Bringing Home the Magic - Part 2 - 8/18/07 - 9/01/07- list of cruisers on page 1

[Haley'smom]

It's Friday! The Last Friday of this Month! Which Means..............

We're almost at the 12 month mark!

Yeah...

Just checking in... busy summer... trying to catch up on the last couple month's worth of posts. Hope everyone is having a great summer and gearing up for the 12 month mark...

 

[DisneyElf]

I've been counting up the paychecks and such - too - hoping for at least 2 raises before the cruise. Though I am now 4 weeks behind for my annual review -- but the office has been crazy so I will have to wait - at least is will be retro'd - Guess where that money is going.

We had a meeting and they promised that the reviews are coming - some people have waited since March ! I can't wait to go in there .... I run the computer network (we have a tech for the hardware issues) , manage $ 3 Mill in premium of personal lines (Average at other large agencies are only $2 Mill) and some commercial lines. I definitely deserve it ....

 

[eye R.N.]

Yes you do


I was doing fine with saving until MIL's passing. Now ALL of our spare cash is going into getting her house ready for market. I know we will be reimbursed (eventually) but right now the checking account is in an iron lung.

The good news, the bird flu vaccine study has added two more groups (I hope this means they are getting close to a working vaccine) for Sept and Oct. Although it means working seven days a week between the two jobs, it will go a long way to paying for the cruise.


I am considering cancelling my current ressie and rebooking on board for the 10% saving obc and free tips when we cruise in Oct. Might even be able to afford a cat 9 with the savings. What do you think?

Val, have fun with the drywall. It added so much to our basement when we had it done. The kids actually hang out there now.

 

[Scratch42]

I am considering cancelling my current ressie and rebooking on board for the 10% saving obc and free tips when we cruise in Oct. Might even be able to afford a cat 9 with the savings. What do you think?

As long as the pricing still is at Tier 1, I would if I was eligible!

j

 

[DenverVal]

Val, have fun with the drywall. It added so much to our basement when we had it done. The kids actually hang out there now.

This is not fun at all. The guy we had expected to do the work keeps not showing up for apppointments and doesn't call, or is excessively late. It seems to be a chronic problem. The final straw was he scheduled an appointment with us for yesterday at 1pm to sign a contract and get initial payment...he called at 1:05 and said he'd be a half hour late. At 3pm he still hadn't shown up nor called with an update, and DH called him up to find out what was going on. He was still at whatever other job he had going, and wasn't even on his way. DH told him his services would not be needed. We have several other offers, an would be going with one of them. Apparently the guy was upset, but ya gotta show up. If I did that where I work, I'd be fired. If he can't even show up on time to get money, can he be relied on to show up to do the work? We decided not to find out.

So back to the drawing board. We have a quote from a guy recommended by the person who did our last house, and it turns out that he also did my neighbor's basement, and he gave a lower quote. So he comes much more highly recommended by people I know.

 

[eye R.N.]

As long as the pricing still is at Tier 1, I would if I was eligible!

j

Checked it out and as of today

Now let's see if our friends up the price when they all do the same thing on 8/19

 

[eye R.N.]

I'm exploring airfare options and having saved a bit with group rates previously I was wondering if there are any DC area folks interested in possible group airfare or if we have enough people charter?

I am in Baltimore and it looks like 2-3 of us will be going (DD just announced her engagement but still plans to cruise with mom ) I would be interested in group fare depending on when we would be leaving.

 

[bridgemanva]

I'm lookng at a few options I though I'd see when the majoroty of folks who are interested in joining the group were planning on flying, then list the options and see what works out best. I've thought of looking for a safety buffer for arrival possibly the day/night before to ensure not missing embarkation. I wish I could spend some time before the cruise but our vacation schedules wont allow for that.

I'll be contacting interested travelers once I can get some more specifics from the airlines to list the possibilities.

Kathy Bridgeman
kathybridgeman@hotmail.com
703-255-9684

 

[Scratch42]

I am in Baltimore and it looks like 2-3 of us will be going (DD just announced her engagement but still plans to cruise with mom ) I would be interested in group fare depending on when we would be leaving.

Why wouldn't she want to sail with you! Look what she missed out on when we were in NYC!

j

 

[eye R.N.]

She was seriously unhappy when Hope called from the limo

If I was being totally truthfull, I am hoping she will impress the stage manager of Moulin Rouge when he is here in the fall and land an assistant stage manger job while they tour in England and Aus prior to Broadway. That will have her in England during cruise time. A long shot I know but a mom can dream

Besides DS is more than willing to take her place, and he speaks Spanish

 

[DenverVal]

Rachel is dying to know if Hope will be cruising with you too...

 

[eye R.N.]

She doesn't know it yet, but it really depends on how much she likes band. Band around here starts Aug 6th with a week of camp and then daily practices until school starts.

With this cruie she would be missing not only the first week of school but a ton of band rehersals. Missing a week in high school is an issue. But having previous experience with her band director he will kick her out if she misses that much time. He really doesn believe that a families life should revolve around the band.

 

[DenverVal]

I know how that goes...my sister is the band treasurer at my nephew's high school, and it completely consumes her life. The band went to Ohio last year for a national competition, so there was travel and uniforms, etc., lots of phone calls and bookkeeping. Next year they're going to Europe. I don't hear from her much during the school year, she has no free time!

 

[DisneyElf]

TGIF

We are into our 12 month window .....

So much to do - and so little time

Once we finish this summers vacations - we will start planning for this one ! Benita keeps saying lets get through this years vacations before next years.

We also have an invite to go down the second week of January for a couple of days .... gotta see how many days of vacation we will have left

We have our neice's Cinderella costume - and have started a drop zone for stuff for the trip (the dress is hanging up in the closet).

 

[Scratch42]

It's FRIDAY! another week closer!

It's a long weekend here in Canada!

Clean Sweep Weekend for me!

Have to get an appointment for my cat as he seems to have develped an ear hemotoma.

I've decided to let the air go for now as it's giving me an headache!

I agree with Benita, let's get thru this year's vacations! I still have to decide where we are going to eat during our time at Christmas!

Have A Good One!

j

 

[DisneyDiva4ever]

Hello everyone!

It's great that we can finally start a realistic countdown! The 1-year mark is a very important one. I've spent the last few weeks debating how I wanted to pay for our Med cruise. My DH and I are in the process of moving from MN to WI & building a new house. We hit our limit as to how much we can squeeze out of our wallets for vacations in this next year. After much deliberation, we decided to nix our September trip to our home resort SSR, and borrow ahead to pay for our Med. cruise on DVC points. The crummy news is that my time at WDW has been cut short. The GREAT news is that I can actually say that I've "paid off" the Med. cruise! Hooray! Anybody else paying with points? Sounded crazy to me at first, but I'm so relieved that I don't have to come up with the cash for this trip as this year is going to be an expensive one for me.

I've got my eyes on the prize....the parks will always be there for me to visit...cruising the Med. with all of you wonderful fools is going to be the best!

Scratch42, good luck with your kitty this weekend. I know how much I love my 3 furry kitty boys, It's always tough when you have to deal with health issues. I hope all turns out well for your kitty.

Here's an inspirational picture to get everybody going....Happy Weekend!

Erica J.

 

[Scratch42]

Thanks Erica!

The Vet thinks it's an allergice reaction to something, but we can't pinpoint the allergen! The Vet doesn't want to lance the ear and gave him a shot instead. He did warn me that the ear will look like Yoda from now on! DD won't let me change his name to 1/2 Yoda!LOL

I thought about using points but decided to against it.

j

 

[nanaguide]

I am thinking of going in to Barcelona a day early as well. I want to get over the jet lag so I will not sleep away the cruise.

here is the link for the hotel at the pier.
http://www.grandmarinahotel.com/

They are only booking till May 2007 right now.

I just tried to book the Grand Marina Hotel for August 16 and 17. They said they had no rooms available or I needed to book more nights. I tried to book up to 4 nights and I still had no luck. Were you able to get a reservation?
Maybe I'll just let my travel agent take care of getting the hotel in Barcelona. Thanks for everyone's input on air ressies. I worked on it for a couple hours last night as I'm using my Visa pts. to fly into Zurich. Nothing has opened up yet for August 10. Still can't decide on flying from Lucerne to Barcelona or taking the overnight train. I'm listening to all your comments to help me decide. I'm not sure my husband could sleep in the sleeper compartment with 2 strangers in the room. He isn't really excited about this part of the trip. I'll never get him to Europe again so I need to see everything we possibly can. He really enjoyed bringing home the Magic last summer so he is looking forward to the cruise.

 

[disneyjunkie]

How much are one way transfers to the pier?

Anyone how much a taxi/car service from Grand Marina Hotel to the pier will cost?

 

[LaurieP]

I just tried to book the Grand Marina Hotel for August 16 and 17. They said they had no rooms available or I needed to book more nights. I tried to book up to 4 nights and I still had no luck. Were you able to get a reservation?
Maybe I'll just let my travel agent take care of getting the hotel in Barcelona. Thanks for everyone's input on air ressies. I worked on it for a couple hours last night as I'm using my Visa pts. to fly into Zurich. Nothing has opened up yet for August 10. Still can't decide on flying from Lucerne to Barcelona or taking the overnight train. I'm listening to all your comments to help me decide. I'm not sure my husband could sleep in the sleeper compartment with 2 strangers in the room. He isn't really excited about this part of the trip. I'll never get him to Europe again so I need to see everything we possibly can. He really enjoyed bringing home the Magic last summer so he is looking forward to the cruise.

A few months ago I e-mailed the Grand Marina and asked them when bookings would open up for August, 2007. They said booking will be possible starting this October. Does anyone know if the Magic will dock at this particular pier? From the maps it looks like the pier area goes on for miles.

Laurie P.