April 12, 2008, 4-12-08, 4/12/08 Eastern Magic

[cindyd1@optonline.ne]

Just Bumping us up

 

[ajeent]

Hey there, guys!
Thanks for the updated list, Kat.

We are getting very excited here. I made everyone sit down and decide what to do for our excursions last week. I have to wait for 1/28 though...My 13 yo wants to do the Wild Side at Castaway Cay if any of the other teens are going. Should we set that up now, or wait til the cruise?


Things are crazy here. My mother in law fell right after Thanksgiving - she and FIL live with us, so we have been traveling back and forth to the nursing home rehab place everyday since then. She is getting better, but it will probably be a few weeks til she comes home.

My mom is doing ok. I was back and forth to her house a few times in Dec. She starts chemo tomorrow and she won't finish her treatments before the cruise.
So we had to rearrange our cruise plans. She won't be able to come - but I promised her a trip to Vegas in the fall if she is a good girl and does her treatment and gets well. The doctors are very positive, so please keep her in your thoughts.

Well, when we finally figured out what we needed to do, the cruise company was wonderful and arranged a switch from 2-Cat 7 cabins to 1- Cat 5 for the same price per person. In fact they gave us some onboard credit, so that was nice.

I also was watching airfare and since it is spring break for us, the rates were crazy! I finally decided it was better to leave late on Wed night, sooooo we are going to spend a few days at DW.

I made reservations at All Star Sports and asked them for the Touchdown area, since my 10yo is a huge football fan. We are going to stay there til Sat am and take a limo to the boat.

So we are all set except for the excursions. And as you can tell I REAALLLY need this vacation! LOL

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and new year!

 

[DisneyMomforLife]

You've been through a lot lately ... keep your chin up!!

The good news is that we are in double digits now ... under 100 days so that is great!!

We all had a pow-wow this weekend too and talked about our excursions. Just made it feel more real!!

Sending pixie dust your way for mom and MIL ... hope everyone is much better very soon!!!

kat

 

[cindyd1@optonline.ne]

Hope everything goes well with your mom: and your mil

 

[cindyd1@optonline.ne]

What is this?

 

[DisneyMomforLife]

What is this?

Cindy,

Here is a description of that excursion:

Chart your own course and take a walk on the wild side of the island! Featuring thrilling things to do with your teen's enjoyment in mind — including snorkeling and sea kayaking in the turquoise waters of the Caribbean, or taking in a scenic bike ride — this 4-hour adventure promises fun for everyone.
Port of Call: Castaway Cay
Activity Type: Adventure Sports
Activity Level: Active
Duration: 4 hours
Price: Adult: $35 (ages 13-17)
Child: N/A
Ages: 13 To 17

- Additional Information Teen excursion availability is limited and subject to the teen count onboard.

- Waivers must be signed by parent/guardian before going on the ride.

- This excursion is operated by Disney Cruise Line®.


And Cindy, looks like Phil is OUT on parasailing so Melissa and Gabi can go together and Gabi is OUT on the Banana Boat ride.

kat

 

[Skuba2]

You may want to look through the trip reports or even use the search tool to see if anyone put something up about the excursion. If I remember right, teen activities have a high possibility of being cancelled due to lack of interest on the teen part---hence the part "subject to the teen count on board". They seem to want to hang out in the elevator banks. LOL!! I don't think any of the cc stuff really sells out before the cruise---I could be wrong. The big thing is to get the time slot you want. We do the jet skis first thing because it can get pretty hot by mid-day. You should have felt July----I almost passed out. It was so hot, you didn't want to drink alcohol. And for me, that is pretty amazing. Have a back up for the parasailing---it can be cancelled easily due to the wind.

Cruise meet sounds good to me. I have always attended them on Deck 10 to one side above the stage. It can be pretty crazy. We need to decide what icon to wear. Lime green ears have been used in the past---the paint swatches from the paint store are shaped like Disney ears.

I am terrible with names. So, all of you may have to constantly remind me of yours. LOL!!

Anyone else on the regatta? It is a blast and yes---you do drink. Rum punches at the dock after and beer on board. It can be a little work or a lot of work--depending on which job you get. They aren't stupid. They give the harder "crank" jobs to the guys and us girls usually do the rope work.

Also, St. Thomas used to be known for its jewelry deals. Not so much anymore. But, you can find some really stunning pieces there. Tanzanite is the big thing. I love the way it looks. My dh bought me a necklace there that is my favorite piece. The stone is so brilliant.

Another tip I tend to follow----go to the shopping talk--then avoid those shops. LOL!! They will be jammed with cruisers. Unless you are buying something expensive, you may find better deals at other shops AWAY from the port.

Anyone else on the late flight into Westchester? I just booked a large SUV to take our time getting to the airport. We may find a miniature gold and/or a park to let the kids run around. Although last time I just remember how awfully tired I felt.

Deb

 

[DisneyMomforLife]

I think we are on the 4 something that gets into Westchester at 7 something.

Is that the "late" one you were referring to??

kat

ps ... I think that Cindy was referring to a pre-cruise meet somewhere local since there are so many CT people ... so we can meet and let the kids meet before we get onboard!

 

[DisneyMomforLife]

Just filled in the final payment info on the DU website!! We are about 93 days out right now so I wanted to get it taken care of so that it's done by the 90 day mark so we can book stuff.

I'm becoming cruise obsessed now ... it feels like it's so close!!!

kat

 

[DisneyMomforLife]

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

We are paid in full!!! (ok, ouch, but yay at the same time!)

kat

 

[Skuba2]

Kat--Yep, that is the flight I was talking about. We are on it too. I just booked a rental to use to slowly make our way back to the airport. It is going to be a long day.

You guys organize a prior to the ship and I can try and make it. I have family coming up to join us for our pre-cruise time. So, getting away might not be easy. Or--are we talking pre-pre-pre cruise. Heck---we should get together here before we ever leave Connecticut. LOL!! We are due an aquarium trip if anyone else is interested.

Deb

 

[DisneyMomforLife]

Yes, pre-pre-pre cruise!! Like sometime in March or so ... the aquarium sounds great!!

kat

 

[cvspsych]

I was just checking in and thought I would update the information you had for SM and DD10 from Cooperstown, NY. DD10 is Caroline-she is very excited to know that there are many girls her age that will be on the cruise.

We are planning to be "dressy" for the formal/semi-formal nights. We have looked over the excursions, but have not decided firmly on anything yet. We have to wait until the 28th as well.

We are flying out of Newburgh, NY on 4/10 and arriving around 11:30 am into Orlando. I rented a car and we will be staying at the Radisson in Port Canaveral. Has anyone been to the Kennedy Space Center? We are thinking of visiting while we are there. We fly back on 4/20.

New additions ... as well as updated information is posted here ...

I think we decided to do AGE AT THE TIME OF THE CRUISE and also names of the children so if anyone wants some info updated, please let me know!!! Also if there's a mistake please let me know!!

Skuba2: DH, DW, DD13, DD10, DS6 ... from Wilton, CT

HappyBirthdayCat: DH, DW, DD13, DS15 ... from Upstate NY

CinderellaPug: DH, DW ... from East Greenbush, NY

EAP'sDAD: DH, DW, DD12, DS9, DS7 ... from Norwalk, CT

Maslex: DH, DW, DS11, DS12 ... from Plainfield, CT

Momto3angels: DH, DW, DD9, DD6, DD4 ... from ?

Beginsters: DH, DW, DGM, DD14, DD12, DD7 ... from ?

cvspsych: SM, DD10 ... from Cooperstown, NY

CindyD1: DH, DW, DD13 (Melissa), DD9 (Amanda), DS5 (Lou) ... From Norwalk, CT

DisneyMomforLife: DH, DW, DS17 (Shawn), DD10 (Gabi) ... From Norwalk, CT

okwmember92: DH & DW only!! ... from central Florida - 25th anniversary celebration!

gfolchick: DW, DH, DD11, DS8, DGM, DGF, DBro, DNeph9, DNeph6 ... from Trumbull, CT

Dsnyfangoofy2: DH, DW, DS16, DS15 from Utah, Kansas and Cali … family members include: infant girl, 2-year-old girl, girl 6, boy 9, girl 10, boy 11, boy 12, girl 12, boy 13, girl 14, boy 15, boy 16, girl 16, girl 16, boy 18.

aprince& DH, DW, DS13, DD10 from … New Milford, CT

TaraMom22: DH, DW, DD8 (Katie), DS6 (Michael) from Cali and DW’s MOM from Oregon

ajeent: DW, DW's Mom, DH, DS13 (Will), DS11 (Jake) from Webster, NY

hannahguad: DH, DW, DW's MOM, DD10 ... from Arizona

KathleenLovesMickey - DH & DW celebrating 17th anniversary with no kids! ...

Hopefully this is complete for what is posted as of today ... feel free to give me any updates and/or changes!!

Kat

 

[cindyd1@optonline.ne]

Aquarium sounds great to me!

 

[TaraMom22]

I haven't been around for a while, so I missed some of the questions from December.

Formal: DH won't be thrilled to haul formal wear all the way to Florida, and DS won't be thrilled to wear formal wear, but I will see what I can do. I have so many dressy dresses for DD that have barely been worn, so I will bring at least 2. She will probably be the nicest dressed in our family.

Pirate Night: DH is going to borrow something from a friend, DS has a pirate Halloween costume. Now I need to figure out DD and myself. MOM will not willingly dress up, so any suggestions for something for her to wear that would be festive would be greatly appreciated. She would never wear a tee with words on it, and would never wear a skirt.

Final Payment: I just found out that Costco's American Express card is available as a "True Earnings" card. It gets you 2% back on travel expenses. I figured that was over $100 for us, so I am waiting for the card before we pay our final balance. We have never cruised on Disney, so we are in the 75 days out boat anyway.

Meet up: If you mean meeting up the first day on ship, count us in. I would love to meet some fellow travelers.

Excursions: We have chosen not to do any. Since this is our first Disney cruise and first Caribbean cruise since kids, we thought we would create our own excursions by finding a nice beach by taxi.

Enough already! What have I missed?

 

[DisneyMomforLife]

We will definitely have to plan a meet once we are on board but the pre-pre-pre cruise meet that we are referring to in the last few posts is for in our town because strangely, there are quite a few people from a few neighboring towns where we live.

I'm sure if we post some pics of ourselves (for those who cannot attend the CT March meet aka pre-pre-pre, lol), we can watch for each other in the terminal.

kat

 

[Skuba2]

We may want to take pre-cruise meet to email. It will only clog up the thread.

Deb

 

[aprince&princess]

If there is a meeting place once on board, we would like to meet everyone too.

I think it would be great for the kids to meet one another and have someone to do things with. My kids might overlap in the oceans quest but being that they are 10 & 13 they are separated for the lab and the teen club.

 

[aprince&princess]

Hmmm, I don't know why the picture ended up so small.

OK I fixed it.

 

[okwmember92]

Skuba2
DH and I are wanting to go on the regatta excursion, hopefully we can get onto the website tomorrow at midnight. I think that will be the 90 day mark right? We are getting closer!!


Kim