8/17/2008 Double Dip 4-day Wonder

[msteddom]

It will be worth it when you are finished!!! I need to start my masters soon. I am a history teacher, so I will be getting a history degree, rather than one in education. It will be much more interesting and I might actually be able to use it if I don't stick with teaching for some reason.

What is Rita's? We don't have them on the West Coast.

Happy Spring everyone!

Melissa

 

[disnutz]

I was just reading back over the thread and noticed that there are a bunch of us that have jkids aged 12 now (14 when we cruise). Our last cruise, my daughter (12 at the time) had trouble making friends because there were a lot of folks already paired up. I thought it would be great to intriduce some people before the cruise.

DD will be 14 (12 now) and DS will be 8 (a week away from 9) - 7 now.

How about your kids?

 

[Ski-and-Sea]

In August 2008......DS will be 13 so will be in the teen club. DD will be 12. So they will be in different clubs.

Both my kids are extremely outgoing and friendly. They enjoy playing with the other kids in the clubs/arcade/pool.

One cute memory I have of my last cruise was my two kids playing in the Goofy pool around 5:30pm with a few other kids. They had the pool all to themselves (there were two adults sitting in the pool as well). They made up this game that they were playing. I couldn't figure out the rules but they all had a great time.

I sat on a chair and watched the Suite Life of Zach and Cody on the jumbotron.

 

[rileysmommy]

My kids will be just a month away from their birthdays when we sail (both born in September). My dd will be almost 7 and my ds will be almost 3. So really they will be 6 and 2 when we sail. I've got the little ones.

 

[LoveMyLAP-BAND]

Hi all,

I was thinking about arranging some kind of get together since a lot of us are in the tri-state area.

I checked into the Macaroni Grill in Flanders, NJ (Mt. Olive)- it's in northern central Jersey right off Route 80. I was trying to pick a relatively "convenient" location for all. The cost for the adults is $23 and that includes tax, tip, etc. It would be a choice of about 10 entrees plus salad, bread & soda/coffee. The kids are $7 inclusive and includes drinks and ice cream. They can choose from Mac & Cheese, Pizza, Chicken Fingers, Spag & Meatballs or Fettucine Alfredo. And I could bring a cake from Costco- they are big, yummy and cheap!

I checked several other restuarants but none would accomodate a large group on the weekends.

As for a date, Saturday, August 18? Saturday, September 22? any other date?

Opinions and comments wanted!!!!

 

[delauzons]

I'll have DD who will be 13 when we cruise. I'm a little nervous about her being the youngest in the teen club. She on the other hand-can't wait! I will also have DD who will be 9-almost 10 and DD who will just have turned 4. I'm so excited we just potty trained her so I know that won't be an issue for the cruise or when we go to Disney World this August. I live out east in Long Island, New York .Any other Long Islanders?

 

[Ski-and-Sea]

I'll have DD who will be 13 when we cruise. I'm a little nervous about her being the youngest in the teen club. She on the other hand-can't wait!

I have the same situation with DS. But I've heard people say that DCL is doing a better job splitting the 13-15 y/o's from the 16-17 y/o's. The other thing I heard is for the kids to attend the first night's 411 session where the CMs go over the rules and the kids get to meet each other.

I have also heard good things about the teen programs on Castaway Cay.

 

[Ski-and-Sea]

Hi all,

I was thinking about arranging some kind of get together since a lot of us are in the tri-state area.

I checked into the Macaroni Grill in Flanders, NJ (Mt. Olive)- it's in northern central Jersey right off Route 80. I was trying to pick a relatively "convenient" location for all. The cost for the adults is $23 and that includes tax, tip, etc. It would be a choice of about 10 entrees plus salad, bread & soda/coffee. The kids are $7 inclusive and includes drinks and ice cream. They can choose from Mac & Cheese, Pizza, Chicken Fingers, Spag & Meatballs or Fettucine Alfredo. And I could bring a cake from Costco- they are big, yummy and cheap!

I checked several other restuarants but none would accomodate a large group on the weekends.

As for a date, Saturday, August 18? Saturday, September 22? any other date?

Opinions and comments wanted!!!!

Thanks for doing the leg-work. The September date works for us since we're leaving for WDW/Wonder cruise in the middle of August. If we go with September then I can give everyone a report on our experience being on the Wonder with all the drydock changes.

 

[Ski-and-Sea]

I think all us posters on this thread are women so I'll tell you a funny story. I went bathing suit shopping this week (ugh) as I haven't bought a new bathing suit in years.

Most of the bathing suits came in numerical sizes (8,10,12,etc) or small/medium/large but I saw one top that had a size "b/c". Huh???? The bottoms were small/medium/large but not the tops.

Initially I'm thinking does "b/c" stand for "before children"? Is that when the "gals" were still perky?

I finally realized "b/c" related to bra cup size. I'm not well endowed but that "b/c" size wasn't going to be big enough. Too bad because it was a cute bathing suit but I don't want to risk wardrobe malfunction at Castaway Cay.

Well I'm sitting here killing time waiting for the gas company to come and hook up our new fancy clothes dryer. Then off to pack as we leave on Saturday for spring break. Heading to Smuggler's Notch for a week of skiing as the last ski trip of the season.

 

[disnutz]

Ugh - the thought of bathing suit shopping has me running frim this thread!! How much can I lose in 1 year?

Anyway - My DD will have just turned 14 when we cruise, so it sounds like there are a couple of kids close in age. We will try to get in on the get together, but we're a little further into central PA.

As we get closer, we should see if the kids would like to email or IM to know each other a little before the cruise.

 

[Lynda Silk]

Hi everyone,
Haven't been on the boards for a while so I'm busy catching up! I did notice the posts re the kids and their ages so I'll just let you know that my DS will be 16 years old and my DD will be 14. She met a really nice girl on our last cruise on the Magic in 2004 and they still exchange letters. They started getting to know each other by email before the cruise and it really worked out well.

Wish I could go to the get together but it's too far for me I'm afraid. Those that go will have to tell us all about itl And Ski-and-Sea, you'll definitely have to tell us about your cruise this year and the post drydock report! Also, laughed about your funny story re the bathing suit (a horrible task at best in any case)! And have fun skiing!

 

[msteddom]

Haven't seen any action on this thread in a while, so I thought I would check in and say hi! I'm on Spring Break right now and enjoying every single second of it. Happy Easter everyone!

Melissa

 

[Lynda Silk]

Hey Melissa,
Hope you're enjoying Spring Break!

And hope everyone had a nice Easter too! It was so nice having a long weekend (although my Maple Leafs were knocked out of the NHL playoffs yesterday so we're in mourning here in Toronto!)!!

 

[Shelebeen]

My kids will be just a month away from their birthdays when we sail (both born in September). My dd will be almost 7 and my ds will be almost 3. So really they will be 6 and 2 when we sail. I've got the little ones.

Mine will be 8 1/2(daughter) and 5(son)... sounds like mine are in the middle in terms of ages... I am not worried as I know there will be sooo many kids around it will be crazy I am sure .

 

[Ski-and-Sea]

Hi everyone,

We were on spring break last week at Smuggler's Notch in VT. Early in the week it was really, really bad. Warm temperatures and it rained hard on the Monday. Not many trails open. Tuesday was okay - warm temps and very soft snow. The mountain was shut down in the morning as there were thunderstorms in the area and you don't want to be running chair lifts with lightning in the vicinity.

Wednesday was BIG turnaround. We had a full-blown all-out BLIZZARD!!!! Between Wednesday and Friday we got dumped with two feet of snow. The temps weren't that cold (mid 20s) but the snow was extremely light and fluffy.

It was pure nirvana - almost the entire mountain was open, particularly all the glades. Its always been my dream to ski fresh tracks through the woods and I did it. You feel really connected to the mountain when you ski through the woods.

The only downside to skiing in deep snow is the toll it takes on your legs. Wow - that was painful on the quad muscles. But you're on such a mental high that you push through the pain. Its all worth it.

And no worries about what you eat for dinner that night. If anything, you're so tired you're not as hungry. (its the complete opposite of DCL where you don't do much but have all that food around).

Good Friday truly was a good Friday. The best ski day I've ever had and a terrific way to end the winter season.

So now I can officially move onto spring......spring sports kicking into high gear. I gotta start on the spring clean up in the yard.

Hope you all are doing well.

 

[Lynda Silk]

Hey Ski-and-Sea,
The latter part of your holiday sounded wonderful ! I could just imagine skiing through the fresh powder and how great that must have been. I used to do a bit of skiing a few years ago but haven't been out lately. Too busy, too expensive and the weather this year either too warm or too bitterly cold. Anyway, glad to hear that you had a good time!

Shelebeen, you're right, there will be tons of kids onboard the ship so your kids will have no problem making new friends. Plus the clubs and the activities provide so many opportunities for them to get together and get to know each other.

 

[Ski-and-Sea]

Hey Ski-and-Sea,
The latter part of your holiday sounded wonderful ! I could just imagine skiing through the fresh powder and how great that must have been. I used to do a bit of skiing a few years ago but haven't been out lately. Too busy, too expensive and the weather this year either too warm or too bitterly cold. Anyway, glad to hear that you had a good time!

Yes, this winter has either been too hot or too cold. Another snowstorm hitting New England. Unbelievable. And its been cold here in NJ this week.

The kids and I went to the chiropractor yesterday for a much needed adjustment.

Wow - it is really dark and raining hard today in NJ.

 

[Ski-and-Sea]

16 MONTHS TILL WE CRUISE.....THAT'S 64 WEEKS!!!!!

Hope you're all keeping dry during this 'noreaster. I'm going to look for some oars right now.

 

[disnutz]

Wow - can;t believe we dropped this far back!! I had to bump us up!

Spring is finally here - thank goodness!

I got my Castaway Club cards in the mail yesterday. Anyone else? Any more specualtion about whether they'll do a Palo brunch during our cruise?

 

[Ski-and-Sea]

May/early June is the busiest month of the year for us. I'm sure for others.

Yes, I got my "new" CC cards on Tuesday. They are mis-printed. After our first cruise, DCL got DH & DS's names mixed up. We got that all fixed upon boarding for our second cruise and I thought it was all cleared up.

Not so. The new CC cards came addressed to DS and there were only three printed cards and one blank card. DS's card has DH's number on it. Mine and DD's cards are fine and I presume the blank card was supposed to be DH's.

We never did receive the first CC cards - not that it mattered because I called and got everyone's numbers.

So I have to call DCL and get this cleared up. The timing is funny because I had my TA call DCL earlier in the week to pay off the balance for my cruise this summer.

Speaking of DCL mailings.....a few weeks ago I received a gorgeous cruise travel kit for my upcoming cruise. I did not receive anything of this kind when I was on my Magic cruise last summer. This current one is the nicest I've seen in all my DCL cruises.

Still hearing nothing about Palo brunch on our cruise.

Hope everyone is doing well. Gorgeous weather we're having.