Fantasy 7-Night Eastern Caribbean (San Juan) Cruise 3/9/13 - 3/16/13

[Silverfox97]

Has there been any thought/discussion about how we are going to do the FE's? Or are we going to wait until we get a little bit closer to sail time to decide if it's one big group or we are going to break it up? We've already started working on our FE gifts. It helps pass the time until we are ready for VACATION!!!!

I am a proponent for one group. Just one opinion tho

 

[mainstreetmagic]

My last cruise was one big group - we ended up having about 90 participants, and it was a ton of fun! It was like Christmas every day for my DD, who couldn't wait to get back to the cabin to check our our FE. It got pricey though, so I guess we should wait to see how many people want to join. Your hubby suggested waiting until it gets a little closer, and I am sure he's right. There seems to always be people who join closer to the end.

 

[carmie3377]

Speaking of birthdays - Carmen, you and I have the exact same birthday - March 3rd! Lots of March babies on this cruise!

We'll have to meet up for a late birthday treat!

BTW - I talked to Scott - I am thinking about starting a Facebook page for our group of cruisers, so we have a place to post pictures and stuff. What do you all think?

If you do start a group, can you please make it completely private? As I'm sure you've read, some of us are surprising our kids (which have facebooks).

I don't use FB as often as I once did but one of the main things I use it for now is to keep up with old cruise buddies. I have met some great friends on cruises. It was through FB that we arranged our "reunion cruise" (this one). I even created us a private group where we are sharing our photos and stories from the cruise we all met on.

 

[carmie3377]

My last cruise was one big group - we ended up having about 90 participants, and it was a ton of fun! It was like Christmas every day for my DD, who couldn't wait to get back to the cabin to check our our FE. It got pricey though, so I guess we should wait to see how many people want to join. Your hubby suggested waiting until it gets a little closer, and I am sure he's right. There seems to always be people who join closer to the end.

We had around 100 cabins on the PC cruise and it was crazy! I ended up having over a suitcase full of FE gifts! If we end up with a group that large again, my preference would be to split it up into 2 or more groups but give people the option to join as many groups as they wish. That way, if you want to give to/get from everyone, you can. But it also encourages those to participate that are worried about joining a large group due to time/finances/space restrictions. If we go that route, I would be happy to coordinate

 

[Silverfox97]

My last cruise was one big group - we ended up having about 90 participants, and it was a ton of fun! It was like Christmas every day for my DD, who couldn't wait to get back to the cabin to check our our FE.

Yep - ours too She loves the FE!!! She's in for a disappointment in 2 days when we board the Dream because there are only 7 staterooms participating.......(not to mention after reading the thread on the main Cruise board about the clientele the Dream has been garnering, I am very worried about my FE itself.....if anything happens to it... )

For us, we live 2 hrs from port, so size/amount is not an issue. We can bring everything plus the kitchen sink! In the past, we have discussed splitting into 2 groups with 1 group being a group that gives to everyone, and the other that just delivers within themselves. It has never come to fruition, though, as no one wanted to miss out on some of the stuff!

 

[Silverfox97]

We had around 100 cabins on the PC cruise and it was crazy! I ended up having over a suitcase full of FE gifts! If we end up with a group that large again, my preference would be to split it up into 2 or more groups but give people the option to join as many groups as they wish. That way, if you want to give to/get from everyone, you can. But it also encourages those to participate that are worried about joining a large group due to time/finances/space restrictions. If we go that route, I would be happy to coordinate

What you said

Scott can delineate that on the FE list if the time comes and we need to do that. He has a whole database for FE lists and is working on something more complex.....

 

[carmie3377]

What you said

Scott can delineate that on the FE list if the time comes and we need to do that. He has a whole database for FE lists and is working on something more complex.....

Okay, sounds good! As it gets closer, we can all decide what to do. I know a lot of people (including myself) makes part of the gifts so we do need a bit of time to prepare the gifts. What should be the deadline on deciding on groups/allowing new cruisers to opt in?

 

[KaryCam]

Yep - ours too She loves the FE!!! She's in for a disappointment in 2 days when we board the Dream because there are only 7 staterooms participating.......(not to mention after reading the thread on the main Cruise board about the clientele the Dream has been garnering, I am very worried about my FE itself.....if anything happens to it... )

Yes, we were very excited about our first FE this last Christmas even though only 9 participated. The guy who was running the FE was active on the thread and then one day disappeared. Oh well, it worked out anyway.

I hate the idea of someone stealing gifts and/or FEs. We all work so hard on the gifts and I worked hard making my FE.

I too will drive to the port and can bring whatever (I'm a little further south than you). Only have to worry about DH's dirty looks about packing too much.

 

[peachygreen]

My personal opinion would be to keep everything here because it is one less place to have to check. I would join a Facebook group if we had one but I have a hard time getting on facebook regularly.

 

[mainstreetmagic]

Oooh, I love that he's so organized!! On our last cruise to the MR, we were able to drive from Phoenix to Los Angeles, so like you, I was able to load up my SUV and bring anything I wanted. Man, was that nice! But this trip we will be flying to Orlando, so I will need to be more aware of what the luggage weight is...although, if I'm perfectly honest, it won't matter because anything that makes my sweet girl happy, I am going to do.

Carmen, absolutely we will make it a closed private group. I will have my daughter set up up tomorrow, since you know teenagers are much better at that sort of thing. I will send Scott the link so he has control of the group information. I was thinking that exact thing - it will be a great place for us to keep in touch after the cruise. I am so envious of you all, that is fantastic that you have been able to stay in contact; that's an awesome thing! And also, HOW IN THE WORLD DO YOU KEEP THE SECRET???? I'm busting at the seams already, and my DD and I are constantly checking out port excursions, checking on the status of where the Fantasy is right now...I know I would blow it!

 

[mainstreetmagic]

My personal opinion would be to keep everything here because it is one less place to have to check. I would join a Facebook group if we had one but I have a hard time getting on facebook regularly.

Oh...well I definitely don't want to be bossy or take over! So if you guys think you would rather not do Facebook, that's fine too. Whatever the concensus is, I am up for anything!

 

[carmie3377]

Oooh, I love that he's so organized!! On our last cruise to the MR, we were able to drive from Phoenix to Los Angeles, so like you, I was able to load up my SUV and bring anything I wanted. Man, was that nice! But this trip we will be flying to Orlando, so I will need to be more aware of what the luggage weight is...although, if I'm perfectly honest, it won't matter because anything that makes my sweet girl happy, I am going to do.

I so wanted DCL to come to Galveston so I could drive and not worry about luggage and stuff (not to mention a grand or more for airfare). And of course they are but a few months after we move I am looking forward to moving though. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Texas but not a big fan of the Houston area. Just too darn big

Carmen, absolutely we will make it a closed private group. I will have my daughter set up up tomorrow, since you know teenagers are much better at that sort of thing. I will send Scott the link so he has control of the group information. I was thinking that exact thing - it will be a great place for us to keep in touch after the cruise. I am so envious of you all, that is fantastic that you have been able to stay in contact; that's an awesome thing! And also, HOW IN THE WORLD DO YOU KEEP THE SECRET???? I'm busting at the seams already, and my DD and I are constantly checking out port excursions, checking on the status of where the Fantasy is right now...I know I would blow it!

It's been hard and I know it'll be harder as it gets closer. I don't know how many times I've almost mentioned Jessica, Rachel, Julia and Olivia (the girls from the first cruise) will be joining us. And they ask about cruising all the time. Cameron asks about the Mickey Boat weekly! We are going to have to have a new FE as my other two state "Cruising the Magic with Mickey' and "To Panama and Beyond" I mentioned to DD that we need to make another one just to have on hand in case a good cruise deal pops up! I'll just make sure I save the wording for the end! That way, she can join in on the planning with out knowing it.

 

[Silverfox97]

Here's my only problem with the FaceBook group thing~

The cruise we are on in June has a FB page and those of us NOT on it are out of the loop on stuff discussed there. I am interested in trip-related stuff. Here's an example - someone made a post that mentioned being excited for an upcoming group excursion. I was confused, and asked. Apparently, on FB, the group had not only discussed a tour on St. Maarten's, but they had already begun to reserve space It's for a non-DCL excursion. When I asked, they told me it was for Bernard's Tours, which comes highly recommended, and when I looked it up, I was totally interested! You get a tour of "everything" and it's only $40/person!!! If no one mentioned it in passing, I may have never gotten to join. We were able to reserve this excursion as part of the group, but I felt very left out All because we weren't in the FaceBook group.....

So, that's my only thing about FB......If you do it, please keep us in the loop that aren't in it

 

[papertraveller]

Hey Silverfox97 -- I saw your report of your Dream voyage on the main board. I'm curious if you have ever re-shopped a cruise while you are onboard?

I booked this one direct with DCL, but we are sailing on the Magic on March 10 and I wanted to see if I could improve on the price/OBC for this Fantasy sailing. Just wondering if you've ever done this?

Cheers

 

[Silverfox97]

Hey Silverfox97 -- I saw your report of your Dream voyage on the main board. I'm curious if you have ever re-shopped a cruise while you are onboard?

I booked this one direct with DCL, but we are sailing on the Magic on March 10 and I wanted to see if I could improve on the price/OBC for this Fantasy sailing. Just wondering if you've ever done this?

Cheers

I did do this once - we did it in Oct on the Magic for the cruise we just completed on the Dream. What they did was book us a new reservation on board with the on board booking benefits, then when we got back, our travel agent moved the room we wanted to the on board booking and cancelled the original booking. It was a savings of about $50, but then there was the on board credit as well. Piece of cake. (HOWEVER, we ended up getting Florida resident rates for it, so that negated everything.)

Reshop and let them know you are doing it when you sit down with them. What you need is the total price of the cruise (the fare, not including the taxes) to compare to see if you are saving any $. What I recommend you doing, is if you do go ahead and book the reshopped cruise, name a travel agent at the time of booking. That way, you can get the rebooking on board credit, and the travel agent's as well For 7-night cruises, we get $275 from DCL and $200 from our travel agent. That pays for our tips, Palo, and puts a dent it anything else (excursions, drinks of the day, etc.).

Good luck and let me know if I can help you any more

 

[amyngary]

Our DD was born on your wedding day! She doesn't know she'll be turning 14 on the cruise though. Hopefully well be able to keep it a surprise for her and her brother who will turn 7 the day before on the 12th

Carmie - I am catching up on this thread and did a double-take when I read that a 14-year-old would not know her own birthdate! I totally read that wrong, and then when I saw you were the poster, I had to laugh!

I have to say that I'm a little nervous about surprising DD who will turn 13 the day we leave. I hope she isn't disappointed to spend her big 13th on a cruise! She has been talking about her 13th for a couple of years and wants to have a big party too (which we can still do after vacation).

 

[mainstreetmagic]

Here's my only problem with the FaceBook group thing~

The cruise we are on in June has a FB page and those of us NOT on it are out of the loop on stuff discussed there. I am interested in trip-related stuff. Here's an example - someone made a post that mentioned being excited for an upcoming group excursion. I was confused, and asked. Apparently, on FB, the group had not only discussed a tour on St. Maarten's, but they had already begun to reserve space It's for a non-DCL excursion. When I asked, they told me it was for Bernard's Tours, which comes highly recommended, and when I looked it up, I was totally interested! You get a tour of "everything" and it's only $40/person!!! If no one mentioned it in passing, I may have never gotten to join. We were able to reserve this excursion as part of the group, but I felt very left out All because we weren't in the FaceBook group.....

So, that's my only thing about FB......If you do it, please keep us in the loop that aren't in it

I totally understand. Maybe we can do a FB thing after the cruise, so everyone has a chance to keep in touch.

 

[carmie3377]

Carmie - I am catching up on this thread and did a double-take when I read that a 14-year-old would not know her own birthdate! I totally read that wrong, and then when I saw you were the poster, I had to laugh!

I have to say that I'm a little nervous about surprising DD who will turn 13 the day we leave. I hope she isn't disappointed to spend her big 13th on a cruise! She has been talking about her 13th for a couple of years and wants to have a big party too (which we can still do after vacation).

I know she means with her friends from home but we can have a party at dinner! I plan on ordering a cake for one night and we can bring some party supplies. So we don't single anyone out, we could choose a date that none of their bdays fall on. As many as we have, that only leaves a couple of days, lol. So at least they have some kind of party.

I know my kids will be thrilled to spending their bdays on the cruise! Haley and I were looking last night and she was talking about how bad she wanted to go. We looked at several cruises and I told her that it was just too expensive right now. We're trying so hard to play this down.

The one thing though that doesn't thrill Haley is the sail away party. She says they are so boring! Anyone else have a kid that doesn't like the sail away party?

 

[papertraveller]

I did do this once - we did it in Oct on the Magic for the cruise we just completed on the Dream. What they did was book us a new reservation on board with the on board booking benefits, then when we got back, our travel agent moved the room we wanted to the on board booking and cancelled the original booking. It was a savings of about $50, but then there was the on board credit as well. Piece of cake. (HOWEVER, we ended up getting Florida resident rates for it, so that negated everything.)

Reshop and let them know you are doing it when you sit down with them. What you need is the total price of the cruise (the fare, not including the taxes) to compare to see if you are saving any $. What I recommend you doing, is if you do go ahead and book the reshopped cruise, name a travel agent at the time of booking. That way, you can get the rebooking on board credit, and the travel agent's as well For 7-night cruises, we get $275 from DCL and $200 from our travel agent. That pays for our tips, Palo, and puts a dent it anything else (excursions, drinks of the day, etc.).

Good luck and let me know if I can help you any more

Thanks so much for the tips. I've printed out the reservation and will have it with me when I'm sitting down with agent onboard. I'll let you know how I fare!

 

[disneymath]

Hi alll ... add 8 more Canadians to the cruise!

It will be my parents (in their early 60s), me, my sister, my brother-in-law (all mid 30s) and my three nephews (oldest will be a few months shy of 6, the twins will be just shy of 4).

My first cruise (and my parents also) was our 2011 DCL Alaskan voyage ... it was awesome! The only things we decided we needed to do next time were a) bring along my sister's family (we love travelling together and know they will enjoy cruising), and b) go somewhere hot (Alaska in the summer was too much like summer at home)!

If anyone has any tips about cruising with relatively little ones, please share! (The boys are well travelled, having taken multiple long car trips and multiple flights to/from WDW.)

I think the boys would like the FE (and I know the oldest would help his aunt put gifts together), but I am going to hold off on officially signing us up until I have a better idea of just how large the group would be. The logistics of transporting FE stuff for/from 50 let alone 100 cabins is kind of frightening!