Jan. 22- 29 , 2011 Western Caribean Cruise on the Disney Magic!!!

[clawmachine]

Thanks so much for all the great info! Unbelievably, we are now getting another blizzard on top of the 30"+ snow we already have on the ground from the weekend!

Your door looks great! I'm not sure if we'd do that or not but I think it looks like a lot of fun. As for the FE's, now I get what they are and that sounds like something my kids would really love. I would want to somehow be able to ask people not to put candy/food in there that DS can't have with his allergy, but other than that, please count us in!!

I have spent half the day trying to get the best insurance for our trip. I don't usually buy insurance but this cruise is costing us way more $ than we are used to spending so it seems like a very good idea. Finally I found some through our auto insurer which seems to be a good deal..

Speaking of DIS addictions, I keep asking DH and the kids at every meal if "they have any questions about the cruise," and they are no longer humoring me. I just keep getting smiles or blank stares. I think they think Mommy has gone a bit off the deep end and the poor kids think the trip is like next week for as much as I've been talking about it!

 

[Tinkerkell123]

Speaking of DIS addictions, I keep asking DH and the kids at every meal if "they have any questions about the cruise," and they are no longer humoring me. I just keep getting smiles or blank stares. I think they think Mommy has gone a bit off the deep end and the poor kids think the trip is like next week for as much as I've been talking about it!

My DH was completely over me talking about the boards and cruise WAY before our cruise actually got here! He just does not get it. I think it makes the time go by faster, and I am so anal retentive about planning vacations that I just have to keep reading!

We can definitely put a note in the FE list once we get that far, to not put candy in your kid's FEs. Probably best not to do any candy rather than risk someone accidentally putting in something he is allergic to.

I wish you could send some of that snow our way!

 

[clawmachine]

Kelli - you will not believe this (or maybe you will!) - I ALREADY bought some FE gifts!! LOL. I was already buying some Disney stuff and figured why not add a batch of little things to my cart to save on shipping later. I have some other ideas to add to it too and of course may have to buy more when we get the final list. I will admit that I am really kind of bad with this - sometimes I buy for gifts a year in advance but I'm too embarrassed to admit to this FE thing to anyone outside here or they'll really think I've gone loony!

 

[Tinkerkell123]

Kelli - you will not believe this (or maybe you will!) - I ALREADY bought some FE gifts!! LOL. I was already buying some Disney stuff and figured why not add a batch of little things to my cart to save on shipping later. I have some other ideas to add to it too and of course may have to buy more when we get the final list. I will admit that I am really kind of bad with this - sometimes I buy for gifts a year in advance but I'm too embarrassed to admit to this FE thing to anyone outside here or they'll really think I've gone loony!

SO GLAD I am not the only one! I have already bought some stuff, too! I figure if I go ahead and start now, it won't be as painful as paying for all of it at once... And on our 1st cruise, I kept thinking of cute stuff I had seen last spring that would have been perfect for FE gifts, and of course, forget finding it when I needed it!

I keep it all stashed in my Disney vacay storage box so the DH won't think I have totally lost my mind getting stuff so early... It's probably also better if he doesn't know how much I really spend on that stuff! Some things are just not going to be understood by a man...

Told Kevin you have a son his age and he was VERY excited to know that! I hope we end up with a good group for our meet. Even if it's just us who are here now (yeah, right!), we will have a ball!

I just wish it was sooner...

 

[goofycruise]

super excited we have 3 people interested in fe's! I have begun thinking about what we want to give out haven't made any final decisions yet though! lol

We likely won't be doing any meets , just due to the fact that we are coming as a huge family. We are intending on getting to send LOTS of time together as we probably only see each other a few times a year. So we'll be busy together. however my 8 yr old niece and I defintily want to do the FE's she'll love it!

 

[Lisa46xx]

Hello, all. Just checking in to say hi. I just booked this cruise this morning. We sailed on the Magic on a Western Caribbean cruise (with Tinkerkell...I'm stalking her) in January 2010 and just needed to go back one more time! I considered the Eastern itinerary, but it just didn't seem as appealing for us. We loved the Western.

We are:
DW Lisa, DH Will, DS Cameron (will be 9), and DS Evan (6)
from Rhode Island

We are main dining, cabin 2116. We did FEs last month and would probably do them again.

Looking forward to counting down the days with you!

 

[Tinkerkell123]

Woo, hoo!!! We are in 2111, right down the hall! Definitely have to plan more stuff this time & get the boys together!!

Welcome aboard!

Kelli

 

[clawmachine]

Hi Lisa!
Glad to see another family here! I'm sure you already saw my posts above but anyway, we are:
DW Colleen
DH Matt
DS (will be 8) Jason
DS (will be 6) Aidan
DD (will be nearly 4) Helen

I hope these 11 months fly by!

 

[Lisa46xx]

Hi Lisa!
Glad to see another family here! I'm sure you already saw my posts above but anyway, we are:
DW Colleen
DH Matt
DS (will be 8) Jason
DS (will be 6) Aidan
DD (will be nearly 4) Helen

I hope these 11 months fly by!

Hi, Colleen! Our boys are similar ages; I'm sure mine will like meeting yours on the ship! Thanks for the welcome.

 

[goofycruise]

ordered some stuff today for the FE'S, we are calling ourselves TEAM MCQUEEN ( we all have different last names ) so everything is cars themed!!!

 

[goofycruise]

so for those of you who have already experienced an fe, how do we go about setting this up? this is our first cruise so i have no idea!

awaiting your expertise! lol

 

[Lisa46xx]

Well, we need to find out who wants to participate and set some sort of sign-up deadline, maybe a month or 6 weeks before the cruise. I think for our cruise this past January, the deadline was in mid-December. For each cabin that wants to participate, we need to know:

# adults, #kids plus everyone's first name
ages of kids
cabin #

There should ideally be one person who compiles all of this info and posts a summary so that the rest of us know how much/what to buy and where we are delivering it once on board. Also, that person could make a schedule of which cabin is going to deliver their goodies on which day, so that the deliveries are spread out over the course of the cruise. Maybe someone else has other ideas about what's involved, but that's my recollection.

 

[Tinkerkell123]

That sounds right to me! I would be happy to be FE Coordinator, unless someone else really wants to do it...

 

[goofycruise]

i'm completely fine with that, i'd prefer to have someone who has done an fe before and knows what to expect as i certainly do not lol

i must say my excitment has calmed down a bit i am now only on this boards every few days as opposed to every single day

how ever i'm sure once summer is over i'll be back to my crazy excited self

p.s. my husband is likely enjoying the peace of not talking disney everyday, i think i was driving him mad!

 

[clawmachine]

i'm completely fine with that, i'd prefer to have someone who has done an fe before and knows what to expect as i certainly do not lol

i must say my excitment has calmed down a bit i am now only on this boards every few days as opposed to every single day

how ever i'm sure once summer is over i'll be back to my crazy excited self

p.s. my husband is likely enjoying the peace of not talking disney everyday, i think i was driving him mad!

LOL! Ditto here, although I do still check the boards at least 4 times a week. Thanks so much for volunteering to coordinate, Kelli!

 

[Tinkerkell123]

Me too! Work has been crazy so I haven't been on nearly as much as I would like to...

Glad to coordinate FE's! I will go ahead and do a post about FE's so it will be as close to the beginning of the thread as possible...

 

[Tinkerkell123]

Info and sign-up for Fish Extender and Cruise Meets​

Fish Extenders, DISmeets, Magnet Exchange & Scavenger Hunt

This is completely optional. Feel free to do or spend whatever you're comfortable with. Some people buy them, others want to make theirs, that's fine. Spend a little or a lot, it's up to you.

To sign up for any or all, just PM, e-mail or reply to this with your name, cabin number (when you know it), how many kids you have, if they are boys or girls and their ages. Please let me know as soon as you want to sign up even if you don't know your cabin # yet!

Here are some links to check out for further information:

What is a Fish Extender?

Help! I need info!!

General Info:

If you want to sign up, PM Tinkerkell123 (aka Kelli). Please specify meets, FEs, Magnet Exchange or all of them!

Q&A:

What do people give for FE gifts?

Lots of different stuff. You will find threads about homemade FE gifts in the Forum. Candy is always popular and I got a ton of stuff at Target in the "dollar aisle" that is Disney themed. They seem to have different stuff at different times, but I almost always find stuff there. Also, Halloween is a great time to look for Disney themed stuff (pencils, crayons, playing cards, etc.) and it goes on sale when Halloween is over. Likewise Christmas...

UPDATE: We do have some people with nut allergies (this includes stuff that has a nut warning on it saying it is manufactured in a place that processes nuts). If you want to do candy please try to stick to stuff like Skittles, Sweettarts, dumdums, Smarties, that kind of stuff. Thanks!

New update: We have a group signed up for FEs that cannot have anything with gluten in it. So keep that in mind when doing gifts.

I think I am going to add that info to the actual list I will send out a few weeks prior to the cruise to everyone who is participating. That way, if you want to do candy or something that those people can't have, you will know who they are so you can do something different for them.

Where can I get a Fish Extender?

Are you crafty? Make your own! Lots of ideas & instructions on the Forum. There are also several people who sell them on eBay. Just search Fish Extenders or Disney Fish Extenders.

What are meets?

We set up times for everyone on our thread to meet each other in person during the cruise. Generally do 1 the first day sometime before the drill. We can also do other meets. For instance: card games, girl's time, guy's time, etc. If you have a great idea, bring it on!

What is a magnet exchange?

Whoever is interested signs up and you will buy or make a magnet for each cabin (not person) on the list. Can be Disney themed, something that shows where you are from or anything you like. On a certain day, we will deliver and put on the cabin doors. We can do this all on the same day or assign days like we will for FEs.

What other fun stuff do people do on DCL?

Door magnets! See loads of them on the threads. See some you like? You can usually PM the creator of the one's you like and they will personalize them for you. You can print them off on magnetic paper or print them on regular paper, have them laminated and attach magnets to the back of that. Just remember: When doing door decor, do NOT use tape or anything other than magnets!!!! Nothing sticky, clingy or anything else. Just magnets!!

Do I HAVE to do all this?

Nope, but it sure is fun!!


PM me or reply to this thread with any questions!! I will start a list of who is participating in what and keep us all posted! I will probably post the lists here and update as more people sign up!

Sign-up deadline: December 15, 2010​

Please be sure to subscribe to our thread so you will know about new posts, updates, etc! If you are on Facebook and want to friend fellow passengers, add that to the info you send me...

 

[clawmachine]

Great post, Kelli! I just sent you a PM and it looked like it worked, but now when I go into sent items it is not there! Would you please let me know if you do not get a PM from me. Thanks a lot!!

 

[GiddyRhino]

Hi folks! I booked myself a Cat 11b cabin on this sailing and I'm really excited, and from the look of these provious posts, I'm not the only one!

I may be adding a friend or family member with me, but I couldn't wait any longer for them to make up their mind, so I booked it up for myself and it's just gonna be a bonus if I get there with someone else... If not, Yay for a queen bed!

It's my first cruise, so I'm gorging myself on precious info here. I've been once at WDW in 2005 with Mother (Yeah, I'm Mommy's Little Boy!) and I'm hooked!

I don't think I'll get a fish extender since I won't travel with a kid, but I might just drop something special from Montréal in yours, you never know!

If I am to travel alone, I'm not at all worried that I'm gonna have a blast and make friends with people onboard. I'll just wear a big smile on my face, it usually works quite fine!

I look forward to share my excitement with you!

 

[Tinkerkell123]

Welcome aboard!! Glad to have you with us! If you change your mind about FE's let me know. They are definitely not just for kids...

You will have an awesome time alone or with someone else! I cannot imagine getting to do anything like that alone... Ah, well, one can dream!