October 22, 2005 Roll call

[SCDizneyDawn]

Kim, I also am flying out of Philly on Friday morning. Are you flying USAir? Is anyone going to be in Epcot on friday afternoon/evening? We are planning to visit the Food and Wine Fest after we arrive.

I also saw the NHC interview on CNN and am very hopeful for the slowing down (both in forward speed and wind speed!) I am thinking that there is almost no chance we will go western, just does not seem likely.

Well, gotta go get things accomplished,

see you guys real soon!

[JeffKiel]

5pm passed, no update from Disney :(

NOAA put out their update and we are back to still off shore in the Gulf at 2pm Sat, just off shore on the east coast at 2pm Sunday, putting landfall in the midnight Saturday night timeframe...plenty of time to get loaded and get outta dodge...

[MelissaE1]

Hey pdarrah, :)
It seems impossible to believe that even 100 miles out could get all that bad, but the fact is hurricane and tropical storm force winds can and do spread for hundreds of miles out from the eye on a storm of this size. We are about 200 miles from New Orleans and we got tropical storm force winds so bad here during Katrina that we could barely walk upright when outside. We walked down to the beach and the water was roiling. We usually have calm, lakelike water in the Sound here, and it was taking out docks and crashing over seawalls. We will have land between us and Wilma though, which will make a big difference and help the surge a lot. Plus it doesn't look like it will be that close anyway.

Ummm... when I went back and read this it sounded a little condescending, I didn't mean it that way. :) Just meant it is amazing to me how big these things can get. This one I hope stays relatively small with the winds!

[Kim&Chris]

Kim

what time is you your flight on Friday?

We're flying 6:45 am on Southwest. :earseek:

[nbrannan]

oh my goodness! we are on the same flight! thought for sure you would be US Air. we are staying at the Wilderness lodge for the night. Looking better all the time for us to get out of there before the storm hits.

[soapydonutzs]

Hi everyone:

Ok this is what two people just told me. I called twice just to make sure one wasn't giving out bad information:

The top Executive's met today and were going over plans for the cruise leaving Saturday.

She told me they were not informed as of yet but everyone should be expecting phone calls within the next 24 hours.

The poor agent said they won't even tell us if we have to come into work on Saturday or not, she needed to prepare her family but they have not given them any direction either.

If anyone gets a call could you please post what they are saying.

Thank you
Sherry

[ReneeQ]

Is anyone concerned about leaving their car parked at the port? I mean I know we don't have much choice, just wondering your thoughts. We plan to drive to Port Canaveral on Fri, arriving midday, and are staying that night at the Hampton Inn. I'm hoping we can all get onboard and get out to sea in plenty of time on Sat.

But was thinking if this thing cross Florida about midway, what will be left of our cars while we're out to sea? Would hate to get back from a wonderful cruise to find a damaged car and no way to drive home. Not to mention worrying about the car for the whole cruise.

Any thoughts?

Also, how will Disney Cruise Lines reach the people who have already left? Once we leave Fri. morning they won't be able to reach us, either. Do we need to call and give them cell numbers?

[Kim&Chris]

oh my goodness! we are on the same flight! thought for sure you would be US Air. we are staying at the Wilderness lodge for the night. Looking better all the time for us to get out of there before the storm hits.


We're nearly neighbors, too! I work in Bensalem :earsgirl:

[ThreeSmiths]

Hi everyone:

Ok this is what two people just told me. I called twice just to make sure one wasn't giving out bad information:

The top Executive's met today and were going over plans for the cruise leaving Saturday.

She told me they were not informed as of yet but everyone should be expecting phone calls within the next 24 hours.



Again, I wouldn't put too much stock into anything you hear from DCL reps at this point....last year we never received a phone call from DCL...it was up to us to call them to find out if we were cruising and which port we would be leaving from (since PC did not open until the morning we were scheduled to leave.) I didn't even get a call from our TA...I called her and she said that she had not been contacted by DCL either. We did not have a definite answer until the morning of our departure.

My advice, definitely call DCL and/or your TA and give them a cell phone number (or two) and the name of the hotel you're staying at the night before so that they can contact you if that's what they choose to do. Also, bring the DCL phone number with you so that you can check in with them if you are not contacted.

This is not at all to knock the DCL reps....I don't think they are trying to give out incaccurate info, but from my experience, they are given bits and pieces of info that is constantly changing. And from what we experienced last year, not everyone there is always on the same page. I didn't want to make it seem like I was flaming the DCL reps!

[hyandui]

Again, I wouldn't put too much stock into anything you hear from DCL reps at this point....last year we never received a phone call from DCL...it was up to us to call them to find out if we were cruising and which port we would be leaving from (since PC did not open until the morning we were scheduled to leave.) I didn't even get a call from our TA...I called her and she said that she had not been contacted by DCL either. We did not have a definite answer until the morning of our departure.

My advice, definitely call DCL and/or your TA and give them a cell phone number (or two) and the name of the hotel you're staying at the night before so that they can contact you if that's what they choose to do. Also, bring the DCL phone number with you so that you can check in with them if you are not contacted.

This is not at all to knock the DCL reps....I don't think they are trying to give out incaccurate info, but from my experience, they are given bits and pieces of info that is constantly changing. And from what we experienced last year, not everyone there is always on the same page. I didn't want to make it seem like I was flaming the DCL reps!

I just e-mailed DCL asking them to let all of us who will start traveling in the next 24 hours, its much better business to talk to your customer base even if it is just a little info then to not say anything. I listed my cell phone in the e-mail and will post any answer I receive. :hourglass

[hyandui]

I just e-mailed DCL asking them to let all of us who will start traveling in the next 24 hours, its much better business to talk to your customer base even if it is just a little info then to not say anything. I listed my cell phone in the e-mail and will post any answer I receive. :hourglass

Just received an answer to my question, its good to know their computer isn't asleep. Here it is. :confused3

Thank you for your inquiry and/or comments regarding Disney Cruise Line! Your email is very
important to us so we will be sure to reply as quickly as possible. :badpc:

Have a Magical Day!
Disney Cruise Vacations

[American Scrapper]

We too went through all of this last year, as we sailed with Threesmiths family. DCL did not know or tell anything until late the day before. At that point we only knew that we would be doing a modified Eastern, still not sure of the islands we were going to or if we would spend all of our time on the ship. We received a letter at the time of check in with our tentative stops. The other thing we found out was that Disney would be sailing out of Port Canaveral (the previous cruise went out of Port Everglades) and I found that out from a Port Canaveral site before the Disney site was updated. The only one that will know for sure is the Captain and right now he is working on getting the other boat back safely. Last year the ship that was scheduled before us was cancelled and the one before that was docked in Texas until the Hurricane in Florida was gone and it was safe to return. Their cruise was extended to a 10 night.

Right now I am just keeping my fingers crossed (and everything else) that we sail out on Saturday.

Hope to see you all on Saturday!!! Go away Wilma!!

Kathy

[soapydonutzs]

Kathy:

Thanks for the update. We are from Burbank Illinois that is the South side of Chicago. I guess we will all wait and see what happens we are all in the same boat hahahaha....

Sherry

[American Scrapper]

Soapydonuts (Sherry), :rotfl2: We are from Oak Forest...practically neighbors! :sunny: When are you heading out? We are flying Airtran on Friday Morning (7:00am) through Midway.

Well, if we do get on the boat, I mean when (we will) I think I will have to have a Hurricane drink. It was gonna be a Bahama Mama, but I am hoping to be toasting to Wilma for dying down enough for us to get out of Port!!

People at work told me I was crazy for flying into Florida, straight for a Category 5 hurricane, but the way I look at it, I live it each and every day because my desk looks like a hurricane went through it! My theme song at work is Alan Jackson/Jimmy Buffett.....It's 5 O'clock somewhere! pirate:

kathy

[MNmousecouple]

Hello to everyone!
We have just finished packing and leave in...5 hours, should be in FL mid morning Friday. Wilma is going to change our cruise a bit but I don't see any reason to worry, We Shall Cruise is the way we are looking at it now. Looking foreward to seeing all of you soon. :goodvibes
Hope to check in one more time in the am. See you all soon :banana: :Pinkbounc

[American Scrapper]

Well it is looking more positive that we will be able to head out of port Saturday. Wilma has really slowed down and isn't expected to hit Florida now alittle bit later then scheduled. Sould give us plenty of time to high tail it out of there.

Still working on packing here! I swear I always say I am going to start early, but never do. I will probably be up all night tonight!

To all leaving out soon, have a safe trip and we will see you soon!

Kathy

[Skaught]

Eastern Carribean here we come!


Scott

[JeffKiel]

I agree with you, Scott. Cozumel is going to get whacked (hopefully Castaway Cay won't get too much rain), so I figure we are Eastern now. Landfall looks to be about noon on Sunday so boarding and leaving seems pretty safe.

[MelissaE1]

Still working on packing here! I swear I always say I am going to start early, but never do. I will probably be up all night tonight!

LOL Kathy,

I could have written that, you just beat me to it. Hey, we can sleep on the way down, right? :rotfl:

I spoke to Veronica at Cozumel Homes this morning, she sure is nice. I believe you said you didn't have any problem getting a refund last time? She said she would refund the money if we didn't show up, no problem. That made me feel better, although I'd hate to miss it. I'm sure it's even worse missing it the second time! :)

Well everyone, I am guessing we'll be able to leave with no problem. It's anyone's guess from there! I talked to DCL to give them my cell phone number and they do seem a little less friendly than usual. Apparently they are getting so many calls, and a lot of people want refunds, etc. I feel bad for them, although I do think that when you spend this much on a vacation with Disney they should at least be polite. The first lady I spoke with was quite snippy. :teeth:

Well, back to packing!

[Mrs.Abuboo]

I was wondering about the refunds as well. When we pay for the events at Grand Caymen and Cozumel, are we charged even if we don't make it there? I guess I need to be looking at the Eastern side to see what there is to do there.

Having worked for Disney I can guarantee they are getting a lot of phone calls. People around my school have been asking if we get a refund since we're not doing what we want. I told them I didn't think so.

I guess it's going to be rainier than expected. Bring your raincoats everyone.

[Cavecats]

Weather Update


As of 9:00 a.m. EST - Thursday, October 20, 2005

We are currently monitoring Hurricane Wilma very closely as it moves through the western Caribbean. According to the latest projections from the National Weather Service, there is still considerable uncertainty surrounding the specific timing and path of the storm.

At this time, we do not anticipate any changes in the October 22, 2005 voyage of the Disney Magic or the October 23, 2005 voyage of the Disney Wonder.

The October 15, 2005 voyage of the Disney Magic is currently completing an eastern Caribbean sailing, and the October 20, 2005 voyage of the Disney Wonder will set sail from Port Canaveral as scheduled.

The safety and security of our guests is always our top priority. If necessary, our Captains are always prepared to alter the ships' courses or itinerary to navigate away from inclement weather.

[MelissaE1]

At this time, we do not anticipate any changes in the October 22, 2005 voyage of the Disney Magic or the October 23, 2005 voyage of the Disney Wonder.
Read: "We anticipate them all right. In fact, we are pulling our hair out trying to figure out what the weather will be like where before God even knows. But we're not telling YOU that. You'll just call us more." :rotfl2:

[ThreeSmiths]

I was wondering about the refunds as well. When we pay for the events at Grand Caymen and Cozumel, are we charged even if we don't make it there?

Last year we had our own excursions booked at GC and Cozumel (not through Disney). We never got charged for our Capt. Marvin's Stingray City excursion in GC and we did get refunded in full for our Dolphin/Sealion Swim in Cozumel.

I think most tour operators will refund any deposits or money you have already paid if your ship is diverted.

Of course, DCL will not charge your shipboard account for any shore excursions booked through them.

Well, back to packing and cleaning, packing and cleaning....oh! I weighed one of my suitcases and it was just over the 50 lb weight limit imposed by US Air.....have to rearrange!

[ThreeSmiths]

Read: "We anticipate them all right. In fact, we are pulling our hair out trying to figure out what the weather will be like where before God even knows. But we're not telling YOU that. You'll just call us more." :rotfl2:

LOL :rotfl:

Isn't that the truth????

[JeffKiel]

I was just talking with DW and are are both puzzled about the Key West thing. It is obvious to EVERYONE that KW is out, but they are still saying no changes. Come on, let's be real here, folks!

[Eric95403]

I was just talking with DW and are are both puzzled about the Key West thing. It is obvious to EVERYONE that KW is out, but they are still saying no changes. Come on, let's be real here, folks!

Would it be possible to hit KW later in the week? I have no clue... Yes, for Sunday...KW is out, we can all safely assume that.

[JeffKiel]

I am sure they could reorder things, sure...just depends on how it looks.

[Skaught]

The Navigator will read, "Visit the ruins of the mythical Key West, a once vibrant tourist attraction that was mysteriously abandoned seemingly overnight."

Of course, there will still be gift shops.

Scott

[jillian1027]

Hi all...I am new to DCL but not to cruising. Have never been involved in a hurricane before. We just move to FL from NJ this past summer so all of our previous trips were out of NYC. We thought we would enjoy the ride out to Port Canaveral from our new home but now that looks like a rainy trek. We live about 2.5 hours away from PCanav. We live inland from the gulf so my mom and brother, who live on the gulf coast want to stay at my house, which is fine but it is all quite nerve wracking while trying to pack, etc. There is no place for them to sit if they come here before we leave because I have clothes all over! Obviously life could be worse. What week to pick for this cruise! My son's 10 birthday will be celebrated on this cruise and he has been looking forward to this for over a year! I am really trying to stay happy but I am so sad!

[Eric95403]

Here's a question maybe someone can answer...I saw it posted elsewhere, I just feel like looking for it now as we're almost, finally, done packing and we're getting on the road here shortly. I guess the Western is more expensive than the Eastern to book. I have no idea, I just remember reading it somewhere. I also thought I read that if a Western gets bumped to an Eastern, DCL will give a few minor perks to those sailing to lesson the inconvenience. Any truth to that?? I'm not looking for freebies, I don't care...I just know I read something about that....anyone know?

[MelissaE1]

What week to pick for this cruise! My son's 10 birthday will be celebrated on this cruise and he has been looking forward to this for over a year! I am really trying to stay happy but I am so sad!

Hi there!

It's stressful packing, worrying about your house or your relatives' houses, and wondering what the heck Disney is going to do. But, once you get on the ship you'll be surprised how much fun we are going to have. Cruising in general is wonderful as you know, but DCL usually goes above and beyond. There truly is Disney "magic" and I am sure it will come into play for us. Hang in there and we'll see you 3:00 at the Mickey pool if you want to meet us all there! And Happy Birthday to your DS! :bday:

[MelissaE1]

Eric 95403, I don't know the answer to your question, although I know several people on this cruise have seen this before. I would guess it's at the whim of the captain. I know they stress that they are free to change the itinerary if they feel it necessary, but I have heard of them giving people free drinks or the like.

Anyone noticed the 5:00 "weather update" on the DCL site? It still says the exact same thing... no changes anticipated. Apparently they either mean no changes in the time we leave the port, or they don't have a very high opinion of the intelligence of their "guests", lol.

[ReneeQ]

I know a lot of people have already left for the cruise. Is anyone else still here? We head to Port Canaveral in the morning, around 11 am. It's a 5-6 hour drive for us. I feel like things are looking up and the weather report isn't as dismal as it looked earlier in the week. See you all soon!

[SCDizneyDawn]

ReneeQ, I am barely still here. We are watching our Va Tech Hokies play football, then a nap before leaving for the airport at 5am!

Everyone still left to travel, have a safe trip, we will see you on deck Sat at 3pm!

Dawn

[Mrs.Abuboo]

We're still here. We live in Orlando. So we're going to board the puppies Saturday morning and then my mommy-in-law is driving my husband and I to the Port. I'm a teacher and also taking my masters right now. I had a partner assignment due tomorrow that I just got finished and a group project due the Saturday night we return. Apparently since I won't be there for the group discussion next week, I got nominated to type it up. Hope I'm up for it after our week at sea. My husband has finished packing and I'm almost done. He's taking off tomorrow from work to get the place cleaned and I'll come home for school tomorrow night and finish up. I'm still hoping for going around Cuba the other way and going to GC, Cozumel, and then the keys. But at this point, I'll settle for the Bahamas. I'm just hoping that we're not going to go out to the Atlantic, hang for 7 days and then return.

[hyandui]

I know a lot of people have already left for the cruise. Is anyone else still here? We head to Port Canaveral in the morning, around 11 am. It's a 5-6 hour drive for us. I feel like things are looking up and the weather report isn't as dismal as it looked earlier in the week. See you all soon!

We are still here in northeast Pa, heading out to Phila at 3pm tomorrow, Saturday morning we fly out at 7am, that will put us in the hands of Mickey about 9am, :banana: I was watching tv and they said the govener is ordering eveyone out of Southern Florida, are they going to let the people heading for the port to travel south? :confused3 Disney's bus's might not be stopped, but how about the people traveling in their own cars, it was reported that some of the stations are allready out of fuel. :earseek: Boy do we need all the Pixie dust Disney can spare. :wizard:

[ThreeSmiths]

I would be sure to fill up in southern Georgia if fuel is a concern. PC is not "southern" Florida, in my opinion, so hopefully it will not be an evacuation area. But I don't think the governor of Florida will be taking my opinion into consideration.

We're heading to the airport at 6 am and then off to MGM Studios and MNSSHP tomorrow! We'll see you all Saturday at 3 pm!

Safe travels to all!

Stacy

[ReneeQ]

Glad to see a few of us are still around! Our tank is full now and we will top it off before we hit the Florida line, which is only about 100 miles from here, just to be safe. We travel I-95, and I'm pretty sure it won't be four lanes out of Florida (as opposed to two in each direction) from "up here" in Savannah down to Port Canaveral. I'm really starting to feel excited and feel like it will all be alright.

As much as my husband and I (and probably most of you!) needed this vacation, just due to the daily stresses of life, we all REALLY need it now after all the stress of Wilma! I'm not much of a drinker, but am looking forward to my first drink onboard! Wouldn't it be nice if Disney had free drinks the first day?!? (I know they can't control the weather!).

[MelissaE1]

I'm still here... we will leave about 7:30 or so tomorrow morning and should get to Orlando around 3:00 or 4:00. Then it's off to MNSSHP!

There are no "forced" evacuations as far as I can tell, except the Keys for visitors. I would be surprised to see much of a mandatory evacuation anywhere else at this point. So we should all have no problem getting to the port. It's really central Florida as opposed to south, plus on the opposite side of the peninsula from any impact. It's truly a dangerous storm for the Yucatan, but the media does tend to hype this stuff up and make it look like the whole state of Florida will be blown away shortly, lol. They are forecasting it to be severely downgraded by the time it gets here (if it does) and once it starts heading over the peninsula it should break up most of what's left. All that was to say, don't worry. :)

IMHO, Cozumel is out of the question. :p

And ReneeQ, I'm not much of a drinker either, but I'll be right there if they start handing out free Bahama Mamas! :rotfl:

[Skaught]

Just saw on the local news that traffic in the Tampa Bay area is picking up due to people evacuating from down south. So people should give themselves extra time just to be safe.

Scott

[janohiomom99]

We are still here also. We leave on a flight Saturday at 9am Cleveland to Orlando.

Things just got more stressful/interesting here...14 yr old son was warming up for today's football game and hurt his knee badly enough to go to the ER in an ambulance. Long story short...the good news is nothing is broken...bad news is that he is in a splint and on crutches. To add to the last minute running around tomorrow I have to take a letter to his physician and have them fax it to DCL saying that he is well enough to travel. :confused3

As for the hurricane , I don't really care where we sail to, as long as it is warm and sunny. :sunny: I would prefer the original itinerary of course...but ya can't always get what ya want.

So if you see a 6 ft 2 in teenager on crutches...that's my boy! LOL :rotfl:
:wave2:

[American Scrapper]

I'm still here too...my floor looks like the washing machine & dryer exploded!! Still have lots to do, just wanted to check on the chat.

Some of the "perks" we got last year was free drinks one evening from about 4 - 6 or so (maybe it was just an hour, can't remember). Oh and when we left from San Juan the crew was going around handing out Litho's of Mickey & Goofy dressed like pirates on the beach..very cute!! We also received blankets as a return gift instead of the towels that they were giving out. It is my favorite thing, I use it every night when it is cool in the house.

Well, where ever the ship takes us we will have fun!! Last year we had so much planned that it was kind of relaxing to have a day or two extra at sea. I really felt like I had a vacation!

Well, back to packing and then finishing my DD's costume! See you all on Saturday!

Kathy

[JeffKiel]

We are packed and heading to the airport in 20 min. Should be in Fl around noon.

Safe travel to all!

[MNmousecouple]

Quick hello from Macon GA, should be at port at noon. see wilma stalled.
see you all soon :cool1:

[Cavecats]

I too am still here. Leaving tomorrow morning 6:30 am Ottawa > Philly > Orlando. Safe travels to all

[MelissaE1]

Well, we're off. Can't believe I actually got packed and it's really time to leave! Everyone have a great trip down... see you there! :cool1:

[hyandui]

Well, we're off. Can't believe I actually got packed and it's really time to leave! Everyone have a great trip down... see you there! :cool1:

Well we are all packed, ready to roll, DW has college classes this morning, we will be on the road to Phila, stay over in Holiday Inn and fly out 7am tomorrow morning, see you all on the ship. Scrapperjill I have your Disney Keys with me, you can pick out which ones you want. :Pinkbounc :rotfl2: :Pinkbounc :moped:

[ReneeQ]

To the few that are left, we are off too! Hitting the road now, spending the night in Port Canaveral. See everyone at the Mickey Pool at 3 tomorrow! Safe travels everyone!

[hyandui]

To the few that are left, we are off too! Hitting the road now, spending the night in Port Canaveral. See everyone at the Mickey Pool at 3 tomorrow! Safe travels everyone!

Have a S A F E trip and watch out for alligators crossing the road, they are trying to get out before Wilma strikes. :moped: :rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2:

[ioahulk]

It's official. You're all going on an Eastern Caribbean cruise now.


http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/dcl/en_US/general/crisis?name=CrisisCommunicationPage

[hyandui]

It's official. You're all going on an Eastern Caribbean cruise now.


http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/dcl/en_US/general/crisis?name=CrisisCommunicationPage

F A N T A S T I C NEWS, And I am getting out of here!

[hyandui]

F A N T A S T I C NEWS, And I am getting out of here!

I just had to post this.

Weather Update


As of 11:00 a.m. EST - Friday, October 21, 2005

We are monitoring Hurricane Wilma very closely, as the safety and security of our guests is always our top priority. According to the latest projections from the National Weather Service, there is still considerable uncertainty surrounding the specific timing and path of the storm.

The Disney Magic will set sail from Port Canaveral on Saturday, October 22, 2005. With Hurricane Wilma moving slowly across Cozumel in the western Caribbean and predicted to pass very near Key West during the first part of this coming week, it has become necessary to alter our itinerary so that we can enjoy safe conditions and fair weather. Therefore, this voyage will be sailing to the eastern Caribbean and visiting the ports of St. Maarten, St. Thomas and our private island Disney's Castaway Cay.

The Disney Wonder will set sail from Port Canaveral on Sunday, October 23, 2005. At this time, Hurricane Wilma is not predicted to pass through the Bahamas, and we will continue to monitor its path carefully. Should conditions change, we are prepared to alter our itinerary.

[LAMPSKIES]

Figured I'd bump this up to see if we can get any updates.......

[ReneeQ]

Just checking in to see if anyone had made it home and back online yet. We got home today around 4 PM.

We had an awesome cruise and I enjoyed meeting some of you. Wish I could have met everyone. We only made it to the first meet as we had conflicts (Palos, movies, on the islands, etc) for the others. Thanks again to ScrapperJill for the awesome buttons and to PDarrah for the awesome website!!!

Now, a moment to complain. I caught up on Cass and Rob's ongoing vacation thread today and agree with some of her gripes. We didn't get our Castaway Gift in our stateroom either (THANKS to those Disers at the first meet that told me to go ask for it). Didn't get any of the vacation club info/invites we were supposed to, and totally feel like Cass took the words right out of my mouth - it WAS a magical cruise, but not as magical as our first.

Now this might just be me, feel free to disagree with me (because my husband DOES disagree with me on this point). I REALLY wanted a Western cruise. I KNOW there is always the chance to miss a port due to weather, etc. And I KNOW it's not Disney's fault about the weather. But since this was a TOTALLY different cruise (not just missing a port) I feel like we didn't get what we paid for.

Yes, Disney Vacation Club is refunding the few extra points more it costs for a Western vs. an Eastern. But we used A LOT of points for this cruise, borrowed all our points from next year, and I WOULDN'T have done it for another Eastern. Unless we want to pay cash to go again sooner, it will be a couple of years until we can go again.

My husband feels like "we paid for a cruise and we got a cruise" and that is that. But I'm left feeling a little "hollow" over the whole thing. We were offered nothing "extra" to soften the blow so to speak (unless I missed that, too), and not that they owed us anything, in the past I've felt Disney always goes the extra mile and I didn't feel it this time.

Maybe it's just post cruise let down, after all the weather worrying pre-cruise. Maybe I'm just tired.

[janohiomom99]

I have to agree with you about missing the Western cruise.. Sure we got a cruise but we also only got 3 stops instead of four and two sea days in a row (BLAH!).

Of course Disney cannot help the weather and I would much rather have the cruise then nothing at all. But we got nothing extra for getting a vacation we didnt want.

My other huge complaint with the Disney cruise is the the club for 3-4 yr olds. My daughter was picked on by other children...she says two girls were pulling on her dress and knocked her down and jumped on her. WHERE were the crew members during this. Come to find out AFTER we called down to the club that yes some of the kids were "tangled up together with her and we had to pull them apart" so WHY did my husband have to call the club to get that information they should have said something when we picked her up. My daughter is 3 and a half very sweet and she gets along with other kids , she is involved in a play group here at home 2 x a week at our church. She never cried when we took her to the club, but twice she threw such a tantrum at bed time I wondered what was going on with her. I seen some faint marks on her back and I asked her how they got there and the whole story came out about the girls pulling on her dress and knocking her down. Another day earlier in the week she said a boy was mean to her, but I chalked that up to kids not getting along and maybe he didnt want to play with her.
I will file a formal complaint about it all and take pics of the marks on her back. The director of the club did bring my daughter a nice gift basket with toys and he apologized. But good grief I did not spend that kind of money on this cruise (we had 2 cabins) for my child to come home traumatized by the club. The crew members (at least 3 or 4) were always up near the desk area during check in, when it seems to me they should have been supervising children.

Did anyone else have anything like this happen to their children???

[ReneeQ]

Jan,
That is horrible about your daughter! Yes, I would write a complaint also. We do not have children, so I can't comment on any of your specific questions. I did notice on this cruise vs. our last Disney cruise LOTS more unruly, running wild children. I don't mean just kids being kids, I mean wild out of control unsupervised screaming kids, or more specifically, boys.

I am just curious, is there a certain age limit children can run around on the ship unsupervised? There was a particular group of boys, around age 10, we kept seeing day after day, running around, zipping into the elevators ahead of people that were already waiting, racing up and down the steps, nearly knocking people over, screaming, etc.

I witnessed them again all in one elevator, when it opened on the floor I was waiting on, the door opened and they screamed "no room in here" (not that I'd want to get in with them!) I also kept seeing children alone on the elevators in the 5-6 year old range. I just found it unusual.

[janohiomom99]

I don't know if there is any age limit to the children that can run around unsupervised, I also have an 11 yr old boy and he was either with me or in the Ocean Quest area. he never really found any boys he wanted to hang out with.

I noticed a lot of rude children on the ship as well as rude adults. Some of the adults would barge right in front of others waiting for an elevator or waiting in line for characters. I would hold the door open for families and none of them even acknowledge me. :confused3

[Mrs.Abuboo]

so far I have agreed with everyone so far. this was my first DCL, but having worked for disney for many years, i knew that there were more things that they could've done to truly make this cruise magical. i was on 6 and had spoken with some other on 6&7 that were complaining about children running around after 11pm in the hallways playing football. i know of some guests that went to Guest Services and complained.

one night while waiting for animators to open, i was sitting in one of the porthole windows and a little girl was getting her picture taken. another boy walked up said "excuse me" and literally pushed the girl out of the way. of course, ruining her photo that her dad was taken. all the parents of the boy said was his name and then he looked back at them and said, she was in the way and i said excuse me. i couldn't believe it. i look at my husband and just shook my head. the rude family didn't even let the girl try again for her picture and they continued to take several shots in front of the sign.

i also noticed a group of boys, i think brothers that were throwing food around on the deck after they got their lunch at topsider's. apparently, they were upset that the children's buffet wasn't open yet. dad just sat there and didn't do anything.

as a teacher, i often wonder about why the children are they way they are and have come to the conclusion that too many parents need to learn a very simple word...discipline.

[MelissaE1]

My husband feels like "we paid for a cruise and we got a cruise" and that is that. But I'm left feeling a little "hollow" over the whole thing. We were offered nothing "extra" to soften the blow so to speak (unless I missed that, too), and not that they owed us anything, in the past I've felt Disney always goes the extra mile and I didn't feel it this time.

Hi ReneeQ,

I totally agree with you. While we did have a decent time, and my kids probably enjoyed the clubs more (thanks to being able to move my daughter up one level and due to the new Ocean Quest for my son) mostly the Magic was missing compared to last time. I know DCL has no control over the weather, but as a one income family we have to save for years to cruise and we've done the Eastern, so I also feel that we didn't get what we paid for. I expected at least an apology or some small token I guess, more or less because that's Disney's usual style. They also held back long after they knew they had to change the itinerary. I was pretty disappointed with their handling of the whole situation. Not very Disney-like IMHO.

We did have some nice moments, and I'm hoping that it was just a fluke that we really didn't feel that Disney "magic" that I so look forward to.

Janohiomom99, so sorry for what happened to your daughter. :(

Oh, and we "ran into" the running kids several times also. Where were their parents? Sheesh.

On a happier note, we did save about $500 on excursions and we just found out that my husband has a business trip to Hawaii in March... so he suggested using that money towards my plane ticket to go with him. Yay!

[marnight]

I hope everyone made it home ok. We had an awesome time (even with the change in itinerary). I have to say that I wasn't as impressed with the food this time. The dinners were great, but the buffets for lunch and breakfast were kind of blah. Our servers were outstanding and I want to give a shout out to Peter from Poland and Pirom (?) from Thailand. They were the best! :cheer2:

Our room was ok, but one night the noise from the engine room kept me up and I had to make a call in the morning to complain. They said that other people also called. They apparently fixed the problem, since I didn't hear it anymore.

Scapperjill, Thanks for sending down the buttons. Sorry I wasn't able to make the first meet, with 12 in our group it was hard to break away at meet times. I was able to escape a few times by myself in the Cove, sitting back with my cappuccino and a good book! :)

Hope everyone enjoyed themselvles, I know we did!

Maria

[afoss]

Welcome back everyone! Sounds like everyone had a good time, overall.

I would have to agree with a few of the "complaints". I was not impressed with the food like I hoped I'd be. IMOP, Princess is better but then again, they didn't have the characters!

JanOhiomom99- I, too, was concerned about the 3-4 year old group. We got beeped that our 4 year old daughter was bumped by a boy and fell into a wall on the slide. She had a HUGE bump above her eye and it turned black and blue. Worst she has ever had and it's still very bruised today. That must have been some "bump". I was glad that they beeped us and said she was very brave with the whole ice deal.

I know these things happen and I'm sure it was an accident but I do wonder about how closely they watch them. I noticed everyday that more than 2-3 people would stand by the desk. I expected more out on the floor. Please let me know what happens after you write the letter. It would be interesting to see how they react.

Overall, we had a great time and was glad we didn't have really bad sea swells. No seasickness here! Hey......where were all the door signs???? I think we were the only ones on our deck!

Oh yeah, one more thing.....our neighbor parked their double stroller in the hall all the time! What a pain! We also had a double stroller and a big car seat that we managed to store in our cabin...why couldn't they???? :rolleyes:

Back to reality

[American Scrapper]

Welcome back everyone! It was nice to meet all of you at the meet and on several other occasions onboard! We did not make it to any of the other meets due to schedule conflicts, but I did try to look for people on Pirate night. Of course I didn't find anyone as it was really crowded on deck 10. I was looking forward to all of the costumes!

Overall, we had a great time! Our servers were wonderful, the food was pretty good and the weather was beautiful. Although we did not get to do our original destinations, I really enjoyed our stops. While we had a great time, ReneeQ, I do understand your disapointment too. I was somewhat surprised that they did not do something to make up for the change in the itinerary, but I think that is decided by the Captain. That was how we got the free drinks the previous year, the captain made that decision.

This was the first year I did the spa, and it was nice, but I don't think I would spend the money again. I can do the same things at home for the same price or less. We really enjoyed Palo too.

Scrapperjill, thank you for the buttons! They were wonderful!

Pdarrah, thank you for the wonderful job on the website! It really helped to identify people that we had chatted so long with!

Well, I think I will probably not be on the boards quite as often as I was before sailing, but will stop in on occasion to see how everyone is doing.

Kathy

[soapydonutzs]

I have to agree with everyone on the board. I was really disappointed and called on 10/21/05 to find out about the changes myself. We were never contacted about the change even with five phone numbers on file not one phone call. When I called in Friday, 10/21 I asked to talk to a supervisor (Constance) she said Disney had the right to change the itinerary at any point and that was what I signed. I informed her that I did not sign any paper stating that and Disney also should have the courtesy of notifying us and letting us decide if we want to go Eastern. She was very rude! I went down to GS on Sunday and talked to a women named Lavern I explained my dissatisfaction and she had the manger of GS call me. She was very nice and asked didn't anyone ask you when you checked in if you would like to reschedual? I said no! I explained to her that we had just done an Eastern Cruise and did not enjoy it so if I wanted to go Eastern I could have gone 10/29/05 a little cheaper. She of course said I understand your complaints and I will pass it on. I have a card with the address and email address of where to write your complaints to. I will not be joining DCL any more. I did not like the way they treated this compaired to other cruise lines. Constance the reservation manager said they didn't know until Friday that Wilma was going to hit Cozumel. I told her you must think we are all idiots or we live in a box, because all the news talked about for a week was how Wilma was going to hit Cozumel, I said DCL just waited until now to tell us, so that we couldn't get out of our plans since you guys know half of us are down in Florida already. I felt lied to cheated and ripped off. I did not get what I paid for, yes I got a cruise but not the cruise I paid for. Also, I hated the fact that everyone agreed with me but nobody took the blame. This was an act of God but the lack of responsability for not contacting me was all DISNEY! Other cruise lines were offering to give you the option of canceling your cruise or reschedualing it now that is a cruise line that cares about repeat customers. Sorry I sound so negative but this cruise cost alot more than other cruises and I expect more for it! I tried to talk to the woman who books future cruises but she wanted to hear nothing of it. Isn't that a great way to drum up more business.

The Stingray excusion on CC being canceled was just like the last straw. Nice of them to tell us on Thursday....it must be a disney rule that you only have to give the paying customer a one day notice prior to changing anything. Thanks for the one day notice really appreciate that.

PS: A note about the kids club. My son had a much better time this year but last year he was kicked called a names and nobody acted on this. They want you to believe that they are always watching the kids but there is no way they are or these types of incidents wouldn't be happening.

[janohiomom99]

Soapy...I booked this cruise through AAA. As a former travel agent for AAA I of course take all my travel business there. I am not working there now, due to the fact that I have two young girls...but anyway...my TA called me on Thursday I think it was to tell me that we were definitly doing a Eastern Itin and IF I wanted to rebook it would cost something like $85.00 per person (there were 7 of us) PLUS the cost difference of the cruise. The next available western itin cruise was late January...and the cost dif would have been something like $500-600 PER PERSON!!!
I told her..I was already packed..the boys (14 yr and 11 yr) were excused from school...hubby had taken the week off work...as well as our travel friend who was the third adult to stay in the second cabin with the boys. So what choice did we have really? Now if it had been ONLY the $85 change fee per person I would have been willing to do it. But paying the additional HUNDREDS would have been plain stupid.

As a former travel agent I can honestly say I was NOT "wowed" by Disney CL and the fact that my daughter was really hurt at the club not once but twice, and they never bothered to page me or tell me details when I picked her up was just the icing on the cake so to speak.

I will NOT recommend DCL to anyone, I have overdosed on Disney and if I see or hear another song I think I may lose my mind. They disappointed the wrong person.

DCL is a preferred vendor with AAA, giving discounts and shipboard credits to members, so I will write my letter of complaint as well as call the Disney 800 number tomorrow.

And Soapy I would love to have the complaint email and phone number you received. :love:

[ReneeQ]

Soapy, I, too, would love to have that address. I have written my letter of complaint today and was going to try to figure out who to mail it to tomorrow.

Jan, I feel like you said exactly how I feel. Been there, done the Eastern, wouldn't have paid for it again, had we known that's where we were going. And I LOVE Disney! We are Vacation Club Members. We have booked my in-laws on this cruise, compliments of all their kids, next Oct. for their 40th anniversary. I DO think they will have a great time, as it will be their first Disney cruise, first cruise ever with a verandah, and first cruise at all in about 15 years.

But for some of us repeat Disney cruisers, I feel the magic is gone. We plan to cruise again in two years and try for the Western, and I actually spent this afternoon checking out Royal Carribbean, Celebrity and Princess. Their prices look great and maybe it's time for us to try a new ship.

[Mrs.Abuboo]

Living here in Florida, I was extrememly disappointed. We were never contacted also. It wasn't until I looked at the website at 1pm on Friday to find out that we were going on the Eastern. One would think they would've called me. I'm a local number. Also, to say that they didn't know is completely false. Wilma sat over Cozumel on Wed, Thurs, and Friday, so how can they say they didn't know until Friday that it would hit there when it was already there.

Please post the Names, addresses, emails, phone numbers, etc. Maybe if enough people say something, we might get something in return.

As I stated before, if I wanted to go on the Eastern I would've gone the previous week when my school was out and saved those personal days for some other time.

[Cavecats]

I would also like the complaint email address. Their comment cards actually did not have any place to write comments.

I am in the same vote as most of you. I wanted a WESTERN cruise after taking a most magical EASTERN cruise last year.

When my Mom and I got home this year we felt that for the first time Disney had let us down.

I definitely feel that, all in all, there was Pixie Dust missing on this curise.

Yes, I realize that they had no control over the weather but we were hoping for 4 ports with a very different type of adventure and we got only 3 with a very much deja vous feeling....been there done that.

Even most of the entertainment was a repeat of our last year's cruise.


Our arrival in Orlando started with our luggage missing and confilicting stories from 4 Disney reps and 1 US airways rep each pointing the finger at each other. Thank God our luggage did arrive after all (Not sure if it was us who delayed the departure of the boat....lol).

We definitely met those obnoxious kids running around with no regards for the adults. My Mom has two artificial hips and though she walks quite well she cannot manouever quickly.

On formal night there was very little interaction between the staff and us and we felt it was actually pointless to dress up. Carribean night last year there were dances like the limbo during dinner. Nothing like that this year even though there was a band.

In one of the water competition, my 70+ Mother actually participated and at the end of the 3 activities it was a tie. Of course a Cannon Ball by the team captains broke the tie. Surely Disney has enough medals to give to the 10 competitors? I know my Mother would have been thrilled.


My Mother and I have been to Disney World 5 times and this was our second cruise. My Mom has booked a combo Disney World / Cruise Vacation for next May with her grandchildren and also another Cruise with me for April 2007, but now we are definitely having second thoughts about this!!

Where or where was the Usual Awesome Disney Pixie Dust???? It was a very sad feeling.

[scrapperjill]

Wow... :earseek: . I know I was some what disapointed in having a change in itenary "again"...but I guess I was going into the cruise knowing that traveling durring hurricane season changes are a risk your taking....That's one reason the cost is lower durring this time of year. Although I would have LOVED to have heard of the changes sooner so we could have planned and researched the new stops. That's one thing i was very disapointed in...I liked the idea of going to the diffrent islands...but not the idea of not having a clue of what to do. I almost felt like getting off the ship in the first place was somewhat of a waste of time. After all we didn't know where to go or what to do...at first. We did read the passporter to get ideas of places to snorkel at the first island...we ended up taking a taxi to Dawn beach for a few hours of fun. But after paying $120 for the taxi there and back...no one in our group was realling looking forward to doing a taxi agian at the next stop. I also found it was VERY frustrating that the ports the ship docked at we HAD to get a ride of some sort to go anywhere....We just were not docked anyplace we could just get off the ship and walk someplace.

Call me crazy but I'd almost rather spend the WHOLE week cruising on the ship than have the changes in the ports. :teeth: Of course we had a WONDERFUL day at Castaway...the only down fall there was the day went by to fast... :rolleyes:

Oh...a couple more things....our dinning servers were wonderful...they were SO much better than the group we had last year. I didn't feel the food was as good as before but not aweful.

Well I'll pop back on the board later and add more to my thoughts...but for now I have to go do the dreaded unpacking. :confused3

[Skaught]

Sorry I didn't meet anyone from here, but I saw a lot of DIS door signs. Overall, we had a good time. My 4-year-old warmed up to the kids club by the last day...arg! She loved the pool and rode the slide a million times. I was bummed about the port changes (we hit those two islands on our honey moon, so it wasn't that interesting). I did enjoy my scuba dive excursion in St. Thomas.

However, I could have done without the taxi accident! We were on one of the open tram style taxis that drive a hundred miles an hour. The driver rear ended someone as we were moving forward at a green light, from a stop. I guess the person in front of us started going and then stopped and our driver decided not to stop. We ended up refusing to pay since I banged my knee. He actually pulled over before getting to downtown to try to get money out of us and the other riders and we were like, "NO WAY!"

Scott

[soapydonutzs]

Hi everyone:

Glad to hear I am not the only one who was disappointed and couldn't find the pixie dust anywhere. We also encountered those boys and I think the cruise staff should have done something about them. Where were their parents?

Ok here is the information which I received from Guest Services:

Tom McAlsphin
President Disney Cruise Line
Disney Cruise Vacations
Guest Communications
Post Office Box 10238
lake Buena Vista, Florida
32830-0238

DCL.Guest.Communications@disneycruise.com

I told them I don't think they really give a hoot about what our feelings are after all they got our money and ran with it. This cruise was not what I paid for and I think that was very unfair of them to assume that I wanted to go!

[Eric95403]

We're finally back as well. We had a wonderful time. Who cares if we changed itineraries...we had never been on either, so either was fine w/ us..just as long as we cruised.

I too saw the kids a few times running amok of the ship, they didn't bother us at all though. We had fabulous dinners...the food wasn't what I expected, as that seems to be the consensous...but I am a picky eater. The 8 others in my group were pleased though.

We had wonderful people all over the place......I want to give a shout out to Marc & Chris as our waiter & asst waitor. They were spectacular. A few nights they let my youngest DD order off the menu...she wanted something else and they made it happen.

Did anyone catch 80's night...Did you see Bon Jovi's big fat drummer? That was me!!!! :earseek: :earseek:

Gotta run...will post more later.

[JeffKiel]

We made it back safely after a nice quiet day in Cocoa Beach on Saturday. Stayed at the Radisson on the night before which was very nice (impressed) and the Courtyard night after (Radisson was booked for non-smoking, daughter has asthma) and it was OK. Right next to the beach, but it was too windy to enjoy that. More details when I write up the trip review.

Overall, I too was not impressed with Disney as a "cruise product". Compared to RCCL and Princess, it is about the same, with each having +'s and -'s (again, more in the review). Of course, it is hard to put a value on the character interaction. On the last night, we were coming out of Lumiares (sp?) and Pinoccio was hiding in the curtains. He popped out as DD passed by, grabbed her hand, and they skipped down the hall...priceless!

Timon, we were mirror images of eachother! Orlando was our room steward and I was NOT impressed with him. First, the water on the balcony (out of his control, but had to ask multiple times to have it cleaned up and even had to call Guest Services on day 2). Then, we switched dining and noone ever told him, so we didn't get our room prepared for the evening on the 2nd day (I set up DD bed). I would always put the "please clean stateroom" placard on the morning and evenings, and a lot of times, he didn't get to it. Then, Roland and Melanie were our wait staff as well ;) Roland was very happy, but made some mistakes (including telling my wife she ordered something that she didn't), and Melanie was very kind, but you could see she was still learning (Roland would often get upset at the things she did at their station). I felt they did a good job overall, but they weren't "amazing".

On the ports, I was a little disappointed, for sure, but I understand there is only so much they can do. I do agree that we seemed to dock far away from everything making taxi rides a necessity.

Kids program? Well, the first day I spent ~20min talking with one of the organizers for the 3-4 year olds and was very impressed. I did notice that during the week, there was a lot of "free play" and when I went a couple of times at the tail end of those, the children were fairly unsupervised. DD went probably 5-6 times total for about 1-2 hours each time and did enjoy it, but I can see how things could get out of control and kids might get hurt. Sorry for anyone who experienced this, I know it can be traumatic to children and parents alike.

[Mrs.Abuboo]

To be honest it really didn't bother me that we changed intinerary's. I completely understood why. What bothered me the most was that there was no notification. I spent my entire day at school giving a lesson and then checking the website to see what it said. No one phoned, emailed or anything to let us know of a change. Also, to say that they didn't know it was going to hit was completely false when it had been in the area for at least 3 days before they even posted that we were no longer going that way. There was no time to look for shore excursions. We ended up going back down monday evening to discover that many things had opened up or that they had added a few more. I will admit we did things we wouldn't have done otherwise. Of course, having worked at Disney, I do know that they don't like to announce things until the very last moment.

We are signed up for the 4-day Wonder over SpringBreak. It would've been nice to recieve more than a 10% discount for signing up on board. Considering we get that anyway being Castway Cay Members.

[Dyerneeds]

Welcome home everyone, (back to the old grind)

The only thing that's keeping me going is knowing that we're going back to Disney World in 6 weeks for Christmas.

It was so nice meeting everyone. I think we have built lasting friendships with some of you.

We went to the Magic Kingdom on Saturday after getting off the ship and ran in to Walt & Di. Watched Spectro Magic and Wishes with them and had a great time. Those lucky dogs aren't leaving until Sunday. We think about them every day.

Timon...We enjoyed your company on pirate night. We have a great picture of you. Enjoy the remainder of your vacation.

Afoss...We were just down the hall from you. I had signs on my door. And yes, I too noticed that stroller out in the hall. I was surprised they left it out there all the time.

Itinerary... We had never been on the eastern. We obviously would rather have gone on the western, but we still had a great time. I think the DCL needs to have a special itinerary for times when weather is a problem. They should at least change it up a little to make it better for those people who have already done that particular itinerary. For example add a different island or something. They really need to have a standby.

We took a cattamaran to an island to snorkel. It was the best. As far as the stingrays, when we got to the beach on Castaway Cay, there were two stingrays swimming around us in the water. We joked that we got the stingray excursion without paying for it. That was first thing in the morning. I'm sure they took off when the beach filled up.

I have to say on our previous DCL cruises, the food was much better. Our food was always either cold or luke warm. There is nothing worse than cold soup. As far as the taste, it was ok. I like to try new things occaisionally, but food is never a big priority for me. The fancy stuff doesn't thrill me and my DH is strictly a meat and potatoes guy.

The servers...I don't get too excited or upset when the servers aren't perfect. I know they work very hard and if I get a rookie I try to make things a little easier for him or her. Everyone has to be a rookie at some point in time. We have always created a bond with our servers regardless of how they performed. Our server was pretty good. Our asst. server was fairly new but very sweet. We loved them both.

Overall, We had a great time.

Scrapperjill...Thank you so much for the buttons. You did a real nice job on them.

[MNmousecouple]

I wish we had met more of you than we actually got to. We were tardy for the Saturday meet and when I got back from running back to the cabin for something everyone had left for the boat drill. We got to meet Walt & Di at the Radisson and several time on board (great people, it was our pleasure).
Thanks to pddarah for her website we knew some people by site, never really got to talk to Timon & Cass but knew them on first sight at the Radisson also. It was unreal how busy we were from beginning til end of the cruise and unfortuantely our Palo was Pirate night so we missed that enitirely. Scrapper I want to thank you for the pins, the kids got the biggest kick out of having them ears and their names....perfect. :flower:
I know their is some agreement that the trip was not what we expected however even with the flaws, it was still a magical trip for us, especially with all the information provided by you all. Thanks to everyone :love:

[joemuseum]

Wanda and I had a great time. Thanks to those of you who said hi to us, commented on our door signs, etc...!! Sorry we didn't make the meeting. We were just too busy with our traveling companions from last year. AND thanks for the buttons!!!!

I asked Wanda to marry me on the cruise in the Palo, so it was just wonderful. We booked the 10 night southern caribbean for next year... maybe the honeymoon cruise.

Plenty of pixie dust for us. We cried at the farewell show. And we so much enjoyed the final get together of all the characters!!!

We booked the 10 night cruise with our traveling companions (500 hundred dollar onboard credit, wow) and next year we will have the same table for 4, I think.

What a great time we had. Got back and there is a $10.10 credit for the change in itenerary, seems a little dinky but it had something to do with taxes or something. Anyway... fun is fun. :banana:

Oh, we had no problems at all with kids but... we saw a, maybe middle eastern?, larger man terrorizing his daughter, pulling her down the stairs by her arm, she was screaming and crying. We guessed he was punishing her somehow for running on the stairs. He was yelling "so you want to run" or something like that as he drug her at breakneck speed. It was incredible. So on the running kids thing, I'm not sure Disney could be blaimed for children running amok when parents are THAT terrible. (Edit: sorry, didn't mean to juxtapose "middle eastern" and "terrorize" together. No insult intended, just a description of the man and a description of his behavior, just terrible behavior.)

This had to be the one bad moment on the cruise for us other than one ice dispenser running out at breakfast, lol.

Oh, and we did have the limbo dance at one of our meals, just like last year... Pirate's night, I think.

[disneyfan551]

joemusuem... CONGRATS :thewave: on your engagement! I'm sure it was a magical time for your guys.

I am so surprised to read all of the recent threads on here! We didn't mind the change in itinerary, yet, we have never done the Eastern before. We loved it so much, I want to do it again! But, I've rebooked for the special itinerary Oct.14, 2006 that has the doubledip at CC. It's a surprise & my dh will probably kill me! :rotfl: (We should be moving into our new house then...not to mention that the 1st night back from this trip, we moved straight into our "new rental" house! Boxes everywhere, and I have no idea what is where... :blush: ) We thoroughly enjoyed the cruise (& the entire week prior in the Parks...), and had super servers (Pirom & Peter :love: ), and also a great stateroom host (Fernindad?). And even though 3 of the 4 women in our group got sick (bronchitis/acute sinusitus :sick: ) (and, yes, mine is still going strong...on day 13 now...), it could not stop us from having a super time. On Pirate Night, I made it through dinner at AP, even though it was absolutely FREEZING :cold: in there (which didn't help my high fever!), and then headed back to crash in the room, so I missed the deck party. :guilty:

All 4 of the 4 & 5yo's in our group enjoyed the kids club & we had no trouble getting them to go! Thank the Lord for small miracles!! :teeth: I do feel for those of you that had problems though. I attended a few of the events in the Kids Club and did not notice any problems. However, I did see the rugrats running rampant about the ship & dominating the elevators. Someone needs to bust their parents b*tts for their irresponsibility! :headache:

We didn't attend any of the meets, but the pool meet on the 1st day was smack dab in FRONT of our tables! (If you saw a 4yo blue-eyed, blond haired girl having a blast, or screaming every time down the Mickey slide, that was our wild child... :hyper: We were probably right behind her saying "KENDALL!!!!!!!!" :crazy: ) I was too shy to come over, but was glad to see so many diser's there!

[ThreeSmiths]

Hello Everyone!

Well, I finally have found a minute to post and say Welcome Home! It is a bittersweet return, of course. Good to see our pets and friends and neighbors, but would much rather be seeing them on an island beach!!!

We did enjoy meeting everyone at the meet at the Mickey Pool the first day. MelissaE1: Sorry we never actually met, but it was fun passing notes with you! Who knew we would be next-door neighbors?

Anyone still rocking? :rotfl: At first it was a fun little reminder of being on the ship, but now it is becoming quite bothersome!

As for the trip, I guess we needed a vacation SO BAD that we really didn't care where we went, as long as it was sunny and warm! Of course I would have rather done the Western, but I knew when we booked the trip for October that there was a very strong chance we would be diverted. So we were mentally prepared for it.

Our servers and stateroom hostess were great, and I have no complaints with the food or service. It was just so nice to NOT have to clean and make beds, and so nice to have meals prepared each day (and not have to shop for them, make them and clean up afterward). That's what I call a vacation!

Was there some magic missing? Maybe so. I don't know whether to attribute it to the fact that it was our second Disney cruise, or if it was because DD is another year older and was not as "in to" the characters this year. I always experience the magic in any situtation through her.

All in all, it was a really great vacation for us. We got to see old friends and made some new ones! Can't wait to do a reunion cruise! :banana:

Oh, Joemuseum....we were at Palo when you proposed! What a beautiful moment and great suprise, I'm sure! Congratulations!

[pdarrah]

Hi Everyone - Welcome back!

Although we were, of course, disappointed in the itinerary change - we still had a great cruise! It wasn't perfect of course, but I don't really expect perfection!

I guess we were fortunate, since we did not encounter the wild pack of boys. One day we saw a couple boys goofing off around the elevators, but it didn't impact us at all since we mostly use the stairs. I think I have always encountered kids goofing off around elevators whenever I've been anywhere with elevators that go more than 1 or 2 floors - it just seems to draw them :confused3

I would have been annoyed by a stoller in the hall and would probably have called guest services. If they hadn't done something, I would probably leave my own note on it and if that didn't work, I'd start folding it up every time I passed! (Yes, I can get obnoxious sometimes when needed!)

DS6 loved the kids club as much as last year. He hasn't ever been in the 3-4 group so I don't know much about any differences with that. I would think the younger kids would have more counselors watching them. DS6 had so much fun with one of the couselors that we even listed here on the comment form as a CM who helped make our trip magical.

Our room steward was fantastic! He took great care of us and always greated us in the hall. He even noticed it was DH's birthday on Friday and wished him a happy birthday. I wasn't all that impressed with our dining room staff. They were nice, friendly people - but the service was pretty slow. They did better some nights, but our asst. server never really managed to keep up on our drinks. 4 of us drink ice tea at every meal - it was amazing how often we were waiting for refills. He never seemed to get the coffee/tea there at the same time as the dessert. However, the food was fine and we enjoyed the company at the table (Walt&Di and Dyerneeds) and most of the time, the service didn't bother us that much. The last night I was pretty annoyed since we needed to pick up DS6 from the club because he wanted to go to the "Till We Meet Again" in the atrium at 10:15. We arrived at dinner right at 8:30 and were just getting desserts served at 10:00. We had to leave them on the table and run off to get DS. They also never got around to singing happy birthday to DH - since he doesn't like the cake they do for celebrations, I had asked them to not bother with that and just sing for him.

The only other real disappointment for us was the stingray thing at CC being canceled. I really think they should have warned us when we booked (after waiting 1 hour in line on board) that they was a chance it might not run if Wilma hit the island. Since it is a regular procedure to lift the nets for a hurricane, they should have known this was possible. Had we been warned it might not run, we wouldn't have been anywhere near as dissappointed when it was canceled. We were originally planning Capt. Marvins in Grand Cayman (which we also missed last year) and I booked the one at CC on board to try and make up somewhat for that. DS6 really wants to do this and keeps missing it! I really am not sure exactly where CC is and I didn't even know it was in Wilma's path! Had I known I would have been thinking all week we "might" get to do it and it wouldn't have been too surprising when we didn't.

Anyway, that is about it for my gripes - DCL could have handled the itinerary change better and I really think there should be a refund of some sort since the Eastern usually costs less - but on a whole, we had a great time. :) We rebooked onboard for a January 2007 Western - hopefully, it will be hurricane free!!!!

pdarrah

[MNmousecouple]

Congratulations Michael & Wanda :banana: :Pinkbounc :cool1: :bounce:
The Magic will always be with you now! :wave:

[pdarrah]

Oh - one more thing! Are we going to try and do a photo swap? If so, do we send CDROM's around or upload to a site like Ophoto or Shutterfly and "share" them? Do people usually edit out the "family" photos or just share everything?

I took just over 400 photos - I suspect some of you beat me by a long shot! I did get a few good underwater photos - we have a special housing for our digital camera that allows us to take it underwater. This was the first time we used it and we are pretty happy with the results. I think they are much better than the disposable underwater cameras we have used before. Unfortunately, we didnt' get much snorkel time. We only did an excursion at St. Thomas (since we thought we were doing one at CC :( ) and only spent an hour or so in the water.

pdarrah

[MNmousecouple]

Pdarrah, very sorry we didn't get to meet you. We really appreciate all you did with the web page and all. We now actually have a pic of the two of us together (thanks Walt & Di).
Everyone, I think Pdarrah and Scrapperjill did a great job for our cruise, Many many thanks :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana:

[hyandui]

Just checking in to see if anyone had made it home and back online yet. We got home today around 4 PM.

We had an awesome cruise and I enjoyed meeting some of you. Wish I could have met everyone. We only made it to the first meet as we had conflicts (Palos, movies, on the islands, etc) for the others. Thanks again to ScrapperJill for the awesome buttons and to PDarrah for the awesome website!!!

Now, a moment to complain. I caught up on Cass and Rob's ongoing vacation thread today and agree with some of her gripes. We didn't get our Castaway Gift in our stateroom either (THANKS to those Disers at the first meet that told me to go ask for it). Didn't get any of the vacation club info/invites we were supposed to, and totally feel like Cass took the words right out of my mouth - it WAS a magical cruise, but not as magical as our first.

Now this might just be me, feel free to disagree with me (because my husband DOES disagree with me on this point). I REALLY wanted a Western cruise. I KNOW there is always the chance to miss a port due to weather, etc. And I KNOW it's not Disney's fault about the weather. But since this was a TOTALLY different cruise (not just missing a port) I feel like we didn't get what we paid for.

Yes, Disney Vacation Club is refunding the few extra points more it costs for a Western vs. an Eastern. But we used A LOT of points for this cruise, borrowed all our points from next year, and I WOULDN'T have done it for another Eastern. Unless we want to pay cash to go again sooner, it will be a couple of years until we can go again.

My husband feels like "we paid for a cruise and we got a cruise" and that is that. But I'm left feeling a little "hollow" over the whole thing. We were offered nothing "extra" to soften the blow so to speak (unless I missed that, too), and not that they owed us anything, in the past I've felt Disney always goes the extra mile and I didn't feel it this time.

Maybe it's just post cruise let down, after all the weather worrying pre-cruise. Maybe I'm just tired.

ReneeQ, As a long time cruiser, I just like to get away from work no matter where I cruise, on the other hand and I am not special in any way, but in the last 5 years I've had 3 major sugeries, the 1st left me handicapped and the Lord let me make it thru the other 2, now I have a new song that I follow in life, its called (Live Like You Were Dying) now where ever I go, its with a song in my heart. :banana: :banana:

[ReneeQ]

Hyandui,
I hear what you're saying. Really, more than you know. Sounds like we have LOTS in common health-wise. We should have hooked up on the cruise to chat! I've had way more than my share of medical problems, many since birth. And a triple femur fracture two years ago has left me unable to walk as well as before, and I'm probably facing knee surgery. But I thank God I CAN walk, so I keep on going.

I DID have an awesome cruise. I was just disappointed I guess. Thanks for your outlook on things. It's how I "try" to live each day, but sometimes guess I forget. :rolleyes:

[hyandui]

Hyandui,
I hear what you're saying. Really, more than you know. Sounds like we have LOTS in common health-wise. We should have hooked up on the cruise to chat! I've had way more than my share of medical problems, many since birth. And a triple femur fracture two years ago has left me unable to walk as well as before, and I'm probably facing knee surgery. But I thank God I CAN walk, so I keep on going.

I DID have an awesome cruise. I was just disappointed I guess. Thanks for your outlook on things. It's how I "try" to live each day, but sometimes guess I forget. :rolleyes:

ReneeQ, I am not trying to bust you, there is so much good that happened that it over shadowed the bad. We had the smoothest cruise when you consider all that was going on around us. I am sorry I didn't get a chance to meet you and your husband, I walk around very slowly with a cane and leg braces, the good side to that is it drives the TSA crazy. :rotfl2: :rotfl2:
I am not trying to stick up fpr Disney but, if you remember they were on the Eastern Cruise the week before, and 1. the Islands have other ships coming in that they service also, so now Disney is trying to get openings for excursions opened up for us, 2. then is there a dock free and will it be in the walking side of the island or will we have to cab over, and 3. (wow) how about those drivers. :moped:
My wife and I saw the two boys who ran free, being a pest to all they encountered, but there were some super young people there, lets give a hand to all of them. :cheer2: :bounce: :cheer2: And last but not least, I remember all the people who lost everything it the wake of the storms, so I had to settle for the Eastern Cruise, boy am I a lucky person. :sunny:

[hyandui]

Pdarrah, very sorry we didn't get to meet you. We really appreciate all you did with the web page and all. We now actually have a pic of the two of us together (thanks Walt & Di).
Everyone, I think Pdarrah and Scrapperjill did a great job for our cruise, Many many thanks :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana:

I didn't get a chance to meet Pdarrah, I did get to meet Scrapperjill and I would like to thank them both for the job they did, :banana: :banana: Our (4 kids) are grown now :rotfl: with the youngest being 21 :goodvibes , but I know that Pdarrah and Scrapperjill went the extra mile planning out their meets and activities fot all the Disers :grouphug: , Scrapperjill, thank you for the buttons, I forgot that I used my e-mail name when we ordered the pins,when I came to the main Dis meeting ZI was looking for the 2Goofytotravel name, they look great and will be amoung my scrape books for the years to come, I have alot of pictures that can be shared with anyone wanting them, also I have about 2000 Disney Clip arts pic's I have collected over the years, if someone needs any just yell. How do you like your keys? Well I will close for now as I need to get packing for next October's cruise. :rotfl2: :rotfl2:

[scrapperjill]

Scrapperjill, thank you for the buttons, I forgot that I used my e-mail name when we ordered the pins,when I came to the main Dis meeting I was looking for the 2Goofytotravel name :rotfl2: :rotfl2:


OMG!!!! I can't tell you how bad I felt ALL week long...thinking I overlooked your request for buttons...and after we chatted so much before the cruise. I couldn't figure out how in the world I missed it..but when you said "2GoofyToTtravel" I knew I didn't make button with that screen name....but kept thinking your real name seemed so familar....and I thougth for sure I made buttons for your group...I even started to think maybe I really messed up and put your real names with someone elses screen name. Yea...I really bothered me all week long....matter of fact I've been thinking of ways to make it up to you....and I even went back through all the requests to see where 2Goofytotravel put in the order...and I never found it. :goodvibes Whew!!! I can't say how much post cruise stress was just lifted....I'm glad you got them....Were they one of the ones I deleived to the staterooms? I had a bunch that Jesse and I ran around and dropped off at doors.


ALSO....I was going to post about the Photo Swap...but wanted to give everyone a few days to get back into the swing of everything. What I think works best is burning CD's and mailing them off. Of course it'll depend on how many people we get to do the swap to see how many we'll be burning and mailing off. I don't know how everyone else is...but I like getting all my prints made at one place...and not ordering them from diffrent online places...there is just to much diffrence in photo labs.....Why don't we start by just getting to see who is intrested in doing the photo swap...then we'll go on to swapping addresses and more details.

I also think it really will be up to each person on what they want to send....Last year I sent EVERYTHING...but others only sent photos that didn't have ANY of their family members in the pics at all. I think it's fun to look at all sorts of photos...people, groups, opjects...and so on....so in my book everything goes. One thing that's fun is looking at other peoples photos of groups or events and spotting yourself or someone else you know. I can't wait to see what everyone else took photos of.

So if your intrested in participating in the PHOTO SWAP....send me a PM and/or post a reply of intrest on this thread. After we get an idea of who we have we'll go from their. I don't want to post any person information (ie address) on the open fourms so we'll use the PM's for that.

PHOTO SWAP SIGN UPS....

1.) Scrapperjill
2.) Pdarrah
3.) Disneyfan551
4.) 2GoofyToTravel (aka Hyandui)
5.) American Scrapper
6.) MNMouseCouple

[Mrs.Abuboo]

We're signed up to go on the Disney Wonder 4-night for Spring Break. We're really looking forward to it. We received these awesome looking documents for the DisneyWonder Cruise. Wish they would've done something like that for the Magic.

Has anyone gone on the 4-night cruise? Do they do Formal Night? Pirate Night? Thought I might be able to find some costumes on sale post Halloween.

[disneyfan551]

Sign me up for the photo swap!! I'll be glad to send all photos or generic (w/o family/friends...) either way!

Is anyone else out there still sick? I went to the Dr. and I have bronchitis & acute sinusitus. After 13 days of this junk, I want rid of it!

edited to add...did anyone rebook for the 10/14/06 CC double dip?

[Dyerneeds]

hyandui...
We can relate. I almost lost my DH a few years ago. We have the same philosophy. So glad things worked out for you. Keep the philosophy and you'll get the most out of life.

The wild boys...
We ran into them daily. Several times the parents of one of them was scolding him and then let him go on his merry way. They were in rockin bar d waiting for freddy fusion, had a bag of cheetos with him and had them thrown all over the floor. He thought it was a big joke. It was abvious all of the adults were very annoyed. Later the parents came in and scolded him and let him go on his merry way, once again.

I can't really say they impacted us. I just can't imagine letting my child have the run of the ship.

[hyandui]

Sign me up for the photo swap!! I'll be glad to send all photos or generic (w/o family/friends...) either way!

Is anyone else out there still sick? I went to the Dr. and I have bronchitis & acute sinusitus. After 13 days of this junk, I want rid of it!

edited to add...did anyone rebook for the 10/14/06 CC double dip?

Disneyfan551, I would like to be counted in for photo's, with or without names, :sunny:
Sherry & I rebooked for the October 14th trip, :banana: :hourglass :banana: also Brenda Hanvey, a friend of ours and my sister Kim are on board for next year. :banana: :banana:
Sherry(DW) came home with a mild soar throat but that was after an additional 3 days at the park, :p
I wonder if they could pull some banana boats behind the ship for us to ride on? :rotfl2: :rotfl2:

[hyandui]

hyandui...
We can relate. I almost lost my DH a few years ago. We have the same philosophy. So glad things worked out for you. Keep the philosophy and you'll get the most out of life.

The wild boys...
We ran into them daily. Several times the parents of one of them was scolding him and then let him go on his merry way. They were in rockin bar d waiting for freddy fusion, had a bag of cheetos with him and had them thrown all over the floor. He thought it was a big joke. It was abvious all of the adults were very annoyed. Later the parents came in and scolded him and let him go on his merry way, once again.

I can't really say they impacted us. I just can't imagine letting my child have the run of the ship.

Mike & Robin, Super to hear from you again, it was a great trip! Did you sign up for next year yet? RK

[hyandui]

[QUOTE=scrapperjill]OMG!!!! I can't tell you how bad I felt ALL week long...thinking I overlooked your request for buttons...and after we chatted so much before the cruise. I couldn't figure out how in the world I missed it..but when you said "2GoofyToTtravel" I knew I didn't make button with that screen name....but kept thinking your real name seemed so familar....and I thougth for sure I made buttons for your group...I even started to think maybe I really messed up and put your real names with someone elses screen name. Yea...I really bothered me all week long....matter of fact I've been thinking of ways to make it up to you....and I even went back through all the requests to see where 2Goofytotravel put in the order...and I never found it. :goodvibes Whew!!! I can't say how much post cruise stress was just lifted....I'm glad you got them....Were they one of the ones I deleived to the staterooms? I had a bunch that Jesse and I ran around and dropped off at doors.


ALSO....I was going to post about the Photo Swap...but wanted to give everyone a few days to get back into the swing of everything. What I think works best is burning CD's and mailing them off. Of course it'll depend on how many people we get to do the swap to see how many we'll be burning and mailing off. I don't know how everyone else is...but I like getting all my prints made at one place...and not ordering them from diffrent online places...there is just to much diffrence in photo labs.....Why don't we start by just getting to see who is intrested in doing the photo swap...then we'll go on to swapping addresses and more details.

I also think it really will be up to each person on what they want to send....Last year I sent EVERYTHING...but others only sent photos that didn't have ANY of their family members in the pics at all. I think it's fun to look at all sorts of photos...people, groups, opjects...and so on....so in my book everything goes. One thing that's fun is looking at other peoples photos of groups or events and spotting yourself or someone else you know. I can't wait to see what everyone else took photos of.

So if your intrested in participating in the PHOTO SWAP....send me a PM and/or post a reply of intrest on this thread. After we get an idea of who we have we'll go from their. I don't want to post any person information (ie address) on the open fourms so we'll use the PM's for that.

Scrapperjill, Please don't feel bad for me, I think its super when someone takes on a project for everyone who signs up, :teeth: you said you checked your e-mail and I probably didn't send back a request, BUT I still received 2 buttons and that's super. :cheer2:
If all the world would would do something for just one person, the world would over flow with love, there wouldn't be room for anything else :cool1:
. All the last week before the cruise I had so many things on my schedule to get done, including the sign for our door, but the last day I planned to come into the shop early, finish up a few loose ends and then spend the rest of the day (we left at 2 pm) just for Disney stuff, it didn't work, we had customers coming in all day. :earseek:
Thank you for all the hard work you do for the Diser's RK :banana: :banana:
PS Did you happen to catch the skit the crew put on Friday night, if not I have pictures.

PHOTO SWAP SIGN UPS....


1.) Scrapperjill
2.) 2Goofytotravel

[hyandui]

We're signed up to go on the Disney Wonder 4-night for Spring Break. We're really looking forward to it. We received these awesome looking documents for the DisneyWonder Cruise. Wish they would've done something like that for the Magic.

Has anyone gone on the 4-night cruise? Do they do Formal Night? Pirate Night? Thought I might be able to find some costumes on sale post Halloween.

Mrs Abuboo, In 99 we were scheduled for a cruise on THE BIG RED BOAT, because of a medical problem we didn't make thatone, then in September of 99 we were the on the 17th cruise of the Magic for a 3 day, toooooo short :teeth: next we tried the 4 day cruise and that was just a wee bit better :) then came the 7 day and I have been hooked on it ever since :Pinkbounc :Pinkbounc , Next year will be our 10 Disney Cruise and we treat it like a vacation club, a little money down and just make payments thru the year :goodvibes As for formal night, yes on the 4 day but I don't remember the 3 day dress code, I usually go dressed as a tourest, you know, flashie shirt, missed matched shorts and a big grin :teeth:
Brenda brough her friend and up too a week before he started saying he wasn't sure if he would still go, :confused3 and as the weather reports got worse he started worring, you see he had never flew in a plane of sailed in a ship, he even talked about the Titanic and a cruise ship that was hit by a big wave, I told him what a great trill it would be to go down in history, after all they're still talking about the Titanic. Oh well , enough stupid things said for today. hyandui

[MelissaE1]

Hyandui I just wanted to say that I love your attitude. :) Sorry we didn't get to meet on the cruise, I would have loved to chat with you.

ReneeQ, I think saying that something was missing doesn't mean you had a terrible time, so don't feel bad about it. Especially on this board of all things Disney (and I am definitely a Disney girl) you will see the negative discouraged. Although I don't see any way around changing the itinerary, we were treated extremely rudely when we called for information and living in a hurricane prone area I know for a fact that they knew they had to change it long before they stopped pretending they weren't going to. RCCL had a change of itinerary and the offer to rebook posted days earlier. IMHO it was badly handled and that's all there is to it. If I had never cruised either itinerary or had cruised the Western before or had the funding to cruise again in a year it probably wouldn't have bothered me as much. It doesn't mean that we didn't enjoy ourselves at all or that we will never cruise Disney again. I just think it's OK to be disappointed.


As for the wild boys, they didn't really bother me too much, but I did wonder where the heck their parents were. And because of all the threads on the board about how people dress I looked around a little. It didn't really bother me when people weren't dressed as nice as recommended, and I saw very little of that, but I did see one thing that I thought was interesting. On semi-formal night we were waiting to go into Animator's Palate and ahead of me several feet there were people with a little girl with wet, tangled hair, I think she may have been wearing a swim cover up, and get this... bare feet! They were taking her to dinner that way. Although it didn't affect my dinner or enjoyment in any way, I thought it a bit over the line.

Did anyone see the quintuplets? I kept running into them. Dressed to the nines all the time, and really cute. I could see the family had money so when I got home I googled them and it turns out Dad is Melvin Mora, centerfielder for the Baltimore Orioles. Thought that was kind of interesting.

[hyandui]

Hyandui I just wanted to say that I love your attitude. :) Sorry we didn't get to meet on the cruise, I would have loved to chat with you.

ReneeQ, I think saying that something was missing doesn't mean you had a terrible time, so don't feel bad about it. Especially on this board of all things Disney (and I am definitely a Disney girl) you will see the negative discouraged. Although I don't see any way around changing the itinerary, we were treated extremely rudely when we called for information and living in a hurricane prone area I know for a fact that they knew they had to change it long before they stopped pretending they weren't going to. RCCL had a change of itinerary and the offer to rebook posted days earlier. IMHO it was badly handled and that's all there is to it. If I had never cruised either itinerary or had cruised the Western before or had the funding to cruise again in a year it probably wouldn't have bothered me as much. It doesn't mean that we didn't enjoy ourselves at all or that we will never cruise Disney again. I just think it's OK to be disappointed.


As for the wild boys, they didn't really bother me too much, but I did wonder where the heck their parents were. And because of all the threads on the board about how people dress I looked around a little. It didn't really bother me when people weren't dressed as nice as recommended, and I saw very little of that, but I did see one thing that I thought was interesting. On semi-formal night we were waiting to go into Animator's Palate and ahead of me several feet there were people with a little girl with wet, tangled hair, I think she may have been wearing a swim cover up, and get this... bare feet! They were taking her to dinner that way. Although it didn't affect my dinner or enjoyment in any way, I thought it a bit over the line.

Did anyone see the quintuplets? I kept running into them. Dressed to the nines all the time, and really cute. I could see the family had money so when I got home I googled them and it turns out Dad is Melvin Mora, centerfielder for the Baltimore Orioles. Thought that was kind of interesting.

MelissaE1, Thank you for the reply, I knoq where you are coming from, We started on our 31st year of business on May 1st and I know if customers are not treated with respect you will loose them in a moment, with that in mind we cater to everyone who walks thru our doors. The only sticking point that I would have to say in Disney's behalf would be if they didn't have all the permits to dock at the islands that week, other cruise ships who had 1st priority for all ready being scheduled that weekcame 1st and we docked on the other side of the island and had to cab over :moped: and wow are they lously drivers.
As for Melvin Mora, my youngest son age (23) would have loved to meet him, ut then they wouldn't get a rest. All in all we still had a super time, now I have to walk off the extra pounds. hyandui

[scrapperjill]

[B]
Did anyone see the quintuplets? I kept running into them. Dressed to the nines all the time, and really cute. .

We ran into them a few times...and boy were they cute. :goodvibes Couldn't help but smile everytime you saw them.

Update on PHOTO SWAP...see thread #1087 on page # 73 for list of whos signed up so far.

[Dyerneeds]

Mike & Robin, Super to hear from you again, it was a great trip! Did you sign up for next year yet? RK

hyandui...
It was an excellent trip. No, we thought about it, but decided to wait until the following year. We'd like to take the 10 day next. We're trying to cruise every other year and then we take a 2 wk vacation at Disney World on the off year. Then an occaisional 1 wk trip over Christmas or in the spring. We would like to go to Disney in Sept. next year.

We followed up with a day at the Magic Kingdom after the cruise on Saturday and boy, was it packed. It reminded me of one of those summer crowds. It was largely due to Wilma. There were tons of Miami people there talking about the damage to their homes. (That Wilma impacted us no matter where we went.) I guess I shouldn't complain...At least I had a home to go to. A lot of the people I heard either had damage or no power or gas.

I'm sorry we never got the chance to meet you and many others. I saw a lot of buttons though. We did get the chance to meet several groups. In fact, we hung out with Walt & Di quite a bit and ran into them at the Magic Kingdom after the cruise. They're still down there having fun. Lucky people.

It is kind of hard getting adjusted to home and work life again. My mind is still on the ship. The only thing that keeps me going is that we're leaving in 6 weeks for Disney for Christmas. :cheer2:

[hyandui]

hyandui...
It was an excellent trip. No, we thought about it, but decided to wait until the following year. We'd like to take the 10 day next. We're trying to cruise every other year and then we take a 2 wk vacation at Disney World on the off year. Then an occaisional 1 wk trip over Christmas or in the spring. We would like to go to Disney in Sept. next year.

We followed up with a day at the Magic Kingdom after the cruise on Saturday and boy, was it packed. It reminded me of one of those summer crowds. It was largely due to Wilma. There were tons of Miami people there talking about the damage to their homes. (That Wilma impacted us no matter where we went.) I guess I shouldn't complain...At least I had a home to go to. A lot of the people I heard either had damage or no power or gas.

I'm sorry we never got the chance to meet you and many others. I saw a lot of buttons though. We did get the chance to meet several groups. In fact, we hung out with Walt & Di quite a bit and ran into them at the Magic Kingdom after the cruise. They're still down there having fun. Lucky people.

It is kind of hard getting adjusted to home and work life again. My mind is still on the ship. The only thing that keeps me going is that we're leaving in 6 weeks for Disney for Christmas. :cheer2:

Mike and Robin, yes it was a long time coming and now its gone, what a quote, :rotfl: We went to the park after the cruise and yes the park was very full both Saturday & Sunday, But Monday and Tuesday was wonderful, :wizard: Our to grown daughters flew done and met us at the park for the week, we arrived home at 11pm on Tuesday along with our oldest daughter, while the younger daughter landed in Phila about 1/2 hour ago. :wave: You will probably have a great time at Disney over Christmas, I bet its beautiful, we do go to Disney every February for a week to get away from the snow and cold, it stays in the single digits here during the winter. :cold: :cold: Well we wish you and your a super year, stay on the disboard, we are working on a time machine to speed up the time between vacations. :rotfl2: :rotfl2:

[American Scrapper]

Hello all! I would also like to do the photo swap! The more pictures, the merrier. I agree with doing CDs as I like to print my own.

I cannot believe it is almost a week since we got off the boat. IT took me until late Sunday afternoon to stop rocking. I didn't notice at first, but then after thinking about it realized that it wasn't the building rocking, just my body! I almost fell over at the airport after standing back up from helping my son do his homework! LOL!!

Speaking of my son, and I am sure I will be flamed for this (I feel as if I already have by several), but I cannot help but step in regarding the "unruly boys" and their "irresponsible parents". My son was part of a crowd that did do some "running" around on the cruise and yes, he is in the approximate age group in question. I apologize if he was in anyway a disturbance to any of you on this board. We made the decision to allow him in & out privledges on the cruise (the age allowed to sign themselves out is 8 & older) with strict rules that if he in anyway did not follow our rules he would loose that privledge. Yes, we had rules for him and did know where he was (or at least a general vacinity) at all times. I often checked in on him (without his knowledge) and did not witness any of the things discussed in the recent posted. I am not saying that it didn't happen, as they are boys and heck, if I was a kid am sure would be doing the same thing. We were a group of 10 adults & 9 kids, so he was aware that there were "eyes" watching him. Often one adult or another in the group would mention they saw him. After reading some of the posts I asked him about some of the things that were being said. He did not deny the cheeto incident & did say he dropped the bag on the floor and that the boys were all laughing (him included), but also said he did pick them up. We were not the parents that reprimanded him in that incident (he said that another boy's parents said something to that boy) but did say that an adult (guest) in the Rockin Bar D came up to him and told him that he was acting the best in the group. I have to say that that made me proud to know that even with a group of boys acting up, that someone would point out to him that he was behaving (or at least better than the others). I have taught him to be respectable towards adults and do know that he is a very caring young individual and that to the best of my knowledge, he followed our rules. He often left the group if they were getting too wild & checked himself into the club, went to see a movie or reported back to us at his scheduled check in time (approx. every two or three hours). So while he did run around with a crowd (he found the kids club things quite boring in most cases), to say that he had irresponsible parents hit a nerve with me because we are not irresponsible parents. I try to give my child some independence to learn and if he makes mistakes, we work together to fix them so they don't happen again. I don't think my decision was wrong, just different than the next person - that is what makes us all individuals. Some choose to keep their child with them at all times, others choose to allow their kids to go in the kids club (where they can run around all they want in an enclosed place away from guests & adults) & others choose to let their kids have some freedom. I choose the later for my son & my daughter decided she liked the club. I could go on about how teenagers were also pushing all the buttons on the elevators (and heck, even some adults) or how adults were taking the space at the railings or during character times and not allowing small children to get infront of them to see, but decided that, while it irritated me at the time, I wasn't going to let it ruin my vacation. So I learned to ignore it.

I do sypathize with the families that had situations in the kids clubs with their children being hurt, and would definitely complain about that.


Anyway, enough of me defending my decision. I just couldn't come onto the boards and continue to read about how irresponsible I was or my husband because, if you knew us, would know that is not the case at all. I felt like my integrity was questioned and I had to get it off my chest. Everyone is entitled to an opinion and I do respect that, I just wanted to come to back to these boards with great memories of a wonderful cruise and not feel like I was being bashed for a decision I made.

Kathy

[scrapperjill]

Just wanted to add...to American Scrappers post that I was one of the 10 adults in the group she mentioned...and YES we ALL had our eyes on watch...we did happen run into the group of boys MANY MANY times. I have to say that each time we ran into them or saw them they were behaving themselves as well as you would expect a group of young boys to act. I didn't happen to notice any of these "bad" behavors from these boys through out the week. Matter of fact we ran into Kathy's son on many occasions as he was out and about solo...just checking things out.

We too were one of those "bad" parents who let their kids have freedom and check out privleges. We did it last year, this year and will do it again on future cruises. Disney's policy is for kids 8 and older to have check out privledges. Matter of fact my daughter was given check out privledges last year and because of being able to get out of the club she met a great group of other girls her age...I'm not sure what it is with the "Lab" group but from the sounds of it ALOT of kids don't care for the set up or the activites they have planned.

I'll also comment on the misbehavor of many of the older children (early teens) as I saw groups of them running around with no reguard to others around them... Matter of fact we witnessed a group of four of them goofing around in the elevators. When the elevator door opened they looked out...stuck out thier hand and said "no room in here" ...yea the four of them...and to make it worse they were saying it to an older person in a wheelchair. :confused3

And while were on the topic of rude behavor...what about the group of adults that were sitting back on deck 10 (sitting 5+ feet away from the rail that overlooks deck 9) durring the pirate party that kept telling my 7 year old and my 7 year old neice that they needed to move out of their way...because they could't see over them as they were sitting at the their table. Give me a break!!! I felt like saying "Your going to have to stand up"

Not to mention all the adults that did stand RIGHT in front of the character interactions...like they couldn't see over the group of kids that should be in the front :confused3...Yep...I ran into more 6+foot people standing in the front row of everything than the 3-4 footers.

Anyway...... I want to say we shouldn't judge others...there will always be things in the world that we don't agree with...and you shouldn't let those things get in your way. I don't come here to grip and complain so please disreguard all the negative things I mentioned above...it was more to get a point across.... I had a great trip despite the small things that happened....My kids had a blast, we as a family were together and were able to share a great week with good friends....what more could I have asked for?

:grouphug:

[Dyerneeds]

Just wanted to add...to American Scrappers post that I was one of the 10 adults in the group she mentioned...and YES we ALL had our eyes on watch...we did happen run into the group of boys MANY MANY times. I have to say that each time we ran into them or saw them they were behaving themselves as well as you would expect a group of young boys to act. I didn't happen to notice any of these "bad" behavors from these boys through out the week. Matter of fact we ran into Kathy's son on many occasions as he was out and about solo...just checking things out.

We too were one of those "bad" parents who let their kids have freedom and check out privleges. We did it last year, this year and will do it again on future cruises. Disney's policy is for kids 8 and older to have check out privledges. Matter of fact my daughter was given check out privledges last year and because of being able to get out of the club she met a great group of other girls her age...I'm not sure what it is with the "Lab" group but from the sounds of it ALOT of kids don't care for the set up or the activites they have planned.

I'll also comment on the misbehavor of many of the older children (early teens) as I saw groups of them running around with no reguard to others around them... Matter of fact we witnessed a group of four of them goofing around in the elevators. When the elevator door opened they looked out...stuck out thier hand and said "no room in here" ...yea the four of them...and to make it worse they were saying it to an older person in a wheelchair. :confused3

And while were on the topic of rude behavor...what about the group of adults that were sitting back on deck 10 (sitting 5+ feet away from the rail that overlooks deck 9) durring the pirate party that kept telling my 7 year old and my 7 year old neice that they needed to move out of their way...because they could't see over them as they were sitting at the their table. Give me a break!!! I felt like saying "Your going to have to stand up"

Not to mention all the adults that did stand RIGHT in front of the character interactions...like they couldn't see over the group of kids that should be in the front :confused3...Yep...I ran into more 6+foot people standing in the front row of everything than the 3-4 footers.

Anyway...... I want to say we shouldn't judge others...there will always be things in the world that we don't agree with...and you shouldn't let those things get in your way. I don't come here to grip and complain so please disreguard all the negative things I mentioned above...it was more to get a point across.... I had a great trip despite the small things that happened....My kids had a blast, we as a family were together and were able to share a great week with good friends....what more could I have asked for?

:grouphug:

I did notice a lot of kids on their own on the ship and I never gave it a second thought. I think the thing that stuck out with the unruly boys was the language and disrespect. The way the one boy talked to his parents was really disrespectful. If he talks to his parents that way, you can only imagine how he disrespects others. It made my head turn a couple of times.
As far as the teens, my husband was on an elevator along one of the scrapperjil group and some teens. He didn't mention the elderly person though. He laughed because they had to hit every floor. (It may have been you he was on with. It was kinda comical.)

But, like I said, It really didn't impact us. I was more surprised at the language and the fact that the parents observed the behavior and let it continue.

I was talking to another couple on St Thomas that was on the Star Princess. When they found out we were on the Magic, They scoffed and said there's just too many kids on that cruise. I just said, "kids don't bother us. We get a kick out of watching them".

As you said, we still had a wonderful experience and a great time.

It's amazing how you see adults acting that way. It takes all kinds, I guess. So happy to hear you didn't let it impact you and still had a great time.

[disneyfan551]

Re: Melvin Mora...I had noticed him one day I had some alone time :banana: & had been soaking in the rays :sunny: . I was on deck 10, and leaning over the rails watching people, and there below me, was a guy (with adorable kids!) that had a HUGE ring on his wedding ring finger! I tried to get a picture of it (will include in photoswap! :teeth: ), to see if I could zoom in to see what type of ring it was. I couldn't tell however, but finally I could take it no longer...a few days later at the Mickey pool, my friend & I just asked him about his ring! He was very nice, and said he used to play for New York (not sure which one, since my ears have been clogged up due to this forever sickness! :listen: ), and now plays for Baltimore. He signed a DCL postcard for me as well, since I didn't have my dd's autograph book with me! Very nice guy, and boy those kids were SOOOO well behaved EVERY time I saw them!! :earseek: (Wish I could say the same about my 4yo wild child!! :rolleyes1 )

[Skallywag]

We just arrived home in England this morning at 7.a.m. and it seems ages ago since we were enjoying ourselves on the cruise.

Personally, and we were four adults have no complaints at all about any of the young people on board. In fact we have no complaints at all about anything on the cruise apart from the fact that it is now over.

Unfortunately tried to meet up with other members on the Promenade deck but must have got things wrong.

[ThreeSmiths]

Bravo to AmericanScrapper ::yes:: It took a lot of guts to post that.

I can say that I never encountered the "unruly" boys on the ship. I did witness two boys that I did not recognize cussing eachother out on the stairway one day. I didn't say anything to them, however if I had my daughter with me and she had witnessed it I would have politely reminded them that they were in a public place and that kind of language is not appropriate to use especially around younger children. I would do this more as an example to my daughter (who is a low-key 8 year old now, but I'm sure she will one day be interested in testing boundaries and "experimenting" with inappropriate behavior as witnessed by some of us as this is the nature of chilren) than as any kind of reprimand to the boys. I'm sure they would laugh it off and cuss me out after I walked away.

Let's face it, we are on a Disney Cruise and there are children of all ages on board. And kids will test boundaries, act unruly, and act immature, because that's what they are!!! It's not realistic to expect adult behavior from teens, tweens or younger children. I agree, there is some behavior that is absolutely not acceptable. And if I had witnessed that type of behavior I would have high-tailed it to guest services and reported it immediately. However what I have read on the board seems to be more like "nuisance" behavior. As parents we do the best we can to teach our children how to behave in public. And the Disney Magic is a "safe" place to give your child the freedom to stretch their wings and explore on their own. Where else would a parent feel comfortable doing that? DCL believes that the age when children should be able to have this freedom on their ship is 8. And each parent must then make the decision if their child is ready for this freedom (and the responsibility that comes with it.) We did not feel our 8 year old was ready. Maybe next time. But just because a child acts out when they are not around the parents does not make the parent irresponsible. None of us knows if the parents were informed of the behavior, or how they handled it if they were informed. So to say the parents did nothing? There is simply no way to know that. And who are we to judge how a parent reprimands their child in public. We all have very strong feelings about how we raise our children. It is a very touchy subject...right up there with religion and politics :teeth: .

I don't mean to be preachy....okay, maybe I do, but two rules to cruise by (on DCL anyways):

1. Expect to see kids of all ages acting like kids of all ages on board. :jumping1: :crazy:

2. If you book a cruise between June and November be 100% prepared to be diverted due to tropical weather. :umbrella:

3. Don't flame Stacy in response to this post :love2:

[T&KHayes]

WOOOO HOOOO Go Mom's! :cheer2: lol

I just wanted to throw my 2 cents in as well. We had a WONDERFUL time on the cruise! It was our first, and apparently I guess that does make a little difference. But, we went into this whole trip with our minds wide open and with as little expectations as possible. This always seems to make any situation easier & more enjoyable for us. In my short 33yrs. of life I have learned that when you expect people (especially those you don't even know) to act/behave a certain way you are almost always going to end up disappointed in one way or another. So I do my best not to have those expectations.

I was really looking forward to the western itinerary, but I also knew that it might not be possible/safe due to the weather. And although I didn't like the fact that we had to pay fro transportation to do anything at the other ports we still had a blast! I guess it's all about being flexible & enjoying the journey no matter where it takes you...kind of like life! :earboy2: (my opinion's only)

Kathy-You & Jim are terrific parents! I can't even tell you how much we enjoyed your kids. You know we absolutely adored your son! He played so well with Bubba(6) and most boys his age won't even take the time to pay any attention to a child that much younger than them. Everytime we saw him he was having fun and behaving. And no thats not just me trying to bail him out of trouble (again) :rotfl2: !

All I can say is that DCL Rocks!! :love: And that we can't wait to go on our next cruise. And I hope that you all will be able to go too as I can't even imagine the experience without you guys & your kids! Ohhh and Kathy, Stacy, anytime you guys want to come to visit I know scrapperjill has room & so do we (3 houses down)! Love you all & can't wait to make some new memories! :wave2:

[disneyfan551]

It seems as if this wonderful thread is starting to go downhill. :confused3 Everyone does has their own opinion, and I don't think anyone was bashing anyone intentionally. Here's just throwing some pixie dust out there :wizard: and hoping we can get back to the good memories! :sunny:

[jillian1027]

We encountered the unruly children several times during the cruise and often asked ourselves, 'Where are the parents?" The most difficult time for us was when we tried to watch the jumbotron movies on deck 9 about 10 pm and were unable to hear the movies because the children (the same kids in and out of the elevators) were screaming and jumping into the goofy pool. Granted, the pool was open until 12 midnight and the movies were being shown in the same area so I do fault Disney for keeping the pool open during the movies or if the pool needed to be open, then it should have been supervised. Either way, the pool rules state 'no jumping' and all of the boys were jumping in thus splashing the people who were trying to watch the movie. It was awful. I was so mad and did say something to security who did come over one time to ask the boys not to jump, but that lasted for one minute and they continued jumping and screaming again. The deck was dark which made the pool hard to see. I kept saying to my husband that someone is going to get hurt. Sure enough, the pushing and shoving at the pool caused a few to slip. One parent did show up and simply looked around. She did nothing to stop the screaming when clearly there were some of us trying to watch the movie. I gave up and walked away.

Our son turned 10 on the ship and although he was able to have sign-out privileges per the ship rules, we felt that we could maintain some kind of control and allow him to have his freedom by simply being available to him whenever he wanted to leave whatever activity he was involved in. We took the 2-way radios with us and we had a beeper so whenever he was ready to move onto another activity we just picked him up and took him with us. We felt that this was the best position for our family and for our child and it worked very well. He was able to move about the ship freely to get a drink or a snack but for the most part, we compromised. You give us time without interruption at Palo's and we will be there on time to play in the arcade. It worked out well.

I feel that 'while the cats away the mice will play' and I don't buy the 'boys will be boys' motto either. As a mother of a teenager and a 10-year old, I feel that it is my responsibility to know where my child is, that he is not bothering other paying passengers and that he is safe. My needs are secondary to my child's. The best lesson I could show my son was that I too could be considerate to other passengers and I expected him to follow the same.

On any cruise we have ever taken, we have always encountered at least one group of children whose parents seem to be elsewhere while the children 'act up'. Having seen it before, I wanted to make sure my child was not part of that scene and the only way to do that is to keep up with what my child was doing and where he was. It is just the right thing to do afterall cruises are not cheap and we are all there to have a good time.

It is a personal choice whether to allow sign out privileges or not. I think it is something children should earn and not just be handed.

Otherwise, the cruise was fun. We didn't care that the itinerary was changed because we actually had been on the western on another cruise line but we wanted to be on Disney for my son's birthday. So the change actually worked in our favor. We had deck 6 cat 6...navigator's verandah, which was a real treat! How wonderful it was to sit out on the verandah!

Something unrelated, but while I am here, I thought I might add (I put it on my survey sheet)...I noticed that the cabin crew used the washroom sink to dump dirty water used to clean the bathrooms into. With so much emphasis on preventing the spread of germs, it was really strange to be in the laundrette area, and to have a public wash sink used to dump germ infested water. I saw people using the wash sink to rinse out clothing before I saw the cabin crew using the wash basin as a sewer. I do hope that practice changes.

[UKANGEL]

Hello all:)

Just back in the land of the living after suffering bad jet lag since we got home on Tuesday. we had a few days at WDW after the cruise and had a great time staying at the Dolphin:)

We loved our cruise! As a couple we didnt see the 'unruly boys' and nothing upset our perfect holiday:) Although I was slightly disappointed to be on the Eastern cruise again, as it was the one we took 3 years ago for our honeymoon it ahd special memories anyway :cloud9: so I soon got over that! :love:

We made some great friends on our dinner table, from NY, and are looking forward to meeting up with them again when we go to Ny next year :cheer2:

We thought we were so lucky to be safe and sound, whever we were, and so lucky to be on that lovely ship, with all that sunshine and being spoilt by the Disney staff. We had great service from all our servers and room staff, and have no complaints at all except I want to be back there now! :sunny:


here's to the next one! :Pinkbounc

[MelissaE1]

2. If you book a cruise between June and November be 100% prepared to be diverted due to tropical weather. :umbrella:

Hmmm... I can only guess you might be referring at least partially to me, in which case I would like to clarify something. Although I was bummed to be doing the Eastern again instead of the Western, I don't think DCL had any control over that and I completely agree with them taking the ship and its passengers where they believed it was safe to go. I was fully aware of a possible itinerary change for that time of the year.

What I took issue with was the lack of customer service. When I called to find out infomation, they were incredibly rude to me. Also I am a big honesty person and I think they should have just said "yes, we're changing the itinerary to keep you safe, we don't know exactly what it will be yet." Basically they didn't want to take the heat or deal with people asking for refunds or rebookings so they just pretended. Sorry if that offends others out there, but I know how to watch a hurricane because we have to all the time here. There was NO WAY they were going to keep the original itinerary and they knew it. I checked some other lines' websites and they handled it totally differently. Lastly I know they usually do at least a little something to cushion the disappointment, and they didn't. Expecting that is probably a function of being over-informed on these boards, and maybe it would be better if I wasn't. But I expect more from Disney in general and that's why we spend more to vacation with them.

Of course we did not let this ruin our vacation. As I said we still had a good time, made some great memories, and we rebooked onboard to be transferred to a later date in a few years when we once again have enough to go on the Western.

Again I am sorry if other people think it's not OK to be dissapointed in the way Disney handles things, or to be bummed that your $6000 vacation that you saved for three years for was not what you wanted. I am glad you didn't experience that. Or maybe you just have a better attitude than me. :teeth:

[MelissaE1]

Speaking of my son, and I am sure I will be flamed for this (I feel as if I already have by several), but I cannot help but step in regarding the "unruly boys" and their "irresponsible parents". My son was part of a crowd that did do some "running" around on the cruise and yes, he is in the approximate age group in question.
Kathy

I don't think the kids I personally ran into were yours... these kids were young boys, there were like three of them. They were often tearing through shutters or jumping underneath the racks or running at top speed outside the restaurants or through the halls. Don't think it was your group, American Scrapper. They didn't really bother me, either, I just wondered why they never had any supervision. They really weren't that old.

[afoss]

I can't say if I ran into the group of boys or not....I was too busy wrangling my own 2 and 4 year old DD. You probably saw my youngest....she wore her Belle dress EVERY NIGHT!

Anyway- thanks to everyone for getting this site started, making buttons and planning meets. Great job. I just wish I could have made more of them but 3pm is right in the middle of my DD's naptime.

I'm sorry I didn't get the chance to meet everyone. Including PDarrah. I wanted to thank you in person.

Well, off to start saving for another 2-3 years so we can do Disney again :wave:

[scrapperjill]

I think this thread needs some serious help :guilty: Were going in the WRONG direction. Why don't we discusse the positive things...What we "Liked" about THIS cruise. :rolleyes:

1.) The sail-a-way party was a blast....especially when the rain came...my kids and hubby had a super time playing on the stage and deck in the rain.

2.) Loved snorkeling at St Martine. I'd never been anywhere where you could hear the coral. I only wish we would have known how great the water/snorkeling could have been at St Thomas...We didn't get the chance to even try there.

3.) Character interaction was super...at least IMO.

4.) We had a blast playing one of the scavanger games in Studio Sea one evening.

5.) Time spent with friends and family....PRICELESS

Well....there's a start anyone else care to share some GOOD trip experiences?

[ThreeSmiths]

MelissaE1: I was not referring to you at all, I apologize if it seemed that way...that's one problem with the boards, sometimes words don't read the way that you want to speak them.

I too agree that DCL should and could have informed us well ahead of time what their plans were as far as changing the itinerary. That is bad customer service in my opinion. However I personally don't believe that DCL "owes" me anything. Yes, I too was disapointed that we didn't get to do the western....we were diverted last year to a modified eastern so we rebooked to try again for the western. But I don't blame DCL for that, and I read it as some people are so upset that they feel like DCL owes them something....this is a general statement and not directed at anyone specifically. Maybe I will feel differently if it happens to us a 3rd time! :blush:

Stacy

[pdarrah]

We had a great time. It wasn't as great as last year, but I think that was just the itinerary change - these islands just don't have much we are interested in. Some of our list of good stuff:

The Doubloon Sail and Snorkel at St. Thomas - the actual reef was very sad ( no where near as nice as Cozumel and a lot of dead coral) but the sea turtles were very cool. Sailing back under sail was awesome and the crew on board were a blast.

Relaxing on the verandah - this was our first cruise with a verandah and it was so nice to sit out there and just relax.

Oceanear's Club - this one is for DS6 - he had a blast there again!

Meeting DIS friends - We didn't meet everyone and that is a shame, but we enjoyed those that we did and had a great time at dinner every night with Dyerneeds and Walt&Di.

Brunch at Palo - Once again, this was an amazing meal.

Watching DS6 try escargot - He liked the taste, but not the texture! His favorite new thing that he tried was the cold mango soup on embarkation day.

Spending the afternoon on board after visiting St. Maarten - This island was a dud for us. Since we didn't have time to research doing something on our own and didn't want to do back-to-back snorkeling trips (and none of the other DCL trips looked good to us) we just went into town and walked around. We didn't hate it, but there wasn't much there to interest us either. None of us are shoppers, and we couldn't find much else of interest. However, we did have a great afternoon back on board the Magic (I think we were back to the ship around 11:00am!) We were able to relax near the Mickey Pool while DS played, play shuffleboard on Deck 4, ping-pong on 9 and all the other stuff that is usually too crowded.

There are many more, but that is a good start.

Pdarrah

[pdarrah]

MelissaE1: I was not referring to you at all, I apologize if it seemed that way...that's one problem with the boards, sometimes words don't read the way that you want to speak them.

I too agree that DCL should and could have informed us well ahead of time what their plans were as far as changing the itinerary. That is bad customer service in my opinion. However I personally don't believe that DCL "owes" me anything. Yes, I too was disapointed that we didn't get to do the western....we were diverted last year to a modified eastern so we rebooked to try again for the western. But I don't blame DCL for that, and I read it as some people are so upset that they feel like DCL owes them something....this is a general statement and not directed at anyone specifically. Maybe I will feel differently if it happens to us a 3rd time! :blush:

Stacy

Hi Stacy,

We had a great time and I don't really feel DCL "owes" us - but I am annoyed that I paid about 5% more to do a Western the week of Oct 22 than I would have paid to do an Eastern the week of Oct 29. We booked on board last year and considered the Eastern - it was a little cheaper and many of our DIS friends from last year were booking that week. We chose to spend a little more in order to try and get a Western. Certainly we knew that the itinerary could change (obviously, it did last year since we have now missed Grand Cayman twice!). It just annoys me now that I paid more and still got the other cruise. Not really DCL's fault, but it would be good customer service on their part to refund the difference...

pdarrah

[afoss]

Here's some of ours:
Palo brunch and dinner. Liked the food at brunch better, specially the stollen.
The split bathrooms!
All hands on deck platter
Golden Mickeys was our favorite
Princess gathering one morning
naps in the afternoon
Visiting friends in St Thomas

If we were go again, what changes we would make:
Get the veranda
Not as many dress clothes for DDs, just Princess dresses for dinner
Early seating (we got lucky and was able to switch from late this time. There is no way the DDS would have made it since the early was hard enough on them)
That's it!
Amy

[UKANGEL]

our magical moments:)


Brunch at Palo
Dinner at palo on DH's birthday
Making friends with our dinner companions
Castaway Cay
Having wonderful highlights put in my hair at the Vista salon (thanks Giles)

sitting on my balcony with a coffee and watching the sun go up :sunny:

[MelissaE1]

MelissaE1: I was not referring to you at all, I apologize if it seemed that way...that's one problem with the boards, sometimes words don't read the way that you want to speak them.
So true. No offense taken or hopefully given. :goodvibes One interesting note, our very experienced server said the repeat customers are much harder to please than first timers. I guess Disney has pushed us to a new level of expectation, lol.

Why don't we discusse the positive things...What we "Liked" about THIS cruise.

Here are some of my favorite moments:

-- My dd7 did not have her autograph book with her at the character breakfast, so dh went to get it but she missed an autograph she really wanted. Unasked, our assistant server, Viviane, took her by the hand and led her all the way through the restaurant to Goofy and waited with her to get his autograph.

-- In another unprepared moment (lol) we were two floors down from our cabin when we passed Stitch on deck 4 with his handler, leaving. DD7 wanted a picture with him (the one time I didn't have my camera with me of course) but we told her we would get it later because he was leaving right now. But Stitch heard and laid down on the floor right there while dh went to grab my camera... the handler said he had to go to bed but Stitch just pointed at him and did the "cuckoo" sign, which my dd is still laughing about. Luckily we were literally two decks down from our cabin and dh was back pronto. The unrehearsed picture of stitch hugging dd is my favorite character picture of the cruise.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a293/MelissaE1/AlexandraWithStitchForPosting.jpg

Also our cabin was in a marvelous location (6560) and ds, who wasn't too interested in the Lab last time (although he had a great time doing other things) had an amazing time in the kids' areas thanks to Ocean Quest. For him at least it was an wonderful drydock addition.

And then there's the stollen at Palo brunch... mmmmm...sigh... that could be a whole separate post.

[scrapperjill]

Hi Stacy,

We had a great time and I don't really feel DCL "owes" us - but I am annoyed that I paid about 5% more to do a Western the week of Oct 22 than I would have paid to do an Eastern the week of Oct 29. We booked on board last year and considered the Eastern - it was a little cheaper and many of our DIS friends from last year were booking that week. We chose to spend a little more in order to try and get a Western. Certainly we knew that the itinerary could change (obviously, it did last year since we have now missed Grand Cayman twice!). It just annoys me now that I paid more and still got the other cruise. Not really DCL's fault, but it would be good customer service on their part to refund the difference...

pdarrah


Just wanted to know if you have checked for any possible refund? I looked at our account yesterday and noticed a small refund... It's not alot...and it dosn't say what it's for...but I don't remember returning anything so the only thing I could think of would be the port fee refund from the diffrence in the additional ports on the Western.

Other magical moments on our cruise....

Dinner at Palo...I won't go into it but our WHOLE group had some side spitting laughing going on.

Getting the secret note on our door...along with my parents getting a suprise door sign on their Anniversary.

The crazy wind up on deck 10 on the first or second night....It was absolutly CRAZY....you could hardly stand up....We walked around the whole deck front to back and back again...we even spent quite a bit of time at the VERY front of the ship....trying to hold our ground.

Finally getting to take a dip in the adult pool. I'm not sure what time it was...but we had the WHOLE area to ourselves.

Castaway Cay....Dreamy and Perfect. I loved sitting in the hammock this year.

Having a ding-dong with "wet" choloate :earboy2: for dessert one night....(hehehe inside joke) YUMMY

Oh...another FUN event was watching movies on the big screan outside. We were only able to fit in one (part of one) movie one night (Pirate night)...I do wish we would have been able to view others...but honestly there wasn't any others listed at night the I cared to see.

Ordering Mickey bars from roomservice.

On a side note...were still taking names for the Photo Swap. It's turns into a great way to get a TON more photos...all you have to do is share yours. pirate:

[T&KHayes]

My Favorite things... :goodvibes ....

*Getting away from the real world for 11 Days!!!
*Spending priceless time with my family & irreplaceable friends!!!
*Seeing new sights!!!
*Watching my kids play, laugh & have fun
*Snorkeling @ St. Marten & CC
*The "wet" Ding dongs!!! :rotfl:
*Chocolate with chocolate...it's chocalatey...she likes chocolate!!! :teeth:
*Palo pics with my family & the special shoe!!!! :rotfl2:
*Getting my family portrait!!
*Laying in the sun relaxing
*The yummy food
*Laughing & playing with my Bestfriend scrapperjill!! :love:
*Hearing the ships horn...When you wish upon a star!!!
*Cage dancing @ the Cove pool!!! :rotfl2:
*limo..broken glasses??? :rolleyes1

My Most Unfavorite things... :sad1:
*My Sunburn
*Hearing the ships horn for the last time
*Saying good bye to new friends

And I can't wait to do it all again!!!!!!

[American Scrapper]

As far as the teens, my husband was on an elevator along one of the scrapperjil group and some teens. He didn't mention the elderly person though. He laughed because they had to hit every floor. (It may have been you he was on with. It was kinda comical.

Robin, yes it was Scapperjill & I in the elevator with you DH when this happened. It was too funny because he was just sitting in the back smirking. I jokingly told the kids that they needed to ride the elevator all the way up since they hit all the buttons, of course they looked at me like I had a second head or something!

I just wanted to clarify my original post regarding unruly boys, as it did type it in an emotional (and probably defensive) state. I do agree with everyone here, we are all entitled to our opinions and I do completely respect that. I was not even going to reply originally about it as all the comments were to me just observations or situations that could have described any group of boys, not just the group my son hung out with. But when the Cheeto incident was mentioned, it gave me ground to ask my son if he was involved. Also, hearing that there were boys at the Goofy Pool at 10:00 at night swimming while others were trying to enjoy a movie, I realized that the boys that people are refering to can be and are more than one group (as my son was never in the pool at that time, because he was checked into the club or with us and I know that for a fact). I have always told my son that if he does something it will get back to us and this just proved it (at least to him). If he was being unruly at any other time or if we decide to provide in/out privledges in the future, he will remember that there are several people watching what he is doing (whether it is someone he knows or not). My son did earn his in/out privledges before we sailed, is a straight A student and has had no incidents of unacceptable behavior before sailing. He knew that if he did not follow our rules, he would loose the privledge and would not get it back. He followed our rules and checked in often.

Kathy

[American Scrapper]

Anyway, enough about the boys. The things I enjoyed about the cruise:

1) Being with old friends again & meeting new ones :banana:
2) Watching my Beloved White Sox win the World Series :cheer2: :cheer2: - and while watching one night, having someone tell me they say my pic on the DISboards (happened to be one of our DISgroup, Eric123, I think)
3) Sharing ALOT of laughs - the wet chocolate, the shoe, the "Cage Dancing" and many other moments!
4) The catamaran ride in St Marteen (we booked this at the last minute and had the time of our lifes, even though I did get sick going to the beach).
5) My son & daughter telling us that this was "Their Best Vacation Ever" & thanking us for taking them! :goodvibes - Probably my BEST moment!
6) Meeting everyone at the DISmeet - we had a great turn out and met some wonderful people whom we saw alot on the ship
7) Getting "stuck" in the water at Trunk Bay, St. John. - the undertow & waves just kept knocking me down & pulling me back into the ocean! :rotfl2:
8) Snorkeling in one of the coves in St John and swimming right over a Stingray in about 3 1/2 feet of water. I got a little bit freaked out and got out of the water. Hmm, I wonder how I was going to make it in Stingray City? LOL :confused3

and many, many more I cannot think of right now.

Kathy

[MNmousecouple]

me myself, not speaking for Deborah....Palo Chocolate Soufle (sp) and I'm not a sweets person! :sunny:
Loved all the crew members we came in conact with...always friendly and happy to greet you.
St Thomas was wonderful, very beautiful Island.
Loved the outdoor movies, didn't watch the whole thing but was fun outside
(reminded me of the drivein theaters)
Have one question, did anyone walk into St Martine from the dock besides ourselves, I don't think Deb will forgive me for that experience.
As to the question about the docking at St Thomas, I spoke with a crew member and she said we were the smaller of the ships in port so were given that dock.
Given the circumstances still a near perfect cruise

[scrapperjill]

My Favorite things... :goodvibes ....
*Laughing & playing with my Bestfriend scrapperjill!! :love:


AHHHH!!! :blush:

I almost forgot about the broken glass bit... :rolleyes: I better check my Visa to make sure they didn't tack that onto our bill. :goodvibes

And the "cage" dancing....Priceless :banana: :rotfl2:


Did anyone else hear they couldn't find the Mickey statue at Castaway Cay after Wilma went through? We were told they found the wheel...but had searched and searched but came up empty.... After spending forever looking for Mickey while snorkeling we finally asked for directions...that's when we were told he was LOST :confused3 Anyway...one of the BETTER moments of our cruise...or at least our day at CC was when DH and I were out snorkeling in the snorkel lagoon. Jesse (DH) saw something on the sea floor below that looked out of place...so he dove down to see what it was. You'll never guess....It was Mickeys ARM. At first he put it back where he found it...but then we decided maybe they'd like to know it was found...so DH yelled over to the nearest lifeguard and told her he just found Mickeys arm...It took her a little bit to understand what he was saying....but once she got it she asked him to bring it over to her. So my DH found and turned in Mickeys arm at CC :Pinkbounc :Pinkbounc I wonder if they'll ever find the rest of him. Once I get our pics in order I'll post the photos I took when he found it.

MNMouseCouple...do you mean you WALKED all the way into St. Martin? How long did that take? We took the water taxi over....and enjoyed strolling around and seeing the area.

[Mrs.Abuboo]

We walked back. My husband didn't want to take the $5 water taxi he wanted to take a Taxi. So we took a taxi over there $6 and then he was mad that I didn't tip him. Well, I felt very uncomfortable walking around over there. I'm not much of one to bargain a deal or enjoyed having 20 different ladies ask to braid my hair. He wanted to take a taxi, but we weren't able to find the color of the one we took and I had heard how they will end up charging an arm and a leg. So I took off walking, in my swimsuit and flipflops. I had blisters by the time we reached the boat. It really wasn't that bad of a walk. Especially when you think about how much a person can track at WDW. I actually enjoyed the walk better than the taxi. :)

[hyandui]

Just wanted to know if you have checked for any possible refund? I looked at our account yesterday and noticed a small refund... It's not alot...and it dosn't say what it's for...but I don't remember returning anything so the only thing I could think of would be the port fee refund from the diffrence in the additional ports on the Western.

Other magical moments on our cruise....

Dinner at Palo...I won't go into it but our WHOLE group had some side spitting laughing going on.

Getting the secret note on our door...along with my parents getting a suprise door sign on their Anniversary.

The crazy wind up on deck 10 on the first or second night....It was absolutly CRAZY....you could hardly stand up....We walked around the whole deck front to back and back again...we even spent quite a bit of time at the VERY front of the ship....trying to hold our ground.

Finally getting to take a dip in the adult pool. I'm not sure what time it was...but we had the WHOLE area to ourselves.

Castaway Cay....Dreamy and Perfect. I loved sitting in the hammock this year.

Having a ding-dong with "wet" choloate :earboy2: for dessert one night....(hehehe inside joke) YUMMY

Oh...another FUN event was watching movies on the big screan outside. We were only able to fit in one (part of one) movie one night (Pirate night)...I do wish we would have been able to view others...but honestly there wasn't any others listed at night the I cared to see.

Ordering Mickey bars from roomservice.

On a side note...were still taking names for the Photo Swap. It's turns into a great way to get a TON more photos...all you have to do is share yours. pirate:

Scrapperjill and all of the Disers, Sherry & I also had a great trip, alot of pleasant memories with the people we met and the activites we participated in. I just looked over our final bill and there were not any refunds on it, makes no difference, I had a great time. Not being able to get around very well gave me alot of time to take pictures.

MelissaE1, that is a super picture, it is special that they waited for you to get your camera. you should get it enlarged and made into a puzzel, it would bring memories for years to come. :rotfl:

We had a special time at Palo's, Brenda, a friend of ours came on the cruise, and she brough her significant other came on the cruise, he is a back woods kind of person :earboy2: and when we went to Palo's, he was disappointed with the food and the portions, his idea of dining out is when you go inside of McDonalds instead of the drive thru. :rolleyes1 After we finished our meal he headed for Pluto's dog house to get a real meal. Well the next night we arrived at Parrot Cay before he did, we told our waiter Muhammed that he complained so much about Palo's and the little meal he had, Muhammed fixed up a special plate for him with a miniature hamburg and a little piece of garnish, you should have seen his face when the plate was set before him, we thought he was going to cry. :rotfl2: :rotfl2:
Oh well, I went out and bought some CD mailers, if anyone wants a copy of the pictures I have just post an address or send a PM, and I will send a copy, they will be raw shots (not retouched) but if you find any you really like I can touch them up a bit.
Happiness to all and remember its only about 11 months to the next cruise. :banana: :banana:

[T&KHayes]

One of my favorite moments & one I can't wait to see again!!! :rolleyes:
Kids Playing @ Dawn Beach...St. Marten

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c89/hayes818/IMG_0477.jpg

[scrapperjill]

hyandui..... :rotfl2: Got a kick out of hearing about the "special" plate for your friend.

Also wanted to say I didn't find a refund or money back on our final bill...But found it on our Visa statement. I went on-line to check out balance and what was taken out and when....that's when I noticed a small refund applied to our account.

Oh...and hyandui...I'd like a disk of photos..I'll send you a PM.

[American Scrapper]

hyandui - Your story reminded me of the character breakfast when my DH ordered pancakes! He received 2 very small pancakes and that was it! We were all in hysterics at the table. Then on another night, his dinner he ordered was very small also. It was too funny!! :rotfl2:

Kathy

[Dyerneeds]

Props to the employees on Castaway Cay...
They really pulled everything together to enable us to enjoy the island. The wonder never made it there due to the damage. Thanks guys for working 24 hrs a day.

Our favorite things...

Too many to choose,
1. Our 30th anniversay celebration with pdarrah, her parents, and Walt & Di.

2. Snorkeling off a catamarran on Tintamarre Island, St. Maarteen. The scenery was beautiful. Walt & Di were on the same excursion. We all had a great time. I just wanted them to leave us there.

3. Dinner every day was a always a big laugh when it came time to order.
My DH is strictly a meat and potatoes guy, doesen't like that fancy stuff, let alone, his food touching. Every day he ordered steak and french fries with no vegetables. One day our server started to list the entrees and said, "Our specialty of the day is steak and french fries", looked at my husband and laughed. You had to be there but it was pretty funny. Pdarrah's dad really had fun with it. My DH has a great sense of humor and we all really enjoyed it. :rotfl2:

4. The entertainment was excellent. Taylor Mason had me laughing so hard tears were running down my face. :rotfl2: :rotfl2: I had to go back to our cabin and reapply my makeup before dinner. My stomach muscles were actually sore the next day. Of all of the Disney cruises we've taken, I think the entertainment on this one was the best. Every show was great.

5. Meeting new friends. I think we made lasting friendships on this cruise and would like to vacation with them again. It's been great.

6. STRAWBERRY SMOOTHIES!!

7. Losing 2 lbs. while on the cruise. (Don't know how that happened.) Too
busy having fun, I guess.

It was hard to meet everyone but, the Disers were great, the cruise was excellent and a good time was had by all. Thank you to those who I had the pleasure of meeting.

[Timon]

I've been in bed hacking away otherwise I would have posted sooner :guilty:

Our fave moments of the cruise:

BEING on it! LOL :rolleyes: Love the motion of the ocean!

The glorious hammock at Serenity Bay (sigh)

Pirate Night arrrgh mateys! pirate:

Taking a nap together in our room while being rocked to sleep on a comfy bed!

Spending some time with our friends!

Gary Delena & Freddy Fusion!!! :rotfl2:

Spending time in the hot tub and pool at Quiet Cove 5 out of the 7 nights! :cool1: (finally)

Meeting some great folks from the DIS :disrocks:

Trying the chocolate souffle for the first time and falling in love with it :love:

Plutos chicken tenders and hot dogs :rolleyes1

and the most memorable of all....

CHOCOLATE CROISSANTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(good thing they were calorie free!!! :rolleyes: )

[MNmousecouple]

Scrapper, yes we walked from the dock into town, wasn't bad as far as distance, 20-25 minutes at my leisurely pace (read turtle) only thing about walk was that it is not the most clean area, and sidewalks were in poor to none. I guess the fact that we were probably first to venture that way made us prime targets for the "solicitors" Oh well still a great trip :goodvibes . Just for fun we are now researching another cruise line for a different trip....maybe in 07.
Oh and sign us up for the photo swap. :flower:

[scrapperjill]

PHOTO SWAP SIGN UPS....

1.) Scrapperjill
2.) Pdarrah
3.) Disneyfan551
4.) 2GoofyToTravel (aka Hyandui)
5.) American Scrapper
6.) MNMouseCouple

Here is an updated list for the Photo Swap :rolleyes: We're still taking names so feel free to join in. :cheer2: :cheer2:

[scrapperjill]

Is anyone still out there?? Are we getting close to getting things together for the Photo Swap??? Why don't we just have those who are wanting to do the photo swap PM...the others on the list (see list below) their swap info.....ie name, address to have the cd's sent to.

I'm just getting started sorting through my photos...our computer is fixed now :teeth: so it may take me a little bit to get them all worked out....I think I have over 2000 photos to go through. :blush: Of course not all of them are great pics...and alot of them are of the same event...so I'm planning on sorting through and weeding out the duds.

Anyway's I'll start by sending my info to everyone on the list then sit back and wait for some responces.

PHOTO SWAP SIGN UPS.... UpDate....As of 11/12/05 UPDATED!!!

1.) Scrapperjill
2.) Pdarrah
3.) Disneyfan551
4.) 2GoofyToTravel (aka Hyandui)
5.) American Scrapper
6.) MNMouseCouple
7.) ThreeSmiths
8.) Joemuseum

[T&KHayes]

Scrapperjill- I tried to PM you but I got a message saying that you have exceeded your stored message allowance. Thought you might want to know why you might not be receiving any PM's. :teeth: Ok well, I will try again later.

[scrapperjill]

Scrapperjill- I tried to PM you but I got a message saying that you have exceeded your stored message allowance. Thought you might want to know why you might not be receiving any PM's. :teeth: Ok well, I will try again later.


Oh...Boy!! Thanks...I'll have to clean it out. :goodvibes I think I probably still have all the button request saved... :rolleyes:

[Timon]

I posted a lot of my DCL photos on my website if you want to check them out
HERE (http://www.cassworld.ca/photosmagic.htm)

I also have over 100 photos of the food we ate all week long :rolleyes: HERE (http://www.cassworld.ca/photosmagicfood.htm)

sniff...I miss the ship already! :rolleyes1

[T&KHayes]

Timon aka Cass- AWESOME website!!! :worship: I hope you participate in the photo swap! Our scrapbooks could benefit much from your excellent dedication!!! :teeth:

[ThreeSmiths]

Kim,

Your family portrait turned out so cute! That was the pose that I liked best when we watched you guys take them!

Stacy

[MNmousecouple]

Far to quiet here....hope things are going well for everyone...
anyone hear from Walt and Di?

[T&KHayes]

Stacy-
Thank you! It's our favorite too, although we also bought the one where we were all laying down. But, this one is going to be our christmas gift! We are going to make copies and frame them for family. :goodvibes

Kim

[joemuseum]

We are doing great... looking forward now to the 10 day southern caribbean next year that we booked on board...

We are sending a cd of our pictures to everyone who messaged us with their address. They will go out next week, still have to delete the terrible ones first... :)

Anyone going on the 10 day southern caribbean??? That 500 dollar on board credit was just too tempting for us.

[ThreeSmiths]

I wish we were doing the 10 day with you!!! DH thinks 10 days is too long on a ship...I wouldn't have a problem with it...not one bit!!! DH actually wants to do a different vacation next year, since we've done the Magic 2 years in a row. He's thinking Hawaii....which I will not argue with. Actually, if you give me sun, sand, blue water and throw in a few palm trees, I don't really care where I am!

I know you guys will have a great time!

Stacy

[Dyerneeds]

Walt & Di got back safely. I talked to them on the phone and sent them some pics we took of them at MK and throughout the cruise.

ThreeSmiths...
Hawaii would be great. Go for it. We keep saying we're going too, (if we could only stay away from Disney long enough.)

I agree though. Sun, ocean and palm trees really does the trick.

Did anyone else get a CD from DCL. (It came along with a letter of thanks for cruising.) Pop it in, close your eyes and pretend you back on Castaway Cay. :rolleyes: Yeah, right.

[MNmousecouple]

My Deborah said that we need warm weather plans NOW! She doesn't like cold and now that we are back and it's currently 7* with ice and snow she wants to start a plan for warmth soon (I wont disagree, I'm tired of living up here in the great white north also). Maybe have to look at this south Caribbean trip.....anywhere south other than southpole :goodvibes

[joemuseum]

Thanks Stacy.....

[Walt & Di]

:wave2: Hi,

Diane and I have been sick since we got back. :cool1:

My illness started on Castaway Caye..... :confused3

Haven't had much time to spend on computer...Went to Dallas for DGD's birthday the weekend after WDW....

To all, it was a fabulous cruise. Didn't have anything negative happen to us or see anything out of the ordinary...Just great people having fun.... :love:

We met and made great friends ; Mike and Robin, Dyerneeds and Deborah & Keith, Mnmousecouple :Pinkbounc

We are in the process of sorting thru 2,000 photos taken during our two weeks.... :wizard:

Will be sending copies the day after thanksgiving, off from work :goodvibes

Keep in touch
Walter and Diane ::MickeyMo ::MinnieMo

[Dyerneeds]

:wave2: Hi,

Diane and I have been sick since we got back. :cool1:

My illness started on Castaway Caye..... :confused3


Walt & Di...

I guess that wasn't allergies on Castaway Cay after all. Sorry to hear that you were both sick. Hope you are both feeling better now.


It seem a lot of Disers came back not feeling the greatest. I thought for sure we'd be among them. I guess we got lucky. Hope everyone is better now.

[afoss]

I have a question....I noticed that under my user name is "mouseketeer". How did that get there, what does it mean (in the world of DIS boards) and who put it there? Is that what they mean by the tag fairy?

[American Scrapper]

afoss, that means you spend too much time on the boards! LOL :rotfl2: You have earned your ears and are now no longer an newbee. :teeth:

Kathy

[afoss]

Yipee!! Sort of scary to think that someone out there actually knows how many hours a week I spend on here :blush:
Glad I can join the club with ya'll and can consider myself "Magically Christened".

Thanks Kathy!

[scrapperjill]

Afoss...if you look under Dyerneeds user name.....that's an example of being hit by the tag fariy. :goodvibes Earning my ears, Mouseketeer, and Dis castmember are just a symbol of how much your on the boards/posting....As you can see I'm here WAY to much.

[afoss]

thanks for the information. Guess the tag fairy hits at random, huh.
I'm sure I"ll be a cast member way before our next trip to Disney and/or cruise. My husband just shakes his head when we sees me on this and thought for sure I'd stop once the cruise was over. :rotfl2:

[scrapperjill]

Tell me about it...My family thinks I'm nuts. :rotfl2:

[pdarrah]

Hi everyone!

My family thinks I'm nuts too! :)

Well, count us in with the folks that got sick after our vacation. :( DH came down with a cold/sinus thing less than a week after we got home. I held out another week and then came down with the same thing. DS6 has just started it a few days ago - but at least he seems to have a milder version. The worst of this is that it just doesn't want to go away! DH is a lot better than he was - but he is still sneezing and coughing. I'm just going back and forth - I'll feel better for a day or two and then its back and I feel terrible!

Anyway - for all those doing the photoswap - this has put me behind. I finally finished going through all the photos and I hope to get them burned to CD's over this holiday weekend.... With any luck, I'll get them into the mail on Monday.

pdarrah

[scrapperjill]

Oh...I know what ever it is we got..it's still hanging on. I think DH started the morning we arrived at CC....mine started on the flight home. :confused3 ..I'm at the point now that my nose keeps pluging up here and there...but worse is this nagging frog in my throat....

Luckly our girls got by with out getting any of it....but then again...Sydney our youngest has been on a couple BIG antibotics since we got back also...for something else. Which really is probably good for her to be on while were hacking all around the house anyway.

I'm running behind with the photo swap also...So bear with me...I'll get them burned and sent as soon as I can. :teeth:

[American Scrapper]

Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!

Kathy

[T&KHayes]

Yes yes....Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! :wave2: Have a great day, great food & great time wih family & friends! Come to think of it...the day could be a little better if we had a few of these :mickeybar lol Have a good one everyone!

[T&KHayes]

Hmmmm I haven't heard from Scrapperjill yet...hope she found all the innerds in her Turkey! :scared1:

[MNmousecouple]

It appears this thread has run it's course :guilty: Our best wishes to everyone for both the fun of this journey and for your holiday season.
As some one famous once said " thanks for the memories" It's been fun.
:wave2:

[Skallywag]

Would just like to wish everyone a very happy Christmas and New Year from England. Already getting itchy feet for another bit of Disney Magic.

Has anyone received their Castaway papers yet - was told by Disney it would be posted about 6 weeks after our cruise. Just dreaming.

[scrapperjill]

Hmmmm I haven't heard from Scrapperjill yet...hope she found all the innerds in her Turkey! :scared1:

I should have called you sooner..I'm still trying to find all those hidden parts :rotfl:

[hyandui]

I should have called you sooner..I'm still trying to find all those hidden parts :rotfl:

Boy is this site Q U I T E, :rolleyes2 on such a dull winter night we need to look forward to the good times to come :yay: . I know there are some of you who haven't unpacked from the last cruise yet. Today 2/3/2006 at 7:55, It's 47 degrees outside right now which is out of the oridinary for this area, but we have been assured that winter will make a return visit next week, I am still going thru Mickey withdrawal symptom's and I fear I need a "Magic" fix, :cheer2: :Pinkbounc :cheer2: anyone know anyway to make October 14th come around faster?
Just because the last cruise is over, there's no use letting this site staying inactive, lets get some of the memories of the good times flying on the site. Hyandui

[Dyerneeds]

if anyone is still out there and anyone cares we are posting our trip report on the dis cruise forum from our oct 22 cruise. maybe it will bring back some memories. hope everyone is doing well and please join us on the april 21 2007 western cruise. (at least we hope its western.) you never know

[hyandui]

I fear my mind would leave me if I had to wait till April 07, sorry, no offence intended. The site seems to go dead a month after the trip, lets get everyone in the MICKEY MODE, the world would be much better if everyone would take some time to laugh. Our next cruise is scheduled for Oct 14, 06, we went out and ordered our pass ports about 2 weeks ago, last payment has to be in by July 31st this year so the trip has been on our minds. It is supposed to be a trail trip, Sunday at Castaway Cay, Monday at sea, Tuesday at Cosamel, Wednesday at Costa Mia, Thursday at sea, Friday back to Castaway Cay, and Saturday back at dock, (hope all is spelled correctly), now we just have to worry about the weather, they keep saying this year will be worse than last year. So everyone, no matter your next cruise date, lets get excited, for the future holds a MICKEY CRUISE. :yay: :cheer2: :banana: :dance3:

if anyone is still out there and anyone cares we are posting our trip report on the dis cruise forum from our oct 22 cruise. maybe it will bring back some memories. hope everyone is doing well and please join us on the april 21 2007 western cruise. (at least we hope its western.) you never know

[scrapperjill]

:thumbsup2 My next stop is over at the cruise meet thread to see if I can find your post. I'd LOVE to get a glimps at it.

We decided to wait until :guilty: Sept 22, 07 for our next cruise. It's been a LONG time already...and we've got even longer to wait. For some unknow reason we decided to stretch it out and skip a year cruising....hopeing to try something else this year. However...here it is June...and we have NO plans for anything :confused3

Anyhow....I can't wait to see your report. :blush:

[Dyerneeds]

scrapperjill. hope you found the report. if not, go to disney cruise line forum. than click cruise reports. scroll down till you find dyerneeds.
as i said in my report, we really loved the buttons you made. disney buttons are some of the things we collect. we have over 1200 diff disney buttons and those make a great momento.
we were lucky enough to buy some of the cruise ship menus on ebay and have them displayed.

[Dyerneeds]

hyandui..
i see you are cruising on oct 14th. thats when we are planning our next wdw visit. that will be our DISNEY FIX until our next cruise in april.
we will give you a bon voyage wave from expedition everest.

[hyandui]

Scrapper Jill, Sandi DeBord, Hello, This ir Ralph Keiper, (hyandui) (Goofy Travler) I received your picture disk and wanted to thank you, I glanced thru them and there are some great pictures, it will be a week or two till I get time to go thru the disk, summer is a very busy time and we live in a 2nd home or vacation area and things are really jumping here, I don't know if you have ever been to the Pocono Mountains before, we live near the Pocono International Raceway. We are all set to sail on October 14th this year, it includes Cosemel Mexico, Costa Maya and 2 days at Castaway Cay. :banana:
I just changed from Jack Flash DSL to Cable modem and the new e-mail address is rlkeiper@ptd.net I will get it fixed in my profile, Wlee keep up the good work with the Dizers and hope to sail with you again.
Ralph Keiper
rlkeiper@ptd.net
www.104thengineers.com
www.keiperslockandalarm.com

[gossipgirl]

Are there any pics of twice charmed.

[hyandui]

Gossipgirl, I am not sure when this was posted but I received the e-mail today. Yes, I have pictures of Twiced Charmed and if you want them just send a regular e-mail to rlkeiper@ptd.net and I will send them to you. Ralph Keiper

[joemuseum]

Twice Charmed was very good.

[hyandui]

Twice Charmed was very good.

I know it's early to be talking about next year but has anyone submitted a request to host a Disney Cruise Line Party on Jan 26th, 08? From what the e-mail said, there will be 1000 people hosting DCL Parties that night, we are hoping to get picked as it will help to break up the winter blah's.:cloud9:

Also has anyone booked for the November 8, 2009 Eastern Cruise?:banana:

[gossipgirl]

Twice Charmed was very good.
I may go this summer.