10/4/08-Buccaneers Take the West! Cruiser List in Post #1

[momofapirate]

I play tennis in the morning, but I am totally running by our Disney Store after to see what they have. Thanks for the heads up

 

[kimmcbee]

momofapirate-It is able to keep the cruise from the kids. 2 years ago they did not find out till we were at the port. they thought we were just going up to see how big they were till we told the guard we were sailing that day. boy were they suprised. This year they still have no clue, hoping to keep it that way again till we get there!!!!


We booked our room at the Radisson today, and got our reservation for the shuttle. We will be on the 10:30 shuttle to the port, everything else earlier was booked
talk to you all soon
Kim

 

[momofapirate]

Kim-
I gotta check to make sure my TA arranged the shuttle to the port. I assume she did, but after I read your post. Need to make sure. We might be lucky to make it by noon

 

[simo]

We will be on this cruise! First cruise for our kids & my Mom. We are:
Shelley
DH Jeff
DS Alex 10
DD Megan 7
DS Josh 6
Mom Vickie

Looking so forward to it! We're in MN, it's hot & humid here, so a vacation to places we've never been sounds great, even if it will be warm, then. Any others from MN??

I've spent lots of time reading this forum, lots of time planning this trip. Thanks to all who have posted the great ideas!!!

Hi Shelley-
We are from MN also. What part are you from? We are in the SW corner, about 1/2 hour from SD and 1/2 hour from IA. Our DD is Megan also (will be age 9 on the cruise) so so that is pretty cool. Our DS is about the same age as yours also (will be 6 on the cruise).

It's hot and humid as well.
Take care and nice to see some MN people on here!

 

[simo]

We will be joining you on this cruise as well!

Mindi
DH Marty
DS 8
DD 3

from Murfreesboro, TN

Just wanted to say welcome! Nice to have you join our group.

 

[wareagle]

Wareagle
Gena
DH Phil
DS13 Patrick
DS10 Payton
10:00 Shuttle to the port

Ginger
Ginger
DH Bill
DD11 Ashley
DD's GGM Geneva

GGBacha
Ginger
DH Chuck
DS10 Kurt
DD5 Faith
DMom Carol
DDad Curtis
DSis Jeanna
DBil David
DN5 Emily
DN1 Natalie

MPJCH
Pam
DH
DS
DSIL
DN
DF

MomofaPirate
Gretta
DH Dave
DD 7 Mary Elizabeth
DS 5 Jackson Cooper-will be 6 in Nov

Kimmcbee
Kim
DH Walter jr
DS13 Kyle
DS10 Hunter
DS6 Michael
DSFILWalter Sr
10:30 shuttle to the port

Bioberts
Beth
DH-Ken
DD 14-Tess
DD 11-Sadie

Here is the latest list of those who will be staying at the Radisson on Friday, Oct. 3rd. If I have any info listed incorrectly, let me know. Momofapirate and Kimmcbee, if you will PM me the names of your family memebers, I'll be happy to add them to our list. I have added our shuttle time. If you want me to add your shuttle time, I'll be happy to do so. If I need to add someone to the list, please let me know.

Is anyone staying here interested in meeting on Friday night, maybe after dinner? I know my boys will want to swim and would love to meet other kids who will be sailing with us. If you are interested, let me know and I'll arrange things.

Hope everyone has a great Thursday. Quinn, my student, is still in the hospital, but is doing better. He may even get to go home tomorrow. He will be on antibiotics for a while. They surgically inserted a port to administer his medication yesterday. I don't know how long this will be in place. Thank you to everyone for your care and concern.

Welcome, Mom2Jam!

I ordered my FE yesterday!!! I can't wait for it to arrive. Now, I have to decide on my FE gifts.

Only 80 days to go. It can't arrive soon enough! Take care, everyone.

Gena

 

[simo]

Could some past Disney cruisers give us some insight on this? We are starting to get serious about looking at flights. Found some that leave Orlando at 11:55 a.m. We generally do not do any checked luggage but carry our own luggage (carryons) - I know on RC they have a faster method of leaving the ship if you do that, but did not know if that was the case with disney. Is it realistic to make it to Orlando for a flight at that time? We are probably going to be renting a car to get to the airport. Thanks in advance for any input or prior experiences.

 

[glindamood]

Could some past Disney cruisers give us some insight on this? We are starting to get serious about looking at flights. Found some that leave Orlando at 11:55 a.m. We generally do not do any checked luggage but carry our own luggage (carryons) - I know on RC they have a faster method of leaving the ship if you do that, but did not know if that was the case with disney. Is it realistic to make it to Orlando for a flight at that time? We are probably going to be renting a car to get to the airport. Thanks in advance for any input or prior experiences.

While DCL would never say - based on info I have read on the main board, I don't think you should have any problem although your car rental could take some time, you should still be able to swing it if you get off the ship as soon as they begin. You will also need to factor in the time it will take to return you rental car - and not all rental companies are really onsite at MCO. I know it is pricy, but you could also consider the DCL bus. You just board when you get off the ship and they drop you right off at the airport.

If you have no luggage to check at the airport, you should be able to check in and print your boarding passes on Friday so that you just need to get through security (which can look very long but it really goes quite fast from my experiences) and get to your gate. DCL began a service where you can check-in onboard as well but it is only certain airlines.

 

[momofapirate]

Gena-
Sent you the PM, I don't have a shuttle time, because TA is handling it. I am expecting an email from her.
I would love to meet the gang poolside at the Radisson if we get in at a decent hour. Our flight doesn't get in till 4:00 PM. I figure it will take at least an hour for us to get our luggage and get under way (12 of us) puts us at the hotel around 7ish am I right? Then we will probably go to dinner, so it might be a evening swim for us. I will plop them in the pool even if it is just for a 1/2 hour though, because after school, plane, bus travel....They will need some time to get the sillies out for sure. Too much time where you have to behave and not enough silly time makes for a really rough bedtime at our house. Plus not being home is an extra bit of excitement.

 

[cruisinwith3under5]

We are surpising our kids the night before we cruise and going to MNSSHP at WDW. In looking at average temps for Oct., it looks as though it is going to be hot and humid. I was thinking of packing our gear and wearing it there and on the ship, but now I am thinking it might be too hot for that

My question is for anyone who has been...would we be out of place if we did not dress up at all? BTW, we fly in at 4:45 that afternoon and will be getting our car, checking in at POFQ and getting to WDW as fast as we can.

We are going to the party too! We get in on the 2nd so we are going to try and be there for around 4-4:30 because from what I've been told you can get in then with your tickets. There will be all 9 of us going so it should be fun and Disneyworld will be a first for all 9 of us!!! I'm guessing grandmas & grandpas will have more fun than the kids

Question:
Does anyone know if we can pre-book our shuttle to the port from Orlando for the morning of the 4th? I see some of you already have booked but it looks like most of you are staying at the radisson. I'd like to get there obviously as soon as possible on sat. so we can get a good day on the ship. Anyways, any thoughts on this would be great....our TA isn't a tonne of help she's alright but I won't be using her again, I find that I get more done by doing it myself. Although I must say she did get us a good price on flights & they are costing us as much as the cruise itself! CRAZY!

Well must run for now....my son had an "accident" again last night so more laundry to do! Oh the life of a mom! I guess since he's only 3 I can't get too angry especially when he looks at me with his big blue eyes and says "I'm sorry mama"....melts my heart!

 

[biroberts]

Gang-
We are staying at the Radisson the night before as well. I have 2 monkeys (DD 7 and DS who will be almost 6) that have no idea that they are going on a cruise and I plan to keep it that way as long as possible. I think I am going to tell them as they walk out of their school to the limo that is taking them to the airport. I am trying to figure out the wording for the letter to the principal to let him know they aren't going to be in school.
Not asking for permission so much as just letting him know I have them, they will be gone, I am not sorry, and don't sic the truant officer on me. He has been so positive when we have taken my daughter out in the past, saying "Field trips are always beneficial to a childs learning, and school isn't what makes a good citizen, it is the whole life experience package." I think education professionals tend to be a lot more cooperative if you are a very involved parent at the school. (I am a room mom, Teacher appreciation committee chair, PTA board member). Heck! I am more cooperative if I think people are working with me as opposed to making my job tougher.
I see we have lots of teachers here. Any little thing you have received over the years that made your day? 1st up we have a back to school luncheon, where we introduce this years PTA theme, we try to give them a cute little something by their plate. As a rule we try to do one nice thing a month for them, in the past we have done starbucks and pastry carts, tailgating lunches, pamper days with massage therapist and manicurists in the lounge, mailbox gifts etc. etc. Just hoping y'all have something we haven't done yet.
We want to participate in FE's as well, but I guess I can't PM yet either.

Momofapirate...
I spent manu years on the PTA board for my girls. Teachers can make such a huge difference in the life of a child and I believe that many times tehy are underappreciated. I know the teachers at our school were very appreciative of anything we did for or with them. Thank you for what you are doing. A couple of ideas for teacher apprec and other things would be: Do a donuts with Dad day and a muffins with Mom day. These were HUGE hits. Ice cream social for the staff after the school day. Door prize drawings (of course everyone wone eventually!). Some of the fun teacher gifts we did were; Buy a PVC type planter and have each child draw a ladybug and write their name under it. I had the kids sign their name on a piece of paper, printed it on transfer paper and made a shirt fromthe students. Buy an unfinished bird feeder and have the students draw bees and birds on it. I also have a really cool stepping stone I did for some retirees. It's time consuming, but awesome. I'll send a photo. Mt friends who are teachers say they love gift cards to the area teachers supply store. I see you have done mailbox goodies. We did that every day on teacher apprec. week with candy and snacks. Each one had a little saying to go with it. Have you checked out "positive promotions"? They have some neat things, some of them I was bad and just used their sayings on my own stuff.
I hope this helps, I know it can be a daunting job but it is also very fullfilling to brighten the day of a teacher!
Beth
http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm193/Glenview_album/Photobucket/DSC00008.jpg

 

[mollygirl13]

Chris and I will be at the Airport Hyatt on October 3rd. Will anyone else be there too????
Also, we are doing a few nights in WDW. We are at The Contemporary & have our MNSSHP tickets for Oct 13th. Anyone else going to be there??

 

[momofapirate]

Beth- Wow ot looks like you are a wealth of info! That is what my committee needs folks who have been there done that. We are at a brand new school and most of us are moms of K and 1st graders so we are always trying to come up with plans instead of having a pro say...This is what we have done in the past. Which some people don't like, but I like improving on a good idea as opposed to inventing the wheel. Whoever follows us will have very detailed notes on what worked and did not work, I have a 3" binder from last year, and I am sure we will add notes from this year too. What part of IL are you from. I ws born and raised in SO IL.
Mollygirl- I wish I was vacationing with y'all a cruise in the suite followed by a few days in the World. Literally sounds like heaven, mind if I live vicarious through you for a minute? I have stayed in the Hyatt before when we have had to fly in late, but just not this time.

 

[karibritt01]

Our room moms do a collection for the teachers for Christmas, teacher appreciation, and end of school. They will collect money, and then get the teacher's a Visa gift card. The teachers seem to like it better than a bunch of odds and ends.

 

[momofapirate]

As a room mom I do that for my teachers as well. I collect at the beginning of the year whatever the parents want to donate and I get the teacher a gift card for Christmas and End of the Year, and their birthday if I can find out the date. I usually find some kind of funny personal presentation.
Like my DD's Kindergarten teacher was a diehard Auburn fan, so I got a huge chip and dip plate that painted Auburn Orange and had each of the kids put their thumb print in Navy around the edge that I made into a Tiger paw with their names below, had it fired. In the bottom of the dip bowl we put, "You are such a great teacher we wish we could double-dip!" We put her gift card in the dip bowl and wrapped it in a clear gift bag with Orange and Blue Ribbons. She cried!! I totally agree that is nice to get them gift cards, because if the teacher has taught for very long she might already have her quota of Apple and #1 teacher related things.

 

[momm2four]

Well, I'm a little bummed cause my DH wants to leave home around midnight on Saturday and drive straight to Port Canaveral. I was really wanting to stay in a hotel and get to meet some of you before we board, but he's right...it wouldn't make sense to leave CHattanooga at 2:30 pm on Friday when I get home and pay for a hotel room when we would get there so late on Friday night.

He'll sleep most of the day on Friday, then we'll sleep while he drives through the night. As long as we get there by 10:30 on Sat. AM, we'll be fine,lol. He doesn't understand my need to get to the port early, but I'm sure you guys get it.

He's like, "As long as we get on the ship before it sails, what's the difference?" I looked at him like he had two heads or something I want to squeeze every last second out of this cruise that I can.

Lori P.

 

[simo]

While DCL would never say - based on info I have read on the main board, I don't think you should have any problem although your car rental could take some time, you should still be able to swing it if you get off the ship as soon as they begin. You will also need to factor in the time it will take to return you rental car - and not all rental companies are really onsite at MCO. I know it is pricy, but you could also consider the DCL bus. You just board when you get off the ship and they drop you right off at the airport.

If you have no luggage to check at the airport, you should be able to check in and print your boarding passes on Friday so that you just need to get through security (which can look very long but it really goes quite fast from my experiences) and get to your gate. DCL began a service where you can check-in onboard as well but it is only certain airlines.

Thanks! We are still debating which end we want to drive on. We can either get cheaper flights into Tampa from our closer airport here - or drive 3-4 hours here and get flights into Orlando. If we go out of Tampa, we will be leaving late afternoon on the way back, obviously. Just trying to make sure it doesn't get to be too much for the kids, but unfortunately it is probably going to be a big travel day any way we do it. I really wish we lived close enough to drive to a port.

 

[karibritt01]

Lori... sorry you won't get there early. I would be exhausted driving during the night like that. First, my kids don't sleep well in the car. After about 2 hours they start waking up and crying. Second, I don't sleep well because I worry Wynn will get tired and fall asleep. SO... I end up nodding off and jerking awake the entire night. Could you take a vacation day on Friday, and leave early Friday AM? We leave here about 9AM, and we will be in Orlando by 6ish.

Simo... will you have snow in Minnesota by October? If so, I would take the flight closest to you, and then fly into Tampa. No use driving 3-4 hours in bad weather if you don't have to. Of course... I am from NC, and we haven't had a measurable snow fall in 3 years! Our schools close down if we get 1/2" because the DOT is not capable of clearing the roads in any decent amount of time.

 

[wareagle]

Hello everyone,

I've got the Radisson list updated. See post #1666. Looks like we will have a good number staying here on Friday night. If I have left anyone out, please let me know and I will be happy to update the list again.

My student, Quinn, had to have additional surgery today. It will be Sunday before he will be able to come home. Please continue to remember him in your prayers. Also, I have another prayer request. My friend's father, who has been fighting brain cancer for over a year, is in the hospital with blood clots in both knees. Please remember both of these people in your prayers.

I've been working at school every day this week, trying to get things ready to start. I have to go back July 31st, but the kids don't start until August 6th. I told someone that my summer vacation ends the Monday after July 4th.

Lori, living in Huntsville, I understand about your husband wanting to drive all night. How long is the drive for you from Chattanooga? It is about 10 1/2 hours from here. My boys would be able to sleep in the car, but I would not be able to help drive. I can sleep in the car at any time. A girl I teach with and her family have driven down all night and have arrived in time to go to the parks the next morning. Her husband is a police officer and normally works the night shift, so it is not so hard on him to stay up all night. I know how you feel about wanting to get to the port ASAP.

Simo, my father's family is orginally from North Dakota and my aunt taught in a small town called Madison for several years before moving to Tennessee. I know what the weather can be like up there. I agree about taking a flight close to you. Tampa is about 1:45 to 2:00 hrs from the port. You could take your time going back to Tampa after the cruise. You could always stop by DTD to give your kids a chance to walk around, if you have time. When we cruised last year, we were off the boat by 8:00.

As a teacher, let me say we do appreciate everything the parents do for us. It means so much to be remembered. And as an Auburn fan, I love the gift that was the Auburn chip/dip bowl. I would love something like that from my students.

Well, I better close and get ready for bed. Hope everyone has a great Friday.

Gena

 

[karibritt01]

I was at Wal-Mart tonight, and saw the vertical pouches (no zipper) that hang from the lanyards. They were 12 for $1.64. We only need 4 of them... so I have 8 to give away if anyone needs them.