3/2/2003 Wonder Cruise, Who's Going?

[zurgswife]

Count us in.....

Not sure how ready we are....Docs arrived the day I returned from my 4 day mommies cruise to Cozumel.....YIPPEEE!!!

We fly in on Saturday have rented a van for a whopping...drum roll please....$129.95 for a week....We are sleeping that night at the Radisson, taking the shuttle over in the morning....We are planning on staying on the boat in Nassau...can't wait for Castaway Cay.....The we are spending 2.5 days at WDW....staying at the Summerfield suites 2 bdrm $75 per night....

Any how....we all should try to me for a drink or soda during the cruise.....

This is a surprise for my 4 kids so I will be packing in secret....this should be very interesting.....

 

[GAKoch]

Hi Zurgswife! (ok - what's your real name?!)

So where are you getting such a good deal on the car -can you share?
How old are your kids? mine are 5 and 7.

Have they been on a cruise before? That's awesome that you're keeping it a surprise. Do they know they're going somewhere?

You are too lucky to be taking 2 cruises so close together.

Georgianne

 

[Diz Kid]

Welcome and hello to our newest members. So far we've heard from 5 of the possible 2000 people going. Hee hee. Boy are they all missing a great board.

Hello Lynn: Congrats on your upcoming wedding. It hardly seems like 25 years, 4 kids and 2 grandkids later for us. Best of luck to you both.

zurgswife: That sounds like a great car rate to me too. I have a double upgrade coupon, so I just went for a compact. Still, I'm paying $169 for the week. Last year I only paid $127.

We got the nonpassport problem sort of solved. I called Disney Cruise line and explained about my wife's missing passport and how she does have her Alien Resident Card (green card). Castmember explained that was all she would need (besides BC & ID). What a load of our minds!!!

Have a good weekend....the days are counting down.

Paul

 

[WonderWedding]

Zurgswife, how fun...what an awesome surprise!!

I agree with Georgianne...how did you get such a good deal on your rental car? What company?

Lynn

 

[quidam]

Zurgswife: Welcome aboard! You're good to keep this wonderful trip a secret. I doubt that I could ever do that! We are counting the days, looking at pictures from previous trips to WDW and on the Wonder and watching our tapes. That's a big part of the excitement for us!

Wonderwedding: Our plan is to get off the boat very early at CC so we may have a chance to see the bride!

Paul: Glad for you that you solved your problem with the passport!

 

[zurgswife]

Car deal....was an orbitz special I hope they honor it.....

My Kids ages are 5, 9,10,11.....We plan on waking them up on March 1 and tell them we are going for a ride....and take them to the airport....can't wait....They think they are staying home for spring break this year as we are spending 2 weeks at WDW for Christmas...This is also the first cruise for everybody but me...I got mine in last week...

We figured to do a surprise cus our kids always help plan our annual treks to disney.....This time the fun is trying to keep it a secret.....

Can't wait to me you guys....

Kimball (that's my real name )

 

[WonderWedding]

I've read good things about Orbitz...that you are actually accessing the central reservation systems of the various companies and getting the best deal they have to offer at the time.

My niece will be 2.5 when we cruise...she can't wait to go on the "boat with Mickey". It's so much fun watching her and my nephew (he's going too...he'll be 10 months when we cruise) have fun. Our wedding is an added bonus to the fun we are going to have with family and friends

Lynn

 

[quidam]

Did you ask for the first or second seating?

When we booked our Western cruise on the Magic back in September, we had no problem getting the first seating, but then we changed our plans the day before Christmas to go on the 4-day cruise on the Wonder in order to be able to spend some time at WDW. We had a hard time knowing that we would be so close to Disney but wouldn't have the time to go!

However, by the time we changed our reservations, the first seating was not available anymore on the Wonder. So that will be my first priority when we board the ship... trying to have that changed to the first seating.

Do you have first or second seating and are you happy with that?

 

[WonderWedding]

We have the second seating. Because of our group size, we had a better chance of being together if we went with the second seating. Since everyone will be doing their own thing during the day, we at least wanted to to have dinner together. It may however be a challenge for the little ones (4 under 5)

 

[GAKoch]

We have first seating. Makes more sense with the kids. I prefer to eat earlier, also. I don't like going to bed feeling so full. Now I can eat more dessert!

Meghan - good luck getting yours changed, hopefully it'll work out for you.

We got about 2 inches of snow today - I am so ready for this cruise!!!!

Georgianne

 

[zurgswife]

We have first seating....after just doing a cruise where we had late seating I'm glad a chose earlier.....Some nights we didn't finish until 10pm....I think my kids will enjoy their meal and the evenings activities if they finished eating earlier....

Right now I can't figure out where to start my packing...

 

[WonderWedding]

Gotta love the lake effect snow....we've gotten at least a foot of snow today...how long 'til we go?

 

[zurgswife]

Hey is anybody at the Radisson the night before?????

 

[GAKoch]

We're staying at the Holiday Inn at Cocoa Beach. I wanted to be ON the beach - even for just a few hours.

Georgianne

 

[Diz Kid]

We also have first seating. Wouldn't it be a hoot if some of us actually ended up seated together?

We're thinking of taking the snorkling rental on CC. We've never done that. Can anyone shed some light on this activity?

18 degrees above today. Expecting only 9 tomorrow! Our youngest son is moving to Orlando next month. He's decided he doesn't like the cold anymore. We'll be able to visit him while we're there in March.

Paul

 

[GAKoch]

We're going to rent the snorkeling stuff on CC also. We went and bought the kids some kits at Target the other day so they can practice in the bathtub and get used to the feeling. We'll probably bring those so we won't have to pay for theirs. I'm not sure how long they'll last doing it anyways. From what I've read here you can wait until you get there to rent the equipment.

We had a low of minus 11 yesterday here. Crazy. I mean, we live in Ohio, not Alaska! So now today it's supposed to be 38 and rain - that's more like it - gross, ugly weather is our norm in winter.

I emailed Dreams Unlimited (our TA for this) and asked about getting a $25 first time cruiser on-board credit. (I read about it on these boards) She emailed right back that she called Disney and got it added to our trip. You should check it out if it's your first Disney cruise. It's a couple of glasses of wine!!

Georgianne

 

[quidam]

Hello dear fellow cruisers

It's -8 here today... Brr...

Can't wait to cruise!

Paul, unfortunately I can't help you with the snorkeling experience, but I certainly recommend the banana boat ride

Whatever you decide to do on CC, you'll have a great time for sure!

I'm truly hoping that I'll be able to change from second to first seating... Going to ask for some tips on this board!

Zurgswife, we will be staying at a WDW resort for two nights before the cruise. Otherwise, we would have stayed at the airport (Hyatt).

What are you most looking forward to do in the evenings?

 

[WonderWedding]

We may be staying at the Radisson. The rooms were pulled from our TA when they announced the scheduled shuttle launch on 3/1. We have half our group confirmed at the Radisson and she is hoping to get the rest confirmed by Monday. If not, then we'll all be staying at the Hampton Inn.

I did the snorkeling at CC in 9/00. It was not the best but we are still planning on it as we both like to snorkle. We were told that a big storm (not sure if was a hurricane or tropical depression) had gone thru a month or two prior and that the snorkeling was not what it had been. I think kids will really love it, they have placed a lot of fun stuff at the bottom so there is plenty to see. I've snorkled in other places in the caribbean and the sea life was not comparable at CC. I'm hoping the sea life will be better this year but if not, it will be fun to see what else Disney has added at the bottom.

Here in Cleveland the sun has actully been out two days in a row! I almost forget what the sun looks like during the winter. I grew up in Florida and have only been in Ohio for 5 years, I love the season changes but miss the sun

 

[GAKoch]

I'm not sure how our evenings will work out. It'll all depend on the kids and what they will do. We definitely want to go dancing with them at least once and see the shows. If they will hang out at the club then dh and I can check out the adult stuff. But - I don't want to keep them up super late and have them crabby all the next day - so I figure we will play it by ear. We may spend time just drinking wine on our veranda as they sleep. Not a bad option!

Georgianne

 

[Diz Kid]

Here's a tip for all you first time cruisers....like us. I found out (by reading the disboard) that all first time cruisers are eligable for a $25 ship credit. I called my travel agent (AAA) and she had them credit it to my reservation!!! So if this is your first time, call your TA or Disney Cruise Line and get this free money. It's a per room credit, not per person.

Our diet here is going well. Lost 7 pounds first week, 1 pound second week (too much salty stuff) and 3 pounds so far this week. In case ya want to know...its Atkins.

Paul