April 17, 2011 on the Dream

[princessdaisy]

Yes, please sign up for for the Fish Extender swap

 

[Ness2289]

Yes, please sign up for for the Fish Extender swap

Yay! Deb T. will add you to the list!

 

[WPoohgirl]

I agree on the planning. I just wish we were closer.

Question on the Edge club - My DS's will be 12 and 14 and our friends DD will be almost 13 on our cruise. Will DS 14 be able to go to the Edge with the other two? He is small and young for his age and would never venture into the teen area without his brother (who is emotionally the older of the two).

When we were on the Wonder in March, they had revised the children's program (not without some controversy) so that large families with varied ages of children could see each other in the kids club. So you would sign up for activities based on what you wanted to do rather than strictly age. This differed from the norm but for us we found it to be very successful. Some kids did not like having some of the younger kids in their space I think.

My DD was 13 but really wasn't ready for the teen aloft although she wanted to be, but they were all like 16. So there was a program called out and about where you would meet your group out and about on the ship somewhere and was mostly 10-12 year olds. She was allowed and even encouraged to join them and did on several occasions as her brother was in this group. This was very good for us and she was quite comfortable in that age group. Just speak to one of the counselors when you sign up and I am sure they will say this is OK. Hope that helps. Wendy

 

[WPoohgirl]

Hi Z'sDisMom

Personally, I'm torn for Nassau day. Last time, we stayed onboard which was great for getting to know the ship and visiting all of the different areas on the various decks, but it almost backfired on us when the waves were so big on CC day that we didn't get to dock. Luckily, they were able to just swap out our at sea day and we went to CC the last day of the 4 day cruise instead, then back to PC.

Given that its a new ship we haven't been on before and that we are going to the beach after our cruise, I'm thinking of staying onboard again while at Nassau. But we've been toying with the idea of an Atlantis vacation at some point in the future, so maybe we should get off and at least look around...

I will tell you that we had the BEST character interactions while onboard that day. My youngest watched cartoons with Goofy sitting on the deck chairs at his pool with the big screen that morning, while at the same time my older boy and DH were playing basketball on the sports deck with Mickey. Later that same morning, Mickey played ping pong with both of them. All of these were spontaneous meetings, no standing in any lines.

E.

I have to admit about being somewhat torn about this as well but typically, we do not get off the ship. It is just so pleasant that first day. No rushing around, you can just relax, sleep in a bit and then go to topsiders and look at Atlantis while you eat breakfast. My DH and I went to the spa together and it was just lovely while our children went to the out and about program. It is a lovely first day.

I think there is something to be said for not trying to do it all and relaxing some on the cruise. As a Mom (and also I saw plenty of Dads responsible for this) I was always thinking about our laundry situation and when I could sneak that in and I did try to keep the cabin picked up. I wasted a little too much energy worrying about that. I've also never actually gotten to Wavebands. I wanted to do the match your mate thing the first night on our last cruise but we flew in that day and were up at 4:00am in the morning. By 10:00 pm we felt like we smashed into a brick wall and fell out! I also wonder if they would leave the bunk down if we asked. My son would go back to the cabin in between things and rest and if we were all there, no place for him to lye down. We go to my Dad's in Sarasota to the beach after the cruise so I guess it may color my opinion! Is Atlantis really worth it? It must be because so many people speak of it, I guess it is all about what each family wants from their vacation. This b2b idea though is really intriguing... I am going to search for more links for more info on these. Sorry for babbling guys, hope you have a great day!

 

[scootch]

\! Is Atlantis really worth it? It must be because so many people speak of it, I guess it is all about what each family wants from their vacation. This b2b idea though is really intriguing... I am going to search for more links for more info on these. Sorry for babbling guys, hope you have a great day!

Is Atlantis worth it?? In my opinion, OH YEA. Actually I didnt' fall in love with DCL(sorry, just not a big cruise person)... BUT my dd's did love it. They really wanted to go back and at first I said, no.... lets go somewhere new....... well, then they said, "mommy, you can go back to Atlantis!" Well like that, we ended up booking a back to back cruise!! We are doing a three night first and then the 4 night. I had thought we would go to Atlantis on the 15th(with the three night cruise) but after seeing the link of other cruise lines going to be in Nassau that day, I think we would be better going on the 18th. Heck, maybe we will go twice Yes, we loved Atlantis!!!

Welcome to all the newbies. My mom has been in the hospital and my computer time(well all time in general) has been very limited!! Hope to be back reading posts more frequently soon!

 

[Z'sDisneyMom]

We've gone to The Dig at the Atlantis on one trip and really enjoyed it but we've never visited the water park. It is definitely a beautiful resort and as my DD puts it, the slides look really cool.

On the other hand, staying onboard and enjoying the ship and hmmm I hadn't even thought about it before, the spa sounds great too.

scootch: Hope your Mom gets well soon!

 

[Ness2289]

Wishing your mom well, Amy!

 

[jilljill]

scootch, more good wishes for your mom.

 

[guarn3md]

Just found this thread...
We are booked on this cruise - just booked it on 4/16! This is our first cruise ever and I am only interested in doing a Disney cruise. The idea for doing this cruise came up when I was visiting my mom during Spring Break this year. We were talking about Disney and I said "we should have done a Disney cruise with the kids this year since they have Spring Break at the same time." My mom said "well, let's do it next year!" And that was that... we did some research and voila'! I should probably explain at this point that I am 42 yrs. old with an 8 Year old son and a 6 year old sister! My parents adopted last year - always wanted a sister (have two brothers) never thought I would finally get one when I was 42!
Attending this cruise will be:
Me (Deb), DS (Connor - 9 at time of cruise), Mom (Judy), sister (Asia - 7 at time of cruise) AND now my Dad wants to go! Jeez - who invited him?! Just kidding - we added him! By the way, I keep saying, "This is not the father who raised me!" I booked this trip and didn't tell my husband - he is on a need to know basis when it comes to finances. I finally told him a few days ago and he is fine with it! But feels like he should be coming since my Dad is now coming. I told him "No!" then we have to get another stateroom, besides I am not 100% convinced my Dad will definitely come. So, DH is happy staying home and letting me do my Disney thing!
We are booked in category 4A, Room #10610 and we have the late seating, waitlisted for early.
I know nothing about cruises, have no idea what to expect in our stateroom, I have no idea what it means when it says two pull down berths! Where do the come from and how stable are they - the kids are sleeping on them! I have the pull out sofa and my parents have the bed, of course!
Looking forward to learning all about Disney cruising through this thread!
Debbie

 

[golfnsuch]

Amy, I hope everything is alright with your Mom.

Debbie, welcome! Looks like we'll be on the same deck. We're in aft on deck 10. Does your forum name mean that you live in Maryland, by chance?

Less than a year to go!

 

[Ness2289]

Welcome, Debbie! I have added you to our roster. I'm guessing since you are new to all of this and the boards, you may not know what a fish extender exchange is and whether or not you would like to join us while on the cruise. I'll bump up an explanation written by Deb T. who will sign you up for the exchange should you decide to participate! We're glad you've joined us!


Disney Dream- April 17, 2011

1. Outahere, DW, DS(16)
2. Lildeb724 (Debbie), DH, DD(10) DS(7)
3. Verandah Man, DW, DD, DD’s BF (Bryan) (I think there's a wedding now...Delete?)
4. Mom 3 mouseketeers, DH, DS(10/11), DD(9), DS(7)
5. Castlegazer, DH, DS(9), DD(6)
6. Muhhhrrisssa (19), Mom, Dad
7. CSX2, DW, DD(15)
8. Curlybop (Amanda), DH (Mark), DD(8), DD(2)
9. Irishone21 (Chris), DH (Mike), DS(7), DD(3)
10. Rdevine10 (Robin), DH, DD(5), DD(8)
11. Scootch(Amy), DD-Mattisyn(11), DD-Kenzey(9)
12. Akjtmax, DH, DS, DD
13. Freddyfishsticks, DW, DD(12), DS(9)
14. MissMousey, DH, DD(14), DS(11)
15. Mom2Elliot, DH, Kids(13,9,3)
16. Deb T., DH(Jeff)
17. Ness2289, DD(12)
18. Jilljill, DH, DD(16)
19. Pershing (Sue), DS(16), DS(14), DS(13)
20. Tiger1313 (Cathy), DGD (17)
21. Cleopahd, DH
22. jel0511, Dh, DD(13), DS(10)
23. Disney1fan2002 (Marie), DH, DS(14), DD(12), and DS(11)
24. Mom2BCCC (Barbara) DH, DS(14), DS(12), DS(10), DD(5)
25. KerryDVC, DH, DD(7), DD(5), DS(3), DM, DF
26. Golfnsuch, DH, DS(11), DS(7)
27. WPoohgirl (Wendy), DH, DD(14), DS(12)
28. NYDisneyfamily, DH, DS(13), DS(8)
29. Z'sDisneyMom (Robin), DH, DD(12)
30. ydrj (Yvonne), DH, DS(16), DD(14)
31. Quagmire, DW, DD(14)
32. JasonDVC, DW, DD(2) and DTBA(6mo)
33. princessdaisy (Steph), DH, DS(8) and DD(18)
34. guarn3md (Debbie), DM (Judy), DF, DS (9), DSis(7)

 

[Ness2289]

For all of you "first timers", here's my explanation of a "Fish Extender Gift Exchange":

Beside every cabin door is a large silver fish with an indentation in the back for cruise personnel to leave information, invitations, etc. Teenagers receive invitations to Teen Club activities and we've also received "rebooking onboard" price quotes tucked in our fish.

DISboarders have taken the silver fish one step further... by creating hanging pockets (much like cloth letter holders) to hang from the fish - thus the name, "Fish Extender". The Fish Extenders (FEs) can be made of practically anything (cloth, plastic, paper gift bags, etc.), as long as they have at least one pocket that can hold surprises. My FE is just a plain old canvas bag on which I've added a tropical scene, the names of the Disney ships, and our names. I'd love to have a "real" FE like some of the creative DISers have sewn, but I've never taken the time to attempt to make one.

Then, each "Cruise Meets" thread (such as this 4-17-11 one) organizes a little gift exchange during the cruise. People sign up by giving their cabin number, names of everyone in their cabin, and ages of the kids so that everyone will know how many goodies to bring and where to deliver them. Some people give one gift per family, some people give a little gift to each person. It's totally up to the giver to decide what to give and when to give it during the cruise.

There are several threads on the main cruise boards that discuss ideas for FE gifts. Some gifts are from Dollar Stores, some are handmade, and some are bought in bulk from websites that sell trinkets like the Oriental Trading Company. Often, they are stickers, candy, glow sticks, lanyards, etc., with themes such as pirates, beach, cruise, tropical, hometown, holiday, etc. The main idea is just to have fun finding little goodies in your FE throughout the cruise. Kids LOVE running back to their cabin to see if anything's been left in their FE. As an adult, I have to admit that I love it, too!!!

If you'd like to join in on the fun on our cruise, please let me know. You can either post your information here in this thread or send me a private message by clicking on my name in the upper left hand corner of this post and then clicking "send a private message to Deb T.". I will only post your DIS name and gender/ages of children on the public forum. However, I will send private messages with names and cabin numbers to all participants to keep everyone up-to-date. Since some people travel earlier in the week prior to cruising, we will close the list on 4-1-11 in order to give everyone time to purchase/prepare gifts and pack them. You'll also need to print the final list of participants and pack it with your gifts so you'll know where to deliver them once you're onboard the ship.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask. Also, this thread has tons of info and ideas about FE Gift Exchanges: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1219607

I speak from personal experience that it really is a LOT of fun to participate!

Here ya go!

 

[guarn3md]

Debbie, welcome! Looks like we'll be on the same deck near each other. We're in 10660. Does your forum name mean that you live in Maryland, by chance?


Yes I do live in Maryland - Annapolis! It is weird that we already know what stateroom we will be staying in. I didn't expect that when I booked. Looking forward to my first Disney cruise!
Debbie

 

[WPoohgirl]

Scootch,
I sincerely hope your Momma feels better real soon. I will put up good thoughts for her speedy recovery.
Wendy

 

[Deb T.]

Welcome to all the newbies. My mom has been in the hospital and my computer time(well all time in general) has been very limited!! Hope to be back reading posts more frequently soon!

Sending our prayers for a speedy recovery for your Mom.

 

[Deb T.]

Yes, please sign up for for the Fish Extender swap

Welcome Aboard, Steph & Crew!

I've added you to our Fish Extender Exchange. When you get a chance, please pm me your cabin number and everyone's names. As soon as I have that info, I'll send you a PM with all the other participants' information, too.

 

[Deb T.]

Just found this thread...
We are booked on this cruise - just booked it on 4/16! This is our first cruise ever and I am only interested in doing a Disney cruise. The idea for doing this cruise came up when I was visiting my mom during Spring Break this year. We were talking about Disney and I said "we should have done a Disney cruise with the kids this year since they have Spring Break at the same time." My mom said "well, let's do it next year!" And that was that... we did some research and voila'! I should probably explain at this point that I am 42 yrs. old with an 8 Year old son and a 6 year old sister! My parents adopted last year - always wanted a sister (have two brothers) never thought I would finally get one when I was 42!
Attending this cruise will be:
Me (Deb), DS (Connor - 9 at time of cruise), Mom (Judy), sister (Asia - 7 at time of cruise) AND now my Dad wants to go! Jeez - who invited him?! Just kidding - we added him! By the way, I keep saying, "This is not the father who raised me!" I booked this trip and didn't tell my husband - he is on a need to know basis when it comes to finances. I finally told him a few days ago and he is fine with it! But feels like he should be coming since my Dad is now coming. I told him "No!" then we have to get another stateroom, besides I am not 100% convinced my Dad will definitely come. So, DH is happy staying home and letting me do my Disney thing!
We are booked in category 4A, Room #10610 and we have the late seating, waitlisted for early.
I know nothing about cruises, have no idea what to expect in our stateroom, I have no idea what it means when it says two pull down berths! Where do the come from and how stable are they - the kids are sleeping on them! I have the pull out sofa and my parents have the bed, of course!
Looking forward to learning all about Disney cruising through this thread!
Debbie

Welcome Aboard Debbie & Family! You've found the best place to learn all about Disney cruising! Be sure to let me know if you'd like to participate in our Fish Extender exchange.

 

[allaboutdisney1967]

Hi!
Just booked Dream cruise today!! Me (Donna) DH (Angelo) , DD(Gabby) 13 at time of cruise.
This is our 2nd Disney cruise. We have our stateroom number 7590.

 

[allaboutdisney1967]

JasonDVC,
We are from RI too. Maybe we'll be on the flight out of Green together.

 

[allaboutdisney1967]

Just found this thread...
We are booked on this cruise - just booked it on 4/16! This is our first cruise ever and I am only interested in doing a Disney cruise. The idea for doing this cruise came up when I was visiting my mom during Spring Break this year. We were talking about Disney and I said "we should have done a Disney cruise with the kids this year since they have Spring Break at the same time." My mom said "well, let's do it next year!" And that was that... we did some research and voila'! I should probably explain at this point that I am 42 yrs. old with an 8 Year old son and a 6 year old sister! My parents adopted last year - always wanted a sister (have two brothers) never thought I would finally get one when I was 42!
Attending this cruise will be:
Me (Deb), DS (Connor - 9 at time of cruise), Mom (Judy), sister (Asia - 7 at time of cruise) AND now my Dad wants to go! Jeez - who invited him?! Just kidding - we added him! By the way, I keep saying, "This is not the father who raised me!" I booked this trip and didn't tell my husband - he is on a need to know basis when it comes to finances. I finally told him a few days ago and he is fine with it! But feels like he should be coming since my Dad is now coming. I told him "No!" then we have to get another stateroom, besides I am not 100% convinced my Dad will definitely come. So, DH is happy staying home and letting meI don't know if do my Disney thing!
We are booked in category 4A, Room #10610 and we have the late seating, waitlisted for early.
I know nothing about cruises, have no idea what to expect in our stateroom, I have no idea what it means when it says two pull down berths! Where do the come from and how stable are they - the kids are sleeping on them! I have the pull out sofa and my parents have the bed, of course!
Looking forward to learning all about Disney cruising through this thread!
Debbie

I didn't notice anyone answering your question on the pull downs. we stayed in a Deluxe Family Suite on our Wonder cruise in 2009. We have one for this one as well. One is a Murphy bed that folds out of wall right next to the slider door to deck. The other is pulled down from ceiling right above the convertable couch. I don't know if you looked on line but the kids might haggle over the one over the couch. It has a mural on the ceiling.

Weight capacity not sure. But my daughter was 11 at the time and she slept over couch; thought it was great. She'll be 13 this time and still wants to sleep there.