January 8, 2005 Magic Cruise - Let's Get Ready to Cruise!

[brack]

This is an early call for cruisers on the Janaury 8th cruise of 2005.

We had a great time meeting other board members on our two cruises this January so we are looking forward to the chats until the cruise.

Sign up early.:earsgirl: :earsboy:

[steveandtonya]

Brack, Is that the Eastern or Western? Hope everything is going well with you and Annette. Just think two weeks ago we were in 85 degree weather in St. Thomas. Oh well I guess I have to work a little to pay for these cruises. We're hooked now.
Steve

[abitjaded]

Hey all,

It was nice to meet Brack and Annette and Regina and her family. Thanks to Regina's lovely daughters for entertaining my nephew. I think he was pretty tired of getting up at 6 A.M. with us and going to bed at 9-10 P.M.

We did sign up on board for the January 8, 2005 cruise (Eastern), but will probably have to change the date. My older son will be in Junior High by then and probably cannot cope with missing a week of school. Between his vacations, my younger son's and husband's, looks like they do not mesh for the next four years or five years, at least when the weather is cold here, the Magic is reasonably priced and the Carribbean beckons. Ahh for that 10 day Christmas cruise.

Carla

[clori]

I am also going on the Jan 8 2005 Eastern Magic cruise - my first disney cruise since my wedding land/sea Magic cruise in 2000. My dh, dd then 4 and baby (about 7 months) will be with me - we are staying in a sph room. My single friend is joining us (in her own room with verandah).

[brack]

Steve: The January 8th cruise is an eastern. We really like the extra day at sea.

I hope you still have my web page address. I put some pictures of the meet on it and hope to add more soon. (as soon as my work life calms down)

[brack]

bump.

Looking for fellow cruisers.

[Libby]

We'll be joining you on this cruise. Myself, Libby, 32, hubby, Kevin, 32, Amy, 5 and Christy 3 will be coming from Australia for 2 weeks in WDW and the cruise. We've been to WDW twice before and absolutely love it. This is our first DCL cruise, though we have done 2 cruises with Royal Carribean. On our last cruise we didn't really get to meet anyone on board so it would be great to meet up with some fellow DISers.

Libby

[disneygal58]

Hello All!
Add me to the list. Just stepped off the ship yesterday and couldn't leave without pre-booking another. Tentatively it will be myself and my daughter (unless the Volunteer Program that she applied to in Ireland comes through, then i am sure that I will be able to find someone to accompany me!).
I'm suffering the Post Cruise Blues today. Yesterday, after we disembarked, I had to immediately go to work - sinful (we live a half hour from the Port). I arrived at home at 6:30, ate a pitiful Deli Sandwich and fell asleep on the couch by 9:00 - a far cry from the previous week's activities.
Anyhow, now I have all of you to commisserate and countdown with.... Thank you, thank you for that!

Dawn Hope

[brack]

Welcome aboard Libby and Disneygal. My wife and I are looking forward to going on our 5th DCL. It will be the first for my son and his wife. (we haven't told them yet)

I have a friend in Australia. She lives on the west coast and works for The Salvation Army.

[disneygal58]

I'm trying to keep this thread on Page One!
I keep thinking "Last week at this time we were in St. Martin...." I want food ready and available when I want it (and I don't want to cook it or clean up after it). I miss Claudio and Fernando and Ellen and Mario. I saved our "pillow" chocolates for home. Now we have one each day after our not so gourmet one course meal.La di da.
Brack,
Did you sail on the January 3rd voyage? We were originally scheduled to cruise at that time, but had to change.

Dawn Hope

[brack]

Yes we sailed on the January 3rd cruise and then stayed onboard to sail again the next week. It was great to sail for TWO weeks. Maybe one day we'll do three! :hyper:

[brack]

bump

[disneygal58]

Brack,
How did you like doing the Back to Back? Do you have a preference for Eastern or Western? I have debated whether to one day try the back to back or go every six months. Right now, we are trying to sail one 7 day each year with a 4 day in between to hold us over.

Take Care,
Dawn

[brack]

The back-to-back cruise was great and we will definitely do it again. We both prefer the eastern cruise because of the extra day at sea and we like the ports better. Key West was ok but I could have stayed at sea and been fine.

[Lisa]

Add our group of nine to the list!:) Only one person in the group has never sailed, the remaining eight are Castaway Club Members.

Sailing will be me, my DH, and my DD-age 11. My DM, her DH, and their DF. My DGF, her DD-age 9, and DS-age 8.

[brack]

Welcome aboard.

As we get closer and more people sign on we will set up at date and time to meet for a photo. We did this on our last two cruises and it was neat.

[disneygal58]

Hello Lisa,
Where in Connecticut are you from? I grew up there, attended Eastern CT, then moved to Colorado after college.

To Everyone,
I can rarely go three to four weeks without a stroll down Main Street USA. If I can help anyone with planning surprizes etc... I would be happy to pick up small gifts, get info or whatever else could make your planning more fun. Today I am meeting friends at Downtown Disney for lunch and lounging.

Take Care and Keep Warm,
Dawn Hope

[Lisa]

Hi, Dawn,

I grew up in Tolland but now live in the next town over from Willimantic! My DM went to UConn. If you need something from your home state let me know.:)

[disneygal58]

Hi Lisa,
I was born in Willimantic, went to grade school in Scotland, High School in Plainfield. My family is spread throughout Windham, Coventry, Norwich etc... It is a small world, after all!

Looking forward to meeting you,
Dawn

[Lisa]

Dawn,

Oh my gosh, your family might be my neighbors! I am familiar with one of the towns you mentioned quite well. ;)

I look forward to meeting you too.

[disneygal58]

Hello,
We held a Dis-Meet at Palo Brunch. It was great. There were about 16 of us and we were given the private dining room. We met on Sunday. I wish that we had done a follow up meet at the end of the cruise. It was great putting faces to names and running into each other throughout the week.

Dawn

[disneygal58]

Just bumping us up to the top...

[disneygal58]

Bumping up so we don't get lost....
Anyone new sign on yet? We're just two weeks away from our 300 Day Countdown!

Dawn

[brack]

BUMP

My wife is almost finished with a scrapbook of our latest cruise. She is doing an A-B-C book. It is really fun to see all we did on that two week cruise.

[disneygal58]

Just 45 more weeks until our first day at sea - Palo's Brunch, laying on Deck 4, wine tasting, the Rainforest Room....

Dawn

[musicdude]

Add somemore people to your list!!! My dw(35) and ds 7, dd 3 and dw friend and daughter also 3 and myself(33). Looking forward to our first disney cruise an our first trip to wdw. Thanks so much for putting this together. Were all from Colorado!!
Chris

[brack]

Welcome aboard Musicdude.

As a WDW vet for over 20 years and 4 time DCL cruiser I can guarantee that you will not be disappointed.

If you have any questions, this is the place. There is no other place quite like the DISBoard for good info and friends.

[disneygal58]

Welcome Musicdude,
It's going to be like traveling with people from all of my "hometowns" - Lisa lives where I was born, you are in Littleton - I lived in Fort Collins/Boulder for 20 something years before heading back East three years ago. My daughter goes to Western in Gunnison. If I can help you with planning gifts/ideas feel free to ask - postcards for the kids/trinkets from WDW etc... I live an hour from Disney and head over there about once a month.
It's nice to see more people joining the party. Be sure to watch According To Jim tomorrow night.

Take Care,
Dawn

[musicdude]

Thanks Brack and Dawn for Great Welcome! We are sooo excited about this trip:) Dawn, I have a question about booking is it cheaper to book wdw stay through cruise line or one our own? Anyway thanks for everything. Chris

[disneygal58]

Musicdude,
It's usually alot more cost effective to book yor WDW rooms on your own or through an internet agency like www.dreamsunlimited.com. Always ask for special rates and if the category that you want is sold out, ask for their upsell rate on the next. Another good site to watch for rates is www.mousesavers.com. I'm fortunate enough to be able to secure Annual Passholder and Florida Resident rates. (APs are good if you plan to spend at least 7 days over the course of the year at the Parks - I had APs when I lived in Colorado because we would plan our trips to WDW every 11 months to take advantage of the savings).

Take Care,
Dawn

[musicdude]

Thank you for the info. Right now we've booked everything through small world travel but are likely to cancel the wdw portion(staying at Port Orleans) The cruise seems like a good deal but I think we will cancel those transfers and rent a van or something. Anyway thanks again for all the info. and this meet sounds like a blast. Kind of nice to know some people ahead of time.
Bye,
Chris

[Lisa]

Musicdude,

Welcome to you and your group to the 1/8 cruise.

We are renting a van from MCO to Port Canaveral. Then again from Port Canaveral for a few days at WDW returning the van to MCO.

Got a good promotion code through www.mousesavers.com for Budget.

I will be booking our hotel accomodations at WDW on my own.

[disneygal58]

Riding the DCL bus from the hotel to the Port can be fun. But it is much less expensive to rent a van or private towncar for the trip. Then you are not at the mercy of DCL's scheduled pick up times - some of them can put you there after 1:00.

Dawn

[musicdude]

Lisa,
Thanks for the warm welcome. Can you tell me what rate you received from budget? Thanks for the information. Chris

[Lisa]

Musicdude,

We are renting a 12 passenger van (as we have 9 people) for $144.49 base rate.

Budget is the only car rental place that could guarantee that size vehicle at MCO and at Cape Canaveral. Avis has that size at MCO but couldn't guarantee the 12 passenger van would be there when you arrived. No 12 passenger van available at all at Cape Canaveral.

Last year when we did the 7 day western, we got a mini van (5 people) through Avis for about $74 each way with all added fees.

[Tarquin]

Hi there-
We are first time cruisers who are booked for this cruise and are very excited! We have been to WDW 13 times and decided that we needed a change of pace-
On the cruise it will be myself, DH, DD age 13, DS age 8 and DS 15
This is our celebration cruise- I just finished my Doctorate in Education and we had promised ourselves that when I finished, we'd go on the Cruise- so , YIPEEEEE-

We live in New York and plan on driving down the day before, unless we get SUPER good airfares- but even then, i can pack more and not have to worry about it if we drive- every day after reading this board, i add something else to the "must pack" list!

Haven't made ressies for any hotel the night before- I guess I have a little time, huh?

Look forward to meeting everyone from the board!

[Lisa]

Tarquin,

Welcome and congratulations on your doctorate. Good to have you on board. One of the kids (a boy) in my group will be 8 in August.

[musicdude]

Tarquin,
Welcome to the board. Im an educator as well. My son will be 7 1/2 when we cruise. Were very excited!!:bounce:
Chris

[disneygal58]

Tarquin,
Welcome and congratulations! We look forward to helping you celebrate. If I may do anything to assist you from this end, don't hesitate to ask.

Have a good weekend,
Dawn

[disneygal58]

Happy Forty Four Week Countdown!
Just 44 more Saturdays until we finally let ourselves get out of bed after tossing and turning in anticipation of the delights that await us in the coming days....

Dawn

[brack]

Tarquin

Welcome to greatest vacation of your life!

This is our 5th DCL cruise but it is the first for our son and his wife. We booked it for them to celebrate their 10th anniversary and his Masters graduation.

It appears there is going to be a lot celebrating going on.

I am looking forward to a lot of correspondence on this board. When the cruise time arrives we should know each other very well.

[brack]

Lisa

I just looked at your signature and saw that you were on a DCL cruise January of 2003. We were on the January 2003 on the third week. I'll have to look at our scrapbook stuff to pin the exact date down. What week did you go?

We just sailed again this January with table mates from that cruise in 2003.It is really cool the friends you make on these things.

[Lisa]

We were on the January 18th-25th, 2003 Western cruise. Loved it. Sounds like we were getting off the cruise as you were preparing to get on.

My DM, her DH, my niece and her DM were on the January 17th-24th, 2004 Western cruise. My DH, DD, and I opted for WDW this year.:earsboy: :earsgirl: :earsgirl:

[brack]

bump

[disneygal58]

Hello,
We were on the January 4, 2003 Western. Lisa, were you able to dock in Grand Cayman? We were diverted to Cozumel because of rough seas - spent another day at sea and found ourselves in Cozumel at midnight. The crew loved it as they were able to leave the ship and head over to Carlos and Charlie's.
I have to admit the appeal of the Eastern is the extra sea day.

Take Care,
Dawn

[Lisa]

No problems at Grand Cayman, however I could see how if the water is choppy it would be difficult to tender into port. Even though the water was fairly calm, it was a little difficult getting into the tender from it bobbing so much.:boat: My DH ended up ripping his swim trucks and my DD's cover up got torn. Oh well, just two less things to pack up at the end of the cruise. LOL

Unfortunately, we weren't able to dock at Castaway Cay.:crazy2:

[brack]

I would be crushed if we had to miss Casataway Cay! Other people before our last cruise said that they had to miss Castaway Cay because the water was so rough the Captain couldn't safely dock there.

I'll keep my fingers crossed and my prayers going.

[disneygal58]

We've sailed DCL six times prior to the upcoming cruise and haven't missed Castaway Cay yet. I would rather miss any other port....Except perhaps Port Canaveral on embarkation day!

Dawn

[Lisa]

If we don't make Castaway Cay this trip, we will know I am the cursed one. LOL

[disneygal58]

Hello Everyone!
Our 300 day countdown is coming up this weekend. Does anyone have plans for a celebration (I know, I know I need to get a life...)? We're thinking of joining the crowd at Jetty Park and waving to the Wonder as she sails away. Or spending the day at Disney World (if the Spring Break crowds aren't too large). How will you countdown?

Dawn

[disneygal58]

bump

[disneygal58]

Happy 300 Day Countdown!

Dawn

[disneygal58]

Happy 300 Day Countdown!

Dawn

[brack]

Our best friends are on a family vacation at WDW this week. They tell us it is raining as they stand in the line for the Tower of Terror. I still wish I were with them!

Under 300! :bounce: :Pinkbounc

[disneygal58]

Brack,
I continue to try - unsuccessfully - to add the countdown clock. I fill in the appropriate steps and then nothing appears. Any suggestions or final step that I might be missing?

Dawn

[brack]

I do know that if the code is not completely correct it will not work. There is a thread that explains the process.

[sopandbass]

We are happy that we will be joining all of you on the January 8th cruise. There will be myself, my DH and our DD who will be 4 by then.

We were originally scheduled to sail on January 10th, 2004 but the little one got sick a few hours before we were to leave for the airport and the lovely people at Disney rescheduled us for this date with even more upgrades than we had been given for the original date! We are thrilled already and look forward to meeting you.

In the meantime, my DD looked up at me with her big eyes a few weeks after missing the first cruise and asked when we were going on the ship. Of course, my heart melted and I ran to the computer and we'll be going on a 4-day cruise on the Wonder in April. I'm a softy - what can I say?

[disneygal58]

sopandbass,
Welcome to our yearlong planning party! I can't imagine how disappointing that would have been having to cancel when you're down to the wire! But, we're glad you'll be joining us. As I've offered to the other posters, if I can send postcards or help with any other type of planning let me know.
The 4 day is a nice preview of things to come. We may do a 4 day early fall to hold us over until January.

Again Welcome.
Dawn

[brack]

sopandbass: Welcome to the thread!

My DW and I were on that Jan 10th cruise this year. It was great as usual. I am really sorry you missed it but we look forward to meeting you next January. Which by the way will also be a great cruise.

I also look forward to chatting with you on this thread until then.

Keep the kids healthy! is your motto for this year.

[disneygal58]

Happy Spring! I hope that winter is retreating wherever you all live. It's been a balmy 80 degrees here for the past few days - supposed to "cool down" to the low 70s - these silly native Floridians!

Enjoy,
Dawn

[Lisa]

Welcome, Sopandbass. That must have been disappointing about your last cruise, however it will be good to have you joining us.

DisneyGal, although the calendar says it is spring, the snow on my lawn states differently. Send some of that warm weather up this way.

[disneygal58]

Lisa,
There has to be an end to winter soon! Our 80 degrees have given way to high 60s and strong winds. Everything changes in a moment.

We are planning to spend next Monday at WDW and try out the new Pop Century hotel for my daughter Erin's birthday. If I can pick anything up for anyone let me know by Saturday.

Dawn

[abitjaded]

Hey guys,

Here is the warning on how to do a countdown. I suggest you read the threads on the technical assistance board first, it will prevent common errors. Then follow the link at the bottom of the first post to generate your clock.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?threadid=381216

Carla (still wondering if we get to go, but we have scheduled a five day WDW July 5-10!!! at the Dolphin)

[staylor]

Hey, we'll be on the Eastern cruise 1-8-2005. It will be myself, Staci 36, DH 37, DS 9, & DS 5. (ages at the time of cruise, lol)
Also joining us will be my good friend Lisa 34 and her DS 5. We're not too sure which day we are flying in from Dallas, TX. But we'll be there!!
This is mine and oldest son's 2nd Disney cruise and everyone else's first. I cannot wait to show them the ship and meet everyone from the boards. Hopefully we'll get a meet together.
See ya in 290 days!
Staci

[disneygal58]

Stacy,
Welcome! Did you sail Eastern or Western the last time? 290 days seems like such a long time, but it will be here before we know it. By the way - I love the Rob Thomas reference;it's definitely a phrase that I can relate to.
Carla,
I hope that you will be able to sail January 8th.

Countdown Clock Envy,
Dawn

[brack]

Stacie: welcome to the board. I hope we all do have a chance to meet up on the ship. My last two DCL cruises we had a DISBoard meet and it was fun to put a face to all the people we chatted with for so long.

I drive through Denton often from Oklahoma City because my DS and his wife live in Mesquite. I'll wave the next time I drive through!

[staylor]

Hi everyone, thanks for the great welcome.

Disneygal, the last time I cruised with Disney they only had the Eastern cruise. I've been on both the eastern and the western iteneraries on other cruise lines. We decided on the eastern again for a few reasons. One, we have a friend and her son traveling w/ us. This will be their first cruise ever. She has already been to cancun/cozumel and never to st. thomas/st. marteen. Living in Texas we can get to the western ports pretty easily by plane. Also, all of the cruises (RCCL, Norwegian, Carnival, and soon to be Princess) that go out of Port Galveston and Port Houston go to the western cities as well. Second,
Since my husband and I have been to all of the ports on both iteneraries, we would like to have an extra day at sea on the ship.

Brack, Thanks for the warm welcome. On our last cruise as well we had a DIS meet and it was a blast. I too like to put faces with names. Please do wave next time you pass through Denton. Just don't give me the finger because the traffic is SO horrible on 35 now. UGH! It makes me crazy. When are you traveling to Orlando for the cruise? We haven't decided yet. We'll be flying stand-by (I work for an airline) so probably a day or two in advance.

Can't wait to meet everyone. The time is just not flying by.
Staci

[disneygal58]

Staci,
I agree that one more sea day makes the Eastern Itinerary highly desirable.

41 More Weeks everyone!

Dawn

[brack]

I try to go through Denton when the traffic is light but I don't blame the people just the slow Texas DOT. That road should have finished long ago.

We will probably go to Orlando a couple of days early to visit the mouse. A lot depends on what happens at work.

[sopandbass]

Someone on the April 18th thread mentioned that their daughter got a postcard from Minnie Mouse and is ready to set sail. Dawn, you had mentioned postcards. Do you have an extra one that my DD could receive? Is there even time for that? That would be so cool.

[Lisa]

Welcome, Staci and crew.

We will be flying in the day before the cruise and staying the night near the port.

[disneygal58]

If anyone would like a postcard sent to their child, spouse etc...PM with names/addresses etc... and I'd be happy to do that. We just got back from an overnight at Pop Century - a bit larger/nicer than All Stars (much better food court) and we find ourselves at WDW at least once a month. So, if anyone needs anything I'm happy to help.

Dawn

[brack]

Thanks disneygal58 for the offer.

I have a few DCL postcards that I can share but it will look funny being postmarked from Oklahoma. This is not suitable "Mouse" weather.

[disneygal58]

Brack,
Springtime and the warm weather is bound to make an appearance sometime soon. I truly wish that I could bottle some of ours up and spread it around.

Keep Thinking Sun,
Dawn

[disneygal58]

Happy 40 Week Countdown!

Your Dis Friend without a countdown clock,
Dawn

Don't forget to Spring Ahead tonight.

[Lisa]

Sports Madness here in Connecticut this weekend and the upcoming week as both our Mens and Womens basketball teams are playing in the Final Four.

Go Huskies!!!

[disneygal58]

Go Huskies!
I went to Eastern CT in Willimantic and worked at the Student Health Dept. at UCONN, so I feel an affinity to both schools.

Dawn

[staylor]

Disneygal, thanks so much for the postcard offer. When we get closer, I might just take you up on it.
The weather here in TX has been great. I swear this year is crawling by though. It seems as though January will never get here. LOL!
Staci

[Lisa]

That is a great idea to send a postcard. I think I will send a postcard to each of the kids, and some big kids too, when we go to WDW in June.

[disneygal58]

Lisa,
Are you staying on property when you come down in June? Although I love living this close and being able to do day trips to the World - I miss our week long immersion in all things Disney. Check out the Disney Outlet store - every now and then they have some cruiseline items.

Enjoy,
Dawn

[Lisa]

Dawn, we will be staying onsite - Port Orleans Resort this trip.

A trip to WDW just isn't a complete trip without stopping at the Character Warehouse.:earsgirl:

[disneygal58]

Lisa,
Port Orleans is my favorite moderate resort. And I agree, it's difficult to pass up the bargains at Character Warehouse. Have fun.

Dawn

[disneygal58]

39 More Weeks....

Happy Easter Weekend!

Dawn

[Tarquin]

wow, 39 weeks sounds much more shorter than the # of days that it is till we cruise!!!
:p

[disneygal58]

Bumping us off of Page 2...

[brack]

Hope everyone is doing ok.

I've been on the road for awhile and still have a lot of traveling to do. I passed through Denton again last Monday going to Dallas and on Tuesday on the way back to Oklahoma. In about 10 days I'll be back through. Keep a watch out for me and distract those troopers.

My DW and I are going to WDW in June for about a week but have not made any reservations. Got to get on that! She's at a conference but I'm tagging along to visit Uncle Mickey and the gang.

Stay good until next time!

[disneygal58]

Hello,
I know that this message board is dedicated to the enthusiasm of planning/discussing our upcoming cruise, but we can also use it to get to know each other a little bit more before we meet. Perhaps we can pose a question and invite everyone who visits our site to answer. I'll begin:
When did you first visit Disneyland or Disney World? For me, it was 1973 - 4 months after the Parks opened. We lived in CT, my dad was a carpenter and February was his slow time of the year. We packed with the station wagon (mom, dad, younger sister and brother) and headed south in search of warm weather and Mickey Mouse. On the way, the highway was closed due to the first snowstorm the south had seen in 100 years - we spent the night in the car in the parking lot of a civic center near Atlanta. Once the roads opened, we entered our Nirvana, ate our first Slaw Dogs from a roadside vendor and watched the sides of the roads for alligators. At the time, Disney sold ticket books and each ride was designated a letter. You could choose which rides to go upon based upon the number of tickets and the letter of the attraction.
It was pure magic then and remains so all of these years later.

Your Turn,
Dawn

[Lisa]

My first trip was also in 1973. Dawn, you and I could have gotten two trips out of that year had we gone with each others families.

We drove from CT to VA then took the autotrain to FL. We stayed at Fort Wilderness in a tent. At that time in the mornings a man would come around the different loops with his horse pulled wagon selling orange juice, milk, donuts, fruit, etc.

My favorite thing was to end the night eating an ice cream cone while taking the ferry from MK to the campground.

[disneygal58]

Lisa,
It's interesting that we both went for the first time in 73. I went with the family for the next two years and then not again until 1996.
This is fun - keep the stories coming.

Dawn

[disneygal58]

38 Weeks and counting....

[Lisa]

Woo Woo:bounce:

[brack]

Our first trip to WDW was in 1986. We have gone at least once a year since. Our longest trip was 23 days at the Parks.

I visited Disneyland for a day in 2000.

My wife and I went to Disneyland Resort Paris last year for 5 days.

We still prefer WDW and DCL by far!

[disneygal58]

Twenty Three Days at the Parks! Did you camp at Fort Wilderness?
What did you think of Disneyland Paris?

Dawn

[brack]

We spent one week at the All Star Music, 5 days at the Caribbean Beach Resort and the rest of the time we stayed in a friends 5th wheel camper at the Wilderness Resort. It was a very cool vacation.

Disneyland Resort Paris was a must see for me but I don't think we'll ever go back unless it grows alot. With two parks and a small downtown shopping area it was very easy to do in a few days. We are really happy we did the trip because there are things there that none of the other parks have. Some of the same attractions that the other parks have are really different there. My favorite is their version of Thunder Mountain. If you get a chance ... go.

[staylor]

My first time to WDW was in 1980. I was 12 years old and went w/ my best friend and her family. Just like everyone else, I fell in love with it and always look forward to my return. Now I believe I've passed on the addiction to my DH and DS's 8 & 4. The wait for this cruise is killing me. Though it is buying me some time to lose weight. Lol!
Staci

[disneygal58]

Bumping us up - anyone else have first time Disney stories?

[Skywalker]

Hi everyone! We booked a couple of weeks ago and now I am so excited to find this thread!!!!!!

This will be our second cruise, but the first time with Disney. Our first cruise was ten years ago on Princesss, where we got married on St. Thomas. So this is our 10th anniversary cruise and when we get to St. Thomas we are planning to rent a car and find the park we were marrried in.

Of course, last time it was just us, and this time our family has grown...we have two little boys, ages at the time of the cruise will be 4 and 6. They are pretty excited and that will only grow as it gets closer I'm sure!

I'm looking forward to chatting with all of you. It will make the wait time until January much more bearable!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

::yes::

[disneygal58]

Welcome to our excited little January 8th Family! Have you been to any of the Disney Parks? I'll be curious to find how much St Thomas has changed or stayed the same since your last visit!

Happy Planning,
Dawn

[staylor]

Skywalker, welcome! The last time DH and I were in St. Thomas was 1994. I too cannot wait to see what it looks like. We have 2 boys. They'll be 9 & 5 in Jan. Also traveling with us is a friend of ours and her son who turns 5 during the cruise.
We'll have a DIS meet for sure on the ship!
Staci

[Lisa]

Welcome, Skywalker!:)

[Skywalker]

Thanks for the warm welcome!!

Dawn, yes we were at the parks this past January...

It's funny, I remember going to DisneyWorld with some friends when I was about 18 and I just hated it. I have grumbled about the "hype" ever since and thought I would never want to go back. When we decided to take the kids I thought I would just grin and bear it, and hope they had a good time....well something just hit me this time and I guess I felt the magic! Maybe it was being there with my boys and seeing it all through their eyes but when we walked down Main Street and saw their eyes open in wonder when they saw the castle, I just welled up with tears and felt so happy. It turned out to be absolutely the best week of our lives! Now I cannot wait to go back and I hope we can take them there often.

We are only cruising this time, with no plans to go to the parks either before or after....with a little luck though maybe we can save enough to sneak in a day or two since we are going to be soooo close!!!

Staci, did you visit St. Thomas while on a cruise or did you just travel to St. Thomas by yourselves?


Does anyone know if "Buzz Lightyear" is ever on the ship? I sure hope so because I will have two very happy little space rangers if he is.

:wave2:

[disneygal58]

Happy 37 Week Countdown!
I have never seen Buzz onboard - mostly the classic characters.

Enjoy,
Dawn

[Skywalker]

Dang, I wanted Buzz! Then again, didn't Disney just have a messy divorce from Pixar? I guess maybe that lowers the chances of Buzz being there, doesn't it! :eek:

[abitjaded]

I think Disney still has all the rights to the Pixar stuff so far produced, even the new super hero thing coming soon.

Carla

[disneygal58]

Carla,
Have you been able to decide if you'll be sailing January 8th? I have been sending my resume to various locations in Colorado (I am having a "Dorothy" moment and thinking that there's no place like home), if successful I could see you at DIA!

Dawn

[abitjaded]

No, have not yet decided. SIL will be here in July, we'll all chat about it then. She works for the schools in AZ and has an October break, as does my next year Jr. High son. But with the "cancellation" of the 3 day Oct, it gives me the willies to move to those dates.

Didn't know ANYONE in Colorado is hiring. ;-)

Carla

[brack]

Welcome to Skywalker! I hope you enjoy this fellowship.

I have been on the road a lot lately. As a matter of fact I writing this from the Gaylord Texan near Dallas. I look forward to my next WDW trip in June though. I hope everyone is doing well.

[disneygal58]

Brack,
I hope that your current life on the road is being kind to you. Now, new question for those who would like to participate :

Favorite place to stay while visiting the World?
We have stayed at all of the All Stars - except Sports/ CBR/ Port Orleans Riverside (back when it was Dixie Landings) and French Quarter/ the new Pop Century / Contemporary/ Grand Floridian/ Boardwalk/ Old Key West and Villas at Wilderness Lodge. Considering budget and over all theme, I enjoy the French Quarter.

Your Turn,
Dawn

[Lisa]

Favorite place to stay while visiting the World?

Hard to chose just one, favorite resorts are the Boardwalk and the Polynesian.

Brack, when in June will you be in WDW?

[brack]

We arrive Sunday night June 6th and stay until Sunday the 13th. My DW is at a conference during the day so I will be at the parks by myself until early evening each day. It will be interesting to be by myself for that time. I am making plans to take photos of out of the way places for a scrapbook.

We have stayed at all of the All Stars and like them.

Our favorite place is the Caribbean Beach Resort. We've stayed there three times.

We did not like the Coronado Springs Resort!

[BLBCB]

I have been reading through many different messages, and I was soooooo excited to find this one! I have just booked us on our first cruise, Eastern Jan 8, 2005. At the time of the cruise, it will be my husband and I, DD 13, DD 11, DS 9. The hardest part is, the entire trip is a surprise Christmas present! We have been saving forever it seems, and are making it a 3 week trip. Universal and WDW for the first two weeks, and then onto the cruise. I am so excited already, and I can't talk about it at home! I think I'm going to explode! I've finally found a place where I can share the excitment, without letting the surprise out. What should I know first?

[BLBCB]

I have been reading through many different messages, and I was soooooo excited to find this one! I have just booked us on our first cruise, Eastern Jan 8, 2005. At the time of the cruise, it will be my husband and I, DD 13, DD 11, DS 9. The hardest part is, the entire trip is a surprise Christmas present! We have been saving forever it seems, and are making it a 3 week trip. Universal and WDW for the first two weeks, and then onto the cruise. I am so excited already, and I can't talk about it at home! I think I'm going to explode! I've finally found a place where I can share the excitment, without letting the surprise out. What should I know first?

[BLBCB]

I have been reading through many different messages, and I was soooooo excited to find this one! I have just booked us on our first cruise, Eastern Jan 8, 2005. At the time of the cruise, it will be my husband and I, DD 13, DD 11, DS 9. The hardest part is, the entire trip is a surprise Christmas present! We have been saving forever it seems, and are making it a 3 week trip. Universal and WDW for the first two weeks, and then onto the cruise. I am so excited already, and I can't talk about it at home! I think I'm going to explode! I've finally found a place where I can share the excitment, without letting the surprise out. What should I know first?

[BLBCB]

I have been reading through many different messages, and I was soooooo excited to find this one! I have just booked us on our first cruise, Eastern Jan 8, 2005. At the time of the cruise, it will be my husband and I, DD 13, DD 11, DS 9. The hardest part is, the entire trip is a surprise Christmas present! We have been saving forever it seems, and are making it a 3 week trip. Universal and WDW for the first two weeks, and then onto the cruise. I am so excited already, and I can't talk about it at home! I think I'm going to explode! I've finally found a place where I can share the excitment, without letting the surprise out. What should I know first?

[abitjaded]

What should you know first? Let a little air out, don't want you exploding, ya know.

Carla (P.S. welcome to the DIS)

[BLBCB]

Thanks for the welcome.
Maybe someone can help me with my problem here. I was just checking my message, and I realised it was put on 4 times! Anyone know how I can erase the extra ones? I feel like such an idiot with the same message repeated. What a great way to introduce myself to my future friends and fellow cruisers!!

A couple of other questions. Anyone got any ideas on how I can wrap up something for the kids to open, that would represent our trip? I'm thinking about this early, as I have to get three of everything, and I'll have to order them gradually over time. The WDW and cruise DVDs are of course already on the way, but any other ideas? Universal have any kind of info video? I've read a lot about the pillowcase for signatures. Maybe the same idea, only with a t-shirt? One for WDW and another for the cruise?

[brack]

First ... welcome to this thread.

A T-Shirt with a Disney Cruise theme would make a cool Christmas present. These can be made by you with an inkjet printer. Then you could tell them that can wear on the cruise.

Also, there are small replicas of the ship you could get for them that are made of plastic.

[Lisa]

For the kids going on our cruise, I am giving them a disposable underwater camera for Christmas.

[disneygal58]

Welcome BLBCB!
I love your enthusiasm. When my daughters were younger we had countdown parties on certain significant days - small gifts were included : Disney logo underwear/sunscreen/pjs/Disney Dollars/sunglasses etc... If you need postcards or small treats from Disney we go often.

Happy Planning,
Dawn

[BLBCB]

Does anyone know if there is somewhere to buy Disney Dollars over the internet? They don't sell them in the Canadian Disney Stores. That was something I really wanted to include. People talk about them on these messages a lot, but I don't know where to find them. Do they come in different denominations, and if so, do they have different pictures on them? Where can I find out about them?

Thanks for the other ideas. The underwater camera is excellent.

Only 10 months to go!

[Lisa]

Disney Dollars come in denominations of $1, $5, and $10. It is my understanding that different characters are on the face of the bill. I know Mickey is on the $1s. I have seen Donald on one of the bills but can't remember which.

I don't know of any place online that sells Disney Dollars. I believe you can only get them at TDS.

P.S. Welcome :earsboy:

[Skywalker]

Hi BLBCB! Neat to see another Canadian joining us!!! I noticed you mentioned a Universal video, are you planning to head there this trip? We are, probably after the cruise for a day or two. Has anyone else been to Universal?

Dawn, my favourtite place to stay is the Yacht Club. Why? Because we've only been once and that is the only place we've stayed so it hasn't had much competition yet! But we really did love Stormalong Bay, and being so close to Epcot and MGM. We had a great room where we could see the Epcot fireworks and we were very happy.

Brack, thanks for the welcome and thanks for starting this thread.



:chat:

:earsboy:

[abitjaded]

Hey, Canada, we still have a Disney store in Denver, something could be arranged with the Disney dollars. PM me.

Favorite resort with money, Animal Kingdom Lodge savannah view. Favorite resort with less money, Alligator Bayou at PO. Favorite resort with the least money...umm.. Pop was nice and better arranged than All Stars, but we do like Calypso at ASMusic. Favorite get the most for your money, teacher discount at Swan and Dolphin. We are back to there for our third visit in July. Killer pool and great boats to Boardwalk, MGM and Epcot.

You cannot totally remove a post without requesing so via the Technical Support board. But just hit edit tab at the bottom of you message, put ignore as the title and erase the body. The posts will still be there, but a lot shorter.

Carla

[BLBCB]

Hi Skywalker

We were at Universal before, and we stayed on property. With an Entertainment book you can usually get the room for 50% off. By staying on property, you use your room key (credit card type thing) to enter each ride by a side door. No waiting in line, no limits to how many times you can ride. We rode Spiderman 15 times in 3 days! It was so great that we have decided to pay full price for staying on property this time, and I still think it is worth it. Maybe something will come up, and give us a discount, but I'm budgeting for full price. I wouldn't do Universal without staying on property.

As for my favourite place to stay at WDW, the first year we went, we stayed at an off-site hotel. The second time we went, we stayed at a Downtown Disney hotel. It was really nice, but this time we are staying at Port Orleans. I guess each year we upgrade just a bit! Family of 5, so our options are limited.

[disneygal58]

Hello,
I don't know how I forgot about our one night stay at AKL. It's a great hotel (very similar design with Wilderness Lodge). We have a Savannah view and it was great to wake up to giraffes grazing outside our window. I think Boma is one of the best restaurants on Disney property.

Dawn

[disneygal58]

Happy May Day!
Another calendar page closer. Is anyone considering the 14 day Repositioning Cruise in May if it actually is available?

Have a good weekend,
Dawn

[BLBCB]

I have a question about duties and importing. There is a lot of information about what Americans can bring back from Bahamas, etc, but what about if you are Canadian, and leaving the US right the next day? Do you still have the same rules as Americans coming off the ship, and then Canadian rules when returning to Canada?

:earsgirl: :earsboy: :Pinkbounc :Pinkbounc :bounce:

[staylor]

Hi everyone. I've been traveling myself and haven't had a chance to look at the boards.
Welcome BLBCB. You can get disney dollars at any Disney Store. I have a few (stores) around my house and can help you if needed. My children will be getting beach towels, underwater camera's, sunglasses, and disney dollars. I'll let you know more if I think of it.
Skywalker, DH and I were at St. Thomas on a cruise with Costa.
Brack, the Gaylord is a nice hotel huh? Pretty amazing.
Disneygal, we too are considering the repositioning cruises. We'll have to see the dates and rates.
Well, the dates seem to be crawling by. But I am glad we got to turn the calendar another month closer.
Staci

[Skywalker]

Another reason to celebrate: our countdown clocks are now in the 240's! WooHoo! :Pinkbounc

[brack]

STAYLOR: Yes the Gaylord was great. I enjoyed the various restuarants. The room wasn't bad either. I didn't get a chance to use the pools or other facilities. Maybe next time.

[dianedisney]

:wave: Hi Brack,
Long time no talk.....had a virus in my computer, was down for about 2 months. Anyway.....you and Annette thinking about a 2005 Disneyland Cruise on the Magic?????? The ports will be Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan & Cabo. Give Annette my best, Molly is in her new house now and says hello.

Have a Disney Day....Diane:wave2:

[brack]

Diane: I knew that I had not seen you post anything. I hope you are doing well. Tell Molly we miss her and think of often.

I think of both of you often because I have the picture of our table in my office. Gene and Becki are doing well. I talked with him today. We still talk about the great time we all had on the cruise in January. It was one of the best.

I must admit the "West Coast" cruises look neat; especially the transistion cruises but I don't think we can afford the price. We are going January 8, 2005 and taking our son and his wife.

Annette has a conference in Orlando in June. I think Becki is going with her, so Gene and I are going to visit the "Mouse". Next February I have a conference in Long Beach, CA so I will be going early and staying late to visit the "Mouse" in his smaller, western home!

Send me a PM with your mailing address and I'll send you some pictures from the cruise.

Maybe our paths will cross again soon. Keep in touch.::MickeyMo ::MinnieMo

[brack]

BUMP. Hope everyone is doing well:grouphug: :teleport:

[Skywalker]

Hiya Brack!

How come our countdown clocks are slightly off? I was timing mine for when the ship leaves...is it not at 5:00pm or am I wrong on that? Or is yours for when you are boarding?

:wave2:

[brack]

For me the party starts when I get onboard!:earseek:

[disneygal58]

Happy 35 Weeks! Happy Mother's Day!

No Repostioning Cruise for us - the dates and cost don't match our school year/budget.

Dawn

[staylor]

Happy Mother's Day to you as well Dawn. No way we are going to pay for Disney's Panamal Canal cruise. You can get such a better rate on other lines. When the boys are older, we'll go.

Just think, 8 months from now we'll be cruising!
Staci

[brack]

Hope everyone had a great Mom's Day. Our 31yo DS came up from Texas for a few days. That thrilled his Mom ... not to mention me! His DW came with him for two days but had to go home for work.

We gave them their "gift cruise" for their 10th anniversary and his Masters graduation. He spent last night checking out the web pages on the Disney Cruise Line. I think we are going to hook another couple on DCL cruising!

We have been tempted by one of the repositioning cruses. The price for a two week cruise is not bad. It certainly seems less than the two week back-to-back cruse we just took. We are still weighing all of our options though. If we go there will be a thread started.

Keep smiling.

[disneygal58]

Brack,
What a wonderful father you are. Your son and the world are lucky to have you.

Dawn

[Skywalker]

How's everyone doing? I just don't like seeing us on Page 2!

:Pinkbounc

[Skywalker]

And another reason to post! Counters are in the 230's.

WoooHooo :Pinkbounc

[disneygal58]

Hello,
We're heading up to Old Key West at the World on Sunday, if anyone needs anything - postcards, trinkets etc... for their home countdowns.

Dawn

[disneygal58]

Happy 34 Week Countdown!

[staylor]

disneygal, thanks for the offer. That is so nice of you. Unfortunately, I'm not that far along yet in my planning.
Have a great weekend!
Staci

[brack]

Hope everyone is well.

We've been out for a few days at a Women's Retreat. (I get to do all the audio visual stuff). It was a good weekend but it is good to be home.

If we want to keep this thread on page one then we need to post often so let's hear from you.

[clori]

I haven't posted since the beginning of the thread. I've been enjoying reading all the posts and it helps keep the excitement up as the cruise gets nearer. I'm currently on bedrest so I have limited time to post.

[brack]

Clori: Nice to hear from you again. I hope the bedrest is very temporary.

Just a note: Today is 220 days from Christmas and the cruise is not far behind that!:bounce:

[disneygal58]

Clori,
I'm glad that this is helping to pass the time while you are on bedrest.

Brack,
I would be interested in finding out more about the Women's Retreats that you are involved with - I have been sending my resume out lately to locations that host such retreats (I am a massage therapist that specializes in all facets of women's health care). PM me, if you are willing to share.

Dawn

[BLBCB]

The snow has finally stopped falling, so hopefully spring won't be too far behind now. It helps to read all the happy posts, and check other's counters. I haven't figured out yet how to add one of those myself. Since it is quite a trip to leave the north here, we are saving up all our holidays, and doing everything at once. So once I figure out how to set up a counter, I would then have to decide what to set it at! We are taking the 13-14 hour drive down south to our hometown to spend Christmas with our families. We are then driving the 3 hours to the nearest city with an airport, and flying to Orlando, probably connecting in Chicago. We are spending a few days at Universal & WDW. Then the cruise! It changes for me, day to day, which one I'm more excited about. It would probably help if I could talk about it with someone. This keeping it a secret until Christmas is going to kill me yet! LOL. I've been planning for two months already and haven't been caught by the kids, but it still is a long time until Christmas!
Any tips for a first time cruiser would be greatly appreciated!

:earsgirl: :earsboy: :Pinkbounc :Pinkbounc :bounce:

[disneygal58]

Keeping such a great secret would make me insane! Any way that I can help - let me know!

Dawn

[BLBCB]

Thank you Dawn, I just might have to ask a favor from somebody. I'm still looking for another way, but you can't buy Disney Dollars up here in Canada. The Disney stores up here don't carry them, and they told me that they can't order them in for me. That is something I really wanted to put into their stockings, since we have never had them before. I'll update you when I know more.

:earsgirl: :earsboy: :Pinkbounc :Pinkbounc :bounce:

[brack]

BLBCB: It was a little over 90 degrees in Oklahoma City today and the 100 degree days are not far away. I am already wishing for snow!

[BLBCB]

I'm sorry, but I find it hard to believe that anyone would be wishing for snow the middle of May. We are at -6 C which I think is around 20 F? We had enough snow to start snowmobiling in October, and we still haven't put our machines away. The bears have woken up though, since there was one down the street just tonight. Gotta love life in the far north! Not that I'm complaining about living here, I do love it, I'm just really wishing I was on that cruise ship right now, instead of knee deep in snow. The time is just passing way to slow. How will I wait till next January?!?!?!

:earsgirl: :earsboy: :Pinkbounc :Pinkbounc :bounce:

[disneygal58]

It really is quite odd when you consider all of our unique environments. I have been in Florida for less than 2 years (don't know if I will make the two year mark) and have not acclimated to the lack (or extrememly subtle) of change of seasons. My body is saying that it is ready for fall, when summer has yet to begin. It was 90 plus here yesterday. Now I am not complaining about not having to shovel or drive through snow, I am just confused on a cellular level! I have a possible job opportunity outside of Telluride, CO and am seriously considering if I can go back to THAT much winter.

Take Care (Keep Warm or Keep Cool),
Dawn

[Skywalker]

Yikes! BLBCB how far north are you? It's hard to imagine that there is still snow anywhere!?

[BLBCB]

We are not far from Churchill, but at least we have trees here. Churchill is actually a wonderful place to visit though. If anyone ever gets the chance, come on up. Going out to see the polar bears is amazing, and in the summer you can swim in Hudson Bay with the Beluga whales. I haven't swam with the whales myself, but friends of mine have, and they say it is out-of-this-world. As for the snow here, it finally stopped falling three days ago, so hopefully we will have spring now.

:earsgirl: :earsboy: :Pinkbounc :Pinkbounc :bounce:

[dianedisney]

:eek:
Just got mail from DCL about their new West Coast itinerary and then saw the cost...starting at $1300.00 per adult....wow. I guess they can ask that much since it is a limited sailing. But for a catagory 12 that seems pretty high to me. :earseek: I was thinking of doing it when we go down to Disneyland for their 50th birthday bash but have now changed my mind :( . Oh well.....there is still time to think about joining you all for this cruise. Will have to see how finances work out. But I hope you all have a great time....with Brack & Annette on board how can you miss!!!!! ::yes::

Have a Disney Day!!

[brack]

Thanks Diane for the good word. I hope you and Molly can work out another cruise with us.

I too saw those prices and couldn't believe it. We'll have to wait until they get back on the East Coast. I hope they don't try to keep the prices high like that!

Next February we are going to Disneyland for the 50th celebration. It will be Annette's first visit and my first for more than one afternoon. It looks fun.

Say hello to Molly for us. Blessings.::MickeyMo ::MinnieMo

[BLBCB]

Anyone ever stayed on deck 1? I've heard that if you are prone to motion sickness, you should be close to the water level. Does anyone know if this is true, or just an old-wives-tale? I think I read somewhere that you won't have to use elevators when it's time to go on and off the ship, which sounds like a bonus. I guess you don't spend much time in your cabin anyway, so what it looks like around it won't matter. I'm really just wondering about the motion sickness thing.

:earsgirl: :earsboy: :Pinkbounc :Pinkbounc :bounce:

[staylor]

Good morning all!:wave2:
It's thundering here this morning. Maybe it will rain.:bounce:
Hope everyone is having a good week.
Staci

[Skywalker]

Hi! How is everyone! Counters now in the 220's! When they hit the 100's, I think I will throw a party. Too bad none of you would be close enough to come!

;)

[brack]

We've never stayed below the 7th deck. I too have heard that the lower you are on the ship and the closer you are to the center the less likely you are to get sick.

My wife and I have never had any problems and I really thought she might. It should be fine any where.

On the other point. My wife and I booked our first cruise with a veranda. Our next three cruises were inside cabins because we were so seldom in our cabin. It was fine and we use the money we save to buy more stuff!:crazy:

[brack]

BUMP! Hope everyone is doing well

[Lisa]

All is well in New England. 32 weeks till cruising time!!

We have always stayed on deck 6 with a navigator verandah. We love having our morning coffee and juice out there. Fortunately sick sickness has never bothered us.

[staylor]

Happy Memorial Day everyone!:wave:

[brack]

Happy Memorial Day!

This time next week I'll be visiting the Mouse at his Florida home. I can't wait.:Pinkbounc :wave2:

[Lisa]

Have a great time, Brack. Tell Mickey we said hi!:earsboy:

[Skywalker]

Hi again everyone. We are now contemplating an Alaskan cruise for maybe September '04. It would be with Royal Caribbean. Have any of you either been on a cruise to Alaska and/or sailed with Royal Caribbean? Any stories would be much appreciated! We are far more excited about our Disney cruise at this point, but it would be great if we could swing this other one.

I hope everyone is doing well.
:)

Hey, BLBCB! Tell me it has finally warmed up there ?! :earseek:

[Skywalker]

bump

:wave:

[staylor]

We have not cruised Alaska but want to one day. We have cruised on RCCL. We cruised on them in 1995 on a ship out of Los Angeles. The ship was older and they no longer own it. Although we were not thrilled with our service on this ship, we've heard other great things about RCCL and want to try them again. Just not out of LA. Here are some websites that will give you more info about RCCL:

http://messages.cruisecritic.com/2/OpenTopic?q=Y&a=frm&s=927093444&f=408097554

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/royalcaribbeancruises2/messages

http://www.royal-caribbean-international-travel-club.com/modules.php?name=Forums

http://www.frommers.com/activities/cruise/line.cfm?linecd=ROYALCAR

http://www.cruisecamp.org/home

Hope this helps!
Staci

[Skywalker]

Staci, you're the greatest. Thank you!

[staylor]

Skywalker, you are welcome.
We are almost out of the 200's and into the 100's on the countdown. Yipee!

[brack]

We're back. The Mouse is doing well and he says Howdy.

It was crowded and Hot but we had a great time. Maybe with the increase in attendance my stock will finally go back up.

We watched Illuminations in a pouring down thunderstorm. We were soaked completely. It looked like a duel between Disney and God for the light show honors.

It's getting close to 100's on the countdown. Can't wait.

[brack]

Originally posted by Skywalker
[B Have any of you either been on a cruise to Alaska and/or sailed with Royal Caribbean? [/B]

We haven't sailed with them but our best friends have sailed on their Voyager class ship and they LOVE IT. They are going again in a couple of weeks. We have tried to get them to join us a Disney cruise but they are afraid they will be disappointed.

[Lisa]

Today is our turn to leave to see the Mouse. :wave: :earsgirl: :earsgirl: :earsboy:

We haven't sailed Royal Caribbean yet. I've been researching their cruise to the Panama Canal, that looks to be where we would like to cruise next. Most people I've talked to who have sailed RCCL only had good things to say.

[BLBCB]

I see the counters are almost in the 100's! It will also be our last day of school up here, and my last day of work, so I can celebrate without the kids asking what I'm so happy about. I really don't know if I'll be able to keep this trip a secret all the way till Christmas.

At the time of the cruise, my kids will be DD 13, DD 11, DS 9. Anyone have kids around these ages? It would be nice to have a connection before the cruise.

Anyone have any other ideas of what I can wrap up for Christmas, that would represent our trip. Water camera, t-shirts I've made, etc. I wanted to make some cruise outfits, but I can't find any tropical Disney fabric. Anyone ever seen fabric like that around? I know you can buy clothes like that through Disney, but I'd then have to pay duty and exchange, and besides, I love to sew.

:earsgirl: :earsboy: :Pinkbounc :Pinkbounc :bounce:

[brack]

I haven't seen any tropical Disney fabric but I will look and see if I can find some. I'l let you know.

I have shirts with this kind of design.

ps: We're in the 100's ... wahoo!!

[Lisa]

Less than 28 weeks to go, time is clicking by, slow but sure.

Does anyone have any other vacation plans between now and then?

We will be doing a week at the beach, along with my family going with me on a business trip to DC.

We just got back from WDW, had a wonderful time.:earsboy: :earsgirl: :earsgirl:

[brack]

We're going to the mountains of NC for a week in August and plan another week at WDW in September. We have two more weeks of vacation but can't seem to make any real plans. We need to get more use out of our annual passes. I would to go to WDW in early December. I can only hope

[brack]

We're going to the mountains of NC for a week in August and plan another week at WDW in September. We have two more weeks of vacation but can't seem to make any real plans. We need to get more use out of our annual passes. I would love to go to WDW in early December. I can only hope

[Lisa]

Don't those annual passes have a way of talking you into taking multiple trips? LOL

Early December at WDW would be nice. I understand the Osbourne Christmas Lights will be back this year. {{nudge}}{{nudge}}

[staylor]

Hey all! I've been out of touch for a week or so. Brack, I'm so glad you had a good time at WDW. I was able to make a very unexpected visit to the mouse (Epcot and MK) on Fri. June 4th. I had a nice time. I was all by myself therefore I was able to take my time and take it all in.
DH and I are going to Puerto Rico around July 24th for a friends wedding. I cannot wait to spend some time alone with my man! Yipee!
I'm hoping to find some days off around the Food and Wine Festival. We'll see.
I'm so glad we are finally in the 100's, it felt forever getting there. Everyone have a great weekend coming up, I'll be working (Southwest Airlines).
Talk to you next week!
Staci

[staylor]

I hope everyone is having a safe weekend!:wave2:
Staci

[staylor]

keeping us on the first page:wave2:

[clori]

We are getting closer to Jan 8th. I had my daughter in June so now I can focus on planning our trip. I have added my daughter onto the cruise including paying for it plus trip insurance. Jetblue came out after dd was born so we now have all of our airfare booked. Is anyone else staying at the Hyatt the night before?

[brack]

Originally posted by Lisa
Don't those annual passes have a way of talking you into taking multiple trips?

Yeah ... that's the point for me anyway. (Like I really need an excuse to want to go to WDW!):crazy:

[brack]

Hey, I just noticed that all of the counters and graphics are missing.

What's up with that?:confused: :(

[Lisa]

Welcome aboard, Clori and congratulations on the birth of your daughter.princess:

We will be flying in the day before and staying in Port Canaveral. Who else is coming in the day before and where will you be staying?

Less than 27 weeks to go.:Pinkbounc :bounce:

[Lisa]

This was posted over at the Community Board.

We are working on some parts of the boards, signatures will be turned off for the next 24-48 hours. Thanks.

[brack]

Originally posted by Lisa
We will be flying in the day before and staying in Port Canaveral. Who else is coming in the day before and where will you be staying?

We will be there at least the day before. If I can arrange it we'll go a few days early. Either way we'll probably stay at one of the All Stars. We'll probably stay a day or so after as well.

[staylor]

We'll be flying in on Thursday prior. We fly standby so who knows when we'll be there. Not sure where we are staying yet. Going to go to WDW on Friday for sure. Still haven't decided if we're going to Cape Canaveral Fri. evening or Sat. morning. As soon as we make a decision, I'll let everyone know.
Staci

[brack]

Staci: I saw where you work for my favorite airline. When we lived in Dallas my job took me all over Texas and we called that airline the "Texas Taxi". I loved it. We still use it some but there are not a lot of flights out of OKC.

Hope all is well down south. I plan to pass through your town soon and visit my DS in Mesquite. I'll wave.

[Lisa]

That is usually our airline of choice too. It was because of their super low summer fares that we did an extra weekend at WDW in June.:earsboy: I am trying to wait patiently for January fares to be released. I know, I have some time to wait.

We are down to 26 weeks to the cruise!

[staylor]

Brack and Lisa,
I'm thrilled to hear that you both like SW. I hate to admit it because you never know what people think. I will say this, we (at SW) really do care about our passengers and do want them to have a great experience. Now, that being said, there are a few employees that really need to go to another airline. But the majority of us do really care. We know who brings in our profit sharing check each year.
Brack be careful driving to Mesquite, the traffic here in Denton is getting worse by the day. They've been doing some construction at 35 and 407 in Lewisville.
Lisa, I've been waiting for Jan. fares as well. If we can find some good ones, we are going to buy tickets instead. We'll see!

6 more months! :bounce:

[brack]

I'm in trouble ... I have pulled out my Jimmy Buffet CDs. Today I played "Island Fever" SIX times!! I love the line that says "I want to take my shoes off and go walking by the Caribbean Sea .... I think I hear a hammock calling me".

Our best friends set sail today on a RCL ship and I am dying to go on a cruise. I must have patience. I must be patient.:tongue:

[Lisa]

Brack, what islands are your friends cruising to?

[brack]

They are on a four day RCL cruise to the Bahamas. It know it has three stops and one is Nassau.

They really like RCL and are afraid to try any other (even DCL). We have tried to convince them to come with us and they have said maybe someday they will. I hope so.:earsboy:

[staylor]

RCCL is good. We've been on Costa, Celebrity, RCCL, and DCL. Celebrity is by far our favorite. The food is dynamic. Hubby and I are going to Puerto Rico next Thur. for a friends wedding. Can't wait to get out of town, just the two of us. Yipee!
Staci

[sopandbass]

Greetings!

We're still going on the January cruise. Sorry I haven't had much time for posting or keeping up on this thread.

It's our daughter's 4th birthday today and since she has no concept of time yet, she thinks January is tomorrow. She was just 1/2 an inch too short for the Mickey Slide when we went in April and I've assured her she'll be tall enough to go in January so she thinks about it all the time. :D

I want to go on the cruise right now. I keep reading trip reports and living vicariously through those until we can all go!!!

I hope you're each enjoying a great summer!

[brack]

Well it's finally getting hot here in Oklahoma. I knew the good weather wouldn't last. I was in Altus yesterday and it was a 100 and today in Oklahoma City it got close. It makes me want the Caribbean even more. Hope everyone is doing well.

[Lisa]

she thinks January is tomorrow

She is thinking, and we are all wishing. LOL We are now down to 25 weeks to go!

Staci, safe travels and have a wonderful time in Puerto Rico. How long will you be there? What a romantic getaway trip for you and your husband. Enjoy.

So far, we are having a very cool summer in New Engand. Today's high might reach the low 80's, and that is one of our hottest days.

[brack]

BUMP

Hope everyone is doing well as the summer heads to the final stretch.

My friends brought back some great pictures of the Bahamas from their RCCL cruise. It just makes me want to go that much more.

[musicdude]

Sorry I have'nt been keeping up with the board but was wondering if anybody else saw the $100 shipboard credit through Disney Visa. Just curious!!!Chris:charac2:

[brack]

Musicdude: Where did you see this? I'm wondering if it is a new booking.

We received room credit when we booked onboard so it may not pay to rebook but if there are other terms it woud be nice to know.Thanks for keeping an eye on these things.

[musicdude]

Brack it came with my monthly statement. I'm always looking for shipboard credit. Going to call the travel agent and see if we qualify. Just wanted to put it out there and maybe someone can take advantage of it. Chris

[brack]

Chris: Thanks for the info and let us know what you find out.

[Lisa]

Brack, we rebooked on board so we are receiving a shipboard credit too. Just recently I switched our ressie over to AAA who will be giving us a voucher that we be able to apply toward our shipboard account.

Disney won't stack their shipboard credits, (ie, rebooking shipboard credits, Disney visa's credits) however you can get a Disney shipboard credit then one from your TA.

[brack]

BUMP Just before I hit the road for an extended period. I may not take my computer (not alot of chances to to use in the mountains of North Georgia and Western North Carolina). Hope everyone is doing well.

[musicdude]

I found out from the travel agent that the code is for 7 day land and sea package. So I will have to keep looking:D

[staylor]

Well, I am back from Puerto Rico. We stayed in Vieques which is an island off of Puerto Rico. The navy used to be based on the island and bomb it all the time. So the nice thing is, it is not over run. The beaches are beautiful. The unfortunate thing is the locals aren't that great. They have no clue how to give customer service. Our waitress one night was so upset because she was working a 6 hour day. Anyway, I'm thrilled to be home and cannot wait to take a cruise and be pampered.
We had a cold front here in North Texas today. The high was only 92.:bounce:
Hope everyone is well!
Staci

[staylor]

Well, I am back from Puerto Rico. We stayed in Vieques which is an island off of Puerto Rico. The navy used to be based on the island and bomb it all the time. So the nice thing is, it is not over run. The beaches are beautiful. The unfortunate thing is the locals aren't that great. They have no clue how to give customer service. Our waitress one night was so upset because she was working a 6 hour day. Anyway, I'm thrilled to be home and cannot wait to take a cruise and be pampered.
We had a cold front here in North Texas today. The high was only 92.:bounce:
Hope everyone is well!
Staci

[wingawh]

Is it January yet? The 1/8/05 Eastern will be #3 for us.

What kind of credit is AAA giving? OUr ressie is still with DCL but I will switch it to Costco, AAA or Amex before too much longer.

[staylor]

Welcome wingawh! How many are in your group? I can't help you with the credits or rates question. Sorry! I'm an airline employee and get a completely different rate.
Just think everyone, exactly 5 months from now we will be on our first day at sea. Yipee!
I can't wait.
Staci

[dianedisney]

Hey Brack & Annette
Molly and I are still looking at cruising with you all again but have to get my 50th Disneyland Birthday Bash paid off. I couldn't believe how fast the Disney resort hotels sold out, they opened for booking on Aug 1, Sunday. By Friday they had sold out all resort hotels. Apparently the media had like 100 rooms blocked. I keep forgetting how BIG this celebration is for Disneyland. It is going to be a real zoo, especially on July 17th. We will be heading down there for 7nts....July 12-19. If there is any souvenier you would like let me know and I will pick one up for you. I know you collect pins. Got to run. My best to you both.

:wave: Diane:wave:

[wingawh]

Hi staylor

It is just my wife and I. This will be cruise #3 for us.

[brack]

Hey Diane! Long time since we last chatted. I hope everyone is doing well. It would be nice to see you and Molly again. This cruise my son and his wife are going with us.

I have a chance to go to Disneyland in February for a conference. Hopefully they will have started the celebration by then. If not (and maybe if they do) I would a pin or two for my collection. Thanks for offering. When you get closer to going we'll talk.

Tell Molly we said 'Hello' and send our love.

[luckeylasvegas]

We'll be on t the Magic January 8th, My DH 50 myself 39 and our DD who will have just turned 8 in December. She can't wait to get into that lab !!! My DD first cruise and our first Disney cruise. We haven't had a family vacation since she was born so you could say that we are READY!!!!

[luckeylasvegas]

Hi Brack : it's nice to know I will be with other Parrot heads on the cruise. I'm ready for a change of lattitude!

Luckey

[brack]

Luckey: My favorite JB line is "I think I hear a hammock calling me". The hammock I know of is on Castaway Cay and I think of it often.

My DS (31yo) and his DW will cruise with us in January. One of their favorite spots is your town, Las Vegas. They just returned from there about two weeks ago. He won $130 on a $20 bet and he thought was it great. He's far too cheap to lose much so he quit while he was ahead.

I look forward to meeting you and your family. In the past we have arranged a meet to take a picture. I'm sure we'll do it again.

[luckeylasvegas]

Will our cruise be going to Puerto Rico as one of the stops now?

[brack]

I don't think anything has changed about the stops. We should be going to St Maarten. Have you heard anything?

[brack]

My DW and I are going to the mountains of NC for about 10 days so I will not be able to read this board until August 23rd. (I am not taking my laptop on this vacation. I am not even taking my Palm!)

I hope everyone is doing well and will be safe. Talk to you when I get back.

[Lisa]

Hi, Luckylasvegas and Wingawh, welcome aboard.:wave2:

Wingawh, the AAA shipboard voucher will be for $150. I am not sure if the promotion is still being offered. We transferred our ressies the end of June. It can't hurt to call to inquire.

[marylee15]

::MinnieMo Thanks LuckyLasVegas for switching me over to this cruise meet board. I too am on the 1/8/05 cruise it is our first cruise ever, first time to the islands, and first big vacation with our DS age 5 as a family. We have been on little weekend jaunts but nothing like this. This is a Christmas present for Santa, as a family we all voted whether we wanted to ask for this or not and after viewing the DVD who could say no!!!!! Well it just seems like everyone who is going is soooo nice so now the wait is even longer.

I was so happy to find this board today I have been on other boards but none so in-depth about the cruise. Now I am really excited.

We are doing 4 days in WDW first staying at the Caribbean Beach and I was glad to have learned about getting a town car instead of ground transportation. Can't wait to read more.

[Lisa]

Welcome aboard, Marylee!:wave2: I'll be driving through your lovely state tomorrow on the way up to the Cape.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Will you and your family be flying out of TF Greene or Logan?

[marylee15]

:yo-yo: Thanks Lisa, we will be flying out of Logan on the 4th of January. My husband really wanted to try JetBlue because a friend of his told him it was an awesome airline. We are taking the bus up from Providence at 7 am and it goes right to the airport and drops you off right at your terminal. I think it will be a real adventure for my little guy. My husband has not asked for anything on this cruise he has let me make all of the plans the only thing he suggested was the airline and he said he wanted to parasail at CC. I know that you had it somewhere earlier what part of CT are you from???

We are so excited about this trip and my DH is really getting into it now so it will be a lot of fun. I'm just getting my little guy settled back into school in about three weeks and then I will be putting the summer clothes into suitcases instead of pack away boxes, isn't that exciting. My DB always tells me I better go to K-Mart find the "LIFE" aisle and buy one now I know why!!!!! He's telling me to get a life. LOL.

Talk to you soon. Thanks for the welcome.

[staylor]

Hey Luckeylasvegas and Marylee15,
I'm thrilled to see more people going on the cruise w/ us. It looks like we have a great group going. Marylee my youngest son will be 5 when we cruise as well. Also, a friend and her DS 5 are coming along too. This will be their first disney cruise. I hope our sons have lots of fun in the club/lab. Lucky, I'm also traveling with an eight year old, son though. He is beside himself to be going. This will be his second disney cruise.
I'm sure looking forward to meeting everyone.
Staci

[marylee15]

:Pinkbounc Staci,
Thanks for the post, we just came back from a birthday party for one of my sons school friends at "Build a Bear" such fun, but he just loves being with other kids so I know when he gets into the club/lab he is just going to have a blast with the other kids. Now you have been before did you feel nervous leaving your kids at first. My husband is really nervous that I am going to wig out because I very rarely leave my son anywhere without me. For instance, going to a birthday party, a lot of parents drop off the kids and take off but not me I stay. I do have to say and I don't know if I said it earlier but my son is allergic to nuts and peanuts so it is a little nervewracking (sic?) at first but we told them when we made our ressies and they were very reassuring. Oh well, talk to you soon.

[marylee15]

:confused: Hey where are all of our shipmates, come on no one has posted in a week? Hope all is well with everyone!!!!! Talk to you soon. I hope.

[BLBCB]

Good news and bad news from up north here. The good news is, we are moving to a wonderful town down in southern Manitoba. The bad news is, we may have to cancel our vacation now, since buying the house has taken all our money! At least we'll be 13 hours closer to WDW. I guess it's all in how you look at things! I still have a few months to decide, before I lose any money.

:earsgirl: :earsboy: :Pinkbounc :Pinkbounc :bounce:

[marylee15]

:wave2: Hope you enjoy your new home, moving can be nice but it is always a lot of work, it sounds like it is worth it though. I know it is very hard to balance the needs of a household and fun but you will make the right decision. I just found out that after taking the summer off to be with my DS (age 5) I'm not going back because of a downsizing in my office. Even though things will be tight my DH said don't worry we'll work it out and we just got our homeowners tax bill yesterday which we knew would be going up but it was not as bad as we thought it was going to be - it wasn't great - but not bad so we'll just deal with it. Take care and good luck no matter what you decide.

[Lisa]

Congratulations on the new house, BLBCB. That is an exciting event. Hopefully you will still be able to do the cruise, however if you can't, it is certainly understandable.

I just got back from a business trip in Washington, DC. My DH and DD went too. They enjoyed seeing the pandas at the National Zoo and the Duck Tour through the city.

I enjoyed going to the Disney Outlet at the Potomac Mills Mall one night. Got great bargains on mule sneakers and a skort for DD.ºOº She will be wearing those on the cruise.

[staylor]

Marylee, sorry I haven't been here in a while. School started and all of that fun stuff, no time for the computer. Before my first Disney cruise I too was nervous about leaving Jack. He was 4.5 at the time. Once we got there though, all of my fears were put to ease. I realized he's not going to fall overboard and the counselors in the club were just awesome. Jack thouroughly enjoyed his time in the club. If he called me to get him out, I would go get him. But after a few minutes of realizing that what his mom was doing (laying by pool) was just plain boring, he wanted to go back to the club. There are TV monitors of the club, on the wall outside of the club. So you can stand there and watch your child if you want to. I also stay at birthday parties:hyper: So don't worry, once you get there I bet you feel much better.
Staci

[musicdude]

Hi everybody :wave:
Im wondering if anybody booked the REAS package and if it is still $299? and is it worth it? Thanks, Chris

[marylee15]

:wave: Thanks Staci, it has just been such a busy weekend my DS 5th birthday and he thinks he is twenty!!!! We have a large group of friends and only ourselves and one other couple have kids so our friends all love to come to the kids birthday parties and are very generous. My DS got so many Disney Dollars even though it is supposed to be a surprise trip for Christmas. It really helps a lot so now it is really getting exciting. Can't wait to meet everyone. Talk to you soon.

[staylor]

Marylee, glad to hear about the Disney Dollars, that is great. You may or may not know this, you can't buy anything on the ship with them. But you can put as many as you want towards your shipboard account.

Chris, I have not booked REAS yet. The last I heard they weren't booking for 2005 yet. Is it worth it? That depends on you. You'll have all of your reservations done, get a great breakfast in your room one morning, and a gift. But most of all, I think you get peace of mind that you don't have to go crazy in different directions once you get on the ship. Just my thoughts!
Staci

[musicdude]

Staci,
Thanks for the reply. My wife and I are each getting the spa taster and with the price increase, we thought the Reas package might be a better deal. If the reas package goes up in price we probably would'nt do it. This is our first disney cruise and don't mind getting there early and runnung around. One other thing, I was wondering if someone will do like a master list of all the people going from the dis board? Thanks alot, Chris

[Lisa]

Chris, I was thinking the same thing. It would be nice to have a list of all those who are going and how many in their party.

[Lisa]

I just ran through all the posts to write down everyone who is going on the 1/8 cruise. All I can say is wow!

Those who indicted that might not be going, I put a question mark next to their names. If I have any of the particulars incorrect, please let me know and I will correct the listing or add to it as more join us.

So far we have:

Brack & Annette, DS 31, DIL, MIL, SIL
Abitjaded, DH, DS, DS?
Clori, DH, DD4, baby, DF
Libby, Kevin, Amy 5, Christy 3
Lisa, DH, DD 11, DM, DSF, DF, DF, DFD9, DFS8
Musicdude (Chris) 33, DW 35, DS 7, DD3
Tarquin, DH, DD13, DS8, DS15
Sopandbass (Sharon), Steve, Isabel 4
Staylor (Staci) 36, DH 37, DS9, DS5, DF Lisa, DFS5
Skywalker (Allison) , DH, DS6, DS4
BLBCB, DH, DD13, DD11, DS9?
Wingawh
Marylee15, DH, DS5
cmesq61, DSis, DS12, DD10
Gabbypick and friends
Christie and crew - 18 mth old girl, 5 yr old girl, 3 teens, plus!
Penny, DH Don, DD Peyton (10), DD Presley (8), DS Parker (6), plus 4 others
Family Manager (Stacey), DH, DS (10), DD (6)
Fawn and family
Yunchman, (19), DBF Shelby (22), Shelby's DD, Shelby's DM, Shelby's DS(17)
Slabeaume (48), DD (73)
JackieJackson, DH, DD(19), DF(19)

[marylee15]

:cool: Staylor, thanks for the post, I did know about no Disney Dollars on the ship we are doing 4 days at WDW starting on the 4th. I cannot wait. My DH is really getting into it now, when we were starting to plan the cruise we actually went to a AAA travel show and he was so non-commital up to that point I would talk about it but he would not reply just "oh really" it was so frustrating and then at the travel show we sat down and I was like so what do you think and he says "oh yeah book it I definately want to go, didn't you know that?" We were initally going to do only 2 days at WDW but little by little the trip grew so now our air fair is booked ooooh I was so miffed, we could have done something more fun on a Sunday afternoon in March!!!!! But the travel show was at Gillette Stadium the new home of the NE Patriots so I was excited to see that and it was in the club house up at the top of the stadium so it was really fun.

[staylor]

Marylee, I'm glad your DH is excited. Mine is getting there as well.
Lisa, thanks so much for making the list. This is going to be great. We'll have to decide where and when we want to meet.

Oh, I just figured out that the WDW Marathon is Sunday, Jan.9th. So, many people may be flying in Fri. or Sat. for that. We were going to fly standby (again, I'm a flight attendant) but I think we're at least going to purchase one way tickets for all to MCO. We can go standby on the way home, no biggie.
Staci

[musicdude]

Lisa,
Thanks for doing the list. That is so awesome to kind of know ahead of time. Do you think they will raise the price of the REAS package?

Marylee,
Were coming in on the 4th as well and doing wdw. First time for both cruise and wdw. We are totally excited:tongue:

Does anybody know about first time shipboard credit? We e-mailed our ta but the current code runs out 12/31. Do you think they will run it again?

Thanks,
Chris

[BLBCB]

mousesavers.com says that the REAS has gone up to $339 for 2005 cruises. It seems that now it is a bit more money than buying everything seperately. Too many people liked it I guess, so they up the price! I've never cruised before, but if we can still go, I think I'll still be buying the REAS, just for the convience. I want to relax and enjoy the trip as much as possible!

:earsgirl: :earsboy: :Pinkbounc :Pinkbounc :bounce:

[Lisa]

I found this breakdown on the REAS package. BLBCB is right, the price of the REAS will be going to $339 in January.

The value of the items you receive is approximately $54 for the gift, $242 for the couples massage, and $20 for the Palo fee (total $316), plus the additional value of the upgraded room service breakfast, and the wonderful luxury of pre-booking everything and being pampered with the romance turndown service!

[marylee15]

Chris, this is our first cruise also, my DH and I have been to WDW before me 4 times my DH twice, but this is our first time as a family and first time ever with any child (our DS 5 yrs old) It has always been kind of a dream to take a child to WDW and now we are doing both. My DH and I have not been on a big vacation since our honeymoon six years ago so we are all looking forward to it. I did read the sample navigators on the site that someone mentioned and it looks like there is so much to do. I was so excited when I was showing my DH and he was looking at me like you better get a grip!!!!! I just cannot wait. We just had our sons birthday party this weekend which is kind of like the unofficial end of the summer party for our friends so now getting ready for back to school 9/8 and then starting to think about the fall, halloween and the holidays and ...... TRAVELING!!!!! This is my favorite time of the year. Oh well talk to you all soon.

Marylee

[musicdude]

Marylee,
We are totally excited about the trip. We did Las Vegas and Disneyland last summer and it was a great trip. My dd was 2 at the time and my ds 6 but they had a blast. We probably won't spend too much time at the Magic Kingdom and concentrate on the other parks. My dd would have loved to go on the bigger rides
because she is willing to try anything. My ds takes alot of convincing on some of the rides. Sometimes its hard to believe they are related because they are so different.

We will not be doing the REAS package with that price increase. The massage was the only thing we really wanted out of it anyway. The convenience of the ressies was nice but not something necessary for me. Thanks for finding the information out. I wonder if it is $399 or $339?

It should be alot of fun meeting everybody!!
:wave: Chris

[brack]

Hello to everyone. We just got back this morning at about 1am after a 15 hour drive from Asheville, NC. It was a great week in the mountains of NC.

It was good to see the many posts and the list of cruisers. I have really been talking this trip up to my friends and may have convinced two more couples to join us. I hope so because the more the merrier!

Hope everyone is doing well. Blessings to all

[Lisa]

Chris, REAS is going up to $339, the $399 was a typo on my part.:crazy:

Brack, glad to hear your trip to NC was good. The weather station indicated that area was hit with heavy rains from the tropical storm and the hurricane.

[marylee15]

:hyper: Chris, my DH definately does not like the Magic Kingdom he says it drives him crazy, Moms hitting his ankles with baby strollers and people being rude, I don't know but I think now that he is going with HIS DS it will be interesting to see how he reacts. We are staying at the CBR we want to do Downtown Disney, Epcot and MGM probably will do half days at Epcot and MGM so we can have some downtime before the cruise. We are taking a town car to the port how are you traveling there? We originally were using ground transportation but have since changed my DH does not want to deal with busses. Talk to you soon.

By the way I have also been to Disneyland I loved it. It was so original to me in some sort of way.

[luckeylasvegas]

Hi everyone: Sorry I have'nt been on board. My DD7 was in an ice skating competition in California for the last 4 days. I'm happy to report she did great 3 first place and one 2nd !!!!! I put in my vacation notice at work and started my cruise box so far it's got the bubbles , sun glass leashes and a power strip. There are many more things to put in it thanks to all of the great ideas on this board!
Luckey