April 21, 2007 -- Western Magic -- anyone?

[curlybop]

Great photo Corryn!

I'm here tonight....finally. Been packing a bit more, and writing down what I have packed so I'll remember! So far I have one large suitcase, and one smaller packed in a medium (empty) case. Not much left to put in there. Woo hoo!

We got an intro packet today. The tracking info said it was our cruise docs, which it sort of was, but not the REAL ones I was expecting. Today was more of a welcoming package. The good stuff was sent today, due to arrive on Tuesday.

As for sea sickness, we are bringing Bonine. Also papaya enzyme for any stomach issues. Ear Planes for Emily during the flight, since her ears are sensitive sometimes. Sooooo, I think we're set. Oh, I've also packed some earplugs just in case we have noisy neighbors - which I HOPE we don't have to use, but I'd rather be safe than sorry!

 

[Corryn]

. Not much left to put in there. Woo hoo!!

You Go, Amanda!!!

.
We got an intro packet today. The tracking info said it was our cruise docs, which it sort of was, but not the REAL ones I was expecting. Today was more of a welcoming package. The good stuff was sent today, due to arrive on Tuesday.

.
Wow, we didn't get anything and you get a welcome pack?

. Oh, I've also packed some earplugs just in case we have noisy neighbors - which I HOPE we don't have to use, but I'd rather be safe than sorry!

Gosh, we didn't hear absolutely anything - so let's hope you don't need those

 

[dvc2themax]

Bill, the last power outage that we had several months ago for 2-4 days, we THEN went out to get a generator and hooked it up. We h ave lived her for 20 years, the power has always flickered or gone out for no more than 4 hours. 2 nights without power was enough and we bought one - from Sears that is plug and play. Haven't had to use it since we bought it!

All I could hear was one of my neighbors generators running all day and it irked me. I was like why don't I have one.

That was us Bill, hearing our neighbor's generator running and saying HOW smart they were.

Welcome new posters and lurkers. Join us now and again on the cruise just for hellos.

GOT DOCS

Any thread or website to go see what a specific room has for sleeping? DD wants a pull down bed, but don't think ours will have one because there are only 3 of us and it seems like they have lots of rooms for only 2-3 people. Just wondering.

I am with the shrimp (and LOBSTER when they have it) with Corryn and Mollie!

14 days to go for us!!! Almost to single digits!!!!

packed and ready to go

Good night all.

-Paula

 

[alikat99]

I do have few questions hoping someone can help: do you have to schedule a time for the Life Style Photo's or is it a little less formal first come first served type affair, also what kind of remedies are people going to be using for seasickness?

The Lifestyle Photos are just first come, first served. When you're ready to get them taken, step in line and get your photos.

No seasickness here, so we've never used anything. I get a tad queasy on the first night going through the Florida Straits, then I just eat something and I feel better. I've heard that ginger works well, and I know that some people swear by those Sea bands.

 

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

Corryn, I couldn't help but notice the Red Bull and vodka! DH loves it! Are you picky about your vodka, too? I can't tell what kind yours is (he may know, but he's snoozin' on the couch! ) He also loves vodka tonic with lime (among other drinks!)

Amanda, what are Ear Planes? I was wondering about what to do for the boys and their ears popping on the plane. They've never flown before, so I don't know if it's something we should be concerned about or not.

 

[caniac27]

I was at Dollar General yesterday and got a bunch of glow in the dark necklaces and bracelets for "Pirate" party, and other night time fun...also small bottles of bubbles for sail away party. We had bubbles last year to give to kids near us, and they were a hit. I also purchased draw string backpacks for all of us, and am having our initials embroidered on them - then filling them with all the goodies I have been stashing away for the past year, instead of doing the gift basket - did that last time - and while it was beautiful, it was quite costly (disney charges something like $10-20 per basket to be delivered to the ship - huge money-grab!)

As far as seasickness...we went in Feb last year - Eastern Carib. It was VERY rough. The 2nd night we were in Animators Palate - and it was less than half full. You couldn't walk down the hall without bouncing off the walls. (Actually quite funny when you're not the one wanting to throw up!). My DS (19) is travelling with us this time and is prone to motion sickness, so is headed to the Dr for a "patch" prescription. We booked this cruise on board and specifically chose this week for 1- destination, 2- after easter - cheaper, 3- warmer (it was a tad chilly at CC in Feb), and 4- less rough seas (much later and you get into hurricane season!). We live in NC, so know a little about hurricanes, and needing a generator!

Another tip for first-timers - take out half of the clothes you have packed - really. Everything I read before we went said this and I totally disregarded - and it was true - we didn't wear half the stuff we had packed - who has time to be running around changing clothes all the time! And no-one will even notice if you wear the same pair of black pants to dinner 3 nights with different tops! or even the same top! Same goes for shoes! Another great tip - over the door shoe organizer - holds all the bathroom stuff, hair stuff, sunscreen, etc, and keeps it from being scattered all over your room. Also pop-up clothes hamper - very handy in the closet - when full, just pull suitcase out from under bed - dump it in and start over - no laundry for me - i'm on vacation!

I hit the disney store last weekend and got great POC golf shirts for DH and DS for $10! yeah me! Since I know they won't dress up anyway (much to my chagrin). And I swore I would never do the hokey matching thing - BUT I bought DS and DH black camo shirts and DD and I matching pink camo shirts for embarkation/boarding photos...now I just have to convince everyone to wear them

I'm a compulsive packer/organizer - DH is NOT (night before start throwing things in a bag and hope that I've done his laundry). So a couple years ago I stopped packing for him - i'm not his mother! Well, we went to the beach for a couple of days and he hadn't packed any underwear! The worst part was wasting time trying to find a Wal-mart to buy him some!

No cruise docs here - last year didn't get them until the week before we left - I was getting panicky, and TA was like - oh, they'll get there...augh.

OK, something I have to share 'cause I'm so excited. My husband met Santa Claus last week - no really, THE Santa Claus - I mean Magic Kingdom official Santa Claus! And he gave him his cell phone # and said to call him if we were going to be at Disney around Christmas - so of course I immediately started planning our winter vacation for the week after Thanksgiving! Duh! hmmm another disney trip to plan - i wonder if I could work in a trip on the Wonder with that

 

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

Val, did you find out about your passports? Do you have backup birth certificates? I am stressing for you.

Thanks for asking, Jenni. I've done all I can do to speed things up, so I guess we'll have to wait and see if they arrive on time. I was told to call on Monday to find out when they should arrive. I don't have backup birth certificates yet. If I need to, I can make a quick trip to Lincoln to get them (it's only an hour away) and have them in hand fairly quickly.

Someone did get sick that first night in the elevator. That was a bit nasty!

EWWWW! Of course, I'm not an experienced cruiser or anything, but I've read about green apples helping with seasickness and also plain, old fresh air. PassPorter says it occurs when your inner ear senses are confused by what you're seeing, so if you go to deck 9--or verandah, if you have one--and look at the horizon (instead of an inside stateroom), it helps your brain synchronize. It also says there's free meclizine (generic for Bonine and Less-Drowsy Dramamine) at GS or outside the medical facility on deck 1.

 

[Corryn]

Corryn, I couldn't help but notice the Red Bull and vodka! DH loves it! Are you picky about your vodka, too? I can't tell what kind yours is (he may know, but he's snoozin' on the couch! ) He also loves vodka tonic with lime (among other drinks!)

Amanda, what are Ear Planes? I was wondering about what to do for the boys and their ears popping on the plane. They've never flown before, so I don't know if it's something we should be concerned about or not.

Hi Val,
I don't drink it - I'm holding up my Aphrodite ice wine (deeeelicious!) But Mike and Eddie are drinking the Red Bull with Svedka Cheap Crap.....Normally, their drink in the summer is Gin and tonic with lime If there's a new drink, Mike's trying it!
Listen, I told you before, Ed & Mike will be at Signals, so if anyone wants to go hang out during the day and drink beer and laugh their butt off, you're welcome to join them

I am having trouble with my ears for the past two years (since the last cruise) so the doctor suggested those ear planes, too.....Let's see how they work. I've also bought the Sea Bands just in case. My suggestion, to take the Bonine or other anti sea sick medicine while in the terminal. Everyone that got sick on the cruise got sick the very first night.


As for the tip to take out half the stuff you pack, it's TRUE!!!!
I took everything that I wanted to take and put it on my bed, then I took more than half and took it out and packed only the rest...

 

[Corryn]

there's free meclizine on deck 1.

Val!!! I thought you wrote "there's free mescaline!

 

[cnj]

Val, I am glad you can get the documents quickly.

Tonight I had "margarita night" at my house. Normally, it is just 3 of us gals with our 6 kids all around the same age. Tonight I made diet margaritas with fresca, crystal light, lime juice and lots and lots of tequila. They were so yummy. If only they sold them onboard. I really want to try the martini tasting onboard, because I have never had a martini. I am worried, that by the time we board (we are coming through Disney transportation from the Poly), all of the tickets will be sold out. What do you guys think?

My kids got their pirate costumes in the mail today. They are really cute. We are also going to be dressing up in pirate costumes, because we happen to have them left over from Halloween. It was so hard to get the kids out of them today.

Has anyone decided what to do in Cozumel yet? I think we will take a taxi to the ruins, then to Paradise Beach, and then to the shopping mall. I actually do hope that they stay later this night, because I LOVE Mexican food and would like to partake in 2 meals here.

Good night,

Jenni

 

[Hudson5&Lennon3]

Listen, I told you before, Ed & Mike will be at Signals, so if anyone wants to go hang out during the day and drink beer and laugh their butt off, you're welcome to join them

I'm sure DH would love that! We would probably end up with a great huge alcohol bill, though!

As for the tip to take out half the stuff you pack, it's TRUE!!!!
I took everything that I wanted to take and put it on my bed, then I took more than half and took it out and packed only the rest...

But how do you decide what half to take out?!?!?! I tried that and couldn't decide what to leave out!

 

[alikat99]

Here's what I do for packing - for DH, I only pack maybe 2 pairs of pants for dinner (besides his formal clothes) and then just different shirts. If for some reason he gets something on them, I can wash them. Otherwise, he only wears them for dinner, then changes before the show anyway. Same thing for me, I just bring a couple of pairs of capris and different tops. Then, for during the day, a lot of the time, we're wearing swimsuits, so there's no need for 7 days of shorts & tshirts. I probably bring 4-5 shorts & tshirts for each of us. Plus, we always end up buying something onboard (like t-shirts), so we have that to wear also.

I hope that helps. Trust me, on my first cruise, I didn't understand the "take 1/2 out" either, and I ended up with a bunch of clothes that we didn't wear.

 

[alikat99]

Countdown to cruising!!!
14 days to go!!!
​

 

[ohMom]

jenni -- diet margaritas?? oh please please PLEASE post your recipe for those!!

motion sickness -- Preston and Paige are the worst-prone in our family, then me and Taylor is pretty resilient. i make EVERYONE in my family take Bonine faithfully starting a day (maybe 2) before we step on board. our first Wonder cruise Taylor didn't take it b/c she felt great didn't need it; by that evening she said she was feeling it a little. BUT this was December. Our first Magic cruise was Nov 2005 the year of Katrina, et al. we thought it was VERY rough the first night, the crew blew it off, but even my seasoned parents said this is pretty rough. i asked and was told 15-20 ft high waves. I have read of DISers reporting 30 ft waves! yikes!! that night in AP the rest. was only 1/2 or so full, Paige and I left after ordering to step outside, there is a doorway just outside the rest. and got some fresh air, it did help. then we ate our first course and left. went back to our room and just tried and tried until we fell asleep watching disney movies. about midnight i woke up and was like ahhhhhh..................smoother sailing. and the rest of the week was fine, tropical storm Gamma kept us rocking a bit though but nothing that keeping busy wouldn't overcome. but now think about it, we rebooked on board so it's certainly not stopping us! we also picked this time of the year for the reported smooth seas!

ok -- eyeliner accomplished! actually when she started and the numbing cream maybe hadn't got to it's full affect, i was a bit b/c it was pretty darn tender. it's been 4 weeks and there is no way i'd have wanted to go sooner! but after some yoga breathing and remembering to zone out........then the numbing stuff kicked in and all was good. it took an hour again, i had her thicken the top just a little, you couldn't really see it and even out the bottom. which looks MUCH better, i didn't realize how much it spoltched out. right now i'm a bit puffy, only about 50% of where I was 36 hours post-tat last time around.

NO DOCUMENTS HERE YET!!!

ok my goal for today is final taper 1/2 marathon walk -- Corryn do you walk in the mornings onboard? the one deck with is a 1/4 mile around? -- then officially start PACKING!! it's so nice to have a place to come and just be totally excited about the trip! hard to do that around my poor schmuck friends who aren't coming!

 

[curlybop]

2 more weeks, 2 more weeks!!!!

Val, here's the site for the ear planes:

http://www.cirrushealthcare.com/EarPlanes-C8.aspx

I've read good things about them, so we'll just have Emily put them in when we board the plane, and keep them in for the duration of the flight. They say have them in an hour (??) before landing, and our flight is only a bit over that. So, we'll give it a shot.

As for the packing, I'm learning to narrow it down. I've tried to pick like others mentioned, 2-3 pairs of pants for dinner with different shirts. Except for Emily, who has Princess dresses for every night except pirate night.


Way to go Molli! It sounds painful, but how cool is that, since you won't have to worry about that part of makeup again!

 

[Corryn]

Okey Dokey - Packing....I picked out all this stuff. Then I started putting stuff together, like Garanimals then I'd say, I'll wear this one day and this another day and another day, etc....Then I wound up with 16 outfits, so I had to narrow them down to my favorite....You keep making sets and you keep taking one or two things out until you are set for 8 days.

Now, my girls can pack for themselves, but I have to give the final OK. What ever is clean with no stains gets packed that's the determining factor. With the teen girls, I don't want to "limit" them, but when it comes to the dresses for dinner, I stand firm and I picked them out.

Just make a pile, then make it smaller, and smaller and smaller...

Molli - I didn't walk last time on the ship, but I'm in such a walking mode that I'll give it a shot. What time do you go? Ed's up and out of the cabin by about 7:00 drinking coffee...

We're picking up the drycleaning today. We're basically set as far as packing, and I don't do a Total Finished Packing Job until the night before because that's the way I roll

Off to the mall - NY&CO gave out those free Bucks and I'm taking advantage of them! Then it's Easter Egg coloring time! Have a good afternoon everyone

 

[mickymania]

Okey Dokey - Packing....I picked out all this stuff. Then I started putting stuff together, like Garanimals then I'd say, I'll wear this one day and this another day and another day, etc....Then I wound up with 16 outfits, so I had to narrow them down to my favorite....You keep making sets and you keep taking one or two things out until you are set for 8 days.

Now, my girls can pack for themselves, but I have to give the final OK. What ever is clean with no stains gets packed that's the determining factor. With the teen girls, I don't want to "limit" them, but when it comes to the dresses for dinner, I stand firm and I picked them out.

We're picking up the drycleaning today. We're basically set as far as packing, and I don't do a Total Finished Packing Job until the night before because that's the way I roll

I had totally forgotten about Garanamals. I remember the elephant and lion tags. Ooooh....I am dating myself.

Corryn - you are so lucky......if I let my boys pack for themselves, it would be one scary cruise. They would wear shorts and t-shirts to dinner (and if I was lucky they would not have any holes), and then bring a swimsuit for the rest of the time. I am sure that it is something on the Y chromosone.

We have all of our dressy stuff ready to be packed but the rest will have to wait until next weekend. Vallen is busy trying to finish up the rough draft of his dissertation, which will probably happen at midnight on the 16th -- we leave early on the 17th. I am jealous of all of you that are done packing -- Good job and Happy Easter!!!

Wendy

 

[Miss.Sk8~alot]

I had totally forgotten about Garanamals. I remember the elephant and lion tags. Ooooh....I am dating myself.

Corryn - you are so lucky......if I let my boys pack for themselves, it would be one scary cruise. They would wear shorts and t-shirts to dinner (and if I was lucky they would not have any holes), and then bring a swimsuit for the rest of the time. I am sure that it is something on the Y chromosone.

We have all of our dressy stuff ready to be packed but the rest will have to wait until next weekend. Vallen is busy trying to finish up the rough draft of his dissertation, which will probably happen at midnight on the 16th -- we leave early on the 17th. I am jealous of all of you that are done packing -- Good job and Happy Easter!!!

Wendy

Hi Wendy
The kids are over on the Kids Thread and Kyra's asked me to put a link on that thread to this thread with all the family photos...

After years and years of yelling, my girls know what I expect They either will get a lunatic screaming at them or if they just listen, there will be peace
Dissertation? Wow, that sounds scary and exciting! What's it on? And Good Luck with it!

BTW - This Is Corryn! Kyralyn is logged in!!!!!

 

[curlybop]

Here's what I just finished up for tomorrow's lunch with DH's family. I thought my fellow chocoholics would enjoy seeing it.

 

[alikat99]

Here's what I just finished up for tomorrow's lunch with DH's family. I thought my fellow chocoholics would enjoy seeing it.

OMGosh - that is incredible looking!! My 2 favorite things - strawberries and chocolate!!!!