1st Cruise- April 3-6, 2008 (3-Night,Wonder)

[nzdisneymom]

For the children's programming, you just register them for general participation. They are given a wrist-band to wear that has their information on it - name, cabin number, assembly station, pager-number and if they have check-out privileges. The daily Navigator will have the individual sessions in it and the kids can go to whatever ones they want to go to, and if they want to eat lunch and dinner with the children's programming, they can do that, too.

We've not done fish extenders before but have seen them. We're gonig to be doing them when we sail in December - one of the ladies on the thread is going to try making some, so if we decide to do them for the April group, let me know and I'll ask her to let me be her guinea pig I think it would be fun.

 

[Deb T.]

I've never been on a Disney cruise where a fish extender gift exchange was set up prior to the cruise. However, on our Mediterranean cruise last July, most of the DIS'ers brought surprise gifts to pass out at one of our meets. I'd be more than willing to participate in fish extender gifts on this cruise if everyone else would like to.

If we set this up, then we should also do a meet so we have a chance to see who's in on all the fun. On our Med cruise, we had a meet at the start of the Adventure's Away party and then again on a sea day later in the trip. It was awesome to have so many new friends on the ship. We definitely felt like we already knew each other after many months of DIS posts prior to sailing. Often, we'd recognize each other around the ship and in ports, and it was so much fun to be able to wave and say "hi" and call people by their DIS name or by their real name (if we could remember it - haha)!

 

[Ness2289]

Anyone planning excursions? Since I've NEVER been to the Bahamas, I'm thinking about just doing the tour. That should do it for us. We'll get back on the Wonder and enjoy the ship for the rest of the day! What are your plans?

When I look at my ticker... I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!!!

 

[Deb T.]

I'll be staying onboard at Nassau. We've "been there, done that" four times although, to be honest, we've never ventured far from the Straw Market. And, we found that place very intimidating. A friend of mine who cruises frequently on other cruise lines recently told me they always take a water taxi over to Atlantis to drink and gamble and then take the water taxi back to the ship. She thought the water taxi was only around $5 per person. There's definitely a huge comfort factor in booking a DCL excursion. They are always very professional and very safe.

 

[nzdisneymom]

Well, we're under 75 days now, right? So everyone can get their online registration done and on these cold January days start thinking about swim suits and the Bahamas

We're not sure what we'll do in terms of excursions - maybe do one of the "taxi tours" that are offered off the pier (I did that with my SIL in Oct 2006 when we did a Carnival and it saved us over half the cost of what the cruise line wanted for the same exact tour). I don't care much about seeing Nassau as I've seen it, but DH and the boys haven't. I wouldn't mind doing some shopping in the port area as my girlfriends on the Carnival cruise with me got some great deals. And I've heard the straw market is crazy and hot and jammed but it sounds like something I would like to experience once.

As for Castaway Cay, we'll probably rent bikes, hang out on the beach, take a walk, get some exercise.

 

[Ness2289]

As of right now, we're booked for "Discover Atlantis." I'm hoping that once I get there, I can come back whenever I feel like it and not have to wait until my actual 5 hours are up. (Who knows, 5 hours may fly by!) But if I decide after 3 hours that I want to head back, I want to be able to do so. I think I read somewhere that buses go back and forth to the port every 1/2 hour or something like that. I hope so!

Okay...should I be nervous about heading out with DD to the Straw Market alone?

DD and I watched the DCL Planning DVD again last night! We are so excited! I already know three nights will just be a tease but a great experience nonetheless! We'll just have to book a 7-night while onboard, huh?

 

[Deb T.]

The Straw Market is definitely an experience like no other. I don't think you need to be afraid... just very cautious and aware of your surroundings. I would make sure children were holding my hands at all times. The best I can describe the atmosphere is: picture a flea market inside a huge open-air shelter - then imagine the ALL the shopkeepers being loudly insistant on getting you to stop at their booth and keep your attention focused only on their items. They will call you "pretty lady" over and over and over again and they will dive straight into children's hearts by handing them items and then try to get the kids to get the parents to buy the items for them. Then, they will appear very annoyed if you move on to the next booth, making you feel really bad for not buying anything there. You can barter all you want, but they are way more experienced than we'll ever be, so be firm on a price that you want to pay. And, be very careful of "bait and switch" tactics there. We were victims of that scam once! After we picked out nice t-shirts, the shopkeeper offered to bag the "pretty folded shirts" for us instead of the ones we were holding. After we got back home and opened the bag, we found she'd switched the good quality t-shirts for very thin ones. Also, keep an eye on your purse and belongings, as it can be very crowded in there and so I imagine it would be a good place for pick-pockets. I also remember reading a post several years ago where a child set down a coin purse to count out money and it was quickly stolen.

This might be an excellent question to post on the main cruise board to find out what everyone's experiences have been, good or bad. It might give you lots of helpful insight into the best way to shop there.

It is a place that's worth experiencing... once.

 

[Deb T.]

I guess, in all fairness, I should add that you can barter for some pretty good deals on souvenirs at the Straw Market. Just be alert that you're walking away with what you actually picked out and not something that was cleverly switched.

 

[Deb T.]

Yikes! Read post #12 on this thread regarding the Straw Market!
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1694596

 

[Ness2289]

Yikes! Read post #12 on this thread regarding the Straw Market!
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1694596

Okay...my biggest fear!!! Rodents!!!!

Except for Mickey of course!

 

[nzdisneymom]

68 more days til we board!!!!!!!!

We're doing our own "land and sea" combination, so we have 9 weeks until we leave for the World!

I was scrolling through the DCL Picture of the Day thread and showing some of the ship to one of my coworkers yesterday and that got me all excited about going again. We've only been once to Castaway Cay and that was in December 2005 - I'm looking forward to going in April when it will be warm enough (for me) to get in the water.

I haven't started a basket of stuff to take and I haven't even started a packing list -- what's wrong with me??? (ha ha).

 

[Deb T.]

Hi Everyone!

I've got my packlist, and I also have several things pulled and set aside for the cruise already! The only thing keeping me from starting to pack now is we have two other trips before the cruise, one of which is going to WDW for DH to attend a conference and to celebrate his birthday which falls on the last day of the conference! After that, I will definitely begin packing for the cruise!

I know it's been mentioned earlier, but does anyone want to commit to doing a "fish extender" type of exchange during the cruise? I don't know if I have time to make an actual fish extender (although this just might motivate me enough to finally make one after five cruises! lol). I thought I might just hang a small gift bag from the fish if we decide to do an exchange. By my count, it looks like there are 5 DIS families sailing so far: Deb T., Ness2289, nzdisneymom, pryncesa, and momof-4. Hopefully more will post on this thread as the cruise gets closer. We'll need cabin numbers for everyone who wants to participate. Anyone who's uncomfortable about posting their cabin number on the thread can share it by private message if they'd like.

It would be great if we also planned a short DIS meet onboard. We could set it up for the first day, say around 3:15-3:45pm (before the Lifeboat Drill) at Goofy's Pool by Pinocchio's Pizzeria. As you face Pinocchio's, the tables on the far right (by the windows) would be a nice spot. Grab some sodas from the drink station and pick up some french fries or pizza and then just stop by to meet some fellow DISers. That way, we can put a face to the little goodies we find in our fish extenders (or gift bags) during the cruise. It would also give all the kids a chance to make a few new friends before heading off to their kid's clubs.

So, who's in for the meet and for the gift exchange?

 

[Belle'sMom]

Just a note to say 'hello'.
My husband and I will be joining you all. We're taking a cruise for our 25th wedding anniversary. The last cruise we went on was in 1983.
A bit of a rough crossing and I spent a good part of it under the weather.

I'm finally ready to try again. But if you see a "green around the gills" gal on the upper deck trying to focus on the horizon ..it just might be me ! Please do wave hello.

Lovely to meet you all.....Can't wait for April !

 

[Deb T.]

Welcome Aboard Belle'sMom! Happy Anniversary!

 

[Ness2289]

Just a note to say 'hello'.
My husband and I will be joining you all. We're taking a cruise for our 25th wedding anniversary. The last cruise we went on was in 1983.
A bit of a rough crossing and I spent a good part of it under the weather.

I'm finally ready to try again. But if you see a "green around the gills" gal on the upper deck trying to focus on the horizon ..it just might be me ! Please do wave hello.

Lovely to meet you all.....Can't wait for April !

Welcome!! Glad we are adding to our list of DISers! Yea!!

 

[Ness2289]

So, who's in for the meet and for the gift exchange?

Sounds good to me! I'm not sure what time we will arrive since we will be taking the DCL transfer from the Poly. Hopefully, we will have been there for at least a couple of hours at that time. I have a co-worker who will be on the Eastern during that week. She is very crafty and is working on a fish extender. I'll get her to help me out! And if time gets away from me, as it always seems to, I'll hang something from that fish! Do you give gifts each day?

 

[nzdisneymom]

Welcome, Belle's Mom.

As for the meet / gift exchange, I'm up for both. We don't have a fish extender and I don't know if I'll have a chance to make one, but I'm fine with posting our cabin number here or else via a PM'd roster. Does someone want to make a roster for us and we can keep it to PM since there are so few of us (but more joining every day)?

 

[Deb T.]

I'll be glad to keep a pm'd list of information for everyone who wants to participate! Let me know your cabin number and how many family members are sailing with you. You can also let me know the names of the family members and ages of the kids if you'd like. (It's not a requirement, but it might help when deciding what gifts to bring.)

I think it would be fine if we all just plan to do one gift for everyone. It can take quite a while to deliver gifts all over the ship, so since it's a short cruise it'd probably be better to only have to do it once instead of every day.

We really don't need to set up a schedule of who's bringing what, or what day to deliver the surprises, either. I think that's usually done on the longer cruises when tons of people are participating. We'll let this exchange be casual. Just pass out your gifts whenever you have time.

So far, participants for the gift exchange (in fish extenders or gift bags or whatever is hanging from the fish outside your cabin door - ) and the number of people in the cabin are:
Deb T. (2)
ness2289 (2)
nzdisneymom (4)

Anyone else want to play?

 

[nzdisneymom]

Deb - thanks for keeping the list for us!

We have friends who just had their first DCL cruise on the Wonder (4-nights) so I've been devouring their pictures and trip report -- looks like a wonderful experience and got me even more excited for our upcoming trip!

We'll be driving over the morning of the cruise from Saratoga Springs. Anyone know how long we should allow for the drive?

 

[Deb T.]

Hi Cindy,

We've made that drive several times. I don't think it's ever taken us over an hour. Of course, the anticipation builds every mile you drive!!! Then, you finally cross a tall bridge and WOW! there it is in the distance! It's a very exciting moment!