09/15/07 Early Check in September 15, 2007 Eastern

[captaincrash]

Thank you for your kind thoughts...

... I thought it best to be up front rather then wait any longer...

... we still want to sail this year and a lot can still happen... like the PC sailing which sells on the 31st may be priced beyond our budget... that would snap us back to either this year or next for a DD in November. More likely we would do both. However, a lot depends upon what evolves with my FIL.

I do appreciate your kind thoughts and supportive prayers. With Dad... if you refuse traditional theraphy then all we have left is prayer and miracles.

... for the moment my family still has a cabin held on the voyage.

With the very best regards,

Capt. Crash AKA Tom

 

[Bareacuda]

Capt Crash,
Thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. And a big from all of us here!
Ann

 

[Rhiluvsd]

Hi all!

Just a quick introduction! Myself and my two daughters are going to be joining the ranks on this cruise! We are bringing along my husband to be We actually want to get married on the cruise but that is proving to be difficult and expensive!

We are flying in on September 11th and flying home right after on the 22nd. We are trying to figure out the cheapest hotel, whether we need to book a car and transports to the cruise...and then figure out what to do with those days. I think that we want to not do all of the parks....but still want to relax and enjoy.. I can't figure out cheap stuff to do there...and if we do a park..do we do one? Sea World what is there

My girls are 3 and 6....

Looking to make some friends!

 

[captaincrash]

Rhiluvsd...

Seeing as you're on the cusp of celebrating a special ocassion before, during or after the cruise - are you particular about your hotels? Because my FAVORITE booking engine concentrates on saving money but gives up a little oherwise. IE... I like using HOTWIRE to book a lot of our hotels. If you'e not familiar with hotwire... then it wokrs like this... you select the dates, and general location within an area that varies from a few square miles to several blocks near your point of interest and hotwire will offer several properties with their names / identities concealed. You get a precise price, amenity profile and star rating - plus a general location. And because of the secret nature of the hotel identitiy - there is SOMETIMES a significant discount!

Almost every time we book with hotwire we're saved an amount that varies from a moderate amount over the lowest rate we could find - up to having saved a wopping ton! IE, for a stay in SF for May during a major surgical convention we noticed an offer for a 4 star hotel in UNION SQUARE for only $104? Now - to put this into perspective... one star hotels on hotwire started at $90 for this date and even hotwire had their other 4 star properties at $300+. So... understandably... I recognized this $104 rate as an annomally. So I investigated further by #1) examining another booking engine to see which hotels were on the 4 star list in UNion Square... then I clicked the hotwire [select] button - which brought up a slightly more detailed screen prior to purchase. It cited that the "savings" was over $300 and the percentage off was 76%. Well... that was good enough for me and I went about to pay for a couple of nites. And once they had my money they revealed to my genuine surprise that I had been given the Westin St Francis! WHich is one of my 3 favorite top drawer places to stay in SF! Then I went about double checking for the lowest conventional booking fares I could find. ANd to my pleasant surprise I found that the rate varied from $380 to about 580... a nite. Yeah... I got a bargain!

Now in Orlando... I tend to use Hotwire to select 3 star or better properties near MCO.... as opposed to being adjacent to WDW. Reason being is the MCO hotels are almost always in better condition with the same star ratings then the resort properties. The only alternative which I thought was acceptable - were the hotwire offers near WDW which were 3.5 star plus OR... the condo offers. The condo deals were usually time share facilities - and they generally ran at about $65 or so through $80 for nicer digs. So... no presentation was required - and the condos we had were generally very nice.

As for what parks and diverions are available - and recommended. 1st I'll suggest you try the main forum to find the areas reserved for discussion on various aspects of WDW or Orlando on the DIS! And 2nd... I think that anything you do will be great fun - if for no other reason - then because you are with your new life long best friend / spouse to be.

 

[Grandma4ever]

Hi all!

Just a quick introduction! Myself and my two daughters are going to be joining the ranks on this cruise! We are bringing along my husband to be We actually want to get married on the cruise but that is proving to be difficult and expensive!

We are flying in on September 11th and flying home right after on the 22nd. We are trying to figure out the cheapest hotel, whether we need to book a car and transports to the cruise...and then figure out what to do with those days. I think that we want to not do all of the parks....but still want to relax and enjoy.. I can't figure out cheap stuff to do there...and if we do a park..do we do one? Sea World what is there

My girls are 3 and 6....

Looking to make some friends!

Welcome, I for one are very glad you are joining us. We are in the planning stages of some really neat get togethers while on board. Stay turned to the DIS to get all the details as the time draws near. It will just be myself and my partner on the Eastern. I look forward to meeting you. Have you ever cruised before? If so, with Whom? Lois

 

[kamgen]

captaincrash- I am so sorry to hear about your FIL. :hug
Family does come first. I do sincerely hope you and your beautiful family can join us, but we understand. Maybe another time...we are always up for cruising. Please keep us posted!

On another note....it is SOOOO COLD here!!!!
I need some sunshine and warmth!!!!

 

[captaincrash]

captaincrash- I am so sorry to hear about your FIL. :hug
Family does come first. I do sincerely hope you and your beautiful family can join us, but we understand. Maybe another time...we are always up for cruising. Please keep us posted!

On another note....it is SOOOO COLD here!!!!
I need some sunshine and warmth!!!!

Here is the best I could come up with under the circumstances!!!

<chuckles>

 

[Rhiluvsd]

Thanks for the warm welcome!!! No we have never cruised before and I am already thinking of things I want to do the next time. Right now I am wondering if all those people were right when they said my girls might be a b it young for the time we go before disneyworld.

 

[Grandma4ever]

Thanks for the warm welcome!!! No we have never cruised before and I am already thinking of things I want to do the next time. Right now I am wondering if all those people were right when they said my girls might be a b it young for the time we go before disneyworld.

I don't know that anyone is too young for the parks. The youngest might not remember much as she grows but she should have fun. There is plenty for them to do. They also may not be able to ride all the rides due to not being tall enough. I would just recommend that what ever you do keep in mind that the kids may need time to rest in the middle of the day. You might do less but enjoy it a whole lot more if the kids are resting instead of being tired and cranky.

I know for a fact that they will do great on the ship. You are in for the time of your life. I'm sure others will post their thoughts and comments. I look forward to hearing what others have done to make a vacation enjoyable when traveling with young kids. My baby turned 30 this past year. Makes me feel old. We took the grandkids to Disney World but the youngest was 6 when we went the first time. Later, Lois

 

[Rhiluvsd]

WE most certainly don't feel that we are in a rush to do anything... Just relaxing, right now we are trying to decide wheter to book now at the value spots or wait for free dining.. any opinions!!

I am glad there are some fellow cruisers to be found!

 

[kamgen]

Rhiluvsd- welcome to the group!!! Well, I cannot say your girls are too young. My first son went to WDW when he was 4mths, 9mths and then at 13mths...and we loved it every time! We took naps and he was able to ride many things like Dumbo, Peter Pan and Winnie the Pooh....and the photos and video we have is priceless. Now this will be our first cruise with the boys, Ryan will be 2 and Liam will be 9mths...and we are so excited!!! Just take it easy and have a great time!!!


captaincrash- thanks for the sun! We did manage to get more snow this morning.....my feet are like little blocks of ice!

Hope everyone is doing well. I cannot wait to meet you all!

 

[Bareacuda]

Rhiluvsd !

We are a great bunch going on this cruise... sounds like you'll fit in just fine.
You'll love the parks and will adore the ship and cruise.
And again .... Welcome !

Ann

 

[Rhiluvsd]

Thanks for the welcomes everyone!!

I am super excited to use hotwire...but super nervous too..now I hear about the free dining I have to wonder if that I shouldn't book there. I am going to Edmonton in the spring and I think I am going to try hotwire out..

Anyone else going into Disney World before the cruise?

 

[Rhiluvsd]

Marathon in WDW? That sounds incredible!!! I couldn't do it though..but the fun sounds amazing

 

[Rhiluvsd]

Grrr Disney reservation site.. I can't even get into it...

it's like a ships wheel in my pants... driving me nuts.... (that is more appropriate when a boy says it)

 

[LoriS]

Hi all!

Just a quick introduction! Myself and my two daughters are going to be joining the ranks on this cruise! We are bringing along my husband to be We actually want to get married on the cruise but that is proving to be difficult and expensive!

We are flying in on September 11th and flying home right after on the 22nd. We are trying to figure out the cheapest hotel, whether we need to book a car and transports to the cruise...and then figure out what to do with those days. I think that we want to not do all of the parks....but still want to relax and enjoy.. I can't figure out cheap stuff to do there...and if we do a park..do we do one? Sea World what is there

My girls are 3 and 6....

Looking to make some friends!

I just wanted to say Hi My girls are 3 and 6 too, we went on our first cruise in September and they had just turned 3 & 6 and they both loved it. They are already asking how many days until our next cruise As for being too young for the parks, I started taking my daughters to the parks before they were each 3 months old, so I don't think they are too young at all

 

[Rhiluvsd]

LoriS,

Your girls are absolutely adorable!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! How cute are they? Did they have fun on the cruise? Did they like clubs? how much time in the day did they spend there...what dinner sitting did you pick?

 

[LoriS]

Rhiluvsd, Thank you so much. They loved the cruise. Cassidy my 6 year old loved the kids club, but Courtney my 3 year old wasn't too thrilled with it. She had just turned 3 three days before we sailed, so she was pretty young. On our CC day, I only saw Cassidy for the last hour we were on the island, she wanted to be at the club all day long. It really was a shock to me, because I homeschool and I really didn't think she would take to it that well. She has already told me she wants to spend more time int he club on our next cruise, even Courtney says she will spend more time too.

We had the last seating on our last cruise, and will probably get that again. We aren't actually booked yet, but I assume we will end up with late again.

 

[Rhiluvsd]

How was the late night sitting? Sasha will be 6 on March 31st and Olivia will turn 4 on October 22nd, and they go to daycare part time so hopefully they will warm up and have fun...They are fantastic girls...arranging naps will be something else and wanting to hang out with mom. Do they need to know how to swim?

 

[LoriS]

We liked the late seating. My girls are terrible eaters on a good day, so they didn't eat much, but that had nothing to do with the time. The nap thing was a bit of an issue. The day we were in Grand Cayman they were both nightmares because they were so tired. Cassidy was so tired on her birthday that we didn't even do cake on her actual birthday. We ended up doing it the next night. My girls can both swim, but they didn't need to knwo how. The kids club they don't do any swimmimg so it's not in issue for that.