Way Early I know but anyone going on Eastern May 1-8 2004?

[hydster]

My family is going on our first 7 night Disney cruise on the Eastern Route on May 1, 2004. There is me and hubby age 33 and our dd age 10, our ds age 9 and our ds age 5.

Anyone else planning on this cruise???

I know it is really early but I am so excited about it because our kids have NO Idea we are going.

Heidi

 

[saturday97]

Yes! we will be on our 2nd cruise and we're so excited!! You will have such a great time! DS will be 6 the week before the cruise and is looking forward to B-day w/ Mickey!

 

[ThreeCircles]

We'll be with you on the May 1st Magic!

Only 215 days to go!

 

[hydster]

This is going to be so great! I am so glad to find others who will be on the same sailing as we are!!!!

The 215 days is a tad bit depressing however but before I know it we will be down into the double digits!!!!!

Hopefully more people are sailing with all of us!

Heidi

 

[ThreeCircles]

Heidi--

I'll agree that 215 days sounds a little depressing. BUT, it gives us lots of time to get to know one another and to plan, plan, plan!

I was wondering if we should start a May 1st Cruise List site so that we can all post our pics and info. That way, by the time we get onboard, we'll be like old friends! We have a list going for the September 4th Cruise, you can check it out at <a href="http://www.threecircles.net">ThreeCircles.net</a>, and let me know if you think a May list would be cool.

I noticed on the Unofficial Cruise List ( http://www.casshew.com/cruisebydate.htm ) that 11 parties are listed! We'll have to hunt them up and get them posting on this thread!

 

[conny264]

Hello everybody.
My sister silke and I are going to be on the same cruise.We are from Germany and very excited,because it´s our first cruise as well.Actually I´m pretty happy about the213 days,we booked in January, so we are over halfway there.
Since it is our first and we´re sharing infos here I would like to ask if anyone has experience with renting a car for a day at St.Maarten?We are thinking about doing that,because I´m no big fan of organised tour and would like to explore the island myself.
Any tips would be appreciated.
Lots of greetings from Germany
conny264

 

[ThreeCircles]

Conny264--

Hello from Florida! So glad to see that you'll be on the May 1st cruise!

We rented a car in St. Maarten during our last Eastern Disney cruise in May 2003. The care was really great, very nice and well kept, and the island is fairly easy to navigate. We visited the French side as well as the Dutch.

We did experience one bit of a problem, however. We used a credit card to pay for the rental at the rental office (VERY close to the dock). The man who took our card to swipe it for payment disappeared into the back room of the office for quite some time. We really didn't think much of it until two months after returning from our cruise we started getting credit card statements with purchases on it from New York!

The credit card we used was a brand new Disney Visa and had not been used anywhere except for the cruise itself. Although we contacted the credit card company and had the charges removed, it was still very disconcerting! Just wanted to give you a heads up!

 

[dennisnlisab96]

Hello everyone!!!

We will also be on the 5/1/04 sailing. I will be traveling w/ my husband my 2 step kids and our 4 kids. DSS 12, DSD 10, DD7, DD5 (her birthday is 5/1!!) DD2, DS 10mo!!! This is our first Disney cruise and we can't wait.

 

[hydster]

I think the idea of a page for us to talk on is a GREAT idea! It would be alot of fun to at least know a little about each other before we go and get pictures of who everyone is as well.

If you are willing to set it up (computer illiterate here and hubby does it for a job ) that would be great!!!

Heidi

 

[dennisnlisab96]

We also like the idea of getting to know everyone before we leave!!! Maybe some pictures and a little info???

 

[cali4niacruisin]

Just wanted to chime in that we will be on our first Disney Cruise 5/1/2004. I am glad to see I am not the only one excited already. It will be me, DW, and DD 3. We live in Sacramento, but I saw someone said they are from Gilbert, Az. We lived there for about 5 years, probably just about neighbors!

 

[dthogue]

Hi Everyone,

Count us in - this will be our first cruise. It will be Me, DH, DD14, DD12 and DD5. 215 days sounds like forever, but I'm sure it will get here quickly. Looking forward to meeting other Dis'ers!

 

[ThreeCircles]

Wow. We're a pretty active thread for being 215 days out! Looks like we'll be sailing with a great group!

I'm working on getting the site up and running for our cruise list. Hopefully within the next day or two. Meanwhile, everyone can start finding and scanning their favorite pics to post!

<a href="http://www.threecircles.net">ThreeCircles.net</a>

 

[conny264]

Hello ThreeCircles

Thank you so much for the report.The thought about credit card charges afterwards is scary.Did you rent the car directly at the pier or reserved in advance?
I´m planning to use the www.stmaartencarrentalguide.com site.It was recommended by Dave Marx from Passporter.They actually list 2 companys :Hertz and one other(forgot the name).If you could please tell me the name of the company you used,so I can avoid them.
Thanks again
Conny264

 

[ThreeCircles]

We actually reserved our car in advance through the Internet. They e-mail you a confirmation notice and you can just take that to the office once you arrive in port. With 20/20 hindsight, this may actually work to your disadvantage. We had already agreed on a price and everything prior to arrival. Once there, we noticed that many of the offices had individuals out near the dock offering "deals" on daily rentals. Some of these prices were significantly cheaper than what we booked for, although our price wasn't that bad either. (I think around $45 or so.)

Anyway, the company we used was somehow affiliated with Hertz. I don't really know how it all works because when we booked online the Hertz name was all over the place. When we got into port, the office was actually called something else!

 

[conny264]

Thank you so much for your help.I really appreciate it.The rental car company I was looking at was associated with Hertz,so it is probably the same you guys had.Also I fall into the category of obssesive planner,I`ll restrain myself and see what comes available at the morning in St.Maarten.Maybe paying in cash is a good option,we´ll see.
Can´t wait to see your website,is a great idea.
202 days till our trip to WDW,so I don´t have to wait that long.
Lot´s of greetings from Germany
Conny

 

[ThreeCircles]

Hey all!

The Disney Magic May 1st-8th Cruise List is up and running! It's not fully complete, but should be by Monday of next week.

Check it out at <a href="http://www.threecircles.net">ThreeCircles.net</a>

 

[dennisnlisab96]

Thanks for creating the web site...I can't wait to start meeting people we will cruising with.

Lisa

 

[hydster]

ThreeCircles...thank you SO much for doing that page! It will be alot of fun to get to know everyone before we leave!!!! I plan on sending on our information this weekend...kids are out of school today so I am going crazy but I plan to do it sometime this weekend!!

Thanks again!
Heidi

 

[conny264]

Hi.
I´m going to send you an email this weekend.The only Problemis,that I don´t have a picture of my sister and myself to attache.
But I´m sure we´ll be able to make ourselfs known.
Can´t wait.

Greetings from Germany
Conny