Attention all April 4th, 2009 friends:o)

[nickcapp]

You florida folks must have got a pretty sweet rate!

Still plenty of inventory left otherwise at the regular rates. I'm curious to see how full the boat gets.

Also, i heard from one of our friends on the ship that the crowds have been quite light. Interesting..

Can't wait! Won't be long now.

 

[tstobb]

On the DCL site, tried looking at other categories and, with 3 in a room, only Cat 7 cabins remain and it looks like they've stopped offering the FL Resident discount.

 

[sunshine state kim]

Well, I've never organized one of these before, but can give it a try this time.

I prefer to do random drops of the gifts rather than assign people to a specific day.

You can do 1 gift/room/family/person/kid - whatever you like. You can also give a fish gift and not choose to get one (meaning you don't leave a place of others to drop off gifts).

One of my favorite things about the FE is that it helps me find my room!

What we'll need is a list of room numbers for the people who want to participate.

I'm not sure how to insert a table into this so I'll just start a list like this

Sunshine State Kim
Tampa Fl
Me, DH, DD (15), DS (11)
Rooms 7618 & 7620

 

[nickcapp]

Cool We're in as well:

NickCapp
Parsippany, NJ
ME, DW
Still GTY
We don't require any gifts, but would love to give.

 

[nickcapp]

Update on Cruise availability:

Just did a few searches based on regular rates at disneycruiseline.com...

For a party of 4 (2 Adults, 2 Kids) Nothing below CAT 10

For a party of 2 Adults, they pretty much had everything but CAT 12 and some of the real high end stuff.

Curiously, all catagories were only offering GTY cabins, you could not select a specific cabin.

It will be interesting to see how things are allocated when the room assignments begin.

 

[Disneychica2009]

Why don't we have more people on this meet? I would think with it being spring break that there would be more of us communicating.

As of right now we are in Room 6584 and have a GTY on a 2nd. We are hoping to get our cabins side by side but won't know until we hear on the GTY. From what I've seen on these boards that usually doesn't happen until at the earliest about 30 days in advance?

 

[Malagueta]

I'm surprised by the lack of activity, too. I think my kids would love the fish extender gifts, so we're in. Right now we're in 2010: DS 6, DD 7. I vote for random gifts.

I had to go to Orlando for a meeting today and wound up driving right next to a DCL bus. So exciting!!

 

[nickcapp]

I am baffled as well considering it looks like the boat is pretty full.

Its not just this board. I am on another Disney travel site with the same problem!

I do think it has to do with the fact that many Disney Nuts, myself included, tend to at least attempt to avoid busy times of year. Perhaps the boat is filled with casual Disney family's and first timers...

Who knows.

I do know that all of us here are booked and ready to go!!

 

[sunshine state kim]

Well maybe now that it's getting really close, more people will post. I made reservations for the royal dolphin swim in Cozumel last evening. They have a discount coupon for Disney passengers for a free child swim with 1 paid adult. That saved $149!

 

[Disneychica2009]

I have to make our Cozumel excursion reservations too, can't decide what to do, but it's getting closer so have to make a decision. We're down to 7 weeks till Bon Voyage!

 

[nickcapp]

Here is our Excursion Plans:

• Key West: Rent a scooter and tour
• Grand Cayman: Undecided (We'll probably just pick something at the port)
• Cozumel: Four Elements Mayan Adventure
• Castaway Cay: Bike and Eco Jet Ski tour

All can still change, but as of now this is the plan.

We are also doing Palo the night of Key West.

 

[3mmm]

We're in. This will be our fourth. We've done the eastern, the four day and the 11 day med. We're staying in a suite on 8 and a gty 12. There's eight total -
myself, dh, dss 10, 9, 4, and 2, dd7 and our nanny. We're up for a random drop, as I don't want to be committed to a specific day. I'll post rooms later.

Does anyone know how strict they are about moving kids up an age bracket at the clubs. My ds4 is six weeks from 5 and is well past my dd7 who has down syndrome. He will be upset if she is in an older group than him. He looks and acts like a five year old. I've read that they say those within one month may move up - how strict is that? My dd7 will do better if her brother is with her.

See you in April

Mary

 

[grlzmom]

We're in.
Does anyone know how strict they are about moving kids up an age bracket at the clubs. My ds4 is six weeks from 5 and is well past my dd7 who has down syndrome. He will be upset if she is in an older group than him. He looks and acts like a five year old. I've read that they say those within one month may move up - how strict is that? My dd7 will do better if her brother is with her.

See you in April

Mary

We have never had a problem moving out kids up to an older group (and they were not even close to the 30 day birthday window). That said, each time we were told it would be a "trial" to see how they did and kept in that group at the counselors discretion. It also depends on how many of each age group are registered on board if they have room.

I hope it works as well for you!

We booked last week Florida Resident rate, only booked 7 of us in two side by side cat 11 (that's all they had). Then my 17 year old found out she can go with us (school spring break was being debated due to snow days). Tried to add her to ressie and were told NO even though the room is a quad. They are sold out Florida Resident Rates cat 11 and we couldn't even add her at full price to same room. We were able to rebook whole cabin Florida Resident rate, cat 6 (they had 4, 5, 9 and 10 also gty status only) and get Florida Resident rate, just couldn't have it for cat 11. So we now have 8 people, a cat 11 on deck 6 and a gty cat 6 so our rooms may be far apart but at least we got her booked.

Anyway, there are Florida Resident Rates popping back up for many categories as of this a.m. if you call DCL. No 12 or 11 but all the others.

Hope my kids meet some nice Dis Kids on board as that has been the highlight of many of their cruises!

Not planned any excursions, don't know if we will, maybe in Grand Caymen as our November Western didn't get to stop there due to rough seas.

Would love to hear about the kid discount at Dolphin Discovery in Cozumel. We have the done Royal Swim several times and everyone LOVES it!

And, if it's not too late to be included for Fish Extender swap or whatever, count my gang of 8 in two cabins in for something. But my preference would be to do something random rather than specific.

Happy Valentines Day to all!

 

[3mmm]

We have never had a problem moving out kids up to an older group (and they were not even close to the 30 day birthday window). That said, each time we were told it would be a "trial" to see how they did and kept in that group at the counselors discretion. It also depends on how many of each age group are registered on board if they have room.

Thanks for the info - he's used to hanging with his big brothers, so I think he'll do better with the older group. I'll also feel better knowing he can translate my daughter's sign language if needed. We don't rely on the clubs - with a couple of special needs kids, we always bring help, but the kids like to go for the activities.

See you and your large gang in April - I thought I had my hands full with my five!

Mary

 

[2pizzalovers]

Excited to see so much of activity all of a sudden on this board. We were the2nd ones to post on this board a while ago. But there was no activity for a while. So, I stopped visiting this board (but never stopped dreaming and planning about the cruise). But will be a regular from now on. I'm traveling with my son who will be 10 and eagerly looking for some quality dad-son fun time, Disney style. We are first timers, not just on Disney, but on any cruise. We were told that if we start cruising with Disney, it will be difficult for us to like any other cruise line. I welcome that.

We are assigned Cabin Number: 5018. My son would love to participate in 'Fish Extenders' as well as making new friends. Could someone please let us know how you book the activities directly with the vendor on the islands? Do you Google their business name and go to their website? Also, can someone recommend some excursions that were really worth it and a lot of fun as well, as we are having a difficult time deciding which ones to pick as there are so many of them. Last but not least, is there any thing for single parents to do on the cruise while the kids are having fun in their own groups with other kids all day? Please share your experience if you have gone through it or familiar with it from previous cruises, so, I can bring my 'Kindle' with me (I hope not). BTW, we had been to Key West before and my son and I rented a scooter and rode it from one end to the other. It was a lot of fun. We also did the glass bottom boat tour and thinking about not getting off the ship (enjoy the day on the ship) this time unless we find something interesting. Thanks.

 

[nickcapp]

Hey Pizza! Welcome back.

For the excursions through local vendors, the best thing to do is google. The rates are a whole lot better. I'm sure there are some folks on here who can probably recommend particular vendors.

As far as excursion recomendations in general, i can only really speak for Castaway Cay, Grand Cayman, and Key West.

Castaway Cay: We really love the bike ride and the the snorkeling. The bikes are cheap, but do yourself a favor and buy your own snorkel set. The rental is prettty steep. I bet you could pick up a cheap set in Key West or Grand Cayman so you don't have to lug it to Port Canaverel.

Grand Cayman: The turtle farm is neat. You actually get to handle the turtles! We are still up in the air on what we are doing here.

Key West: We are trying the Scooters this time. I'm glad you had a good time doing that, it makes me pysched about the choice. Honestly, we had a nice time with a stroll through town and vegging on the empty boat. So I think your choice may be a good one.

As far as being single parent on the cruise, fear not. Disney takes care of the adult. There is just so much to do. Chill out on a comfy chair and sip coffee or an adult beverage at the adult pool, go to the gym, hang out at diversions and watch a game or play sports/movie trivia with the pubmaster while snacking on some of the best chicken wings I have ever tasted. Hang out on deck 4 and relax. Rocking Bar D at night is alsways, well, Rockin! I think they actually have activities geared to single parents as well. Seriously, you can do as much or as little as you want. Check out some of the navigators for a good sample of the activities.

You guys are going to have a great time. But I have to echo that warning, you will have ruined any other cruise....forever! Well, at least until the new ships debut!

 

[2pizzalovers]

Thanks a lot for a quick detailed reply. I'll start looking this weekend to book some excursions. All the ones you mentioned sound exciting. Ya, the scooter does take a little bit of getting used to, if you have not done that before. But it'll be fun after the first 5 minutes, once you get a hang of it. I really appreciate you providing me with so much information about all the activities on the ship. I certainly didin't expect so much of stuff. Good have some some experienced folks on this board.

 

[FIREFIGHTERMICKEY]

For those who have popped up on the boards. Are we going to have a meet at any time? Also We are in 6083 as of now for Fish extenders. I cant wait!

 

[2pizzalovers]

I heard it is popular with Cruise guests as they offer a free shuttle to the cruise and free parking for the entire week for your car during the cruise. We are driving from VA on Friday(4/3) and planning to stay that night at the Radisson. May be that can be a good meeting point before the cruise for some of us? Also, any other hotel suggestions that provide the same ameneties in that area are welcome.

 

[sunshine state kim]

We went to Grand Cayman last year and used a group called Nativeway for an excursion to Stingray City, snorkling, and a stop at Rum Point beach. The excursion included lunch at the beach. We pre-ordered our lunch while we were on the boat so it was ready when we got there. It was a rainy day, but we had a wonderful time. The people were great and really made the stingray part not quite as creepy! I would recommend them to anyone.

I have gotten a lot of good private excursion information from cruisecritic.com boards.

This is the code I used for the free kid with paid adult for the dolphin swim in Cozumel: DISNEYCZ09

We have gone to Nachi Cocom in Cozumel in the past. That was a quiet, relaxing way to spend the day. Food and drinks are included. The beach was beautiful, lots of chairs and shade from palm trees. The water wasn't very clear, but still a nice day. Couldn't snorkle as it was too murky. There were like 10 ships in Cozumel that day and we didn't want to be with a million other people. There was also a swimming pool if you wanted a break from the sea. Our first time in Cozumel we took a snorkling excursion with Disney. We played it safe and it was OK, but I think we could have taken a cab ourselves and gone to the same beach for a fraction of the cost.

Our son (now 11) is big for his age and was able to go to the Oceaneer's Lab before he was officially old enough. As others have said, they tell you it will be a trial basis to see how well your child fits in with the group.