April 16th, 2011 -Western Caribbean

[MEdisneyfan]

I couldn't find a cruise meet yet for this group. I just booked today :banana: and we are so excited. This will be our second cruise, last one was in 2007 eastern. Would love to hear from anybody going on this cruise or anyone with great ideas for Western ports.


If anyone one this cruise would like to participate in the Fish extender exchange. Please join in.

[IrishCowboy]

I have added your thread to the cruise meet list :thumbsup2

[MEdisneyfan]

For the record, it will be myself, my DD (10) and my parents going on this cruise.




We had a blast meeting people last time, and we hope to do the same again.

[cathicool]

we booked this months and moths ago. this is the week my kids are off from school.....

we are a family of 7...we are in SPH rooms! 5022 and 5024

ginny (my mom)
jim (my dad)
cathi (me)
jeff (DH)
alassia, 10 for a few more days!
zachary, 9
victoria 6.5

can't wait to get back to key west for some key lime pie! and to treat my dad to a piece!

[NewmanFamily6]

Hey there:wave: We just booked today! There are 6 of us in 2 rooms 6635 and 6637. This is our 2nd cruise and we can't wait:sunny: It will be me (33) DH (34) DD (14) DD (10) DS (7) and DS (7). We have done the Eastern and are looking forward to the Western.

[princessnpirate]

About a month ago I booked a Disney Dream cruise....they are just not long enough!!! So I just switched to this cruise....DS is off from school then. It will be me (35), DH (turning 38 on cruise!!!), DS (6) and DD (1).

[Grumpylittlesis]

We'll be there as well. There's a large group of us (14 in total) ranging in age from 8 to, well, older than that.:rolleyes1 We've taken over a large chunk of deck 7 aft. Can't wait to go!

[mbhpch]

We will be going on this cruise. We are in 2 cabins and it will be my DH and I with our 4 children, DD 15, DD12, DD11, and DS 7. This is our first cruise.

[csmith_nc]

This will be my families first cruise. It will be me, DH and our DD who will be 7 at cruise time. We are currently booked in cabin 7126.

Connie

[TitaTink]

We are on the same cruise.
Me
DH
DS 14
DS 17
:cheer2:

Has anyone cruised at this time before? We last cruised in February 2009 and it was warm, wondering how hot it will be on the ship and in ports.

[dueley]

This will be our first cruise! We are all excited - myself, DH, DS(12), and DD(5). We are booked in 6556.

[SplatInc]

Count us in.

5 total
4 adults and 1 five year old!
:banana:

[SplatInc]

We were thinking that for shore excursions we would:
Take pictures in Key West
Snorkel Stingray City in Grand Cayman
Snorkel the reefs in Cozumel, or go check out the ruins
Beach it at Castaway Cay!

[jeniamt]

Hello all! We booked this trip while on the Magic over Thanksgiving 2009. Not completely sure we will actually take the cruise but for now I am planning as if we will be. There are six in our family and another 8 in two other groups traveling with us. Our decision to cruise comes down to factors, 1. Its really expensive to have to get two rooms and 2. our youngest will still be at a really difficult age to cruise with. He will be too young to go to the kids club, which means more $$ if we want a break from him and its EXHAUSTING to chase him around all day, especially on a ship! So.... we shall see!!!

Glad to meet you all! We loved our Turkey Gang Meet group and am sure you guys are just as fun. :thumbsup2 Jen

[SplatInc]

Hi Jen,
Welcome aboard!

[MEdisneyfan]

Hey everyone. I'm not sure who asked but we did the Eastern cruise back in 2007 during April break and it was warm everyday 80's. I just booked our plane flight down for friday the 15th. I can't believe how expensive airfare is right now. Oh well at least we will be on the Magic having fun.

On a side note, my DD is 10 and will almost be 11 at cruise time. She would love to have a penpal before the cruise. She did this last time and meet a great friend from California. If anyone is interested send me a message.

[jeniamt]

Hey everyone. I'm not sure who asked but we did the Eastern cruise back in 2007 during April break and it was warm everyday 80's. I just booked our plane flight down for friday the 15th. I can't believe how expensive airfare is right now. Oh well at least we will be on the Magic having fun.

On a side note, my DD is 10 and will almost be 11 at cruise time. She would love to have a penpal before the cruise. She did this last time and meet a great friend from California. If anyone is interested send me a message.

My DD just turned 11 last week and would love to chat but I am afraid we are going to move our cruise :sad1: The family consensus is they do not want to do another 7 day cruise. They want to do a 3 or 4 day Dream with another 4 to 5 days at WDW. We shall see... I am certainly not canceling anything yet! Where in Maine are you? My folks have a place in Gouldsboro that we go to every summer.

[mbhpch]

Hey everyone. I'm not sure who asked but we did the Eastern cruise back in 2007 during April break and it was warm everyday 80's. I just booked our plane flight down for friday the 15th. I can't believe how expensive airfare is right now. Oh well at least we will be on the Magic having fun.

On a side note, my DD is 10 and will almost be 11 at cruise time. She would love to have a penpal before the cruise. She did this last time and meet a great friend from California. If anyone is interested send me a message.
My daughters would love to be pen pals. They do not know about the cruise yet. We are surprising them for Christmas. One just turned 12 last week and the other will turn 11 in December. They can chat after December 25.

[cathicool]

Originally Posted by MEdisneyfan
Hey everyone. I'm not sure who asked but we did the Eastern cruise back in 2007 during April break and it was warm everyday 80's. I just booked our plane flight down for friday the 15th. I can't believe how expensive airfare is right now. Oh well at least we will be on the Magic having fun.

On a side note, my DD is 10 and will almost be 11 at cruise time. She would love to have a penpal before the cruise. She did this last time and meet a great friend from California. If anyone is interested send me a message.



My daughter would love to be penpals too! I sent you a private message....

I booked our airfare last week and am so glad I did. It is just going up and up! We are flying into MCO on Southwest on Friday 4/15, but are leaving from MLB (Melbourne) on Delta at 2:59pm, connecting thru Atlanta on 4/23. Gotta be home before the Easter Bunny!:) We've never flown with connections before, but we've also never flown during a holiday week before. I am just happy I got flights and prices I could live with! Gone are the days of the $49 Ding fares! Our flights are R/T $352 per person. We are staying at the Country Inn and Suites pre-cruise. Just have to get our travel insurance and we are all set!

[MEdisneyfan]

Speaking of airfare it is ridiculous. We are flying down on Friday the 15th out of Portland ME and we paid $277 one way for each of us. My parents are driving down early so they are going to pick us up at the airport and after we will all drive home together. It is our school vacation week as well, so flights were already filling up fast.

We have haven't picked a hotel for the night before but we are looking to do something near the port.

On a side note, does anyone have any advice on swimming with the dolphins. This is my daughters dream so I want it to be memorable. It just like they are everywhere down there so I want to have a good experience.

[cathicool]

Yikes! $277 one way?????

We are staying at the Country Inn and Suites- we have stayed here before and we like the proximity to the port and the price is right. The rooms are nice and can fit up to 6 people and they have a continental breakfast (complimentary) in the morning. It is just enough to tide you over til you get on the ship and have lunch!

Are your parents going on the cruise with you? My parents are cruising with us!

[bmcd1998]

This will be our 2nd Disney Cruise. Our last one was a three night...soooo excited for the 7 night! IS IT APRIL YET???!!!:cool2:

BTW, I have a DD 17 and a DS 11. DS is a little shy. If anyone has one about the same age who is into sports and video games (baseball/basketball and modern warfare), let me know. Maybe they can be "penpals" and have a friend to "hang out" with before we even get there.

[SplatInc]

Howdy everyone,

There is a cool documentary about DCL on netflix. It goes into the development process and what to expect going forward as well as what makes DCL different from other lines. I found it interesting and it got me psyched up about how awesome this cruise will be!

Here is the link:
http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/Disney-Parks-Disney-Cruise-Line/70135921?strackid=1abe3a9527fe210f_0_srl&strkid=1578720793_0_0&trkid=438381#height1288

[dueley]

My DS is 11 now, will be 12 when we sail. He also loves sports and video games. I think it would be great if he knew someone beforehand. I don't know how to send the private message for details, perhaps you do?

[Erickson99]

Hi All,

We just booked this cruise today! :cool1:

We are a family of 4.....my DS will be 7 and my DD will be 5 1/2 when we go in April. We are leaving out of Boston but have not booked our flights yet b/c prices are OUT OF CONTROL. I am hoping that they will go down slightly in January but waiting until then in order to balance the budget a bit.

We are very excited. We are on the 7th floor deck and we can't wait.

There is WAY too much information out there and it is overwhelming, but I have a long time to get ready.

[SplatInc]

Hi Erickson99!

Pleased to have you aboard. Feel free to ask any question you can imagine. Some of us have cruised with DCL before and are more than happy to assist.
For example, did you know that you can request a specific dining rotation? I have the rotation that put's my family in Lumieres for formal night and Parrot Cay for pirate night.pirate:

[bmcd1998]

My DS is 11 now, will be 12 when we sail. He also loves sports and video games. I think it would be great if he knew someone beforehand. I don't know how to send the private message for details, perhaps you do?

Dueley...In the top right corner of your screen, check your private messages. I sent you one yesterday.

[bmcd1998]

Got our cabin assignments already! Wow!

Maybe we got them early since I booked this in December of 2009?

[bmcd1998]

Hi Erickson99!

Pleased to have you aboard. Feel free to ask any question you can imagine. Some of us have cruised with DCL before and are more than happy to assist.
For example, did you know that you can request a specific dining rotation? I have the rotation that put's my family in Lumieres for formal night and Parrot Cay for pirate night.pirate:

I thought I was pretty Disney savvy. However, I did not know about requesting a dining rotation. Can you tell us how one would do that?

Thank You!!!!:cool1:

[Erickson99]

I am curious about the dining rotation too. We are on 2nd dining at 730pm. We got our cabin assignments as soon as we put the deposit down. We'll be in 7052.

[bmcd1998]

Merry Christmas to all our future shipmates. I am looking forward to sharing many good times with you next spring.

May all your wishes come true this Christmas.

God Bless!

[SplatInc]

Happy (non-denominational) Holidays Everyone
:dance3:

[SplatInc]

4 months to go!

Time for me to get serious about my exercise program. :banana:

[Erickson99]

Oh boy...me too....need to get on the stick to get ready for April!!! :yay::banana:

[MEdisneyfan]

OK is it April yet? My daughter and I are going to make a countdown calendar for the cruise. Something to hang on the frig and see everyday. We already started talking about things we need new sunglasses, sandals, etc. We have booked to stay at the Country Inn and Suites as well. Should be a fun night before we all head out.

Just wanted to check back in and say hi to everyone. Have a Happy and safe New Year!!

[princessnpirate]

A countdown is a great idea! I have been telling DS that we needed to get through Christmas to focus on Easter break! Well here we are.

I booked treatments the other day!!! Cannot wait!

[mommy681]

My family of 5 plus my parents will be going on our first cruise in April to Western Carib, and we are so excited! DD will be 15 on day of departure (4/16), one DS will be 2 wks away from 13 and other DS will be 9. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I particularly like the idea of having the kids possibly contact other kids their age prior to sailing via penpal or email. If anyone is interested, please let me know.

[SplatInc]

Hi Mommy681,

Did you advise anyone about the birthday? They will bring out a cake and sing for you if they know about it.

[bmcd1998]

Hi 681...I am glad you like the idea of getting some kids in contact with one another before the cruise. My son Greg will be one month from 12 when we sail. I think he and your son will be in the same "club". Greg has already had some contact with a boy Jon who will be 12 at the sailing. Does your son have a FB or XBOX live account? You can reply to my email if you would like bmmcd1998@yahoo.com. If you do I can send your son Jon's contact info too (with his Mom's permission).

[Imamom604]

My DD (8 in April):wizard::wizard: and I booked this cruise a few months ago--just figuring out all this DIS stuff. We are new cruisers and really looking forward to this. We'll also be with my parents.
Kim

[mbhpch]

Hi Erickson99!

Pleased to have you aboard. Feel free to ask any question you can imagine. Some of us have cruised with DCL before and are more than happy to assist.
For example, did you know that you can request a specific dining rotation? I have the rotation that put's my family in Lumieres for formal night and Parrot Cay for pirate night.pirate:

I would love to know how to request a specific dining rotation. Could you let me know when you have a chance? Thanks so much
:dance3:

[Erickson99]

WELL - we booked our flights - FINALLY. :cool1:

Going in and out of Boston was near to impossible. It was SO expensive, there were hardly any direct flights available and the times were horrible. It was going to cost us almost $900 per person!!!

So off to Manchester, NH we go on Southwest Airlines. :cheer2: We are leaving early (on Thurs 4/14) to surprise my 7 year old son to go to Universal and Harry Potter on that Friday 4/15. We will drive down to Cape Canaveral from Orlando on Saturday AM.

I need to ask our TA about the rotational dining.

We told the kids on Christmas Day complete with a call from Mickey! They are excited. We are trying to pump them up to get excited about the kids club. They seem to be good about it, but it could change once we get on the ship. My DS just turned 7 in December and my DD will be 5 1/2 (turning 6 that August) so they could go either way.

We also got them a Fish Eye with their names on it and personalized autograph books. :wizard:

I am SUPER excited - tomorrow is 100 days until the cruise!!!

[mommy681]

Hi 681...I am glad you like the idea of getting some kids in contact with one another before the cruise. My son Greg will be one month from 12 when we sail. I think he and your son will be in the same "club". Greg has already had some contact with a boy Jon who will be 12 at the sailing. Does your son have a FB or XBOX live account? You can reply to my email if you would like. If you do I can send your son Jon's contact info too (with his Mom's permission).

I see that you are in Charlotte...so are we...small world! My son does have a FB account. Does your email address have 2 m's or one?)

[Erickson99]

100 days!!!!

[bmcd1998]

681...confusing I know. two "m"s in my email, just one in my board name here.

[maggie blossom]

We will also be on this cruise. We are soooo excited.

DD will turn 11 shortly before our cruise. She would LOVE to email other girls her age. Please message me if your daughter is interested in an email penpal prior to setting sail

We will also be spending the day at IOA for Harry Potter World friday before our cruise.

[TanyaS]

I just booked this morning for our first DCL cruise. Well, first cruise period for the kids!

It will be our family of five. My MIL has mentioned going with us and bringing 7 year old DN, but she hasn't booked nor gotten DN a passport yet, so I'm not sure if they will be able to join us.

I am soooooooooooo excited! I have stalked Disboards in the past planning WDW trips and feel like I am starting from scratch with learning all the ends and outs of a DCL trip.

[TanyaS]

Is this group doing a FE exchange? If so, is there a separate thread organizing it?

If not, is anyone interested in doing one?

[postalchick71]

We booked over the weekend. It will be me DS 18 and DS 5. I'll be turning 40 the day we leave :cool1: This will be cruiose #4 for older son and I. 1st cruise for the younger son.

[bmcd1998]

If you check the top right corner of your page after you sign in it will tell you that you have a private message.

Just booked a three day tack on at the Polynesian after the cruise. Yes we are junkies.:cool1:

[bmcd1998]

I need to get car service from the port to Polynesian after the cruise. Has anyone done this before? Which are the reputable companies? Most importantly, what time should we request pick up? We will be anxious to get back home to the Poly. We love it there.

[maggie blossom]

I was also wondering about FE. I am not at all crafty so I may need lots of help but we are willing

[TanyaS]

I'm not crafty either, so no pressure from me!

After looking at some of the other threads, I think it might be easier if the FE exchanges were limited in group size, for example, the first 20 cabins to sign up would be in one group to exchange with each other, and then the next 20 would be a separate exchange group.

If someone wants to organize, you can count us in! Cabins 6148 and 6150.

[dueley]

We would also like to participate in a FE exchange. This is our first cruise, and we are very excited. If there are no experienced FE coordinators, I would be willing to give it a try. Thank goodness for this forum - lots of good information!

[TanyaS]

Dueley, if you are willing to organize, I would be a happy, and thankful!, participant. :love:

I vote that if you agree to take on the responsibility of organizing, you get to set the rules!

But after reading other threads, I suggest we agree to:
* limit the exchange to a set number of participants in Group One, and have more groups if needed (I would like to know if I need to prepare for 15 exchanges or 85, as that will definitely affect what I choose to give).
* set a firm cut-off date for the group you are organizing (anyone wishing to do a FE exchange after that date could organize an exchange for others who also missed the cut-off date).
* have few rules otherwise: participants choose what day to pass other their gifts, and whether to give to cabins or individuals, and everyone agrees to simply extend the magic by passing along any gifts they receive that are unable to be kept for whatever reason (health, religious, sports affiliation, whatever).

If you, or anyone else, can take on organizing, count me in!

Cabin # 6148 pirate: Chris (adult), John (11) & James (9)
Cabin # 6150 princess: Tanya (adult) & Katherine (6)

[SplatInc]

91 DAYS!
ACK!
note to self: more situps and pushups :rotfl2:

Neat stuff to decorate your cabin door:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2552775
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2172891

We would like to participate in any FE exchanges.
pirate:

[dueley]

Hi all!
Ok, I will do my best to be a good organizer for the FE.

If anyone is interested in participating in the Fish Extender please send me a PM or e-mail (dueley@verizon.net) with the following information:
Cabin Number-Deck Number
Adult Names
Child Names, Ages, Genders
Dinner Seating (early or late)
Any allergies, celebrations, etc (useful info for others to have!)
E-mail address

I will put together the list as soon as possible and plan on CLOSING sign up on March 20. As suggested, we will cap each group at 15-20 (create groups if necessary).

If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know.
Thanks everyone!!

[bmcd1998]

I was able to book our excursions finally. Doing a "Snuba" dive in Key West, Dolphin swim in Cozumel, and my DD and I are going to try parasailing on Castaway Cay! We have never done any of these...would love to hear about your experiences if you have.

I also booked a couple's massage and Palo dining for the "big kids" (As always on any Disney vacation, no reference to us as "adults" is permitted:rotfl2:) Again, first time for these as well.

I wanted to look into the Cabana rental at Castaway Cay, but all the information I can find are older posts. Has anyone done this before? If so was it worth it? How did you reserve one?

[dotines8]

Can't wait to set sail! This will be our 4th Disney cruise with our wonderful friends.
DD-11, DD-13, DD-15, DS 16

[MEdisneyfan]

I booked Palo last night. Got a 7:00pm time for Thursday. I am hoping that I picked a good day. Also booked our excursion for Cozumel.

Now that I have those booked, we are getting excited to go. Must make a list of things I need to pick up over the next couple of months. Wahoo!!! Let the Fun begin!!! :cool1:

[FJS961]

I need to get car service from the port to Polynesian after the cruise. Has anyone done this before? Which are the reputable companies? Most importantly, what time should we request pick up? We will be anxious to get back home to the Poly. We love it there.

won't the disney transportation take you to the Poly? thats what we did last summer, took us there instead of the airport

we will be on this cruise too ... wife and I with kids 11,8,5 (g,g,b) ...

[dueley]

Hello everyone,

So far we only have 5 families participating. Anyone interested in joining in the fun, please send your names, cabin number, ages (for children), dinner seating, and any allergies or celebrations that would be important or noteworthy to others!! You can either send a PM or email (dueley@verizon.net)

I will send out a listing at the end of the week for those participating. Thereafter, I will send out bi-weekly updates (even if just to say - no changes).

Thanks,
Tammy

[Erickson99]

We will participate!!

I got the kids a FE off ebay for Christmas. It is hanging in the house so they get to look at it all the time. I will email you!!!

Since we are 1st time cruisers we can't book anything until Jan 31st...bummer:confused3

[maggie blossom]

OK fellow cruisers:

It is FREEZING cold here in the northeast and they are predicting another snow storm.

Can I just say I CAN"T WAIT to cruise to the Caribbean!!!!!

[TanyaS]

Do anyone have advice on the best night to book Palo if we don't want to miss the Animator's show or pirate's night?

What port excursions is everyone considering?

We are leaning towards Xcaret Eco Park in Cozumel, but haven't quite decided about the others.

My MIL and niece (age 7) have booked on this cruise also, so we'll probably need to pick something we'll all enjoy.

I saw that my boys were old enough to do the Parasailing and was thinking they would enjoy it, but then I saw the weight restrictions and asked DS#1 how much he weighed. He is six pounds under the minimum, but he informed he that he'd probably be able to do it since he plans to gain that much weight eating on the cruise at the all you can eat buffets. :lmao:

I will probably also reserve the tube/snorkel/bike package for CC. DD can't ride without training wheels yet, so teaching her may be moved up on my to do list next weekend.

I have a box that I am slowly adding to with things I pick up for the cruise. I ordered a FE and items to make my FE gifts.

Now I just have to go swimsuit shopping. :scared1:

[MEdisneyfan]

It is freezing here in Maine. Another snow day and school is cancelled. Oh well, more time to sit at home and dream about the cruise. Maybe we will watch the info cruise video to just get us even more excited. I also need to finish my countdown calendar.

I had read on one of the boards that Pirate night was night 5 leaving Cozumel or night 4 Grand Caymen. Animator's night is usually one of the first three nights during your normal rotation. We booked Palo for night 6 at sea day, that way we can enjoy the last night back in the dining rooms for the 'till we meet again dinner.

Hope this helps!

Can someone explain the FE process? We are interested but I need more info!!

[maggie blossom]

As far as the FE process I am no expert, haven't even been on a cruise yet, but I will tell you what I understand it to be based on all I have read.

You can choose to participate. Someone keeps a list of all people and room numbers.

You give out little gifts to each room. You can give one per cabin or one, or more, per person. Seems it REALLY varies as to amount that is given, and spent.

I think the organizer decides if you have an assigned date to give or if you can give whenever you want.

We are doing it because it looks like FUN.

Maybe someone else can fill in the parts I missed; or correct me if I got it wrong,

[dueley]

I'm coordinating the FE exchange. It is voluntary, but seems like a lot of fun. This is our first cruise, but I have been using this forum extensively to get ideas and answer questions (I think I'm becoming a little obsessed!!:rotfl:)

Anyway... being as how most of us are newbies, there are few rules. I will compile the list of participants (and distribute periodically). There is no set date or time for when to exchange or what to exchange. Just have fun with it and enjoy (both the giving and the receiving).

The cutoff date is March 20. If there are more than 15 statements, then we will divide up the group (so there are not so many things to pack).

I'm looking forward to the "Magic"ical time that we will be having in just a few months. I'd better get busy - time is going fast!!

Tammy

[Erickson99]

Maggie - where in MA are you from? We are from Wilmington. Snow Day for us today too! blech. We are flying out of Manchester b/c Boston flights were OUT of control cost wise!

[maggie blossom]

HI Melissa

We are in Arlington, MA. I have had it with the snow! Even DD was hoping NOT to have another snow day from school today.

We paid a bundle to fly in and out of Boston. $1400 for 3 of us on Southwest. :scared1: Isn't that ridiculous. They know they have us because with kids we have limited weeks we can go.

Thinking about excursions; nothing booked yet. And also reading obsessively to learn as much as I can. Kinds fun to look forward to it and think about it don't you think?

[maggie blossom]

Ohh I forgot to ask:

How do you get one of those fancy counters of the bottom that show how many days until your cruise????

[SplatInc]

BMCD

I did some checking on the cabanas.

It seems you cannot prebook them. You must book on board the ship. You get free soda and snorkel equipment, magazines and a bike ride. Cost is (hold on to something) $599! :scared1:

I have been to CC twice and see no need to pay that much for so little. Talk about pirates in the Caribbean. pirate:

When you exit the ship keep going down the beach and it thins out very quickly. The beach is 1700 feet long, more than enough for everyone.

[bmcd1998]

BMCD

I did some checking on the cabanas.

It seems you cannot prebook them. You must book on board the ship. You get free soda and snorkel equipment, magazines and a bike ride. Cost is (hold on to something) $599! :scared1:

I have been to CC twice and see no need to pay that much for so little. Talk about pirates in the Caribbean. pirate:

When you exit the ship keep going down the beach and it thins out very quickly. The beach is 1700 feet long, more than enough for everyone.

Thanks Splat...yikes...that's a steep price tag. I wonder if they actually sell them out at that price?

[SplatInc]

As far as I can tell they are not selling out. I read more than a couple comments saying the price was to high. However I never underestimate how much money people will spend to seem cool.
BTW I am also located in Charlotte. We should get together for planning excursions and activities.

[SplatInc]

The way to get a cool counter is to go to the "user cp" in the red bar at the top of this page. You can get the BB code and paste it into your signature there. Go to edit signature on the right side of the page and just above you sig info is a banner ad for DIS counters.

Dining rotations are by request through your TA or Disney. There are three rotations.

My DW and I have done the dolphin swim in the Bahamas. Be careful to read the descriptions as there are usually several levels from just watching all the way up to actually swimming with the animals. Usuallythey give you a briefing then show you some tricks and then you get to interact (dolphin kisses, feeding, sometimes they squirt you with water) finally the swim is usually a foot push or you hold the dorsal fin and the dolphin pulls you around. Always tell the company you want to get the big picture package and DVD even if you dont end up buying it, that way they will concentrate on you and you will have more pics to choose from. :rolleyes1

Sorry to take so long to answer everyones questions.

Have a magical day

[SplatInc]

http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/cruise-new/cr-stateroom-navigator.htm

Scans of the daily navigator from prior cruises. There will be some changes but it will give you a general rundown on shows and activities as well as character meet and greets. Don't miss out on Cpt Jack Sparrow on CC. If you take the tram you will go right by the spot. Last time we were there he came weaving out of the bushes and was a dead ringer for Johnny Depp.

With the new pirates of the Caribbean movie coming out this summer does anyone think we will get any special showings or activities?

[SplatInc]

Movie from our last Disney cruise.

http://gallery.me.com/splatinc#100501

Pics from our trip, these include several that are useful as desktop wallpaper. Dolphin encounter pics as well.

http://gallery.me.com/splatinc#101592&bgcolor=black&view=grid

[maggie blossom]

Thanks so much for the ticker advice!!!!!

[maggie blossom]

Ooops. Looks like I better try that again.

I think I better also keep my day job :lmao:

[SplatInc]

Maggie
You have several options with the signature code. Use the one that has square brackets. I believe it's called BB code.
You can then quit your day job and live off the accolades of your peers. :worship:

[maggie blossom]

THANK YOU THANK YOU Splat!!!! :dance3:

You rock:worship:

I will soooooo keep my day job. I only learned how to use these cute dancin guys a few weeks ago; after my 10 yo taught me. (Hence my overuse of them).

[Imamom604]

[QUOTE=bmcd1998;39557635]I was able to book our excursions finally.

I also booked a couple's massage and Palo dining for the "big kids"

How did you do this? I was told my travel agent we couldn't book anything until 1/31?
Thanks,
Kim

[Imamom604]

We're first-time Disney cruisers--that's why we can't book until 1/31!
Looking forward to seeing everyone in April! Looks like another possible snow day this coming Wednesday or Thursday. Yikes.
Kim

[bmcd1998]

[QUOTE=bmcd1998;39557635]I was able to book our excursions finally.

I also booked a couple's massage and Palo dining for the "big kids"

How did you do this? I was told my travel agent we couldn't book anything until 1/31?
Thanks,
Kim

Kim,

I see this is your first Disney Cruise. Welcome to the club. If you like cruising and Disney, you will be an instant addict (I was/am). Enjoy!

[maggie blossom]

We are also first timers so can't book anything yet.

I think I am going to skip Palo this go around. I don't want to miss anything "regular" in the dining rooms since it is our first time. I doubt brunch will be open to us since it will likely be all filled by the time we can book. But that is okay; likely we will be "hooked" as well and have other chances to do Palo.

[Erickson99]

It is BRISK here today in Beantown (MA) and I cannot wait to get on the boat!

We too are first time DCL cruisers so I am desperately waiting until 1/31 to book.

I definately would like to do Palo. I love me some breakfast/brunch so I may try and do that. We will see if I get it.

I just do not know what to do for the excursions.

I heard the price of the cabanas went down...maybe it's just a rumor??

[mbhpch]

Hi Everybody,
We are so excited to book the excursions later this week. I am so worried that we will not get to do the things that we want to do. We are planning on Swimming with the Dolphins in Grand Cayman and the Fury Catamaran Snorkel Beach Party in Cozumel. My dd(15) wants to parasail in Castaway Cay. :cool1:

[bmcd1998]

http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/cruise-new/cr-stateroom-navigator.htm

Scans of the daily navigator from prior cruises. There will be some changes but it will give you a general rundown on shows and activities as well as character meet and greets. Don't miss out on Cpt Jack Sparrow on CC. If you take the tram you will go right by the spot. Last time we were there he came weaving out of the bushes and was a dead ringer for Johnny Depp.

With the new pirates of the Caribbean movie coming out this summer does anyone think we will get any special showings or activities?

I didn't see one on this that covered the Western Itinerary.

Here is a link to a page from "philatiger" that has all the Western Navigators from October:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2583324&highlight=western+magic+navigator

Is it April Yet???

[SplatInc]

It's the sixth on the list. It has "at a glance" as it's last option. Your link is better for those of us that are internet challenged. :3dglasses
As long as I make it to the ship its all the same to me. :yay:

"03/06/10 - 7 Day Western Caribbean (Thanks to luckyfamilyof3)" is the one to which I was referring. If it doesn't match up it is completely my fault.

[SplatInc]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704062604576105953506930800.html?m od=WSJ_hpp_RIGHTTopCarousel_1


The gist of it is that prices are best on tuesdays at or around 3pm. The prices are highest on the weekends.

[stampinot]

We just paid the last part of this cruise and looking to book excursions.
I was wondering if anyone here is doing the fish extender thing? Not sure of all the rules,but it looks like fun. I know my 2 daughters-8 and 16 would like it
julie

[stampinot]

If someone has not already put a list together I would love to get the Fish extender game going on our cruise. I am trying to find out the rules, but I have been looking at fish extenders on ebay and etsy. It looks like a lot of fun. I have been reading the Fish Extenders thread too.
Julie

[dueley]

We have started a FE exchange! We would be happy to add you to our group (and anyone else out there interested!).

Please send me a PM or e-mail (dueley@verizon.net) with the following information:
Cabin Number
Adult Names
Child Names, Ages, Genders
Dinner Seating (early or late)
Any allergies, celebrations, etc (useful info for others to have!)
E-mail address

My plan is to send out the first list this weekend. I will send updates thereafter.

Thanks,
Tammy

[princessnpirate]

Hi-

I will join in the fish extender. I will send you the email! I cannot believe we are approaching the two month mark!!

[John21601]

I went down to AAA today and made our final payment! This will be our first cruise. It will be me, my wife and our five year old daughter. We live in Hampton Road, VA. Is anyone else from Virginia going?

[bmcd1998]

I went down to AAA today and made our final payment! This will be our first cruise. It will be me, my wife and our five year old daughter. We live in Hampton Road, VA. Is anyone else from Virginia going?

Welcome John21601. Look forward to sharing the Magic with you and your family in April.

[mommy681]

Has anyone gone on the Tulum ruins tour in Cozumel? I would love to do that excursion with my family but would like to get info from someone who has done it. It seems like a long day, but I've heard it's worthwhile. comments? Also, if you have done that excursion, was it booked thru Disney or onshore?

[dueley]

I went down to AAA today and made our final payment! This will be our first cruise. It will be me, my wife and our five year old daughter. We live in Hampton Road, VA. Is anyone else from Virginia going?

We're from Manassas. This weekend, we are closer -- Williamsburg. Nice to leave the snow behind (even if only for the weekend).:)

[bmcd1998]

Ok. January is almost done. That means just February and March then it will almost be here. Thanks to a busy work schedule, son's baseball and March Madness, I think I might just make it :rotfl:. Does anyone know if the posts on this site tend to pick up as the travel date approaches?

I have been reading a very good guide to Disney Cruise from Passporter. If you are relatively new to this you might want to check it out. I got it on Amazon for like $12 I think. It goes into a lot of detail about food, entertainment, Disney policies, and strategies for maximizing the Magic.

Good luck to everyone who will be booking their excursions/Palo/Spa stuff in a day or so. Hope you get what you want!:yay:

[B]NOTE TO MOMMY681[B]-email me at bmmcd1998@yahoo.com and we can see if our boys can make friends in advance.

[stampinot]

The beginning of Feb. I ordered the download they have about the cruise line, I haven't had a chance to print it out! I am excited too.

[stampinot]

I am so excited! I orderd my Fish Extender on ebay-CUTE. If you haven't signed up for this fun exchange you should. It will enhance your cruise experience. I also ordered pillow cases to turn into guest services to be signed by the characters. My DD loved it last time we did it.
We will be cruising before you know it!

[Erickson99]

Hi All,

I booked our activities today. I didn't wind up getting the Dolphin thing @ Turtle Farm in Grand Cayman and wound up with Dolphinarias in Cozumel. We are doing the Atlantis submarine in Grand Cayman. My husband and son wanted to do the White Knuckle Boat ride in Key West so I happily booked that while I think me and my daughter will find something to do while they are doing that.

I booked Palo for Sunday night - does anyone know if you are "missing" any activities on Sunday night?

I also booked me a facial for Thursday AM...ahhhhhhhhhh

I keep hearing good things about the Stingray thing at Castaway Key so I booked that.

I keep in mind that anything can be cancelled so I figure book what we are interested in now and change it later.

What did you guys wind up with?

Melissa

PS - John we are from MA but my daughter is 5 as well.

[Erickson99]

Well already made a change....I switched to the Dolphins at Chankanaab instead of Dolphinarius. Less expensive and I did a quick search on the boards and people were saying some better things about it.

[mbhpch]

Hi
We signed up for our excursions last night too. We stayed up until midnight waiting to sign on. We will be doing the Fury Catarmaran Sail, Snorkel and Beach Party in Cozumel and Dolphin Extreme Swim in Grand Cayman.
My dd (15) will be parasailing in Castaway Cay with my husband. I signed up for a manicure and pedicure at the spa but might switch it on board to the salon because I could not get them at the same time.
Still trying to figure out what to do at Castaway Cay.
We made a reservation for Palo on Sunday evening too. I hope that we will not miss out on too much. I looked on an old Navigator from January and it said a name in the theater so I assume it is not going to be one of the big shows.
Patty

[maggie blossom]

It is hard not to get to wound up in deciding about excursions! I thought I had my mind made then I start second geussing.
I was planning on doing excursions apart from DCL. I am thinking Moby Dicks for Stingrays in G.C and beach on Cozumel. But now I am tempted about Dolphins....:headache:

Soon I will book and then let it go (hopefully; that is the PLAN anyway). We have never been on a cruise so I think it will be fun whatever we do.

On a separate note I bought some things for FE today. :thumbsup2
This is getting more exciting as we get closer!!!!

[dueley]

I also stayed up late last night to try and book Palo and excursions. We got everything that we wanted. Brunch at Palo, dolphin and turtle farm in Grand Cayman, and Atlantis submarine in Cozumel. :banana:

[AndreaNYC]

We are also booked for this cruise. There are five of us--My husband and I and our three children, ages boys ages 10 & 8 and a 6 year old girl.

Booked are:
Palo brunch and dinner

Couples massage on CC

3 reef snorkel in Cozumel for husband and sons

beach & stingray City in Grand Cayman

Nothing booked in Key West. We got married there so we are making the kids go and see the spot it all started ;)

It is our first Disney cruise, and the first cruise for the kids. DH is a cruise hater so we've all talked him into this--I know he'll love it and he's being a good sport.

[bmcd1998]

All

I just found out that Disney has made a change to the "first come first served" policy for check in at the port.

Effective today (about three hours ago) you can go into the "My online check in" part of the DCL website and either fill it out and choose a check in time, or, if you have already completed the information, then click "edit" and choose a check in time.

For those of you with travel agents they may be able to do this for you. But I would not delay. I just did mine through the website and there was some kind of mad rush that crashed the site for a while. If you want to check in early and be one of the first aboard, I would get this done right away.

Good Luck

[cathicool]

so how does this change the first come first serve policy? i did the online check-in. i picked 1030-1100 as our check in time. was there any earlier time? i think i have more questions now that DCL has this online check in time thing........anyone able to shed more light on this?

[bmcd1998]

so how does this change the first come first serve policy? i did the online check-in. i picked 1030-1100 as our check in time. was there any earlier time? i think i have more questions now that DCL has this online check in time thing........anyone able to shed more light on this?

cathicool...that's the same time I got. I think that is the earliest slot.

I think this means the earlier arrivals will get the lowest numbers and get to board first.

By the way, what part of L.I. are you from? I grew up there..out on the North Fork.

[cathicool]

bmcd1998.....hi! we live in Babylon- so Western Suffolk county....not "quite" as far east as you are from!

So how does this relieve my anxiety about getting to the port early so that I will be one of the first families to board the ship, exactly?

And, if I registered for the 10:30 slot and get there late, will I not be allowed to check in?

And, if I registered for the 1:00 slot, for example and got there early, would I have to wail til 1pm to check in?

I'm really having a hard time figuring out how this really helps us obsessive people. If they had assigned "boarding groups"- kind of like Southwest Airlines does- then I might've been able to understand this a bit better.

[SplatInc]

Cathicool

It's going to be ok. Step back from the ledge.
I am sure that Disney put this in to be able to schedule the workers more efficiently. I can't imagine that if you showed up early they wouldn't let you stand in line like before.
I signed up for 10:30-11 but was thinking at unless we are chosen to be first it really doesn't matter.:hippie:
You still can't get into your cabin for a little while. We always drop our bags at the cabin door if it's not ready, inside if it is. The food is just as hot, the pool is just as cool.

[stampinot]

Hi
We signed up for our excursions last night too. We stayed up until midnight waiting to sign on. We will be doing the Fury Catarmaran Sail, Snorkel and Beach Party in Cozumel and Dolphin Extreme Swim in Grand Cayman.
My dd (15) will be parasailing in Castaway Cay with my husband. I signed up for a manicure and pedicure at the spa but might switch it on board to the salon because I could not get them at the same time.
Still trying to figure out what to do at Castaway Cay.
We made a reservation for Palo on Sunday evening too. I hope that we will not miss out on too much. I looked on an old Navigator from January and it said a name in the theater so I assume it is not going to be one of the big shows.
Patty

I figured if I chicken out, my DH can go!
We booked several other things to do. I grew up in Key West so we are going it alone-the trolley is fun and you can see alot of things.
The submarine is expensive for all 4 of us.

[stampinot]

a porthole! I am hoping to get to the port early and get upgraded to a verandah for a cheaper price!
Looking forward to the FE! I have been shopping already.
Julie

[Erickson99]

We registered for the 1130am timeslot and I am expecting to get to CC around 1030 to drop off our rental car @ Hertz and take the shuttle from them over there. (We are arriving late Thursday night & going to Universal on Friday) and driving down Sat AM. (Making sure to stop at the liquor store!!)

[Erickson99]

a porthole! I am hoping to get to the port early and get upgraded to a verandah for a cheaper price!
Looking forward to the FE! I have been shopping already.
Julie

We booked a verandah b/c when we went to book the cruise (in November) the only option for us was a 5A category and above. My travel agent said the cruise was nearing capacity at that time due to the April vacation timeframe. It is going to be one FULL ship when we said from my understanding.

[mbhpch]

I figured if I chicken out, my DH can go!
We booked several other things to do. I grew up in Key West so we are going it alone-the trolley is fun and you can see alot of things.
The submarine is expensive for all 4 of us.

Parasailing is a lot of fun. I went in Ocean City, MD years ago. We are not going to do much in Key West. Trying to save some money. Swimming with the dolphins is expensive. I want to go to Margaritaville.

[maggie blossom]

We signed up for the Fury Catamaran in Cozumel. We will do Stingray encounter in GC but book it on our own.

We dont have check in time yet as I haven't had the time to do all of the steps of the online check in before it will allow us to choose a check in time. Man, they want a lot of information.

Melissa, we are also flying in late on thursday and doing Universal on Friday. I think that place is going to be mobbed on friday! :scared1: Can't talk my DD out of it thou so we will grin and bear it.

[Erickson99]

Maggie - you are flying out of Boston, right? We leave out of Manchester at 525pm direct into Orlando. I also found out which is a MAJOR bonus is that Harry Potter is at Island of Adventure which I like A LOT more than just plain Universal so I am so excited that it is over on that side. It will be a busy and long day but I am so looking forward to it!

[Imamom604]

Hi, everyone--
I also stayed up til 12:01 on 1/31 to book excursions and such. Had a little trouble with Palo dining, but excursions seemed pretty good. We are going on the glass bottom boat on Key West, swimming with dolphins in Grand Cayman and Tulum Ruins on Cozumel. We were in Cozumel years ago and weren't that impressed with the beach there, so thought this would be a good option. My parents will come with DD (8y 10m) and I on the glass bottom boat and ruins. They will go to on the tour of Grand Cayman instead of dolphins. We haven't really planned anything for Castaway Cay. Any advice from the experts? I figured we'd just relax on the beach (except I DID book a massage for myself)....but let me know if anyone has favorites.

DD and I also signed up for the FE--I'll also be buying mine on eBay. What kinds of gifts do we get? Is there a recommended dollar amount or anything??

[maggie blossom]

Got more stuff to start making gifts for FE today. This makes it really fun!!

Melissa, we are flying out of Boston but NOT direct. We switch in PA, Phila I think. We end up arriving in Orlando at 7 pm ish thursday night.

We aren't splurging for Universal hotel so won't have the early admission hour to I of A. We will get there as early as possible thou. I think as long as DD gets to see all the HP stuff she will be happy. Whatever happens after that is gravy.

[stampinot]

We are mostly taking it easy on Castaway Cay. We have been there before. It is nice to enjoy the beach and the water if the weather is nice. We are going parasailing there, but that is it.
The FE-I have already started shopping, but it is expensive no matter how you shop. I am planning to order some items from Oriental trading company.
I am trying to shop for the different age groups. I plan on dividing and marking whose is whose before the cruise to make it easier to give them away.

[SplatInc]

The key to castaway cay is bring your own favorite sand toys. Disney will sell you toys for a profit. Then after we leave they clean the beach and sell any toys left behind again. :eek:

[stampinot]

The key to castaway cay is bring your own favorite sand toys. Disney will sell you toys for a profit. Then after we leave they clean the beach and sell any toys left behind again. :eek:

to be delivered to the boat with the kids candy for the movie, sand toys etc. Then we leave them behind if we don't have room in the suitcase. Disney will charge a fortune for a few toys and the baskets Shirley makes aren't cheap, but the kids love getting them when they get to the room.

[stampinot]

the night before the cruise? That is what we are planning to do.

[Erickson99]

We wound up getting a really good deal on a rental in Kissimee for Thurs/Friday night when we are there through our lawn service company (it's small and local) so we will be driving down to CC on Sat AM. I signed us up for the 1130am get on the boat time.

Maggie - we didn't want to splurge on the hotel either so whatever time we get there we get there. I am NOT rushing around on Friday that's for sure. We arrive at 830pm so I am sure we will not get to bed much before 11 or so.

[mbhpch]

the night before the cruise? That is what we are planning to do.

We are arriving early Friday morning. We are not going to go to Universal that day. My dd wants to see Harry Potter but we can not spend almost $1000 for a half a day at the park( since there are 6 of us) I checked to see and the park closes at 5:00 that day. Trying to figure out what to do that day. We are staying at the Hilton in Cocoa Beach on Friday night. We had some Hilton points to use. Hope that it is nice. We plan to arrive at the port around 10:30 on Saturday morning.

[stampinot]

I wanted to make sure we arrive a day early in case something should happen. We didn't want to miss the boat. Our check in time is 10:30am. I don't think we can board then right? It just means we may board earlier than if someone checked in at a later time I thought

[stampinot]

take on the ship? We are planning to take our own beer.

[bmcd1998]

We are flying in Friday evening and staying at the Airport Hilton (with Hilton honors Points). Have a car service scheduled to take us from the hotel to the port for our 10:30 check in.

Almost embarrased to admit this, but I just reserved a Spring Break 2012 5 night on the Dream April 10th. There are good deals this early for bookings, and we have till January 23rd, 2012 to cancel with a full refund. Got a real good deal. yay!! :yay::yay:

[SplatInc]

FYI, if you book aboard you get an additional 10% discount and your TA can take over the booking. They also match rates, so if you were in say Key West and had access to the internet, found the same rate you currently have and went aboard the ship you could save an additional 10%. Thats if they don't raise the rates between now and then. You may just end up with more room credit but who knows? At Disney rates every little bit counts. :thumbsup2

[maggie blossom]

For those with older kids are you planning on having your child carry a wavephone?


Any thoughts on what they will carry the wavephone in?

I think I will give one to DD when she is not with us, ie in kids club. But I am worried about her losing it. She is a good kid but when she is having fun she could lose anything. :confused3

Anyone else thinking about this?

[stampinot]

I have seen them on the threads, but was not sure what they are? How much are they to rent? How old do they need to be to have one? Do you get them on the ship?
I have a 16 y/o DD who will soon be 17. She thinks the whole Disney thing is a joke. She thinks there will be no other teenagers on the cruise! I told her different, but she is so sick of Disney since we are Disney freaks!

[stampinot]

We are doing a Fish Extender if you are interested.

[stampinot]

Anyone ever get one of these and what is it? Trying to decide if it is worth the money

[maggie blossom]

I think all staterooms get 2 wavephones. It is how you can communicate to each other on the ship. I am thinking it is like a walkie-talkie.

It is free to use but if you lose it the cost is something like $200. I think it is perfect for DD (11) to let us know where she is, or vice versa, but I can just see her putting it down and walking away...

I can get a sachel/purse/backpack/whatever for her to wear but if she doesn't think it is "cool", or if no one else is using one I can forget it! Just thought I's plan ahead if other parents of tweens were planning on using anything in particular.

Stampinot hopefully your teen will find some friends and have fun once on the ship. I can't imagine there will be no other teens

[FJS961]

We are on this cruise too. This will be our 3rd cruise but 1st 7 night Caribbean and are really excited about it. First two were 3 and 5 night Bahamas on Wonder. We fly down friday afternoon and staying at Hyatt MCO.

It is DW and I (42) and DD(11), DD(8) and DS(5)

We have the kayak, snorkel, dolphin watch at key west for age 5 and up

Pirate encounter in am on GC and perhaps taxi to beach or some other excursion on own fir afternoon ... Suggestions?

Doing dolphinaris dolphin swim on Cozumel in am - done by 1pm?

[Erickson99]

So what's the deal with mailing stuff down there to the ship? Does anyone have the address or a link to the information about this? Is there a restriction on size/weight, etc?

[stampinot]

recent Western Carribean trips?

[SplatInc]

castawayclub (dot) com

Has all sorts of info including recent Navigators

Hmm DIS doesn't like castaway club, they keep blanking the website address.

Also for those who are prebooking shore excursions check out shoretrips (dot) com
You may be able to get the exact same excursion for less moola.

[mbhpch]

I have seen them on the threads, but was not sure what they are? How much are they to rent? How old do they need to be to have one? Do you get them on the ship?
I have a 16 y/o DD who will soon be 17. She thinks the whole Disney thing is a joke. She thinks there will be no other teenagers on the cruise! I told her different, but she is so sick of Disney since we are Disney freaks!

I have a 15 y/o DD who will soon be 16. She is excited to meet other teens. She started the Teen meet group that is attached to this group. I am sure there will be other teens on the ship.

[MEdisneyfan]

We are on this cruise too. This will be our 3rd cruise but 1st 7 night Caribbean and are really excited about it. First two were 3 and 5 night Bahamas on Wonder. We fly down friday afternoon and staying at Hyatt MCO.

It is DW and I (42) and DD(11), DD(8) and DS(5)

We have the kayak, snorkel, dolphin watch at key west for age 5 and up

Pirate encounter in am on GC and perhaps taxi to beach or some other excursion on own fir afternoon ... Suggestions?

Doing dolphinaris dolphin swim on Cozumel in am - done by 1pm?

We are doing the dolphinaris dolphin swim as well. I had booked the 9:15 excursion but the Cruiseline changed it to 10:15. We are hoping to be done by
1:oopm as well so my DD (11) can go shopping. Hopefully the girls will meet up before we head out.

[FJS961]

We are doing the dolphinaris dolphin swim as well. I had booked the 9:15 excursion but the Cruiseline changed it to 10:15. We are hoping to be done by
1:oopm as well so my DD (11) can go shopping. Hopefully the girls will meet up before we head out.

I just noticed that they changed the time. This is our first time to these ports, not sure what to do on our own

[MEdisneyfan]

Our last cruise was back in 2007, but it was an Eastern. My parents who are traveling with us went to GC and Cozumel last year with a different cruiseline. THey mentioned a nice shopping plaza in the city center of Cozumel, so that is probably where we will head after the dolphins. We didn't book anything for GC. More than likely we will just explore a little and then maybe hit the beach.

Anyone staying at the Country Inn & Suites on Friday? We will be there.

We also need to organize a meet n greet time when we all get on board. It will be nice to finally put faces with all the names.
# 1 project for school vacation next week, get my fish extender made!!! We didn't do it last cruise, but we are really looking forward to joining in on the fun this time.

[Erickson99]

We booked our onboarding time for 11am with intentions of getting on the ship, having lunch and sitting by the pool. We are leaving Orlando around 9am and dropping the car at Hertz. So if you are on the ship and hear the crazy woman yelling at Gavin and Emma you'll know that's me :rotfl:

[dueley]

I was going to suggest a meet as well (especially for everyone involved in the FE - just to make sure any last minute changes are received by all). If anyone knows of a good time and place, please suggest away!!

(We have 10 staterooms signed up so far! If interested, please contact me!)

Thanks,
Tammy

[MEdisneyfan]

I know when we went last time a lot of us met up in the terminal. Not sure how this will work since we all have different arrival times now. I think ours is 11:00-11:30, but people don't start boarding until around 1:00. I guess we will have to just wait and see what other people post about the new procedures.

Another place we met up was the buffet outside seating late in the afternoon after boarding and before the lifeboat drill. Just some ideas, I am open for anything.

On a side note, it hit 52 degrees here in Maine today, so we decided to get out our suitcases and "air" them out. Never too early right. :yay:

[stampinot]

Speaking of weather- We hit 80 degrees here in South Carolina. We are expected to get hot weather all week. I am not ready for this hot weather yet!
I agree about meeting epecially those who are doing the FE.
Does anyone have a teen daughter around 16 traveling on this trip? I am hoping my daughter can find someone to hang out with.
Julie

[bmcd1998]

Hey stampinot.

I have a 17 Year old dau (jr in high school) who will be on this trip with us. I'm sure she would like to "meet" someone ahead of time. Maybe via facebook?

By the way, we are in Charlotte NC and it's been in the 70s here. Very nice.:cool1:



Speaking of weather- We hit 80 degrees here in South Carolina. We are expected to get hot weather all week. I am not ready for this hot weather yet!
I agree about meeting epecially those who are doing the FE.
Does anyone have a teen daughter around 16 traveling on this trip? I am hoping my daughter can find someone to hang out with.
Julie

[stampinot]

We have not lived here long-Columbia. I am still getting used to the culture. The only reason I agreed to move here is because it is closer to Disney!
Getting excited to take a vacation. If you want to PM me your daughter's name I can get my daughter catch up with her on FB. They could maybe see if they have some things in common. My DD is embarrassed to tell her friends it is a Disney cruise!
Thanks

[stampinot]

cape canaveral the night before the cruise? They said it is about 1/2 mile from the terminal.

[maggie blossom]

OK I am jealous of the weather in NC and SC. It didn't get past 35 degrees past two days in Boston. We are FREEZING.

We bought fabric for our FE today. DD is going to make it with grandma (who thankfully knows her way around a sewing machine).

Are people going to go "all out" for pirate night? We are thinking pirate theme T shirt, bandana; keep it simple.
I was wondering what others were planning for pirate night.

[stampinot]

on Etsy that have a pirate Mickey on them. They are red,white and blue colored so we can wear them on the 4th of July. They are cute. We are not going to go all out for Pirate night Just the T-shirts

[stampinot]

Less than 2 months to go! I have already started buying travel items, FE gifts and fun pillow cases for the characters to sign. We still have not gotten our room assignment. Hoping we get a higher category.
Off to work I go to pay for the cruise!
Have a great day all
julie

[SplatInc]

Just Booked the Country Inn and Suites.
99 plus tax, any get a better rate?

[stampinot]

includes being able to leave our car at the hotel for the time we are on the cruise.

[stampinot]

I cannot wait to be on vacation! Is there anyone here who gets their hair braided? We have done this the last couple cruises.
julie

[maggie blossom]

We started making FE; or rather grandma did :rolleyes1 I think it is a bit more work than we realized.

We are gathering goodies to give in the FE and working on making something, hoping it comes out the way I want.

We are flying in thurs and going to Universal, IofA for HP of friday. I had originally booked us in Orlando on thurs night and at Cocoa Beach on friday night. I realized that was too much running around AND I remembered I had some reward points on my credit card so canceled both and booked 2 nights at Hyatt in Orlando to pay mostly with points :thumbsup2

DD wants to have some kind of braid/wrap put in her hair. She did it at Disney World a few years ago.

Jo

[stampinot]

We should be getting it this week. I am searching for gifts to fill the FE's too.
I am trying to think of original items, I made one of the items.
Can't believe there is only 45 days until we leave!

[MEdisneyfan]

So how many cabins are involved now in the FE. With the first email we got it was 10 I believe. Just was wondering. My great aunt is making our Fish extender. I can't wait to see how it comes out. Even though this is our second cruise, it is the first time participating. It does add a ton of excitement to getting ready.

For those staying at the Country Inn & Suites Friday night we should meet up by the pool. Since with kids that is where we will all be. :yay:

[SplatInc]

The Joys of a GTY cabin :cloud9:


We have been moved multiple times and are currently in 5627. Good because we are on the kids deck and DS Quinn can be in with his age group in mere seconds. :thumbsup2
Bad because we are right over the kitchens and next to the crew elevators. :scared1:
Where shall our cabin wander next? Any guesses? Want to start a pool?popcorn::
Speaking of pools, how do we want to self identify at the comfort inn and suites pool? We will be there fairly late having had to drive for nine hours to get there and my brain may not be working exceptionally well.:surfweb:
Finally, where should we meet aboard on day 1? I suggest one of the pool areas because the kids will want to be there already.:grouphug:


44 DAYS!!!!!:banana:

[mbhpch]

I have a question about the fish extender. How are you planning for the families that have not joined yet? I have made one thing and I can make extras. I wanted to get things for the kids. I was planning a few different things, depending on age. Are you picking up extras or just going to chance that you will be able to get the same thing? I am trying to decide what to do. Any suggestions? Thanks

[dueley]

We now have 11 cabins involved in the FE exchange. I will send out another update hopefully this weekend. The deadline is mid-March, so this should give time to make or gather any extra item(s) needed. Being a month before we sail (which seems to be rapidly approaching!!)

As for a meeting place - I have seen several other groups mentioning the Promenade Lounge at 3:00. The pool area may be full / crazy?? Any thoughts?

Can't wait to meet everyone, soon! :banana:!

[bmcd1998]

I see that you are in Charlotte...so are we...small world! My son does have a FB account. Does your email address have 2 m's or one?)

Hey Mommy 681

This trip is getting closer, I thought I would try to reach out to you and see if you got my last message. We were talking about getting our sons in contact via FaceBook so that they had a "friend" to go to the tween club with.

As I said, my son Greg will be just a month short of 12 (but he is often mistaken for 14), he's into sports (Baseball/Basketball) and XBox/XBox Live. Please let me know if you want to put them in touch. My contact info is:

bmmcd1998@yahoo.com

If anyone else has a son about the same age, my son and one other are already playing XBox live together and would welcome others from the tween club on this trip that want to hang out while on board. :cool2:

IS IT APRIL YET???!!!

[stampinot]

The Joys of a GTY cabin :cloud9:


We have been moved multiple times and are currently in 5627. Good because we are on the kids deck and DS Quinn can be in with his age group in mere seconds. :thumbsup2
Bad because we are right over the kitchens and next to the crew elevators. :scared1:
Where shall our cabin wander next? Any guesses? Want to start a pool?popcorn::
Speaking of pools, how do we want to self identify at the comfort inn and suites pool? We will be there fairly late having had to drive for nine hours to get there and my brain may not be working exceptionally well.:surfweb:
Finally, where should we meet aboard on day 1? I suggest one of the pool areas because the kids will want to be there already.:grouphug:


44 DAYS!!!!!:banana:

recently. I was wondering if they could switch our room again now that we are assigned a room. So they can change your room eh?

[stampinot]

I have a question about the fish extender. How are you planning for the families that have not joined yet? I have made one thing and I can make extras. I wanted to get things for the kids. I was planning a few different things, depending on age. Are you picking up extras or just going to chance that you will be able to get the same thing? I am trying to decide what to do. Any suggestions? Thanks

things that are for several ages or for at least a couple different ages-teens
gum, movie candy, hair tie for girls, word finding kind of games for several ages. I also got bubbles, glow sticks, pirate type items, beach item-beach ball blow up. I made some family items that I will put into the adult FE
Hope that helps

[stampinot]

So how many cabins are involved now in the FE. With the first email we got it was 10 I believe. Just was wondering. My great aunt is making our Fish extender. I can't wait to see how it comes out. Even though this is our second cruise, it is the first time participating. It does add a ton of excitement to getting ready.

For those staying at the Country Inn & Suites Friday night we should meet up by the pool. Since with kids that is where we will all be. :yay:

What time will you guys arrive at the Country inn and suites?

[stampinot]

Hey Mommy 681

This trip is getting closer, I thought I would try to reach out to you and see if you got my last message. We were talking about getting our sons in contact via FaceBook so that they had a "friend" to go to the tween club with.

As I said, my son Greg will be just a month short of 12 (but he is often mistaken for 14), he's into sports (Baseball/Basketball) and XBox/XBox Live. Please let me know if you want to put them in touch. My contact info is:

bmmcd1998@yahoo.com

If anyone else has a son about the same age, my son and one other are already playing XBox live together and would welcome others from the tween club on this trip that want to hang out while on board. :cool2:

IS IT APRIL YET???!!!

Are you flying down to Orlando or driving?

[stampinot]

Hey Mommy 681

This trip is getting closer, I thought I would try to reach out to you and see if you got my last message. We were talking about getting our sons in contact via FaceBook so that they had a "friend" to go to the tween club with.

As I said, my son Greg will be just a month short of 12 (but he is often mistaken for 14), he's into sports (Baseball/Basketball) and XBox/XBox Live. Please let me know if you want to put them in touch. My contact info is:

bmmcd1998@yahoo.com

If anyone else has a son about the same age, my son and one other are already playing XBox live together and would welcome others from the tween club on this trip that want to hang out while on board. :cool2:

IS IT APRIL YET???!!!

I would love for them to hook up before the trip

[bmcd1998]

Are you flying down to Orlando or driving?

We are flying down on late friday afternoon out of CLT, then staying at the Airport Hilton. Have a car service picking us up for the 10:30 check in slot (Yes, I know we can't get aboard that early). Darn!:upsidedow

I do have a 17 DD, she is in 11th grade. How can she touch base with yours?

Bill

[1redsoxfan]

Can't wait to have our first magical experience at sea :cool1:

We have DD 14 & DD 12- hope there'll be some girls these ages to hang out with.

Looking forward to meeting new friends :beach:

[stampinot]

We are flying down on late friday afternoon out of CLT, then staying at the Airport Hilton. Have a car service picking us up for the 10:30 check in slot (Yes, I know we can't get aboard that early). Darn!:upsidedow

I do have a 17 DD, she is in 11th grade. How can she touch base with yours?

Bill

Your DD up on facebook. Maybe they could hook up then?

[SplatInc]

What time will you guys arrive at the Country inn and suites?

If my DW gets that friday off we will be there around 7pm, if not then it will be later than midnight.:confused:

[MEdisneyfan]

What time will you guys arrive at the Country inn and suites?

Our plane arrives at 10:30 and my parents will be picking us up shortly thereafter. I think that we are planning on driving straight to the port, maybe stopping for some lunch. I don't expect we should be any later than 3:00. (lunch, and stopping to buy water/wine to carry on board). When will you be arriving?

[stampinot]

Our plane arrives at 10:30 and my parents will be picking us up shortly thereafter. I think that we are planning on driving straight to the port, maybe stopping for some lunch. I don't expect we should be any later than 3:00. (lunch, and stopping to buy water/wine to carry on board). When will you be arriving?

to Jacksonville where we will be picking up my DD and then driving on to the CI&S. I expect we will get there no later than 3pm ourselves. Can't wait!!

[stampinot]

Can't wait to have our first magical experience at sea :cool1:

We have DD 14 & DD 12- hope there'll be some girls these ages to hang out with.

Looking forward to meeting new friends :beach:

Your family will love to have the experience. I have DD 16 going and DD8 going

[SplatInc]

Travel alarm clock-obvious.
Power strip-cause there are only a couple plugs in your cabin.
Battery chargers- I will say it again, battery chargers (goes with your power strip)
Big mug-for all the free soda, the cups provided are rather small and have no insulating qualities at all.
Night light-no need to wake the entire cabin because you need to go to the bathroom at 3am.
Flashlight that needs to be held to stay on-perfect for the kids, no need to buy extra batteries if the flashlight turns off when they let go when they finally go to sleep.
Snorkel mask and snorkel-They will rent them to you. The first thing you do is spit in the mask to keep it from fogging up. My mask=my spit. Their mask=ewww.
Insulated can holder-for all us beer drinkers. No need for that $5 beer to go warm.
Binoculars-Awesome views of the stars at sea.
Basic first aid kit-bandaids, aloe lotion, seasickness meds. All are available aboard ship, for a price. Bring your own and you won't need any.
White pillowcase-Drop it off at the customer desk and the characters will sign it for you. It will be returned the last day.
Postcards-drop them off at the post office at castaway cay for a fun reminder of your lovely cruise.

Anything I missed?....

[Erickson99]

Travel alarm clock-obvious.
Power strip-cause there are only a couple plugs in your cabin.
Battery chargers- I will say it again, battery chargers (goes with your power strip)
Big mug-for all the free soda, the cups provided are rather small and have no insulating qualities at all.
Night light-no need to wake the entire cabin because you need to go to the bathroom at 3am.
Flashlight that needs to be held to stay on-perfect for the kids, no need to buy extra batteries if the flashlight turns off when they let go when they finally go to sleep.
Snorkel mask and snorkel-They will rent them to you. The first thing you do is spit in the mask to keep it from fogging up. My mask=my spit. Their mask=ewww.
Insulated can holder-for all us beer drinkers. No need for that $5 beer to go warm.
Binoculars-Awesome views of the stars at sea.
Basic first aid kit-bandaids, aloe lotion, seasickness meds. All are available aboard ship, for a price. Bring your own and you won't need any.
White pillowcase-Drop it off at the customer desk and the characters will sign it for you. It will be returned the last day.
Postcards-drop them off at the post office at castaway cay for a fun reminder of your lovely cruise.

Anything I missed?....


I went to the Dollar Store last week and got:
Clothespins - I have heard there is a "line" in the bathroom so you can hang bathing suits and you need them to hold back the curtains/privacy curtains a well
Over the door shoe organizer (I got 2 in case I could put 2 up or if one breaks) so you can hang it over the door in the bathroom for "organizing"
Air fresheners....I have heard that sometimes the bathrooms can have an "odor" to them so I just thought - why not?

My BIGGEST concern is how much data I need for my cameras. We have the SLR camera but then we have a crappy little Nikon Coolpix point and shoot one. This is the one you will just slip into the bag/let the kids use, etc. I have an 8GB and a 1GB...I feel like I need 2 more 8GB since I won't have a computer to upload my pictures too. I don't want to buy super expensive cards on the ship when I can get them cheap from Amazon or somewhere.

I know people keep saying bring water cups for soda but can you bring insulated coffee mugs? Is there free coffee or can you use it for the coffee from room service?

We are not getting down to CC until Saturday. We "check in" at 11am so we aren't leaving Orlando area until 9-ish.

[princessnpirate]

I cannot believe how close the cruise is! I feel like I booked this FOREVER ago.

Now I need to get going on the preparations!!

WOOHOO!

[CHOPR]

DITTO! Cruise is coming up real fast! DVC members going on our second DC:cool1:
DD16,DS14,DD9. Can't wait

[maggie blossom]

So I fell down some stairs and broke the bones in my leg almost two weeks ago. I had surgery to have plates and screws put in both bones, tibia and fibula, same leg. I am gradually hopping around on crutches.

By cruise time I will still have boot, use crutches and we are thinking we will likely get a wheelchair to use on the ship as it will be too much walking.

Dang I am disappointed but we will do the things we can and enjoy shows and sun and food.

Sooooooo, we will have the "modified" cruise experience but we are still looking forward to it.

Oh, and I will probably be easy to pick out at the port for those looking to meet up...

[bmcd1998]

Sorry to hear about what happened. I guess this won't be you :yay:. Thought I would share a quick story that might make you feel better.

On the 2nd cruise my family ever took, my daughter had a broken arm. She snapped it doing gymnastics a week or two before we left. She was maybe 13 or so.

While it limited our mobility, we have a lot of fond memories of that trip, and a lot of hilarious pictures of her in the pool with her cast up over head. :) We have a good laugh about it every time we see the pictures, and isn't that why we take these trips...to create fun memories?

I am sure you will still have a great trip!






So I fell down some stairs and broke the bones in my leg almost two weeks ago. I had surgery to have plates and screws put in both bones, tibia and fibula, same leg. I am gradually hopping around on crutches.

By cruise time I will still have boot, use crutches and we are thinking we will likely get a wheelchair to use on the ship as it will be too much walking.

Dang I am disappointed but we will do the things we can and enjoy shows and sun and food.

Sooooooo, we will have the "modified" cruise experience but we are still looking forward to it.

Oh, and I will probably be easy to pick out at the port for those looking to meet up...

[Erickson99]

Yikes Maggie - so sorry to hear! I am just glad you are still able to go!!

[TanyaS]

Tammy - When you have a chance, let us know if the FE list is finalized. I need to work on my exchange gifts!

I can't believe the trip is coming up so soon! I have several things I need to do beforehand (buy sunglasses, arrange pet care, stock up on sunblock).

One month to go! Woot! :banana:

[dueley]

Funny that you should mention this. I was just going to send out a final notice concerning the FE. The deadline for signing up is Sunday, March 20. I will be sending out the final listing on Monday so that everyone can finish making, collecting, etc their gifts.

Maggieblossom - I will be praying for you that all will go better than expected for you!!!

I can't wait to meet you guys in just a little while! I need to get busy, the time is slipping by quickly.

[maggie blossom]

Thanks everyone for your well wishes. I am 2 weeks post surgery and doing so much better than I was last week, or the week before. I have 4 more weeks to really improve!

Guess I really have to worry about the weight gain as I won't be "taking the stairs" for exercise :confused3. Oh well. We WILL be enjoying the food this cruise.

We will get going on our FE gifts. DD is really looking forward to that

[mbhpch]

Maggie Blossom,
So sorry about your accident. Glad to hear that you are doing better.
I can not believe it is 28 days until we cruise.
Patty

[MEdisneyfan]

My TA called today and our cruise documents are in :cool1: So we will go pick them up saturday morning. It won't be long now everyone. I still don't think that we have finalized a place to meet. I know that last cruise I did, a lot of us wore lime green shirts to help recognize each other. That was supposed to be the dis colors. It worked, we all stood out and found each other. Just an idea.

[Erickson99]

Our cruise documents arrived the other day from our TA. :woohoo:

I am still feeling highly unorganized as I only have 3 weekends left to get ready since I have to leave April 10th for a meeting in Orlando, FL until Wednesday night. Oh yes, that means I fly back and forth to Orlando THREE times in one week. :confused3 Oh well. Oh and wait - I am going away over night to Foxwoods for a Duran Duran (I am a bit of a DD stalker) show April 2nd-April 3rd so really it's this weekend and next weekend I need to get stuff done. Not to mention the amount of birthday parties my kids are scheduled for over the next 3 weekends (total 5 between the 2 of them).

Yes...I am starting to get a little stressed.............:surfweb:

I need a margarita and I have spring fever bad since it is FINALLY decent weather outside today but I am stuck at work......

Happy Friday!!!

[mbhpch]

Our TA called today. Our cruise documents are in. We are going to pick them up tomorrow. I am so excited!

[FJS961]

One week ago this very moment I was sipping a delicious cafe latte aboard the Dream watching Castaway Cay come into view.

Four weeks from now I'll be waking up at the Hyatt MCO all giddy about embarking on the Magic. The kids are getting really excited. This will be our first 7 night and I'm really looking forward to NOT stopping in Nassau this time :yay:

[SplatInc]

+1 for Nassau. I love the Bahamas but could live forever without seeing Atlantis again.

[TOJL]

I've just joined in on the Dis Boards. Is there any way I can join in on the FE fun? If it's too late, not to worry, there's always next time ;)


[QUOTE=dueley;40326382]Funny that you should mention this. I was just going to send out a final notice concerning the FE. The deadline for signing up is Sunday, March 20. I will be sending out the final listing on Monday so that everyone can finish making, collecting, etc their gifts.

[MEdisneyfan]

Welcome to the group TOJL. 25 days to go. :banana: I got my FE today. My great aunt made it for us. I am so excited to hang it up outside my door. We didn't take part last cruise, but it has definately added to the excitement for this one.

Maggieblossom, I hope the healing is continuing. Can't wait to see you again in a few short weeks.

On a side note, yesterday was spring, and today in Maine we are getting 3-6" of snow. The beaches of Grand Cayman are looking so inviting.

[TOJL]

thanks for the welcome MEDisneyfan! I'm excited that I was able to squeak into the FE exchange just in time! :) THANK YOU DUELEY!!!!!

I'm so excited about this cruise. My mom and I went to the Bahama's last year for the 3 day cruise, we had such a blast. I'm sooooo looking forward to having the extra days on this one.

Question: is there a place I can read up on the FE rules. What kinds of things do you all buy? :confused:

[Erickson99]

FE Question: Is this for the adults too? I am asking as I was thinking it was more for the kids.......:confused3

[CHOPR]

4/16/11 Reserved this cruise last August...not far enough in advance as we had to take 2 inside staterooms. 2nd DC. Last one on the Wonder in 2003. Loved the Family Suite but my kids actually are excited in getting their own room this time. Could work out well for us also:thumbsup2
This is spring break so school is out here in most of the northeast. Looking forward to another great DC but hopefully less rough seas than last time.(Capt. called it the worst seas he had seen in years) EVERYONE WAS SICK!
I'm prepared with my ginger gum,Motioneaze oil,Bonine and anything else I can think of to avoid ruining this cruise.:confused3
CUTHERE

[dueley]

FE Question: Is this for the adults too? I am asking as I was thinking it was more for the kids.......:confused3

I'm doing one gift per cabin (geared more towards the adults) and then individual gifts for the children. This isn't a requirement. We don't have any "rules" as to how the exchange is to be done. There is no right way or wrong way. It is up to you, what you choose to do. Just have fun with it! :)

[stampinot]

I need an updated list so I can make and divide and further buy gifts. This will take a while with the different age kids and male/female. I have already started to divide.
I am gearing my stuff for the adults, but moslty for the kids. Adults need treats too! Parents go to the movies and need candy, parents need gum and hand sanitizer as well as pirate night events

[mbhpch]

I can not believe that we sail 3 weeks from tomorrow. We have been planning this for so very long! I printed out a bunch of my magnets today. It was so much fun to see all of them. Now I need to laminate them and print out the pictures for a pirate t-shirt. I do not know what else to bring for pirate night?
Question for the repeat cruisers. Do we need water shoes? Trying to decide if they will need them for the snorkeling. Do not want my kids to hurt themselves on the coral and other things. I am a first time cruiser.

[cathicool]

Welcome CHOPR! We are from Long Island, too! Hope to meet up with you on the ship!


Does anyone know if a final (or nearly final!:) ) FE list and/or roll call is for our cruise? I tried to skim thru, but there's like 20 pages!

Is there a time/place set up for a "meet"?

Thanks! Can't believe it's almost here!!!!!!!:dance3:

[FJS961]

cancelled the kayak excursion for key west ... not sure what to do in key west with 11,8,5 year old ... suggestions?

[stampinot]

I too am looking for the finalized list. I am almost done shopping and I am trying to put together the items by age/stateroom.
I cannot believe we are leaving for our cruise in 18 days!!!

[dueley]

I sent the final FE listing out on Monday. I pm'd them to the 9 names that I had and I emailed them to the other 2. Not sure why they weren't received. I will resend them. If you don't get it, please either email or pm me.

Thanks.

[FJS961]

we are less than 3 weeks away and the excitement is palpable

[stampinot]

cancelled the kayak excursion for key west ... not sure what to do in key west with 11,8,5 year old ... suggestions?

We are doing the Trolley-booking it when we get off the ship. It is cheaper and you can get off and on if you book through them. There are a lot of unusual things to do down there. I used to go to school near their.

We are booking through the company and saving money. Any kid under 12 rides free, but if you book on the ship it cost the full adult price.
Go to the keno sandal company!

[stampinot]

Who is going to be there the night before we leave for the cruise? We should be there late in the afternoon. we are planning to swim for sure!
Maybe some of us can meet up before we board. I have a 16 year old dd and an 8 year old dd who is looking for friends.
Julie

[TheBeast]

Who is going to be there the night before we leave for the cruise? We should be there late in the afternoon. we are planning to swim for sure!
Maybe some of us can meet up before we board. I have a 16 year old dd and an 8 year old dd who is looking for friends.
Julie

Hi, there's a teen thread where my dd (15) and some others have been talking, and making plans (and already facebook friends of course). You may want to have your dd check it out. We're not going to be there the night before, but once on the cruise there should be a good group of teens to hang out.

We have a ds (15 also) - anyone else have teen ds? I've seen quite a few of the teen dd's out there, but no ds.

Can't wait - less than 3 weeks!!

[stampinot]

away! I hate how fast our week will go too! I need this vacation. I am burned out on working! I didn't lose the weight I wanted to for the cruise, but I will still have a great time.

[dueley]

I can't believe that the time is almost here!! I now have to put a move on it to finish all the last minute details. Looking forward to some warm weather - been in the 40s all week. Next week looks better - 60s-70s, but more rain (at least its not snow or sleet). :)

Since I haven't heard any other suggestions... the FE group is going to meet at 3:00 in the Promenade lounge - if anyone else from this group would like to stop by. I look forward to putting faces to the names.

[MEdisneyfan]

We had our 5th snow day in Maine. We were all hoping for an April Fool's joke, but no. Just came in from shoveling. Now I can't wait for the cruise. I am done with winter. Bring on the sun!!!:mickeyjum

[maggie blossom]

I agree about bring on the warm weather. We had more snow yesteday in Boston. I can't take any more snow!!!!

I tried on shorts and capris. Need to see what fits over over my new stylish BOOT.:scared1:

Time to iron and pack. Two weeks from now we will be getting ready to drive to the port!:rotfl:

[TOJL]

I'm getting so excited! The suitcase that has been sitting on my floor in anticipation since February is finally beginning to get packed :cheer2:
Exactly two weeks from today we will be relaxing in heat and sunshine. This extended cold will make us all appreciate that warmth even more. :laughing:

Going to make my FE tonight...Yaaaay!

See ya all soon, :grouphug:
Jamie

[FJS961]

I'm getting so excited! The suitcase that has been sitting on my floor in anticipation since February is finally beginning to get packed :cheer2:
Exactly two weeks from today we will be relaxing in heat and sunshine. This extended cold will make us all appreciate that warmth even more. :laughing:

Going to make my FE tonight...Yaaaay!

See ya all soon, :grouphug:
Jamie

exactly 2 weeks from today at 11:45am, boarding should be just starting :cool1:

[TanyaS]

Wow. Less than two weeks from now we'll be at sea!

Notice to those doing the FE exchange: I bought something for the adults that I thought was a local product; I was going to do a "here's a little something made in Charleston gift". Then as I was wrapping up the gifts, I realized that the item I bought was actually made in another state. Oh well! The company was started here (and the item does have the palmetto tree and crescent moon like the SC flag). Anyway, that's why you are getting what you are getting!!! :rotfl:

What excursions are the families with children doing in Grand Cayman? I need to book something. I am thinking about booking the Island Tour, but am not sure if riding around in a bus would be a tad dull.

Looking forward to meeting everyone!

[FJS961]

What excursions are the families with children doing in Grand Cayman? I need to book something. I am thinking about booking the Island Tour, but am not sure if riding around in a bus would be a tad dull.

Looking forward to meeting everyone!


We are trying the "pirate encounter" It sounds fun and takes up the morning. I was thinking for lunch doing Margaritaville afterwards ... or perhaps a taxi to a public beach ... ?

[cathicool]

I did not get a copy of the FE list.......I hope that we are on it! This is our 8th disney cruise and we booked this cruise the first day it came out last year....

we love doing the FE!!!!!

we are in 5022/5024 (SPH's!)

me,Cathi, 41
DH, Jeff, 40
DD, Alassia, 10 (turning 11 on 4/29)
DS, Zachary, 9..........................*****multiple/severe food allergies******
DD, Victoria, 6
my mom, Ginny, 66
my dad, Jim, 80


Please add us to the FE list! My kids think getting FE trinkets is one of the highlights of the cruise. Plus they really enjoy giving out the gifts to fellow disboard members.

[SplatInc]

Pirate Encounter in Grand Cayman. We imagine that because it's "Pirate Night" that night onboard we would max out our pirate-ness.pirate:
FYI the space shuttle will be launching that same evening. Unfortunately for us it will be launching north east and its very unlikely we will see anything.
Does anyone know how to arrange for a character breakfast or is it to late?

[seasister]

I just wanted to ask if anyone has gone on the boat before with a teen and if they said anything about the stack.

[seasister]

I was wondering if anyone is going to be staying at a hotel the night before the ship leaves.

[mbhpch]

Hi
From what I have read, the character Breakfast will be assigned to us when we get our dinner rotation. I believe that it is on one of the at sea days.

We are going to Swim with the Dolphins in Grand Cayman. Then we hope to visit Margaritaville also. Hoping to try to visit Margaritaville during stops in Key West and Cozumel too! :yay::yay::yay:

[SplatInc]

:cool2:
We are staying at the comfort inn. Hopefully we will arrive around dinner, it's a nine hour drive from here to there.:rolleyes1

As to Margaritaville, I have been mentally there for at least two weeks. Buffet has been in high rotation on my ipod.pirate:

https://public.me.com/splatinc

Thats my public box. It contains the Castaway Club album. Chillin music to get you in the mood for a cruise. Disney used to send it to you after your cruise as a decompression gift, sort of getting you primed for your next trip. Download and enjoy!:surfweb:

The Space Shuttle launch has been delayed to the 29th. :-(

[Grumpylittlesis]

Then we hope to visit Margaritaville also. Hoping to try to visit Margaritaville during stops in Key West and Cozumel too! :yay::yay::yay:

We're planning on hitting all the Margaritavilles as well. :thumbsup2 Cozumel might be a little tough, because we're doing the Tulum ruins tour, but we're going to try to make it there.

[FJS961]

I was wondering if anyone is going to be staying at a hotel the night before the ship leaves.

we are going to be staying at the Hyatt MCO the night before

[FJS961]

Hi
From what I have read, the character Breakfast will be assigned to us when we get our dinner rotation. I believe that it is on one of the at sea days.

We are going to Swim with the Dolphins in Grand Cayman. Then we hope to visit Margaritaville also. Hoping to try to visit Margaritaville during stops in Key West and Cozumel too! :yay::yay::yay:

never did a 7 night before .. tell me about this character breakfast please

[FJS961]

We're planning on hitting all the Margaritavilles as well. :thumbsup2 Cozumel might be a little tough, because we're doing the Tulum ruins tour, but we're going to try to make it there.

we have the Dolphinaris dolphin swim / encounter booked for Cozumel - its 10am-1pm I think

[cathicool]

we'll be at the CI&S the night before....

[SplatInc]

I saw a neat idea and thought I should pass it on...

Bring a photo mat to leave with the front desk on day one. All the characters will sign it and you get it back on the last night. Then you can put your fav DCL memory in a cool autographed frame.

[FJS961]

anyone planning on rebooking onboard for any of the new itineraries announced today??

[bmcd1998]

Ok...I lost 20 pounds, found the passports, don't think I am leaving anything undone at the office, got a new camera, a big straw hat and some new hawaiian shirts.

Need to pack, confirm the car service, and think through the alcohol procurement process.

We are flying into MCO Friday night the 15th and staying at the airport Hilton. Will get there around 8PM. We have a car service pickup at 9AM on the 16th, and I requested a stop on the way to the port. Does anybody know a place we can get both wine and liquor either near the airport or on the way to the port?

I can almost feel that cruise feeling. I am normally a very reserved Dad, but get me on a cruise and I am likely to act like a 25 year old. Bring on the fun!:cool1:

[mbhpch]

never did a 7 night before .. tell me about this character breakfast please

Hi
This is the info I found on the boards.

If you're on a 7-night cruise, you will be given a ticket for your character breakfast depending on your dining rotation and time. There's nothing you need to do. It will be taken care of once you're onboard.

There are three days of character breakfast's and two times per day. They correspond to your dining rotation and time. For example, if you eat at the main dining time, you will eat at the early character breakfast for your designated rotation.

Patty

[TOJL]

We are in the single digits....only 9 days to go! I can hardly believe it's almost time.
:yay:

[TOJL]

anyone planning on rebooking onboard for any of the new itineraries announced today??

I didn't know about the new itineraries. Depends on how fun they look :)

[FJS961]

:cool1::banana::woohoo::yay:

SINGLE DIGITS!! The kids are pumped!! Ok, I am too!!!

Congrats to the PP losing 20 lbs ... thats what i was SUPPOSED to do, oh well .. ain't gonna happen on the cruise :)

[maggie blossom]

Getting excited here.
Have all our FE gifts; need to organize.
Have piles of clothes; need to pack.
Lots to do!!!!

Next week at this time we will be waking up in Orlando! We will fight the crowds to see Harry Potter.

Can't wait to get on that ship!!!!

[SplatInc]

Next week this time...

I will be just getting on I-95 South having started at 6:30am!

In TWO weeks...

I will be chillin on Castaway Cay.:cool2:

[SplatInc]

Sorry, double post.

[dueley]

My DD threw a small curve ball at us earlier this week. She has pneumonia - thankfully it is this week and not next. She is recovering - luckily we caught it early (never even suspected anything that serious). Anyway... lots to pack and finish organizing!! Can't believe we are down to one week! I hope to meet everyone sometime on the ship - if not in the Promenade Lounge at 3:00 on Saturday. (just another little plug :))

[stampinot]

we'll be at the CI&S the night before....

we plan to be out by the pool relaxing once we get there late afternoon

[stampinot]

anyone planning on rebooking onboard for any of the new itineraries announced today??
are way too high! It is ridiculous. I am not sure how people afford them

[stampinot]

Does anyone know what movies are playing on the cruise ship?
I am trying to organize the FE gifts. It is harder than I thought. I have them all in once suit case

[FJS961]

I booked a July 8 night sailing out of NYC ... transferred my deposit from a 5 night Dream sailing I had booked for the same month. Its pricey BUT its actually the better buy. Its costing the same to do 3 more nights and I'll save over 2K on airfare for 5 and 350 on DCL transfers by driving 2 hours or so to the port plus I'd wind up doing a day or 2 at WDW after the 5 night (more $)

best part is DW HATES flying - she's thrilled to skip that part

Now I can get beck to concentrating on next week !!! :banana:

[princessnpirate]

I am curious about the movies too!! And I agree on the FE gifts :)

I cannot believe we will be there in less than one week!!!

[stampinot]

our hallway and checking off our check list. I am driving my family crazy with all the details.

[FJS961]

As we move into the last week - its so exciting...

everyone have a good last weekend before the cruise?

[cathicool]

AGGGggghhh....

I still have a million things to do......down from 2 million. Can't wait to leave on Friday....ready or not!

[maggie blossom]

The FE gifts are way heavier than I had realized. :rolleyes1

DD and I watched Pirates of the Caribbean. We had never seen any so we thought it was time. We enjoyed us and it defiantely got us more in the mood.

I told DD (11) that we would see Capt Jack Sparrow on the ship and she rolled her eyes at me. I miss the days when she BELIEVED the characters were real.

[stampinot]

The FE gifts are way heavier than I had realized. :rolleyes1

DD and I watched Pirates of the Caribbean. We had never seen any so we thought it was time. We enjoyed us and it defiantely got us more in the mood.

I told DD (11) that we would see Capt Jack Sparrow on the ship and she rolled her eyes at me. I miss the days when she BELIEVED the characters were real.

My DH was giving me a hard time about that! He likes to travel very light. He does not realize he is traveling with 3 other women in his house!

[iluvwdw4ever]

Hello!!!

I could really use some help!! Please read this post...

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2698616

[SplatInc]

4 DAYS!:dancer: