2/15/2013 - 8 Night Western Cruise, Galveston, TX

[Gina]

When I planned my first Disney Cruise I had no idea where to start. I purchased the book PassPorters for Disney Cruise Line and it's Ports of Call. It was so helpful and informative for the Type A kind of girl I am. It's new edition is the 10th edition available on Amazon.com for pre-order (November 13 is the publish date) or you can also visit their website http://www.passporter.com/disney-cruises/home.html

I can't imagine any Disney-related trip without a Passporter... it makes me feel like the most organized person on earth! Lol. Love that thing!! I have had the deluxe binder version for probably 10 years, and it's so convenient to just remove whatever pages don't apply and keep the pertinent stuff in. Love the Passporter!!!



Edit: Just wanted to add that I'm not sure why Amazon still has it only for pre-order, but if you get it straight from the Passporter site it's in stock and available. Plus, if you're registered on the message boards there, you get 30%off! I always order direct from them.

 

[samily]

Thank you for posting this...where did you find Pirate night listed? I can't find it anywhere on the website. Is it because I'm not paid in full yet?

It is listed under "My Cruise Activities" - I think this opens up after you are paid in full and when your booking window opens. It is listed as a "Ship Activity" on Day 6.

 

[dismom73]

It is listed under "My Cruise Activities" - I think this opens up after you are paid in full and when your booking window opens. It is listed as a "Ship Activity" on Day 6.

OK, thank you. I'm not paid in full yet, so I can't see it yet. I will be next week though.

 

[FloridaFun]

I am looking forward to the new Test Track too. Can’t wait to see what busses are left on the 17th of November.

Dismom73 – Glad to see that your husband will not have you jumping ship.

FEE- I sent PM’s to those that I have down for participating in the FEE. The PM had a link to the Google doc sheet I set up with the information I had collected. Thank you Gina for suggesting that. Everyone should be able to update their information there if I made any mistakes or if any changes happen. Plus, you will now have the list of those that are participating. We are at 10 cabins (8 families) right now. If anyone else would like to join in the fun, send me a PM and I will add you to the list and get you the link.

 

[the great cornholeo]

okay so we caved last night and told our son.. He is so excited. His first question was "are my cousins Ashley, Bailey, and Riley coming". We have so much fun cruising with dismom and her family. No we can start making magnets for the doors, and working on our fish extender gifts. So much to do so little time.

 

[FloridaFun]

Ah! That is so sweet Laura. My kids are also close to their cousins, but I am yet to get them on a cruise with us.

I think I have my Fish Extender gifts all planned out now and hope to get busy on them this weekend.

 

[dismom73]

The girls are so excited too (especially Bailey). I started looking at magnets yesterday. Bailey found her cheerleader Minnie Mouse one from the last cruise and it got her even more excited.

My oldest DD just left this morning for her very first solo Disney trip. She is flying down to Long Beach to stay with a friend for the weekend in the dorms and they will be going to DL from opening to closing tomorrow and then she is flying home Sunday morning. I guess I passed on my love/obsession for Disney.

 

[dismom73]

Ah! That is so sweet Laura. My kids are also close to their cousins, but I am yet to get them on a cruise with us.

I think I have my Fish Extender gifts all planned out now and hope to get busy on them this weekend.

I think my brother and Laura thought we were crazy (you know you did Laura ) doing all these Disney cruises, then we got them on one and haven't been able to shake them since...totally kidding, but they are well on their way to becoming Gold(only one more after this one). I'm not sure who has more fun, the cousins or the adults.

Thank you so much for all your work on the spreadsheet for the FE! It is much appreciated.

 

[the great cornholeo]

The girls are so excited too (especially Bailey). I started looking at magnets yesterday. Bailey found her cheerleader Minnie Mouse one from the last cruise and it got her even more excited.

My oldest DD just left this morning for her very first solo Disney trip. She is flying down to Long Beach to stay with a friend for the weekend in the dorms and they will be going to DL from opening to closing tomorrow and then she is flying home Sunday morning. I guess I passed on my love/obsession for Disney.

Is this her first time flying by herself? How is mom doing with this?

 

[dismom73]

Is this her first time flying by herself? How is mom doing with this?

Yes it is/was. She made it down yesterday. They are spending all day today in DL and she will try for the 10am flight tomorrow morning. I'm ok, since she made it. She knows her way around DL better than she does Vacaville. I'm not sure how I will be tomorrow, since she is flying stand by and I will not be near a computer if she gets stuck. So, say a prayer she gets on the flight.

 

[Kimbo71]

Asking again.....

Once more........

 

[Belle1967]

We just booked this as our first Disney cruise last weekend! My DD is 11. She is outgoing and is looking forward to the kids clubs. DS is 6.

 

[Kimbo71]

We just booked this as our first Disney cruise last weekend! My DD is 11. She is outgoing and is looking forward to the kids clubs. DS is 6.

Oh, good! This is great news!

 

[Kimbo71]

We just booked this as our first Disney cruise last weekend! My DD is 11. She is outgoing and is looking forward to the kids clubs. DS is 6.

We also have a 5 YO DS, & a 6 YO DD.

 

[duck_widow]

Welcome ...We will be flying out of SFO as well. We will either be flying late Wednesday or early Thursday, not sure yet. Where in the Bay Area are you? We are in Vacaville, it would be closer to for us to fly out of Sacramento, but I work for United and get free parking at SFO, plus all of our direct flights to IAH are out of SFO.

Hi Dismom73,

We are from San Jose. We try to avoid SFO, but wanted a direct flight. We'll be flying United out of SFO. I also signed-up for the United Visa to get two free checked bags and priority boarding. We're on the 12:55pm flight on Thursday. That is really nice that you get free parking!

 

[duck_widow]

Hi,

I have a couple of questions.

1. When is the best night to dine at Palo? I can't plan activities until 12/2 and I guess this would depend on the dining rotation we get? Which MDR should we skip for Palo?

2. What are wave phones and is there a cost to use them?

I am so excited for this cruise, I really don't know if I can hold out for Christmas to tell the kids. I'm seeing lots of us with kids of similar age. Cool! I have DD12, DS6 and DD6.

 

[FloridaFun]

The wave phone allows you to call other wave phones on board and cabins. We loved this on the Dream as the boys could head off on their own and we could reach them at any time to find out where they were. The only worry is that we did misplace one for about 4 hours one day and the fee for a lost wave phone is $250. That was making me feel a bit sick. Anyway, we found it in the bedding and I felt better.

Just wondering if anyone here has found a good carrier for the wave phone for the kids?

 

[Gina]

I had written down the dimensions of the wave phones and found some Neoprene holders at Dollar Tree, of all places, that should work perfectly.

Sent from my Galaxy S Blaze using DISBoards mobile

 

[dismom73]

Hi Dismom73,

We are from San Jose. We try to avoid SFO, but wanted a direct flight. We'll be flying United out of SFO. I also signed-up for the United Visa to get two free checked bags and priority boarding. We're on the 12:55pm flight on Thursday. That is really nice that you get free parking!

We just spent all day yesterday in San Jose, we were at a cheer competition for our youngest DD. The weather was really nice this weekend.
I work for United, so we may end up on the same flight. We will be trying for the 6am flight so hopefully we wont...

 

[dismom73]

Hi,

I have a couple of questions.

1. When is the best night to dine at Palo? I can't plan activities until 12/2 and I guess this would depend on the dining rotation we get? Which MDR should we skip for Palo?

2. What are wave phones and is there a cost to use them?

I am so excited for this cruise, I really don't know if I can hold out for Christmas to tell the kids. I'm seeing lots of us with kids of similar age. Cool! I have DD12, DS6 and DD6.

As far as "best" night, it's all a matter of personal preference...you wont know your MDR until you check in at the port, you can make requests, but they are not guaranteed. We base our dining night off of major ship activities as opposed to dining rotation, i.e. pirate night, formal night, how late we will get back from port that day, what show is being performed that night, etc. If we went strickley by what dining room we were in, for me I would say Parrot Cay is our least favorite...but you will find others that say that is their favorite.

The wave phones can also be used to text other wave phones and call ship services, such as guest services and room service...we order milk and cookies for the kids every night before bed, and since the wave phones have come along we have started placing our order when we are getting ready to head back to our cabin so we don't have that long of a wait once we get there.