9/23/06 Let's go!!!! Who's with us???

[peaches26]

This is my family's first Disney Cruise. My husband and I have cruised before (about 12 years ago) and that is actually where we were engaged. We have a six year old son and he is so excited about the Cruise! We have watched the DVD and it was great. Looking for any ideas/suggestions or advice since we are first time Disney cruisers. Thx

 

[mom x4 grandma x4]

Peaches 26,
I am so happy you decided to join us on this thread. I told people I had found you but wasnt sure if you'd post here or not. If you read back a ways you'll see a couple of early welcomes for you and your family.
I too, would like to officially welcome you to our group.
Your son is the perfect age for the cruise. It will all seem so magical for him.
I'm sure you will all have a blast. If you have any questions just ask. A few of us have cruised with DCL before and will try to answer any questions you may have.
mom x4,grandma x4
Kathy

 

[strawberryblonde]

Hey Peaches! I'm glad you found this thread. Kathy has done a very good job of gathering up posters. I like your username, I like all fruit actually . This icon should be yours, , it looks like a little peach to me.

Congratulations Kathy on selling your house! Best wishes on packing up and your move. I am so done with moving, I wish I could stay put in this house for the next 10 years

 

[mom x4 grandma x4]

Hi everyone,
Well we spent the weekend painting the inside of the new house. We will have one more weekend of painting before we move next month. And the other weekends will be spent taking little things over a head of time so it's not so hard when we make the actual move next month.
One good thing was while we were working I played my radio and we heard several songs that we have heard on the cruises we have taken. It made us get excited for the cruise!! Of course the thought of stretching out on deck in a lounge chair with people to wait on you hand and foot sounded extra good after working hard all day.
I hope all of you had a good weekend.
Anybody out there going to make door signs, besides me?

mom x4,grandma x4
Kathy

 

[sftnslky]

Anybody out there going to make door signs, besides me?

I am alreading thinking of what kind I am going to make...I'm gonna make all of them for the three doors...and suprise them all with them I still haven't found any magnatic paper but I saw other ideas..and I don't have disney magic artist but lol again will find something. And I loved the pic of the door with the streamers hanging all the way down...

I just can't wait... I tried to convience my sister to join us, but she works as a cook at a local high school and they are ONLY allowed to take vacation when the kids are out of school.

I was wondering how many of you are flying down the day before? We are thinking of staying at the Radisson??? Has anyone stayed there before? And what is the best van service that will pick us up at the airport and take us to the hotel?

LOL BTW did I say "I JUST CAN'T WAIT I have decided to try to get more into shape and loose at least 15-20 pounds... Our gym recently started water arobices classes in the morning..so after I drop off all the kids on mon-wed-fri I can head over there and for one hour and work my booty off... lol I have Fibromyalgia so any excersise can be tough but will take is slow and easy

I hope everyone has a great Monday. xoxoxox to all

 

[sftnslky]

This is my family's first Disney Cruise. Looking for any ideas/suggestions or advice since we are first time Disney cruisers. Thx

Hi peaches. Welcome. I'm My name is Becca. There is a large group of us who are going. We have four cabins booked. In one cabin is DH and I with our two younger girls ages 7 and 9. Next door is Dh's Sister her hubby and two of their girls ages 5 and 13. Across the hall is Dh's other sister and the oldest daughter of his other sister who is 17. On another floor is Dh's co-worker, his wife and their three kids ages 6, 12 and 16.

As for any advice... The advice I have is very generic [aka not just for disney cruise]. DO NOT PACK to much. Put one smaller size suit case that is packed with items into a larger one, so that you will have an empty one to take back all your extra stuff you will buy. Bring LOTS of one dollar bills to tip the room service person. I personally bring thank you cards to put our tip monies in...its more personl with a note then the plan envelope the ship provides for you. I also bring gift or phone cards to give out for "extra" tips. And some positions on the ship can't take $$ tips. And ALL of them need phone cards. Don't forget to pack any meds you might need in your carry on. Check in EARLY you wanna enjoy EVERY MINUTE of your cruise. Take more film then you think you could ever use Of course there are a ton more..but don't want to over whelm you lol. Have an awsome Monday and welcome to the group.

 

[peaches26]

Hi Becca, Thanks for the welcome and the advice on packing an extra empty bag. That's a great idea. I've also read that bringing along a shoe organizer to hang on the back of your door is a great way to easily organize things and it saves on space! I would have never thought of that! It's good to hear from several people already that will be on our cruise. We are really excited ...Talk to you soon.

Oh, one thing, I am new to this "forum" stuff and notice that many people use the letters DH and I am not sure what they are referring to. Can you update me on what some of these codes mean?

 

[sftnslky]

Oh, one thing, I am new to this "forum" stuff and notice that many people use the letters DH and I am not sure what they are referring to. Can you update me on what some of these codes mean?

LOL sorry the letter D usually means Dear but sometimes it can mean Darling or if your mad Darn or some other not nice words lol . But if the letter D is the second letter for instand DD then the last D stands for Daughter. And the letter H is for Husband, S is for Sister or Son, B is for Brother. Hope that clears it up.

 

[sftnslky]

Thanks for the welcome and the advice

I just read on another thread... "At guest services you can ask for a paper that is like a scaverger hunt for hidden Mickey's on the ship. you walk right by dozens of them everyday and never even see them. kids especially like reading the hints and leading the way to find them. Kids are very good at seeing them before the adults do!! It is just another unadvertised thing you can do." I think Adults and kids would have a ball doing this... And you know about the pillow case idea right?

BTW March 15th on the Travel channel is a one hour special about Disney cruise line.. Already have programed my dvr... Can't wait to see it. Have a great Monday night all
xoxoxo everyone.

 

[mom x4 grandma x4]

Hi everyone,
I knew about the hidden Mickey hunt. We have not done it yet, maybe this time. But I have seen kids looking for them. We always look for hidden Mickeys and have found a lot of them all over the ship.
We took a tour once, cant remember the exact name but it had to do with the art and design of the Magic and on that tour the CM pointed out several hidden Mickeys we had just walked right by before.
At the stairs mid ship deck 4 or 5 there is a large black and white picture of Walt disney standing in a doorway. From the 2nd or 3rd step you can see a complete silouette of Mickey beside him. But just to glance at it you only see a dark shadow around him. It's really cool to see. Everyone will have to try to see it on board.
I was wondering if any of you guys know your room numbers yet? The reason I ask is on our other cruise thread I discovered one of the posters is going to be our neighbor for the cruise. So I was wondering if any of us are going to be neighbors too??? Our room #7624, let me know if your going to be close, if so I guess I'll have to behave myself for once!!!
Have a great tuesday everyone,
Kathy

 

[Euphscott]

Our stateroom is 2605. So, we are officially NOT neighbors! We've always been on decks 6-8, so being in the depths will be an interesting change. I understand we are right below the galley, so I suspect we'll have some breakfast noise to endure. Good thing I am an early riser.

Something to keep in mind about all your packing - if you are flying, any bags over 50 pounds will be subject to extra charges. So the concept of packing light without any extra non essential items is wise.

While it's no fun to do laundry on vacation, there are washers and dryers for use on board. Just bring quarters and detergent (the detergent machines are expensive!). Another laundry related clue is to find the iron once you board the ship. While everyone else is scurrying around looking at the ship, hit the iron so all your clothes are pressed neatly for the rest of the week.

We are coming in a few days early and will stay near the parks Thursday and Friday. Definitely get into town at least a day early, if you fly in the day of and rush around, your first day will be REALLY long and not nearly as relaxed as you'd like.

It used to be said you neeed to run around on board and get your reservations, but now that you can do that online before boarding - that's good advice!

 

[brerrabbit70]

I haven't been on much this week. I'm going on a "girl's only" trip next month and have been getting stuff ready.

Hi Peaches!! The shoe holder on the door saved us! It was the perfect place for cameras, jewelry, excursion tickets, etc. Make sure you get the clear one so you can see what's in there.

Becca, we stayed at the Radisson before our first cruise. I was not that impressed. The beds were not very comfortable to me. They were very hard. The kids did LOVE the pool. They have a shuttle service that will take you to the port. We actually decided not to take it because I couldn't wait.

Let's see...We have connecting rooms with my parents. 6064 and 6066. We also have another couple going with us!!! She said they are on the other side of us and a few staterooms down. They have a 4 year old girl.

I am so excited about being on the ship for a week. There's so much stuff that I want to do...galley tour, caberet shows, ship tour, etc. I just want to walk every inch and see all the pictures.

Kathy, congrats on selling the house! We're getting some pretty good weather here this week. I found my Konk Kooler recipe I may have to make them this weekend and sit out in the sun. I'll close my eyes and pretend........

 

[APB513]

Good afternoon everyone. I hope you are enjoying your Monday

Welcome Becca and Peaches!!! Glad to see more people comin on board!!!

Kathy -

We are in cabin #7616 so we will be right down the hall from you.

I am trying to figure out what I am going to do. We are arriving a day early and staying a day after the cruise.

So far I have reserved 2 rooms for 9/23 and 2 rooms for 9/30. Originally we were staying pre cruise at the Best Western and post Cruise at the Dolphin. But the more I thought about it, the more I thought I would like the entire Magical experience of Disney. So yesterday I booked a room at the Pop Century (pre cruise) and a room at the Animal Kingdom Lodge (post cruise). We have stayed on property at Disneyland but not at WDW. Not sure which reservation I will keep.

Any advice?

 

[sftnslky]

I was wondering if any of you guys know your room numbers yet?

I know the three out of the four of ours... We are in cabin 2131. Earls [married] sister is in cabin 2133, and his other sister is in cabin 2130. We are all on deck 10. I know that Earls co-worker is on deck 4? A suite? that hold 5 people... not sure of the cabin number yet.

As I was saying yesterday i'm gonna make door signs for all three cabins, and put them on when they are all inside and then the first time they come out they will see them Which btw do you or anyone know where I can get disney magic artist for a cheap price? and or magnatic paper anyone other then the internet?

DH and I usually do two vacations a year...one for just adults and one with kids... our adult one is in early April. We have narrowed it down to either Las Vegas for 4 or 5 days or a cruise. Last year we did Vegas, and DH really wants to go back...its funny we don't gamble or drink alchol but we love Vegas Gonna do some more looking for prices this afternoon, will let you all know when we decide.... Which have any of you done a smaller cruise like 4 or 5 day one? We were thinking about the Royal Carribean one that goes to Jamacia?? In the past we have had luck on Royal, not sooo much with carnival..its pretty hit and miss with them.

Well have a great Tuesday all. xoxoxoxo

 

[mom x4 grandma x4]

Hi Angela,
Both the places you have picked are good places to stay. Pop century is fairly new and it's bright and colorful. I really cheery looking place. the rooms are adequate, not fancy, but nice and clean. The Animal Kingdom lodge is awesome to see. The decor is really different, hard to explain, but is really unique! Most of the food served there is from Africa so there are some interesting items to choose from. Also the grasslands at the back have lots of grazing animals to see from the courtyard and some rooms face it too.The rooms are about the same size in both places but a totally different theme to both and of course there is a big price difference. I toured the animal kingdom lodge when it first opened up and I drive right by the Pop century every time we go to WDW. Good luck on choosing which one to stay at!

I guess most of us are pretty spread out around the ship. So far we are the only two who are close to someone. But as more people join us I'm sure we will be closer to other disers too.

Have a good evening everyone,
Kathy

 

[mom x4 grandma x4]

Hi Becca,
I got my magnetic sheets at walmart, not sure about the price but it wasnt much. It was with the computer paper because you can put it in your printer and print off pictures on it or just glue on your own stuff. I believe there was 6 or 7 sheets in a package.
Well it's back to more packing and planning for moving the rest of this week.
We will be glad when it is done so we can relax and concentrate on the cruise!!

We have beautiful warm sunny weather today. I love the winters here in Florida, but summers are too HOT for me!!! I hibernate in the summer accept to early mornings at the parks.

Have a great day everyone,
kathy

 

[Euphscott]

I'd advise you to keep your Dolphin reservations! We stayed at the Swan last year for a land only vacation at the resort and while it's not a Disney owned resort, it's still very much Disney in spirit. The location is terrific for transportation to MGM and Epcot. And the beds are VERY comfortable...

 

[APB513]

Thanks Kathy and Euphscott for your input.

And thanks Kathy for the tip on the magnetic sheets at Walmart. I was going to use Business card size magnets from Office Depot but maybe I'll get some of the sheet and have bigger signs too.

It is cold today. We also have freezing rain and we are supposed to get snow this afternoon. Spring can't come soon enough for me!

 

[Euphscott]

Snow? Ice? Freezing rain? We hit 94 on Wednesday!!!!

Thankfully we are back to the mid 60's today for a more normal early March in Texas. Whew..I thought it was time to cruise weather.

 

[mom x4 grandma x4]

Howdy everyone,
Well we are not as hot as Scott, but we are upper 70's most of the week. It has been really nice in central Florida. We are off to work again all weekend getting our new house ready to be moved into.
We will mostly be finishing up our painting, then hand some drapes, put up some wall paper borders, we also need to put in some ceiling fan and nicer medicine chest. Next weekend we will start moving all the small stuff that we dont need, so the final move will be easier for us.
We will be ready for a cruise after all the work of moving and getting settled in.
I hope everyone has a great weekend, while i am slaving away !!!!!
If my muscles arn't too sore, I will post again on Monday to see how everyone is doing.

Kathy