12/20/07 Christmas Cruise 2007 (Updated DIS cruisers list)

[solotraveler]

Holy cow! We're all the way back on the 6th page!!

Just giving us a quick bump to keep us from falling off all together!

Just 292 days to go.... We've got our pre-cruise night at the Radisson all set, our post cruise Yacht Club stay booked (off the Yacht and into the Yacht Club, I guess....). Now all we need to do is hope for reasonable airfare.

And wait 292 days....

 

[Vavasmon]

We are all set except for where to stay after the cruise. I am debating on-iste an Unniversal (which appears to be all sold out but I have my doubts) or doing SeaWorld or doing a day or 2 at Disney. Dec 29th is DH's birthday so I want to make it special.

I already have airfare and the Radisson booked. I started reserahcing excursions but I still have concerns with what will be ofered on Christmas day.
Our spring break cruise is in less than a month.

 

[rsschneck]

We are set too. All five of us were able to use Frequent Flier miles for our air fare. Between the 5 of us we have 3 different flight itineraries so I have the Hyatt booked for the 21st and 29th. My family leaves on the 29th and I don't leave until the morning of the 30th so I hope someone is able to take a bump and get free airfare and join me on the flight home on the 30th .

We have flights booked, hotels booked, cruise booked and limo booked. DH asked if I wanted to renew our wedding vows in St. Thomas. Still thinking. Not sure if I want to use that money towards some nice jewlery instead

Any place to purchase a bottle of champagne in the Orlando airport so we can have it in the Limo on the way to the Port?

 

[solotraveler]

Well, it looks like we are booked in for good now too.

We finally locked in airfare last night after much furrowing of brows and looking at the (very full already) seatmaps, we decided to go ahead and book. We decided to book a flight coming in early on December 20th, so we now have two nights at the Radisson pre-cruise. Since we get to Orlando about 11:30 in the morning, we figure that's plenty of time to get the rental care and get out to PC and check in AND maybe even get near the port to watch the Wonder sail away on Thursday evening.

It's definately starting to feel "real" now. Just nine more months of waiting....

 

[flexsmom]

Bumping up to the front!

Anyone else watching for Southwest fares to open up for December? We usually pull down pretty sweet deals from DC to Orlando. I just can't justify the mental pain and anguish of two long drives or one long drive and the expense of an auto train when we can fly 4 of us r/t for under $700 normally. And even better, we can fly out of Washington Dulles now instead of driving to Baltimore.

That said, having unlimited space in the truck for packing for a Christmas stay just might be nice........no, no, no - can't go there!

 

[solotraveler]

Bumping up to the front!

Anyone else watching for Southwest fares to open up for December? We usually pull down pretty sweet deals from DC to Orlando. I just can't justify the mental pain and anguish of two long drives or one long drive and the expense of an auto train when we can fly 4 of us r/t for under $700 normally. And even better, we can fly out of Washington Dulles now instead of driving to Baltimore.

That said, having unlimited space in the truck for packing for a Christmas stay just might be nice........no, no, no - can't go there!

I used to live in DC for the first 23 years of my life and boy oh boy do I miss having three airports to choose from! (Not to mention having Southwest as a flight option.....) We felt really lucky to get tickets on United for $267 PP.

Under $700 for four people should be no problem and way less hassle. (Oh how I miss living in DC..............)

 

[solotraveler]

Hi all!!

Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Easter/Passover weekend!

I've decided that it's too tough to think about the 270-ish days until cruise time, so I'm going to start counting down by major holidays and life events. So for us, it's only a Easter, a trip home for Mothers Day, Memorial Day, our annual trip to Toronto, July 4th, the beginning of fall classes, Labor Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and the end of fall classes away.

See, ten things! That's not nearly as bad as 270+ days.

 

[flexsmom]

Solo - see, I've got myself on just a two-month timeframe, since we're doing WDW for a couple of days before our cruise. Based on that, I'm just two months or so out of having to book my dining! I'm filling evenings debating gardengrocer.com or just ordering through DVC, and rambling around towncar/van websites trying to pick which one will be best for us. My in-laws backed out of the WDW portion of our trip, so at least I only have to coordinate 4 adults and 2 kids for that part which will probably be easier. The only downside is we're only going for 2 days, so I have to suboptimize on park tickets for most of us who won't be going back any time soon.

Then, as soon as that's done, I'm just a couple more months out of DCL bookings! I'm pretty sure I'm going to bail on excursions on Christmas Day, but the recent St Thomas threads have me excited about Coral World and Coki Beach. That looks like a perfect day for us based on the age of our kids. I'm also looking forward to doing the tramway up to Paradise Point. By the end of the day, I'm sure a Bailey's Bushwhacker might be a welcome treat - not to mention the pictures and view!

I'm also trolling Southwest waiting for December to open. We have a trip to Hawaii we're taking in 2 weeks (which is my main focus right now! ) and then to Myrtle Beach in July, but I am SO looking forward to this holiday season - just don't want to wish away the whole year to get there as the planning is half the fun!

 

[Vavasmon]

We love flying out of Dulles - I was born and raised in the norther Virginia area. We are flying on United for 183.30 per person round trip - I bokked that several months ago. For spring break we flew to Tampa then 1.5 days later to Ft. Lauderdale and then home to Dulles on Southwest. I paid just over 200 for that trip.

 

[ValDisney]

hi
I'm going on the dec 22 magic. we are going ton the eastern caribbean cruise. me dd(11) and ds(8).
it would be nice to meet some dis pals on the cruise.
we are so excited. we did the 4 night wonder 3 yrs ago and have been wanting to do the 7 night one.

 

[rsschneck]

We lost two more! Goodybye ophie & tarzanman We will miss you!

We have airfare for our group and hotels for before and after the cruise and a limo already reserved to take us back and forth. DH and I have decided not to renew our vows since there would only be us and my parents to observe the occasion.

We are excited for the Christmas Cruise! What are some good excursions for St. Martin and St. Thomas?

 

[flexsmom]

Val - My DD will be 8 on this cruise also. She'll be in the Lab for the first time (as her primary club) while her brother will be in the Club, along with my friend's little boy who'll be 7. Did your DS like the clubs? Both of my kids loved them and I ended up insisting on a few dinners together - not sure how she'll like it being separated from the other two this time, though!

I think I've settled on excursions - at least for us. We're staying ship-bound for Christmas Day on St Maarten. I just don't want to high-tail it off the ship that day - would rather enjoy the morning with stockings and gifts, and then REVEL in not cooking dinner! St Thomas - cabbing it to Coral World and Coki Beach, with the semi-sub booked in advance. We're going to do this on our own. We'd also like to do the tram up to Paradise Point if time allows. CC - up in the air, but leaning towards the ecotour with the jet skis, taking DD8 along. I know that gets cancelled frequently, but we'll just hang loose.

That leaves 5 days of.......just about nothing on the ship! LOVE IT!

 

[ValDisney]

hi
My son will turn 8 in august. he was a young 5 on our last cruise and he didn't want to go to the kids club. my daughter loved it.
my son said he doesn't want to go, but he might change his mind. I know he'll have dinner and see the shows with me, so what ever he decides is ok.
i saw a couple of excursions that we would like.

 

[solotraveler]

Quick bump from us before we fall off the board altogether.....

Hope everyone is enjoying the start of their summer!! I'm reading all the blogs from the transatlantic and med cruisers and I'm completely jealous.

Teensy change to our plans here... We're actually changing our dates somewhat-- we're still flying down on the 20th, doing an Ohana dinner and MVMCP that night , then a blitzkreig of Everest, the Epcot storytellers and resort lobby decoration looking and Illuminations on the 21st before heading out to PC. Flying back on the 30th now.... just couldn't justify the extra expense to stay down in FL over New Years with my having to fly back down there for marathon weekend the following week.....

Hope everyone is well!!

 

[PoohJen]

Hi Christmas Cruisers!

Haven't been by in a long, long time, and see the thread is in need of a BUMP!

It's neat seeing that you are all making your plans, even have hotels and air booked! How exciting!

My story: I booked this as a 'dummy date' last summer, intending to re-book it for Summer '08; well, we all know now that she's on the West Coast next year.

I still don't know if we'll be sailing in December, the kids are dying to go back though! If we go, it is me, DH (a teacher), DS 14, 10, 10. My parents are booked to join us, but Mom is reluctant to cruise at that time.

what to do, what to do??!!!

So, just wanted to say Hi! and Happy Planning!!!

 

[PoohJen]

Holy Cow! I killed my own Cruise Meets thread!!! (Last person to post = Thread Killer).

Big Bump up here!

 

[solotraveler]

Just a quick bump so we don't fall off the board completely.....

Only 22 weeks to go!

 

[Dreamsoftravel]

I am new to this forum but I am so happy I found it! Still working on some of the abbreviations used.

My family is booked for 12/22/07 Christmas cruise! this will be our first cruise EVER! And we are so psyched! We are not telling the kids until right before, do not want to hear them talk about it for the next several months.

We just booked this trip and feeling so overwelmed on planning. I did not think that excursions were booked until you got on the boat, again, I am glad I found this site to realize I can do that now. Better get busy!

 

[rsschneck]

I am new to this forum but I am so happy I found it! Still working on some of the abbreviations used.

My family is booked for 12/22/07 Christmas cruise! this will be our first cruise EVER! And we are so psyched! We are not telling the kids until right before, do not want to hear them talk about it for the next several months.

We just booked this trip and feeling so overwelmed on planning. I did not think that excursions were booked until you got on the boat, again, I am glad I found this site to realize I can do that now. Better get busy!

Welcome Aboard!

If you supply more information I will add you to page 1!

 

[Dreamsoftravel]

Not sure what kind of info you need, but here it goes.

I am guessing that DD is Disney Daughter, DS is Disney son, etc...
There are 4 of us all together. my DD is 10 and my DS is 6.

We are traveling with my parents and my brother's family - 3 staterooms.

We are driving to Florida from Maryland, unable to get affordable flights.

Let me know what other info you need. Thanks for welcoming me on board!