20041218-cruise-friends-memories Part 3

[DVC4US]

Also, I just got off the phone with Debbie at DCL and she said they still have not decided the theme nights yet. She said it would be on the website as soon as they have it figured out and right now she does not think that is going to happen until the end of October. The thing that really stinks about this is not knowing how many formal and semi-formal nights they are going to have. It would be nice to know how many dresses we are going to need.

I guess I will just have to keep an eye on the website.

LeiLani

 

[WDWLVR]

LeiLani - we booked the Shipwreck Cove Snorkel Tour in St. Martin. It leaves at 1 pm and is for ages 8 and up.

 

[tinkfan]

We are also supposed to be booked on the 9 am Pirate trip. She first said it wasn't available, but I pushed and she spoke to a supervisor. Karen, you must have been dealing with her because she said that the supervisor was trying to book it for someone else also. She assured me we were all set! I could not get the fax, so I will call back later and ask them to mail me confirmation.
This should be a great excursion!! Did eveyone talk like a pirate yesterday???
Gail, are you booking Atlantis on your own or thru DCL? We are thinking about this one too.

 

[DVC4US]

Thanks Mary - I don't know why they were having so many problems booking our excursion in St Maarten. I think I will call back later this afternoon to confirm our excursions. Like I said before, I really don't have a "warm fuzzy feeling" about these excursions but hopefully everything will work out okay.

Okay, I have to go work out so I will check back later.

LeiLani

 

[justmestace]

Good Morning Everyone!

Not raining, but there are clouds around the mountains to the north and west, the sun is up to the east, and if I could take a decent picture of it, I would. It's really beautiful!

I'm not going to call DCL. I'll wait for my confirmation in the mail. From the sound of it, nothing is too much different than yesterday.

I started to laugh thinking about all of the that are going to be on that Pirate excursion! Those tour pirates are going to meet up with some real pirates!

It really would be nice to know about formal nights, etc. Especially now that I have dug through my closet and only have so much that fits!
Maybe they will be deciding all that at the meeting they are having the first week in October.....the one that the FairyTale Wedding people are going to. When/if I hear from them, I'll ask if they discussed it.

LeiLani...going to work out...good for you! I think I said I was going to do that about two weeks ago.....

Have a great day......don't work too hard.....heading for the office.

Stacey

 

[ohiominnie]

Originally posted by tinkfan
. Karen, you must have been dealing with her because she said that the supervisor was trying to book it for someone else also.

Jan?

 

[kpros]

I just got off the phone with the DCL excursion people. It appears everything is OK with my excursions. These are in the system (for what that's worth):

Key West - Back to Nature Kayak Tour 12:15 - Shari and Staci
St Maarten - Shipwreck cove Snorkel 1:00 - Shari and Staci
St Lucia - Pirate Extravaganza 9:00 - Ken, Shari and Staci
Antigua - 4 x 4 Safari 8:00 - Ken, Shari and Staci
St Thomas - Stlantis Submarine 9:15 - Ken and Staci
Castaway Cay - Wild Side - Staci

Hope it all works out for everyone.
Ken

 

[WVMD]

OK - had to get my reservations in - hadn't planned on paying in full yet... but.. oh well....

St. Maarten - Rhino Rider - 0745 - Virgil, Frances, Kristin and Lauren

St. Lucia - Horseback riding - 0930 - Kristin and Lauren

St. Thomas - Golf - Virgil

CC - Personal watercraft Eco Tour - 0945 - Virgil, Frances, Kristin and Lauren.....

Hope that everyone has a GREAT Monday!

Virgil

 

[tinksdad]

Originally posted by justmestace
The camera is actually pretty easy...the most trouble will be cleaning and drying it after using it.
Mary, I got a 35mm Sealife Reefmaster RC. It has a built in flash, but light is so important, I also got an external flash. I guess the biggest reason I went with the 35mm instead of the digital is because, even though I have a really nice Pentax digital, I still get more consistantly better pictures with my Konica 35mm. I have taken some astounding shots with the digital, but for every one of those, there are 3 bad ones. Plus, with the digitals, you have to charge the battery every night.....with the 35mm, you can take 8 rolls of film with two AA batteries. The worst part about the 35mm is changing the film while you're out on the water. Getting in the boat, making sure the camera is totally dry.....
Either way, I am so looking forward to having great pictures. I've used the disposables, the regular cameras in a water proof case, flash/no flash....and unless the sky is tremendously sunny, the pictures all stink. So this is pretty exciting for me!
(Gee....could you tell that??) And it's nice that it can be used on land, outside the casing, too.
Stacey

The whole underwater camera thing can get REALLY complicated quick!

Like Diana mentioned I have a old (at least it is now, with technology advancing at light speed) Olympus 4040Z with a Olympus housing. The camera is great and uses standard AA batteries. The housing is guaranteed down to 100' which works on most diving trips and ALL snorkeling episodes.
One reason I went with digital is the ability to manipulate the photo with PhotoShop prior to printing if desired and the ability to trash the picture if it wasn't up to standards without buying the film processing.

One of the main problems with underwater photography is that colors wash out underwater. The reds, oranges and yellows go right away and you get a blue/green to all the photos if you don't use a flash and get CLOSE. On scuba you can wait underwater for the right photo opportunity, but snorkeling it's usually a snap and fly kind of deal (how long can you hold your breath?)

Pay close attention to the o-ring seals on the main housing during film replacement or any opening and closing. Most underwater camera floods are user caused. Hairs, lint and the like will cause a flood if not taken care of.

The Sealife cameras have been around for awhile and are pretty reliable. You will have many great photos if you just take your time and treat the camera well, don't forget to take care of your o-rings.

 

[ohiominnie]

Tinksdad,

My eyes are finally not clouded up from paint fumes...so, to answer your question....

The bathroom looks....fine. I've never painted with anything except latex flat, so this has a weird look to it (it's eggshell). It's so....shiny! But it looks pretty good. I'm glad I went over with a second coat of mud because every little divit shows. There aren't too many though, so it's acceptable. Seems like a bigger problem is where the roller left lint pieces. Those show up too. And, when I took the tape off from around the window, it decided to pull of my two coats of paint and my primer, so I had to be SUPER careful there. A *lot* of the painted areas will actually end up being covered --in wall medicine chest, cabinet over the toilet, the toilet itself, the vanity, the towels hanging on the towel rack--so many of my flaws may just end up disappearing anyway!

I can't thank you for all of your help, advice, and encouraging words. Now, one more questions. What's the easiest way to clean up the paint, the brushes, the pan, the putty knife, the ladders, the pail, the sponges, the rags, the mud container, the drop cloth, the wet/dry vac, the paint stirrers, the paint can opener, and the other 150 things I have to schlep down to the basement??? Then once I get that finished, I get to attempt to remove the fine layer of dust that has accumulated all over my bedroom.

Thanks again. Can't wait to show you pictures!
Now, to call Mike's cousin to finish up the job.

 

[ohiominnie]

btw, think of KT and Nick today. KT is auditioning to be James in "James and the Giant Peach" and BOTH KT and Nick are auditioning to be Christopher Robin in the Pooh play (can't remember the name)

I'm torn...If they get it, that's great, it's a great opportunity. If they don't, I don't have to run downtown for endless rehearsals and performances. Plus, I've got two kids trying out for ONE part....that means there is the possibility for some serious let down.

(actually, we won't find out about Christopher Robin until October sometime...the official auditions are when we'll be in WDW, so they are doing them now, but only for KT and Nick)

 

[ohiominnie]

Oh my. I sit my kids down to watch an educational show on Animal Planet and KT yells out "MOM, what is 'artificial insemenation?" Great! Thanks, Animal Planet. My kid has NO idea how babies get there in the first place, now I'm going to have to not only do THAT lesson but also explain artificial insemenation??? I need a cruise!

 

[tinksdad]

Originally posted by ohiominnie
Tinksdad,

My eyes are finally not clouded up from paint fumes...so, to answer your question....

The bathroom looks....fine. I've never painted with anything except latex flat, so this has a weird look to it (it's eggshell). It's so....shiny! But it looks pretty good. I'm glad I went over with a second coat of mud because every little divit shows. There aren't too many though, so it's acceptable. Seems like a bigger problem is where the roller left lint pieces. Those show up too. And, when I took the tape off from around the window, it decided to pull of my two coats of paint and my primer, so I had to be SUPER careful there. A *lot* of the painted areas will actually end up being covered --in wall medicine chest, cabinet over the toilet, the toilet itself, the vanity, the towels hanging on the towel rack--so many of my flaws may just end up disappearing anyway!

I can testify the "every" little thing can and will show through. It has happened to me.
If you used oil based paint, which is good, but can be a bear to clean up and the fumes will leave you dizzy!
Did you use a roller pad that was compatible with that paint? If not, then you might have to lightly sand the hairs and roller lint and give it another coat.

When you use masking tape, always use the blue stuff, it pulls up with less damage. But even it can leave you with a false sense of security. The paint can leak under you masking if you get carried away with the amount of paint used at the masking. Then you have to clean it up.

I can't thank you for all of your help, advice, and encouraging words. Now, one more questions. What's the easiest way to clean up the paint, the brushes, the pan, the putty knife, the ladders, the pail, the sponges, the rags, the mud container, the drop cloth, the wet/dry vac, the paint stirrers, the paint can opener, and the other 150 things I have to schlep down to the basement???

Oh boy! What did you do? Hurricane ohiominnie didn't pass through did it?
The oil based paint should be cleaned up with mineral spirits or paint thinner. If you didn't do that right away and it dried, then your throwing away that particular brush/roller pad. The tools and or things that have drywall mud on them can be cleaned with water and a green scubbie. It's all water soluble. The paint stirrers, who cares! Let them dry and then use 'em again.

The vacuum; just take the filter out and beat the drywall dust out and then wash the container (not the filter) and reassemble.

Then once I get that finished, I get to attempt to remove the fine layer of dust that has accumulated all over my bedroom.

Thanks again. Can't wait to show you pictures!
Now, to call Mike's cousin to finish up the job.

Welcome to my world! It's always a challenge to work in someone's home and make the kind of mess that is always part of the job. Remember, with change, comes inconvenience. But it doesn't last long!

 

[ohiominnie]

Hee hee. Cute post!
It wasn't oil based...it was latex water based. So clean up isn't bad. I cleaned the brush last night. Rollers get pitched. They just hold too much paint and with a septic tank I hate putting that much "non-organic" material down there. I believe the brush was compatible. It said "all latex paints."
Hurricane Ohiominnie? I believe it. See, I'm not one to clean up as I go. I *could* have put away all the mudding supplies before I painted, but I was just too excited to paint. So everything accumulates. Maybe I can talk ohiomickey into helping.
I used the blue stuff. But, well, I got a little crazy. I didn't even TRY to trim around it. I slopped it into the corner without care. Of course, when I tried to take it off, I found out I should have cared more. LUCKILY, the window casing was the only thing that needed taped off. I carefully trimmed around the shower tiles. Not too bad of a job for an average person. Of course, I won't quit my day job.

 

[ohiominnie]

Called DCL back to see if they had the excursion in the system yet. She said "no" but then, after looking she said "it looks like you've already signed up for it....SL03." (like i'm supposed to know what SL03 means.) So I asked to have it faxed. She said "we already did." I said "I didn't get it." So she faxed it. It has Caribbean Pirates Extravaganza/9:00 23-Dec-2004 ST. LUCIA.

Ha! Looking at the itinerary printed on the bottom of the page it says Thu ST LUCIA ashore time 9:30.

Well, guess we'll have to walk the Disney Magic's plank to get to our excursion on time!

So if you *think* you have this booked, you might want to call back and get a fax that has a time.

Ahoy, Mateys!

 

[tinksdad]

Originally posted by ohiominnie
Of course, I won't quit my day job.

Great! My job is safe......

 

[kpros]

A number of the excursions have a start time a little before the ashore time. I questioned it and was told that the start time is the "meeting time" and you get off the ship some time after the "meeting time".

Ken

 

[tinksdad]

This whole excursion debacle is interesting. Since DD and I will be scuba diving at three of the ports we went "off ship" and made our own arrangements. This can have mixed results. We have to make sure the operator can meet our slot of time available at the location and we don't miss the ship sailing time. (almost did that in Roatan last year. DW was getting a bit uptight! to say the least) However, this has been the BEST approach in regards to scheduling scuba trips off a cruise. The cruise line usually has way to many divers on a single boat and it gets very crowded and ungainly for me to enjoy.

I've always admired the way Disney goes about their business. It seems more often than not they are on top of all options and have the process down pat. I certainly hope that this gets worked out and we have a WONDERFUL CRUISE!!

 

[jhemond]

Originally posted by tinksdad
If you used oil based paint, which is good, but can be a bear to clean up and the fumes will leave you dizzy!

Maybe that's what happened to me??

Oh, wait, I haven't been using any oil based paints.

 

[ohiominnie]

Originally posted by kpros
A number of the excursions have a start time a little before the ashore time.

Ah, makes sense. Thanks!