8/17/2008 Double Dip 4-day Wonder

[Ski-and-Sea]

If I weren't so paranoid I would definitely do that. I would be so afraid the packages would not arrive.

My kids think I am Walt reincarnated, so they won't dare question me.

Isn't being a parent great!!!!

Well, I just bought myself a fancy underwater camera to take snorkeling. I bought it at a local dive store. I asked the owner about diving companies in Nassau and he recommended Stuart Cove. DCL uses them for their diving excursion (but not snorkeling).

Our plan is to get our scuba certification next summer since DD will be 12 (min age). If that turns out to be the case then we'll go with DCL's scuba excursion. Otherwise we'll probably book with Stuart Cove for snorkeling.

One thing I think would be really neat is to take a boat to the nearby islands off Nassau. Found one company that has high speed boats but their tours leave before we're able to get off the ship. Bummer.

 

[Ski-and-Sea]

Oh, btw.......somebody posted wondering if this thread existed because they always see the thread for the "big cruise" leaving the same day as us.

I said we are "The Other Big Cruise" leaving on 8/17.

I think that should be our slogan.....The Other Big Cruise.

 

[Coach Rick]

Oh, btw.......somebody posted wondering if this thread existed because they always see the thread for the "big cruise" leaving the same day as us.

I said we are "The Other Big Cruise" leaving on 8/17.

I think that should be our slogan.....The Other Big Cruise.

Cool, I'll make us some t-shirts....

 

[cepmom]

wow ~ it' sbeen a while since I posted on this thread!! We booked the cruise so long ago and it's still so far away that I almost forgot about it!!

Coach Rick ~ we surprised our kids with a Disney Cruise this past January. It was so much fun to surprise them, but a lot of work!! DH slipped up a couple of times but thankfully DD's did not catch on.

We told them DH had to take a business trip to FL and we were going to tag along and hang out at the hotel and swim, go to the beach etc. Dh travels a lot for work so they never questioned it. At the time that we booked that trip, the passport laws said you needed passports to cruise starting Jan 2007 so I had to get the passports "just in case" we wanted to travel out of the country. DD9 questioned it a couple of times, but I just kept telling her it will be good to have for when we decide to go on a cruise again "in a few years" Of course, then they changed to passport requirements but at least we have them now.

I made t-shirts with a cool graphic of the ship and Castaway Cay and wrote on it "our SURPRISE Disney Cruise" The day after we arrived in FL, I laid the clothes out on the beds and told DD's to get dressed so we could go to breakfast. We arrived very late the night before so they girls were still half asleep, so they didn't really get it right away. I kept saying "what do you think of your new t-shirt" and DD9 said "oh it's cute!" but she didn't get what it was saying!!

Finally DH said "do you guys want to go swimming" and since that's their favorite thing to do, they said yes. He said "how about if we go to the Mickey pool today" and they were like "uhmm, Dad, that's only on the Disney ship" He said, "okay then I guess we'll have to get on the ship today" and it finally sunk in

I had to be sneaky about the pirate stuff too, I just packed it at the bottom of the suitcase that had DH and my stuff in it. I figured they would never look in there. For the formal clothes, I had told them the "hotel" we were staying at had a really fancy restaurant and they would need to dress up for it. They bought it hook, line and sinker! Not really a fib, I mean the ship is really like a big floating hotel right??

Good luck with pulling this off ~ it was so much fun!!!

 

[Coach Rick]

Coach Rick ~ we surprised our kids with a Disney Cruise this past January. It was so much fun to surprise them, but a lot of work!! DH slipped up a couple of times but thankfully DD's did not catch on.

We told them DH had to take a business trip to FL and we were going to tag along and hang out at the hotel and swim, go to the beach etc. Dh travels a lot for work so they never questioned it. At the time that we booked that trip, the passport laws said you needed passports to cruise starting Jan 2007 so I had to get the passports "just in case" we wanted to travel out of the country. DD9 questioned it a couple of times, but I just kept telling her it will be good to have for when we decide to go on a cruise again "in a few years" Of course, then they changed to passport requirements but at least we have them now.

I made t-shirts with a cool graphic of the ship and Castaway Cay and wrote on it "our SURPRISE Disney Cruise" The day after we arrived in FL, I laid the clothes out on the beds and told DD's to get dressed so we could go to breakfast. We arrived very late the night before so they girls were still half asleep, so they didn't really get it right away. I kept saying "what do you think of your new t-shirt" and DD9 said "oh it's cute!" but she didn't get what it was saying!!

Finally DH said "do you guys want to go swimming" and since that's their favorite thing to do, they said yes. He said "how about if we go to the Mickey pool today" and they were like "uhmm, Dad, that's only on the Disney ship" He said, "okay then I guess we'll have to get on the ship today" and it finally sunk in

I had to be sneaky about the pirate stuff too, I just packed it at the bottom of the suitcase that had DH and my stuff in it. I figured they would never look in there. For the formal clothes, I had told them the "hotel" we were staying at had a really fancy restaurant and they would need to dress up for it. They bought it hook, line and sinker! Not really a fib, I mean the ship is really like a big floating hotel right??

Good luck with pulling this off ~ it was so much fun!!!

Sounds cool. My biggest hurdle is the fact that my oldest will be 23, and keeps saying she is afraid of ships. That should prove to be the most interesting part of this whole thing. The other 2 are DS 18 and DD 14. My brother-in-law just booked too, so he and his family (wife and daughter) are in on it, but are also not saying anything to our niece. I just hope my big one don't get there and mutiny!

The plan so far; I will tell them we are going to Kennedy Space Center, and then going to VB for a couple days, which will cover the trip to the port, and the fact we are packed back up. I decided to tell them there is a pirate party at the resort (I think the ship counts as a resort?), that will explain packing pirate outfits. Then....

 

[Ski-and-Sea]

Cool, I'll make us some t-shirts....

That would be great. I am creatively-challenged. I can modify other people's ideas but can't come up with original ideas on my own.

I still wear my t-shirt from last year's cruise. Verandahman designed it. I got stopped at the airport and at the port by people asking where I got it. It was so neat to see everyone at the terminal wearing the shirts.

I think your eldest DD will find the Wonder to be so beautiful that she will forget any fears she has about sailing.

Cepmon.....I think I know the graphic of CC and the ship that you used on your t-shirt. It doesn't have the Flying Dutchman there but its still a cool aerial shot of the island.

 

[Lynda Silk]

The Other Big Cruise....I like it!

It's so neat hearing about how people have surprised their kids with the cruise! What a labour of love! And so much creativity! When we have our dismeet onboard, you'll all have to tell us their reactions when they realized the truth!

 

[Dizzyworld]

I think I came up with a way, although it will require a small white fib to my kids, but the end result will be awesome. I will simply concoct a story about how they are having pirate night at Pleasure Island.

You could always tell them they could be for the Pirate and Princess Party. Then while in WDW say it is too hot for the costumes or there are no tickets left for the party.

 

[Dizzyworld]

I still wear my t-shirt from last year's cruise. Verandahman designed it. I got stopped at the airport and at the port by people asking where I got it. It was so neat to see everyone at the terminal wearing the shirts.

I love all the shirts too. My DS wasn't too thrilled about wearing matching shirts, but he did it happily. He though maybe about 20 might be wearing the shirt. At the terminal, everywhere he looked was one of those shirts. And I loved the leis too for all of us. We were in the second wave of people to hit Parrot Cay for lunch. The guy looked up to ask how many, saw the leis, and said "there are more of you?" The look was great when we siad there were about 200 of us.

It was great fun.

 

[Ski-and-Sea]

I love all the shirst too. My DS wasn't too thrilled about wearing matching shirts, but he did it happily. He though maybe about 20 might be wearing the shirt. At the terminal, everywhere he looked was one of those shirts. And I loved the leis too for all of us. We were in the second wave of people to hit Parrot Cay for lunch. The guy looked up to ask how many, saw the leis, and said "there are more of you?" The look was great when we siad there were about 200 of us.

It was great fun.

DS stained his shirt even before we got on the plane to leave. Classic. We were eating a snack before we boarded and he spilled his food on his shirt. See - there's a reason not to fly down the day of your cruise.

I thought I had thrown away my leis until I was searching in DDs closest for something and found them there. There's some really cute videos the Radio KOL people took on our cruise and DJ Rick sees all the people wearing the leis on the first day and he's asking if he can have one.

http://video.aol.com/video-category/radio-kol/1668

Its the one where he's greeting the passengers as they board. I still enjoy watching these as they remind me of our cruise.

Hey....saw the Harry Potter movie last night. It was fantastic. I thought it was much better than Pirates 3. Rattatoiulle was fantastic, also.

 

[addicted_to_WDW]

Hi everyone...just checking in! I'd definitely buy the shirt.

 

[Auggiedaugie]

Hi! Jumping over here from the Oct '08 DD....had to change our reservations today. We will be on the 8/14 and 8/17 doing a B2B. Our cast includes: Me (Dawn), DH(Carr), DD7(Gabrielle) my best friend (Joyce), Dsis (Bette) and her twinDDs4(Alyssa & Brooke). I see a few people who are doing the 3 night after the 4 night.....anyone on the 8/14?

 

[Ski-and-Sea]

Hi! Jumping over here from the Oct '08 DD....had to change our reservations today. We will be on the 8/14 and 8/17 doing a B2B. Our cast includes: Me (Dawn), DH(Carr), DD7(Gabrielle) my best friend (Joyce), Dsis (Bette) and her twinDDs4(Alyssa & Brooke). I see a few people who are doing the 3 night after the 4 night.....anyone on the 8/14?

Welcome....

Sorry you had cancel the Costa Maya double dip. I did that last year and loved the itinerary.

But hey, can't pass on a triple dip.

 

[Ski-and-Sea]

Hey all,

We're closing in on one year till we cruise.

Hope you all are having a terrific summer.

Dizzy.....I know you'll be sailing very soon. We'll be getting onboard as you get off. So have a wonderful sailing. Pikey is onboard. That will be neat. I intend to have a chat with him and get an update on the CMs who sailed with us in 2006 (Kaz, Andy).

 

[Lynda Silk]

Hey Ski-and-Sea,
Yes, isn't it great that we're almost at that 1 year mark!

When exactly are you going on your cruise this month, you lucky duck!

 

[Ski-and-Sea]

Hey Ski-and-Sea,
Yes, isn't it great that we're almost at that 1 year mark!

When exactly are you going on your cruise this month, you lucky duck!

August 23rd. Just a 3-night so it will be like a cruise-ette. We'll stay on the ship in Nassau. We're doing the snorkeling excursion at Castaway Cay. We're doing 4 nights at WDW before.

The kids are disappointed the Wonder doesn't have Oceans Quest but next year DS will be old enough for the teen club so he's excited about that.

 

[Dizzyworld]

The kids are disappointed the Wonder doesn't have Oceans Quest but next year DS will be old enough for the teen club so he's excited about that.

This is the one reason my DD wants to go next year on DCL "one more time" so she can go to the teen club.

BTW....have a good cruise coming up. It's weird to think a week from now I will be sleeping on the Wonder. So much to do, so little time.

 

[Ski-and-Sea]

This is the one reason my DD wants to go next year on DCL "one more time" so she can go to the teen club.

BTW....have a good cruise coming up. It's weird to think a week from now I will be sleeping on the Wonder. So much to do, so little time.

Boy, the cruise docs we got are so much fancier looking then they were last year. My cruise docs last year looked like they were printed in somebody's basement on whatever scraps of paper they could find.

At least no packing the fancy formal wear this year (or next).

 

[Lynda Silk]

Hi there,
Sorry for the delay in replying; I'm having a few issues with my computer at home!

A 3 day 'cruise-ette' sounds wonderful to me, not mention the 4 day visit to WDW!

What do the kids do in the teen club? My DS15 (will be 16 on the cruise) is very shy and I'm just wondering if he'd fit in.

 

[Coach Rick]

One year from today we will be heading to "THE PORT". Hopefully, there won't be a storm lurking out there like there is this year. But I have confidence, blue skies, calm seas will prevail, and it will be a cruise to remember!

So shipmates, have you started packing?