August 13, 2011 Med - Mickey's Marauding Mates

[jd99]

We haven't really discussed doing a FE on this cruise yet.... I would be up for it as long as we remain a small group. If we were to suddenly grow to a really large group I don't think I'll want to schlep a whole bunch of stuff to Europe tho. Did you do one on your last Med cruise? I just can't imagine having the space in the luggage to bring too much extra stuff.

Didn't mean to confuse the board - we are sailing next month and doing FE on that cruise (unless we never get around to making our gifts and then we will hide from the group! We did NOT participate in FE on the Med cruise because of what you say - I didn't want to devote any luggage space to it. Some folks on the sailing did an exchange but not us and I can't imagine doing it for any European cruise. I'm a bit stressed about the luggage space for this upcoming sailing!

And great photos!!!!!

 

[Anal Annie]

First, let me say that my husband is a huge, diehard Redskins fan. He is happy to hear there will be another fan on the ship! He usually tries to make it to one home game each season, especially when he is traveling in the area. Our bonus room is pretty much a shrine to the Redskins.

Sent an email to our TA about changing cabins. Hopefully we'll be able to move, even if we are not right next to each other. Since the verandahs don't connect, it really doesn't matter too much to us.

YAY! DH will like that too...not everybody likes the Redskins but he's had season tix for about 10 or 12 years now I guess. He's slowly moving down in the stadium - this year they finally went into the lower bowl in one of the end zones. The $$$ he spends on it drives me CRAZY though!!


OK...just a couple more pics - I took these 2 last year when we first got the ships wheel & put this together...

 

[Kels Sem]

LeeAnn - Love your halloween theme and your pics.
Also just want to check with you about the our cabin location. I'm presuming we will not be effected by the threatre noise or anything else for that matter? I know DCL allocated me the cabin but I thought being beside you I could be fairly confident in the location as you would have researched it.

Also some not so good news. I was in touch with Justine and she has decided to cancel the cruise and they are just going to Majorca for their holiday instead. That's why she hasn't been on here in such along time.

I'm just waiting on my shopping being delivered and then I'm off to ice the buns that I made with the kids this afternoon.

 

[Anal Annie]

Didn't mean to confuse the board - we are sailing next month and doing FE on that cruise (unless we never get around to making our gifts and then we will hide from the group! We did NOT participate in FE on the Med cruise because of what you say - I didn't want to devote any luggage space to it. Some folks on the sailing did an exchange but not us and I can't imagine doing it for any European cruise. I'm a bit stressed about the luggage space for this upcoming sailing!

And great photos!!!!!

I figured you were referring to your Nov. cruise with the FE! IF we decide to do one I'd be up for it for just 1 or 2 SMALL items PER CABIN. Last time I put together goody bags with like 5 or 6 items per stateroom. That would be WAAY too much stuff. Tiny 2 ounce things I could maybe handle for this cruise as long as we're a small group.

 

[Anal Annie]

LeeAnn - Love your halloween theme and your pics.
Also just want to check with you about the our cabin location. I'm presuming we will not be effected by the threatre noise or anything else for that matter? I know DCL allocated me the cabin but I thought being beside you I could be fairly confident in the location as you would have researched it.

Also some not so good news. I was in touch with Justine and she has decided to cancel the cruise and they are just going to Majorca for their holiday instead. That's why she hasn't been on here in such along time.

I'm just waiting on my shopping being delivered and then I'm off to ice the buns that I made with the kids this afternoon.

Oh pooo on Justine!! I was looking forward to meeting her & to hearing her insight on Majorca. I guess that means they really liked it if they're going back. She had one of the "secret verandah" rooms booked I think...that would open up another good room for someone.

And yes, our cabins are good - we're on the other side of the ship, above the hallway that's outside of the theater so we're not over the theater itself. I haven't read any bad stateroom reports about any of those cabins (and yes, I read thru several of them for that side of the ship).

Yummm...icing buns! Sounds good!!

 

[Kels Sem]

Oh pooo on Justine!! I was looking forward to meeting her & to hearing her insight on Majorca. I guess that means they really liked it if they're going back. She had one of the "secret verandah" rooms booked I think...that would open up another good room for someone.

And yes, our cabins are good - we're on the other side of the ship, above the hallway that's outside of the theater so we're not over the theater itself. I haven't read any bad stateroom reports about any of those cabins (and yes, I read thru several of them for that side of the ship).

Yummm...icing buns! Sounds good!!

I was really disappointed about Justine cancelling as well. She posted me a link of the place that they stayed at in Majorca which she booked again. It does look lovely. She is going for 2 weeks and I think it works out cheaper than the cruise and she can also fly to Majorca from her local airport. She will be there when we will so there is a possibility of meeting her in Palma.

Great about the cabin location

 

[Anal Annie]

I was really disappointed about Justine cancelling as well. She posted me a link of the place that they stayed at in Majorca which she booked again. It does look lovely. She is going for 2 weeks and I think it works out cheaper than the cruise and she can also fly to Majorca from her local airport. She will be there when we will so there is a possibility of meeting her in Palma.

Great about the cabin location

I am sure that their place in Majorca is BEAUTIFUL but it just won't be the same kind of vacation. Nothing is quite like a DCL. So she will be missing out on that aspect & that's what she doesn't realize. I mean, we could go to Hawaii (our most fav. spot on EARTH) for 10 nights for less money too but it simply wouldn't be the same vacation. Poor Justine. She'll be missing out on cruising with a fine crew too!!!!

OK, so I was out shopping for a new pair of jeans today. I just simply need to lose 5 Lbs. That's all there is to it. I refused to go UP a size and I don't like them too TIGHT (like the teenagers do) so I am going to have to stop cleaning up all of our leftovers for lunch and go on a diet!! ANYWAY, I was in Kohl's (which, for our UK peeps is a department store here) and I was comparing some of their carry-on luggage. I was astonished at the physical differences in sizes. I rearranged a shelf and put 4 different suitcases next together all lined up in a row. They ALL said they were 21" x blah blah x blah blah (14 x 9ish). One suitcase was quite easily 2" taller than the others because the WHEELS protruded so far!! The smallest one of the 4 was actually 22" tall including the wheels & handle (yes, I measured it). The tag also said it was 8.5" deep but it was 10" with the outside pockets!! I am sooo completely paranoid about the carry-on guidelines for airlines like Air France & all the international carriers. I KNOW I can get by with what we already have on our domestic carriers but I am afraid of how strict the ones in Europe might be. The guidelines on the Air France website say 55 cm x 35 cm x 25 cm (which works out to 21.45" x 13.65" x 9.75"). So the description tags were obviously giving INTERIOR dimensions. Does anybody here know anybody who uses Air France in Europe to know how strict they are???? So far they are consistenly coming up as the cheapest airline for our itinerary so I want to be prepared in case that's who I end up booking. Is it worth buying a new bag to avoid the possibility of having to MAYBE check a bag that we already have (at an extra $50 per flight)?

 

[west&east]

Got our cabin changed! Now near aft elevators on port side! All the cabin reports I have read say this is a good location and being near the aft elevators/ stairs is actually a good thing- can run up for a drink, etc, and that it isn't noisy by the cabin itself. There were still about 8 cabins left on deck 6 aft in cat 5C according to our TA. Maybe there will be a price reduction so we can buy more wine and spa treatments.

I was reading the Spa Twins trip report for their transatlantic cruise. Someone on their roll call arranged a mojito tasting for the group!
Also spotted the Dooney & Bourke Disney Cruise Line purses and wristlets. Something to keep in mind for purchase!

 

[Anal Annie]

Got our cabin changed! Now near aft elevators on port side! All the cabin reports I have read say this is a good location and being near the aft elevators/ stairs is actually a good thing- can run up for a drink, etc, and that it isn't noisy by the cabin itself. There were still about 8 cabins left on deck 6 aft in cat 5C according to our TA. Maybe there will be a price reduction so we can buy more wine and spa treatments.

I was reading the Spa Twins trip report for their transatlantic cruise. Someone on their roll call arranged a mojito tasting for the group!
Also spotted the Dooney & Bourke Disney Cruise Line purses and wristlets. Something to keep in mind for purchase!

Excellent news - you must be very near me & Kelly as we're both also on deck 6 on the port side in 5C's - I am in 6108 & I think Kelly is in 6110!! I think some of the ones that are the furthest aft only sleep 3. Whenever I was looking to pick out a room when I plugged in 3 people the rooms which came up were different than the ones that popped up when I put in 4 people. I wanted a room that sleeps 4 with the pull-down bed so DS can sleep up there & we can still have the sofa open to sit on - so I played around with it awhile to pick one that slept 4. We were in what is now a Cat 6 aft with the solid wall verandah on our first cruise & it only slept 3. It was right behind the Navigator Cat 7 cabins. For some reason they made most of those aft rooms only sleep 3.

I don't expect I'll be splurging on anything Dooney & Bourke. I am on a TJ Maxx / Burlington Coat Factory kind of budget & have never bought anything more expensive than Liz Claiborne or Tignanello. I doubt I will start now. I saw pics that people posted of those purses & wristlets tho last year when they first came out. Very cute!! You'll have to show us what you buy!!!

 

[west&east]

Excellent news - you must be very near me & Kelly as we're both also on deck 6 on the port side in 5C's - I am in 6108 & I think Kelly is in 6110!! I think some of the ones that are the furthest aft only sleep 3. Whenever I was looking to pick out a room when I plugged in 3 people the rooms which came up were different than the ones that popped up when I put in 4 people. I wanted a room that sleeps 4 with the pull-down bed so DS can sleep up there & we can still have the sofa open to sit on - so I played around with it awhile to pick one that slept 4. We were in what is now a Cat 6 aft with the solid wall verandah on our first cruise & it only slept 3. It was right behind the Navigator Cat 7 cabins. For some reason they made most of those aft rooms only sleep 3.

I don't expect I'll be splurging on anything Dooney & Bourke. I am on a TJ Maxx / Burlington Coat Factory kind of budget & have never bought anything more expensive than Liz Claiborne or Tignanello. I doubt I will start now. I saw pics that people posted of those purses & wristlets tho last year when they first came out. Very cute!! You'll have to show us what you buy!!!

I'm actually a Target purse kind of person although TJ Maxx or Marshalls works sometimes too! I never owned anything like a Dooney & Bourke but they are so darn cute. In January 09, I saw a really cute purse on Main St in WDW but was in a rush and left without it or any real souvinear for myself- no tshirt, nothing. Afterward, I realized it was probably the D&B bag and I wouldn't have bought it anyway.

Looks like the DIS party will be Deck 6 portside! I guess we will have to have a verandah hopping party!

 

[west&east]

Just read that those with port side cabins had the best views in the Mediterranean ports! Another reason I'm glad we relocated our cabin.

 

[Kels Sem]

Just read that those with port side cabins had the best views in the Mediterranean ports! Another reason I'm glad we relocated our cabin.

It will be nice sitting out on the verandah then coming in and out of the ports I can just see myself now with a cup of coffee in the mornings and a glass of wine in the evening!

 

[Kels Sem]

I was reading the Spa Twins trip report for their transatlantic cruise. Someone on their roll call arranged a mojito tasting for the group!
Also spotted the Dooney & Bourke Disney Cruise Line purses and wristlets. Something to keep in mind for purchase![/QUOTE]

I was reading this as well and mojito sounds good to me. I would also like to try the wine tasting as well. Hopefully DS & DD will take to the kids clubs ok but I'm pretty sure they will.

 

[west&east]

I was reading the Spa Twins trip report for their transatlantic cruise. Someone on their roll call arranged a mojito tasting for the group!
Also spotted the Dooney & Bourke Disney Cruise Line purses and wristlets. Something to keep in mind for purchase!

I was reading this as well and mojito sounds good to me. I would also like to try the wine tasting as well. Hopefully DS & DD will take to the kids clubs ok but I'm pretty sure they will.

[/QUOTE]

I am pretty confident the kids club will be a hit but I also don't feel too bad about being that "mean" mom and making them go for a few hours once or twice so the adults can have some time. After all, they're on a disney cruise, how bad can it be?! My DS7 wasn't thrilled with the kids club on Princess this April. He was in with the younger set (4-7) and probably would have enjoyed the next age group up for the activities and to be with his sister and her friend. Disney seems to have more flexibility based on activities rather than age which I think will be a good thing!

I'll be curious about what wines they offer in their tasting. Might have to hold a wine tasting on our verandah! Got to find the best place to buy wine in Barcelona! I know we can bring wine on board when we first get on. Does anyone know if we can bring wine on and keep it in our rooms in the other ports?

 

[Kels Sem]

I was reading this as well and mojito sounds good to me. I would also like to try the wine tasting as well. Hopefully DS & DD will take to the kids clubs ok but I'm pretty sure they will.

I am pretty confident the kids club will be a hit but I also don't feel too bad about being that "mean" mom and making them go for a few hours once or twice so the adults can have some time. After all, they're on a disney cruise, how bad can it be?! My DS7 wasn't thrilled with the kids club on Princess this April. He was in with the younger set (4-7) and probably would have enjoyed the next age group up for the activities and to be with his sister and her friend. Disney seems to have more flexibility based on activities rather than age which I think will be a good thing!

I'll be curious about what wines they offer in their tasting. Might have to hold a wine tasting on our verandah! Got to find the best place to buy wine in Barcelona! I know we can bring wine on board when we first get on. Does anyone know if we can bring wine on and keep it in our rooms in the other ports?[/QUOTE]

From reading other trip reports I think you can bring wine onboard from other ports. My cousin lives in Palma so i will be able to get her to get me a decent bottle from there. Although there will only be one night left to drink it

 

[Anal Annie]

DS was 8 on our first cruise and LOVED the club...we had to drag him out and it was usually closing time!! Last cruise he was 11 & we gave him sign in / out privileges so he could come & go on his own. He spent a lot of time there again but he also was independent enough to say he was going to a movie & he went alone. We gave him a watch with an alarm & just told him to be back to the room around 7:00 to shower & change for dinner. Next time he will be 14 so he'll be in the teen club...not sure how that will work out. One thing tho is we'll hardly be on the ship much since the cruise is so port intensive. I don't expect any of us will have much time to just chill.

Hey Jeff - DS's swim club is doing a charity swim next month for ALS research thru the Muscular Dystrophy Assoc. They gave us our registration packet last night so we need to go out & collect some pledges this weekend - I think his coach is setting his goal for 3,000 yards (120 laps)!! He is having a hard time grasping that idea!!

DS has a band concert tonight & I just had him try on his black dress shoes this morning that he has to wear & of course he's outgrown them so I need to go out & hopefully find a new pair to fit. I think he only wore this last pair like 2 times. So this is my project for today. Wish me luck!!

 

[jd99]

Hey Jeff - DS's swim club is doing a charity swim next month for ALS research thru the Muscular Dystrophy Assoc. They gave us our registration packet last night so we need to go out & collect some pledges this weekend - I think his coach is setting his goal for 3,000 yards (120 laps)!! He is having a hard time grasping that idea!!

Great event! I can't imagine that he doesn't swim that much in practice, right? Just put it to him that way. My DD12's old swim club was pretty casual, low key and the coach made a big deal when they swam 1,000 yards in a practice. She has practices now in her new swim team where it is rare when they don't swim around 3,000. In fact they sometimes swim 800-1,000 in warmups now.

 

[Anal Annie]

Great event! I can't imagine that he doesn't swim that much in practice, right? Just put it to him that way. My DD12's old swim club was pretty casual, low key and the coach made a big deal when they swam 1,000 yards in a practice. She has practices now in her new swim team where it is rare when they don't swim around 3,000. In fact they sometimes swim 800-1,000 in warmups now.

Yes you're right, they probably DO swim that much during one of their practices. It's just broken up into different sets and they pace off the clock at whatever interval they're told to do. He's thinking in terms of doing a 500 x 6 as one race. I'm sure this will be done in quite a leisurely pace, no rush to finish etc. but it will be different than how they swim in practice. DS's warm-ups are usually a 5 minute swim - so whatever that works out to be by the time they finish. I have to register him again on Nov. 1 for their next session eek: $$$) and his coach told me last night he wants him to start practicing 50/50 with the same comp group he's in now but then also split the practices with the NEXT group too. That was good to hear that he thinks he's ready to move up some. It will be a nice compromise. So starting in January we'll be splitting our practices between 3 different pools 'cuz of trying to hit practice times that work for us.

Found some shoes that I hope will fit him for the concert tonight - on SALE too. He really probably needs a half size but those are too hard to find so I rounded up. Hope these will hold him thru a couple of concerts!! I also bought a couple of "international size" carry-ons at TJ Maxx. They look like they are sooo dinky tho compared to my carry-on bags that we normally use. My fav. one is 23" x 14" x 9.5". The Air France website says 21.5 x 13.5 x 9.75 INCLUDING handles & wheels so that means ours is 1.5" too tall and 1/2" too wide. I am so paranoid that when we try to fly within Europe from Paris to Barcelona that they'll make us check it. So I bought 2 that say they are 17" x 13 x 7.5 - they actually measure to 20.5 with the handle & wheels so they're under size by an inch. They also have those 4 spinner wheels which I don't really need - those just take up extra space that could've been used INSIDE the case. I wish I could just find something that truely is 21" TOTAL. I plan to "test pack" these with some stuff just to see what I can actually fit in them (or not) before I decide if I will keep them.

OK, I will be STARVED again in like an hour but I am eating a "Lean Cuisine" Bacon Alfredo pizza for lunch (only 320 calories). Wonder how many days I'll have to eat these so I will drop 5 Lbs?!

 

[west&east]

Good luck!

Ever since my Disney trip last year, the weight just will not come off. I tried the 30 Day Shred (Jillian Michael's) workout yesterday from Exercise TV On Deman because I figure I can do 20 minutes a day. Acutally bought the dvd at Target today for $10. Otherwise, I do nothing and I have so much difficulty finding time to exercise- guess I should work out rather than being on the DIS.

My son is home sick today and it is strep throat! Ugh. Poor little guy is really uncomfortable. My dad got here for a long weekend visit. Hope he doesn't catch anything. We were supposed to go watch my son play baseball tonight but can't do that now.

 

[Anal Annie]

Good luck!

Ever since my Disney trip last year, the weight just will not come off. I tried the 30 Day Shred (Jillian Michael's) workout yesterday from Exercise TV On Deman because I figure I can do 20 minutes a day. Acutally bought the dvd at Target today for $10. Otherwise, I do nothing and I have so much difficulty finding time to exercise- guess I should work out rather than being on the DIS.

My son is home sick today and it is strep throat! Ugh. Poor little guy is really uncomfortable. My dad got here for a long weekend visit. Hope he doesn't catch anything. We were supposed to go watch my son play baseball tonight but can't do that now.

Awww. That sucks. Hope he feels better soon - seems like the Meds for that these days kick in pretty quick. Don't let him kiss all over Grandpa for a few days!!

I was hungry right on cue about 2 1/2 hours after I ate! I forgot how long it takes to get my stomach used to the idea of a lack of food!! I have never had to diet much in my life - but find that age is creeping up on me & I have to watch more than I used to. I am going to get some Tostitos Scoops & Salsa tomorrow at the store so I have a snack that I can keep around to eat without consuming tooooo many calories. The salsa has almost NO calories & I think I can have like 15 of the Scoops. The only time I've ever TRIED to loose weight I kept a food diary & counted calories. It took awhile but it worked. All that hunger came back today in a flash of bad memories!! A teacher / counselor from the high school where my DS will go next year was on the Biggest Loser this year...she just got kicked off last week. At least I am not in that boat...but it definitely wouldn't hurt to loose 5 Lbs!!!

Concert went well - they had 5 bands / choral groups perform but they managed to get it over in an hour!! I hate it when they start going over like 1 1/2 hours. That is just too long. This was tolerable.