3oth August 2007 wonder anyone going?

[tamman]

Jessica, what a beautiful picture!!! Do I need to make an appointment with Shutters? I just got my hubby and son matching Mickey Hawaiian shirts from the Disney Store. The shirts with Khaki pants and me and my daughter in white and or Khaki might be good for pics.

Do you know if I can pull up the menus online for the cruise?

Tammi

 

[Summer-Caitlin]

tamman - http://www.wdwinfo.com/Photos/DCL-Navigator-Eastern-Dec/index.htm If you scroll down it has the menu for all the restaurants on the Wonder.

Here is a better link actually and more up to date http://www.wdisneyw.co.uk/dclm.html

 

[jonesbrand]

This is our first cruise and we thought what better cruiseline to pick than Disney! We are a family of 4: DM, DH, DS (15), and DD (12). Can't wait! My husband's parents live in Cocoa Beach so we'll visit with them before we cruise. It seems overwhelming with all that you can do on board (and so little time) so if you have favorites or tips we would love to hear them. I've seen other posts abouts things to do in general but the more the merrier.​

 

[ksc37]

Jessica & Mort, thanks for the input. I think your right, Hercules may be the right choice. Who knows, we may do a show the last night, but if we're too tired from all the sun & fun on Castaway Cay, it may be nice to relax after dinner.

Jessica, I love that family photo! I hadn't thought about doing anything like that, but I may need to think about packing coordinating outfits!

 

[Luv2Travel]

jonesbrand! This little thread is growing!

Thanks for the compliments Tammi & Karen!

A great thing about Shutters (IMO) is that you don't have to make appointments. They have 3 or 4 backdrops set up in the lobby/atrium and you just get in line to have your picture made. The lines we were in were pretty short and I thought they moved fast. Although, we had early dining so we were there early to have our pictures made. Shutters normally set up in the evening before dinner and show times. Sometimes they would have other portrait times with characters (we had to get up and go meet Jack Sparrow one morning ).

What really amazed me about Shutters is how good every picture turned out! The night that above picture was made we were in a huge rush to get ready and get to dinner so nobody's hair really looked that great. But I don't think you can even tell how thrown together we were in the picture. I don't know if they are masters with lighting or what, but I liked EVERY picture that they took of my family! (You know how hard it is to get a good picture of all 5 people? )

Last note - I almost chickened out of having my whole family dress alike because my children are older and I didn't want to be too big of a "Disney Geek." But the kids said they didn't mind dressing alike, so we did, and I got one of my favorite pictures in the process! The CMs and other guests were very complimentary (5 adult size people dressed in bright red sort of stand out ), and I didn't feel self-conscious like I thought I would.
Point is Go For It - You Wan't be sorry!!

 

[Mortlives]

We are a family of 4: DM, DH, DS (15), and DD (12).

My DS just turned 16. It's nice to know there will be someone similar in age to him. Welcome aboard!

 

[cornish pixie]

Hi Jonesbrand and welcome to our merry band of sea lubbers!!
I see that your DD IS 12 ,
Our eldest DD is 11 1/2 so of a similiar age.
How nice to have realations that live at Cocoa Beach.
When we cruised 2 years ago we stayed at the RonJons Cape Caribe resort which was amazing.
Anyway I imagine you are all very excited and yes It can be overwhelming .
I think it's really hard to cram everything into 3 days, so much to do so little time as the saying goes.
From our previous experience we decided to stay onboard the ship at Nassau and enjoy it to the full, We loved the shows and even though we have seen them already we really want to again.
The girls loved the clubs and it was hard to get them away but we decided that if thats what they wanted to do thats was O.K. (it's there holiday as well and we had 3 weeks to look forward to getting on each others nerves!!)we just made sure we ate together and had some Family time.
Things we never got around to doing were eating at the buffet for breakfast,
Palos,eating from Plutos etc , Going to any of the clubs, bars in the evening!!! Yeah I know it's mad isn't it but we had such an amazing time .
Anyway this time we are planning on checking out some of the things we missed ,70'snight, up on deck for Breakfast, trying some of the bars and lounges, checking out Serenity bay.
Can't wait and am counting down the days.
Whatever you decide to do you will all have fun, Take Care
Cornish Pixie

 

[Mortlives]

Hope everyone is having a lovely day.

I've noticed some of the other cruise threads name their cruise. Should we name ours? What should we call ourselves?

 

[jonesbrand]

Hi all,

I'm glad there is another boy and girl close to our kids age on board! I think they will have a great time. Do you let your children roam free on board with guidelines/check-in points? Is it relatively safe? Our kids are old enough so I'm not too concerned but...

We're also thinking we would get Disney gift cards for the arcade, souveniers, smoothies, or whatever, that way they won't bug us for buying things while on board and it give us control of expenses. Has anyone done this or is there a better way?

We decided to book the Wild side adventure for our son when we're at CC. He's athletic and thought that sounded fun. I've read it's a great time for the teens so I think he'll be pleased.

Staying on board while in Nassau is a great option because of all the things we could do but if the weather's good we just might go snorkeling. It's up in the air at this point.

Thanks again for the welcome! We're so excited!

 

[Mortlives]

The giftcards would have to be added to your shipboard account since that is the only way to pay for anything on board (charging it to your room, I mean). The only thing cash is accepted for is tips. This is a much debated topic, since they don't let you put a limit on a child's card, it's all or nothing. We held DS's money last time, and made him give us a daily accounting, with dire threats as to his fate should he overspend. This worked quite well.

As for free-range children, we have family radios, so we can keep track of him. It's mostly useful because we although we know where he'll be (Teen club), he doesn't necessarily know where we are.

 

[jonesbrand]

Thanks Mortlives,

What a great idea to use the 2-way radios! DS has a cell phone but I'm not sure of the roam charges so this would save us.

 

[Summer-Caitlin]

HI everyone

I haven't checked in for a while, so how is everyone?

I have been battling with my TA regarding the AKL construction and me not wanting to be in it I have finally go them to agree to move us, but they have only suggested Wilderness Lodge. Now I do like The Wilderness Lodge, but I'm not overly fond of the restaurants, neither is DF. He defiantely doesn't want to go to Whispering Canyon So i am trying to hold out for something better (The Poly or GF) I know that is a much bigger upgrade, but if you read the resorts board, you'll find that most people are getting offered this. I'm annoyed becasue I really wanted to stay at AKL, but not if there is construction
Anyway, I hope everyone is doing well and y'all had a wonderful Independence Day
As for the cruise, I still haven't decided what we are doing when in Nassau, our Rasul is booked for then, 3.30pm I think. Still thinking we will likely stay on the ship.

Talk soon

 

[cornish pixie]

Hi Everyone and a very early good morning Caitlin.
Hope you all had a great Independence Day with your families.
Mort am still trying to think of a name for our cruise but the old grey matter is not working very well at the moment!!
I hope you get things sorted regarding your accomodation Caitlin, we have just been moved from our hotel in Clearwater due to construction work etc.
I noticed it on the Hilton website and rang Virgin , who new nothing about it"""
Anyway to cut a long story short we have just recived a letter to say they are moving us to the Marriet suites at Sand Key, they look really nice and are an upgrade from where we were staying , so we are pleased.
Anyway everyone must shoot as I have to get to school .........STILL!!! (Luvtotravel thats for you, I know you feel for us still being in school )
Anyway will check in later, Have a good day everyone
Cornish Pixie xx

 

[ksc37]

For all you experienced cruisers... how common is seasickness? When I search these boards, it seems everyone gets it. We're trying to decide if we should take any medication as a preventative measure. Also, can/should we give anything to a 4 and 6 year old (of course I'll call the pediatrician, but I was wondering if anyone had any personal experience)?

Summer-Caitlin, I saw your posts on the resorts boards, and I really hope everything works out for you. As for the Wilderness Lodge, it is nice, but I agree I wouldn't want to go to Whispering Canyon on my honeymoon. Artist Point is very nice, though. Also, keep in mind that the Contemporary is just a boat ride away, so you also have the California Grill, Concourse Steakhouse, and the other monorail resorts/restaurants fairly close by.

I think you're right to hold out for another Deluxe. A lot of late-August people have been getting the Poly, GF or the Yacht & Beach Clubs. You can't go too wrong with any of those choices.

Sorry to talk "resorts" on the cruise thread. I'm also still trying to plan my Nassau day. I think we will decide when we see what's on the Personal Navigator that day.

 

[Mortlives]

Summer - if they're not offering to move you, chances are pretty good the construction won't affect you at all. It might be worth your while to stay at AKL. I did once, and it was awe-inspiring.

Everyone who's doing WDW as well - I would like to strongly recommend the Imagineering Field Guides to the parks. So far, there's ones for MK, Epcot and AK. I've read the first 2 and am working on the last one. They're terrific, and I shall really enjoy the parks more for the insight.

Ksc37 - I don't think sea-sickness is all that common, really. If you don't know you suffer from it, I certainly wouldn't pre-medicate. Last time, we brought ginger tablets, which are great for anti-nausea, just in case, but we didn't need them. I'd recommend that before a drug remedy.

Pixie - I can't think of anything either, but I'm sure something will occur to one of us. Probably on the drive/flight home.

Have a great day, everyone.

-Mort.

 

[ksc37]

Mort - you're right about the imagineering field guides. I bought and finished one last weekend (the MK one) and I can't wait to read the next one.

Thanks for the seasickness thoughts, too. I don't really want to take anything - and especially don't want to give the kids anything... but it seems that every reply on a seasickness thread is by someone who got seasick. I think it might just seem that way since the people who reply on those threads are people who have actually experienced it.



Counting the days...

 

[cornish pixie]

Everyone who's doing WDW as well - I would like to strongly recommend the Imagineering Field Guides to the parks. So far, there's ones for MK, Epcot and AK. I've read the first 2 and am working on the last one. They're terrific, and I shall really enjoy the parks more for the insight.


Good morning everyone hope you are all keeping well
Mort what are the Imagineering field guides, I have never heard of them ,and where would I get them?

Ksc37 I dito what Mort says regarding Seasickness, Hubbie was a bit worried about it but found the Rocking actually put him to sleep!!
Also I find Ginger biscuits a great help, something to munch on as well.
Final advice I use to give to passengers when I use to work on the ships was a port and Brandy (for Adults only of course!!) after one or two of them you didn't know wether the ship was rocking or you , and you certainly didn't care

Anyway it's a beautiful day here in Cornwall so we might get down to the beach today and take advantage of the good weather.
Tommorow we will be going to a Christening and are going to be God parents
so we are looking forward to that being a really nice day especially as we will be seeing lot's of our family that live further away.
Oh well better go and make a start the ironing is calling me!!!!
Take care
Cornish Pixie xx

 

[Mortlives]

The Imagineering Field Guides are guide books for Disney World parks. So far, there are 3 of them, and they are terrific. Imagineers discuss the design of the parks, and how they were created and built. They have lots of lovely photos and drawings. You can get them in any book store, really.

Glad you're having good weather. It's beautiful here as well, hot and humid. We went shopping earlier and I got a new swimsuit for the trip: a bikini! First one in, well, a while.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

 

[cornish pixie]

Hi Mort ,thanks for the info on the guides I'm going to see if I can get hold of them as they sound brilliant.
Heh you as well getting a new Bikini I don't think I dare.
If I was to paint a white stripe down the side of my costume people would think they were at Seaworld watching Shamu !!! (Im not kidding either, you'll know who I am now!!)
Again the weather here is great not as Hot and Humid as your getting but compared to all the rain we have been getting ,it's 100% better
Anyway will speak soon , Hi to you all
Take Care Cornish Pixie

 

[Mortlives]

Are we all burned out on trip planning? I find about a month and a half out I've had enough for a while and go off and do other things. I'm still very much looking forward to my vacation, but I don't DIS as much, and I take a break and look at other vacations.

We just booked a surprise trip for my in-laws for their 50th anniversary. All the kids are chipping in, and we're going to let them know at a surprise party next month. (I'll say they'll be surprised, their anniversary is still 2 months away). Looking at that was a nice distraction. I told them we were planning a trip next March, and wanted to know what their favourite resort was. It looks gorgeous, so we may actually end up going there ourselves at some point.

For us, today is 39 days to go. I sent DH a picture of the Big River Grill and Brewing Works.

Happy Friday the 13th, everyone!