Mexico Lindo 10/23/2011 MR Cruise!!!

[nsiordia]

We are so excited to be going!!! I hope there are more of you that will be coming!

[nsiordia]

Bump

Anyone on this Cruise??????

[JanDave]

We're cruising with you!!!!! We booked on our September 2009 Magic cruise.

This cruise we'll have two staterooms:

Stateroom#!
DH, DD's m-i-l, and me

and

Stateroom#2
DD, Ds-i-l, and 2 granddaughters - ages 6 and almost 9

It'll be DCL cruise #16 for me. First time to California.

Looking forward to getting to know you pre-cruise.

FYI: to "register" our thread, check in with Irish Cowboy at the top of the DIS meet threads so he can list us and others can easily find us.

Jan

[nsiordia]

We're cruising with you!!!!! We booked on our September 2009 Magic cruise.

This cruise we'll have two staterooms:

Stateroom#!
DH, DD's m-i-l, and me

and

Stateroom#2
DD, Ds-i-l, and 2 granddaughters - ages 6 and almost 9

It'll be DCL cruise #16 for me. First time to California.

Looking forward to getting to know you pre-cruise.

FYI: to "register" our thread, check in with Irish Cowboy at the top of the DIS meet threads so he can list us and others can easily find us.

Jan

Yay! someone on the cruise finally!!!!

We have 2 staterooms as well!

First cabin:

Me, DH, DD - 7, DS - 4 (but DD will be 8 at the time of sailing)

Second Cabin:

My Aunt and her 3 Boys - 8, 7, 4

[IrishCowboy]

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

[nsiordia]

Thank you!

I hope there are more of you out there! :)

[Dis-Bits]

Stateroom#2
DD, Ds-i-l, and 2 granddaughters - ages 6 and almost 9

Jan

Don't rush things Grandma! She only almost 8!!! :scared1:

[JanDave]

Oops - 7 and almost 9 at the time we cruise!!!

Jan

[Mr. Disney 652]

We are joining you too! Is this the Riviera thread? Why are there two others??

[JanDave]

We are joining you too! Is this the Riviera thread? Why are there two others??

Welcome! I know we were both on the 10-23-10 Magic, but we didn't get a chance to meet. I didn't realize there are two other threads for this cruise.

Jan

[JanDave]

Welcome! I know we were both on the 10-23-10 Magic, but we didn't get a chance to meet. I didn't realize there are two other threads for this cruise.

Jan

Just checked our thread under the Wonder 2011 cruise meet link and the two cruises for 1/6/11 are there in error. I just sent a PM to LindaBabe who is hosting that thread advising her of the error.

Jan

[nsiordia]

anybody else coming???

[traveljen1027]

We are so excited - I am getting ready to book, just trying to decide between early & late seating...we have two little ones (DD is 7, DS will be 2), and I want to be able to take advantage of all the evening activities without rushing, but I guess we'll either rush to get to dinner, or rush to get to a show. :-)

[traveljen1027]

We are going!! Booked today, so excited!

[nsiordia]

We are going!! Booked today, so excited!

Yay! more people :)

[nsiordia]

We are so excited - I am getting ready to book, just trying to decide between early & late seating...we have two little ones (DD is 7, DS will be 2), and I want to be able to take advantage of all the evening activities without rushing, but I guess we'll either rush to get to dinner, or rush to get to a show. :-)

We are doing the late seating, hopefully it's the right choice, total in our group we will have 2-8year olds, a seven year old, a five year old and a 4 year old so we figure they can eat quickly and the late seating has the option of taking them back to the clubs so us adults can enjoy our dinner.

I am really hoping our cruise doesn't fill up so they can offer KSF so we get $$ back :). Wishful thinking, I know!

[traveljen1027]

We are doing the late seating, hopefully it's the right choice, total in our group we will have 2-8year olds, a seven year old, a five year old and a 4 year old so we figure they can eat quickly and the late seating has the option of taking them back to the clubs so us adults can enjoy our dinner.

I am really hoping our cruise doesn't fill up so they can offer KSF so we get $$ back :). Wishful thinking, I know!

LOL - if they do KSF, I will pee my pants with giddyness!! That would be thrilling. We have early seating...or at least that is what I requested, but who knows what will happen, right? We were super conflicted, but I think it will work out great - our last DC we had late seating, and I remember feeling like we missed a lot of stuff, which is weird, I know, but this will be a good test. I know we have a few months, but we are already thinking about excursions!!! AND massages...sigh. Lily will also randomly say to me, "I'm so excited about Mexico" - it just warms my heart!!

[traveljen1027]

BTW, so cool that a lot of our kids are close in ages!!

[JanDave]

8 months from today we will be on the Disney Wonder!!!!! :cool1::thumbsup2:banana::yay::dance3:

Jan

[JanDave]

We are doing the late seating, hopefully it's the right choice, total in our group we will have 2-8year olds, a seven year old, a five year old and a 4 year old so we figure they can eat quickly and the late seating has the option of taking them back to the clubs so us adults can enjoy our dinner.

I am really hoping our cruise doesn't fill up so they can offer KSF so we get $$ back :). Wishful thinking, I know!

I'm hoping they do KSF so my DD can rebook and not pay for the girls. That would be great!

We have early seating for dinner. I've tried late seating and it's way to late for this ol' gal. We weren't finishing dinner until 10 and after each night. I, too, felt like we missed out on a lot of stuff going on around the ship each night.

Jan

[JanDave]

Hi All, after much thought, we have decided to cancel this cruise and, instead, we are cruising on the Magic on 10/1/11. Enjoy your cruise on the Wonder and its amazing CMs.

Jan

[nsiordia]

We are no longer on this cruise as well. We decided to change over and go on the 4/1/12 cruise so we are going during spring break. Sorry!

[traveljen1027]

Sorry to see you go, but enjoy your cruises!!

Less than 6 months and counting until we are onboard!!

[siungit]

So excited to go!

Scratch cabin mate... I will be flying solo... looking for activity buddies or anyone who doesn't mind a tag-a-long?? Not sure how competent I am to journey beyond port solo.

Also want to join the Scavenger Hunt fun!!

See you soon

[WestCoastMama]

Hi! Just booked this cruise! We are sooooo excited! :yay: I'm new to the forums but love the idea of getting to know others before the cruise. :grouphug:

We have two cabins:
Stateroom #1
Me and DH

Stateroom #2
My mom, DD 6 (will be 7 @ sailing) and DS (4)

Since I'm a newbie what does KSF mean? Let's get this group rockin'! :woohoo:

Jen

[traveljen1027]

Welcome!!! KSF = Kids Sail Free :banana:

[WestCoastMama]

KSF = Kids Sail Free :banana:

Nice!! :yay: :dance3:

[traveljen1027]

I think we are becoming addicted to Disney...we are going to SoCal next week with family and I want to go to Disneyland every day...as if there isn't anything else to do in Orange County!! :-)

[traveljen1027]

Did everyone else get a phone call from DCL today? No Mazatlan, 2 days of Cabo...very excited!

[WestCoastMama]

I think we are becoming addicted to Disney (there is nothing wrong with that! :thumbsup2)...we are going to SoCal next week with family and I want to go to Disneyland every day...as if there isn't anything else to do in Orange County!! :-)

:banana: So jealous! Well there's California Adventure, Downtown Disney...;) Have fun!! :cheer2:

Did everyone else get a phone call from DCL today? No Mazatlan, 2 days of Cabo...very excited!

Didn't get a phone call, but looked at the itinerary today and saw the 2 days of Cabo. :beach:

[WestCoastMama]

Who's up for doing an FE exchange???

party:party:party:

[LuvIt]

We were booked on a cruise earlier in the month, but just switched to this one to better accommodate my son's school schedule.

We are first time Disney cruisers and are really looking forward to it! Me, DH (his birthday is Oct 23!) and DS (age 11 when we sail).

If someone coordinates a FE exchange :flower3: I'd be happy to participate in it - sounds fun!

Cathy

[WestCoastMama]

We were booked on a cruise earlier in the month, but just switched to this one to better accommodate my son's school schedule.

We are first time Disney cruisers and are really looking forward to it! Me, DH (his birthday is Oct 23!) and DS (age 11 when we sail).

If someone coordinates a FE exchange :flower3: I'd be happy to participate in it - sounds fun!

Cathy

Yay!!! :jumping1: Welcome to the thread!

We are first time DCL cruisers as well. :goodvibes AND my DH birthday is on Oct. 25! :lmao: What a coincidence! We are soooooo excited, counting the days!

Jen

[WestCoastMama]

5 months from today we'll be cruisin' with Mickey ::MickeyMo!!

:dancer::dancer::dancer::dancer:

[traveljen1027]

My birthday is October 27th!!! Woo hoo Scorpios! :cheer2:

[WestCoastMama]

My birthday is October 27th!!! Woo hoo Scorpios! :cheer2:

party:That is awesome! :lmao: So many B-days!!

Any of you thinking of doing an excursion during the cruise? I'm considering the Outdoor Adventure or the Canopy Adventure in P.V. (a surprise for my DH). :banana: We might do something in Cabo, not sure yet (checkin' the budget).:rolleyes1

[traveljen1027]

I'd be fine if we ended up just staying on the ship in port days, but then I always say that and we always end up getting off the ship and doing something. :rolleyes1

Lily really wants to "swim" with the dolphins - that is her dream wish - so we may do the kid's dolphin excursion in Cabo (I like that one because it is right off the pier plus she can do it by herself). It isn't an actual swim, more of a "meet & greet" but seems really cool. If we can swing it, I might do the swim, which means one of us would do it with her, but we'll see. :yay:

I'd like to leave the kids on the ship one day and do one of the zip-line adventures, although the Mexican cooking class sounds kind of fun too. But if we decide to do family-oriented excursions, which also have to allow toddlers, then we might do one of the beach/resort excursions.

So many choices...I can't wait until next month when we can see which ones will be offered for sure!!

[WestCoastMama]

Jen how was your trip to SoCal? You guys get your share of ::MickeyMo and ::MinnieMo?


So many choices...I can't wait until next month when we can see which ones will be offered for sure!!

Oh! Interesting! I didn't know that the options might change.

Did you guys see that DCL is offering KSF on the MR starting the cruise right after us??? :sad: BUMMER!

I really hope more DISers join our thread so we can do an FE exchange! :)

[LuvIt]

Jen,

not lots of action on this cruise thread, huh? :confused3 Hope some of the people that book discover these Disboards forums and find this thread. You may be organizing a fairly small FE group :)

Cathy

PS The week before this cruise is Fall break for many AZ schools, so potentially that sailing may have more kiddos than this one.

[LuvIt]

Just realized I wrote "Jen" in my above post instead of "West Coast Mama" - sorry about that!

[WestCoastMama]

Just realized I wrote "Jen" in my above post instead of "West Coast Mama" - sorry about that!

:lmao: I didn't think anything of it, since my name is Jen too! :)

Hopefully more families join us! This is our first ever Disney cruise so I would love to do an FE. But, less people means less work. ;)

I wish I could book everything right now! Since we're new cruisers we can't book anything until 75 days out. *Fingers crossed* that Palo is still available.

[traveljen1027]

Our trip was great, thanks for asking!! One would think I got my fill of Mickey & Minnie, but no, I can't wait to go back!!!!!

I did see the KSF offer, so I priced it just to see what the difference would be (the one week I could possibly switch to), and there really wasn't any significiant savings so I don't feel too bad. :banana:

Where are all the other people? So odd...I bet we get more activity closer to the sailing. But if it is just us on the ship, that's fine too! More deck chairs for me. :rotfl:

[traveljen1027]

Only 99 days until we set sail!!!:worship:

[LuvIt]

Wow, only 99 days! Thanks for posting that - I wasn't really keeping track and that number makes it seem much more real.

It'll be interested if more people that have reservations on this cruise ever find the Disboards and this thread! As of now, it looks like our potential FE group will be small.

I can't wait to read some trip reports from people on the MR cruises in Sept 2011 :)

[Jes11]

Sorry .. I posted to the wrong thread. Should have been October 16th; not 23rd! :)

[LuvIt]

I thought I had read that the kids sail free offer was on Oct 23 sailing but you had to reserve a verandah room or higher.

I checked the disney online site today and found that a limited number of port hole rooms also qualify for the kids sail free offer. Just thought I'd mention it here in case some others weren't aware of this. (or am I the only one who thought it was only for veradah rooms?)

We had booked over a year ahead of time and got the lowest price for an inside room on Deck 5, but when I had to move the cruise forward a week earlier this year with the same room, prices had gone up so i ended up having to pay a bit more. Today I'm trying to decide if paying a bit more is worth it to move to an outside room with a large porthole. Hmmmm.....

[Brooklyn]

Count us in!

2 Adults and 2 Darling Daughters (10 & 6)
This will be our 9th Disney Cruise
We are from San Diego

[traveljen1027]

They must have added the add'l week since I orginally looked - I'm going to check now!!!

[traveljen1027]

Okay, just called - we got the KSF offer!!! Thanks for posting - that'll at least pay for my liquor bill. :rotfl2:

[chrisrunty]

Howdy! Just booked 10/23 cruise for me, DH, and our three year old son. We just did the Mexican Riveria back in April 2011.... It was our 4th Disney cruise our son's 1st. It was such a blast with the kid we booked it again. Is there an FE started yet?
Let me know if any of you have questions since we were just on this cruise. :cheer2: Christine

[LuvIt]

Hey TravelJen,

glad you got the KSF offer! I think you owe me a mojito as past of your alcohol budget LOL. Just kidding!

Chris,

since you were on the MR cruise before, can you provide any insight on what to do in the 2 ports we'll go to? Thanks!

[jhill10428]

Just made our reservations for this cruise. Way excited! I've been reading that they will probably have a Trick or Treat thing, and the boat will be decorated for Halloween. Does anyone know if this is for sure?

[tsb2]

Hi Everyone! Just switched from a 7-day Eastern to this itinerary due to the KSF offer. The last Disgroup for that sailing had over 1000 posts, a FE planned, Dismeets and a 5K run going so we better kick it into gear! JK :) I am Tara (35), my DH Adam (37), DS Seth (7), and DS Ryan (5) will be on board. This is our 4th cruise and 3rd with Disney. We are very excited and have a Disneyland pre-cruise stay planned. I am actually pretty easy going therefore don't take my motivational speech at the beginning of this post seriously. I would like to participate in a FE if others are interested, even if it is just a few of us as my children REALLY have enjoyed this on past cruises. The last cruise we took was a 5-day double dip to Castaway Cay and we had over 20 FE participants so the gifts were all day everyday and so much fun!

I just graduated from anesthesia school, took boards, and then we moved back to our hometown of Fort Collins Colorado from 4 years in Kansas City...apparently just in time to avoid the 110 degree temps they are having this month! Can't wait to be sipping on a cool drink by the pool in the Riviera!
Excited to be part of this thread and if anyone needs to organize the FE I would be happy to. Cheers all!

Tara

[globerunner]

I booked last week but just found this thread. It'll be me (36) my DH (37) and my DD (3) who is celebrating her birthday on board hence the "last minute" booking. My sister (47) her DH (49) her DS (3) will also be joining us.

This will be our 9th cruise, 2nd on Disney and only our 1st to the MR even though we are S. CA residents. I guess it just took Mickey to convince us. :rotfl:

So, Tara did you just offer to organize the FE? Yeah! :yay: I would love to participate in our first FE. I know nothing about it so I'm looking forward to it. Add me to the list!

Kim

[chrisrunty]

Luvit I can tell you what excursions we did since at the time we had a 2 1/2 year old. (he just turned 3 last week) What you do probably will depend on who you are with... Couple, or if your kids are older... We were a bit more limited due to our sons age. One in particular was soooo much fun, and everyone we talked to on the ship also loved it. It was the beach/ pool resort one in puerto vallarta. The best location, awesome pools, huge water slide, beach access, really really good buffet lunch (all others were kinda yuk) and they had servers walking around giving you free alcohol drinks all day, I mean all day... DH was in heaven. We booked that one again. I'll try to post more later... Gotta go swimming now. :thumbsup2:thumbsup2

[WestCoastMama]

Oh my gosh I went on vacation, came back and our group I think more than doubled! So excited! :banana::banana::banana::banana: Welcome everyone!!

I would love to participate in an FE, but being that this is our first Disney cruise I'm a little shy about organizing it. Hopefully a veteran could do it. ;)

I was able to get a Wonder Scavenger Hunt from dolphingirl47 who is on the Oct. 2 MR. I'm happy to organize that! :goodvibes

Also for any So Cal residents who are cat 9 they are offering 25% off! :thumbsup2

[tsb2]

Okay Friends - Consider me your official FE organizer! I would be happy to do this. Please PM me with your party names and ages and when available your stateroom number. I will complete a list and post when most people have joined who want to participate. I will post a preliminary list pretty quickly; however, I feel in order for there to be enough time to personalize gifts for those who want to do so for their recipients than we should cut off joining in on the FE to October 14th. That's the Friday a week before the cruise. I just picked that date randomly, if anyone would like more or less time for those people with last minute bookings to be included please let me know and we can adjust. Getting so excited!

Tara

[chrisrunty]

Thank you for organizing the FE! You rock. The FE we did in April was a blast I think there were 26 families. My kid just loved it (even at 2 1/2) that cruise was sold out months before the cruise. When I check our 10/23 cruise all categories are still available... Which could mean upgrades or a not at capacity cruise. :thumbsup2 to continue on the excursions we did... Loved loved the PV the most as previously mentioned! The Cabo harbor cruise wasn't worth it. The boat took you around the same sights/ views you see from your stateroom or the ships decks. Cabo Wabo was fun! Cabo shopping was fantastic and has a market and restaurants right off the tender.:cool1:

[WestCoastMama]

:worship: Thank you, Thank you Tara!! So excited! :yay: IMHO I was thinking of maybe making the cut off a week earlier (Oct. 7). One of the items we're making will need a good two weeks notice. I don't want to leave anyone out :sad2: because there won't be enough time to get it done.

Anyone made any ressies yet? I can't make mine until Aug 8! :eek: It sounds like the ship isn't too full so hopefully all my wishes will come true. :wizard:

I have yet to break the news to my kiddos (DD 7 & DS 4) about the cruise. Any suggestions on how to surprise them? :idea:

[alleluia5]

Hi all - we are officially booked and paid :cool1: so excited!!!!

It will be me, hubby and our 3 boys (7, 9, 12). I am totally up for the FE and any other things you all want to plan. Caught up on the thread and hopefully now that more of us are joining we can get it going. Just booked our Palo and Brunch - there are tons of spots left! Also booked our excursions - a little snorkeling, a little touring and the PV resort one based on your recommendations!

Can't wait to get to know you all and plan for our trip!:surfweb:

[alleluia5]

I have yet to break the news to my kiddos (DD 7 & DS 4) about the cruise. Any suggestions on how to surprise them? :idea:

Same here - not sure if I want to wait and surprise them last minute or do it further out and be part of the planning....

[jhill10428]

I just joined the Disboards and they won't let me PM you until I have 10 posts. Is there another way I can contact you to join the FE Group?

[WestCoastMama]

Hi all - we are officially booked and paid :cool1: so excited!!!!

It will be me, hubby and our 3 boys (7, 9, 12). I am totally up for the FE and any other things you all want to plan. Caught up on the thread and hopefully now that more of us are joining we can get it going. Just booked our Palo and Brunch - there are tons of spots left! Also booked our excursions - a little snorkeling, a little touring and the PV resort one based on your recommendations!

Can't wait to get to know you all and plan for our trip!:surfweb:

:welcome:

Good to know about the ressies! :)

[chrisrunty]

Looking back at pics from April is getting me so excited for October! I thought I would share.:yay:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5187/5644283848_b5fa9a893f.jpg

El Arco, Land's End, Cabo San Lucas

[chrisrunty]

hmm... don't think pics are working... I'll have to figure it out. Sorry. May need to ask DH.

[chrisrunty]

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5183/5636266436_172e30a8e4_b.jpg

[tsb2]

I just joined the Disboards and they won't let me PM you until I have 10 posts. Is there another way I can contact you to join the FE Group?

Hi! No worries about the posts you will have ten shortly. Just send me an email at tbrunin@kumc.edu with your family info/ages and your stateroom number. It appears we have several first timers who are unfamiliar with a fish extender exchange so I will post info on this thread soon describing the process. Glad you are joining and welcome! :)

Tara

[tsb2]

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5183/5636266436_172e30a8e4_b.jpg

Beautiful view of the Wonder!!!:3dglasses

Tara

[chrisrunty]

That is the puerto vallarta port...

[WestCoastMama]

Same here - not sure if I want to wait and surprise them last minute or do it further out and be part of the planning....

:thumbsup2 Part of me wants to wait so I don't hear "When are we leaving??" everyday :faint: and the other part of me wants them to be as excited as me. :banana: Decisions! :scratchin

[tsb2]

Okay friends - I have received several PM's regarding participation in the FE exhange, some with questions because they have never participated before. So I thought it a good idea to post a simple explanation for those first timers. Fish extenders are pocketed fabric hangers that "extend" the fish mail box on the outside of each stateroom. Most people purchase theirs custom on Ebay or from Etsy (I did this for about $20 and love it!). More crafty people other than me, can make them easily themselves. It is hung over your fish on the first day and then throughout the cruise participants leave gifts and trinkets in the pockets. Some people are elaborate with a few of their gifts on one day only (ie embroidered items, mini scrapbooks etc.) Others leave alot of inexpensive items on many days (ie dollar store items, oriental trading company). On the last cruise I made marshmallow shooters for the boys, princess totes with many girlie goodies for the young girls, made custom jewelry for the ladies, and gave a homemade barbeque rub to the men since we were from Kansas City it seemed appropriate. Additionally since it was a "Double Dip" cruise to Castaway Cay I gave everyone a gift certificate to Cold Stone Creamery. Some people personalize their gifts for the cruise by obtaining specially designed graphics from the graphics thread on the DIS which our group did with Mickey holding an ice cream cone with two scoops as an example.

As far as the organization is concerned, I will keep a tally of names, ages and staterooms and I will post a preliminary list here in the next day or so and keep adding names of those who want to participate. The one caveat is some people have room guarantees and others will try to obtain upgrades the day of sailing. In the past, usually you have a stateroom number before sailing with a guarantee when you receive documents especially when the ship is this empty. For those who receive upgrades once we board, I hope we can meet briefly before the sail away party and meet, get to know each other, have a quick drink, than update the list of names with any stateroom changes. Those participating should print the "FINAL" list of names and stateroom numbers prior to sailing and bring it onboard so they know where to deposit their gifts. :surfweb: I will post the "FINAL" list on October 14 as previously mentioned so that everyone can pack and not be trying to find last minute gifts days before sailing as has happened to me in rather unorganized FE's in the past.

For those first timers, I have included a link to a rather extensive thread on FE's from someone elses cruise which you might find helpful, but also do a forum search with key words "fish extender" and you will see plenty of helpful threads and tips to get you started.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1980639&highlight=fish+extender

There is no rhyme or reason to how the gifts are distributed...its more like a secret santa. Whenever you and your family find the free time to run through the ship delivering gifts to peoples staterooms is how it works. Because my family did bigger more costly gifts we delivered on one day only and were done. Other familys distributed something to each stateroom each day which my kids just loved because it was like a stuffed stocking everyday. Sometimes we would have stuff when we woke up, after we got back from an excursion, or after the evening show. It was in a word...AWESOME....and by far one of my favorite things about cruising with Disney other than Castaway Cay!

I have never had to worry about people taking stuff from the fish extenders yet and have never heard of peoples gifts being lifted but I guess its a possibility. I have had people zip tie their gifts to the FE or the door handle for added protection but don't think it is necessary.

Well thats all I can think of regarding FE 101 for now, but don't hesitate to ask questions as they present. I can' wait... even if we have just a few groups it will be "WONDERful"!:tinker:

Tara

[traveljen1027]

Okay, I am so behind...I have to catch up on all the posts AND figure out the FE!! :-)

Biggest dilemna to date - should our kids eat with us and then go to the kid's club (we have late seating) or should they just go to the kid's club right after the show? Ugh. Can't decide. DD 7 and DS 2 can barely make it through dinner at home. :rotfl: Thinking of just booking 9 to 10:30 now for Asher, and then adding more time if needed, plus nap time during the day so Mommy & Daddy can lay by the pool, but maybe that is nutso.

[LuvIt]

Regarding surprising vs telling the kids about the trip.....

For what it's worth, I think part of the fun of any trip or vacation is the anticipation of it - especially when kids are a little older and can really appreciate the anticipation and help with the planning. This will be our first cruise so my son and I have been reading up on cruise ships, the ports we'll visit, etc.

On the other hand, I love a big surprise so I'm conflicted! :confused3

If you do decide to tell them in advance, I thought presenting them with a "count down board" of some sort (rip off pages or cross off dates) that shows how many days to the sail date is a cute idea.

[traveljen1027]

I love the idea of surprising them at the airport...I read that someone else told their kids they were going to CA on vacation, so the kids didn't realize something was up when they went to the airport, and didn't tell the kids that they were actually going on a DCL trip until they pulled up to the port. Another fun way is to let the Character Call be the announcement - you can schedule it however fun in advance, and pick your character, so it is fun when Mickey or whoever calls your kiddos and tells them how excited they are to have them come on the ship!!

[WestCoastMama]

Regarding surprising vs telling the kids about the trip.....

For what it's worth, I think part of the fun of any trip or vacation is the anticipation of it - especially when kids are a little older and can really appreciate the anticipation and help with the planning. This will be our first cruise so my son and I have been reading up on cruise ships, the ports we'll visit, etc.

On the other hand, I love a big surprise so I'm conflicted! :confused3

If you do decide to tell them in advance, I thought presenting them with a "count down board" of some sort (rip off pages or cross off dates) that shows how many days to the sail date is a cute idea.

If I do tell them in advance a count down board is brillant! :idea:

I love the idea of surprising them at the airport...I read that someone else told their kids they were going to CA on vacation, so the kids didn't realize something was up when they went to the airport, and didn't tell the kids that they were actually going on a DCL trip until they pulled up to the port. Another fun way is to let the Character Call be the announcement - you can schedule it however fun in advance, and pick your character, so it is fun when Mickey or whoever calls your kiddos and tells them how excited they are to have them come on the ship!!

I totally forgot about the Character Call. That would be a fun way for them to find out. I could put the call on speaker and videotape their response. :cloud9:


Tara, thanks for all your work on organizing the FE! :flower3:

[WestCoastMama]

For all you looking to purchase an FE (like me :blush:) here are two sellers I've heard good things about:

On ebay gradysmommy &
On etsy stichesNbows

They both will need plenty of notice.

[alleluia5]

:thumbsup2 Part of me wants to wait so I don't hear "When are we leaving??" everyday :faint: and the other part of me wants them to be as excited as me. :banana: Decisions! :scratchin

LOL I know exactly what you mean. Part of me wants to literally wait until the day we are on the way to the ship!:laughing:

[alleluia5]

Great summary of the FE - so excited - seems like we are going to have a great group here!

[alleluia5]

For all you looking to purchase an FE (like me :blush:) here are two sellers I've heard good things about:

On ebay gradysmommy &
On etsy stichesNbows

They both will need plenty of notice.

Gradysmommy is awesome - she was actually on a cruise we took a while back and made me the most beautiful bag - very talented!

[WestCoastMama]

Great summary of the FE - so excited - seems like we are going to have a great group here!

:thumbsup2:thumbsup2:thumbsup2:thumbsup2

[alleluia5]

Do we have any idea of how many are going that are part of this thread? Seems pretty slow so I was just curious :rolleyes1

[jiales]

Hi just my booked first cruise a week ago, all set for me and my boyfriend to enjoy 7 days on the Wonder:cheer2:. Plus he's another birthday the 27th. I'm new to cruising but am an avid trip report reader, if anyones organizing an Fe I'd like to give it a shot:wizard:.

[alleluia5]

Hi just my booked first cruise a week ago, all set for me and my boyfriend to enjoy 7 days on the Wonder:cheer2:. Plus he's another birthday the 27th. I'm new to cruising but am an avid trip report reader, if anyones organizing an Fe I'd like to give it a shot:wizard:.

Welcome!!! :cool1: Check out post 57 with the info on who to PM about the FE - we are definitely having one! :thumbsup2

[traveljen1027]

Only 75 days to go!!!! :yay:

[WestCoastMama]

Do we have any idea of how many are going that are part of this thread? Seems pretty slow so I was just curious :rolleyes1

This is light years compared to months ago! ;)

Hi just my booked first cruise a week ago, all set for me and my boyfriend to enjoy 7 days on the Wonder:cheer2:. Plus he's another birthday the 27th. I'm new to cruising but am an avid trip report reader, if anyones organizing an Fe I'd like to give it a shot:wizard:.

:wave2: Welcome!

Only 75 days to go!!!! :yay:

Whoohooo! It's sneakin' up on me! Still so much to do!

[WestCoastMama]

Almost forgot! :scared1: Tonight booking Palo, boarding times, etc... Wish me luck! :)

[tsb2]

Hi Friends - As promised, here is a preliminary list of people committed to participate in the FE. Yeah!!! :woohoo: I am waiting on one person to identify their parties names for anyone who wants to personalize gifts so I will update when/if they let me know. For those that gave me your last names, I excluded them as I didn't feel it was necessary for the purpose of the FE. Some of us don't have stateroom numbers yet but I will update the list as people let me know. Hopefully we get more people to join the thread, but if not, I am so happy with the people already willing to participate. :grouphug:

Finally, if you are lurking and would like to join but don't know what its all about...let me tell you FE's are soooo much fun....so, what are you waiting for?? PM me with your party information and read posts #57 and #71 because we would love to have you join!

FISH EXTENDER LIST:

traveljen1027 - Jennifer (34 - 35 on 10/27!), DH - Devin (35), DD -Lily (7), DS -Asher (2) stateroom 2510

Luvit - Cathy (that's me!), DH -Don (his birthday is the day we sail!), DS -Alexander or Alex (age 11) stateroom 6018

alleluia5- Shelly, hubby is Avito, boys are Aaron (12), Micah (9) and Christian (7). We don't have room numbers yet as we are guaranteed but will send them once they show.

WestCoastMama - Jennifer (35), DH - Chris (37 turning 38 during the cruise!), DD -Allison (7), DS -Turner (4) and we're traveling with my mom Mary Leu. We have two SR 2594 and 2596 but I figure we'll only have one FE. We will probably hang it on SR 2594.

chrisrunty – Christine, DH - Khan, DS -Carson (3), stateroom 7120 we may try to upgrade to a suite the day of the cruise...

globerunner - Kim (36), DH -Javier (37), DD- Aubrey (3) (celebrating her 3rd on the ship!). Also joining us is my sister - Fanessa (47), her DH-Daryl (49), and her DS Micah (2, almost 3). Additionally, we have encouraged another family to join us who want to participate... here is their info: Jessie, her DH steve, DD (2), DS (1). We do not have stateroom numbers yet.

jhill10428 - Jason (30), DW - Heather (38), DD -Emily (17), DS -John (15). We have a stateroom guarantee at this time.

tsb2 – Tara (36), DH -Adam (37), DS- Seth (7), DS - Ryan(5). We have a stateroom guarantee at this time and will update the list when we receive our documents.

jiales??? – Get me your info and we would love to have you be a part of our FE group! ;)

__________________________________________________ _______________

Please be advised that some DISmembers participating have multiple families in their group so plan accordingly and if any of the information is incorrect please let me know and I will correct the mistakes. Good luck and happy shopping/crafting! :artist:

Tara

[alleluia5]

Yeah - thanks for putting the list together. Just one note - my sign in should be alleluia5. So excited! Did we decide if we are doing any meet and greets? I may have missed it.

[WestCoastMama]

Thanks Tara! :cheer2:


Yeah - thanks for putting the list together. Just one note - my sign in should be alleluia5. So excited! Did we decide if we are doing any meet and greets? I may have missed it.

I think Tara mentioned doing one before the sail away party so we can finalize staterooms. At that time I will hand out the scavenger hunt (to those interested). It would be fun to maybe do a more relaxed cocktail hour on another day too. :cool1:

[tsb2]

Yeah - thanks for putting the list together. Just one note - my sign in should be alleluia5. So excited! Did we decide if we are doing any meet and greets? I may have missed it.

My pleasure and I have now included your family's names. I had your sign in spelled right but the font made the i look like an "l" so I took it out of the font and just bolded it.

We are meeting before the sailaway to finalize staterooms but another cocktail hour would be great too. :thumbsup2

Tara

[tsb2]

Almost forgot! :scared1: Tonight booking Palo, boarding times, etc... Wish me luck! :)

Hope you got all the ressies you wanted!!!

Tara

[alleluia5]

My pleasure and I have now included your family's names. I had your sign in spelled right but the font made the i look like an "l" so I took it out of the font and just bolded it.

Tara

Awesome - thanks so much!

[alleluia5]

Alrighty - thought I would get some of our discussions going. So how about: "Question of the Day"


Today's question - what is your favorite place on the ship and why? (If you haven't cruised before or are new to Disney - where are you looking forward to spending your cruising time?)

[Brooklyn]

Hey everyone! We have "jumped ship" to the Oct 30th! We got a great deal that we could not pass up! See ya in the terminal ;)

[tsb2]

Alrighty - thought I would get some of our discussions going. So how about: "Question of the Day"


Today's question - what is your favorite place on the ship and why? (If you haven't cruised before or are new to Disney - where are you looking forward to spending your cruising time?)

My favorite place on the ship is the rainforest room in the spa. I usually get day passes and go there for a little quiet reading in my bathrobe and coffee, then use the showers to get ready...very relaxing and feels like a "spa experience" with only a fraction of the cost at $15/day.

Tara

[WestCoastMama]

Hey everyone! We have "jumped ship" to the Oct 30th! We got a great deal that we could not pass up! See ya in the terminal ;)

Have fun!

Today's question - what is your favorite place on the ship and why? (If you haven't cruised before or are new to Disney - where are you looking forward to spending your cruising time?)

Great idea! I have not sailed DCL before, but the place I hope to spend the most time is the Quiet Cove Pool. And the Rainforest Room sounds delightful too. I am for sure taking advantage of being kid-less (so to speak). :banana:

[WestCoastMama]

:yay::yay::yay::yay:I did my ressies last night and got everything I wanted. :yay::yay::yay::yay:

[traveljen1027]

Alrighty - thought I would get some of our discussions going. So how about: "Question of the Day"


Today's question - what is your favorite place on the ship and why? (If you haven't cruised before or are new to Disney - where are you looking forward to spending your cruising time?)

My favorite place is the Quiet Cove pool...where I can actually sit down, sip my cocktail, and read a book, and then when I want to get into the hot tub, there is usually room because it isn't jam-packed full of little ones. :-)

[alleluia5]

My favorite place on the ship is the rainforest room in the spa. I usually get day passes and go there for a little quiet reading in my bathrobe and coffee, then use the showers to get ready...very relaxing and feels like a "spa experience" with only a fraction of the cost at $15/day.

Tara

I completely agree - it has to be one of the most relaxing places on the ship. I hadn't thought about using it to get ready in the morning though....interesting thought!

[alleluia5]

I also like the Cove Cafe - smell of coffee, cool on a warm day...ahhh

[LuvIt]

Wow sounds like the Quiet Cove Pool and the Rainforest room will be busy :lmao:

We haven't been on a DCL cruise so I'm hoping my DS(11) will connect with some kids his age and really enjoy activities in The Edge to allow time for hubby and me to explore the ship, the QC pool, lounges at night, etc. He's a pretty easy going and social kiddo so I don't think that will be a problem!

I'm kind of up in the air about dinner...currently I requested main dining although late dining would also work for us. Just thought that eating earlier would give us more of a chance to explore activities later in the evening and I don't think I want to finish up a meal around 9:30 or 10 each night. Hope early dining is the right decision.

Seems like reservations are still available for lots of port excursions and on-ship activities. The only thing I noticed that was filled up was Tea at Palo and some Exotic Rasul spots at the Spa.

Tara, thanks for creating/maintaining the FE list. Looks like we are a small but exclusive group!

[chrisrunty]

I agree about Quiet Cove, especially nice if DH and son are taking a nap! I swim, sit in the hot tub, dry off with a good book then sneak into the cafe for the yummy French treats and petite sandwiches. FYI most people don't know that even though the coffee drinks in the cafe cost... The pastries and petite sandwiches are free and very tasty!

[chrisrunty]

Also another place for some quiet time the bars also serve pub snacks and have really cool wood games. In April we probably saw 3 people. Had it all to ourselves in comfy chairs, food and a portal view. Good down time for the 2 1/2 year old.

[chrisrunty]

Wow sounds like the Quiet Cove Pool and the Rainforest room will be busy :lmao:

We haven't been on a DCL cruise so I'm hoping my DS(11) will connect with some kids his age and really enjoy activities in The Edge to allow time for hubby and me to explore the ship, the QC pool, lounges at night, etc. He's a pretty easy going and social kiddo so I don't think that will be a problem!

I'm kind of up in the air about dinner...currently I requested main dining although late dining would also work for us. Just thought that eating earlier would give us more of a chance to explore activities later in the evening and I don't think I want to finish up a meal around 9:30 or 10 each night. Hope early dining is the right decision.

Seems like reservations are still available for lots of port excursions and on-ship activities. The only thing I noticed that was filled up was Tea at Palo and some Exotic Rasul spots at the Spa.

Tara, thanks for creating/maintaining the FE list. Looks like we are a small but exclusive group!
My DH took a shower every day in the spa. (free) he also liked they had shaving products etc. there.

[chrisrunty]

I have all palo booked, dinner, brunch and high tea. DH probably will not join me for the high tea... If someone can't get reservations and want to join me at my two person table.... I'll have a seat open. :-)

[tsb2]

I agree about Quiet Cove, especially nice if DH and son are taking a nap! I swim, sit in the hot tub, dry off with a good book then sneak into the cafe for the yummy French treats and petite sandwiches. FYI most people don't know that even though the coffee drinks in the cafe cost... The pastries and petite sandwiches are free and very tasty!

Hey I've cruised three times and didn't know this! Learn something new everytime! I will definately be downing the yummy goodies with my latte! Thanks for the tip

Tara

[LuvIt]

Chris,

If you're husband does decide to bow out on High Tea and I'm free I may just buy your extra seat and join you;)

Cathy

[alleluia5]

Hey I've cruised three times and didn't know this! Learn something new everytime! I will definately be downing the yummy goodies with my latte! Thanks for the tip

Tara

And the snacks (in Cove Cafe) change throughout the day. So always worth checking on :rolleyes:

[WestCoastMama]

Oooh! Learning so much good stuff! :dance3: Goodies = Cove Cafe, More Goodies & Games = Pub, Rainforest Room = :cloud9:

Chris,

If you're husband does decide to bow out on High Tea and I'm free I may just buy your extra seat and join you;)

Cathy

Shucks! Beaten to the punch! ;) Maybe I could be first on the waiting list. :rotfl:

[tsb2]

Oooh! Learning so much good stuff! :dance3: Goodies = Cove Cafe, More Goodies & Games = Pub, Rainforest Room = :cloud9:



Shucks! Beaten to the punch! ;) Maybe I could be first on the waiting list. :rotfl:

Maybe we should just make it a table for four and leave the men out all together...just a thought! :)

Tara

[WestCoastMama]

Maybe we should just make it a table for four and leave the men out all together...just a thought! :)

Tara

:grouphug: :thumbsup2

[chrisrunty]

Maybe we should just make it a table for four and leave the men out all together...just a thought! :)

Tara
Great idea! I think I might call Disney and ask what options I have. :-)

[tsb2]

Great idea! I think I might call Disney and ask what options I have. :-)

I'm game! I looked last night and there are no ressies left for high tea and I've never had tea at Palo on any of the other cruises I've taken so let us know what you find out.

Tara

[alleluia5]

Okay all - here is today's question of the day:

If you could have any of the characters join you for dinner one night on board - which one and why?

[globerunner]

Sorry, to be late in joining the convo.

Since everyone already mentioned the Cove cafe I'll go with the atrium outside Triton's before dinner. Always buzzing with activities like free cocktail parties (at least on our last S. Caribbean cruise) and great character interaction. My daughter will love all the characters now that I actually have a kid to bring this time. :yay:

Easy - Ariel since she is my daugther's fav.

btw - I had no problems making ressies for high tea for palo last night. got it for 3 people for first sea day.

[tsb2]

Okay all - here is today's question of the day:

If you could have any of the characters join you for dinner one night on board - which one and why?

Prince Charming...for obvious reasons!:lovestruc

Tara

[alleluia5]

LOL Prince Charming - great answer!

Mine would be Capn Jack Sparrow :lovestruc

[WestCoastMama]

My character would be Mickey Mouse! It all started because of him. But, I would have me some Capn Jack Sparrow too! :love:

[chrisrunty]

My character would be Mickey Mouse! It all started because of him. But, I would have me some Capn Jack Sparrow too! :love:
Oh yeah I totally agree!

[chrisrunty]

Another tip that was great for us.... We've done most of the Disney cruises.... Mediterranean, Bahamas, Carribean, etc. and enjoyed meeting new people at dinner. We still keep in touch with a few. But our last one in April we had our wonderful yet sometimes unpredictable 2 1/2 year old at the late seating. I called Disney when I requested a booster and asked if they could sit us with a family with small children too. They did, another 2 1/2 year old. So it wasn't so strange if their kid wanted to eat the butter packs because mine did too. It also was fun for them as well. (they shared coloring supplies)

Christine

[alleluia5]

Alrighty fellow cruisers - here is today's question:

Where will you be at sail away (i.e. top deck, balcony, inside) and what are you most looking forward to about it?:thumbsup2

[alleluia5]

Another tip that was great for us.... We've done most of the Disney cruises.... Mediterranean, Bahamas, Carribean, etc. and enjoyed meeting new people at dinner. We still keep in touch with a few. But our last one in April we had our wonderful yet sometimes unpredictable 2 1/2 year old at the late seating. I called Disney when I requested a booster and asked if they could sit us with a family with small children too. They did, another 2 1/2 year old. So it wasn't so strange if their kid wanted to eat the butter packs because mine did too. It also was fun for them as well. (they shared coloring supplies)

Christine

Interesting idea! It is definitely a little strange to sit with those who don't understand kids - although truthfully my kids LOVE the kids club. Last time we used that option where they ate fast and went back to the club. The only problem was my youngest - who chews every bite a kajillion times, never finished in time.

[chrisrunty]

Alrighty fellow cruisers - here is today's question:

Where will you be at sail away (i.e. top deck, balcony, inside) and what are you most looking forward to about it?:thumbsup2
Top deck on the closed pool with DS on DH shoulders, and me taking pictures.

[WestCoastMama]

Oh gosh! I need suggestions...being first-timers. I want to be close to the stage but worry about my kids seeing the show and the crowds. :eek: Maybe Top-deck...???

I look forward to that feeling of relief (vacation's starting!), a drink in my hand and excitement for the week. :banana:

[alleluia5]

Oh gosh! I need suggestions...being first-timers. I want to be close to the stage but worry about my kids seeing the show and the crowds. :eek: Maybe Top-deck...???

I look forward to that feeling of relief (vacation's starting!), a drink in my hand and excitement for the week. :banana:

The best place with kids is on top of the close pool imho. And it really is not that bad - everyone kind of finds their place and the characters dance all over the deck.

[chrisrunty]

The best place with kids is on top of the close pool imho. And it really is not that bad - everyone kind of finds their place and the characters dance all over the deck.
Our MR cruise in April was completely sold out. (i think this cruise has alot of rooms still) We were on the closed pool with our 2 1/2 year old. There was plenty of room not over crowded and I wasn't worried one bit. That is the place to stand with kids.

[chrisrunty]

Interesting idea! It is definitely a little strange to sit with those who don't understand kids - although truthfully my kids LOVE the kids club. Last time we used that option where they ate fast and went back to the club. The only problem was my youngest - who chews every bite a kajillion times, never finished in time.
We can hope now turned 3 DS might like the kids club he couldn't be there alone in April. (was not old enough) He'll have one month of preschool "experience" by October.

[chrisrunty]

Okay, I am so behind...I have to catch up on all the posts AND figure out the FE!! :-)

Biggest dilemna to date - should our kids eat with us and then go to the kid's club (we have late seating) or should they just go to the kid's club right after the show? Ugh. Can't decide. DD 7 and DS 2 can barely make it through dinner at home. :rotfl: Thinking of just booking 9 to 10:30 now for Asher, and then adding more time if needed, plus nap time during the day so Mommy & Daddy can lay by the pool, but maybe that is nutso.
We did almost exactly that in April with 2 1/2 DS. I actually booked the nursery every night at 9:30-10:30 because we had late seating. DS wasn't fond of the nursery, and too young for the kids club. I'm a SAHM so he wasn't use to being separated from mom. He tolerated the first couple nights then we just decided to keep him at dinner until we were done and often took dessert to go. (the family with us did the same thing) The older kids we knew loved the dine and play to the kids club.

[WestCoastMama]

Have a great weekend everyone! I'm going to get working on my FE gifts and magnets. We'll see how far I get! :rolleyes1

[alleluia5]

Question for the weekend:

Let's do a question for this weekend.....for those that have cruised before - what is your best tip to make the most of your cruise? For those that haven't, what question do you have that you would like advice on?

[WestCoastMama]

Scavenger Hunt

What is this all about?

The Scavenger Hunt consists of 30 questions with a few puzzles thrown in for good measure. All the answers can be found by walking around the ship.

On top of this there will be 10 to 15 tasks were you either have to take photos of various things or bring items to the scoring session.

Who is this aimed at?

In short, everybody who can read can take part. You can either join as an individual or as a family.

How do I sign up?

If you want to join in, send me a PM before October 15th. I will then make sure that I have enough question, answer and score sheets printed.

How does this work?

I will give out the game packs at the meet on the first day before the Sail Away Party (place TBD). If you can't make it to this meet, I will push the pack underneath your stateroom door later in the day. You then have most of the cruise to do this at your own pace. You can either do it all in one go or a little bit at a time throughout the cruise. On the last sea day, I will be at the Promenade Lounge, time TBD, to score your answer sheets and tasks. At that stage you need to hand in your answer sheets and show me your items that you have collected and the photos you have taken. If you have a digital camera, there is no need to print the photos. I am quite happy to look at them on your camera.

So what is in this for me?

Well, apart from a lot of fun and a chance to get to know the ship better, there will be a goodie bag for the winners as well as a small prize for the people coming second and third.

[WestCoastMama]

I have a question! Where does everyone suggest watching the Pirate/Firework Show? pirate:

[alleluia5]

I have a question! Where does everyone suggest watching the Pirate/Firework Show? pirate:

One of the best places is about midship on the 9th deck. You can go to the party, eat some yummy dessert and then walk back (aft) a bit for a great view.

[alleluia5]

Here's my tip of the weekend.....

Want a great souvenir? The characters will sign something for you - you just have to drop it off at guest services at the beginning of the cruise. We have done tshirts, pillow cases and my favorite, bought one of the nice frames onboard and had it signed. Its a great way to get a really cute souvenir for very little to no money. :cutie:

[WestCoastMama]

Here's my tip of the weekend.....

Want a great souvenir? The characters will sign something for you - you just have to drop it off at guest services at the beginning of the cruise. We have done tshirts, pillow cases and my favorite, bought one of the nice frames onboard and had it signed. Its a great way to get a really cute souvenir for very little to no money. :cutie:

I heard about this! I am for sure bringing some items to get signed. :woohoo:

[chrisrunty]

Question for the weekend:

Let's do a question for this weekend.....for those that have cruised before - what is your best tip to make the most of your cruise? For those that haven't, what question do you have that you would like advice on?
Pack your swimsuits in your carry on bag. After your arrival lunch take a swim. Often you can't get into your room until after 2:00 and luggage usually shows up around 5:00. It's really great for the kids and feels like vacation's started!

[alleluia5]

Pack your swimsuits in your carry on bag. After your arrival lunch take a swim. Often you can't get into your room until after 2:00 and luggage usually shows up around 5:00. It's really great for the kids and feels like vacation's started!

That's a great one! I thought I read somewhere that we can get on a the ship a bit earlier on the Mex Riviera but not sure if that affects the room - probably not.

[chrisrunty]

That's a great one! I thought I read somewhere that we can get on a the ship a bit earlier on the Mex Riviera but not sure if that affects the room - probably not.
Yeah the times for MR seemed the same, the rooms were ready I think 2:30 in April. A bit later than I remember other cruises. We fly in same day so I can't comment on getting aboard early. We don't land until 12:00.

[chrisrunty]

Chris,

If you're husband does decide to bow out on High Tea and I'm free I may just buy your extra seat and join you;)

Cathy
I called Disney I have a two person table and at this time they can't change it but suggested I check when on board. So I'll have one extra seat for sure, and might be able on board to increase it. (hope so for more of us to have tea) :-)

Christine

[chrisrunty]

Tip: For those with small kids you can request a bed rail, booster, highchair, etc. in advance. Especially nice for the bed rail! My son usually wants a short nap when the room is first available. Also if you have an early excursion, call and order coffee to be delivered in the morning. It's my back up if we over sleep. Someone knocking on the door with coffee will guarantee you get out of bed. :-)

[tsb2]

I heard about this! I am for sure bringing some items to get signed. :woohoo:

We did this on our last cruise and were grateful that the characters took the time to sign picture frame mats for us that I brought in big ziplocs, added the markers I wanted them to use and some candy for them as a thank you. I recently read on another thread that this is becoming popular (code for overwhelming :) so they are limiting the number of items to 2/per stateroom. If you have more than one kid this can be tricky. I just chose a picture frame mat and therefore could put a trip photo in it when we got home.

I also think a great tip is ordering room service to bring pb & j's, chips and bananas the night before a shore excursion and then you have snacks in your bag for hungry little ones. The pb & j's are the smuckers pre wrapped kind.

I also order cereal/ milk, pastries and coffee every night for the next morning so that we don't have to hustle screaming kids to breakfast before we are showered and ready to leave the room. If your kids are like mine, they wake up screaming for something to eat at 6:30 or 7 am! :scared1:

Tara

[WestCoastMama]

Tip: For those with small kids you can request a bed rail, booster, highchair, etc. in advance. Especially nice for the bed rail! My son usually wants a short nap when the room is first available. Also if you have an early excursion, call and order coffee to be delivered in the morning. It's my back up if we over sleep. Someone knocking on the door with coffee will guarantee you get out of bed. :-)

Is it better to request the bed rail in advance or just ask the stateroom attendent. Great idea for the early excursions, we have one of those this trip.

Kids Club Questions
On another note I wanted to ask all you experienced DCLers about the kids club. Can the kids go back and forth between the Oceanears Club and Lab? Or do I need to choose one and they stick with that? Also, I saw one of the schedules and it showed different activities depending on what group the child is in. How do you decide which group and when do you decide this?

[tsb2]

Your kids can go between the clubs. This was a recent effort on Disney's part to accomodate kids who had siblings older than them and who felt more comfortable being with their older sibling in the lab or having their older sibling join them in the club. On our last cruise I had mixed feelings about this rule. I was happy that our very shy 3 year old could be with his 6 year old brother, but there were some drawbacks as well. It seemed with many older kids in the club that the little ones were getting run over in the pirate ship play area, conversely when our little one was in the lab because his older brother wanted to play video games, our youngest was virtually ignored because the hands on activities were outside his learning triangle due to the fine motor skills necessary to make the crafts. I am very discerning when it comes to the people who care for my kids and I was VERY pleased with all of the "castmate" counselors. They were very patient, friendly, and accomodating with helping my three year old go to the bathroom or get a drink from the fountain. Additionally, my son took off in the ship thinking he could find his way back to our room by himself (under our care, not the clubs :). When he got lost, we went directly to the club and they were able to tell us where he was at based on the security bracelet/locator he was wearing. I would find activities that seem age appropriate for your preschooler or school age kid and then take them for that activity irregardless of the location and then know that when the activity is over, it may be a free for all in the club or lab until you retrieve them. Just my opinion but others may chime in.

Tara

[traveljen1027]

I thought the kids had to be a certain age to go into the lab, but the older kids can go back and forth between both (i.e. the little ones have to stay in the front at all times, but the older ones can pick and choose)...is that different now?

[khoos]

Hi new cruiser here
Just abt to book this today. I have DD 9 DS 6. So four of us :)
Anyone doing the dolphin swim in Cabo?

[traveljen1027]

Hi new cruiser here
Just abt to book this today. I have DD 9 DS 6. So four of us :)
Anyone doing the dolphin swim in Cabo?

My daughter is doing the Kid's Dolphin Encounter - she specifically said she wants to do it by herself, not with me or her dad. :confused3

[khoos]

Depending how old she is, an adult might have to participate too. My DD is 9 yrd old and I read I have to participate.
Do you plan to book through Dinsey or independently?

:)


My daughter is doing the Kid's Dolphin Encounter - she specifically said she wants to do it by herself, not with me or her dad. :confused3

[WestCoastMama]

Hi new cruiser here
Just abt to book this today. I have DD 9 DS 6. So four of us :)
Anyone doing the dolphin swim in Cabo?

:welcome: Love that our group is getting bigger. :)

[WestCoastMama]

In case anyone is interested, today @ Costco we found Jack Sparrow kids costumes for only $15. Fun for Pirate Night! pirate:

[WestCoastMama]

Oh and they also had the Disney Princesses too! For $15!

[globerunner]

Oh and they also had the Disney Princesses too! For $15!

Thanks! I'll check it out tomorrow. My daugther has been more interested in other girls wearing princess dresses so maybe she'll finally wear one on the cruise. She wouldn't let me buy her a dress at the Disney store so if she decides not to wear this one at least it won't be too expensive of a try.

[khoos]

A little help here. Do we already know what dinner nights are planned? I am trying to reserve one night at Palo's but did not want to go if it formal night, pirates night etc.
TIA

[LuvIt]

I cut and pasted below something I had found on another thread, but frankly don't know if theme nights are something Disney might change from cruise to cruise. I'm hoping to see Navigators from the first MR cruise this September to get a better idea of what activities, etc. will be offered:

Quote:
Originally Posted by cidymom View Post
Stinkerbell - thanks for your informative and humorous Trip Report. I'm glad to read that your family had a great time on the Wonder to the MR. My question: as you picked Tritons for Formal Night, which restaurant would you pick for Semi-Formal Night if the whole family was dressed up? I'm thinking of renting my husband a tux so it will free up some precious luggage space. Appreciate your opinion. Thanks.
I found out the "theme" nights ahead of time and based my request on the rotation PTAPTAP(formal night was night 2, pirate night was night 4) so that we would have formal night in Triton's and pirate night in Parrot Cay. You can't choose each restaurant individually, you have to start and end in the same one, does that make sense? (I have a foggy medicine head today-sorry if I'm making zero sense). So you can choose from these rotations:
PTAPTAP, TPATPAT, ATPATPA. You just have to figure out when the theme nights are on your cruise and match the restaurants up with that. Based on our rotation, semi-formal night was in Animator's..Do you see how it works now? I'm sure there are threads that deal with this question and I am sorry if I'm making it clear as mud.

[khoos]

help! My only check in time was 2:30pm. We fly into LAX at 10:40am. Do you think they will let me check in before my alloted slot?

TIA
Sandra

[chrisrunty]

I cut and pasted below something I had found on another thread, but frankly don't know if theme nights are something Disney might change from cruise to cruise. I'm hoping to see Navigators from the first MR cruise this September to get a better idea of what activities, etc. will be offered:

Quote:
Originally Posted by cidymom View Post
Stinkerbell - thanks for your informative and humorous Trip Report. I'm glad to read that your family had a great time on the Wonder to the MR. My question: as you picked Tritons for Formal Night, which restaurant would you pick for Semi-Formal Night if the whole family was dressed up? I'm thinking of renting my husband a tux so it will free up some precious luggage space. Appreciate your opinion. Thanks.
I found out the "theme" nights ahead of time and based my request on the rotation PTAPTAP(formal night was night 2, pirate night was night 4) so that we would have formal night in Triton's and pirate night in Parrot Cay. You can't choose each restaurant individually, you have to start and end in the same one, does that make sense? (I have a foggy medicine head today-sorry if I'm making zero sense). So you can choose from these rotations:
PTAPTAP, TPATPAT, ATPATPA. You just have to figure out when the theme nights are on your cruise and match the restaurants up with that. Based on our rotation, semi-formal night was in Animator's..Do you see how it works now? I'm sure there are threads that deal with this question and I am sorry if I'm making it clear as mud.
In April we requested PTAPTAP and we had day 2 formal tritons day 4 pirate night. I did the same request for October... I think you can call and find out the theme nights... If they change it.

[chrisrunty]

help! My only check in time was 2:30pm. We fly into LAX at 10:40am. Do you think they will let me check in before my alloted slot?

TIA
Sandra
We arrived 12:30 and had the 3:30 check in back in April. (the cruise was sold out) we checked in and boarded right away no waiting.

[khoos]

Chris
Thanks for responding. So they let you check in at 12:30 even though the alloted time was 3:30? Oh good I feel better now. And this was at the same port correct?

TIA
Sandra :)

We arrived 12:30 and had the 3:30 check in back in April. (the cruise was sold out) we checked in and boarded right away no waiting.

[tsb2]

I thought the kids had to be a certain age to go into the lab, but the older kids can go back and forth between both (i.e. the little ones have to stay in the front at all times, but the older ones can pick and choose)...is that different now?

The club is across the hall from the lab. Kids have to be at least 3 to be in the club (younger kids have to be in Flounder's nursery) and "should be" at least 7 and younger than 12 to be in the lab. However, under the new policy kids can go between the club and the lab no matter what age and will be escorted by a counselor when desiring to switch. This was the policy in May of 2010.

Tara

[tsb2]

Hi Friends - As promised, here is a preliminary list of people committed to participate in the FE. Yeah!!! :woohoo: I am waiting on one person to identify their parties names for anyone who wants to personalize gifts so I will update when/if they let me know. For those that gave me your last names, I excluded them as I didn't feel it was necessary for the purpose of the FE. Some of us don't have stateroom numbers yet but I will update the list as people let me know. Hopefully we get more people to join the thread, but if not, I am so happy with the people already willing to participate. :grouphug:

Finally, if you are lurking and would like to join but don't know what its all about...let me tell you FE's are soooo much fun....so, what are you waiting for?? PM me with your party information and read posts #57 and #71 because we would love to have you join!

FISH EXTENDER LIST:

traveljen1027 - Jennifer (34 - 35 on 10/27!), DH - Devin (35), DD -Lily (7), DS -Asher (2) stateroom 2510

Luvit - Cathy (that's me!), DH -Don (his birthday is the day we sail!), DS -Alexander or Alex (age 11) stateroom 6018

alleluia5- Shelly, hubby is Avito, boys are Aaron (12), Micah (9) and Christian (7). We don't have room numbers yet as we are guaranteed but will send them once they show.

WestCoastMama - Jennifer (35), DH - Chris (37 turning 38 during the cruise!), DD -Allison (7), DS -Turner (4) and we're traveling with my mom Mary Leu. We have two SR 2594 and 2596 but I figure we'll only have one FE. We will probably hang it on SR 2594.

chrisrunty – Christine, DH - Khan, DS -Carson (3), stateroom 7120 we may try to upgrade to a suite the day of the cruise...

globerunner - Kim (36), DH -Javier (37), DD- Aubrey (3) (celebrating her 3rd on the ship!). Also joining us is my sister - Fanessa (47), her DH-Daryl (49), and her DS Micah (2, almost 3). Additionally, we have encouraged another family to join us who want to participate... here is their info: Jessie, her DH steve, DD (2), DS (1). We do not have stateroom numbers yet.

jhill10428 - Jason (30), DW - Heather (38), DD -Emily (17), DS -John (15). We have a stateroom guarantee at this time.

tsb2 – Tara (36), DH -Adam (37), DS- Seth (7), DS - Ryan(5). We have a stateroom guarantee at this time and will update the list when we receive our documents.

jiales??? – Get me your info and we would love to have you be a part of our FE group! ;)

__________________________________________________ _______________

Please be advised that some DISmembers participating have multiple families in their group so plan accordingly and if any of the information is incorrect please let me know and I will correct the mistakes. Good luck and happy shopping/crafting! :artist:

Tara

Hi Friends - You will notice in RED that we have the addition of another new family joining Kim (Globerunner) for our FE exchange. The more the merrier!

Tara

[WestCoastMama]

A little help here. Do we already know what dinner nights are planned? I am trying to reserve one night at Palo's but did not want to go if it formal night, pirates night etc.
TIA

Hey All! So this is what I found on a thread for a cruise that is 3 weeks before us. Just FYI. I guess we'll have to wait and see what the September cruises will be doing.

Quote:
Originally Posted by dolphingirl47
There are going to be 3 different rotations on this cruise if the spring cruises are anything to go by:

PTTAPTA (Formal Night - Triton's, Pirate Night - Animator's Palate, Semi-formal Night - Triton's)

TAAPTAP (Formal Night - Animator's Palate, Pirate Night - Parrot Cay, Semi-formal Night - Animator's Palate)

APPTAPT (Formal Night - Parrot Cay, Pirate Night - Triton's, Semi-formal Night - Parrot Cay)

APPTAPT is probably the least desirable option.

[khoos]

Westcoastmama - Jennifer
Thanks for checking it out. I am still trying to decide on the FEs. Sorry such a rookie here. Still trying to figure everything out.

Thanks
Sandra

[chrisrunty]

Chris
Thanks for responding. So they let you check in at 12:30 even though the alloted time was 3:30? Oh good I feel better now. And this was at the same port correct?

TIA
Sandra :)
Hi Sandra, yes same port, same cruise actually.

[chrisrunty]

Hi all. I called Disney yesterday... They always say "it could be subject to change" but our cruise currently has formal night the 2nd night, pirate night 5th night, and semi formal 6th night.

Christine

[khoos]

Thanks Christine. :goodvibes

What are your plans to the port? I was reading for 4 ppl best to get a car to pick up? Any idea who to use? I am so excited for this cruise need some R&R.

Hi Sandra, yes same port, same cruise actually.

[khoos]

ok so I changed Palo to 4th night. Thanks for the info

Hi all. I called Disney yesterday... They always say "it could be subject to change" but our cruise currently has formal night the 2nd night, pirate night 5th night, and semi formal 6th night.

Christine

[chrisrunty]

Thanks Christine. :goodvibes

What are your plans to the port? I was reading for 4 ppl best to get a car to pick up? Any idea who to use? I am so excited for this cruise need some R&R.
We use the Disney transportation since we have a 3 year old. That way we don't have to lug/pack/bring his carseat. (we would need it for a car or taxi). Before kid.... We used both a regular airport taxi and a car service. (Lincoln town car) the car service is nice that you can arrange in advance. I'll see if I still have the car service info.

[chrisrunty]

We use the Disney transportation since we have a 3 year old. That way we don't have to lug/pack/bring his carseat. (we would need it for a car or taxi). Before kid.... We used both a regular airport taxi and a car service. (Lincoln town car) the car service is nice that you can arrange in advance. I'll see if I still have the car service info.
It's also nice for Disney to handle the luggage. :-)

[alleluia5]

Westcoastmama - Jennifer
Thanks for checking it out. I am still trying to decide on the FEs. Sorry such a rookie here. Still trying to figure everything out.

Thanks
Sandra

Don't be concerned, its fun and really no pressure. Just pick up some little trinkets - something simple - it is so fun to go back to your room and find little treats or gifts.

[WestCoastMama]

Westcoastmama - Jennifer
Thanks for checking it out. I am still trying to decide on the FEs. Sorry such a rookie here. Still trying to figure everything out.

Thanks
Sandra

I totally understand! I'm a newbie too! You're in the right place to figure it all out. :goodvibes Soooo many helpful people.

Hi all. I called Disney yesterday... They always say "it could be subject to change" but our cruise currently has formal night the 2nd night, pirate night 5th night, and semi formal 6th night.

Christine

Thanks for looking into that Christine! Did they happen to mention what the dining rotation would be?

[WestCoastMama]

On another note! Can I tell you guys that it's days like today :eek: that I am counting the days, minutes, seconds till our cruise:sail:!!! I can't wait to be sitting in a lounge chair enjoying my fancy fruity drink!!!! :dancer::dancer::dancer::dancer:

[chrisrunty]

I totally understand! I'm a newbie too! You're in the right place to figure it all out. :goodvibes Soooo many helpful people.



Thanks for looking into that Christine! Did they happen to mention what the dining rotation would be?
They will allow you to put in a dining rotation request. (not guaranteed) Which I did, formal in tritons, (day 2) parrot key for pirate night, (day 5) I am a sucker for themes. The rotation starts with PT... Something I can't remember. I'll look it up! I think there are three dining rotations.... Someone correct me if I am wrong. :-)

[globerunner]

Hey All! So this is what I found on a thread for a cruise that is 3 weeks before us. Just FYI. I guess we'll have to wait and see what the September cruises will be doing.

Quote:
Originally Posted by dolphingirl47
There are going to be 3 different rotations on this cruise if the spring cruises are anything to go by:

PTTAPTA (Formal Night - Triton's, Pirate Night - Animator's Palate, Semi-formal Night - Triton's)

TAAPTAP (Formal Night - Animator's Palate, Pirate Night - Parrot Cay, Semi-formal Night - Animator's Palate)

APPTAPT (Formal Night - Parrot Cay, Pirate Night - Triton's, Semi-formal Night - Parrot Cay)

APPTAPT is probably the least desirable option.

Thanks! That's very useful information. I'll see about calling in to request for PTTAPTA (Formal Night - Triton's, Pirate Night - Animator's Palate, Semi-formal Night - Triton's). I think it'll match up nicely with the theme nights.
Is anyone else with young kids doing the Dine and Play? I hope my daughter (3) will want to go with the counselors or I guess I'll have to just make a personal drop off. She is a night owl most of the time.

[chrisrunty]

We had this one in April. I really liked it.
PTTAPTA (Formal Night - Triton's, Pirate Night - Animator's Palate, Semi-formal Night - Triton's)

When I called this weekend Disney said 5th night for pirates on the 10/23 cruise. Our 4/10 cruise it was the 4th night. Hmmmm...

I might call them again in a couple of days.

[LuvIt]

:yay: Just 60 days away, people! :yay:


(it's 112 here today....I'd love to be feeling the cool breezes on a boat right now!)

[chrisrunty]

:yay: Just 60 days away, people! :yay:


(it's 112 here today....I'd love to be feeling the cool breezes on a boat right now!)
Can't wait!! I know it's close when I'm spending more and more on the disboards!

I want that warm Cabo weather, it's 77 here today. I have to heat my pool all day just to swim in it!

[WestCoastMama]

Thanks! That's very useful information. I'll see about calling in to request for PTTAPTA (Formal Night - Triton's, Pirate Night - Animator's Palate, Semi-formal Night - Triton's). I think it'll match up nicely with the theme nights.
Is anyone else with young kids doing the Dine and Play? I hope my daughter (3) will want to go with the counselors or I guess I'll have to just make a personal drop off. She is a night owl most of the time.
You're welcome! :goodvibes

We had this one in April. I really liked it.
PTTAPTA (Formal Night - Triton's, Pirate Night - Animator's Palate, Semi-formal Night - Triton's)

When I called this weekend Disney said 5th night for pirates on the 10/23 cruise. Our 4/10 cruise it was the 4th night. Hmmmm...

I might call them again in a couple of days.

I think I'll be requesting that rotation too!

:yay: Just 60 days away, people! :yay:


(it's 112 here today....I'd love to be feeling the cool breezes on a boat right now!)
:jumping1:
Can't wait!!
I ordered my FE today!:yay:

[chrisrunty]

Before our last cruise I read a lot of traveling with small kids tips here were the most helpful:
1. Bring a clothes pin, keeps the drapes closed if you have a verandah and the sun out... Kids might sleep in longer. (mine did) it also works for the one inside the cabin.

2. Have their meal brought out with your appetizers. They can go to the kids club w/ dine and play. (if you have late seating)

3. Nap if you Have late seating. They'll stay awake for the shows and dinner.

4. Keep your kids up late for pirate night! Such a blast! There's Mickey, pirates, dancing, show, fireworks etc... Worth staying awake for.

5. Don't eat too much dinner on pirate night! There is a huge buffet of food and a dessert buffet too! If you don't like to wait in line much get near the food just before the show is over.

6. Do not miss the dessert gala! You will be sick/ stuffed trust me! Because so many choices! I had two plates... On vacation... Riiiiiight.

7. The off chance your kid/kids really don't want to sit for dinner. (we had only one night our then two year old was not behaving well) you can get up walk them around the ship a bit. (dinner does take awhile) or your servers will bring your dinner to your stateroom.(didn't happen to us but did to our other table family)

8. Bring snacks for the cruise terminal if you are going there early... There is no food there.

9. I brought a couple of sippy cups... Didn't need them. The kids cups with straws were fine.

10. Depending on your excursions and kid, we didn't use our stroller once. Plus you can always rent on on the ship. (I did hear they are huge though)

Ok... Probably have more but my boy is up.. Got to make breakfast. :surfweb::hug::hug:

[globerunner]

I called Disney this morning and requested PTAPTAP dining rotation. I also found out the Halloween party is going to be held on the 1st night (embarkation) and the Pirate party pirate: on 5th night (Cabo). I wonder if people will have to carry their costumes onboard in case they don't get their luggage in time??

[chrisrunty]

I called Disney this morning and requested PTAPTAP dining rotation. I also found out the Halloween party is going to be held on the 1st night (embarkation) and the Pirate party pirate: on 5th night (Cabo). I wonder if people will have to carry their costumes onboard in case they don't get their luggage in time??
Thanks so much. Disney said 5th night pirate for me too, different then before. Glad someone else confirmed that. I had no idea we had a Halloween party!! Yay How cool. I just love themes and parties.

[globerunner]

5. Don't eat too much dinner on pirate night! There is a huge buffet of food and a dessert buffet too! If you don't like to wait in line much get near the food just before the show is over.

I second this recommendation. I had 2nd seating my first cruise and went straight from dinner to the pirate buffet. It was such a shame I was too full from dinner to enjoy it. I still ate a turkey leg cuz I just had to! It was fun looking though.

[chrisrunty]

59 and counting..... :cool1:

[Hurleygirl]

This is our first cruise and we are so excited!! It will be my husband our three year old daughter and me!!
:cheer2:

[LuvIt]

Halloween party? On Oct 23rd? What's that all about? First I've heard of a Halloween party. I thought it would be on the cruise right AFTER ours that departs on Oct 30. Not that I'm complaining, I'm just wondering if the Disney person who provided this info looked at the calendar wrong......and just what a Halloween party entails!

update: I started a thread on the main page titled "if you have cruised in October" so check out the responses (I don't know how to add link here)

[LuvIt]

Hurleygirl,
Welcome! Several of us are first time cruisers too Please consider joining in on the Fish Extender (FE) exchange. Search these boards for info on what it's all about and join in ;)

[WestCoastMama]

Before our last cruise I read a lot of traveling with small kids tips here were the most helpful:
1. Bring a clothes pin, keeps the drapes closed if you have a verandah and the sun out... Kids might sleep in longer. (mine did) it also works for the one inside the cabin.

2. Have their meal brought out with your appetizers. They can go to the kids club w/ dine and play. (if you have late seating)

3. Nap if you Have late seating. They'll stay awake for the shows and dinner.

4. Keep your kids up late for pirate night! Such a blast! There's Mickey, pirates, dancing, show, fireworks etc... Worth staying awake for.

5. Don't eat too much dinner on pirate night! There is a huge buffet of food and a dessert buffet too! If you don't like to wait in line much get near the food just before the show is over.

6. Do not miss the dessert gala! You will be sick/ stuffed trust me! Because so many choices! I had two plates... On vacation... Riiiiiight.

7. The off chance your kid/kids really don't want to sit for dinner. (we had only one night our then two year old was not behaving well) you can get up walk them around the ship a bit. (dinner does take awhile) or your servers will bring your dinner to your stateroom.(didn't happen to us but did to our other table family)

8. Bring snacks for the cruise terminal if you are going there early... There is no food there.

9. I brought a couple of sippy cups... Didn't need them. The kids cups with straws were fine.

10. Depending on your excursions and kid, we didn't use our stroller once. Plus you can always rent on on the ship. (I did hear they are huge though)

Ok... Probably have more but my boy is up.. Got to make breakfast. :surfweb::hug::hug:

Those are awesome! Thanks for all the recommendations!! :hug:

I called Disney this morning and requested PTAPTAP dining rotation. I also found out the Halloween party is going to be held on the 1st night (embarkation) and the Pirate party pirate: on 5th night (Cabo). I wonder if people will have to carry their costumes onboard in case they don't get their luggage in time??

Good to know! A Halloween Party! How fun! A little extra :wizard:

This is our first cruise and we are so excited!! It will be my husband our three year old daughter and me!!
:cheer2:

Welcome on board!! :grouphug:

[WestCoastMama]

Just found this on another thread!!

Posted by grmmybtty
"During our MR cruise earlier this year the 2 for 1 drink of the day special was posted at the Signals bar during the afternoon. It looked like a regular thing since they had a different drink listed every day."

I've heard they also have 2 for 1 drink specials @ the adult pool when they play games.

[chrisrunty]

Just found this on another thread!!

Posted by grmmybtty
"During our MR cruise earlier this year the 2 for 1 drink of the day special was posted at the Signals bar during the afternoon. It looked like a regular thing since they had a different drink listed every day."

I've heard they also have 2 for 1 drink specials @ the adult pool when they play games.
They do at the adult pool.... the games were hilarious .... Think of a tiny orange that has to be passes via the neck from one person to another no hands. I had my drink and a few laughs watching.

[chrisrunty]

Tip: Dining... we seem to have a few 3 year olds on this board. :thumbsup2

When our 2 1/2 now 3 year old was at dinner we always brought coloring things or a small toy. It helped since the dining was about 1 1/2 hours long. (if you didn't do the dine and play at the late seating) he and the other kids we were dining with shared coloring books. It helped tremendous with our active boy. :yay:

Tip: if you have a tired non napper grab a bite at goofy galley or Pluto's dog house near the pools (or after swimming) sit in the sun recliners and popcorn::watch a Disney movie outside top deck. It was good down time for our little guy.

[chrisrunty]

58 days!!:cool1:

[chrisrunty]

Hurleygirl,
Welcome! Several of us are first time cruisers too Please consider joining in on the Fish Extender (FE) exchange. Search these boards for info on what it's all about and join in ;)
Welcome!! Yay for cruising! Do the FE kids just love it.

[chrisrunty]

This is our first cruise and we are so excited!! It will be my husband our three year old daughter and me!!
:cheer2:
Welcome! We have a 3 year old too! (boy) This is our 5th and our son's 2nd. Let me know if you have any questions.

[chrisrunty]

http://http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2767513&highlight=halloween (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2767513&highlight=halloween)
pirate:

[WestCoastMama]

:thumbsup2Here's the thread that Cathy (luvit) started about ToT on DCL:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2787358

Thanks Cathy!

[chrisrunty]

Do we have a stateroom count for the FE yet?

[globerunner]

Welcome! We have a 3 year old too! (boy) This is our 5th and our son's 2nd. Let me know if you have any questions.

Welcome! We have a daugther who will be 3 by sailing too. It's her 3rd cruise but first Disney one. I think she's very excited about her birthday and the cruise. I can't wait for it to be October 23rd already!

[chrisrunty]

57 days!!

[PiratePrincess214]

This is our first Disney Cruise, and the first cruise ever for our children. We have 1 grandma, mommy & daddy, as well as a 2 year old boy and a 4 1/2 year old girl. We are also interested in FE, but need to know how to sign up or get a list of other participants. Can't wait to see everyone on the cruise.

[tsb2]

This is our first Disney Cruise, and the first cruise ever for our children. We have 1 grandma, mommy & daddy, as well as a 2 year old boy and a 4 1/2 year old girl. We are also interested in FE, but need to know how to sign up or get a list of other participants. Can't wait to see everyone on the cruise.

Welcome...I'm Tara and I am organizing this group's FE exchange. Check out posts 57, 71, and 87 for more info! But in short, just PM me your family's names, ages and stateroom number and I will add you to the list. You can do a search of the entire Disney Cruise Line threads for "fish extender" or "FE exchange" and get some ideas and where to purchase or make an extender. Hope this gets you started and we can't wait for you and your little ones to participate!

Tara:cool1:

[tsb2]

Do we have a stateroom count for the FE yet?

Hope you are doing well and getting excited for our trip!! :woohoo: To answer this question...in short, no we don't have an official count yet because as it appears we have more and more people joining everyday. I made the cut off for joining October 14th so as to allow approx one week to make/purchase gifts for the last minute stragglers. If this seems too liberal we can tighten up that date. Just let me know and we can change the date. You can check out post 159 but we have had two other families that have expressed interest but have not officially PM'd me yet so have not put them on the list. Hope this helps.

Tara

[WestCoastMama]

This is our first Disney Cruise, and the first cruise ever for our children. We have 1 grandma, mommy & daddy, as well as a 2 year old boy and a 4 1/2 year old girl. We are also interested in FE, but need to know how to sign up or get a list of other participants. Can't wait to see everyone on the cruise.

Welcome! :yay:

[PiratePrincess214]

Welcome! :yay:

We are interested in doing the scavenger hunt. You are the one doing that right? I'm going to try to PM you and Tara (about the FE) but I still need to do a few more posts before I can PM:laughing:

[PiratePrincess214]

Welcome...I'm Tara and I am organizing this group's FE exchange. Check out posts 57, 71, and 87 for more info! But in short, just PM me your family's names, ages and stateroom number and I will add you to the list. You can do a search of the entire Disney Cruise Line threads for "fish extender" or "FE exchange" and get some ideas and where to purchase or make an extender. Hope this gets you started and we can't wait for you and your little ones to participate!

Tara:cool1:


Thanks Tara, I will PM you as soon as I get 10 posts :)

[chrisrunty]

Welcome! We have a three year old boy, it's going to be his second cruise. He still talks about the "Mickey Ship" almost 5 months later. :-) FEs are fun for kids!

[chrisrunty]

This is our first Disney Cruise, and the first cruise ever for our children. We have 1 grandma, mommy & daddy, as well as a 2 year old boy and a 4 1/2 year old girl. We are also interested in FE, but need to know how to sign up or get a list of other participants. Can't wait to see everyone on the cruise.
56 days!! Welcome!

[chrisrunty]

Yeah.... I'm counting the days!

[chrisrunty]

55 days :woohoo:

[WestCoastMama]

55 days :woohoo:

:dance3::dance3::dance3:

[chrisrunty]

54 days!!:banana::banana:

[kristin7462]

We are coming and very excited! Is anyone else bringing kids under 2? My little guy will be a 18 mos and I am hoping it will be an ok age to cruise!

[WestCoastMama]

We are coming and very excited! Is anyone else bringing kids under 2? My little guy will be a 18 mos and I am hoping it will be an ok age to cruise!

:wave2::welcome:
Hope you guys will participate in the FE and scavenger hunt! :goodvibes

[chrisrunty]

We are coming and very excited! Is anyone else bringing kids under 2? My little guy will be a 18 mos and I am hoping it will be an ok age to cruise!
Welcome aboard!! We recently went with our then 2 1/2 year old. Had so much fun we are doing it again! :-)

[1DCL11]

We will be on this cruise as well !!! It will be me ,DH, DD (9) and DS (4). We are so excited. Thinking about possibly doing the FE ... but not sure yet. I do think that would be exciting for the kids, but not sure about having to pack all that (we fly in to LAX). I am sooo excited about TOT and the Halloween Party ! I knew about pirate night, but not the halloween party ! :-) This is the second cruise for DH and I and the first for the kiddos ! Cant wait to meet you all ! Happy Sailing !!!!

[kristin7462]

:wave2::welcome:
Hope you guys will participate in the FE and scavenger hunt! :goodvibes

I think we will do the FE!! How do we sign up?

[1DCL11]

Ok, I think we will do the FE... but I cant PM anyone yet.. not enough posts :) What is the scavenger hunt ??? I must have missed the info on that ... :headache:

[1DCL11]

Ok, I think we will do the FE... but I cant PM anyone yet.. not enough posts :) What is the scavenger hunt ??? I must have missed the info on that ... :headache:

AHHH... post #131.... count us in !!! sounds like fun :)

[LuvIt]

Heads Up!

I was just online (1:30 pm Arizona time) checking out some stuff on the Disney cruise site and noticed there are Palo Tea reservations open for Day 3 at 3 p.m. They must have had some cancellations.

I decided not to book (too close to my early dinner time) but thought some of you might be interested.

[kristin7462]

Welcome aboard!! We recently went with our then 2 1/2 year old. Had so much fun we are doing it again! :-)

We did the Disney Dream when he was 9 months but he was waaaaaaaaaaay less mobile then :)

[WestCoastMama]

We will be on this cruise as well !!! It will be me ,DH, DD (9) and DS (4). We are so excited. Thinking about possibly doing the FE ... but not sure yet. I do think that would be exciting for the kids, but not sure about having to pack all that (we fly in to LAX). I am sooo excited about TOT and the Halloween Party ! I knew about pirate night, but not the halloween party ! :-) This is the second cruise for DH and I and the first for the kiddos ! Cant wait to meet you all ! Happy Sailing !!!!

:cheer2:Welcome!:cheer2:

My son is 4 too! :thumbsup2 How fun! We are super excited for the TOT/Halloween Party too!:banana:

kristin7462 and 1DCL11
For the scavenger hunt:
When you have enough posts you can PM me your names and room #.
For the FE:
PM tsb2 (Tara) is in charge of that.

[1DCL11]

So what excursions is everyone planning? I think we are doing the Pirate Boat Sail & Snorkel Adventure in Puerta Villarta ... but nothing planned for Cabo. I was hoping there was stuff to do in port.. and I read that "downtown" shopping is only a 15 minute walk... I think we will just do that.. and maybe find a public beach. DH wants to see Sammy Hagar's bar. Has anyone sailed to Cabo ? What is there to do?:confused3

[1DCL11]

:cheer2:Welcome!:cheer2:

My son is 4 too! :thumbsup2 How fun! We are super excited for the TOT/Halloween Party too!:banana:

kristin7462 and 1DCL11
For the scavenger hunt:
When you have enough posts you can PM me your names and room #.
For the FE:
PM tsb2 (Tara) is in charge of that.


YAY :) You arent TOO far from us either.. we are in cabin 2500!

[1DCL11]

Ok, one more question... do any of you do pin trading... not sure how popular that is on the boat vs the park. Wondering wether or not to get lanyards and pins for the kids

[kristin7462]

So do adults dress up for the Halloween party too or mostly just the kiddos?

[chrisrunty]

We will be on this cruise as well !!! It will be me ,DH, DD (9) and DS (4). We are so excited. Thinking about possibly doing the FE ... but not sure yet. I do think that would be exciting for the kids, but not sure about having to pack all that (we fly in to LAX). I am sooo excited about TOT and the Halloween Party ! I knew about pirate night, but not the halloween party ! :-) This is the second cruise for DH and I and the first for the kiddos ! Cant wait to meet you all ! Happy Sailing !!!!
Welcome aboard! We also fly into LAX... And I'm just crazy for holidays so the Halloween party has me super excited. When doing FE and flying do take into account size/weight. Our last cruise I almost didn't fit all the gifts in our bag. ;-)

[chrisrunty]

So what excursions is everyone planning? I think we are doing the Pirate Boat Sail & Snorkel Adventure in Puerta Villarta ... but nothing planned for Cabo. I was hoping there was stuff to do in port.. and I read that "downtown" shopping is only a 15 minute walk... I think we will just do that.. and maybe find a public beach. DH wants to see Sammy Hagar's bar. Has anyone sailed to Cabo ? What is there to do?:confused3
We did this exact same cruise in April. The walk to shopping/food from the tender is like a 2 minute walk. I even went back after our excursion and walked around with a margarita and shopped while the boys went to the ship and took a nap.

[chrisrunty]

Excursion :dance3: I posted this awhile ago about what we did in April.

Luvit I can tell you what excursions we did since at the time we had a 2 1/2 year old. (he just turned 3 last week) What you do probably will depend on who you are with... Couple, or if your kids are older... We were a bit more limited due to our sons age. One in particular was soooo much fun, and everyone we talked to on the ship also loved it. It was the beach/ pool resort one in puerto vallarta. The best location, awesome pools, huge water slide, beach access, really really good buffet lunch (all others were kinda yuk) and they had servers walking around giving you free alcohol drinks all day, I mean all day... DH was in heaven. We booked that one again. I'll try to post more later...

We also did the pool/beach one in Cabo. The location was incredible :thumbsup2 and so beautiful (food just ok) the waves were strong so we didn't let go of our sons hand but he loved jumping the waves. One of the pools had a pirate ship right in the middle of it.

[chrisrunty]

So what excursions is everyone planning? I think we are doing the Pirate Boat Sail & Snorkel Adventure in Puerta Villarta ... but nothing planned for Cabo. I was hoping there was stuff to do in port.. and I read that "downtown" shopping is only a 15 minute walk... I think we will just do that.. and maybe find a public beach. DH wants to see Sammy Hagar's bar. Has anyone sailed to Cabo ? What is there to do?:confused3

We wanted to do the pirate boat but with a 2 1/2 year old there would be lots of sitting. He didn't sit still for shows much then. (now 3 he's getting a bit better ;))

DH went to Cabo Wabo..... Had a great time, good food, bought some tequila, got the tshirt :rotfl2: this time I want to go to. It was a short 10 minute walk from the tender I believe. :cool1:

[chrisrunty]

So do adults dress up for the Halloween party too or mostly just the kiddos?
What I heard some kids do, but if I have room in my suitcase I'm bringing one! I bet other adults will too.... They dress up for pirate night.

[chrisrunty]

Hope you are doing well and getting excited for our trip!! :woohoo: To answer this question...in short, no we don't have an official count yet because as it appears we have more and more people joining everyday. I made the cut off for joining October 14th so as to allow approx one week to make/purchase gifts for the last minute stragglers. If this seems too liberal we can tighten up that date. Just let me know and we can change the date. You can check out post 159 but we have had two other families that have expressed interest but have not officially PM'd me yet so have not put them on the list. Hope this helps.

Tara
Thanks soooooooo much Tara for setting up the FE. I think for stateroom count and getting stuff planned Oct. 1st deadline is still generous..... What do others think?

[1DCL11]

What I heard some kids do, but if I have room in my suitcase I'm bringing one! I bet other adults will too.... They dress up for pirate night.


I LOVE Halloween.. may have to find room for a costume for me too !! :laughing:

[1DCL11]

Thanks soooooooo much Tara for setting up the FE. I think for stateroom count and getting stuff planned Oct. 1st deadline is still generous..... What do others think?

Honestly I think so too ! I think a final cout by 10-1 is better... just for planning / buying / making things.. along with packing and planning for the trip itself :)

[1DCL11]

We did this exact same cruise in April. The walk to shopping/food from the tender is like a 2 minute walk. I even went back after our excursion and walked around with a margarita and shopped while the boys went to the ship and took a nap.

That is GREAT ! :cool1: Glad its easy/quick to get to !

[1DCL11]

We wanted to do the pirate boat but with a 2 1/2 year old there would be lots of sitting. He didn't sit still for shows much then. (now 3 he's getting a bit better ;))

DH went to Cabo Wabo..... Had a great time, good food, bought some tequila, got the tshirt :rotfl2: this time I want to go to. It was a short 10 minute walk from the tender I believe. :cool1:


I wanna go too ! I read that in October Sammy Hagar is in residence in Cabo.. maybe we will get lucky and get to meet him...

[chrisrunty]

I wanna go too ! I read that in October Sammy Hagar is in residence in Cabo.. maybe we will get lucky and get to meet him...
That would make DH day! Such a fan!

[kristin7462]

Excursion :dance3: I posted this awhile ago about what we did in April.

Luvit I can tell you what excursions we did since at the time we had a 2 1/2 year old. (he just turned 3 last week) What you do probably will depend on who you are with... Couple, or if your kids are older... We were a bit more limited due to our sons age. One in particular was soooo much fun, and everyone we talked to on the ship also loved it. It was the beach/ pool resort one in puerto vallarta. The best location, awesome pools, huge water slide, beach access, really really good buffet lunch (all others were kinda yuk) and they had servers walking around giving you free alcohol drinks all day, I mean all day... DH was in heaven. We booked that one again. I'll try to post more later...

We also did the pool/beach one in Cabo. The location was incredible :thumbsup2 and so beautiful (food just ok) the waves were strong so we didn't let go of our sons hand but he loved jumping the waves. One of the pools had a pirate ship right in the middle of it.


Is it the Paradise beach one that you went on in Puerto Vallarta?

[chrisrunty]

Is it the Paradise beach one that you went on in Puerto Vallarta?
Yep. That is the one. Since they usually say 1 drink on the excursions we were surprise they did free drinks the whole visit. This time we will remember to bring more ones for tipping.... We ran out too early. :-)

[globerunner]

Honestly I think so too ! I think a final cout by 10-1 is better... just for planning / buying / making things.. along with packing and planning for the trip itself :)

I third the Oct 1st cut off. I actually pretty much finished making my FE gifts but will be happy to make more for the new families that joined. It does take a while to make so having the extra cut off time will allow for a better looking final product! I am not at all crafty and got talked into by my crafty younger sis to try it. :rotfl:

[globerunner]

Quote:
Originally Posted by chrisrunty
What I heard some kids do, but if I have room in my suitcase I'm bringing one! I bet other adults will too.... They dress up for pirate night.


I LOVE Halloween.. may have to find room for a costume for me too !! :laughing:

I think I will be dressing up for pirate night. I actually have a tavern girl costume I bought I few years ago that I think it go with the pirate theme. The last S. Carib cruise I went on the adults were really dressed up. Maybe because it was a longer cruise but they were movie set quality costumes. I got mine at Target. :lmao: I got my 3 year old DD a princess dress in the same theme too. I'm doing this all for her. ;)

Any others dressing up for halloween or pirate night? What are your costumes like?

[1DCL11]

Quote:
Originally Posted by chrisrunty
What I heard some kids do, but if I have room in my suitcase I'm bringing one! I bet other adults will too.... They dress up for pirate night.




I think I will be dressing up for pirate night. I actually have a tavern girl costume I bought I few years ago that I think it go with the pirate theme. The last S. Carib cruise I went on the adults were really dressed up. Maybe because it was a longer cruise but they were movie set quality costumes. I got mine at Target. :lmao: I got my 3 year old DD a princess dress in the same theme too. I'm doing this all for her. ;)

Any others dressing up for halloween or pirate night? What are your costumes like?

HMMM.. I hadnt really planned on going "all out" for pirate night.. just eye patches, earrings, hats etc... but maybe I should re think that...

[LuvIt]

We can now say we are sailing NEXT MONTH! that sounds great to me!

I'm fine with the earlier FE cutoff date. If another family or 2 want to join in after cutoff, maybe our FE coordinator could make an "executive decision" to add them to the list. If some of you are making personalized gifts the late joiners might not get those but I'm thinking participants could still make up a bags of candy or trinkets for the kids so they could still be part of the FE. Just a thought.

I'm really anxious to see daily Navigators from the first MR cruise later this month. I would love to see Disney add more Mexican themed on board ship activities. Salsa dance lessons anyone?! LOL

DH and I won't be dressing up for Halloween stuff on board. DS might bring a simple costume. For pirates night, I got pirate themed tshirts for both of them, still need to get one for me maybe, and will bring bandanas and an eye patch for DS. We're going pretty lowkey on costumes.....I feel like Scrooge so maybe I should put more effort in it. LOL

I'm trying to really streamline packing and luggage volume. Only doing nice shirts, ties and pants for the guys (no suit) for formal night and hope we don't regret that decision. Nice pants and collared shirts for the guys for other dinners. Plan to do laundry once while on the trip to wash our gym clothes
and whatever else might need it so that I can pack less clothes.

[chrisrunty]

For those with younger kids we just got this Melissa & Doug pirate costume in the mail via amazon. It is beautiful and well made for only $22.pirate:pirate:


http://www.amazon.com/Melissa-Doug-Pirate-Costume-Role/dp/B0026NDRRM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1314904554&sr=8-1

[1DCL11]

We can now say we are sailing NEXT MONTH! that sounds great to me!

I'm fine with the earlier FE cutoff date. If another family or 2 want to join in after cutoff, maybe our FE coordinator could make an "executive decision" to add them to the list. If some of you are making personalized gifts the late joiners might not get those but I'm thinking participants could still make up a bags of candy or trinkets for the kids so they could still be part of the FE. Just a thought.

I'm really anxious to see daily Navigators from the first MR cruise later this month. I would love to see Disney add more Mexican themed on board ship activities. Salsa dance lessons anyone?! LOL

OMG... NEXT MONTH !!!!!!!!! WOO HOO :banana::banana::laughing::laughing:

I agree about the FE... we need an earlier cut off for those making / personalizing gifts...but I dont want anyone left out that wants to participate.. they may just get different things :)

[kristin7462]

What I heard some kids do, but if I have room in my suitcase I'm bringing one! I bet other adults will too.... They dress up for pirate night.

I am going to look for costumes for us too! Haha it would be a stretch however to say I am doing it for my little guy given he won't care what we are wearing ;)

[kristin7462]

OMG... NEXT MONTH !!!!!!!!! WOO HOO :banana::banana::laughing::laughing:

I agree about the FE... we need an earlier cut off for those making / personalizing gifts...but I dont want anyone left out that wants to participate.. they may just get different things :)


How do we get the navigators? I would love to see those before!

[kristin7462]

Yep. That is the one. Since they usually say 1 drink on the excursions we were surprise they did free drinks the whole visit. This time we will remember to bring more ones for tipping.... We ran out too early. :-)

I will have to book that! It will be fun!

[kristin7462]

Sorry to spam but i need 2 more post to pm our FE info

[kristin7462]

last one

[tsb2]

Hi Friends – Here is an updated list of people committed to participate in the FE. As you will see we have three new participants; yeah, the more the merrier! :cool1: Be reminded, that as you receive your stateroom number to let me know so I can update the information. Some of you have asked, so I want everyone to know that I will post an “official” FE list immediately following our final inclusion date which has now changed to October 1st due to a majority opinion to allow for people to finalize their gifts.

We will meet briefly prior to the sail-away party (open to suggestions for where to meet) just to finalize stateroom numbers for those who received upgrades on the day of embarkation.

Finally, if you are lurking and would like to join but don't know what its all about...let me tell you FE's are soooo much fun....so, what are you waiting for?? PM me with your party information and read posts #57 and #71 because we would love to have you join!

FISH EXTENDER LIST:

traveljen1027 - Jennifer (34 - 35 on 10/27!), DH - Devin (35), DD -Lily (7), DS -Asher (2) stateroom 2510

Luvit - Cathy (that's me!), DH -Don (his birthday is the day we sail!), DS -Alexander or Alex (age 11) stateroom 6018

alleluia5- Shelly, hubby is Avito, boys are Aaron (12), Micah (9) and Christian (7). We have Staterooms 2044 and 2046. We will only put a FE outside one of the rooms - probably 2046. Thanks!

WestCoastMama - Jennifer (35), DH - Chris (37 turning 38 during the cruise!), DD -Allison (7), DS -Turner (4) and we're traveling with my mom Mary Leu. We have two SR 2594 and 2596 but I figure we'll only have one FE. We will probably hang it on SR 2594.

chrisrunty – Christine, DH - Khan, DS -Carson (3), stateroom 7120 we may try to upgrade to a suite the day of the cruise...

globerunner - Kim (36), DH -Javier (37), DD- Aubrey (3) (celebrating her 3rd on the ship!), Stateroom 2042. Also joining us is my sister - Fanessa (47), her DH-Daryl (49), and her DS Micah (2, almost 3), Stateroom 1056. Additionally, we have encouraged another family to join us who want to participate... here is their info: Jessie, her DH Steve, DD Hannah (2), DS Benjamin (1), Stateroom #5022

jhill10428 - Jason (30), DW - Heather (38), DD -Emily (17), DS -John (15). We have a stateroom guarantee at this time.

tsb2 – Tara (36), DH -Adam (37), DS- Seth (7), DS - Ryan(5). Stateroom 8508.

Pirate Princess 214 - Stateroom 2116 DH -Michael (35), DD – Emily (4) & Stateroom 2118 Grandma – Josie (66), DS - Michael Jr. AKA Mikey (2), and myself – Veronika (30)

1DCL 11 - So excited... this is our first FE.. (first Disney Cruise)! Me - Dana (33), DH-Trevor (35), DD-Haylie (9), DS-Dalton (4) State Room # 2500

kristin 7462 -DH - Donovan, Me - Kristin and DS – Jaxon ( 1 ½ ); we have a stateroom guarantee.

khoos - Sandra, Jeremie, kids Renee and Alexander at room 7638
__________________________________________________ _______________
Please be advised that some DISmembers participating have multiple families in their group so plan accordingly and if any of the information is incorrect please let me know and I will correct the mistakes. Good luck and happy shopping/crafting! :artist:

Tara

[tsb2]

Officially the final date for inclusion into the FE has now changed to October 1st from the 14th due to majority opinion! Have fun getting ready everyone, only a month and some change till we are on the Wonder!

Tara

[1DCL11]

Officially the final date for inclusion into the FE has now changed to October 1st from the 14th due to majority opinion! Have fun getting ready everyone, only a month and some change till we are on the Wonder!

Tara

Thanks for organizing this Tara ! Your doing a great job :cool1::cool1:

[WestCoastMama]

Gosh! popcorn:: I couldn't get on the boards yesterday and look what I missed! :happytv: So here are my responses to all the topics from yesterday.

excursions: I am surprising my hubby with zip line adventure in P.V. Haven't decided about Cabo yet. Was thinking of chartering (it's really cheap, I saw on another TR) a small boat and heading to the arch and beaches. But, would also like to just hang out at a pool/beach. jury's still out.

FE cut off date: :thumbsup2 Love the earlier date. I agree that if we have more that want to join they may not get the super custom gifts.

Costumes: I found cheap ($10) costumes at Costco for the kids. Still deciding how much my hubby and I will dress up. I am so excited about all the little extra events on this cruise. :banana:

Tara thank you again for managing the FE! :hug: I have a question, if there are multiple families with one DISboard member, we make gifts to include those families as well? Right? :thumbsup2

I am so excited to meet all of you! Maybe we could start thinking about another meet later in the cruise. For those who have cruised before what would be a good afternoon or evening to have a cocktail hour. And this leads me to another question. Is there anyone among our group that doesn't drink or doesn't like alcohol? Could you PM me. Thanks!