3/21/2010 -- 4 Night Disney Wonder Spring Break Cruise

[KSDisneyDad]

Yes, we are at the Radisson. We wanted to stay somewhere close, that had a shuttle and had some places to eat around it within walking distance because we won't have a car.

I placed my shuttle reservation about a month ago with the Radisson, so hopefully that goes smoothly. Maybe I will call today and double check that they still have my reservation down for 10am

I'm almost done with my FE gifts. Only three more to go! I think I am going to have to mail them ahead though. I'm not going to have much room. Would you recommend that I mail them to the hotel or to the cruise ship? I don't want anything to get lost in transit.

Two weeks for us as our trip starts two weeks from 1 o'clock today...woohoo!!!

The Radisson is a great hotel. We arrived late at night and had our bearings a little off that night. When we woke up the next morning and looked outside, we could see the top of the Magic in the distance! It's about 2 or 3 miles from the port. However, most rooms would not have that view -- I think we were fortunate to be on the North side of the hotel. They were also very good about honoring our departure time. Like I mentioned, some guests tried to sneak onto the earlier shuttle by getting in front of us and our tons of luggage! The Radisson driver was very good about only taking the guests who had signed up for that particular shuttle.

If you can really pack for four people in one large suitcase and two carry-ons (with one carryon being drinks and other beverages):

Here's our luggage for 7 of us on our first cruise!

I'm just hoping for one checked bag per person (5 total) plus a carry-on each for this trip! This is why we always fly Southwest -- love those free bags.

I would recommend mailing something to the hotel only because I've never tried to mail something to the ship itself. I'd rather know it's there at the front desk so I can take it to the ship myself. On our second cruise, we walked out of the house and forgot the door magnets we had spent so much time making. We had a neighbor fedex them to the resort for us and we had no problem getting them before we headed to the ship.

Two weeks for us too! Our flight leaves around 9:00 am two weeks from today.

 

[WPoohgirl]

How funny. We were just looking at Navigators from a recent 4-night to see what activities occur while the ship is at Nassau. I saw the Martini tasting and said that I'd like to finally try it this time! We've done two wine tastings in the past and really enjoyed them. I just thought it'd be fun to try the martini tasting this time, especially for the chocolate martini.

If you want to see the recent Navigators, try this website. There are also sample menus, etc. to explore.



ETA: I can't believe the DIS wouldn't let me post a link to that website! I guess she does compete against Dreams Unlimited. I'm not advocating any TA, but the site has excellent info on it. Oh well, the website is D!sneycru!ser.!nfo The ! signs are obviously an "i".



Congrats on finishing the FE! Can you post a picture?

Gee I wouldn't want to frighten you all before I even met you...lol no, seriously I have not yet figured out how to post pictures! I am sure I can figure it out when I get a minute and put it up.

We didn't suggest meeting after the deck party as that's usually a time of unpacking and getting ready for early dining or the first evening show. We also like to take some time to enjoy watching the ship go out to sea.

Oh that is so true, we have always done the late seating and gone to the 6:00pm show ahead and gotten dressed in between! I did not think about the reverse. Since we have seen the opening show twice though unless it has changed we will skip it and come and meet you all!!! :


We thought it'd be more relaxed at 7:45 as that's usually just a gathering time, picture taking out front of the restaurants, etc. However, we're open for suggestions from everyone as those at early dining may be anxious to get a seat in the theater for the show.

That time is fine with us, it will be nice to meet everyone and my kids are looking forward to it as well. Trying to find some clever little gifts for FE I counted 33 including us does that sound right?

 

[mommyofthreeboys]

Okay...a little about us.

About the family: our first trip to WDW was in March 2006. In August of 2003, I was in a car wreck. After I was healed, I wanted to do something fun --I wanted to take a once and a lifetime trip to WDW. (“once in a lifetime!” HA!!!) DH did not want to go. After I had said that I was going with or without him, he decided he better go with us BUT let’s make one thing clear, he is NOT going to have fun. The main reason was that his family did not take ANY vacations growing up so he didn’t believe in vacations. We stayed at the POR so we are excited to visit there again for 2 days before the cruise. We leave for this trip on the 18th and will be driving non-stop from Indiana (estimated time- 16 hours). 13 days from today!!! Oh—we took a second trip in June 2008 and when we got back the boys said they wanted to do something different for the next vacation and that’s when I decided a cruise would be different BUT I would still get my Disney fix.

Me…I am the Disney fanatic in the family. I love everything Disney. I especially love planning Disney trips. Doesn’t matter if they are for me or someone else. My next job will be as a travel agent. In the meantime, I am stuck at a large credit card company as a trainer. In my spare time, I enjoy photography, scrapbooking and gardening. I don’t have much spare time with the 3 boys, who are all in 2-3 sports a year.

Jared…yep, he is a sports dad. He is very involved with the boys, coaching football and baseball. In his spare time he likes to watch sports (surprise surprise!). He is a huge fan of the Cincinnati Bengals, Cincinnati Reds, University of Cincinnati (UC) and Tony Stewart.

Jared and I….met on a blind date 15 years ago and got married in 1998. We both have stressful jobs so we are looking forward to spending some quality time together. We both like to drink and have a good time. I am a little spoiled and he will do anything for me….including going to Magic Kingdom (his least favorite park).

Here's a pic of us during our 10 yr Anniversary trip in 2008...

DS16…my driving teenager He is freaking out that we won’t be able to talk to his girlfriend for 4 days while we are on the cruise! He is in football, wrestling and track. He hates the idea of wearing matching t-shirts but will do it anyway just for me. Such a good kid!

DS11….is my gamer. He could play Call of Duty all day if you would let him. He plays football and baseball. He’s in the 5th grade and does very well in school.

DS8…my sweetheart of a kid. He really is mommy’s boy. He loves everything Disney. Thank goodness I at least have one in the family. He plays football and baseball.

As I mentioned earlier, this is our very first cruise. I would love to re-book on board but not sure what to book next. Usually we take big vacations every 2 years so the next big trip is 2012 but that would be the year my oldest will graduate high school. So I’m not sure when to book it. I guess I will first see if we all like this cruise first.

So…that’s us.

 

[mommyofthreeboys]

That time is fine with us, it will be nice to meet everyone and my kids are looking forward to it as well. Trying to find some clever little gifts for FE I counted 33 including us does that sound right?

33 is what I have as well! Minus my 5, so I am buying things for 28 people. I went to Target yesterday, going up and down every aisle looking for things. I still don't know what to get but DH and I are going shopping this weekend so we will find something. Maybe we will hit the party supply store-- I'm sure they will have something.

 

[5CruisersCruising]

I just got all of the stuff to make our FE's - we have 2 cabins so I am making one for each. If I can figure out how to put them together and not mess them up too much, they'll be cute! I am sewing/craft challenged so I am enlisting my mom this weekend. : ) I did get some little gifts - just some little fun items. I hope everyone likes them.

For Pirate Night, I found pirate t-shirts that can be personalized at oriental trading and they were only $9.99 each! They arrived quickly and are cute! My husband and DS11 are not overly excited about us wearing matching T's but they'll do it for me just the one night.

I hope the weather is warm in Nassau! We are scheduled for a snorkeling trip but if it's going to be chilly, I might cancel it. I think hanging out on the ship will be lots of fun, anyway.

I am hoping to get a solid handle on what we are packing this weekend. It's overwhelming! It seemed so far off and now that it's almost time to go, I am feeling rushed! Crazy...I know.

I hadn't thought of reserving the shuttle at the hotel for Sunday morning. Does anyone know how far the Hertz office is from the terminal? I was thinking DH might drop the rest of us off and then go return the car. Do you think I'll be able to check into both cabins without him(one is in each of our names)? Or will he have to be there?

 

[alwaysabuckeye]

If you can really pack for four people in one large suitcase and two carry-ons (with one carryon being drinks and other beverages):

Two weeks for us too! Our flight leaves around 9:00 am two weeks from today.

I DO NOT think we can get all our gear into one large and two carryons...MY HUSBAND does. He's crazy. He has NEVER packed the girls for a trip. I can fit our shoes alone into a carryon! I am going to do our best to consolidate and space bag it (while dealing with the 50 lb limit). We are flying SWA there and Airtran on the way back. Airtran was only $77 each person...so we had to do it. But If I can only check one bag and carryon the rest...that would be SWEEEEEET!

This is our first time flying with kids. If they carry on a small back-pack (personal item) do they still get a carryon item on top of that (that we would carry on for them=total of 4 carryons)? Or is that not REALLY alowed. Again, not worried for the trip there (love SWA), just the trip back(boo Airtran).

I called the Radisson and they still have me down for 1st shuttle...whew. They also told me that the shuttle is not abvailable until the evening on Saturday. I was hoping to hit the beach...oh well. Since we won't be bringing the booster seats...I guess we are stuck at the hotel. Could be worse

Okay...a little about us.

Jared…yep, he is a sports dad. He is very involved with the boys, coaching football and baseball. In his spare time he likes to watch sports (surprise surprise!). He is a huge fan of the Cincinnati Bengals, Cincinnati Reds, University of Cincinnati (UC) and Tony Stewart.

Jared and I….met on a blind date 15 years ago and got married in 1998. We both have stressful jobs so we are looking forward to spending some quality time together. We both like to drink and have a good time. I am a little spoiled and he will do anything for me….including going to Magic Kingdom (his least favorite park).

Looks like Jared and Bill could be twins (except Bill roots for the Browns and Indians...minor problem) They do have the Bearcats in common though! What a season they had this year huh?! We went to one game this year and it was GREAT to see that program on such a high.


Since ALL of our family is in Ohio, we don't get much alone time. We are looking forward to some quality R&R time together too. If we like the cruise as much as I hope we do, I may try to convice DH to book a 7 dayer.


We did a group gift for each family and then gifts for the kiddos. Hopefully that is ok. My oldest even helped stuff the girls' bags. She really helped a lot. Hopefully everyone got one of everything...Quality Control for a 5 year old is a little iffy. She is super excited to deliver them-she said that sissy might be too tired to help. I asked her if she thought she would be too tired also. She said that she didn't want to sleep because she might miss something. I don't think so!

Heading outside...it is 52 degrees here today!!! Oh, and currently 72 in Nassau.

 

[KSDisneyDad]

I just got all of the stuff to make our FE's - we have 2 cabins so I am making one for each. If I can figure out how to put them together and not mess them up too much, they'll be cute! I am sewing/craft challenged so I am enlisting my mom this weekend. : ) I did get some little gifts - just some little fun items. I hope everyone likes them.

For Pirate Night, I found pirate t-shirts that can be personalized at oriental trading and they were only $9.99 each! They arrived quickly and are cute! My husband and DS11 are not overly excited about us wearing matching T's but they'll do it for me just the one night.

I hope the weather is warm in Nassau! We are scheduled for a snorkeling trip but if it's going to be chilly, I might cancel it. I think hanging out on the ship will be lots of fun, anyway.

I am hoping to get a solid handle on what we are packing this weekend. It's overwhelming! It seemed so far off and now that it's almost time to go, I am feeling rushed! Crazy...I know.

I hadn't thought of reserving the shuttle at the hotel for Sunday morning. Does anyone know how far the Hertz office is from the terminal? I was thinking DH might drop the rest of us off and then go return the car. Do you think I'll be able to check into both cabins without him(one is in each of our names)? Or will he have to be there?

We're also hoping for warm weather - the hotter the better. I can't believe how cold it's been in Florida this winter.

Hertz (like Budget) is very close to the ship (about a mile). Where will you be coming from on Sunday morning (WDW or Cape Canaveral)? If you're coming from WDW, the rental car places are beyond the exit to the ship terminals.

It is fine for your DH to drop everyone off and then go return the car. This is what I did last time and it was very easy. I dropped everyone off at the port (including our tons of luggage!!) in the drop-off area. They will take your luggage at that point (similar to curbside check-in at an airport).

My DW was able to check everyone in for both of our rooms except for me. When I arrived about 20 minutes later, I just checked myself in and joined her and the rest of the family.

Side note for two rooms: Since you have two rooms, your key won't open the other room and vice versa. This is annoying as you and your DH will probably share one room and the kids will take the other room. The only way to fix it is to go to Guest Services and ask them for an extra room key. It's not a "key to the world" card with charging privileges. It's simply a blank room key. Therefore, one of you will have to carry two keys around at all times.

What hotel are you in? If you have a rental car, you won't need the hotel shuttle as each of the rental car places has a free shuttle to and from the ship. Without luggage, it's easy to get onto the rental car shuttle.

On our last cruise, I simply refused to get a costume to dress up for Pirate Night even though so many in our meet thread were doing so. My DW even made a Scarlet outfit from Pirates of the Caribbean. At the last minute, she bought the kids and me pirate outfits. The kids had really wanted them, but when Pirate night finally arrived they were almost scared to wear them in case no one else was dressed up. Once we got to to the Atrium and saw all of the other pirate costumes, they (and I) were fine. If I survived that, your DH can survive the matching t-shirts! We're going to wear our Pirate t-shirts (see my signature) from our last cruise vs taking the costumes again.

 

[KSDisneyDad]

This is our first time flying with kids. If they carry on a small back-pack (personal item) do they still get a carryon item on top of that (that we would carry on for them=total of 4 carryons)? Or is that not REALLY alowed. Again, not worried for the trip there (love SWA), just the trip back(boo Airtran).

Yes, they can take on two carry-ons. A small personal item such as a backpack that can fit under the seat and a carry-on for the overhead bins. We've done this before, but we typically check our "carry-ons" with Southwest -- but it is possible to have two as long as one is small.

 

[alwaysabuckeye]

Yes, they can take on two carry-ons. A small personal item such as a backpack that can fit under the seat and a carry-on for the overhead bins. We've done this before, but we typically check our "carry-ons" with Southwest -- but it is possible to have two as long as one is small.

Great! Then I get 1 suitcase and 4 carryons to pack. Makes my life a little easier.

 

[KSDisneyDad]

Okay...a little about us.

About the family: our first trip to WDW was in March 2006. In August of 2003, I was in a car wreck. After I was healed, I wanted to do something fun --I wanted to take a once and a lifetime trip to WDW. (“once in a lifetime!” HA!!!) DH did not want to go. After I had said that I was going with or without him, he decided he better go with us BUT let’s make one thing clear, he is NOT going to have fun. The main reason was that his family did not take ANY vacations growing up so he didn’t believe in vacations. We stayed at the POR so we are excited to visit there again for 2 days before the cruise. We leave for this trip on the 18th and will be driving non-stop from Indiana (estimated time- 16 hours). 13 days from today!!! Oh—we took a second trip in June 2008 and when we got back the boys said they wanted to do something different for the next vacation and that’s when I decided a cruise would be different BUT I would still get my Disney fix.

As I mentioned earlier, this is our very first cruise. I would love to re-book on board but not sure what to book next. Usually we take big vacations every 2 years so the next big trip is 2012 but that would be the year my oldest will graduate high school. So I’m not sure when to book it. I guess I will first see if we all like this cruise first.

So…that’s us.

Sorry to hear about your car accident. I'm sure that my DW and you can share all kinds of rehab stories. Although not nearly as serious as a car accident can be, she's been injury prone right before our cruises. She had rotator cuff surgery two weeks before our second cruise. In some pictures I've posted, you can see her sling. On our last cruise, she fell over the handlebars of her bike about 10-days before the cruise. She ended up having surgery on her wrist a few months after the cruise and will probably need another surgery on it as well. For this cruise, she's nursing some torn ligaments in hear ankle from a fall down the stairs. I'm beginning to wonder whether or not it's safe for her to have us to keep booking cruises.

Our first visit to WDW was at POR as well (actually it was still called Dixie Landings in 98 on our first visit). We went without the kids with the thought process that we'd return ONCE with the kids when the kids were old enough to remember it! The kids have all been about 12 times each now!

As far as rebooking on-board. You can always book a "dummy" cruise. This is what we did last time. Disney will book you on a distant sail date that's not too busy (probably the first week of December 2011) and take your deposit. Within 90 days of that sail date, you can cancel or move your reservation to another date. The good news is that when you move your reservation, you keep your 10% on-board rebooking discount and any on-board room credits you received from booking on-board. This can come in handy on the first day of booking. If you want to cruise in 2012, you can book on the very first day and receive the lowest tier pricing plus another 10% off.

Keep in mind that the on-board rebooking discount is not always the least expensive. For this particular cruise, it was actually less expensive for us to not use the on-board discount and instead use the kids sail free promotion. Unfortunately, you can't combine discounts.

 

[KSDisneyDad]

Two weeks from Nassau -- what shore excursions will everyone be doing?


A couple of DCL pictures today.

 

[mommyofthreeboys]

Regarding the FE-- are we assigned different days to deliver our gifts?

 

[debgorman]

we are now going as well. we are from evansville indiana. we have heard that possibly 11 or 12 other families from here are going to be going us all. i have two daughters (15 and 10) that will be going with us. this is our our second time, but our youngest has never been. has anyone heard if the parasailing adventure is fun? our daughters wil be going, but no one seems to know much about it. looking forward to seeing you all there!!

deb

 

[KSDisneyDad]

Regarding the FE-- are we assigned different days to deliver our gifts?

I've only done it once before and we had over 100 participants. There were no assignments. Even though we're a smaller group, I'd prefer to keep it that way as everyone's free time may be different based on your own schedule (spa treatments, Palo, excursions, wine tastings, bingo, movies, R&R, etc.).

Plus, schedules can change once you're on board. One of the things I've found about cruising is that everything runs on a schedule, but there are no clocks to be found in the public areas! We found ourselves skipping something we thought we'd want to do just because we lost track of time.

I like the philosophy of just delivering the FE gifts whenever you want to do so. I'd be happy to create a schedule if everyone would prefer to do otherwise since there aren't too many of us.

we are now going as well. we are from evansville indiana. we have heard that possibly 11 or 12 other families from here are going to be going us all. i have two daughters (15 and 10) that will be going with us. this is our our second time, but our youngest has never been. has anyone heard if the parasailing adventure is fun? our daughters wil be going, but no one seems to know much about it. looking forward to seeing you all there!!

deb

This looks like a Midwest geared cruise! I added your family to the first page.

I did the parasailing with my parents on our second cruise and loved it (my DW doesn't do heights!)

It was very peaceful, quiet and relaxing while up in the air. They take about eight people out at once. Only those parasailing can be on the boat -- no spectators are allowed so it's nearly impossible to tell who's parasailing from shore.

You sit in a horseshoe shape in the front of the boat. One at time, they have one guest go to the back of the boat and they put you into a harness. They attach the parasail to you and speed up which lifts you into the air. I think it takes about 4 minutes to reach maximum height and then they start to bring you back down. When you got low, our boat driver would slow down so that your feet dipped into the ocean. He was very good and no one's clothes got wet at all.

You're only in the air about 7 or 8 minutes. When one person is coming down, the next person gets in their harness so it takes about an hour for the entire boat to complete the excursion. Those with kids will go tandem to speed things up.

Take a camera with you. I wouldn't recommend a disposable camera, but a regular digital camera. Unless you drop it, it shouldn't get wet. One guy on our boat took a regular video camera with him.

This was a great excursion and I'd highly recommend it to anyone unless you're terrified of heights.

I have a few pictures that I can post tonight.

 

[debgorman]

thanks! we just got our magical express info today so we are starting to pack a bit. can you explain what the FE is? it sounds like something we might like to do.

Deb DH DD15 DD10

 

[KSDisneyDad]

we are now going as well. we are from evansville indiana. we have heard that possibly 11 or 12 other families from here are going to be going us all. i have two daughters (15 and 10) that will be going with us. this is our our second time, but our youngest has never been. has anyone heard if the parasailing adventure is fun? our daughters wil be going, but no one seems to know much about it. looking forward to seeing you all there!!

deb

Here's some pictures of parasailing. These are on a cheap disposable camera. I wish I had taken my digital camera. It would have been fine.

My dad getting ready to take-off:

My Mom getting her feet dipped in the ocean:

Looking back at the parasailing boat as I'm going up:

From up high. You can see the Disney Magic in the distance.

 

[KSDisneyDad]

thanks! we just got our magical express info today so we are starting to pack a bit. can you explain what the FE is? it sounds like something we might like to do.

Deb DH DD15 DD10

In a nutshell, the Fish Extender is a hanger from the fish outside the stateroom door. Fellow DISers leave gifts in your hanger throughout the cruise. We'd love to have you join us.

Here's a link to a post with some FE info:

http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=34691543&postcount=31

Here's a link to a post with a picture of our Fish Extender from the last cruise.

http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=34732537&postcount=33

 

[captainscapegirl]

Hello all,
I just booked my 1st disney cruise and its going to be a Mother-daughter trip. My DD is 11 and I want her to have as much fun as possible and I am hoping I can find other mother-daughter groups to hang with (or at least someone her age).
Anyhow, I love the idea of the FE and read WHAT it is just need to know how to sign up for my trip. We are Disney Wonder March 21-25 2010. Thanks and ANY tips would be greatly appreciated!

 

[KSDisneyDad]

Hello all,
I just booked my 1st disney cruise and its going to be a Mother-daughter trip. My DD is 11 and I want her to have as much fun as possible and I am hoping I can find other mother-daughter groups to hang with (or at least someone her age).
Anyhow, I love the idea of the FE and read WHAT it is just need to know how to sign up for my trip. We are Disney Wonder March 21-25 2010. Thanks and ANY tips would be greatly appreciated!

The more the merrier. Just let me know your stateroom # and I'll add you to the FE list. I've already added your DIS name to the first post. On the first post, I've listed the ages of kids whose families have posted on this thread. You could find someone with a girl your daughter's age and send them a PM. If they agree, your daughter and theirs could communicate prior to the cruise. Our son's did that on the last trip and ended up meeting someone who shared their interests. They hung out with him most of the cruise and have stayed in touch after the cruise.

Here's a link to some tips that I had previously posted.

http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33504228&postcount=6

 

[KSDisneyDad]

Here's the most recent roster:

1. * KSDisneyDad (Christopher), and Junesgoofy (June), DS14, DS12 and DS8 Stateroom 8038

We will also have my BIL, SIL and MIL and two nieces joining us, ages 12 and almost 9. And recently we found out that my BIL's parents are joining us too.

2. * mommyofthreeboys (Christina), DH, DS16, DS11, DS8 Stateroom 8536

3. Oregon Traveler, DW, DS13, DD10, DD9

4. NatMomto2, DH, DD4, DS2

5. rkwells (Gina), DH, Two teens 13 and 16

6. tonyvinci, DW, DD5

7. seven2go, DH, DD19, DD16, DS15, DS7

8. jlindermer, DH, DS8, DS6

9. mfortune, Spouse, DD8, DD3

10. * 5CruisersCruising, DH, DS11, DD8 and DD5 Staterooms 6585 and 6587

11. ginger3son, DH, DS6, DS4

12. * twins-and-1 (Melanie), DH (Ted), DD10, DD10, DD6 Stateroom 8036

13. * alwaysabuckeye (Karen), DH, DD5, DD3 Stateroom 7596

14. debmomof2, DH, DS14, DS10

15. * tweet, DH, DS13 Stateroom ????

16. jephmom, DH, DS14, DS10, DD9

17. * WPoohgirl (Wendy), DH, DD13, DS11 Stateroom 7506

18. * EOppegarrd, DW Stateroom 6003

19. debgorman, DH, DD15, DD10

20. * captainscapegirl, DD11 Stateroom ????

As an FYI, I'm not sure that Tweet will be joining us for the FE exchange. They may be switching their cruise to the 3-night cruise leaving the 25th.