January 3, 2011 - 5 night Bahamas Sailing

[aanderson5]

We just booked our first cruise and are very excited. We were originally planning the 7 day leaving on January 8th, but this new 5 day fits with work and school schedules better. Plus DS will be turning 5 while we are on board. Yeah!:cool1:

I hope some people will join here. I am totally new to cruising but have been lurking for the past few weeks and have been learning so much. I am really excited about going and would like to share that with some fellow cruisers.

I also wanted to add that I am very sorry to anyone who was aboard the Holiday cruise that was cancelled. I know I would be very upset if my special 10 day cruise was suddenly changed to 2 identical 5 days. If you have decided to stay on board (or changed to a different sailing) I hope you still have a wonderful vacation.

[IrishCowboy]

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

[lakehead92]

Hello...
This will be our first disney cruise as well.

We also chose it because of how well it fits in with the school schedule, and like you our son will also celebrate his birthday on board.

THOUGH OUR KIDS KNOW NOTHING ABOUT IT...IT'S A CHRISTMAS SURPRISE!

We are not the only one's from our family sailing this date...my siblings and parents will also be on board. We will be celebrating my fathers 70th birthday as well. So it's our families christmas gifts to each other this year, as well as a wonderful way to celebrate my father's birthday. We will range in age from 4 months to 70 years old.

[lisare]

Hello. My DH & i our surprising our 5 & 7yr olds with this cruise for christmas. I can't wait to see their faces.

[lakehead92]

Hello. My DH & i our surprising our 5 & 7yr olds with this cruise for christmas. I can't wait to see their faces.

HELLO LISARE

We will also be surprising our 5 and 8 year olds this christmas.
Any special ideas or plans on how you will do it?

[ebony]

Hello to everyone.
We, that is me Jan and DH Carl, will be joining you all on this cruise. We will be hopefully booked by the end of today.
Look forward to talking to you all on this thread in the coming months. :)

[lakehead92]

Welcome Ebony!
Looking forward to chatting with you.

[aanderson5]

Yeah!! I am so glad some more people have jumped on board. I was wondering if we were going to have the ship to ourselves.

It is so fun that a couple of you are surprising the kids. DS has already seen the cruise DVD and spent significant time on the web site checking everything out. I don't know if I could keep such a big secret.

lakehead92 - it's nice to see a fellow Canuck. Are you in Thunderbay or did you just go to school there? It's nice your family is joining you. What a great way to celebrate birthdays and Christmas. We are trying to talk a few people into joining us but no takers so far.

I am looking forward to getting to know everyone over the next few months. :goodvibes

[lakehead92]

Yeah!! I am so glad some more people have jumped on board. I was wondering if we were going to have the ship to ourselves.

It is so fun that a couple of you are surprising the kids. DS has already seen the cruise DVD and spent significant time on the web site checking everything out. I don't know if I could keep such a big secret.

lakehead92 - it's nice to see a fellow Canuck. Are you in Thunderbay or did you just go to school there? It's nice your family is joining you. What a great way to celebrate birthdays and Christmas. We are trying to talk a few people into joining us but no takers so far.

I am looking forward to getting to know everyone over the next few months. :goodvibes



Thanks for starting the thread!
I grew up in Thunder Bay, met my husband at Lakehead and relocated to southern ontario with him. All of my family travelling on the cruise are from around Ontario as well.

We are all very excited about the cruise, and in just a little over 6 months we'll be there.

[biohaz_man]

I just booked this cruise for DW and I. It's listed as a "holiday" cruise in the reservation system from Disney, does this mean the Christmas decorations will still be displayed?

[ebony]

I just booked this cruise for DW and I. It's listed as a "holiday" cruise in the reservation system from Disney, does this mean the Christmas decorations will still be displayed?

Would be lovely if they do still have them up. In England we are supposed to take ours down by 12th night. As you say it is listed as a Holiday Cruise.

[aanderson5]

I just booked this cruise for DW and I. It's listed as a "holiday" cruise in the reservation system from Disney, does this mean the Christmas decorations will still be displayed?

Welcome aboard, so to speak. I hope the decorations will still be up but I am not counting on it.

SO, we are less than six months out. :cool1: Does anyone have any excursion plans or before/after cruise plans? For excursions we are thinking about a glass bottom tour either on CC or in Nassau. That's probably it. This is our first cruise and we want to relax and take in the ship. As for before and after we are flying in 2 day before and most likely staying with DH's dad and after we are spending 2 nights at WDW. We are leaning towards staying at AKL. What is everyone else planning on?

[ebony]

We will get to Orlando, on the Friday before in the evening (N.Y.E). We will be trying to get over the time difference before the cruise :).
Afterwards we are staying at Port Orleans Riverside for 13 nights.
At Nassau we will just have a wander round as we have never been before.
I am just looking forward to 2 beach days at Castaway and some sunshine. Which the Uk is seriously lacking in, over the winter months ;).

[wdwjan]

We just booked this cruise!! It'll be me, my DH Henry, and DD Emma (college age). We can't wait! This is our second cruise, our first having been on the Magic to the Western Caribbean in March '09. I'm really excited about this being a Double Dip cruise. It sounds so relaxing! Does anyone have any ideas about what's good to do in Nassau? Also, where does the ship go on our day at sea? That really isn't a day's journey, is it?

See you all in January!

Jan

[sdchickie]

Just thought I'd pop in and mention that I looked at the port listing for CC on the 7th and it looks as though you all might be lucky and see all 3 ships together before the Wonder heads out to Ca. I almost thought about switching my NYE cruise to this one so I could see that, but I'm really excited about NYE on the Wonder. As for the decorations being up, our "holiday" cruise is the one that is at CC between your 2 days there so I'm guessing they will at least have the decorations up for the first day you are there. Have fun on your cruise!

[biohaz_man]

Just thought I'd pop in and mention that I looked at the port listing for CC on the 7th and it looks as though you all might be lucky and see all 3 ships together before the Wonder heads out to Ca. I almost thought about switching my NYE cruise to this one so I could see that, but I'm really excited about NYE on the Wonder. As for the decorations being up, our "holiday" cruise is the one that is at CC between your 2 days there so I'm guessing they will at least have the decorations up for the first day you are there. Have fun on your cruise!

So, the Dream will be at CC while we're on our cruise?

[aanderson5]

Just thought I'd pop in and mention that I looked at the port listing for CC on the 7th and it looks as though you all might be lucky and see all 3 ships together before the Wonder heads out to Ca. I almost thought about switching my NYE cruise to this one so I could see that, but I'm really excited about NYE on the Wonder. As for the decorations being up, our "holiday" cruise is the one that is at CC between your 2 days there so I'm guessing they will at least have the decorations up for the first day you are there. Have fun on your cruise!

I'm confused by this as well. I looked at Magic and Wonders itineraries and it appears on the 7th the Wonder will be at CC and the Magic will be at sea. The Dream doesn't even sail till the 26th. :confused3 It looks like Magic and Wonder are alturnating days at CC. We are there Tues and Thurs and the Wonder is there Wed and Fri.

[BlakesMom]

We're thinking about booking the Jan. 3rd 2011 cruise and I was just noticing that this sailing seems to be less expensive that the other January '11 sailings and I was just wondering why? And why is it being called a "holiday" cruise. This will be our first Disney cruise.

[aanderson5]

We're thinking about booking the Jan. 3rd 2011 cruise and I was just noticing that this sailing seems to be less expensive that the other January '11 sailings and I was just wondering why? And why is it being called a "holiday" cruise. This will be our first Disney cruise.

This cruise was originally a 10 day southern Caribbean cruise that sailed over New Years. I guess it wasn't selling because a couple of months ago they split it into 2 double dip cruises. They retained the name "holiday" but not much else. The first half sails Dec 29th and is quite a bit more expensive than our cruise.

I think it is cheaper because it is far from sold out at this point. Perhaps because it was just changed and the people booked on the 10 day were no longer interested and cancelled. Or because other people who may have originally been interested in a 5 day already booked other cruises (people book years in advance). Also other Bahamas cruises in Jan are on the Dream which is very popular because it's the new ship. These are just my speculations but whatever the reason I am happy to benefit from the low price.

Welcome in advance if you decide to join us. :) This is our first Disney cruise (first any cruise actually) and are very excited.

[PrincessMer]

Hi all!

My husband and I just booked our first ever cruise. I am so excited! I thought that a Disney cruise was going to be too expensive, but we got a really great deal. I'm guessing this one is a bit cheaper because it use to be a 10 day and lots of other people are looking to cruise on the Dream.

I hope to meet some people before we go. I'm kinda nervous about having to eat with people I don't know!

Looking forward to meeting everyone,
Meredith

[lakehead92]

Welcome Meredith!


This is our first Disney Cruise too.
We are really looking forward to it as well.

[ebony]

:welcome:

Meredith

This will be our 5th cruise but 4th with Disney :cool1:.
My name is Jan and I am travelling with my DH Carl.

[mommyofthreeboys]

Hello everyone! DH and I will be joining you on this cruise. We did have a 7 night Eastern cruise booked in February but once I realized how much cheaper this cruise was, we switched to this one.

This will be our 2nd cruise. 1st without the kids.

Anyone interested in a FE exchange?

[PrincessMer]

Hello everyone! DH and I will be joining you on this cruise. We did have a 7 night Eastern cruise booked in February but once I realized how much cheaper this cruise was, we switched to this one.

This will be our 2nd cruise. 1st without the kids.

Anyone interested in a FE exchange?

Welcome to the board!

I've never done a FE exchange before, but I'd be interested in joining in!

Meredith

[mazz1]

Hi Everyone

we will be joining you on this cruise too, we are Marie and Roger and we're coming onboard with our teenagers Jo age 17 and James who's 14 , we're from the Uk and it will be so lovely to escape the cold for just a few short weeks

this will be our 3rd disney cruise, we've just got off the magic a few days ago at barcelona and we had such a amazing time that we couldn't resist booking again, this cruise fitted perfectly with the next time we're out in florida and my birthday on the 3rd Jan so we're really excited to be joining you all :goodvibes

Marie

ps my kiddies don't know yet either, we're telling them boxing day when they get a little down about going back to school :rolleyes1

[mommyofthreeboys]

Welcome to the board!

I've never done a FE exchange before, but I'd be interested in joining in!

Meredith

Thank you!

We participated in the FE (fish extender) exchange on our last cruise. Our boys really liked it!! It is so fun to come back to our room or wake up in the morning to find treats at your door.

For the rest of our group...If anyone would like to learn more about it, you can do so here...

Check out this thread
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1219607


I will be happy to keep track of all the participants in te FE exchange if we get enough of people who want to do it.


Have a magical day!

[mommyofthreeboys]

HELLO LISARE

We will also be surprising our 5 and 8 year olds this christmas.
Any special ideas or plans on how you will do it?

I surprised our boys last Christmas with our first cruise.

Check out this post for what I did...

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2317670

Good luck and have fun!!! I am soooo glad we surprised them. It was so much fun on Christmas morning.

If you have any questions, let me know.

[mazz1]

Hello everyone! DH and I will be joining you on this cruise. We did have a 7 night Eastern cruise booked in February but once I realized how much cheaper this cruise was, we switched to this one.

This will be our 2nd cruise. 1st without the kids.

Anyone interested in a FE exchange?

i would be interested in taking part in a FE exchange, we did one on the dover to barcelona cruise and it was great fun :)

[aanderson5]

I would be interested in joining in the fish extender as well. I have been reading about them since we first started looking at booking and thought it would be great fun.

[lakehead92]

I would also be interested in joining in the fish extender fun.

[lakehead92]

I surprised our boys last Christmas with our first cruise.

Check out this post for what I did...

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2317670

Good luck and have fun!!! I am soooo glad we surprised them. It was so much fun on Christmas morning.

If you have any questions, let me know.

Thank you for sharing your ideas with me. I really enjoyed reading it and gaining even more ideas for us to use.

[lakehead92]

hello everyone! Dh and i will be joining you on this cruise. We did have a 7 night eastern cruise booked in february but once i realized how much cheaper this cruise was, we switched to this one.

This will be our 2nd cruise. 1st without the kids.

Anyone interested in a fe exchange?

the fe exchange...did you just randomly place things in any fish extenders you saw. Or did you hunt out the one's where people gave you their stateroom number.

[mommyofthreeboys]

the fe exchange...did you just randomly place things in any fish extenders you saw. Or did you hunt out the one's where people gave you their stateroom number.

Once our FE group is finalized, I will send out the list to all the FE participants including the stateroom number. Then you would pick a day and time to deliver your goodies to all the staterooms on the list. This is done in PM's so your stateroom number isn't out there in public. (Just in case-- even though there has never been any problems)

On our last cruise it took my son and I about 30 minutes but it was so fun to look at all the decorated doors. The only FE's I saw where the ones in our group.

[mommyofthreeboys]

Okay....here is our group so far. Let me know if I missed anything or if you want to add your dining arrangement (1st or 2nd seating)

*aanderson5, DH and DS4 (bday on board), 1st cruise, **FE exchange
*lakehead92, DS (bday on board), more family members, 1st cruise, **FE exchange
*lisare, DH, 5yo, 7yo
*ebony (Jan), DH (Carl), 4th Disney cruise (5th cruise)
*biohaz man, DW
*wdwjan (Jan), DH (Henry), college DD, 2nd cruise
*BlakesMom (have you booked yet?)
*PrincessMer (Meredith), DH, 1st cruise **FE exchange
*mazz1 (Marie- bday on board), DH (Roger), DD17, DS14, 3rd Disney cruise, **FE exchange
*mommyofthreeboys (Christina), DH (Jared), 2nd Cruise, 2nd seating, **FE exchange


:dance3:

[lakehead92]

I will be travelling with myself 37, my husband 37, my daughter who will be 6 and my son who will turn 9 on the cruise. We are also travelling with 10 other family members. Ranging from 70 to 4 months old. I will tell them about the exchange as well.

Thanks for organizing it...it sounds like a lot of fun.

[ssanders79]

We booked this morning.

I have a site up to track FEs for another cruise we are taking in 2011 so I added what what avaliable from this thread. I am in no way trying to step on your toes, mommyofthreeboys.

Here is the link for the Fish Extender list (http://www.emilyandscott.us/FE) just click on the Jan 2011 cruise to see the list.

The page will be more printer friendly in the coming weeks. I just threw this together to get the ball rolling on the other cruise and this is just a port till I get some time to clean it up.

[mommyofthreeboys]

We booked this morning.

I have a site up to track FEs for another cruise we are taking in 2011 so I added what what avaliable from this thread. I am in no way trying to step on your toes, mommyofthreeboys.

Here is the link for the Fish Extender list (http://www.emilyandscott.us/FE) just click on the Jan 2011 cruise to see the list.

The page will be more printer friendly in the coming weeks. I just threw this together to get the ball rolling on the other cruise and this is just a port till I get some time to clean it up.

Scott, that's awesome! If you want to take over the list, that's fine by me! Just let me know :thumbsup2

You can add that we are also GTY and this is our second cruise.

Thanks so much!!

[mazz1]

can i just let you know for the fe exchange that we are on 2nd (late) dinner seating and we are in a gty rooms too, we have booked two rooms so the boys will be in one and they have a FE and the girls will be next door (hopefully) and we have our super girlie pink princess FE princess:

both my children are older and i should have said that they both have autism, my son is really hoping he will get some super american candy in his FE (i'm guilty of dropping hints here) :goodvibes

and being in the Uk i do hope i can return the favour with something that you cannot get in the states but i'm not telling as i'd hate to spoil the suprise :rolleyes1

Marie

[lakehead92]

sorry - as a newby. What does GTY stand for?
We are on the eraly seating for dinner as well.

I also believe we will have 2 maybe 3 staterooms participating..all on the early seating.

[Silverfox97]

HI EVERYONE!! I am Emily, the wife of ssanders79. As you saw, we booked this AM! It's funny, we just got off the Wonder DD (Aug 8-13), and we re-booked for a 7-night western on board. But........there was one problem......how could we wait almost 14 months to cruise again??? Answer - book another cruise!!!!!!!!!

This will be our 3rd cruise - the first was a 3 night (honeymoon) on the Wonder - we did cat 12 GTY and were upgraded to a cat 11 on deck 7. This last one, we had a verandah, and in fact, booked the same exact room for the Oct 2011 cruise. But, since this is an add-on cruise, we decided to go for 11C GTY. If they release FLA resident rates, we will probably upgrade, but so far, we are just happy to be on the ship again so fast! And, it will be our 1st on the Magic! I hope hope hope it's still decorated for Christmas.

And, for FE, we had a TON of fun! Our DD3 had a GREAT time checking it and passing out the gifts. Can't wait to meet everyone!! :flower3:

[Silverfox97]

[QUOTE=lakehead92;37844029]sorry - as a newby. What does GTY stand for? /QUOTE]

GTY is gurantee status. So, you don't pick a stateroom when booking. For example, on our last cruise and the one for Oct 2011, we named a specific room #. For this cruise, we booked an 11C GTY. That means, DCL gurantees us a cat 11C room or higher cat, essentially a free upgrade. It seems that most often, people that book 11C get cat 9 or 10. On the med cruises in Europe, people were getting upgraded to cat 6's with verandahs! Also, if you have 4 people and book an 11C GTY, you will automatically be upgraded because true 11C rooms only hold 3 people.

[lakehead92]

[QUOTE=lakehead92;37844029]sorry - as a newby. What does GTY stand for? /QUOTE]

GTY is gurantee status. So, you don't pick a stateroom when booking. For example, on our last cruise and the one for Oct 2011, we named a specific room #. For this cruise, we booked an 11C GTY. That means, DCL gurantees us a cat 11C room or higher cat, essentially a free upgrade. It seems that most often, people that book 11C get cat 9 or 10. On the med cruises in Europe, people were getting upgraded to cat 6's with verandahs! Also, if you have 4 people and book an 11C GTY, you will automatically be upgraded because true 11C rooms only hold 3 people.

HMM... Thanks for that info. I never knew anything about that. We already have our stateroom number. So I would say we are not GTY.

[Silverfox97]

Being in the Uk i do hope i can return the favour with something that you cannot get in the states but i'm not telling as i'd hate to spoil the suprise :rolleyes1

Marie

CRUNCHIE BARS :) I had a friend that I worked with in Ohio from the UK - she always brought us candy, I remember Flake too, but CRUNCHIE was so good!

What kind of Super American candy would you like? I have heard some people from the UK love Reese cups..............

[mazz1]

CRUNCHIE BARS :) I had a friend that I worked with in Ohio from the UK - she always brought us candy, I remember Flake too, but CRUNCHIE was so good!

What kind of Super American candy would you like? I have heard some people from the UK love Reese cups..............

my son loves most american candy mostly because we relax the eating candy rule when we're on holiday, normally we're quite strict and sweets, desserts and candy are a limited food group so needless to say he loves his holidays

he does like butterfingers even though i don't really know what they are and he loves peanut butter cups too and hersheys cookies and cream bars as you cannot get those in the uk

i never knew you didn't have crunchies? don't think you have jelly babies smarties or curly wurlies either?, i have a feeling my fe bags will be mainly candy based :rotfl:

i know the group seems small at the moment but can i suggest that if the group gets huge that we split it into two groups (we did this on the dover to barcelona cruise when the fe group got a little too big to comfortably manage)

[lakehead92]

I HAVE 2 MORE FE PARTICIPANTS FOR US.

Spoke with my sisters who are both travelling with us with their familes on the magic...they love the FE idea as well. So put me down as three staterooms. All early seating.

1st room... ME , my husband, and my DD6 and DS 9 who will celebrate his 9th birthday on the cruise on January 7th.

Second room.. 2 Adults, 2 children...girl age 9, and boy age 7.

Third Room, Two adults, two children..girl aged 3 and a brand new baby...due this week.

My parents are also travelling with us and my dad will celebrate his 70th birthday on board.

[Silverfox97]

i know the group seems small at the moment but can i suggest that if the group gets huge that we split it into two groups (we did this on the dover to barcelona cruise when the fe group got a little too big to comfortably manage)

We had 13 staterooms on our last one (well, 12 to deliver to since one was ours). I think that is about the limit. We were able to pack it all into 1 duffel bag.

[ssanders79]

The FE list (http://www.emilyandscott.us/FE) has been updated.

[lakehead92]

The FE list (http://www.emilyandscott.us/FE) has been updated.

Thanks for the list!! and updating for us.

[PrincessMer]

Thanks for creating the list. It is really helpful! Here is some more information that you can use to update my information:
DH = Clark
We have the 2nd seating
We haven't gotten our room number yet


Thanks!
Meredith

[Silverfox97]

Welcome aboard, so to speak. I hope the decorations will still be up but I am not counting on it.

SO, we are less than six months out. :cool1: Does anyone have any excursion plans or before/after cruise plans? For excursions we are thinking about a glass bottom tour either on CC or in Nassau. That's probably it. This is our first cruise and we want to relax and take in the ship. As for before and after we are flying in 2 day before and most likely staying with DH's dad and after we are spending 2 nights at WDW. We are leaning towards staying at AKL. What is everyone else planning on?

Let me offer my advice/opinion - save your money on the glass bottom boat at Nassau. We have done that one -- not worth it at all. In fact, we stay on the boat on Nassau day, treating it like a day at sea. The pools are empty, and it's awesome. I haven't done the glass bottom boat on CC, but I'd vote for that one over the Nassau one if you want to do one. Just my opinion :)

[mazz1]

Welcome aboard, so to speak. I hope the decorations will still be up but I am not counting on it.

SO, we are less than six months out. :cool1: Does anyone have any excursion plans or before/after cruise plans? For excursions we are thinking about a glass bottom tour either on CC or in Nassau. That's probably it. This is our first cruise and we want to relax and take in the ship. As for before and after we are flying in 2 day before and most likely staying with DH's dad and after we are spending 2 nights at WDW. We are leaning towards staying at AKL. What is everyone else planning on?

we fly in the day before and are staying at bay lake towers and we have plans to go to the dig? i think this i what it is called? at atlantis on the nassau day, on our first disney cruise we did venture off the ship at nassau but we found the shopping and the locals a little intimidating, this time we hope to avoid that altogether

after the cruise we're staying in a villa nr champions gate

[ebony]

:welcome: To everone who has signed on to this thread, since I last posted at the end of July :blush:.

My name is Jan and I am travelling with my DH Carl. We come from Oxford in the UK. This will be our 5th cruise ,4 with Disney and 1 with RCI and we are, well and truly hooked on cruising ! :thumbsup2.

We are unsure about the FE's at the moment. We are travelling alone as our kids have grown up now. Trying it for the 1st time on our Transatlantic cruise next month :).
Will look back soon, have a good week everybody.
Jan

[mazz1]

:welcome: To everone who has signed on to this thread, since I last posted at the end of July :blush:.

My name is Jan and I am travelling with my DH Carl. We come from Oxford in the UK. This will be our 5th cruise ,4 with Disney and 1 with RCI and we are, well and truly hooked on cruising ! :thumbsup2.

We are unsure about the FE's at the moment. We are travelling alone as our kids have grown up now. Trying it for the 1st time on our Transatlantic cruise next month :).
Will look back soon, have a good week everybody.
Jan

hello Jan :flower3:

we're hooked too, this will be our 4th cruise (we did one with rc too) but much prefer disney ;) the rc ships are ok but just too big for our liking, i kept getting lost :blush:

[lakehead92]

Just ordered my FE from someone on etsy. I was able to custom design it as well. :)

[Silverfox97]

It's getting closer :cool1:

[lisare]

So please include us on the fish extender. IDK who I need to give my info to please PM me & i'll give it to you. Thanks. I CAN'T WAIT TO LEAVE!!!!!!!!!!!!

[lakehead92]

I can't wait to leave eaither...just finalized hotel and car reservation yesterday for the rest of the trip. We are very excited.

Lisare- I notice that you have cruised in January before. Can you give me the heads up on how the weather was and whether its more a shorts thing or a pants type of packing list. I realize that weather changes and fluctuates from year to year... but since this is our first time a little help would be very appreciated.

Any other thoughts would be great too.

[lisare]

Nights were cold on deck. I would bring pants & sweatshirts. What I remember castaway cay was windy & the water was a bit chilly but I did enjoyed wearing a bathing suit in January. With two stops this time maybe we'll get atleast one good day or even better two.

[mommyofthreeboys]

I have a fish extender that I bought off ebay for our last cruise but it includes all 3 of my kids. So now I can't decide if I should get one with just DH and I.
hmmmm......

[mazz1]

So please include us on the fish extender. IDK who I need to give my info to please PM me & i'll give it to you. Thanks. I CAN'T WAIT TO LEAVE!!!!!!!!!!!!

if you pm sanders 79 they will add you to the list :goodvibes

we seem to have 8 rooms now (not inc our own) can i kindly suggest that if we get two more to this list then we split it into two groups of 5? it would make it easier as there would be less to buy for and to pack, i really struggled last time packing i think i ended up with 26 individual bags to deliver as i did the childrens gifts seperate from the adults :blush:

[Silverfox97]

So please include us on the fish extender. IDK who I need to give my info to please PM me & i'll give it to you. Thanks. I CAN'T WAIT TO LEAVE!!!!!!!!!!!!

You can PM Ssanders79 or me (I am his spouse) and you will be added to the list!

if you pm ssanders79 they will add you to the list :goodvibes

we seem to have 8 rooms now (not inc our own) can i kindly suggest that if we get two more to this list then we split it into two groups of 5? it would make it easier as there would be less to buy for and to pack, i really struggled last time packing i think i ended up with 26 individual bags to deliver as i did the childrens gifts seperate from the adults :blush:

Well............We are happy to deliver to everyone :) I think that 12 staterooms participating is a good number to set the limit at, personally. However, we are driving from Tampa, and we do not have to worry about packing stuff for a flight, so we have lots of room!

You could always scale back your gifts. On our last 5-night cruise, there were 12 participating staterooms (13 including ours), and it was awesome to see the look and excitement on my DD's face when there was something in the FE, which was about twice a day! A lot of the FE participants did a stateroom gift vs having gifts for adults and different ones for children.

Anyone else want to weight in? That is just our family's 2 cents!

[mommyofthreeboys]

I tend to go a little overboard on the shopping. I like that my FE gifts take up alot of room on the way down because then I have that room for all stuff I purchased.

We could go 2 groups. Say, oh, 8-10 rooms in each group (if we get that many) and give everyone the option to participate in both groups. ??? So if you only want 8 staterooms, participate in group 1. If you want 16 staterooms, participate in groups 1 and 2. That's just an example-- hopefully I explained it right :)

How many more days???? :)

[Silverfox97]

I tend to go a little overboard on the shopping.

ME TOO!!!!!!!!!!

We could go 2 groups. Say, oh, 8-10 rooms in each group (if we get that many) and give everyone the option to participate in both groups. ??? So if you only want 8 staterooms, participate in group 1. If you want 16 staterooms, participate in groups 1 and 2. That's just an example-- hopefully I explained it right :)

How many more days???? :)

Good idea mommyofthreeboys!!!

[AnnOminous]

We're finalizing everything for our reservation. This will be our second Disney cruise, just DH and I. I'm pretty sure we'll end up with the later dinner seating (and we'd prefer it). CC was our favorite spot, so we wanted to do a double dip.

[mazz1]

You can PM Ssanders79 or me (I am his spouse) and you will be added to the list!



Well............We are happy to deliver to everyone :) I think that 12 staterooms participating is a good number to set the limit at, personally. However, we are driving from Tampa, and we do not have to worry about packing stuff for a flight, so we have lots of room!

You could always scale back your gifts. On our last 5-night cruise, there were 12 participating staterooms (13 including ours), and it was awesome to see the look and excitement on my DD's face when there was something in the FE, which was about twice a day! A lot of the FE participants did a stateroom gift vs having gifts for adults and different ones for children.

Anyone else want to weight in? That is just our family's 2 cents!

i am happy to deliver to everyone just a little worried about packing for the flight over :confused: i never thought about one stateroom gift, i suppose i could do one bag per stateroom and then add some candy into the kids pockets on the extenders too?, this way it would be less to pack (hopefully) i think i went a bit OTT last time with my shopping too

we have one medium sized case each and dh has already said he hopes we, meaning me!!! will pack light for this next trip :rolleyes1

[lakehead92]

Since this is our first time...can anyone give us some clues and or pointers as to what kind of things people usually leave in FE's. What did you receive from people on your last trip. Just so our group can know and come up with ideas, and so we can know what what people normally spend?

[PrincessMer]

I think 8-10 rooms in a group sounds like a good number, but then again, I've never done this before so I really am basing my opinion on a gut feeling :-)

[ebony]

.

We could go 2 groups. Say, oh, 8-10 rooms in each group (if we get that many) and give everyone the option to participate in both groups. ??? So if you only want 8 staterooms, participate in group 1. If you want 16 staterooms, participate in groups 1 and 2. That's just an example-- hopefully I explained it right :)


This sounds a good idea. To be honest this trip is one, we are trying to keep to a budget. The cruise is a last minute add on.

Since this is our first time...can anyone give us some clues and or pointers as to what kind of things people usually leave in FE's. What did you receive from people on your last trip. Just so our group can know and come up with ideas, and so we can know what what people normally spend?

I bought Tea towels of my home town, which is a large university city in Oxford UK. They cost £4, @ $6 and there are 14 people in our group which has worked out quite expensive. I also spent @ £3, $4.5, on each child, but there are only 3.
This is my first time doing the F.Extenders on the Transatlantic in sept '10.

[Silverfox97]

We're finalizing everything for our reservation. This will be our second Disney cruise, just DH and I. I'm pretty sure we'll end up with the later dinner seating (and we'd prefer it). CC was our favorite spot, so we wanted to do a double dip.

:welcome: to our thread!

Since this is our first time...can anyone give us some clues and or pointers as to what kind of things people usually leave in FE's. What did you receive from people on your last trip. Just so our group can know and come up with ideas, and so we can know what what people normally spend?

Wow, it varies. Let's see...I don't want to say what we gave, but I can tell you what we got in our FE in Aug. Some people did one "goodie bag" per stateroom, for example, one had waterproof/kid bandaids, hand sanitizer, travel kleenex, stuff like that. Some people only gave to the kids, and DD got things like pens/pencils/crayons/glow sticks (REALLY fun for pirate night!), temporary tatoos, stuff like that. She got a Toy Story wipe off board, and we got these DELICIOUS cookies http://firecrackerbakery.blogspot.com/search/label/cruise%2Ftravel (this shows you what they looked like). She even got a little book and a couple of cups. There were some people that left candy, but not too much. It was a really really fun thing to do. Mostly, to see the utter excitement when DD found something in the FE.

[Silverfox97]

Ok everyone, they have realeased the "Kids Sail Free" promotion for our cruise for verandah cabins only - Cats 4-7A. So, if any of you are booked in one of these categories, the code is KFO. Contact your TAs to get your discount!

Unfortunately, this is our add-on "budget cruise" so since we are 11c GTY, we can't take advantage of it. Now, if they release Florida Resident Rates, we will jump on that and upgrade for sure!!!

Hope this helps someone :thumbsup2

[mommyofthreeboys]

Ok everyone, they have realeased the "Kids Sail Free" promotion for our cruise for verandah cabins only - Cats 4-7A. So, if any of you are booked in one of these categories, the code is KFO. Contact your TAs to get your discount!

Unfortunately, this is our add-on "budget cruise" so since we are 11c GTY, we can't take advantage of it. Now, if they release Florida Resident Rates, we will jump on that and upgrade for sure!!!

Hope this helps someone :thumbsup2

WOW!!! They must be having a really hard time filling this cruise!!

I'm still going without the kids though!

[Silverfox97]

WOW!!! They must be having a really hard time filling this cruise!!

They definitely are! There are staterooms available in EVERY category - from Concierge all the way down to 11c GTY. That is crazy this close to sailing!!!

[lakehead92]

How full does it need to be for them to sail?

I do not want them to cancel this one too.




Hmm... kids sail free. I wonder if that makes a verandah close in price to an outside cabin when you subtract the kids prices?

[Silverfox97]

How full does it need to be for them to sail? I do not want them to cancel this one too.

No idea. I doubt they will cancel it. I am hoping that they just keep releasing various discounts to get the ship filled.

Hmm... kids sail free. I wonder if that makes a verandah close in price to an outside cabin when you subtract the kids prices?

It might. Go to DCL's website and price it out - the promo code is KFO. You can stack it with the Cancadian discount, as well, which I think is 20 or 25% off. Call/e-mail your travel agent if you use one to run the numbers for you on the best deal. I am still holding out for Florida resident rates......

[aanderson5]

No idea. I doubt they will cancel it. I am hoping that they just keep releasing various discounts to get the ship filled.



It might. Go to DCL's website and price it out - the promo code is KFO. You can stack it with the Cancadian discount, as well, which I think is 20 or 25% off. Call/e-mail your travel agent if you use one to run the numbers for you on the best deal. I am still holding out for Florida resident rates......

The Canadian discount isn't available for this cruise is it? I thought it was for the 7 day Caribbean cruises. If I wasn't locked into flights I might have considered switching. JK

I have been watching our cruise since they opened it up and I can't believe how much is still available. I was a little worried about them canceling too, (I even posted a thread about it a while ago) but was assured that wasn't going to happen. They better not cancel, we are so excited.

[mommyofthreeboys]

:welcome: to our thread!

Wow, it varies. Let's see...I don't want to say what we gave, but I can tell you what we got in our FE in Aug. Some people did one "goodie bag" per stateroom, for example, one had waterproof/kid bandaids, hand sanitizer, travel kleenex, stuff like that. Some people only gave to the kids, and DD got things like pens/pencils/crayons/glow sticks (REALLY fun for pirate night!), temporary tatoos, stuff like that. She got a Toy Story wipe off board, and we got these DELICIOUS cookies http://firecrackerbakery.blogspot.com/search/label/cruise%2Ftravel (this shows you what they looked like). She even got a little book and a couple of cups. There were some people that left candy, but not too much. It was a really really fun thing to do. Mostly, to see the utter excitement when DD found something in the FE.

Oh my gosh! Those cookies are adorable!!! AND that place isn't too far from me! But I don't know how I could get that many cookies down with me without breaking. I wonder how the other person did it. Did she say?

As far as other ideas, someone just posted this thread:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2544212

That might help as well.

In March, we got a lot of candy, pirate stuff and little things for the kids to play with. One of my favorite things was a set of handmade Disney cards. They were cute! (I think I might do something similar).
On the morning of our Castaway Cay day, we received a sand bucket and shovel. That was a HUGE hit with my boys! I like things from other peoples states and/or countries!

No matter what you decide, it will be appreciated and loved! It's meant to be fun and not stressful. :goodvibes

[mazz1]

i was going to try and make my fish extenders all edible or drinkable so that they do not have to be packed and taken home, i know i've said this before but my teenage son is really hopeful for american candy "hint hint" :blush:

i may also try to include something lightweight that is typically british as a keepsake in mine but i'm trying to think of something useful rather than just a novelty item :confused:

i live by the seaside and dh being ever so helpful suggested a stick of rock or a candy dummy and i suppose i have lost everyone completly with those suggestions :rotfl:

[Silverfox97]

Oh my gosh! Those cookies are adorable!!! AND that place isn't too far from me! But I don't know how I could get that many cookies down with me without breaking. I wonder how the other person did it. Did she say?

You know what, I am not sure, because I talked to her quite a bit at the DIS meet, then we ran the Castaway Cay 5K together (well, we met up at the end - I was a lot slower than her!) and she mentioned that they stayed at the Beach Club before the cruise, then went back to WDW after the cruise, so I don't know if they drove and brought them in the car, or got them shipped. She's super sweet - bkoehl on the boards if you wanted to PM her.

I have to say, I am a from-scratch cook/baker, and I have tasted a lot of food/baked goods, both from bakeries, store bought, home made and those are the absolute :love: BEST :love: cookies that I have ever eaten. Really. We got 3 of them - one for each of us.

We brought all of the edible items (those cookies, candy, etc.) home. We didn't eat anything from our FE on the ship - there was just no need to! Our FE gifts that we passed out filled a duffle bag. We came home with just a gift bag full, so we definitely gave out more than we recieved, which was perfectly fine with us.

[lakehead92]

Ok everyone, they have realeased the "Kids Sail Free" promotion for our cruise for verandah cabins only - Cats 4-7A. So, if any of you are booked in one of these categories, the code is KFO. Contact your TAs to get your discount!

Unfortunately, this is our add-on "budget cruise" so since we are 11c GTY, we can't take advantage of it. Now, if they release Florida Resident Rates, we will jump on that and upgrade for sure!!!

Hope this helps someone :thumbsup2


Thank you thank you thank you.

You just saved all the members of our family, and helped others upgrade.
One of us was staying in an outside stateroom..and can now upgrade to a verandah for only $28.00. Thank you so much.. we are all in verandahs now.

[Silverfox97]

Thank you thank you thank you.

You just saved all the members of our family, and helped others upgrade.
One of us was staying in an outside stateroom..and can now upgrade to a verandah for only $28.00. Thank you so much.. we are all in verandahs now.

You are welcome - happy to help :goodvibes It was on our meet thread for the cruise we sailed on last month that someone posted about Florida resident rates. Saved us 60% and since we were paid in full already, it was a nice credit back onto our card! :woohoo: We had a verandah on our last cruise and loved it :lovestruc

For this cruise, it would cost us $1000 to upgrade from 11c GTY to even a 7a verandah, even with one "free" child, so we are staying put. I am hoping for some pixie dust for Florida Resident Rates :wizard: It doesn't seem like our cruise is filling very fast, as there are rooms left in every category.

[lakehead92]

You are welcome - happy to help :goodvibes It was on our meet thread for the cruise we sailed on last month that someone posted about Florida resident rates. Saved us 60% and since we were paid in full already, it was a nice credit back onto our card! :woohoo: We had a verandah on our last cruise and loved it :lovestruc

For this cruise, it would cost us $1000 to upgrade from 11c GTY to even a 7a verandah, even with one "free" child, so we are staying put. I am hoping for some pixie dust for Florida Resident Rates :wizard: It doesn't seem like our cruise is filling very fast, as there are rooms left in every category.

I so very much appreciate that head up!

[ebony]

Hi everyone.
The time is flying along now :thumbsup2.

I have just spent the past two weeks with my daughter and her newly born Son :cloud9:. I had such a fab time and I know that I am very fortunate, to be able to have done that.

Just wanted to say that I wont be around much now (again).
I will be spending the next week, mainly packing and organising for our Disney Transatlantic cruise :cool1: then after a 2 week stay at Saratoga Springs Resort :cool1:.
See you all back on the boards around the 18th October. That is unless I find time, to go on line while at WDW.

[lakehead92]

Have a fantastic journey EBONY!

[BabyBun]

Hi. Booked this cruise a few weeks ago and just got around to posting. It will be me (Lisa), my DH (Paul), and my dd (Kelly, she's 15). Looking forward to meeting all of you :)

[Silverfox97]

Hi everyone.
The time is flying along now :thumbsup2.

I have just spent the past two weeks with my daughter and her newly born Son :cloud9:. I had such a fab time and I know that I am very fortunate, to be able to have done that.

Just wanted to say that I wont be around much now (again).
I will be spending the next week, mainly packing and organising for our Disney Transatlantic cruise :cool1: then after a 2 week stay at Saratoga Springs Resort.

Congrats and have a great time :goodvibes

Have a fantastic journey EBONY!

Lakehead92, Did your sister have her baby yet? If so, boy or girl?? :cloud9:

Hi. Booked this cruise a few weeks ago and just got around to posting. It will be me (Lisa), my DH (Paul), and my dd (Kelly, she's 15). Looking forward to meeting all of you :)

:welcome: BabyBun!

[lakehead92]

Congrats and have a great time :goodvibes



Lakehead92, Did your sister have her baby yet? If so, boy or girl?? :cloud9:



:welcome: BabyBun!

Yes, she had a very HEALTHY ( 9 LB. 4 OZ.) baby boy!
:)

[Silverfox97]

Yes, she had a very HEALTHY ( 9 LB. 4 OZ.) baby boy! :)

She sure did!!! Well, congrats to her!! I'll have DH (sanders79) update the FE with the status. Bet he's a cutie - hope we get to see him on the cruise! :goodvibes

I loved it when DD was born, she was 7# 1oz., and let me tell you, those 9# babies in the nursery looked like they could beat her up :laughing:

[mommyofthreeboys]

Hi. Booked this cruise a few weeks ago and just got around to posting. It will be me (Lisa), my DH (Paul), and my dd (Kelly, she's 15). Looking forward to meeting all of you :)

:cheer2: welcome to our group!

[wonkadeb]

Thanks again to SilverFox97 for the notification regarding the KSF offer being available for the Jan 3-8 Magic Holiday sailing!!! You are awesome!!! We will be sailing with our princess:DD12 and pirate:DS10. Anyone else with children in those age groups?

[Silverfox97]

wonkadeb,

Where in Ohio are you from? Ahh...my old stomping grounds :lmao: And, my Mom's name is Debbie! Welcome to our thread!

[wonkadeb]

Cincinnati. Thread is great-thanks for inviting me! I was so excited about our first DCL vacation, and now that it involves a veranda at an affordable price, I am nearly insane over it all! :rotfl:

[mommyofthreeboys]

Cincinnati.

We are close! I'm in Southeastern Indiana! :goodvibes

[mommyofthreeboys]

Hey Scott-- When you update the FE list, can you update that this will be my second cruise (not the first)? No hurry. :)

Thanks so much!
Christina

[lakehead92]

Were a geographical triangle, I am just across the river from Detroit, MI.
Near Windsor, Ontario.

[ssanders79]

The FE list (http://www.emilyandscott.us/FE) has been updated.

[wonkadeb]

I asked Disney Vacation Service today about any special activities for the "holiday" cruise. She said that a Afternoon Tea at Palo would be available on the at sea day. Hopefully, more extras to come...

[ebony]

Have a fantastic journey EBONY!



Congrats and have a great time :goodvibes




Thankyou for the wishes for my baby DGS.

Thanks we will 'try too have a good trip' ;)



[QUOTE=lakehead92;38130597]Yes, she had a very HEALTHY ( 9 LB. 4 OZ.) baby boy!
:)

Congratulations to the family. :cloud9:

[ebony]

Hi. Booked this cruise a few weeks ago and just got around to posting. It will be me (Lisa), my DH (Paul), and my dd (Kelly, she's 15). Looking forward to meeting all of you :)

Welcome to the cruise thread :welcome:


I have a question for anyone who lives in Florida area.
I think most of us know that we can book the Dining at Palo and Trips etc for at least Silver members on October 5th. I am not sure for the other Gold and Plat members.
Anyway I am able to book on October 5th. I will be in Orlando at this time, so wondered if anyone knows what time of the day will DCL web site be open for booking please ?.
Its usually early hours of the morning for people in the UK.
Thanks for any help.

[Silverfox97]

I have a question for anyone who lives in Florida area.
I think most of us know that we can book the Dining at Palo and Trips etc for at least Silver members on October 5th. I am not sure for the other Gold and Plat members.
Anyway I am able to book on October 5th. I will be in Orlando at this time, so wondered if anyone knows what time of the day will DCL web site be open for booking please ?.
Its usually early hours of the morning for people in the UK.
Thanks for any help.

DCL's website is 24 hrs., so we usually stay up to book at midnight -- which we will be doing on Oct 4th ;)

[lakehead92]

As a first time cruiser...I can't book any Palo or Shore Excursions until October 20.

I should start reading up on that to see what we want to do.

[FLWIDisneyFan]

We just booked this cruise this week. It will be our 6th cruise and there will be 4 of us myself, DW, DD8, and DD2. We are really hoping the decorations are going to up for this Holiday cruise. I sent an email to dcl reservations and they told me they have not made any decisions yet on when the decorations will be taken down. They also mentioned that their guest opinions on the matter will be shared with management. Anyone else wanting to see the decorations may want to send an email to hopefully influence the decision. The email address is dcl.reservations@disneycruise.com.

[FLWIDisneyFan]

We are looking forward to heading south for at least a little part of the winter.

[ssanders79]

I just sent my email to DCL.

FLWIDisneyFan, will you be participating in the fish extender?

[FLWIDisneyFan]

I will have to talk it over with DW about the fish extenders. We have not done it on our previous cruises and I only recently learned about them from this board.

[mommyofthreeboys]

We just booked this cruise this week. It will be our 6th cruise and there will be 4 of us myself, DW, DD8, and DD2. We are really hoping the decorations are going to up for this Holiday cruise. I sent an email to dcl reservations and they told me they have not made any decisions yet on when the decorations will be taken down. They also mentioned that their guest opinions on the matter will be shared with management. Anyone else wanting to see the decorations may want to send an email to hopefully influence the decision. The email address is dcl.reservations@disneycruise.com.

Welcome to our group!!! :cool1:

[FLWIDisneyFan]

Just modified the reservation to take advantage of kids sail free. Moved from Secret Porthole to 5C GTY and saved $13.

[ssanders79]

We just booked this cruise this week. It will be our 6th cruise and there will be 4 of us myself, DW, DD8, and DD2. We are really hoping the decorations are going to up for this Holiday cruise. I sent an email to dcl reservations and they told me they have not made any decisions yet on when the decorations will be taken down. They also mentioned that their guest opinions on the matter will be shared with management. Anyone else wanting to see the decorations may want to send an email to hopefully influence the decision. The email address is dcl.reservations@disneycruise.com.



I received the same reply. I smell a form letter.
9/12/10

Dear Scott,

Thank you for choosing a Disney Cruise Line vacation!

I would be happy to assist you.

During the Holiday Season, we will have festive decorations and holiday
themed entertainment for the entire family. However, at this time, the
schedule for the holiday decorations has not been determined.

We usually have this information closer late October or early November.
Please contact us during this time and it would be our pleasure to
further assist you.

Please be assured that your thoughts will be shared with management.
Input from our Guests is a valuable tool in determining ways we can make
their visits more convenient and enjoyable.

I hope this information has been helpful. *If you require further
assistance in planning your visit, please feel free to contact us.

We look forward to sailing with you!

Have a Magical Day!

Stephanie
Reservations Department
Disney Cruise Line

[lisare]

I got the same reply too. Maybe with enough of us wanting them to stay up they'll listen. Fingers crossed.

[FLWIDisneyFan]

I received the same reply. I smell a form letter.

My reply did not mention and exact timeframe for the decision but otherwise its the same email.

[FLWIDisneyFan]

I hate to say it but the timeframe for the decision is right after the paid in full date (October 20th). We're still looking forward to the trip but it would be nice if they could make the decision prior to Oct 20th.

[FLWIDisneyFan]

DW is leaning toward doing the FE Exchange. What type of things do people generally leave and how many items would we need to bring.

[ssanders79]

I will have to talk it over with DW about the fish extenders. We have not done it on our previous cruises and I only recently learned about them from this board.

I added you to the "Not yet committed" section of the fish extender list (http://www.emilyandscott.us/FE).

Just let me know when you know either way.

[Silverfox97]

DW is leaning toward doing the FE Exchange. What type of things do people generally leave and how many items would we need to bring.

Hi there!

We have actually discussed this on this thread before, so just read thru the posts :goodvibes There are also a few threads on the Cruise Line board on these Dis boards. It is TONS of fun.

I plan on compiling an e-mail to DCl as well about the decorations and I hope everyone does as well. they way I figure it, it's billed as a "holiday" cruise, per DCL, so they should have them up. If this cruise was originally part of the 10 day Magic holiday cruise that got split up into 2 cruises, then for sure it should be!! Let's all cross our fingers :cutie:

[PatriciaH]

I just held this one and hopefully we will hear soon if DH gets the vacation days. I would be interested in doing the FE exchange! Put us down for maybe until we hear on the vacation days for sure.

Patricia and Craig- 3rd Disney cruise, 4th cruise.

[mommyofthreeboys]

I just held this one and hopefully we will hear soon if DH gets the vacation days. I would be interested in doing the FE exchange! Put us down for maybe until we hear on the vacation days for sure.

Patricia and Craig- 3rd Disney cruise, 4th cruise.


Yay!!! Hope your DH gets the time off work!!

[PatriciaH]

Yay!!! Hope your DH gets the time off work!!

Us too! I have the deposit down so we are good until 10/20. She should let him know by then.

[lakehead92]

Everyone's tickers are starting to move. :) Can't wait!

I received the fish extender I ordered in the mail today. I love it! I may even put our kids tickets for the trip in the pockets to surprise them christmas morning. IT WOULD LOOK SO GREAT.

[wonkadeb]

109 days until we all set sail!!!
:grouphug:

[Silverfox97]

109 days until we all set sail!!!
:grouphug:

:woohoo:

Hey, if any of you are interested, check out my trip report from our 5 night double dip we did in August. Lots of pics, especially of food :goodvibes

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2551452

[PatriciaH]

:woohoo:

Hey, if any of you are interested, check out my trip report from our 5 night double dip we did in August. Lots of pics, especially of food :goodvibes

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2551452

Beautiful pictures! How did you make your FE? It is the nicest one I have seen yet! :)

[ladyniles]

We (DH, DD4, and I) just booked our 5-day cruise today! We've never been on a family vacation, (seems the "vacation earmark" always ends up somewhere else) and THIS IS IT! If any knitters are out there and you'd like to meet up for stitching and a chat, let me know!

[lakehead92]

We (DH, DD4, and I) just booked our 5-day cruise today! We've never been on a family vacation, (seems the "vacation earmark" always ends up somewhere else) and THIS IS IT! If any knitters are out there and you'd like to meet up for stitching and a chat, let me know!

Welcome! and so glad to have you aboard with us.

[Georgia3]

We just booked our third cruise with Disney, I would like to add our family to the FE extender list. Who do I need to give that information to? We have 3 other familes that it is their first time sailing, I was able to get them to join us this cruise. Now, I will work to get them to participate on the FE too! It is a surprise for the kids for Christmas.

[ssanders79]

We just booked our third cruise with Disney, I would like to add our family to the FE extender list. Who do I need to give that information to? We have 3 other familes that it is their first time sailing, I was able to get them to join us this cruise. Now, I will work to get them to participate on the FE too! It is a surprise for the kids for Christmas.

Welcome.
You can either PM me or reply in the tread. I will then update the FE list (www.emilyandscott.us/FE).

This is also going to be a suprise for our DD. She has no clue and thinks we are not going on a cruise til next October.

[lakehead92]

We just booked our third cruise with Disney, I would like to add our family to the FE extender list. Who do I need to give that information to? We have 3 other familes that it is their first time sailing, I was able to get them to join us this cruise. Now, I will work to get them to participate on the FE too! It is a surprise for the kids for Christmas.

Looks like there are a few of us surprising our kids this christmas. So exciting.
Anyone have special ideas on how they plan to do it?

[ssanders79]

We're planning on giving or DD3 a custom puzzle on Christmas morning with some sort of DCL design and text. Not sure on the design yet as I've yet to sit down and put something together. DW found a website that you can upload an image and get it turned into a jigsaw puzzle.

[ladyniles]

Looks like there are a few of us surprising our kids this christmas. So exciting.
Anyone have special ideas on how they plan to do it?
We're planning to surprise our daughter with this cruise, too! I've been seeing that a lot. I haven't decided how to do it (how far in advance, etc.) but I've seen some great ideas about scavenger hunts with clues.

Ssanders79: like the puzzle idea!

[Georgia3]

We are going to do a scavenger hunt, we will end with the puzzle in a box under the tree. This way they will be getting presents they can use on the cruise. We are hoping they will be as excited as we are.

[mistyandbenjamin]

:) Can you add us to the fish extender list? We don't have a stateroom yet, we are a 11c gty, first dinner seating. It will be my son(7) and myself (mom). My parents will be on the ship as well but they are not interested in FE. This is our 2nd cruise. We are also booked on the November 2011 Double Dip. Yea!

[ssanders79]

:) Can you add us to the fish extender list? We don't have a stateroom yet, we are a 11c gty, first dinner seating. It will be my son(7) and myself (mom). My parents will be on the ship as well but they are not interested in FE. This is our 2nd cruise. We are also booked on the November 2011 Double Dip. Yea!

I added you and your son to the FE list (http://www.emilyandscott.us/FE). Welcome to the cruise and the boards.

We are going to do a scavenger hunt, we will end with the puzzle in a box under the tree. This way they will be getting presents they can use on the cruise. We are hoping they will be as excited as we are.

I got your email and added you and your family.

[Georgia3]

Thanks again for putting this together. When will the FE list be closed? I would like to get a start on this but want to make sure I get enough for each participant. Our last cruise in 2008 we ended up with 50 cabins. It was a lot of work but a lot of fun looking for all of the cabins. Thanks!

[mazz1]

Thanks again for putting this together. When will the FE list be closed? I would like to get a start on this but want to make sure I get enough for each participant. Our last cruise in 2008 we ended up with 50 cabins. It was a lot of work but a lot of fun looking for all of the cabins. Thanks!

i'd like to know this too? so i can start to plan and get my gifts put together :goodvibes

it's so nice to see lots of children being suprised with this cruise, my children will be getting told about the holiday the day after christmas (my two are both autistic and my little chap usually gets very down in the dumps after christmas when he starts to think about going back to school so when we tell him about this i expect huge smiles) we arrive in florida on jan 2nd and my birthday is the day we board on the 3rd

i'm so excited :banana:

[biohaz_man]

Could you add DW and I to the FE list? We're looking forward to this cruise and the FE.

[Silverfox97]

Beautiful pictures! How did you make your FE? It is the nicest one I have seen yet! :)

It was amazingly hard work. I just free-formed the FE itself. I got the dimensions from somewhere on the boards, bought the navy fabric, and then cut & sewed it. DH (ssanders79) tweaked the images on Photoshop, then printed them out, and cut them out of the gold. The gold is special iron-on stuff, and it's pretty neat. We even have a pocket at the bottom for the pic of the bow of the Fantasy (which will coorelate with another child when and if we decide on that ;) ).

Thanks for the kind words :goodvibes

[Silverfox97]

i'd like to know this too? so i can start to plan and get my gifts put together

What does everyone think about closing the FE list before Christmas? Maybe the 15th or 20th of December? Just an idea from one person :goodvibes

[aanderson5]

What does everyone think about closing the FE list before Christmas? Maybe the 15th or 20th of December? Just an idea from one person :goodvibes

I think we should close it earlier. Maybe a month before (Dec 1?). December is such a busy month and I personnally would like to have my FE stuff done before the craziness of the holidays. Do you think we will have many people booking that late that will be interested in joining?

BTW I just read your trip report. It was great. I am even more excited. You daughter is just beautiful and reminds me of DS especially when it comes to eating. He has always prefered 'adult' food. His last pizza had artichokes, spinach and goats cheese on it. lol

[Georgia3]

I vote for 12/1 too. If we want to do a later date, we may be able to limit how many additional cabins? Just an idea?:goodvibes

[mistyandbenjamin]

Does anyone know where and when I might get some information about onboard movies and the nights that are formal, pirate, etc...?

[lakehead92]

I vote for December 1st as well. Then if people want they have time to try and personalise things a bit more by staterooms. AGES OF KIDS ECT...

How does it work for finding everyone...do we all give our stateroom numbers if we have them to you at that time?

[mazz1]

i think we should close the fe list on the 1st dec too

december is a hectic month for most people

as for finding everyone, last time we gave our room numbers (once we knew them) to the person organising the exchange and we were assigned certain days on the cruise to drop off our gifts ??? we also supplied our mobile numbers too in case anyone upgraded rooms at the port ???

am i right in thinking the person organising the list will be organising this bit also :goodvibes

[Silverfox97]

i think we should close the fe list on the 1st dec too

december is a hectic month for most people

as for finding everyone, last time we gave our room numbers (once we knew them) to the person organising the exchange and we were assigned certain days on the cruise to drop off our gifts ??? we also supplied our mobile numbers too in case anyone upgraded rooms at the port ???

am i right in thinking the person organising the list will be organising this bit also :goodvibes

I don't think it's necessary to assign days - just pass them out whenever you have time! Also, I don't think we need mobile ph #'s. In fact, I leave mine at home. On our Aug cruise, we had 1 person upgrade, and he stopped by all of our staterooms and left a note on our fishes. He also told us at the meet. I don't think we need to make the FE complicated. Just bring your gifts & pass them out :)

Ssanders79 is keeping the list - you should be giving him names & ages.

[lakehead92]

Yes, I guess we don't really even need stateroom numbers since if you see an FE on the boat..then they should be part of this group. Would I be correct in thinking that.

I may be wrong...seeing as I'm a newby to all of this.

[Silverfox97]

I vote for December 1st as well. Then if people want they have time to try and personalise things a bit more by staterooms. AGES OF KIDS ECT...

How does it work for finding everyone...do we all give our stateroom numbers if we have them to you at that time?

If we close the list Dec 1, that should be plenty of time for the info to be collected. All you need to do is print the FE list that Ssanders79 has, and all the info you need will be there. On Dec 1st, he can repost the final list (he is my DH, so I will make sure he does). If there are updates (like a change in stateroom #), he will still be able to update it and repost it.

[Silverfox97]

yes I guess we don't really even need stateroom numbers since if you see a FE..then they should be part of this group. Would I be correct in thinking that.

I ay be wrong...seeing as I'm a newby to all of this.

Oh no, PLEASE give your stateroom# - it would take forever to pass out FE gifts if you had to search the entire ship. Why would you go to Deck 1 if no one in the FE exchange was there? How would you know who's room it is? I wouldn't want an adult to get a child gift or vice versa.

[Silverfox97]

BTW I just read your trip report. It was great. I am even more excited. You daughter is just beautiful and reminds me of DS especially when it comes to eating. He has always prefered 'adult' food. His last pizza had artichokes, spinach and goats cheese on it. lol

Love it!!! People always ask me how we get her to eat that stuff - easy; she eats what we do & what I cook -- I'd never dream of making her a different meal than we are eating! Just have to offer variety -- plus, the adults eating cool stuff helps set a good exams, too ;)

Does anyone know where and when I might get some information about onboard movies and the nights that are formal, pirate, etc...?

You can call DCL when it gets a little closer to cruising. I was on a 5 night this summer, and Pirate night was Nassau day, semi-formal night was night 4.

[lakehead92]

Oh no, PLEASE give your stateroom# - it would take forever to pass out FE gifts if you had to search the entire ship. Why would you go to Deck 1 if no one in the FE exchange was there? How would you know who's room it is? I wouldn't want an adult to get a child gift or vice versa.

Right...sorry I wasn't awake enough yet this morning to think of that. ugh. Feeling kind of stupid now! :(
I've been up all night with a sick little girl, apparently it affected my brain.
But on the plus side, if we are getting the colds over with now...we'll all be very healthy for the cruise.

[mazz1]

so am i right in thinking that once we get assigned room numbers we let Scott know who's been kindly keeping and updating the fe list so we then have a "master list" so to speak and if anyone does change rooms with a upgrade then the onus is on them to let others know? that makes a lot of sense to me and sounds much easier than suppling phone numbers and texting people which is what we did last time :headache:

i've only done one exchange before and it was organised like a military operation, we were given days for drop offs and we had to supply mobile phone numbers etc etc like i've already mentioned that's why i thought it was the norm (nice to see it can be more relaxed) :goodvibes

Marie

[Elangen]

Hi! :wave:

We are booked! First time DCL, second cruise ever. It is me, DH, DD(5) and DS(2.5). We are super excited. Well, I am. DH is looking forward to it, but not as ca-razy about it as I am, and the kids dont really know but I am already planning how I will surprise them at Christmas.

We have a room booked but, Im curious what a 5GTY would be? what class is that? Im a total newbie at this. Trying to get a good deal, as this one is a total splurge for us.

The FE sounds super fun. I know DD and I would love it!

[ssanders79]

Welcome. I am sure you husband will have a good time.

[Elangen]

Welcome. I am sure you husband will have a good time.

I just read through your trip report and purused the Navigators and photos. GReat pics!Thanks for posting all of that.

[biohaz_man]

Could you add DW and I to the FE list? We're looking forward to this cruise and the FE.

I realized I should probably mention that we don't have a stateroom # yet... we are still GTY.

[Silverfox97]

Right...sorry I wasn't awake enough yet this morning to think of that. ugh. Feeling kind of stupid now! :(
I've been up all night with a sick little girl, apparently it affected my brain.
But on the plus side, if we are getting the colds over with now...we'll all be very healthy for the cruise.

Don't feel stupid :goodvibes I hope you all feel better :thumbsup2

Really, FE is meant to be fun, not time consuming and complicated. Once the list is finalized, you can print it out, and take it with you to pass out your gifts. We had 12 cabins on our last one, and it took about 20 min to walk the decks and pass them out. We picked Nassau day because we stay on the ship, and it was easy. Some people passed some out the first day, and so on. It was fun, and not full of drama at all -- the way it is meant to me :cutie: I loved seeing the look on DD's face when there was something in the FE!

[Silverfox97]

Hi! :wave:

We are booked! First time DCL, second cruise ever. It is me, DH, DD(5) and DS(2.5). We are super excited. Well, I am. DH is looking forward to it, but not as ca-razy about it as I am, and the kids dont really know but I am already planning how I will surprise them at Christmas.

We have a room booked but, Im curious what a 5GTY would be? what class is that? Im a total newbie at this. Trying to get a good deal, as this one is a total splurge for us.

The FE sounds super fun. I know DD and I would love it!

You may already know this, but if you book Cat 5, your 2 kids will sail for free!!! Check into it - it may be worth it for you. We are still anxiously hopeful for some Florida Resident Rates!!

You guys would love the FE :)

I just read through your trip report and purused the Navigators and photos. GReat pics!Thanks for posting all of that.

Glad you liked the TR. It was a team effort and we worked hard on it!

[wonkadeb]

Does anyone know what the dining rotation possibilities might be for our double dip? Also, do you think we will have a Till We Meet Again menu on night 5?

[Silverfox97]

Does anyone know what the dining rotation possibilities might be for our double dip? Also, do you think we will have a Till We Meet Again menu on night 5?

Well, in the summer on the Wonder DDs, it was:
TAAPT
APPTA
PTTAP

Replacing Lumiere's, you would get:
LAAPL
APPLA
PLLAP

Night 1 was rotational menu
Night 2 was rotational menu
Night 3 was Pirate menu
Night 4 was rotational menu
Night 5 was Till We Meet Again

I imagine it will be the same for ours, as well.

[wonkadeb]

Thank you!

[wonkadeb]

Are you going to request a particular rotation, or just let DCL decide? Do you do 1st or 2nd seating?

[Silverfox97]

Are you going to request a particular rotation, or just let DCL decide? Do you do 1st or 2nd seating?

We are 1st seating kinda people and I have already put in my request for a dining rotation ;) I requested APPLA. This time, we will be at all of the dinners because we are planning on Palo brunch to try something new. The last two cruises we have been on, we have requested dining rotations and have received them both times :thumbsup2 Hope the good luck continues!! :goodvibes

[Georgia3]

How do you request the rotation? When I asked my travel agent, they said Disney told her they will not know the rotation until October 5th. Did you do this directly with Disney? Is Palo's brunch only on the day at sea?

[Silverfox97]

How do you request the rotation? When I asked my travel agent, they said Disney told her they will not know the rotation until October 5th. Did you do this directly with Disney? Is Palo's brunch only on the day at sea?

I made the request thru my TA (Beth Fejer, Dreams Unlimited). They call DCL to make the request. I am assuming that the choices will be the same as the summer DD cruises. Palo brunch is always on the sea day :) You never know, with DCL, it could change. We can book Palo Oct 5th, which we plan on doing at Midnight! We've done dinner twice, so I am looking forward to trying something new!

[lisare]

This is cruise number 8 and I never knew you could request your dinner rotation. I am so calling them tomorrow. Thanks for the info.

[Georgia3]

We have done dinner on both our previous crusies. In the past, we have had at least 10 adults, therefore we had the private room in Palo's. Are we able to do a brunch and a dinner or is it one or the other?
Thanks for the information!

[FLWIDisneyFan]

Cruise feels closer. We received our GTY assignment (cabin 6032) and just booked Palo for the 2nd night and Brunch on the 5th day. We're assuming pirate night is on the third night. No shore excursions since we will probably stay on the boat in Nassau. Now we're hoping to get DD potty trained (she's turns 3 on Feb 1) and get some pixie dust so she can go to the kids club (otherwise its Flounder's Reef).

Count us in for the FE.

[Georgia3]

Can you make reservations for Palo's if you have not paid in full? Or is that just for the shore excursions?

[FLWIDisneyFan]

My understanding is you have to be paid in full to make any reservations (Palo, Flounder's Reef, Spa, Excursions). I think I saw an earlier question about Palo, you can reserve one dinner, one brunch, and one high tea. The brunch and high tea usually fill up first. However, since we have only one sea day both the brunch and high tea are on the same day (Friday). Given the amount of food at brunch and high tea, I wouldn't recommend trying to do both on the same day.

[Silverfox97]

My understanding is you have to be paid in full to make any reservations (Palo, Flounder's Reef, Spa, Excursions). I think I saw an earlier question about Palo, you can reserve one dinner, one brunch, and one high tea. The brunch and high tea usually fill up first. However, since we have only one sea day both the brunch and high tea are on the same day (Friday). Given the amount of food at brunch and high tea, I wouldn't recommend trying to do both on the same day.

The 5 night cruises typically do not offer High Tea at Palo, just brunch and dinner. And yes, you do have to be paid in full in order to make any reservations.

[FLWIDisneyFan]

Our cruise has the High Tea. It is available on-line on Friday at 1:15. Probably has something to do with this 5 day being on the Magic instead of the Wonder.

[FLWIDisneyFan]

I just double checked the time of the High Tea. It is at 3 p.m. Would be a nice surprise if they also had the character breakfast like the 7 day cruises.

[Silverfox97]

Our cruise has the High Tea. It is available on-line on Friday at 1:15. Probably has something to do with this 5 day being on the Magic instead of the Wonder.

You are probably exactly right about it being on the Magic.......why not squeeze more $$ out of people :lmao: I am excited to try brunch.....although I know I will be missing Palo dinner.............oh, the calamari.....

[FLWIDisneyFan]

We are huge fans of the calamari also. You can always ask your server in the main dining room or just mention how much you love it. I've heard stories of some pixie dust having Palo items brought down (even the chocolate souffle).

You will love brunch, it is incredible and definitely bring your appetite.

[Georgia3]

1. On the Pirates Night and Till We Meet Again nights are they the same menu in each restaurant?

2. I would like to dine at Palo's with our family/friends that will be on the cruise but this is their 1st cruise. Should we book it for ourselves, October 5th and see if we can get our group of 5-9 adults together on October 20th? Has anyone been in this situation?

[ssanders79]

1. On the Pirates Night and Till We Meet Again nights are they the same menu in each restaurant?

Yes

2. I would like to dine at Palo's with our family/friends that will be on the cruise but this is their 1st cruise. Should we book it for ourselves, October 5th and see if we can get our group of 5-9 adults together on October 20th? Has anyone been in this situation?

I would book it for the 2 of you so at the very least you have your foot in the door so to speak.

.

[Georgia3]

Thank you so much.

We are probably going to stay on the ship in Nassua. Do a lot of people do this? I am trying to figure out if we should try to go to the beach or stay on the ship and enjoy it with less people.

[Silverfox97]

Thank you so much.

We are probably going to stay on the ship in Nassua. Do a lot of people do this? I am trying to figure out if we should try to go to the beach or stay on the ship and enjoy it with less people.

Speaking for our family, this is when we stay on the ship and treat it as a "sea day." We have found that this is when we like to visit the ship's pools, as they are too busy on sea days.

[Georgia3]

Does anyone know the specifics of the 5k of Castaway Cay? What time is it usually? Is it one day or both days? I run with my son who is 10, can he run with me?

[Silverfox97]

Does anyone know the specifics of the 5k of Castaway Cay? What time is it usually? Is it one day or both days? I run with my son who is 10, can he run with me?

It's at 8:30am & they do run it both days. I only ran it the 1st day. I am not sure if your 10 year old can run, but there is a Castaway Cay 5K thread on the main cruise line board if you do a search that may give you more info.

[auntlynne]

Palo Availabilities

There are plenty of openings for Palo (as of midnight Thursday, Sep 23 - 102 days out)

All times are available for parties of 1-2:

Dinner
Day 1, Port Canaveral: 6:30 - 8:30 (inclusive) every 30 min
the rest of the cruise: 6 - 9 (ditto)

Brunch
Friday 10:30, 11, 11:30

Tea
Friday at 3 pm

[aanderson5]

Palo Availabilities

There are plenty of openings for Palo (as of midnight Thursday, Sep 23 - 102 days out)

All times are available for parties of 1-2:

Dinner
Day 1, Port Canaveral: 6:30 - 8:30 (inclusive) every 30 min
the rest of the cruise: 6 - 9 (ditto)

Brunch
Friday 10:30, 11, 11:30

Tea
Friday at 3 pm

I am really hoping for a brunch reservation. Fingers crossed there is still availablity at 75 days out. We are not planning on arriving at port till around 12pm and may not be able to snag one of the reservations they hold back.

[mazz1]

i'm hoping for a brunch reservation this time, need to get up at 5am especially in the hope of securing one :)

going to keep everything crossed but if we don't get brunch then i'd be more than happy with high tea

[Georgia3]

What is the best way to get the reservation at Palo's? Do you do this on-line or can you call Disney?

[mazz1]

What is the best way to get the reservation at Palo's? Do you do this on-line or can you call Disney?

as i live in the Uk it's easier for me to do this online when the reservations open at midnight on the 5th october

the reservations become available to book at different times for different cruisers, some can book Palo now (those with platinum and gold castaway club status i believe)

i'm silver so for me it's midnight on 5th october and for those without castaway club membership who have never cruised before then i'm not sure but i think it's at 75 days out ???

if you log onto your reservation on the dcl's main webpage it says when you can book port adventures and also palo reservations

[schows]

We just booked and are looking forward to our first cruise! We are DVC members and do Disney World with my in laws every year, but this will be our first cruise. Our kids (ds 8, twin dds 6) are over the moon excited and we just can't wait! I've been reading all about FE and want to participate.

I have a question...My email from our TA, Small World Vacations, says that this cruise is on the Wonder. It is definitely on the Magic, right?

Also, are travel restrictions changing Jan 1, 2011 and does our family need a passport or not? Or is a birth certificate and drivers license enough?

Thanks!

[ssanders79]

We just booked and are looking forward to our first cruise! We are DVC members and do Disney World with my in laws every year, but this will be our first cruise. Our kids (ds 8, twin dds 6) are over the moon excited and we just can't wait! I've been reading all about FE and want to participate.

I have a question...My email from our TA, Small World Vacations, says that this cruise is on the Wonder. It is definitely on the Magic, right?

Also, are travel restrictions changing Jan 1, 2011 and does our family need a passport or not? Or is a birth certificate and drivers license enough?

Thanks!

Welcome. I added your family to the Fish Extender list (http://www.emilyandscott.us/FE).

The cruise IS on the Magic. I've not heard of any travel restriction changes for 2011.

[wonkadeb]

Could you add us as taking part in the FE exchange? We are currently listed as undecided, but we would like to join in the fun. Thanks :)
Will there be a group meet on the ship? We are hoping to get a chance to meet up with some of the folks who have kids the same ages as ours, to help make the transition into the kid clubs easier.
Also, SilverFox97- I mentioned you in my addition to the "surprising your kids" thread. Thanks again for your heads-up on the KSF sale! :thumbsup2

[ssanders79]

Could you add us as taking part in the FE exchange? We are currently listed as undecided, but we would like to join in the fun. Thanks :)
Will there be a group meet on the ship? We are hoping to get a chance to meet up with some of the folks who have kids the same ages as ours, to help make the transition into the kid clubs easier.
Also, SilverFox97- I mentioned you in my addition to the "surprising your kids" thread. Thanks again for your heads-up on the KSF sale! :thumbsup2

The FE List (http://www.emilyandscott.us/FE)has been updated.

For those that are currently listed as not participating....

ebony
wdwjan
BabyBun
FLWIDisneyFan

Let me know if you change your mind.

[mazz1]

The FE List (http://www.emilyandscott.us/FE)has been updated.

For those that are currently listed as not participating....

ebony
wdwjan
BabyBun
FLWIDisneyFan

Let me know if you change your mind.

ebony is on the transatlantic crossing at the moment and i believe she is taking part in her first FE exchange, im sure she's having a great time and will have a answer on taking part in this exchange as soon as she gets off this cruise :)

[Silverfox97]

I have a question...My email from our TA, Small World Vacations, says that this cruise is on the Wonder. It is definitely on the Magic, right?

Also, are travel restrictions changing Jan 1, 2011 and does our family need a passport or not? Or is a birth certificate and drivers license enough? Thanks!

Oh yes, the cruise is on the Magic :goodvibes We always travel with Driver's licenses & birth certificates (I also bring the ole marriage license just in case). We don't even have passports!

Will there be a group meet on the ship? We are hoping to get a chance to meet up with some of the folks who have kids the same ages as ours, to help make the transition into the kid clubs easier.
Also, SilverFox97- I mentioned you in my addition to the "surprising your kids" thread. Thanks again for your heads-up on the KSF sale! :thumbsup2

We could do a group meet if all are interested. On our last cruise, we met at 4pm on Deck 10 before the Sail Away party. It may depend on the weather, since it will be January......

I wish we could take part in KSF and get a verandah, but it will cost us $1000 MORE to do that. We are hoping for Florida resident rates, so that we can upgrade to at least a Cat 7 for little or no money!!!

Looking forward to paying in full next week, as we are hoping to book 11:30am brunch at Palo at Midnight on Oct 5th!!!

[BigHugsForEeyore]

.

[Silverfox97]

Hello :wave2:

How often do they release Cat 11C for this cruise? I've been checking multiple times a day for 3 days now and nothing. :sad1:

I heard they were selling them at $499pp, so if we can get a cabin at that price, my sister and I will be joining you on this cruise :goodvibes

I don't know that many of us are checking that, since we are all already booked! However, I have heard that they do this around midnight.....That sounds about right price-wise -- myself, DH & DD are booked in an 11C GTY and the total (including port fees/taxes) was $1520.16, which is pretty cheap~

If they release Florida Resident Rates, I will be releasing my Cat 11C GTY in favor of a higher category, and you would be welcome to have it :thumbsup2

[BigHugsForEeyore]

.

[Silverfox97]

I heard around midnight also and have stayed up to check the past 3 midnights (plus every 30 mins while I've been online :rolleyes1). This is of course 5am in UK, so I will try and check it again tonight (in 2 hours time) :eek:

Thank you for the offer of your Cat 11C. Would you be kind enough to send me a PM if/when you change categories so I can be online to get it? I check my emails multiple times a day. Thank you very much :goodvibes

Of course if one opens up sooner I will let you know :thumbsup2

Sure! I am optomistic since they recently released FLR rates for the Panama Canal Cruise....I am worried, though, since they have Kids Sail Free for it currently. Maybe that promotion will end, and they will release FLR?? I can hope! We'd really like a porthole on a higher deck, or a Cat 7 or up. Either way, the ship isn't really filling. Anyways, if this happens, I will PM you!

[BigHugsForEeyore]

.

[Silverfox97]

Thank you! :worship:

Our paid in full date is Oct 20th, so starting Oct 21st, you might want to start checking then. I also don't expect DCL to release any more discounts until after that date, which is what they did with the Panama Cancal Cruise. That happened to us on our Aug cruise; we had paid in full, then they released FLR rates, so we just got a HUGE refund back on our credit card. This time, looking to upgrade instead of receiving a refund!

[Georgia3]

Could you add us as taking part in the FE exchange? We are currently listed as undecided, but we would like to join in the fun. Thanks :)
Will there be a group meet on the ship? We are hoping to get a chance to meet up with some of the folks who have kids the same ages as ours, to help make the transition into the kid clubs easier.
Also, SilverFox97- I mentioned you in my addition to the "surprising your kids" thread. Thanks again for your heads-up on the KSF sale! :thumbsup2

I have a DD12 and DS 10. I also have a my nephew who is 10 and my son's friend who is 10. We are traveling with cousins and friends who are not participating in the FE at this time. This was the same situation on our last cruise. We missed the get together due to showing our friends around. If you want to pm me, we can meet up some time at the kids clubs?

[mazz1]

Oh yes, the cruise is on the Magic :goodvibes We always travel with Driver's licenses & birth certificates (I also bring the ole marriage license just in case). We don't even have passports!



We could do a group meet if all are interested. On our last cruise, we met at 4pm on Deck 10 before the Sail Away party. It may depend on the weather, since it will be January...... I wish we could take part in KSF and get a verandah, but it will cost us $1000 MORE to do that. We are hoping for Florida resident rates, so that we can upgrade to at least a Cat 7 for little or no money!!!

Looking forward to paying in full next week, as we are hoping to book 11:30am brunch at Palo at Midnight on Oct 5th!!!


just a suggestion but could we possibly meet in the promenade lounge, maybe around 3.30-4pm and that would cover it if we had inclement weather?

[PrincessMer]

It looks like more and more people are joining our meet thread! I'm getting so excited for my first cruise and I can't wait to meet folks from this board! Has anyone started planning their excursions yet? I'm trying to decide what my DH and I want to do in Nassau. Since we will have two days at CC, I'm not sure if I want to do another beach day at Nassau or if I want to do some kind of city tour. What is everyone else doing?

[ladyniles]

We're still deciding, too. I don't think DH wants to get off the ship in Nassau, so I'd like to take a walking tour and take pictures. :-) I hear Castaway Key will probably be too cold to swim, which is disappointing but we'll wait and see - never know!

[Georgia3]

We will be staying on the ship in Nassua. We did not find anything worth doing twice there. We have ever stayed on the ship in port so we thought we would try that. It looks like we may spend as much on the ship as an excursion would cost in the past with the spa and beer or wine tasting.

[FLWIDisneyFan]

We are probably staying on the boat. The excursions seem a little pricy to us and we think we'll have more fun just relaxing on the boat.

[ssanders79]

The FE List (http://www.emilyandscott.us/FE) has been updated.

We're still deciding, too. I don't think DH wants to get off the ship in Nassau, so I'd like to take a walking tour and take pictures. :-) I hear Castaway Key will probably be too cold to swim, which is disappointing but we'll wait and see - never know!

I'm not all that interested in Nassau myself, but if there's any interest in a photowalk I might make an exception.

[mazz1]

my son is hoping to visit atlantis this next trip, not the waterpark just the aquarium and to explore the hotel in general so we will prob do this, think disney offer the dig at atlantis for around $50 each so we'll probably be doing

we did get off the ship last time in nassau and went walkabout on our own, we noticed a heavy police presence which was reassuring but we asked ourself why so many? and we noticed the odd assortement of shops with some really nice upmarket designer names sandwiched in between some rather tacky tourist shops which we thought really strange, we basically ended up buying some ice creams because it was ever so hot and some rum cake for gifts and then we made our way back to the ship, on the whole the first brief impressions was that we were not overly impressed with nassau, this next time we hope to explore further and have a much better visit :thumbsup2

[PrincessMer]

I'm not real excited about any of the options at Nassau either. I've never been there though, so I'm thinking I should at least get off the ship and walk around a bit. Then maybe just get back on and enjoy the ship!

[mazz1]

don't know if this helps in anyway but my friend paid for a beach/ pool day pass at the british colonial hilton at nassau which i believe is just a short walk from the ship

i seem to remember her saying it was $10 which inc towels and use of showers restrooms etc and obv all this it would depend on the weather and if you want to spend another day on the beach? but from their feedback they thought it was well worth it, she gave it a big thumbs up for a little bit of paradise in nassau

details here for this hotel and it's amenities http://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/content/NASHIHH/media/pdf/en_NASHIHH_HotelBrochure.pdf

[mommyofthreeboys]

Our first and only time in Nassau last March, we spent our day at Blackbeards. Well, that was our intentions anyway. It was raining on our boat ride over so they made an announcement that they were going to give us 25% of our money back. When we arrived, we spent a few minutes with the stingrays but then it really started to rain so we got out. At this point, the wind was blowing and it was chilly.

A guest spoke up to the crowd and asked if anyone wants to stay or do you just want to skip lunch and go back early. EVERYONE said go back. After about 30, maybe 45 minutes on the island, we all headed back to the ship.

On the way back, they announced they called Disney and told them to just refund the whole excursion back!!! We were impressed and said we would be back!!! We didn't even have to ask for a credit. Great customer service!

The island, the stingray set up, the beach, everything about it.....liked it. I would recommend them! We are not going this time because the kids will not be with us but will give them a try again on our next family cruise.

Here's the info from the website:

Blackbeard's Cay Stingray and Beach Adventure
Location: Nassau At a Glance
Activity Type: Splashtacular and Family Adventures
Activity Level: Moderate
Duration: 4-4.5 hours
Adult Price: $49 (ages 10 and up)
Child Price: $39 (ages3-9)
Ages: 3 And Up

On this tour you will:
Take a scenic 20-minute journey, drop anchor and take in a brief introduction to the island. Soak up some rays on the warm sands of the beach and explore a colorful wonderland of curious fish below the surface of the sea during a refreshing swim. Then, embark on a short walk to a large protected lagoon and, while under the supervision of park managers, don a snorkel mask and immerse yourself in an up-close interaction with live Southern Atlantic Stingrays. Learn about the physiology and behavioral traits common to all stingrays and then watch in wonder as these curious creatures gracefully float by and gently nudge you as if to say "hello." Hand feed these gentle creatures of the deep. as you Hold in your hand a piece of fish only to have it disappear from a snacking ray moments later. After your 30-minute exchange, return to the beach and compete in a fun-filled game of beach volleyball, and then enjoy a tropical beverage and a delicious lunch (included in the price of this tour). Finally, after your approximate 3.5 hour visit, embark on a 20-minute boat ride and 15-minute stroll back to the ship.



By the way, I think we will be going to Senior Frogs, straw market and Hard Rock Cafe. We might even do a little walking tour. So nothing scheduled...just get off the ship and go at a relaxed, non-scheduled pace (which is so NOT like me!) :)

[mazz1]

ooh that sounds lovely Christina if my son didn't have his heart set on atlantis i would def consider this as a alternative

[mazz1]

oops duplicate post

[aanderson5]

DH has said he is not really interested in any excursions and would like to just hang out on the ship. This being our first cruise I'm OK with that.


I'm not all that interested in Nassau myself, but if there's any interest in a photowalk I might make an exception.

I'd be interested in a photowalk. Maybe even get a few hints from someone whose beautiful pictures I have been admiring on the board. ;)

[BigHugsForEeyore]

.

[Silverfox97]

Hello :wave2:

We're booked!! :woohoo: :hyper:

Finally found a Cat 11C GTY after some slight OCD web checking... :rolleyes1

There will be me - Sarah, 27 and my sister - Heather, 23

We would like to join your FE group please, if you still have space :goodvibes

:welcome: Of course we still have room in the FE! The list is open unitl Dec 1st.

I can't WAIT for this cruise!! It hasn't even been 2 months since I got off the Wonder and I feel like it has been FOREVER!!! C'mon January :hourglass

[mazz1]

Hello :wave2:

We're booked!! :woohoo: :hyper:

Finally found a Cat 11C GTY after some slight OCD web checking... :rolleyes1

There will be me - Sarah, 27 and my sister - Heather, 23

We would like to join your FE group please, if you still have space :goodvibes

that's great news Sarah, welcome aboard :thumbsup2

[wonkadeb]

We are planning on staying on the ship in Nassau, too. Doesn't sound like it is the safest, and I don;t want to leave the kids on the ship without us. Sounds like there will be a lot to do on the ship, anyway. Since it is our first cruise, I would like to experience as much as the ship has to offer as possible.
Hey Georgia3: are you first or second seating? We are doing 1st, because we want to see the shows before dinner. Planning on taking advantage of Dine and Play.

[ladyniles]

Just checked and there's another 11C GTY open... so if anyone is trying to talk someone into joining the cruise (about as inexpensive as they possibly come!) it's available!

(I keep checking my 11C GTY to see if we've been assigned yet, and we haven't. I'm OK with being in that category, though.)

[ssanders79]

:welcome: Of course we still have room in the FE! The list is open unitl Dec 1st.

I can't WAIT for this cruise!! It hasn't even been 2 months since I got off the Wonder and I feel like it has been FOREVER!!! C'mon January :hourglass

Welcome. I updated the FE list (http://www.emilyandscott.us/FE) with your info.

[BigHugsForEeyore]

.

[mistyandbenjamin]

A couple of questions and comments:
Will they assign room numbers before the trip is paid in full? We have an 11c gty but are not paid in full.

Also, someone said they had recieved their gty room #. Curious as to what you booked? Received? Were you paid in full?

Last but not least, Can I be a party pooper and request we close the FE list maybe November 1st? My reasoning is that it will become quite expensive the more people sign up and it will be easier to find bargains with more time (Nicer items and more flexibility). Also, I am so busy around the holidays it would be nice to have the FE done before the hustle and bustle of Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, school holidays and packing. Let me know what you guys think.

A great thread on homemade FE gifts. Why I need time to plan!

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1980639

[mazz1]

We are doing 1st, because we want to see the shows before dinner. Planning on taking advantage of Dine and Play.

i was of the understanding that the first show is shown during the early meal sitting for dinner and the 2nd during the late? so you may have a problem with these plans :confused:

A couple of questions and comments:
Will they assign room numbers before the trip is paid in full? We have an 11c gty but are not paid in full.

Last but not least, Can I be a party pooper and request we close the FE list maybe November 1st? My reasoning is that it will become quite expensive the more people sign up and it will be easier to find bargains with more time (Nicer items and more flexibility). Also, I am so busy around the holidays it would be nice to have the FE done before the hustle and bustle of Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, school holidays and packing. Let me know what you guys think.

on our last cruise we were assigned our gty rooms at around 50 days out and we had booked cat 12's, i doubt they would asssign any rooms at a gty rate if they were not paid in full

just my opinion but i have no problems with it closing on the 1st :)

[wonkadeb]

Oh, thanks. I typed that wrong. I meant we are on second seating, not first. I guess I should not have been up so late at the computer, again!:confused3

[Silverfox97]

Can I be a party pooper and request we close the FE list maybe November 1st? My reasoning is that it will become quite expensive the more people sign up and it will be easier to find bargains with more time (Nicer items and more flexibility). Also, I am so busy around the holidays it would be nice to have the FE done before the hustle and bustle of Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, school holidays and packing. Let me know what you guys think.

A great thread on homemade FE gifts. Why I need time to plan!

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1980639

They usually do not assign GTY rooms until ~45 days out, so about a month after the paid in full date.

I am going to vote no for the early close to the FE date and vote to keep Dec 1. I think closing it 2 months before the cruise is just too early and may block out cruisers. The earliest I would vote for would be Thanksgiving. That is just one opinion :)

[mistyandbenjamin]

Okay, we can stick with the December deadline. I will make it work. Can you please add my parents to the FE list? They are in gty cabin, will update later. Their names are Sam and Donna. They are celebrating an anniversary onboard. Also, can you update my DS's name, it is Benjamin.

Also, I am doing custom FE gifts so if you anyone wants them to be personalized please update the list with your first names. Otherwise, they will be generic, which is fine, too.

:cheer2:

[aanderson5]

I have a suggestion for the FE. Why don't we count on 20 people being in the exchange (we are at 16 or 17 now). If we go over the 20 we split into 2 groups. That way people can prepare early, keep expenses under control and keep the exchange open longer. Just a thought.

[Georgia3]

Wonkadeb, we are in the first seating. We have a 4 year old in our group. In the past, we have had one adults bring the kids to the club during dinner. We would get them if it was a show they wanted to see when we were done with dinner. Sorry.

[FLWIDisneyFan]

We received our Cat 5 GTY as soon as we paid in full for this cruise. It surprised me because our other two experiences with GTY (Cat 12 and Cat 10) were consistant with the 45-50 days before the sail date.

[mazz1]

I have a suggestion for the FE. Why don't we count on 20 people being in the exchange (we are at 16 or 17 now). If we go over the 20 we split into 2 groups. That way people can prepare early, keep expenses under control and keep the exchange open longer. Just a thought.

i did suggest a while ago that if we get to certain numbers we spilt into two groups but i don't think it went down well

i'm a little worried last time i had to buy for 9 rooms but somehow ended up with 26 bags of gifts and spent well in excess of £90 ($135) also my gifts filled one holdall and this time i have a transatalantic flight to worry about too, i know it's been suggested i buy one gift per stateroom but not sure how to accomodate the children this way (last time i did each child a goodie bag and then a joint one for the adults in the stateroom

i know i will figure it out, i have some ideas to keep the costs more reasonable this time if i'm definitely buying for 20 rooms but i will be the first to admit it would be easer for me logistics wise if the list was split into two groups ?

[lakehead92]

i did suggest a while ago that if we get to certain numbers we spilt into two groups but i don't think it went down well

i'm a little worried last time i had to buy for 9 rooms but somehow ended up with 26 bags of gifts and spent well in excess of £90 ($135) also my gifts filled one holdall and this time i have a transatalantic flight to worry about too, i know it's been suggested i buy one gift per stateroom but not sure how to accomodate the children this way (last time i did each child a goodie bag and then a joint one for the adults in the stateroom

i know i will figure it out, i have some ideas to keep the costs more reasonable this time if i'm definitely buying for 20 rooms but i will be the first to admit it would be easer for me logistics wise if the list was split into two groups ?

I too would be in favour of splitting us into two groups, especially that we still have more people joining. The cruise is a huge expense already for some people. So to spend another 100.00 could be tough for some people.
Participating and having fun is the important part.

[Silverfox97]

i did suggest a while ago that if we get to certain numbers we spilt into two groups but i don't think it went down well

i'm a little worried last time i had to buy for 9 rooms but somehow ended up with 26 bags of gifts and spent well in excess of £90 ($135) also my gifts filled one holdall and this time i have a transatalantic flight to worry about too, i know it's been suggested i buy one gift per stateroom but not sure how to accomodate the children this way (last time i did each child a goodie bag and then a joint one for the adults in the stateroom

i know i will figure it out, i have some ideas to keep the costs more reasonable this time if i'm definitely buying for 20 rooms but i will be the first to admit it would be easer for me logistics wise if the list was split into two groups ?

I wouldn't go that far - it's not that it didn't go down well, it's just that some people said they don't mind delivering to everyone, and some want it split up. Here's what was said back on page 5 of our thread:

Well............We are happy to deliver to everyone :) However, we are driving from Tampa, and we do not have to worry about packing stuff for a flight, so we have lots of room!

You could always scale back your gifts. On our last 5-night cruise, there were 12 participating staterooms (13 including ours), and it was awesome to see the look and excitement on my DD's face when there was something in the FE, which was about twice a day! A lot of the FE participants did a stateroom gift vs having gifts for adults and different ones for children.

Anyone else want to weight in? That is just our family's 2 cents!

I tend to go a little overboard on the shopping. I like that my FE gifts take up alot of room on the way down because then I have that room for all stuff I purchased.

We could go 2 groups. Say, oh, 8-10 rooms in each group (if we get that many) and give everyone the option to participate in both groups. ??? So if you only want 8 staterooms, participate in group 1. If you want 16 staterooms, participate in groups 1 and 2. That's just an example-- hopefully I explained it right :)

I know that there are a lot of people from far away on this cruise (UK, Canada). Speaking only for our family, we are from Tampa, so packing space is not an issue, as we aren't really limited since we just have a 1 hr 40 min drive to the port. Everyone does their FE gifts differently - we gave a CD to each stateroom last time for the adults, and a bag of goodies to each child. I, for one, am scaling back, as I was, let's see, more generous than most people (not all), and I learned my lesson. It's meant to be a fun thing to add to the cruise, not a time and money consuming problem. Really, you could go out and buy clearance christmas candy, throw it in a zip lock bag, and pass that out. You are thinking, "wow, that seems cheap"? Well, that would be better than some of the stuff we got. Now, I am not at all complaining, I am just simply saying that everyone does FE to varying degrees. By all means, please don't spend $100 if you don't have the money!! :confused:

I think mommyofthreeboys has the best idea. If you want to deliver to say, 10 rooms, then be in group 1. You would just deliver to the people in that group. If there are enough people that want to deliver to everyone, then we would be in group 2, and we would deliver to everyone in both group 1 and group 2. What does everyone else think?? So far, we have 3 people that want to split it up and 1 (myself) that will happliy exchange to all rooms. Let's get a poll going :)

[Silverfox97]

Participating and having fun is the important part.

:thumbsup2:thumbsup2:thumbsup2:thumbsup2

Please don't spend $100+ if you can't afford it!! :sad2:

On another note, they closed the "Kids Sail Free in Verandah staterooms" for our cruise, and it doesn't look like it's very booked still. C'mon Florida Resident Rates!!! I have a feeling that if they release Florida Resident/Cast Member rates, we will see more cruisers on our thread and possibly joining our FE exchange.

[lakehead92]

My post may have been misunderstood.
I am happy to be part of the FE group and will be delivering to the entire list.

I just seconded the splitting of the groups so it could help others if they required it. If it would/could help out others on our cruise then why not. The idea of choosing to do the group 1 or entire group would be a good idea perhaps.

I wouldn't want anyone to not particiapte because they thought the group was too large as well. That would be sad. And I would hate it if the fun wasn't it it for others if they found that doing it for so many people was hard to do economically.

Please everyone...do what you can afford. It will keep it fun for you and everyone else if there is no pressure.
hmm...did any of that make sense.

I am excited to see my kids faces when they find things in our FE each day...I am so excited to surprise them with everything at christmas.

[Elangen]

I was just coming back to post that we want to participate in the FE. I see there has been some convo about it. We are willing and interested in exchanging with everyone but encourage everyone not to go overboard! This should be fun, not stressful or too expensive.

so, add us pls.

me-Erin
dh-Kyle
dd Keira(5)
ds-Rhys (2.5)

I have our room already...havent participated on these boards much yet though so, I feel sort of funny, do I just post it here? I will PM Silverfox.

[Elangen]

I guess I will PM you after I post 7 more times. lol.

[Elangen]

Can I just say I am so freakin' excited for this trip. My first cruise was on RC 5 years ago. Loved it, but my dd was about 6 months old. Im totally looking forward to a vacay with the kids, since I generally work too much, and they will be thrilled that it is disney.

So, aside from the classic princesses etc, do the cruises have any Handy Manny or Phineas and Ferb ? that would just take the cake....

[Elangen]

I wasnt worried about the weather until I saw some posts about it. Im pretty sure it will be warmer than it is here (I live in the rockies) in January, but, Im hoping we get at least a little bit of true sunshine.

[Elangen]

I am wanna-be crafty. But, lack any time or sewing skills. I think my FE will have to be either ordered from Etsy, or a true glue gun work of art. Hmmm, decisions decisions....

[Elangen]

I contacted a limo/town car service for transport from the airport to the port (hmmm, Im going to have to remember which one...). We will have to fly in the day before, and stay the night. I would love to do the Hyatt, but I cant justify it for just one night. Econo lodge, here we come. Well, something cheap. Not sure what yet. The town car service was almost $100 cheaper for our family of four, and I will make use of the grocery stop.

Im waiting on a good deal for flights. Too bad ds is no longer a lap child. Though its too long of a flight for me to have considered that anyway.

[Elangen]

Am I boring everyone? Well, maybe you will all be glad to see more posts in our thread.

Disney costumes are $10 off at disneystore.com

I was hoping they would be even more on sale. Maybe after halloween? but, I still need to get the kids a costume anyway, maybe I should pull the trigger...but they cant decide what they want to be.

[Elangen]

Our room will be right next to an elevator. Im a bit worried about our FE being messed with (stuff taken, or the whole thing stolen). Anyone have any thoughts? I wonder if I can rig a bike chain to it. lol.

[mommyofthreeboys]

I am wanna-be crafty. But, lack any time or sewing skills. I think my FE will have to be either ordered from Etsy, or a true glue gun work of art. Hmmm, decisions decisions....

You don't HAVE to be crafty! That's what makes it so fun! I went to Dollar store and bought every little Disney type thing I could find. Bubbles, pens, playing cards, tatoos, etc...then I put it in little bags with candy. It was fun.

Since it's only DH and I this time, I think I am going to make a gift for each stateroom. That's my intentions anyways. :goodvibes

[mommyofthreeboys]

I contacted a limo/town car service for transport from the airport to the port (hmmm, Im going to have to remember which one...). We will have to fly in the day before, and stay the night. I would love to do the Hyatt, but I cant justify it for just one night. Econo lodge, here we come. Well, something cheap. Not sure what yet. The town car service was almost $100 cheaper for our family of four, and I will make use of the grocery stop.

Im waiting on a good deal for flights. Too bad ds is no longer a lap child. Though its too long of a flight for me to have considered that anyway.

We are also flying in the day before and still don't have our flights booked. I need to make the final payment (next week) before I book flights. I've been looking for about 2 months now and they are staying right at $180 each. I'm sure as soon as I book them, the price will go down.

I'm going to do a one way rental each way.

[wonkadeb]

As for a FE, do we have to make or purchase a professionally made beautiful looking FE like I have seen in the posted photos, or can we fashion something a little more rudimentary?

[mommyofthreeboys]

As for a FE, do we have to make or purchase a professionally made beautiful looking FE like I have seen in the posted photos, or can we fashion something a little more rudimentary?

Up to you! It can be a garbage bag! Seriously, I've seen a reusable bag used before. I don't think anyone will judge ya so whatever you come up with is fine. :goodvibes

[Silverfox97]

I am excited to see my kids faces when they find things in our FE each day...I am so excited to surprise them with everything at christmas.

By far, that is the BEST part. My DD 3 1/2 would RUN to the room to check the FE. After her nap, she would run to the door and ask us to open it to check the FE. Not that I don't like to see an adult gift in there ;)

As for a FE, do we have to make or purchase a professionally made beautiful looking FE like I have seen in the posted photos, or can we fashion something a little more rudimentary?

On our last cruise, someone used a Buzz Lightyear christmas stocking, as well as a Stitch one. They weren't christmas-y at all; they were just stockings. Someone else had a sachel, which was pretty cool.

It can be a garbage bag!
:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

[mommyofthreeboys]

Up to you! It can be a garbage bag! Seriously, I've seen a reusable bag used before. I don't think anyone will judge ya so whatever you come up with is fine. :goodvibes

Wait. That might have sounded bad. It can be anything. I am NOT saying the stuff that goes in the bag is garbage! :rotfl::goodvibes
I love everything that goes in the FE.

[Georgia3]

Our room will be right next to an elevator. Im a bit worried about our FE being messed with (stuff taken, or the whole thing stolen). Anyone have any thoughts? I wonder if I can rig a bike chain to it. lol.

We zip tied our FE to the fish, just so it would not fall off. I do not think anyone would like a personalized FE with my families name on it.

On our last cruise we had 50 cabins in the FE. It was a lot but I would not like to miss out and say I wish I had that FE gift. We will do both groups if we split.

[Elangen]

We zip tied our FE to the fish, just so it would not fall off. I do not think anyone would like a personalized FE with my families name on it.

On our last cruise we had 50 cabins in the FE. It was a lot but I would not like to miss out and say I wish I had that FE gift. We will do both groups if we split.

zip ties- brilliant!

[Silverfox97]

zip ties- brilliant!

We also use a zip tie....just remember to bring something to snip the zip tie with to take it down :thumbsup2

[Georgia3]

We also use a zip tie....just remember to bring something to snip the zip tie with to take it down :thumbsup2

Too funny - we did have to use nail clippers - it was difficult but yes we forgot about getting it off ourself! I need to add that to the list, Thanks!

[wonkadeb]

A stocking is a great idea! Thanks!

[Silverfox97]

A stocking is a great idea! Thanks!

Here's the Buzz one someone had: http://www.amazon.com/Disney-Buzz-Lightyear-Holiday-Stocking/dp/B002STNMWO -- doesn't even look Christmas-y

Bet you could find something post-holiday sales!!!

[wonkadeb]

I just read on someone's trip report that their DIS group also made arrangements to meet for a group picture on Pirate Night. It was a really neat picture to see all of them in their Pirate Garb together. Maybe we could do something like that, too?

[auntlynne]

I contacted a limo/town car service for transport from the airport to the port (hmmm, Im going to have to remember which one...). We will have to fly in the day before, and stay the night. I would love to do the Hyatt, but I cant justify it for just one night. Econo lodge, here we come. Well, something cheap. Not sure what yet. The town car service was almost $100 cheaper for our family of four, and I will make use of the grocery stop....

On a previous cruise, we did car service when we had 5 of us arriving the day of the cruise; this cruise we have to arrive the day before, so we are renting a car from Hertz.

The airport location is located in the parking deck (just behind the Disney buses). The Cape Canaveral location is right in front of the Country Inn & Suites, about 1.5 miles from the Port, and they have a free shuttle to the Port.

We ended up with a mid-size SUV for about $75 tax included (AAA discount) for Sunday pick-up at MCO/drop off at Cape Canaveral and then $81 for disembarkation day (off the ship at 9am, flight out at 3:20 - we'll have lunch somewhere in Orlando).

It saves us roughly 1/2 the cost of Disney transport and allows us the freedom to dine out and play putt-putt the night before the cruise.

Before the Eastbound TA, a bunch of us used Priceline to secure rooms at the Country Inn & Suites for $62/night (bid $49 + tax) - they assign Priceline guests to family suites which contain a queen, a twin, and bunk beds and include breakfast. I tried the $49 bid for Sun, Jan 2, but it was not accepted. You can try a new bid every 24 hours, I think, so I may try a little higher.

[mistyandbenjamin]

On a previous cruise, we did car service when we had 5 of us arriving the day of the cruise; this cruise we have to arrive the day before, so we are renting a car from Hertz.

The airport location is located in the parking deck (just behind the Disney buses). The Cape Canaveral location is right in front of the Country Inn & Suites, about 1.5 miles from the Port, and they have a free shuttle to the Port.

We ended up with a mid-size SUV for about $75 tax included (AAA discount) for Sunday pick-up at MCO/drop off at Cape Canaveral and then $81 for disembarkation day (off the ship at 9am, flight out at 3:20 - we'll have lunch somewhere in Orlando).

It saves us roughly 1/2 the cost of Disney transport and allows us the freedom to dine out and play putt-putt the night before the cruise.

Before the Eastbound TA, a bunch of us used Priceline to secure rooms at the Country Inn & Suites for $62/night (bid $49 + tax) - they assign Priceline guests to family suites which contain a queen, a twin, and bunk beds and include breakfast. I tried the $49 bid for Sun, Jan 2, but it was not accepted. You can try a new bid every 24 hours, I think, so I may try a little higher.

How are you sure you will get the country inn and suites? Sounds like a good deal!