EARLY CHECK IN: December 15th, 2007 - Seven night Western - 12/15/07

[dutch_girl_scout]

Hopefully SW has changed there booking procedures too. Whenever I hear of them I think of the show "Airline" that was on A&E. I think on at least every episode they had overbooked a flight and people were stranded in the airport. I'm glad that you guys got good rates.

We booked Allegiant that flies into Sanford Airport, the flights were cheap ($99 each way) and they are the only direct flights between Des Moines and Orlando. If you want assigned seating you have to pay $5 each and they charge $4 per piece of luggage that isn't carry on. I guess I'm probably going to pack a little lighter than last time. They tell me that we will all sit together because we are traveling with a child under 3, as long DH or I sit by Andy it doesn't matter where the others sit.

 

[kcwildcat]

The board has been busy since I checked in last. We made the final payment on the cruise last week and made a few reservations. DH is going to scuba dive in both Grand Cayman and Cozumel. DD and I are going to do the Pirate Adventure in Grand Caymen, that was her choice over doing the Seaworld Semi-sub. Still debating on Key West. Did some checking on individual prices in KW and for some of the things we were interested in doing, booking a reservation through the ship was actually cheeper.

A week or so ago when it turn cold over the weekend I started changing over DD's closet and pulled all her Disney shorts and tees and started a cruise pile. DD has a pirate outfit from our last Disney cruise that still fits and I'm hoping to find time to sew a matching outfit for my DH and I.

We will be flying in on the 14th, still don't know where we will be staying that night. Midwest has changed our flight schedule twice since we booked so were waiting until into Oct. to book a hotel to see if they change their schedule for the fall. If our time doesn't change we will probably stay near the port. If flight changes back to close to our original flight schedule we will stay near Orlando International.

Looking forward to meeting everyone.

Patty

 

[cristit14]

I haven't started an official cruise pile yet, just the one in my head.

 

[feinfam]

I started my cruise packing pile yesterday - I found tiny suction cups to hold Christmas lights and concentrated liquid laundry detergent at Target while on a hunt for normal stuff. Just having stuff for the cruise in my cart made me smile the whole way through the store. Trying to figure out whether to pack a tiny artificial tree for the room.

Okay, I'll admit I've spent far too much time reading the boards the past two days, but I've got a question for the veterans - is the Disney PassPorter worth it? We've already chosen the room, booked our excursions, read the DIS boards, gone over the DCL cruise website... Can too much planning be a bad thing?

 

[Queen2]

Hello everyone, I've been MIA for awhile. Just sent DS of to China yesterday
I leave on Sunday, I'll be back on the 12th. Then I can start think about the cruise.

I like the stocking idea, sounds like alot of fun. Well I just spent 1/2hour reading all the new post, welcome to new families. I must go & start packing for China. I'll try & get back before I leave

 

[cristit14]

Sharon, glad to see you back. I figured you were pretty wrapped up getting ready for China. Have a fabulous trip!

I thought about getting the Passporter for the cruise several months ago and never did it. I figure I can find out everything I need to know here and I don't want to carry an extra book with me.

I guess I kind of do have a cruise pile started, it just isn't an official pile yet, if that makes sense. I have a few things here and there, but not all in one place. I bought a pop up hamper that I am debating about bringing. I have my new lime green flip flops , and I know where all of the pirate costumes are . I am thinking about heading to Ross today to see if they have anything that I can't live without.

 

[poohkinandpiglet]

I started my cruise packing pile yesterday - I found tiny suction cups to hold Christmas lights and concentrated liquid laundry detergent at Target while on a hunt for normal stuff. Just having stuff for the cruise in my cart made me smile the whole way through the store. Trying to figure out whether to pack a tiny artificial tree for the room.

Okay, I'll admit I've spent far too much time reading the boards the past two days, but I've got a question for the veterans - is the Disney PassPorter worth it? We've already chosen the room, booked our excursions, read the DIS boards, gone over the DCL cruise website... Can too much planning be a bad thing?

Personally, I LOVE the Passporter. It's been invaluable since we've never cruised before.

 

[dutch_girl_scout]

I'm on my third Cruise Passporter, I have the WDW one too. I am a total junkie and have the loose leaf one. The looseleaf (and spiral one) has envelope pockets in the back one for each day. On the front and backs it has room to write things like your schedule, notes, memories, track your budget, ressie numbers, etc. It has all the information on the DIS boards in book form. It also has lots of "worksheets" like dining rotation, budget, etc. The cover for the looseleaf one also has pockets in it that can hold passports, credit cards, reward cards, etc. Last time everything got stuck in the book, all of our receipts etc. and it was fun to go back through it when we got home. Ok now that you all know that I have a sickness we'll move on.

I would definately bring a pop-up hamper but I do laundry while we're gone, that's part of the reason we moved more aft this time (pathetic, I know, but it will save me $ on the luggage charge from the airline ). The suction cups for the Christmas lights are a great idea. Are the lights battery powered? One of the most valuable things we brought last time was a "power strip" to plug into the outlet by the desk so we could charge the camera, the walkie-talkies, the gameboy, etc, etc, and plug in the bottle warmer. Last time we cruised in December we just put up a table-top Christmas tree at home, (I refused to haul everything out just to put it away when we got home), maybe we'll just pack up the table top tree and take it with.

Patty--Good to hear from you again, your DH will have lots of company on the snorkeling. I bet your DD is getting excited, especially since she has a "cruise pile".

Sharon--Glad you remembered where we were, I think we were on the first page too. Have a great time in China, we'll "see" you when you get back.

Kathryn--I have been on the boards WAY too much this week. It's too much fun.

 

[cristit14]

I went to Ross today and found a red dress for $14. So now I have the black dress and the red one. One for semi formal and one for formal.

I didn't mean to say that I don't like the Passporter. I think they are great books I have two different ones for WDW, I just never ordered one for the cruise and at this point I don't think I will. Although, it would be something fun to take to work to look at while I am on break.....

 

[feinfam]

Personally, I LOVE the Passporter. It's been invaluable since we've never cruised before.

Hmmm...still debating. Was the PassPorter invaluable to you because of DCL-specific stuff, or because of general cruise info? We've been on cruises before, just not to the Caribbean or on Disney, so I still feel very much a newbie.

These boards are pretty amazing, but I still have a hard time winnowing my searches so that they don't come back with next to nothing or so much information that it's overwhelming. And knowing that Stacie the veteran has THREE PassPorters, well, she's still learning? Maybe we just line up outside Stacie's door to ask questions? [Just kidding, Stacie, I promise.]

 

[feinfam]

I would definately bring a pop-up hamper but I do laundry while we're gone, that's part of the reason we moved more aft this time (pathetic, I know, but it will save me $ on the luggage charge from the airline ). The suction cups for the Christmas lights are a great idea. Are the lights battery powered? One of the most valuable things we brought last time was a "power strip" to plug into the outlet by the desk so we could charge the camera, the walkie-talkies, the gameboy, etc, etc, and plug in the bottle warmer. Last time we cruised in December we just put up a table-top Christmas tree at home, (I refused to haul everything out just to put it away when we got home), maybe we'll just pack up the table top tree and take it with.

Wow - there are battery-powered Christmas lights? Where do you get them?

There's at least one thread that has an Excel packing worksheet - has anyone seen it? You'd need to have beasts of burden helping you onto the ship if you packed what was on that list. That said, I do have a pop-up hamper on my list of things to buy. I don't mind escaping with a book and the laundry during a vacation, and a fold-up hamper can hold the dirties on the way there and the clean folded stuff on the way back. [Don't tell my DH I enjoy it, though...he may catch on.]

 

[yearbook50]

So the other girls have finally paid off their parts of the cruise. I was getting scared that we might have to cancel since one girl didn't pay her part but she finally did it last night.

But yay no more worries.

 

[cristit14]

So the other girls have finally paid off their parts of the cruise. I was getting scared that we might have to cancel since one girl didn't pay her part but she finally did it last night.

But yay no more worries.

Yeah!! It is getting close now!

 

[Kadorto]

So the other girls have finally paid off their parts of the cruise. I was getting scared that we might have to cancel since one girl didn't pay her part but she finally did it last night.

But yay no more worries.

Not sure how I missed it before now…but this is going to be your balchorette party?? I hope it stays somewhat tame…not sure I could handle hearing stories about Mickey jumping out of a cake or any rumors about Chip and Dale wearing anything less than their traditional attire. We might need to recruit Donald and Goofy to act as chaperones just to be safe ::cop:

____________________________________________________

Go Colts!!!!!

 

[yearbook50]

Not sure how I missed it before now…but this is going to be your balchorette party?? I hope it stays somewhat tame…not sure I could handle hearing stories about Mickey jumping out of a cake or any rumors about Chip and Dale wearing anything less than their traditional attire. We might need to recruit Donald and Goofy to act as chaperones just to be safe ::cop:

Somewhat...balchorette cruise...
how to I make this not sound bad...There are 3 of us...all of us are in serious relationships so we aren't going to be out of line.

We are just planning on drinking, eating, spa days, drinking, tanning, eating, hanging out at the adult areas.

 

[poohkinandpiglet]

Hmmm...still debating. Was the PassPorter invaluable to you because of DCL-specific stuff, or because of general cruise info? We've been on cruises before, just not to the Caribbean or on Disney, so I still feel very much a newbie.

These boards are pretty amazing, but I still have a hard time winnowing my searches so that they don't come back with next to nothing or so much information that it's overwhelming. And knowing that Stacie the veteran has THREE PassPorters, well, she's still learning? Maybe we just line up outside Stacie's door to ask questions? [Just kidding, Stacie, I promise.]

Both! It's got a lot of general stuff that you wouldn't know unless you've cruised before and a lot of little DCL specific tips too. I like that it has all the info (procedures/excursions/restaurants/misc... ) in one place and is small enough to fit into my daypack. It even has reviews and ratings for the excursions in different ports of call and info for booking alternate excursions not offered through DCL.

I have the WDW Passporter and still drag it with me every time we make a pilgrimage to Orlando and I consider myself a master of Disney vacation planning.

 

[feinfam]

Both! It's got a lot of general stuff that you wouldn't know unless you've cruised before and a lot of little DCL specific tips too.

Great - that's what I was looking for! Thanks!

 

[Kadorto]

Somewhat...balchorette cruise...
how to I make this not sound bad...There are 3 of us...all of us are in serious relationships so we aren't going to be out of line.

We are just planning on drinking, eating, spa days, drinking, tanning, eating, hanging out at the adult areas.

I think Chip and Dale will be disappointed to hear that

 

[dutch_girl_scout]

Kathryn--Ask away! If I don't have the answer, I'll look it up in my passporter. I'm just an overplanner and like to have one place to write everything down.

We had a beautiful Friday here. It is homecoming tonight for the high school and tomorrow for the college. DD and I went to the city this morning to go to the Girl Scout office to get all the stuff for our fall product sale. Our new (merged) council starts officially on Monday, it was the last day for several of the employees so it was kind of sad.

Tomorrow DS has his first marching band competition, not sure if we're going to go or not, it is 1.5 hours away and they don't march until 8 something.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

 

[feinfam]

It's COLD here today. High of 69 degrees - brrrrr. Can't wait for Indian Summer in mid-October so I can break out my shorts again.

We have a newly merged GS Council now, too - the first day of our fall product sales coincides with the launch of the new Council. The magazine drive is the same one our junior high just finished yesterday. Ugh, bad planning somewhere. Since all our girls are at the same middle school, we'll just have to push the nuts and calendars instead . Trying to save up $$ for a week-long trip this summer.

I ordered my PassPorter today. Time to think about sunshine!