05/09/2009 May 9, 2009 7-Night Eastern St Maarten... Watch Out!

[lyn9856]

I decided I couldn’t hold back last night and pulled all the luggage out to start deciding which pieces we want to take with us. The new suitcase I ordered should arrive today too.

Come on time... speed up!

We are also considering changing our flight down to an earlier flight. No need to, but I figure what the heck if we are going to be off work anyway and the kids wont be going to school that day then why not end up in Orlando to kick off the vacation a couple of hours earlier!?

Haven't actually pulled the luggage out yet, but we have a spare room that looks like a clothes shop/jumble sale!
Have more or less finished shopping and decided on outfits etc. All over the spare bed and hanging on an ironing rail.
Just toiletries and stuff left to do.
Oh...and a dry cleaning trip.


I am also wishing time would speed up!

 

[dollysmom]

Scott - we received the bracelets today and look awesome. We are keeping these a secret until we go away. Hope the kids like them as much as we do.

 

[scottie]

Haven't actually pulled the luggage out yet, but we have a spare room that looks like a clothes shop/jumble sale!
Have more or less finished shopping and decided on outfits etc. All over the spare bed and hanging on an ironing rail.
Just toiletries and stuff left to do.
Oh...and a dry cleaning trip.

I am also wishing time would speed up!

Just pack the whole house... you do have a 15 day trip to plan for after all!

Scott - we received the bracelets today and look awesome. We are keeping these a secret until we go away. Hope the kids like them as much as we do.

Keeping them a secret is a great idea!

 

[scottie]

After seeing MickeyQuest and Match Your Mate listed as first night activities and knowing the clubs were listed as Family Time for the club and lab the first night, I decided to send a shout out to DCL. Below is the response I received. It looks like anyone who may like to do an adult activity the first night can arrange that

Thank you for choosing a Disney Cruise Line vacation!

I am happy to assist you with information regarding the children's programs.

We appreciate your thoughts and concerns regarding the schedule of Disney's Oceaneer Club and Disney's Oceaneer Lab on the first night of your cruise. We have designated Family Time in these areas as an orientation for the children and family.

However, we understand that you may have made other plans and need your children under the care of the counselors onboard. After boarding the ship, please speak with one of the Youth Counselors to make these arrangements.

 

[Eeyore77]

I was trying to find the final FE list on here so that I can reprint it. Can someone please repost the list so that I make sure that I have the most up to date list.

 

[scottie]

I was trying to find the final FE list on here so that I can reprint it. Can someone please repost the list so that I make sure that I have the most up to date list.

I think this was the last FE list posted:
LINK
http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=30888310&postcount=1097

 

[Dilmaluvs2cruise]

My DD Jillian keeps asking me when is her B-Day so we can go on the Mickey Ship Her birthday is on May 5th she was born 5-5-05 kinda cool.... anyway i made her a calander that saids "Day's Until We Sail With Mickey" she gets to put a sticker in every square daily until it gets to the sail away date..... It gives her something to do since she's not on the boards like her DM


Can't wait til May

 

[Eeyore77]

My DD Jillian keeps asking me when is her B-Day so we can go on the Mickey Ship Her birthday is on May 5th she was born 5-5-05 kinda cool.... anyway i made her a calander that saids "Day's Until We Sail With Mickey" she gets to put a sticker in every square daily until it gets to the sail away date..... It gives her something to do since she's not on the boards like her DM


Can't wait til May

Awww that is so sweet. I think that I need one of those too! LOL!

 

[DisneyMommy1022]

Haven't actually pulled the luggage out yet, but we have a spare room that looks like a clothes shop/jumble sale!
Have more or less finished shopping and decided on outfits etc. All over the spare bed and hanging on an ironing rail.
Just toiletries and stuff left to do.
Oh...and a dry cleaning trip.


I am also wishing time would speed up!

I wish I could say I was done shopping but DD Hailey has out grown everything, DD Courtney has out gown everything, and I have... well we are not going to go there! Still need to find a formal dress. What are you ladies going to wear? I'm having a tuf time because I'm not sure if this is more like prom formal or like going to a nice dinner formal? Any help would be nice!

 

[scottie]

Just curious how many are considering shipping a box ahead of time to the ship?
We are thinking about sending one with our FE gifts in it via Fedex Ground about 2 weeks in advance of sailing. Figure that will be one less thing to drag with us and the Fedex Ground cost shouldnt be much.

 

[Eeyore77]

I wish I could say I was done shopping but DD Hailey has out grown everything, DD Courtney has out gown everything, and I have... well we are not going to go there! Still need to find a formal dress. What are you ladies going to wear? I'm having a tuf time because I'm not sure if this is more like prom formal or like going to a nice dinner formal? Any help would be nice!

To tell you the truth on formal night I have seen people wearing everything from summer sun dresses to floor length evening gowns. I am going to be sticking in the middle and wearing more of a cocktail dress just below the knee. It really is just a matter of personal preference. For the men they wear anything from a nice shirt and tie to a tux. There really are no rules just wear what you think looks nice on you, but is still a little dressy.

 

[scottie]

I wish I could say I was done shopping but DD Hailey has out grown everything, DD Courtney has out gown everything, and I have... well we are not going to go there! Still need to find a formal dress. What are you ladies going to wear? I'm having a tuf time because I'm not sure if this is more like prom formal or like going to a nice dinner formal? Any help would be nice!

Not a lady here, but did want to mention I saw a thread on the main board last night in which people were posting pictures from formal night. I cant find the link right now but I think it was titled something like:
Not another formal night question (formal pics)....

UPDATE: Found the thread:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2073975

My DW and MIL decided they didnt want to drag a formal night dress with them and so we opted for Palo for that evening. The kids will eat with the kids club that evening.

 

[lyn9856]

Who will be the first of our thread to start their holiday? What plans has everyone made?
We land in Orlando April 24th.
26 days to go for us
We have an allocated on arrival Villa for 15n. No idea where it will be, but it is only £299 per week...it is guaranteed to be near Disney and have a private pool. The exchange rate and economy hasnt affected us too much but we have tried to cut costs down more this year...to allow us to spend everything we want on the cruise!
We will then drive over to PC in am on 9th and return car rental there.

Have APs for WDW and passes for Universal and IOAs. So set to go.
We fly home on the Sat the cruise ends. Just trying to decide between Hyatt day room at MCO or DD for that last day.
Lyn x

 

[lyn9856]

I wish I could say I was done shopping but DD Hailey has out grown everything, DD Courtney has out gown everything, and I have... well we are not going to go there! Still need to find a formal dress. What are you ladies going to wear? I'm having a tuf time because I'm not sure if this is more like prom formal or like going to a nice dinner formal? Any help would be nice!

We will be formal dress....mainly due to being lucky that we have a HUGE luggage allowance on Virgin flights. 2 checked cases each....one full of SHOES

I have this one, and cant wait to wear it
http://www.coast-stores.com/fcp/product/-/Balls/Patience-Duchess-Satin-Maxi-Dress/2143388080

But I agree with all other posters....there was a good mix of prom formal, dinner formal..and just smart or pretty dress or skirt/trousers/top. No one looked out of place at all...whether dressed up or down.
Not sure if US same as UK, but we have some great sales at the moment. Have picked up a few bargains ready to pack

Lyn

 

[scottie]

Who will be the first of our thread to start their holiday? What plans has everyone made?x

I am guessing you have the vast majority of us beat for length of vacation!

-May 8th we fly from Columbus to Orlando
-Stay the night at Hyatt MCO
-Hit the grocery store and then off the the cruise terminal the next morning
-After the cruise we are headed over to WDW for a 2-night stay at AKLV
-We plan to do a power trip through the parks those two days
-May 18th we are going to do Downtown Disney and head home from MCO around dinner time.

 

[lulu0506]

Hi all! Haven't been posting much lately but am back on site and ready to jump into super planning mode We will be heading down on an early flight on Friday before the cruise. We are deciding on whether to stick to our plan to stay at JW Marriott or head over to AKL for the night. We don't plan to go to any parks but would sure love to start the vacation off with Disney atmosphere

 

[airtime247]

After seeing MickeyQuest and Match Your Mate listed as first night activities and knowing the clubs were listed as Family Time for the club and lab the first night, I decided to send a shout out to DCL. Below is the response I received. It looks like anyone who may like to do an adult activity the first night can arrange that

Thank you for choosing a Disney Cruise Line vacation!

I am happy to assist you with information regarding the children's programs.

We appreciate your thoughts and concerns regarding the schedule of Disney's Oceaneer Club and Disney's Oceaneer Lab on the first night of your cruise. We have designated Family Time in these areas as an orientation for the children and family.

However, we understand that you may have made other plans and need your children under the care of the counselors onboard. After boarding the ship, please speak with one of the Youth Counselors to make these arrangements.

I sure hope they do something for the kids. That would be a bummer to miss.

Auburn0667/Andrea had a great idea. They invited their Mom aka The Babysitter. If Disney can't accomodate our kids that first night, I say we all tip-toe down to cabin 6139 with our little monsters, knock real loud and then RUN! What's 38 more kids for her to watch?

Dilma - Great idea about the calendar. We might have to do that as well. It would probably be more for us but I'm sure Emma would like it too!

We are going to be shipping our FE gifts but aren't sure how far in advance to do it. I don't know how long Disney is going to want to hang on to our stuff.

-steve

 

[NMDisneyMom]

I am guessing you have the vast majority of us beat for length of vacation!

-May 8th we fly from Columbus to Orlando
-Stay the night at Hyatt MCO
-Hit the grocery store and then off the the cruise terminal the next morning
-After the cruise we are headed over to WDW for a 2-night stay at AKLV
-We plan to do a power trip through the parks those two days
-May 18th we are going to do Downtown Disney and head home from MCO around dinner time.

We are arriving on the 7th, staying in Orlando (my friend actually has to take a final that night on line) to do Sea World on Friday, before the ride over to Cape Canaveral and the Radisson. Since we are from the middle of the desert , I wanted a chance for my DD Hannah to play in the ocean before we actually get on the ship. She has never since the ocean before. Then we fly out the afternoon of the 16th. We decided not to do WDW this trip (I know, I know - probably should have considering where we are coming from! But I've got a trip tentatively planned for Disneyland in October for Halloween that she doesn't know about yet.

 

[scottie]

I sure hope they do something for the kids. That would be a bummer to miss.

Auburn0667/Andrea had a great idea. They invited their Mom aka The Babysitter. If Disney can't accomodate our kids that first night, I say we all tip-toe down to cabin 6139 with our little monsters, knock real loud and then RUN! What's 38 more kids for her to watch?

Dilma - Great idea about the calendar. We might have to do that as well. It would probably be more for us but I'm sure Emma would like it too!

We are going to be shipping our FE gifts but aren't sure how far in advance to do it. I don't know how long Disney is going to want to hang on to our stuff.

-steve

Based on some other posts I have read, it sounds like we wont have an issue leaving the little ones at the club the first night for an hour or two for whatever group of us fine DISers would like to meet up for MagicQuest/Match Your Mate and have young ones. Those without kiddies are invited of course too!

Yep, the instant babysitter is a great idea! We have been lucky enough to have my MIL on all our family cruises thus far. And the one we took without the kids last Feb, we flew her up to watch our kids while we sailed for a few nights with Mickey!

I want to avoid the high cost of Express service so will use FedEx Ground instead which takes a few days from Ohio. It looks like Disney is fine with the box arriving as late as the day before by 3pm. However, I want to make sure to give a cushion so I will probably ship it to arrive around the first of the week. I have read some posts in the past in which people shipped their boxes to arrive even before that and it was ok. But like you said they may not want it on a shelf for an extended period so I will shoot for about 5 days of shelf life

 

[lyn9856]

Is the Sunday of our cruise..ie Formal night ....Mothers Day in USA? Or have I got it wrong?

We already had our UK Mothers day March 22nd.

I have been in Florida a couple of times before for this. In 2002 we actually had my Mum with us and her choice for the day was Cypress Gardens. We actually really enjoyed the day. far nicer than I expected, We probably would never have gone on our own, but she had read about it and wanted to go...and they did some nice touches for the special day.

Wonder if DCL might do some special touches?

And could I smuggle my baby on board (28 yr old policeman with new GF not ready to holiday with Mum at mo ) But he did do me proud on our day the other week...

(Apols if this already discussed, but cant find that search button still!)
Lyn