12/19/2009 - 12/26/2009 Magical Christmas Cruise! It's not that far Away?

[shannonetherton]

OH my bpescar you are slammed!! Wish I could help you with your workload. Kimberly you are not being bah humbug at all. I have a Southern living stocking on the front door and a wreath in my dining room!! So far that is as far as I can see it going! We may put Emm's little tiny tree up but that is it. I cannot see decorating when I have already paid Disney to do it for me!
I am wrapping up my FE's (literally!) and I am really glad we are driving as they are getting a little heavy! Do we put our names on them? I was not sure. I think I went a little FE Happy! Oh well forgive me it was fun!

 

[shannonetherton]

Hi guys! I was wondering if I could get some names from you folks in our FE group? I decided to make something for the kids but I did not have all the names. I am missing the following:
smokescreen (DD,DD)
Crystald (DD,DS)
stitchlover87 (DD, Mom)


I totally understand if you don't want to use names! I just decided to play around a little more (because I have nothing else I should be doing!)
Thanks
Shannon

 

[nez-bleu]

hi all
im from birmingham in uk.
thanks for the hello's
so has anyone done the xmas cruise before - excited to say the least..
is everything ok with the ship regarding the fire last week?

 

[bpescar]

Nez blu What fire are you referring to.. I heard nothing of this.... I have never done a Christmas Cruise before but have cruise in January. Anytime with Disney is always the best!

 

[nez-bleu]

as far as i'm aware one of the engines blew?? a small fire type incident in engine room from reading reports? probably easy to rectify but i think it messed up timings and stabalisers on last weeks cruise...

 

[disneyland255]

about 3 weeks till we are all cruising in the Caribbean for Christmas!!! WAHOO!!!

Has anyone done a Disney Christmas crusie before and share what special things they do???

 

[itutorfortravel]

I'll bet the engine will be fixed by the time we sail...I just hope those stabilizers are used!!!

I'm starting to try on outfits for the trip and pull together a list for packing.

Here is where I am on the incidentals I need to pack. Can anyone suggest something I might have forgotten?

Hair dryer (the one in room does not work well)
Prescription meds
Power strip
Nightlight
Glowsticks
Lysol wipes
Hand wipes
Small first aid kit
OTC meds
Hand soap
Over the door shoe organizer
Highlighters
$1 bills for tips
Mailing labels with addresses of people we want to send postcards to
small roll of wrapping paper / tape / scissors for last minute gifts
clothespins to hold divider curtain closed

DH and I went to lunch today and it just now dawned on him that we leave in a little over 2 weeks! It sounds waayyy too close when you think of it that way. I can't believe how much I need to do!

 

[disneyland255]

I'll bet the engine will be fixed by the time we sail...I just hope those stabilizers are used!!!

I'm starting to try on outfits for the trip and pull together a list for packing.

Here is where I am on the incidentals I need to pack. Can anyone suggest something I might have forgotten?

• Hair dryer (the one in room does not work well)
• Prescription meds
• Power strip (what is this for?)
• Nightlight
• Glowsticks
• Lysol wipes (They had these on the ship when we went last)
• Hand wipes (They had these on the ship when we went last)
• Small first aid kit (I would say no to this as you can get that on the ship - personal preference though)
• OTC meds
• Hand soap (This is in your stateroom)
• Over the door shoe organizer (I would bring as little shoes as possible 3-4 max due to luggage weight fees and number of bags you can bring without being charged)
• Highlighters (This is a MUST for the Navigators)
• $1 bills for tips
• Mailing labels with addresses of people we want to send postcards to
• small roll of wrapping paper / tape / scissors for last minute gifts
• Bring an extra suitcase lightly packed for souvenirs to fit into when you leave!
• clothespins to hold divider curtain closed (We didn't have an issue with this)

Add to your list:

• Passports/Birth certificates
• Travelers Checques/Cash/Credit Card
• Sun Screen
• Make sure to fill out all your Cruise Information on line - this will speed up the process. Print out the papers you need and sign them. This will help with checking in as well
• If traveling with children, I've heard you can rent a stroller for the week, but it is first come first serve
• Verify hotel information and flight information to make sure it has not changed

Hope this helps.

 

[Peaceableone]

As I was drying my hair this morning, I was thinking.. hm. Do I need to bring this? There is one in the room right? -- So, thanks for answering that question.

 

[itutorfortravel]

Hey! Well, I don't think I did a very good job explaining my reasoning (or the method to my madness - LOL) in why I bring some of these things...granted, some are non-necessities but we really were glad we brought them, others we couldn't have lived without...

Power strip - This is an absolute must if you have multiple things to plug in. B/c there are limited outlets in the room we found we really needed our powerstrip on our last cruise...we'll have a laptop, multiple cameras, plus at least one iPod to charge...

Lysol wipes - I took a canister of these to keep in the room for quick clean ups...not necessary, but it was a "nice to have"

Hand wipes - I took the individually packaged "wet ones" to throw in my shore excursion bag.

Small first aid kit - same as above, just a few bandaids and some neosporin for the shore excursion bag.

Hand soap - I bought an antibac hand pump soap to use in our stateroom bathroom. I don't suppose it's a necessity, but we really enjoyed having it on our last trip! It smelled nice, kept our hands clean, and the vanity neater.

Over the door shoe organizer - this was not for shoes, but rather to organize the many little things that we brought on our trip. Mostly toiletry items, hairbrushes, clips, flat irons, etc. but also a place to put our lanyards, KTTW cards, etc. when we came in the room. We didn't have enough space on the bathroom counters for all our stuff so the shoe organizer put over the bathroom door was a lifesaver!!! Even DH who complains about my overpacking loved this idea.

Anyone else actually packing yet? I have been trying on outfits tonight and hope to start putting things in the suitcases this weekend.

 

[disneyland255]

Thanks for the extra details. I understand now. LOL You sound much more experienced than I. LOL

We've started getting our lists together, but not packing yet. Probably next week we will be packing. When is your cruise again??? Ours is the 19-26th of Dec.

 

[Proud2BMomof3]

We always bring Thank You cards for the people you plan to leave a tip for ... it's a little nicer than the standard tip envelopes. On Christmas cruises we'll give Christmas cards ... FYI ... we've already started packing too ....

 

[lovesDCL]

Thanks for the details Kimberly!
I am waiting on my cubes to start the actual packing but I did get my list finalized.
I have to finish up the first part of my FE gifts this weekend. There's so much to do and so little time!

 

[itutorfortravel]

Thanks for the extra details. I understand now. LOL You sound much more experienced than I. LOL

We've started getting our lists together, but not packing yet. Probably next week we will be packing. When is your cruise again??? Ours is the 19-26th of Dec.

I'm not an experienced DCL cruiser at all!!! I am just an overplanner...it's an illness, really - LOL

Jhoanna, you are so right, so much to do and so little time left. It's one reason I am up before 5 AM! I woke up thinking about all of it and couldn't sleep. I will probably be so exhausted from getting ready for the trip that I'll sleep during a majority of it - ha ha.

Only 18 days to go!

 

[itutorfortravel]

We always bring Thank You cards for the people you plan to leave a tip for ... it's a little nicer than the standard tip envelopes. On Christmas cruises we'll give Christmas cards ... FYI ... we've already started packing too ....

Great idea on the thank you notes! I am going to do this too! Who do you give Christmas cards to? Other passengers or CM's?

 

[disneyland255]

You sound like me on the planning, although we have yet to pack or start lists...we're thinking about it though...

I also LOVE the Thank You cards for the tips. We have some Disneyland Christmas Cards left over from the previous years that we can use. Oh my gosh! I can't believe it is here already! Now, seeing all of you packing already and such is making me feel behind...like a slacker ...but, that is alright...for we will be ready and packed for one of the greatest cruises of all times!!

 

[bpescar]

Thank you Kim! Love the shoe organizer idea! Never would have thought of that!. We are over planners too!However we have learned from experience when it comes to our every day clothes we tend to purchase tshirts and such so we dont bring too much of that now. This is the first time for FE though my DH thinks I have went a tad overboard, pardon the pun, but I love to give and I found some great ideas and it is so much fun. So most of our packing has been that. We are leaving for Disneyland today to celebrate our anniversary so we are double checking our list. Clothes are set aside for the trip ready to be packed. We have a little pomeranian who gets upset when he sees the suitcases appear because he knows he does not get to go . Although he does get to stay with his sister Wendy and Brother Captain Hook. By the way his name is Sir Jimney Cricket. Anyway we have to wait to pack till he is picked up to stay with his family. Who could dare to upset Jimney Cricket. He is pure snow white with beautiful brown eyes. We got him from one of my students who happened to have named all her pedigrees with Disney names which fit right in with our family. He is a joy in our life and our baby of course.

By the way how many of us will be arriving on property the day before we sail? Would like to know who we might run into milling about? Mark and I will be staying at Saratoga Springs on the 18th so you may see us at Downtown Disney during the late evening hours. Although our plane does not get in until 530 so that puts in our room usually by 7pm we may decide to stay at the resort and relax.

 

[disneyland255]

We are actually getting in about 5:30 on Friday and staying at the Hyatt at MCO. Taking the DCL Bus to the port.

Happy Anniversary to you two and may you have a wonderful Disneyland trip!!!!! See you on the cruise! We're doing the FE as well, our 1st!

 

[Proud2BMomof3]

Thank you Kim! Love the shoe organizer idea! Never would have thought of that!. We are over planners too!However we have learned from experience when it comes to our every day clothes we tend to purchase tshirts and such so we dont bring too much of that now. This is the first time for FE though my DH thinks I have went a tad overboard, pardon the pun, but I love to give and I found some great ideas and it is so much fun. So most of our packing has been that. We are leaving for Disneyland today to celebrate our anniversary so we are double checking our list. Clothes are set aside for the trip ready to be packed. We have a little pomeranian who gets upset when he sees the suitcases appear because he knows he does not get to go . Although he does get to stay with his sister Wendy and Brother Captain Hook. By the way his name is Sir Jimney Cricket. Anyway we have to wait to pack till he is picked up to stay with his family. Who could dare to upset Jimney Cricket. He is pure snow white with beautiful brown eyes. We got him from one of my students who happened to have named all her pedigrees with Disney names which fit right in with our family. He is a joy in our life and our baby of course.

By the way how many of us will be arriving on property the day before we sail? Would like to know who we might run into milling about? Mark and I will be staying at Saratoga Springs on the 18th so you may see us at Downtown Disney during the late evening hours. Although our plane does not get in until 530 so that puts in our room usually by 7pm we may decide to stay at the resort and relax.

It is so hard to leave the furry babies ... Before our triplets, we had 3 furry babies - a pom (our 2nd), a miniature dachsund and a Japanese Chin. Just like our human kids they were 2 boys and a girl. Our poms were red sable ... our first was our first child for 13 years and named Raja (from Aladdin). She knew when we leaving as well. Hope you have a fantastic time at Disneyland!

 

[Proud2BMomof3]

Great idea on the thank you notes! I am going to do this too! Who do you give Christmas cards to? Other passengers or CM's?

Hey Kimberly - This year we're doing Christmas cards in lieu of the Thank You notes, since we're giving the tips on Christmas evening. We also give them to CM's who may not normally expect anything from us. For example, if someone at the excursion desk is really helpful, or there is a certain pool waiter/server who's always helping. We usually end up tipping more than recommended b/c everyone just does such a great job.