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

[dsnyfangoofy2]

RE: Teens

My two have been on a cruise before and loved it, so they don't even care whether it's Disney-for-kids or not. Luckily, they like Disney things, but more than that they are excited for the teen things.

Any teens who are worried should go to www.***************** and click on the navigators and check out all the teen events. (I love the way they break it down by ages.)

My boys are so excited about all the teen competitions and activities. Of course, mine think they are the greatest athletes on earth so they are planning to WIN all of the sports competitions, so I'm looking forward to them seeing that others have talents, also!

As I mentioned before, we couldn't keep our boys AWAY from the teens last cruise. The younger one made it his job to be miserable only when he was around US!

 

[dsnyfangoofy2]

Hmmm . . . looks like it won't take that website. Let me just say go to the castaway club website to find the navigators.

Bev

 

[ajeent]

I see in your screen you are from the Hudson Valley.
We lived in the Hudson Valley for most of our lives.
Now in Massachusetts.

I grew up in Catskill, NY

 

[Skuba2]

Ok--this is my first picture post. Hope this works. I can only find a picture of the kids on the puter---it is new. I will try and find one of the adults later.

Deb

 

[DisneyMomforLife]

Bev ... you can give out any website ... just don't spell it like a website ... space it out like this ...

www . yahoo dot com or something like that ... if it sees a complete website address, it won't allow it to be posted.

kat

 

[kellydizfan]

Hi Ajeent & MotherofSons - I live in Saugerties - next town over from Catskill. Lived here all my life. Would love to move south or out west where it is warm. I am sitting here freezing at the moment and have to go out to a wake tonight for a neighbor who passed away on Wednesday. I really don't want to go out - so tired of the cold though today with the sun wasn't so bad. How many more days - wish it was here tomorrow but I don't want to wish it away either. Can't wait!!!!

 

[Megand3779]

Hi Ajeent & MotherofSons - I live in Saugerties - next town over from Catskill. Lived here all my life. Would love to move south or out west where it is warm. I am sitting here freezing at the moment and have to go out to a wake tonight for a neighbor who passed away on Wednesday. I really don't want to go out - so tired of the cold though today with the sun wasn't so bad. How many more days - wish it was here tomorrow but I don't want to wish it away either. Can't wait!!!!

56 more days! I have two tickers, one for days and one that several others have here (one month 3 weeks)...... Not too ready to go. I have to keep telling myself it is too soon too pack, although technically I could because we will not be wearing any summer clothes between now and the cruise!

 

[dsnyfangoofy2]

Question for all you experienced DCL-ers:

From what countries are our crew members likely to be? On Holland America they were all from Indonesia and the Philippines, but on Carnival they were from all over the world.

Bev

 

[Kimmie9376]

Thanks so much for posting the endearing picture of us....hahahaha

 

[Skuba2]

All over. Our head waiter was from Bombay. He was headed back home soon. I shocked him when I told him the weather there stinks right now. My friends were visiting relatives there. We have had waiters from England, South Africa, Phillipines and Croatia. Don't count out the assistant servers. Our was amazing and had a nice knowledge of wines and their origins. We had a 5-10 minute discussion on Kendall-Jackson and his wines.

Here are my doggies---no, they aren't coming on the cruise. Phoebe and Bella---half sisters.

Deb

 

[ROIE01581]

my daughter found this site for a shopping center in St thomas
havensightmall dot com

its near the sky ride.

looks pretty nice place for eating as well

 

[Megand3779]

The Jack Russell (Bean) that thinks he is a greyhound:

And the two greyhounds (Carlie-pink collar and Belle purple collar)

And here is my daughter on the last cruise. The servers folded her napkin and made her into a mouse....the pic is a little blurry though.......

 

[dsnyfangoofy2]

Are you sure we can't bring the dogs along? They might be more pleasant than the teens!

Hmmm . . . which do I love more, Disney or Dogs? Tough choice!

We just found out that, since we are such a large group, we get to have a "complimentary group amenity!" The fam has chosen the "Group Reception" at 5:15 on embarkation day. I figure we will have set sail by then and have heard the horn, but we'll probably miss a little of the deck party. It will be a nice get-together for the fam after boarding and before the activities begin.

Now, if I can just refrain from eating so many hors d'oeuvres that I can't enjoy my dinner!

Bev

 

[motherofsons]

Hi Ajeent & MotherofSons - I live in Saugerties - next town over from Catskill. Lived here all my life. Would love to move south or out west where it is warm. I am sitting here freezing at the moment and have to go out to a wake tonight for a neighbor who passed away on Wednesday. I really don't want to go out - so tired of the cold though today with the sun wasn't so bad. How many more days - wish it was here tomorrow but I don't want to wish it away either. Can't wait!!!!

I grew up in Newburgh and love the Hudson Valley. We currently live in Grafton Mass. I see two other families are from two neighboring towns of Shrewsbury and Westborough. It is a small world......
We just came back from skiing at Gore Mountain in upstate NY where it was 1 degree yesterday...I can not wait till the feel the son.

 

[motherofsons]

RE: Teens

My two have been on a cruise before and loved it, so they don't even care whether it's Disney-for-kids or not. Luckily, they like Disney things, but more than that they are excited for the teen things.

Any teens who are worried should go to www.***************** and click on the navigators and check out all the teen events. (I love the way they break it down by ages.)

My boys are so excited about all the teen competitions and activities. Of course, mine think they are the greatest athletes on earth so they are planning to WIN all of the sports competitions, so I'm looking forward to them seeing that others have talents, also!

As I mentioned before, we couldn't keep our boys AWAY from the teens last cruise. The younger one made it his job to be miserable only when he was around US!

I love your sons believe that they have skills! My ds 13 yr old ( will be 14 when we cruise) thinks he has all the skills. At almost 6ft he thinks he has got game. You name it he plays it. I love the confidence of teenagers.

I only hope my teenager meets up with your teens so they can discuss and show off their skills!!!

 

[kellydizfan]

Hi All,
Another dumb question. Tips for everyone, dining, room, etc. Do they get added on a per person per day to our room account and if so, how much is it $10? I think this is the only question I have at this time.
Thanks,
Kelly

P.S. I can't believe it is 54 degrees here and raining today!

 

[Skuba2]

Ah tipping---what a conversation starter.

Tips have a general guideline which I am sure you will find on one of the FAQ tip sheets stickied to the main board. You will get the envelopes the day before disembarkation--I think. You can pay by cash or you can simply fill out a form and take it to the front desk. They will charge your onboard account and give you a "gift receipt" that you can put in the envelope and pass out. There is one for the head waiter, server, assistant server, room steward. You will get a "speech" from your server which drive me nuts. Then, your head waiter will also make the rounds around and shake everyone's hand. I think they are the ones most likely to get stiffed. No one really understands what they do and since they don't generally intereact with them, they don't do anything for them. I can tell you they are responsible for table assignments, making sure all the waiters are doing what they are suppose to and if you have any problems they will help out. As far as the room steward---we are in a suite, so we tend to ignore the general guideline. We consider our room 2 or 3 times the work of a normal room (we have 3 bathrooms).

Be aware though, when you order a bar drink, there is already a tip included. They will still give you a receipt with a blank. The only time I have tipped above was when I knew the bartendar had to literally go to another bar to get the brand champagne I wanted. That was worth extra.

Palo--there is a charge per person, but this is small for the amount of personal attention you get in these restaurants. I am not going to go into how much or how to calculate it---there are many lengthy threads that can do that.

Spa--yep, there is also a tip needed here.

Room service---while it is free, a tip is often expected and appreciated.

Clubs--they seem to be under stricter guidelines which is sad. There is no envelope for them. Some people bring on phone cards, but I am not sure how much that happens anymore with the availability of cell phone service. Candy also seems to be popular---search the main board for that as well. They are required to give up anything monetary I believe and pool it together with all the club cm's.

Those in suites---I was told the concierges weren't allowed to accept tips, but they will if you insist. We gave some in an envelope but you never know if they are laughing at us or pleased with the amount.

All but the clubs and suites can be charged directly to your room.

A major hint---don't wait until the night before the cruise ends to take care of it all. Visit the desk during the day and you'll stand in a much shorter line. Hand them out that night, and you don't have to search for everyone.

Deb

 

[cindyd1@optonline.ne]

Thanks Deb for the info!

 

[ROIE01581]

I grew up in Newburgh and love the Hudson Valley. We currently live in Grafton Mass. I see two other families are from two neighboring towns of Shrewsbury and Westborough. It is a small world......
We just came back from skiing at Gore Mountain in upstate NY where it was 1 degree yesterday...I can not wait till the feel the son.

We are the other large group of 11 going, but all the kids are under 8...
I am sure we will be the grandparents with the kids....at least the boys since they are under 2..
dd daughter Kim is from Shrewsbury and We are in Westborough..Other dd is from RI.

 

[aprince&princess]

If you go to www.cruisetip.tpkeller dot com you can plug in how many adults and kids, how many nights and the cruise line and it will figure out your tip for you.

Last year when we were on a RC cruise we were able to add the tip to our original price and then we were given the tickets on the last evening. We then added extra to the waiters envelope since we didn't think it was adequate, but at least it is a starting point.