09/25/08 September 25, 2008 3 nite Wonder

[TCKLdisney]

32!!! Wow that is a large group to coordinate. We are also doing a BTB 9/21 and 9/25. We have 3 adults and DD 3 and DS 1. This is definately not our first cruises. This is DS 7 or 8 and DS 3 cruises. We are starting to get exciting, DS wanted to sart packing already.

 

[HappyGilmore]

32!!! Wow that is a large group to coordinate. We are also doing a BTB 9/21 and 9/25. We have 3 adults and DD 3 and DS 1. This is definately not our first cruises. This is DS 7 or 8 and DS 3 cruises. We are starting to get exciting, DS wanted to sart packing already.

We have a group of 18 going! I have a 4 1/2 yr old DD and a 20 mth DD. This will be our 8th cruise (only the 2nd time with my oldest and 1st time for my youngest DD's) we will be traveling with mostly 1st timers in our group with the exception 6 of us. My oldest is looking forward to the Mickey slide and I guess I will be spending my time in the splash zone with my youngest.

 

[sfven]

We have cruised RCL and Carnival, but first time with Disney. Only one of the other famililes are veteran cruisers (but first time with Disney too) and the rest are first time cruisers. But none of our kids have been on a cruise so they are all so excited, much less it being the "Mickey boat". I'm getting a wealth of info on these boards. HappyGilmore, are you saying this is your 8th Disney cruise or 8th cruise in general? And TCKLDisney, same for the kids?

 

[HappyGilmore]

svfen:
This will be our 8th cruise, ALL of them have been on DCL and 6 of them were prior to us having children. I love how we were able to experience cruising before we had a family. This was mainly the reason we were able to travel more often than we have recently. Now that we have children DCL has a whole new appeal to us- kids love Mickey Mouse, parents love seeing kids having a blast so it is a win win situation. I am very pleased with our experiences with DCL and one of the big reasons I love DCL and am leary to go on any other cruise line is that DCL has salt free or chlorine pools.

Another reason is that I am so proud of the way Disney keeps their properties clean including their ships. The parks and properties see more people on a daily basis and I believe have been in business longer than some of the drug/retail store giants (Walmart) but why is it that you can almost eat inside a Disney bathroom but with the other company it is hard to get past the door without feeling ill due to the slopiness and odor of the area??

There is such a feeling being on the top deck while in port looking over at the other ships-- it amazes me. It seems as if everyone on the other ships look over at ours like they wish they were on ours!!! Even DCL deck chairs look nicer than the others you see. I am affraid that if I went on another cruise and saw the Wonder or the Magic I would be one of those people wishing I was on the DCL ship.

 

[Queenie]

Hi,
Just wanted to add us into this cruise - I didn't realise there was a special board for cruise meets! This is our first ever cruise on any cruise line and is part of our honeymoon so it's just me and future DH. We get married on Sept 20th and we're both getting really excited now.

We are at WLV for 3 nights before we cruise, then AKV for the Sunday when we get back followed by 7 nights at BCV (we couldn't get BCV on the Sunday, hence the one day at AKV but it worked out great as we got savannah view!) I'm trying to learn all about this cruise malarky inbetween sorting wedding stuff. Trying to work out the design for my door magnets!

 

[TCKLdisney]

We have cruised RCL and Carnival, but first time with Disney. Only one of the other famililes are veteran cruisers (but first time with Disney too) and the rest are first time cruisers. But none of our kids have been on a cruise so they are all so excited, much less it being the "Mickey boat". I'm getting a wealth of info on these boards. HappyGilmore, are you saying this is your 8th Disney cruise or 8th cruise in general? And TCKLDisney, same for the kids?

Sorry this took so long!
Yes my kids are veteran DCL cruisers the oldest DD (3) has been on like 8 cruises and the youngest DS just turn 1 last month has already been on 2 cruises. And this will be he last part of our b2b. So I guess we will add two more to each of them (THANKS Mimi and Poppy!!)

sfven Howyou compare the other cruise lines. DH is looking for a less expensive cruise line to try. I am more than happy to stick with DCL as the kids and I have allergies and asthma (the smoking issue worries me- big attack trigger for all of us). I am trying to be open minded and look for alternatives so I would love to get your input! Thanks.

Congrats Queenie! Do not worry about the cruise stuff just relax and enjoy. DH and I did a 7 night for our honeymoon and now DH has the cruising bug.

 

[HappyGilmore]

Noticed there was a Florida resident rate for 9/25 just thought i'd pass along incase it could help someone save some money

 

[TCKLdisney]

Our docs came today!! That just make the cruise more of a reality. I guess it is time to start packing.

 

[Queenie]

We got ours this week too (very good considering they had to come all the way to England). I'm constantly amazed by how pretty they make all the paperwork, the little wallets and stuff, even the envelopes are beautiful!

 

[vicandmick]

Hello to all! I am taking my first cruise Sept 25th. Very excited! Traveling with my 22 year old Daughter. Then going to WDW for 5 nights. Hope to meet alot of you.

 

[HappyGilmore]

Hello to all! I am taking my first cruise Sept 25th. Very excited! Traveling with my 22 year old Daughter. Then going to WDW for 5 nights. Hope to meet alot of you.

Hi I noticed you are from IL my sister who is sailing with us lives in Chicago / works downtown.

Are we going to try to set up a DIS meet? If so when? My traveling party has a total of 21 cruising.

 

[sfven]

Sorry this took so long!
Yes my kids are veteran DCL cruisers the oldest DD (3) has been on like 8 cruises and the youngest DS just turn 1 last month has already been on 2 cruises. And this will be he last part of our b2b. So I guess we will add two more to each of them (THANKS Mimi and Poppy!!)

sfven Howyou compare the other cruise lines. DH is looking for a less expensive cruise line to try. I am more than happy to stick with DCL as the kids and I have allergies and asthma (the smoking issue worries me- big attack trigger for all of us). I am trying to be open minded and look for alternatives so I would love to get your input! Thanks.

Congrats Queenie! Do not worry about the cruise stuff just relax and enjoy. DH and I did a 7 night for our honeymoon and now DH has the cruising bug.

We've cruised Carnival and Royal Caribbean before, but not with the kids so I can't say personally how their kid's program is. My friend went on a 7 night cruise last year on Royal Caribbean with her two kids and said they loved it. It was a much bigger ship than the DCL ships so there was a lot more to do onboard. I think the food on Royal Caribbean was awesome, better than Carnival. I'm anxious to compare DCL's food. Of course, neither cruise line has that speical magic that only comes with Disney. But if your looking to try something new (and for less money), I'd try Royal if you plan on taking kids. Carnival is great for cruising without kids because it's more of a "party" atmosphere, I think.

Well, we'll keep our fingers crossed that Ike doesn't wreak havoc on CC. That's what we're looking forward to most on this cruise, since we've been to Nassau before. I can't believe it's only three more weeks!

 

[Captainkate]

We will be on this trip too! I just found out we were upgraded from cat 11 to cat 9. They moved us to Deck 2. I feel crowded on deck 2 for some reason, but can put up with it now that we have a nicer room.



Hope to see some of you there!

 

[TCKLdisney]

We will be on this trip too! I just found out we were upgraded from cat 11 to cat 9. They moved us to Deck 2. I feel crowded on deck 2 for some reason, but can put up with it now that we have a nicer room.



Hope to see some of you there!

congrats on the upgrade!! Cruise too many I think this will be 20 and still no upgrade But we are cruising so YEAH!!!

 

[Captainkate]

congrats on the upgrade!! Cruise too many I think this will be 20 and still no upgrade But we are cruising so YEAH!!!

I have noticed that if I book a cat 11 with 4 people, (at least 6 months out) we usually get an upgrade. I once booked a cat 10 and got a cat 8. (again 4 people)
When I book for 2 or 3, we don't get an upgrade.

I don't know if one has anything to do with the other, but it seems to be so with us.

 

[KC's Princess]

DH and I will also be on this cruise as part of our first anniversary trip. We got married last year at WDW. We'll be at Disney at AKV before the cruise. Its our first cruise and we are looking foward to it! Hope to meet some of you on board.

 

[sfven]

Couple of questions for you veteran Disney cruisers:

1.I read on another thread about the sand toy kits on CC. How much are they?

2.Is there peanut butter onboard?

3.Anyone know if kayaks can be rented by the hour on CC? We don't want to do a group excursion.

4.Are there staggered dinner times on the Wonder? I just read it's only on the Magic, but DCL said previously main seating would be 5:15, 5:30, and 5:45.

TIA! Only one more week, Woo Hoo

 

[Captainkate]

I found this info on the disney web site. I guess it's recent. Not sure.

Castaway Cay Activity Type: Water Sports Activity Level: Moderate Duration: 30 minutes Price:
Adult: Aqua Fin $15,
Sea Kayak (1-Seater $8, 2-Seater $10),
Hobie Cat $18,
Aqua Trike $15,
Paddle Boats (2-Seater $8, 4-Seater $10),
Sun Kat $20

Child: N/A Ages: 5 And Up Additional Information Children under the age of 13 must be accompanied by an adult

I don't remember seeing peanut butter but I am thinking it must be at the buffet area Beach Blanket or Topsiders.

I think beach toys at Walmart will be a good investment. I remember being unhappy about the price at CC, but I can't remember the exact price.

Have a great trip.

 

[sfven]

I found this info on the disney web site. I guess it's recent. Not sure.

Castaway Cay Activity Type: Water Sports Activity Level: Moderate Duration: 30 minutes Price:
Adult: Aqua Fin $15,
Sea Kayak (1-Seater $8, 2-Seater $10),
Hobie Cat $18,
Aqua Trike $15,
Paddle Boats (2-Seater $8, 4-Seater $10),
Sun Kat $20

Child: N/A Ages: 5 And Up Additional Information Children under the age of 13 must be accompanied by an adult

I don't remember seeing peanut butter but I am thinking it must be at the buffet area Beach Blanket or Topsiders.

I think beach toys at Walmart will be a good investment. I remember being unhappy about the price at CC, but I can't remember the exact price.

Have a great trip.

Thanks for the info!