May 9, 2013 3 Night Bahamian on Dream

[crichardson11]

I also have to wait until the 23rd. Counting down the days until we cruise though.

We are planning on enjoying the ship on Nassau day and the beach on castaway cay day. Trying not to make too many plans in advance because I imagine that my 3 year old will be calling the shots this vacation. It's her birthday and she's looking so forward to mickeys boat!

On another note, have we officially closed the FE group? If so, can we get a final list?

Almost midnight... Good luck to all of you silvers!

[pequele]

Originally Posted by crichardson11

my 3 year old will be calling the shots this vacation. It's her birthday and she's looking so forward to mickeys boat!

On another note, have we officially closed the FE group? If so, can we get a final list?

Too funny, we call it Mickey's boat, too! Then again, we call WDW Mickey's house!

I was wondering about closing the FE group as well? We were trying to get a count as my mom is helping out with the gifts we are giving.

Anyone else enjoying the Nemo Blizzard this weekend like us?

How did the silvers make out on their online check-ins? Get any good excursions? BTW what is the # you need to get to silver?

[momto3gr8boys]

Originally Posted by crichardson11

I also have to wait until the 23rd. Counting down the days until we cruise though.

We are planning on enjoying the ship on Nassau day and the beach on castaway cay day. Trying not to make too many plans in advance because I imagine that my 3 year old will be calling the shots this vacation. It's her birthday and she's looking so forward to mickeys boat!

On another note, have we officially closed the FE group? If so, can we get a final list?

Almost midnight... Good luck to all of you silvers!

Originally Posted by pequele

Too funny, we call it Mickey's boat, too! Then again, we call WDW Mickey's house!

I was wondering about closing the FE group as well? We were trying to get a count as my mom is helping out with the gifts we are giving.

Anyone else enjoying the Nemo Blizzard this weekend like us?

How did the silvers make out on their online check-ins? Get any good excursions? BTW what is the # you need to get to silver?

Too funny...we used to call it Mickey's boat too! Actually my DS14 (who was 2 at the time of his first cruise) had fallen sound asleep on the way to the port. All week (we had been at WDW for the week prior) he would find the model of the ship in the lobby and say I want to go on Mickey's boat! So when we got to the port, I woke him up, took him out the car and he was a little groggy until he looked up and his eyes great about five times their size and he said very slowly, Mickey's Boat! I don't think he ever thought the real thing was going to be so much bigger than those models

So we are all checked in and have spa appointments for Nassau day. That is all I am reserving as it's such a short trip and we've been to Nassau three times. I want to enjoy the boat as much as possible. I may go back and look at the options for CC. And all the PATs were still available!

[pequele]

Originally Posted by momto3gr8boys

Too funny...we used to call it Mickey's boat too! Actually my DS14 (who was 2 at the time of his first cruise) had fallen sound asleep on the way to the port. All week (we had been at WDW for the week prior) he would find the model of the ship in the lobby and say I want to go on Mickey's boat! So when we got to the port, I woke him up, took him out the car and he was a little groggy until he looked up and his eyes great about five times their size and he said very slowly, Mickey's Boat! I don't think he ever thought the real thing was going to be so much bigger than those models

So we are all checked in and have spa appointments for Nassau day. That is all I am reserving as it's such a short trip and we've been to Nassau three times. I want to enjoy the boat as much as possible. I may go back and look at the options for CC. And all the PATs were still available!

I think for my 1st cruise (not DCL) I was pretty amazed at how big the ship was, too! (sorry my DS4 wanted me to pick those!)

What is a PAT?

[yaddakal]

I admit I may pull out from FE. I have no idea what I am doing on the first cruise. Being only a three night, I'm afraid there's too many people in group, and I will miss out on the ship. I want to see the ship. Hoping to get there early first day. Nassau day we were thinking of dolphin encounter but this person who was so negative about aquariums etc really upset me earlier this week. So torn now. Castaway... No idea what to sign up for. I will be up 2/23 at midnight but I'm upset bc I'm not sure what to sign up for....My kids are 7 and 9 if anyone has suggestions for
A family who has not cruised not been to the Bahamas?

[momto3gr8boys]

Originally Posted by pequele

I think for my 1st cruise (not DCL) I was pretty amazed at how big the ship was, too! (sorry my DS4 wanted me to pick those!)

What is a PAT?

I was too! Actually my first cruise was Magic in '99 and the whole mega ship craze hadn't caught on yet. I remember thinking she was so big. Then last year I then cruised Wonder and Princess, and again, thought they were big. Then last summer I was on a RCCL ship and we were docked in front of Magic in Barcelona. I was in shock...this ship could have eaten Magic and had room left over! The size difference was unreal. I have a feeling Dream will be more like that. I wonder if there are any pictures out there of the Dream or Fantasy up against Magic and Wonder.

A PAT is port arrival time. It's fairly new. You get a time frame (I chose 11-11:30) and that is the time you are allowed to enter the port. I don't know how strict they are, but I have heard that if you arrive on a DCL transfer, you can enter the port regardless of your PAT, but if you get there on your own, you will be told to wait outside until your PAT. This is all new to me...the past times we cruised out of PC we showed up when we wanted and boarded well before 1:00.

[pequele]

Glad you mentioned the part about the DCL transfer because we are coming from WDW and I was thinking how am I supposed to know when they will get us there!

[momto3gr8boys]

Originally Posted by yaddakal

I admit I may pull out from FE. I have no idea what I am doing on the first cruise. Being only a three night, I'm afraid there's too many people in group, and I will miss out on the ship. I want to see the ship. Hoping to get there early first day. Nassau day we were thinking of dolphin encounter but this person who was so negative about aquariums etc really upset me earlier this week. So torn now. Castaway... No idea what to sign up for. I will be up 2/23 at midnight but I'm upset bc I'm not sure what to sign up for....My kids are 7 and 9 if anyone has suggestions for
A family who has not cruised not been to the Bahamas?

I did the dolphin swim at Blue Lagoon years ago. I felt it was a great experience. I did not read the aquarium debate, but I can imagine which way it went. FWIW, I felt the dolphins were taken care of, and the dolphin I rode had been in movies and TV and seemed like a happy animal.

The other times we went to Nassau we just got off and walked around the town a bit. I think if I were on the 4 night or longer, I would look into doing something more in Nassau, but with such a limited time on the ship, we will get off for a bit and walk around - maybe the Fort, or the Straw Market and spend the bulk of the day onboard.

Atlantis seems to have a lot of nice options. They have been developing their cruise ship options over the years, and I think it would be a nice way to spend the day, but IMO, it's very expensive when you have a water slide on board, the kids' clubs are open, etc. In fact my youngest stayed on board in 2006 when we got off and was perfectly happy to stay in the kids club.

In CC, we did the stingray encounter. I enjoyed that a lot and may do that again. There my youngest (he was 5 at the time) got scared of the sting rays and wouldn't go in He still talks about it as one of the worst decisions he ever made . I may do it this time so he can experience it. My oldest snorkeled with my brother and sisters once, but I don't think the snorkeling was all that great in terms of the fish. Again, that may have changed, and would probably be something your kids would like. He was 9 at the time.

The nice thing about DCL is that they don't charge you for the excursions when you make them like some lines do, so you can sign up and then if you change your mind over the next few months, just cancel.

[Kenzie'sGrandma]

Hi All,
Sorry we have not been on much. We have a family member that has been in and out of the hospital and lots of out of town guest staying with us. Anyway....... I will update the FE list this evening. If anyone wants to join, please do so soon. Lets close the group on Feb.15th. If that is ok with all.

I have many posts to read and get caught up on. Getting excited here.

Chris (Kenzie's Grandpa....LOL)

[pequele]

Originally Posted by momto3gr8boys

The other times we went to Nassau we just got off and walked around the town a bit. I think if I were on the 4 night or longer, I would look into doing something more in Nassau, but with such a limited time on the ship, we will get off for a bit and walk around - maybe the Fort, or the Straw Market and spend the bulk of the day onboard.

The nice thing about DCL is that they don't charge you for the excursions when you make them like some lines do, so you can sign up and then if you change your mind over the next few months, just cancel.

ok now you are making me think, just walk around! How far are the distances to the fort? Is this one of the places the excursions go to where the admission price is like $1? Is that a US$? What is Straw Market?

So they don't charge you for excursions when you book? Is that done on board then? I was planning on having to pay on the 23rd! SWEET!

Originally Posted by Kenzie'sGrandma

Hi All,
Sorry we have not been on much. We have a family member that has been in and out of the hospital and lots of out of town guest staying with us. Anyway....... I will update the FE list this evening. If anyone wants to join, please do so soon. Lets close the group on Feb.15th. If that is ok with all.

I have many posts to read and get caught up on. Getting excited here.

Chris (Kenzie's Grandpa....LOL)

Sorry to hear about the hospital visits!!! Even without that, you sound like you guys were busy! I think the 15th is fair!

[momto3gr8boys]

Originally Posted by pequele

ok now you are making me think, just walk around! How far are the distances to the fort? Is this one of the places the excursions go to where the admission price is like $1? Is that a US$? What is Straw Market?

So they don't charge you for excursions when you book? Is that done on board then? I was planning on having to pay on the 23rd! SWEET!

I think it's about a 30 minute walk to the Fort from what I've read. And yes, it is the place with the $1 entry fee, and every place in Nassau will take US $. The Straw Market is just a big shopping area. Mostly junky stuff, but one of those places to see and say you went. The vendors can be very pushy though.

This TR: http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3054539 discusses the walk to the Queen's Staircase and the Fort.

And yes, you will not be charged until you are onboard!

[momto3gr8boys]

Originally Posted by Kenzie'sGrandma

Hi All,
Sorry we have not been on much. We have a family member that has been in and out of the hospital and lots of out of town guest staying with us. Anyway....... I will update the FE list this evening. If anyone wants to join, please do so soon. Lets close the group on Feb.15th. If that is ok with all.

I have many posts to read and get caught up on. Getting excited here.

Chris (Kenzie's Grandpa....LOL)

Sorry to hear about your family member.

[yaddakal]

Thanks so much and sorry about your family member. Good point about canceling that helps!

[Kenzie'sGrandma]

Thank you all for your well wishes for us. It is my wife's aunt. Not doing good, but she is at peace with it at this point.

Reading through all the posts that I needed to get caught up on. It looks like the FE goup is still up to date. Remeber if you want to join, I will need your names, ages, and room number.

Just a few things.
You can give what you want, when you want. Either to the room as a whole or person. Each day or once a trip. It is the thought that counts.
We have always found it is a good way to explor the ship (we did the mid-ship dectective game when we delivered our gifts)
Fun way to see all the door decorations.
(we took the kids with us the 1st day to deliver, then the wife and myself went the other day/evening when they were in the kids clubs)
Its all about having fun.

Let me know if I missed anybody, or anything or if anyone has any questions.

[Kenzie'sGrandma]

I think I need to get my own screen name on here instead of using my wife's all the time.
Chris