August 1st 2009 - Eastern 8/1/2009 The Eastern Caribbean Castaways

[MrsJobba1]

Hello all! I just finished all of my shopping! Now - that is not to say that I might not....

crap - I just remembered something else I need....but it is only gift cards so it isn't like I need to search for something!

Mom and Dad are coming here for Christmas so now I need to get the place clean. It doesn't matter if you could eat off the floors though, my mother will come in and start cleaning something. It doesn't bother me - she never really cleans at her place (she has a cleaning lady) and she only does it here to "take care" of us.

I bought pashminas for her and Anne (SIL) to take on the cruise if it gets chilly!

Barbara

Hi Barbara,

Pashminas are a great gift for the cruise - I have a couple I take with me.

Been food shopping today - so the only think I need to do tomorrow is clean the house then I'm done !

Happy Christmas all xx

 

[joycsk]

Hi Barbara,

Pashminas are a great gift for the cruise - I have a couple I take with me.

Been food shopping today - so the only think I need to do tomorrow is clean the house then I'm done !

Happy Christmas all xx

My parents took the Mex Riviera cruise last August (same week as this one) and my Mother said that the public areas of the Magic were FREEZING! Do encourage them to pack their pashminas. My Mom said that the shops nearly sold completely out of kids sweaters since many cruisers weren't expecting the dining rooms to be so cold.

My congratulations to those of you who are ready for Christmas. I have my gift shopping done, most of my wrapping done, but I haven't started baking, cleaning or food shopping! Sigh. It will work out. (And at least this year I have some time after the holiday to crash before school starts up again!)

Merry merry!!

 

[MsLeFever]

I find that Disney in general likes to keep things chilly! I have photos of the kids wrapped in extra table clothes at the California Grill in August.

2 days until Christmas! Joy - how are you surprising your kids with the cruise news?

 

[MrsJobba1]

Merry Christmas and a Happy 2009

Hope all your disney dreams come true

 

[MsLeFever]

Merry Christmas all!!!!

Hope you have a peacefull holiday.

Barbara

 

[MsLeFever]

So, Christmas is over and I'm ready to REALLY start the count down to cruise time!!

I'm back to school in a couple of weeks and then taking a bunch of kids to Philadelphia for a theatre conference. It should be fun but I always get tense when I've got kids to keep track of!

 

[joycsk]

I find that Disney in general likes to keep things chilly! I have photos of the kids wrapped in extra table clothes at the California Grill in August.

2 days until Christmas! Joy - how are you surprising your kids with the cruise news?

It is sweet that you are interested. This was actually my Dad's surprise. He booked this when cruising last summer. He told the kids that he had only one present for them, and that it was the same. (VERY unusual for him - he typically goes WAY overboard for xmas - this year being no exception and all puns intended!)

Anyway, he gave them each DCL baseball caps - very cute - "Disney" embroidered in the 'clothes' of the DCL characters. The kids unwrapped the hats and he said they were for them to wear when we took the cruise next summer. My 5 year old was pleased, but I'm not exactly sure how much of it he gets. My 8 yr old daughter got very excited and reacted just as we'd hoped she would.

Now we're all pretty excited and hoping to begin the real planning. On Christmas day my Dad asked if I had checked out the excursions and was there a dolphin encounter. I haven't looked since early fall, but I'm not keen to spend that much on a 10 hour tour. I don't really think that my kids. myself or the grandparents are really up to that long a day for 1 hour with the dolphins. Please let me know if I'm wrong on that score.

Happy New Year!

 

[joycsk]

So, Christmas is over and I'm ready to REALLY start the count down to cruise time!!

I'm back to school in a couple of weeks and then taking a bunch of kids to Philadelphia for a theatre conference. It should be fun but I always get tense when I've got kids to keep track of!

I deliberately avoid taking kids out of trips for that reason. That, and as a HS teacher, I can't honestly say that there are too many experiences that justify missing a full day of school. I hope that you do have fun, though. May I ask where in Philly you are going?

 

[MsLeFever]

We were staying at the double tree across the street from the University of the Arts theatre. Most of the time was spent seeing shows and going to workshops. It turned out to be easy to keep track of the students - they were great - really excited to be there.

Bennett and I also made time to see the Liberty Bell, Independance Hall, Ben Franklin's house (what there is of it), the Constitution Museum, Franklin's grave, oh - and Robert Morris' Statue (I teach at Robert Morris Univ. so that was a must)

Bennett was going to miss 4 days of school but the weather cancelled 2 of those so he actually ended up being DAYS ahead on homework!

Barbara

 

[MsLeFever]

Those of you with kids - Bennett would love to start a penpal friendship with someone that will be with his age group on the cruise - he'll be 11 next week. Anyone interested or available?

 

[marcij]

It is sweet that you are interested. This was actually my Dad's surprise. He booked this when cruising last summer. He told the kids that he had only one present for them, and that it was the same. (VERY unusual for him - he typically goes WAY overboard for xmas - this year being no exception and all puns intended!)

Anyway, he gave them each DCL baseball caps - very cute - "Disney" embroidered in the 'clothes' of the DCL characters. The kids unwrapped the hats and he said they were for them to wear when we took the cruise next summer. My 5 year old was pleased, but I'm not exactly sure how much of it he gets. My 8 yr old daughter got very excited and reacted just as we'd hoped she would.

Now we're all pretty excited and hoping to begin the real planning. On Christmas day my Dad asked if I had checked out the excursions and was there a dolphin encounter. I haven't looked since early fall, but I'm not keen to spend that much on a 10 hour tour. I don't really think that my kids. myself or the grandparents are really up to that long a day for 1 hour with the dolphins. Please let me know if I'm wrong on that score.

Happy New Year!

What a fun surprise!

Those of you with kids - Bennett would love to start a penpal friendship with someone that will be with his age group on the cruise - he'll be 11 next week. Anyone interested or available?

Yes -- Jake is 10 and I think would like that. Anyone else want to join in?

 

[ScubaD]

Hello fellow cruisers,

We will also be on the August 1st cruise with you all. We are looking forward to it and we will be celebrating our 25th anniversary, as well as winding down after the wedding of our daughter on July 18th.

My DW is disneymom8589 and she will be told about this thread when she comes home tonight.

Does anyone know how many Dis'ers are going on this cruise so far?

Dave

 

[MsLeFever]

Hi Dave! Helen - what's our total now?

 

[marcij]

Hi Dave! Welcome aboard! Congrats on your anniversary, and on your weight loss.

 

[ScubaD]

Hi gang,

I wanted to check who was going and it looks like there are six groups so far.

We look forward to meeting everyone on the cruise. We will be flying in Friday night, July 31st, and our friends, who moved to Florida a couple of years ago, will pick us up and open their home to us for a night. In the morning they will take us to the Disney Magic bright and early.

This will be our third cruise, but our first seven day cruise. We found on the three day cruises we were always on the move and never did get time to relax like we wanted to. This time we will relax and not do as many excursions, maybe just catch the local scenery and shops. After all, how many times can you look at the same fish while snorkling?

I am also looking forward to wine tasting, taking tours of the ship, backstage of the plays, etc. And reading on deck, with a beverage close by, and on the adult side of the fence.

So now the official hello to MrsJobba1, marcij, MsLeFever (good luck this weekend..I do have to root for our brothers in the NFC West as I am a Seattle Seahwak fan and I hold nothing against Pittsburgh fans, or the Steelers), Liltx, and Joycsk.

See you in a few months.

Dave

 

[ScubaD]

Here is a photo of disneymom8589 and me aboard the Disney Wonder.

Dave

 

[disneymom8589]

Hi! This is disneymom8589, DW of ScubaD. We're looking forward to our August 1st cruise and hopefully meeting some of you on the ship!

 

[marcij]

Hi! This is disneymom8589, DW of ScubaD. We're looking forward to our August 1st cruise and hopefully meeting some of you on the ship!

Hi there! Welcome to our small, but expanding group!

 

[joycsk]

What a fun surprise!



Yes -- Jake is 10 and I think would like that. Anyone else want to join in?

My daughter is 8 and she would be happy to correspond. She does have her own email address if anyone wants that privately, or we could try actual snail mail. A welcome to our newest members. FWIW, Dave, my MIL's friend Jean will also be relaxing after the wedding of her daughter, so go figure!

I'm also _really_ excited to state that on our snow day last week, I booked a non-Disney excursion in St. Thomas and my crew will be swimming with sea lions! I'm totally stoked!

On a last note, Barbara, I'm glad that the Philly trip went well. That DoubleTree will forever be the Hershey Hotel in my minds. I often park there when going to the Academy. I adore Franklin Court, and while I've not been there on my own to really look around (I've only chaperoned field trips), the NCC does seem to be really great.

Here's to summer and then end of SNOW!

 

[joycsk]

Hi! This is disneymom8589, DW of ScubaD. We're looking forward to our August 1st cruise and hopefully meeting some of you on the ship!

Hi, Disneymom. I just realized your daughter got engaged on my birthday. neat!