August 22nd 2009 Western Carribbean Anyone?

[Maza]

it is worth the trip...the canyon anyway.never skied in the US...but beleive vermont is excellent, so why bother to shlep all the way aross country Have skied at Whistler though...and that was fab!

 

[Ski-and-Sea]

Have skied at Whistler though...and that was fab!

Its kind of ironic...but the risk of snowstorms is what keeps us from flying out west. It wasn't so bad this winter but last winter there were terrible snow/ice storms that fell on the weekends shutting down major airports. People could not get another flight for days which meant you canceled the trip.

So we worry that we book some fab vacation in the Rockies and along comes some snowstorm that shuts down the airport and we can't go.

On the other side, I know someone who had to spend a few extra days at a ski resort in Wyoming because there was a big snow storm on the day he left and the airport shut down and he couldn't leave. Poor guy.

Speaking of storms....we had a bad one Friday night-Saturday and we had no power for 24 hours exactly. We have a generator so we survived.

 

[soccermom10]

Hello all. We just returned from the 3/1 Eastern & we booked for the 8/22/09 Western We couldn't leave the ship without booking again. It made me feel a little better, but I'm still having withdrawl

 

[Ski-and-Sea]

Hello all. We just returned from the 3/1 Eastern & we booked for the 8/22/09 Western We couldn't leave the ship without booking again. It made me feel a little better, but I'm still having withdrawl

Welcome, welcome, welcome......

Yes, the withdrawals never really go away....you just learn to live with the pain.

But having another cruise booked is the only way to cope.

We've never done an eastern - all western cruises for us, just the way the dates worked out.

 

[stsomewhere]

We have changed from Explorer 9 night on 3/09 to this wonderful Disney cruise. We just sailed on Carnival triumph in Jan., ready for another cruise.
This will be our first on DCL.
Me, DH, DS-11(on Sailing), DD-8 at sailing. We received the DCL dvd in the mail and that was it. The kids wanted to switch. MIL,FIL,SIL, BIL, nephew are condering it too.

It didn't see it is someone making at list of cruisers, ages and cabins?

Christi

 

[stsomewhere]

* kids age are at time of sailing

FluffyBunny
Maza- DW of Fluffy Bunny,DS-14, DD-13
Ski-and-Sea, DH, DD-13, DD-15
Rachie0507,DH, DD-13, DS-8
Wayneg: Wayne,DW- Karen, DS-15 Mathew
Soccermom10-
Stsomewhere:Christi, DH ERik, DS-11 Matt, DD-8 Marina

We will keep adding.

 

[Ski-and-Sea]

* kids age are at time of sailing

FluffyBunny
Maza- DW of Fluffy Bunny,DS-14, DD-13
Ski-and-Sea, DH, DD-13, DD-15
Rachie0507,DH, DD-13, DS-8
Wayneg: Wayne,DW- Karen, DS-15 Mathew
Soccermom10-
Stsomewhere:Christi, DH ERik, DS-11 Matt, DD-8 Marina

We will keep adding.

Welcome, welcome....glad there are more booking this great cruise.

We need to edit my kids' ages......DS will be 14 and DD will 13 on this cruise....boy it took me a while to figure out what their ages will be in August 2009.

 

[fluffy bunny]

* kids age are at time of sailing

FluffyBunny
Maza- DW of Fluffy Bunny,DS-14, DD-13
Ski-and-Sea, DH, DD-13, DD-15
Rachie0507,DH, DD-13, DS-8
Wayneg: Wayne,DW- Karen, DS-15 Mathew
Soccermom10-
Stsomewhere:Christi, DH ERik, DS-11 Matt, DD-8 Marina

We will keep adding.

Welcome to the Red Hot Chili Cruisers.

Looks like we have mixed up Ski-and-sea kids with ours. Ours should be as follows:

FluffyBunny
Maza- DW of Fluffy Bunny, DD-15, DD-13

Just been reading the Times Travel pull out with a great picture of Aquatica on the front and we are all wishing we were going to Orlando this year. Oh well, just have to look at last years photo's again and keep putting the money into the holiday account.

 

[wayneg]

Welcome Christi and Family.

Thank you for putting list together. When a few more have joined I can put the data on my webpage if you want, makes it look more tidy than posting in a thread.
Have a look and see what you think, I have done it for our Wonder cruise this month www.astersflorist.co.uk bottom link on left.
If anyone has a better suggestion that would be great.
Don't think we are doing Aquatica this year. Our SW/Busch passports are due for renewal end of year, will probably add Aquatica then as its only $40 for 2 years.
Wayne

 

[soccermom10]

My DS will be 13 & DD will be 8 when we sail.

We will also be traveling with my DH's family. A total of 14 of us definite so far & several more that are considering it. My twin nieces will be 12 & my nephews will be 13, 9 & 3.

Jackie

 

[soccermom10]

Ski-and-Sea, I noticed that you are from New Jersey. I live in New Jersey also.

 

[stsomewhere]

Wayne,
I check out your webpage. That would be great if you could keep one for our cruise.

 

[stsomewhere]

FluffyBunny
Maza- DW of Fluffy Bunny,DD-15, DD-13
Ski-and-Sea, DH, DS-14, DD-13
Rachie0507,DH, DD-13, DS-8
Wayneg: Wayne,DW- Karen, DS-15 Mathew
Soccermom10-Jackie, DH, DS-13, DD8
Stsomewhere:Christi, DH ERik, DS-11 Matt, DD-8 Marina

A group of 14 with Soccermom, maybe more.

We will keep adding.

 

[stsomewhere]

My SIL, BIL and DS-3 plus grandparents want to come, too.

Since you have all been on DCL before, is it as great as it looks on the dvd?
We have been on many cruises on different lines.
We just cruised 1/19/08. The kids love cruising. We asked them if they wanted to go to Disney World or a cruise next year. They choose a cruise.

We are very excited. We are going through post cruise depression.
I agree the only way to cure it ....is book another

 

[wayneg]

Wayne,
I check out your webpage. That would be great if you could keep one for our cruise.

No problem, I will do it when we get back from Florida (22nd Mar-6th Apr) if no-one posts a better option before then.

 

[Ski-and-Sea]

That would be great to create a web page for our cruise. Thanks for doing that.

Late August is a popular time for people from NJ to cruise since it gets cheaper and our kids are still off for the summer whereas many in the southern US are back at school.

I think cruising with the extended family is a wonderful thing. I've tried to get my relatives to come and we were all set to book when DB and DSIL decided to go in October instead of August. Funny enough they were the ones that got impacted by a hurricane....not us in August.

Yes, a Disney cruise is as good as it looks in the DVD. I think the people who work for DCL as well as the adult who sail DCL really buy into the whole Magic of a Disney experience. We're the ones who believe pixie dust exists and for those set number of days that we are onboard we can cast aside all the problems at home and in the world and escape to a place of Magic and Wonder.

I think the key is to recognize that you will find magic on the ship but it shows up in unexpected places and in unexpected ways. It just sneaks up on you.

Yes, be careful not to set expectations too high. We did have one cruise where our dining room experience wasn't very good and I did end up writing a letter to DCL. I've been on cruises where the weather on the sea days was just dreadful.

We are so looking forward to going back to Grand Cayman and Cozumel. We will be doing snorkeling excursions on both days. We'll be going with Eagle Ray Divers in Cozumel and I'm still undecided on who to go with in Grand Cayman.

 

[stsomewhere]

Our kids are looking forward to snorkeling. We took them on their first "real " trip in January. We rented a 44ft sailboat to take us to ST. John. It was awesome.
Our kids have only been on eastern routes because we have felt it was safer while they were little. They are looking forward to seeing something different.
We may do a ruins trip.
SIL is worried about hurricanes and is unsure about cruise now. We have tried to reassure her that they will sail around/out of its path.
We have sailed in Sept 1996 and had to sail around 3 storms. It was very rough. But, we survived.
I hate cold water, so I am looking forward to sailing during the summer. We usually sail in Dec, Jan, or Feb. When it is zero here.

 

[Ski-and-Sea]

SIL is worried about hurricanes and is unsure about cruise now. We have tried to reassure her that they will sail around/out of its path.

I tell people to never let the risk of hurricanes prevent you from cruising in August. I'd be more worried about the middle of September than August.

Hurricanes can hit anytime between June and November. We cruised the first week of July and got chased by a hurricane.

The worst that can happen is a change in itinerary and missing a port. Otherwise the captain steers well clear of any storms.

I hate cold water, so I am looking forward to sailing during the summer. We usually sail in Dec, Jan, or Feb. When it is zero here.

Me too. I love that the water is so warm in August. I would never cruise DCL in the winter. Why fly/sail all that way when you can't go in the water.

 

[Maza]

Just been reading the Times Travel pull out with a great picture of Aquatica on the front and we are all wishing we were going to Orlando this year. Oh well, just have to look at last years photo's again and keep putting the money into the holiday account.

WWWWWWWHHHHHHHHHHHHHHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!! lol

 

[stsomewhere]

I tell people to never let the risk of hurricanes prevent you from cruising in August. I'd be more worried about the middle of September than August.

Hurricanes can hit anytime between June and November. We cruised the first week of July and got chased by a hurricane.

The worst that can happen is a change in itinerary and missing a port. Otherwise the captain steers well clear of any storms.



Me too. I love that the water is so warm in August. I would never cruise DCL in the winter. Why fly/sail all that way when you can't go in the water.

We have explained all of this to her. She really has her heart set on going to Key West. She got married there. We sailed on NCL and she has her ceremony on the isalnd. She will be celebrating 10th anniversary during the cruise. We told her not to get her hopes up about going. There could be a change in ports.

DH and I are the cruise /vacation planners in our families. Everyone wants to go with us, but back out at the last minute. Plus, we try to take into consideration everyones wishes, dates and budgets. We usually have a few families come with us.

On DCL, we decided we would go when and where we wanted. I don't think grandparents will go if SIL doesn't. People complaining about how hot it will be.