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

[cindyd1@optonline.ne]

I can relate to the shopping thing!! I hate to shop. My now dd13 doesn't like anything I pick out so I have to take her with me to shop! which means I have to take my other 2 which turns out to be a shopping nightmare

 

[DisneyMomforLife]

Gabi's dress for formal night came in on Friday and I must say, if she doesn't stay out of it long enough, she will wear the darn thing out. She just loves it. I'm really happy with the purchase.

I need to get a few purchases of my own. I gained 15lbs from October to December with my back being a serious problem in my life and with a few strict dietary changes and no physical activity to speak of, I lost 10 of those pounds in January so I am really excited about that. My goal is another 15lbs by April 11th. We'll see!!

kat

 

[Fast Pass]

Ajeent wrote,

So are you bumming about the Patriots? My 10yo is a HUGE Fan and basically cried the last quarter. He is so sad. It breaks my heart - I want to go smack Brady upside the head

Him and me both! They were humiliating to watch! Can you believe those bone-heads went for a 4th down play instead of just kicking it! Somebody was not playing in team mode and it showed!
You can tell your son that we will get back to the Superbowl next year and we will win!

I'm glad I am not the only one thinking about semi-formal night. I want to keep things as simple as possible. A dress I can just pull over my head would be nice.
A warning about dresses though, don't go up on deck 10 with any dress shorter than say your calf. It gets very windy! I flashed like every man, boy and sailor last year before I realized all those cat calls were for me! I felt a draft but I just assumed it was because it was so windy. I was occupied with the beautiful sunset. I guess the moon came out earlier than the guys expected!
Thank-God I worn undies that day!

 

[DisneyMomforLife]

I think this is the dress I am going to buy for semi-formal night.

My husband loves me in long flowy dresses (gee, to cover my fat legs, lol??)
so I think this is the one:

 

[momto3angels]

Hi Deb, just wondering if your daughter has an email address so my daughter can send her a note or two before the cruise?

I don't know why but I am no longer receiving emails about this thread...anyone have any ideas as to why?

Thanks

 

[ROIE01581]

we two will have to much luggage for formal gowns and tux's. The little girls will wear summer dresses, the parents will wear fancy dress clothes and the guys will have suits or jackets. I am wearing a long dress but not very fancy. One that rolls up and not rinkles. I got these great hats for the girls to wear on pirates night. For our group we are renting a mini van and a 12 seat van. One for the people and one for the luggage. WE are doing a one day rental from avis. They have a shuttle to the boat. And they will keep the car seats for our return. On the way back we are doing a one day rental of 3 mini vans. One for each family...that way they can go there own way for a day. (if the trip becomes to much family time. )




i am hoping to do the wine tasting. I want full glasses...

Got my husband some new shorts...one pair is red, candy striped...he is making faces, but i told him it crusie wear...
It will match his straw hat.

ro

 

[Skuba2]

I think this is the dress I am going to buy for semi-formal night.

My husband loves me in long flowy dresses (gee, to cover my fat legs, lol??)
so I think this is the one:

Does her body come with the dress? If it does, I'm sold and will even pay for overnight shipping.

Deb

 

[Skuba2]

Hi Deb, just wondering if your daughter has an email address so my daughter can send her a note or two before the cruise?

I don't know why but I am no longer receiving emails about this thread...anyone have any ideas as to why?

Thanks

Yep--I can pm it to you.

Look in your spam file. Sometimes it gets stuck in there and you have to re-tell it that it isn't spam.

Deb

 

[cindyd1@optonline.ne]

Kat...Great Dress.... I haven't thought much past formal nite. Still working on pirate stuff.

 

[Fast Pass]

Love the dress! If I wore something like that I would look like a factory sealed fully inflated ballon!I would be busting out everywhere!

 

[DisneyMomforLife]

Ro,

I really hope you don't plan on going overboard any night!

Please don't use that phrase again!! LOL

kat

 

[ajeent]

Him and me both! They were humiliating to watch! Can you believe those bone-heads went for a 4th down play instead of just kicking it! Somebody was not playing in team mode and it showed!
You can tell your son that we will get back to the Superbowl next year and we will win!


I will tell him - he made it through the day today - barely! But he is smiling again.
I'm glad I am not the only one thinking about semi-formal night. I want to keep things as simple as possible. A dress I can just pull over my head would be nice.
A warning about dresses though, don't go up on deck 10 with any dress shorter than say your calf. It gets very windy! I flashed like every man, boy and sailor last year before I realized all those cat calls were for me! I felt a draft but I just assumed it was because it was so windy. I was occupied with the beautiful sunset. I guess the moon came out earlier than the guys expected!
Thank-God I worn undies that day![/QUOTE]

Note to self - bring undies, wear undies....

 

[KathleenlovesMickey]

I have been trying to decide what to do in St Thomas. I want to do it all actually. Someone told me today that when she went to ST she did a catamaran trip to St John. I thought that sounded good but still want to shop a bit and go to the top of the hill. I wanted to do the trip on my own not thru DCL but do not know which company to use.I thought a half day sail in the morning then shop in the afternoon. Anyone have any ideas?
thanks

 

[Skuba2]

It is very hard to tell people what to do and not do on the islands. If you are ever planning on another cruise or an island trip, then explore what interests you. I tend not to really do much on them anymore.

I hope that doesn't sound snobby. It is more a factor of I hate crowds. I am going to try and make it to some of the parties this time around since it is probably our last cruise, but it is a push for me. You won't find me by the pool unless my kids insist. I spend a lot of my time on the verandah---drinking---reading----drinking---sleeping--did I mention drinking. LOL! For me, it is all about doing what I can't do at home with 3 kids and 2 dogs. And that is just a whole lot of nothing. You will find me doing shuffle board at night if anyone is interested. A bottle of champagne is usually involved. And, you will find me walking at around 6 am in the morning. No one is up. I will get off onto the island and meander, then back on the ship. I haven't done the tram yet at St. Thomas--so that is our thing to do there.

I have been to St. Thomas on a cruise and for a week vacation. There is a ferry and there are day sails. We did a sail and snorkle and then to St. John. You will be taking a ferry back, so make sure you know the cost and schedule. Usually the day sails don't wait for you at St. John. The island there is much less commercial and much more residential. Just be cautious of time. For instance, don't take the last possible ferry back---leave one for back up.

Just a note about planning your own excursions--not sure if I posted this yet or not. Be aware of the tour operators cancellation policy for cruise ships. There is always an off chance we can't dock or anchor at an island. Or, we can anchor but we can't tender. Or we can do both but some fool is asleep on deck and the ship can't be cleared through customs until an hour later than it is suppose to because they can't find the person. Don't count on getting off the first tender either--those are generally reserved for early Disney excursions. So, make sure you can get your money back if for some reason you can't make it on time. We called from the ship the day prior to confirm all the details of the excursion we did on our own. It is a good investment.

Ok---telling the mother in me to shut up. LOL

Deb

 

[aprince&princess]

Deb, thanks for reminding us about booking our own excursions. For those of us that aren't seasoned cruisers it is nice to be reminded about needing to be back on the boat by a certain time or that if we book our own excursions we may not be the first ones off the boat.

Still debating on what we want to do.
Vickie

 

[DisneyMomforLife]

Don't count on getting off the first tender either--those are generally reserved for early Disney excursions. So, make sure you can get your money back if for some reason you can't make it on time. We called from the ship the day prior to confirm all the details of the excursion we did on our own. It is a good investment.
Deb

Deb,

I read somewhere in a trip report about this ... so if you are booked on an excursion and you didnt book it through Disney, they let everyone with a Disney excursion off ahead of you, even if you were there first?

I think that is a HORRIBLE practice. First come, first served should alway be the rule. This woman in the trip report got up and was ready early, I think in line before 7am or something if I remember correctly, and didn't get off the ship until 9:15, almost missing her excursion.

That really puts a bad taste in my mouth. Thankfully, we've planned no excursions that have a time set so we won't be negatively affected by it, but we will still be put to the side while other people go on ahead of us.



kat

 

[Skuba2]

Deb,

I read somewhere in a trip report about this ... so if you are booked on an excursion and you didnt book it through Disney, they let everyone with a Disney excursion off ahead of you, even if you were there first?

I think that is a HORRIBLE practice. First come, first served should alway be the rule. This woman in the trip report got up and was ready early, I think in line before 7am or something if I remember correctly, and didn't get off the ship until 9:15, almost missing her excursion.

That really puts a bad taste in my mouth. Thankfully, we've planned no excursions that have a time set so we won't be negatively affected by it, but we will still be put to the side while other people go on ahead of us.



I know Kat. But, Disney knows where it's bread is buttered. And, they really need to get everybody to the excursion as a group, so it only makes sense to put them on the first boat.

Bruce and I did some scuba diving on one of our first cruises. This just goes to show you how new to it all we were. We basically walked off looking for a dive place. They had people on the pier and we got the information and then ran back for ALL our gear---yes--ALL. We brought it all. LOL!! No checking out credentials or where we were going or anything. We look back like "man were we lucky".

LOL
Deb

 

[cindyd1@optonline.ne]

So how does that work then....if you do not have an excurion planned with DCL then you have to wait until everyone that does?

 

[Skuba2]

That is only for tenders into the island. I believe we dock at St. Thomas and tender in at St Maarten.(sp?). They get the first tender off and it can sometimes be even before the scheduled tender. I wouldn't worry about getting off, they are all pretty efficient about the tenders. They do this for a living.

The only thing that could go wrong is the seas are too crazy for the tenders to "park" by the ship. In that case, you sit and wait. Our excursion was almost cancelled last time we went. We do the regatta. Believe it or not, there wasn't enough wind for the sailing. Half the people left. Then they said it was picking up and they had beer. We decided to go anyway. So, we ended up all on one boat against the other cruise ship. There were 3 boats.

You just have to learn to be flexible and go with the flow. If you get off first---great---if not, just be patient and you will get off.

One of my pet-peeves----the Avis shuttle. Please deposit your party and the luggage at the port. They can check in for you. All you need to keep with you is your drivers lic. (double check with the port authority.) You get to re-join your party when you get back. That way more families are helped. My dh has been on the van with whole families and it can take forever.

Deb

 

[motherofsons]

Actually my guys are looking forward to the cruise. For the 13yo - he thinks it is cool that he will be in a special teen group. I am sure we can find them some fun stuff to do...
So are you bumming about the Patriots? My 10yo is a HUGE Fan and basically cried the last quarter. He is so sad. It breaks my heart - I want to go smack Brady upside the head! LOL

We lived in New Jersey and New York most of our life and only Mass for the past 4 years so we are the only Giants fans in New England. So the cheers of happiness over the Giants win probably broke the sound barrier.

Still trying to round up outgoing teens for my DS(14) so I can avoid a 5'10" 14 year old shadow hovering around me on the trip. So if anyone sees a woman with a 14 year old attached to her hip say "Hi" it's me!

We had no problem with departing the ship for our excursions.

I found the required dinner attire very relaxed every night. We dressed for formal might but others were dressed casually. So I try not to over think what I should I wear. As long as I have a bathing suit, the sun and a drink I am content.


Has anyone done the Tiki Hut snorkel excursion on St Maarten, it is fairly new?

I did read a great helpful hint on some blog. They recommend that you bring one of those hanging shoe holders with individual pockets and hang it on the inside of your bathroom to hold all your toiletries. Great idea because there is not much counter space.