February 26, 2011 - 7 Night Caribbean Sailing

[Alexis Green]

7 Night Eastern Caribbean Cruise!
February 26, 2011
Disney Magic
http://www.disneycruisenews.com/Resources/images/DCL_7-night_Eastern_Map45498069_52_500w.jpg
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Welcome everyone on board!!

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Fish Extenders!

CUT OFF DATE IS JANUARY 8TH!!

If you would like to be involved with the Fish Extender for this cruise please give the the following.
Don't know what a fish extender is? Click Here (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1219607)

If you can give me:
- your DIS Board name
- Cabin Number (if yours hasn't been assigned yet, let me know and drop me a line when you get the cabin number)
- Size of your Party
- Gender/ages of party members so age/gender appropriate gifts can be made/purchased

Fish Extenders
Room: Board Name: party number: age/gender
Stats
Rooms: 11
Cruisers: 40
Girls: 19
Boys: 21

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Cruise Birthdays!!
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Roll Call!!
1. Alexis Green (Cassie)
DBf Mike
Stateroom: 7632

2. zaz (Isabelle)
DH Chris (Birthday 20 Feb.)
DD12 : Fred
DD3 : Maé
In room 1047.

3. Time4disneynow (Monika)
DH Michael
Stateroom: 7572

4.peachygreen (Kristie) (Feb 26, 35th birthday)
DH James (Birthday Feb 15th)
DD Megan (March 23rd, 5th birthday)
baby Alice
Stateroom: 6614

5. SalCat1027 (Sally)
DH Doug
DD Natalie (11)
DD Allison (8)
Stateroom: 2132

6. wld4mky (Karen) (44)
DH (44)
DS (7 and 1/2)
DD (Turning 6 on Feb. 24th)
Stateroom: 5520

7. Hendy Clan (Caroline)
DH Jay
Neil (16)
James (15) (Feb 9th, 15th birthday)
Matthew (11) (March 26th, 12th birthday)
Stateroom: 7008

8. Dana2Travel (Dana)
DH Tom
DS Nathan (12)
DD Megan (7)
Stateroom: 6036

9. jbuckent (Jennifer)
DH Ryan
DD Allyn (7) (Feb 24th Birthday)
DD Evelyn (3)
Stateroom: ?

10. Disney_mississauga (Robb)
DW Maia
DS12: Elias
DS7: Noah
Stateroom: 6569

11. pamsacruzin
Stateroom: 7100

12. lindleyfamilycruise
Lindley's Husband: Feb 3rd,34th birthday
Stateroom: 7102

13. Mismal (Susan)
DH 55...soon to be 56 2/27 (Jim)
DD age 14 (Melissa)
DS age 7 (Aaron)
Stateroom: 6046

14. GRITS age 39 (Alice)
DH age 39 until 3/2/11.
Alex (DS) age 9 (10 in April)
Elana (DD) age 7
Luke (DS) age 6
Stateroom: 8512

15. 90byrd(Janine) Birthday Feb 20th
DH is Bob 43
DS Trevor is 5
DD Skye is 3

16. LadyKay
DH
DD10
DD7.
DSister
her DH
DS12
DS6
DM

Helpful links!
Cruise Graphics for your door! (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2440038)
Cruise tip calculator (http://cruisetip.tpkeller.com/)
DIS DCL FAQ (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2068966)

[Alexis Green]

Am I the only DISer going on this cruise? :confused3
I doubt it!!! :rolleyes1

[IrishCowboy]

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

[Alexis Green]

I'm starting to feel like Dbf and I will have the whole ship to ourselves! :laughing::cool1:

[wld4mky]

Hi our family has just booked this cruise.:cool1: It will be our 2nd. We did the Western in Feb. 2010. Now we are hooked.:lovestruc I participated in the FE and it was lots of fun. Hope there will be a group on this cruise as well!

[Alexis Green]

Yay! I thought for a while there was going to be no one else! I can't wait for February!!

[wld4mky]

Neither can we! I hate to wish my life away, but it is sooo exciting. I hope as time goes by there will be more of us on here. :thumbsup2

[dizzi]

Hey we are thinking about this cruise.......

But since you have cruised in Feb before can you tell me how the weather is and did you go to Castaway Cay??

Just got off the WOnder 5 night and loved it but my Dh and DS did not go with that time and now they are to jealous so we have to go again......:cool1:

[dizzi]

I have searched and searched and figured and refigured and decided and undecided and weighed the pros and cons and am close to the 100% mark of booking this cruise.

Unless a good FL resident rate comes along i suppose we will get an ocean view BUT would love a balconey.

The only thing holding me back is making sure DS can go in the teen stack as this is really why we would be returning to DCL this soon after my cruise on WONDER...so that DS can have one more time to be in the stack. And his 18th bday is the day we woulod be leaving for the cruise, so if not we will have to take the one the week before..........

[Alexis Green]

Hey Dizzi!

This is my first time on a Disney Cruise. From what I've been reading about Feb is that it's 70s and 80s. The weather at Castaway Cay is beautiful and the water feels warm. I will just be so happy to get away from the snow!

Dbf and I had planned on getting a porthole room but I've been cruise spoiled and have always had a balcony. Sooo....we have a balcony lol! :rotfl:

What I've heard about the teen area is that he can either choose to go to the teen stack and do all the teen stuff OR choose to do the adult things. Once he choses he MUST stick with it. So if he chooses teen stack, no adult clubs or adult pool. It's totally up to him.

[Fozzycat]

FYI - there is a Canadian Residency Rate for this cruise...25% off most categories. Saved ourselves $1500 on two cabins today.

Hope someone else can benefit from this!

[peachygreen]

I just switched my 3 night dream to the 7 night magic leaving on the 26th thanks to the KSF promo. :banana:

The 26th is my 35th birthday so I'm super excited to be celebrating it on the Magic. It will be me, DH, and our 2 girls. Our oldest will be 1 month shy of 5 (we will try to celebrate her birthday on the cruise). Our youngest will be 10 months old when we sail.

I'm so excited to be joining you all on this cruise.

[jbuckent]

Hello everyone! I was booked to go on the Western the week after this cruise, but with the kids sail free offer we found a great rate on this cruise to upgrade from our inside cabin to a verandah for almost the same price! So here we are!

I'm Jennifer and will be traveling with my DH Ryan, and our DDs Allyn (7) and Evelyn (3). This will be our 6th cruise, 4th with Disney.

I'm very excited for this cruise! I was a bit bummed when looking at shore excursions on the Western, we booked it as we have never done that one. Now I'm excited again because I know how wonderful the beaches are on the Eastern! Also we have never sailed with a verandah! Looking forward to that with my young kids! We can put them to bed and sit out on the verandah to enjoy a bottle of wine and the stars!

I'm surprised how few people have joined this thread! Hopefully many more will! If not we will just a nice cozy group where everyone knows your name!. LOL

[StIago]

Hi Everyone!

I just joined DISboards the second after I booked this cruise - our family's first - and I can't wait! (I should probably tell the wife and kids about it.)

[Long Island Mickey]

I am booked on the March 26 cruise but with the KSF promo going on I could have a verandah and save $300 as well. I think I am going to do it. I just hope that it won't be to cold in Feb to use the balcony!

[jbuckent]

I am booked on the March 26 cruise but with the KSF promo going on I could have a verandah and save $300 as well. I think I am going to do it. I just hope that it won't be to cold in Feb to use the balcony!

We usually sail this week. The verandah won't be too cold but the water is usually too cold at CC. The other islands are good for swimming though!

[Alexis Green]

Oh my goodness! I leave for a week and we gain more cruisers! YAY! We are getting closer to the cruise and I can not wait! I'd like to start a list for those who want to do Fish Extenders. Just post and let me know if you'd like to be added (I'll put it in the first post).

If you can give me:
- your DIS Board name
- Cabin Number (if yours hasn't been assigned yet, let me know and drop me a line when you get the cabin number)
- Size of your Party
- Gender/ages of party members so age/gender appropriate gifts can be made/purchased

[Canadian Eh?]

Bonjour Everyone,

We were just sent our reservation confirmation for the 26th of February sailing. We had originally booked a 7 day on the Celebrity Eclipse out of Miami on the same day but that reservation was canceled the second Disney announced the promo for Canadian residence (go Canada go). This will be our (wife and 10yr old`s) second tour on the Magic, the first being in December 2006.

Can`t wait, it`s gonna be a blast!

BTW, has anyone had the chance to see a space shuttle launch from the Cape? We missed it last time due to the launch being delayed by a few days. I hope we get lucky this time, it would be a real treat!

[Alexis Green]

Hey Canadian! So glad you will be joining us for the cruise! You'll have to show us all the goodies you get in Canada that we can't get in the US ;)

We've got a good list of people going so far!!!!

I haven't seen the space launch but I've heard aaaaall about it!!!

[Lexi221]

Hi All... We (myself, and two DSs) will be joining the fun. This will be our 2nd voyage on DCL. I switched from a 4-night on the Dream in April to this sailing when the KSF offer was published! We are so excited!!!!

[Canadian Eh?]

I think it would be hard to show you anything that you don't already have down in the USA but I have 5 months to think of something that I can to sneek across the border;) 5 months does seem like a long time though, I hope it goes by quickly.

A little off topic but has anyone found any reputable tour operators that we can contact before the cruise to book excursions? We were interested in a beach break in St Thomas.

Thank you

[Alexis Green]

Welcome aboard Lexi!!

__________

I have found a few that look legit:
- Port Promotions
- ShoreTrips
- shoreexcursionsgroup

They all have pretty good prices and have some neat excursions. You can also book with Disney on their site. The plus side is if your tour ran late the boat WILL wait for you...if you book it yourself you have to find your own way back on the boat. So plan well and it might be good to even call the company's number so you know for sure what is what.

[Canadian Eh?]

Thank you for your help.

I agree that doing you own thing means that you are responsable for getting back to the ship on time but we plan on leaving early and getting back in the early afternoon. I just find the pricing for the excursions you purchase on any cruise line to be much higher than if you make your own arrangements.

Word of advise for those wanting to visit the Orient beach in St Maarten, the beach is very nice BUT if you have young children, there is a good chance that you will see things that can cause a weeks worth of nightmares for both parents and children. If you are ok with the nudity and have been exposed (no pun intented) this stuff before, then I highly recommend this beach.

I'll go thru the list you provided and get back to you.

[peachygreen]

My parents are officially joining us on the cruise in Feb! I'm so excited to have them. I might get to do some snorkeling now that I have a baby sitter in my folks.

If you only had one opportunity to snorkel and wanted to spend time with the family on the other 2 stops, which stop would your snorkel at?

Will the water be warm at CC in early March?

Any family friendly excursions for a group that includes a 10 month old, 5 year old, 2 35 year olds and 2 grandparents in their 60's and 70's?

I haven't decided on FE yet.

[Alexis Green]

I was told the air is cool enough that the water feels really nice. About shore excursions I've never been to either place, but I know it always depends on your children. A great place to post would be in the Disney Cruise Line Forum so all kinds of people can answer your questions.

[Canadian Eh?]

I don`t snorkel and can`t help you on that point but I can tell you that the water was fine when in CC in December 06.

[Tanooki]

Another Canadian here! :yay:
We originally booked a December cruise but switched when the Canadain rate offer was announced. And since it's also the week of our winter break, it was perfect! :cool1:

We're a family of 6 : dh (42), me (40:eek:), ds (10), ds (8), dd (5) and ds (3). It'll be my 4th cruise, dh's 2nd and the kids' first but it's the first DCL cruise for all of us :banana:

There are lots of stuff we have here that is not available in the US, starting with Nestlé chocolate (Aero, real Smarties, Coffee Crisp, etc.), Map-O-Spread, Makintosh Toffee, Kinder Surprise...
Ok, I know food/candy stuff at least :lmao:

Looking forward to cruising with you all :goodvibes

[babymaeby]

Hi Everyone!

Another couple of Canadians joining you here! We booked a cat 11 a couple weeks ago and today decided to upgrade to one of the secret cat 6 rooms. I was surprised they were still available, esp with the KSF in verandah rooms promotion. Anyway, we will be in 6634.

This is our 2nd disney cruise. We did a 7 night western in late Jan 2008. I did not find the water at CC too cold last time. We snorkeled all day in it. I am so excited to have a balcony this time! We had an inside stateroom last time which was fine, but I can't wait to have a place to sit and watch the ocean go by with a morning coffee!!!

[Alexis Green]

Welcome aboard Tanooki and babymaeby!!

Oh my goodness that candy sounds good! I love maple sugar candy ;) :rotfl:

Make sure if your interested in doing the FE you post or pm me a message!

[Canadian Eh?]

Lexi,

I did some research on the three tour operators you suggested and I think that I would rather book the excursions through Disney, the difference in pricing is minimal. I feel safer doing it through them and I know that I will get my money's worth.

For those who want to do their own thing in st maarten, having been there twice, I can tell you that if you want to keep it simple and not have to commit to anything, you can basically walk off the ship to a nice public beach (very clean, white sand and uncrowded). The walk is about 15 minutes and it takes you through the core or the town where there are tons of shops if you want to shop. The public beach is very nice and there are locals who will approach you to offer you beach chairs for a small fee. Most are very polite and will leave you alone if you want them to. There are also a few restaurants that you can walk to which are right on the beach. The only negative I have about the public beach is that you can't really wade too far cause the beach slopes rather sharply after only a few feet.

[Tanooki]

Welcome aboard Tanooki and babymaeby!!

Oh my goodness that candy sounds good! I love maple sugar candy ;) :rotfl:

Make sure if your interested in doing the FE you post or pm me a message!

Yes, we would like to join the FE exchange :cool1: I just showed the kids what it's like and what they could get as gifts (some posts with pics) and they are VERY excited :banana:
They don't know it, but I've also ordered a gift basket form Shirley at The Perfect Gift and I will add one for dh with all sorts fo goodies to enjoy while going to the movie theater, he's soooo looking forward to this! :love:

So here it goes :

We are a party of 6 in cabins 2635-2637, these are connecting cabins. I will probably have only one FE for the whole family but I don't know yet on which side I will put it ;)

My DIS name is Tanooki and there will be 2 adults (man/woman), one boy age 10, one boy age 8, one girl age 5 and one boy age 3.

I think that's about it, right?

Can't wait! Can't wait! Can't wait! :rotfl:

[peachygreen]

I don`t snorkel and can`t help you on that point but I can tell you that the water was fine when in CC in December 06.

Somehow I imagine the temps feel warmer to someone from Canada than someone from Texas. My blood is too thin. I think I'm going to plan on snorkeling at either St martin or St Thomas. Not sure which yet and just enjoy the beach and island at CC.

I've been looking at the average temps and well it seems like Texas weather in March and I dont' go swimming in Texas in March because the water is too cold for my liking.

[peachygreen]

5 months from now we will be on the Magic!!!!!!!!!!!!


I am so excited. I can't wait! I just finished my first custom princess dress for my DD for the cruise. This one will be a double duty as it also serves as her Halloween costume. No I just have about 20 more dresses to go in 5 months. LOL. I have lofty plans right now and have plans for at least 1 outfit each day and somedays 2 for both girls.

I've also started working on the countdown calendar I'm giving my DD for Christmas! I just realized today I should have already bought beach toys to send with my parents who are driving because they seem to be all sold out here.

[Alexis Green]

So here it goes :

We are a party of 6 in cabins 2635-2637, these are connecting cabins. I will probably have only one FE for the whole family but I don't know yet on which side I will put it ;)

My DIS name is Tanooki and there will be 2 adults (man/woman), one boy age 10, one boy age 8, one girl age 5 and one boy age 3.

I think that's about it, right?

Can't wait! Can't wait! Can't wait! :rotfl:

Great thanks!

I can not wait for our trip!! 4 months and 4 weeks!!! I went halloween shopping yesterday and got a giselle costume (the curtain one) and will wear it on the cruise for formal night. I am so excited! I crossed all the pirate stuff and am waiting until everything goes on clearance before I try to nab the pirate anything.

[wld4mky]

Sign us up for the FE. So very excited.
DIS name wld4mky
Rm 5520
Family of 4
Husband and myself both 44:scared1: (DS) 7 and 1/2 and (DD) Turning 6 on Feb. 24th so we will be celebrating her Bday on the ship :cheer2: as we will be driving from Ontario on her actual BDay.
Thank-you Cassie for organizing this.:woohoo:
Our last cruise was western at the end of Feb. We missed Grand Caymen b/c of bad weather and went to Nassau instead. The water CC the day we were there was 78 degrees

[Dana2travel]

Hello all fellow cruisers!!:dance3:

This is my first time posting to the forum, but it is our second time cruisin Disney. My husband and I have cruised before on RC.

Jan 09 was our first time on DCL. We have 16 of us cruising in Feb with all of you. We have a family group. 4 families of 4 2 adults and 2 kids each. All cousins!! We are all excited. We all cruised in 2009 on the wonder and had a great time, so we booked for the 7 night because our last cruise went so fast. Disney really knows how to give an awesome time!!:banana:

We are deck 6 for our rooms. We had balcony rooms last time so rebooked the balcony again and wow what a treat when Disney offered the KSF.:wizard:

Looking forward to chatting with everyone.

[peachygreen]

I was talking with my mom last night about parking and hotels etc and remembered people talking about being able to park your car at Country Inn and Suites and then taking the shuttle to the port. I was thinking this would be perfect and I could get a car service to the hotel Friday night, my folks could drive in Friday night and we could all take the shuttle over in the morning to the cruise terminal. So I go look and there are not rooms available for Feb 25th.

Anyone else have any suggstions for good hotels by the port that you could leave your car for a week?

ETA I have also checked radisson and residence and same result? What is up?

[Alexis Green]

Karen I have you all posted up for FEs! We'll have to do something special for your daughter! I can not wait to start looking and making stuff! Anyone else that wants to be on the FE list please let me know!

Dana2travel oh my goodness 16 people is a lot! I bet everyone will have a blast!

[wld4mky]

Has anyone started collecting for their FE yet or are you waiting for closer to the time to see how many sign up? I am so excited to get started! Is there going to be a date to sign up by? That will give us time to make sure we have enough for every one. :banana: Less than 5 months til we sail!! :banana:

[Alexis Green]

I haven't started to find things for FEs yet. What date does everyone want for a deadline to sign up? We've only got a few so far so please let me know if you want to be added!

[Hendy Clan]

woohoo! we are booked on the Magic. Counting down the days to February. I would like to join in on the FE, but not sure what to do, can someone explain what you have to do. DH, myself, DS (16), DS (15) and DS (11) will be cruising. This will be our 2nd Disney Cruise, we went on the western a few years ago and loved it. The best vacation ever:banana:

[Alexis Green]

Hey Hendy Clan!

Welcome on board!! FEs are really fun and we hope to have a lot of people join in. If you take a look at this link you'll see what it's all about.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1219607

[Hendy Clan]

I was talking with my mom last night about parking and hotels etc and remembered people talking about being able to park your car at Country Inn and Suites and then taking the shuttle to the port. I was thinking this would be perfect and I could get a car service to the hotel Friday night, my folks could drive in Friday night and we could all take the shuttle over in the morning to the cruise terminal. So I go look and there are not rooms available for Feb 25th.

Anyone else have any suggstions for good hotels by the port that you could leave your car for a week?

ETA I have also checked radisson and residence and same result? What is up?

I also looked into booking a hotel at the port for the night before and the closest we could get was at the airport. Decided to book one night at the Contemporary so instead of driving from MD on Friday we are going down on Thursday and spending Friday at the MK, our vacation increased by a day.:cool1:

[Hendy Clan]

[QUOTE=Alexis Green;38523573]Hey Hendy Clan!

Welcome on board!! FEs are really fun and we hope to have a lot of people join in. If you take a look at this link you'll see what it's all about.

Thank you for the link it was very helpful. We would like to join and will let you know the room #'s when I look up the reservations.

For those interested tomorrow morning at 7am on the Travel channel they are showing a program about Disney Cruise Line and following that a show about WDW Resorts. :)

[wld4mky]

I haven't started to find things for FEs yet. What date does everyone want for a deadline to sign up? We've only got a few so far so please let me know if you want to be added!

The last one I participated in had a 1 month precruise date. So what do you think about Dec. 31/10 Just a thought.

[wld4mky]

[QUOTE=Alexis Green;38523573]Hey Hendy Clan!

Welcome on board!! FEs are really fun and we hope to have a lot of people join in. If you take a look at this link you'll see what it's all about.

Thank you for the link it was very helpful. We would like to join and will let you know the room #'s when I look up the reservations.

For those interested tomorrow morning at 7am on the Travel channel they are showing a program about Disney Cruise Line and following that a show about WDW Resorts. :)

Thanks for the tip.:thumbsup2

[Alexis Green]

Thank you for the tip Hendy. I put it all on my dvr! Can't wait to watch them.

I think December 31st would be a good deadline, what does everyone else think? Do people want more time?

[peachygreen]

Dec 31st is probably a good time. We might want to push it at least a week to give people a chance to get back into life after Christmas holiday's and start thinking about their cruise and not Christmas to decide.

I am mostly likely going to participate, but I will probably waffle until then. LOL By then I will have a good idea on how well my sewing for my DDs is going and if I'll have time/$$ to think about FE. But the sewing is going well right now. I have 3-1/2 outfits for each girl finished. Only 8 or so each to go.

Oh and I figured out why I was having such a hard time getting a hotel. The last shuttle is scheduled to launch on the 26th of February. I'll believe the launch date when I see it. I did manage to get 2 rooms at the port but if the launch date slips I will be looking to see if I can book a better rate.

Flights are all booked too now. I ended up deciding to drive an hour to Austin to save about $400 for our plane tickets over flying out of Houston. Ironically one of my options for that price would have put me on the same plane in and out of Houston. Crazy. Oh well its only an extra hour to the airport and the return flight schedule was better anyway. Plus I was still able to get direct flights.

We also have an appt to get the girls their passports on the 23rd. So everything is moving right along.

I really hope we get some new Navigator's now that the Magic is back in Florida. 1st Eastern of the season in 1 week and 2 days.

19 weeks until we leave for Florida!

[nokidz]

HI all!!!!
My wife and I are booked on this cruise as well. Guess what??? We are CANADIAN!!!! This will be our 6th cruise. As it stands now, it is just the two of us. ut with the Canadian discount, we may be adding all our kids, theres a lot dispite my screen name, and the mother-in-law and a few extras. In total, there could be upwards of 12 of us......:scared1:
We did this exact cruise last Feb. Talk to you all soon......:thumbsup2

[wld4mky]

Welcome aboard!!! The more the merrier! We are from the Fonthill/Pelham area. Can't wait to be escaping the winter for this cruise!:banana:

[Time4disneynow]

:wave2: Hello everyone.

My name is Monika and my husband Michael and I will be cruising with you. Looking forward to chatting with you and meeting you.

This will be our 6th Disney cruise. We were on the DVC members cruise just last month. Will be at WDW in early December. Just can't get enough of Disney.

We would love to participate in the FE gift exchange...they are so much fun!!!!

Take care. :)

[Alexis Green]

Welcome nokidz, Monika and Michael! We are getting so many people together!! I have updated the front page for those of you who want to do FEs. January 8th is the cut off date for signing up. We want to give everyone time to make/find things.

We have 4 months and 5 days until we sail!! How exciting is this?!! :cool1:

It also looks like this will be a big birthday cruise, maybe we can put something together one night for all those celebrating a birthday? Let me know.

Cassie

[Hendy Clan]

We were excited to find out that the Space Shuttle Endeavor was due to launch on February 26th for it's final mission. Well we just discovered that NASA has moved it back a day to February 27th:sad2: Too bad we will miss a little bit of history being made. My boys were looking forward to seeing this. I remember when the first one was launched. I lived in England at that time and it seemed the whole country stopped to watch history being made. Hopefully we will get a chance to see it on the launch pad at least.

Now I know why we couldn't find a hotel at the Port for the Friday night. We are now traveling down from Maryland on Thursday night and staying at the BLT with a day at the MK so all is good:dance3:

[peachygreen]

I keep hoping with the shuttle day slipping a day that room rates might 1) open up and 2)drop in price. We have 2 rooms at the Sharaton but it is very pricey.

I would have loved to see the shuttle launch. I saw several launches from a distance when I used to live in Florida but it would have been awesome to see it that close.

[Time4disneynow]

Good Morning...

That's really too bad that NASA moved the launch to the 27th, I was looking forward to seeing the shuttle launch as well. Oh well...

Have a great day and take care. :)

[Time4disneynow]

Hi all....hope you're having a good day. Take care and enjoy your week. :)

[zaz]

Hi everyone,

Another Cnd family to board the Magic on the 26th of February.

It's our first cruise ever; and of course the first one on DCL. I'm busy ready this forum as I know nothing at all and won't want to miss out on anything.

I am zaz (34), sailing with my DH (36), DD (12) and DD (3). We'll be in cabin 1047.. at the very bottom of the ship.

This is all new to me, so I'll try and figure it all out in the next few days!!

Thanks!

[Time4disneynow]

:wave2: zaz and :welcome:

This will be our 6th Disney cruise. Just can't get enough. Looking forward to chatting with you and meeting you.

[Hendy Clan]

Welcome Zaz and family:)

This will be our 2nd cruise with DCL, we did the western cruise a few years ago and I cannot believe it has taken us this long to book another one. It was the best vacation we had ever taken:cloud9:. I know they say you shouldn't wish your life away, but I'm counting down the days. We live in Maryland, but my DH and myself are originally from the UK, north of London.

On our last cruise we had the late dining and our two youngest who were 5 and 9 had a hard time staying awake for this so I would keep checking for openings on the main dining if you all want to eat together. We are booked for the main dining time, but have been thinking about switching to the later one as our boys are so much older now. If we do decide to do this I will post on here first in case you want to contact DCL to possibly get the change. What is everyone else doing?

[Hendy Clan]

Our room #'s are 7008 and 7009, but the Fish Extender will be on 7008. We will be celebrating two birthdays on the cruise.

DS turns 15 on February 9th and DS turns 12 on March 26th so we picked a cruise between the two dates to celebrate. :dance3:

[peachygreen]

We have main dining. I can't imagine with an almost 5 year old and a 10 month old (who crashes by 7pm every night) trying to do late dinner. Actually my parents who are cruising with us I think might even have a harder time with 2nd dining time. I think I'm going to try to reserve Flounder's for my baby a couple of nights after dinner so we can all enjoy the shows together. That is unless her sleep habits completly change between now and then. LOL. (tonight she was ready for bed at 6:45. There is no putting her off - she is a crab apple if I try to keep her up later. I wish she didn't want to go to be quite so early as I get so little time to spend with her after work at night)

Okay so go ahead and sign me up for the FE. Room 6614 - party of 4 2 adults (man/woman) and 2 girls DD1 almost 5 and DD2 10 months. My sewing projects are going well so I should have time/money after Christmas to figure out what to do for FE gifts.

We are celebrating 4 birthday's on this cruise. My mom's is Feb 12th, my husband's is Feb 15th, mine is departure day Feb 26th and DD1's birthday is March 23rd. (Yes we have a lot of birthday is a very short period of time in our family).

[wld4mky]

:welcome::welcome: Everyone!!!!!:cheer2::cheer2::cheer2:
Lots and Lots of Birthdays to celebrate!!!:wizard:pixiedust::bday:

[zaz]

Thank you for your welcome everyone!

We have the late supper with our 2 girls, so we may be interested in changing time if someone wants to. However, I think I've pretty much made my mind about it and making full use of the kids clubs!

Hendy Clan : Too bad it's your son that will turn 12… my daughter is 12 too and I do worry a bit about the friends situation onboard. It would have been great if she could have exchanged e-mails with another girl prior to the trip!

Everyone that traveled with kids before : should be bring a small umbrella stroller onboard? Will walking on the ship be very tiring for a 3 yrs old or should she be ok if she's a normal walker (you know, walks from the house to parks, while shopping, etc.)?

[wld4mky]

For onboard she will prob. be fine. You might want to bring it for shore excursions if you plan on going on any. They do have strollers on board. But any time I went to use one they were all gone.

[zaz]

And here I am again.

I'm sorry, I don't want to seem dumb! ;-) but...

I now know what fish extenders are (mailbox hanging from the fish by the door). What can be handmade or bought I assume.

So what's the link to this thread? Some sort of mail exchange once aboard?

Thanks!

[peachygreen]

And here I am again.

I'm sorry, I don't want to seem dumb! ;-) but...

I now know what fish extenders are (mailbox hanging from the fish by the door). What can be handmade or bought I assume.

So what's the link to this thread? Some sort of mail exchange once aboard?

Thanks!

A fish exchange is kinda like a secret santa on board. Disers from the group meet who want to participate exchange their room #'s and then you leave a small gift in a bag or pouch or something similar outside the cabin door hanging off the mail fish.

Here are some threads
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1980639&highlight=fe+gifts

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1774643&highlight=fe+gifts

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2381161&highlight=fe+gifts

There are several threads with examples of things people have made or bought as FE gifts.

[peachygreen]

Wow I just realized that we are exactly 4 months out from our cruise! :yay: I can't wait!

[Alexis Green]

Alright, I've finally updated the front page! Look at all the birthdays! I'm getting super excited now that the cruise is less than 4 months away!!!

Mike and I are doing the second seating for dinner. We are both late eaters and would probably be more awake to see the shows before having a full tummy. I also can't wait for halloween! I bought a beautiful giselle curtain dress and I can't wait to wear it on the cruise too!
:cool1:

[nokidz]

HI all!!!!
My wife and I are booked on this cruise as well. Guess what??? We are CANADIAN!!!! This will be our 6th cruise. As it stands now, it is just the two of us. ut with the Canadian discount, we may be adding all our kids, theres a lot dispite my screen name, and the mother-in-law and a few extras. In total, there could be upwards of 12 of us......:scared1:
We did this exact cruise last Feb. Talk to you all soon......:thumbsup2

OK, it is official, there will be 11 more Canadians in 4 cabins going on this cruise!!!!
All I can say is...HURRY UP FEB 26th!!!!!:thumbsup2

[Time4disneynow]

OK, it is official, there will be 11 more Canadians in 4 cabins going on this cruise!!!!
All I can say is...HURRY UP FEB 26th!!!!!:thumbsup2


That's great....going to be a great cruise...can't wait.!!!!:)

[zaz]

This is SOOO exciting! All I'm doing these days is think about the cruise!! and planning; and researching.

[Hendy Clan]

:cool1:Me too Zaz, me too!:cool1:

[Time4disneynow]

:cheer2::dance3::yay:

122 Days!!!!!!

:cool1::woohoo::banana:

[peachygreen]

:cheer2::dance3::yay:

122 Days!!!!!!

:cool1::woohoo::banana:

Any Platinum Cruisers getting ready to start booking things?

[wld4mky]

Any Platinum Cruisers getting ready to start booking things?

Not us... just silver , Have to wait til Nov. 27th I think. Leave some for the rest of us. LOL Any suggestions? What are your favorites?

[zaz]

I'm a no colour at all, so think of me will you?

I totally support the request for tips and favorites sharing!

[pamsacruzin]

Just joined disboards. Looking forward to Disney Cruise February-2011. Sailing with a party of 8 (2 Cabins). :cheer2:Should be fun. This will be our 9th cruise, but the first with Disney. We are thinking about participating in the fish extender exchange. Any thoughts?

[Time4disneynow]

Just joined disboards. Looking forward to Disney Cruise February-2011. Sailing with a party of 8 (2 Cabins). :cheer2:Should be fun. This will be our 9th cruise, but the first with Disney. We are thinking about participating in the fish extender exchange. Any thoughts?

Hi and :welcome:

Fish extender exchange is so much fun.

[Time4disneynow]

Here are some tips:

1.Over the door shoe holders. Take two for the split bath, one for toiletries and the other for the shoes.

2. Bring 2 bungee cords (one for each door) if you have connecting rooms to keep the doors open. They are heavy doors and will not stay open by themselves. If closed, you cannot open them from the other stateroom.

3.When traveling with little ones (toddlers) take along a bath mat for the shower/tub and baby bath bubbles to use to get the sunscreen off of them. Don't forget a little bath toy. The bath mat rolls up easy and/or just lays flat in luggage.

4. Extension cord for iPod, hair dryer, cameras, travel clock, etc. Easy to plug things in overnight and take them for the next day.

5.Clothes pins for hanging up wet suits in the shower and to close curtains to keep that morning sun out of your room!

6. Nightlight for bathroom.

7.Bring (especially if you have a verandah) a small pair of binoculars. It's great for looking at passing islands, dolphins, etc. Be sure that the kids keep the cord around their necks when they're using them so they don't drop them overboard.

8. If you can, either pack or send beforehand sand toys. The ones to purchase there can be expensive

9. Baby powder - sprinkle it on sandy feet, wait a second and the sand just brushes away with a towel.

10.Crayons, books and plain paper for kids during the down time (is there such a thing on DCL) in the room --- have them make a "picture" scrapbook for when they get back home!

Hope this helps....I will post more tips soon.

[pamsacruzin]

Thank you for the welcome and the suggestions.

[pamsacruzin]

I would like to particiapate in the fish extenders. Please add us.


7100: pamsacruzin (4) 2 adults (man/woman), one boy age 7, one boy age 6

[Time4disneynow]

Good Morning everyone....have a great day!!!!!!

[Dana2travel]

Hello All,

Wow since the last time I was on the board more people have joined and are going on this exciting cruise.

Welcome :thumbsup2pixiedust:pixiedust:

Our group of 16 is also celebrating a birthday as well. We were sadden to hear no NASA launch as we are on the ship. I thought that would have been so cool. I tried to help peachygreen with trying to find rooms and couldn't figure out why everything was booked until I remembered about the launch. Don't give up I would still keep trying for the Radisson or Country Suites for any cancellations. We stayed at the Radisson last time and were very happy with service and shuttle.

I have a question regarding Fish Extenders are people making their own or are you purchasing them. I have seen pictures of them and they don't look that hard to make. The exchanging that you are doing is that just by what is being put in the extenders or are you exchanging extenders? Just curious never had an extender before as this is our 2nd Disney Cruise.

[Dana2travel]

those that have cruised before any recommendations of what to do for excursions good or bad at St. Maarten's or St. Thomas. Got a book from library called passporters guide to DCL and its ports of call. So hard to figure all this out. :confused3 Not sure what is really worth while.

[wld4mky]

I made our FE for our first cruise and I am reusing it. They are not hard to make. I am sure we are exchanging gifts for the FE not FE themselves.

[nokidz]

Here is some info fr those that are new and for those that are experienced to Disney Cruising...


Fish Extenders - How to play the game and how to make a fish extenders.
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1219607


Shirley's Helpful Thread - http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1520273

Tipping - http://cruisetip.tpkeller.com/

*** DIS DCL FAQ - New Alphabetical Listing of DCL Information ***
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2068966

[peachygreen]

those that have cruised before any recommendations of what to do for excursions good or bad at St. Maarten's or St. Thomas. Got a book from library called passporters guide to DCL and its ports of call. So hard to figure all this out. :confused3 Not sure what is really worth while.


I'm trying to figure that out too, especially with 2 young kids. My parents are coming with us and I am planning to have them take the girls one day and do something kid/senior friendly while my DH and I do something more adventerous. I'm not sure which day makes the most sense for that. I am pretty sure that in St. Maarten my parents and the girls at least will do the St. Maarten tour and Butterfly farm. My mom met someone who owns a hotel in St. Maarten and said that the butterfly farm would be a don't miss for the girls. She has also offered that we can use their private beach while we are there. They seem to be on different sides of the island and I'm not sure the best way to get around. The hotel is on Simpson Bay. I wonder if we could take a taxi to the butterfly farm in the morning. Enjoy that and then go to Simpson Bay. I wonder if there would then be a place my DH and I could do some snorkeling while my parents and girls could hang out? Especially since the Rhino Riders looked fun and they leave from Simpson Bay.

In St. Thomas ??? I haven't looked too far into St. Thomas/St. John yet. Coral World looks interesting. If we did it though I think I'd rather do it on our own instead of one of the tours with Disney. That way we could all go together and possibly do something like Snuba (which isn't offered on Disney's site) or Snorkeling at Coki Beach for an hour during the day. I'm also intrigued by going to St. John but I'm not sure what we could do there with a 5 year old and 10 month old. Plus I'd then have to pay full price for the baby as a boat would be involved. There seem to be lots of good active type oppurtinies on St. John for my husband and I but maybe not so many for my parents and girls.

The fun part will be convincing my mom that it will be okay to not do a port adventure with Disney but to do it on our own.

I'm open to other ideas and suggestions if anyone has any.

[Alexis Green]

Wow this cruise gets bigger and bigger each day!

Welcome on board pamsacruzin! I have added you to the fish extender list!

Thank you Time4disneynow for the tips! I am so bring shoe racks and baby powder! There is nothing I dislike more about a beach day then trying to get wet sand off my feet.

I have been looking at excursions since day one. Mike and I are both interested in the Butterfly Farm tour in St Maarten. We also want to do the Coral World Ocean Park by land and sea tour in St. Thomas. The skyride looked in interesting as well. We know that in Castaway Cay we are going parasailing! :banana:

I would love to go scuba or snorkeling but Mike is still getting swim lessons. Hopefully by February he'll want to do some kind of water adventure. We'll have to wait and see.

[Time4disneynow]

Wow this cruise gets bigger and bigger each day!

Welcome on board pamsacruzin! I have added you to the fish extender list!

Thank you Time4disneynow for the tips! I am so bring shoe racks and baby powder! There is nothing I dislike more about a beach day then trying to get wet sand off my feet.

I have been looking at excursions since day one. Mike and I are both interested in the Butterfly Farm tour in St Maarten. We also want to do the Coral World Ocean Park by land and sea tour in St. Thomas. The skyride looked in interesting as well. We know that in Castaway Cay we are going parasailing! :banana:

I would love to go scuba or snorkeling but Mike is still getting swim lessons. Hopefully by February he'll want to do some kind of water adventure. We'll have to wait and see.



Hi Alexis...my name is Monika... :).

The over the door shoe holder was the best tip ever given to us. We bought a better quality one...use it only for our cruises.

As far as excursions on Castaway Cay..we are talking about parasailing or doing the jet ski. I've never parasailed....it does look like fun. Not sure yet what we want to do at St Thomas or St. Maatens. This will be our first Eastern cruise and I can't wait.

Good for Mike and getting swim lessons...I wish him luck. He will be set to go in February....sending him pixie dust:tink::tink::tink:

[Fozzycat]

those that have cruised before any recommendations of what to do for excursions good or bad at St. Maarten's or St. Thomas. Got a book from library called passporters guide to DCL and its ports of call. So hard to figure all this out. :confused3 Not sure what is really worth while.

I've done both St. Thomas and St. Maarten (though with Royal Caribbean not Disney). In St. Maarten we booked a tour with Bernard's Tours - really good tour and much cheaper than a ship excursion. Included a tour of both the Dutch and French sides including photo stops, two beach stops (Maho with the planes and Orient), shopping at the market in Marigot, etc. Had the choice of being brought back to the ship or let off in downtown Philipsburg.

In St. Thomas we did a ship excursion - tour, stops at St. Peter's Great House, Beacon's Point, etc. Then we went to Megan's beach for a couple of hours. In St. Thomas there is plenty of shopping near the ship (if Disney docks at Havensight) and easy to walk around that area if you don't want to do an excursion. Just google Havensight Mall. The Skyride is also very close.

Hope this helps!

[Time4disneynow]

Hi Fozzycat....

This will be our first Eastern cruise....thank you for the info on St. Maartens and St. Thomas.

[wld4mky]

Good Morning e:banana:veryone. Today marks 3-3-3 Months- Weeks- Days:cool1::cool1: Not that we are counting. Have a great day all of you!

[peachygreen]

And about 3 hours until you can get on the ship. :banana::banana:

[Time4disneynow]

Good Morning everyone....hope you have a great day....:)


Good Morning e:banana:veryone. Today marks 3-3-3 Months- Weeks- Days:cool1::cool1: Not that we are counting. Have a great day all of you!

And about 3 hours until you can get on the ship. :banana::banana:


Oh...I am so excited...I can't wait!!!!


Take care all.:flower3:

[SalCat1027]

Hi Everyone! Just booked this cruise...1st time Disney Cruisers! We are super excited! We'd like to participate in the Fish Extender...
RM 2132 (Well, unless I upgrade...)
11 year old girl, 8 year old girl, 2 adults.
Thanks!

[Time4disneynow]

Hi Everyone! Just booked this cruise...1st time Disney Cruisers! We are super excited! We'd like to participate in the Fish Extender...
RM 2132 (Well, unless I upgrade...)
11 year old girl, 8 year old girl, 2 adults.
Thanks!

Hi SalCat and :welcome: aboard.

Looking forward to chatting and then meeting you and your family.

This will be our 6th Disney cruise. I can't wait. We just can't get enough of Disney.

Take care.

[SalCat1027]

Thank you! Can't wait!!!

[peachygreen]

Hi Everyone! Just booked this cruise...1st time Disney Cruisers! We are super excited! We'd like to participate in the Fish Extender...
RM 2132 (Well, unless I upgrade...)
11 year old girl, 8 year old girl, 2 adults.
Thanks!

Welcome!

[SalCat1027]

Thank you peachygreen! We are Disney freaks...and can't wait to experience our first Disney Cruise!
Sad that we'll miss the Shuttle launch. That would have been really cool.
All of the tips in this thread are so helpful...thanks everyone! We look forward to meeting this group soon!

Have a nice day everyone!

[lindleyfamilycruise]

Please add me to the FE list!

7102: lindleyfamilycruise: (4) 2 adults (man/woman), one girl age 14, one girl age 10

Already have a few gifts in mind. Excited!

Also, please add a birthday:

Husband: Feb 3rd- 34th birthday

[pamsacruzin]

Welcome Lindley Family

[Hendy Clan]

It is great to see our group growing:cool1:. Welcome to all the new families. :)

[Time4disneynow]

:welcome: aboard Lindley Family!!!!!:cheer2:

[peachygreen]

Please add me to the FE list!

7102: lindleyfamilycruise: (4) 2 adults (man/woman), one girl age 14, one girl age 10

Already have a few gifts in mind. Excited!

Also, please add a birthday:

Husband: Feb 3rd- 34th birthday

Welcome - did you know you were next door to pamsacruizin?

[Alexis Green]

Welcome Lindleyfamily and SalCat!! :cool1:

I'll be adding you guys to the fish extenders once I finish this post! We've got a good looking group!

[Alexis Green]

Sorry for the double post, I thought of something else.

I'd like to start a roll call portion for the front page. So many people have posted once in here and others many times. I think it would help to have a list of everyone who KNOWS (to the best of their knowledge) that they are going on this cruise.
All it would consist of is your name, plain and simple. So if you want to make a post saying something like "Put me on roll call" or "We are definitely on this cruise" just so I know. Thanks!

Cassie

[zaz]

My family and I are definitely on this cruise!! (Unless something truly horrific happens).

Unfortunately, I just started a new job and probably won't have time to be part of FE. I love the concept, but I am not a crafty person, I have about 30 minutes a night to relax and our luggage allowance is totally limited (4 of us are trying to fit into 2 carry ons and 2 suitcases in order to limit the fees associated with luggages). So really sorry about that! I found it truly amazing to see on other threads the stuff people did for their FE; or the amount of stuff they bought.

We can still chat here, right?

My 12 yrs old just heard about the Edge on the Magic and she is now so excited to have her own 'club'!

COunting the days! ;-)

[Time4disneynow]

We are definitely on this cruise

Good Morning everyone....It's Wednesday :cheer2:. It is 36 degrees here in Southern Delaware, cloudy with rain in the forecast for this evening. The high for today...54 degrees. These are the days I wish I were at Castaway Cay!!!!

Have a great day and take care. :flower3:

[Tanooki]

We are also definitely on this cruise so put me on the roll call! :banana:

It's a nice and sunny day up here but it's coooold this morning (28F when the kids left for school). Winter will be there before we know it...and it'll be time for our cruise! :cool1:

Since we have a WDW trip planned in a month, this is what's keeping me occupied and excited these days though ;)

Have a great day everyone!

[Alexis Green]

My family and I are definitely on this cruise!! (Unless something truly horrific happens).

Unfortunately, I just started a new job and probably won't have time to be part of FE. I love the concept, but I am not a crafty person, I have about 30 minutes a night to relax and our luggage allowance is totally limited (4 of us are trying to fit into 2 carry ons and 2 suitcases in order to limit the fees associated with luggages). So really sorry about that! I found it truly amazing to see on other threads the stuff people did for their FE; or the amount of stuff they bought.

We can still chat here, right?

My 12 yrs old just heard about the Edge on the Magic and she is now so excited to have her own 'club'!

COunting the days! ;-)

Of course you can still chat here! A roll call will just help us all figure out how many DISers are actually going.
I wish when I went cruising when I was younger they had cool clubs! I've been watching the videos and they looks like so much fun! Do they have a night where adults can play with all that stuff? ;)

It's chilly here in Michigan! We've already got frost on the grass outside. I keep closing my eyes and imagining myself out on my cabin's balcony with a warm breeze. :lovestruc

[peachygreen]

We are definately going so please add us to the rollcall. As a side note my eldest DD Megan will be celebrating her 5th birthday not the baby Alice. I'm Kristie and my DH is James by the way.

[SalCat1027]

We are definitely on this cruise too! I'm Sally, DH Doug, DD Natalie (11), and DD Allison (8).

We are skipping our yearly trip to WDW (usually Thanksgiving day for 10 glorious days!!!) to do the cruise. We'll probably be a little sad on T-day that we're not on a plane to FL, but it will all be worth it when we're on the beach in February!

Can't wait to meet everyone! Have a great day. Iowa is cooooold today...

[Alexis Green]

We are definately going so please add us to the rollcall. As a side note my eldest DD Megan will be celebrating her 5th birthday not the baby Alice. I'm Kristie and my DH is James by the way.


Thank you for letting me know! I say DD1 and thought DD age 1.
Everything is updated!

So...what kinds of things would people like to see in in their fish extenders?

[Tanooki]

We are definately going so please add us to the rollcall. As a side note my eldest DD Megan will be celebrating her 5th birthday not the baby Alice. I'm Kristie and my DH is James by the way.

My daughter Scarlett, who turned 5 last August, will be thrilled to know that another girl her age will be there :) She'll probably stick with her brothers at first but I'm sure she'll go do her own thing once she finds a friend :cutie:

BTW, I'm Caroline, my dh is Guy and our gang is Maximilien (10), Noah (8), Scarlett (5) and Lex (3). All the boys will celebrate birthdays in January (7-9 and 18) and I'm sure we'll be glad to "just" celebrate our first cruise after all this nonsense : between friends and family, we have 9 birthdays PLUS Christmas and New Year starting December 9th and ending January 24th! :eek:

I'm sure the kids would love to see any kind of snacks/candy in their FE and I would love something that represents your neck of the woods. I collect Christmas ornaments from all around the world and I think it makes my tree look very special :)
I'm already stocking on some small stuff and you'll definitely get "regional" things from here ;)
We are not too limited by travel space since we are driving :scared1: but dh will not be happy if I need a big extra bag for the FE stuff so I try to make it reasonable.:rolleyes1

Time to grab some lunch!

Have a great day and pixie dust!:wizard:

[lindleyfamilycruise]

Peachygreen:

pamsacruizin is my mother.. LOL. There are 8 of us on the cruise! We were lucky enough to get joining rooms.:yay:

[peachygreen]

Thank you for letting me know! I say DD1 and thought DD age 1.
Everything is updated!

So...what kinds of things would people like to see in in their fish extenders?

Thanks. I thought that might be what had happend. I guess we could celebrate the baby's birthday too but I figure I'll wait 2 months for that one.


My daughter Scarlett, who turned 5 last August, will be thrilled to know that another girl her age will be there :) She'll probably stick with her brothers at first but I'm sure she'll go do her own thing once she finds a friend :cutie:

BTW, I'm Caroline, my dh is Guy and our gang is Maximilien (10), Noah (8), Scarlett (5) and Lex (3). All the boys will celebrate birthdays in January (7-9 and 18) and I'm sure we'll be glad to "just" celebrate our first cruise after all this nonsense : between friends and family, we have 9 birthdays PLUS Christmas and New Year starting December 9th and ending January 24th! :eek:

I'm sure the kids would love to see any kind of snacks/candy in their FE and I would love something that represents your neck of the woods. I collect Christmas ornaments from all around the world and I think it makes my tree look very special :)
I'm already stocking on some small stuff and you'll definitely get "regional" things from here ;)
We are not too limited by travel space since we are driving :scared1: but dh will not be happy if I need a big extra bag for the FE stuff so I try to make it reasonable.:rolleyes1

Time to grab some lunch!

Have a great day and pixie dust!:wizard:

Megan will be thrilled to meet another little girl. She loves to make new friends.
I agree about trying to keep the gifts reasonable. We are flying and even though with Southwest we shouldn't have a problem with baggage allowance I'd like to not have to add a bag. Speaking of luggage, I should figure that out for my trip next week as I do have to pay for bags then and kids seem to generate a lot of luggage.

Peachygreen:

pamsacruizin is my mother.. LOL. There are 8 of us on the cruise! We were lucky enough to get joining rooms.:yay:


:rotfl2: I thought that might be the case. I figured you either were traveling together or it was huge coincidence. We weren't able to book adjacent/adjoining rooms so my folks are around 6 rooms down the hall. No complaints though I'm just happy I convinced them to join us.

[wld4mky]

Put us on the roll call, we are deff. going!

[Hendy Clan]

We are so there in February (unless we had snow like last year in February when we couldn't get out for five days:eek: Anyone who lives in or has lived in Maryland will understand we don't function well with snow, our county comes to a standstill and school was closed for two weeks. We had 12 ft last year and it took 5 days to dig out our neighborhood) Here in Frederick, MD today we are a high of 54 and this morning when the kids went to school it was 27 and I had to scrap ice off the car (time to clear the garage out for winter).

Anyway in our party we have me, Caroline, my husband Jay and three boys, Neil (16), James (15) and Matthew (11). Both James and Matthew will be celebrating their birthday, James turns 15 on February 9th and Matthew will turn 12 on March 26th so add us to the roll call.

Everyday is one day nearer:banana::banana::banana:

[pamsacruzin]

I'm still confused. Do we give gifts to all cabins participating or are we assigned a individual cabin and give to them?

[Time4disneynow]

pamsacruzin: Hi...Fish Extenders....typically you give a gift to each cabin participating. If it ends up getting too large...then you can divide it up. Which should be decided by the group, if that does happen.

[Dana2travel]

My family and I are definitely on this cruise!! (Unless something truly horrific happens).

Unfortunately, I just started a new job and probably won't have time to be part of FE. I love the concept, but I am not a crafty person, I have about 30 minutes a night to relax and our luggage allowance is totally limited (4 of us are trying to fit into 2 carry ons and 2 suitcases in order to limit the fees associated with luggages). So really sorry about that! I found it truly amazing to see on other threads the stuff people did for their FE; or the amount of stuff they bought.

We can still chat here, right?

My 12 yrs old just heard about the Edge on the Magic and she is now so excited to have her own 'club'!

COunting the days! ;-)

I just doubled checked the Disney Cruise sight about the Edge because I had not heard about this club. Was excited at first but then saw this club is on the Disney Dream and Fantasy ship. But in luck as I have a 12yr old son which is also happy about not having to hang out with his sister all the time. It is still the same type of club, just called the Ocean Quest on the Magic Ship. yeah!!!!


Does anyone have boys around the 12-13yr age that will traveling for my son to meet. He will have cousins along on this cruise but I think the more the merrier. Any idea about when and where most of us could meet. We have 16 in our group but I thought I could break away to meet some of the wonderful people that have been posting about this exciting cruise.

[Dana2travel]

We are counting down the days till Nov 28 to make our final payment and booking the Palo for the adults. So with that we are going. Still not sure on excursions.

Thank you everyone for your ideas and suggestions. It really helps alot.

Dana DH Tom DS Nathan (12) DD Megan (7)

6036
I am still on the fence of the FE's.

[zaz]

Freezing point here this morning... the snowman we built on Halloween morning is still standing.

Thanks Dana for checking the actual name of the tween club. If anyone has a girl 11 to 13, my daughter will be pleased to meet her!

I started last night showing my DD3 to say : Call my mommy. She never stops talking, but in French and she doesn't know English. My hope is that she'll still want to spend a bit of time in her kids club, she loves other kids! My oldest already speaks English, so I'm not worried about her!

I'm thinking of booking the Doublon ship and snorkel in St-Marteen and the under sea adventure (where you go walking with a special helmet 20 feet deep) in St-THomas.

Will try to book Palo for lunch as I wouldn't want to miss on evening rotation.

Anyone did the excursions in the past or ate at Palo at lunch, not brunch?

Have a magical day everyone!

[Alexis Green]

Any idea about when and where most of us could meet. We have 16 in our group but I thought I could break away to meet some of the wonderful people that have been posting about this exciting cruise.

I was thinking about this earlier. I know the cove cafe would probably be a nice place for the adults to meet up. I'm not sure what would be a good place for everyone to meet up though? I know some of you who have already been on a Disney Cruise could probably let us know!

[peachygreen]

I just doubled checked the Disney Cruise sight about the Edge because I had not heard about this club. Was excited at first but then saw this club is on the Disney Dream and Fantasy ship. But in luck as I have a 12yr old son which is also happy about not having to hang out with his sister all the time. It is still the same type of club, just called the Ocean Quest on the Magic Ship. yeah!!!!


Does anyone have boys around the 12-13yr age that will traveling for my son to meet. He will have cousins along on this cruise but I think the more the merrier. Any idea about when and where most of us could meet. We have 16 in our group but I thought I could break away to meet some of the wonderful people that have been posting about this exciting cruise.


From the lastest Eastern Navigator it looks like they renammed the Ocean Quest the Edge on teh Magic too. Its the same thing as Ocean Quest and still for 11-13 year olds. I guess they wanted to put the name in line with the new ships. (and probably try to make it sound cooler)

[Time4disneynow]

I was thinking about this earlier. I know the cove cafe would probably be a nice place for the adults to meet up. I'm not sure what would be a good place for everyone to meet up though? I know some of you who have already been on a Disney Cruise could probably let us know!

The Promenade Lounge would be good. Last DVC members cruise...there must have been at least 40 people and the lounge could hold more. They also have a small stage where we get a group photo.

The Promenade Lounge has an open flow to it and it is not being used at that time...so the kids can be there too.

[Time4disneynow]

If anyone is interested..the Wonder is in port...check out the webcam link to see her.

http://portcanaveral.com/webcam.htm

[Tanooki]

Freezing point here this morning... the snowman we built on Halloween morning is still standing.

Thanks Dana for checking the actual name of the tween club. If anyone has a girl 11 to 13, my daughter will be pleased to meet her!

I started last night showing my DD3 to say : Call my mommy. She never stops talking, but in French and she doesn't know English. My hope is that she'll still want to spend a bit of time in her kids club, she loves other kids! My oldest already speaks English, so I'm not worried about her!

I'm thinking of booking the Doublon ship and snorkel in St-Marteen and the under sea adventure (where you go walking with a special helmet 20 feet deep) in St-THomas.

Will try to book Palo for lunch as I wouldn't want to miss on evening rotation.

Anyone did the excursions in the past or ate at Palo at lunch, not brunch?

Have a magical day everyone!

Where are you from Zaz? I knew someone who used that alias before, on another board. It would be incredible if that were you... ;) My kids are all bilingual so your dd will get some help from them at least...if they're in the club at the same time of course! :lmao:
Have her watch some tv in English, she might not speak a whole lot after that, but she'll understand much better at least ;)

As for us, I don't think we're going to book any excursion from the ship, as I find them outrageously expensive. I've been on cruises before and I only booked once because this was the only way we could do something on that particular island (Turk and Caicos). And my children are still too young to enjoy elaborate outings so we probably will just step off the ship, grab a cab and go somewhere to enjoy the beach and a little shopping. I'll still do my research ahead of time, of course :thumbsup2

St.Martin is a new destination so I'm still researching. I've been to St.Thomas before and I think it's time to discover St.John this time around so it looks like a cab ride, a ferry ride, another cab ride and some beach time :rotfl:
And I can't wait to get to Castaway Cay, the images on the dvd make us all dream...:love:

Have a great day and pixie dust :wizard:

Caroline

[wld4mky]

wow those pictures are great . Thanks for that link.:thumbsup2

[zaz]

Tanooki : Which forum? (if we are allowed to mention)? I've been on quite a few in the past several years as I've been planning trips and/or activities or mommy stuff.

I usually go by zaz or zazou or zaz936.

[Tanooki]

Tanooki : Which forum? (if we are allowed to mention)? I've been on quite a few in the past several years as I've been planning trips and/or activities or mommy stuff.

I usually go by zaz or zazou or zaz936.

It was a French-speaking mommy forum from Quebec but now that I see that you have 2 kids, I'm pretty sure you're not the same zaz since she had 2 girls and a boy... and her youngest dd would be like 9 or 10! :lmao:
Anyway, it was a few years ago so maybe she wouldn't even recognize me :rotfl: We used to have get-togethers once in a while and I did get to meet quite a few members but I've lost touch with them since I'm no longer a member of this forum.

Your alias and the fact that you mentionned speaking French brought back a few memories I suppose ;)

[peachygreen]

The girls passports came in the mail yesterday. That was a 10 day turn around from the time I applied at the post office to the time I got them back. I'm glad I didn't pay to expedite. My renewal is still being processed though. I guess they don't have as much to do on a minor passport (not much of a background check on a 6 month old is needed).

[Alexis Green]

If anyone is interested..the Wonder is in port...check out the webcam link to see her.

http://portcanaveral.com/webcam.htm

This is awesome! I'm watching it this morning not sure what ship it is though.

[Time4disneynow]

Good Morning everyone...hope you're having a good day so far.


The port webcam...if you look at it tomorrow, you will see the Magic and on Sunday, you will see the Wonder. Both ships arrive in port around 6/6:30 am and leave port at 5pm. I don't know that ship either.

[zaz]

Thank you for the info about the Magic being in Port tomorrow Timefordisney now! I'll definitely take a look.

Tanooki : It would be great if your son could help out my daughter if they happen to be in the club at the same time. I know she understands English - she watches disney movies in English because that's how I had bought them for her sister which only spoke English until she was 7 and we moved to Gatineau, Québec from our world travelling. Let's hope she agrees to try out the club once in a while. That's funny about the other zaz, on Maman pour la vie? There used to be another one than me on there!

Yes, I agree that the off the ship excursions are so expensive.... but I'm a spoiled brat and guess what I'm asking my parents for Christmas? wine package for onboard; photo package for onboard; spa treatments for onboard and excursions. I was almost thinking of asking the 400$ in tips we'll be asked to pay... but decided that my parents would have no fun in giving us that... Whatever they get us, I'll make them a photo album with us doing it!

I'm not booking anything for Castaway Cay unless someone convinces me otherwise. There seems to be plenty to do on the beach (did I see waterslides?) When in Cuba in August, my oldest and I discovered snorkeling, so we may 'plurge' the 25 $ to rent the snorkel equipment. 25 bucks a pop, that's pretty outrageous!

Everyone else, I hope you are having an amazing week-end!

[wld4mky]

We brought our own snorlke stuff. They still make you wear a yellow life jacket, but they did supply that for free.:thumbsup2

[Alexis Green]

We have four snorkels and there's only two of us. So if anyone wants to use the other two just let me know!

I've been looking for other excursions that Disney doesn't offer but I keep coming back to the Disney ones. Both are under $40 which really isn't to bad for two people. I'm getting so excited!

[zaz]

Alexis : which excursions are you thinking of taking?

[Alexis Green]

St. Maarten Island and Butterfly Farm Tour
Adults: $38
Children: $28

and I was wrong about the Disney price of the other. I was looking at child's price.

Coral World Ocean Park by Land and Sea
Adults: $56
Children: $42

Still not a bad price compared to the other excursions.

[peachygreen]

St. Maarten Island and Butterfly Farm Tour
Adults: $38
Children: $28

and I was wrong about the Disney price of the other. I was looking at child's price.

Coral World Ocean Park by Land and Sea
Adults: $56
Children: $42

Still not a bad price compared to the other excursions.

We are considering the same things but I am seriously considering doing them on my own.

Right now I think we might just rent a car in St. Maarten so we can do the butterfly farm and then tour the island on our own. I'd like to spend as much time with the family as possible and my husband and I really want to have a chance to do a little snorkeling so I figure this might be the best way to do this. Besides this way I can have a carseat for the baby. I know I'm a paranoid mommy but the thought of driving around some of these islands with my baby in my lap makes me nervous.

In St. Thomas Coral world sounds great I'm just now sure about the 3 excursions. Here we might just grab a cab and go over ourselves. I'd kinda like to do the Snuba they offer there but Disney doesn't have that as an excursion option. I also have a really hard time paying $42 for my baby to do that trip because of the boat part and the land one well I don't want to go shopping.

[zaz]

This is all so complicated to figure out, isn't ? Usually, on my own, I've got no trouble organizing it all, but it seems that with the girls in tow, I find it a bit more difficult.

[SalCat1027]

Thanks to all of the very helpful comments on here...I think we will also bring our own snorkel equipment. Great idea. Also, we plan to do our own thing and not book any excursions through Disney. We will likely do the ferry to St. John...as we'd like to visit Trunk Bay. Any tips on St. John? :) We've done the cab thing on Grand Cayman and it worked out quite nicely. Same for Key West, so we're willing to go out on our own again.

Thanks everyone! Hope you are all well...we're already dreaming of this vacation and can't wait!

[zaz]

Good morning everyone!

Chilli Remembrance Day here today.

I'm also finished planning our trip, can't wait, it'll arrive soon now!

Have a good day!

[Time4disneynow]

Good Morning everyone...hope you're having a good weekend.

Have a great day and take care.

[jbuckent]

Wow so many people have joined since I've last been here! Welcome everyone! I'll be sure to check in more often now that there are enough people to keep our thread hopping!

I just paid off the cruise this this morning! All set to book Palo in a few! We will be at a wedding that evening so I'll have to run up to our hotel room for a quick moment to make sure I get it!!!! LOL Hope I don't lose track of time! Brunch is the one and only thing we plan to book that night. After Christmas is over I'll take a closer look at the excursions to see what we want to do. With the kids we have figured out the beach excursions are the most fun, just need to decide if we want to go back to the same beaches or try something new.

Do we have anyone who was able to book already? Who else will be booking with me at 90 days?


So I've been waiting to book our night before hotel until I had our flights booked. Turns out our flight gets in late so there is no time to enjoy the resorts. :( But from reading on here it sounds like the rooms near port are all booked due to the shuttle launch. Anyone have suggestions on a different place to stay? Our flight doesn't get in until 7PM or near that so we just need a safe clean place to sleep.

[wld4mky]

Wow so many people have joined since I've last been here! Welcome everyone! I'll be sure to check in more often now that there are enough people to keep our thread hopping!

I just paid off the cruise this this morning! All set to book Palo in a few! We will be at a wedding that evening so I'll have to run up to our hotel room for a quick moment to make sure I get it!!!! LOL Hope I don't lose track of time! Brunch is the one and only thing we plan to book that night. After Christmas is over I'll take a closer look at the excursions to see what we want to do. With the kids we have figured out the beach excursions are the most fun, just need to decide if we want to go back to the same beaches or try something new.

Do we have anyone who was able to book already? Who else will be booking with me at 90 days?


So I've been waiting to book our night before hotel until I had our flights booked. Turns out our flight gets in late so there is no time to enjoy the resorts. :( But from reading on here it sounds like the rooms near port are all booked due to the shuttle launch. Anyone have suggestions on a different place to stay? Our flight doesn't get in until 7PM or near that so we just need a safe clean place to sleep.

I to will be trying to book Palo Brunch. We have never done it so are hoping to get in. I too was wondering about a hotel. My SIL lives in Sanford and we were hoping to crash at her place overnight. So far she has not called us back:scared1: Family:confused3 We also will wait a bit to book excursions. This is our Eastern so it is all new to us. But the kids do love the beach!

[jbuckent]

Add my family to the roll call! I'm Jennifer and will be traveling with my DH Ryan, and our DDs Allyn (7) and Evelyn (3). We are not cruising for her birthday but Ally's birthday is 2/24 you can add to the list. We will be the party poopers and not participate in the FE's.



Karen (Wld4Mky)I was just looking at the opening post for this thread with the birthdays and see our DDs have the same birthday!

[zaz]

Welcome everyone!

I'll book excursions at my 75 day mark. Boo hooo. However, I've booked a private tour of St-Marteen in the PM of the 1st.

I will also try to book a Palo brunch. I wouldn't want to miss an evening of excitement in the traditional dining rooms.

My flight comes in on the 25th at 6:30 PM so we're staying at the Fairfield Marriot near the airport (free shuttle and breakfast) for 87 $ with AAA. I've reserved the Rainforest café in downtown disney for an 8:30 supper. We'll spend the evening shopping and getting into the Disney magic even though we're too late for the parks!

And we've book a car service to pick us up at the hotel the next morning and drive us to Port Carnaveral.

Jbuckent : our youngest daughters are the same age! They may become club friends!

[Alexis Green]

Hello and welcome on board! I have updated the front page, sorry I have been away. I just got back from Maryland, a friend and I went on a road trip.

I've been so tempted to do this cruise commando style, but I need to relax and let it go. On trips in the past I plan like crazy and don't get the surprise. So I've stopped looking at photos and reviews. Since this is our first Disney Cruise I want to get the full wow effect. I am so excited!

[Tanooki]

Sadly, we are going to jump ship :sad1:

It was too much, too close, too expensive. We had to choose.

Hopefully, we'll get to cruise on DCL one day.

Have a great time everyone!

Caroline

[Time4disneynow]

Hi Caroline...

Sorry to hear that you will are not going on the cruise.

Take care.

[peachygreen]

Sadly, we are going to jump ship :sad1:

It was too much, too close, too expensive. We had to choose.

Hopefully, we'll get to cruise on DCL one day.

Have a great time everyone!

Caroline

I'm sorry you have to jump ship.

[peachygreen]

My TA is back from maternity leave and so I was able to quickly get my name changed on my cruise documents (one of these days I need to go to the DMV and get my drivers license and my passport to have matching names.)and confirm that my reservation is in deed linked with my parents and confirm my PIF date (I had 2 - I think because of the change in my cruise). So we are rolling right along now. 3-1/2 more weeks until the paid in full date.

[Alexis Green]

Sorry to see you leave us Caroline! I hope everything is well :goodvibes

[wld4mky]

Sadly, we are going to jump ship :sad1:

It was too much, too close, too expensive. We had to choose.

Hopefully, we'll get to cruise on DCL one day.

Have a great time everyone!

Caroline

Sorry to hear you are jumping ship. Maybe we will run into each other on another cruise. Enjoy your vacation!

[wld4mky]

Add my family to the roll call! I'm Jennifer and will be traveling with my DH Ryan, and our DDs Allyn (7) and Evelyn (3). We are not cruising for her birthday but Ally's birthday is 2/24 you can add to the list. We will be the party poopers and not participate in the FE's.



Karen (Wld4Mky)I was just looking at the opening post for this thread with the birthdays and see our DDs have the same birthday!

What a coincidence.!.!

[wld4mky]

Good Morning Everyone.
Enjoying a warm day in the 50's here in the north. Hard to believe Christmas is just around the corner.
Hope you all have a great week and Happy Thanksgiving to all the American Diser's.:grouphug:

[Alexis Green]

What a chilly and rainy day in Michigan. I can not wait for this vacation! It hasn't even snowed yet and I want spring to get here. I am excited for the Holidays though!
Happy Thanksgiving to the other American DISers!!

[Hendy Clan]

Wow, I have been so busy at school and home that we slipped from triple digits to double digits:cool1::cool1::cool1: and didn't even know it..... Happy Thanksgiving everyone:)

I need some advice about excursions. My DH does not like doing the structured excursions, he llikes to explore and venture out by himself and I always worry that we be safe so we have until November 28th to decide as that is when we can book excursions. On our last cruise we were in Costa Maya and went to the Mayan ruins. It was an all day excursion, but we spent over 5 hours on the bus and only an 1 1/2 hours at the ruins, he was not amused. What are your plans for excursions? Has anyone already done the Eastern cruise and done any of the excursions already? Thanks for any help.

Have a great day everyone :yay:

[jbuckent]

What are your plans for excursions? Has anyone already done the Eastern cruise and done any of the excursions already? Thanks for any help.

Have a great day everyone :yay:

We are traveling with young kids and have found that the beach excursions fit our family best.

In St Thomas we have tried to venture on our own and were not very successful. LOL We will most likely do the Magens Bay excursion there. We also like doing the skyride to Paradise Point, but that is so easy to do on your own if you feel like it at the moment. We have never booked that through Disney.

In St Maarten we will probably do the Afternoon Beach Bash.

In Castaway Cay we will most likely rent bikes and then spend more time on the beach.

Not a lot is offered when traveling with a 3 year old.


Pre kids we did the Scuba adventure in St Thomas which was pretty cool! Expensive but something we will remember forever. We also always enjoyed the Catamaran excursions and kayaking is always fun too!

[Disney_mississauga]

Hello fellow cruisers.

I am mostly a lurker on the message board but as so may people are going to be cruising on the 26th I thought I would introduce myself.

We (MDW and 2 sons) will be coming down from Canada. We live just west of Toronto and I am happy to see other Canadians that are going to be there also. This will be our 2nd cruise.

We are new DVC members as on our last trip to WDW we purchase at BL.
The reason I mentioned this is we are staying at Boardwalk the night prior and I have a question about getting to the port.

We have decided to not to use the DCL bus transport but rather to use a car service drive us so we can get to the port earlier than waiting on the bus.

My question is 2 fold.... What time can we start to check in or should we have the car pick us up? Second is we are planning on making a pit stop to pick up bottled water, is there any thing else we should pickup?

TIA, and I can't wait.

[peachygreen]

Yeah for double digits! I'm so excited.

We went ahead and added our trip insurance last week and I purchased some disney gift cards on sale from Sam's to cover our on board expenses (or if I don't spend it all our tips - but I'm planning on bringing cash for that). The cruise gets paid in 2-1/2 weeks.

I think we are going to explore the islands on our own. In St. Maarten I really think we are going to rent a car so we can spend much of the day together and then my DH and I (and maybe my dad) can do a little snorkeling while my mom watches the girls and hangs out for a couple hours. In St. Thomas I think we are going to go to Coral World on our own. We will take a cab over and that way we can all stay together. I think I might like to try Snuba while we are there (yes I am taking advantage of a built in baby sitter - my husband and I do not get the opportunity to spend time together 1-1 very often.)

We are getting a car service to take us to our hotel from the airport on Friday night. Then we'll take the shuttle in the morning. I'm hoping we can get to the port early. I think I've read they open the port around 10am for arriving passengers. We are going to stop at the grocery store for necessities like diapers and baby food, along with maybe a bottle of wine, a couple prepackaged snacks, water etc.
For those coming in on the 25th or before - where are you planning to stay? We are reserved at the Sheraton Four Points at the Port. I'm hoping that since the shuttle was moved a day it might move more now and rates might drop a little or a different hotel might open up.


Is anyone surprising anyone with the cruise at Christmas? I'm surprising the girls with it. (The baby won't care but the 4-1/2 year old will - she's been asking about going on the Mickey Boat since she first saw a commercial for it. I told her not until Alice was 2-1/2 (when we plan to go to WDW again) so she will be super excited.) If you are what are you doing? I'm trying to put together a count down calendar for her. I'm going to wrap up a box for both girls with all sorts of thing Disney Cruise related. Some of the things I plan to add are a stuffed model DCL boat with Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Pluto in their sailor outfits, some custom clothes that I have made or purchased for the trip, the countdown calendar, etc.) This way the boat is given to both girls and Megan doesn't try to claim it as her own when ALice gets bigger. I might spread them into smaller packages so there is more to open, but we'll see.



Okay I think I might have rambled long enough for today.

[Disney_mississauga]

Oh yeah I think.... if I can get myself crafty enough going to participate in the FE....

Disney_mississauga.
6569
4 people
Male - 44
Female - 40
Male - 12
Male 7

[Hendy Clan]

Welcome Disney_mississauga glad you are joining us. We are staying at the Bay Lake Tower on the Friday night. We tried to get a hotel at the port, but as the shuttle will be launched that weekend we could not find any available. We are driving down from Maryland so will drive over to the port on the Saturday morning and plan to get there around 10 am. We heard the earlier you get to the port, the early you can get on the ship when they start boarding. Anyway that's the plan, but you know how sometimes the best laid plans go ....:rotfl2:

[SalCat1027]

A quick question...is pin trading "hot" on DCL? My kids have been pin trading at WDW for the past 4 years...but wasn't sure if this happens on the cruise?

Thanks! Happy Thanksgiving!

[zaz]

Hi everyone!

Peachygreen : I am not surprising my kids with the cruise at Christmas... as I’ve already told them that they won’t get Christmas gifts because we are going on the cruise! I may have Mickey or Ariel call them on Christmas day though. We can do that from Our Reservation page on the DCL website.

I think I may have mentioned it before, but I am staying at the Fairfield Airport on the 25th. Then at 8:30 PM, I’ve reserved supper at the Rainforest Café in Downtown Disney. On the 26th, we have a car service (ORLANDO AT YOUR SERVICE I think) picking us up from the hotel at 10 AM to bring us to the port. I hope to make a stop for wine somewhere along the way.

I’m getting so excited! I think we’ve sorted it all out, so I’m pretty happy! I’m still reading these boards for more and more info though! I think I’m more excited about the cruise than about the Christmas holidays... ;-)

[nokidz]

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 more fridays til CRUISE EVE!!!!

[zaz]

NoKids: You seem to have done a few Carribean cruises before. Could you tell me : which kind of clothes do I pack? Is 1 pair of jeans and 1 sweater enough as 'warm' gear, the rest being shorts and t-shirts and sun dresses? How about the water on boat and off, warm enough to swim without a chill?

Thanks!

13 Saturdays until departure.... yahou!

[nokidz]

we make sure everyone in our party, 10 of us on this cruise, brings atleast one set of warm clothes. last year on this cruise it was cold until we got to St.Maarten. Even Castaway Cay was cold. I didnt see to many people in the waters at CC. I pack 1 pair of jeans, and a fleece jacket along with a few pairs of shorts, a few pairs of swim trunks, t shirts and a couple golf shirts. We do laundry :laundy: on the ship as I am tired of over packing and not using half of what I bring.

[Disney_mississauga]

OK I am now getting excited......

Cruise paid in full - Check
Paper work filed - Check
Shore excursions and Palo - Work in progress.

I have book 2 seatings at Palo one for dinner on Sunday and one for brunch on Thursday. As for shore excursions, I personally have booked myself for the 12-Metre Regatta, I am very excited about this as I have just started racing sailboats on a smaller (much smaller) scale. While I am off doing the MDW and 2 boys are going to be doing the St. Maarten Island & Butterfly Farm Tour.

In the afternoon we are going to explore on our own the island.

As for St Thomas we have not really committed on anything but have a few in mind.

[jbuckent]

A quick question...is pin trading "hot" on DCL? My kids have been pin trading at WDW for the past 4 years...but wasn't sure if this happens on the cruise?

Thanks! Happy Thanksgiving!

Yes there is pin trading on the boat! I'm not sure if I would call it 'hot' but its definitely there!

[Hendy Clan]

I would say pin trading is tepid or luke warm lol:rotfl2: I was able to buy some pins that you could only buy on the ship and they were pretty cool. We had lots of people ask to trade when we were in WDW, so you may want to check those out.

The excitement is rising again as we booked our excursions this weekend:cool1::cool1:

[zaz]

My travel agent called. I need to pay in by this Friday (I thought it was Dec. 13th). I hope that means I get to reserve Palo and the excursions now. Oh it's so exciting!

[peachygreen]

THat's odd - my information from Disney states my paid in full date is the 13th. I wonder why they want you to pay this Friday? I have my TA scheduled to draft the $$ next Friday the 10th.

[Time4disneynow]

Hello everyone...hope all is well with you. Have a great Thursday. We are getting closer to our cruise. I can't wait!!!!!

Have a great day and take care.:flower3:

[nokidz]

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 more fridays til CRUISE EVE!!!!
:banana::cool1::banana::cool1:

[peachygreen]

:banana::yay::banana::yay:

I'm so excited. Its getting so close.

[Hendy Clan]

Wow 12 weeks woohoo.......:yay::yay:

We paid off on one of our reservations today. The other was on DVC points so as of today we are paid in full -double woohoo:dance3: Now to save some spending money:scared1:

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend. We have been getting snow flurries today and possible snow on Sunday, roll on February:cheer2:

[peachygreen]

THe Discovery Shuttle Launch has been postponed to Feb 3rd which means the Endevor launch that was scheduled for the 27th has been moved to march. What does this mean for us - it means hotel rooms at the port are opening up. I just rebooked us at the Radission and was able to save about $50 over the room we had booked. Always good to save money and we will be closer to the port now! I guess it also means there is a chance we could still see the Discovery launch while we are there. You never know it could get postponed until the end of the month.

12 weeks from now we will be on the Disney Magic!

[zaz]

Now paid in full! I'm not sure why my TA wanted it now... maybe he had low sales earlier on this month? In any case, anxiously waiting for next Monday to try and book a Palo brunch for my hubby and I.

If we don't get the excursions we want, that's OK, but Palo I'd really like!

Peachygreen : I was hoping to see the shuttle, so I'm a bit bummed, but hey, what can we do?

NoKids: thanks for the weather and clothes info! I do hope we bring enough, yet not too much to burden us with luggages.

Crazy coincidence : at a lunch with friends, we found a former golf pro for another cruise line. He was able to tell me all about shopping in St-Thomas and what to do in St-Marteen as well as a few other 'cruising' tips.

Well, that's it for now, have a great week-end everyone!

[SalCat1027]

I would say pin trading is tepid or luke warm lol:rotfl2: I was able to buy some pins that you could only buy on the ship and they were pretty cool. We had lots of people ask to trade when we were in WDW, so you may want to check those out.

The excitement is rising again as we booked our excursions this weekend:cool1::cool1:

Ahhh...thank you both for this information! Not sure yet if I'll pack the kids' pin trading stuff or not...hmmm.

My paid in full date is the 13th too...but all of this talk about paying earlier makes me nervous. Off to the website to double check!

Have a great week everyone! It is freezing cold here...ready for some palm trees!!!

[wld4mky]

Hi everyone! snow flurries here in the north tonight. I hate the cold.
Our pay in full date is Dec. 13th as well but our 90 day out booking date was Nov. 28th so I paid in full to book Palo and a spa treatment.
Getting very excited!!:yay: It will be our first time trying both of these things. I hope the kids co-operate.

[peachygreen]

Slightly anxious but very excited as I pay my cruise off in full tomorrow. The good news is that my end of year bonus came through early so I know 100% that I will have the $$ for the cruise. (I was 95% certain before I knew the final amount but its nice to know what it is).

Somehow having it all paid will make it seem a bit more real! :banana:

[zaz]

Just posting that I can't wait! I feel weird not getting the girls any gifts from Christmas, but I'm sure it'll be so worth it when we fly and sail away!

[Disney_mississauga]

So what shore excursions is everyone planing on doing?

[Hendy Clan]

As of tomorrow we are 2,2,2 away from sailing - 2 months, 2 weeks and 2 days. I've been at home all week with pnumonia and feeling sorry for myself so this has really raised my spirits.

We signed up for the Under the 2 flag tour to see some of the island, but after reading reviews that kids would be bored out of their heads I'm not sure if we should do it and we have also booked parasailing at CC. Other than that we are doing stuff on our own. I heard that Magen's Bay was beautiful and easy to get to by taxi so probably will be doing that.

It was 17 degrees this morning or so my DH informed me and he so hates cold weather and it's only December. Here's hoping we don't get a winter like last year.

I've had lots of time to think of FE gifts this week and excited about getting started on them.

[Alexis Green]

Hey everyone!

Just popping in and checking up on everything. I have been super busy with the holiday season and everything else that seems to pop up. I haven't been in the mood to book anything or start planning excursions. I think I might be having the holiday blues, is anyone else feeling it? I paid in full the other day so wahhoooo! :banana:

To get my spirits up I have been using pandora radio and made a Disney station. It is awesome!! I also started a count down on my dry erase board. Only two more months!

[nokidz]

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 more fridays til CRUISE EVE!!!!:thumbsup2

[peachygreen]

PAID IN FULL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :banana::banana::banana: (well my invoice from the TA says I'm paid in full but the charge hasn't shown up on my CC yet - I hope that means it is processed with Disney and I can get online at 11pm CT tomorrow and book things)

Passports Check
Cruise Paid
Airfare Paid
$665 in Disney Gift Cards locked in my safe with my passports.
Hotel Booked
Limo Service Booked

I still need to finalize and book our excursions, as well as Palo (if possible) Flounders etc.

Now after bonus hits the bank on Friday I need to put about $1500 away for additional spending money, hotel, tips etc. I'm hoping that almost $2200 should be more than sufficient to have on hand for everything. I've budgeted for tips, excursions, hotel, limo, wine tastings, palo (if we can book it) and about $50/day of spending money with about $200 extra. I just realized my budget didn't include Flounders. Maybe I should put $2000 from the bonus away just incase but plan not to spend it all. I'm much rather have too much put aside and not spend it than to have not enough put aside.

11 weeks from now I should be asleep on the Magic!

[Alexis Green]

Hey all! Since we are getting oooohhh so close to the cruise (YAY) it might be helpful if anyone can find a good packing list/to do before list/and things to bring for checkin and transportation. I am a person who worries the whole drive to the airport that I have forgotten something!!

[zaz]

That's it folk, our 75 day mark!

I've booked Palo brunch at 11 on day 6 at sea.

I've booked excursions with my pre-teen :
Sea Trek Saint-Martin
Doubloon snorkel in St-Thomas

No spa as the options didn't interest me all that much... I hope to be all about the books and the sun, that's what gets me really relaxed... unless something catches my attention on open day.

Anyone else booked something?

[peachygreen]

After an hour and a half of frustration last night I was finally able to book at about 1:30am ET.

I might not keep everything but I made my reservations.
I made brunch reservations for the 2nd Sea day @ 10:30. Hopefully I can add my parents once there paid in full status is updated.
I also made Palo dinner reservations for my husband and I on St. Thomas Day. I made a late dinner reservation so we could still spend the evening with the family and then have some alone time together.
I made a couple of nursery reservations for my baby.

I made a spa appt for myself on the 1st sea day early in the morning. I figured this would be a nice way to unwind and start my vacation and a happy birthday present to me.

I made reservations for the Dabloon Snorkel for my husband and myself in St. Thomas.

I will make a few additional reservations once my parents are shown as PIF.

[Alexis Green]

Booking day!!

I filled out all our forms and are checked in!
When I went to book a Palo brunch the only thing available is a dinner ressy. :confused3 I'm not sure if they are booked or aren't letting two people book a brunch. I'd hate to miss dinner one night, but if that's the only time I can book Palo...

I booked a few excursions.
- St. Maarten Island & Butterfly Farm Tour
- Coral World Ocean Park by Land and Sea
- Parasailing at Castaway

I was surprised how much the couples spa treatments are! $400+ YIKES!!! I think we'll probably skip it.

[Fibigail]

Hello everyone,
Canadians going on our first disney cruise on February 26th with Magic. Husband and I have a 7-year old son. Really looking forward to it.
Booked our son for some time at the Oceaneer Club/Lab, I hope he will
like it so hubby and I can spend sone alone time for one dinner:)

[Hendy Clan]

Welcome Fibigail,

Glad you could join us:banana: We have a few Canadian families joining us on this cruise and on this thread. Where in Canada are you located?:)

[SalCat1027]

Paid in full here too! We are all sooo excited! Can hardly believe we'll be on the boat so soon!!!
Looking forward to meeting everyone!

Happy Holidays from very cold Iowa!

[peachygreen]

Would anyone like to try to snag a 2 person brunch at Palo on the 28th @ 10:30am. If so let me know and we can try to set up a time for me to cancel it so you can add it.

[Disney_mississauga]

Hello everyone,
Canadians going on our first Disney cruise on February 26th with Magic. Husband and I have a 7-year old son. Really looking forward to it.
Booked our son for some time at the Oceaneer Club/Lab, I hope he will
like it so hubby and I can spend some alone time for one dinner:)

We are also Canadian :cool1: Both my sons love the Club/Lab, what I will say is that when we went to pick them up one night at 11pm they said to us that we can stay until 1am.....

[nokidz]

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 more fridays til CRUISE EVE!!!!

:cool1::thumbsup2:banana::woohoo::yay::dance3:

[Hendy Clan]

10 is a good number, oh but wouldn't ONE be better:rotfl2::rotfl2:

It is cold, cold, cold and snowy in Frederick, MD. Early dismissal from school yesterday and 2 hour late arrival today. :confused3

[Alexis Green]

Hey everyone! It has been mighty cold here in Michigan. I just wanted to remind everyone that the cut off date for FEs is going to be Jan 8th. That way everyone can have enough time to find gifts!

Happy Holidays!

[Alexis Green]

Just a notice.

I have not heard from pamsacruzin AND lindleyfamilycruise that you are actually going on this cruise! You are both on the FE list but not on roll call. Anyone NOT on roll call that is going on the cruise please let me know! I don't want to forget anyone!

[peachygreen]

I just finished my daughters Cruise Countdown book that I'm giving her for Christmas. After several brainstorming sessions I decided to do the following. I used an offer for 75-free prints that I had and printed 70 pictures of the Disney magic and parts around it that I found online. Then I used a bunch of Mickey Head paint chips from Home Depot and wrote the date and # of days left on them and glued it to the back of each picture. I also used one of the little post it tags with the # of days left on the top to make it easier to remove the pictures. I then slid each picture backwards (with the Mickey Head up and picture down) into a brag book and each day she will pull the picture out and turn it around. I'm really happy with the way it turned out. Oh and just in case you were wondering it is 63 days until the cruise from Christmas Day.

Christmas is in 1 week and at a minimum I have 2 outfits (one for each girl) that I really want to finish as they are the sailaway outfits and I'd love to have those under the tree when I tell her about the cruise.

[lindleyfamilycruise]

hi there! Yes both of going! :)

[zaz]

10 wks!!! Can't wait!

Snowstorm forcasted here for Wednesday… I hope it doesn't happen because we are leaving to see my parents 800 km away… after a full already 10 hours driving for my husband.

Peachygreen : you seem so crafty! I wish I would have had your great ideas for Christmas gifts. Wow!

Alexis : I see that you haven't got much info on my family for the roll call. We are :

2. zaz (Isabelle)
DH Chris (Birthday 20 Feb.)
DD12 : Fred
DD3 : Maé
In room 1047.
Do you need anything else?

[Alexis Green]

Thank you so much Zaz and Lindley!!!

[zaz]

Well folks, we are now taking off for Christmas holidays. I wish you a very Merry Christmas, full of love.

If I don't get back before then, I also wish you a wonderful year 2011 (and hey, it will be amazing as it starts by a Disney cruise!). I hope your year will be filled with happiness.

[wld4mky]

:santa: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!!! :santa:
:santa: Don't forget to watch the Disney Christmas parade. :santa:
:love: It airs on Christmas day 11am-1pm :love:

[nokidz]

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 more fridays til CRUISE EVE!!!!





:cool1:

[peachygreen]

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!

My daughter is very excited now about the cruise. Of course she is 4-3/4 so 2 months is such a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG time before we go.

I bought half my outfit for formal night yesterday and bought my husband a new suit, 2 new dress shirts and a new tie. So he is set now for formal night, semi formal night and Palo dinner.

I need to start putting together a to-do list, a packing list and a shopping list. I've started putting some things away into my misc bag that we won't really need between now and the cruise.

[Hendy Clan]

I have also started to put things away that I know we will not need until the cruise. Spent $400 yesterday getting passports renewed ugh.. but don't want to risk going without them in case of an emergency and it is one more thing off the 'to do list'. I also started buying glow sticks from the dollar store and have began to work on my FE gifts. School is out until Jan. 3rd so now is a good time to work on them. Very excited with what I've come up with and hope all those on the FE exchange will like them:dance3:

Hope everyone enjoyed Christmas and got what they wanted from Santa; I received a long awaited Nook Color and am loving it. My DH has the older version and he is amazed how far technology has come from his version to the new one. woohoo no more lugging tons of books on vacation with me.

Celebrating my birthday today too, so we have lots of celebrating in the Hendy household this week.

Hope you all have a great week and Happy 2011:cheer2::cheer2: February 26th is coming nearer:cool1::cool1:

[zaz]

Happy Birthday Heidyclan!

I have also started buying a few things... sand pails and shovels, glow sticks, and today, I bought our matching Pirate family outfits! SOOOO exciting! I feel more like Christmas than a few days ago!

I have also called Disney Cruise lines to buy a few gifts and amenities, such as the classic wine package and the photo package. I'm pretty happy to have it all paid off prior to the cruise. I've put some money on my onboard account so that most will be pre-paid. Yé me!

Otherwise, the girls are pretty excited, mostly since they received their phone call from Arial, their favorite princess. The youngest has received 2 princess dresses for Christmas, and she had one from her sister... she is all equiped for the formal nights! As for me, I think I'll just dig in my closet... unless I can't resist and go 'cruisewear' shopping. My favorite store told me she'd get her exclusive collection soon!

Have a great holiday season everyone!

[Time4disneynow]

Hello everyone.

Hope you had a wonderful Christmas.

We cruise in 59 days...I can't wait. We have over 20 inches of snow :eek: and I have the worst cold :sick:. Looking forward to :boat: :sunny: :beach: 59 days can't get here fast enough. :hourglass


Hendy Clan.....a belated Happy Birthday. :bday::cake: Sending you best wishes and hope you had a great day.


Have a good day everyone and take care. :flower3:

[mismal]

:goodvibes:goodvibes:goodvibes
My husband is celebrating his b-day while on board the 27th and how much fun would it be for him to be clueless to this!?!
Out family of 4 is part of a group of 16 Crusin' Cousins and this is our 2nd trip all together. Traveling to WDW first for 3 full days of fun and hope to relax on board (since we didn't seem to get a chance to do so last trip)
To add us to your list info as follows:
Mismal
rm 6046
DH 55...soon to be 56 2/27
DS 45
DD age 14princess:
DS age 7pirate:
can't wait for our adventure!!!

[Alexis Green]

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!! It hasn't snowed in over a week here so it's pretty fantastic! I am so ready for the warmth though. :woohoo:

Welcome aboard mismal and family! I have added you to the fish extender list and roll call! Just a reminder that the cut off date to sign up for fish extenders is Jan 8th!!

I hope everyone has a wonderful week! I am headed off to Chicago for New Years! Take care!!

[zaz]

Hello all,

How was your Christmas?

Dec. 31st today and I'm reflecting on this past year. It was truly a great one for us.

I wish you all the best for 2011. I wish you a year filled with health and happiness. With that, it all seems easy! Enjoy the little moments.

[peachygreen]

Happy New Year!

I hope all have a great 2011!

I have finally figured out my FE gifts and have ordered all the supplies needed so I can start assembling them soon.

I still need to figure out my actual fish extender however.

8 weeks from now I'll hopefully be sleeping at my hotel in Port Canaveral!

[nokidz]

A day late, but….
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 more fridays til CRUISE EVE!!!!

[Time4disneynow]

Hello everyone and Happy New Year!!!!

8 more Fridays....oh that sounds sooooo good. Working on our FE gifts. Getting exciting!!!!!!

Have a great day and take care. :flower3:

[mismal]

I have a few more minutes so maybe I should be more polite.
I am Susan, my husband Jim will be celebrating the b-day on board. Can't wait, our group was able to get Palo for the same night!:cool1:
My daughter Melissa is 14 and currently doing a fashion show to determine how much (more) shopping we will have to do before the trip (in 50 days if you count that we will be at DW prior) and my son Aaron is 7 could care less that he has outgrown most of his clothes from last year. Thank goodness for retail being 4 months at least ahead of season!

I see some other posts re:shopping for extender gifts. I am looking for some guidelines to follow; or will that be more to come after the 8th? There are plenty of threads about the making of the extenders...can't wait to get the creativity going!

Later; from freezing in Wisconsin...50 degrees 2 days ago, now down to 10 yippie!!!!:woohoo::woohoo:

[Time4disneynow]

:flower3:Hi Susan...my name is Monika...my husband Michael and I will be cruising--ALONE---just the 2 of us. It's nice to be chatting with you and looking forward to meeting you.

Our daughter is in college and our son and our daughter in law became parents to a beautiful little girl :lovestruc 9 months ago. Our daughter isn't into Disney in any way. Our son and daughter in law love Disney....looking forward to taking our granddaughter to WDW or a Disney cruise.

As for the fish extenders...we made ours. You can also buy them on Ebay. There are quite a few threads on the Dis on Fish extenders. If you have a question...please ask. Have you ever participated in a Fish Extender gift exchange? It is alot of fun. I've purchased some of the gifts from Oriental Trading...www.orientaltrading.com It is so exciting to arrive at your cabin and see goodies in your Fish Extender. The best part is delivering the gifts without being caught.

It was 51 degrees here today and pouring rain. The 20 + inches of snow we got is pretty much gone now.

Have a good evening and take care.

[SalCat1027]

Cannot believe how close the trip is getting! We're all excited (and freezing cold here!) and cannot wait to get on the ship! My kids have never cruised before and I can only imagine their faces when they see how big the ship is!!!

We managed to find 4 snorkel sets at Costco over the weekend...which is joyful!

No excursions or Palo for this crew. We're wingin' everything, just seeing what the kids want to do...

A QUESTION: My 11 year old daughter is too old for Oceaneers Club? I guess I'm not surprised...but what is fun for "tweens" onboard the Magic? Any tips?

Very excited to get started on FE gifts too! Some great ideas! Thanks!

A belated happy new year to everyone!!! See you soon!

Very cold Catrons in Iowa...

[GRITS]

I know I am a bit late to the board but as they say, better late than never!

LOL

My name is Alice and we are going on our first Disney Cruise along with the rest of you all!!:banana:

My husband will be celebrating the big 4-0 while we are at St. Johns, :cheer2:

The kids and I would love to participate in the Fish Extender thing. So, here are their names/ages....
Alex (DS) age 9 (10 in April)
Elana (DD) age 7
Luke (DS) age 6

I'm 39 and DH will be 39 until 3/2/11.

Looking forward to this amazing adventure! I have been reading like a hound about all the stuff to do, etc....

oh, and we are hailing from the great mid-west, Missouri. However, we are really native Atlanta, Georgia peeps. We've only lived in MO for a little over a yr (job transfer).

[GRITS]

okay, our stateroom number is 8512
:dance3::dance3::dance3::dance3:

getting so excited!!!

[Time4disneynow]

Hi Alice and family....:welcome: aboard.

Looking forward to chatting and finally meeting you. It won't be long now. The kids as well as the grown ups (bigger kids :) ) will love participating in the FE. Lots of fun!!!!

Take care and have a great day. :flower3:

[SalCat1027]

I know I am a bit late to the board but as they say, better late than never!

LOL

My name is Alice and we are going on our first Disney Cruise along with the rest of you all!!:banana:

My husband will be celebrating the big 4-0 while we are at St. Johns, :cheer2:

The kids and I would love to participate in the Fish Extender thing. So, here are their names/ages....
Alex (DS) age 9 (10 in April)
Elana (DD) age 7
Luke (DS) age 6

I'm 39 and DH will be 39 until 3/2/11.

Looking forward to this amazing adventure! I have been reading like a hound about all the stuff to do, etc....

oh, and we are hailing from the great mid-west, Missouri. However, we are really native Atlanta, Georgia peeps. We've only lived in MO for a little over a yr (job transfer).

Welcome from your neighbor to the North...in Des Moines, IA!!! Looking forward to meeting you and your family on the cruise! My DH and I turned 40 in 2010! Good times... :cool1:

[Alexis Green]

Hello everyone! Welcome Alice as well!!

Sorry I have not been on the past while. I am in Chicago, sadly it's my last day here. I have updated the front page we now have 14 families!

-------
Fish extenders:
I have been getting a few questions about fish extenders. One was if we were going to have any guidelines. Since this is my very first fish extender, I need help from the experienced ones! If anyone thinks we should have guidelines or rules for FEs please let us know!
Would it be helpful to split up in groups since we have quite a few people involved? Do we want to do fish extenders only a few times?

Stats
Rooms: 11
Cruisers: 43
Girls: 21
Boys: 22

1 month and 3 weeks to go!!!

[Time4disneynow]

Hello everyone! Welcome Alice as well!!

Sorry I have not been on the past while. I am in Chicago, sadly it's my last day here. I have updated the front page we now have 14 families!

-------
Fish extenders:
I have been getting a few questions about fish extenders. One was if we were going to have any guidelines. Since this is my very first fish extender, I need help from the experienced ones! If anyone thinks we should have guidelines or rules for FEs please let us know!
Would it be helpful to split up in groups since we have quite a few people involved? Do we want to do fish extenders only a few times?

Stats
Rooms: 11
Cruisers: 43
Girls: 21
Boys: 22

1 month and 3 weeks to go!!!


Cassie...

We have participated in several FE gift exchanges...the most we had was 36 cabins. We usually provide a bag of goodies...1 per stateroom. If there are children in the stateroom, we put in gifts for the kids.

In my opinion...we do not need to divide it. We've never seen or had any rules or guidelines. It's to be fun and no pressure. We received hand made gifts, themed gifts (pirate,beach,Disney), inexpensive gifts. There are many threads on the Dis with ideas and suggestions. Do a search on Fish Extenders. As for deliving the gifts...each night or afternoon, we would grab a handful of the gifts and deliver. Usually by the 2nd or 3rd day all the gifts have been delivered.

The most fun about delivering the FE gifts is not getting caught.

We plan to deliver our FE gifts to all the participants.

[90byrd]

Hi everyone, just found this thread. I've been lurking on the boards for quite a while.

We're sailing our first cruise. FIL is treating us and joining us. My kids have never been to the parks, so are only familiar with Disney movies, Disney Store, etc.. this will truly be a shock to them. They're 3 and 5.

Going back to read what I may have missed in this thread.

--Janine

[Time4disneynow]

Hi Janine and Family

:welcome: aboard. Looking forward to chatting with you and meeting you.

[90byrd]

Just read through this whole thread! Gets me so excited.
DS Trevor is 5 and DD Skye is 3. Are you all enrolling them in the Oceaneer Clubs? I enrolled both of them.
I booked Palo for Wed night at 6pm. There weren't many times left.

Do kids participate in Formal Night? I assume so.. I just read somewhere ours is Sunday night and semi is Thursday, is that correct?

We're not booking any excursions. Probably just hit the beach or even stay on board and take advantage of quiet pools. We'll see, whatever the kids want to do.

We won't be doing FE. It sounds awesome, but being a newbie, I don't want to add to the craziness of packing, buying, finding staterooms, etc... Hopefully on the next cruise, cause I'm sure we're gonna love this!

Oh and I'm Janine, 34, DH is Bob 43.

Can add me to the list of Feb 20 birthdays!

[Alexis Green]

Welcome onboard Janine!!

So no guidelines or rules? If everyone agrees we can do it that way?

[zaz]

Hi all,

I have seen quite a few new additions over the last few days, so welcome!

I am about to go get some US funds from my bank for tips and cabs, St-Marteen private excursion, car service, etc. I know, it's early, but in my small town, they kind of give me this odd look everytime I say I want 100 in 1 $ bills.

My oldest daugher is 12 and will participate in the Edge. Any other pre-teen girls around? Maybe they could exchange e-mails a few times prior to the cruise; or we could organize a meet once onboard? The Edge seems odd, in the sense that from what I gather, they do 'activities', they don't necessarily have their own space to 'hang out'. So maybe it's less conductive to make friends?

My youngest is 3. She is registered for Oceaners Club. I'm worried because she has very little English and is a bit shy. I also wish with all my heart that she won't be scared of the Princesses or characters and that she'll want to take pictures with them. Right now, when we see a new character (baseball games or during other activites), she tends to say that she doesn't 'know' them... Oh well, we'll have to see how that goes.

We will have late dining. Anyone else? I think it'll fit perfectly with my girls... they are night owls. On New Year Eve, they easily stayed up until 1 AM. Not as much fun on days like today when I have to get them out of bed at 6 AM as the regular schedule is starting up again and they are totally unhappy and grouchy!

[90byrd]

Zaz-- My kids are opposite, in bed before 8 most nights. I'm hoping we can reverse that on the cruise. My daugher "acts" shy when she doesn't know people, but I know she's really not. Maybe they'll hook up in OC.
We have the early seating.

How many princess dresses should I bring? And should I bring an outfit for DS too?

[Alexis Green]

Mike and I have the late seating. We are night owls and really like to eat a late lunch and late dinner. I also know with my belly full of yummy food I'd fall right asleep in the dark theater.

[mismal]

Didn't see all that many 'princess' outfits last cruise but it was 4 night. What I wished we would have done last time was dressed up for pirate night. pirate:pirate: my son was 5 at the time and did have a costume and most of the kids/adults in our group did wear costumes and the kids esp were sooo cute! I wished we as adults would have dressed up so I am currently searching for the prefect 'puffy shirt' and 'bar maid' outfit for myself and husband and need to find something for the 14yr old dtr. and thanks to some super Godmother shopping:yay:, my son has a costume already! (thanks Dana):cutie::cutie:

[SalCat1027]

Hi all,

I have seen quite a few new additions over the last few days, so welcome!

I am about to go get some US funds from my bank for tips and cabs, St-Marteen private excursion, car service, etc. I know, it's early, but in my small town, they kind of give me this odd look everytime I say I want 100 in 1 $ bills.

My oldest daugher is 12 and will participate in the Edge. Any other pre-teen girls around? Maybe they could exchange e-mails a few times prior to the cruise; or we could organize a meet once onboard? The Edge seems odd, in the sense that from what I gather, they do 'activities', they don't necessarily have their own space to 'hang out'. So maybe it's less conductive to make friends?


My youngest is 3. She is registered for Oceaners Club. I'm worried because she has very little English and is a bit shy. I also wish with all my heart that she won't be scared of the Princesses or characters and that she'll want to take pictures with them. Right now, when we see a new character (baseball games or during other activites), she tends to say that she doesn't 'know' them... Oh well, we'll have to see how that goes.

We will have late dining. Anyone else? I think it'll fit perfectly with my girls... they are night owls. On New Year Eve, they easily stayed up until 1 AM. Not as much fun on days like today when I have to get them out of bed at 6 AM as the regular schedule is starting up again and they are totally unhappy and grouchy!

My oldest daughter is 11...how old do the kids have to be to do the Edge? If you want to exchange e-mails...let me know! I'm sure my daughter would love to know someone on the ship before we get there!
We have night owl kids too...and are at the 2nd seating for dinner too!
WE CANNOT WAIT!!!!! Don't want to wish time away, but hurry up cruise!

OH FISH EXTENDER--we only have pockets for our two kids. So no need to include us adults in the present count. Just in it for the fun for the kiddos!

See y'all soon!!!!!

[nokidz]

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 more fridays til CRUISE EVE!!!!

[peachygreen]

So I had a nice surprise when I went to check my CC statement today. I have a credit of $19.88 and DCL. I'm not sure what for, but I'll take it. (apparently it posted on 12/29)

As for princess Dresses Megan will have at least 2. I have made her a Cinderella Dress for Formal night. I have a sleeping beauty dress I made but I want to remake it for Semiformal night. I am also trying to make a Queen of hearts dress for her for Tea with Alice. Alice will have her Alice in Wonderland Dress, the Cinderella Dress I made and hopefully her sleeping beauty dress as well. So far I have 5-6 outfits for each girl made for the trip to include their pirate princess dresses/skirts. I have a few more outfits planned. I need to take Christmas stuff down today and then I can start working on sewing again. We'll see how much happens in the next 7 weeks.

As for me I have finished my cruise clothes shopping except I still need a sun swim shirt for our snorkeling. I really don't want to get a sunburn so I plan to pretty much cover up completely. I have a new formal dress, semi formal skirt and shirt, and a dress for dinner at Palo. I also went through my closet and found 5 additional dresses in my closet that are packable, accessible for nursing my DD in, look nice and have a tropical feel to them for the remaining dinners and Palo Brunch. So at least nights are figured out. I have a feeling I might repeat some of my dinner dresses for day dresses because they are comfortable sun dresses. But I will also have a few skorts and shirts packed especially for port days.

I decided to cancel my car serivce and get 2 one-way rentals instead. I got such great deals on the rentals that we are going round trip for $100 now. This gives me the flexibility to get dinner, groceries, etc and we don't have to rush back to the airport on Sat. And if we get in on time I could even run over and pick up my race package. I was originally planning to run the Princess Half Marathon on the 27th but changed to a 7 night cruise after I paid the registration. The least I can do is get the race stuff I paid for right. LOL

7 weeks from now we will be leaving for the aiport!

[wld4mky]

Hello everyone, Well with Chrismas behind us it sounds like everyone is in full plan mode. We just booked the night before in the CIS at the port. Question, with regards to the shuttle in the am , does anyone know what time it leaves the hotel? As far as the FE goes we have only done one before and I had enough to do each stateroom daily with something for everyone. It was way too much stuff. I like the idea of one drop for the week but I plan to include something for each person in the room in that one delivery. I was just wondering what everyone did so I did not bring enough or too much again this time. No rules necc. just wondering what was enough I guess? The previous poster said they will deliver the things over the course of the week. Sounds good to me. Can't wait to be in the warm sun. I have two princess dresses for my DD for formal and semiformal nite. I did buy a long gown for this cruise b/c My hubby and I are are celebrating 21 years of marriage and I wanted a nice picture of the two of us. Plus it is fun to dress up;) I also bought a couple of Aladdin (not the prince) drinking cups with lids and straws, they hold 16 oz each to use for the drink station. I drink alot of water and I know the cups there are small. Guess I could do some packing. We also have pirate costumes for pirate night. On our first cruise the party was inside d/t rain. I hope this time it is on deck. Well Happy Friday everyone. See you in 7 weeks:cool1::cool1:

[jbuckent]

We are starting to get very excited for our trip. Booked some excursions, beach days in both St Thomas and St Maarten, and a snorkeling trip for DH & DD7 while at CC. DD3 and I will build sandcastles while they are snorkeling.

We will have late dining. Anyone else? I think it'll fit perfectly with my girls... they are night owls. On New Year Eve, they easily stayed up until 1 AM. Not as much fun on days like today when I have to get them out of bed at 6 AM as the regular schedule is starting up again and they are totally unhappy and grouchy!

We are late diners also! Tried early last time and hated everything about. Just doesn't fit in with my family.


How many princess dresses should I bring? And should I bring an outfit for DS too?


We have a Cinderella dress and a Sleeping Beauty dress. I'll bring them both and the two girls can fight over them. Formal night they will wear formal dresses they alreay had from a wedding we attended a couple months ago.


Pirate night really is fun to dress up for. We have never gone with the full pirate costume, I'm too cheap. We did pick up a clearance childs costume prior to our last cruise and will bring that along again. Otherwise we just have cheap eye patches, earing, and the bandana's we received at dinner. I also picked up some pirate fabric this year and hope to make the girls some pillowcase dresses if time allows.

[zaz]

Good afternoon,

I'm bringing 3 princess dresses (Sleeping beauty, Snow White and Cinderella) for my 3yo AND a pirateer dress… I'm also bringing pirate outfits for the 3 other big kids in our party… oh boy, I get anxious just wondering how we'll fit all of that into 2 suitcases and 4 carry-ons… Luckily, 2 of the 4 carry-ons will be able to be left at the curb when we arrive at the port. So formal/semi-formal, not formal at all, DD might just be in a pretty dress all the time! I'm more worried for myself. Does a formal dress need to reach down to your ankles? I've got a great one but it's knee length.

SalCat : I think your daughter will be in the Edge. It's 11 to 13. I'll forward my daughter's e-mail in a private message if you want to see if your daughter would like to correspond.

NoKids : 7 Fridays… Yé! Less than 2 months. I'm so excited!!!

I'm glad to know that many of us are late eaters… I was getting worried my DDs would be the only kids around at that time!

Have a great week-end everyone!

[Time4disneynow]

Hi all....hope you're having a good day.

We are late diners here too.

Our cruise is getting closer...I can't wait. :woohoo:

Enjoy the rest of your day and take care....:flower3:

[Alexis Green]

Okay I need EVERYONE who is doing FEs to look at the list on the front page. Make sure everything is correct because after 12am on the 8th it's not changing! If something does need to change please post so I can see it. If I do miss your post please forgive me!

Anything else???? :confused3

[Time4disneynow]

Cassie...just checked our info on the first page...all is correct.

I do have a question...are we going to have a meet? Would love to meet everyone.

Thank you, Cassie for doing this for us.

Take care....:flower3:

[Time4disneynow]

Hello everyone...hope you are having a great Saturday.

Here is a thread you may be interested in:

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

Homemade FE gifts,Photo thread. There's about 94 pages of ideas along with photos...really nice.

Also...on our last cruise, we participated in the FE gift exchange...we came across a room that did something different. They used a brown paper bag with handles (like you would get at a grocery store). The bag was decorated by their kids. The kids made it a Disney theme...used ribbons, magic marker and stickers...really cute. The kids also had their names on the bag. I thought that was a great idea.

Have a good evening and take care....:flower3:

[Alexis Green]

@Time4Disney: My name is Cassie :goodvibes

Does anyone else have any changes for Fish extenders? I will update the front page tomorrow and that's it!

Take care!

[peachygreen]

No changes here for the FE.


I thought I replied again on friday but apparently didn't hit send. LOL. OOPS. We have main dining. The baby is in bed by 7pm everynight. I can't imagine trying to keep her up later. I've booked Flounders for her most evenings so we can see a few of the shows but I'm not sure how well it will go. Actually all of us are early diners. I typically eat dinner by 6pm at the latest most nights.

47 days to go!

[Time4disneynow]

Good Morning everyone.

Hope you had a good weekend. Saturday it snowed part of the day, we ended up with 3 inches of snow. Tuesday...more snow in the forecast. Enough of the cold weather and the snow...need a Disney cruise!!!!


@Time4Disney: My name is Cassie :goodvibes

Does anyone else have any changes for Fish extenders? I will update the front page tomorrow and that's it!

Take care!

Cassie...sorry about that.:)



Have a great day and take care....:flower3:

[Hendy Clan]

Wow, have been off the boards for a few days and was excited to see so many posts when I got back on this evening.

Monika I agree with you I need a Disney Cruise:cool1: A Disney Cruise is just the thing to chase away those winter chills. I live in Maryland, outside of DC and we were lucky we missed the snow this past weekend, you got much more that we did, we ended up with a dusting, but we are also due some snow tomorrow, probably 1 -3 inches. The kids at school today were smelling snow and they were certainly antsy. Looks like a snow day is in the midst :thumbsup2 and I'm OK with that I can finish up the FE gifts and will get another thing off my to do list.

I received my passport in the mail today, but am still waiting for DS's to come in and then can check another off the list:cool1::cool1::cool1:

Cassie, all our details are good for the FE exchange and I wanted to take a moment to thank you for undertaking the job of co-ordinating us all, it is greatly appreciated:cheer2:

Does anyone have 2nd seating, but looking to switch to main dining. We are presently scheduled for main dining, but are going to change our reservation to the late seating so if anyone here is looking for a switch I can let you know when I am going to call DCL if you are interested in contacting them after I do to see if you can get main seating.

I also received a copy of a scavenger hunt to do at the DCL terminal that someone on the boards came up with. This will keep my overly active 11 yr old DS occupied while at the terminal. If anyone is interested in getting a copy feel free to PM me with your email address and I will forward you a copy. I read through it and it sounds like a fun thing to do:cool2:

Hope all is well with fellow cruisers, cannot believe it will soon be 6 weeks until we will be on board. Hope everyone has a great week.