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

[DisneyMomforLife]

cvspsych is from Cooperstown, NY

Really?? Are you ready for this one???

I was born in Little Falls (GULP!) and spent a lot of time in Cooperstown growing up because my grandfather lived there. I love it there. I still have family in Richfield Springs, Utica and Mohawk!

Kat

 

[cvspsych]

That is pretty funny-like they say it is a small world. Cooperstown is still as beautiful as ever. Tourist season is getting ready to kick in so soon it will get quite busy.

 

[cvspsych]

My daughter is 9 as well-she will be 10 come cruise time. Will your daughter be joining the oceaneer lab program?

 

[DisneyMomforLife]

It's hard not to enjoy Cooperstown ... it really is a great place.

Yes, she will be in the club. She didn't spend too much time there on our first cruise ... we only did 3 days and it seemed like not enough time for the kids club, of all things.

Have you guys decided on any tours or excursions?

kat

 

[cvspsych]

It's hard not to enjoy Cooperstown ... it really is a great place.

Yes, she will be in the club. She didn't spend too much time there on our first cruise ... we only did 3 days and it seemed like not enough time for the kids club, of all things.

Have you guys decided on any tours or excursions?

kat

We didn't decide on any excursions or tours-I am thinking we may just grab a cab and go to a beach and relax. If anything we would probably try snorkeling somewhere but we will decide as it gets closer. I started looking at airfares and they are already so expensive from Albany to Orlando-the times are not so great either.

 

[Skuba2]

We usually do the regatta race on St. Martin and the shopping race on St. Thomas. LOL!! We generally walk around St. Thomas. We aren't really beach people---more like not hot in the sun people. Castaway Cay is more than enough sand and fun time for us. Isn't there some kind of tram on St. Thomas? There was one somewhere we never got to do. There are also zip line tours on one of the islands--but not sure on this itinerary. The kids always prefer to stay on the ship. They will come off for a little while, but usually I can't get em out.

DG

 

[DisneyMomforLife]

We didn't decide on any excursions or tours-I am thinking we may just grab a cab and go to a beach and relax. If anything we would probably try snorkeling somewhere but we will decide as it gets closer. I started looking at airfares and they are already so expensive from Albany to Orlando-the times are not so great either.

Airfare is out already for you? We are waiting on JetBlue and they won't be available until probably September or so. Right now, they are selling only through the 2nd week in January. I'm watching it like a hawk, tho.

We will snorkel at Castaway Cay so I won't pay for it as an excursion anywhere else. My family is a hot in the sun type family so finding a nice quiet beach for the day is totally for us. We may let the kids stay back if they want to, but we didn't do it the last time we cruised so we probably won't this time, but who knows.

My main interest is to have my husband and DS17 parasail at CC. My DD9 and I did it last October and it's amazing!! I was "roped" into it because I didn't want her to not experience it just because everyone else was afraid of it and I'm so happy I went. It was great ... so now it's their turn!!!

Kat

 

[Skuba2]

We are also watching for Jetblue. Post a note here if/when you see them open and I'll do the same. We are going out Wed prior to do Universal a few days. I won't fly anyone else but Jetblue unless I have to. Did you know they are going out of Westchester to Orlando now? So excited not to have the drive.

I forgot CC. We do the eco tour on the jetski. MOre for the ride than the tour. The kids then hang out in the club and we did the serenity beach which we hadn't done in the past. My oldest just hung in the room and we checked in on her with walkie talkies. I think she was vacationed out at that point and had fun ordering room service.

DG

 

[cindyd1@optonline.ne]

We are JetBlue all the way too! We tried flying to Orlando just this past April from WestChester! It was so easy going from there.

 

[DisneyMomforLife]

Same thing here like Cindy ... we did Westchester to Orlando and what a breeze it was. We are using Westchester to do Ft. Lauderdale in October and that will be the only way we do FL from now on!

Kat

 

[Skuba2]

Thought I'd try and wake everyone up. Found us on page 5 and wanted to give us a bump.

DG

 

[cindyd1@optonline.ne]

Hey Skuba2...Thanks for the bump! We are still watching those air fares

 

[Skuba2]

We can play the bump game. See who bumps the most. LOL!!

DG

 

[cindyd1@optonline.ne]

Hey Skuba2....What are ages of your kids again? At the time of the cruise my kids will be DD13, DD9 and DS5....BUMP

 

[Skuba2]

Girls 13 and 10
boy 6

 

[cindyd1@optonline.ne]

Thats great They are close in age. We have never cruised before and the kids are a little worried about the kid clubs. Do you know the ages of the groups? Do the groups do anything activities together? Thanks.

 

[Skuba2]

http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/cruise-new/cr-stateroom-navigator.htm

Here is the link to the thread that shows some of the activities for the kids. It is in the main page of the cruise line forum. They used to have their own navigators, but they now combine the information on the bottom of the adult navigators. The ages in the club are 3 - 7 , the lab is 8 - 12 and the teens are in the stack I believe. Each of those groups is broken down into two ages. The 3-7 are broken into 3-4 and 5-7. The ages 5-7 split their time between in the club where they will combine back up with the younger group and in the lab where they are more on their own. The 8-12 also split up into two groups: 8-9 and 10-12. The 10-12 will split their time between the lab and the stack where the teens hang out. The teens now have the Quest where they can spend some of their time.

Each group will also use the whole ship basically. There is the sports deck for outdoor games, the theatre for movies, studio sea for indoor games, and the whole ship for scavenger hunts. LOL! The older kids meet up for pool activities at night.

My kids have a blast, but to be honest some do not. I can't ever get mine out of the clubs. My oldest has been through all the groups but 3-4 and my middle was in that group. You can look at the navigators to see specific activities. In the lab, there are playstation games, they make flubber, they make commercials, they draw animations and they just hang out. The younger kids do a lot of dress up, their own computer games for their age, character come visit and they do typical Kindergarten art projects. There are also late night movies in either the club or outside.

I usually have my kids pick out some activities for the cruise that they consider "must-do's" so we can arrange our stuff around them. Then, they basically go in first thing and I make them come out for dinner and lunch on most days. Like I said, my kids love the stuff they do and don't want to come out.

When it gets closer--maybe when school starts up again--they can start emailing eachother. Which school do they go to in Norwalk? I used to work for the husband of a teacher in Marvin School (I think that is where she worked). I used to work for the sidewheeler that is docked down at Calf Pasture Beach--they aren't running it this year. The owner is a friend of mine. I don't even mind meeting up with you, somewhere public of course, where the kids can meet eachother prior to the cruise.

Anyway, that is probably way more info than you wanted.

Deb

 

[cindyd1@optonline.ne]

No Thanks that was great information! We were just at Disney in April and tried one of those vacation club tours and tried to leave our kids with the kids club while we talked and toured but they didn't like it! They were thinking it was something like that! My 12 year old (will be 13) is very shy and not used to being out there on her own. That would be great if they could email eachother and maybe they will have stuff in common. My other daugher will actually be 10 four months after the cruise do you know if she could move to the 10-12 group? We are travelling with family and her cousin will be 10 at the time. My kids go to All Saints in Norwalk. We actually caught a show on last night on the Travel Channel all about the cruise so that helped for the kids to see the clubs in action too! Thanks again

 

[Skuba2]

Moving up is always a guessing game. If they have a lot of 8-9's, then they would welcome a move up to 10-12. You could call DCL and put it as a note to your reservation that you would like to move your child up. My oldest is shy also until she gets to know someone, then she is like glued to the person. Myabe hearing how much fun my kids had, they will think twice. Check out the navigators. Your other experience may have been more like babysitting, where this is more like a club. My kids even got close to some of the counselors. But, there is always a chance they won't like it. So, you have to plan for if they don't. Maybe have them pick out a few activities a day they agree to go to so you can have some adult time.

Tell them not to worry so much about it all. Too much pressure sometimes can make it worse. We will all meet up on the ship at the sailaway party. Usually the dismeet is Deck 10 above the pool right after the safety drill. I can pm you our pics so you recognize us.

Deb

 

[okwmember92]

So excited! We just booked our 3rd Disney cruise, DH and I will be on your cruise (without kids, they've been on the other two). We are celebrating our 25th Wedding Anniversary and both of our ahem-45th Birthdays. Have a verandah on deck 6. Just introducing ourselves.

Kim