April 11th 2009 Magic Eastern Easter cruise--UPDATED WITH ROLL CALL PG 1

[kellimomo3]

Does anyone know about the dolphin encounter excursion in St. Maarten?

I thought the only dolphin encounter on the eastern cruise was at st.thomas?? And actually, it's a ferry to tortola for the dolphin encounter.

Kelli

 

[itutorfortravel]

Just paid off the cruise yesterday!

Can't believe I can start booking excursions in just a few days! I'm sure glad I'm not trying to do it today...DCL has been having trouble with their site all morning long

Every now and then I check our cruise to see what's available. The cat 12's were gone last week but I see that they've been coming up again the past couple days. Must be a lot of cancellations with the PIF date approaching.

Well, just wanted to check in! Anyone else finding it hard to not be smiling all the time now?!

 

[PPFQP]

Well, what's everyone up to? It has been quiet around here!

 

[itutorfortravel]

Well, what's everyone up to? It has been quiet around here!

Hi there!

I have been thinking the same thing! Do you think this sailing is not going to be full?! We are so excited for the trip...I've been out shopping for formal wear and getting great deals, gathering up odds and ends that I want to pack, etc. Also, DD's bday party is rapidly approaching and I am working on that. Plus, that is when we tell her we are going on the cruise

DH and I are still trying to make some final decisions about shore excursions. I thought I would be ready by now but I still don't know for sure!

 

[Freddyfishstix]

Hi there!

I have been thinking the same thing! Do you think this sailing is not going to be full?! We are so excited for the trip...I've been out shopping for formal wear and getting great deals, gathering up odds and ends that I want to pack, etc. Also, DD's bday party is rapidly approaching and I am working on that. Plus, that is when we tell her we are going on the cruise

DH and I are still trying to make some final decisions about shore excursions. I thought I would be ready by now but I still don't know for sure!

Hello All,

We are getting ready to try to make some reservations. Hopefully we can still get in Palo Does anyone have an idea of what the dinning rotation will be or when the the formal and semi formall nights are?

 

[PPFQP]

Does anyone have an idea of what the dinning rotation will be or when the the formal and semi formall nights are?

Formal night = Sunday (sea day)
Semi-Formal = Thursday (sea day)

Otherwise I am confused by how the menus and rotation work. What I have figured out is:

Sat: Let the Magic Begin menu
Sun: Formal Night; Golden Mickeys menu
Mon: ?
Tues: Pirate Night; Pirate menu
Wed: ?
Thurs: Semi-Formal Night; ? menu
Fri: Til We Meet Again Menu

I am assuming that the other three nights (Mon/Wed/Thurs) are the menus for the dining room you're in for that night. But if it follows the rotations that are posted most recently (LAPLAPL/APLAPLA/PLAPLAP) then you would be in the same restaurant on Monday and Thursday night so you'd repeat the menu. That doesn't make sense to me.

I'm confused and I've asked for clarification, but no one seems to know!

 

[mreinke]

Hi! This is our first cruise. We have a 13 year old son and we're traveling with another family that has a 13 year old son. They're really looking forward to hanging out in the Stack. We also have a 10 year old son. He's looking for someone to hang out with in the Oceaneers Lab!

 

[PPFQP]

Hi! This is our first cruise. We have a 13 year old son and we're traveling with another family that has a 13 year old son. They're really looking forward to hanging out in the Stack. We also have a 10 year old son. He's looking for someone to hang out with in the Oceaneers Lab!

Welcome! We are traveling with a group that includes several 13-14 year olds (mostly girls though).

Actually, I confirmed with Disney that The Stack is only for ages 14 and up. The Quest is for ages 11-13. The information on disneycruise.com is wrong. We called Disney and researched recent Navigators to confirm it because of the ages of the kids in our group.

 

[kellimomo3]

Good morning cruisers!!

Did you all get the ressies you wanted last night? Is anyone joining us on the St. John Beach break to Trunk Bay? I can't believe we are coming down to the wire!! My boys would love to start emailing with other boys that will be in their age groups on board. I have two boys that will be in Ocean Quest, they will be 11 & 12. I also have a 8 year old son that will be in the Lab. All three are experienced DCL cruisers after three Magic cruises and love meeting kids on-line before arriving. If you would be interested, you can let me know and I'll share my email. Freddiefish, Jason is excited to start communicating with Drake. I got your email and will sit with him to type something up soon.

Kelli

 

[itutorfortravel]

Good morning cruisers!!

Did you all get the ressies you wanted last night? Is anyone joining us on the St. John Beach break to Trunk Bay? I can't believe we are coming down to the wire!! My boys would love to start emailing with other boys that will be in their age groups on board. I have two boys that will be in Ocean Quest, they will be 11 & 12. I also have a 8 year old son that will be in the Lab. All three are experienced DCL cruisers after three Magic cruises and love meeting kids on-line before arriving. If you would be interested, you can let me know and I'll share my email. Freddiefish, Jason is excited to start communicating with Drake. I got your email and will sit with him to type something up soon.

Kelli

Hi Kelli!

We stayed up and logged in at exactly 12:01 AM...and we are pooped today but it was worth it! We almost got everything we wanted...

I was able to get Palo dinner on Friday. I also signed up for high tea that day but I think that's going to be too much so we will probably drop the tea. But that was all they had so I figured it was something. There were no Palo brunch ressies available and that was disappointing, as that was what we really wanted was brunch. But I will keep checking - maybe one will show up between now and the cruise.

We were going to do the same Trunk Bay excursion you are but then realized that pirate night is the night before. Our DD does not do well on limited sleep so I knew I couldn't push her to stay up for pirate night and then be ready to go on the excursion first thing the next morning! I know we have to get up to go thru immigration but at least we can go back and catch a few more zzz's after that or at least just chill out and start the day at a relaxed pace. I was excited to find the Doubloon Sail & Snorkel available in the afternoon, I had heard that was good so that is what we are going to do. I am very excited.

We also signed up for the Butterfly Farm tour in St. Maarten and the extreme getaway at CC. We got the first time for the stingray experience, which I hear is the best time to go before the sands get churned up. We've done stingray city in Grand Cayman and DD loved it, so I think this will be a hit again.

Have you done any of the excursions we're signed up for, and can you tell me how you liked them?

I was surprised that it looked like everything was still available in terms of excursions, even the dolphin ones...I thought being spring break they would be booking up quickly. The only thing that was limited was Palo, and even that wasn't too bad in terms of having choices for dinner times. I wonder if it's a sign that this sailing isn't going to be totally full? I find that hard to believe given the week it's sailing, but maybe a lot of schools decided to do their spring breaks earlier since it is rather a long stretch from Christmas to the week of Easter. But whatever the reason, I'm just thankful that we were able to get what we wanted...I almost sprung for the $359 REAS package to be able to book earlier and now I am glad that I didn't.

Well, now the countdown really begins! I cannot believe after talking, no wait, OBSESSING over a Disney cruise for a couple years now that we are really going! YIPPEE!!!

Have a great day!

Kimberly

 

[kellimomo3]

Hi Kim!

I agree with you about the timing of pirate night and early morning excursion! My family will have to suck it up because I really want to visit St. John. I bet if you check back while on board, you will be able to get Palo brunch ressies. It is REALLY good. We actually like it better than dinner! I have not done any DCL excursions in all of the cruises we have done. We always explore on our own. The ones you have chosen do sound fun though!! I got your email and have been thinking about helpful hints. I'll get back to you....
Kelli

 

[Freddyfishstix]

Hi Kelli!

We stayed up and logged in at exactly 12:01 AM...and we are pooped today but it was worth it! We almost got everything we wanted...

I was able to get Palo dinner on Friday. I also signed up for high tea that day but I think that's going to be too much so we will probably drop the tea. But that was all they had so I figured it was something. There were no Palo brunch ressies available and that was disappointing, as that was what we really wanted was brunch. But I will keep checking - maybe one will show up between now and the cruise.

We were going to do the same Trunk Bay excursion you are but then realized that pirate night is the night before. Our DD does not do well on limited sleep so I knew I couldn't push her to stay up for pirate night and then be ready to go on the excursion first thing the next morning! I know we have to get up to go thru immigration but at least we can go back and catch a few more zzz's after that or at least just chill out and start the day at a relaxed pace. I was excited to find the Doubloon Sail & Snorkel available in the afternoon, I had heard that was good so that is what we are going to do. I am very excited.

We also signed up for the Butterfly Farm tour in St. Maarten and the extreme getaway at CC. We got the first time for the stingray experience, which I hear is the best time to go before the sands get churned up. We've done stingray city in Grand Cayman and DD loved it, so I think this will be a hit again.

Have you done any of the excursions we're signed up for, and can you tell me how you liked them?

I was surprised that it looked like everything was still available in terms of excursions, even the dolphin ones...I thought being spring break they would be booking up quickly. The only thing that was limited was Palo, and even that wasn't too bad in terms of having choices for dinner times. I wonder if it's a sign that this sailing isn't going to be totally full? I find that hard to believe given the week it's sailing, but maybe a lot of schools decided to do their spring breaks earlier since it is rather a long stretch from Christmas to the week of Easter. But whatever the reason, I'm just thankful that we were able to get what we wanted...I almost sprung for the $359 REAS package to be able to book earlier and now I am glad that I didn't.

Well, now the countdown really begins! I cannot believe after talking, no wait, OBSESSING over a Disney cruise for a couple years now that we are really going! YIPPEE!!!

Have a great day!

Kimberly

We booked Palo for a late night, 9pm, on Monday. I sure hope DD and DS will be okay in the Lab until late that night. We booked the turtle bay snorkel trip and, for now, are planning to do our own thing on St Maarten.

 

[kellimomo3]

We booked Palo for a late night, 9pm, on Monday. I sure hope DD and DS will be okay in the Lab until late that night. We booked the turtle bay snorkel trip and, for now, are planning to do our own thing on St Maarten.

We found a great beach in St. Maarten on our last cruise and the boys loved it so much they are begging to go back. It's called Bikini Beach. It was beautiful and had surf which they love. We just took a cab there and back and did it on our own.

Kelli

 

[Freddyfishstix]

We found a great beach in St. Maarten on our last cruise and the boys loved it so much they are begging to go back. It's called Bikini Beach. It was beautiful and had surf which they love. We just took a cab there and back and did it on our own.

Kelli

That sounds fantasic Are you planning on that again this time? I guess the big question that DW will have is, does the beach live up to its name? Do they keep them on, on this beach?

 

[kellimomo3]

The boys are demanding that we go again, so yes we are. For the most part, yes people had bathing suits but we did she a few women strolling the beach topless. My husband and I noticed and held our breath but the boys never even noticed. I think they are still too young to even be phased by that other than maybe a giggle. I think it is pretty rare in St. Maarten to find a beach where you won't see anyone topless but this one was pretty close. I'm sure your wife and kids would enjoy it!

 

[kellimomo3]

We booked Palo for a late night, 9pm, on Monday. I sure hope DD and DS will be okay in the Lab until late that night. We booked the turtle bay snorkel trip and, for now, are planning to do our own thing on St Maarten.

I also wanted to say that I think you will be surprised by how much time the kids want to spend in the clubs at night. On our first DCL cruise, we were unprepared for this. I pictured all this family time. After a couple days, it became apparent that the kids were having so much fun in the clubs they didn't want to leave! Once we figured that out and embraced it, it was like a second honeymoon for us! DH and I are the ones ready for bed and begging them to call it a night. We have discovered so many fun adult areas of the ship that we had not expected. We love the adult comedy shows!

Kelli

 

[Freddyfishstix]

I also wanted to say that I think you will be surprised by how much time the kids want to spend in the clubs at night. On our first DCL cruise, we were unprepared for this. I pictured all this family time. After a couple days, it became apparent that the kids were having so much fun in the clubs they didn't want to leave! Once we figured that out and embraced it, it was like a second honeymoon for us! DH and I are the ones ready for bed and begging them to call it a night. We have discovered so many fun adult areas of the ship that we had not expected. We love the adult comedy shows!

Kelli

Then bikini beach it is! Thanks Kelli.

I just hit another snag that maybe you can help me with. I just realized that my DD(11) is not elgible for the Lab on the Magic. I was hoping that she and her DB(8) would be in the same group. Do you know if they make any exceptions on this. My DD is pretty shy and I know she would at least want to start off in the same activities as my DS.

 

[kellimomo3]

Then bikini beach it is! Thanks Kelli.

I just hit another snag that maybe you can help me with. I just realized that my DD(11) is not elgible for the Lab on the Magic. I was hoping that she and her DB(8) would be in the same group. Do you know if they make any exceptions on this. My DD is pretty shy and I know she would at least want to start off in the same activities as my DS.

This will be our first time with the new age brackets. I had been looking forward to all three boys being in the lab but it is not to be. Short answer, yes they are flexible and will probably let her try out being moved down. But, because it is a school vacation, they may have less wiggle room, not sure. If they had kept the Lab 8/9s and 10/12s, your kids would not have been together anyway. You may be surprised at how quickly they make friends and how good the counselers are at fostering those friendships. Your daughter may start to feel really mature with the 8/9s and want to hang with some girls her own age. I know that if you switch groups, they will allow you to switch back only once. That rule is enforced. The kids can't jump back and forth between age groups. Another issues with the Ocean Quest group (11-13s) is that there is no pager/check in. Those kids come and go as they please which may or may not sit well with you. This will be the first cruise that my older two (11 & 12) have been able to do this. DH & I are okay with it because this is our 4th cruise and we have made the rules very clear to them. They must let us know where they are going and MUST stay together. I'm rambling but I hope some of it helped...

 

[itutorfortravel]

i am trying to go back and read thru all the posts to see who is going and how old the kids are to see who might have kids together in the clubs...would you guys like to do a roll call? if so, how can we anchor a post at the beginning of the thread that we can keep updating as people join our thread?

 

[PPFQP]

i am trying to go back and read thru all the posts to see who is going and how old the kids are to see who might have kids together in the clubs...would you guys like to do a roll call? if so, how can we anchor a post at the beginning of the thread that we can keep updating as people join our thread?

Great idea - but I don't know how to do that.