April 16, 2013 - Disney Magic out of Galveston

teamadco said:
Thank you for the info! I am loving this forum! :worship:
On your past cruises has your daughter ever dressed up as a princess? I was thinking of packing my 3 yo favorite princess outfits.

Sadly my DD is 11 and thinks she is way past that but you do see the little girls dressed in their princess finery. They get so much attention from the princess' , characters and staff. She won't be out of place. Don't forget to dress up for pirate night. That's a lot of fun as well. My DD, my mom and myself all dress up for that.
 
teamadco said:
We went ahead and put our deposit on Nachi Como Beach Club. It was only $11 per person to reserve so worse case we change our mind and just lose $22. But based on Trip Advisor and Disboards it sounds pretty great. We have a 3 yr old so if your group ends up going we can have a toddler party! :)
Since you are a first time cruiser also, do you know whats going on with these fish extender things?

We want to do nachi also. It's so much cheaper and sounds really nice. Mabey we will see you there :) I have a 3 yr old son and my daughter will be 16 months on cruise
 
We went ahead and put our deposit on Nachi Como Beach Club. It was only $11 per person to reserve so worse case we change our mind and just lose $22. But based on Trip Advisor and Disboards it sounds pretty great. We have a 3 yr old so if your group ends up going we can have a toddler party! :)
Since you are a first time cruiser also, do you know whats going on with these fish extender things?

I'm so jealous - that's what I really wanted to do. Unfortunately now that I'm on the April 12th cruise, Nachi is sold out for my date :-(
 
I am so glad you love the Magic! I am wondering if there is a bippity bopidi boutique on board? Do you know by any chance?

There is not a boutique on board. The last time we were on the Magic, back in 2010, they did a princess makeover for the kids. They closed down the Mickey Mates shop early and allowed the girls (2 at a time, get makeovers.) However this was in Russia on the night of the ballet and princess excursions, so I am guessing this was a one of a time occurance and not a new feature on the ship. This is also something they most likely will not offer on a 4 night cruise. There are a few offerings for mini manicures for pre-teens offered in the spa. They usually have hair braiding services offered ob the top decks.

I was planning on packing a couple of my daughters princess costumes for dinner, is that something other kids do?

When my daughters were younger they enjoyed dressing up. They got lots of extra attention at dinner and from the princesses. So this is really not out of the norm to see kids in princess dresses and pirate gear during pirate night.

do you know whats going on with these fish extender things?

We have done fishe extenders on our last 2 cruises. The kids love them and keep asking me if we are doing them again this year. My older daughter (14) wants to help me make something, since I am kinda crafty and enjoy making gifts. But I have not seen any mention yet. Maybe that is due to so many firest timers on board, so I will explain it and if that is someone folks are interested in I will be glad to manage it.

Basically a fe (fish extender) exchange is a small gift exchange. Those who chose to particpate are assigned a night (or some prefer to give anytime during the cruise) and leave a small trinket/gift to the other participants. The gifts can be store bought or hand made. There is a huge variety of want can be given, we have recieved things such as stickers & candy. As well as location gifts, such as a bottle of sand from the florida folks, small bottles of rum and tobasco. Picture frames, notepads, ornaments, magnets for the door. The list goes on and on (There are several threads dedicated to gift ideas). You can give gifts as Kids only, Adults Only, whole family, each individual. The opions vary as much as the gifts. The idea is mainly to have fun as it is not meant to cause to much stress of worry.

Julie
 


There is not a boutique on board. The last time we were on the Magic, back in 2010, they did a princess makeover for the kids. They closed down the Mickey Mates shop early and allowed the girls (2 at a time, get makeovers.) However this was in Russia on the night of the ballet and princess excursions, so I am guessing this was a one of a time occurance and not a new feature on the ship. This is also something they most likely will not offer on a 4 night cruise. There are a few offerings for mini manicures for pre-teens offered in the spa. They usually have hair braiding services offered ob the top decks.



When my daughters were younger they enjoyed dressing up. They got lots of extra attention at dinner and from the princesses. So this is really not out of the norm to see kids in princess dresses and pirate gear during pirate night.



We have done fishe extenders on our last 2 cruises. The kids love them and keep asking me if we are doing them again this year. My older daughter (14) wants to help me make something, since I am kinda crafty and enjoy making gifts. But I have not seen any mention yet. Maybe that is due to so many firest timers on board, so I will explain it and if that is someone folks are interested in I will be glad to manage it.

Basically a fe (fish extender) exchange is a small gift exchange. Those who chose to particpate are assigned a night (or some prefer to give anytime during the cruise) and leave a small trinket/gift to the other participants. The gifts can be store bought or hand made. There is a huge variety of want can be given, we have recieved things such as stickers & candy. As well as location gifts, such as a bottle of sand from the florida folks, small bottles of rum and tobasco. Picture frames, notepads, ornaments, magnets for the door. The list goes on and on (There are several threads dedicated to gift ideas). You can give gifts as Kids only, Adults Only, whole family, each individual. The opions vary as much as the gifts. The idea is mainly to have fun as it is not meant to cause to much stress of worry.

Julie

THANKS for all the info Julie! Super helpful! We will surely pack all our princess gear. :)

Also if someone is interested in the FE lets do it! :)
 
We want to do nachi also. It's so much cheaper and sounds really nice. Mabey we will see you there :) I have a 3 yr old son and my daughter will be 16 months on cruise

UM HECK YES! Toddler party!!! Lets be sure to meet up before, we can even take a van together over to Nachi...safety in numbers!
I was reading about it on trip advisor and everyone said to ask for Carlos as your server when you make your reservation...so we did. :) Can't wait to meet you guys for fun in the sun.:beach:
 
teamadco said:
UM HECK YES! Toddler party!!! Lets be sure to meet up before, we can even take a van together over to Nachi...safety in numbers!
I was reading about it on trip advisor and everyone said to ask for Carlos as your server when you make your reservation...so we did. :) Can't wait to meet you guys for fun in the sun.:beach:

Sounds good! Counting down the days! I saw were your from Texas we are also, what part?
 


Sounds good! Counting down the days! I saw were your from Texas we are also, what part?

We are from San Antonio. So we will drive in on Tuesday morning in time for lunch on the boat!
I am getting conflicting info on passport needs for my daughter. My husband and I are all set but I don't have one for her. Some say we just need a birth certificate bc we are arriving by sea and she's under 16. What have you heard? Anyone else pls chime in! Thanks
 
We are from San Antonio. So we will drive in on Tuesday morning in time for lunch on the boat!
I am getting conflicting info on passport needs for my daughter. My husband and I are all set but I don't have one for her. Some say we just need a birth certificate bc we are arriving by sea and she's under 16. What have you heard? Anyone else pls chime in! Thanks

You technically do not need one because it is a closed loop cruise. (ie. departs and arrives in the same place: Galveston) However, if anything ever happened and you needed to fly home (For example, if you are late returning to the boat on Cozumel from Nachi and you miss it) you could not FLY home with her. You would be stuck. You need a passport fly into the country. The same would happen if she got sick and needed to be flown to a hospital. So no, you do not need it and many people go without it. It is a judgement call. Personally, I wouldn't leave the country without all my children having passports. But that is me and many disagree. However, you still have time to get her one before April 16th. But it is totally up to you to get one or not. You can cruise with only a birth certificate on these close loop itineraries. HTH
 
My Family of 3 (Boy, turning 5) will be on the April 16 boat also! I am wanting to start a Fish Extender gift exchange- anyone else? Finding the surprises throughout the trip would be loads of fun for the kiddos!

(I just found this was discussed earlier, Julie I think it would be awesome to get something organized.)
 
Hey guys I need some help! When I log on to book activities (nursery, excursions) it is not allowing me to do so. Is it too early or am I doin something wrong?
My reservation will not allow me to book anything until Jan 31, maybe yours is the same!
 
CampCorp said:
(I just found this was discussed earlier, Julie I think it would be awesome to get something organized.)

I would gladly organize this, so if anyone wants to participate either post or pm your state room #, number adults, number of kids, their ages and gender ... oh and if you are celebrating anything special (first time is a special occasion too) and I will put something together. We should also think of a cut off date to allow folks to get their gifts together I would suggest either march 16 or maybe April 1st ... Any thoughts.
 
teamadco said:
We are from San Antonio. So we will drive in on Tuesday morning in time for lunch on the boat!
I am getting conflicting info on passport needs for my daughter. My husband and I are all set but I don't have one for her. Some say we just need a birth certificate bc we are arriving by sea and she's under 16. What have you heard? Anyone else pls chime in! Thanks

Cool, we're from east tx small little town called Carthage. You may have heard about it from that stupid Bernie movie. Anyway it's about 3 hours from Galveston so were Gunna do the same. I am going to get passports for the kids "just in case" but we don't need them.
 
I would gladly organize this, so if anyone wants to participate either post or pm your state room #, number adults, number of kids, their ages and gender ... oh and if you are celebrating anything special (first time is a special occasion too) and I will put something together. We should also think of a cut off date to allow folks to get their gifts together I would suggest either march 16 or maybe April 1st ... Any thoughts.

Great, thanks so much for offering to organize! I tried to send you a PM but it told me I have not posted enough times. We will be traveling with one boy, turning 5. Our first Disney cruise and their first cruise ever! We are in 5150. I made his FE today, and we will just have the one pocket for him (not for us). let me know if more is needed!

Michelle
 
Ok, I created a spreadsheet for the FE ..

so far I have the following participnts
jarudinski
CampCorp

If you waqnt to join the fun reply or PM me ..

here is the link to the spreadsheet. I tried to include as much info as I can to help with the gift giving ...

FE LIST updated 04/03/2013


Julie

oh and just a suggestion maybe we should ask to have this thread moved and linked to the meet and greet section in case anyone is looking for this cruise there ... thoughts, objections?
 
CampCorp said:
My reservation will not allow me to book anything until Jan 31, maybe yours is the same!

January 31st is when final pymt is due. Once you pay in full then you can book reservations and excursions. We are sailing this same cruise with our 3 and 4 year old. :)
 
You technically do not need one because it is a closed loop cruise. (ie. departs and arrives in the same place: Galveston) However, if anything ever happened and you needed to fly home (For example, if you are late returning to the boat on Cozumel from Nachi and you miss it) you could not FLY home with her. You would be stuck. You need a passport fly into the country. The same would happen if she got sick and needed to be flown to a hospital. So no, you do not need it and many people go without it. It is a judgement call. Personally, I wouldn't leave the country without all my children having passports. But that is me and many disagree. However, you still have time to get her one before April 16th. But it is totally up to you to get one or not. You can cruise with only a birth certificate on these close loop itineraries. HTH

Thanks for the info...guess we are off to the post office. But at least we have time to receive it!
 
Cool, we're from east tx small little town called Carthage. You may have heard about it from that stupid Bernie movie. Anyway it's about 3 hours from Galveston so were Gunna do the same. I am going to get passports for the kids "just in case" but we don't need them.

Agree better safe than sorry!
 
Great, thanks so much for offering to organize! I tried to send you a PM but it told me I have not posted enough times. We will be traveling with one boy, turning 5. Our first Disney cruise and their first cruise ever! We are in 5150. I made his FE today, and we will just have the one pocket for him (not for us). let me know if more is needed!

Michelle

Ok not clear on how FE works,daily gifts are given or you pick one day to gift everyone on the list? Also is their a cap to participants? Can you give some examples of gifts please? Thanks!
 
Ok not clear on how FE works,daily gifts are given or you pick one day to gift everyone on the list? Also is their a cap to participants? Can you give some examples of gifts please? Thanks!

Most folks just do one gift per cruise and give it out sometime during the cruise. On the longer cruises there are usually assigned days to distribute so everyone does not give their gifts on the same day and the fun is spread throughout the cruise. The mechanics of delivery and the "guidelines" are usually put forth my the group, thus making each fe vary a little but from cruise to cruise. There is no right or wrong, just what works for everyone. While only 1 gift per cabun for the cruise is required, some ppl go above and beyond and like to give a gift for the adults, the kids or individually per person. Again there is no right or wrong, it is whatever you can "handle" time wise and financially as this is supposed to be fun and not a burden.

Some gifts I gave out on the last cruises were custom homemade autograph books. Keychains for the boys/men, gerber hair flowers for the girls with interchangeable bottlecap designs (they got a few bottlecaps to go with them) necklaces for the moms. I am somewhat crafty so I tend to make my fe gifts. My mother in law is not so when she went she gave out disney themed photo albums she bought from the dollar store. Not sure what I am doing this time as I was recently diaganosed with MS so my crafty abilities have suffered some.

If you search fe on the thread you will get overwhelming results as there is a lot of discussion out there ...

Here are a few of the threads that I thought would be a helpful place to start.

fe for little ones
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3056915

homemade fe gifts (a very long thread)
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2907032

fe picture
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1219607

fe faq
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2660789

I remember seeing another thread about best fe gifts but could not find it in a quick glance.

Hope this helps
Julie
 

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