August 25, 2011

[AlisonUK]

Happy new year, fellow Dreamers! This is the year we will be setting sail!

Count us in on the fish extender - but we are not very confident and may need a bit of guidance! Thanks for all the organising, Karin and Tom.

 

[SaraCat]

We have just booked this cruise! It will be our 2nd DCL following our Dover to Barcelona trip in 2010. 3 nights doesn't seem much but it is better than not going at all and we are all really keen to see Castaway Cay and the Aquaduck!

We will be me (Sara), my DH Terry and 2 boys (16 & 13).

We are flying in a rather roundabout way from London > Miami > Jacksonville to get the airfare at a reasonable price. It will certainly be an adventure as we live in Manchester, UK so we will be adding on a night in London before the trip too. We have yet to decide where we will be staying in the Orlando area but as we are not planning any time in the Disney parks it wont be a Disney property this time.

I look forward to seeing you all onboard!!

 

[dizneeat]

Happy new year, fellow Dreamers! This is the year we will be setting sail!

Count us in on the fish extender - but we are not very confident and may need a bit of guidance! Thanks for all the organising, Karin and Tom.

Hi! Happy new year to you too!

It's great to have you join the FE exchange! I can tell it IS fun - A LOT OF FUN!!!

If you haven't checked it already - there is quite some information that I copied from the DIS in post 32!

There is even a thread that has photos of fish extender gifts - I need to dig and try and find it again.

Feel free in what you want to give as your FE gifts. It depends on you if you want to buy something or make something yourself. You can hand out your gifts once during your cruise, or like us, deliver little gifts every day of the cruise.

We had a blast during the three DCL cruises we have taken so far, as nearly every time we came back to our stateroom, there was something in the extender!

 

[dizneeat]

We have just booked this cruise! It will be our 2nd DCL following our Dover to Barcelona trip in 2010. 3 nights doesn't seem much but it is better than not going at all and we are all really keen to see Castaway Cay and the Aquaduck!

We will be me (Sara), my DH Terry and 2 boys (16 & 13).

We are flying in a rather roundabout way from London > Miami > Jacksonville to get the airfare at a reasonable price. It will certainly be an adventure as we live in Manchester, UK so we will be adding on a night in London before the trip too. We have yet to decide where we will be staying in the Orlando area but as we are not planning any time in the Disney parks it wont be a Disney property this time.

I look forward to seeing you all onboard!!

I added you to the list of cruisers!

DCL is the best, isn't it?

You are going to love Castaway Cay! We took our supposed to be "once in a lifetime Disney cruise" in 2009 and this summer we will do number 4, 5 and 6 back to back! We just love it!

Sounds like some kind of travelling marathon you will be going through before you'll arrive in Orlando! Are you going to book your hotel through a TA or are you doing it online? We never use a TA - we mostly use "bookings" for our hotels. Just google it and it will pop up if you haven't done it already!

This is going to be a fun cruise!

 

[wheelerkidz3]

Hello to all! My DD(16) and I will be joining you. This will be the first leg of our B2B. Isn't it crazy what we have to go through to get a 7-day cruise out of Canaveral next summer?

Cheryl

Sorry, it took me so long, but after returning from 4 weeks at the wonderful world of Disney we both had a hard time catching up with real life.



Welcome!

You are going to LOVE cruising on board a Disney ship! It is a magical experience!
Where are you going to stay before your cruise? Saratoga Springs or Old Key West? We love Old Key West and are spending the part after our cruise there.



Welcome!

It is wonderful to have you on board! I have a feeling this is going to be a fun cruise - and we will be on board with you for both cruises! We decided to add a third cruise at the beginning, so we can actually stay for 11 nights! The things we all do for Disney!

Other family reporting in!! Me, DW and DD who will be 9 (she would say 9 1/2) when we sail. We are doing B2B and this one will be our first leg. These will make our 3rd & 4th Disney cruises so far and, of course, our first one on the Dream
Will be staying at Disney's Port Orleans Riverside for 10 days before our cruise, we stayed at POR for the first time this past August/Sept and loved it, Actually, It's become our new favorite!! Although we are US citizens we will be traveling from Madrid, Spain (been living here for many years)

Please count on us if you guys decide to do a Fish Extender Exchange, we have always done it on our previous cruises and it is always one of the highlights of our trip.

My family and I are all very excited and we look forward to getting to know you all!!!

Is it August yet?

Dennis

Greetings

This will be the 2nd leg of our B2B on the Dream and our 3rd and 4th disney cruises. The Dream looked great coming out of dock in Germany.

We will be on the August 25th and 28th for our first b2b cruises. They will be our 4th and 5th DCL cruises respectively. We would love to participate in an FE exchange. We are treating my mom and dad to the 3 day cruise (Christmas gift last year) and they would also like to be included in the FE exchange. We only did an exchange on our last cruise (not the first 2) and my boys loved it! One said it was the best part of the trip!

Count me in on this cruise,

Count me in on the FE ...

and count me in on a good time.....

we were booked on the 8/28 & 9/1 cruise but had difficulties with the dates and the start of the grad school semester .....

so we rebooked the 9/1 cruise to this one and here we are!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Its me, grammy and my dd (turning 10 on the cruise - oh no double digits!!!!)

Lookig foward to spending the year chit chatting with all of ya.....

This will be our fourth and fifth cruise with disney but Im looking forward to discovering a whole new ship.

Peace and love

ADD US TO THE LIST OF B2B CRUISERS!!!
there sure seem to be quite a few of us for this trip!! this will be my family's 6th and 7th DCL cruise...but our first b2b. we are:
me-shannon
dh-mark
ds-13yrs
dd-11yrs
ds-8yrs
ds-will have just turned 2yrs.
we'll also be traveling with my parents who will be celebrating their 38yr anniversary on embarking day!! my friend and her 2dks (ds-12yrs;dd-10yrs) are also coming with us.

i know that my family will want to be included in the FE list...but i'll have to find out about the others who are travelling with us.

Hi everyone! We just booked for the Dream on Aug 25th, too!: This will be our first ever cruise. I'm so excited! And so confused! I've been trying to hang out on the boards to see what I can learn, but I still feel so lost. I'll gladly take any advice anyone has to offer. We will be staying at ASMo for 5 nights before the cruise. We've never done a value before, but DS LOVES Toy Story, so we thought this might be fun for him. DD will be 9, and DS will be 4 at the time of the trip. Come on August!!!

we will be arriving 4-5 days ahead of the cruise and prob staying at ASMo too!!


guess i better find the thread for the other leg of the trip now. talk to you all soon!

 

[dizneeat]

ADD US TO THE LIST OF B2B CRUISERS!!!
there sure seem to be quite a few of us for this trip!! this will be my family's 6th and 7th DCL cruise...but our first b2b. we are:
me-shannon
dh-mark
ds-13yrs
dd-11yrs
ds-8yrs
ds-will have just turned 2yrs.
we'll also be traveling with my parents who will be celebrating their 38yr anniversary on embarking day!! my friend and her 2dks (ds-12yrs;dd-10yrs) are also coming with us.

i know that my family will want to be included in the FE list...but i'll have to find out about the others who are travelling with us.

we will be arriving 4-5 days ahead of the cruise and prob staying at ASMo too!!
guess i better find the thread for the other leg of the trip now. talk to you all soon!

Yeah! More experienced cruisers and another B2B family!!!

I will update my list of cruisers on the 1 page in a minute and add you (you can tell me about the rest of your family and friends) to the FE list!

We will be at WDW before the cruise too - staying at OKW!

And btw the other thread for your b2b is fun too! I am on there too! Talk to you again soon!

 

[wheelerkidz3]

Yeah! More experienced cruisers and another B2B family!!!

I will update my list of cruisers on the 1 page in a minute and add you (you can tell me about the rest of your family and friends) to the FE list!

We will be at WDW before the cruise too - staying at OKW!

And btw the other thread for your b2b is fun too! I am on there too! Talk to you again soon!

phew..the other thread is a bit longer than this one!!! it took me a bit to be able to catch up on it..but now i'm finally caught up!! just did my intro over there and found that i've cruised with a few of the posters previously! it's gonna be a great trip!!

 

[dizneeat]

phew..the other thread is a bit longer than this one!!! it took me a bit to be able to catch up on it..but now i'm finally caught up!! just did my intro over there and found that i've cruised with a few of the posters previously! it's gonna be a great trip!!

Yes, I know, Jeff's thread is quite active, while mine is a bit on the "sleeping beauty" side! But she woke up in the end, didn't she!

Isn't it fun to meet "old" friends again on the cruise? We have a few DISmeets planned while at WDW, before and after the cruise, and it gets me so excited.

I read your comment on the other thread about the 120 FE participants! Boy, I just don't want to imagine that!
Tom and I have already started a spreadsheet for gifts, with so many b2bs I need to be organized!
We did a b2b last year and loved it. We were allowed to get on board again way ahead of the other passengers and spent the time at the Cove Cafe, where they had some snacks for us, and the coffee was yummy!!! I wonder how they will handle it on the Dream - but we'll live and learn, we'll have to go through the procedure twice.

 

[wheelerkidz3]

wow...so i've spent almost my whole day today looking for flights!! i was determined to finally narrow it down to which day we were going to arrive at wdw before the cruise. ends up that we are only going to have 1 1/2 days before cruising. the flight prices are ridiculous!! i've never paid over $200 for tix to fly to fla...and this year...my baby has to have a seat...AND we are paying over $200!!! yikes!!! we debated on driving...but noway do i want the hassle of driving 20ish hrs home after being pampered onboard the dream!! LOL!! anyways, i guess we are gonna fly down on aug 23 and fly home sept 2. this vacation is gonna go way too quickly!!

 

[wheelerkidz3]

Yes, I know, Jeff's thread is quite active, while mine is a bit on the "sleeping beauty" side! But she woke up in the end, didn't she!

Isn't it fun to meet "old" friends again on the cruise? We have a few DISmeets planned while at WDW, before and after the cruise, and it gets me so excited.

I read your comment on the other thread about the 120 FE participants! Boy, I just don't want to imagine that!
Tom and I have already started a spreadsheet for gifts, with so many b2bs I need to be organized!
We did a b2b last year and loved it. We were allowed to get on board again way ahead of the other passengers and spent the time at the Cove Cafe, where they had some snacks for us, and the coffee was yummy!!! I wonder how they will handle it on the Dream - but we'll live and learn, we'll have to go through the procedure twice.

i'm so disorganized...but that is one thing i hope to change this year. (sort of a new year's resolution?? LOL!) maybe you'll need to share that spreadsheet...you sound like you are on the ball!! great job!!
i can't wait to hear how they handle the b2b's. it seems like there are alot of people booking them this year...the price coudln't be beat...esp considering its the new ship. we are booked on another b2b at thanksgiving this year...but i think we'll have to cancel...not sure yet. hopefully people report back and let us know how it works for them

 

[AlisonUK]

Have you seen the Youtube video of the Wonder leaving port and sounding the horn to the Dream as it left and the Dream responding? Gave me goosebumps listening to it!

What are you most looking forward to on the cruise? We've never cruised before so am really looking forward to soaking up the atmosphere and the experience - and maybe the odd cocktail!

 

[dizneeat]

wow...so i've spent almost my whole day today looking for flights!! i was determined to finally narrow it down to which day we were going to arrive at wdw before the cruise. ends up that we are only going to have 1 1/2 days before cruising. the flight prices are ridiculous!! i've never paid over $200 for tix to fly to fla...and this year...my baby has to have a seat...AND we are paying over $200!!! yikes!!! we debated on driving...but noway do i want the hassle of driving 20ish hrs home after being pampered onboard the dream!! LOL!! anyways, i guess we are gonna fly down on aug 23 and fly home sept 2. this vacation is gonna go way too quickly!!

Shopping for flights can be a nightmare! But at least you have found something you seem to be "happy" with!
And like you - I could NOT imagine driving home for 20 hours after a cruise - yikes! But then I am the one who won't even drive to Paris, which is a 12 hour drive!

i'm so disorganized...but that is one thing i hope to change this year. (sort of a new year's resolution?? LOL!) maybe you'll need to share that spreadsheet...you sound like you are on the ball!! great job!!
i can't wait to hear how they handle the b2b's. it seems like there are alot of people booking them this year...the price coudln't be beat...esp considering its the new ship. we are booked on another b2b at thanksgiving this year...but i think we'll have to cancel...not sure yet. hopefully people report back and let us know how it works for them

Make that two of us who are disorganized! But with us travelling for 30 days and doing 3 cruises with FE and all, I need to keep some kind of record!
Thankfully I have a few years of experience with long vacations.
Can't wait for the first reviews to roll in once the Dream has done her maiden voyage! That is one beautiful ship!
We are going to WDW in 6 weeks and we'll go out to Port Canaveral to take a look at her! Be sure I will post LOADS of photos!
I'll keep my fingers crossed for you that you can go on that Thanksgiving Cruise - another friend of mine has just reported back from this year's Halloween Cruise and it seems to have been fantastic!

Have you seen the Youtube video of the Wonder leaving port and sounding the horn to the Dream as it left and the Dream responding? Gave me goosebumps listening to it!

What are you most looking forward to on the cruise? We've never cruised before so am really looking forward to soaking up the atmosphere and the experience - and maybe the odd cocktail!

Yes, I did see/hear the hornbattle of the Wonder and Dream! It was fun to watch - I cannot wait to see that wonderful ship closeup!

We cruised for the first time in 2009 and it was supposed to be a "once in a lifetime" experience. Well, I was sold after a day - the service is top notch, the food was really good, the interaction with other cruisers was fun. We got to see a lot of the ship delivering FE gifts and we LOVED the shows! 45 minute shows on a huge stage, with lots of performers! Wonderful
What am I looking forward to most? Castaway Cay and Serenity Bay! We just loved Serenity Bay - the adults only beach!
We enjoyed our first trip so much that we rebooked a back to back cruise. I am currently doing a trip report on our 2010 vacation and slowly creaping up on our cruise experience. If you are interested - feel free to read along - it is the "Value Resorts and Inside Staterooms" link in my signature.
So, while on our b2b last summer we booked a triple cruise for this year!

Oh, and the drinks are yummy - Konk Kooler, Bahama Mama, Rum Rudder ........... been there, going back!

 

[princessheather]

just wanted to say hi and i cannot waittt!! this summer will be here before we know it! Hope everyone had a great holiday!

 

[dizneeat]

just wanted to say hi and i cannot waittt!! this summer will be here before we know it! Hope everyone had a great holiday!

Hi!

Yes, I know it will be here in a flash! We are going to Disney in February and once we got into the double digits it goes SOOOOOOOO fast!

Looking forward to August and meeting you all!

 

[joius24]

Hey Diz....
Please take me off the FE's for this leg of the trip. I decided to do only one set of FE's and to just chill for the second leg of the B2B. Thanks!

Lots of door decorations... I am in
Just booked Pop Century for a few days before the cruise...have soem parkhoppers to use ....I am already counting the days! I am already in pre-cruise mode!...

 

[dizneeat]

Hey Diz....
Please take me off the FE's for this leg of the trip. I decided to do only one set of FE's and to just chill for the second leg of the B2B. Thanks!

Lots of door decorations... I am in
Just booked Pop Century for a few days before the cruise...have soem parkhoppers to use ....I am already counting the days! I am already in pre-cruise mode!...

Took you off the list! No problem!

Pop Century sounds cool! We have stayed there too and always loved it! For the last two years we stayed at Old Key West! And we'll stay there again too, before and after our cruises!

You're not alone counting days, ! We have been counting down for quite a while now!
7 months exactly today for us until we leave for our summer vacation!

 

[ladyleslie]

Originally Posted by wheelerkidz3
ADD US TO THE LIST OF B2B CRUISERS!!!
there sure seem to be quite a few of us for this trip!! this will be my family's 6th and 7th DCL cruise...but our first b2b. we are:
me-shannon
dh-mark
ds-13yrs
dd-11yrs
ds-8yrs
ds-will have just turned 2yrs.
we'll also be traveling with my parents who will be celebrating their 38yr anniversary on embarking day!! my friend and her 2dks (ds-12yrs;dd-10yrs) are also coming with us.

i know that my family will want to be included in the FE list...but i'll have to find out about the others who are travelling with us.

we will be arriving 4-5 days ahead of the cruise and prob staying at ASMo too!!
guess i better find the thread for the other leg of the trip now. talk to you all soon!


Yeah!!!!!!! More back 2 back-ers

Welcome aboard!!!

So is this the first leg or second leg of your cruise....

And I'll agree with Dizneeat - we got off the boat was in the terminal for about thirty mins - got new stateroom cards at the counter - and got right back on board....... We were in the cove for another thrity mins and then DD daughter got to go right into the pool -

It was lonely for her in the pool all by herself!!!! (The only time that happened on the cuise) but this time around - I'll be looking at all of yall at the cove and pool and thinking - these are all my BFF from "Disboards" !!!!!! Wont that be fun!!!

 

[ladyleslie]

wow...so i've spent almost my whole day today looking for flights!! i was determined to finally narrow it down to which day we were going to arrive at wdw before the cruise. ends up that we are only going to have 1 1/2 days before cruising. the flight prices are ridiculous!! i've never paid over $200 for tix to fly to fla...and this year...my baby has to have a seat...AND we are paying over $200!!! yikes!!! we debated on driving...but noway do i want the hassle of driving 20ish hrs home after being pampered onboard the dream!! LOL!! anyways, i guess we are gonna fly down on aug 23 and fly home sept 2. this vacation is gonna go way too quickly!!

I'm also flying from NY - I got flights out of NY to Fl for 109 per person on jet blue --- and flights on delta from Fl back to NY for 89 per person. but becuase its on delta you have to add the 25 bag charge so its really 114 ... But I still did alot better than I thought I was going to do and well with in budget!!! I guess I can treat myself to a pedicure with my savings.

And dont drive if you can avoid it ..... it's a tough drive when you got little one - and even the not so little ones have a hard time after a while.

 

[wheelerkidz3]

Yeah!!!!!!! More back 2 back-ers

Welcome aboard!!!

So is this the first leg or second leg of your cruise....

And I'll agree with Dizneeat - we got off the boat was in the terminal for about thirty mins - got new stateroom cards at the counter - and got right back on board....... We were in the cove for another thrity mins and then DD daughter got to go right into the pool -

It was lonely for her in the pool all by herself!!!! (The only time that happened on the cuise) but this time around - I'll be looking at all of yall at the cove and pool and thinking - these are all my BFF from "Disboards" !!!!!! Wont that be fun!!!

this is the first leg of our b2b. the 25th is my parents anniversary, so we decided it was a good day to start the trip!! lol!!!
that sounds great if they will let us back onboard that quickly! i wondered how it would work...sounds like it's hassle-free!!

I'm also flying from NY - I got flights out of NY to Fl for 109 per person on jet blue --- and flights on delta from Fl back to NY for 89 per person. but becuase its on delta you have to add the 25 bag charge so its really 114 ... But I still did alot better than I thought I was going to do and well with in budget!!! I guess I can treat myself to a pedicure with my savings.

And dont drive if you can avoid it ..... it's a tough drive when you got little one - and even the not so little ones have a hard time after a while.

we def won't be driving! been there done that when my 3rd was only 9months old. it wasn't a bad trip...and we'd do it if we had to...but i just really didn't want to have to spend the full week onboard the dream and then drive for 20hrs....noway!! i don't worry about the trip down...it's the one back that would put me over the edge!!! lol!!!!
we did end up finding tix...201 roundtrip from rochester...so not too bad...but def more than we've ever paid before. we'll be flying delta too...so have to pay for bags...but we each have a carryon that we'll be using, so i hope to only have to check 1 big suitcase. we'll see how that plan goes when it comes time to pack though!! Hahaha!!

 

[wheelerkidz3]

i just posted on the main board...but didn't know if anyone here knows the answer?

i tend to overbuy at shutters. i know that the backdrops will repeat for both cruises, but i have 4 kids...and i'm sure that some of the pics won't turn out for the 1st segment of cruise. does shutters offer any way to "hold" the pics from both segments of cruise, and then i pick a photo package at the end of the b2b? or am i gonna be stuck buying a package from the first seg and then another package on the 2nd seg?
__________________