!!!! Early Roll Call for January 21 2006 Eastern Magic Cruise !!!!

[the4nitz's]

I guess it's never too early to start a roll call for a cruise. Our family just booked for the January 21 2006 Eastern Magic cruise. We tried to get one of the SPH rooms, but they were all taken, but we are waitlisted in case one opens up. It will be DW, DD3, DD6 and myself. Anyone else out there yet?

[the4nitz's]

bump

[plenam]

Hi there, we're on the 01/21/06 Eastern also, DW, DS10, DS8. We were originally on the 11/21/05 but had to change due to work. Looking forward to going again, this will be our second cruise. We got one of the SPH cabins, 5020.

Brett


"Waiting to live the dream again"


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

[the4nitz's]

Welcome plenam! We like cruising in January. The weather was in the mid to high 70's on the Mickey Boat. While back home it was zero. We are in room 7001 & have early seating.

[plenam]

I see that you are from Wisc. too. We're leaving out of Milw., at that time of year I'd rather get a direct flight to Fla., anyway I love the chocolate chip cookies that Midwest hands out.

Brett


"Waiting to live the dream again"


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

[the4nitz's]

We will probably fly out of Milwaukee too. On our past cruise & the one coming up in Janaury we are flying midwest out of Milwaukee. When we booked this last time directly with midwest on the internet, we were able to pick our seats right away. It is about 2-3 hour drive to Milwaukee for us. The chocolate chip cookies are yummy.

[plenam]

nudge

[plenam]

another nudge

[the4nitz's]

We just changed our room to 5520 SPH. I looked on dcl site today & it was available. Called TA & had them switch rooms.

Clarry

[plenam]

Congrats on getting the SPH room. :cool1: We'll have to compare views, we're in 5020 SPH.

Brett


"Waiting to live the dream again"


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

[PiperG]

Hi Everyone!

We are so excited to be going on this cruise with all of you! We are from MN, and feel January is a great time to cruise. It really breaks up the winter for us. We are not big swimmers, so the cooler water does not bother us. We just like to lounge and take in the beautiful ship. :earseek:

We will definitely be flying in the night before. Normally we stay in the MCO area, but we might mix it up and try the Raddison at the port. Have any of you stayed there before? I hear great things on these boards about the quality and the convenience.

I believe we are in 6048, which directly opposite 6548 (where we will be in just 35 days!!!). Hopefully we will like that location. Both rooms have a pull down bed, which DS7 really likes.

[the4nitz's]

Welcome aboard PiperG. We will be getting on the Magic, when you you are getting off, this January (we have room 6558). We liked the mid ship location this past January. We haven't told DD's about the cruise in 2006 yet.
Hopefully DD's will like the pull down bed. This past January we had a pack 'n' play in the room.

This past January we stayed at the Holiday Inn - Cocoa Beach. This coming January we are staying at the Quality Inn by the Airport. Don't know about 2006 yet.

Hope everyone has a safe & Happy Holiday!

Clarry

[PiperG]

Welcome aboard PiperG. We will be getting on the Magic, when you you are getting off, this January (we have room 6558). We liked the mid ship location this past January. We haven't told DD's about the cruise in 2006 yet.
Hopefully DD's will like the pull down bed. This past January we had a pack 'n' play in the room.

Clarry

How funny! We are almost cruising together twice! We have 6548 for our upcoming Eastern. . . . .close to your cabin. Then, we are switching to the same cabin, but on the opposite side of the ship for 1/06 (6048).

It looks like all of us from the upper mid-west are planning similar escapes from the cold!

O.k. . . .any bets on the Christmas Eve game between the Vikings and Packers? LOL

[plenam]

PiperG
After todays game, no bet!!!!

Brett


"Waiting to live the dream again"

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

[plenam]

Hey PiperG,

I see in your trip report that you said your from New Mexico. I used to own property down there, I had a place up in Mogollon, north of Silver City. Just love it down there, in my younger days I did a lot of backpacking in the Gila Wilderness (best kept secret in the US). What part of NM did you hail from?

Brett

"Waiting to live the dream again"


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

[PiperG]

Hey PiperG,

I see in your trip report that you said your from New Mexico.
Brett

"Waiting to live the dream again"


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

We are orignally from California, and lived in NM (Albuquerque) for two years before moving here. We really loved NM. The weather is perfect. . . . not too hot, not to cold. Snow or ice just once a year. Over 100 degrees only a few days each summer. And, it always cooled down very comfortably at night, as we were high dessert.

Of course, what we loved best was the food. We still have Bueno red chilie shipped up here so that we can have breakfast burritos and Chicken-Chilie cassarole.

[plenam]

Just want to wish all the Jan. 21 cruisers and all DISer's a very Merry Christmas!! May all your countdown clocks go by quickly!

Brett

"Waiting to live the dream again"

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

[PiperG]

Brett,

How old are your boys? Our DS will be 8 this March, so almost 9 for our 1/06 cruise.

[plenam]

PiperG,
Our boys will be 9 and 12 on the 1/21/06 cruise....say, how 'bout those Vikings!!!!!

Brett

"Waiting to live the dream again"

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

[PiperG]

PiperG,
Our boys will be 9 and 12 on the 1/21/06 cruise....say, how 'bout those Vikings!!!!!


Oh. . .the poor Vikings! We had friends over on Christmas Eve, with dinner served shortly after the game. We all had to work really hard to lift the mood after the Packers kicked that last field goal. DH says someone will have to lose for the Vikes to make the playoffs. We will see how that goes.

Hopefully we could hook up your youngest and our DS. That would be nice. We will need to arrange for a kids "Dismeet" of some sort once we get a bit closer. On our January '05 cruise, it is mostly DD's (someone on that thread is keeping a list). Of course, the kids have a great time no matter what, but it would be fun to find a buddy in the exact age group early on.

I hope you had a great holiday. Was it cold in WI? 12/23 was our 15th Wedding Anniv so we went out to dinner that night. It was 14 below when we left the restaurant. Yikes!

[the4nitz's]

We did not have to lift the mood at the dinner table after the game, but of course the entire family are packer fans. I was in church during the game so had to wait till getting home to find out the score. Is that a Christmass mircle? As far as in Wisconsin it was -22 below zero Thursday morning the 23rd and windy. It's starting to warm up, but still can't beat being on a cruise now can it.

[PiperG]

We did not have to lift the mood at the dinner table after the game, but of course the entire family are packer fans.


Now, now. . . don't rub it in! :sad1: :confused3 LOL.

Despite the fact that you are Packer fans, we will keep the Magic in good shape for your arrival on 1/29 :cool1:

[plenam]

:cheer2: HAPPY NEW YEAR :cheer2:


"Waiting to live the dream again"

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

[the4nitz's]

Happy New Year!

[PiperG]

Happy New Year to Everyone!

[PiperG]

O.k. . . .This post is for the4nitz's and plenam,

The Vikings play the Packers yet again this Sunday. We will be thinking of you guys at kick-off time. As they are playing at Lambeau, I am not overly optimistic. However. . . . on any given Sunday. . . . .you never know what will happen.

Good Luck Guys! :cheer2:

[plenam]

PiperG,
Thanks for the thought, I was really hoping we'd play Seattle or St. Louis, too much stress watching a Packer-Viking game. Right now I'm hoping to get tickets for the game, got lucky last year and went to the Seahawk playoff game. Anyway, good luck to you guys and may the best team win(Packers).
Brett


"Waiting to live the dream again"

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

[the4nitz's]

We are having a Packer/Viking tailgate party cook-out today at work. My boss is outside grilling in a snowstorm. Our production manager is from Minnesota, so he's dressed in Viking purple, while the rest of us are all in PACKERS shirts, we are trying to convert him to PACKERS.

PiperG, I hope we don't have anymore snow or ice storms until the middle of February, so we don't have to worry about getting to the boat.

Clarry

[PiperG]

PiperG, I hope we don't have anymore snow or ice storms until the middle of February, so we don't have to worry about getting to the boat.

Clarry

Amen to that! We are just a couple of weeks away. DH would have to send me to a mental institution if we couldn't get out on Friday 1/21. We have historically had good weather for our January trips, but you never know what can happen in Minnesota!

Go Vikes!!!!! :cheer2: Hey. . . .you gotta root for the home team, even if they don't have much of a chance. LOL.

[plenam]

PiperG,
Well, the Vikes won, I had a bad feeling about the game. Beating a team three time in one year is pretty hard to do, congrats and good luck against the Eagles. Anyway, see your getting close to your cruise, are you all packed yet?
Brett

"Waiting to live the dream again"

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

[PiperG]

Tinkerbell must have sprinkled some pixie dust on the Vikings. Things were looking pretty ugly after they backed into the playoffs and Randy Moss stormed off the field. I was glad they pulled it together today. Work should be interesting tomorrow with the various Packer fans in the office. :charac2:

We are feeling pretty organized for our departure on 1/21. That day couldn 't come a moment to soon, with temps below zero later this week. Yikes! It has been a cold winter!

[the4nitz's]

Well I guess the best team won. Have fun on the Mickey Boat. I am starting to get things ready for our trip. Take care of the Mickey Boat for us.

Clarry

[plenam]

Gee, are you guys cold yet?? :earboy2: Wish we were leaving as soon as you are. Try to bring some of the warmth back from CC.

Brett

"Waiting to live the dream again"

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

[PiperG]

Gee, are you guys cold yet?? :earboy2:


No Kidding! It was 18 below at our house this morning. Get me out of here!

[the4nitz's]

I agree it is too cold here, I need some warm weather. We never got above zero today. PiperG have a great trip.

[turnlisa]

O.K., so I thought that I was among the only ones so compulsive to book over a year in advance but I guess not! Nice to know that I will be among friends. My family and I will be on the Magic on 1/21 also -- our first cruise! I have two DSs who will be 9 and 4 by the time we sail. Glad to know that fellow DISers have boys about that age. My DS will be thrilled! We are in room 6562 so we are all pretty close. We are definitely looking forward to the mid-winter break being from Detroit! Too bad it wasn't this year!

[plenam]

Turnlisa,
Welcome aboard! Starting to look like this is going to be a Midwestern cruise. If this is your first cruise your going to love it, we had our first cruise this past May and it was great, our boys can't wait to get back on board.

Brett

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

"Waiting to live the dream again"

[the4nitz's]

Welcome aboard turnlisa. We love cruising. We leave next week for our 2nd cruise. Glad to be leaving the cold & snow.

PiperG - have fun next week.

[plenam]

PiperG,
Have a "Magical" time, hope it last a slow time, if you know what I mean.
Brett

"Waiting to live the dream again"

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

[plenam]

Only 360 days to go, I can't wait :rolleyes1 . To the 4nitz's, have a Magical cruise :cheer2: .

Brett

"Waiting to live the dream again"

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

[the4nitz's]

We fly out of Milwaukee, Friday afternoon. Looks like we will have no snow on Friday. Though Orlando & Port Canaveral has a chance for rain on Friday & Saturday. In less than 1 year we get to go again. :cheer2: :cheer2:

[plenam]

Right now I'd take the rain in Fla. vs the cold in Wisc....Enjoy the Midwest chocolate chip cookies :cloud9: .
Brett

"Waiting to live the dream again"

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

[the4nitz's]

DD's love those cookies.

[plenam]

bump :wave2:

[the4nitz's]

We're back, hated to leave the Mickey Boat. But in less than 1 year we can go back. DD5 - Makenna cried last night, she didn't want to leave. We had beautiful weather - mid to high 70's all week. Castaway Cay on Friday was very windy almost didn't dock.

[plenam]

Welcome home. :cheer2: Glad you had a great time. How was the weather in Florida before the cruise? Kids want to know if they could swim at that time of year before we leave the dock.
Brett

"Waiting to live the dream again"

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

[the4nitz's]

On Friday in Orlando it was rainy, in the high 60's. We had an 11:45 flight from Orlando on Saturday. We were picked up by Happy Limo at 8:15 & we were at the airport by 9:30, dropped off by Midwest curb-side check in. We had resereved a large sedan to pick us up, but a Hummer stretch limo showed up instead. It was awesome! We will have them pick us up again next year too.

[PiperG]

We had resereved a large sedan to pick us up, but a Hummer stretch limo showed up instead. It was awesome!

We had that hummer stretch on our way out to the port 1/22. Unfortunately, our Happy Limo experience overall was not so happy. Despite our numerous calls to confirm everything, there was a problem with the ressie. However, that was a nice limo ride in hte Hummer.

I am glad you had a great time on your cruise. Our 1/22 Eastern was so amazing. We also had great weather. It was windy but warm at CC. When I woke up in the a.m. on Friday, I went out for a walk on Deck 4 as the ship approached the island. I was a little worried we would not dock due to the wind, but we made it with no problem.

I am looking forward to our cruise next year with all of you. Having that scheduled helps with the post cruise depression syndrome. DH also booked one for 12/6, with the intent of moving it to Jan '07 when those rates come out. Another Eastern. . . we like the days at sea.

[the4nitz's]

I love the days at sea also. I wouldn't mind a 7-day cruise to nowhere, except for 1 day at Castaway Cay.

[PiperG]

We would like that as well!

Although, I admit we had a wonderful time at Great Bay Beach in St. Maarten and can't wait to do that again. We opted not to do an excursion. GBB is not the most beautiful beach, but we enjoyed watching the ships and water taxis while we collected shells and made sand castles.

The QM2 was in port (tendered) while we were there. Wow, that is a big ship.

[plenam]

Bumpity Bumpity Boo

[PiperG]

I am so glad you bumped up this thread! I needed a reminder that we are less than a year away from our next magical trip to pull me out of my post cruise depression. LOL.


DH and I are thinking about a quick trip to WDW in late-October when DS7 has a break from school. It would just be for a few days, but would be fun. Has anyone ever stayed at the Fort Wilderness cabins? We normally stay at the Poly, but thought it would be fun to stay somewhere different. The cabins look very big and you can rent golf carts to get around the grounds. PM me if you have any feedback.

As far as excursions for our cruise, we are already thinking about doing Megan's Bay. Has anyone done that before? How much beach time do you actually get?

[plenam]

With all the snow today, really look forward to the cruise, to bad it's 11 months away :sad2:

Brett

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

[ameejason]

Two families and a single from Nebraska. Never cruised before but really looking forward to it. Kids ages 3, 3, 5 and 7...made the mistake of telling them about it already...gonna be a long year!
Glad to meet a few folks who will be there with us.

Jason Truman

[plenam]

Welcome ameejason, if this is your first cruise, this is the place to be. You'll find alot of good info on this board. I see that you told the kids, boy, are you in for a long summer :teeth: . Again, welcome aboard.

Brett

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

[the4nitz's]

Welcome aboard ameejason. This is the place to learn all you need to you before you cruise on disney. This will be our 3rd and we love them. Any questions ask away.

Craig

[SandieT]

Well at least there is someone to talk to about our cruise. My 6.5 year old daughter says "MOOOOOOOOM stop talking about Disney!!!!, you are the only one who is so excited." Hard to beleive I know but I guess I do go on about it quite a bit. This will be our first cruise. It will be my then 3 and 7 year old girls, my husband, my dad and me!!!!
We just got back from Disney World a few weeks ago and so my daughter is still worn out from that trip.
Sandie

[plenam]

Hi SandieT,
Welcome aboard. :wave: You'll find that you are in good company here, :crazy: if you need any group support, :grouphug: this is the place. Being this is your first cruise, ask away, we will help answer any and all questions.

Brett

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

[the4nitz's]

Welcome aboard Sandie T.

Our last cruise must have had an effect on DD-3, whenever we go anywhere she never wants to go home. We ask her where does she want to go. She says the Mickey Boat. :rotfl:

[NEPatsFan]

I a first timer going on the 1/21/06 Eastern. This site has been a wealth of information, but I have some questions maybe someone can help me with. I have 4 kids and 2 of them are booked in a room the their grandparents, how (if I can) make sure they are seated with the rest of us at dinner? Should I contact my TA or Disney directly? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Good to see there is going to be a lot of Midwesterners on board.

[plenam]

Welcome aboard,
I would try your TA first and request a table for all of your party, if that don't work I'd then call DCL and see if the could help.
Yes, this is turning into quite a Midwestern cruise.

Brett

[the4nitz's]

Welcome aboard! From what I have learned you need to have your reservations linked together to have the same dining.

[jollytammy]

Hi, everyone. I hadn't thought about checking to see if there was a thread for our trip until today, thought it was too early. It will be DH, me and DS10 and DS15. We talked our neighbors into going with us after they heard how wonderful our first cruise was back in Jan. 2004. They have a DS11 and DD7. We did the Western last time, so the Eastern will be new for us. I started planning the minute we booked back in October! Compulsive that way.

I like the islands, but I agree, I could spend everyday on the boat or castaway cay. On our first cruise I was worried my husband would be bored, but he said it was the best, and most relaxing vacation he had ever been on in his life! It also helped that he won the jackpot at bingo the last day! I have a feeling he'll be doing a lot of bingo playing on this trip!!

Tammy

[plenam]

Welcome Jollytammy,
It's never too early to start planning a cruise, we started planning this one back in May 04. I see some of our younger ones are about the same age, (DS's will be 12 & 9) maybe they will meet in the lab. Again, welcome aboard and happy planning.
Brett

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

[the4nitz's]

Welcome aboard Jollytammy. It is never too early to think about crusing, especially on the Mickey Boat. We booked this cruise before we even went on our 2nd cruise.

[PiperG]

Brett and Craig,

Where did you guys get your little countdown ticker?

[plenam]

PiperG,
Got ours at the TickerFactory.com, another is DaisyPath.com.

Enjoying our 5" of a "dusting"


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

[jollytammy]

We don't get much dusting of anything down here in NC....we get a dusting and the whole city shuts down! No work, no school. In fact the sun is shining and it's about 60 or higher, the tulip trees are blooming, the daffodils are out and the azaleas are blooming....

[PiperG]

In fact the sun is shining and it's about 60 or higher, the tulip trees are blooming, the daffodils are out and the azaleas are blooming....

Please, don't rub it in! LOL. We won't see 60 degrees here in Minnesota for a while yet. :cold:

Tammy, our DS just turned 8. Hopefully we can get the boys together at the Lab. That would be fun!

[jollytammy]

It would be great if he had a friend. Last time he only went one time to the lab--when we went to brunch--the rest of time with us, well actually in the pool. Which was fine, just had hoped he'd love the lab. He'll be 11 when we go in January...we have friends going with us, but their children aren't his age. You just never know, he may just absolutely love it this time...or he may just stay in the pool again...as long as he's happy and occupied it doesn't matter where he's at. Hubby and I can sit and relax and watch him...relax being the key word.

Sorry it's so cold...just think of the cruise...getting closer and closer....

[PiperG]

Brett has a DS about their age (ours will be almost 9 at cruise time).

Our DS also spent less time in the lab than we expected. This was his first time in the lab, so maybe things will change this time around.

His favorite activity is shuffleboard, so we spent hours and hours on the courts . On several occasions, we had another family waiting for the space, and we ended up getting the kids playing while the adults relaxed. That was during the height of the NFL playoffs, and it was fun talking about how our various teams had fared.

Our Dismeet on the 1/22/05 Eastern never happened (it was planned very late). We will need to try and find a time when we can hook up early on so the boys can meet.

[jollytammy]

That sounds good. I would love it if he had someone to play with. My older DS will have our friend's son to play with, and when the younger one tags along there is always trouble. Having his own person to play with would just be icing on the cake!

Hope you have a nice week, I had to work Saturday and Sunday, so I'll get Friday and half of Thursday off!

[PiperG]

Hello Everyone!

The countdown clock in our bedroom says 299 days. :cool1: :Pinkbounc :banana: YEAH! We made it below 300. Doesn't 299 sound sooooo much better.

We are planning to do Megan's Bay on St. Thomas. We have been to St. Thomas twice, but once just shopped and the second time went to Paradise Point. Has anyone ever done the excursion before? If so, let me know what you think.

Have a great day!

[plenam]

Good day,eh,
Just wondering if anyone has ordered their airline tickets yet, with fuel prices going up, I'm dwelling on getting them now or hope that they may go down in the coming months but I'm leaning on getting them soon.

Brett

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

[jollytammy]

We're driving down, but with the way gas prices are going, it may be cheaper to buy airline tickets for the four of us! We're about 11 hours away, which makes it a nice "drive", especially since we got the DVD players for the car!!!!

Just read where the hercules show is being changed out...I am so disappointed, we all loved that show so much!!! :cheer2:

[NEPatsFan]

We booked our air tickets last week. Unfortunately Sun Country doesn’t have their 2006 schedule out yet so we were stuck with North West out of MSP direct to MCO. I wanted to wait for Sun Country but DW wanted to nail everything down now (she always wins). We’re going down late Thursday and spending Friday at Universal :Pinkbounc then driving over Saturday. North West has such a monopoly in Minneapolis it’s hard to get a great deal.

[PiperG]

Hello NEPatsFan -

It looks like you are here in MN! Our family (DH, DS8 and myself) are in Maple Grove!!!! Where are you located?

So, when are you flying out? DH and I are also discussing when we should book our tickets. He saw a drop in fares during September of last year, so we were thinking about waiting for a while. However, I am like your DW in that I like to have everything nailed down.

We are planning to take a direct NW flight that leaves at 3:16 (if they still have that time available) on Friday afternoon. That gives us some wiggle room if snow hits. This past January we flew out in the midst of a storm. We were stuck waiting to de-ice for 2+ hours. We never thought we would get off the ground! :guilty:

There are some WI families on this thread as well. We had some back and forth fun when the Vikes played the Packers. It looks like you are a Patriots fan. You must be happy! I was in Philly the week after the Superbowl for business, and believe me those folks were in a BAD mood. :badpc:

Hope everyone has a great week.

[NEPatsFan]

Live in Cannon Falls with DW, DD13, DS11, DD8 and DS6. I grew up in Maine, always been a fan of the Boston teams. I went to college in Philly and lived in south Jersey, so I know how those Philly guys are. :crazy2:

We were going to take a Friday flight but found one late enough Thursday that the kids won’t have to miss another day of school and gives us all day Friday to have an extra day of vacation. We lived in Orlando for 1 ½ years with annual passes to Disney but this is our first cruise. The calendar isn’t moving fast enough.

[the4nitz's]

Welcome aboard NEPatsFan!

We havn't booked air yet, but we keep checking. We like to fly Midwest out of Milwaukee. They don't have the rates out yet for January. Still trying to decide if we should go down on Friday or earlier.

[plenam]

I've been checking Midwwest also, right now you can book up to Jan. 7, so we have about two weeks before they open the dates to book online.

Brett

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

[plenam]

After reading some of the post today I guess we will be getting the kids passports for this cruise, for the two of them it looks like it will cost about 170.00.

Brett

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

[the4nitz's]

We got passports last year for the 4 of us.

[plenam]

Just bumping this up.
Brett

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

[jollytammy]

I posted this on the regular board, but wanted to let you all know that Disney direct has several "cruise like" shirts on sail. I have been watching the Mickey Tiki hawaiian shirts, they have matching boy & men button shirts, plus matching women and girl dresses! I got my 2 DS and DH matching shirts, then bought myself the dress. With four of us it was over $75 so I checked at clevermoms.com (clever moms is a great site to look for discounts or coupons for lots of different stores) to see if Disney was running any specials and got an extra 10% off, plus until April 29th free shipping on $50 or over. You may want to check them out.

I just love getting a bargain! The dress was $34.95, now $24.99...the shirts went from $29.95 down to $22.99, not as big a discount as the dress, but take another 10% off and free shipping, well I am just as happy as a clam!!! :cloud9:

Take care...we're getting closer and closer to cruise time!!!! :cool1:

Tammy

[jollytammy]

Oh, forgot to give you the discount code for Disney Direct: SPRINGBACK2005
This is 10% off $75 or more.
Tammy

[plenam]

Hi All,
Anyone check out the new DLC website? Really looks cool :cool1:. I also like the new feature that you can book Palo's and other activities 90 days out if you're a Castaway Club member.

Brett

[plenam]

I want to be on the Repo Cruise!! :sad1:
Brett

[the4nitz's]

Me Too, I can't wait for Friday to watch the Magic go thru the Panama Canal.

[PiperG]

Me Too, I can't wait for Friday to watch the Magic go thru the Panama Canal.

I was very lucky and pulled up the website as the Magic was going through the canal. I had trouble keeping the site up, so I only saw it for a few minutes at a time, but it was very cool. Later that day, DH and I watched a video clip on these boards in which someone had catpured the entire process. Fascinating! If we win the Powerball on Saturday I am going to try and book the return voyage. LOL. :rolleyes1

We booked our flights last night. We are flying in on 1/20 (arrive about 7:30 EST) and will stay at the MCO Marriott with points. We already have a car through Budget. Historically, we have taken the DCL bus (3X), a limo and a rental car. We have decided the rental car is our preferred transport mode. It really gives us the greatest amount of flexibilty. We like to get to the port around 10:30. What time do you all plan to be there?

[plenam]

We plan on arriving at 6:30ish on the 20th and staying at the Embassy Suites. Next day take a limo to the port and also try to get there at 10:30. Haven't booked a flight yet, hoping to get a better price, but Aug. 15 is the drop dead date for the flight tixs.

Brett

[the4nitz's]

We are not sure which flight we will take. We may arrive around 11:30am or the late flight of 7:00pm. Our plans are to stay at the Holiday Inn express near the airport Friday night and drive over Saturday morning in a rental car and arrive 10:30am also. This past january we had a Happy limo pick us up at port and drive us to the airport which we really liked. They dropped us off in front of our flight curbside check in and made an 11:30am flight with plenty of time to spare. The car service cost more than the rental, but was worth it for the service. Seeing all the pictures and post from the repo cruise makes us whish we could have been on it, but guess we will have to make due with the 7 day this January.

[gydell]

Hi everybody. This is our first cruise with Disney. Been on other cruise lines but we are very excited about this one. How is the parking at the dock? Also what other things should I know that you can't find out about in the book? Sounds dumb, but what is a SPH room?

[the4nitz's]

Welcome gydell to our cruise page. Do you have nay kids and there ages? SPH stands for the secret port hole rooms on the Disney ships. There are 6 on each ship on deck 5 near the front. They are a catagory 9 room, but you pay the price of a catagory 10. This is due to the fact the port holes are partially obstructed, but you still get a great view and save money. As far as parking at port we have also flew into Orlando and rented a car returning it in Cocoa Beach. They charge 10.00 a day for parking and there is plenty of room. If you keep reading this thread and others on this site you will learn everything you need to know about cruising disney. Our first cruise we knew nothing about cruising, but keep reading these boards for the 3 months before our cruise and cruised like an experienced cruiser.

[gydell]

Thanks for the info. I will be traveling with a 4 year old boy who loves to play with other kids. He has been to DW 4 times and to DL 1time. I have been to DW over 25 times and to DL2 times. We love Disney. We are going the 12/05/05 for a week so that he can go to the Christmas party while he is still young enough to enjoy Santa. The cruise is a Christmas present to my daughter and grandson.

[plenam]

bump.

[PiperG]

Brett, thanks for bumping this up.

I know some of you folks are experienced Eastern cruisers. Although we have been on two Easterns ourselves, we have never ventured beyond the port area in St. Thomas.

We definitely want to do Megan's Bay this time around. However, we don't like being constricted to an excursion schedule. Has anyone done Megan's Bay on their own? I am not worried about getting there. . . . .just concerned that when it comes time to return to the ship, we won't be able to get a cab back.

Does anyone have any experience with that?

Thanks.

[gydell]

Hey everybody! We have booked a cat 9 on this cruise but when I have told my friends the price they insist that I could get it cheaper. I thought I had search all possible angles. I am paying $2412 for 2 adults and 1 4year old. Could I have gotten it cheaper and if so where? Also how much discount do you get if you book for a future cruise while on board? Thanks

[the4nitz's]

Welcome gydell. Who did you book your cruise through? I would say that the price sound right. We booked in Oct 04 for 2 adults and DD6 DD3 in a cat 10 for 2600.00 and we were able to get a SHP room. If you rebook onboard you get 10% off the cruise price and a 200.00 stateroom credit. Sometimes this gives you the best price, but you can always transfer your booking to another TA and still receive the 200.00 credit.We did this after our first cruise. We rebooked onbaord, but found a better price through Dreams Unlimited and moved our reservation to them and still got the 200.00. So its worth checking aroud.
Is this your first cruise or first disney cruise? If you have any ????, you will find the answer on these boards.

Craig

[gydell]

It's our first Disney cruise. I am so excited. My daughter(32) has always wanted to do a Disney cruise.We have done many other cruises but this is going to be a big surprise(Christmas present). I know that her 4 year old son will also like it. We have been to DW once a year since it opened and we are going December 2005 for a week so we can go to the Christmas party. Excited about this too! Since nobody knows about us going on the cruise I have nobody to get excited with. Any good excursions for us? I was thinking about taking a cab to the butterfly farm so we are on our own time table. I booked with AAA in May 05 and got $100 onboard credit. Thanks!

[need_a_Disney_fix]

My name is Laurie and my fellow Disney nut is my husband, Jim. We live in eastern Iowa which evidently a requirement for this particular cruise...you must be a Midwesterner ~wink~. We are officially empty-nesters as of about a year ago and this will be OUR trip. We will be in cabin 6634 which I am soooooo excited about. Our entire family are Disney addicts and have been to WDW many, many times with this last December being the latest. this however is our frist Disney cruise. We KNOW it will be awesome. I am looking forward to getting to know all of you.

[PiperG]

It's Official!!!!

The countdown clock says 199 :cool1: :cool1: :cool1:

I did the "199 are you out of your mind" dance for DH and DS today. That is not as exciting as the double or single digit dance, but you gotta celebrate the victories as the come along, right?

Happy 4th of July everyone!

[plenam]

Welcome to the "Snowbird Express" Laurie and Jim, need a question answered?, this is the place.

PiperG... Your right...but I do the dance every ten days :earboy2: 200...190...180 :rotfl2:

Happy Fourth to all.

Brett

[soccrmom65]

I figured there was a posting somewhere but was unable to find it and PiperG made sure to hook me up. Thanks so much for that.My DH and my 10yr old neice will be doing a Disney cruise for the first time. We have sailed several lines and our first was the Big Red Boat which we just loved. We actually just got back from a Bermuda cruise and I was glad to know I had another to look forward to in January. My neice is turning 10 on Jan 18th so this is her special birthday present. I am actually a travel agent and will be going down to Disney 7-20-24 to do some training and see the Wonder so that will get me even more ready to sail. I am anxious to see how Disney compares to the other lines we have sailed. I sell a ton of it and always hear wonderful reviews...figured I need to experience it to better sell it. If you have sailed on other lines please share with me what Disney does better or different to make them stand out. Also please share any negative things you might have experienced. We recently sailed out of Port Canaveral in Feb on Mariner of the Seas and like some decided the rental car was the best option. We flew in early...picked up the car...drove around and saw some of the Coco Beach area and then took the car to be dropped off and they shuttled us to the pier. On the return we did the reverse and never felt rushed or pressured. I think that is how we will probably do it again in January.

I look forward to meeting you all and figured I would just toss a little bit of PA in the mix with the midwest. :earboy2:

[PiperG]

I figured there was a posting somewhere but was unable to find it and PiperG made sure to hook me up.

I am anxious to see how Disney compares to the other lines we have sailed.

You are welcome soccrmom65! It is great to have you on board with us!

Although we have only sailed DCL (5X total), we have turned into cruise nuts. I subscribe to Cruise Travel. I love reading about all the ships and their different amenities. As a matter of fact, the Carnival Glory was ship of the month not to long ago, and I sent out hard copies of the article to several dissers who were planning to take a cruise. It was fun to read about her, given that we see her on the port cam each week when the Magic is waiting to sail out each Saturday.

I am hoping we plan a Dismeet while on board. DH and I would love to hook up and talk about the different lines you have cruised, especially after you have been on board for a while and have had a chance to experience the Magic and really compare.

Have a great week!

[Robotyx]

Hi All...

THIS IS NO LONGER A MID-WEST CRUISE ! (LOL). Pennsylvania and Maryland are now represented on this ship. You will find me with Soccrmom65...(the better half). See you on the ship.

[Robotyx]

I'm not a big fan of WDW...the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Exhibit did me in years ago. That was the only thing that I was dying to see and I couldn't believe I spent so much $$$ to see cheap plastic fish. I know they have done a face lift, but the impression was made.

I did, however, love The Big Red Boat. It was our first cruise experience, and they set a standard for cruising that none of the other cruises have quite lived up to. I hope DCL has maintained the standards set by Premier. This is our first DCL cruise and I am looking forward to it.

[gydell]

Do not forget about us. We are from Georgia!

[need_a_Disney_fix]

198 days to go!!! I am starting to panic already:earseek: !! I fully intend on having this trip paid for AND losing 20 lbs. So much to do in so little time!!:scared1:

[soccrmom65]

Does Disney do this on these sailings. I know most lines have at least one so I was curiouse if Disney did and what you thought of it. I am also curious as to how many formal ngts there are. On the other lines for a 7 night we would have two formal nights. Is that the same for DCL? Sorry I am asking so many questions but with it being my first sailing I want to be prepared :flower:

[plenam]

Hey Soccrmom,

Welcome aboard, here's a link that will answer a lot of your questions, http://www.dcltribute.com/ This is our second cruise but our first seven day, I know of one formal night, which I think is the second night out. Hope this helps.

Brett

[the4nitz's]

Welcome aboard to all the new families that are joining us on this cruise. I hope everybody had a safe and happy 4th of July. Its hard to beleive how fast this summer is going. To soccrmom65, there is a formal night on Sunday and a semi-formal night on Thursday. As far as a midnight buffet, there is a desert buffet one night and that's it. I think this is Wednesday or Thursday night.

For thoes of you who are going to fly, have you been watching air fare prices? I hope they come down the closer we get. In Jan 04 we paid $720.00, in Jan 05 we paid $920.00 and this year they are at about $1100.00 for 4 round trip. Hopefully they will come down. I don't know if we are up for a 22 hour drive.

Craig

[soccrmom65]

I found a ton of information on the site you provided the link for. Thanks again ::MickeyMo

[plenam]

Soccrmom,
Glad to help.
Brett

[soccrmom65]

My husband and I really enjoy the teas offered on Princess Cruises. I saw that Palo offers a tea you can pay for. Has anyone ever done the tea on the ship and if so is it worth paying for. We are taking my neice on this sailing and will have to slip away from her to do it so I want to make sure it is really all it is made out to be since it is adults only. :Pinkbounc

[SandieT]

Does anyone know of a really good packing list? I am a stay at home mom whose summer wardrobe consists of 3 pairs of shorts, 5 t-shirts, one pair of flip flops and a bathing suit. I know i need some more clothes for this cruise but I'm not sure what and I need to shop before all the summer stuff is gone.

Another question, my dad is 83 and the one who suggested the cruise for my family and himself. He is a little stubborn and has already said he will not buy any new clothes and only bring what he has. He does have some slacks and some old polo shirts and of course his circa 1980's dark blue suede blazer but he will only wear his black New Balance tennis shoes and has not owned a tie in 20 years. I think I can talk him into a few new shirts but I fear that the black tennis shoes are really all he will wear and a tie is out of the question. Can he get away with this? On formal night if I by some miracle talk him into renting a tux, can he wear his black tennis shoes with it? Does anyone else have this situation?

Finally, anyone from the west on this cruise? We, DD3, DD7, husband, myself and my dad, are coming from Colorado.
Thanks for any help! ::MickeyMo

[soccrmom65]

There are some great packing lists at cruisediva. I would put in the website but this post won't let me so just do the usual and toss cruisediva in the middle. You should be able to find info there to help you out. Also if you just do a google search several more sites come up. I just did this for a group I had going to Bermuda to gather information for them.

As for your dad I wouldn't worry to much about his shoes. If somebody is that worried about what is on his feet shame on them! If he would dress for formal night his black sneakers will probably blend in just like dress shoes. Which is more then some I have seen. ::MinnieMo

[plenam]

Hi SandieT and welcome,
Here's a link with lots of info you can use, http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=460639, hope this helps.

Brett

[need_a_Disney_fix]

Sandie, it took a little looking, but I found a post that has a WEALTH of information.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=468132

Hubby and i are on your cruise also. Can't wait!!!

[Robotyx]

Here is one to add to the packing list that I haven't seen on the lists. I carry an assortment of electrical wire ties...you can find hundreds of uses for them. They really came in handy for a quick repair when the strap on my camera bag broke...they worked so well, you will still see them on the strap LOL.

[hooked on disney]

Hi, we are from Ontario and are on our first cruise on January 21. :banana: I am still reading everything faithfully trying to get a handle on what to see and what to do. It will be great to get away from the Canadian winter!! What is a SPH room? Right now we are in a cat 12. People have said that you can get bumped up...that would be nice, but I'm just excited to finally take a cruise. I have always wanted to and here we go :Pinkbounc

[soccrmom65]

Welcome hooked on Disney,

We are in a catg 12 also and hoping for the upgrade..but like you are just happy to be cruising. There are certainly not very many catg 12 cabins so they will have to put somebody in the higher ones...maybe it will be us....haha..that would be wonderful.

I am getting ready to go to Disney on Wed 7-20-05 to do some heavy training and resort inspections...I just hope the heat is not to intense. I am also going over to see the Wonder. I will let you all know if I hear anything fun and exciting. :bitelip:

[the4nitz's]

Welcome Hooked On Disney

Any questions you have, this is the place to ask. A SPH refers to a secret porthole room. They are a catagory 9 room, but you pay the price of a catagory 10 room. There are only 6 of them, 5520, 5522, 5524, 5020, 5022 and 5024. The porthole has an obstructed view, but at least you have a view. We are in 5520 and is the first time we have had one of these. In the past we have had a cat 6, but decided to save the $$$$$ and try this.

[soccrmom65]

My neice and myself just watched the DVD for the cruise over the weekend. I am really excited to see her reaction over the DVD and anticipating the cruise in January. I am just waiting to be able to block time in Palo for the tea and also shore excursions.

[ameejason]

We'll be flying in on 1/20 and staying at an airport hotel. We chose not to get transportation through Disney. There will be 9 or 10 of us altogether, none of whom have been through this previously. The thought was to rent a van from the airport to canaveral and then again back. Does that sound like the best idea? It's got to be cheaper than Disney and the route looks pretty simple.
What do you think?
Jason

[soccrmom65]

Hi Jason,

My husband and myself always rent a car and drive it over and then rent a car and drop it back off. However with as many people as you have I would look at some of the other options as well. The cost per person would really drop with the amount you have in your family. If you go to the website for the airport there is a transportation tab somewhere on the page. They list the services that you can contact for a price quote to compare with renting a car. With having that many people it might be hard to find a van that is affordable that can carry you all and the luggage. I would certainly check out other options just to be sure. :jumping1:

[gydell]

Try some of the limo services. They will take care of your luggage and you don't have to bother checking in a car. It seems most hotels have shuttle service to the port.

[JLDSMD]

Just checking in.

DW, DS (almost 6 at time of cruise) and myself will be on the 1/21/06 Eastern Cruise.

We were on the 1/22/05 Eastern, rebooked for the 1/21/06 but cancelled.

Luckily, I called DCL this past week, asked them, since we had booked on board and will be on a 3 night Wonder cruise in October, if we could get it reinstated. THEY DID AND WE GOT THE 10% DISCOUNT AND $200 ROOM CREDIT.

[JLDSMD]

Here is an air option for those in Wisconsin. Since you are already planning on driving about 2 hours to Milwaukee, have you ever considered driving to Madison?

When we were in Vegas this last May we seen at least a couple of dozen Allegiant Air planes and, since we never heard of them, thought we'd look them up on the internet. Come to find out they not only fly non-stop from Madison to Las Vegas, but Madison to Orlando/Sanford as well.

The fare comes up at just under $196 total. You can pay $10 more each way for assigned seats. That would bring it to $216. Not a bad option to the prices Midwest and NWA are charging right now. There website is www.allegiantair.com Also, they DO NOT overbook their planes like Southwest.

Another Milwaukee option would be AirTran. They have one non-stop daily along with a few stop over flights in Atlanta. I'm not sure of their fares. We are actually taking them in October for our 3-nt Wonder cruise. Unfortunately we have to connect both ways (booked too late). They did cancel our first flight and rebooked us earlier, but due to DS school schedule, we called and had them move us to the late afternoon flight instead. They were accomodating.

Allegiant flies Sundays, Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays. The flights north are first in the morning and then it goes back down. Madison to Orlando/Sanford departs at 10:25 a.m. and arrives Sanford at 2:05 p.m. On the return, it departs Sanford at 8:00 a.m. and arrives Madison at 9:50 a.m. Again, non-stop both ways.

I don't remember the exact cost of the one-way rental cars from Sanford to Port Canaveral, but I don't think they were much more, if at all, over MCO.

We're planning on flying on Thursday 1/19. Last year we left on Wednesday and spent 2 days in WDW. Good thing we didn't leave the day before. Big storm hit back here while we were down there. We kept saying, "good thing we left a couple days early".

We are going to go on Midwest (hopefully the prices will drop). We are going to use one companion ticket, and I have a $60 voucher from a price decrease on last year's tickets. They didn't rock bottom the prices until December, but atleast I was able to get the difference in a voucher. Something to consider if you book now. Watch the price, if it drops, call them. You could use the voucher on a January 2007 cruise. :)

[PiperG]

Just checking in.

DW, DS (almost 6 at time of cruise) and myself will be on the 1/21/06 Eastern Cruise.

We were on the 1/22/05 Eastern, rebooked for the 1/21/06 but cancelled.



Wow! You gotta love this. . . .we were on the 1/22/05 Eastern as well! We had early dining PAL rotation. Pairoj and Maria were our servers. This will be our third Eastern cruise. We love the two days at sea.

There are a lot of MN/WI folks. I guess we are all looking to escape the subzero temps for a week! A few of us had some fun in the fall when the Vikes played the Packers. :cheer2:

[JLDSMD]

PiperG, I don't know if you remember us, but we were the ones you met at the Palo brunch. We were sitting by the window, your table was right next to ours.

We too had Paroj and Maria for our servers and had early rotation, but it was the PLA rotation. Your table, at least in PC, wa almost right next to ours.

Don't know if you remember from the 1/22/05 cruise meet thread, but we were the ones just down the hall from you in 6580. You were the first one to welcome us to the board on that thread, and now you are the first one to welcome us here.

Did you ever get your questions answer regarding Meagan's Bay? I seen you posted regardng going there on you own. We did that on the 1/22/05 cruise. It was very easy to do. Just look for one of those open air taxis right when you get off the tender in town. They will take you right there. Then, when you want to come back, there are a ton of them waiting to bring you. Just ask the price before you go back. We had a different driver and the price was higher.

As for Meagan's Bay, it is very beautiful. It is in the top 10 beaches in the world according to the Travel Channel. It is SUPPOSED to be like glass there, but when we were there, the bay was rough. We had one wave 6 feet high, well over my head, crash down on DS and myself. I was holding him. The wave knocked him loose and my glasses came off. Got DS right away, but never found my glasses.

We are doing the St. John's Island tour on this cruise.

[PiperG]

PiperG, I don't know if you remember us, but we were the ones you met at the Palo brunch. We were sitting by the window, your table was right next to ours.

We too had Paroj and Maria for our servers and had early rotation, but it was the PLA rotation. Your table, at least in PC, wa almost right next to ours.



Yes! We remember you!!! What a coincidence that you are on our Jan '06 cruise as well.

We just have to get out of the MN during the middle of winter. It saves our sanity. . . . I am originally from San Diego and DH spent 23 years there. Although our blood is thicker now, we just need a break.

I think our rotation was PLA also. I goofed on my earlier post.

I did get some good feedback on Megans Bay. However, someone highly recommended Saphire Bay over Megans Bay. They said Megans Bay admission was costly, and the fee to rent chairs was high. Also, they said you had to take your chairs to your spot and back, and also leave a deposit for them. The poster said Sapphire Bay was just as beautiful, but without the cost and hassle (they take the chairs down to the beach for you and there is no deposit).

Both appear easy to do on our own, so I will keep looking at the boards for feedback.

Our countdown clock says 172 days!!!!!

[gydell]

JLDSMD, How old is your son? We have a 4 year old with us.

[JLDSMD]

gydell, he will be turning 6 in February. We were able to get him into the 5-7 year old program in the club last January since he was turning 5 within a month. If your son is close to his 5th b-day, you may want to check with the counselors to see if they will move him up.

PiperG, I haven't looked into Sapphire Beach. DW definitely wants to do the St. John's tour this year, but that should be over by noon. We'll probably head to a beach after that. I will have to look into that one. I know a lot of people comment about it.

Also, we are requesting PLA again this year. It worked out best, putting us in Lumiere on Formal Night, AP on Semi-Formal night and PC on Pirate night. The only problem we have is, since we got reinstated so late, we are on late seating for dinner. I hope DS does o.k. with it. We will be 2 hours ahead of CST, so hopefully that will help.

[gydell]

You can tell this is my first disney cruise so thanks for all the info you are giving me. What is the PLA rotation? And when is pirate night?

[JLDSMD]

PLA rotation is Parrot Cay (Nts 1,4,7), Lumiere's (Nts 2, 5), and Animator's Palate (3, 6). Under this rotation, you will have your character breakfast on the 3rd "at sea" day, or Thursday morning. Formal Night is on Sunday Night (in Lumiere's under this rotation), Pirate Night is Tuesday Night, St. Martin (in PC that night) and Semi-Formal Night/Gala Night is Thursday (in AP). Parrot Cay is the most casually themed restaurant (island/tropical themed) and goes well with Pirate Night and in my opinion, not well with either of the Formal nights.

The other rotations are LAP and APL. Under these, you'll be in PC for one of the formal nights and in Lumiere's or Animators Palate for Pirate Night. AP wouldn't be too bad, but Lumiere's seems too nice for Pirate Night, IMHO.

Pirate night is a somewhat new theme night (I believe less than a year) where the wait staff is in Pirate costumes and they have a special pirate menu. They have a deck party that night and depending on the weather, they will shoot off fireworks. As I mentioned above, it is on the St. Martin day which is Tuesday.

Let us know if you have any other questions. Everyone here is always willing to help.

[JLDSMD]

BUMP.

Just trying to keep us on the first page of cruise meets. I know I had a hard time finding it when I looked for it.

[soccrmom65]

I am so glad for the boards. I never knew you could request a dining rotation and I think the PLA will be great. I actually called right after I read the post..she thought I was a little nuts when I said PLA until I explained it and she said oh you want the family dining. Apparently there is a Family, Adult and Childs dining rotation so if you try to request it ask for family. Thanks again for the info.....it was much appreciated. :banana:

[JLDSMD]

Soccrmom65, welcome to the DIS. You will find a ton of information on the boards. I booked my first cruise a year before we went and was on the boards almost daily. It's addictive.

I read somewhere else, either on the DIS, in a book or elsewhere on the web, that they did have names for the 3 different rotations. I believe everything said that if you have small children, they try to put you in AP the first night (hence, APL). If you have older children, they try to put you in PC first (PLA rotation), and if it is Adults mostly that you would start with Lumiere's (LAP rotation). Whichever restaurant you start with, you will have for 3 nights of the cruise. Also, your final breakfast will be there as well.

I think they try to get the little kids in to see the "show" in AP on the first night and the adults in the more classier restaurant (Lumiere's) more often. That would leave the other group, "Family", to start in PC. Not sure.

Now, having said that, I called last week for something regarding our 3-night Wonder cruise Oct 26, 2005, and at the time asked for the APT rotation (this will put us in PC for Pirate Night). The CM I got said that it was the "Family" rotation. :confused3

I have to call for something on the January cruise, so I'm going to reconfirm both rotation requests. I will ask the CM what "names" they have for them. Maybe they have different "names" for the rotations on the Magic then they do on the Wonder.

Hope that helps. I will post what I here.

[SandieT]

I am loving the fact that I can start to plan this trip 6 or more months in advance. I think the planning is half the fun.
This is our first cruise and I like to control things so when I see I can have some control over our server or our rotation I'm all for it. (I know it is only a request and not guaranteed but it doesn't hurt to ask.) I think by what has been posted that it is a either or thing. You can request a server or request a dining rotation. If that is the case which is better to try and why? Do I put the request into my travel agent and will he request that from DCL or do I call DCL directly. Will they tell me if he/she will or won't be on our cruise? I guess I could call the TA and ask him but I think I'll get a better answer here.
It seems like there would be a large turnover for servers and requesting one now for 6 months from now would be hard.
I'll take any input on this subject.
Sorry for the long message, in addition to wanting to control everything I also tend to rattle on about things.

[JLDSMD]

SandieT, welcome to the DIS. You will learn a lot from the boards. Planning is fun, just remember though to let things flow when you get on board. It's vacation after all. You don't want to stress because something didn't work out like you read on the boards. Plus a lot of what is written is personal preference. You may not like something someone else did.

As to your question, I personally would request my rotation. In reading posts regarding the servers, I would be surprised if you got a bad pair. Plus, the server you want may end up being off the ship that week. They do so many months on and then so many off.

I think you should be able to put the rotation request in yourself even if you are using a travel agent. I know that I put one in for our October cruise and that reservation is under a travel agent. Good thing I did. When I talked to DCL they showed no request for the rotation we wanted.

[SandieT]

JLDSMD
Thank you reminding me that sometimes I need to let go. I tend to get caught up in planning and forget that we will have fun becasue we are together as a family. My 7 year old gets frustrated when I overplan.
Thank you :wizard:

[JLDSMD]

SandieT,

Is your 7 yr old a DS or DD? We have DS who will be 2 weeks shy of his 6th b-day while we're cruising. He will be in the 5-7 yr old group on the boat.

Jeff

[SandieT]

Jeff,
I have a DD that is 7, going into 2nd grade and DD that is 3. I am hoping that we can put them into the kids programs just a little but we will be traveling with my dad who would like to do EVERYTHING as a family. I am having trouble talking him into one night at Palo without the kids. Since he only sees the kids 2 times a year I can understand, but I'm sure once we get there he will see there are things for him to do on his own as well as together.

[soccrmom65]

I just ordered my copy of the Disney Cruise Passporter....I used this book when we did our big trip to Disney and just loved the information that was inside. I can't wait to get it and start making my notes etc for the upcomming cruise. I am taking my neice who will be turning 10 on Jan 18. She is not sure if she wants to move up to the older group just yet or stay with the 9yr olds. I am going to have the counsler talk to her on the ship to pick which program will suit her better. I am hoping she spends a little time there but most of the time I want to spend with her because this is her special birthday present....yes she is spoiled...I have twins that are soon 21 so they don't like to be my babies anymore but my neice certainly does..haha. If you are all interested in the passporter check out the site. Passporter.com

[SandieT]

Soccrmom

I am about half way through my Disney Cruise Passporter. Really FUN!!!

I have taken a brief break from it while I read the newest Harry Potter.

I have found that the more I read about the cruise the more questions I have and I find myself reading these boards. It's all very addictive!

Sandie

[need_a_Disney_fix]

I received my deluxe Passporter a month ago and its a book I cannot put down. i am always grabbibg the included pen and jotting down notes. I do not know what it is, but this particular trip is very addictive. We have taken many WDW trips, but this seems a little different.

[soccrmom65]

My aunt has just decided to join us on this cruise and booked a cabin for her family. She does not know it yet but I bought her a book as a gift for her birthday in Sept. I can't wait to give it to her. She is just like me...loves the planning stages of a trip.....your right it is addictive...but then again that is why I became a travel agent...to cut down on the cost of the addiction..haha. :earboy2:

[PiperG]

Well, I just checked out the countdown clock, and see that we are 167 days away from boarding a plane and heading to the Florida coast for our cruise. There is still a long way to go, but it feels so good to be past the 180 day mark.

We are filling out the paperwork to get passports. We understand they will be mandatory if you are going to the Carribean in '06. It will be nice to leave the birth certificates at home. DH's and mine are old and I always worry they will rip.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

[JLDSMD]

PiperG,

Thanks for the countdown update. I see you have a Disney break before the cruise as well. That will help pass the time. We have my brother's wedding in LA in Sept, so we thought we'd take a couple days and do DL. We then have a 3-nt Wonder cruise over DS's teachers' convention break. :)

To everyone else,

On our cruise meets board for this past January's cruise, someone kept a running list of the children (DD or DS) and their ages. I went through all the posts and I think I have a list compiled. Do you want me to post a list for this cruise? We can update it periodically.

Let me know.

I'm assuming that since everyone listed their kids and their ages already they are fine with putting them on the list, but I just want to make sure before I do it. If I list someone and they didn't want them listed, PM me and I will edit the post. Also, if I miscatagorize you child or their age, please let me know so I can correct it. Also, if you haven't listed your children, please post and we'll make sure we get them on the list.

Jeff

[need_a_Disney_fix]

I cannot tell you how excited and obsessed I am getting with this cruise. We have been to WDW many times, but this is new to us and I can hardly stand the anticipation. BUT, I am starting to panic also. I have 20 lbs. I want to lose and at age 47, it is not easy to do. I am looking forward to getting to know our fellow DISers on the Jan. 21 cruise in the weeks and months to come.


:wave: from Iowa Hawkeye land

[PiperG]

On our cruise meets board for this past January's cruise, someone kept a running list of the children (DD or DS) and their ages. I went through all the posts and I think I have a list compiled. Do you want me to post a list for this cruise? We can update it periodically.



Jeff, I think that is a great idea. I enjoyed that thread so much.

On or last cruise, DH and I went to the Promedade Lounge for our Dismeet on the scheduled day but never found anyone. We met other Dissers like yourself by happenstance, but I am hoping we can get this new group together for a formal Dismeet. Especially with so many MN/WI folks on board, we can revel in the warm weather we will be experiencing. :sunny:

[gydell]

The list sounds great to me. You can add a 14 year old girl who has been added to our trip(family friend). Wish Jan. would hurry up but at least I have a week at the Grand Floridian in Dec!

[JLDSMD]

Here's is what I have so far as a list. Please let me know if there are any additions or corrections. These are the ages at the time we cruise.

the4nitz's: :earsgirl: DD3 :earsboy: DD6
plenam: :earsboy: DS9 :earsboy: DS12
PiperG: :earsboy: DS8 (almost 9)
JLDSMD: :earsboy: DS5 (almost 6)
turnlisa: :earsboy: DS4 :earsboy: DS9
ameejason: 3, 3, 5, and 7 (not sure if DD's or DS's or a combo)
SandieT: :earsgirl: DD3 :earsgirl: DD7
JollyTammy: :earsboy: DS10 :earsboy: DS15
JollyTammy's neighbors: :earsgirl: DD7 :earsboy: DS11
NEPatsFan: :earsboy: DS6 :earsgirl: DD8 :earsboy: DS11 :earsgirl: DD13
gydell: :earsboy: DGrS(?)4
gydell: :earsgirl: DD14 (actually friend of family)
soccrmom65: :earsgirl: DN10 :earsgirl: DN12
suejmj (and crew): :earsgirl: G13, G14, G17 :earsboy: B5, B8, B15

gydell, I assumed from your posts that the 4 yo boy is a Grandson. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Jeff

[gydell]

You got mine right. Good Job!

[JLDSMD]

Here it is by DD or DS and their ages.

:earsgirl: DD's
DD3 the4nitz's
DD3 SandieT
DD6 the4nitz's
DD7 jollytammy (neighbors)
DD7 SandieT
DD8 NEPatsFan
DN10 soccrmom65
DN12 soccrmom65
DD13 NEPatsFan
G13 suejmj (and crew)
DD14 gydell (actually friend of family)
G13 suejmj (and crew)
G14 suejme (and crew)

:earsboy: DS's
DS4 turnlisa
DGrS4 gydell
B5 suejmj (and crew)
DS5 JLDSMD (almost 6)
DS6 NEPatsFan
B8 suejmj (and crew)
DS8 PiperG (almost 9)
DS9 plenam
DS9 turnlisa
DS10 jollytammy
DS11 jollytammy (neighbors)
DS11 NEPatsFan
DS12 plenam
DS15 jollytammy
B15 suejmj (and crew)

I thought this would be an easy way to see what kids are on the cruise the same age as your own.

Jeff

[soccrmom65]

My Aunt and Uncle and granddaughter will be sailing with us. Please add a DN of 12 (but almost the big 13haha) :teeth:

[JLDSMD]

soccrmom65,

Is this DN in addition to DN10?

Also, I'm confused. :confused3: Is DN12 the granddaughter of your Aunt and Uncle or is their granddaughter another child? Because wouldn't your A&U's grandchild be your second cousin since their children are your first cousins?

Or are you talking about your granddaughter (boy I hope I'm not aging you :) ) in addition to your niece?

Just want to get it right.

Jeff

[plenam]

Well, I finally bought our airline tickets. I noticed that the later flights on Sat. the 28th are now $23 more. Anyone else get thier tickets yet?

Brett

[soccrmom65]

Yes she is in addition to my DN10 and yes she is the granddaughter of my Aunt and Uncle but she refers to me as Aunt Kelly so I always think of her as my neice even though she is a true cousin.....

I have just started shopping around for airfare...will probably begin to get serious in a week or two....I just know my luck..when I purchase the airfare a better deal will come along. :earboy2:

[JLDSMD]

plenam, who did you book with?

We are planning on going Midwest non-stop from Milwaukee, but won't be coming back until the 29th.

I just checked their website and it is coming up approx. $285. Northwest and Air Tran, also going non-stop, are coming up at only $245. I'm hoping that Midwest will drop at least to their prices. Last year we booked on MW for $218 and then it dropped to $188. They gave us a voucher that I haven't used yet, but plan on using this year.

I plan on holding out until at least September before I buy. There always seems to be a sale right after the kids go back to school. Last year they did another one in early December. That is when I got the voucher. I won't wait until then, however. I will book as soon as they put January on sale.

If you go to Orbitz, you can bring up the seat map for the Midwest flights. They look pretty empty right now.

I don't know if you read one of my earlier posts, but Allegiant Air flies from Madison to Orlando-Sanford. It comes up at $195 plus $20 more if you want assigned seats. So $215. The bad thing is that you have to fly back on Sunday morning, so unless you were planning on going to the parks on Saturday and staying over night, it wouldn't be much cheaper when you factor in the hotel.

Jeff

[JLDSMD]

soccrmom65,

I updated my earlier post to add you DN12.

As for airfare going down, what I have done in the past, and have always gotton, was to ask the airlines for a voucher due to the fare reduction. It will be good for 1 year from the date they issue it.

I had our air for this past January's cruise go down $30 each for my DW and DS (I was flying on a companion ticket) and they gave me a $60 voucher (Since I was the one who paid for the tickets, it was my name on the credit card, the airline offered me either $60 to me or $30 to DW and DS. I chose it for me). In hindsight, I should have had got it for DW and DS since DS has more frequent flier miles than me :confused3 and we plan on using another companion ticket this year. Now we will be using the free ticket for him.

Where are you flying out of? Are you a Midwesterner like most everyone else is here?

Jeff

[gydell]

Why dosn't anyone fly into Melbourne? The tickets are running within $20 of Orlando. Just curious since I am looking at both.

[JLDSMD]

Most importantly, we are flying into Orlando because it is non-stop from Milwaukee on 3 different airlines. And I just hate to connect during winter even though we are going down early. Too many things can potentially go wrong.

Also, we are planning on going to the parks before the cruise (we are flying down on Thursday p.m.) and maybe again at the end of the cruise (we are flying back Sunday a.m.).

We flew down 3 nights early last year and flew back the Saturday evening after the cruise. It was a lot of sitting around trying to stay busy that afternoon (we didn't go to the parks :sad2: ). I tried to convince DW to go to the airport for the early afternoon flight, but she didn't want to since it was mid-70's in FL and below freezing :cold: up here.

This year, we figured we'd use one less day at the beginning and instead use it at the end. Same number of nights at WDW. We got to WDW easily by 9:30/10:00 last year after we got off the boat. We had early dinner last year so we had early breakfast. This year, since we reinstated so late, we are on late dinner. That means breakfast at 8:00. I think we'll still have enough time to get to WDW for the day. We could always do the buffet on Deck 9 if we wanted to get out early.

Jeff

[the4nitz's]

My wife and I are trying to get caught up on all the new post here. We have been at the hospital with my mother for the past 2 weeks. She was transfered to a nursing facility on Saturday, but it does not look good. She is being kept comfortable for the time being, but we all know the outcome including my mom.

I like the list of kids and ages for our cruise. That was a good idea JLDSMD.

Plenam who did you get your tickets through? I have been watching air fare also waiting for it to come down. We would like to fly Midwest non-stop out of Milwaukee, but they need to come down in price. I see AirTran has a non stop out of Milwaukee and they seem to discount their fare sooner. Anyone fly with them before? I'm sure they all will start to come down in the next month or 2.

We had talked about going to WDW for a day or 2 before the cruise, but we hate to take DD6 out of school for that long. I think we will plan a seperate trip to WDW in the future.

On our past 2 cruises we have attended a DIS meet on board. My wife has a number for the contact person to set this up through DCL. We will have to decide on a day and time for our DIS meet, so start thinking about it.

[gydell]

Good reason. That's why we are looking at Melbourne so we don't have the ride back to Orlando.

[gydell]

Sorry to hear about your mother.

[plenam]

plenam, who did you book with?



Jeff
Booked with Midwest online.....We're on the 3:15 flight on the 20th and return on the 11:45am on Sat 28th...which is a rush but I'm sure we can make it.
Brett

[JLDSMD]

the4nitz's,

Sorry to hear about your mother. Best wishes to her and your family. :wizard:

As for Air Tran, I'm getting a little bothered by them. We are flying them for our October cruise and the itinerary has been changed at least 5 times. The last one I found out about this morning (I looked it up, they did not contact me). We are not going on the non-stop on that one (hopefully no weather problems in Atlanta). Good thing we didn't go with it because they have changed that as well. It originally went out at 6 something at night and the return was at 3:40 p.m. or so getting into MKE before 6 p.m.. They have moved the out bound to 1 p.m. or 2 p.m. and is no longer available on Wednesdays and the return is now at 10:40 a.m. (a little too early for coming off the boat). If NWA and MW weren't so booked and high priced (going over teachers' convention weekend), I would have never looked into Air Tran.

As we sit now, unless the planes are nice and the flights/connections good, I don't think I'd try them again. And I haven't even flown them yet. DW and I think we'll see a change again (if not 2) before we actually fly.

I do believe NWA will at least run a sale come early/mid September. They have a sale now, but it only goes through November. Fares are around the low $200.

I honestly think we'll see $225 or less within the next 6 to 8 weeks. I won't wait any longer than the end of September though. I definitely want to be set by then.

We will definitely be going MW though due to us using FF miles and a voucher. I just hope MW matches NWA when they go on sale. It may be only for 1 day, so I have to be ready to grab it when it becomes available.

I could only hope that we see fares like we got last October when US Air was looking at bankruptcy. They discounted their fares and NWA matched. $115 roundtrip non-stop. :cool1: Couldn't pass that up. Went down for MNSSHP at MK.

Jeff

[PiperG]

We hit a pretty good fare out of Minneapolis and got $266 each on a direct flight to and from Orlando.

The big deal is having a direct flight. Historically we used FF tickets on American (we had a credit card and I banked a lot of miles from my business travel). Although the connecting flight through St. Louis never bothered us, it just took so much longer to get to Orlando or to get home.

Last January, we booked NWA, but didn't want to pull DS from school to early and ended up with a Memphis connection on our outbound flight. A fairly big snowstorm hit Minneapolis that day, and we were stuck in a 2-hour line to get de-iced. We made our connection, but it was tight.

This year, we decided to take a direct both ways, even though DS will have to miss most of Friday. We fly out at 1:15, and will have plenty of time to relax and grab a bite after we arrive in Orlando. We won't have any worries about missing a connection. That is a plus.

Just to let everyone know, DH, DS8 and I will be at the port pretty early. I am shooting for around 10:00, although knowing us it will be more like 10:30. I always have some type of lime green item on (ribbon or Mickey heads from Home Depot). It is fun to meet other Dissers in the terminal.

[JLDSMD]

PiperG,

Non-stop is the way to go. Our flights in October will be the first time we connect with DS. He had a stopover (same plane) once when he was 11 months going to Manzanillo, but every other time was non-stop. The last time DW or I connected was back in 1997 going to Charleston.

Do you have any other competition to NWA up there in MSP that does non-stop? Luckily, a few years ago, NWA and Midwest discontinued their code share so now they are competing with each other. And in the last two years we have now added Air Tran. All three do non-stop. You can also book with USA3000 non-stop, but that is a public charter. Unless I'm going on an Apple Vacation, I'm not going on a charter.

I remember the snow storm last January. We were sitting in our room at Coronado Springs watching the Weather Channel. We just kept saying, good thing we left when we did.

We too plan on getting to the port early. Even though we'll be able to do Palo's, the Kids Club and our excursions online at the 90 day mark, we just want to get on the boat early and start enjoying the vacation. DS and myself will probably be wearing our matching CC t-shirts. We'll have to pick up DW one in October. This past January, DW asked a lady wearing a lime green shirt if she was a DISer. She responded rudely, "NO". :rolleyes: DW didn't approach anyone after that.

I forgot if you mentioned earlier in this thread, but are you staying in Orlando or Port Canaveral the night before?

Jeff

[PiperG]

Sun Country competes with NWA, but DH said there were fewer flights to choose from and when we got the $266 we were happy.

Of course, there is the threat of a NWA mechanics strike this month, I believe. I am not worried about the cruise trip, but am a bit concerned about our WDW trip in October. Hopefully it all blows over.

Now, regarding Friday night. . . . . nobody flame me!!! We are staying at an MCO hotel, because our pre-cruise tradition is to go to Hooters. Yep, you heard me right! Many of the gals who work there are pre-Education majors, and they just love playing with DS. One time, two gals were out in the lobby throwing a football with him. He can be loud, run around, and get rid of some energy before we head off to bed.

So, if anyone is staying at the MCO Marriott, Hilton Garden Inn etc (there is a loop of hotels) let me know if you want to join us at Hooters!

[JLDSMD]

I haven't given the NWA strike much thought. I suppose I should. We are flying them to L.A. for my brother's wedding the 21st of Sept. (side trip to DL while we're there :banana: )

I won't flame you for going to Hooters :earseek: (sorry, I just had to use that smiley right there. :rotfl2: Don't flame me.). DW and I use to go there on vacation when we were first married. She never had an issue with it. I know that when you have a child and/or female with you the service seems to be really good. I think the waitresses like a break from the 20 year old men.

We will be somewhere in WDW that Thursday and Friday. Not sure where. Depends on the rate codes for the rooms and what parks we want to hit.

[soccrmom65]

I have flown Airtran several times and love them for airservice. Yes they do tend to have some schedule changes but I always give myself enough lead time to allow for that. We also have Southwest as a low cost option for us on the east coast but they post their prices so late it makes me nervous. The other problem with Southwest is the cattle call line up with the A,B,C lettering and no seat assignments. We normally fly Airtran because you can pre select your seat. Those flying NW just monitor them, because the strike looks to be happening on our about Aug 20th. We get fax alerts everyday from different companies we work with that we have clients booked on NW for with different schedules for different lines they have switched them over to.

As for USA3000 charter or not I would gladly fly them. I love the planes, staff and in flight movies and radio. If this is an option for you you might want to check into it.

We are flying down the day of and leaving the day we get back into port unless things change on this end. What type of transportation is everyone using. Since there are 6 of us we are looking into renting a van and Budget has the best prices thus far and will provide shuttle service to and from the port. We are going to be paying about 140.00 rt...does anybody know anything any cheaper? :earboy2:

[JLDSMD]

soccrmom65,

I haven't had a need to look into the price of a van, but we have and are renting a car both ways. They usually run less than $50 each way, but again, that is for a car.

He used Budget last year and we have them set for October as well as one side of January's cruise. The other company we use is Avis. Both have shuttles to the port. Last year we had Budget to, and Avis from. The Budget line seemed to be a little long when we came to drop the car off (mostly people picking up vehicles) and the shuttle seem to run a little less frequently. Not sure about Avis for dropping off, but when we picked up, they had all the paperwork and keys ready for us. Took no more than a minute to get the car. We are members of their preferred club. I would recommend that you join both clubs, Avis and Budget. It costs nothing and you don't have to have any minimum rentals. I do remember the Avis shuttle going past the Budget site a few times while we were waiting for the Budget shuttle. We wouldn't hesitate to use Budget again, don't get me wrong. Just being our first cruise and reading how people get to the port early and we are sitting and waiting to get there didn't help me as an Type-A planner/traveler. :)

As for AirTran, I will give them a shot. They at first moved us to a flight that didn't work with DS's school times, so I had to call them to get it changed. They did it without any problems. They did have several other changes (seems like they happen every 2 weeks) but haven't moved more than an hour to and hour and a half each way. Just gets frustrating. Good thing we had nothing planned that couldn't be modified. On the other hand, Midwest seems to keep their schedule for the most part. NW does too, but with our trip in September, they moved our flight from 7:55 p.m. to 9:30 a.m. That is a 10 1/2 hour change. Since we wanted non-stop, we had to change.

I've never flown USA3000, but they are a charter service that Apple and Funjet use here in Milwaukee. I just know of the cattle call to get seats that you have to do when flying charters. I like to be a little more relaxed when I leave on vacation. I'm not saying they are a bad airline, I just don't prefer to fly charter when scheduled is available. Plus, at least with the charters we've been on (not USA3000) the seat pitch is usually very little so they can cram more people aboard (the goal of charters). If they will save you substantially, then yes, I would consider it. Their schedule isn't up yet for Milwaukee, but I checked Chicago and their price is the same as American.

Now there is a charter airline, Allegiant, that flies into Madison up here, that is right now $60 cheaper than the closest scheduled carrier out of Milwaukee. You can also reserve a seat for an additional $10 each way. Not a bad deal.

I don't think I'd ever try Southwest unless you can get an assigned seat. Everything I hear and see about that airline is that they overbook. Don't want to miss the boat because I missed the plane.

You mentioned that you are on the east coast. Do you have service from JetBlue? They seem to be a decent airline. Unfortunately, they don't come to the midwest.

Jeff

[need_a_Disney_fix]

With all the talk of kids, is there anyone on our cruise that are empty-nesters?

[soccrmom65]

We do have Jet Blue out of DC but that is a little farther then I like to drive in the early morning..haha. We did a cruise in Feb out of Port Canaveral and used Hertz because they had the best price at the time. This time Budget was much lower then the rest when we checked. I have one on reserve so I will just keep watching and see what happens. I just want January to get here fast!

[NEPatsFan]

I just flew to Orlando and back twice in the last month on AirTran. First to take my two little ones down to visit my parents then a couple of weeks later to go back and pick them up. First time on AirTran and didn't have any problems. Price was good, around $220. They had a promotion for flying on Tues or Wed. Each trip I stayed for a couple of days and took the kids over to WDW with the grand parents!! Got to see the new car stunt show at MGM :moped: it was awesome. I would fly them again. We're already booked on NW for the cruise. Flying in Thurs night and staying at Universal until Saturday morning. That is if....

We don't cancel :confused3 My company has had a VERY bad year and in the past 3 months has eliminated almost 100 positions and one of them was mine :badpc: Righ now we're going on the assuption that I'll find something new and we'll still be able to go on the cruise, but we're also preparing ouselves that we may not be able to pull it off. Wish me luck and hope to see you on the ship.

[JLDSMD]

NEPatsFan,
Sorry to hear about your job. Good luck with the search. We hope you make it on board.

soccrmom65,
I'm surprised Hertz came up the lowest. In all my travels they seem to be the highest. I too check the rates constantly. I checked prices for our October cruise and they were great, but didn't book. Two weeks later and $15-$25 more for each way. Waited another week, back down to only $5-$10 more each way. :confused3 I booked it at that point. I am already booked for January, but will continue to check the prices.

need_a_Disney_fix,
DW and I will be empty nester almost every night after the late dinner in Sessions. :) DS will be dropped off at the kids club for one of the late night movies and we'll have 75 minutes or so in the Jazz bar. We didn't even go into Sessions until our last night this past January. We couldn't believe we didn't go in there earlier. It had good music and great drinks.

Jeff

[JLDSMD]

Hey, where is everyone? :rolleyes1 We fell off page 1 again. :guilty:

We must have the lowest percentage of DISers ever on our cruise. From my count, only 14 of us (screen name count) have checked in for our cruise.

Anyone out there lurking? Come check in. We won't bite. :teeth:

[suejmj]

Hi
Don't know all the lingo but...
We are a group of 13
There are 6 kids - two moms, two aunts and three grandparents - the men didn't like our last RCL cruise so staying home. All except for grandpa - what a trooper!! We are from CT so looking forward to warm weather. A little concerned about the flight out as we booked Saturday a.m. - I know, we must be nuts, but we will have insurance and a Friday flight didn't work for us.
Kids ages:
boys: 5,8 and 15
girls: 13, 14 and 17
Traveled to Disney many times as DVC owners but first time on a Disney cruise. Looking forward to the experience.

[JLDSMD]

suejmj,

Welcome to the DIS and our Cruise Meet thread. I will update my previous post with the children you are traveling with (See posts 153 and 155).

I think the men not in your party will be missing a great cruise. You and your kids will enjoy it.

Jeff

[need_a_Disney_fix]

Welcome aboard, suejmj!!! Our family are longtime Disney nuts and have been to WDW many times but this is our first Disney cruise. Our kids are grown and its our turn to have some Laurie/Jim time. Like anyone else on the DIS boards I have become very addicted here and must have my daily (hourly) fix. Pull up a comfy chair, your favorite beverage and visit us often.

Again, welcome!

[suejmj]

Thanks Jeff
We are very excited.
Hoping that the kids will meet lot's of friends so they can leave their auntie alone!!!

[gydell]

suejmj - When did the 5 year old turn 5? I am also bringing a 14 year old girl. No men on our trip either. Their loss!

[suejmj]

He turned 5 in April.

Sue

[the4nitz's]

Welcome aboard suejmj!

[plenam]

Welcome suejmj. :goodvibes

[soccrmom65]

Glad to see somebody else is sailing....I did notice prices went up just a bit today. I also booked my airfare while Airtran had it on sale for 79 each way. Southwest might have come out a little cheaper when released but I hate waiting and then loosing the Airtran price. Now I am just waiting for my Passporter to be shipped and I will be a happy cruiser....I can't wait to hear the horn play When You Wish Upon A Star instead of a straight HONK..haha. :wave:

[suejmj]

Hi
I can really use some help from the experts out there!!!
I just realized that our flight to Orlando on Saturday 1/21 has been cancelled and we have been put on a flight one hour later than we booked. We are now leaving at 8:15. Yikes!! There goes the insurance gap we had for flight delays.
I asked her if we could make a change to Friday night without any penalties as this is no longer convenient for us and she said we do have that option since they cancelled our flight. Yee Ha!! I am thrilled but now have questions -
Do we stay in Orlando and travel to the ship on Saturday a.m.? Or, do we stay in Port Canaveral? How would transportation work? Keep in mind that there are 10 of us that will be traveling together.
Any suggestions on what to do when arriving Friday night would be appreciated.
Thanks
Sue

[JLDSMD]

Sue,

Sorry to hear your flight got cancelled. Sounds like the switch will actually help you.

First off, what time will you be arriving into Orlando on Friday?

Secondly, what was your original mode of transportation? Were you planning on using DCL transportation?

I have always rented a car (there's only 3 of us) so I haven't done the DCL transfers. Someone else maybe able to let you know if DCL picks up at any hotels near the airport.

The other option is to look into limo/van transportation to a hotel near the port. Pick a hotel that has complimentary transportation then to the boat. Sorry I can't help you there either since we are coming down again 2 days early and going to WDW.

A good website to check for lodging at the coast is www.dcltribute.com. It hasn't been updated lately, but it will give you some ideas for lodging at the port.

As for transportation to the port, you can do a search for "limo" or "towncar" in the cruise boards. I know this is often a topic out there. Some names that come to mind are Tiffany Towncars, Happy Limo, and ***********. I have not used any to the port, so I can't comment. You should be able to search based on those names as well to see what other DISers have to say. These companies do have vans as well, not just limos.

As for what to do the day before, it really depends on how early you get in. I see a lot of postings regarding a hotel called Ron Jon's. I believe it is a time share hotel that does rent out the rooms nightly. They are supposed to have a pretty nice pool.

If you get in real early, you could always go over to WDW. MK should be open until 8 and EPCOT until 9. DCL transportation can pick you up at certain resorts in WDW. Most of the limo companies will also.

Off hand, what airline are you flying? I'm using AirTran for our October cruise and we've been changed at least 5 times now.

Jeff

[suejmj]

Thanks Jeff
You are right! I am excited that they made the change. Less worry about weather. That is assuming that this will not increase costs too much - hotel, transportation etc.
Initially, we were using one of the transportation co's (can't remember).
We will now arrive at 7 p.m. which means we are looking to go right to the hotel. I actually just posted on the cruise boards to see if anyone knew of a hotel that offers transportation to the ship or if they had advise. This way, we would continue to use the transportation co (van) to take us to the hotel and the hotel could transport us to the ship.
Not sure if i am making any sense - bedtime in the NE.
We are on Delta Song. They did this to us when we went to LA in spring. But they are willing to make a change to the date without any penalties so I will not complain. I actually stumbled on the change when looking at the prices. I realized that my flight wasn't there. Cause for concern!!
We paid $176 and flight is now at $246 - glad we booked early.

[gydell]

We are staying at the Radisson at the Port (free shuttle to the ship Sat.) and doing a limo from MCO (If we fly into there and not Melbourne. If you have 3 or more in you party the limo is as cheap if not cheaper and they take care of all your luggage. Reading this board I have found that a lot of people stay at the airport (the Hyatt I think). It seems that disney takes care of your luggage the morning before you get the shuttle.You can check and see.

[JLDSMD]

the4nitz's and pleman,

I sent you both a PM. I hope you get a chance to read it while it is still relevant. Hope it helps.

Jeff

[the4nitz's]

I got your PM Jeff. Thanks for the info. Same here, Midwest works better for us. Not sure what we will do. Craig

[JLDSMD]

Craig,

Tell me about it. I'm going to work on DW to see if she will switch. She keeps thinking back to last year when we were down there and the big storm hit here the day before the cruise. Thank goodness we were already down there. I have no problem with Friday a.m., but she does. She wants Thursday, but we can't go until the afternoon.

Jeff

[plenam]

Jeff,
Got your PM, Midwest also works well for us, got our tickets the other day. I see today they were raised up almost $20 per ticket.

Brett

[JLDSMD]

Brett,

I saw the increase early this afternoon. As of this morning both airlines were $10 lower round trip. There must have been a fuel surcharge added industry wide for both to jump exactly $10 at about the same time.

Just an FYI, I was talking to a Midwest agent today (trying to find out who our voucher can be used by) and she informed me that they changed their voucher-refund policy. It is now only 30 days from the date of purchase and they will now charge $25 to issue the credit. That's a bummer because last year we booked and it went down about 2 or 3 months later. That's where we got our voucher from.

I just go hit with that from Northwest because my DS's ticket to CA next month went down (dropped $54, but only got $29).

I don't remember from your prior posts, what day were you flying down? Was it Friday? Are you coming back on Saturday then? Morning or Evening on the return?

DW wants to stay over one more night before we come back. So we are looking at the 11:45 on Sunday. Good thing. I don't think I want to rush to the 11:45 on Saturday (we have late dinner, so late breakfast on disembarkment day) and I don't want to sit around until the night flight (did that last year).

Jeff

[SandieT]

Well I wish I could get in on the travel discussion but I am coming from Colorado and have never even heard of most of the airlines that you are talking about. We like to fly Frontier which really only works well if you fly from Denver.
We are going to fly out Thurs. AM. When we flew to DW in January, ALL OF OUR LUGGAGE went under a different name to Las Vegas and we didn't see it for 2 days. :confused3 CHECK YOUR BAGGAGE CLAIM TICKETS THEY GIVE YOU AFTER YOU CHECK YOUR BAGS!!! This was the 3rd time this happened to me but I caught it the other 2 times. We are flying out early because of unpredictable winter weather in Denver.
My dad lives in FL and will pick us up. We are staying at the Radisson at the Port. We plan to go to the Kennedy Space Center on Fri. After the cruise we will fly out Sunday AM. I am trying so hard to figure out a way to get to DW for one day without taking DD out of any more school. I just don't think it will work this time.

Laurie- How goes the weight loss? I too am trying to get in shape before the cruise. I started back in March and have had fun getting back into working out and eating better. My DH and I are doing the Body for Life program. It really works for us.

One more question. Which is more fun, the anticipation and planning or the actual cruise?

[skybuffalo]

Hello everyone,
I only found the disboard a few days ago, referred from another chat group. Using information from this board we have booked our flight on AirTran and will be staying at the Radisson.

Our son and his family are coming from Alaska so we will meet on the ship. Our grandson is 4 and grandaughter 10.

Looking forward to seeing everyone on the ship.

Ron

[the4nitz's]

Welcome aboard Skybuffalo!

[need_a_Disney_fix]

I have been watching Airtran's rates and the flights I am looking at just went up $10 per ticket. I am getting VERY close to booking.

Skybuffalo, welcome aboard! Our group is growing slowly, but surely. You will find one of the best part of the cruise is talking and planning with fellow DIS cruisers (at least that is what I am finding). Come visit often!!

SandieT, I gave my scales to my hubby and told him to hide them! It is sooo frustrating, BUT I am determined. I went over to the DISH Wish board and joined the challenge. That may be the extra umph I have needed. I will continue to do WW, drink TONS of water and keep hitting the track and my balance ball. Thanks for asking!!

[JLDSMD]

skybuffalo,
Welcome to the DIS Boards and our Cruise Meets thread. I will update the "children's list" with you grandchildren.

need_a_Disney_fix
The two airlines we are watching both jumped $10 per ticket yesterday around mid-day. I think there must have been an industry wide fuel surcharge or something. I'm hoping one of the carriers will buck the trend and remove it. All should follow suit, hopefully.

the4nitz's and plenam,
Did you notice the increase in NWA's fare today? Guess hoping for a Midwest match isn't going to happen. We might have to burn some FF miles if they lower the fares before Oct 1. That's our drop dead date.

SandieT,
I have heard of Frontier. They are actually a code share partner with Midwest Airlines (based here in Milwaukee). How do you like them? We were thinking of using some FF miles to fly them to Mexico (unfortunately with the stopover in Denver). They are 5K miles less to Mexico than American (non-stop to Mexico from Chicago) through Midwest. Just curious. Don't you have Continental/NWA as well as United hubbing in Denver? That should give you some good competition out there.

As for getting to WDW while down for the cruise, why not go the Friday before and hit Kennedy on the Saturday after? That's what we are thinking of doing. We figure we can get a whole day in the parks that Friday and don't have to worry about rushing off the boat when we get back. Kennedy isn't far from port. Just a thought.

Jeff

[the4nitz's]

Jeff,

I see the NWA sale did not last long. We did not want to make a comitment to flight times that did not fit our plans the best. We will just have to wait and see if Midwest comes down as we get closer. Their flight times fit our plans much better. Time will tell if we are doing the right thing. What about you? Did you buy NWA or still waiting?

Craig

[JLDSMD]

Craig,

DW really wants to go on Midwest because of the schedule. DS starts K this fall (full-time) and they do all the main learning in the a.m. She doesn't want to pull him out before noon (that's why we're looking at the 3:15 p.m. flight). She also doesn't want to go on Friday (due to the storm that hit the day before last year), so we are looking at Thursday at 3:15. We're a little pigeon holed. :confused3

If it were my decission, I would have done the NWA on Friday morning and came back either of the two nights after we got off the ship. Oh well.

We went to the State Fair today and MW had a booth for their Credit Card. They are offering with the one that is $49/year, 12,500 FF miles and a $99 companion ticket. I figured if we were going to blow 20K in miles for one free companion ticket, if DW's account can have the 12,500 deposited into it, burn 25K for a "straight" free ticket. I just have to make sure I can use my voucher from last year on the $99 companion ticket.

The lady at the booth said "no", but she also said the "offer" I mentioned above was only if we signed up at the fair. Which, I found by reading the FF newsletter, is not the case. You have until Sept 30 to sign up and get the bonus. I'm going to call MW directly and ask them since my voucher should be just like cash.

So I'm trying to figure this out. $295 right now for one ticket, $99 companion ticket less $60 voucher, $5 processing fee for 25K free ticket and $49 annual fee on the Credit Card comes up to $388 or $129 per ticket. If they say for sure I can use the voucher, I will probably book this week. DW's FF account will actually go up 7,500 miles. I guess you can look at the $49 fee another way and that DW purchaed the 7,500 miles with it. That is a return of 0.65% (less the 1.0% I try to get for a return when I use the miles). Using that way of thinking, the 3 tickets cost only $339 or $113 per ticket.

Wish me luck in dealing with MW.

Jeff

[SandieT]

Jeff,
We really like Frontier, aside from the fact that they lost all our luggage last year. I am not a great flyer and I like the fact that Frontier has all newer planes. They have the airbusses with a TV for each passenger and they have a Disney movie for the kids. The prices are usually less than the other airlines. Aside from weather delays we have always left on time an had very easy flights. They are up to $1400.00 for the four of us, last week one day it was around $1000.00. I should have grabbed them. Oh well, I'll just keep checking.
Sandie

[JLDSMD]

Just an update.

Not good news for me from MW. The voucher I have is only good on a "published" fare. The $99 companion ticket I mentioned above is not considered a published fare. So now I'm back to square one.

We were planning on using FF miles for one of the tickets, but if the prices stay as high as they are, I might use 2 FF tickets.

I hope there is a sale sometime soon. They have 120 open seats on the flights we want to take. I don't think they'll fill too many at $300 a pop. Especially when their competition is at least $40 less.

[gydell]

Tickets from Atlanta are running $281 so I know where you are coming from. At least we can drive if prices don't come down but you really don't have that option. Good luck!

[JLDSMD]

The surprsing thing is that Midwest is a financially troubled airline. With the increase in fuel costs, it may kill them. You'd think they'd want to fill their seats. Granted not at a rediculous fare, but at least at one matching their competitors. It would be sad to see them go under because they are Milwaukee's Home Town airline. Plus, I think if Midwest goes under, Northwest will end their non-stops out of Milwaukee.

It may be in my best interest to use up all of our FF miles so we don't lose them. If Midwest gets purchased, then the miles would hopefully still be good, but if they just fold, then they are gone.

I think that with the "baggage" (no pun intended) that comes with Midwest, I don't think anyone would want to buy them. They would instead opt to get the open gate at our airport for a discount. You'd probably see JetBlue and Southwest come in here as an alternative to O'Hare.

[the4nitz's]

I sure would hate to see Midwest go under. I'm far from a frequent flyer, but they sure treated us good. I would also hate to see the non-stops to Orlando end. It sure is nice to get on one flight and not have to worry about any connections. To me that is worth a little extra $$$$$. I keep checking to see if they come down, but they only go up. Just have to wait and see.

Craig

[JLDSMD]

Craig,

I agree. If Midwest would fold, it would be bad for air travel from Milwaukee. I'm not saying they are going under, but the current economic conditions that the airlines are facing and not being able to fill the planes (again, charging more than NWA isn't going to help) doesn't make the situation for an airline that has known financial trouble any better.

At least with us living down here, we can get to O'Hare within 90 minutes. For you, it would be about 4-5 hours. You'd have to look into going out of Minneapolis possibly for a non-stop.

I do still think that they'll run a sale sometime after school starts. They always do. They want to get the parents thinking about their winter vacations now that summer is over. I just hope they come down to around $200. Even under $225 would be worth it. I just can't see why they are not matching NWA. Their service is not like it used to be. Back then they could charge the extra $. Now, they have the same seating and no gourmet meals (in fact, no meals at all). At least they still have the chocolate chip cookies. :)

There is nothing like the non-stop flights, especially in January. We have a connection this October and I'm hoping everything goes smooth.

Jeff

[JLDSMD]

I just checked Allegiant Air out of Madison into Orlando-Sanford. They are still running $196. It would be $216 if you wanted the assigned seat.

Doesn't work for us since they leave Madison at 10:25 a.m. (DW wants Thursday afternoon). The return would have to be on Sunday. They leave Orlando at 8:00 a.m. and get back to Madison at 9:50 a.m.

Just another option.

[plenam]

The surprsing thing is that Midwest is a financially troubled airline. With the increase in fuel costs, it may kill them. .

I think it all depends on which airline out of MKE would go under first, if Delta, which is also in trouble, would go first, that might help Midwest. But again, this is all speculation. I got our tickets a week ago and I'm not worried at all.

Brett

[JLDSMD]

Brett,

I'm not worried short-term. I think we'll be fine for January, and maybe for some time after that. I'm just contemplating using all the FF miles we have this January for 2 tickets. At $300 a ticket, it is a pretty good return. If I don't use them and they do go under, the miles are lost. I figure, use them while I can.

My bigger concern is my Northwest flight next month. The mechanics are threatening a strike this Saturday. I haven't heard anything new about it, but if that happens, and it's prolonged, it will kill NWA. Can't fly a plane without the mechanics.

I'm just surprised that MW is selling seats at $295 when NWA has them for $255 (even as low as $165 last week - no match by MW). Escpecially when they still have at least 120 seats open on the planes (I got that from the seat maps available on Orbitz). Also, I can't believe they won't let us use FF miles on one of the flights we want to take with that many open seats.

As for Delta, I don't think they have that big of presence in MKE that would help out MW. NWA, on the other hand, is a huge player here and has been turning the screws on MW for sometime now. Ever since they ended their code share agreement. Also, doesn't Delta code share with someone? They might help them out or at least keep their routes.

I would not be surprised if fuel cost stay as high as they are that 3 airlines don't go under in the next year or two. US Air started having trouble last year, Delta and Midwest this year. It may come down to only a handful of full service domestic carriers with the regional/niche airlines (JetBlue, AirTran, Southwest, etc.) picking up the rest.

Again, I'm not saying MW is going under. Like you said with Delta, it's all speculation. I'm just saying the current economic stituation and their current marketing practices are not going to help them. We usually choose them over NWA, but if there is a huge price difference, we will go with NWA.

Jeff

[JLDSMD]

WOW, our boat appears to be far from full. Either that, or everyone booked GTY.

I looked at ALL of the verandah staterooms (except Cat 1 - 3) and there are serveral, in fact over 100, staterooms available. Yes I know, I need a life, or better yet, a vacation.

By going through the DCL site and getting to the page where you can select a specific stateroom, I entered all of the Cat 4, 5, 6 and 7 room numbers to see if the system showed them available or not.

Here's is what I found for each category (summarized):
Cat 7 (Navagator Verandah) 18 Rooms Available out of 30 possible
Cat 6 (Decks 5 and 6) 18 Rooms Available out of 138 possible
Cat 5 (Deck 7) 69 Rooms Available out of 114 possible
Cat 4 (Deck 8) 29 Rooms Available out of 79 possible

I first started looking at Cat 6 and 7, thinking I might change my reservation for one of those rooms and wanted to see what was available. Then I looked at Cat 4 and was surprised to see how many were available there. I was shocked when I went to the Cat 5's. There are more rooms available than are taken.

Another odd thing was that none of the rooms, regardless of category, were available with the solid verandah.

I'm not sure what DCL does with the GTY people at this point, but it just seems like a lot of empty rooms right now.

Maybe some upgrades will be available. :)

I haven't checked the lower categories, Cat 8 - 12, to see how full those are.

Jeff

[PiperG]

Maybe some upgrades will be available. :)

Jeff

On one of our past cruises, our sailing was originally quite empty. We were also hoping for an upgrade.

Unfortunately, the Norwalk virus hit a couple of sailings before us. The Magic was taken out of commission for a week, and many of the passengers were put on our voyage instead. The boat filled up real quick at that point. :confused3

Here is hoping we all get upgraded :cloud9:

[PiperG]

P.S.

All the talk about a mechanics strike on NWA is freaking me out. We have a WDW trip in October. . . . I will go nuts if I can't get down to Orlando for my fix of pixie dust!!!! :guilty:

[soccrmom65]

I booked a catg 12 and would love to see the ship less occupied so the chance of an upgrade would be much better. We are still a good ways out. I did notice that the catg 12 has gone up 100.00 pp since I booked. I will need lots of pixie dust for this one. :earsgirl:

[soccrmom65]

I was just on cruisecritic checking out the latest news and they have an article on the Disney Magic and the dry dock scheduled for October. Updates and new ideas for the spa area as well as a brand new kids space..but to me the most exciting is the larger then life movie screen on the pool deck. I was able to experience this on Caribbean Princess and loved watching movies under the stars. I am not sure how Disney will handle the movie viewing but if it is anything like Princess it will certainly be worth catching. You might want to hop over and read the article. Now I am even more excited :cheer2:

[SandieT]

1st day back to school for my 2nd grader. :teacher:
My little one starts her 1st day of preschool in a couple weeks and it's football season. (GO CU) : :cheer2:
The time is really going to start to fly!!!!!!!!
5 months and counting :hourglass

[crazy4M]

Hello everyone,
I am new to disboards and cruising. My DD10 and I (single mom) will be cruising the 7 day eastern on Jan 21. We look forward to everything we've read about on these boards. We plan to fly in on Friday (coming from Canada - so don't want to risk weather delays) and I think we'll stay at the Radisson at Port for that night so we can get on board early.

Any tips on cruising as a single parent? Should I go to Palo on my own. It sounds so wonderful.

Can't wait. I'm not sure who's more excited, me or DD. :cool1:

[need_a_Disney_fix]

1st day back to school for my 2nd grader. :teacher:
My little one starts her 1st day of preschool in a couple weeks and it's football season. (GO CU) : :cheer2:
The time is really going to start to fly!!!!!!!!
5 months and counting :hourglass

Hi Sandie...just wanted to say :wave2:. This is my favorite time of year just because of the football. GO HAWKEYES!!!! We are one step closer to the cruise and its exciting that "she" is heading home!!!

[need_a_Disney_fix]

Hello everyone,
I am new to disboards and cruising. My DD10 and I (single mom) will be cruising the 7 day eastern on Jan 21. We look forward to everything we've read about on these boards. We plan to fly in on Friday (coming from Canada - so don't want to risk weather delays) and I think we'll stay at the Radisson at Port for that night so we can get on board early.

Any tips on cruising as a single parent? Should I go to Palo on my own. It sounds so wonderful.

Can't wait. I'm not sure who's more excited, me or DD. :cool1:

Welcome aboard!!! You are going to love the DIS boards and find that you will be esstentially addicted to it. It is so much fun to share the planning fun with those that are doing the same.

:earboy2:

[crazy4M]

Thanks for the welcome. I'm already addicted. I have read so many posts and finally decided to join in on the fun. I love planning trips, it's half the fun (well not quite but you know).

My DD10 is anxious to know if there are any other kids her age. We choose DCL instead of WDW as she would have more of a chance of hooking up with other kids (since we'll be on our own).

This was suppose to be a family trip in Oct with my husband. However he recently left me. I have decided to go ahead anyhow but just postpone to January. Otherwise DD would have been very disappointed.

I look forward to hearing from other Jan 21 cruisers.

[NEPatsFan]

There is a list of children with ages on page 11.

[soccrmom65]

I keep checking my reservation and it is still showing a gty cabin....I am anxious to see a cabin number listed....if you have ever booked a gty how soon did you find out your cabin number.....are we there yet.....woohoo ::MinnieMo

[PiperG]

Just bumping to keep us at the top. My countdown clock says 147 days. Getting closer :cool1: :banana: :cheer2:

[plenam]

Sure is getting close :banana: ......About seven week and we can start making ressies :cool1: ... Anyone packed yet :rotfl2:

Brett

[NEPatsFan]

It’s getting closer and DH hasn’t found a new job yet!! :confused3 We’ve set a “drop dead date” of the end of September for the cruise. If he hasn’t found anything by then, we’ll have to put it off for a while. The kids will be disappointed but they understand. Back in May when things were starting to get ugly at his company, we thought this might be a possibility and started prepping them that this may happen. We already bought the plane tickets a while back so we’ll still go to Orlando and go to some of the parks (Universal, Sea World, EPCOT). His parents have a place just outside Orlando that we can use so we’ll still get a week out of the Minnesota winter!

Send pixie dust his way and hopefully we’ll be able to have a Magical week with all of you on the ship!

[JLDSMD]

Here is an updated list of DIS children (and grandchildren and nieces):

the4nitz's: DD3 DD6
plenam: DS9 DS12
PiperG: DS8 (almost 9)
JLDSMD: DS5 (almost 6)
turnlisa: DS4 DS9
ameejason: 3, 3, 5, and 7 (not sure if DD's or DS's or a combo)
SandieT: DD3 DD7
JollyTammy: DS10 DS15
JollyTammy's neighbors: DD7 DS11
NEPatsFan: DS6 DD8 DS11 DD13
gydell: DGrS(?)4
gydell: DD14 (actually friend of family)
soccrmom65: DN10 DN12
suejmj (and crew): G13, G14, G17 B5, B8, B15
skybuffalo: DGS4, DGD10
crazy4M: DD10

If I'm missing anyone, please let me know so I can add them to the list.

Jeff

[need_a_Disney_fix]

NEPatsfan, pixie dust, hugs, prayers and crossed fingers that all turns out for you. Please keep us posted!

:wizard: :grouphug: :flower3:

[JLDSMD]

Here is the updated listed by age. This will help if anyone is looking to match up playmates in the clubs.

:earsgirl: DD's
DD3 the4nitz's
DD3 SandieT
DD6 the4nitz's
DD7 jollytammy (neighbors)
DD7 SandieT
DD8 NEPatsFan
DN10 soccrmom65
DGrD10 skybuffalo
DD10 crazy4M
DN12 soccrmom65
DD13 NEPatsFan
G13 suejmj (and crew)
DD14 gydell (actually friend of family)
G14 suejmj (and crew)
G17 suejmj (and crew)

:earsboy: DS's
DS4 turnlisa
DGrS4 gydell
DGrS4 skybuffalo
B5 suejmj (and crew)
DS5 JLDSMD (almost 6)
DS6 NEPatsFan
B8 suejmj (and crew)
DS8 PiperG (almost 9)
DS9 plenam
DS9 turnlisa
DS10 jollytammy
DS11 jollytammy (neighbors)
DS11 NEPatsFan
DS12 plenam
DS15 jollytammy
B15 suejmj (and crew)

Again, if I'm missing anyone, please let me know.

Jeff

[need_a_Disney_fix]

Sure is getting close :banana: ......About seven week and we can start making ressies :cool1: ... Anyone packed yet :rotfl2:

Brett

Can you believe how fast the time is moving? :scared1:

I still need to get into bathing suit condition!!! :scared: But with the repo cruise going on, I get more and more excited all of the time. I can't wait til we can see our ship on the Rad webcam!!!

[JLDSMD]

Just checking in. Hope everyone is doing fine.

School starts for DS on Tuesday. DW was sad :sad1: to see him leave daycare today (his last day). She has onsite daycare at her office and could go down and see him any time she wanted, especially when she was having a bad day. He's been their since shortly after he was born, so 5 1/2 years.

We haven't purchased any airfare yet for January. Still hoping Midwest has a sale in the next week or two (usually after school starts). We are definitely going to use one FF ticket. So, since DW wants to go down on Thursday PM and doesn't want to come back until Sunday AM, we had to be a little creative since MW doesn't have any FF seats available on the Sunday AM out of Orlando.

What we will be doing is flying into Orlando, but out of Tampa. It is about an hour extra driving to TPA from WDW than it is to MCO (80 min vs. 20 min). The flight back is non-stop.

For those of you from WI, if you don't plan on going back until Sunday, you may want to consider this option if you don't mind the extra hour driving. It is pricing up over $30 less than the MKE-MCO-MKE roundtrip ticket.

Jeff

[JLDSMD]

need_a_Disney_fix,

are you checking the "Live from the Repo" thread a few times a day as well?

I've been checking it for new posts about 3 times a day (if not more).

I can't believe the rough seas :scared1: they had to go through. DW said she'd be just sick if we were on the boat right now.

Jeff

[need_a_Disney_fix]

Jeff, I cannot believe how fast the time is moving. I am determined to pay this trip off before we leave and I am well on my way. Yes, I have been watching that particular post. I check it ALL DAY LONG at the office and then WHEN I GET HOME. No, I am not obsessed...well, maybe a little bit. I made ressies at the Radisson and will be arriving the day before. I am really starting to check my airfares closely now. It seems the fare sales are ending through December 15, so our turn will be coming up. We will most likely take Airtran out of Moline, IL.

Tick tick tick...that is time slipping away!! :scared1:

[crazy4M]

Jeff, I cannot believe how fast the time is moving. I am determined to pay this trip off before we leave and I am well on my way. Yes, I have been watching that particular post. I check it ALL DAY LONG at the office and then WHEN I GET HOME. No, I am not obsessed...well, maybe a little bit. I made ressies at the Radisson and will be arriving the day before. I am really starting to check my airfares closely now. It seems the fare sales are ending through December 15, so our turn will be coming up. We will most likely take Airtran out of Moline, IL.

Tick tick tick...that is time slipping away!! :scared1:
We're flying in on the Friday also. I was planning on making reservations at the Radisson but had also read somewhere on disboards that two other hotels will be opening in Port Canaveral around Dec. Could that mean possible deals? How far in advance should I book the hotel?

I also have become slightly obsessed reading the posts. Anticipation is a wonderful thing.

[JLDSMD]

Laurie,

Does AirTran fly non-stop to Orlando from Moline or do you have to stop over in Atlanta?

We're heading down two days early and staying in WDW. We'll probably do MK and one other park on Friday, and then drive to port early on Saturday.

From what I can see on Yahoo's travel pages, the Midwest sale ends tonight. Hopefully something new will come out soon. I couldn't find an ending date for Northwest.

Jeff

[need_a_Disney_fix]

I am leaving my options open for the hotel. I am going to keep watching for the Country Inn & Suites in particular. I believe I have up to 72 hours to cancel my Rad ressie...maybe less, but I will keep watching.

[need_a_Disney_fix]

Jeff, MLI does have a non-stop flight to MCO via Airtran, however, DH and I like to take the first flight out any given day we travel by air. That non-stop flight doesn't leave until afternoon. Coming back though, I will be taking the non-stop flight.

[JLDSMD]

I also have become slightly obsessed reading the posts. Anticipation is a wonderful thing.


Hi. My name is Jeff. I am a DIS Board addict. :rotfl2:

crazy4M, it starts with curiosity, then obsession, and then full blown addiction.

Welcome to the world of DIS. :)

Jeff

[NEPatsFan]

NEPatsfan, pixie dust, hugs, prayers and crossed fingers that all turns out for you. Please keep us posted!

:wizard: :grouphug: :flower3:

Thanks! I've got 5 weeks to go and a couple leads I'm working on, so you never know. I would hate to have to disappoint the kids (and me too). Not only that, we have about 35 other family members going on this cruise. My 3 brothers and my sister and their families, my parents, my in-laws and some of the other in-laws. It would be a shame to miss it. Life has a way of getting the way of our plans. :rolleyes1 We just have to roll with it.

Thanks again,
Mike

[crazy4M]

I am leaving my options open for the hotel. I am going to keep watching for the Country Inn & Suites in particular. I believe I have up to 72 hours to cancel my Rad ressie...maybe less, but I will keep watching.
Laurie,

I think I'll book the Radisson also. But let us know what you find out about the other. One of the reasons I was interested in the Radisson is because they include shuttle service to the terminal.

[need_a_Disney_fix]

Hi. My name is Jeff. I am a DIS Board addict. :rotfl2:

crazy4M, it starts with curiosity, then obsession, and then full blown addiction.

Welcom to the world of DIS. :)

Jeff

Jeff, our entire family are Disney nuts and between my parents, our kids and DH and I, combined we have been to WDW so many times its ridiculous. BUT...this trip seems to have a different feel. I have NEVER obsessed so much! Is it the DIS boards (love it) or what. I need intervention!!!!!!!!

[crazy4M]

Hi. My name is Jeff. I am a DIS Board addict. :rotfl2:

crazy4M, it starts with curiosity, then obsession, and then full blown addiction.

Welcom to the world of DIS. :)

Jeff

Thanks for the welcome. This has already become the best trip I've ever planned and I haven't even left my computer yet. :cool1:

[need_a_Disney_fix]

Laurie,

I think I'll book the Radisson also. But let us know what you find out about the other. One of the reasons I was interested in the Radisson is because they include shuttle service to the terminal.

I certainly will cuz I am on the computer just about 24/7. Its my understanding that you can get a taxi to get to the Port. If worse comes to worse, that will be the route we go. JUST GET ME THERE ON TIME!!! :hyper:

[JLDSMD]

crazy4M and need_a_Disney_fix,

I couldn't remember if this is the first cruise for each of you or not, but our first (this past January) was booked 51 weeks out. I found the DIS shortly after I booked and was hooked. It was a wealth of information. This January will be our 3rd (our 2nd is in October) and I still am learning new things. If you're looking for one recommendation from me, on the Eastern, request dining rotation PLA. It will put you in Lumiere's on Formal night, Animator's Palate on Semi-Formal and Parrot Cay on Pirate Night. I think this rotation puts you in the best restaurants for the different theme nights. Don't think Pirate night would be the same in Lumiere's and I don't think I'd want to be dressed up in Parrot Cay.

As for hotels, have either of you checked out the Hilton? I read on a different thread that if you go to the AAA website and do a search for Cocoa Beach, you can get it for $78 a night. I just tried it. It will say it is $120, but when you click on it, it comes up $78. Not sure if they have a shuttle though, but depending on how much more the Radisson is, taking a cab may still be cheaper.

Jeff

p.s. need_a_Disney_fix, you don't need an intervention, just a good tropical drink during the sail away party. You'll forget all about the obsession. :rotfl:

[crazy4M]

crazy4M and need_a_Disney_fix,

I couldn't remember if this is the first cruise for each of you or not, but our first (this past January) was booked 51 weeks out. I found the DIS shortly after I booked and was hooked. It was a wealth of information. This January will be our 3rd (our 2nd is in October) and I still am learning new things. If you're looking for one recommendation from me, on the Eastern, request dining rotation PLA. It will put you in Lumiere's on Formal night, Animator's Palate on Semi-Formal and Parrot Cay on Pirate Night. I think this rotation puts you in the best restaurants for the different theme nights. Don't think Pirate night would be the same in Lumiere's and I don't think I'd want to be dressed up in Parrot Cay.

As for hotels, have either of you checked out the Hilton? I read on a different thread that if you go to the AAA website and do a search for Cocoa Beach, you can get it for $78 a night. I just tried it. It will say it is $120, but when you click on it, it comes up $78. Not sure if they have a shuttle though, but depending on how much more the Radisson is, taking a cab may still be cheaper.

Jeff

p.s. need_a_Disney_fix, you don't need an intervention, just a good tropical drink during the sail away party. You'll forget all about the obsession. :rotfl:
Thanks for the great info. What does dining rotation PLA stand for and how do you go about requesting it? Right now all I know is that we are booked for the late seating, waitlisted for earlier. My daughter is 10. From what I've read on the boards, I might just stick with the later seating. What do you think?

The boards are not only addictive, but actually almost therapeutic for me. This was to be a family trip in Oct. but my husband recently left me. He has agreed to pay for my daughter so I have decided to go ahead with the cruise but booked for January instead. DD10 is so excited and would have been very disappointed if we had cancelled the trip. All this planning and researching has given me a great diversion from other things. I'm looking forward to a tropical drink at the sail away party also. :flower:

[JLDSMD]

crazy4M,

Sorry to hear about you and your husband. Glad to hear that DD and you are still going. You will have the time of your life.

My DW was leery about going on the cruise last year (she easily gets motion sickness :sick: ), but now is addicted. We're trying out a non-verandah room on both upcoming cruises. If she does well, we'll probably be sailing annually. We personally can't justify spending that much $ on a verandah room every year. There are many other places we can go. We could even do two different trips for the total cost of a Cat 6 vacation.

PLA stands for Parrot Cay, Lumiere's, Animator's Palate. This would put you into Parrot Cay on the first night as well as nights 4 and 7. Lumiere's would be nights 2 and 5 and Animator's Palate on nights 3 and 6. If you go out to some of the other websites out there, you can look at the navigators to see what themes will be on each day. The first 3 days are "rotational dining" and you will have each restaurants' specific menu. On days 4-7, the meals are the same in all the restaurants. Pirate night is on Tuesday night, night 4, when we are saiing from St. Martin to St. Thomas (they don't have to sail so fast so they can do the fireworks that night). So whatever restaurant you had for night 1, you will have for Pirate night. Since PC has a tropical theme, it goes well with Pirate night. Another thing to keep in mind that AP only does the light show on the first night you are there.

We got stuck with late seating also. We originally booked our cruise while sailing last January and got early seating. We subsequently cancelled the cruise. When we got it reinstated, we could only get late seating. Now there is some hope. The Wonder did a test on staggered dining and it worked out so well it is now permanent on the Wonder. The Magic is testing it out, but the test is set to end with the cruise the ends on Jan 7. What they do with staggered dining is have the early diners (what was 6:00) come in at 5:45, 6:00, and 6:15. Late diners (what was 8:30) come in at 8:00, 8:15 and 8:30. I have a request in for 8:00 on my October cruise and it is noted for the January cruise that if it is extended, we would like 8:00 then as well. The extra 1/2 hour will help with DS5.

To request either a specific dining rotation or a staggered dining time, just call the Disney Cruise Line and put in a request with the CM. Regarding the staggered dining time, they will tell you they don't have it for our cruise. Just politely tell them that you understand that the test is ending in early January, but if it does get extended you would like your reservation noted that you prefer 8:00 since you have a DD10.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Jeff

[crazy4M]

Thanks for the great info. Now I get it, plus I appreciate the heads up for the staggered dining. It sounds like a good idea. I think 8:00 would be better also, we would just have a later lunch. I looked at some of the food pictures on one of the posts. It all looks so great. And here I was just excited not to cook and do dishes. :cheer2:

I have a feeling that like your DW I could also get addicted to cruising.

[need_a_Disney_fix]

...my DH and I are older cruisers (late 40's) and without kids. We have early seating and my question to you is, do you think we would like the late seating better? I would really be open to this, plus it would allow for a family with kids an early seating. What are your thoughts?