10/15/2011 - Taking the West by Magic!

[ColoradoDisneyFreaks]

Hello All. We are going to be on this cruise and would love to join you for the meet on Saturday. This is the 2nd Disney Cruise for DH (Bill) and me (Cindy). We were on the first 7 day cruise on the Magic in 2000 and we loved it. We had our DS with us. He was 10 at the time. He is 20 now and working so unfortunately he can't come with us.

The good news is we are bringing our DD Alexis age 9. I know -- another "A" name for the list! She is so excited!

We would also like to me included in the FE group if it's not too late. Sorry for the late notice, I just found you. You do look like a fun group.

Did I mention DH and I will be celebrating our 10th anniversary on the cruise?

Welcome aboard! I'll add you into the roll call on the first post, it's got the details of the meet. I'll also add you to the FE list, we extended it until the end of August so you're fine. If you want to PM me your e-mail address and room number if you know it, I'll send you my spreadsheet with e-mails and room numbers. (Never mind, just saw it's your first post, they won't let you PM until you've done 10 posts, so I'll just PM you my e-mail address and you can send the information to me that way, check the top right corner of the boards under Notifications)

Otherwise, if there's anything else you want to join in on (Palo Brunch or meet bands) just check out the first post!

 

[atheneze]

I think we might be taking a trolley tour... But we're keeping it short because our PALO dinner is scheduled that night.

Our Palo dinner is Key West night too. I think I will be pretty exhausted after visiting Margarittaville and spending the afternoon wandering around but I hope I have enough time to:

watch the sun set over Key West

have a quick nap I am one of the fortunate ones that can power nap

get dressed up all fancy

make sure my BFF is okay (she gets motion )

make a supreme effort not to trip or fall or have any wardrobe malfunctions (tags/hanger straps hanging out, etc.) while I am running to Palo with no minutes to spare

Lynn

sounds like a plan!

 

[Onkel Hans]

How to get invited to the Captain's table
This info is condensed from Passporter.com, eHow.com, and some other places on the Internet.

1. Be a celebrity, tourist industry mucky-muck, or government flunky. Not much to do about this: you are either famous or you are not. Unless you have enough money to buy, say a ship yard or something like that.
2. Be a high-roller, multi-cruise veteran. Like the last tip, there is not much to do about this except keep coming back. It would be a bit of an expensive plan just to get to the Captain's table.
3. Stay in the high end suites. Probably the easiest tip to put into play, assuming you can afford to go first class.
4. Be close friends with the Cruise Director, host, or other officer or staff. Needless to say, being friends with the Captain is a bit of a "sure thing".
5. Share the same nationality as the Captain. I was hoping that there might be a chance to have a Swedish Captain on the Magic, even though I am not Swedish-born. Unfortunately, as close as I can get is Captains Tom and Thord from Norway, who will likely not invite me for fear I will chase them around the ship, or Captain Henry who is a Finn, possibly a Swedish-speaking Finn, but still not a Swede. It is probably not worth changing your name or forging a passport to take advantage of this tip.
6. Be the correct gender and number in your party to fill up the remainder of the Captain's table. This is a very expensive and live changing option if you need to adapt to fit at the table--it is best just to hope you are the type and number of guests they need.
7. Be terribly good looking.

 

[ivet]

How about a Kungaloosh?

New Kungaloosh Recipe -- since 2000 or so

1 cup Daily's Strawberry Daiquiri Mix
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup Captain Morgan's Spiced Rum
1/4 cup blackberry brandy

Toss it in a blender with enough ice to make it slushy.

One of my favorites!

Ooooooo I might have to pull out my blender for this one!!!!

 

[ivet]

Hello All. We are going to be on this cruise and would love to join you for the meet on Saturday. This is the 2nd Disney Cruise for DH (Bill) and me (Cindy). We were on the first 7 day cruise on the Magic in 2000 and we loved it. We had our DS with us. He was 10 at the time. He is 20 now and working so unfortunately he can't come with us.

The good news is we are bringing our DD Alexis age 9. I know -- another "A" name for the list! She is so excited!

We would also like to me included in the FE group if it's not too late. Sorry for the late notice, I just found you. You do look like a fun group.

Did I mention DH and I will be celebrating our 10th anniversary on the cruise?

Hellooooo and yea!!! another "A" name. Keep posting - post anything .. just post and soon you'll be up to the 10 posts you'll need to PM.

 

[ivet]

How to get invited to the Captain's table
This info is condensed from Passporter.com, eHow.com, and some other places on the Internet.

1. Be a celebrity, tourist industry mucky-muck, or government flunky. Not much to do about this: you are either famous or you are not. Unless you have enough money to buy, say a ship yard or something like that.
2. Be a high-roller, multi-cruise veteran. Like the last tip, there is not much to do about this except keep coming back. It would be a bit of an expensive plan just to get to the Captain's table.
3. Stay in the high end suites. Probably the easiest tip to put into play, assuming you can afford to go first class.
4. Be close friends with the Cruise Director, host, or other officer or staff. Needless to say, being friends with the Captain is a bit of a "sure thing".
5. Share the same nationality as the Captain. I was hoping that there might be a chance to have a Swedish Captain on the Magic, even though I am not Swedish-born. Unfortunately, as close as I can get is Captains Tom and Thord from Norway, who will likely not invite me for fear I will chase them around the ship, or Captain Henry who is a Finn, possibly a Swedish-speaking Finn, but still not a Swede. It is probably not worth changing your name or forging a passport to take advantage of this tip.
6. Be the correct gender and number in your party to fill up the remainder of the Captain's table. This is a very expensive and live changing option if you need to adapt to fit at the table--it is best just to hope you are the type and number of guests they need.
7. Be terribly good looking.

I WILL NEVER get to the Captains table for sure

 

[ColoradoDisneyFreaks]

How to get invited to the Captain's table
This info is condensed from Passporter.com, eHow.com, and some other places on the Internet.

1. Be a celebrity, tourist industry mucky-muck, or government flunky. Not much to do about this: you are either famous or you are not. Unless you have enough money to buy, say a ship yard or something like that.
2. Be a high-roller, multi-cruise veteran. Like the last tip, there is not much to do about this except keep coming back. It would be a bit of an expensive plan just to get to the Captain's table.
3. Stay in the high end suites. Probably the easiest tip to put into play, assuming you can afford to go first class.
4. Be close friends with the Cruise Director, host, or other officer or staff. Needless to say, being friends with the Captain is a bit of a "sure thing".
5. Share the same nationality as the Captain. I was hoping that there might be a chance to have a Swedish Captain on the Magic, even though I am not Swedish-born. Unfortunately, as close as I can get is Captains Tom and Thord from Norway, who will likely not invite me for fear I will chase them around the ship, or Captain Henry who is a Finn, possibly a Swedish-speaking Finn, but still not a Swede. It is probably not worth changing your name or forging a passport to take advantage of this tip.
6. Be the correct gender and number in your party to fill up the remainder of the Captain's table. This is a very expensive and live changing option if you need to adapt to fit at the table--it is best just to hope you are the type and number of guests they need.
7. Be terribly good looking.

Umm, there isn't a Captain's table on DCL...

 

[Cayley]

Sure, in the very first post on this thread is the roll call. That's the people who have chimed in that they're going to be on the cruise, their names if they want them in the thread, and ages of kiddos. Some of the folks on the roll call are from a much older thread that was started over a year ago and haven't really talked much on this thread, so that's why it's so long.

We also talked about getting wristbands for the cruise for our meet thread. They're lime green (the color of the DIS, not this forum, but for some reason lime green is what everyone recognizes) with the title of the meet (Taking The West By Magic!) and the date of the cruise. With the amount of people we have, they're $2.35 apiece, you don't have to get them at all, just an option. If you want them, just let me know and I'll add you to that list on the first page.

We also have a potential meet brunch at Palo. OnkleHans is coordinating that, but the list of folks attending is also on the first post.

Pretty much, anything that we've tried to coordinate as a thread is in the very first post. Other than that, it's chatting and sharing in the excitement!

Thanks! Can you add us to the roll call? We are Janet, Alan (DH), DD Alexis (10), and DS Matthew (8). I am really hoping my children can make friends quickly so that they enjoy their time in Oceaneer's Lab! Looking forward to meeting you all on Saturday at 3!

 

[Cayley]

Was just looking at the ages and names of all the kids for the FE exchange and got a giggle at how many of the girls have names that start with A's. Out of 6 girls who are 6 and older.. 5 have names that begin with A.

\
Oops - didnt mean to reply

 

[ColoradoDisneyFreaks]

Thanks! Can you add us to the roll call? We are Janet, Alan (DH), DD Alexis (10), and DS Matthew (8). I am really hoping my children can make friends quickly so that they enjoy their time in Oceaneer's Lab! Looking forward to meeting you all on Saturday at 3!

I've got you added. There are several kiddos that are the same ages (or pretty close) on the cruise, so I bet yours will have no problems at all. Jillian is 10 and will be 2 months shy of 11 on our cruise, so she has asked if she might be able to go to the Edge since this is her 5th cruise and she's done the Lab 4 times already. I'm waiting to see what the makeup of the kids in the Edge is before I go with this, if there are lots of 13 year olds on the cruise, then probably not, if there are mostly 11 and some 12 year olds, then I'll let her.

 

[Cayley]

How exciting! I can't wait to hear what your DD thinks of the Edge. We plan to rebook while onboard and will hopefully be on one of the new ships where my kids can participate in their tween room. We plan to cruise every 3 years so that my kids are always in the same rooms. Not that they get along that well (lol) but I just always worry that they won't make friends so that way they'd at least have each other! They were 5 and 7 in the Club last time, 8 and 10 in the lab this time, 11 and 13 for next cruise for the tween area and 14 and 16 the cruise after that in the teen area! In 2008 we took our 16 year old and she had a great time in the Loft and got in later than us every night, did teen only excursions etc! I'm a firm believer that DCL is not just for little kids!!

 

[ColoradoDisneyFreaks]

How exciting! I can't wait to hear what your DD thinks of the Edge. We plan to rebook while onboard and will hopefully be on one of the new ships where my kids can participate in their tween room. We plan to cruise every 3 years so that my kids are always in the same rooms. Not that they get along that well (lol) but I just always worry that they won't make friends so that way they'd at least have each other! They were 5 and 7 in the Club last time, 8 and 10 in the lab this time, 11 and 13 for next cruise for the tween area and 14 and 16 the cruise after that in the teen area! In 2008 we took our 16 year old and she had a great time in the Loft and got in later than us every night, did teen only excursions etc! I'm a firm believer that DCL is not just for little kids!!

I completely agree, I love cruising it too!!!!! They did redo the age groups for the club and the lab so that they can pick and chose activities between the two. The rooms are the same, but if there's something going on in the club that either of them wants t do, then they can just ask a CM to take them, and they'll run them over through the secret passage.

 

[Cayley]

I completely agree, I love cruising it too!!!!! They did redo the age groups for the club and the lab so that they can pick and chose activities between the two. The rooms are the same, but if there's something going on in the club that either of them wants t do, then they can just ask a CM to take them, and they'll run them over through the secret passage.

I'm glad they made this change for parties traveling together and siblings but it is a non-issue for us now since my kids are 8 and 10! It would have helped when planning our first cruise since I purposely timed it so they would end up in the same room. All worked out in the end.

 

[ivet]

Umm, there isn't a Captain's table on DCL...

Well then see I was right - I'll NEVER get to the Captains table

 

[ColoradoDisneyFreaks]

Well then see I was right - I'll NEVER get to the Captains table

I'm going to make you a sign to put on your table so it'll be the Captain's Table!

 

[ivet]

Arrrsome

 

[Onkel Hans]

Umm, there isn't a Captain's table on DCL...

So where does he rest his plate?

I thought I had read that there was a Captain's table, but you are right that unlike other cruise lines, there is no table reserved for him. It looks like he does use the very same table we are trying to secure for our Palo brunch when needed however.

Now, if you will excuse me, I have to get back to searching Craigslist for cheap ship yards.

 

[Onkel Hans]

How busy will the destination be when we make port?

For Key West, the Key West City's website shows that we will be the only ship in port.

For Grand Cayman, check out Grand Cayman Port Authority's website. It shows what vessels will be in port and how many are estimated to be on board.

For our trip, it shows that the Magic, Carnival Valor, and Norwegian Sun will be in port with a total of 7,924 passengers. For reference, other days range from 2,000 to nearly 10,000.

There are three piers for ships to stop at for Cozumel. CruisePortInsider shows that just the Carnival Imagination will be in port, delivering about 2,000 cruseros.

And of course we will have Castaway Cay all to ourselves!

 

[Cayley]

That is awesome information! Thank you! Key West should be very enjoyable!

 

[amazingact21]

How busy will the destination be when we make port?

For Key West, the Key West City's website shows that we will be the only ship in port.

For Grand Cayman, check out Grand Cayman Port Authority's website. It shows what vessels will be in port and how many are estimated to be on board.

For our trip, it shows that the Magic, Carnival Valor, and Norwegian Sun will be in port with a total of 7,924 passengers. For reference, other days range from 2,000 to nearly 10,000.

There are three piers for ships to stop at for Cozumel. CruisePortInsider shows that just the Carnival Imagination will be in port, delivering about 2,000 cruseros.

And of course we will have Castaway Cay all to ourselves!

I'm kind of glad now that DF and I decided to take Grand Caymen a little easy and not try and do anything there. 7,000 people seems like a lot!