"10/23/2010 Seven Days of Magic Sailing to the Saints Looking for Serenity Now!"

[zweihund]

Having changed our cruise plans three times already since we found out I was pregnant last year, I guess I should have expected this....but....we had to change our sail date again

For the past few months I've been panicking over the idea of being on a boat for 7 days with an infant without any other family support (other than the hubby). We'd been trying to get my parents to book but it just wasn't financially feasible for them. So.....we changed ours to a 4-day sailing and bought them a cabin too. As it turns out, the price of a 7-day verandah is about the same as the price of a 4-day verandah plus an oceanview. Nice!

Anyhow, I am sad I won't be able to meet everyone, but I hope you all have a wonderful time (I know you will). We'll be in the 9/4/10 sailing of the Wonder instead. We'll also be on the 8/23/11 Alaska next year if anyone is so inclined.

If we don't change it ten times before then, that is.

Happy sailing everyone!

 

[Anjelica]

Having changed our cruise plans three times already since we found out I was pregnant last year, I guess I should have expected this....but....we had to change our sail date again

For the past few months I've been panicking over the idea of being on a boat for 7 days with an infant without any other family support (other than the hubby). We'd been trying to get my parents to book but it just wasn't financially feasible for them. So.....we changed ours to a 4-day sailing and bought them a cabin too. As it turns out, the price of a 7-day verandah is about the same as the price of a 4-day verandah plus an oceanview. Nice!

Anyhow, I am sad I won't be able to meet everyone, but I hope you all have a wonderful time (I know you will). We'll be in the 9/4/10 sailing of the Wonder instead. We'll also be on the 8/23/11 Alaska next year if anyone is so inclined.


If we don't change it ten times before then, that is.

Happy sailing everyone!

Sorry you won't be joining us. But definetly have fun on your other cruise!!!

 

[Sand]

I have word on our celebration party. I will post it on our yahoo site. I will post questions which, hopefully everyone will have some suggestions/answers.

Hi Kevin, I guess it is time for me to get in gear. When ever you get a chance PM me the details on how to join the yahoo group. THANKS! Love the cactus pic. Do you have any Joshua trees in your area? My Dad used to live in Kingman. We visited Bullhead, Phoenix and everything in between. Arizona certainly has its own charm!! Beautiful place.
Sandy

 

[d'Isigny]

Having changed our cruise plans three times already since we found out I was pregnant last year, I guess I should have expected this....but....we had to change our sail date again
Happy sailing everyone!

bummer...was looking forward in meeting the new family. Wanted to thank you in person for your OUTSTANDING trip reports - hopefully in the future our paths will cross. our best.

can you post the yahoowebsite. Thanks Cindy

Hi Kevin, I guess it is time for me to get in gear. When ever you get a chance PM me the details on how to join the yahoo group. THANKS! Love the cactus pic. Do you have any Joshua trees in your area? My Dad used to live in Kingman. We visited Bullhead, Phoenix and everything in between. Arizona certainly has its own charm!! Beautiful place.
Sandy

Hi Sandy, Thanks for the positive comments on the pic. Joshua trees - yep. They are in a lot of desert landscape yards and undeveloped areas. During the limited blooming time they are very beautiful.

Here's some info for you both. Am hopeful the photo shows up at the bottom - just this week...work blocked access to Photobucket and other fun web sites. Am glad I can still 'take my virtual vacation' on the DIS (shhhhh - don't tell IT).

Hope this finds all well. Yep...Yep...Yep...we have a web site on Yahoo Groups for 'just us'. This is by invitation ONLY!! It's a great enhancement to 'The DIS'...we continue 'talking' on this thread...and store/share information on the web site. Below is a screen shot of our 'Home Page'. As you see on the left (shaded blue box), we can; add files (word – power point – excel – Adobe), insert links, upload photos and photo albums, register in databases, answer polls and put important dates in the calendar section. Please…feel free to poke around…review and add information. I recommend starting with the database section. If you want a new database or poll…just ask – it can be in place very quickly.

At this point…the ability to post messages in Yahoo Groups has been disabled. I made this decision based on past experience. IMHO – it’s best we keep ‘taking’ via this wonderful discussion forum on The DIS – keeping it simple. If all decide you want this feature activated…I can make the change.

I’d be happy to send you an invite to review – enjoy…and hopefully participate. This is a great tool. If everybody shares, we ALL win. If you would like an invite, click on the below e-mail link…this will open a separate window as blank e-mail message – already addressed to my home and work ISP. NOTE - if it won't automatically open paste/copy the below e-mail addresses into a new e-mail. Just include…the e-mail address you want your invite sent to.

kevin.smith@appl.ge.com;d_Isigny@msn.com

Or...send me a Private Message -

After I process your invite…you will receive an e-mail from Yahoo Groups. The e-mail you will receive – will look like:
From: Seven_Days_of_Magic_Sailing_to_the_Saints moderator
Subject: Invitation to join the Seven_Days_of_Magic_Sailing_to_the_Saints group

finally...here's the screen shot of our site.

 

[Evad]

Well I finalized all my hotel bookings and am now set to go!!!!!!

Boy this is going to be a long 6 months.

 

[Evad]

I have word on our celebration party. I will post it on our yahoo site. I will post questions which, hopefully everyone will have some suggestions/answers.

Well what's the word. Don't keep us waiting..........

 

[cheesehead3]

Would like to get on the list to tour the staterooms, I can offer up the "cheap" one. We are in 6319 a Cat 11 inside stateroom.

Charles

 

[sunshine1259]

Having changed our cruise plans three times already since we found out I was pregnant last year, I guess I should have expected this....but....we had to change our sail date again

For the past few months I've been panicking over the idea of being on a boat for 7 days with an infant without any other family support (other than the hubby). We'd been trying to get my parents to book but it just wasn't financially feasible for them. So.....we changed ours to a 4-day sailing and bought them a cabin too. As it turns out, the price of a 7-day verandah is about the same as the price of a 4-day verandah plus an oceanview. Nice!

Anyhow, I am sad I won't be able to meet everyone, but I hope you all have a wonderful time (I know you will). We'll be in the 9/4/10 sailing of the Wonder instead. We'll also be on the 8/23/11 Alaska next year if anyone is so inclined.

If we don't change it ten times before then, that is.

Happy sailing everyone!

Aw, I was so looking forward to meeting you all and the new baby. And guess what? I will just miss you all next year as well. We are sailing the Magic to Alaska on August 30, 2011!!!

I hope that you all have a "Wonder"ful time, and hopefully we will meet someday.

can you post the yahoowebsite. Thanks Cindy

Well what's the word. Don't keep us waiting..........

I think that I will have to PM the info to Kevin and have him post it. It basically has info on different food packages prices and photographer option ($85). Since they won't be able to confirm anything until 30-14 days out, we have plenty of time to figure out what we want to do.

Kevin, I will try to PM you what I have, and then could you post it on our yahoo website?

The questions will basically be weather we want a photographer (but since we seem to have several shutterbugs in the group, that may not be necessary), what food package if any we want.

So, I will try to do that right now.

Hope you all have a great day.

 

[Paul2003]

Hello everyone,

I received some "wonderful" news yesterday from my TA. In order for us to have a non-stop flight from Cleveland to Orlando, we have to pay an additional $233.00 EACH!!!! If we didn't do this we would 1st fly to Atlanta Georgia. As many of you may or may not know, my mother has a muscle disease and is in a wheel chair. There way she can handle taking two planes. It's a BIG ordeal just doing one plane. Plus you really take a chance of something happening, lost luggage, delayed flight. So we had no choice but to pay the EXTRA money.

 

[d'Isigny]

Happy Saturday to all.

Appears Brenda is enjoying Catalina Island this weekend. She said something about needing to search for paper umbrellas to shade her beverage - ahhhh the trials we all must face. Let's all wish her luck.

Anyhoo...I received some information from her on having DCL host a DIS meet. The general information and price schedule was sent as a PDF file - so...this needed to be posted on our Yahoo Groups web site -

Home > Files (located in the blue box to the left) > zzzzzzzzzDisney Magic function request.doc

Please take a moment to review and let's have some discussion about this on this thread.

Hey Paul...sorry to hear about the 'unexpected upcharge' from your Travel Agent. Hope that's the only surprise you get all year.

K

Hope all have great weekend plans.

 

[Paul2003]

Happy Saturday to all.

Appears Brenda is enjoying Catalina Island this weekend. She said something about needing to search for paper umbrellas to shade her beverage - ahhhh the trials we all must face. Let's all wish her luck.

Anyhoo...I received some information from her on having DCL host a DIS meet. The general information and price schedule was sent as a PDF file - so...this needed to be posted on our Yahoo Groups web site -

Home > Files (located in the blue box to the left) > zzzzzzzzzDisney Magic function request.doc

Please take a moment to review and let's have some discussion about this on this thread.

Hey Paul...sorry to hear about the 'unexpected upcharge' from your Travel Agent. Hope that's the only surprise you get all year.

K

Hope all have great weekend plans.

I tried to look at this on the Yahoo web and I didn't see anything. I clicked on the sight it asked if I want to "find" or "save". Nothing really happened. When I was done the zzzzz magic went from blue to purple

 

[d'Isigny]

I tried to look at this on the Yahoo web and I didn't see anything. I clicked on the sight it asked if I want to "find" or "save". Nothing really happened. When I was done the zzzzz magic went from blue to purple

Hey Paul...sorry to see it would not 'play fair' for you. I went to our site and was able to pull it up.

if it's easier for you to have this as an e-mail...just let me know. PM me with the e-mail address you want this sent to.

K

 

[Anjelica]

Is the consensus to use the Yahoo Group site over this message board? I haven't been to the Yahoo Group site for awhile but will make more of an effort if that is the preferred method for setting up plans, etc.

 

[sunshine1259]

Hi, Everyone. I am back from Catalina Island. That is off the coast of California and is considered part of Los Angeles county.

The weather was just a bit overcast but pleasant enough to walk around. Although, I have been having some leg problems, so I was moving pretty slow. At one point I could go no further. Of course, it did not help that our room was up 3 flights of stairs. And, no, there were no elevators!! It is a rather old hotel. Bare bone minimum. It is basically a place for divers to come, stow their things and then hit the water. Nothing fancy.

But I had a great time shopping. I am putting together a gift basket for a friend of mine who turns 50 next month. In that basket will be 50 items, everything from home slippers to gift card, perfume and other things. I am having a lot of fun trying to think of things to add to the basket. I just need 18 more items and I will have the full 50!!!

Back to Catalina. I had a very relaxing time. I spent most of Saturday, (after the shopping) kicked-back in our room, knitting and watching tv. Then my DH came back and we went to Steve's Steakhouse for dinner, up another flight of stairs !!! I think my DH just wanted to end up carrying me. Then he would be the one with leg problems .!

Dinner, however was worth the climb. It was very elegant and although there was a few tables already filled, we arrived just before the mad rush. I had some delicious clam chowder and fried scallops and fries which were piping hot, like I like.

Friday night we met with some fellow divers and our former contracts professor and his family. That was also very pleasant.

Because there was no availability for the 3:45 departure on Sunday, we ended up coming back at 1:45, for which I was thankful. That put us back home just before 5:00. My DH took very good care of me after that, taking care of the dishes from dinner and basically doing the laundry. So, I was able to rest up some.

Anyway, I'd like to thank Kevin for helping me out with the celebration party info. Please take a moment to visit our Yahoo site for the info about what DCL offers.

I'd like to put in my two-cents worth. Depending on the number of people who wish to participate, I think that a couple of cheese, fruit and crudites platters plus a couple of cakes would keep the expense down. This would be especially true for groups with a large number of people.

But what do you all say?

 

[sunshine1259]

Is the consensus to use the Yahoo Group site over this message board? I haven't been to the Yahoo Group site for awhile but will make more of an effort if that is the preferred method for setting up plans, etc.

Hi, Anjelica. What we are doing is posting info and what not on the Yahoo Group site, but having any discussion about here on the DISboards.

 

[d'Isigny]

I'm prob the 'most vocal' about using Yahoo Groups. I'll jump in and hope others will share their comments - concerns and derogatory remarks (derogatory remarks will be graded).

I have experience in using both sites with past cruises – they compliment each other very-very well.

Is the consensus to use the Yahoo Group site over this message board?

IMHO...NO! The Yahoo site was never intended to replace our DIS thread (period). It was created to be an extension of it. So the Yahoo site could not replace the DIS...the ability to post messages on Yahoo has been deactivated. A Moderator (Brenda and myself) could turn this back on - I don't recommend this...but would if the group wanted to.

Here are MY pro/con list (your mileage may vary - and that's...OK)

Pros for the DIS (items DIS is better at)
- The people on these boards are FANTASTIC!! Other boards I've been to...'some' people are not just cut-throat and cold-hearted - they are nasty. Again - some.
- The DIS has an ability to bring people together that are taking the same sailing or have common Disney travel goals. We get to meet more future friends - WOO HOO!
- Other forums within this web site are extremely helpful - Main DCL, DL, photography, budget and WDW boards have been a wealth of information for me - what a blessing these forums are.
- You get to 'talk' Disney - does it get better than this.

Cons for DIS
- The DIS will close a thread at a moderators discretion or automatically when it reaches 'x' number of pages or posts (I can't remember what 'x' is - 250 pages seems to come to mind - anyone school me on this). Obviously from our 1,373 posts...nothing previously discussed/stated puts us 'at risk' of a Mod locking this thread - but... If closed...there is no reason we can't start a "part two" thread.
- Finding past information in a thread or forum...is cumbersome (for me).
- Posting pictures require you to upload them to an alternate site before posting them on a thread (Photobucket or a DIS site are a few - of many).
- DIS will block the posting of certain internet links. Obviously...they want you to use their services and not a competitor. I understand this...and because of the DIS (and the on-board credit)...I use and refer their sponsor...Dreams Unlimited to book our Disney Cruises. Both DIS and DU have been fantastic for my family - hopefully yours as well. However...some of the sites they block have valuable information.

Pros for Yahoo (things Yahoo does better)
- Security...initial entry requires an invitation from a Moderator. And...a Moderate can 'deactivate an invite' - i.e., boot someone out. That being said...I've never 'kicked anyone off' - but we would if it were best for our group.
- It accepts file uploads from MS Office (Word, Excel, Power Point - etc). Files stored are titled, offer a preview of their content and are easy to share and locate.
- The Moderators can move database information directly into Excel - effortlessly (e.g. Organizing the Fish Extender lists and other fun - quickly and easily).
- ALL internet links can be posted.
- Pictures can be uploaded directly from your hard drive into a folder and shared - one step.

Cons for Yahoo
- It takes a little getting used to. You can get assistance from
on-line tutorials.
- start up and use with our group has gotten off to a slow start.

I haven't been to the Yahoo Group site for awhile but will make more of an effort if that is the preferred method for setting up plans, etc.

Thank you for your comment!! I hope you will return to enjoy some time on our Yahoo site. If we all participate...this will be an AWESOME tool!!

It's my hopes all will participate on BOTH web sites. From past experience, a combination of DIS (daily talk) and Yahoo (secure storage of information) will allow us to share, plan and have a FANTASTIC Disney vacation.

 

[Anjelica]

Thanks for the responses - just didn't want to feel like I was missing out on messages/important information.

I did go to yahoo group page today but I guess I may be missing something. Where is the information regarding the gathering on the ship?

 

[angelabielanin]

we stay at the raddison in port canaveral.
fly into orlando, rent a car at budget (1 day) drive to the port, stay at the raddison and drop off the car at the budget (just down the road from hotel).
then either budget will shuttle you over to the ship, or you can use the hotel shuttle.
a good friend and fellow disser(timon/cass) suggested this to us before and it works great.

How much is the budge shuttle and how do you set it up? We are staying at the Radison and also do you know when the first shuttle leaves the hotels? Can you sign up for the shuttle when you check in?

 

[d'Isigny]

Thanks for the responses - just didn't want to feel like I was missing out on messages/important information.

I did go to yahoo group page today but I guess I may be missing something. Where is the information regarding the gathering on the ship?

Go to the Yahoo Groups Home page...

left mouse click - FILES (in the light blue box on the left side of the page)

a list of different MS Office files will appear. the file with the information is titled -
zzzzzzzzzDisney Magic function request.doc
left mouse click on that...the file should appear in 5-10 seconds (depending on how fast your connection/computer speed is).

Hope this helps. K

 

[angelabielanin]

Hey everyone...I have cruise fever so bad can't wait to go. This is going to be our first big family vacation, there will be 8 of us and we are traveling from Arkansas in my Dad's motorhome. We had a great time this weekend working on our fish extenders we spent 6 hours just picking out the graphics

Can someone set up a kids thread? I don't know how and I think my kids would enjoy it.