Coffee on the Verandah -The Last Slide, Recap & Souvies 5/29 - Link to Aulani TR 5/31

[eandesmom]

I'm super excited about the Southern itineraries. Something different and cheaper than the Fantasy Eastern I moved from May.

If you need a good hotel in Venice, I stayed at an awesome B&B right off St Mark's Square....it's family run and such a cool place. One of the owners looks a lot like Johnny Depp...and he cooks! http://www.locandaorseolo.com/

Jill in CO

Apparently I was wrong and Jeff was very interested in the Southern option so after some chatting and knowing even if we could swing Greece for the 2 of us, justifying that with the kids in the summer would go over like a lead balloon, we decided to totally change gears and book the Southern. Apparently he has no interest in Puerto Rico as a port but no issues embarking and disembarking there I don't get it but I love the itinerary and apparently so does he, and the reality is that it is less than half the price on the cruise and about 1/3 the price on flights.

It was the responsible choice



Plus since it is during school the kids can't complain that they aren't going and since it's his big bday present, they really can't complain (too loudly anyway). We will shoot for a trip with them later that same school year for either mid winter or spring break so it shouldn't be too horrible. I'd love to take them but they will just be too old to miss school. Eric could maybe manage it, Evan no way.

That said.....I am not totally ruling Greece out. My big sneaky plan is to see if any deals come out after the PIF date, as I know they have in the past. As our new PIF date is actually after the original cruise date it is not completely impossible that we could make it work if the deal was right.

 

[KatMark]

Loving your pictures of Castaway Cay. We've thought of a cruise but realized the only part of it we would really enjoy is Casataway Cay and just not worth the money for that one thing. But your pictures are making me rethink that decision.

Glad Kendall was able to hook up with her friends.

Looks like everyone had a good time doing their own thing.

 

[rentayenta]

Love your CC photos, some of the best I've seen with lots of detail. Did you have to bring your own sand toys or does Disney supply them? Did you ever get that drink from the neat looking bar?

 

[eandesmom]

Thanks for the wonderful pix of Castaway Cay !!I can't wait to see it for myself , I can tell you I will NOT be going down the slide or snorkeling but will be enjoying a dip in those clear blue waters !!!!

Lots of places to dip in the water and relax in a lounger, either at the family beach or the adult one!

Love Castaway Cay. For me, a perfect day is a hammock on Serenity Bay with a Konk Kooler or 2. I'm going to miss not going to CC on my next cruise.

Jill in CO

Ah yes, the Konk Kooler!

I'm going to miss CC as well. Though frankly the E's might have my head if we went there without them.

I love this picture! Great job!

He is such a cheeseball

This is a beautiful shot! And it does look like a great place to have a drink.

So you can bring your own cooler off the boat? I am so doing that, plus having a drink at that bar.

Your CC day looks like so much fun. Did you ever get a chance to go to the adults only beach?

Cooler I'm not sure, you aren't supposed to bring coolers on board at all. It's kind of a funky rule. You can bring alcohol, but no cooler. We brought an insulated grocery bag that is tote shaped and that was ok on board but we didn't take it to the beach. I'm honestly not sure if we brought anything to CC or not. I think beer would have gotten warm unless he had it packed somehow with ice (which is possible). More likely that he put some rum in the bottom of one of the mugs to then add coke to later. As I was going soda free, I know I didn't bring anything for me with us but had planned to get something later in the day there. You could probably get away using a small lunchbox that was insulated and put ice in there maybe?

We did not have a drink at the heads up bar, I can tell you that much. We were hoping to get to the adult beach, challenge was how to manage that and know what the kids were up to at the same time.

I have not yet converted over to the new photo bucket. I am dragging my feet kicking and screaming. I know I need to do it, but I can't quite stomach it yet.

Oh - and the view from your verandah. Perfection!

Yeah, you aren't going to have a choice. I was forced a little early as I made the mistake of trying to edit a photo there. I feel I"m a bit stuck with it at the moment. I'd already uploaded all the photos for this trip and ours to it and have no interest in re-uploading elsewhere, plus my pro membership was renewed not all that long ago. The loss of unlimited storage annoys me but I do still have 50% left and given the ridiculous amount of photos I have up there, that's a lot left. So I don't know. I don't know what would happen to what I have there if I don't renew, or what I should do for the next batch I want to upload. I may try flickr but I'm not crazy about the idea of stuff in 2 places.

UGH.

LOVE that island. That was definitely my favorite part of the cruise. I could have spent the whole week there.

Seriously. For a bit they had a 5 nighter that went there twice. Why they got rid of it I will never know.

It's hard to argue with the evidence presented.

KThanksMomSeeYaBye!

Enjoyment >> Documentation

He looks pretty happy, though.

Understandable, when they make you swim 9 miles to see the cool stuff!

Beautiful!

Been there.

D'oh!

Yep!

Gorgeous pictures from your verandah! If we ever do cruise again, we'll either go with the same room we had with the large porthole with seating or with a verandah.

On the Dream and Fantasy, those are very nice portholes! Not so large though on the classic ships. It is a lot more $$. For us I think it's really worth it but I can also see where it would be awfully nice to just save the $$. We are verandah junkies, be it on a ship or in a room so it's really become a must have for us if at all possible.

It looks like ya'll were very near the spot we were at on the family beach. It was perfect for going to and from the restrooms and the drink station.

It was a great location! Not that we were in the chairs much at all.

The boys looked like they were having a great time! We thought about going snorkeling but thought we better not since none of us are good at it.

I'm not sure how good the E's are at it as it was really there first time. I'll have a snorkeling update later. I admit I thought about it but not very hard. I've done it a lot over the years and while it's fun I was happier just enjoying the sun and surf than searching for fish on this trip.

 

[eandesmom]

Quite a view. Makes me understand why it is worth it to get a verandah as opposed to the interior porthole (as cool as they seem to be).

I think the oceanview portholes on the new ships are very cool and really help with making the room seem bigger. The magic porthole is also cool but for me, I think it'd feel too small with 4 in the room and no window or verandah. But that's just me. That said, the savings can be quite a bit so between going and not going I completely get why folks would skip the verandah. We do use it, more than once daily and sometimes for large chunks of time so to us it is worth it.

You seem awfully certain about that coffee part...

Oh I am. Really the question is did I have one on the verandah first?

One cup only would be most unlike me....

It's not a day at the beach without some rum.

No, no it's not. I think it's a rule.

Rebel.

he is

Loving your pictures of Castaway Cay. We've thought of a cruise but realized the only part of it we would really enjoy is Casataway Cay and just not worth the money for that one thing. But your pictures are making me rethink that decision.

A 3 or 4 night in the off (cheaper) season could be a great way to check it out.

I really seriously doubt that is the only thing you'd enjoy. The dining, the shows, the characters, the shopping (and hats!) and yes, Castaway Cay.

Glad Kendall was able to hook up with her friends.

Looks like everyone had a good time doing their own thing.

The teens definitely had the day planned, all sort of orchestrated by the teen club. I loved that she got that into the club and did so many activities with them.

Love your CC photos, some of the best I've seen with lots of detail. Did you have to bring your own sand toys or does Disney supply them? Did you ever get that drink from the neat looking bar?

Disney doesn't supply any. They probably sell a ridiculous amount with each cruise that comes in and 90% of them are left on the beach. You can bring your own though.

I should have taken Eric with me to pick out what he wanted. I thought the mickey shovel was cool, he'd have preferred a smaller shovel and pail. Go figure. It was only 5 bucks though so pretty cheap entertainment! At the time I was getting the bike rental info as well, Evan had really wanted to rent and ride there. But it isn't much of a ride so really didn't seem worth it to me.

 

[jedijill]

Apparently I was wrong and Jeff was very interested in the Southern option so after some chatting and knowing even if we could swing Greece for the 2 of us, justifying that with the kids in the summer would go over like a lead balloon, we decided to totally change gears and book the Southern. Apparently he has no interest in Puerto Rico as a port but no issues embarking and disembarking there I don't get it but I love the itinerary and apparently so does he, and the reality is that it is less than half the price on the cruise and about 1/3 the price on flights.

It was the responsible choice



Plus since it is during school the kids can't complain that they aren't going and since it's his big bday present, they really can't complain (too loudly anyway). We will shoot for a trip with them later that same school year for either mid winter or spring break so it shouldn't be too horrible. I'd love to take them but they will just be too old to miss school. Eric could maybe manage it, Evan no way.

That said.....I am not totally ruling Greece out. My big sneaky plan is to see if any deals come out after the PIF date, as I know they have in the past. As our new PIF date is actually after the original cruise date it is not completely impossible that we could make it work if the deal was right.

I think you made the wise choice. Which Southern are you doing?

Jill in CO

 

[eandesmom]

I think you made the wise choice. Which Southern are you doing?

Jill in CO

I think the same one you are on I didn't really have a preference with any of the dates and for whatever reason the 27th was still at opening day prices so it won. Even with upping us a cat it still came in less than our original category on all the other dates. I wonder why that one is less popular? The 20th was still a little close to the start of school for my comfort level but I don't thing it would make a difference on the rest. Either way I will likely conflict with an annual girls weekend and that's just the way it goes.

Since it is so much more reasonable I'm actually considering reaching out for another couple to see if they want to go as a surprise for Jeff's big Bday (his bf from elementary-hs). I don't know if they will be interested or not but it would be very cool. Granted I wouldn't be paying for them but...it's worth floating it by I think. I've also thought of doing the same thing with Jeff's mom but I'm not sure if he'd want that or not. I think he would but...am not sure. I am really hoping there will be at least one seaplane excursion that can be his actual present.

 

[jedijill]

I think the same one you are on I didn't really have a preference with any of the dates and for whatever reason the 27th was still at opening day prices so it won. Even with upping us a cat it still came in less than our original category on all the other dates. I wonder why that one is less popular? The 20th was still a little close to the start of school for my comfort level but I don't thing it would make a difference on the rest. Either way I will likely conflict with an annual girls weekend and that's just the way it goes.

Since it is so much more reasonable I'm actually considering reaching out for another couple to see if they want to go as a surprise for Jeff's big Bday (his bf from elementary-hs). I don't know if they will be interested or not but it would be very cool. Granted I wouldn't be paying for them but...it's worth floating it by I think. I've also thought of doing the same thing with Jeff's mom but I'm not sure if he'd want that or not. I think he would but...am not sure. I am really hoping there will be at least one seaplane excursion that can be his actual present.

Oh no! I just switched to the 20th because my friend and TA is on it and can't move to the 27th! You should totally switch.

Jill in CO

 

[MAGICFOR2]

HI Cynthia! Looks like you are having a wonderful day at CC! Of course, I don't know who wouldn't. I am excited for you to book the Southern! Of course when I saw you had Greece on the first itinerary, I was excited too! Those are both sailings I was hoping Disney would do!! Not sure if we can pull it off in 2014 or not, but I'm hopeful.
Jim gave his notice here and we are heading to Texas to be with our son and fam. With this job being way not what he was promised and an abusive boss, he just can't take it anymore. He has alot of job leads up there and people recommending him for things - not what we left behind, mind you, but a start anyway. We'll have to see how it all shakes out, but at least he does have his retirement coming in for now. Life is funny like that. We are stoked to be with our grandkids again, and the other son and DDIL are applying for jobs in Texas, too so maybe we'll all be together again!

 

[eandesmom]

Oh no! I just switched to the 20th because my friend and TA is on it and can't move to the 27th! You should totally switch.

Jill in CO

Oh rats! Did your price go up a little? When I moved it yesterday 27th was the cheapest, then the 4th and the other 2 were the same. It's tough as ideally I would book around homecoming. Which I am pretty sure will be in Oct, not Sept but the question is when. Last weekend of Sept could be safer, I just don't know. Jeff is of no help either

HI Cynthia! Looks like you are having a wonderful day at CC! Of course, I don't know who wouldn't. I am excited for you to book the Southern! Of course when I saw you had Greece on the first itinerary, I was excited too! Those are both sailings I was hoping Disney would do!! Not sure if we can pull it off in 2014 or not, but I'm hopeful.

Oh that would be fun if you guys were there! It is hard to pick a date that far away just not knowing the kids schedule. It is really just Evan that I'd be worried about. It won't be his first homecoming but would be his first while in marching band and I don't want to miss that. Looks like it has been the 2,3,4th weekend respectively in Oct for the last 3 years. Doesn't mean it couldn't be the 1st though as I have no idea how they set it.

Jim gave his notice here and we are heading to Texas to be with our son and fam. With this job being way not what he was promised and an abusive boss, he just can't take it anymore. He has alot of job leads up there and people recommending him for things - not what we left behind, mind you, but a start anyway. We'll have to see how it all shakes out, but at least he does have his retirement coming in for now. Life is funny like that. We are stoked to be with our grandkids again, and the other son and DDIL are applying for jobs in Texas, too so maybe we'll all be together again!

oh wow! Big changes Tammie. Things to happen for a reason and I'm sure it will be wonderful. This way you at least got to transition to the heat a little When do you leave?

 

[jedijill]

Oh rats! Did your price go up a little? When I moved it yesterday 27th was the cheapest, then the 4th and the other 2 were the same. It's tough as ideally I would book around homecoming. Which I am pretty sure will be in Oct, not Sept but the question is when. Last weekend of Sept could be safer, I just don't know. Jeff is of no help either

Price went up $200 but I'm willing to pay that to sail with my friend. You should totally book the 20th.

Jill in CO

 

[eandesmom]

Price went up $200 but I'm willing to pay that to sail with my friend. You should totally book the 20th.

Jill in CO

you never know! I need to see if this other couple would even consider it as that could change things.

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Oh rats! Did your price go up a little? When I moved it yesterday 27th was the cheapest, then the 4th and the other 2 were the same. It's tough as ideally I would book around homecoming. Which I am pretty sure will be in Oct, not Sept but the question is when. Last weekend of Sept could be safer, I just don't know. Jeff is of no help either



Oh that would be fun if you guys were there! It is hard to pick a date that far away just not knowing the kids schedule. It is really just Evan that I'd be worried about. It won't be his first homecoming but would be his first while in marching band and I don't want to miss that. Looks like it has been the 2,3,4th weekend respectively in Oct for the last 3 years. Doesn't mean it couldn't be the 1st though as I have no idea how they set it.



oh wow! Big changes Tammie. Things to happen for a reason and I'm sure it will be wonderful. This way you at least got to transition to the heat a little When do you leave?

It is so hard to plan ahead for Disney when the schools don't release event dates that early. I hope you get the dates early enough to get a good price!
Thanks for the encouragement! I know it will be good. We plan to leave March 1st. DGD, 5 called Sunday to ask if we were in the car yet

 

[eandesmom]

It is so hard to plan ahead for Disney when the schools don't release event dates that early. I hope you get the dates early enough to get a good price!
Thanks for the encouragement! I know it will be good. We plan to leave March 1st. DGD, 5 called Sunday to ask if we were in the car yet

Aw, that is so sweet!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well something like homecoming I don't know that we'll ever know until August when they publish football schedules so it's tough to even know what to do unless you avoid all travel for Sept and Oct and then I suppose in theory it could even be in early Nov! Oh well, we will figure it out and if we do miss, Evan will live. I hope. We have booked, it would be more a matter of moving dates and what the cost to do that would be.

 

[that's nice]

Caught up again...

Your pirate meal at Animators looked really good.

You guys got some great gifts from your F.E. ::yes:

Love the birthday cake towel animal!

The view of Castaway Key you had from the room is awesome!

Looks like you had another busy day doing nothing!

 

[eandesmom]

Caught up again...

Your pirate meal at Animators looked really good.

It was!

You guys got some great gifts from your F.E. ::yes:

We did! And they didn't end there

Love the birthday cake towel animal!

It was cute, I think Kendall got 2 towel cakes over the course of the trip but maybe it was more. It is always fun when that works out, Eric got one back in 2011 that was adorable.

The view of Castaway Key you had from the room is awesome!

I wish I was sitting on that verandah right now with that view!

Looks like you had another busy day doing nothing!

The best kind of busy there is!

 

[PracPerfPatricia]

Speaking of Percy though....Sea of Monsters is finally in post production, I am glad the franchise didn't die off movie wise even though we were all disappointed in the Lightening Thief.

Hmmm... Do you mean because 11 year old Percy was a very mature looking 16 year old...? If I hadn't read the books I don't think I would have been quite as disappointed... but a large part of it is a coming of age story... and they kind of just killed it... (It really wouldn't have been a bad movie if I hadn't read the books first... I thought it was good in parts... and I'm actually glad they are making another one...)

Your photos of CC were awesome... lots of details... the E's seemed totally blissed.... I think that one of those shorter 3-4 day cruises might be a great way to check it out... just when is the cruise off season?... (Obviously I'm not any kind of cruise expert...)

 

[eandesmom]

Hmmm... Do you mean because 11 year old Percy was a very mature looking 16 year old...? If I hadn't read the books I don't think I would have been quite as disappointed... but a large part of it is a coming of age story... and they kind of just killed it... (It really wouldn't have been a bad movie if I hadn't read the books first... I thought it was good in parts... and I'm actually glad they are making another one...)

At the time the age thing didn't bother me as much, though it did the E's. They were very caught up in Annabeth being a brunette and no Clarisse. Both of which are supposedly addresed in Sea of Monsters. But how 21-26 year old actors are supposed to play 13 year olds is a bit beyond me



Medusa rocked though and I am VERY sad that Pierce isn't doing the next one. Sniff.

Your photos of CC were awesome... lots of details... the E's seemed totally blissed.... I think that one of those shorter 3-4 day cruises might be a great way to check it out... just when is the cruise off season?... (Obviously I'm not any kind of cruise expert...)

Oh there are more coming and totally blissed is a very very apt description. It's funny though, For kids that got a bit antsy at Vero (and preferred the pool) and avoided the ocean at Nassau they were sure into CC. Not sure if it's the Disney bubble and magic but boy it sure worked on them! It's a darn good thing that the S. Carribean itinerary we are now booked on (Greece was just too much $$ but I am hoping there is a fire sale after the paid in full date lol) doesn't go to CC as I don't think they'd forgive us.

Peak season for cruises matches Disneyworld peak in a lot of ways. Holidays (xmas, thanksgiving, new years) and then summer. The rest is considerably less expensive.

 

[norybell]

CC looks beautiful! Glad all of the kids got to be happy doing their own thing, while the grownups relaxed...sounds like the right way to spend a day!

It's freezing here in NY lately. I could use a sunny, warm beach right about now.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[disneydancer86]

Joined in some time ago and I finally caught up!! I am enjoying reading about your family and your pictures of the cruise are making me want to try one. I am terrible claustrophobic though, so I often worry I would just be sick all the time...

As for your "walking," I need to learn more about this. I was just talking with Poolrat about the possibilities of getting 2 villas at the 7 months out mark for WL or BC, and whether or not they would be available, etc. I am intrigued by your complex planning methods...I think I need a spreadsheet! I am glad to hear you...kind of got it work out I think. Please instruct me in your DVC ways!!

Thanks for the enjoyable TR so far! I look forward to reading more.