...and a happy New Year! 12/30/2010

[twokats]

We are also packed and ready to head to DFW tomorrow morning.

Bags are crammed as usual and I am racking my brain trying to make sure I have not forgotten anything of major importance.

It is expected to be cold and rainy around her for the rest of the week, so I am ready to miss that.

Will check in when we get to FL. Hope all traveling in the next few hour have a very safe trip.

 

[lucky1]

Uggggg, packing! I really thought we were being frugal in what were were packing, but we still ended up with 2 big suitcases that we'll have to pay to check, and one smaller rolling bag as a carry-on for each of us! 5 suitcases total! And I don't know what to take out to lighten the load, plus now I'm looking at the weather and all of our ports look cooler than I was expecting, so I'm wondering if I need to add more warm clothes?

Niky, it will be warm in the ports, just not hot. The tropical air makes 76, feel very nice. I agree I put in more longer pants then I normally would and an additional lightweight sweater jacket.

We are also packed and ready to head to DFW tomorrow morning.

Bags are crammed as usual and I am racking my brain trying to make sure I have not forgotten anything of major importance.


It is expected to be cold and rainy around her for the rest of the week, so I am ready to miss that.





Will check in when we get to FL. Hope all traveling in the next few hour have a very safe trip.

We are At a hotel outside the airport and it kis 6am and I can't sleep. We leave in just a few hours. Kathy, look for us at ksc, family of 3, tall mom, short dh, tiny DD with long dark hair.

Laura

 

[nicnac0404]

From what I understand from the crew, the second night (New Year's Eve) will be formal night, and the second to last night (3rd day at sea) will be Captain's Gala menu and semi-formal night.

Yep exactly, I talked to Dcl last night and that's what they said

 

[TXCruisemom]

Yay! We are almost to Tallahassee where we will stop for the night. Driven through 5 states since 5am! A shower and a bed never sounded so heavenly! We have another 5 hours or so to drive tomorrow to Orlando. Hoping we have good weather!

Sharron

 

[lucky1]

We are in Florida at the ci&s. We just got back from
Fish lips for dinner. It is cold here. It is just after 8:30 and there is frost on the windows. Ci&s is nice, they upgraded us to a suite.

Safe travels to everyone tomorrow!

Laura

 

[2gr8DisneyKids]

Woo Hoo! Made it home to Montreal! in 30 hours we will be heading to the airport!

One small snag... DD's ariel dress is broken beyond repair. Anyone know if they are sold on the ship or at the airport?

Thanks and see you all on the ship!

 

[twokats]

We are At a hotel outside the airport and it kis 6am and I can't sleep. We leave in just a few hours. Kathy, look for us at ksc, family of 3, tall mom, short dh, tiny DD with long dark hair.

Laura

Will do. We will be a family of 4. We will be pushing my Mom in a red wheelchair and my dd has short brown hair and is as tall as I am and I have short gray hair. DH usually is wearing a cap and it will have my boss's logo. . . Sampson Custom Homes, Inc. Greenville, TX.

We are in Florida at the ci&s. We just got back from
Fish lips for dinner. It is cold here. It is just after 8:30 and there is frost on the windows. Ci&s is nice, they upgraded us to a suite.

Safe travels to everyone tomorrow!

Laura

Just missed you at Fish Lips. We got there a few minutes before 9. Mom is already asleep and we are soon joining her. See y'all soon. Safe travels to the ones still on the way.

 

[tinkerbelle77]

Just did a quick scan of the list... Right now

Myself (lucky1), Tina (Tinkerbelle77), Terri (SDchickie), Shannon (Txcruisermom) and families will be at CI&S the night before.

I have posted if there is a good place to meet on the main board and will wait back to hear.. Maybe the lobby, just not sure of the time.


Is anyone taking banners to wave at the sailaway party?

Laura

We are planning on being there around 4pm...We'd like to see the Magic off if its not too cold...We have been out in the cold most nights at WDW, so it shouldnt be too bad for us. So we will look for you guys!

 

[sdchickie]

Brrrr is it cold here in FL, I woke up this morning to 17 degrees outside and the house is only 65. Heat has been running all night, it just can't keep up. Here is a pict of the frost on the plants this morning, it was so cool looking, it looked like someone had sprinkled the whole backyard with glitter.

 

[Relaxin']

Brrrr is it cold here in FL, I woke up this morning to 17 degrees outside and the house is only 65. Heat has been running all night, it just can't keep up. Here is a pict of the frost on the plants this morning, it was so cool looking, it looked like someone had sprinkled the whole backyard with glitter.

went for a run in that frosty weather this morning. The muscles were not happy, and I did not do too well.
Off to a soccer game, and then the last minute shopping for the cruise. We are taking extended family out for Mexican dinner for my DH's 50th and our 25th wedding anniversary. The anniversary is not until May, but we may not be able to get together again.
One more sleep.

 

[first timers]

Yay! We are almost to Tallahassee where we will stop for the night. Driven through 5 states since 5am! A shower and a bed never sounded so heavenly! We have another 5 hours or so to drive tomorrow to Orlando. Hoping we have good weather!

Sharron

I can feel your pain. When we were stationed in Corpus Christi we did that drive several times to visit family in Florida. We used to leave at 10PM so the kids and Carolyn could sleep in the back of the van and I drove for the night. At sunrise Carolyn would drive and I slept. The kids thought the trip was shorter because they slept. Getting through Texas and the Florida panhandle was the longest and most boring, especially Florida on I-10 with pine tree after pine tree. At least I-75 and the FL turnpike have some different billboards. Alex

 

[first timers]

went for a run in that frosty weather this morning. The muscles were not happy, and I did not do too well.
Off to a soccer game, and then the last minute shopping for the cruise. We are taking extended family out for Mexican dinner for my DH's 50th and our 25th wedding anniversary. The anniversary is not until May, but we may not be able to get together again.
One more sleep.

You are braver than I am, I'm not going out for my run till 1-2PM when the temp is above 55. There was steam coming off the lake this morning and all the cattails were shining with frost. Congragulations on your 25th anniversary. Alex

 

[2gr8DisneyKids]

Brrrr is it cold here in FL, I woke up this morning to 17 degrees outside and the house is only 65. Heat has been running all night, it just can't keep up. Here is a pict of the frost on the plants this morning, it was so cool looking, it looked like someone had sprinkled the whole backyard with glitter.

That is neat! We got 1-2 inches of snow last night... can't wait for the cruise!

 

[Relaxin']

Geez every time I sign onto the computer, the family thinks I am on the disboard. Guess at home, they always think that I am signed onto work. Anyway, my daughter has asked me to pass on the message that she is looking forward to meeting everyone tomorrow at 3:00. Just getting the last load of laundry done, and trying to figure out how to pack into our carry on the water and beer. It may need to stay behind, and we will buy it on board.

 

[lucky1]

Hope everyone had or is having good travels and will see you tomorrow. We watched the Magic leave this evening from our hotel room. Sorry to everyone at CI&S, never did figure out a time to meet. We got back from KSC at 4:30 and went to our room and crashed. No more Internet until january 7th for me.

See you tomorrow at 3pm in the promenade lounge. I did not make a tent card, but if you see a group of people near the bar, that are all talking that should be those sailing into a Wonderful new year!


Laura

 

[ladypoo]

We made it!!!!! It only took 3 1/2 hours to drive from home. In October it took us nearly 8. This was a much quieter and quicker trip. Made it here around 530 this afternoon. After 2 trips to Wal-Mart, we are settled in for the night. Have a shuttle scheduled for 1030 in the am. Hope to see everyone at the port or on ship around 3pm at the promenade lounge.

 

[lucky1]

We are home... Sigh... What a wonderful cruise? It was great meeting all the wonderful DISer's and those who participated in FE... Thanks for all the wonderful gifts.

They sure did NYE great!

 

[lucky1]

Couple of observations from our cruise:

1. We saw First Timers, Twokats and 2gr8DisneyKids all the time. No we were stalking you, but it was good to see friendly faces

2. Our Assistant server was new, very new, this was her first cruise and she was very flustered. She did not have hear ears in training and now one was there to assist her. The first night, she did not collect cards for drinks until very late and then when one of the family left, she was completely flustered and asked another family to take over her charges for 3 drinks. The did it, but she mentioned she would get "in trouble" if she didn't get this done. She was very late with drinks... But she always had a friendly personality and did well with kids. But seemed to be getting in the way of the other servers. As the night went on, she and our server got further and further behind. We were always the first ones there and generally the last to leave. On the 2nd to the last night, she wasn't there. We had another assistant server and she mentioned that our AS would be back tomorrow to say her goodbyes. I am not sure if someone complained from the other table or maybe our server. When she did appear the next night, she said she did not go to CC she stayed on board and rested and reviewed manuals, when I asked if she was staying on board she said yes. She was not there the next morning on Departure day, we had a 3rd AS. Our HS, mentioned he had taken care of the "Problem" the prior evening.
I was just surprised that they did not have an Training person with her if this was her very first cruise.

3. SPH rock. But what I liked and didn't like was that we were isolated, very little traffic in the hall way.

4. We never took an elevator once. You can walk everywhere on this ship if you are able. We never felt like we were far away from anything.

5. I was disappointed that Ducky Williams was not on this ship as they had on the CC page, they moved him to the PC cruise. Bummer.

 

[Relaxin']

Just got settled in. My dog is very happy to have me home, but I just can not bare to walk her in this cold weather.

Thanks to everyone for the FE gifts.

I ran with SD Chickie, and First Timers on CC. And hiked St. Marten with Lucky1. Otherwise, after the meet on the first day, I really did not bump into anyone else. I saw Splash Mtn. boy a couple of times - he had brunch at the same time as us, and commented that my son was "great" being hypnotized. I wanted to get more details, because my son said that he did not think it worked on him. We did meet some one who lives two blocks from my daughter, and is the assistant mgr. of my grocery store - that shows what a small world we live in.

We had a similar situation with our assistant server, but she made it through the whole trip. I did find the service was much slower this cruise than other cruises, but then I was not in a rush. It was weird having such long breaks between courses.

I believe my DH met Connie and husband in the hot tub one day. I never did get my FE gift to them. My apologies Connie - I handed my gifts out the first day so that the kids (kids at heart) could use the glow sticks on NYE, and I never got back to see if you had an FE to put the gifts into.

Yesterday, I finished my 5 K run at Epcot in 44 minutes. Saw the First Timers. It was great to have them supporting me. We took pictures at the end. With 176 yards left to run. I heard someone cheering, and saying it was only 176 yards left. Well, I surprised myself and SPRINTED the last 176 yards. I don't think I have sprinted for over 30 years. It felt good. I am looking forward to training for improving my time and distance, and getting to a 10K race in June, and then take it from there .... 1/2 marathon in Disney next year???

Has anyone booked another cruise? We are currently booked on the Dec. 30 8 night eastern - I think this will get me back in time to do the half marathon. I would really like to do the Dream for 10 days over NYE, but I am concerned it would be too cold.

Once again, thanks for the FE's.

 

[Crinkler]

It was great to meet everyone and the FE gifts were fantstic. The entire cruise was great, except in St. Maarten I fell on the beach and smashed my knee on a rock, oh well. Ended up booking the May 12/2012 western on the Fantasy while onboard, can't wait. I hope everyone had a great time and had a safe journey back home.