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

[wareagle]

Kim,

So glad your DS is better. We are also busy with baseball. Our first game is tomorrow night. Only DS10 is playing. This is the second season DS12 has not played.

I just got home from the ER. My father was taken by ambulance this morning, very sick. The doctors now believe that it is food poisoning. Spending 8+ hours in the ER is not fun. Hopefully he will be better tomorrow. They ran all kinds of tests. He will be 65 in 2 weeks. He told my mother he wasn't sure a few times today if he was going to make it. They gave him IV fluids and medicine for nausea. He is one that wants to feel better right away, but with this, it is going to take a couple of days.

We start our testing at school tomorrow. We will be testing all week and next Monday. Thanks to DH, my biscuits were in the oven when I got home (we are having b'fast items each morning before the test). A parent sent $$ and asked me to get items for tomorrow. I hope the kids do well on their tests. They have worked so hard all year for this.

I can't wait for Friday. It will officially mark 6 months until the cruise.

Hope everyone has a great week.

Gena

 

[Grandma4ever]

Kim,

So glad your DS is better. We are also busy with baseball. Our first game is tomorrow night. Only DS10 is playing. This is the second season DS12 has not played.

I just got home from the ER. My father was taken by ambulance this morning, very sick. The doctors now believe that it is food poisoning. Spending 8+ hours in the ER is not fun. Hopefully he will be better tomorrow. They ran all kinds of tests. He will be 65 in 2 weeks. He told my mother he wasn't sure a few times today if he was going to make it. They gave him IV fluids and medicine for nausea. He is one that wants to feel better right away, but with this, it is going to take a couple of days.

We start our testing at school tomorrow. We will be testing all week and next Monday. Thanks to DH, my biscuits were in the oven when I got home (we are having b'fast items each morning before the test). A parent sent $$ and asked me to get items for tomorrow. I hope the kids do well on their tests. They have worked so hard all year for this.

I can't wait for Friday. It will officially mark 6 months until the cruise.

Hope everyone has a great week.

Gena

Hope that everyone that has been under the weather is feeling better. It is so scary when parents and children take ill.

We are one day closer!!!!! We will get there one day at a time.

 

[karibritt01]

Gena - sorry such a tough day yesterday. Hopefully today will be better!

My "official" 6 month mark is tomorrow! I count down to the first day of vacation instead of the day of the cruise... the quicker we leave reality the better!

 

[mollygirl13]

Tomorrow is our 6 month mark as well!!
6 months is when I start to work on our door decorations.

 

[glindamood]

First off blessings and speedy recoveries to all that need it. Wow - lots going on. Get better soon.

I must have missed my 6 month mark for the WDW part of this. I made one measly dining ressie (only had 2 to do) and can't get Yak and Yeti until we are really 180 days out (OKW stay or no OKW stay). No problems with Mama Melrose's though. I just love consistency.

Raining and warmer here (of 24 is warm) but that makes the snow go away. Hope everyone has a good week and you and your families all get (and stay) healthy.

 

[MPJCH]

Thanks for the nice welcome!!! I've tried to go back and read through all the post. We'll be staying at the Radisson too.
We live in Georgia so it's about a 6 hour drive. Want to get there in time to have dinner a Grills so we can watch one of the other cruise ships leave.

Grandma4ever- That's great to have the cruise paid off.

Fish Extenders- Please put me down for one of the days. Doesn't matter which day.

Anyone looking at excursions yet? Not sure what we're going yet. We've swam with the Dolphin! That was great!!! Did the Stingrays! They we're nice to look at, but didn't like being in the water with them. too many of them!!!!
Thinking about going to the turtle farm in Grand Caymans I was there a few years ago, but I think it's changed a lot since then. Looks really nice online.
Anyone have any ideas? Pam

 

[biroberts]

Pam,
You said you've swam with the dolphins, where did you do that? What did you think of it? I would like to try it, but I don't know if I can convince my family. My kids are interested in the semi sub ride in Grand Cayman. We really haven't started planning much yet.
Beth

 

[MPJCH]

Beth- We swam with the Dolphins in Cozumel. It was great. My oldest son has a learning disabilty & a shunt, an he doesn't use his left hand much so I was a little worried he wouldn't be able to do everything. It was very easy, the dolphins do it all. I'll post the pictures when I figure out how. The smile on his face when the dolphins lifted him up and push him through the water is just priceless!!! That's the one excursion everyone loved the most. Just make sure when you budget for it to budget in the photo's and the video. The photo's look so good I had to buy them. I think I spent less than $100.00, for both, 6 photo's (8x10) and the video. You do several thing with the dolphins.
Hope this helps. Pam

 

[Grandma4ever]

Janet and I are thinking about doing a beach day in Grand Caymen and The four Element excursion in Cozumel. At CC we are just relaxing and to start we are just going to walk around Key West. Really looking fprward to being able to explore Key West.

Again I got to get ready for work. Got to work so I can vacation. Man I need a vacation. Lois

 

[karibritt01]

I am just not excited about Key West. One of those places I never cared if I saw it or not... We are planning to see a few things, shop at the Kino's factory, then back to the boat! I have considered the pirate museum, but have heard mixed reviews, so haven't decided on that yet.

Can't quite understand "those people" who do the Duval crawl, get blistering drunk, then stumble back to the boat. The last place in the world I want to be drunk is laying on a floor that moves! Heck! My floor at home is already spinning to much!

 

[MommaluvsDis]

You have to have your picture made at the Southern Most point, too. Don't forget that!

 

[dvanhazel]

Hello everyone. I don't post much, but I am here quite often reading all your posts. Blessings to those of you experiencing or know someone experiencing health problems.

Like alot of you, I am still in the obsessive compulsive planning stages and I ordered my fish extender the other day off ebay (no hope for me to make one nearly as nice) and I am really brainstorming about what "gifts" I am going to bring you all from sunny AZ. It is going to be 83 here today (sorry for those of you in the cold), but I'll report back in June when it is 115, and then you'll really feel sorry for me. I don't plan on telling my kids what it is or what we do with it, I want them to be taken back by all the "Magic" on the ship.

Someone asked about excursions, and being this is our first trip, we are planning on doing the dolphin discovery in Cozumel, Stingrays in Caymen (against my DH wishes, he is totally freaked out by it) and it sounds as though Key West is going to be pretty laid back, we'll probably take the Old Trolley around and see the sights. Being a shoes fanatic, the Kino Sandal factory is a must stop for me, and I am known for my Key Lime obsession, so I hear Kermits Shoppe has a great selection of "Key Lime Everything".

For those of you who have cruised before, most recommend booking excursions on your own, and after visiting several websites I am comfortable doing that. My question is, how far in advance to book them? I know several cruise ships come to port at once, so how on earth do they accommodate all those people? I would hate to miss out because I wait too long. Any advice?

My DH has become a DIS widow and he just rolls his eyes when he sees me reading, researching, and (gasp) shopping! We have not booked our flights yet (waiting for Southwest to post their dates) because none of the timing is right for us to be able to go to MNNSHP on Friday the 3rd...I really want to do that, but most of the flights have us coming in too late.

IF we end up coming in on Thursday and can ONLY do 1 park on Friday (never been to any of them, but Disneyland quite a bit) does anyone have any opinions on that? We are already staying at POFQ just so we can experience "a little" Disney before we get on the ship.

Well, well...I just stopped by to say "hello" and to thank you for all your posts, and here I am thinking out loud. Hope you all have a fabulous day! My daughter and I are going on a field trip to a Cookie Company so it should be a great day here in sunny AZ.

 

[mollygirl13]

Chris and I have never been to Key West so if anyone has any ideas, please share. We do know we want to get Key Lime Pie!! Dh LOVES the stuff. Other than that, I am not sure what we'll do.
In Grand Cayman, we are going to Stingray city. on our last Cruise, our excursion was cancelled due to bad weather so we mised it and were pretty bummed. We were looking forward to that most.
In Cozumel, we are going to Paradise Beach again. We love that beach and we love the food, too.
On CC, we are going to Serenity Bay and just relaxing. We will do some snorkeling, some swimmimg, lay in a hammock and eat at the buffet.
Only 6 months to go!!!

 

[karibritt01]

I am known for my Key Lime obsession, so I hear Kermits Shoppe has a great selection of "Key Lime Everything".

I keep reading that the Blonde Giraffe is the place to go. Maybe 1 first in the AM, and the other before getting back on the ship... only way to get an accurate comparison!

IF we end up coming in on Thursday and can ONLY do 1 park on Friday (never been to any of them, but Disneyland quite a bit) does anyone have any opinions on that? We are already staying at POFQ just so we can experience "a little" Disney before we get on the ship.

Refresh my memory... How old are your kids? Both my kids loved Epcot. DHS and AK were fun, but had more for Tucker (9) than Avery (4). If you do MNSSHP, I would pick a different park for the daytime. If not, MK definitely during the day, and maybe the campfire at Fort Wilderness or DTD in the evening.

 

[glindamood]

Hello everyone. I don't post much, but I am here quite often reading all your posts. Blessings to those of you experiencing or know someone experiencing health problems.

Like alot of you, I am still in the obsessive compulsive planning stages and I ordered my fish extender the other day off ebay (no hope for me to make one nearly as nice) and I am really brainstorming about what "gifts" I am going to bring you all from sunny AZ. It is going to be 83 here today (sorry for those of you in the cold), but I'll report back in June when it is 115, and then you'll really feel sorry for me. I don't plan on telling my kids what it is or what we do with it, I want them to be taken back by all the "Magic" on the ship.

Someone asked about excursions, and being this is our first trip, we are planning on doing the dolphin discovery in Cozumel, Stingrays in Caymen (against my DH wishes, he is totally freaked out by it) and it sounds as though Key West is going to be pretty laid back, we'll probably take the Old Trolley around and see the sights. Being a shoes fanatic, the Kino Sandal factory is a must stop for me, and I am known for my Key Lime obsession, so I hear Kermits Shoppe has a great selection of "Key Lime Everything".

For those of you who have cruised before, most recommend booking excursions on your own, and after visiting several websites I am comfortable doing that. My question is, how far in advance to book them? I know several cruise ships come to port at once, so how on earth do they accommodate all those people? I would hate to miss out because I wait too long. Any advice?

My DH has become a DIS widow and he just rolls his eyes when he sees me reading, researching, and (gasp) shopping! We have not booked our flights yet (waiting for Southwest to post their dates) because none of the timing is right for us to be able to go to MNNSHP on Friday the 3rd...I really want to do that, but most of the flights have us coming in too late.

IF we end up coming in on Thursday and can ONLY do 1 park on Friday (never been to any of them, but Disneyland quite a bit) does anyone have any opinions on that? We are already staying at POFQ just so we can experience "a little" Disney before we get on the ship.

Well, well...I just stopped by to say "hello" and to thank you for all your posts, and here I am thinking out loud. Hope you all have a fabulous day! My daughter and I are going on a field trip to a Cookie Company so it should be a great day here in sunny AZ.

Glad to have you joining us - and happy to have you out of "lurkdom". Stop by and chat as often as you would like.

We did the western in 2005 and had a great time. We just walked Key West (be prepared for hot and humid) but did Nativeway in Grand Cayman for Stingray City - awesome experience. We will do that again this time I think but do the city and stingray tour instead of the Reef, Rays and Rum Point. Nativeway is very convenient to the ship and an awesome company. We didn't make Cozumel the last time (port closed from hurricane damage) so hopefully we will make it there this time but will probably do a beach day.

I am envious of your warmth - it was in the 40's when I got up this morning but it snowed a bit ago. Mother Nature is very confused! Enjoy your field trip - gee, I am hungry all of a sudden.

 

[karibritt01]

Chris and I have never been to Key West so if anyone has any ideas, please share.

My plan is Kino Sandals Factory, lighthouse, southernmost point, and possibly the pirate museum. (Hoping for suggestions on that if anyone has been there.)

In Grand Cayman, we are going to Stingray city. on our last Cruise, our excursion was cancelled due to bad weather so we mised it and were pretty bummed. We were looking forward to that most.
In Cozumel, we are going to Paradise Beach again. We love that beach and we love the food, too.

We won't do the stingrays... it would be a waste of money as the kids and I would never get into the water! We are going to do the Seaworld Semi-sub, then find a beach (Sea Grape or Royal Palms, I think.) We'll be at Paradise Beach with you , though!

 

[MommaluvsDis]

Okay everyone,

Let's talk FE, shall we? Several people have asked what everyone's bringing. Would it be easier for me to compile and post a list or do we want total surprise?

Also, please PM me with your stateroom #, number in each stateroom, ages of children, and whether you'll have a FE hanging outside your door. If you have more than one stateroom, please state total number of FE's you'll have.

Is that clear? Sounds kinda muddy to me!

 

[MPJCH]

Karibritto1- I'm with you, did not like the stingrays, my husband held one in his arm. I was happy to just take pictures.I do have to say nativeway were very nice. My SIL and son didn't want to get in the water so (Sheldon) brought one up to them in the boat so they could touch them.

Key West- does not excite me either. I think we'll just walk around go to Sloppy Joe's, Hog Breath Saloon, and hope we get to see a beautiful sunset.

Castaway Cay- I'm going to grab a good book an head over to Serenity Bay.

Cozumel- I think my Niece & her friend want to swim with the Dolphins so we'll probably go over to Chankanaab Park with them since it's their first cruise. There's plenty to do there. Then I think we'll go to Carlo's & Charlie's, not to get drunk, but I like to watch everyone else act silly. Pam

 

[MommaluvsDis]

Never mind. Thanks to Jan's hard work on the spreadsheet, the names and ages are listed! You rock, Jan. If your stateroom number is not listed, please let Jan know as soon as you are assigned a cabin so that she can put it on the list.

Do, however, let me know if you'll have a FE outside your stateroom for deliveries and if you'll have more than one.

 

[karibritt01]

We're in 6042, and the kids are going to be 10 and 6 on the cruise. I will have a fish extender outside of the door. I can share what I'm bringing, or leave it as a surprise... whatever everyone else wants.

I found some cute materials for Avery's and my pockets on the fish extender this weekend. Mine is Tinkerbell, and Avery picked Ariel, both in shades of turquoise and purple. I will not buy the other fabrics until I find something for Wynn and Tucker's pockets, though. I have been reconsidering, and may do tie-dye type pockets for everyone with mickey or minnie heads. This is almost as tough as deciding excursions! If only the excursions were this cheap...