I won a Disney Cruise! PTR

[TheThomsLuvDisney]

Yay on the passports, that's a great one to check off the "To Do" list!

I'm still playing that game everyday, so nice to know somebody actually one a contest!

 

[HokieMouse]

Any updates? So many of us are living vicariously through you.

 

[juliebug1997]

I once wondered if perhaps we were taking them too much (once or twice a year) and then on our last trip, DD took my hand, laid her head on my shoulder and said with a sigh, "I just love being here."

I'm almost positive that I have done this to DH.


Congratulations on your big win!!!!! It's a major award!!!!!

 

[perfectmatch300]

Awesome that you won! Hope you & your family have a "Magical" time!

I had not played this game before, so I just went & tried it. I think I'm hooked!

I'll be checking back to hear the rest of your story.

 

[eyor44]

Any updates? So many of us are living vicariously through you.

I'm back! Update to follow.

I'm almost positive that I have done this to DH.


Congratulations on your big win!!!!! It's a major award!!!!!

Thank you. We are so very excited.

Awesome that you won! Hope you & your family have a "Magical" time!

I had not played this game before, so I just went & tried it. I think I'm hooked!

I'll be checking back to hear the rest of your story.

Yes, there should be a warning on the game. Highly addictive. I still play every day. It's just a lot of fun. Today I got the very last upgrade for the current game.

 

[eyor44]

My apologies for being gone so long. We had the end of school and then I took DD to Disney World for a long weekend. When we got back we had extra dance practices (for both of us) getting ready for our dance recital. Now the recital is over and my life suddenly has free time again.

Update on the cruise front.
When we arrived home from Disney mine and DD's passports had arrived. The next day DS' arrived. 3 down and one to go. We immediately began giving DH a hard time that he might not be able to go. The kids had a good time with that one. Every day he would check the mail, and check and check. Finally just last week, the last passport arrived. One more thing checked off the list.

Today I received our flight information. I had been told that at 45 days out I would receive an email with the flight information, but the 45 day mark came and went and no flights.

Sorry, time to take a break. DH just came in and said that we have bad weather coming. We are going to go out and pick stuff up and take down the awning. Be back in a few.

 

[ProudMommyof2]

You should post a picture from recital. My DD and I had ours June 2nd & 3rd! I do tap and jazz, how about you ?

 

[eyor44]

We have cruised on the Magic 3 times...LOVE it! Be sure to check out the "secret sun deck"...Deck 7 all the way aft...nice when its a little too windy up on the pool deck.
Be sure to go to your cruise meet board and get to know some fellow cruisers! The Magic is small enough that you will encounter the same people OFTEN!
You are going to have a BLAST! Congrats!

Thanks for the info. I have noticed the space that isn't identified anywheres and wondered what it was. I do hope to be able to meet a few fellow Disers. I have joined an FE group. It sounds like a lot of fun.

so great that the gift cards were just a surprise perk!!! We are headed to the post office for passports tomorrow for our August cruise. We had our pictures done at Costco for $5 a person! Glad that is all taken care of for you. I love reading your updates, and I'm so glad you are doing a PTR, and that you won! So happy for you. Glad all the coupon sharing karma has come back to you.

Thanks cjnix! Did you get your passports applied for? Makes things seem so much more real.

WOOHOOO!!!!!!! and now with passports you can rest asured

We do now have passports in hand.

Your excitement is contagious. You really seem like the type of person that deserves this trip. Keep it up. You are helping me be okay with the fact that I can't sail again until 2015. I may speak for others also but I am living through you right now so enjoy it as much as you can so all of us can! But hey no pressure.

Thank you so much. I will do my best to be as descriptive as possible for everyone to share in the Magic.

Fantastic news, you will LOVE the Magic! You will be posting lots of pictures in your post report, yes? I love detailed Disers, so much the better!!

Yes, pictures will come. I have a new pack of batteries to take along.

I am so happy for you but....so jealous LOL. We went on the Wonder last year (our first cruise) and I have to say I am hooked. A cruise vacation is so different from the parks in a completely relaxing way. I really hope you enjoy it and I am thrilled for you!!!! When we went on our cuise last year I was a nut on getting information-you might want to try getting the Passporter's Ninth Edition on the Cruiseline. It was invaluable and really built up the excitement!!!!

I just ordered the Passport today. I looked for it at the bookstore this weekend and all I found was the Birnbaum Guide. I ordered the Passport off of Amazon and also a Hidden Mickey Book. We love searching for Hidden Mickeys.

OMG how exciting. Maybe it is worth it to sign up for some of these things!

It is. I only played cause I loved the game. I never thought in a million years that I had a chance to win. Just shows that you never know.

 

[eyor44]

You should post a picture from recital. My DD and I had ours June 2nd & 3rd! I do tap and jazz, how about you ?

I do jazz and lyrical. This year our adult jazz dance was to Business of Love and the lyrical was a Mother/Daughter dance to Perfect Fan.

DD does jazz, lyrical, tap, hip hop and tumbling.

 

[eyor44]

'Kay, I'm back. Got DD in the shower, ran outside to help DH take the awning down (it ripped), bring the chairs on the back porch and put all the plants by the back of the house. Called DS and told him to come straight home from work and DH got his fire gear ready. (He's a first responder) Got everything stashed then came back in and checked the weather again. Seems the system is dying down a bit. Oh well, we're ready.

Back to the flights update.
I didn't want to be pushy, so I decided to wait a few days. People can get busy, but today I decide I had waited long enough. I call the air department and spoke to a very nice lady named Lynn. Seems I had been told wrong about the 45 day mark. At 45 days the flights are booked, but not automatically sent out. She verified my information and emailed the information right to me. Then she noticed that I had won the cruise. She got excited and asked me questions about it. She was so nice. She had just been on the Dream and was able to answer a few questions for me.

We got the departure flights we wanted out of New Orleans. 6:00am but it gets in at 10:00am and is a direct flight. Lynn explained to me what to do at the airport. For those flying into New York she said you have to get your bags and take them to the Disney transportation area. They'll take them from you there and take them to the ship.
She also said that our package containing more info and our luggage tags had been mailed out this past Thursday. We should have them in a few days.

It was great talking to Lynn and I was surprised that she took the time. She was so patient answering my questions and seemed really excited for me.

Only 39 more days!

 

[poohbear luvs grumpy]

You were missed. It's good to hear from you again.

 

[lundve]

How awesome is your story!!

 

[sullins5]

So excited for you! Just saw this thread and read every page...sooooooo exciting! Glad to know a fellow Dis'er won! We love hearing all your details! Enjoy every little moment, this one is gonna be a great memory! You're gonna love the MAGIC! We took our first last year, and loved it!

 

[anewmac]

its takes a special person to be a disney cast member! thats awesome that she was able to answer some questions. cant wait to do the document dance with ya LOL. Ohh speaking of passports I think our expire soon (or the kids I believe..) need to renew them thanks for the reminder.. LOL

 

[eyor44]

You were missed. It's good to hear from you again.

Thank you. I'm very happy to be back.

How awesome is your story!!

Thank you.

So excited for you! Just saw this thread and read every page...sooooooo exciting! Glad to know a fellow Dis'er won! We love hearing all your details! Enjoy every little moment, this one is gonna be a great memory! You're gonna love the MAGIC! We took our first last year, and loved it!

Thanks! You are right, this is going to be some awesome memories. I'm still having trouble processing the fact that this is really happening.

its takes a special person to be a disney cast member! thats awesome that she was able to answer some questions. cant wait to do the document dance with ya LOL. Ohh speaking of passports I think our expire soon (or the kids I believe..) need to renew them thanks for the reminder.. LOL

Lynn is definitly a special person. And that she got so happy for me and wanted to hear about it. I love it when CMs take a minute to chat, there are some great ones out there. Welcome on the reminder.

 

[eyor44]

Wanna know why I am dancing?

We have our Cruise Documents!!!!!!!



They arrived in the mail and I have already read the entire thing. So much information.

Nice spiral bound booklet. The first thing you see when you open it are the luggage tags. Two tags for each person with correct name spelling, correct room number and correct sailing date.

Then we have the welcome aboard letter. Next is the vacation checklist. This checklist is really helpful for first time cruisers and I would think a great reminder for veterans.

Next is the embarkation information. This reminds you of what you need to get on the boat.

Vacation summary. All of the pertinent information. Reservation number, passengers, travel dates, flight information, ground transportation, insurance, and gratuities. Next page is port adventures and reservations. So cool! Disney made reservations for me at the Vista Spa & Salon for the Absolute Spa Ritual, Fire & Ice Manicure and Pedicure, Pro-Collagen Treatment, Updo and Wash and Blow Dry. Funny that DH's name is on the mani/pedi and he was like "I don't really have to do those, do I?"
Reservations for dinner and brunch at Palo's was made also.

There is a reminder to register DD for the Youth Activities (Kid's Club) and a couple more reminders.

Then we have the sailing itinerary.
July 20 - Depart New York
July 21 - At Sea (spa day)
July 22 - At Sea (mani/pedi and Palo's brunch)
July 23 - Nassau (Atlantis Aquaventure)
July 24 - Castaway Cay (Getaway package)
July 25 - Port Canaveral (WDW tix)
July 26 - At Sea (Pro-Collagen Treatment, Wash & Dry and Updo - Dinner at Palo's)
July 27 - At Sea
July 28 - Disembark sad1 and head home.

Next section is the Reservation Details.
Flight Information which lists our flight reservation numbers for departure and return. Reminder to obtain seat assignments (which Disney did for us ) and baggage policy and costs.
Ground Transportation:
Notification that we have transportation and it lists the airports we are using.

Next section is titled Important Extras.
Gratuity Guidelines
Information about suggested gratuities and thanking us for pre-paying our gratuities. (Disney took care of this also)
Some ship contact information cards for us to give to people who might need to get in touch with us while we are on the boat.

Last Section: Cruise Documents
There is a Cruise Contract Signature Form, Embark/Departure Form, Payment Authorization Form and Minor Authorization Form.
The Contract Form kind of surprised me, but I guess they have reason to need to cover themselves. It is a 10 page document about what Disney is liable for and not. I got to about page 6 before I zoned out. I'll have to go back and give it another try. We have to sign this or we can't cruise.
The Embark-Departure Form just has our information and our airline departure information.
Payment Authorization Form is something you can fill out ahead of time with the card you want to put on file and who in your party is authorized to charge. Also, information about the Wave Phones that are in each room.
Minor Authorization Form is included for children who are traveling with someone other than their parents. The parent has to fill it out.
The very last page has direction from various New York locations to the Port Terminal.

 

[catyanna]

YEAY!!!! I am so excited for you! There's nothing better than getting something nice for FREE. Oh wait, sure there is... getting something nice for free from DISNEY!!!!!

Please keep us posted as your trip nears. I am looking forward to hearing all about it! My trip is 120 days out!

 

[francis6306]

I just found this! So excited for you guys! Can't wait to see how the trip goes!

I used to live in MS! My husband went to school at USM. I miss the H'Burg area and being so close to New Orleans & Gulf Shores!

 

[ProudMommyof2]

Hurray for cruise documents!! Sounds amazing!!!

 

[eyor44]

YEAY!!!! I am so excited for you! There's nothing better than getting something nice for FREE. Oh wait, sure there is... getting something nice for free from DISNEY!!!!!

Please keep us posted as your trip nears. I am looking forward to hearing all about it! My trip is 120 days out!

Thanks! Yes, being Free from Disney is the ultimate!
Where is your trip to? Are you sailing? Do you have a pre-trip report in the works?

I just found this! So excited for you guys! Can't wait to see how the trip goes!

I used to live in MS! My husband went to school at USM. I miss the H'Burg area and being so close to New Orleans & Gulf Shores!

Thanks for reading! Hattisburg is a great place. So if you went to New Orleans from there you passed right by our town. We live in Picayune, right off I-59. Now if you blinked you would be in LA before you realized it.

Hurray for cruise documents!! Sounds amazing!!!

Doesn't it!?! I don't know how many times I have read the booklet but when I typed it all out here for you all to see, I became a bit overwhelmed and that isn't even everything. This is all just sooooo amazing. I Disney.