DREAM OCTOBER 14, 2012 4 Night Bahamas~If You Can DREAM it...

[SallySkelington]

Did you do that? You should have took a picture

Sadly I did not get my smoothie, but I celebrated my birthday early over a dinner with my sister.

 

[dapod423]

Hi Alison! Welcome! We are very excited... am sort of wishing we had just got off a cruise though...

As for our experience... it will be SUPER because we are all on there!

How was your cruise by the way? Favorite memory? Anything to help us wait patiently.

My cruise was WONDERFUL!!! I wish I was back on it right now (mostly because I am sitting here at work). I loved the 7 Night and would do it again in a heartbeat. The reson we are doing a 4Night next is so we can pair it with 3 or 4 nights at the resort. We are DVC members and want to use some points. But I definitely loved the pace of the 7Night. You didn't have to rush anything because it would always be there later.

My favorite memory??? Had to be the look on my son's face when he saw Mickey flying through the sky to the stage to save the day at the Pirates party. It was priceless.

And there is no waiting patiently!! You all know that!

 

[MomsOf2boys]

My cruise was WONDERFUL!!! I wish I was back on it right now (mostly because I am sitting here at work). I loved the 7 Night and would do it again in a heartbeat. The reson we are doing a 4Night next is so we can pair it with 3 or 4 nights at the resort. We are DVC members and want to use some points. But I definitely loved the pace of the 7Night. You didn't have to rush anything because it would always be there later.

My favorite memory??? Had to be the look on my son's face when he saw Mickey flying through the sky to the stage to save the day at the Pirates party. It was priceless.

And there is no waiting patiently!! You all know that!

Awww that is a super memory! How old is your son? Just one child? Did you all participate in the FE on your 7 day?

We are DVC as well. We are AKL and we love it there. We have stayed at SSR and BW as well but that is it.

 

[MomsOf2boys]

Sadly I did not get my smoothie, but I celebrated my birthday early over a dinner with my sister.

Yeah for extra birthday celebrations! You can have a whole month of birthday if you plan it just right!

 

[dapod423]

Awww that is a super memory! How old is your son? Just one child? Did you all participate in the FE on your 7 day?

We are DVC as well. We are AKL and we love it there. We have stayed at SSR and BW as well but that is it.

My son is 4.5 so he will be 5.5 when we go on this cruise. He just loves to go on "Mickey's Boat" and go to the "Play Place". He may like it more than Disney World!!!

We did do the FE. And overall all I was disappointed. Don't get me wrong, I had fun doing it. But I spent alot of time trying to come up with good gifts. For the kids I did color you own pirate beach ball (I provided the markers as well), and princess or Pirate tattoos. For the adults I had a hard time. I knew I wanted something nice and that represented where we are from but didn't want to spend too much. I was going to do these amazing potato chips that they make out on the eastern end of Long Island, then I found out you can't ship food to the port. So I was in my Disney outlet and I saw, on clearance, those steel water bottles that said "I Love NY" but the heart was a Mickey Head!!! PERFECT!! Sure it was a little more than I wanted to spend but hey I'm having fun. So I got one per couple and shipped them off to the port. When we got there I made up little gift bags. I had gotten little canvas nautical bags to put everything in. So that was my FE gift.

What we got in return disappointed me. Alot of it didn't even come home with us. I did enjoy several though. There was a CD of Disney music that I am listening to. Another person is involved in Anything Goes on Broadway and gave a sample CD, Hat, pin, notepad and pen. A dry erase board was a good gift and came in handy but broke on the way home (it served it's purpose). But like I said the majority was cheap stuff we didn't keep. And I'm positive that we gave out more gifts than we received.

SO I am kind of hesitant to participate again. I will give it some thought and will probably do it to give it one more try.

 

[SallySkelington]

Yeah for extra birthday celebrations! You can have a whole month of birthday if you plan it just right!

Hmm...This sounds like a idea...

My son is 4.5 so he will be 5.5 when we go on this cruise. He just loves to go on "Mickey's Boat" and go to the "Play Place". He may like it more than Disney World!!!

We did do the FE. And overall all I was disappointed. Don't get me wrong, I had fun doing it. But I spent alot of time trying to come up with good gifts. For the kids I did color you own pirate beach ball (I provided the markers as well), and princess or Pirate tattoos. For the adults I had a hard time. I knew I wanted something nice and that represented where we are from but didn't want to spend too much. I was going to do these amazing potato chips that they make out on the eastern end of Long Island, then I found out you can't ship food to the port. So I was in my Disney outlet and I saw, on clearance, those steel water bottles that said "I Love NY" but the heart was a Mickey Head!!! PERFECT!! Sure it was a little more than I wanted to spend but hey I'm having fun. So I got one per couple and shipped them off to the port. When we got there I made up little gift bags. I had gotten little canvas nautical bags to put everything in. So that was my FE gift.

What we got in return disappointed me. Alot of it didn't even come home with us. I did enjoy several though. There was a CD of Disney music that I am listening to. Another person is involved in Anything Goes on Broadway and gave a sample CD, Hat, pin, notepad and pen. A dry erase board was a good gift and came in handy but broke on the way home (it served it's purpose). But like I said the majority was cheap stuff we didn't keep. And I'm positive that we gave out more gifts than we received.

SO I am kind of hesitant to participate again. I will give it some thought and will probably do it to give it one more try.

I've never participated in FE before, so I don't really know what to expect. I'm sorry it was a little disappointing. I'm glad you had a great cruise though! I'm so excited for next year.

 

[MomsOf2boys]

My son is 4.5 so he will be 5.5 when we go on this cruise. He just loves to go on "Mickey's Boat" and go to the "Play Place". He may like it more than Disney World!!!
Wow! He went of by himself? I hear such mixed reports with children without a sibling on board. That is wonderful!
We did do the FE. And overall all I was disappointed. Don't get me wrong, I had fun doing it. But I spent alot of time trying to come up with good gifts. For the kids I did color you own pirate beach ball (I provided the markers as well), and princess or Pirate tattoos. For the adults I had a hard time. I knew I wanted something nice and that represented where we are from but didn't want to spend too much. I was going to do these amazing potato chips that they make out on the eastern end of Long Island, then I found out you can't ship food to the port. So I was in my Disney outlet and I saw, on clearance, those steel water bottles that said "I Love NY" but the heart was a Mickey Head!!! PERFECT!! Sure it was a little more than I wanted to spend but hey I'm having fun. So I got one per couple and shipped them off to the port. When we got there I made up little gift bags. I had gotten little canvas nautical bags to put everything in. So that was my FE gift.

What we got in return disappointed me. Alot of it didn't even come home with us. I did enjoy several though. There was a CD of Disney music that I am listening to. Another person is involved in Anything Goes on Broadway and gave a sample CD, Hat, pin, notepad and pen. A dry erase board was a good gift and came in handy but broke on the way home (it served it's purpose). But like I said the majority was cheap stuff we didn't keep. And I'm positive that we gave out more gifts than we received.

SO I am kind of hesitant to participate again. I will give it some thought and will probably do it to give it one more try.

I'm sorry you didn't enjoy the FE exchange. We have been on two previous cruises, participated in FE on the 2nd one as I hadn't been to the Disboards on the first one. We didn't do separate gifts for adults and children in ours. I have heard that several do it now but they just did regular ones. I got a Disney CD of music as well as the horn which I loved. I also got a gift that is actually very cheap but my all time favorite. It was the black magnet Mickey ears that go around your door number. I also don't think as many gifts were taken then as you hear about now. Sad I know. I'm not participating in FE this time as we have asked several people to join us on this cruise so we are making gift bags for them and I don't really want to do double work.

 

[dapod423]

Yes, my son goes to the club by himself. He doesn't usually stay too long maybe an hour or 2 but he goes. Just long enough for us to enjoy our dinner after feeding him quickly. On this last trip he had his 6 yr old cousin with him but whenever I went to the club to pick up one or both of them up they were always doing different activities. So she was there if he needed her but they played separately. Unfortunately, it wasn't until the last night that we found out they could go to the Lab too! They loved it there!!! They stayed there the longest. They left the lab to go do a game show type thing somewhere else and they had a great time. Now I know.

 

[SallySkelington]

Just checkin in to see how everyone is doing. Hope your Halloween holidays was spooktacular!

 

[budbeerlady]

Hello, I would like to join the group.

We are going on our 2nd dream cruise while Dd is on fall break. We are 2 adults and 1 Dd who will be 12 on this trip. I am excited to be going again, the Dream is fantastic! But I have some concerns about Dd this time. She hated the Edge, really, really hated it there! She spent her time in the lab instead and had a blast so I am really worried she will be stuck with us on this cruise and bored. She loved all the constant activities in the lab, Dd doesn't really sit around and chill so she was dying when we made her spend time in the Edge. The kid was almost crying the first night she was so disappointed. The Lab really, really saved our cruise as Dd was just 11 and hung out with a bunch of 10 yr olds there.

Sorry rambling here, excited to be onboard but hoping its the right decision for our family!

 

[budbeerlady]

With our cruise being over a year off, how soon would it be appropriate to request a serving team?

I read this thread and keeping my fingers crossed that we can get this one-
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2782769


Jerry

We had Constantin, he was fantastic!!!!!! Unfortunately he told us he was hoping to head to the Fantasy when it starts service. Dd is heartbroken, she really, really was pushing for a Fantasy cruise in order to see him again. But she cannot do a week long cruise during school time, and he might be between contracts by that time.

 

[MomsOf2boys]

Hello, I would like to join the group.

We are going on our 2nd dream cruise while Dd is on fall break. We are 2 adults and 1 Dd who will be 12 on this trip. I am excited to be going again, the Dream is fantastic! But I have some concerns about Dd this time. She hated the Edge, really, really hated it there! She spent her time in the lab instead and had a blast so I am really worried she will be stuck with us on this cruise and bored. She loved all the constant activities in the lab, Dd doesn't really sit around and chill so she was dying when we made her spend time in the Edge. The kid was almost crying the first night she was so disappointed. The Lab really, really saved our cruise as Dd was just 11 and hung out with a bunch of 10 yr olds there.

Sorry rambling here, excited to be onboard but hoping its the right decision for our family!

Welcome! So glad you found us here! I hope your DD is able to meet some people from this board and maybe having a friend to hang out with might help. Our last cruise we let our preteen check himself in and out and that seemed to enhance his experience. He loved going exploring and to the theatre to watch a movie or to get some pizza.

 

[MomsOf2boys]

Just popped by to see how everyone's holiday planning is going....

I'm so suprised at how quickly December has come and is flying by!

 

[dapod423]

Holidays are going great. Thanks! Time sure is flying by. But I'm sure as we get closer to the cruise it will slow down to a snail's pace.

Hope everyone has a great holiday!!!

 

[SallySkelington]

Holidays are fine. 5 more days!

 

[Butterx3]

Hello future fellow Dream travelers!!! My family is also booked on this cruise. I had originally booked our cruise for the same week but in 2011, and then my parents told us they were taking us on a cruise and to the parks, (Universal) so I pushed my cruise back a year. Now that I have gotten through our recent trip and the holidays, I can start focusing on this cruise. This will be our 3rd Disney Cruise, 1st on The Dream, I am a single mom with 3 children, DS(16), DD(12) and DS(9). Our last cruise in October was RCCL Monarch of the Seas. It was a great time, due in part to the fact that we were with my parents and my Brothers family. I told the kids before we left we would not compare the two cruise lines, or we would be disapointed. But I still did. My kids however didn't compare them at all, and loved The Monarch just as much as Disney.

My kids don't know about this trip, as I am planning to surprise them.

I don't have a lot of advice on the kids clubs as my children used them pretty sparingly in the past. My daughter only did the HSM things back in 2008, when it was a big deal, and my oldest son who was 13 at the time only went the first night, and had no interest in going back after that. Vacation is our time to reconnect as I work 2 jobs, (one to finance my vacation fund, LOL) my son just got his first job, and the kids are all in activities, so I don't mind if they skip the clubs.

I look forward to getting to know all of you over the next 10 months!

 

[Disneynut1958]

My DH and I will be sailing on the DREAM October 14, 2012!! Can't wait! Anyone who is also on Facebook, please join my group Cruising the Disney Dream! October 14, 2012. Would love to have you!! Looking forward to making some new friends before sailing! This will be our first Disney Cruise, and my hubby's first cruise ever!

 

[Butterx3]

Welcome DisneyNut1958. This doesn't seem to be a very active cruise meet thread. I feel weird welcoming you, as my participation has been only to introduce myself also. Looking forward to the new year and a cruise that is less than a year away!

 

[MomsOf2boys]

Hello future fellow Dream travelers!!! My family is also booked on this cruise. I had originally booked our cruise for the same week but in 2011, and then my parents told us they were taking us on a cruise and to the parks, (Universal) so I pushed my cruise back a year. Now that I have gotten through our recent trip and the holidays, I can start focusing on this cruise. This will be our 3rd Disney Cruise, 1st on The Dream, I am a single mom with 3 children, DS(16), DD(12) and DS(9). Our last cruise in October was RCCL Monarch of the Seas. It was a great time, due in part to the fact that we were with my parents and my Brothers family. I told the kids before we left we would not compare the two cruise lines, or we would be disapointed. But I still did. My kids however didn't compare them at all, and loved The Monarch just as much as Disney.

My kids don't know about this trip, as I am planning to surprise them.

I don't have a lot of advice on the kids clubs as my children used them pretty sparingly in the past. My daughter only did the HSM things back in 2008, when it was a big deal, and my oldest son who was 13 at the time only went the first night, and had no interest in going back after that. Vacation is our time to reconnect as I work 2 jobs, (one to finance my vacation fund, LOL) my son just got his first job, and the kids are all in activities, so I don't mind if they skip the clubs.

I look forward to getting to know all of you over the next 10 months!

Welcome
Glad you will be joining us! I keep thinking now that we are just months away instead of years, we might get more active here. My DS will be 16 at time of cruise as well. He plans to go to kids club only for free smoothies and for video games. LOL

 

[MomsOf2boys]

My DH and I will be sailing on the DREAM October 14, 2012!! Can't wait! Anyone who is also on Facebook, please join my group Cruising the Disney Dream! October 14, 2012. Would love to have you!! Looking forward to making some new friends before sailing! This will be our first Disney Cruise, and my hubby's first cruise ever!

Hooray! Welcome I just sent a request to join the facebook group. We have about 16 people going on the cruise with us at this point and only a handful are disboard people so perhaps they will do the facebook thing!