Ahoy November 12th, 2009 Cruisers!!

[DCL rookie]

Alice it would be great to hook up with you/the boys.
We are staying at Ron Jon's resort. It is a little more, around $130, but you do get to park your car for free. We have stayed there before for a week, twice. Excellent pool, lazy river, waterslide. We would probably eat at Fishlips anyway because it is one of our favorites. My daughter does have lime green nail polish!

Car rentals - check out the mousesavers.com website for coupon codes. I found our best rate on Dollar. Cheaper for us to rent the whole week than to put it in pieces.

Question - at CC can kids borrow the lifejackets from the snorkeling area to play on that water playground thing?

 

[DCL rookie]

I have a 3 and 5 year old, I picked the early seating too because I've never cruised before. It might be better to see the early shows??? How do you keep them up late for everything? Parties, fireworks.

 

[disneydarling07]

I have a 3 and 5 year old, I picked the early seating too because I've never cruised before. It might be better to see the early shows??? How do you keep them up late for everything? Parties, fireworks.

I have a 2 year old and a 7 year old. We chose the early seating last time and didn't care for it. We felt like we were rushed off of CC to get back in time for dinner. And for us, after a big dinner and a late show, the night was over. The pirate party was the only late night party. That was HARD! It was the same as CC. So after swimming, snorkeling, sunning, sandcastleing, then dinner...we almost missed the pirate party. I know most of our dis group did miss it. It was just a long day for everyone. We saw the fireworks and went straight to bed. Missed out on the buffet and dancing. And that was EVERYONE..not just the kids! Exhausting!
We are hoping that the later seating will make a difference but from what i have read, there are too many pros and cons for either one. So we will just have to wait and see.

 

[anetnmike]

Hi all!
I LOVE the lime green nail polish idea-especially if I can manage to paint a Mickey head on it!
I think a pre cruise dinner the night before is a great idea for anyone who is interested. We would just have to pick a big enough spot because we are getting to be quite the big party here!
I also have grabbed a Radisson ressie as I was afraid that half the ship would get the same idea
I am hoping airfare comes down too. AirTran had $59/person and went back up again not very WONDERful of them

 

[LynnF0513]

Hello Beautiful People!

Sorry I have not checked in lately. With the move it has been one thing after the other. We will be completely moved on Monday which will be a relief! I skimmed through the board looks like everything is lively. Hope everyone is great. I will be able to get back in the swing of things in the next few weeks. We are getting closer and closer and believe me after the last month I've had I can't wait!

 

[BethA]

Hi--I am considering booking this for my 13 yr od son and myself. What is the weather like in early Nov? Alos anyone else with a 13 yr old boy?

Right now most of the nonstop flightf from Pgh seem to have been removed for this time period so I'll have to watch prices and availability.

We have never done the 3 night, but have one booked in a few weeks-If we like it and things work out we may join you. I am worried the 3 night will just be too short!

 

[scootch]

Right now most of the nonstop flightf from Pgh seem to have been removed for this time period so I'll have to watch prices and availability.

airtran and southwest both have nonstop flights for November from Pittsburgh. We are flying down Airtran and back Southwest. Florida is still nice weather... shorts most of the day, some evenings can get chilly. Most evenings we were just in jeans and hoodie.

 

[scootch]

Glad you had a great 7 day cruise Mike!!

Hey everyone, we are home from 10 days at Virginia Beach! Nice family vacation. Kids just love the ocean and boogie boarding! I did get some nasty gastrointestinal bug. Will spare you the details but I did end up in urgent care needing IV's!! Thankfully we were gone so long as I ended up sick about 4 days of the trip. Saved some cash on food! Fully back to normal now and can now start obsessing about our November trip.

I see you had some discussion on seating. I have second, on waitlist for first. I am only probably going to eat at the dining room 1 or 2 nights though.... I asked for Rotation of P/T/A. Figuring I may or may not eat the first night(the lunch buffet will probably be plenty) and since we are doing Atlantis, I don't plan on doing sit down the second night, will just rest and grab something before Pirate Party, then wanted to do Animators the third day after hopefully a relaxing day on CC. Since Daddy doesn't come along, I am not too picky about food. I am not a huge eater and my youngest can live on pizza.... so as long as we get to see the effect of Animators, I will be happy. If it were a longer cruise, I would probably be more interested in the food. Starting to think I may just be best to stay at the second seating. My only concern is we eat dinner at 430pm at home(I know crazy, but my hubby has lunch at 11am, so he is starving when he gets home).

Welcome to the newbies.... I am Amy, traveling alone with my two girls who will be 10 and 7 at time of sailing. Welcome!!

 

[scootch]

Question: I currently have a Cat 9... but 11's have opened and would save me a bit over $300. Is the window and bath really worth that much on just a 3 nighter???? Hmmm... what are your thoughts?? remember, just one adult and 2 kids in the room..... tks!

 

[anetnmike]

Wow Amy, I'm glad to hear you are feeling better. Bummer about your tummy bug. That is certainly an unwelcome guest on any trip!
To answer your question, I guess it depends on personal preference. I am quite claustraphobic and would not like being in the cabin with the teeny window or an inside cabin. Some folks prefer only verandahs. So it really kind of depends on what you like. With you and your girls you will have plenty of space in either.

 

[elmo2200]

Hi guys!!! I'm just catching up, lots going on! Welcome new members. Glad you joined our crazy group.

Mike and Laura, good to have you back, glad you had fun.

Scootch - We have had both cat 9 & 11. The window made no difference to us. We are hardly in the room. We would base our decision on location if you get to pick the cabin number. We had cat 11 on deck 6 and cat 9 on deck 2. Obviously deck 6 is more convenient. Our cat 9 did have the shower seperate from the toilet which was handy but probably not worth $300...

Can you believe I have not booked airfare or a rental car yet?!? I am really not obsessing. My DH should be proud!!! I have spent hardly any time on these boards the last two or three months. Maybe I should lurk on some threads now!!!!! Got any favorites (besides this one!)?

 

[disneydarling07]

still looking for cheaper flights home.

I found a really good deal on a car at Thrifty...I think it was the same price as Dollar.

I sure hope the weather improves...if it doesn't, I have a feeling we will be wearing jackets and scarves for this trip. The February trip wasn't all that warm...I hope this one is better!

We booked a Cat 4 with a verandah. I love waking up before everyone else and just sitting on there by myself for a while. I think this trip we will be on the other side of the ship, so we won't even have to get dressed to run up on deck to get sunrise pics.

I guess the window/verandah just depends on what you like. Yeah, it's a lot cheaper without either, but this is probably our last vacation for a while, so we want to enjoy it as best as we can.

 

[LynnF0513]

Hey guys!

I have a question that I am sure has been asked before but here goes...I didn't think they did banana boat rides on CC anymore? Why are they still listed in the excursion area of the booklet we rcvd? Did they start doing them again?

Lynn

 

[anetnmike]

Hey Tracy! Where HAVE you been??
Not reading, not obsessing? Girlfriend aren't you feeling well?
I have lots of fun reading people's trip reports. Some of them are so much fun it is like being there! They give me ideas for future trips and excursions. Also what has worked or not for other folks.Great reading!

Lynn-you could post your question on the boards and see what comes up.

 

[Alice_on_WONDERland]

I asked for Rotation of P/T/A.

Amy,

How did you do this? I'd like to request a specific dining rotation also, simply because I want to book Palo on the night that we are supposed to be in Parrot Cay. Is it possible to do this if my ressie is linked with another family's?

Thanks!

 

[scootch]

Amy,

How did you do this? I'd like to request a specific dining rotation also, simply because I want to book Palo on the night that we are supposed to be in Parrot Cay. Is it possible to do this if my ressie is linked with another family's?

Thanks!

I just told my travel agent. She said she could put in the request, not guaranteed. She also told me if when i checked in and I did not have it, to reask then.

 

[Ottes4]

Just wondering if someone could let me know if parking at the terminal is per day or per night....I am debating on keeping the rental car or returning depending on cost. . . I thought it was per night so for this cruise it would cost me $45...last cruise we used a service to get us there...so this is new to me.

Thanks a bunch
Melissa

 

[Alice_on_WONDERland]

Just wondering if someone could let me know if parking at the terminal is per day or per night....I am debating on keeping the rental car or returning depending on cost. . . I thought it was per night so for this cruise it would cost me $45...last cruise we used a service to get us there...so this is new to me.

Thanks a bunch
Melissa

Hi Melissa,

I'm not sure how much parking at the port is, but don't pay for it! Since you are using a rental car that company will have a shuttle right there waiting to take you to their lot as soon as you disembark. We used Avis on our last cruise and all we had to do was walk off the ship, pick up our luggage and head to their waiting area. The shuttle arrived not to long after, we hopped on and rode to the Avis office, checked in at the desk, and had keys in hand and were on the road in no time! Save your money for something FUN!

 

[LynnF0513]

Well now that DH and I are going to be flying in we have decided to stay at the Hyatt at MCO and take the ME to the Port. I am sorry I won't get to join in the pre-cruise fun @ the Radisson . I can't remember....are we doing a meet on the ship?

 

[scootch]

Well now that DH and I are going to be flying in we have decided to stay at the Hyatt at MCO and take the ME to the Port. I am sorry I won't get to join in the pre-cruise fun @ the Radisson . I can't remember....are we doing a meet on the ship?

I am staying at the Hyatt too. I got a certificate night stay there for $141.