Cruise Meet -April 21, 2012 - 7 Night Eastern Caribbean

[NTOFD]

Ten weeks from today we board

 

[Colosunn]

Ten weeks from today we board

OMG!!! How exciting!!!! only ten weeks!!! I remember when we booked the cruise and there was like 451 days until we boarded... I NEVER thought it would actually get here!! SO AWESOME!!!

 

[Donald_Quackers]

Alternatively (at the time of this post) it's:

69 days, 7 hours, 4 minutes, and 30 seconds.

 

[catgirl]

OMG! I can't believe it is coming so fast, I still have a ton to do I haven't booked my car rental, bought trip insurance, made my fe, organized my fe gifts, and much more. How are the rest of you doing?

 

[simbasmom2]

Heck...I haven't even bought airfare yet
That is on the agenda today! Need to book the hotel, too!
Bought more items today that will got towards FE crafts/gifts.
I feel like I have most of the planning done.
I am going to get a car rental through .
Need to figure out how much and what kind of liquor I am going to pick up.
I think a couple bottles of wine (5) and some beer. We brought on beer for the first time on our last cruise and I was glad we did.



I hope there will be a character breakfast, I am assuming there will be. I love those napkin hats!!

 

[Colosunn]

Heck...I haven't even bought airfare yet
That is on the agenda today! Need to book the hotel, too!
Bought more items today that will got towards FE crafts/gifts.
I feel like I have most of the planning done.
I am going to get a car rental through .
Need to figure out how much and what kind of liquor I am going to pick up.
I think a couple bottles of wine (5) and some beer. We brought on beer for the first time on our last cruise and I was glad we did.



I hope there will be a character breakfast, I am assuming there will be. I love those napkin hats!!

Curious question regarding bringing alcohol on board with you, since you have done this before, how convenient was it? I know we have to bring it on as a cary on when boarding the ship, although I worry about how much we will have to carry in addition to the booze. I know it is a great idea, save's money in the long run! How much beer did you bring last time and/or are planning to bring this time? Can we access our rooms immediately after boarding the ship to drop things off?

Additionally, I want to bring on a case of water...or should I just suck it up and advance order the water for our room? It is just so darn expensive!

Cindy

 

[NTOFD]

Curious question regarding bringing alcohol on board with you, since you have done this before, how convenient was it? I know we have to bring it on as a cary on when boarding the ship, although I worry about how much we will have to carry in addition to the booze. I know it is a great idea, save's money in the long run! How much beer did you bring last time and/or are planning to bring this time? Can we access our rooms immediately after boarding the ship to drop things off?

Additionally, I want to bring on a case of water...or should I just suck it up and advance order the water for our room? It is just so darn expensive!

Cindy

You can bring on as much as you can carry. It has to fit through the security scanner. Rooms are usually available at around 1:30, so if you board after that you can go straight to your room, earlier and you have to lug it around.

I usually bring a bottle of rum, there is always coke and I can usually get OJ as mixers. I have brought a couple of six packs of beer with me but prefer using the DCL mug, I hope they have 687 on the Fantasy. You can bring on water, it just depends on how much you want to carry aboard

 

[Steveston]

Curious question regarding bringing alcohol on board with you, since you have done this before, how convenient was it? I know we have to bring it on as a cary on when boarding the ship, although I worry about how much we will have to carry in addition to the booze. I know it is a great idea, save's money in the long run! Cindy

If you like mixed drinks it's super convenient! I like Vodka and OJ so when we went on the Wonder I bought a bottle at the Duty free at the Airport received it in LA then took it straight to the cabin onboard. Bring a nice Thermos type travel mug with you, put whatever you want in it then head up to the pool area for any type of mix you want, pop, oj, etc. and ice! I think my actual bar bill for the whole trip was like $100.

Also if you run out just bring more on at the next stop!

 

[flybone89]

Wow, do we have a full ship? Just in case, I grabbed a Palo and Remy dinner when I checked in at 90 days but now notice all Palo and Remy meals are BOOKED! On our first cruise on the Wonder to the MR last year, we were able to get Palo dinner and brunch easily at 75 days and even change some days and times around under 75 days.

So wondering if this is a full ship, is it the size of the ship vs number of reservations, or is it more concierge/platinum/gold cruisers able to book early - or maybe just all of the above ? I suppose the MR cruise being new to the West Coast at the time may have had more newbies like us but was still surprised how much quicker the reservations seemed to go this time around.

Anyway, excited about it and each day gets us closer to departure...

Kevin

 

[Billinaz]

If you are staying at the Country Inn and Suites recheck a reservation for your date.

I found my room was about $20 less expensive on the 20th of April. I rebooked the room and cancelled my original reservation.

 

[Billinaz]

True Passports are NOT required for a closed loop Cruise (US port back to US port), you would have to have a certified birth certificate (raised seal) in leu of the passports.

But I too HIGHLY recommend a passport BOOK for every traveler.

Passport CARDS are very rarely used anymore and not valid for many international countries.

Consider the "what if" situations... And I am with everyone else, the decision is ultimately yours and what your willing to risk.

Passport cards are used quite a bit in this part of the country. My kids have theirs as well.

I also use it as ID at airport security ( it does not have your address on it)

 

[catgirl]

If you are staying at the Country Inn and Suites recheck a reservation for your date.

I found my room was about $20 less expensive on the 20th of April. I rebooked the room and cancelled my original reservation.

We are staying here as well. Just checked my rate and it's the same as when I booked on Friday. Glad you were able to save some money.

 

[Billinaz]

We are staying here as well. Just checked my rate and it's the same as when I booked on Friday. Glad you were able to save some money.

I booked it several months ago. Funny that the price went down. Im sure they would not have said anything when I checked in!

We are going to eat at the steakhouse that took over where Durangos was (it is the Mousetrap now) on the night of the 20th.

 

[Fanmanwdw]

If you are staying at the Country Inn and Suites recheck a reservation for your date.

I found my room was about $20 less expensive on the 20th of April. I rebooked the room and cancelled my original reservation.

Thanks for the heads up. Just saved $20 also.
See you all in 68 days.

 

[Marcy Mouse]

I just bought a 75 minute Segway tour for the morning of our cruise. I called to book the appointment before I bought the groupon to make sure my date and time was available. The cost was $55 for two! I think it is $99 for a family of for or $29 for a single.

They have 9, 11, 1 and 3 departures in both coaco beach and Cape Canaveral. If you are looking to kill a few hours the day before or morning of your cruise! I booked the 9am cause I know I will be up anyway lol.

It is under Orlando at groupon.com and I think it can be bought for 2 more days.

Marcy

 

[travelcharm]

OMG! I can't believe it is coming so fast, I still have a ton to do I haven't booked my car rental, bought trip insurance, made my fe, organized my fe gifts, and much more. How are the rest of you doing?

I've started the FE gifts, but I still don't have a Fe. I still need to make some light weight tops for the cruise and find or make something for formal night.

 

[simbasmom2]

Curious question regarding bringing alcohol on board with you, since you have done this before, how convenient was it? I know we have to bring it on as a cary on when boarding the ship, although I worry about how much we will have to carry in addition to the booze. I know it is a great idea, save's money in the long run! How much beer did you bring last time and/or are planning to bring this time? Can we access our rooms immediately after boarding the ship to drop things off?

Additionally, I want to bring on a case of water...or should I just suck it up and advance order the water for our room? It is just so darn expensive!

Cindy

Here is what I do and it works well for us...
I pack an empty backpack on wheels (actually have this as my carryon for the plane) Then I put my big purse with plane stuff (books, ipods, etc.)in it down in the rolling backpack. Then I only have to haul one bag onto the plane. I buy alcohol in Florida ... take my purse out of the backpack and use the empty backpack for my liquor. I just have to haul my backpack and purse onto the ship. The rooms aren't ready until 1ish. We usually board around noon. So I just roll the bag to eat with us and then usually the room is ready when we are done. I have never found it to be a hassle. It saves us a lot of money. I averaged out our last 3 cruises and we still spend about 40.00 per day on alcohol, so DCL still makes a good bit from us. Whew...sounds like we have a problem. I guess when you start early and don't have to drive anywhere the bill adds up quickly! I plan to take about 4-6 packs of beer and 4-5 bottles of wine. We usually have wine left over, but we can pack it up and take it home if needed. Last cruise we met some really fun people at the adult pool and I went back to the room and brought back the wine to share. They got pixie dusted...free wine DCL has really good martinis...that is where most of our alcohol money goes...

 

[simbasmom2]

Wow, do we have a full ship? Just in case, I grabbed a Palo and Remy dinner when I checked in at 90 days but now notice all Palo and Remy meals are BOOKED! On our first cruise on the Wonder to the MR last year, we were able to get Palo dinner and brunch easily at 75 days and even change some days and times around under 75 days.

So wondering if this is a full ship, is it the size of the ship vs number of reservations, or is it more concierge/platinum/gold cruisers able to book early - or maybe just all of the above ? I suppose the MR cruise being new to the West Coast at the time may have had more newbies like us but was still surprised how much quicker the reservations seemed to go this time around.

Anyway, excited about it and each day gets us closer to departure...


It looks like there are a lot of empty rooms. Every type of room ( inside, oceanview and verandah) except for concierage is available. I think our ship must be full of Palo and Remy lovers!

 

[billandangie]

Hello All, Just trying to figure this DISboard thing all out. We heard a lot about it when we did the inagural sailing of the Dream and we are anxiously awaiting the April 21, 2012 sailing on the Fantasy!!!

Can someone tell me about the FE that I keep reading about in posts?

I hope everyone is having a great day!!!!

 

[nikicares]

** FE WILL CLOSE ON MARCH 15th**


*UPDATED* WE HAVE A TOTAL OF 23 cabins, 41 adults and 28 kids

For any newbie’s to our list please PM me your information if you would like to join in!
DIS Board Name:
Names:
Stateroom # (if known):
How many Children: Ages:
Which dining rotation you are on:
Any health concerns (allergies to any type of food)
_____________________________________________________________

I think I saw a few people asking about what is a FE... so here is a post I created when I was the person in charge of the FE's for another Disney Cruise

What is a FE? It is a “Fish Extender” meaning a pocket of some type that hangs from your Disney Cruise Line “fish” outside your door, where Cast Members leave your confirmations and such.

This is a fun game started by a group of travelers to make the Cruising experience just a little bit more FUN. It is sort of like a Secret Santa… you will get a final listing prior to cruising (about 15 days prior) of who all is participating, so you can leave little “gifts” or “goodies” in others FE’s. You can do as many or as few as you like, there is NO rules or guidelines, it is meant to be fun for all and not to cause worry or stress – we are all on vacation – good times only!!

Ideas of other peoples gifts for suggestions and ideas: something to represent your state/country, favorite snack food, cruise themed items (beach balls, sunglasses..), pencils. It is just meant to be a fun little surprise when you get back to your rooms, not a huge investment of money! REMEMBER FUN!

Where do I get a FE? Many people have purchased theirs from Ebay or you can make your own. This is completely up to you.

How do I participate in a FE? You just notify the person in charge of the FE's for your trip and they will happily add you to the list. Then typically about 2-4 weeks prior to the cruise, you will be emailed or a updated list posted for your records.

Here is a link for more information: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1219607