December 6, 2012 ~Dreaming of Castaway Cay~

[goeva]

Haha

FE is the acronym for "fish extender" which is unique to DCL and is traditionally a metal fish that acts like a giant clip outside your stateroom where navigators etc. are placed.

FE's are a long standing tradition of hanging an organizer with pockets off this fish, where groups of fellow travelers leave small gifts in each pocket for your respective travel partners in your stateroom. Everyone who participates, bring gifts depending on ages etc. of others in the group, and each day you return to you cabin with treats!

Do a search for tons of great ideas. You can even find directions to make a personalized extender... Or go on ebay, thats where we got ours, years ago!

Thanks, DbleTheFun.

 

[taaren]

Thanks, goeva. I need to get into crunch-time mode on planning the car rental and doing the last few bits to get this trip together.

Just got off the Disney Wonder, went on the last Pixar cruise and can't wait to get back on board DCL ... apparently I missed the best dessert on the ship, which is the Pirate Night dessert buffet chocolate cake since DS was too tired, so hopefully they have it on the Dream!

On the bright side, I won $300 OBC for that cruise at the DVC presentation, so I got my prepaid gratuities back, all our fancy drinks and a few toys for DS, plus when I couldn't figure out what to do with the last bit of nonrefundable credit my friend suggested a Disney Gift Card, so now I have a DGC for this next cruise!

 

[DbleTheFun]

Thanks, goeva. I need to get into crunch-time mode on planning the car rental and doing the last few bits to get this trip together.

Just got off the Disney Wonder, went on the last Pixar cruise and can't wait to get back on board DCL ... apparently I missed the best dessert on the ship, which is the Pirate Night dessert buffet chocolate cake since DS was too tired, so hopefully they have it on the Dream!

On the bright side, I won $300 OBC for that cruise at the DVC presentation, so I got my prepaid gratuities back, all our fancy drinks and a few toys for DS, plus when I couldn't figure out what to do with the last bit of nonrefundable credit my friend suggested a Disney Gift Card, so now I have a DGC for this next cruise!

Thats awesome! We almost booked one of the pixar cruises as well!! I just couldnt manage my work schedule around it. Great work on the OBC!!

 

[BealsRwe]

Well, we had to cancel before PIF date due to the new fantasyland opening and vacation date issues. Time approved and FL resident rates have now opened. Looks like we may be back on this cruise and bringing my in-laws to celebrate their 50th anniversary which is Nov 24. Here's hoping!

 

[dromio42]

Thanks, goeva. I need to get into crunch-time mode on planning the car rental and doing the last few bits to get this trip together.

Just got off the Disney Wonder, went on the last Pixar cruise and can't wait to get back on board DCL ... apparently I missed the best dessert on the ship, which is the Pirate Night dessert buffet chocolate cake since DS was too tired, so hopefully they have it on the Dream!

On the bright side, I won $300 OBC for that cruise at the DVC presentation, so I got my prepaid gratuities back, all our fancy drinks and a few toys for DS, plus when I couldn't figure out what to do with the last bit of nonrefundable credit my friend suggested a Disney Gift Card, so now I have a DGC for this next cruise!

Congratulations on your $300 OBC prize! We are DVC members and were thinking about going to that presentation.....now I really want to go!

 

[dromio42]

Well, we had to cancel before PIF date due to the new fantasyland opening and vacation date issues. Time approved and FL resident rates have now opened. Looks like we may be back on this cruise and bringing my in-laws to celebrate their 50th anniversary which is Nov 24. Here's hoping!

Hope you make it back on!

 

[BealsRwe]

We have rebooked after having to cancel before our PIF date. Bringing the in-laws for their 50th. DD will be so excited Grandma and Grandpa are through a connecting door.

 

[taaren]

We have rebooked after having to cancel before our PIF date. Bringing the in-laws for their 50th. DD will be so excited Grandma and Grandpa are through a connecting door.

Yay! Welcome back! It would be so cool to cruise with extended family. Mine refuses to go since they all have motion sickness, but I love travelling in larger groups.



I just got assigned my stateroom, and its on the 2nd deck, which I'm not a fan of even though its a 9B. (Just got done cruising in a 9C on the Wonder on the 2nd deck, it was okay.) Since the 9D GTY that I booked is on decks 6, 7, 8, I'm wondering if my TA can request for me to be un-pixie-dust upgraded to a 9D or anything on a deck 6 or higher ... really I'd prefer 7 or 8.

 

[BealsRwe]

Yay! Welcome back! It would be so cool to cruise with extended family. Mine refuses to go since they all have motion sickness, but I love travelling in larger groups.

I just got assigned my stateroom, and its on the 2nd deck, which I'm not a fan of even though its a 9B. (Just got done cruising in a 9C on the Wonder on the 2nd deck, it was okay.) Since the 9D GTY that I booked is on decks 6, 7, 8, I'm wondering if my TA can request for me to be un-pixie-dust upgraded to a 9D or anything on a deck 6 or higher ... really I'd prefer 7 or 8.

I understand! May be you will be pixie dusted higher! I booked a FL resident rate room and ended up with 2 cat 4D staterooms on deck 6. We are WDW cast members, and I know we will never get pixie dusted to this category. All verandah rooms for the FL res rate are the same $, so happy we landed these and they are connecting.

We were lucky to have my parents sail with us on the Magic 5 years ago. They both passed away 2 years ago from different cancers, and memories of them with our DD (age 3 at the time) are some of my favorites. So excited we are surprising my in-laws with this for their 50th!

I prefer deck 5 and higher on the Magic/Wonder, and this will be my 3rd cruise on the Dream. I loved deck 8 and 9. We are on 6 this time. I have stayed on deck 2 many times on the Magic/Wonder and have enjoyed.

I would ask your TA to see if you can be moved to a higher deck. Who knows, may be instead of a downgrade to move higher you'll get some extra pixie dust.

 

[goeva]

@ BealsRwe: welcome back.
@ taaren: Let us know how it turns out and good luck.

I understand! May be you will be pixie dusted higher! I booked a FL resident rate room and ended up with 2 cat 4D staterooms on deck 6. We are WDW cast members, and I know we will never get pixie dusted to this category. All verandah rooms for the FL res rate are the same $, so happy we landed these and they are connecting.

We were lucky to have my parents sail with us on the Magic 5 years ago. They both passed away 2 years ago from different cancers, and memories of them with our DD (age 3 at the time) are some of my favorites. So excited we are surprising my in-laws with this for their 50th!

I prefer deck 5 and higher on the Magic/Wonder, and this will be my 3rd cruise on the Dream. I loved deck 8 and 9. We are on 6 this time. I have stayed on deck 2 many times on the Magic/Wonder and have enjoyed.

I would ask your TA to see if you can be moved to a higher deck. Who knows, may be instead of a downgrade to move higher you'll get some extra pixie dust.

 

[BealsRwe]

For once I am thankful I am not on a ship today...seas are rough out there. I have a friend who works on the Dream and he sent a short video of the seas out there. Also watching the Fantasy as she is docking in Port Canaveral delayed today.

 

[DbleTheFun]

For once I am thankful I am not on a ship today...seas are rough out there. I have a friend who works on the Dream and he sent a short video of the seas out there. Also watching the Fantasy as she is docking in Port Canaveral delayed today.

Crazy!! Hope Sandy's gentle on Castaway Cay and leaves her beautiful for our trip....and that all those cruising/vacationing/living in the area stay safe!

Well- made a slight adjustment to our trip... Still just me and the kids... But now i'm bringing along my soon-to-be husband's 12 year old son. He's never been to Disney World and you could see the "wishing" in his eyes every time my boys talked about it. His dad cant leave due to work, so i made a change to our cabin (managed to get one that slept 5, so all three boys get their own bed on "the other side of the curtain". When we told him I actually thought he was going to cry! He's an amazing kid, who's mother has made for a pretty rough time for him- certainly appreciates things in life when people make an effort for him. Plus, he'll be an awesome help for the week post cruise when we're at WDW, since now there are 4 of us.... Way easier for rides! (Im actually hoping he will be allowed to ride the aqua duck with one of the twins too, since he's tall for his age.)

So i think we're all set! GTY cabin now assigned as 7674, not an upgrade perse, but a room that sleeps all of us in our own beds, on the starboard side to watch pulling in to CC is ok by me! Booked our Cabana (#3) and are officially excited!

We always rent a car since we stay onsite but like having the mobility when at WDW. Our definite favorite is Alamo for ease and speed of rental, but price was insane out of MCO, and it didnt make sense to rent from them this round. I went back last night to check and prices have dropped over HALF! We are now renting a car on the 5th when we land at MCO, parking it at the port for 3 nights and not returning it until we fly home on the 16th... For just over $200 taxes and fees in! (or a full size) used the Visa discount for $15 off plus 20% off through Christmas. Thought i'd share since its an amazing deal and Alamo is so amazing. (normally takes 15 minutes from baggage carrousel to pulling out of parking lot!)

So should we start compiling a FE list?

 

[taaren]

For once I am thankful I am not on a ship today...seas are rough out there. I have a friend who works on the Dream and he sent a short video of the seas out there. Also watching the Fantasy as she is docking in Port Canaveral delayed today.

No kidding! Poor cruisers.

With the cold snap, snow in the Rockies already and here in California this week its definitely much chillier than a usual October, I'm getting concerned about weather for our cruise, because I am determined to see those sunken Mickeys at Castaway Cay!

Well- made a slight adjustment to our trip... Still just me and the kids... But now i'm bringing along my soon-to-be husband's 12 year old son. He's never been to Disney World and you could see the "wishing" in his eyes every time my boys talked about it. His dad cant leave due to work, so i made a change to our cabin (managed to get one that slept 5, so all three boys get their own bed on "the other side of the curtain". When we told him I actually thought he was going to cry! He's an amazing kid, who's mother has made for a pretty rough time for him- certainly appreciates things in life when people make an effort for him. Plus, he'll be an awesome help for the week post cruise when we're at WDW, since now there are 4 of us.... Way easier for rides! (Im actually hoping he will be allowed to ride the aqua duck with one of the twins too, since he's tall for his age.)

So i think we're all set! GTY cabin now assigned as 7674, not an upgrade perse, but a room that sleeps all of us in our own beds, on the starboard side to watch pulling in to CC is ok by me! Booked our Cabana (#3) and are officially excited!

So should we start compiling a FE list?

Yay for more kids! Are you volunteering to be the FE coordinator?



We've officially settled how we're going to be getting to port. Our friend who is staying at WDW is going to rent the car and drop us off and pick us up, since he's going to be spending the 5 days before and after at the parks with us, so I'm just happy we won't have to pay for parking and he gets a free car for the three days we're on the cruise (he's our old roommate so we still have joint bank accounts, etc). Nothing like curbside service.

Unfortunately DCL said that a 9B is an upgrade, which is their right to give us instead of a 9D even though I wanted a 9D. So I guess we'll aim to get to port early and see if we can do a port upgrade to a category 8 cheaply or something to get us off of deck 2.

I'm getting a Rainforest spa day pass for Nassau as a surprise for DH since he really enjoys that. Its only $16!

 

[dromio42]

Crazy!! Hope Sandy's gentle on Castaway Cay and leaves her beautiful for our trip....and that all those cruising/vacationing/living in the area stay safe!

Well- made a slight adjustment to our trip... Still just me and the kids... But now i'm bringing along my soon-to-be husband's 12 year old son. He's never been to Disney World and you could see the "wishing" in his eyes every time my boys talked about it. His dad cant leave due to work, so i made a change to our cabin (managed to get one that slept 5, so all three boys get their own bed on "the other side of the curtain". When we told him I actually thought he was going to cry! He's an amazing kid, who's mother has made for a pretty rough time for him- certainly appreciates things in life when people make an effort for him. Plus, he'll be an awesome help for the week post cruise when we're at WDW, since now there are 4 of us.... Way easier for rides! (Im actually hoping he will be allowed to ride the aqua duck with one of the twins too, since he's tall for his age.)

So i think we're all set! GTY cabin now assigned as 7674, not an upgrade perse, but a room that sleeps all of us in our own beds, on the starboard side to watch pulling in to CC is ok by me! Booked our Cabana (#3) and are officially excited!

We always rent a car since we stay onsite but like having the mobility when at WDW. Our definite favorite is Alamo for ease and speed of rental, but price was insane out of MCO, and it didnt make sense to rent from them this round. I went back last night to check and prices have dropped over HALF! We are now renting a car on the 5th when we land at MCO, parking it at the port for 3 nights and not returning it until we fly home on the 16th... For just over $200 taxes and fees in! (or a full size) used the Visa discount for $15 off plus 20% off through Christmas. Thought i'd share since its an amazing deal and Alamo is so amazing. (normally takes 15 minutes from baggage carrousel to pulling out of parking lot!)

So should we start compiling a FE list?

Congrats on adding one more - I hope he has a wonderful time!

 

[dromio42]

[

No kidding! Poor cruisers.

With the cold snap, snow in the Rockies already and here in California this week its definitely much chillier than a usual October, I'm getting concerned about weather for our cruise, because I am determined to see those sunken Mickeys at Castaway Cay!

Yay for more kids! Are you volunteering to be the FE coordinator?



We've officially settled how we're going to be getting to port. Our friend who is staying at WDW is going to rent the car and drop us off and pick us up, since he's going to be spending the 5 days before and after at the parks with us, so I'm just happy we won't have to pay for parking and he gets a free car for the three days we're on the cruise (he's our old roommate so we still have joint bank accounts, etc). Nothing like curbside service.

Unfortunately DCL said that a 9B is an upgrade, which is their right to give us instead of a 9D even though I wanted a 9D. So I guess we'll aim to get to port early and see if we can do a port upgrade to a category 8 cheaply or something to get us off of deck 2.

I'm getting a Rainforest spa day pass for Nassau as a surprise for DH since he really enjoys that. Its only $16!

We are doing the rainforest 1 day pass too...an anniversary gift for our selves

...Sorry these are so long; can anyone teach me how to mini-quote?

 

[taaren]

We are doing the rainforest 1 day pass too...an anniversary gift for our selves

...Sorry these are so long; can anyone teach me how to mini-quote?

To quote multiple people, just hit the " button next to the Quote button on whatever posts you want to quote, then hit reply at the end.

If you want to shorten what you're quoting, just delete the material you don't want to quote inside of your reply box when you're typing your reply. Does that make sense?

 

[dromio42]

Does that make sense?[/QUOTE]

perfect sense! Thanks

 

[goeva]

We're doing the Rainforest day pass as well.

 

[taaren]

We're doing the Rainforest day pass as well.

So basically on Nassau day all of us DISsers are going to be going between the Rainforest Spa and the AquaDuck. How funny!

 

[dromio42]

So basically on Nassau day all of us DISsers are going to be going between the Rainforest Spa and the AquaDuck. How funny!

I think that's true! Sprinkle in some coffee and a beer and it will be my husband's 'perfect day'!