Apr 19, 2015 Western Caribbean (Jamaica)

[Lorilais_mommie]

I know it is for us. Coming from Western Canada, the flight can sometimes be more than the cruise! Still waiting for prices to be less than $3K!

Cool, glad you got your flights figured out. Sometimes it seems like finding decent flights is the hardest part of planning any trip.

Tell me about it! Getting these flights was the biggest stresser of my planning..
We have had to cancel two family trips the last two years cuz flights never came down below $350 per person
I finally figured out leaving the Friday the kids get out of school and coming back the Sunday before they go back was NEVER going to work..

So my DH ask for a 2 extra days on each side cruise so we could get cheaper flights! And his boss agreed!!!!!
It will be the 1st time we have gone away for more than 8days!

FYI those extra days will be spent at WDW!!

 

[seacruise]

Tell me about it! Getting these flights was the biggest stresser of my planning..
We have had to cancel two family trips the last two years cuz flights never came down below $350 per person
I finally figured out leaving the Friday the kids get out of school and coming back the Sunday before they go back was NEVER going to work..

So my DH ask for a 2 extra days on each side cruise so we could get cheaper flights! And his boss agreed!!!!!
It will be the 1st time we have gone away for more than 8days!

FYI those extra days will be spent at WDW!!

So you ended up with cheaper flights and get to spend extra time at WDW. Sounds like a win, win situation to me

We are flying in the day before, but staying for 3 nights afterwards. It would have been a bit cheaper to fly in another day earlier, but it wasn't significant and we didn't want the kids to miss yet another day of school.

Pretty sure we are going to do 2 days at SeaWorld, 1 day at Busch Gardens, and 1 day at the Lowry Park Zoo. Silly thing is we are staying at the Wyndham Bonnet Creek Resort which is right next to Epcot so will be doing quite a bit of driving around. We have done WDW the last 3 years in a row and are going to DL next month so decided to do something different this time.

 

[Lorilais_mommie]

. We have done WDW the last 3 years in a row and are going to DL next month so decided to do something different this time.

We are also doing DL next month..
I love the idea of DL, WDW, and disney cruise all in one year!

 

[seacruise]

I love the idea of DL, WDW, and disney cruise all in one year!

Absolutely - can't go wrong with that! We've done all 3 in a 12 month period, but not in the same calendar year.

We are leaving for DL in 20 days so kids are starting to bounce off the walls with excitement. We have 2 girls so the big debate is how much time we are willing to "invest" in the Frozen meet and greet. Don't really want to waste our magic morning on it, but don't really want to wait 2+ hours for it either. Trying to convince them that they will see them in the pre-parade and that will be good enough. Not sure that is going to fly...

 

[Lorilais_mommie]

Absolutely - can't go wrong with that! We've done all 3 in a 12 month period, but not in the same calendar year. We are leaving for DL in 20 days so kids are starting to bounce off the walls with excitement. We have 2 girls so the big debate is how much time we are willing to "invest" in the Frozen meet and greet. Don't really want to waste our magic morning on it, but don't really want to wait 2+ hours for it either. Trying to convince them that they will see them in the pre-parade and that will be good enough. Not sure that is going to fly...

That a a hard one.. We saw them last nov. In Epcot (2 hr wait), worth the wait.. But this was before Elsa stop "looking" like Elsa..

And at DL there have been reports of people getting in the room and only anna is there. If you do get in line before you are showed to a room, I'd asked the CM if Elsa is in there. If not they will let you wait until she comes back.

I had hoped by the time of our cruise Elsa and Anna would be on the boat.

 

[seacruise]

That a a hard one.. We saw them last nov. In Epcot (2 hr wait), worth the wait.. But this was before Elsa stop "looking" like Elsa..

And at DL there have been reports of people getting in the room and only anna is there. If you do get in line before you are showed to a room, I'd asked the CM if Elsa is in there. If not they will let you wait until she comes back.

I had hoped by the time of our cruise Elsa and Anna would be on the boat.

Thanks for the tip on making sure they are both there. It would be disappointing to wait 2 hours and only meet one of them.

We are going to be in the parks 5 days and I'm sure we will start at DL on at least 3 of those days. So we have several chances to be there for rope drop and see how it goes with the line.

Would be cool if they are on the Magic in April, but that's a long time for the girls to wait. Read something the other day that said they were now on the Fantasy.

 

[BGHindman]

Hello,
I am attempting to join the FE group and the link just gives me a 'page not found' error. HELP!

Thank you!
Looking forward to our cruise )

 

[plutosbuddie]

Hello, I am attempting to join the FE group and the link just gives me a 'page not found' error. HELP! Thank you! Looking forward to our cruise )

I got the same error message! I also want to join the FE club! Don't worry once it gets a little closer I am sure that everything will get sorted out!

 

[plutosbuddie]

I want to play too!!! Would you be so kind to PM the information? I work for the government and can't have a FB!!! Thanks so much )

 

[plutosbuddie]

Double post --gotta love the app-- <3

 

[NYIceQueen]

Okay so when my paycheck comes in at noon we will be "officially" on board, but yeah, we're on this one!! There are four of us - myself, DH, DD (13 at time of sailing) and DS (6 at the time of sailing). Feel bad for DD because she loves Avengers stuff, but she's just a bit too old I guess - hoping they have an open house while we're at sea so she can at least go for a bit.

Kind of already planning my next one, as I lost the vote on the ship and itinerary this time around, so I have a feeling we will definitely become like several I've seen on here and cruise on DCL more often.

Not sure about FE, as I'm a newbie and kind of want to see how that works. Plus I'll be working 2 jobs almost until sailing to pay for the cruise so not sure how much time I'll have available....but if I decide to do it I'll go to the sign up list.

Thanks everyone!!

 

[BeerManZ]

Welcome!!!!

 

[NYIceQueen]

Thanks

Well we got our room...deposit paid. Still need to add the kids, and even though another poster warned about being careful that they don't run out of space, I think we're okay in a two-week period. It's also middle of back to school up here, so I think we'll be good.

 

[Lorilais_mommie]

Thanks Well we got our room...deposit paid. Still need to add the kids, and even though another poster warned about being careful that they don't run out of space, I think we're okay in a two-week period. It's also middle of back to school up here, so I think we'll be good.

I also think you'll be fine, but please remember this is a the PERFECT cruise for us here in New England.
Our school brake runs April 18-26th , So I wouldn't wait past oct.
Nov/dec is normally when parents here start looking for the April getaways.

 

[Lorilais_mommie]

Anyone know the Dinning rotations yet?

Also when is pirate and formal night?

 

[NYIceQueen]

Anyone know the Dinning rotations yet?

Also when is pirate and formal night?

I just logged in to the Disney cruise page to make sure my reservation was showing up, and lo and behold there it was...with scheduled activities listed. Only 2, but one included PIRATE NIGHT...which is on the day we're in Jamaica...said show was at 9:30.

 

[NYIceQueen]

I also think you'll be fine, but please remember this is a the PERFECT cruise for us here in New England.
Our school brake runs April 18-26th , So I wouldn't wait past oct.
Nov/dec is normally when parents here start looking for the April getaways.

Right now barring a major issue I'll be adding them on 8/28 (pay day ). Worst case scenario would be two weeks after (9/11), and again, I re-confirmed (yeah, I'm pretty OCD about this) this morning that the room clearly fits 4, that there are still several rooms in this category on the deck, and that it's no problem to add them. But yeah, I don't plan on waiting a long time - just wanted to at least lock the room in, you know?

 

[NYIceQueen]

Hey quick question for the experienced cruisers - do we get something in the mail from Disney about the excursions and planning things? Also, will we get email notifications about when we can do our excursion/Cabana bookings? Not a ton of "concierge" level rooms on the Magic it seems so I'm hoping we'll be able to get a CC Cabana.

 

[seacruise]

Hey quick question for the experienced cruisers - do we get something in the mail from Disney about the excursions and planning things? Also, will we get email notifications about when we can do our excursion/Cabana bookings? Not a ton of "concierge" level rooms on the Magic it seems so I'm hoping we'll be able to get a CC Cabana.

Yes, a few weeks after you book you will get a "Planning Guide" in the mail, which is basically just a couple page brochure that refers you to Disney's planning center website. The "Planning Guide" will also list the date when you can book excursions, spa treatments, dining, etc. I believe it is 120 days in Advance for concierge and then goes down from there. You have to have made your final payment before you can book anything in advance.

disneycruise.com/plan.

 

[seacruise]

Just got back from an exhausting 5 days at Disneyland and California Adventure. Had a great time, but definitely a good reminder as to how much more relaxing the cruises are than the parks! April 19th can't come soon enough!