December 11, 2004 Eastern cruise thread

[SQUIGGLE]

Bonnie - was in the 80's here too; but front went through and it was in the mid 70's and breezy today. Supposed to be in the 40's tonight. I love this kind of weather!

jhorner- Two Palms Cam is either in Port Canaveral or Coco Beach. Not sure which but here is the address:
www.twopalms.com/

If you are lucky around 5:20-5:30 you can see the Magic or Wonder going to sea.

fran

 

[SQUIGGLE]

Hey! WE were down at the bottom of page 2! Guess everyone was out enjoying the weekend.

fran

 

[jwann]

Howdy y'all!
I just got back from a brisk walk listening to my Disney Sail Away CD. I'm doin' pretty good with my diet and exercise! In a few days we'll be in the 260's!

 

[jwann]

Originally posted by jwann
In a few days we'll be in the 260's!

Ummm - that's "days to the cruise" NOT pounds

 

[Bbgrizzle]

Hi everyone. It looks like Winter is gone for good in Vegas. 80's every day.

jwann: congrats on doing well on your diet and exercising. I have not been doing so well. Maybe this is the week to get my booty back in gear.

Just curious, what type of work, if any, do you ladies do? I am a substitute teacher. I have my teaching credentials but while my kids are young, I want the flexibility of subbing. I usually work two days a week.

 

[jwann]

Same with me Bonnie - I work part time as a speech therapist. I can set my work schedule around the kids school. My youngest started kindergarten this year so I make about 10 visits a week. I provide therapy in the family's home. What grade did you teach before you started subbing?

 

[Bbgrizzle]

Jen: I have never taught full time. When I graduated, Ainslee was a year old and I didn't want to leave her every day. I probably won't work full time till she is in first grade . I did my student teaching in 4th grade. Question about speech therapy: Is it normal for a child to have a bit of a lisp in 1st grade? It's not really pronounced, but it is there.

Fran: how are things in Florida? How often do you get to WDW?

Joelle: where are you? Did you leave for Vero Beach yet?

 

[jhorner]

We leave this Sunday!!!! 4 days at vero beach then 4 days at the parks. We'll be staying at the villas at Wilderness lodge

We are also going to check out Gatorland, which is by Orlando. We've never been. I'll let you know how it is.

As far as work for me....
by education I am a speech therapist like my sister
But because of passion I no longer do that. I am Director of Creative Learning at my church. That means I coordinate adult education and creative message set ups such dramas and videos.

 

[jwann]

Have fun sis!!! I'll miss talking with you on the phone - do you think you can take your cell phone and call me from the parks???

 

[SQUIGGLE]

Bonnie - weather is great down here. This past week has been awesome. We get up to the Parks 2 or 3 times a year. We usually go for the Christmas Season. Everything is so pretty. Then we try to go in May & September. Looks like we'll miss Christmas this year; but that's OK.

How is your diet coming? Had company last week and fell off the wagon big time. Have to make up for it this week.

Jwann - you should have nice weather for next week. Have a great time!

fran

 

[jwann]

Originally posted by SQUIGGLE
Jwann - you should have nice weather for next week. Have a great time!

I WISH it was me that was going - but alas - its my sister, jhorner, who is going....

 

[SQUIGGLE]

jwann - I'm sorry about that. I wish it was me too.

How did everyone spend the first day of spring? Was nice here, of course, but we do need some rain.

 

[Bbgrizzle]

Hi!

The first day of Spring was also my hubby's birthday We went on a picnic. It was 92 degrees! My diet is not going so well. Wish I was doing as well as Jen!

I went to the scrapbook store this morning. I'm finally going to start scrappin' my pictures from the cruise last May. I haven't even printed those pictures yet, they are still on my computer!

Jen, has your sister called you to brag about her trip? Is she having a great time at the parks? I'm jealous!

 

[jwann]

Originally posted by Bbgrizzle
Wish I was doing as well as Jen!

Jen, has your sister called you to brag about her trip? Is she having a great time at the parks? I'm jealous!

First - my diet is going slow but steady - I have 35 more pounds to go before we leave. I guess slow and steady is the name of the game.....

Second - my sister called and they went to Vero Beach first. They are there now. She said that it has been windy and the waves are too big for her little kids to swim. The pool is sheltered from the wind so they have been swimming in the pool. They paid extra for a "ocean view" room. They arrived at night and didn't look out the window when they got there. In the morning, they opened up the window only to have to search for the ocean. They could only see the ocean if they leaned out over the balcony and looked WAY over. The kids had to stand on a table and lean over the balcony rail in order to see the ocean. "This is an ocean view?" my sister said. Well, she asked to talk to the manager who said that the room meets "industry standards" for an ocean-view room. Since they were using DVC points, my sis explained that this was not a nice way to treat a family that was supposed to be "coming home" (as they say at DVC resorts). The manager arranged for them to be moved to a different room. My sister said that their new room has a 180 degree view of the ocean!! No more leaning out the balcony. I was glad to hear that Disney made things right.
I'll keep you posted on the rest of their trip!

 

[Bbgrizzle]

Here's a big fat BUMP back up to the first page.

Glad to hear JHorner is having a good time. It's a good thing she was able to switch rooms.

Well, my diet isn't going the greatest, but I have exercised the past 3 days, which is an improvement! How are you girls doing with yours?

We are going to my dad's cabin up in Utah this weekend. We get to play in the snow!! My kids haven't had a chance to play in snow all year.

Have a good weekend, everyone!

 

[RebeccaLovesDisney]

I am VERY excited to say that we just booked our second cruise! We will again be sailing in December on the Eastern route. Cruisers are myself, DH, DD-10, and DS-7 (these are ages at time of cruise). Our cruise last year was by far the best vacation we have ever had. So relaxing, even DH loved it and he's not a big "vacation" person.

This year, we also really want to fit in a few days at WDW after the cruise. *I know, I know, it's better to do WDW before the cruise, but I want to minimize the number of days the kids will miss school.* What do you guys think about how the crowds will be at WDW during the days following our cruise. I'm hoping since Christmas isn't until the following weekend, that most people will hit WDW during Christmas weekend, but I'm not sure...

That's it for now. I just wanted to post and say Hello to my fellow cruisers!!

 

[Bbgrizzle]

Welcome, RebeccaLovesDisney! It's great to have you join our thread. Is your DD in 4th grade this year? I have a DD(10) who is in 4th grade. We are going to WDW too, but we are doing it before the cruise. I think you will still be able to avoid the Christmas crowds by going after the cruise, but remember, you will be there over a weekend, which is always crowded. You can still have a good time as long as you going there KNOWING you might not be able to do everything. Was your other cruise on the Western route?

Jhorner: Are you back yet?

 

[RebeccaLovesDisney]

Thanks Bonnie! My daughter is in 3rd grade this year, she is currently 9. But it looks like our daughters will be in the same age group, 10-12, in the kids club during our cruise. My DS is in kinder this year.

We were on the Eastern cruise last year as well. We would also like to go the Western route but the dates didn't work for us. We really enjoyed the Eastern ports last year, especially St. John, and look forward to exploring more! The days at sea were also nice. Even with three days, we felt there was a lot on the ship that we didn't get to see and do.

 

[jwann]

Welcome RebeccaLovesDisney!!!!!!!
I'm so glad to have another DIS family on the cruise!
My ds is in kdgn this year as well and my other ds is in 3rd grade this year so I know we'll be seeing alot of eachother coming and going from the Club and Lab! Both my boys love it there! Are you guys 'loungers and swimmers' or do you guys participate in the activities??

Everyone: my sis, jhorner, is back and I'm sure will post soon. They had an awesome time and even rode Mission Space!

 

[jhorner]

I don't have time to post a big reply right now but wanted to say it was so hard to leave! The beach was great! My dh and ds braved the waves and boogie boarded. My dd and I preferred to collect sea shells (we came home with a bucket full). The parks were quite crowded especially the MK (is that an ok slang for Magic Kingdom?) But as was said earlier, knowing it was going to be crowded we were prepared and still had a blast. Speaking of blast....Mission Space. Let me just say it was way cool but I don't think I'll do it again. In the hall on the way out was a gal who had just puked! My ds (7) loved it so much that he and my dh waited in the single line for him to do it again. My dh just waited with him but didn't do the ride. More later!