11/27/04 the sequel.....

[traceycooper]

Curt looking at DCL 2007 prices (there out up till April 07) we may have to consider RCCL, Easter on DCL has gone up over $1000 based on Easter 06!!!!!!!
So i'm sure Christmas will be the same!

 

[kim bremner]

WOW! I Love all the pictures!!!! I am so missing our cruise, but have really good news!

#1 We got our referral last Monday and accepted Tuesday. She turned one yesterday. We had a cake and sang to her picture. Her name is Ester Esmeralda (which we will be changing) I would love to forward a picture but am either too stupid, busy, or overwhelmed to figure out how to do so.

#2 We are going on the dreaded extended family vacation over Thanksgiving. However, we are going to Disney one day and just today DH agreed to book a cruise. So, my crappy 4 day trip just turned into a fabulous 10 day trip. We are going on carnival, does anyone know if they have a discussion board?

Curt, your new addition is a cutie. I don't know how you and Steph do it, REALLY. I can't imagine how I'm gonna handle three. God has blessed you both with such a gift to care for these kids.

Amanda, you take some great pictures!!!

 

[traceycooper]

CONGRATULATIONS KIM
Hope you will get to post pics at some point!

 

[darcimborcherding]

Congratulations Kim and family!!!

Tracey--did you take the picture in your signature in the morning or when you were getting back on the boat? That is great!

 

[traceycooper]

It was in the morning, i sent you a link to photobucket.com, did you get it?
That pic is on there & i'm adding a few more right now!
Just been looking at the pics of us sob sob

 

[traceycooper]

HERE YOU GO DARCI, WE LOOK SLIGHTLY WORSE FOR WEAR - OR AT LEAST I DO!! BUT WHO CARES

 

[CurtS]

Congratulations, Kim! (sorry, it's the best dancing emoticon I can find). That is wonderful news! I know you've been really patient and have gone through a lot of ups and downs and have tolerated it all very well. I'm glad everything has turned out well. I'm delighted for you.

I don't think Carnival has a dedicated site but if you go to
http://cruiseclues.com/message_boards.htm
it has most of the cruise lines except DCL. It looks identical to this site and it has cruise meets.

Tracy--I spoke with Steph about changing to RCCL after your posting about the $1,000 increase. All I got was the over-the-glasses "you've got to be kidding me" look. She really liked the service on DCL and it was much better than Norwegian. I don't know enough about RCCL to know if the service and amenities are as good or not. You and Darci look good in the picture. I could use one of those cold adult beverages right about now!

Again, Kim, congratulations!

Take care everyone.

Curt

 

[traceycooper]

Curt - from reading the boards there are a lot of people saying they cant afford the price increases, so hopefully DCL will get the message when bookings fall & drop their prices! Heres hoping!

 

[CurtS]

That's good to hear. I told Steph last night that while I agree with her about the service, I would have a hard time believing that such a drastic price increase wouldn't knock DCL out of the competition, especially with RCCL and some of the other lines trying to appeal to families as well. Something tells me that Mickey, Minnie and Donald may be appealing, but I question how many families who really want to cruise will fork out another $1,000 per room just to enjoy their company. Let's hope they get the message!

 

[CurtS]

Sad news today--the baby is going back to mom. Just four weeks into her rehab, the case worker vouched for her recovery and the courts have granted her return. We're a bit sad, but we did our job and hopefully mom will do better this time. The family court system needs some reformation though: this is the fifth child that we've returned to parents before the court-mandated requirements were met and all five have been taken from the parent(s) at a future date. Definitely disheartening, but you always hope that someone will be the exception and you will have made some difference.

Curt

 

[kim bremner]

OH Curt, i am a social worker and know these stories all too well! It is so very rare that the parents turn it around, and in the meantime the child suffers. Our system is a bit crazy!

We booked our carnival cruise today and can you believe it is November 27th? I so wish we were going with you guys, but we will already be in California and was the only way we could go right now.

This is my 2 cents on other cruise lines. I think they are all good and you will have fun whatever you decide. My favorite cruise so far was Royal Carribbean (Explorer). I did not think Disney was that great and the service on most lines has all seemed about the same to me. You pay a lot extra to ride with Mickey. That being said, we will definatly do Disney again when our family is complete, because it is pretty darn cool to ride with Mickey and the shows were so great for kids. I've done Carnival, Princess, Royal and Disney and they all have their pros and cons, but we have had a great time on all. Just my 2 cents.

 

[CurtS]

How wonderful for you Kim. I wish we were going as well--we could use the vacation and it would be wonderful to go with the great group of people from our DCL. I'm sure you have seen your share of stories just like this--the few we've seen as foster parents I'm sure is small compared to what you have seen. Our social worker is baffled by the sudden decision of the court and even more concerned that the case worker would "stick her neck out" like this. But we will see what happens and pray that everything works out.

 

[traceycooper]

Hi guys, Curt - i'm sorry to hear your sad news, we have the same problems in this country with social workers too, usually down to being overworked and under funded!
Kim - have a great cruise, wish i was going, have a drink or 3 for me!!
& dont forget the trip report when you return

 

[CurtS]

It's sad that this is a world-wide situation. Actually, the case worker was caught in a bad situation--mom (or actually grandma) hired an attorney who found a procedural error and made the judge reverse the child's move to foster care. We'll pray that everything goes well.

On a more positive note: We've began checking cruises for either next year or early 2007. I decided to compare DCL and RCCL on AAA's site for around the same time all of us booked last year's cruise. For a 7-day Western cruise DCL leaves 11/9/2006 and RCCL leaves 11/12/2006. A four-person oceanview cabin on RCCL ran $2,085 while DCL ran $3,706. That's quite a difference when you need two cabins! We may have to re-think our next cruise. As much as we loved DCL, that extra $1400 could go a long way toward buying drinks.....er, souvenirs. I meant souvenirs, I simply misspelled it!

Curt

 

[dzneprincess]

Curt I am sorry about the sad news! I think what you and Stef do is great!

 

[kim bremner]

Curt, just for reference. We just booked on a nice carnival ship (came out in 2002) We got a cat 8 I balcony (there balconies have 9 levels from 8A to 8I) so its the nicest balcony for about $2400 for 4 people in the room. This is a guarantee room and all the 8I's are sold out, so unless someone cancels, we should end up in a suite. I will let you know. I remember we had two in a balcony on RCCL in 2001 for 1400 and two in small suite on princess in 2002 for 1800. Boy, are prices getting out of hand!! We may have to sell one of the kids to afford the next cruise.

Oh yeah, I'm sure you meant souveniers !!

Who am I gonna go on the wine tasting with this cruise

Kim

 

[CurtS]

Hmm. Sell three kids for the price of one and get one room....okay, not a good idea! You made a good point, Kim--there are a lot of great activities on DCL like the wine tasting and Palo's, and you can't get a better group to cruise with.

I gave Steph the figures last night and she agreed that we just aren't sure about doing DCL next time around, although the kids thoroughly enjoyed Disney and I'm not sure RCCL would have the same charm. We've got some time to think about it--December '06 hasn't come out yet. We had thought about October or early November '06, but Steph reminded me that October is still hurricane season and after the last two years we're not taking chances! I told Chris about it and he seemed disappointed until he found out that RCCL has an arcade (at least that's what I told him) and a 24-hour pizzeria. Everybody has their priorities I guess.

 

[kim bremner]

RCCL has those ships with the mini golf, climbing walls, etc that I think would be really appealing to older kids. I don't think they have slides in their pools however, which my kids would miss.

 

[traceycooper]

Hi Amanda - did you have a good trip?
Curt - what can i say, see you on RCCL!!
Oh & sorry about my HUGE sparkly signature, not had time to put it right!!!!

 

[CurtS]

Happy post-Halloween everyone!

Tracey (and any other potential RCCL folks)--I've been looking at the reviews of DCL and RCCL and most still attest to DCL's kid-friendliness, especially the shows, which was one of the few times that we did things as a family (most of the time Claire and Spencer wanted to be in the club and there were a lot of things that the babies couldn't do). Yet by the time we cruise again, Chloe and Chris will be 13 and 14 (boy, do I feel old!) and the RCCL teen activities I'm sure will appeal to them (all Chris wanted was an arcade and all-night pizzeria, so he's set). I'll keep you advised.

Amanda--I sent you a PM a few days ago.

Well, I did my job and got the thread back to the front. Have a good week everyone!

Curt