April 19, 2008 - Western - VERY Early Roll Call - Anyone??!!

[Tinkified]

That's a great site, Conny. One I actually have never come across before.

And I think that is the way we are going to go...Arrive friday in Orlando, rent a car to drive to Raddison Port Canaveral...return either that day or next, and take Hotel/car/rental shuttle to the pier EARLY saturday morning. Even though we did the Disney cruise this past march, we boarded so late that we were not greeted or announced...if fact, we missed the safety drill...and we were not the last people to board...there was a whole group of people at the airport waiting for their DCL transfer after we left.

I have read on the DIS that they announce your family name when you board...how cool is that!

Off to do some laundry, straightening and some other errands...it is back to school tomorrow for me...no more spring break...the weather will probably be beautiful starting tomorrow. At least the kids at school can play on the playground now! Winter here in NY is far too long!

Ciao for now
Michelle

 

[Angiefromalberta]

Hi everyone.
FOr those of you that have sailed before, I have question about the pager you get for your kids. Do we only get the pager when they are in the group activities and then they take it again when they check out of the group, or do we have it for the whole duration of the trip??
Just thinking about if our little ones get lost when they not in the groups. Do cell phones work when you are out at sea?? Cause if they did she could call me on mine.

I know, I know. I am a worrier.
Thanks guys!!
Angie

 

[anty30]

Hey Angie,
You get a pager in the terminal before you even get on the ship. You keep the same pager for the whole cruise. You just have to make sure you carry it everywhere. Sometimes we forgot it, by accident of course.
As for cell phones, no they do not work out in the big blue sea. No towers in sight.

Antoinette

 

[Angiefromalberta]

Thanks Antoinette!

I guess if they page you and they are lost, you still wouldn't know where they are. Better to have a meeting place maybe?? Hmmm
Angie

 

[anty30]

Angie,
A lot of parents make the kids go back to the cabin. The counselors will page you anytime the kids leave. They will say "______ has just left the lab", etc. It is good to tell them if they leave to go to the same place everytime. The cabin is logical.
Antoinette

 

[Tinkified]

Angie: The oceaneer club is VERY secure. The couselors page you...not the kids...and the kids have to be signed in and out with ID and a password to get through a locked door. My daughter is six and when she wanted to leave...and she never did...she would tell a counselor and they would page me as to where they were and what I needed to do. Older kids have the privelege of signing themselves out but only with parental approval...you don't need to agree to have them do that if that is what makes you comfortable. YOU are ultimately in charge of what your kids can and can not do. How old are your kids?

When the clubs do transition time...moving from one place to another..ie..club to lab or club to the buffet...no one is allowed to be taken out...and there are counselors at the front, middle and end of group when walking..I saw them on the top deck walking to the buffet a couple of times.

Overall, I have nothing but praise for their program...my daughter LOVED it...she was a little slow to warm up, but by the end I was pulling her out at 11:30pm to go to bed because mom and dad were tired!

Hope this helps you some!
Ciao for now
Michelle

 

[mm126]

We'll be on the cruise - Kerry, Michael (10) and Molly (9). I was considering staying at either the Hyatt at MCO or Poly the night before the cruise. Any thoughts.

 

[Tinkified]

Welcome to our group!

We were considering both...staying on site and the Hyatt at the airport...but I think we settled on the Radisson at the port. Read back a few posts..you will find quite a few of us are doing it.

My family really wanted to sneak a day in at one of the parks on Friday...but we decided against it...hotel for thurs and fri + park + whatever comes up was just too much extra running, money, time etc.

We will be flying in early on Friday, renting a car at MCO and spending a leisurely day at the hotel...I hear the pool is great! Perhaps a precruise gathering may even happen Friday! Who knows, right?

Welcome again.
Ciao for now.
Michelle

 

[lilo62]

Greetings fellow cruisers!

It's been a while since I've gotten on the board! First, let me wish all of you a much belated Easter. No more holiday dinners now until Thanksgiving!!!! We have summer bbq's to look forward to or at least I thought! The weather here in the NE has not been spring-like at all! I'm still wearing gloves, a coat and boots!! My sandals are calling me!!!

Our list is growing which is fabulous!!! I can't wait to meet all of you. DH and I will be doing the same as most of you, arriving in Orlando the day before the cruise. We will rent a car at the airport thru Budget as we have in the past. It seems the majority of you will be staying at the Raddison. DH and I will be staying at Ron Jon's more than likely. We stayed at The Raddison for our first cruise and then tried Ron Jon's because it was so highly recommended and have stayed there ever since. Even tho it is a timeshare, you can "rent" rooms and we've never had anyone pressure us to buy into it. We like Ron Jon's better than the Raddison - just personal preference. You can walk to the beach at Ron Jon's and go out on the pier and see all the cruise ships, it has a lazy river pool plus a regular pool. It has a movie theatre, mini golf course and the rooms are quite nice. We usually spend the day at one of the parks the day before and then drive into PC. We return the car to Budget which is down the street and get shuttled to the pier. Our boarding time on our tickets has been 1PM which is fine for us as we have no kids and like to be leisurely. After you check out of Ron Jon's you get an all day wrist band so you can continue to use the pools etc., until you are ready to leave. There is a restuarant on site which serves dinner only - not a big deal because there are so many other restaurants on the strip - it's nice to be able to pick from. The rates for Ron Jon's aren't bad - if you have AAA (Auto Club) you can get a 10% discount. It will be interesting to see what the prices in 2008 will be!

Since we are going to WDW in 4 weeks, DH and I invested in annual passes - we can use them as well in April of next year as they won't expire until May 2008. It was a more cost-effective way to go especially with the DVC discount. We will be staying at Saratoga Springs which will be a new adventure for us since we always stay at the Wildnerness Lodge (our fave). Wish the cruise was NOW!!! Will miss going to the Carribean this year. Looking forward to the countdown ticker saying 11 months!!

 

[lilo62]

Connie: My husband was very excited when I told him about you, your husband and Zebra...he immediately knew who I was talking about...and had one album..the one with the song Bears on it...he recalls the album cover having zebra chess pieces...and recalls buying it back in 83 or 84. Are they still performing? Ciao for now!Michelle

Michelle:

The Zebra stuff is actually me and not Conny!!!! Your husband is dead on with the song and album cover! They do still perfom on LI and in New Orleans. Randy Jackson (singer and guitarist) also does accoustic shows and sings with a symphony orchestra on occassion. The person who conducts the symph shows has redone the scores to music of Led Zep, Eagles and The Doors for more of a rock symph show and Randy is the singer for some of these projects. It's a really cool show. Looks like we'll have some music to talk about when we meet!

Gina

 

[Tinkified]

OOOPPSS...sorry Gina and Connie...I knew that it was you, Gina, but I must have had my head in the toilet or something!

And hey...you have peaked my interest in Ron Jon's...the idea of the beach being right there is a plus! I will have to look into it!

Ciao for Now
Michelle

 

[pwgs]

Okay, I was wondering if anybody could help a disney cruise newbie. I have started looking into hotels and transportation for our little group of 19. I saw this hotel mentioned on a post earlier in the year and it peaked my interest. The hotel is .fawltytowersresort.com the reason the reason it peaked my interest was that they had a transportation option from the airport and to the ship. They are also very close to the beach. The post earlier in the year quoted a price of 540.00 or so for a family of 10 for hotel and transportation So my question is does anybody know anything about this hotel? Good or bad

this a link to the earlier post
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1323773&referrerid=&highlight=fawlty+towers

Thanks
Paul

 

[anty30]

Paul- I checked out the websites and also looked at reviews on Trip Advisor and they are all good. It looks like a good place to stay. I, however, will most likely stick with the Raddison. Also, the transportation looks like a good deal. DH likes to rent a car though so that we have some freedom. I would definately consider the Fawlty Towers if you are not renting a car.

Everyone in the Northeast- our weather is the worst this year. I feel like I'm drowning with all this heavy rain. So I guess April showers will bring plenty of May flowers?

 

[Tinkified]

We are swimming right along side of you...or dare I say drowning along side of you! We too have had it with this non-spring, even non-springish weather. Please tell me that those gorgeous days back in January were not the only warm days we are going to see this year? If it is like this now..what will June, July and August bring? HELP...send a lifeboat to NY.

 

[lilo62]

DH and I are buildling an arc - if any of you in Westchester would like to join us, please make your ressies now! Animals of course are welcome!

This weather in a word....SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[lilo62]

OOOPPSS...sorry Gina and Connie...I knew that it was you, Gina, but I must have had my head in the toilet or something!

And hey...you have peaked my interest in Ron Jon's...the idea of the beach being right there is a plus! I will have to look into it!

Ciao for Now
Michelle

If I can help you with Ron Jon's - let me know!

 

[conny264]

I´m so sorry to hear about the bad weather over there.Here in Germany it´s unusually warm.I hope it stays that way,we will be in Scotland next year for our 2007 vacation.
But exactly one year from today we will be onboard a plane to Florida.Can´t wait.

Greetings from Germany
and hopes for better weather.

Conny

 

[lilo62]

12 months exactly and counting - eagerly!!!!!!!

 

[4newtocruise]

I think we may finally be out of the rain this coming weekend!!

It hasn't been a good week between the weather and the terrible shootings in Virginia - let's hope and pray it starts looking up!

Has anyone started to book anything - car, hotel, etc....

Joan from Middletown, NY

 

[lilo62]

I think we may finally be out of the rain this coming weekend!!

It hasn't been a good week between the weather and the terrible shootings in Virginia - let's hope and pray it starts looking up!

Has anyone started to book anything - car, hotel, etc....

Joan from Middletown, NY

Not me Joan - I'll probably start in Sept or so.