MissMet
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 17, 2007
- Messages
- 2,411
Hey everyone! Soon I'll be leaving for my 23 day trip which includes this year's Westbound Transatlantic cruise on the Magic in addition to a short visit in Ireland & Spain (edit:and now WDW & F&WF too!)! I'm helping to bring the Magic home, literally & figuratively. 
In way of introductions, I'm Lisa. I'm 24 years old. This will be my 4th DCL cruise. I have sailed a 3 & 4 day on the Wonder as well as a 7 day WC on the Magic. In total though, this will be my 8th cruise. I've sailed on DCL, NCL & Princess. I am booked for three more cruises next year, the DCL Dream, the NCL Epic & the RCL Explorer of the Seas. As you can see I LOVE to cruise. I am also a DVC member. I try to go to WDW once a year, either with friends or family. I've been going since I was 3 and like all of you, I'm addicted. That's why we're here, right?
On this trip I will be traveling with my DM60 and DD62. This is also their 4th DCL cruise. They are also DVC members, but do not frequent the DIS, I know shocking, but that means I can talk about them all I want.
I love to travel with my parents, as I'm very close to them, especially my mom and I'm really looking forward to spending some quality time with them. I am however in my own cabin! 
I love them, but those cabins get real small quick, especially for 14 days! 
I am booked in a cat 11 GTY room. In all my cruises I've booked myself a balcony once and never again. For me personally, it's not worth it. My mom on the other hand HAS to have a balcony, although she doesn't mind DCL's inside rooms. They are booked for a balcony stateroom, but at the moment I can't remember which category. We have it requested that our rooms be near each other, so hopefully that will happen. Hey, as long as I'm on, I'm good.
I have been a part of our Roll Call, however this trip is really all about my parents, they'll be celebrating 40 years on board, so I don't know that I will be very active in the meets, but I have made a note of each of them in case I can stop by and say hello. Can I just say, they are the most chatty bunch!
It's hard to keep up! So I usually just check back every now & then to see if anything major is happening.
Now that I've got all of that out of the way. This PTR and eventually Live TR will be a little unusual. While planning my last trip to WDW I had started a blog. Mainly so that my friend who was traveling with me would be able to be a part of the planning even though she was hours away from me. Well I loved it & it was a success. (To me at least.) So every time I have an update it will be a link to my blog, that way I'm not typing twice and it will help with my minutes once I'm aboard the ship. The link is always in my signature, but I will also post it here. Also, feel free to look back at my WDW live tr from this past May. It's all there.
I hope you guys enjoy it!
http://www.serenitynowtravelblog.com/2010/06/let-planning-begin.html
In way of introductions, I'm Lisa. I'm 24 years old. This will be my 4th DCL cruise. I have sailed a 3 & 4 day on the Wonder as well as a 7 day WC on the Magic. In total though, this will be my 8th cruise. I've sailed on DCL, NCL & Princess. I am booked for three more cruises next year, the DCL Dream, the NCL Epic & the RCL Explorer of the Seas. As you can see I LOVE to cruise. I am also a DVC member. I try to go to WDW once a year, either with friends or family. I've been going since I was 3 and like all of you, I'm addicted. That's why we're here, right?
On this trip I will be traveling with my DM60 and DD62. This is also their 4th DCL cruise. They are also DVC members, but do not frequent the DIS, I know shocking, but that means I can talk about them all I want.
I love to travel with my parents, as I'm very close to them, especially my mom and I'm really looking forward to spending some quality time with them. I am however in my own cabin! I love them, but those cabins get real small quick, especially for 14 days! I am booked in a cat 11 GTY room. In all my cruises I've booked myself a balcony once and never again. For me personally, it's not worth it. My mom on the other hand HAS to have a balcony, although she doesn't mind DCL's inside rooms. They are booked for a balcony stateroom, but at the moment I can't remember which category. We have it requested that our rooms be near each other, so hopefully that will happen. Hey, as long as I'm on, I'm good.
I have been a part of our Roll Call, however this trip is really all about my parents, they'll be celebrating 40 years on board, so I don't know that I will be very active in the meets, but I have made a note of each of them in case I can stop by and say hello. Can I just say, they are the most chatty bunch!
It's hard to keep up! So I usually just check back every now & then to see if anything major is happening.Now that I've got all of that out of the way. This PTR and eventually Live TR will be a little unusual. While planning my last trip to WDW I had started a blog. Mainly so that my friend who was traveling with me would be able to be a part of the planning even though she was hours away from me. Well I loved it & it was a success. (To me at least.) So every time I have an update it will be a link to my blog, that way I'm not typing twice and it will help with my minutes once I'm aboard the ship. The link is always in my signature, but I will also post it here. Also, feel free to look back at my WDW live tr from this past May. It's all there.
I hope you guys enjoy it!
http://www.serenitynowtravelblog.com/2010/06/let-planning-begin.html
Huge News! Soooo excited! 
I wasn't so sure when I (we
) first got it but now I cannot imagine not having it.
& see you soon! 
Anyway. Normally we do the whole, slap a luggage tag on the case of water at the port... or as of late with disney, put it in an extra suitcase. So in Barcelona I don't want to be tracking down a case of bottled water and carrying it around. So I also pre-ordered my mom the 24 pack of Evian for my mom. I wrote "So you feel at home...Mickey Mouse". She hates mineral water, but that's all you'll find in Barcelona anyway, so tough. We're talking about water here. 
Then the more I got thinking about how we were just going to get off the ship and wander aimlessly in Tortola the more I felt like we'd be missing out. Then I saw September is Tortola's warmest month & the average water temp is 85 degrees. That's a good temp for us. Sooooo. I booked the swim with dolphins for the three of us as an (almost) end of the trip bang! I am SOOOOOOOO excited! 
Since my mom doesn't swim I went with the one where you get a song, hug, kiss, something else & free time. For that one you can stay on the platform in waist deep water. I wanted to do the biggest one with the toe push, etc. for my dad, but I wanted us to all be able to do it together. Now for the best part. I went through the place itself so it only cost me $200 and all that's left is the $6 taxi ride to & from the place. If I went with Disney it would have cost me almost $400!! 
I always knew that the cruise line totally rips you off for excursions, but in researching this I saw just how extreme it's become. Disney charges $129 per person just to be a Dolphin Observer. Do you know what it would cost you to tag along with family to watch them swim with dolphins if you book it alone??? $6, if you don't share the taxi fee! The place doesn't charge observers! 
