Early Roll Call for 10-31-04 Happy Halloween Cruise aboard the Wonder !!

[GoofyFD]

My family and I will be on the Halloween cruise too. We sailed at Halloween 3 years ago and there were fun things for the kids. We carved pumpkins at CC the day before Halloween. On Halloween there was a "scavenger hunt". You get a list of clues directing you to different places on the ship. Once you get there, they do give candy (and even paper bags for holding it). At the last place my DD received a medal as well. The candy was plenty but not a ton. There was no door-to-door trick-or-treating. The kid's staff were dressed up and ran this activity. We did it right before dinner (late seating) and instead of the show. Lots of adults were dressed up, but plenty weren't. We wore our costumes to dinner at Triton's. We also did the Mickey's Not So Scarey party at MK and that was really fun too.

Oops, I had only read the 1st page! Anyway my DH, Mark, our DD 3 and 6 and I, Emily, were excited to read what you've been talking about. We're staying at the Poly 3 nights before and going to MNSSHP on Thursday.

 

[Bauerbandt]

Welcome GoofyFD (Emily)! What grade will your 6 year old be in? As of now we are planning on going to MNSSHP on Thursday as well.

Ralph, thanks for the newsletter. Thought for next issue: What if we all sent you a picture of our group/family? This way people might be able to recognize others prior to the DIS Meet, especially those of us going to WDW prior to the cruise.

 

[acrucifer]

very Interesting idea and seems like it would be fun to put together. this probably works best though if most of us participate. sooooo, speaking for stephanie and I , we will be happy to participate in this. I can make a special "getting to know each other" page with photos, names and such TO BE SENT TO OUR DIS GROUP MEMBERS ONLY, OF COURSE. maybe a word or two on your favorite hobby or passion. anyone who would like to do this can email their photos and or comments at acrucifer@aol.com and if most of you decide against doing this, thats fine, too. I would like to know what others think of this so please talk it up. TTFN, Ralph

 

[marley]

I think having a page for each family is a great idea!

Marley

 

[Shana Rayce]

Hi all!
I think that this is a GREAT idea!!
I may have to send two seperate pics though...not sure if I have a current one of all 3 of us!! Probably DS and I and DH and DS together. I was trying to think of a topic for the next newsletter...but Bauerbandt beat me to it!! And what a good idea she had!

I make my final payment on Friday...still trying to decide about the insurance though...did you all purchase the insurance??

Airfares went way up yesterday...
Guess that means a longer wait for me....still no Oct. room-only codes yet either...hopefully soon!

 

[marley]

Shana:

I just bought my insurance from Access America this week on line for $59 for all 4 of us. I've seen some good things about them on the Boards and I couldn't beat $59. I mainly just wanted it for peace of mind since my sister is due to have a baby soon after the cruise and my great grandparents are all getting up there in age. I was also worried about getting quarantined if we come down with a stomache virus so this would cover all of that.

marley

 

[Bauerbandt]

Marley, do you have a web site for Access America? I like the price you got. I have to make the final deposit by the end of the month.

Shana, actually, I'm a he and not a she. Although I set up one user name for the my wife and I to use, I do the majority of postings.

Thanks everyone so far for the support of the picture idea. I hope we get good participation. If people have other ideas, maybe Ralph could throw in another newsletter....we still have 2 months to go...........(no pressure there Ralph, LOL)

-Bill (of bauerbandt)

 

[marley]

Bill: it is www.accessamerica.com although their site seems to be down right now. You put your family members ages, the date you are leaving your house, the date you will return to your house and how much money per person that you will have spent per person that is non-refundable by the time you start your trip. Anything you can get your money back on do not add to your per person amount. Also, if you or your wife is younger, put her as the person applying. I'm not sure why, but when I put my age (my husband is only one year younger), the insurance came out to be $30 higher. With him as the primary policy holder, it was $59!! Go figure!!

Ralph:

I actually have sent my family a newsletter and then email tips you might want to incorporate in a newsletter. For those of us who have cruised on DCL before, we can list on our family page a "must do" or/and "best splurge" by each family member. I also have a packing list I've weeded down from all of the ones listed on the DIS boards to things you ACTUALLY use. My last email to my family was "what does it really cost?". I listed "tips" on tipping and what things cost and what is free on the cruise. I am happy to email you any of these things if you want more work to do

Marley

 

[Pammy jo]

I got my insurance through Travelex. It was only $84 for the 5 of us. I thought that was a pretty good deal too.
Pammyjo

 

[bgomes]

We like the picture idea too. How many people are interested in this? Let us know when you want the picture and what type of information you would like. It might be interesting to know what kind of jobs others have.
Bob & Barb

 

[Betty Breed]

We'd like to participate in the picture idea, too. But I don't know how to e-mail pictures. Maybe DD1 can help me. Unfortunately DD2 will be unable to come with us. She is in grad school and her instructors won't let her make up the work. I promised to take lots of pics for her. That also means I will have 1 extra MNSSHP ticket (adult) for Oct 29. That is if they come in. I ordered them July 22nd and was told it would take 10-14 working days to get them. I'm still waiting Anybody else having this problem? I ordered them thru my TA and she has the confirmation # and was told they shipped on the 26th. Don't know what else to do.

 

[lholman]

We like the idea of the pictures, too. Just say when and what kind of information you would like us to include with the pictures.:thewave: :thewave:

 

[acrucifer]

marley,

that type of information will be very helpful people and I have no probelm putting that into the newsletter. I understand your layout suggestion and think it is a good one. I can envision this next newsletter being the best one yet, one that can bring everyone on this list together. in fact, putting it together will be fun for me. I am ready when you guys are.

 

[Bauerbandt]

Thanks Marley and Pammy Jo. I ended up going with Travelex since they covered our basic needs. They wanted $59 while Access America wanted $119.

If my count is correct, we are up to 7 groups/families willing to do the picture newsletter. Ralph, I'm glad to hear that you think this will be the best one yet, since I thought the previous newsletters were very good.

 

[Shana Rayce]

Hi...
I went to both of the websites too...but my quote for Travelex was $95.00! I wonder why it was higher than Bill's and Pammy Jo's?? We have 3 people...what about you two? Would it be the price of the cruise?

 

[Bauerbandt]

Shana:

I put in for 4 people at $425 a person (basically cruise only). Also, I didn't select the high end medical coveage, just the $50K.

Change of Subject: Hair Braiding.
For all of those with young daughters, my DW and I have been reading about the trip to the straw market in Nassua and the constant push for hair braiding. Our DD will most likely want this done if everyone else was having it done. We also see that the ship offers it as well. So we were thinking that if the majority of girls were going to have the hair braiding we would try to have it done early in the trip and avoid the constant nagging. Thoughts? Anyone with experience with this and/or where the better places are to have this done?
Thanks!

 

[Shana Rayce]

Bill...I just went in and refigured...there must be a rate change between $500 and $550...because it is about $30.00 cheaper at $500.00 than $550!! I think I'll just go with that...even though it doesn't quite cover the entire amount of the cruise....diff of about $400.00. Did you get the "Travel-Lite" option? Have you actually purchased it yet? I wonder how it compares to the insurance the cruise agent offers?
Thanks!

 

[Bauerbandt]

Shana, yes I did purchase the Travelite option, today. DCL/TA wanted $216 for trip insurance (cruise only). I was just looking for some medical and cancellation coverage. This at least includes $50K of medical coverage while on the whole trip (WDW, KSC, DCL) and not just DCL.

 

[Pammy jo]

We'll do the pic/family info page too. Just let us know what all you want included.
Pammyjo

 

[marley]

Bill:

Hayley had her hair braided at the end of the day at Castaway Cay (in a very nice shaded area) but did not choose to have the whole crown done. I've seen and heard about little girls crying by having their whole crown done for $40 so I was happy she only chose to have 4 braids for a total of $8 ($2 for each braid) and they were completely painless (much less pulling) but very cute!

She loved having it done on Castaway Cay but they also do it on the ship. Apparently, they have sign ups mid-ship from 2:30 to 3:30 on our sailaway day for the entire cruise and I've read these appts. go fast. This time falls right during our TOT so I was going to send my husband or parents up to make her appt. while she enjoys the TOT.

As for Nassau, they are really pushy and I found the straw market to be very dirty and a bit scary so I wouldn't take Anna there. The ship or Castaway Cay is a much more pleasant experience.

Marley