm the same way! I started printing out packing lists and buying travel size toiletries. :cloud9:

Does anyone know if they have decent conditioner provided on the ship? I have short hair and it will be a knotty disaster if I don't condition in at least every other day with something decent.

I don't know what they have, but I'm taking mine with me or i'll look like a scarecrow.

[Minniemiss]

Well, that looks good enough for me! That's one less thing I have to pack, so I'm happy! :goodvibes

Thanks!! :flower3:

I am trying really REALLY hard to not overpack for this trip. I am guilty of always packing way too much crap and not using half of it. I'm grateful for all of the DCL packing lists (Passporters has an awesome one :thumbsup2) but seriously... I don't need half that stuff.

One more question - anyone used the space saver type bags before? I am thinking of getting some and trying to make room in the suitcases, but I hear they are pretty useless on the way back without a vaccum cleaner.

We use the ones were you have to roll the bags to compress them and roll out the air. I like them! We found them at Walmart. You can do the same with 2 gallon zip locks. Zip them almost all the way closed, roll them up from the end and then zip them closed.

We were at the airport on a very raiiny day and saw bags out in the rain. I can only image how wet someone's clothes were after that.

[Liveloveletgo]

Hi all! I am new to the site but thought I would give it a try. We just booked the may 7th cruise last night and I couldn't be more excited.
Cruisers: Myself - 27 Boyfriend - 34 and My DD 5 (at time of cruise). The only cruise I have ever been on was about 17 years ago and my BF and DD have not been on any.

I am anxious to gather as much info as possible and start meeting our cruisemates.

My DD has been wanting to go on the big boat for a year now. We decided not to tell her yet. We are going to videotape her reaction when we arrive at the port.

Can't Wait! :cool1:

[rusafee1183]

Hi all! I am new to the site but thought I would give it a try. We just booked the may 7th cruise last night and I couldn't be more excited.
Cruisers: Myself - 27 Boyfriend - 34 and My DD 5 (at time of cruise). The only cruise I have ever been on was about 17 years ago and my BF and DD have not been on any.

I am anxious to gather as much info as possible and start meeting our cruisemates.

My DD has been wanting to go on the big boat for a year now. We decided not to tell her yet. We are going to videotape her reaction when we arrive at the port.

Can't Wait! :cool1:

Hi! Welcome to the boards! I'm glad this thread is finally picking up a little steam :goodvibes

[bellanapoli]

I don't know what they have, but I'm taking mine with me or i'll look like a scarecrow.

The stuff they have on the ship is really good. You probably won't need yours.

[Lexa]

Welcome Liveloveletgo.

[Lexa]

The stuff they have on the ship is really good. You probably won't need yours.

Maybe I should give it a try.....thanks!

[bellanapoli]

Maybe I should give it a try.....thanks!

It's good. I still have some left over that I keep in my gym bag. I'm kind of bummed to be running out. Guess I'll have my chance to get more in a few months!


Does anyone know if the restaurant menus are similar to the Wonder? We did a 4-nighter fairly recently and I'm trying to figure out which night I want to book Palo. I don't mind missing an evening in the main dining room where I've already had that menu.

[MinnieMeg]

The menus are identical for all the rotational meals and Pirate night. We decided to try for Palo on Pirate night.

[rusafee1183]

Is this anyone's first cruise on the Magic... or ever? It's our 1st time cruising :goodvibes

It's kinda hard to get out of 'super crazy Disney planner' mode. I'm used to planning our WDW trips to the 'T', so this is a little out of the norm for me. I keep trying to 'plan' and get ready, but then I just kinda sit there and realize that there's not *too* much that I can do yet. It's driving me crazy! :rolleyes1

Anyone who has sailed on the Magic before - are there any recommendations? I saw that there's a must do/see/eat thread around here and I just love to get people's opinions on what they enjoyed during their trip. :thumbsup2


Here's what I have so far that I would like to do, but may cut because of money, time etc etc... It will be just me and my DH on this trip. :lovestruc We don't have kids yet

1. Brunch at Palo
2. Margarita tasting
3. Captain Nautica
4. Buy some Guavaberry liquor to bring home
5. Dress up for Pirate night (we'll see if we have the luggage space/desire to pack it)
6. Rent the big "Trike" at Castaway Cay
7. Relax, relax, relax and sip a cocktail by the pool with my Nook :cloud9:

Anybody else want to share their plans?

[bellanapoli]

Thanks MinnieMeg. That's what I was thinking. We'll probably see you there on pirate night.

Is this anyone's first cruise on the Magic... or ever? It's our 1st time cruising :goodvibes

It's kinda hard to get out of 'super crazy Disney planner' mode. I'm used to planning our WDW trips to the 'T', so this is a little out of the norm for me. I keep trying to 'plan' and get ready, but then I just kinda sit there and realize that there's not *too* much that I can do yet. It's driving me crazy! :rolleyes1

Anyone who has sailed on the Magic before - are there any recommendations? I saw that there's a must do/see/eat thread around here and I just love to get people's opinions on what they enjoyed during their trip. :thumbsup2

We've just done one prior cruise on the Wonder so I'm by no means an expert. But, I've found the planning to be much different. I get into crazy plan mode right around the time I have to book stuff (for me, just a few days which is why I've been trolling around here like a mad woman) and then about a month out when I have to go buy suncreen etc.

For me, it's just coming up with a list of stuff I want to do and then once I've finished, putting it down and leaving it alone. It's a much more relaxing vacation when compared to WDW so I don't want to over do it.

This time around I'm making sure we:
1) Give Palo dinner a try (we did brunch last time)
2) Get back to the rainforest room, a lot
3) Try the exotic rasul, that seems to get rave reviews
4) Try one of the tastings since I never got a chance to do that last time

I'm still on the fence whether I want to try to get tickets to tea with Alice.

I will say that I brought a photo mat last time and dropped it off at guest services for autographs and I'm really glad I did that. If you're considering it, I'd say go for it. It's a great souvenir. I also went out and purchased one of those over-the-door-shoe things that get recommended here as well. I didn't for the 4-night (it seemed a tad excessive to me at the time) but after constantly forgetting where I kept putting the sunscreen I realized why they're so popular.

I think your list looks good. You'll probably find you have more time to do things as you don't have a kid who constantly wants to be at the water slide!

[bibbidibobbidiboo07]

Just wondering, as I am now in planning mode, if anyone has any tips on crusing with a baby? DS will be 7 month when we cruise.

[Minniemiss]

Is this anyone's first cruise on the Magic... or ever? It's our 1st time cruising :goodvibes

It's kinda hard to get out of 'super crazy Disney planner' mode. I'm used to planning our WDW trips to the 'T', so this is a little out of the norm for me. I keep trying to 'plan' and get ready, but then I just kinda sit there and realize that there's not *too* much that I can do yet. It's driving me crazy! :rolleyes1

Anyone who has sailed on the Magic before - are there any recommendations? I saw that there's a must do/see/eat thread around here and I just love to get people's opinions on what they enjoyed during their trip. :thumbsup2


Here's what I have so far that I would like to do, but may cut because of money, time etc etc... It will be just me and my DH on this trip. :lovestruc We don't have kids yet

1. Brunch at Palo
2. Margarita tasting
3. Captain Nautica
4. Buy some Guavaberry liquor to bring home
5. Dress up for Pirate night (we'll see if we have the luggage space/desire to pack it)
6. Rent the big "Trike" at Castaway Cay
7. Relax, relax, relax and sip a cocktail by the pool with my Nook :cloud9:

Anybody else want to share their plans?


Are you flying home? Make sure you have packing supplies for your quavaberry in your checked luggage, if you are.

[Lexa]

I have a question about FE. How far in advance you start making/buying gifts? Do you buy some extra if someone else signs up later or what do you do if you are already done and then is more people in a game? :)

Maybe silly questions, but i'll do that for the first time :)

[rusafee1183]

Are you flying home? Make sure you have packing supplies for your quavaberry in your checked luggage, if you are.


I am flying home and was wondering how I should handle this... do you just buy the bubble wrap type bottle holders? I am totally open to suggestions here :goodvibes

[Lexa]

I am flying home and was wondering how I should handle this... do you just buy the bubble wrap type bottle holders? I am totally open to suggestions here :goodvibes

If i'll buy some then bubble wrap is what I'll probably use. But i'll not put it in checked luggage...in carry-on only. They are really hard with checked luggage. throwing and stuff....i don't think bottle would survive.

[bellanapoli]

If i'll buy some then bubble wrap is what I'll probably use. But i'll not put it in checked luggage...in carry-on only. They are really hard with checked luggage. throwing and stuff....i don't think bottle would survive.

I'd probably take a look at buying some of those liquid-tight bottle cover things they sell through wine stores or on amazon if you're going to put any alcohol in your luggage. I don't think you'll be able to get through TSA with a bottle in your carryon.

[rusafee1183]

I'd probably take a look at buying some of those liquid-tight bottle cover things they sell through wine stores or on amazon if you're going to put any alcohol in your luggage. I don't think you'll be able to get through TSA with a bottle in your carryon.

I looked on Amazon and they seemed pretty reasonably priced. 3 for around $12 and qualified for the free shipping :thumbsup2

[MinnieMeg]

I have a question about FE. How far in advance you start making/buying gifts? Do you buy some extra if someone else signs up later or what do you do if you are already done and then is more people in a game? :)

Maybe silly questions, but i'll do that for the first time :)

Never silly questions.

We should decide how we want to do this. Do we want to close the sign up for FE on a certain date, or not?

Dianatlol - How much lead time do you need to ship your FE items to DCL?

[U.R._Courageous]

We are trying to plan some of the details of our upcoming cruise and were contemplating reserving two excursions on the same day in St. Maarten. We were looking at booking the Twelve Metre Regatta, which according to the Passporter, has a meet time of 8:15 am and is 3 hours long, which would bring us to approximately 11:15 am. We thought that we could possibly book the Golden Eagle Catamaran as well, which has a meeting time of 1pm, but we were wondering if anyone could tell us if they thought that we would have enough time to return to the boat to have lunch in between the two excursions. Please help ASAP, as we are trying to finalize our decision on the excursions fairly soon. Thanks in advance for your help!

[Lexa]

Never silly questions.

We should decide how we want to do this. Do we want to close the sign up for FE on a certain date, or not?

Dianatlol - How much lead time do you need to ship your FE items to DCL?

And...are we doing this once per cruise or some other way?

[Lexa]

Never silly questions.

We should decide how we want to do this. Do we want to close the sign up for FE on a certain date, or not?

Dianatlol - How much lead time do you need to ship your FE items to DCL?

How much in advance needs to be sent to the ship? I know I read that somewhere, even wrote address down, but now i can't find it....maybe I need a notebook, not just piece of paper :)

[Minniemiss]

How much in advance needs to be sent to the ship? I know I read that somewhere, even wrote address down, but now i can't find it....maybe I need a notebook, not just piece of paper :)

Send it out about a week in advance. The info is in the FAQ sticky on the main fourm.

Boxes Sent the Ship Ahead of Cruise - PLEASE follow these instructions carefully!!!!!! UPDATED AS OF 2/25/2009
• ONE box per stateroom, no exceptions.
• The package must have the guest full name, ship, sailing date, stateroom number or GTY if you have not been assigned a stateroom number.
• The package also must have a packing slip attached to the outside of the box that details the contents of the package. For prescriptions, a copy of the prescription is sufficient. Your list may or may not be read but it must have one. Write packing slip on the outside of the envelope.
• NO FOODS/DRINKS OF ANY KIND, LIQUOR OF ANY KIND, FIREARMS, ETC.. Items that cannot be shipped to the Disney Cruise Line Warehouse and delivered to the ship include: food products (any and all food products including baby food/formula), beverages (liquor, water, etc.), chemicals, and luggage. These items will not be accepted at the warehouse and will be returned. This may cause the dogs to hit on your box and that would be a bad thing.
• The required size of the cartons you are shipping down have to be about the size of a record storage box 12 inches on a side and should not weigh more than 20 lbs. (This has been asked personally by Dave Adams who is the owner)

Address your package(s) to:
Disney Cruise Line Warehouse
Guest Name / Stateroom # (GTY, if you don't know what it is when you send the package)
8633 Transport Drive
Orlando, FL 32832
Phone: 407-566-8196

In the bottom left corner of the top of the package put the following information: ATTN: HOUSEKEEPING
*Name
*Sail Date
*Ship
*Stateroom Number
*Packing slip that details contents of the package (for prescriptions, a copy of the prescription is sufficient)
• Packages must arrive by Friday by 3:00pm for the 7-Night Cruise on the Disney Magic (Saturday).
• Packages must arrive by Friday by 3:00pm for the 4-Night Cruise on the Disney Wonder (Sunday).
• Packages must arrive by Wednesday by 3:00pm for the 3-Night Cruise on the Disney Wonder (Thursday).

If your box is hit on by the screening dog or chosen for additional screening they will open the list and the box and look through it. They will close it back up and provided nothing bad is in it then it will be in your room as usual later after boarding. These boxes will be coming on the ship with the crew mail among other things so they may be in the staterooms later then they were before as they are low priority in the scheme of things for Disney.

[Lexa]

Thanks Minniemiss...you always find all the answers :)

[Minniemiss]

Just wondering, as I am now in planning mode, if anyone has any tips on crusing with a baby? DS will be 7 month when we cruise.

Sorry our kids are grown. Here is a trip report that might help.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2617020

[Minniemiss]

I have a question about FE. How far in advance you start making/buying gifts? Do you buy some extra if someone else signs up later or what do you do if you are already done and then is more people in a game? :)

Maybe silly questions, but i'll do that for the first time :)

I have never made a FE gift. I usually find something at Target or on line. Making or buying whatever you feel comfortable with, timeline wise, go for it. On some of our cruises people have them ready months in advance others are finishing up the day before they leave. What ever you are comfortable with works. :thumbsup2

I usually pack a few extra, there are always the last minute folks, that join the FE group. You will also fine that people who have not joined the DU FE exchange will have FE's out as well. Some of them will put things in your FE.
Others are part of other board groups (I think) of just looking for some freebies (IMHO). If you want to add them to your delivery list, you can. It's up to you.

I deliver to the folks in our group. If I have any left over. I will add to the closest FE to my room that isn't on our list.

[Minniemiss]

And...are we doing this once per cruise or some other way?

Any way you want! Some folks deliver every day, others just once.

[Minniemiss]

I am flying home and was wondering how I should handle this... do you just buy the bubble wrap type bottle holders? I am totally open to suggestions here :goodvibes

Bubble wrap and leak proof bags are your friend!

[Minniemiss]

Never silly questions.

We should decide how we want to do this. Do we want to close the sign up for FE on a certain date, or not?

Dianatlol - How much lead time do you need to ship your FE items to DCL?

I highly recommend having a cutoff. Especially for those who are crafty and making things. We have had 2 weeks prior as the norm. That gives you a week leeway, there are amost always last minute joiners, and time to ship if you are shipping things down.

Also , with the recent vandalism that happened on the Panama cruise, I would recommend taking magnets and FE's in each night and putting them back out in the morning. I know we will be removing our magnets before we go to bed each evening.

While the vandalism that occured isn't the norm, I'm not going to risk haveing a damper put on my vacation because some one is bored and wants to have fun at others expense.

The video's have been removed, but they were quite an eyeopener as to what can happen after most are in bed. :sad2:

[Minniemiss]

Lexa, I saw you had some questions about your portable DVD Player and kids swords.

Just keep the DVD player in your carryon, shouldn't be a problem. Lots of folks use them on the plane. They don't want people to hook them up to the stateroom TV's.

About the sword or pirate things. We were at WDW with our DGS (3 yrs old) prior to our last cruise. We purchased the pirate pistol and a sword for him at the park. He carried the sword into the terminal. No one questioned us. He carried them to dinner and photo ops but we left them in the room for the Pirate party. Too crowded and we would have just ended up carrying them for him. Once the party started he never missed them.

[Lexa]

Lexa, I saw you had some questions about your portable DVD Player and kids swords.

Just keep the DVD player in your carryon, shouldn't be a problem. Lots of folks use them on the plane. They don't want people to hook them up to the stateroom TV's.

About the sword or pirate things. We were at WDW with our DGS (3 yrs old) prior to our last cruise. We purchased the pirate pistol and a sword for him at the park. He carried the sword into the terminal. No one questioned us. He carried them to dinner and photo ops but we left them in the room for the Pirate party. Too crowded and we would have just ended up carrying them for him. Once the party started he never missed them.

Thanks for all this info. Not sure if my DS would want one, but I wanted to know for any case. I'm sure we will take our portable DVD with us if I want my sanity for vacation LOL and we don't need TV for watching it anyway :)

[MinnieMeg]

I highly recommend having a cutoff. Especially for those who are crafty and making things. We have had 2 weeks prior as the norm. That gives you a week leeway, there are amost always last minute joiners, and time to ship if you are shipping things:

I agree, we need to have a cutoff time for everyone to be ready to ship or pack, etc. Therefore, the cutoff date for signing up for the FE is April 23, 2011.

Will everyone who is paticipating in FE please private message or email me with the following:

DISname

Cabin # (If ou have more than 1 cabin please list seperately)

First names of everyone and ages and gender of children

I need this info to set up a delivery list. Some people may wish to personalize items with names, which is why I asked for everyone's name.

[Lexa]

I agree, we need to have a cutoff time for everyone to be ready to ship or pack, etc. Therefore, the cutoff date for signing up for the FE is April 23, 2011.

Will everyone who is paticipating in FE please private message or email me with the following:

DISname

Cabin # (If ou have more than 1 cabin please list seperately)

First names of everyone and ages and gender of children

I need this info to set up a delivery list. Some people may wish to personalize items with names, which is why I asked for everyone's name.

My PM sent!

[rusafee1183]

Thanks MinnieMeg. That's what I was thinking. We'll probably see you there on pirate night.



We've just done one prior cruise on the Wonder so I'm by no means an expert. But, I've found the planning to be much different. I get into crazy plan mode right around the time I have to book stuff (for me, just a few days which is why I've been trolling around here like a mad woman) and then about a month out when I have to go buy suncreen etc.

For me, it's just coming up with a list of stuff I want to do and then once I've finished, putting it down and leaving it alone. It's a much more relaxing vacation when compared to WDW so I don't want to over do it.

This time around I'm making sure we:
1) Give Palo dinner a try (we did brunch last time)
2) Get back to the rainforest room, a lot
3) Try the exotic rasul, that seems to get rave reviews
4) Try one of the tastings since I never got a chance to do that last time

I'm still on the fence whether I want to try to get tickets to tea with Alice.

I will say that I brought a photo mat last time and dropped it off at guest services for autographs and I'm really glad I did that. If you're considering it, I'd say go for it. It's a great souvenir. I also went out and purchased one of those over-the-door-shoe things that get recommended here as well. I didn't for the 4-night (it seemed a tad excessive to me at the time) but after constantly forgetting where I kept putting the sunscreen I realized why they're so popular.

I think your list looks good. You'll probably find you have more time to do things as you don't have a kid who constantly wants to be at the water slide!

Thanks for the response! I don't know how I missed this the 1st time around... :confused: :flower3:

I forgot the Rainforest room! That's definitely on my list too. :thumbsup2 We toyed with the idea of the Exotic Rasul also,but I wasn't sure. I would love to do a spa day with my DH, but I guess that will all just depend on our finances at the time. :confused3

I started making a packing list, because I am definitely trying not to over do it this trip. Has anyone decided on what they're doing for formal, semi formal or pirate night? I feel like we may have talked about it briefly...but I can't remember...

I am still up in the air whether I am dressing up for semi formal night or Pirate night. I have 2 nice dresses and we both have costumes, but it is just a matter of making room in the suitcases... :rolleyes:

Also, I was planning on posting a picture of myself and my DH, so we can be recognized when we're on board. I'm still not sure if we are doing the FE, but I would like for people to be able to come and say 'Hi' if they see us. :goodvibes

[rusafee1183]

http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn159/heatherrastetter/IMG_3176-1.jpg

[MickeyManiacMom]

Yay!!! I'm so excited! Finally hit the 90 day mark and I was able to book everything we wanted tonight! :cool1:

It appears (so far) that there were no issues getting ressies at Palo. Even with our group of 5 we got the night and time that I was hoping we could get. My options were wide open the whole evening on what time we wanted.

I will say we had a harder time with the couples massage. There were times still available, but they were the less desirable times. (as in only odd lunch, late afternoon or dinner times were available). I did manage to snag a 8:00a.m. but it was the only morning slot I saw open.

Anyone else requesting a specific dining rotation? I am requesting LAPP, as the first night always seems to be a bit more motion filled I didn't want to do AP in case it made me a bit motion sick. I want to enjoy that dinner with my kids. Plus I figured that Lumieres won't be as boring to my kids on the first night as it might seem by day 3 - everything will be brand new and exciting.

[bibbidibobbidiboo07]

Sorry our kids are grown. Here is a trip report that might help.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2617020

Thanks for this, I am hoping they come back and report on their cruise experience some more. We have holidayed with our daughter but never cruised with children and this will be our first trip with 2 children, thankfully though my parents are coming along so we should be good and I have decided to register daughter for kids club. Anyone have any experience of these?

[Minniemiss]

We were able to book at 12:00 am this morning. We were able to book Palo dinner, brunch the last sea day & Tea on Mother's day. The Dubloon snorkle and the Two Flags Tour. I also snagged a couples Villa Spa thing.

There were lots of Palo options for all 3 events on all the days they were offered. I was booking for 2 so I'm not sure what the availability for larger groups would be.

I did see that the Butterfly Anytime and the Skyride excursions were full.

We always begin our cruise with dinner at Palo. It is a great way to start the cruise. We have late dining, so we book the earliest Palo 6:30pm for dinner the first night. We have always been able to get a ressie that night. We eat, then see the late show and then go down to our assigned restaturant to meet the waitstaff and have an evening drink. We ask for the PLA rotation.

We also shoot for brunch on the last sea day. A great way to end the cruise.

I filled out the online check in. You now have to choose a check in time. It looks like the earliest time 10:30-11:00 is reserved for concierge and Platinum.

I put our flight info in the system several months ago, so we were given the 11:00-11:30 time slot.

I'm not sure how strict they are going to be with this. If your flight comes in early are they going to make you wait until 1:00 or 2:00 to check in if that's the only time slot left? Where would they have you wait? And what about those folks that don't do online check in?

I'm sure we'll hear more of this, on the boards, as time goes on.

[bellanapoli]

We toyed with the idea of the Exotic Rasul also,but I wasn't sure. I would love to do a spa day with my DH, but I guess that will all just depend on our finances at the time. :confused3

Since it is fairly cheap, that's why I figured I'd give it a try. The massages seem to get medicore reviews so I figured it was worth a shot.

Can you request a dining rotation online or does that require a phone call? I'd like to put in a request to be in Lumiere's on formal night but couldn't find a way to do that online. With all the talk on here about DCL's line being so busy I've been a tad to lazy to call.

FWIW, I got a 10:30 port check in time and I'm only silver. It was wide open when I booked stuff this morning. Palo still seemed pretty open when I booked and then subsequently moved my reservation. (I'm a tad indecisive).

I'm a bit surprised the paradise point tramway is booked. I looked up the tramway online and it's about a 5-10 minute walk aross the street from the port. Doesn't really seem like something worth taking a tour to do. I'm planning to take my son while DH is scuba diving that morning but was just going to walk over myself. Of course, now I'm worried I'm going to get stuck behind a gaggle of people. I may have to get going before the tour leaves....

[bellanapoli]

I have decided to register daughter for kids club. Anyone have any experience of these?

How old is your daughter? My son is 4 and will be 5 by the time we cruise. The kids club is pretty much the main reason we opted to cruise again.

I was ambivalent about cruising in general so we tried a 4-night just to try it out. We literally had to drag my son out of there each day. It was a great way for all of us to have great vacation with family time combined with time for just me and DH.

[corky441]

So thrilled...
Went online at midnight and booked almost everything I wanted:
Palo brunch for Mothers Day
Palo dinner for last at sea day
Mountain trek & afternoon beach bash for St.Maarten
Magens beach for St. Thomas
No skyride tram ressies though??? Wonder if there is an issue with the ride day, can't believe it's booked solid

[Lexa]

I still need to wait till 21. to book anything...if there will be anything left to book LOL. But i'm glad that we are nicely moving closer to our sailing date. With all this snow and cold here I need this vacation even more. :)

rusafee1183...you were talking about formal, semi and pirate night. I know 100% what we will wear for Pirate night....my and my DH will have pirate t-shirts and kids their costumes. Kids also have their outfits already for formal and semi....not sure what I'll wear. I need to find something what is nice, but really not too fancy so I can wear it some other time too. I'm not really dress person....

[Lexa]

Yay!!! I'm so excited! Finally hit the 90 day mark and I was able to book everything we wanted tonight! :cool1:

It appears (so far) that there were no issues getting ressies at Palo. Even with our group of 5 we got the night and time that I was hoping we could get. My options were wide open the whole evening on what time we wanted.

I will say we had a harder time with the couples massage. There were times still available, but they were the less desirable times. (as in only odd lunch, late afternoon or dinner times were available). I did manage to snag a 8:00a.m. but it was the only morning slot I saw open.

Anyone else requesting a specific dining rotation? I am requesting LAPP, as the first night always seems to be a bit more motion filled I didn't want to do AP in case it made me a bit motion sick. I want to enjoy that dinner with my kids. Plus I figured that Lumieres won't be as boring to my kids on the first night as it might seem by day 3 - everything will be brand new and exciting.

Since this is our first Disney cruise I have no idea what are pros and cons for different dining rotation.....

What worries me is, that we are still on second dining and thats too late for my kids... if I let them eat early so they can wait till 8pm, then I know what will happen....oh mom, i'm still full I can't eat right now.....I would really like to have first seating and the go from there. We are on waiting list....but.....

[Lexa]

We were able to book at 12:00 am this morning. We were able to book Palo dinner, brunch the last sea day & Tea on Mother's day. The Dubloon snorkle and the Two Flags Tour. I also snagged a couples Villa Spa thing.

There were lots of Palo options for all 3 events on all the days they were offered. I was booking for 2 so I'm not sure what the availability for larger groups would be.

I did see that the Butterfly Anytime and the Skyride excursions were full.

We always begin our cruise with dinner at Palo. It is a great way to start the cruise. We have late dining, so we book the earliest Palo 6:30pm for dinner the first night. We have always been able to get a ressie that night. We eat, then see the late show and then go down to our assigned restaturant to meet the waitstaff and have an evening drink. We ask for the PLA rotation.

We also shoot for brunch on the last sea day. A great way to end the cruise.

I filled out the online check in. You now have to choose a check in time. It looks like the earliest time 10:30-11:00 is reserved for concierge and Platinum.

I put our flight info in the system several months ago, so we were given the 11:00-11:30 time slot.

I'm not sure how strict they are going to be with this. If your flight comes in early are they going to make you wait until 1:00 or 2:00 to check in if that's the only time slot left? Where would they have you wait? And what about those folks that don't do online check in?

I'm sure we'll hear more of this, on the boards, as time goes on.

hmmm...what about us who are coming to Port a day early? What time we will get?

Oh....Butterfly is full already? I wanted this for my girl....I'm glad I didn't say a word yet, cause I had bad feeling that we might not get what we would like to book.....

[bibbidibobbidiboo07]

I have just booked the Butterfly excursion for St Marteen, I think if I remeber rightly the anytime one was at St Thomas and the farm there has closed. Hope you can get booked.

[Lexa]

I have just booked the Butterfly excursion for St Marteen, I think if I remeber rightly the anytime one was at St Thomas and the farm there has closed. Hope you can get booked.

We will see...still need to wait 16 days till we can book anything.....

[GoofyGolfGuy]

Since it is fairly cheap, that's why I figured I'd give it a try. The massages seem to get medicore reviews so I figured it was worth a shot.

Can you request a dining rotation online or does that require a phone call? I'd like to put in a request to be in Lumiere's on formal night but couldn't find a way to do that online. With all the talk on here about DCL's line being so busy I've been a tad to lazy to call.

FWIW, I got a 10:30 port check in time and I'm only silver. It was wide open when I booked stuff this morning. Palo still seemed pretty open when I booked and then subsequently moved my reservation. (I'm a tad indecisive).

I'm a bit surprised the paradise point tramway is booked. I looked up the tramway online and it's about a 5-10 minute walk aross the street from the port. Doesn't really seem like something worth taking a tour to do. I'm planning to take my son while DH is scuba diving that morning but was just going to walk over myself. Of course, now I'm worried I'm going to get stuck behind a gaggle of people. I may have to get going before the tour leaves....

WE have our travel agent request the dining rotaion for us. I am sure you could DCL and request a rotation.

We plan on trying the tramway when we get back from our snorkel trip. I've read some info on other sites. They recommend not going when your ship first comes into port, let the crowds die down abit.

[MinnieMeg]

Very Excited cruisers here. We were able to get everthing we wanted at 12:00 am.

May 9 Palo High Tea - I really wanted this. My DH proposed to me on this date 29 years ago, at tea. I still don't know if it was my scones or me that prompted the proposal. We also booked Palo for dinner on Pirate night and brunch on the last sea day.

For shore excursions we booked the Under Two Flags Tour and Coral World Ocean Park & Scenic Drive.

I would like to explore the spa treatments but am concerned about the scents. How strong are the scents that are used? Is the Rainforest room scented?

[bibbidibobbidiboo07]

How old is your daughter? My son is 4 and will be 5 by the time we cruise. The kids club is pretty much the main reason we opted to cruise again.

I was ambivalent about cruising in general so we tried a 4-night just to try it out. We literally had to drag my son out of there each day. It was a great way for all of us to have great vacation with family time combined with time for just me and DH.

My daughter is 4 gone Jan, and we have registered DS for the nursery but aren't sure whether we will put him in as still feel he may a bit young but then again we might just want a couple of hours to ourselves one day!

I have showed her the video on the web site and she seems to like the look if it, especially the Snow White dancing! Not sure when that will be on the cruise but hopefully she will enjoy that.

[bellanapoli]

GoofyGolfGuy - thanks. I was worried about that. I may opt to go after lunch instead.

[rusafee1183]

Has anyone else been hearing a lot of bad reviews about the Magic lately? I knew that I would be hearing a lot less about the ship with the Dream coming out, and that I would be seeing a lot of posts about the Dream... but now I am just hearing BAD reviews.

People are saying that the service is really lacking and that they are cutting a lot because of the Dream. I just don't want to pay this much money for them to be "working out the kinks" on the oldest ship that they have! This is why we decided to sail on the Magic instead of the Dream.... :confused: I didn't want to be a part of the initial problems and issues that they would come across at first, so we went with the older ship.

But, now from what I am hearing they are pulling a lot of the more experienced waiters and crew members to be on the Dream.

I really just want someone to make me feel a little less nervous about this. :flower3: I have never sailed on DCL before, so I doubt I will see any of monor issues that other people may see because I won't have anything to compare to, but I just think that waiting 45 minutes between courses at dinner and stuff like that is CRAZY!

[bellanapoli]

I was reading the thread about the recent Eastern while I was eating my lunch and started to wonder the same thing. We too avoided the Dream for the very same reason but it didn't occur to me that the Magic would have all new CMs as well.

It's tough to gage, though as 1 1/2 - 2 hour meals are pretty normal. That's part of the reason why we switched to late dining. Main dining really did feel like I spent the good portion of my cruise rushing to dinner. I'm curious, though, if that poster's problem was a combination of new servers plus size of their traveling party. On our first cruise, for example, we were sat with another family who was chronically late for dinner. It threw the timing of the whole meal off for all of us because they'd hold the entrees to be served together. It was annoying but the server gave us the heads up that we could order earlier (rather than wait for them to show up). I wonder if they had a bit of that going on too. Plus, trying to negotiate a buffet with 3 kids sucks no matter where you are. I don't think that's DCLs problem that someone doesn't have enough hands for all those trays. That comes with the territory when you have kids.

I am a bit weirded out by the reports that the Oceaneer's Club was closed for a day. I don't mind at all that they combine the activities among the age groups but my kid loves that slide. It's a great place to work out some excess kid energy for a little one. There wasn't a reason posted but I'm guessing with low occupancy (given the fact it was a port day) it probably made sense to combine the counselors in one location.

Overall though, I am a tad nervous. Part of the reason we opt to return to Disney time and again is that I know and expect their level of customer service. I would have expected a company that prides itself on consistent service like Disney does to have gotten their act together much faster. I don't want to feel like I know more about DCL's policies than the CMs. That being said, I'm not too concerned it's going to ruin my vacation.

[Lexa]

I'm nervous too....and as first time DCL cruiser even more. But as more I'm reading this posts....it's just bad luck what you get as servers. I read they pulled 1/3 of experience crew off because of the Dream. Some people had great time with not much problems....so what should we do? I think wait and hope that we get some of old crew which still remain on Magic. There is no way that my kids would behave for 3 or more hours....it's just too much to expect from them.

[Minniemiss]

I've been reading about the problems on the ships as well. Just remember if you do have a problem especially at meal time, talk to your head server. It's their job to get things sorted out with your server and asst server if there is an issue.

We have 3 months until we cruise. :goodvibes
That should be plenty of time for all the new cast members to learn the ropes.

Lexa, we had late dining with our GS (age 3). He had never been to childcare or preschool so we weren't sure if you would like the clubs. We took him there the afternoon we got on board and let him play.

At some point in the late afternoon we would get him a snack from the fast food places by the pools to tide him over until dinner.
When we went to dinner the first night we told our waiter we wanted him to go to the club. The club sends someone to the dining rooms to pick kids up, so the parents can finish their meal. :cool1:
They got his meal right away. When the kids club staff came they rounded him up and away they went. It was heaven!

[toywaltz]

This is by-far the earliest we've ever booked a cruise and got to book excursions in advance. We booked some things a couple weeks ago which was about the earliest anyone could book. One of the butterfly excursions was "not available" and neither was the skyride at St. Thomas.

We intentionally avoided a winter cruise this year figuring service would be questionable. I think things will improve by May.

[rusafee1183]

I've been reading about the problems on the ships as well. Just remember if you do have a problem especially at meal time, talk to your head server. It's their job to get things sorted out with your server and asst server if there is an issue.

We have 3 months until we cruise. :goodvibes
That should be plenty of time for all the new cast members to learn the ropes.

This is what I was just talking about with my DH last night. If our cruise was next week, I would be more concerned. I have worked in restaurants and 3 months is plenty of time train someone.

Didn't mean to freak anyone out. :flower3: I was just so nervous reading that yesterday :scared1:

In lighter news, I think I am going out to Old Navy today to look at sundresses :yay: I have a 25% off coupon and I feel a need to burn some money on cruise clothes!

Any of your previous DCL sailers - How many travel documents do you need to print out and bring with you when you board? My TA just sent me an email from Disney and they just updated the system to make the travel docs easier - and I am just wondering how many there are... :upsidedow

[Minniemiss]

This is what I was just talking about with my DH last night. If our cruise was next week, I would be more concerned. I have worked in restaurants and 3 months is plenty of time train someone.

Didn't mean to freak anyone out. :flower3: I was just so nervous reading that yesterday :scared1:

In lighter news, I think I am going out to Old Navy today to look at sundresses :yay: I have a 25% off coupon and I feel a need to burn some money on cruise clothes!

Any of your previous DCL sailers - How many travel documents do you need to print out and bring with you when you board? My TA just sent me an email from Disney and they just updated the system to make the travel docs easier - and I am just wondering how many there are... :upsidedow

Don't worry about freaking anyone out. After all the posts about the decline in service, I'm sure we have all had the same thoughts about our cruise.

LOVE COUPONS!! Good luck shopping!

There is only one thing you need to print out now. Your signed and completed Online Check-In Signature Form

If you need the special services form or minor authorization form, you should down load those and print them out. The special services form should be faxed or mailed in in advance of the trip. The minor form you bring with you.

[rusafee1183]

:goodvibes Thanks! I'm a crazy couponer. I have periods where burn out a little, but for the most part I only buy things on sale and with a coupon... I will never undersatnd the coupon haters!


Last week I got YELLED at by 3 CVS cashiers AND the manager when I tried to use a BOGO coupon with a BOGO sale. I was irate. If I know your coupon policy, then you should too!

I'll let you guys know what kind of deals I find out and about today. :thumbsup2

That is - if it stops snowing and I can get out of here :eek:

[maggieb]

Hello!
We have finally decided on the May 7th eastern:banana:. I am soooooo excited. A little nervous too. This will be our first cruise.
Me- Maggie (35)
DH - Frank (42)
DS- Carl (7)

[bibbidibobbidiboo07]

Welcome aboard!:cool1:

[rusafee1183]

Hello!
We have finally decided on the May 7th eastern:banana:. I am soooooo excited. A little nervous too. This will be our first cruise.
Me- Maggie (35)
DH - Frank (42)
DS- Carl (7)

Welcome aboard! That's so exciting! I can't wait for this trip :cloud9:

ETA: I never did make it to Old Navy today :rolleyes: but I did get a *free* travel size perfume for the cruise with a coupon at Bath & Body Works! Every little bit helps!

[mommywa]

Hi, just found this thread. My family will also be on this cruise :woohoo:.
Myself 37, husband 36, DD 14, DS 10, DS5 and the in-laws. We have one of the SPH rooms on 5 and the in-laws are across the hall.
We can't wait!!!!!:banana:

[rusafee1183]

Hi, just found this thread. My family will also be on this cruise :woohoo:.
Myself 37, husband 36, DD 14, DS 10, DS5 and the in-laws. We have one of the SPH rooms on 5 and the in-laws are across the hall.
We can't wait!!!!!:banana:

:welcome: Have you decided on any excursions yet?




Also, I forgot to mention earlier that I have a friend that just returned from an Eastern Caribbean cruise this week and said that her ship sucked (Carnival! ;)) but the ports were absolutely beautiful!!! :banana:

She suggested Magens Bay in St Thomas. Apparently, she said it had great shopping AND was a really beautiful beach :goodvibes

[mommywa]

Thank You!!
So far I have the Full Day Caribbean Sail and Snorkel to Turtle Cove and Honeymoon Beach booked. Not sure about St. Maarten yet.
I was also able to book Palo dinner, brunch and tea :banana:
I booked the parasailing in CC, but think I may cancel too much $$$ for so little time.

[nswift]

Welcome Maggieb! I am sure we will all have a blast! This will be my second Disney Cruise, but my family that is joining me has never cruised.

You just can't go wrong with DISNEY!:cheer2:

[Lexa]

I've been reading about the problems on the ships as well. Just remember if you do have a problem especially at meal time, talk to your head server. It's their job to get things sorted out with your server and asst server if there is an issue.

We have 3 months until we cruise. :goodvibes
That should be plenty of time for all the new cast members to learn the ropes.

Lexa, we had late dining with our GS (age 3). He had never been to childcare or preschool so we weren't sure if you would like the clubs. We took him there the afternoon we got on board and let him play.

At some point in the late afternoon we would get him a snack from the fast food places by the pools to tide him over until dinner.
When we went to dinner the first night we told our waiter we wanted him to go to the club. The club sends someone to the dining rooms to pick kids up, so the parents can finish their meal. :cool1:
They got his meal right away. When the kids club staff came they rounded him up and away they went. It was heaven!

Thats great to know. Since it's ours first DCL cruise I have no idea who some things work. I'm sure my kids will enjoy clubs better then sitting at the dinner for 2 or more hours.

So when you mention to the waiter that kids are going to the club, they call people from the club? That sounds great, specially if they get dinner right away without waiting too long.

[Lexa]

Welcome aboard maggieb!!

I'm so glad there is a lot of kids same age as mine....what a wonderful group to play with :)

[Lexa]

Welcome aboard! That's so exciting! I can't wait for this trip :cloud9:

ETA: I never did make it to Old Navy today :rolleyes: but I did get a *free* travel size perfume for the cruise with a coupon at Bath & Body Works! Every little bit helps!

ohh...and i was waiting to see what a wonderful dress you bought :):):):)

I need to find something for myself too.....

[Lexa]

yay...look how nicely our group is growing!!!

Welcome aboard mommywa!!!

[Minniemiss]

Welcome aboard! That's so exciting! I can't wait for this trip :cloud9:

ETA: I never did make it to Old Navy today :rolleyes: but I did get a *free* travel size perfume for the cruise with a coupon at Bath & Body Works! Every little bit helps!

Very nice!! Did you know you can go down to the duty free shop and sample their perfumes?

[Minniemiss]

Thats great to know. Since it's ours first DCL cruise I have no idea who some things work. I'm sure my kids will enjoy clubs better then sitting at the dinner for 2 or more hours.

So when you mention to the waiter that kids are going to the club, they call people from the club? That sounds great, specially if they get dinner right away without waiting too long.


Just let your server know. I don't think they call, the clubs just automatically make the rounds each evening. Ask the server what time they usually come, this way you can also keep an eye on the entryway for when they show up. Sometimes your server might be busy and won't be able to come to your table to let you know they are there. If I remember correctly it was about 9:00.

[rusafee1183]

Very nice!! Did you know you can go down to the duty free shop and sample their perfumes?

No! :eek: I didn't know that.

LOL. But, I'm all about the freebies. :thumbsup2 They'll start to know me by name and ask if I want the usual :snooty:

:laughing:

[Minniemiss]

No! :eek: I didn't know that.

LOL. But, I'm all about the freebies. :thumbsup2 They'll start to know me by name and ask if I want the usual :snooty:

:laughing:

The have testers just like the department stores. :thumbsup2

[Minniemiss]

Did a liitle research on the Butterfly Farm in St Thomas apparently it is closed.

http://www.thebutterflyfarm.com/index.php?option=com_facileforms&Itemid=57

The Butterfly Farm


St Thomas With great regret, we announce the upcoming closing of The Butterfly Farm on July 10th. 2010

The info is in the right hand column. I wonder why DCL hadn't updated their site?

[MinnieMeg]

Welcome aboard Mommywa and Maggieb.


The updated list for the FE exchange is:


MinnieMeg (2) 2 adults

Whiskey in a Vase (7) 2 adults, DD 7, DS 3, + 3 adults

Dianatlol (3) 2 adults, DD 10 Will your MIL & FIL be interested in the FE?

MickeyManiacMom (4) 2 adults, DD 9, DS 7

Bibbidibobbidiboo07 (4) 2 adults, DD 4, DS 8mos.

Krispykreme97 (4) 2 adults, DD 9, DD 2

Lexa (4) 2 adults, DS7, DD6

FLUFFYCAT (40) 2 adults, DS11, DS 7

Is anyone else interested? We have decided on a cutoff date of April 23, 2011.

Please remember there is a meet planned for all DISers on May 7th at 3:00 pm in the Promenade Lounge on deck 3 aft.:dance3:

[kventventx]

They make bags that roll out the air to be used for packing suitcases. No vaccuum needed. They work well but everything gets wrinkled.

[mommywa]

Thank You for all the Welcome's!!!!:thumbsup2

You know.....I'm wondering if Disney does anything special for Mother's Day??

[Minniemiss]

Thank You for all the Welcome's!!!!:thumbsup2

You know.....I'm wondering if Disney does anything special for Mother's Day??

They didn't in '08. I'm not sure if they have added anything since then.

[Lexa]

Welcome aboard Mommywa and Maggieb.


The updated list for the FE exchange is:


MinnieMeg (2) 2 adults

Whiskey in a Vase (7) 2 adults, DD 7, DS 3, + 3 adults

Dianatlol (3) 2 adults, DD 10 Will your MIL & FIL be interested in the FE?

MickeyManiacMom (4) 2 adults, DD 9, DS 7

Bibbidibobbidiboo07 (4) 2 adults, DD 4, DS 8mos.

Krispykreme97 (4) 2 adults, DD 9, DD 2


Is anyone else interested? We have decided on a cutoff date of April 23, 2011.

Please remember there is a meet planned for all DISers on May 7th at 3:00 pm in the Promenade Lounge on deck 3 aft.:dance3:

You forgot to add me to the list :)

MinnieMeg (2) 2 adults

Whiskey in a Vase (7) 2 adults, DD 7, DS 3, + 3 adults

Dianatlol (3) 2 adults, DD 10 Will your MIL & FIL be interested in the FE?

MickeyManiacMom (4) 2 adults, DD 9, DS 7

Bibbidibobbidiboo07 (4) 2 adults, DD 4, DS 8mos.

Krispykreme97 (4) 2 adults, DD 9, DD 2

Lexa (4) 2 adults, DS7, DD 6

[Whisky In A VAse]

Well planning is going on, can't book anything till the 75 day marker but thing are coming together nicely...:cool1:

Just about to order my FE once my daughter can finally decide what she wants it to look like...:confused3

Is anyone else arranging for the pillow cases to be signed by all the characters
on board? :thumbsup2

I have also seen lots of threads on decorating the doors? Although I am not planning on going overboard, I will be doing something for the doors. :dance3:

Any body else thinking of doing any of the above? :confused3

Not long now.....:banana: :rotfl2: :thumbsup2 :cool1:

[bellanapoli]

Is anyone else arranging for the pillow cases to be signed by all the characters
on board? :thumbsup2


I'm not but I brought a photo mat on our last cruise. I just had it in a bag with the markers I wanted them to use and a few bags of candy. Just dropped it off at guest services the first evening and it reappeared in my stateroom before the cruise ended.

I don't think I got my markers back so I don't recommend dropping off any that you're really attached to. It was really painless and a great souvenir.

[rusafee1183]

Good Morning everyone. :wave:

Well, it's freezing here. :cold:I woke up this morning ready to be sitting poolside with a fruity cocktail in one hand and my Nook in the other. :cloud9:

I realized that none of us really told anyone anything about ourselves yet, so I'll start. :goodvibes

I'm Heather, I'm 27 years old and will be turning 28 in St Thomas on May 11th! I'm married to Bob, who will be 26 when we sail. We'll be married for 3 years on May 3rd and we live about 15 minutes south of downtown Pittsburgh. (My poor Steelers... :sad:)

We have no kids ... yet.... not sure when/if that's happening. We LOVE Disney, as I'm sure everyone here does :wizard: and we went there for our honeymoon in May 2008, 1st Anniversary in 2009 :lovestrucand then again in September 2010. We decided to take a break from the parks for a while, either a year or two or until we have kids and can take them, Whichever comes first. :thumbsup2

Well planning is going on, can't book anything till the 75 day marker but thing are coming together nicely...:cool1:

Just about to order my FE once my daughter can finally decide what she wants it to look like...:confused3

Is anyone else arranging for the pillow cases to be signed by all the characters
on board? :thumbsup2

I have also seen lots of threads on decorating the doors? Although I am not planning on going overboard, I will be doing something for the doors. :dance3:

Any body else thinking of doing any of the above? :confused3

Not long now.....:banana: :rotfl2: :thumbsup2 :cool1:

We are definitely decorating our door, but I'm not sure to what extent yet. I'm really excited to do this, I have been checking out some of the threads about how to make the Mickey ears for above your door. I want to make at least one set, but not sure where to start. Everyone makes it sound like this is so easy, but we'll see. I'm not the best with computers. I do have a bunch of Disney related magnets that we have picked up in our trips, so they will be coming with us!

We are not doing pillow cases, because it's just the 2 of us, and as far as the FE - we're still up in the air about it.... but probably not.

[Lexa]

I just ordered FE three days ago.....then I was thinking about pillow case and at the end decided we will go with photo mat.

I have all my graphics together for doors, but I didn't print them out yet. I need peace and quiet but kids are having Snow day after snow day...so I might work on magnets more next week.

I need to wait till 75 day marker too :)

[MinnieMeg]

[QUOTE=Lexa;39898200]You forgot to add me to the list :)

Sorry Lexa, all fixed. I copied it from an older list.


I still have to request and/or create the decorations for our door. We found they were really helpful for identifying our door in an "unending" row of similiar doors.

[FLUFFYCAT]

Hi everyone.:goodvibes Sorry I have not been on this board in awhile. My family would love to do the fish extenders. Please add us to the list. This is our third Disney cruise and we have always done the FE. My kids say it is one of their favorite things to do. :woohoo: My family is Darlene Mikolajczyk ( Me) 43 years, Mark Mikolajczyk (husband) 48 years, Kyle Mikolajczyk (son) 11 years and Colton Mikolajczyk(son) 7 years. My oldest son is in college and will not be able to come. We are from Mahwah, New Jersey and are driving down to the Port. Can anyone recommend a family beach to go to in St. Maarten? I look forward to meeting everyone. :dance3:

http://www.mickeypath.com/id/1304751708.jpg
('http://www.mickeypath.com/')

http://www.mickeypath.com/id/1304751712.png
('http://www.mickeypath.com/')

[mommywa]

OK, what is the whole FE thing about???:confused: This is my 3rd cruise, but have no idea what you are talking about? Is everyone making them to exchange :confused3. Sorry :goodvibes
Thanks

[Minniemiss]

OK, what is the whole FE thing about???:confused: This is my 3rd cruise, but have no idea what you are talking about? Is everyone making them to exchange :confused3. Sorry :goodvibes
Thanks

Here you go. FE 101:thumbsup2

http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33184281&postcount=2

[mommywa]

Here you go. FE 101

http://www.disboards.com/showpost.ph...81&postcount=2

Thanks:thumbsup2. Sounds fun!!
Another question.......I keep hearing about a Castaway 5k......any info?

[MinnieMeg]

Hello FLUFFYCAT - I've added you to the FE list.
The updated list for the FE exchange is:

MinnieMeg (2) 2 adults

Whiskey in a Vase (7) 2 adults, DD 7, DS 3, + 3 adults

Dianatlol (3) 2 adults, DD 10 Will your MIL & FIL be interested in the FE?

MickeyManiacMom (5) 3 adults, DD 9, DS 7 *change in # of people*

Bibbidibobbidiboo07 (4) 2 adults, DD 4, DS 8mos.

Krispykreme97 (4) 2 adults, DD 9, DD 2

Lexa (4) 2 adults, DS7, DD6

FLUFFYCAT (4) 2 adults, DS11, DS 7

Is anyone else interested? We have decided on a cutoff date of April 23, 2011.

Will everyone who is paticipating in FE please private message or email me with the following:
DISname
Cabin # (If you have more than 1 cabin please list seperately)
First names of everyone and ages and gender of children
I need this info to set up a delivery list. Some people may wish to personalize items with names, which is why I asked for everyone's name.


Please remember there is a meet planned for all DISers on May 7th at 3:00 pm in the Promenade Lounge on deck 3 aft.:dance3:

[Lexa]

Hello FLUFFYCAT - I've added you to the FE list.
The updated list for the FE exchange is:

MinnieMeg (2) 2 adults

Whiskey in a Vase (7) 2 adults, DD 7, DS 3, + 3 adults

Dianatlol (3) 2 adults, DD 10 Will your MIL & FIL be interested in the FE?

MickeyManiacMom (5) 3 adults, DD 9, DS 7 *change in # of people*

Bibbidibobbidiboo07 (4) 2 adults, DD 4, DS 8mos.

Krispykreme97 (4) 2 adults, DD 9, DD 2

Lexa (4) 2 adults, DS7, DD6

FLUFFYCAT (4) 2 adults, DS11, DS 7

Is anyone else interested? We have decided on a cutoff date of April 23, 2011.

Will everyone who is paticipating in FE please private message or email me with the following:
DISname
Cabin # (If you have more than 1 cabin please list seperately)
First names of everyone and ages and gender of children
I need this info to set up a delivery list. Some people may wish to personalize items with names, which is why I asked for everyone's name.


Please remember there is a meet planned for all DISers on May 7th at 3:00 pm in the Promenade Lounge on deck 3 aft.:dance3:

Did you get my PM?

[rusafee1183]

Well, I finally made it to Old Navy today and spent WAAAAAY too much money :eek: ..... :rolleyes1

I got a bunch of spring clothes that should be great for the cruise! :woohoo: No sundresses though.... they were weirdly shaped. But I did get 2 cardigans, 3 pretty tank/cami's for layering, 1 v-neck t-shirt, 1 3 quarter sleeved striped shirt, 2 gauzy flowy shirts and a jean skirt.

I think I have enough for the whole week just with what I bought today :laughing:

[mandymouse]

:wave: Hi there, I'm Mandy, and I am a Moderator over on the UK Community forums and I will be travelling with my hubby Paul. We put a deposit on a Cat 11B (GTY) yesterday, and we are hoping to be joining you in May (I won't believe it's happening till it's paid in full ;) )

This will be our 11th DCL Cruise, and our last one was an Eastern cruise over Halloween last year. I doubt we'll be doing any excursions, but we will be on the look out for any Hard Rock Cafes :) We always buy HRC t-shirts from wherever we visit

I'm hoping that there will be some Palo reservations available when we're paid in full, we love all the meals there, so I'm sure we will book some as soon as we embark

We may take part in the FE exchange, I will wait till closer to the cut off date because if the group is too large, we won't be able to take part due to our luggage allowance

Have a nice Sunday everyone, and I look forward to getting to know you all over the next few months ::yes::

[Lexa]

Welcome aboard mandymouse. It's great how our group is growing nicely. :)

[Lexa]

I have another question.....how many of you will dress up for Pirates Night? My kids got their costumes from friends, but me and DH will probably wear t-shirt and bandanas. How about Princesses? Will we have any Princesses on board from this group?

[kventventx]

My DH and I have costumes but if it comes down to it and we don't have space in our luggage they will be the first things left behind. But, if we have space we plan to dress up for Pirate Night. Seems to us the more involved you are the more fun you will have.

[rusafee1183]

My DH and I have costumes but if it comes down to it and we don't have space in our luggage they will be the first things left behind. But, if we have space we plan to dress up for Pirate Night. Seems to us the more involved you are the more fun you will have.

This is exactly how my DH and I feel.

We have great costumes and want to dress up, but now I'm nervous about the amount of space my formal attire is going to take up.... :rolleyes:

Really thinking I may need those space saver bags now.


Here's a picture of our costumes from when we were in WDW last Halloween.

http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn159/heatherrastetter/670.jpg