Bound for Barcelona - April 10, 2010 EB TA - Part 4

[mrshart]

Hi Mshart! Welcome! Everyone in your party will receive lanyards, unless you don't want them. AuntieLynne is handling the nametags, and I am sure she will see this post.

A card shower is a really sweet idea. I would be happy to participate. Which day of the cruise is his birthday?

Our names are on the spreadsheet with our room# and a note about DH's birthday. I guess I should have mentioned the day as well, opps! His birthday is April 16.

Thanks everyone!

 

[scottjm]

Hi everyone,

We just booked this cruise last week and will be joining you all. We're very excited since this will be our first disney cruise and also the first cruise with the kids. I'm finding this site very informative but there's just too much info. I don't think I can get through it all. Even with this thread, there's just too many pages so I find myself skipping here and there. I have one major concern and was wondering if you can give me your input. My two boys are age 6 and 10 and I'm concerned they will get bored. They're very active kids and I'm just a bit concerned with all the sea days. To those who have kids, do your kids complain about being bored and wanting to go home? I'm crossing my fingers and hoping they will really enjoy it. Also, does anyone have any idea how many children will be on this sailing. I asked my travel agent and she said not much. Does that mean the activities in the kids clubs will be canceled due to lack of enrollment?

I have an 11 year old and an 8 year old. This is their third cruise. The others were one week. There is no way our kids have come close to being bored on a Disney cruise. They are looking forward to having more "at sea" days than they usually get. I would not worry about boredom.

 

[Poohbear28]

Thanks for the warm welcome. I just spent an hour+ trying to read this thread from the very beginning. Maybe that wasn't such a good idea. Still seems like I have a 600 pages to go.

we were on a 15 night cruise and my kids would still be on board if I let them - and disney has so many activities for them! On our 15 night we had around 300 kids and not a single activity was cancelled that I know of and that was a "low number" of kids. My kids had a blast!

Krisann

Wow, 15 nights and they still didn't want to leave. I guess I didn't need to worry after all.

 

[slcmom]

I'd love to get some lanyards for our trip - who should I tell? I think we'd like to have Donald on them. Me - Melissa. DH - Trevor. DS - Jax (21months).

Also, my DH is celebrating his 32nd birthday while on board. Would anyone be interested in doing a card shower for him? He'll be so surprised! I've got a banner and magnet for the door made up, but he'd love to come 'home' to cards from everyone. Currently, our room number is 6571 (Hoping for some pixie dust!).

Thanks!

I'm glad to participate. Love spending time at my computer instead of sewing bridesmaid gowns like I should be.....can I get in on the action, too? DS with Down syndrome will have his 20th birthday the day we set sail (April 10th). His name is Tom and we're in 2528. Any cards would be welcome. Thanks!
Ann

 

[sdlong329]

My two boys are age 6 and 10 and I'm concerned they will get bored. They're very active kids and I'm just a bit concerned with all the sea days. To those who have kids, do your kids complain about being bored and wanting to go home? I'm crossing my fingers and hoping they will really enjoy it.

NOBODY gets bored on a Disney Cruise (it's maritime law)!

Here's a typical story of a NEW-family cruising on DCL for the very first time...

NEW family is in the DCL terminal, waiting to board the ship. NEW family sparks up a conversation with someone standing or seated nearby. The NEW-family asks how many cruises others have been on ... and also asks about onboard activities for the kids (all ages).

Most repeat DCL cruisers will tell a similar story of NEW kid-cruisers saying they DO NOT want to be / stay in a group activity, and are worried about being bored. The repeat DCL cruiser will warn the parents that the activities are addicting, and often, parents have a hard time getting their kids to leave the activities for family time. NEW kid-cruisers swear (not literally) that will not be the case with them.

Later that evening, when walking to dinner, it's almost guaranteed you will overhear at least one parent pleading with their child ... to leave the activities ... to join Mom and Dad for dinner.

'tis true!

 

[thossink]

NOBODY gets bored on a Disney Cruise (it's maritime law)!

Here's a typical story of a NEW-family cruising on DCL for the very first time...

NEW family is in the DCL terminal, waiting to board the ship. NEW family sparks up a conversation with someone standing or seated nearby. The NEW-family asks how many cruises others have been on ... and also asks about onboard activities for the kids (all ages).

Most repeat DCL cruisers will tell a similar story of NEW kid-cruisers saying they DO NOT want to be / stay in a group activity, and are worried about being bored. The repeat DCL cruiser will warn the parents that the activities are addicting, and often, parents have a hard time getting their kids to leave the activities for family time. NEW kid-cruisers swear (not literally) that will not be the case with them.

Later that evening, when walking to dinner, it's almost guaranteed you will overhear at least one parent pleading with their child ... to leave the activities ... to join Mom and Dad for dinner.

'tis true!

I have to agree, We had to make a rule that the kids MUST join us for breakfast, dinner and the show or we never saw them except on shore excursions. Of course we did leave them to visit Palo

T

 

[ibouncetoo]

Hi everyone,

We just booked this cruise last week and will be joining you all. We're very excited since this will be our first disney cruise and also the first cruise with the kids. I'm finding this site very informative but there's just too much info. I don't think I can get through it all. Even with this thread, there's just too many pages so I find myself skipping here and there. I have one major concern and was wondering if you can give me your input. My two boys are age 6 and 10 and I'm concerned they will get bored. They're very active kids and I'm just a bit concerned with all the sea days. To those who have kids, do your kids complain about being bored and wanting to go home? I'm crossing my fingers and hoping they will really enjoy it. Also, does anyone have any idea how many children will be on this sailing. I asked my travel agent and she said not much. Does that mean the activities in the kids clubs will be canceled due to lack of enrollment?

Fewer kids means more opportunity to become BFF with the other kids! Encourage them to explore their clubs the first day as it is a little harder to 'join in' later one when the other kids have gotten to know each other. There will be a great consuler to kids ratio too.

One of the best things about the longer cruises with fewer kids, is they usually let the ADULTS have an evening in the lab!

.

 

[Missymowse]

I have no idea what to pack...ok, I do, but if I pack all this the fees I pay will add up to my next cruise costs and move me out of my stateroom.
What percentage of warm to cold clothes are you packing?
How formal is formal?
*Hoping for a warming trend in the Atlantic!!*
I asked my meteorologist friend:
http://www.abc6.com/about/people/weather/11851606.html
what he thought and he is getting back to me...I'll fill you all in!!

 

[sdlong329]

Formal is Formal. There are two formal nights, and one semi-formal night. This topic has been a hot-topic ... but let me simplify ...

Guys - A Tux is nice, but not required. If you have a Tux - bring it (if not, consider a rental on the ship). If a Tux is not for you, bring a suit. Since the suit or Tux can be used over three nights, it's no sweat to pack. I bring my tux, with 3 shirts, 3 different ties, etc.

Ladies - If you have a gown, or nice dress - bring it. Otherwise, something nice that you might wear out to a nice restaurant. Packing is easy ... I have seen ladies make 17 outfits out of 6 pieces of clothing - not sure how it gets done. I believe re-purposing a skirt or top with another piece of clothing once or twice is the way to go.

In actuality, packing for a 14 day cruise is not much different than a 7-day cruise. Remember that you can have a garment cleaned, pressed, or dry-cleaned, should the situation arise. Pricing is posted on the page two, thread #17.

 

[mackeymouse4eva]

Hi everyone,

I have one major concern and was wondering if you can give me your input. My two boys are age 6 and 10 and I'm concerned they will get bored.

We only booked this cruise 2 weeks ago and there is a TON of helpful information on these boards! The main reason I have been wanting to book this cruise is for all those fabulous seas days!! FINALLY time to enjoy the boat and relax!! This is the perfect trip because I know my 5 yr old Ds will be having the time of his life in the Kids Clubs. He is so excited to go to Mickey's kids club and to celebrate his 6th birthday on board. I'm sure this will be the perfect family trip for all of you!

 

[emma'smom]

OK...who has girls in the 7/8/9 year old (grades 1-3) range?

Who has girls in the 4/5 (preschool/K) range?

Anyone interested in doing some supervised e--pals (electronic pen pals) to get our dd's talking ahead of time.

I know there was a "kid's thread" out there a long time ago....but it didn't get much traffic as I recall. It would be fun to have our kid's know some names ahead of time.

 

[bound2travel]

So not a happy camper right now and I only have myself to blame (partially at least).

The cabin crew for British Airways has voted to strike but a date has not been set yet. According to British Airways, the ballot was before a judge threw out some of the union's complaints as being unsupported. BA also said that the union has 28 after the ballot to begin the strike and they have to announce the strike at least 7 days before it starts.

I'm suppose to be flying BA to London from Barcelona. As I booked the flight myself (last July), I don't have travel insurance on it. I didn't figure on a strike . Any other flights to London are about double and will take hours more to get there. I can't really even do anything until a strike is or is not announced and if my flight does or does not get cancelled.

BA claims they will try to get some people to work the flights and that some of the cabin crew may choose to work even though there is a strike. ARGH!!!!!

I could kick myself for not getting the travel insurance but at the time there were some medical issues going on (and still going on) that would have prevented me from getting insurance that covered pre-existing conditions. My thought at the time was that if I missed the cruise it would be due to pre-existing (which wouldn't have been covered except for the cruise protion) and that if I made the cruise, then I would be getting to London and wouldnt' need insurance.

I just don't need this worry and stress right now. My email to BA got the "blah blah" standard reply - so no help there. I'll try calling to get more info.

ARGH!!!!!

Kristi

 

[DisneyHeather]

One of the best things about the longer cruises with fewer kids, is they usually let the ADULTS have an evening in the lab!

.

Is it sad that that sounds like a lot of fun to me??

I have no idea what to pack...ok, I do, but if I pack all this the fees I pay will add up to my next cruise costs and move me out of my stateroom.
What percentage of warm to cold clothes are you packing?
How formal is formal?
*Hoping for a warming trend in the Atlantic!!*
I asked my meteorologist friend:
http://www.abc6.com/about/people/weather/11851606.html
what he thought and he is getting back to me...I'll fill you all in!!

I'm packing a mixture of clothes and I'm sure I'm packing way more than I should be packing. I'm actually really excited about getting to dress up for dinner and have a different dress for almost every night

I figure I'm the one who's going to have to deal with my overpacking

So not a happy camper right now and I only have myself to blame (partially at least).

The cabin crew for British Airways has voted to strike but a date has not been set yet. According to British Airways, the ballot was before a judge threw out some of the union's complaints as being unsupported. BA also said that the union has 28 after the ballot to begin the strike and they have to announce the strike at least 7 days before it starts.

I'm suppose to be flying BA to London from Barcelona. As I booked the flight myself (last July), I don't have travel insurance on it. I didn't figure on a strike . Any other flights to London are about double and will take hours more to get there. I can't really even do anything until a strike is or is not announced and if my flight does or does not get cancelled.

BA claims they will try to get some people to work the flights and that some of the cabin crew may choose to work even though there is a strike. ARGH!!!!!

I could kick myself for not getting the travel insurance but at the time there were some medical issues going on (and still going on) that would have prevented me from getting insurance that covered pre-existing conditions. My thought at the time was that if I missed the cruise it would be due to pre-existing (which wouldn't have been covered except for the cruise protion) and that if I made the cruise, then I would be getting to London and wouldnt' need insurance.

I just don't need this worry and stress right now. My email to BA got the "blah blah" standard reply - so no help there. I'll try calling to get more info.

ARGH!!!!!

Kristi

Kristi that sucks. I hope they don't end up going on strike and everything works out for you.

 

[Happy Goofy]

We seem to have a lot of April BIrthdays on this cruise. My husband's is April 11.

 

[Missymowse]

We seem to have a lot of April BIrthdays on this cruise. My husband's is April 11.

Mine (DH that is) is April 7th....celebrating his 40th.

 

[mdvasquez]

My DD Ashley will turn 19 on April 8th.

 

[scottjm]

So not a happy camper right now and I only have myself to blame (partially at least).

The cabin crew for British Airways has voted to strike but a date has not been set yet. According to British Airways, ...

I'm suppose to be flying BA to London from Barcelona. ...

Oh boy. Thanks for the warning. We are on BA too from a frequently flier award with American Airlines. I guess there's no need to stress right now, but I will watch it. Thanks.

 

[scottjm]

Oh boy. Thanks for the warning. We are on BA too from a frequently flier award with American Airlines. I guess there's no need to stress right now, but I will watch it. Thanks.

Some answers to questions on the strike at http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2010/feb/22/british-airways-strike

I've booked a BA flight which might be during the strike period. What happens now?

If your flight is cancelled BA is obliged under EU law to offer you either a refund or a different route.

A message on BA's website said anyone booked to travel over the strike period would be offered the option to switch to another BA flight within 12 months free of charge. Passengers whose flights are cancelled can choose to rebook on a different date or on a flight to the nearest alternative airport, or cancel and get a refund.

It may be wise to buy travel insurance in case your flight is affected.

Is it not too late to buy travel insurance now the strike has been announced?

No. The Association of British Insurers says that any policy bought before the dates of the strike are announced will operate as usual. Many policies will pay out if you are delayed due to strike action, but few will pay out if you decide to cancel your trip – check the small print and make sure you know what cover you are buying.

Once the strike dates are announced some insurers will refuse to offer cover on new policies because the action will be deemed a "known event". So do not put off buying a policy.

 

[mackeymouse4eva]

We seem to have a lot of April BIrthdays on this cruise. My husband's is April 11.

My DS turns 6 on the 24th!

 

[disneymum2201]

DH birthday on the 19th April and Wedding Anniversary on the 20th. He has no excuse for ever forgetting our anniversary