09/16/06 Double Scoop Group- see ya real soon!!

[bahogg]

Welcome aboard! My DD and I are sailed just the two of us also. How old is Mekayla? My DD will be 8, almost 9, when we sail. This is our first cruise and she is so excited. We are trying to find other children her approximate age who will be sailing, hoping to make a friend or two before the cruise. So far there have only been a couple children in her age group. It seems most of the people who have posted her are sailing in adult only groups. I hope your daughter is close to my daughter's age.

We have a d.d. she will be 8 this June. We also have two ds. We went on the seven day dc the end of Nov. first of Dec. and our oldest ds had to go to the clubs by himself. He did have some friends that he e-mailed from the dis. board but the problem was that they were 9 and he was 10. They are in the same club but different groups. It is 8 and 9, then 10 and 11. So it is nice if they know someone their own age. My dd had a couple friends that she was in their age group. Our youngest ds just kinda tagged along with our dd.

My dh has been the one to chat on this board, this is my first time on this one. We meet some good friends on the board for our cruise and we are trying to keep intouch. I don't know if anyone mentioned it or if it is two early but we had a meet at the goofy pool the first day to introduce ourselfs. We had one dp that kept track of everyones seating and room no. and who was dressing up for what. It was pretty neat. I'm not that talented bo figure out how to do that but I'm sure someone is computer savy if that sounds like something someone would like to do later when it is closer to the date.

amy

 

[Annae]

I have twin boys who will be 8 when we cruise in September. I know that you guys have girls but they might get along.

 

[gssmks]

Amy & Annae,

I am so glad to see children in my DD's age group. She turned 8 this November, so she will still be 8 when we sail, but will be close to turning 9. Annae, she gets along very well with boys. I contribute this to the fact that from age 3 to 4 1/2 she was in daycare and her group consisted of 11 boys and 2 girls. It just happened that way. Maybe, as it closers, our children can chat with each other on her or through their private e-mail. This is my first cruise and first time on these boards. How has it worked int he past when the children chat? I am so excited that I have found other children in her age group.

 

[WldWcnWmn]

Gail, your daughter is going to have such a good time! Mekayla knew NO-ONE when we boarded the ship on or first DC and she walked off the ship with three pen-pal friends she still writes. Mekayla is 9, she'll be 10 in November, so our girls will be in the same Lab. That's great! We can console each other in the tropical rainforest, 'cause if your daughter is anything like Mekayla (and every other kid who ever stepped foot into the Oceaneers Lab) then we're gonna' get ditched. Don't take it personnally when the love of your life who you've been the sole provider for for 8 years says, "mom, can I stay here in the Lab?" I ate more than one meal without Mekayla on the last cruise - but as soon as your servers and the crew know you're single they don't let you feel abandoned. I had one wait person actually sit down with me while I had lunch (I went to Lumier's at a weird time) and we chatted for 30 minutes. I have already decided to buy the week pass for the rainforest 'cause that was my favorite "mommy place" when Mekayla was in the lab and I found myself alone. Do not skip out on the crafts with kids seminars, though. Mekayla and I had a ball learning to draw Mickey and Donald and making kites together in AP the night before we went to CC was the BEST!!! Can't wait for my cruise.....I deserve it! It's so fun having a DC to lood forward to!

 

[WldWcnWmn]

I am so looking forward to taking Mekayla on the dolphin excursion at cozumel so I have been checking out tour groups that offer the goods at the non-disney price. I am such an a-la-cart kinda' gal and as a cheap skate, I am always looking for the best deal. Then I saw this. It's an excerpt from www.wspa.com aw:
The World Society Protection of Animals.

"What's Wrong With Swimming With Dolphins?
On the surface, swim-with-the-dolphin programs seem like a fun, safe way to get up close and personal with these fascinating creatures of the sea. The dolphins appear to smile as they pull laughing children around swimming pools by their dorsal fins. But you don't have to look too deep beneath this whimsical façade to realize that there is something fundamentally wrong with all swim-with-the-dolphin programs.

Regardless of what country they are located in, how crystal blue the water is, whether the trainers claim that their dolphins are allowed to "swim free" for a couple hours per day, or how much money park owners spend caring for their charges, swim-with-dolphin programs create a threatening environment for the dolphins - and sometimes their human visitors" aw:

There's a whole page more, but I'll spare you.
I am in no way preaching, as a matter of fact, I would like to know if any of you guys have ever done this excursion. You don't book an excursion like this because you want to hurt a dolphin, or keep people in business that do...so what's the mother of a dolphin lovin' child to do? Talk about your Earthy-Crunchy delimas I am at a loss. I wanna' do this, but not so much now that I read the web page. Whatcha' think? Lemme' know. thanks

 

[gssmks]

Gail, your daughter is going to have such a good time! Mekayla knew NO-ONE when we boarded the ship on or first DC and she walked off the ship with three pen-pal friends she still writes. Mekayla is 9, she'll be 10 in November, so our girls will be in the same Lab. That's great! We can console each other in the tropical rainforest, 'cause if your daughter is anything like Mekayla (and every other kid who ever stepped foot into the Oceaneers Lab) then we're gonna' get ditched. Don't take it personnally when the love of your life who you've been the sole provider for for 8 years says, "mom, can I stay here in the Lab?" I ate more than one meal without Mekayla on the last cruise - but as soon as your servers and the crew know you're single they don't let you feel abandoned. I had one wait person actually sit down with me while I had lunch (I went to Lumier's at a weird time) and we chatted for 30 minutes. I have already decided to buy the week pass for the rainforest 'cause that was my favorite "mommy place" when Mekayla was in the lab and I found myself alone. Do not skip out on the crafts with kids seminars, though. Mekayla and I had a ball learning to draw Mickey and Donald and making kites together in AP the night before we went to CC was the BEST!!! Can't wait for my cruise.....I deserve it! It's so fun having a DC to lood forward to!

Oh this sounds wonderful. I hope our girls can become friends. You said Mekayla will be 10 in November. My DD, Merkie, will be 9 in November. Her birthday is the 15th.

I know I will spending a lot of the time alone. We have the guide books and read everthing we can find about Disney Cruises on line. We have sample Navigators for every day of a seven day cruise. She knows that things may change for our cruise, but she has highlighted on each all the things she wants to do and which ones she wants to do alone and which ones I can be included in. She has already told me that she wants to spend most of her time in the clubs during the days and with me in the evenings. She wants us to do the shows and the family dance parties, etc. together. We will see if it changes once she has made some friends.

She has asked me to allow her to roam the ship on her own. I have not agreed yet. She just seems too young for that. Did you allow Mekayla to roam the ship with her friends alone?

I wish that Disney would give us a schedule of the ship activities and the club activities in advance so that we know when to schedule things like Palo and spa treatments. I know that things would have to change sometimes, but we need something to help plan the week. I do want to spend some time with my DD. It's just my luck that any reservations I make will end up falling when there is an activity that we want to do together.

Since, DD can not go to Palo, and I don't want to miss it, I hope that as it gets closer to time to make reservations I can get a few of the Disers to join me for dinner one night. You are welcome to join if you want. A few weeks before on line reservations begin, I will start a tread asking if anyone is interested, if you would like to join just keep an eye out for it.

 

[WldWcnWmn]

Mekayla will be 10 on the 10th of November. This year's her Golden Birthday. As far as roaming the ship...I am not sure how to say this without sounding like the Witch that I am, so here goes. It makes me crazy to see unruly kids and no adult. I try not to subject others to my unsupervised daughter (even though I don't think she's unruly). Anyway, that being said, the first three days I personally signed her in and out of the clubs. She just paged me when she wanted to leave, or I came and got her when I wanted her (sometimes we diplomatically debated when the request for her to leave the lab was mine) Then when I got the feel for the ship and I was comfortable I told her she could sign herself out of the lab (you have to give the counselors your permission for the kids to come and go at will) and told her if she was not in the club there were only two other places she could be. That was the family pool or our cabin. Under threat of certain death she needed to be in one of three places or very quickly on her way to one of them at any given time. Our cabin was on deck 6 immediately above the lab, so it was a quick flight of stairs for her to travel. The child hates elevators. Given that permission, she never left one area without calling me and telling me she was going to the next. And I don't remember her leaving the club that much. I think 7-10 is too young to treat the ship as your own private playground Just my opinion. We'll probably have the same arrangement this trip. As far as Palo's I would just schedule dinners & brunches ( I am going more than once!) and the reservations can be linked (if we still like each other once we're onboard.) I definately think we should have a wine and cheese party on the hidden verandah with everyone who wants to come bringing a bottle (or two) of their favorite local region's wines. I live in Oregon so ya'll are in for a treat Oregon wines rock! Anyway, the way it works is every party orders the cheese plate from room service, then carries their home brought wines to the meeting place and time arranged in advance; then we have a little DIS party. We did this on our last voyage and it was a blast. There weren't a lot of children...we did it on the second or third day and by then the kids had their own thing going. Whatcha' think? BTW Mekayla said "No" to the dolphin excursion

 

[dzneprincess]

Hello cruise friends,
it is with a heavy heart that I tell you that we have canceled our Disney cruise. Due to various reasons. I wish you all the best and pixie dust for a safe and hurricane free trip! I have enjoyed talking with you all and I am sad that we will not meet. take care, all of you.
Dinnysuw (Darcy)

Aww man I just read this! So sorry Dinny! Hope all is well and that you and your family will be able to cruise soon!

 

[dzneprincess]

Well, o.k. maybe not the "nick of time" but hey, I made reservations for this Double Scoop Cruise and it's only 9 months out! 2004 Cruise we booked a year in advance...so 9 months feels like "just in time!" I am so excited to be going... having done this once before, we know a little more of what to look foward to! Missed Palo's the first time - that will NOT happen this time!! So... what's all the news for this trip...Pirate parties? Wine and cheese meetings? What's going on? It's Me and my DD Mekayla...I need to figure out how to fix my signature line down there... Anyway, I'm Thea she's Mekayla and we are soooo happy to be coming with you!

Welcome Thea and Mekayla!!!!!!!!!

 

[dzneprincess]

I just read the last few months posts to get caught up I need some feedback... I was booked on the Wonder's 11 day Southern Cruise (September 2006) and I called DCL to check on the reservation and I told the rep that DD HATED St. Thomas when we were there in October 2004. For the SPENDY price of the 11 day I told her I thought we should get treated to Castaway Cay at least twice. She told me about this sailing and that I could get a Cat 12 for about $1700.00 which is half of what I was willing to pay for the Wonder's 11 day. So, my delima is this... I changed my reservation (no penalty) and booked me and DD in a Cat 12 (gty - no idea if we're in the bowels of the ship or not) for $1700.00 and a $50.00 Shipboard Credit. Did I blow it? I am having exchanger's remorse... eleven days is after all eleven days...even if we've been to the ports and we were not that impressed. I honestly had never heard of NOT going to CC when it's on the itinerary and after traveling in 2004 after Charlie, Ivan, Jeaneen (sp?) and the other one (there were 4 that year) skipping CC wasn't even a thought in my little pea brain. After reading the boards it seems like CC gets skipped a lot for whatever reason and people miss it. Since you guys seem like frequent cruisers...is $1700.00 reasonable for this cruise or did I book too late and get a bad deal? That price includes insurance but not air fare or transfers. Have you ever heard what happens if CC gets "bumped" from the agenda? I am not normally this freaked but as a single parent this is probably the last Disney Cruise DD will get out of me while she's young enough for the Oceaneer's lab. Her request in 2004 was that she get to do this again before her 13th birthday to play in the lab, and since the passport law will go into effect December 2006 I am not planning on leaving the country again any time soon. Remind me I typed this when you see me booking my next trip on the ship. So, for all of you that are "in the know" and have Dana at your ear help me out. Thanks for reading my book, I mean post... Promise not to do that to you again

Thea,
I think you still got a great deal, and if you are still with DCL directly, Dana will be able to lower your price even more! This is going to be the last cruise for us for awhile as well. We fell the price is outweighing the joy we get from cruising, and really there is only so much you can do. It will be time for us to move on after this trip. In fact, at first I was not going to bring my kids, but we are now thinking about it.

 

[dzneprincess]

I am so looking forward to taking Mekayla on the dolphin excursion at cozumel so I have been checking out tour groups that offer the goods at the non-disney price. I am such an a-la-cart kinda' gal and as a cheap skate, I am always looking for the best deal. Then I saw this. It's an excerpt from www.wspa.com aw:
The World Society Protection of Animals.

"What's Wrong With Swimming With Dolphins?
On the surface, swim-with-the-dolphin programs seem like a fun, safe way to get up close and personal with these fascinating creatures of the sea. The dolphins appear to smile as they pull laughing children around swimming pools by their dorsal fins. But you don't have to look too deep beneath this whimsical façade to realize that there is something fundamentally wrong with all swim-with-the-dolphin programs.

Regardless of what country they are located in, how crystal blue the water is, whether the trainers claim that their dolphins are allowed to "swim free" for a couple hours per day, or how much money park owners spend caring for their charges, swim-with-dolphin programs create a threatening environment for the dolphins - and sometimes their human visitors" aw:

There's a whole page more, but I'll spare you.
I am in no way preaching, as a matter of fact, I would like to know if any of you guys have ever done this excursion. You don't book an excursion like this because you want to hurt a dolphin, or keep people in business that do...so what's the mother of a dolphin lovin' child to do? Talk about your Earthy-Crunchy delimas I am at a loss. I wanna' do this, but not so much now that I read the web page. Whatcha' think? Lemme' know. thanks

Thea,
We did this back in Oct of 2003. We absolutely loved it! We did the Royal Dolphin swim at Chankanaab park in Coz. I booked it on my own thru www.dolphindiscovery.com As you prob know that park was destroyed by Hurrican Wilma. Therei s some talk that it may not even be ready for us when we sail in May ( I am also taking the Double scopp in May) I will let you all know how it looks when I sail. Fow what its worth, we felt it was worth every penny and everything seemed okay. But then again, we are not enviromentalists, so what do we know! LOL All I knew was that I had a DD who had a dream to get in the water with dolphins and swim with them. She loved it.

 

[dzneprincess]

Then when I got the feel for the ship and I was comfortable I told her she could sign herself out of the lab (you have to give the counselors your permission for the kids to come and go at will) and told her if she was not in the club there were only two other places she could be. That was the family pool or our cabin. Under threat of certain death she needed to be in one of three places or very quickly on her way to one of them at any given time.

That is pretty much what we do as well. My kids are allowed to have check out priviledges, but the do understand that it is a responsibilty and if it is abused it will be take away, and more importantly they will not be cruising anymore! PS my buddy ericamanda01 is also in Orgeon!

 

[AAOSAM2]

So glad to see your post. Will be celebrating 30th anniversary. Booked 2 staterooms traveling: me, husband, daughter(age 16) and daughter's friend.
Second Disney cruise and can't wait.

 

[dzneprincess]

Welcome aboard AAOSM2 and family!

 

[gssmks]

Mekayla will be 10 on the 10th of November. This year's her Golden Birthday. As far as roaming the ship...I am not sure how to say this without sounding like the Witch that I am, so here goes. It makes me crazy to see unruly kids and no adult. I try not to subject others to my unsupervised daughter (even though I don't think she's unruly). Anyway, that being said, the first three days I personally signed her in and out of the clubs. She just paged me when she wanted to leave, or I came and got her when I wanted her (sometimes we diplomatically debated when the request for her to leave the lab was mine) Then when I got the feel for the ship and I was comfortable I told her she could sign herself out of the lab (you have to give the counselors your permission for the kids to come and go at will) and told her if she was not in the club there were only two other places she could be. That was the family pool or our cabin. Under threat of certain death she needed to be in one of three places or very quickly on her way to one of them at any given time. Our cabin was on deck 6 immediately above the lab, so it was a quick flight of stairs for her to travel. The child hates elevators. Given that permission, she never left one area without calling me and telling me she was going to the next. And I don't remember her leaving the club that much. I think 7-10 is too young to treat the ship as your own private playground Just my opinion. We'll probably have the same arrangement this trip. As far as Palo's I would just schedule dinners & brunches ( I am going more than once!) and the reservations can be linked (if we still like each other once we're onboard.) I definately think we should have a wine and cheese party on the hidden verandah with everyone who wants to come bringing a bottle (or two) of their favorite local region's wines. I live in Oregon so ya'll are in for a treat Oregon wines rock! Anyway, the way it works is every party orders the cheese plate from room service, then carries their home brought wines to the meeting place and time arranged in advance; then we have a little DIS party. We did this on our last voyage and it was a blast. There weren't a lot of children...we did it on the second or third day and by then the kids had their own thing going. Whatcha' think? BTW Mekayla said "No" to the dolphin excursion

I am so glad to hear your position on the roaming. I do not want my DD roaming freely either. I was afraid that if I told her "no" and all of the kids she met were getting to that she would feel left out.

As far as excursions go, I am having trouble getting my DD to agree to any. She says she wants to just stay on the ship. I will have to work on her the next few months. We are going to parasail at CC.

The Dis meet sounds really good to me. I really am not a wine drinker. I prefer mixed drinks, but I am willing try anything. I will contact a friend who loves wine and ask what I should bring. I live in Kentucky, so there are no local wineries here. We do make some of the best bourbon in the world. If anyone would like to try good Kentucky Bourbon, I can bring a couple bottles of that.

 

[dzneprincess]

Gail,
You may find that once you are onboard a few days you may change your mind. It was so helpful for my DS to be able to check himself in and out. I found that the only time he left the club was when he was hungry and went up to eat pizza/burgers/fries. It also helped that he had made penpals with DISers kids be4 we boarded. Most days they sat in the foyer on our deck playing YuGiOh. Of course,everyone knows their child the best and everyone's comfort level is different.

WOOHHOOOO TOP of page!

 

[WldWcnWmn]

I don' thtink we should limit the wine and cheese to wine and cheese. Not to sound like a raging alcoholic or anything but I think we could bring whatever's local and easy for everybody. The point is to try new stuff, meet new people and have a good time. I have never had bourbon - much less Kentucky bourbon so... I'm up for that! LOL

 

[dzneprincess]

sounds like a great idea Thea!

 

[JOANNEL]

This sure sound like a fun bunch. I can't wait for the party to begin. This is our first vacation with out kids. Our youngest will be in his first year in college. So we will or I will need all this activity. My hubby can't wait.

 

[dzneprincess]

ohh it WILL be fun Joanne!!!!!!!