Alaska on July 19th, 2011 "Where a good tan is hard to find"

[MrsG]

Thank you all for your kind wishes.

 

[twinmom108]

Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend.

 

[Meskamooska]

Hi All,

I am just checking in to see how everyone is doing and I am hoping that things are going better and better for everyone in the families that that recently suffered losses.

Losing a beloved parent, regardless of the age you are when it occurs, while it may not always be unexpected is still always unwelcome. My heart goes out to you all. I lost my mother in October of 1987 when I was just going to be 21 and there is still not a day that goes by where I don't miss her. The acute pain does lessen but the sense of loss never really goes away.

Still, I take comfort in believing that those we love, as long as they are remembered are still with us.

Take care all, help lots of people and have a wonderful day!

 

[MrsG]

Hi All,

I am just checking in to see how everyone is doing and I am hoping that things are going better and better for everyone in the families that that recently suffered losses.

Losing a beloved parent, regardless of the age you are when it occurs, while it may not always be unexpected is still always unwelcome. My heart goes out to you all. I lost my mother in October of 1987 when I was just going to be 21 and there is still not a day that goes by where I don't miss her. The acute pain does lessen but the sense of loss never really goes away.

Still, I take comfort in believing that those we love, as long as they are remembered are still with us.

Take care all, help lots of people and have a wonderful day!

Thank you!

 

[jlawall]

First I would like to send my condolences to our two DIS friends who lost a parent recently. You are all in our thoughts and prayers..............

I'm in with the FE and DISmeet. Whatever wants us to do is fine with me!

We recently decided to cancel our short Wonder cruise this year to fully prepare for this cruise next summer! We will be sailing to Greece for the first time in July which is so exciting......

Summer is just around the corner......

So I guess I'm not allowed to post another 60 posts or so to get the ??

I am also for a pre lifeboat drill DIS meet, we had it on our last cruise inside at the Promenade lounge and it worked out perfectly. We even had a meet photo at the end. No need to try and introduce yourself and meet others over the roar of the crowd. I respectfully turned over the Pirate Master duties to its rightful owner and he is now in charge of the Fabulous, "Wonder"ful prizes. I will volunteer my asssistance in aquiring these if so needed.

Hi All,

Hope today was great! I am in on the and game (I love contests ) I am also in accord and defer to more seasoned cruisers regarding the time and location of an onboard meet up.

I am sure someone here has been on the Wonder before and can clue us in on where a good place to meet would be.

I hear tell that they have built a new observation space at the top of the ship just for the Alaska cruise.

Take care all, help lots of people and have a "Wonder"ful day!

Tisza

DH Mel, DCL Magic 7/2/05, Wonder 7/19/11 and DL more times than I can count!

You're talking about the new Outlook Cafe. That would probably we a great meeting place, the only probably is it's in an adults-only area. Not sure if they enforce that on the first day or not.

Promenade Lounge might be the way to go. I think a lot of DIS meets use that space. Has anyone used Diversions or Cadillac lounge for a DIS meet?

Hi All,

Meet and Greet before safety drill - check -
Sail Away gift exchange?
FE Gift exchange? I just learned about Fish Extenders and it sounds like such a blast!

I am also very excited to report that my BFF will be joining the DISboard in the next day or so. It is her family that will comprise the bulk of the members of the group I will be traveling with on this cruise (and also the same group that we traveled with on our first cruise in '05.

I have also been spending a whole heap of time learning all about door magnets and I may even try my hand at making a few myself! Thank goodness we have some time before the trip so that I have a chance to get up to speed!

I hope everyone had a great week and a lovely, relaxing Saturday. I will be hanging at the L.A. Festival of Books tomorrow and am looking forward to that.

Take care, help lots of people, have a great remainder of your weekend and a "Wonder"ful week.

The total number of days between Sunday, April 25th, 2010 and Tuesday, July 19th, 2011 is 450 days.

This is equal to exactly 1 year, 2 months, and 24 days.[/SIZE]

Dismeet before the Life Boat drill sounds great!!!!!!

Tom, I'm so sorry to hear about your Dad. I can relate. We lost my dad 10 years ago. It doesn't make it any easier even when you know it's going to happen. Our thoughts, prayers & virtual hugs are with you & your family at this time.

Tom,

I am so sorry about your dad. I was off the boards for a few days and didn't see it when I came back. It's been rough here, too. I guess I forgot to post it here (I posted it on the Baltic thread) I lost my mom last Sat. We buried her on Tues. Even though she was 92, had Alzheimer's, and lived with us, she is at peace. Yes, it's been a long week. You are in our prayers.

Maryann

Hi All,

I am just checking in to see how everyone is doing and I am hoping that things are going better and better for everyone in the families that that recently suffered losses.

Losing a beloved parent, regardless of the age you are when it occurs, while it may not always be unexpected is still always unwelcome. My heart goes out to you all. I lost my mother in October of 1987 when I was just going to be 21 and there is still not a day that goes by where I don't miss her. The acute pain does lessen but the sense of loss never really goes away.

Still, I take comfort in believing that those we love, as long as they are remembered are still with us.

Take care all, help lots of people and have a wonderful day!

 

[Meskamooska]

Hi All!

Boy it sure has been quiet around here lately. I guess folks must be pretty busy during the week. I have been putting some of my time to good use getting a jump on FE gifts. So far I have been hand crafting things but I may add some straight store-bought items in as well. A lot will depend upon how many folks actually wind up playing along.

Of course just the group that I am part of numbers some 16 people so I have a sneaking suspicion that there could be quite a few folks in the game as we get closer.

I have also been hard at work learning how to use some of the programs on my iMac so that I can do some DISigning of my own. I love everything that I have seen the other DISigners have done (like Tom's name tags hint, hint but with such a large number in my group I don't feel right about asking for too much without being able to give back in some way myself. So, I figure that the best way I can give back Is to give them a hand.

I am no where near ready yet but hopefully I will be soon and when I am I will let you folks know first.

I have also been getting things gadget/tech wise with an eye toward the cruise. I have added two lenses to my photography arsenal and a 64gb iPad with the camera connection kit as well. In fact I am writing this post from the comfort of my bed with the touchscreen keyboard on the iPad.

The thing just "works". Amazing! I am a major gadget geek,(and fortunately I am married to one as well so he understands) so when new technology comes down the pike I am right there waiting for it.

I hope everyone had a great week and that you will all have a fun and relaxing weekend.

Take care all, help lots of people and have a great day!

 

[jlawall]

Hey all.........just waiting for the school year to wind down........I'm starting to think about this trip..............it will be new for us to go colder in the summer instead of warmer..............so what will everyone be doing before the trip? Anyone going to vancouver first?

 

[Meskamooska]

Hi All,

Yup, we will be driving to Vancouver from Claremont, California and are planning to take a couple days before the cruise for some sight seeing and then to take a detour through Washington state to visit my hubby's oldest son and our granddaughter for a couple days before returning home.

My friends who will be on the cruise, and whose group we are part of, will be flying in a couple days early as well.

Having done the math it will be less expensive for us to drive than it would be to fly and we get to avoid the whole TSA thing. Plus, being the shutterbugs that we (dh and me) are having more things to photograph are a good thing.

One thing that we are still undecided about at this point is which car we will take. The dh has a 4wd 4-Runner and I have a Prius. Clearly the Prius is the more economical choice but that would limit us to strictly beaten path roads no off road exploring, and his car has all his Ham radio gear in it so he will be lobbying for his car. We will see as we get a bit closer which vehicle wins out.

On another note, I am very excited as some parts for one of my FE gifts arrived today so I get to get quite a jump on getting a few more things made well in advance.

I will be anxious to find out who and how many folks will be playing so that I can make sure I have enough for all.

Anyone have any ideas about what they are going to visit in Vancouver? I am also anxious to find out if the Alaska cruise will have a pirate themed party or if we will get a different theme to work with,anyone care to venture a guess

I hope everyone had a great weekend and that this will shape up to be a great week.

Take care all, help lots of people and have a "Wonder"ful day!

 

["Got Disney"]

Hi everyone
So seems that I am not the only one that has been shy around hereno doubt we will be picking it up as we get closer. I have not been posting to much because we were not sure if e were able to go. We started thinking about going on the Dream and 7 days at WDW instead with our points, but when I saw how many we had, I called DVC and found out that we have enough to pay for me and DH in our cat 6 5B and just pay for the boys.

We have the money however we save for our vacations and it cant come our of our daily expenses ever, so if we dont have the $$$ after all our investments and all is said and done....we dont go. We were also paying for a friend of the boys to come with us and he had to drop out so that also made it easier.

This year business is down ...A LOT......but we have always lived below our means. so at this point it looks like we are back on again. did not want to say anything till we were sure as it closer.....as Tom pointed out to me awhile back...we still had over a year.

Our game plan is to fly into Vancouver...stay the night....take the train up to Whistler..stay 3-4 days and go White water rafting, Gondola with BBQ at the top, canoeing at the lake and swimming, and bike riding and so on...also visit/eat at the restaurant that the chef from the show Hells kitchen(my boys fav show) is cheffing at....than rent a car and drive back to see the sights, check back into the hotel in Vancouver....spend the day and night sightseeing, than the next morning drop the car off and head to the ship.

Because we can use our points ....saves us over $5500 in cash....we can add back on Whistler....AHHHHHHHH life is good. If worse comes to worse...we can just do DL and than just do the cruise. We can aslo change to a non veranda room if need be....hmmmmmmmm NAH

Anyway...this is what we are planning...I have been looking at another site for what other cruises offer for excursions....just to get an idea of price and what DCL may be doing....the boys for sure want to go gold mining....and see a lumber Jack show....

by the way...did you know it was cheaper to have 2 people in a cat 11A and across the hall a Cat 5B with veranda than it is to cram all of us into a cat 5B????? found that interesting...after all the cruises we have taken we should have known that

What are all of you thinking about doing???????????

 

["Got Disney"]

By the way....PM me if you know that you are going to be in the FE
This way I can add you to page #1

 

[ImTooExcitedToSleep]

[QUOTE="Got Disney";36761661]By the way....PM me if you know that you are going to be in the FE
This way I can add you to page #1[/QUOTE]

PM you?? So, impersonal.

Of course we'll be doing the FE as will the rest of the people we talked into joining us (the just don't know it yet).

 

["Got Disney"]

PM you?? So, impersonal.

Of course we'll be doing the FE as will the rest of the people we talked into joining us (the just don't know it yet).

Well if I miss it smarty pants on a post than I will not get it on page #1...if it is PM'd to me it will show up on my e-mail so I can come in and do it.....and you think your soooooo smart

So since this will be our second cruise together I will have to get you a little something extra...lets see...last time was sardines...maybe I will upgrade you this time with some Tuna....do ya like Tuna Tom??????

 

[ImTooExcitedToSleep]

[QUOTE="Got Disney";36761884]So since this will be our second cruise together I will have to get you a little something extra...lets see...last time was sardines...maybe I will upgrade you this time with some Tuna....do ya like Tuna Tom??????[/QUOTE]

Blech.....

Um...I mean....no thank you.

 

["Got Disney"]

Blech.....

Um...I mean....no thank you.

Do you remember why I gave you Sardines last time??????? or has your great mind forgotten

So is anyone else thinking of heading up to Whistler????? I have heard so many great things about it.....we figured since we are heading up that way we have to at least do 3 days there and 2 days in Vancouver.

The train ride sounds like a fun trip. Kids have never been on a train before. They say it's a beautiful ride through the mountains...we can rent a car up there and drive back one way but.... it is $200 for just 24 hrs....UGH! But we will keep it for the day and drive around Vancouver than the day of the cruise return it. Do ya ever feel like you are 100 dollard to death

 

[Meskamooska]

Hi All,

We haven't made any specific plans yet for what to visit when we travel North (other than seeing the granddaughter in Washington that is .

Has anyone started shopping/planning their shore excursions yet? Anyone already done the Alaska thing that can shed some light on what experiences are not to be missed?

On another topic, I have been hard at work on FE items (yes, I know I have over a year and that we don't know for sure how many will be involved but it keeps me busy and off the streets . Am I the only obsessive compulsive here that has already hit the ground running with this one?

Also, just curious here, are most folks considering (if they have even thought that far) individual gifts or cabin/couple gifts? This will be the first time I will be cruising with the FE exchange in place so I don't quite know what is the usual practice or more importantly, what the other folks on this particular cruise are planning.

I am leaning toward a combination of individual items and also couple/cabin gifts (not counting the kids of course they each get their own). Mainly because I am not sure that folks would want duplicate items and hopefully all of the big people will be ok with sharing. Of course this whole idea does collapse like a house of cards when it comes to guys vs. gals. Being one of the latter I find it much easier to think like the girl I am and thus come up with ideas which will hopefully appeal to others like me.

Take care all, help lots of people and have a "Wonder"ful day!

 

[ImTooExcitedToSleep]

On another topic, I have been hard at work on FE items (yes, I know I have over a year and that we don't know for sure how many will be involved but it keeps me busy and off the streets . Am I the only obsessive compulsive here that has already hit the ground running with this one?

Also, just curious here, are most folks considering (if they have even thought that far) individual gifts or cabin/couple gifts? This will be the first time I will be cruising with the FE exchange in place so I don't quite know what is the usual practice or more importantly, what the other folks on this particular cruise are planning.

I am leaning toward a combination of individual items and also couple/cabin gifts (not counting the kids of course they each get their own). Mainly because I am not sure that folks would want duplicate items and hopefully all of the big people will be ok with sharing. Of course this whole idea does collapse like a house of cards when it comes to guys vs. gals. Being one of the latter I find it much easier to think like the girl I am and thus come up with ideas which will hopefully appeal to others like me.

We overdid it on the FE items last cruise because we were so excited about it. We ended up having one per day. They were a combitation of group (door magnets), individual (mugs) and kid (temporary tattoos).

 

[1Goofy]

Hey there fellow DISers!

Me (47), DW(47), DS (21) and DS (9) will be shipping out to deploy aboard Wonder for this cruise. 1Goofy and the Mrs. celebrating (by July 2011) a belated 25th Anniversary (silver FE gifts encouraged!)

Can't wait! Looking at a couple of pre-cruise days in Vancouver, so we'll be keeping an eye on the this thread for tips.

Hope to have a good FE group; just did our first exchange earlier this month and it was truely more blessed to give than to recieve...great fun trying to come up with unique ideas.

On our most recent cruise, we linked dining assignments with other DISers that were in the FE group -- was great fun and would recommed it for this group if any of you are game...

Hope to meet you on board...maybe we need to set up a meet & greet champagne send off?!



See ya Real Soon!

 

[Meskamooska]

Hi 1Goofy and 1st Mate!

Allow me to be the first one to pipe you aboard! I am very excited about this cruise as is my DH and we are both looking forward to meeting all the DISer's in person that, by the time we sail, I will have been communicating with for over a year.

I am leaning toward the one a day FE thing personally as I just think that knowing my personality and tendency to get a bit carried away with things like this I will probably go overboard rotfl: overboard... I made a funny).

We (DH and me) will be traveling with a pretty big group, 16 all told, late seating, so sitting together at one table might be problematic but we are planning a DIS meetup before the life boat drill (exact time and location tbd) and we might all want to try to set up a brunch at Palo too.

Once again, welcome and I am glad you are here. I am looking forward to making more friends here as our trip grows closer and am pleased to count you and yours among them!

Take care all, help lots of people and have a wonderful day!

 

[ImTooExcitedToSleep]

Hey there fellow DISers!

Me (47), DW(47), DS (21) and DS (9) will be shipping out to deploy aboard Wonder for this cruise. 1Goofy and the Mrs. celebrating (by July 2011) a belated 25th Anniversary (silver FE gifts encouraged!)

Welcome aboard!

 

[OKWMEMBER]

Hey there fellow DISers!

Me (47), DW(47), DS (21) and DS (9) will be shipping out to deploy aboard Wonder for this cruise. 1Goofy and the Mrs. celebrating (by July 2011) a belated 25th Anniversary (silver FE gifts encouraged!)



See ya Real Soon!

Welcome Aboard!!!