MR October 28, 2012 "Halloween Time"

[sica1799]

Fish Extender Exchange

sica1799
Cabin# 6058
Jessica (me)
Robb (DH)
Anthony (DS 7)
Jason (DS 2) <--at time of sail

 

[atheneze]

atheneze
Cabin #: GTY
# of People - 2A
Real Name - Alexandria(25) and Ran(27)
Comments - Excited!!!

 

[Kidlette]

Congratulations! She is beautiful! Was she was a few days early?

Hope you're all well!

Make sure you're getting lots of sleep!

Cluck cluck here

Oh no - my links got changed...looks like I need to re-post the baby pics!

I was a scheduled c-section. She was delivered at 39 weeks so technically she was a week early, but it was purposefully. She made it to her scheduled date!

 

[Kidlette]

Kidlette- so cool to be a travel agent!! Congrats on the baby, she is adorbs!!! We also will be traveling with a baby- well he is a baby now (20 months), but he will be almost 2.5 then LOL

Hi Jessica, and welcome to the sailing! First off - thanks - we sure do love her!

I'm actually not a travel agent any more - I haven't been for several years now. I did spend about 10 years in the business though, so I still have a great background if anyone needs/wants to pick my brain

Ryan and I did the 2 night cruise to nowhere followed by the Wonder's first sailing of this itinerary in January 2011, so we have experience with it too. Now you and I can both tell everyone how fantastic it is! Did you guys do any excursions in September? We only did a whale watching excursion, but we would highly recommend it. We were supposed to go horseback riding in Mazatlan, but as with this sailing, Mazatlan was cancelled then too, so we missed it. We also did our own thing in Puerto Vallarta, and I wouldn't really recommend that to anyone. It seemed the least safe of the 2 ports. Honestly, we were glad to get back on the ship. Cabo was nice though, walking around was comfortable and didn't cause concern.

If there is someone with experience in organizing FE and want to do is OK with me.

Hi steelek. Welcome to the sailing!
Ryan and I did this same sailing in January and I was the "group leader." I organized the FE, pre-cruise meets, wristbands, a group meet on board the ship, a group brunch in Palo for a select number of us, and Ryan and I also designed the group logo and organized a "vote" for the group name. I even set up and managed one of those free google websites and had people send me pictures, etc. so that we could "get to know" one another. LOL, that's probably taking it a little far though, there's no reason for you to have to do that. Anyway - I would love to help organize, but I'm afraid I'll have to decline and leave it up to you (but you are doing great so far) With a newborn it's just not something I want to give priority and time to. Lorelai comes first right now, but that's as it should be. However - if you have questions or want some guidance on anything, feel free to email me (mrsjeccamcintosh@yahoo.com) or send me a private message. I'm happy to answer any questions if I can.

I think someone mentioned graphic design experience, which is fantastic. If they want to do the logo that would be great. Otherwise, I would recommend contacting someone from the DISigns board soon. We wound up doing it ourselves on the last cruise because these people had so many requests that the wait was a month or two for a logo

About a name - how do we want to choose? If you're going to be the "leader" to you want people to PM you with ideas and you post a list that we vote on, or should people just start giving ideas?

Also - if anyone wants to meet before the sailing and will be in the Disneyland area, Ryan and I would be happy to meet you! On our last sailing we did maybe 4 pre-cruise meets and became friends with a lot of people. To this day there are 3 families that we keep in contact with regularly, all of which we've "traveled" with again. We love making friends!

 

[Kidlette]

OK Everyone - one last post (sorry there are so many today)

Anyway - Ryan and I took Lorelai to Disneyland yesterday! It was her first Disneyland trip and she was only 15 days old
In any case, here's our "first family photo" - Lorelai, Mommy, and Daddy at Disneyland!

Sorry...the pic is a bit fuzzy.

 

[steelek_29]

Hi steelek. Welcome to the sailing!
Ryan and I did this same sailing in January and I was the "group leader." I organized the FE, pre-cruise meets, wristbands, a group meet on board the ship, a group brunch in Palo for a select number of us, and Ryan and I also designed the group logo and organized a "vote" for the group name. I even set up and managed one of those free google websites and had people send me pictures, etc. so that we could "get to know" one another. LOL, that's probably taking it a little far though, there's no reason for you to have to do that. Anyway - I would love to help organize, but I'm afraid I'll have to decline and leave it up to you (but you are doing great so far) With a newborn it's just not something I want to give priority and time to. Lorelai comes first right now, but that's as it should be. However - if you have questions or want some guidance on anything, feel free to email me (mrsjeccamcintosh@yahoo.com) or send me a private message. I'm happy to answer any questions if I can.

About a name - how do we want to choose? If you're going to be the "leader" to you want people to PM you with ideas and you post a list that we vote on, or should people just start giving ideas?

Also - if anyone wants to meet before the sailing and will be in the Disneyland area, Ryan and I would be happy to meet you! On our last sailing we did maybe 4 pre-cruise meets and became friends with a lot of people. To this day there are 3 families that we keep in contact with regularly, all of which we've "traveled" with again. We love making friends!

Geezzzz I wish I could do all those things, but I don't have any idea how!!!! I don't feel like the "leader", I just started the FE. If we are going to meet some place or do all the neat things you said, I will really need your help.

I need to explain one thing though... my first language is Spanish so pleaseeeee excuse all the grammar mistakes...

 

[steelek_29]

OK Everyone - one last post (sorry there are so many today)

Anyway - Ryan and I took Lorelai to Disneyland yesterday! It was her first Disneyland trip and she was only 15 days old
In any case, here's our "first family photo" - Lorelai, Mommy, and Daddy at Disneyland!

Sorry...the pic is a bit fuzzy.

Awwwww!!!! Beautiful!!!!!!

 

[sica1799]

Ryan and I did the 2 night cruise to nowhere followed by the Wonder's first sailing of this itinerary in January 2011, so we have experience with it too. Now you and I can both tell everyone how fantastic it is! Did you guys do any excursions in September? We only did a whale watching excursion, but we would highly recommend it. We were supposed to go horseback riding in Mazatlan, but as with this sailing, Mazatlan was cancelled then too, so we missed it. We also did our own thing in Puerto Vallarta, and I wouldn't really recommend that to anyone. It seemed the least safe of the 2 ports. Honestly, we were glad to get back on the ship. Cabo was nice though, walking around was comfortable and didn't cause concern.


I think someone mentioned graphic design experience, which is fantastic. If they want to do the logo that would be great. Otherwise, I would recommend contacting someone from the DISigns board soon. We wound up doing it ourselves on the last cruise because these people had so many requests that the wait was a month or two for a logo


Also - if anyone wants to meet before the sailing and will be in the Disneyland area, Ryan and I would be happy to meet you! On our last sailing we did maybe 4 pre-cruise meets and became friends with a lot of people. To this day there are 3 families that we keep in contact with regularly, all of which we've "traveled" with again. We love making friends!

Thanks for the welcome

We did only one excursion and that was in cabo. We did he salsa & salsa-it was ok, won't do it again. Here's my review: http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUser...Cabo_San_Lucas_Los_Cabos_Baja_California.html

We just explored on our own in PV...it was not as exciting. If I could do it again (which luckily we get to!! ) I would do an excursion in PV and wing it in cabo. We heard RAVE reviews about the Las Calletas (PV) excursion from our table mates. They are cruising again in April and doing it again. So that's the one we are taking because we can also take the little one.

I am the one that has graphic design experience (www.facebook.com/JDBDesigns) LOL shameful plug...I'd love to help

We are still in contact with all our table mates. WE all fell in love with each other LOL As we speak 2 couples are in DL together right now. We met up with those 2 couples in Dec. We are planning a DL trip for summer, maybe spring LOL We'd meet up with you

 

[Kidlette]

Geezzzz I wish I could do all those things, but I don't have any idea how!!!! I don't feel like the "leader", I just started the FE. If we are going to meet some place or do all the neat things you said, I will really need your help.

I need to explain one thing though... my first language is Spanish so pleaseeeee excuse all the grammar mistakes...

Don't worry about grammar, it's no big deal. I'm sure people will be asking you for help with some Spanish phrases on the cruise. Lol, maybe you shouldn't have told everyone you speak Spanish, people might start asking for you to go shopping with them in Mexico to try and get some better deals!

Everything I mentioned is not necessary to do, but people might start asking about meets and wristbands. After all, they've already mentioned logos and stuff. You don't have to be the leader and arrange it all. If someone wants to do a meet or wristbands then I'm sure they can arrange it. You're doing a great job with the FE list.

Also, I will edit my 1st post with FE info. I'll put a blurb explaining what it is and a note that anyone wanting to join should contact you via PM. The list should be kept up and updated in 1 place though. If the full list is always changed and re-posted on a different page then it will be really hard for participants to find the list. Maybe when it gets closer to sailing you can send me the list at I'll post it to the first page. Also, just a thought...the reason a meet is good on board in the first day or two is because people get upgraded last minute or GTYs are assigned and then the FE list of cabin numbers is wrong. If FE participants meet-up then they can advise everyone of cabin number changes. Oh yeah, you should also choose a date to close the FE list. People will need time to shop and they will have to know the final number of FE participants without that number suddenly increasing on them.

hope this helps. Let me know if you have questions

 

[sica1799]

Out last group was pretty simple. We had our first meet on ship (some people met off ship prior) and did FE. I didn't know that there were more groups that did more. LOL What are the wrist bands for?

 

[steelek_29]

Can anyone help me deciding were to stay prior the cruise. I don't have any idea!!! I've never been to CA... I only know that I have to be there the day after b/c since I'm from Puerto Rico I will be arriving toooo late the same day. I'm not sure if I should stay near the airport or neart the port... I wish it was in San Pedro (near the port)... What do you think??!!??

 

[Kidlette]

Out last group was pretty simple. We had our first meet on ship (some people met off ship prior) and did FE. I didn't know that there were more groups that did more. LOL What are the wrist bands for?

Yeah. I don't know about other groups and that was the first group we did, but we went all out in that group. Honestly, I/we probably wouldn't participate in all of those things again anyway. On this cruise we mostly want to be on our own and focusing on Lorelai. It took 9 years for us to have our daughter and this cruise will be our first family vacation, our 10 year anniversary, and Ryan's birthday all in that week. So...we won't want to spend a lot of time hanging out with other people. Wristbands were custom made wristbands with the sail date and our group name printed on them. The point was to wear them and then your fellow DISers would recognize you as part of the group and would make it easier to talk to out on deck, etc. Honestly, we never wore ours because they were kind of annoying.

 

[AmanduhAnn]

Hello!! My daughter (6) and I booked this cruise in December using our DVC points! We are so excited! This will be our second Disney Cruise, our first one was in January 2010. It was a 4 day on the Wonder out of FL.

I think I got all caught up in all the previous posts. LOL

Jessica, congrats on the beautiful baby girl!

I saw some stuff about the FE... I think my daughter and I may be interested... But I don't know much about it yet. My sister and BIL and also my BIL's sis are going as well. I am going to talk to them about it as well.

Right now we live in Yokosuka, Japan. My husband is in the Navy. My daughter and I are heading home to CA in May or June tho, since my husband decided in July he doesn't feel like being married anymore after 8 years. Nice. But we are excited about the cruise! My daughter and I need something to look forward to right now!

Question... how does Halloween on the ship work? Does anyone know?

 

[Kidlette]

Can anyone help me deciding were to stay prior the cruise. I don't have any idea!!! I've never been to CA... I only know that I have to be there the day after b/c since I'm from Puerto Rico I will be arriving toooo late the same day. I'm not sure if I should stay near the airport or neart the port... I wish it was in San Pedro (near the port)... What do you think??!!??

We are from Southern California, but I'm afraid we're not familiar with the area around the cruise terminal. We have sailed from there before but it's really an industrial area - it didn't seem that there were many hotels close. With that said, these are my two cents:

1) Do NOT, NOT, NOT stay on the Queen Mary - no matter how "cool" it sounds. That ship is dirty, gross, and in a bad area. I even got sick going to it one day. It sounds cool, but it's not a good idea.

2) If you're coming all the way to SoCal for a Disney Cruise, it seems a waste to not stay the night at Disney the night before. Disney Cruise Line has a pier transfer from the Disneyland resort to the cruise terminal. You have to pay for it, but that way you can stay near Disneyland the night before and have Disney themselves transfer you to the ship. It's a win-win! Heck, you can even do that if you don't go into the parks or stay at a Disney hotel. I know lots of cheaper hotels in the Disneyland area that are good, and I can even recommend to you a specific way to priceline that area for a descent room (we've done it dozens and dozens of times). But again - as far as staying near the ship, I'm sorry that I don't have any recommendations.

Hope that helps.

 

[Kidlette]

Hello!! My daughter (6) and I booked this cruise in December using our DVC points! We are so excited! This will be our second Disney Cruise, our first one was in January 2010. It was a 4 day on the Wonder out of FL.

I think I got all caught up in all the previous posts. LOL

Jessica, congrats on the beautiful baby girl!

I saw some stuff about the FE... I think my daughter and I may be interested... But I don't know much about it yet. My sister and BIL and also my BIL's sis are going as well. I am going to talk to them about it as well.

Right now we live in Yokosuka, Japan. My husband is in the Navy. My daughter and I are heading home to CA in May or June tho, since my husband decided in July he doesn't feel like being married anymore after 8 years. Nice. But we are excited about the cruise! My daughter and I need something to look forward to right now!

Question... how does Halloween on the ship work? Does anyone know?

Welcome to the sailing!

Thanks - we think she's beautiful! We can't wait to take her on this sailing. Ryan and I will be celebrating our 10 year wedding anniversary on this cruise, and this will be the first time we actually get to take a vacation as a "family" with a baby - we're so stoked!

Sorry to hear about your husband. Hopefully Mickey and the gang can lift your spirits! I'm not exactly sure how Halloween on the ship works, but we did some research on it a few months ago. It seems that each year and each sailing is different - they don't always do the same things. From what we read, Disney will have stations set up around the ship for kids to trick or treat at. The characters will also be out in their costumes and ready for photo ops. At night, they also play family appropriate Halloween movies on the jumbo-tron thing out on deck. For instance, last year they played Hocus Pocus, Haunted Mansion movie, etc. I have to imagine they also have Halloween themed desserts and other foods on board that night. Aside from that, I don't know what else they might or might not do. I guess we'll just have to wait and see!

 

[Kidlette]

Hello!! My daughter (6) and I booked this cruise in December using our DVC points!

Oh yeah - we are also DVC members and we also used points for this sailing! We don't typically like to use our points for cruises, but it was that or no Disney trip at all. We usually do WDW in January, but since we can't afford airfare and tickets right now, a cruise from our area seemed like a good choice. Besides - we love Disney Cruise Line!

Where do you own at and how long have you owned? We own at Animal Kingdom Villas. I can't remember exactly when we bought, but it was a few years ago. We LOVE it and would recommend DVC to anyone!

If anyone reads this and has questions about DVC, feel free to ask - we love talking to people about it! If you're thinking about buying DVC, use us as a referral and you and we get something for being a referral. How magical

 

[AmanduhAnn]

Where do you own at and how long have you owned? We own at Animal Kingdom Villas. I can't remember exactly when we bought, but it was a few years ago. We LOVE it and would recommend DVC to anyone!

We own at Grand Californian. We purchased in 2010.
We joined because my sister and BIL were already members.They own at Grand Californian, Saratoga Springs and Animal Kingdom Villas

 

[steelek_29]

2) If you're coming all the way to SoCal for a Disney Cruise, it seems a waste to not stay the night at Disney the night before. Disney Cruise Line has a pier transfer from the Disneyland resort to the cruise terminal. You have to pay for it, but that way you can stay near Disneyland the night before and have Disney themselves transfer you to the ship. It's a win-win! Heck, you can even do that if you don't go into the parks or stay at a Disney hotel. I know lots of cheaper hotels in the Disneyland area that are good, and I can even recommend to you a specific way to priceline that area for a descent room (we've done it dozens and dozens of times). But again - as far as staying near the ship, I'm sorry that I don't have any recommendations.

Hope that helps.

I'm staying a couple of day after the cruise to visit Disneyland... My first visit
I'm staying in Portofino inn for 5 nights... Still haven't decided where to stay the day before the cruise

 

[becpee]

I'm staying a couple of day after the cruise to visit Disneyland... My first visit
I'm staying in Portofino inn for 5 nights... Still haven't decided where to stay the day before the cruise

We're stuck for before the cruise too, thinking we might do the DL trick or treat party on the Friday before, but not sure yet, we'll be coming from Vegas (at this stage) on the Thursday or Friday before and staying after the cruise at DL (Grand Cali hopefully, jeez i'm waiting for those deals to come out!) and flying home on the Thursday night.

It's getting closer!

I'm still deciding whether we'll do the FE, just thinking of having to take all that extra stuff with us.

Flights over here have gone up, tax increases and introduction of the carbon tax for flights starting July 1, adding around $150 to each flight (thats what the media says anyway).

Hoping we win the $20million lotto draw next week, it would make all our decisions so much easier...

 

[Kidlette]

We're stuck for before the cruise too, thinking we might do the DL trick or treat party on the Friday before, but not sure yet, we'll be coming from Vegas (at this stage) on the Thursday or Friday before and staying after the cruise at DL (Grand Cali hopefully, jeez i'm waiting for those deals to come out!) and flying home on the Thursday night.

It's getting closer!

I'm still deciding whether we'll do the FE, just thinking of having to take all that extra stuff with us.

Flights over here have gone up, tax increases and introduction of the carbon tax for flights starting July 1, adding around $150 to each flight (thats what the media says anyway).

Hoping we win the $20million lotto draw next week, it would make all our decisions so much easier...

Oh wow - where in Vegas? Ryan and I lived in Vegas until a couple of years ago when we were both laid off from our jobs (he works in architecture and I worked in travel, so when the housing market/economy fell we both lost our jobs). Actually - we lost our jobs within 24 hours of each other - crazy! Anyway, we waited 30 days to find jobs but with Vegas one of the hardest hit in the country for housing it was near impossible for Ryan to find anything there (no houses = no construction = no design = architects out of work in Vegas)...so, we moved back to Cali. We used to live in Northwest Vegas, the Centennial Hills area. We LOVED it! We hated moving and we HATE being back in Cali - would love to go back some day!