20051123 - November 23, 2005 Thanksgiving Wonder Cruise

[BethC1952]

Have a great time! I will be spending the weekend (as I did last weekend) knitting an afghan for donation to the hurricane victims. Once I finish my commitment of two afghans, I'll be switching to hats, scarves and mittens for the school system here in town (for kids who either don't have any, or forget to bring them to school on those really cold days that are coming too soon). Then it's on to cushy, thick socks for me!

Beth

 

[thegales]

Sorry, I have been quiet for a while. We have had a lot of activities going on this summer. School has been in session for a few weeks, and we are slowly getting into our fall schedule.

We booked the Palo Brunch for 11:00 (I think). We didn't do any dinners, since we don't know the rotation. And with such a short cruise, I don't know if there was a night we would want to skip our regular rotation and not eat with the DD's. (first night would like to all be together, Thursday is Thanksgiving, Friday may be Pirate night, and Saturday is the last night).

We have not booked any excursions. We don't know what we are going to do at Nassau. Ironically, our neighbors, who were on the Thanksgiving Wonder last year and gave me the idea to book, are going to Nassau for the Thanksgiving Holiday. We may try to catch up with them there.

I am still trying to figure out where the ship is going to go on Friday. My guess is that it is only a 3 - 4 hour trip from Nassau to Castaway Cay, and we have a whole extra sea day to do it.

 

[thegales]

With that last post I made, I see we are at the time for all paid-in-full folks to book Palo, Spa, and excursions. Was everyone able to get what they wanted?

 

[ImMarcik]

Today was the day I could finally make my ressies. I set my alarm for 2 am and got everything I wanted. I booked both brunch & dinner at Palos on Friday, our anniversary. I told my DD if she is uncomfortable eating without us we will cancel. But I am sure by Sea Day she will have lots of friends. I was wanting to see a navigator to see what goes on at 10:30 am on sea day. I wonder if we will be missing anything good. I also booked the Dolphin encounter. My whole family is real Dolphin lovers so this was a must and I am so glad it wasn't booked up. Now I just hope Pirate night doesn't interfere with our Palo Dinner, but I made it for 6 so I should be fine. I am hoping maybe we can see the sunset.

I have been so busy. My DH is in New Orleans working. He works for the electric company so he will be quite busy for a while. I know he will be so ready for this cruise.

I am getting excited. Hope everyone else got the ressies they wanted.

 

[BethC1952]

I am still trying to figure out where the ship is going to go on Friday. My guess is that it is only a 3 - 4 hour trip from Nassau to Castaway Cay, and we have a whole extra sea day to do it.

I would guess that the ship will do what it usually does on a sea day...sail around in lazy circles, or if the weather's bad (I hope not!) sail around and try to find some sunshine, or at least stay out of the worst of the bad weather.

It's hard to believe that it's this close! We have our Palo brunch reservations for Friday at noon, so it will be more of a lunch for us, and we haven't got any other plans.

We may still decide to go to either Atlantis or Ardastra Gardens while we're in Nassau, but we also have friends who will be there for Thanksgiving and may decide to visit them for the day instead. They have a home somewhere in Nassau, and have offered to meet us at the port and spend the day with us if we don't have any other plans. They'll be there for a couple of weeks, so if we don't see them on the Thanksgiving cruise we'll probably meet up with them the next week on our second cruise.

We'd like to have dinner at Palo at least once, and we really don't mind missing one of the rotation restaurants, and we don't mind missing Pirate Night either, so I may just go ahead and book any time I can get. We like to eat late, so I doubt that I'll have too much trouble getting a reservation. It's kind of funny to think about dinner that far in advance. I haven't decided what the family will have for dinner tonight, but I have to think about dinners more than 70 days from now!

Beth

 

[genmasjoy]

We haven't made any plans for Nassau either, just the massage at the beach for me and Palo for brunch on the sea day. It will be nice to just relax. We had a good time up at Disney World over the weekend, they have some new attractions. Since we were only there Fri to Sun we went to Epcot, MK and Cirque du Soleil.

 

[BethC1952]

We've decided (at least for the moment ) to do the Historic City Tour and Ardastra Gardens excursion in Nassau. Our tablemates in December did this, and they enjoyed it. They said they got a taste of Nassau without having to spend all day. This way, if we enjoy it, or see something we want to explore further, we can go back again the following week...another advantage to back-to-back cruises!

Beth

 

[genmasjoy]

Hi Beth, We were thinking of doing the Ardasta gardens tour too, I did it once about 28 years ago on a weekend cruise with my sister. My dh hasn't been there. The highlight is they get a flock of flamingos to march, very entertaining!

 

[BethC1952]

I've wanted to see the marching flamingos since the first time I saw the old "If You Had Wings". I wasn't able to book it for the Thanksgiving cruise, so I booked it for the week after, but I'm going to try to change it once I'm on board.

Beth

 

[BethC1952]

Just bumping this up...

I'm officially excited now! I found myself watching the Two Palms webcam on Thursday to see Wonder sail by! In the end, we decided to go to WDW for one night before the cruise (Pop Century) and two nights after (CSR). We were going to skip it this year, but DH said the AP is burning a hole in his pocket and needs to be used again before it has to be renewed!

I got a great rate on a direct flight from Newark (we usually have a stopover in Atlanta which means a great run through that airport), so we're all set.

Of course, I just discovered yesterday that my luggage was destroyed in the earlier "roofless" incidents this summer, so I'll be shopping for new luggage this weekend. I will also be spending the next couple of weeks sewing some new things to wear on the cruise (including a new bathing suit, since I couldn't find any that really looked good this year).

Have a great week!

Beth

 

[ImMarcik]

Hi. Just checking in. We had to evacuate for Hurricane Rita and we are stuck in a hotel for at least another week. I wasn't sure if I had a house so wasn't sure if I could even still go on vacation. But it looks like our house is okay. We just need a new roof. The trip will really come fast once my life gets back in order. I just thought I needed a new vacation. I think I got 10 new gray hairs wondering if I have a house. Getting close now though.

 

[BethC1952]

I'm so glad to hear that things are OK for you (well, at least a lot better than you expected!). You really do need a vacation!

Beth

 

[genmasjoy]

Hi all, Beth, glad you got a direct flight, we just were in the Newark airport on our way back from San Diego, not my idea of the best routing but it was the only way to get back to WPB. Marcie, I am glad your house can be repaired after Rita. We were hit with two hurricanes last year, Frances and Jeanne, but just had minor damage. This year so far we've been spared.
We had a great time in San Diego visiting our son but I'm really tired. We were on the go sightseeing each day, as he hadn't done anything but work since he got there 6 months ago so he took leave and we all played tourist. Loved the zoo and Old Town, wasn't too crazy about Sea World, my favorite thing was brunch at the Hotel Del Coronado, which is the hotel the Grand Floridian was modeled after. I'm looking forward to the Disney cruise when we will have a chance to really relax.

 

[ImMarcik]

Gemmasjoy I'm glad you had a nice time in San Diego. I can't believe our vacation is a little over a month away now. I read that some people on the Nov. 5th got their cruise docs already. We just got power back today and I haven't even gone back to work yet. I think about a quarter of all the businesses are open now. I am really stressing, because we have so much to do getting our lives back to normal and I know I will look up and it will be time to go to WDW. I know I will forget something. But, it sure will be nice to get away. My inlaws lost their house. We have been pretty busy helping them. Anyways I just wanted to say hi since I have power again.

 

[BethC1952]

Marcie:

Congratulations on getting power back. Your inlaws will be in my thoughts and prayers! I've been busy working with a group that's making afghans and shawls for people displaced from senior homes and nursing homes. That seemed like the best contribution I could make.

Yes, it's hard to believe that the vacation is finally almost here! My countdown started at 297 days, and it didn't seem to move at all until about five days before the final payment was due...then the days started rushing!

For some reason, I received the whole cruise planning package (DVD and booklet) that Disney sends out on request. I didn't order one, but it was really exciting to see the DCL logo in my mailbox! Most likely, the next time I see that logo in my box, it will be my cruise docs. And, since I'm going on two cruises, I guess I'll see that logo twice!

I'm finally starting to get things ready. I've bought a few disposable underwater cameras, some extra sunscreen, and a few other little things. I've also decided to make myself a bathing suit, since I couldn't find anything that I liked when I realized that I needed a new one (I'm a bit thinner than I was the last time I used my bathing suit ). I've never made a bathing suit before, but I sew very well, so it's an adventure!

I'd love to start packing the things I know I won't need between now and then, but I'm traveling for business the week before vacation and need the suitcases for that trip.

I'm looking forward to meeting you all once we board!

Beth

 

[thegales]

Hey there!

We had booked our flights some time ago. We originally had a direct flight both to and from MCO. Delta canceled the mid day non-stop flight, so now we are going through Atlanta on the way down. I travel a lot for business, and I know Atlanta, so I think we will be okay. The important flight is home on Sunday. I don't want to have a connection on the busiest day. If Delta changes the return, we will probably consider driving instead.

We also booked our excursions. We are doing Blue Lagoon at Nassau and the Stingray swim on Castaway Cay. If anyone has any comments about Blue Lagoon, please feel free to share.

 

[genmasjoy]

You might want to check back with Delta because I read in the paper yesterday that they are reinstating some of the flights they had canceled. We did the Blue Lagoon years ago when it was leased by The Big Red Boat a/k/a Premier cruises. At that time, it was basically a beach and a picnic, you get there by boat. I think different cruise lines use it on different days, it is not a Disney property. If you are looking for time at the beach you will probably enjoy it.

 

[ImMarcik]

Well, we had plans to drive to florida for our vacation but since my DH has been working so much overtime he told me to look into airline prices. I found us a great deal and bought them!!! I am so excited that we are flying. We had to fly a day early to get a better price so now I get an extra day at WDW.

Beth, that is so nice that you are making those afghans. I know those will really come in handy. We booked our trip in October last year so we've been counting down for a year now. It's getting so close. I wonder when we will all start receiving our docs.

thegales, we booked the stingray swim on castaway cay too!! Ours is at 11:00.

Things are starting to come back to normal here. My DD went back to school this week and I started working last week. About half of the businesses are open now. The mall won't be open for 6 to 12 months though and I need one more piece of luggage. I will have to make a shopping trip before our vacation. Most everything else I bought in the summer so I am not too worried about it. I do have to pack a little differently now though since we are flying.

I am worried about hurricane Wilma now. After just going through one I know how it will affect people.

Hope everyone is having a good week.

 

[BethC1952]

Marcie:

I'm glad things are getting back to normal for you. I can only begin to imagine what that kind of flooding can do. We had some major flooding here at the Jersey Shore last week, although, for a change, my house stayed dry. We had so much rain that places that have never flooded before were under two feet of water. NOW the city has decided that perhaps some kind of an emergency plan for floods would be a good idea--the business administrator lost his car (city-owned) on a flooded street (that particular area floods on a cloudy day, but for some reason he decided to drive through what he thought was a small puddle which ended up being about eight feet deep) and he had to be rescued by the police. Everyone is now calling him Admiral .
I haven't finished the bathing suit yet, but plan to get it done this weekend. I'm going to try it out when I go to Atlantic City for my business trip.

My DIL is going on her first-ever business trip this week, and has borrowed my luggage, so I had to unpack everything that I already had packed. She's going to upstate New York for three days, and needs to take winter stuff, not summer stuff!

It's time to start thinking about some kind of meet, if anyone's interested! My actual vacation time starts in 29 days (I won't be coming back to my office after I leave Atlantic City) so I'm officially in "less than a month" mode, and ready to do some heavy-duty vacation planning! I realized last week that I had given absolutely no thought to how we would get from the resort to the ship and back! I finally booked the DCL transportation from the Beach Club, since it's much cheaper for two than a limo would be. If anyone is leaving from the Beach Club that day, let me know...you'll recognize us from the picture in my sig...my husband's beard really is THAT red!

 

[ImMarcik]

Oh Wow! What day will you be at the Beach Club. We are staying there for our land portion of our trip starting on Nov. 20 - 23rd. We booked the transportation from WDW to the port but decided to leave from AK since my DD wants to see the Lion King Show. I've never cruised before so I have no idea how to plan the meet.