12/10/05 ~ Anyone else cruising.....??

[cristit14]

We signed up for late seating this time. We did early last time and it just seemed too early for us. I think us coming from Mountain time zone it was like eating at 4pm. I think, I hope, late seating will be better.

I didn't think $85 was too bad either for the convenience of it. It will be bad enough to carry formal stuff for the rest of us.

 

[lillygator]

I was just thinking - this time next year I will still probably be recovering from the cruise!
I keep searching the boards and am already excited!! We are going to Disney in Feb or March...can't decide which....

anyone else have any plans to visit Disney in the near future?

 

[cristit14]

I am really excited too! We live too far away for any upcoming Disney plans. We will probably do a couple of days at the parks either pre or post cruise. A local radio station here is giving away a spot on the May Repo cruise. We have been trying like crazy for that. You should have seen us last weekend. DH and I each had our cell phones and he was also dialing on the land line. I got caller 23 once (you need to be 25 to get qualified). I thought I would die . We still have a little over a week to get qualified. Keep your fingers crossed.

Tomorrow I think I might go to Penneys and Dillards and look at their clearance racks for a dress. I did make it back to the gym the other day for the first time. Yeah for me. I am pretty sore now. I over did it a little. I think I will try to go to the gym tomorrow too. I just have to do it in between listening for the "Cruising song of the Day".

 

[lbgraves]

Hello everyone! We just booked with another DIS family for this cruise. I did have a SPH for the 12/17/05 cruise but we have decided that between crowds at MK at Christmas time & the fact that we really prefer the Eastern ports and the extra day at sea, we switched. We will miss the group at the 12/17 thread though. I have a website going for them & there is alot of participation.

In our family there is myself, DH, DS (7 at time of cruise), & DD (5 at time of cruise). This will be our 3rd cruise on the Magic. The other DISer will probably be checking in soon.

 

[Jhalkias]

My turn to check in after Lisa. We were on the same cruise together on 12/4, and had such a great time that we booked the same cruise, 12/17 for 2005. We both came to similar conclusions for some of the same reasons, and made the switch to this 12/10 cruise. We even got the same cabin! 7500.

We are excited to be doing the Eastern again. This will be our fourth 7 night, and I think our seventh DCL cruise overall.

I did not check in to the 12/17 cruise thread because I was having bad vibes all along, and things just did not fall into place.

Looking forward to meeting all of you, and getting to know you over the next several months before we sail.

Cruising will be myself, John, DW Amy, DD Sophia(5), and MAYBE DS (18) - but I am betting he will not want to go on Vacation with his parents after his first fall semester of college.

Glad to join the group- let's get the party started!

John

 

[lillygator]

Hi and welcome Lisa and John!!
Lisa - I love the photos...Cinderella is my DD's favorite, ask Dd where she lives and she says Cinerella's castle! I wish!!

On the cruise it will be me, DH, DD (3) and DD (we think) 11 months approx....we are booked in cabin 6548, not sure if that will change or not...and have first seating for dinner. We had late seating in May and loved it but my TA convinced us to book early and then if we want to change, change onboard as it is much harder to go from late to early than early to late.
I am so excited!! I can hardly wait!

 

[lbgraves]

I forgot to say that we are in 7504. We were in early seating and are hoping for lots of PD to get it again but we figure that if we are stuck in late seating at least we wont be alone.

 

[jenjersnap]

Hi everyone and welcome to our new cruisers! Been awhile since I checked in with the thread but I wanted to say "hi". Just as a reminder about us: we'll be traveling with our 2 DSs ages 5 and 2 when we cruise. We have early seating which we too are not sure about and we're in cabin 6040.

It's hard for me to focus on the cruise - still seems so far away - because we have planned two more WDW trips before this! We've been bitten badly and bought APs. My oldest and I are going on a very last minute trip alone on February 1 (very nervous about leaving the baby but I guess it's too late to change my mind now!). Then, we are going as a family in October for MNSSHP.

I figure we won't have many more off-peak opportunities to travel after this year since DS is starting kindergarten, might as well grab'em.

Saw the posts about tuxes - do the majority of men wear them on the formal night? We are first-time cruisers and don't really know what to expect.

 

[cristit14]

Welcome Lisa and John! It sounds like both of you have a lot of experience on the 7 day cruises. This will be our first 7 day. We did the 4 day Wonder in July as part of land/sea and we got hooked.

Everyone keep your fingers crossed. A local radio station is giving away a spot on the May Repo cruise. My DH got us qualified last week. Now we have to wait until Monday 24th to see if we are the lucky winners. Time is going so slowly.

 

[Jhalkias]

About the tuxes on formal night, I would say at the most, about 25% of the men may wear a tux. I myself have never worn or rented one for the cruise. I do always take a dark suit and tie.

It is nice to see all the families dressed up - especially the little ones. Lisa and I can both attest though that some people even show up in workout clothes! Happened at the table next to us last cruise, and those folks did look out of place.

While I am not an expert by any means, if I can help anyone out with any info, I will be glad to. DCL has become our most favorite family vacation!

John

 

[lbgraves]

ROFL! Yes, I don't think that I will ever forget that table. The funniest thing was DH & I had sat next to them at Palo the night before & they were both dressed up alot nicer. My DH wears his dark suit & Mickey tie as well. DS loves to wear his suits & even wants me to put a tie on him when he wears polo shirts. We probably tend to dress on the dressier side every night. We don't have many opportunities where we live & to us it is part of the fun of being waited on hand & foot on the ship. Of course I had to wear jeans & sandals the first night last cruise because our garment bag was misplaced. I will be rolling a dress & shoes in our carry on this time so that I don't have to go thru that again. I bet that all the bags show up on time then!

 

[lillygator]

Did everyone have their children eat dinner with them or were they in the clubs?
We did the 3 night Wonder in May and DD (then 18 months) dined with us once and the other times was in Flounders. This cruise I was hoping she would enjoy the kids club and the new baby could be in Flounders - at least for a few nights anyway.

What about taking them on excursions? We did a sightseeing trip in Nassau but it was almost too much for DD. I would be afraid to leave her on the boat.....what has been your experience?

 

[lbgraves]

The kids have been with us for every meal on both cruises except for lunch on CC for DS the first cruise. He ended up not liking anything on his plate...or wouldn't remove the hotdog from the bun to eat it...so he didn't eat anything. I found out after I picked him up & pleaded with a CM at Cookies to give me some food for him when they were closing up. The kids have enjoyed dinner & we have had the same server each cruise so they were excited about seeing Rudy each night. DD wants to marry him. I did have their food brought out with our appetizers the nights that he wanted to go to the club for an activity. He went more on the first cruise. DD stayed with us. The kids come to the shows with us too. They really enjoy them.

As far as excursions go, we haven't booked any due to their personalities, especially DS's. The kids just don't want to leave the ship & start whining to go back to the pool within 10 minutes. This last cruise we finally left DS in the club at Cozumel & were greatful for the peace & quiet. DD enjoyed the trip in her stroller & we were back in an hour. It's nice to be able to enjoy the Mickey pool when there are only a couple other kids in it. It is nice traveling with people we know & trust too. Jhalkias & his wife kept DD while we dined in Palo one evening and we watched their DD while they went into Cozumel for a little while. Our kids think alike! They just want the pool!

 

[RebeccaLovesDisney]

Well.....it looks like we will probably also be cruising with you!! It will be Me, DH, DD-11 and DS-8.

This will be our 3rd cruise on the Magic in December, all on the Eastern itinerary. (Lillygator, I remember you from our 12/11/04 cruise meets thread last year ) And the most exciting part is... we won this cruise while playing Who Wants to be a Mouseketeer on our last cruise.

We were originally thinking of booking the 12/17/05 cruise and were waiting for my sister to decide if her family could join us. But as of this week, the 12/17 cruise is sold out!! The 12/10 cruise works out better for us anyway since we will be back well before Christmas, but my sister has teens and won't be able to take them out of school.

Just wanted to say Hi and I'll keep you posted as we find out more details.

 

[lbgraves]

LOL! Welcome Rebecca! Tell you sister that room 7500 was available as of last night, cat 8. Very nice location! Someone on the 12/17 thread grabbed my SPH 5024 after I posted that I was going to cancel. I hoped that one of them would get it.

 

[missmulan]

hello everyone! we're on again! our kids don't know how lucky they are! two cruises in two years....my DD will be 7 and DS will be 5. i chose 12/10 because we like the eastern itinerary. last time it was 11/27/04...right after thanksgiving. i missed my annual shopping day after thanksgiving day sale. plus when i got back from our cruise, i wasn't in the holiday spirit due to the withdrawals i had. hopefully the 12/10/05 will be different. i would get all my shopping done, wrapped, sent, house decorated & cleaned BEFORE i go on vacation.

we are also hoping another family (good friend & neighbor) will join us!

 

[Jhalkias]

Miss Mulan,

Good luck! I hope that you are much more dedicated than us! We thought the same thing as you when we went on our 12/4 cruise this year. I did get the house decorated, but shopping was a real ordeal - we found out how easy it was to give Visa gift cards and other gift certificates. I think the one more week before Christmas this year will be just one more week to procrastinate.

BTW, welcome aboard, our Sophia will be 5 going on 6, and Lisa's kids are around the same age too as your DS.

John

 

[lbgraves]

Welcome! I have read your posts on the board about your last cruise. Well a couple things to post tonight! There is a great sale on at disneydirect.com! Here are the codes to use...
Disneydirect.com
Extra 20% Off Clearance!
Code: finalwin20 exp. 1-23

Then add 10% off any order.
Must be registered users.
Coupon Code: NEWYEAR2005 Exp. 2-28
You need to be signed in for these to both work. It will take a total of 30% off your order. There are some PJ pals on there now that you can get for 3.49!!! Those are Lizzie but there are also princess ones that are under 6 with the codes. There are princess barbies for 5.59!!!!!

I am debating about the graduation Mickey & Minnie for the kids for after the next cruise. They are holding a 2004 diploma but that can be replaced with something else. You can have it personalized but I think that anything with DCL or D Sea U will not be allowed to be printed. It ends up being 6.99 after the discounts. They are in full cap & gown. Really cute! I am talking myself into it. ACK!!! DH will have a fit when the box comes.

Also, for the last 2 cruises the group has had a website with pictures & personal info on the families like our names & kid's ages, hometowns, emails. I just made a copy of the one i did for the 12/17 cruise to use for this group. We seem to have grown quite a bit over the past couple days. If anyone is interested in this you can PM me with your info. I will send out the link & password to those who email me with their information. I keep it password protected since there is personal info on the site.

DIS ID:
Family:
Names (ages of kids helps get them buddies before the cruise)
How many DCL cruises have you taken?
Any special celebration on the cruise?
Stateroom:
Seating: early or late or WL
hometown:
email:

 

[lbgraves]

MissMulan, we can encourage each other to get things done. Last time on the 12/4 cruise I did get the cards mailed out & the tree up before we left. DH also put up the lights & decorations outside. I did have to wrap everything the week after we got back though. This year I am downsizing bigtime! The GBAs don't take up much room & the tapes wont either. Of course by the time December comes around who knows what deals I will find.

 

[missmulan]

yes! let's encourage each other to get things done! i like that!

i think this time around it will be better because i will get my fill on the "black friday" deals plus i will make myself do all the holiday things (cards, packages, decorations, blah, blah, blah) before we go on our trip. it was pretty stressful before and after our last cruise...

who did y'all go through to purchase this cruise? i went through sam's club travel. it came in the lowest, i even bought trip insurance (knock on wood) this time.