April 26 - May 3, 2008 Caribbean Crazy Cruisers

[ohiominnie]

I will say this comment concerns me. I've seen a number of people on the cruise boards over the years like this, even sailed with a couple. One ended up having the cruise cancelled and pretty much had a meltdown about it. Now don't get me wrong I'm a big planner, but I've found over the years that lifes to short to worry that much. It is a lot better if you can go with the flow a bit.

Agreed. Lots of things have gone "wrong" on our cruises. But nothing that we couldn't flow with and take in stride.

I distinctly remember that member cruise where we had to divert to Ft. Lauderdale instead of coming home to Port Canaveral. I remember that line at guest services and all of the people who were fit to be tied and very upset that the captain didn't want to sail through a HURRICANE to get back to PC! My attitude was "hey, just get us there safely and let us enjoy this last night of the cruise." Sure it was inconvenient (esp since we had a car at PC and had to go pick it up) but I wasn't going to let it ruin my cruise.

 

[ohiominnie]

Good morning everyone - happy Thursday.

Kay - only you know what is best for you and your family. We've stayed both at the port and at WDW before the cruise and they were both easy. As long as I'm in the state the night before the cruise I'm good. In fact we are staying at Boardwalk the night before our October cruise. We'll go to Mass Sunday morning, grab a quick breakfast at McDonald's and then over to the port we'll go. Last May we stayed at the Hampton Inn in Cocoa Beach and were able to take a walk on the beach Saturday morning before heading out to breakfast and the ship.

We've stayed at WDW, the port, and the airport the nights before cruises. Any of these are fine with me. That being said, I wouldn't stay with family....IMHO. I do agree that it's impossible to get out of there "on time" without seeming rude. While family may want a leisurely breakfast with you as a last hurrah, you may want to grab something on the run. We also try to get to the port early.....for the full experience and to meet up with the other DISers that we know. I would not want to be sitting down for bacon and eggs while I knew my friends were all at the port! Because, if you're perceived to be rude to family, it WILL come back and bite you in the butt! HA!

 

[WDWLVR]

Agreed. Lots of things have gone "wrong" on our cruises. But nothing that we couldn't flow with and take in stride.

I distinctly remember that member cruise where we had to divert to Ft. Lauderdale instead of coming home to Port Canaveral. I remember that line at guest services and all of the people who were fit to be tied and very upset that the captain didn't want to sail through a HURRICANE to get back to PC! My attitude was "hey, just get us there safely and let us enjoy this last night of the cruise." Sure it was inconvenient (esp since we had a car at PC and had to go pick it up) but I wasn't going to let it ruin my cruise.

That was kind of wild. Our car was at the port as well. Still we had a great ride back and Disney provide snacks/water (at least on most of the busses). Just another page to add to my scrapbook complete with our diversion letter.

 

[WDWLVR]

We've stayed at WDW, the port, and the airport the nights before cruises. Any of these are fine with me. That being said, I wouldn't stay with family....IMHO. I do agree that it's impossible to get out of there "on time" without seeming rude. While family may want a leisurely breakfast with you as a last hurrah, you may want to grab something on the run. We also try to get to the port early.....for the full experience and to meet up with the other DISers that we know. I would not want to be sitting down for bacon and eggs while I knew my friends were all at the port! Because, if you're perceived to be rude to family, it WILL come back and bite you in the butt! HA!

Very true. Very little family so we don't worry about that much. Guess we had the best of both worlds last May since we met up with 2 other DIS families for breakfast (at Grills) and then headed right to the port.

 

[zerog]

I am a bit OCD (ok, a lot) and I schedule things in my mind and something like arriving 10 minutes late can really ruin my day. I know, I know...it may not seem like a big deal to you guys, but I can't change that about myself

I suggest setting an acceptable window for arrival, such as between 10am and 10:45am. Then you have room for error. Either way, you'll still have a wait to get on the ship - sometime after noon. Whether you get Group 3 or Group 7, won't matter that much.

On our recent 3 day, I also really wanted to arrive at the terminal at 10am. DW convinced me that she did not want to sit for over 2 hours, so we compromised and arrived at 10:30am. I dropped off the family and luggage; then I went to park the car. DW went into the terminal and got a group 4 card. At 12:10pm, they called for groups 1, 2, and 3. Not even 5 minutes went by when they called for Group 4. We had plenty of time to eat at the buffet, let the kids swim before getting ready for the Muster Drill and Sail Away party.

 

[dreamcometrue]

I will say this comment concerns me. I've seen a number of people on the cruise boards over the years like this, even sailed with a couple. One ended up having the cruise cancelled and pretty much had a meltdown about it. Now don't get me wrong I'm a big planner, but I've found over the years that lifes to short to worry that much. It is a lot better if you can go with the flow a bit.

ok, maybe "ruining my day" was a bit harsh...however, my plans were to arrive as early as possible at the port, I am a huge picture person, and would love to get as many pictures of the inside as possible without too many people there. I guess I would be majorly bummed out if I didn't have an opportunity to do that.

I can't shake my OCD though. I try to plan things out in the morning or even the night before, and try to stick to them as much as we can. Of course that's not always possible, esp. with the kids, and I don't have a meltdown if we don't accomplish everything, but I am disappointed. Not to the point where it totally ruins my trip though!

 

[WDWLVR]

Back from my afternoon date.

Leaving work at noon, Harry Potter, and dinner at Cheesecake Factory. Doesn't get much better than that. Unless you are counting a week off, a Disney Cruise and dinner with the ohio clan!

 

[ohiominnie]

Back from my afternoon date.

Leaving work at noon, Harry Potter, and dinner at Cheesecake Factory. Doesn't get much better than that. Unless you are counting a week off, a Disney Cruise and dinner with the ohio clan!

Awwwwwwww.....

How was Harry? Did he look like a 30 yr old man yet? In general, how'd you like the movie (i'm sure not as good as the book)

 

[WDWLVR]

Awwwwwwww.....

How was Harry? Did he look like a 30 yr old man yet? In general, how'd you like the movie (i'm sure not as good as the book)

The movie was good. Not as detailed as the book but still very good. Daniel is turning into a fine looking young man so therefore so is Harry. Actually all the child actors are aging nicely. Not too fast. A few thoughts that I wouldn't consider spoilers but I'll make them white for those who don't want to read them.


Yes this movie was darker than the others. No Quiddich (sp?) or other really fun aspects of school. I did find it odd on the train that they never got into their robes and uniforms. Still remember back to the first movie where it is mentioned they need to be in their robes when they get there but now they are just in street clothes.

I thought the actress playing Umbridge did a fantastic job. Sadly she was really the only adult that was used a lot. The others: Snape, Sirius, Hagrid McGonegal, etc. where there but didn't get a lot of screen time.

All in all a good movie and I'm excited to get the 7th book. I'll be sad when the series ends.

 

[WDWLVR]

Good morning everyone. Happy Friday the 13th!

Looks to be a beautiful day here in Chicago. Hope it is the same where you all are. Have a great day!

 

[WDWLVR]

Good morning Cruisers





We sail in 41 weeks!



​

Woo Hoo - a UTOP to start the day. PDFG and all who need it!

 

[dreamcometrue]

hey all! Alan took the kids on a hike today, so I was able to sleep in! I was up late last night trying to get rid of a virus on my computer. I spent all afternoon and all night on it, and I think I got rid of it. *crossing fingers* So far so good! It was trujan.vundo, which basically slows the computer WAY down and gives you a gazillion popups. I could NOT get rid of it, and none of the scans found it. I finally did find one that found it, thank goodness! I was on my laptop searching for fixes, since my desktop was so slow!

My SIL and family are coming tomorrow, so my plans for today are to clean the house a bit and do laundry! It's overcast and a bit humid today which is unusual for CA. Hope you all have a great weekend!

 

[wdwluvrs]

We made our airline reservations today not the best deals but we got the connections and the times we wanted

 

[WDWLVR]

Good morning everyone! Happy Sunday!

Mike we made our airlines reservations last week. Good to get it off the checklist. We also make our WDW reservations for the days after the cruise. So we are in good shape for all that.

 

[wdwluvrs]

we also have our hotel reservation for befor and after the cruise as well now all this is left is to book the rental car with Avis. Then of course there are the reservations for palo brunch the spa and excursions

 

[dreamcometrue]

I am checking every day for airfare. Right now, it's still $425 for United and $479 for Delta. We prefer United, but would take Delta too...these 2 are the only direct redeye flights to MCO!

 

[WDWLVR]

Kay - are you looking to fly out of LAX or John Wayne? I saw that American has non-stops from LAX to MCO but they are during the day not a red-eye. Would that interest you?

 

[dreamcometrue]

Kay - are you looking to fly out of LAX or John Wayne? I saw that American has non-stops from LAX to MCO but they are during the day not a red-eye. Would that interest you?

we are flying out of LAX. Really looking into a redeye flight, that will put us into MCO early Friday morning, so we have all day to relax and sleep, etc. I always have a really hard time flying East for some reason, it wipes me out for a day. There is one flight on USAir that has a layover in Las Vegas. It's only an hour flight from LAX to Vegas, so that wouldn't be TOO bad, I just don't want to switch planes after a 3 hour flight when everyone is trying to sleep, you know?

 

[WDWLVR]

Well you have to do what is right for you and your family. Personally I'd pick the daytime flight that gets in at 4pm. Then a ride to the port and settle in for an early evening and ready to cruise the next day. I don't sleep well on planes so a red-eye flight would leave me more worn out.

 

[tinkerone]

i'm biting the bullet. i do not usually post to groupy things but i LOVE the weekly countdown and this is one way to get it to my in box. seeing 43, 42, 41 is very exciting. my dh and i are going on this cruise. can't wait!