DREAM 5-night June 21 2011

[ranidayz]

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone! Really looking forward to meeting you all. Sounds like there is no shortage of "friends" for the kids. We have taken 2 cruises in the past on Carnival and my oldest son pretty much disappeared until dinner while the younger 2 hung on us like wet shirts. We couldn't get them to go to the kids clubs to save our lives. We love our kids but it would have been nice to have some adult time too.

Beth - do you recomend any private transportation companies?

Bob - We love Doorway to Dreams! We only live about 10 minutes away and it's a must stop when ever we are at Woodfield. My wife was talking to one of the cast members there the other day and was told they are going to start the transformation to an Aluani villa in the next couple months.

Sky - we are neighbors! How cool! We live in Arlington Heights. How far "western burbs" are you guys?

Still reading through all the posts but I need to know what this FE exchange is. Could someone please enlighten me?

100 pages? Really? Wow!

FE - Fish Exchange -- we hang pocket hangers off the hooks outside the stateroom doors that are shaped like fish (or starfish) and the members of the group that have signed up by April 7 secretly go around and drop little goodies in the pockets. The goodies can be anything from generic candy and toys to personalized items to things representing your state or country....one for the cabin or one for each person....one item or several items...signed or anonymous....

We've got a large group and growing so it's really gearing up to be something I wouldn't want to miss. And from the sounds of things, there are going to be some fun goodies given and received! Hope you'll join....there seems to be a lot more banter on the facebook group - you may want to join that if you're on fB.

 

[ranidayz]

http://www.facebook.com/?sk=lf#!/home.php?sk=group_133014253420223&ap=1

 

[Katie's Mom]

This was just posted in another thread. 100 days to go!

For 5 Night Cruises departing on a Tuesday:
Night 1- Cruise Casual
Night 2- Cruise Casual
Night 3- Dress Up Night
Night 4- Pirate Night- Special Menu
Night 5- Cruise Casual- Special Menu (this is still a ? but a good possibility)

Dining Room Rotations (Restaurants repeat 1&5 2&3)
1- RP, AP, EG, EG, RP
2- EG, RP, AP, AP, EG
3- AP, EG, RP, RP, AP

 

[bobgailmax]

I saw that thread too. I was thinking there wouldn't be a dress up night based on earlier info, but I guess we'll have to make room in the suitcases. What constitutes "dress up for boys 15 and 11 on a cruise, anyway?

In regards to the dining rotations, what does 1, 2 & 3 mean? We are main seating, which one does that put us at?

 

[kellym506]

DCL cruise #2 for me, #? for my sister, BIL and nephew, age 6 (whose first cruise was while in utero). Can't wait to have water outside my balcony instead of in my basement. Have to go back and read through all of the other posts, there are lots of new friends to be made. Looking so forward to two days at Castaway Cay...I'll be sitting under the third palm tree from the left with an adult beverage in my hand.

 

[Fawn1234]

Hi All -
We'll be going on this cruise too! Can't wait to meet people!
We have a DS (will be turning 11 during the cruise) and DD (9). Looks like lots of information here!

 

[Katie's Mom]

I saw that thread too. I was thinking there wouldn't be a dress up night based on earlier info, but I guess we'll have to make room in the suitcases. What constitutes "dress up for boys 15 and 11 on a cruise, anyway?

In regards to the dining rotations, what does 1, 2 & 3 mean? We are main seating, which one does that put us at?

I would not stress the dress up night. On my previous Disney cruises, the dress as been pretty casual compared to other cruise lines. I do not have boys, so I am not sure on the attire but I would think a pair of khaki would work???

The 1, 2, or 3 represents the rotation options. If your first night you are in AP then your rotation will be AP, EG, RP, RP, AP. Apparently you can request your preferred rotation, so if you wanted to dine in EG twice then you would request either of the other two options. Hope this information is helpful.

 

[Katie's Mom]

Hi All -
We'll be going on this cruise too! Can't wait to meet people!
We have a DS (will be turning 11 during the cruise) and DD (9). Looks like lots of information here!

Welcome!

I have a dd that is also 9. On previous cruises, I have not had much luck having her spend time in the kid’s area, and am hoping I can connect her with some children her age to increase her comfort level. Send me a PM if you would like to have them connect prior to the cruise (perhaps pen pals or email).

 

[pixie08]

Pixie08 is this Mary of Mary & Dan on the DM??? If so good to see ya, and if not, well then it will be great to meet ya!!

Oh my gosh, yes! Hi Ronda, we would love to meet you guys too! Wow it is a small world after all lol.

 

[pixie08]

I can't remember if I mentioned our 17 yr anniversary is June 19....

...that really makes us sound like geezers....

hahaha no that gives us newbies hope!

 

[mamaprincess]

Looks like we will be going to! It will be me, DH, dd7 almost 8 at time of cruise. I've got to get on the FE list and start shopping! I am super excited. DD is really sweet and a little shy at first but she loves kids and loves making new friends, so if you have any girls around her age please feel free to contact me. I have to comb this thread to see where the meets are etc. We are 1st time cruisers.

We have Dream booked for June 2012 but may switch to Fantasy if the deal on board is good.

 

[timandlesley]

Hi everyone. I have a daughter Lauren (7) and a son Luke (10). Lauren has a few penpals lined up for the cruise, if you have a son who would like to be penpals with Luke leading up to the cruise please let me know, he'd love to get some mail too : )
100 days until the cruise!!!
Thanks,
Lesley

 

[disappearingme]

Looks like we will be going to! It will be me, DH, dd7 almost 8 at time of cruise. I've got to get on the FE list and start shopping! I am super excited. DD is really sweet and a little shy at first but she loves kids and loves making new friends, so if you have any girls around her age please feel free to contact me. I have to comb this thread to see where the meets are etc. We are 1st time cruisers.

We have Dream booked for June 2012 but may switch to Fantasy if the deal on board is good.

My DD will be 7 & we have a little group of penpals going on the facebook page so check that out. My daughter is going to work on her letters this week.

Cheers!

 

[Fawn1234]

Hi -
So excited about this cruise! We are newbies! And would love to figure out / join the FE and do the meets. Lots of posts here so haven't come across yet how to sign up for these. DS (10) and DD (9) would love to make some friends prior.

Thanks!

 

[dbxazd]

Hi -
So excited about this cruise! We are newbies! And would love to figure out / join the FE and do the meets. Lots of posts here so haven't come across yet how to sign up for these. DS (10) and DD (9) would love to make some friends prior.

Thanks!

Hi! Welcome!
Have you found us on Facebook yet? Look for Motley Cruise & request to join. We have an "event" on there for our Meet (which is set for 3pm on Tuesday 6/21). You can RSVP there. If you don't have FB, no worries, I'm sure we'll give a run down of all the "happenings" here on the DIS before we go
Also - ranidayz on here (Rani) is in charge of our FE list. You can either PM her on here (her last post was on page 23) or you can PM her once you get on the Group on FB. Either way, she'll need your family name & members (and ages of children), your cabin #, cell phone #, your e-mail address & state you are from. I think that's all the info she needs

Looking forward to chatting with you!!
Robin

 

[CHIdadOF3]

Hey, Tony

We live in Bloomingdale, so just up the road from you. Are you DVC also? Do you go to the member events at Doorway to Dreams at Woodfield? We'll be there today and I'm going to ask if there are any events coming up.

No shortage of teens on this trip...and a nice chance for kids to make new friends that they may get to keep!

We are DVC members. Joined 2006 and Saratoga is our home resort. I noticed lots of people out here use their pts for the cruise. We have looked at doing that too but we just don't have enough pts to make it work. I guess we could always go the pts + cash route but that seems a bit silly to me.

We have attended all the member events at Doorway to Dreams - what a blast! My kids get a big kick out of DeeVee.

 

[skylynx]

We are DVC members. Joined 2006 and Saratoga is our home resort. I noticed lots of people out here use their pts for the cruise. We have looked at doing that too but we just don't have enough pts to make it work. I guess we could always go the pts + cash route but that seems a bit silly to me.

We have attended all the member events at Doorway to Dreams - what a blast! My kids get a big kick out of DeeVee.

We have lots in common! We own at Saratoga, bought in in 2007, and don't use our points for cruises. We have been to all the DTD events, too, and in 2009 we were one of the grand prize winners of the 4 day trip to WDW with airfare, park tickets, and $1500 in gift cards. Even though I'm sure we used up a lifetime's worth of luck winning that big prize, we always go!

 

[bobgailmax]

We have lots in common! We own at Saratoga, bought in in 2007, and don't use our points for cruises. We have been to all the DTD events, too, and in 2009 we were one of the grand prize winners of the 4 day trip to WDW with airfare, park tickets, and $1500 in gift cards. Even though I'm sure we used up a lifetime's worth of luck winning that big prize, we always go!

We're in Saratoga Springs too! We bought in 2003. We did this cruise on points because we hadn't used them for this year (!!! horrors!!!). I don't think we would do it again, though, because it used all our points for this year and a few from next year. We try to get down to DTD as often as we can, especially for any events. We haven't been as lucky as you, though. Hopefully that will head our way soon!

 

[jaurban]

I think "dress up" is not the same as a "formal night" or semi-formal night like on the 7 night cruises. So, I would pass on the tux and cocktail dress and leave it at semi-formal at best, if you wanted to. Just look nice - business casual or resort casual is my sort of rule there.

 

[CHIdadOF3]

Sky - THAT'S AWESOME!!!!! We've never been THAT lucky. On our first cruise (Carnival), DW won $250 in bingo and I won a raffle for a gift basket full of crap (litterally). LOL

Bob - I don't know if this is bad form or not, but how many points did it take to book the cruise? I assume you only got 1 room with your pts, correct? We have 210 pts and, after crunching the numbers, we just couldn't make it work for our family of 5. I think we would have needed to bank and borrow in order to do a cruise on all pts. Just didn't seem feasible. We have been tempted MANY times to buy more points but then I remember that we have to pay the annual dues and that ends the conversation.

Jaurban - We've only been on 2 cruises so far and both were with Carnival. The dinner attire subject has us a little perplexed. On the Carnival Cruises, we went to dinner in shorts (nice ones, but still they were shorts). Formal night meant slacks and a dress shirt for most people. I packed a suit for our first cruise and I was one of about 10 men wearing a jacket for our seating. We are worried about overpacking but at the same time, we don't want to end up being too casual.