"Double Dip Delight" 09.27.2008 - Chapter 4!

[nenner1]

Welcome home everyone!

It was such a pleasure cruising with you all!
How wonderful to be on a boat full of friends! Some old, some new, some borrowed and some blue!

I am so sorry to those of you I never got to meet. There were quite a few. Isn't it strange how you keep encountering the same familiar faces at every turn, yet never see others.
Nonetheless, this could not have been a better group to cruise with. I miss you all so much already!

I have to second the gushing FE compliments! These are the best FE gifts I have *ever* seen (and I have seen quite a few posted). And the sheer volume was amazing! Believe me when I say we appreciated each and every little token we received and then some. And I have to say some of the personalized/individualized FE gifts were so generous and thoughtful. AND on a personal note, thank you all for hanging in there and finding us in our new home. We had many issues with our stateroom and surrounding area that I will go into more detail later (or just check my thread on the main board) and I do sincerely appreciate you hunting us down (though you didn't have to go far!)

I also have to say my tremendously fantastic Secret Mickey gift brought me to tears. I won't reveal your identity to others (unless you want me to) but I will reveal your amazing gifts in my trip report. You are truly angels.

We had so much fun looking at all the doors. Such lovely creativity!

Our adventures did not stop at the terminal door, as a couple of you know we had a flat tire out in the parking lot. I can laugh about it now but you would not believe how diffcult it was to get to our spare. We had to call AAA in the end, it was not an easy task getting them into the lot past security!

Anyway hope everyone had safe travels and hope to hear a lot more from everyone soon! I will start my TR by the end of the week, as soon as I unpack my 19...yes, nineteen bags!

I will see some of you again next year on the 9/26/09 Eastern!

Thanks again to all of you for making our cruise so special.

 

[Epperbiker]

I got home about 2 hours ago and just made a run to the grocery store. I'm off to bed soon. For those of you who didn't run into me mid to late week, I got quite sick. When we got to Cozumel, we found a pharmacy to buy Zithromax (since you don't need a prescription there). I cannot stop coughing now even with meds.

Anywhooooooo.....Epperbiker! Your mom likely has my mom's luggage! Isn't that a coincidence! The porter who helped us put one of your DM's luggage with ours. As I was waiting for my DM to bring back a rental car, I was taking the Tinkerbell luggage tags off, and found we had a piece of your DM's luggage that has the 98% exact same tapestry fabric as my DM's. I called and left vmails to the number on her luggage tag, which I'm quite certain was her home phone number as a answering machine picked it up. I took your DM's luggage back into the port.GN!

Hey Kimberly, so sorry you were'nt feel well. With our different dining times, we barely saw you. Yes, I was the idiot who took your mom's luggage. We had just gotten home when we found out, so after a few phone calls, I was back out the door to MCO. After the trip home plus the 180 mile round-trip to exchange bags, I am completly worn out. I had the bag to the airport at about 3:45 so I assume they got it to your Mom in time for your flight? Feel better soon!


We had a great cruise but I was somewhat disappointed in the presentation of some of the food in the dining rooms. I had some of the same dishes from last year and everything was much better looking last year.

Nativeway was great in Grand Cayman and so was Chankanaab. Both days at CC were super.

I've got weird blisters on my skin that seems to be an allergic reaction to the soap or shampoo. It was bad enough that I was searching the bed for bedbugs but thankfully no evidence of that!!!!

We had Maria from Argentina who just started on the Magic (from the Wonder) as our assistant server and Rexson from India as our server - Both were excellent.

We never made it to a single show, but we did see Wall-E and Beverly Hills Chihuahua, and enjoyed both.

My DM70 had quite a bit of difficulty physically but still had a very good time.

Hope all had a memorable vacation and safe travels home!!

Sorry I didn't get to meet many of you - such is travel with a 4 year old child and somewhat frail older parent.

 

[alleluia5]

BTW - Anyone else book while onboard?

We did - 10/10/09 - St Croix!

(except for Miss Grumpy at the soft serve ice cream place by the BBQ - she was the grumpiest castmember we've ever seen ever).

Boy to I agree on this one - she was SUPER grumpy both times (oops did I say both ) I got my ice cream!

Oh, I almost forgot.......I didn't label my FE gifts, can anyone guess which ones were from me? I'll give you a hint:

QUACK! Arrrrrrr.......

Loved it - he sat on the desk as mascot for most of the trip!

BTW - I am still waiting for my servers to bring me my ice tea.....I am not readjusting well at all

 

[Elliott's_mommy]

We are home too.

Thanks to everyone for the awesome f/e gifts! the kids had so much fun checking it daily for suprises!!

we booked twice too.
Oct 3 Western.

It was great meeting everyone!! We had an awesome time.

anyone else in shock from the temp changes? It is 50 degrees here, supposed to be 39 tonight.

I have to agree on the FE gifts. Elliott LOVED checking our 'pockets' everytime he walked by. We to had WONDERFUL Secret Mickey's (thanks for the additional cars btw, they helped make the 6 hours at the airport go by a bit faster).

We booked again as well, but with dummy dates. We really want to go Thanksgiving 2010 but DH looked up the price for next Thanksgiving and almost had heart failure.

Ummm no temp changes for us....we came back to the same temp we left in FL. Anyone want to come stay with us ?

Oh, I almost forgot.......I didn't label my FE gifts, can anyone guess which ones were from me? I'll give you a hint:

QUACK! Arrrrrrr.......

LOVED IT! Elliott had to take a bath with that little guy. You know we passed you guys and said hello several times but we didn't get to stop and talk. We also passted Fatcat and I would make comments to him and receive a blank stare. Fatcat I'm sure you are thinking "dang there was a crazy lady talking to me the whole trip".

We never made it to a single show, but we did see Wall-E and Beverly Hills Chihuahua, and enjoyed both.

My DM70 had quite a bit of difficulty physically but still had a very good time.

Hope all had a memorable vacation and safe travels home!!

Sorry I didn't get to meet many of you - such is travel with a 4 year old child and somewhat frail older parent.

We didn't make it to any shows either. Elliott was either asleep or so wound up I wouldn't have subjected the rest of the auditorium to his antics.

We loved every minute of the trip, from the welcome aboard to the giant hands waving goodbye. Elliott surprised us and was very happy to swim in the ocean. (one of the reasons we didn't book excursions was because we were not sure how he would react to the water). And I have to say a special thank you to 2goofy2luv. Dinner was great because of you guys!

The only down side is that I was hit with a migraine at the airport yesterday (thank goodness for immatrix) that has now turned into a sinus infection. maybe I should have hit a Mexican pharmacy as well???????

 

[Maggie62677]

I will see some of you again next year on the 9/26/09 Eastern!

Are you kidding me??? That's it...You. Me. Panera. Next week....we booked the same one! I looked all over for you on the ship - I was hoping to meet my 'one true neighbor'!

Anyway, we also booked the 9/26/09 Eastern Cruise.....can't wait to see you there; and well....maybe even before that!

Glad to hear you made it home safe - GO BUCS!!!

 

[jns]

Hi welcome home everyone

Good to hear everyone had a great time

Can't wait to hear about everyones cruise and to see all the photos

How did the group photo go ?

 

[tig82174]

Hi friends! We made it home this evening too...after a day at EPCOT where we were all excited to be there but seriously dragging!

Thank you EVERYONE for the FE gifts. Reese was SO delighted to come back to fun things in our FE.

And thanks SO much for stopping by to put a star on our US map! We had 49 people put stars on our map, and Reese was excited to come back and find out what was added new each time.

I'm about to fall over tired...Reese's fish died while we were gone, so that was a bummer to come home to.

Did anyone sign up for the Sept. 19th, 2009 sailing? We'll be there!

one of our fish died while we were gone, too....one of our betta fish.....we have 4 bettas in 4 separate containers around the house and also have a 75 gallon aquarium....all our other fish, our cat, and our parrot (and all our plants) survived, though

 

[zweihund]

You know we passed you guys and said hello several times but we didn't get to stop and talk. We also passted Fatcat and I would make comments to him and receive a blank stare. Fatcat I'm sure you are thinking "dang there was a crazy lady talking to me the whole trip".

You got the blank stare too? I'm so glad it wasn't just me

We were late to the first meet and never made the second one, so I was wondering about all of the people we said hello to in the halls and restaurants......I was like "hi!" and then Lionel would say "who's that?" and I'd say "I have no idea"
I just know any DISer is a cool person. All the info I need, right?

one of our fish died while we were gone, too....one of our betta fish.....we have 4 bettas in 4 separate containers around the house and also have a 75 gallon aquarium....all our other fish, our cat, and our parrot (and all our plants) survived, though

Aw, I'm so sorry! Glad everything (and everyone) else fared ok.

 

[nenner1]

How did the group photo go ?

Yes, I hope someone posts it. I looked around in shutters and did not see it. Did someone take it with their own camera?

We intended to make it, time just got away with us, and when I looked at the beeper it said 10:56. I thought about trying to run down and make it even then, but both kids were in different clubs, etc. It would have taken too long to round everyone up.

We were concerned about our cats, too but they are just fine. They didn't even eat half the food we left out. But the litter maid....whoa....that was bad!!

 

[CrazyZeus1]

one of our fish died while we were gone, too....one of our betta fish.....we have 4 bettas in 4 separate containers around the house and also have a 75 gallon aquarium....all our other fish, our cat, and our parrot (and all our plants) survived, though

Sorry to hear about your fish too! Reese's was a Beta & we had him for just over 3 years (who knows how old it was when we bought it!)....so "Brian Urlacher" was looking not-so-hot before we left and Reese got to say goodbye before the cruise. I warned our petsitter that he might not make it & not to worry! Can you imagine...being a pet sitter, & you're responsible for caring for a little boy's fish when it dies! Reese flushed him last night after saying a prayer that "Thank you god for Brian Urlacher". Then he turned around and said "Now can I get a new fish?" Uh....glad it wasn't TOO painful to lose your first fish...sheesh

I didn't know you guys had so many pets! I was thinking yesterday that I hoped your bird fared well. We have a 100gal saltwater tank that I'm always nervous to come home to. I'm afraid the whole thing will crash & die while we're gone...but I guess that's partly what we pay a petsitter for as well!

You got the blank stare too? I'm so glad it wasn't just me

We were late to the first meet and never made the second one, so I was wondering about all of the people we said hello to in the halls and restaurants......I was like "hi!" and then Lionel would say "who's that?" and I'd say "I have no idea"
I just know any DISer is a cool person. All the info I need, right?



Aw, I'm so sorry! Glad everything (and everyone) else fared ok.

There was a 2nd meet? Oops....missed THAT!

Reese is now sick as a dog. Go figure. He got his first loose tooth on Thursday, so all night Thursday & all day Friday he had his finger in his mouth wiggling his tooth. He cried as we landed in DFW last night because his ear was killing him...hysterical crying. He NEVER does that! Poor baby. Of course he got sick if he's in the kids' club for hours and has his finger in his mouth constantly! So we're lying low today...making it through the mountains of laundry...blech.

 

[nenner1]

Are you kidding me??? That's it...You. Me. Panera. Next week....we booked the same one! I looked all over for you on the ship - I was hoping to meet my 'one true neighbor'!

Anyway, we also booked the 9/26/09 Eastern Cruise.....can't wait to see you there; and well....maybe even before that!

Glad to hear you made it home safe - GO BUCS!!!

Heck ya! You know we were probably passing each other all the time and never knew it! Although in our case, we were pretty conspicuous with our stroller setup. Every time I saw a pregnant woman I wondered if that was you (I did see a few showing!)

As it sits right now, we do plan on trying to make that cruise next year...that is our intention anyway, but it all depends on how much extra $$ we end up with. We still have to buy another car, and my sister got engaged last week and I am her matron of honor so now there are more expenses we will have with her wedding, not to even mention my cousin's wedding shindig on the RCCL Oasis of the Seas in Jan/2010. So we may or may not keep it, or use it as a dummy for 2010. We'll see what the announcments on those itineraries
are next week!

 

[MagicMe]

Yes, I hope someone posts it. I looked around in shutters and did not see it. Did someone take it with their own camera?

The group photo was actually kept up at the counter. I believe there was at least one or two camera photos taken.

 

[MagicMe]

BTW - I forgot to thank Erik and Jason for the wonderful job they did on the lanyards!!!! It was so awesome to be able to automatically identify our fellow double dippers! Just saw the lanyard and immediately started a conversation by asking their DIS ID. It was such a great ice breaker!!

AND thanks for making it so easy to find you guys in the terminal!!! We were able to get our lanyards very quickly and that started the fun immediately.

thanks again for all your hard work!

 

[AQW]

We're home safe, sound, and sick! Dexter and I are both sick; Celeste is fighting it off, and DH is sitting around feeling fine and looking smug. Jerk.

We had a FANTASTIC time - it far exceeded my (high) expectations, even though so much did not go as planned. I never saw any shows, live entertainment, or movies... didn't go on any excursions... had a frightening and infuriating episode with the kids' club (which I will go into another time)... no spa treatments... no Palo... and we still had the Best. Vacation. Ever. I love the Mickey boat.

The F/E gifts were amazing... thank you to everyone who participated! My kids felt very special and very spoiled coming back to the room each night to find goodies and treats.

I loved meeting so many of you! The lanyards were AWESOME - so fun to be able to identify fellow DDD-DISers. My sister got the group photo on her personal camera, so I promise I will get that photo from her within the week and make it available to everyone.

So... anybody rebook for the 10/24/09 Eastern? I can't believe I didn't know you could book more than one cruise... we'd budgeted the deposit for another cruise, so with the 50% deposit discount we could have booked two! Bummmmmmer.

Today is rest and recuperation - the kids have a free pass to watch movies all day, DH is putting all the luggage away and running the necessary errands, and I am tackling Mt. Washmore and catching up on emails. I can't wait to read people's trip reports - please post a link if you write one!

Ahhhhh, I love my DDD friends. Thanks for making the last 600+ days so much fun.

 

[pit303]

HI All!!!
Sitting in WLV waiting to go to MNSSHP. Had a great time! We also rebooked on line we are going on the Wonder Nov30th and booked a dummy date for 2010. We are also booked on the Sept 12, 09 eastern.

I just now sorted out the FE gifts thank you all so much they are great. I had been checking them out daily, but now just had time to really check them out.

We are also in the sick bay here Joe has been sick since Tuesday night, Kristen is not feeling great and Will started Friday night with a sore throat.

I will post more when we get home.

It sure was a great cruise!!!

Maureen

 

[CrazyZeus1]

We had a FANTASTIC time - it far exceeded my (high) expectations, even though so much did not go as planned. I never saw any shows, live entertainment, or movies... didn't go on any excursions... had a frightening and infuriating episode with the kids' club (which I will go into another time)... no spa treatments... no Palo... and we still had the Best. Vacation. Ever. I love the Mickey boat.

:

What happened in the kid's club????

It was fun blowing bubbles with you guys on Castaway Cay!

 

[nenner1]

Hey Adrienne, it doesn't sound like you had any problems with your room. I was so worried about you guys being under that nasty 6022 sewage spill disaster. With all that leaked onto the carpet in the hall I thought some might have dripped down into yours.

 

[CrazyZeus1]

Hey Adrienne, it doesn't sound like you had any problems with your room. I was so worried about you guys being under that nasty 6022 sewage spill disaster. With all that leaked onto the carpet in the hall I thought some might have dripped down into yours.

I'm SO in the dark...what happened with the sewage spill???

 

[nenner1]

I'm SO in the dark...what happened with the sewage spill???

Here's the not so condensed version:
(this is from another thread I started so if it seems generalized, and not in the writing style I generally address you guys in, it is! )



We had that room-6022-, and the Cat 11 directly across the hall, 6019. About a week before we sailed we discovered that our reservation had been changed to 6018 and 6019. This was disconcerting since the door to 6018 is actually about 50 feet down the hall from 6019, and we had our two children ages 7 & 8 in 6019 alone, and now we were waaaaaaay down the hall from them.

After a week of frantic calling between DCL and our TA, we were told there was not much they could do for us since the ship was full. They put us "on the top of the waiting list" for a Cat. 4 instead, or anything adjoining or connecting of our category 8 or higher. When we boarded we asked for the supervisor and asked again why 6022 was not ready (right after dry dock?!?!?!) and all they would say was "maintenance issues" and it turned out they did not having anything else for us at that time, to check back later and see if anyone missed the ship! We did check back and all they could offer us then was two adjoining (not connecting) Cat/11's on deck 5 (and no offer of compensation). We did not accept that since we had paid a lot of $$ for the Cat 8 oceanview.

Anyhoo, we discovered the problem with 6022 is sewage related. The entire cruise "fluids" were leaking in to the hallway outside 6022. They had a blower constantly on the carpet outside the room. Occasionally we would see maintenance personnel with plungers in & out. We saw inside the room and it is in no way ready for occupancy, the bed (mattress) is gone and the box springs are broken apart and laying around the room. You can also see other equipment propped in front of the porthole from the outside.

Just thought anyone crusing soon in that area would like to be prepared. The people on the FAR side of our new room (meaning the other side of us from the problem rooms, in 6016) were complaining incessantly about the odor, and even were addressing a manager up in the hallway one time.
Honestly we did not find the smell that obtrusive. It was there but not unbearable and it did not seep into our rooms, not even the one in close proximity (6019).
We did not ask to speak to a manager or complain about the situation after being unable to find acceptable adjoining rooms the first day, but I did mention this on my comment card, as I it was extremely inconvenient for us, and in my opinion dissapointing that they did not resolve the problem during dry dock, or even during our cruise for that matter.

It was definitely a and a little bit .

 

[Elliott's_mommy]

What happened in the kid's club????

It was fun blowing bubbles with you guys on Castaway Cay!

yeah what happened...and was Elliott the cause???? He had a blast in the clubs. My only regret was not getting closer to the front during the 'graudation' ceremony for better photos. (naturally when MICKEY came out Elliott was hiding behind a CM the rest of the show. )