Dec 5, 2009 -- now traveling to Tortola

[Tower]

Tracey, welcome aboard! Going to be a blast!
My ds Erik will be 8 and may meet Kayley in his age group's activities. It will be great! Noticed you're from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Must be really looking to escape the cold from that area now. I've been on the Canadian side at that latitude and know what it's like.

Have a great day all!

 

[AddictedtoMickey]

Hi All,

We will be joining you as well! This is our second cruise. We did the 7-day western last April. We had a very active group on the thread prior to the cruise. I hope this one will be the same!

It will be myself (Frank), DW (Pam) and three DD's (Jamie-12, Sydney-8, Brenna-6).

I'm a little nervous about the weather at Castaway Cay that time of year but I'll cross my fingers! We're in Nova Scotia. Any other Canadians going on this one?

Frank

 

[Hanover]

It's been almost a year since I last posted on this site. Back then I'd spoken about our then 10 year old being diagnosed first with lymphoma, then finding out it was a benign chest mass. Fortunately after lots of medication and CT scans (and lots of prayers), he's now recovered almost completely with just minor scar tissue remaining.

We have had a very busy year and managed a couple Disney trips and Wonder cruises. We are looking forward to being on the Magic in December. Our oldest son will be 11 on the cruise and our youngest will be 8 (tomorrow's his b-day).

I'm not sure if anyone who has sailed before on the Wonder knows Cruise Director Clayton, but we ran into him on our cruise a week and a half ago (he was not CD that trip, but was training others) and he said he's going to the Magic in June and will be our CD on our December cruise.

 

[Tower]

Greetings Addicted!!

Great to see another Crazy Canuck along with us. Our family of 5 plus my mom will be along. We're close to the Toronto airport (Mississauga), but I've been to Halifax a few times in the past.

If you were from Newfoundland, I'd tell you to bring along some Screech, but since we're being fed quite a bit on this cruise, I guess it's not a good idea to request good ol' Nova Scotia lobster.

My son Erik may get a chance to meet Sydney, also 8 and my daughter Holly will get along great with Brenna as she will be 6.

Gonna be a great time!!!

 

[Tower]

It's been almost a year since I last posted on this site. Back then I'd spoken about our then 10 year old being diagnosed first with lymphoma, then finding out it was a benign chest mass. Fortunately after lots of medication and CT scans (and lots of prayers), he's now recovered almost completely with just minor scar tissue remaining.

Hey Hanover, after reading another thread a little while ago, you may want to consider trip insurance just in case. My sister in law had to cancel a family trip to Mexico last month due to her coming up with breast cancer. They lost all the money as they did not insure themselves.
Just a friendly suggestion.

 

[AddictedtoMickey]

Hi Tower,

That's great you've got some kids around the same age as mine. Sydney is our tomboy. No pink in her life. She plays hockey and only hangs out with boys! Brenna, on the other hand, is all girl...complete opposites!

I actually grew up in Mississauga. Moved to Nova Scotia in 1990. I'm at the Toronto Airport almost weekly.

Didn't you say family of five? What's the age of your third child? Have you been on a Disney cruise before?

 

[Tower]

Hi Frank,

Our youngest is Peter. He will be almost 3 by the cruise. We're hoping to get him into the same program as Holly as HE WILL BE POTTY TRAINED. (Sorry for the caps but that's a promise we're making to ourselves.)

Erik plays defence on his hockey team, so he'll have a bit in common with Sydney. Holly and Brenna will be BFF's! Holly does dressup all the time, but is not afraid to get her hands dirty too.

Not our first cruise, but first Disney cruise. The kids have gone with us on one Carnival cruise before, and this will be the 5th cruise for Christine and me. My mom's on another cruise right now for 10 days so this will be her 20th? 25th? something like that.

We're flying out of Buffalo, NY to get to Orlando. Otherwise, I'd say to bring the family over for a beer before we fly down out of Toronto. I imagine you'll get some flight either direct out of Halifax or via Montreal.

Keep in touch. This thread is the only thing keeping my sanity in this crazy world right now.

 

[AddictedtoMickey]

Sounds great! Good luck with the potty-training!

We go to WDW every year. We're going April 1st to 15th this year. Only six weeks to go. I wasn't sure if I'd like the cruise compared to WDW, but I'm hooked! We booked onboard last year.

I'll send you my e-mail address.

 

[Hanover]

Hey Hanover, after reading another thread a little while ago, you may want to consider trip insurance just in case. My sister in law had to cancel a family trip to Mexico last month due to her coming up with breast cancer. They lost all the money as they did not insure themselves.
Just a friendly suggestion.

Thanks. We definitely get insurance on all of our trips because you just never know what pops up in life. We have found Access America to have the same coverage that DCL offers for a lot less. I think our cruise in February was $112 for the 4 of us and covered much more than what DCL would have covered.

 

[mrstbalt]

My name is Tracey. My family and I will be going on this cruise. It will be me, Bill, Kayley (7) and Kyley (2). Kayley will be 8 when we cruise and Kyley 3. Hoping to have lots of fun. Can't wait to meet everyone.

Tracey
Hi there and welcome aboard! My girls will be 8&9 at time of sailing, they were excited when I read your post. They like to make new friends.

 

[mrstbalt]

We are getting more excited now, getting to know some of the disboard families before we set sail. Should be fun!

 

[carmie3377]

WooHoo Just booked today! It will be me, DH, DD10, and DS3. A first cruise for all of us. We are so excited. We're hoping to keep it a surprise for the kids. I sure hope so but if the surprise is spoiled, I'm sure it will be me. I almost asked DD yesterday if she was excited about the cruise. Glad I caught myself.

 

[Tower]

Greetings Carmen!

Welcome to this thread! (With over 1200 posts, I guess you've been welcomed to the board several times already!)

It's going to be a great time for all. The trip is less than 10 months away now and everyone is getting excited.

I can't afford to think about it too much or I won't get any work done here in my office.

Where are you from?

 

[carmie3377]

Greetings Carmen!

Welcome to this thread! (With over 1200 posts, I guess you've been welcomed to the board several times already!)

It's going to be a great time for all. The trip is less than 10 months away now and everyone is getting excited.

I can't afford to think about it too much or I won't get any work done here in my office.

Where are you from?

Thanks!
We're in Texas. We have a cruise port less than an hour from our house but cruising with the Mouse for our first cruise is the only option for us

 

[carmie3377]

Any more news about FE's? I've just discovered them on another thread and they look really fun. I have a neat little idea about something I could pass out.

Also, has a cruise meet been determined?

 

[Tower]

Thanks!
We're in Texas. We have a cruise port less than an hour from our house but cruising with the Mouse for our first cruise is the only option for us

Then I would imagine that would be the Galveston port. Well, it will be great to have you along!

Actually just started a project here in Toronto with a new client out of Austin. We have a couple of nice Texas gals here right now to work with. (They just find it a bit cold up here right now)

Don't know about any FE's (whatever they are), but I don't think a meet & greet has not been determined yet. I'm not going to worry about it until after we've got the activities booked etc (once that finally opens up)

 

[disneytraceyl]

Welcome to all of the new people on the thread! December is coming quick. Hard for me to think about that when we still have tons of snow and no end in site. Another 10 inches is expected to fall tonight. I am so sick of the snow, that I had to book a trip to Florida during spring break. I need a break myself.
I am definately doing the fish extenders. Maybe we can start thinking about it and start a list in September. We had such a great time doing the fish extenders on our last cruise. It was a lot of fun.
We will definately have to think about a dismeet. It is so much fun to meet everyone we have been talking to on the boards.
Talk to everyone soon.

 

[Tower]

Hi All!

Thought I would share this with you in case you would be interested. When we did our last family cruise on Carnival in December of 2007, we booked a flight a day ahead of the start of our cruise in case foul weather slowed our departure either at the beginning or mid-route. In our case, it turned out to be very prudent because, had we booked our travel the day of the cruise, we would have missed our cruise due to the inclement weather around the eastern seaboard.

We're doing the same thing this year and flying into Orlando on the 4th. Because there are 6 of us, and booking 2 rooms is rather expensive, I found the Marriott Residence Inn Airport to have a 1 bedroom suite with 2 queens and a pullout that will fit us nicely for around US$107 (or US$120.50 including tax). It has a free airport shuttle, free breakfast in the morning and even cocktails on the Friday night!

Not sure if anyone else wanted to add a little arrival time insurance to their trip, but I think it will work for us.

Just go to www.marriott.com to check it out. (There are also other hotels in area with decent deals so go to the airport website www.orlandoairports.net and check to see what works best for you.

It would be interesting to meet any earlybirds on the Friday night beforehand and get a good start to the vacation.

TTYL

 

[carmie3377]

Then I would imagine that would be the Galveston port. Well, it will be great to have you along!

Actually just started a project here in Toronto with a new client out of Austin. We have a couple of nice Texas gals here right now to work with. (They just find it a bit cold up here right now)

Don't know about any FE's (whatever they are), but I don't think a meet & greet has not been determined yet. I'm not going to worry about it until after we've got the activities booked etc (once that finally opens up)

Yes, you're right. We're not too far from Galveston. I have an aunt who cruises out of there frequently.

Ah, Austin is gorgeous, probably the prettiest city here in Texas. Yes, I would find it cold in Canada too! It was in the high 30s/low 40s here this morning and I was freezing. It was warmed up nicely, though, it's close to 60. I don't think I could handle the cold too long. But we do have to put up with heat and humidity here. That's not fun either but at least I'm used to it.

There are some thread's on FE's (fish extenders). I'm still learning about them myself but they are pocket organizers that people hang from their fish outside their door. Other Dis members will drop off little surprises and things during the cruise.

Ooh, can't believe we're closing in on 9 months. So exiting. Each and every day I'm learning all I can and finding out all kinds of neat information.

 

[carmie3377]

Welcome to all of the new people on the thread! December is coming quick. Hard for me to think about that when we still have tons of snow and no end in site. Another 10 inches is expected to fall tonight. I am so sick of the snow, that I had to book a trip to Florida during spring break. I need a break myself.
I am definately doing the fish extenders. Maybe we can start thinking about it and start a list in September. We had such a great time doing the fish extenders on our last cruise. It was a lot of fun.
We will definately have to think about a dismeet. It is so much fun to meet everyone we have been talking to on the boards.
Talk to everyone soon.

No snow here but still wanting Dec to get here! Heck, we've already had days in the high 70s/low 80s. It's was cold last night and will be tonight (well, cold for us anyway!) but it will be close to 80 by the end of the week.

I'm excited about the FEs too. I bought some material to make one and I will attempt the no-sew version. I've got some little ideas about gifts but need to think of some more.