Fantasy Western April 28, 2012

[aseyrick]

Ok, I actually read through this entire thread and am surprised to see how short it actually is when we're only 6 months away from sailing!! Any idea why? Don't get me wrong, the comments re: the 20 servers sitch doesn't sound too bad to me.

Tad bit about us ... we've been on 5 cruises, 1 of which was the Magic last November (also W. Caribb), and we were hooked. We would've been on the same cruise this year except I found an awesome deal on a vacation in Mexico, so we went that route instead. Glad we did. It was absolutely amazing. With that said, we're all itching to get back on another DCL cruise. What better way to scratch that itch than on their newest ship??

Anyway, we're from St. Louis. (Yes, home of the World Series Champs!!) We'll be celebrating my birthday + our anniversary (which was also on my birthday). We're soooo excited! (esp. our 4-yo DS who cried when we left Mexico and still said that he rather go on the Disney cruise).

Someone had some questions/concerns re: FE (fish extenders). The last cruise we were on I think we had close to 60 participants. While it seemed like a large number, it was so fun to come back to your room each day and get surprised by whatever goody(ies) left in your FE. Frankly, that was 1 of the biggest highlights of our cruise! Note - it doesn't necessarily have to be huge. The gifts ranged from Disney-inspired handbags to custom luggage tags to bookmarks to pirate tatoos and little treats for the kiddos. The super neat ones have something from their home town or something hand-made with the cruise date and/or logo sewn, ironed, printed on. It's amazing how creative and crafty some of these folks can get. I kept everything from our last trip in a box, and my DS and I still go through it occassionally. Plus, my DS had a blast delivering the goodies. We'd deliver to a deck each day so as to not take up too much time.

Anyway, we're looking forward to meeting everyone in 6 months. Take good care & Happy Thanksgiving!!

Annabel

 

[taswira]

Ok, I actually read through this entire thread and am surprised to see how short it actually is when we're only 6 months away from sailing!! Any idea why?>>>

No idea really. This thread as of this post has 242 posts. The thread for the 15 Dec. 2012 Fantasy I'm on has 565 posts. The thread for my 2/2/12 sailing on the Dream has only 110 posts. How's that for inactive?

Sometimes a meet thread ends up with people who may lurk but are not chatty. Then there are those who are iffy and may cancel or switch to a different sail date. There are also those who may only want to be with their family or friends and don't want to get involved with people they've never met. The most active meet threads I've seen are when there are several on that cruise who have previously sailed together so have met and are more comfortable communicating. I don't think we have that here, so I guess what we need is some people with bubbly personalities to get the banter going.

 

[aseyrick]

Hmmm ... well, let's get this party started! My dancing banana is getting down to "Let's Get It Started" by The Black Eyed Peas.

Our our last cruise, I think the thread had over 100 pages. Took me several weeks to catch up. I think by the time we set sail, at least 30% of the cruisers knew each other's major celebration dates, family ailments, work issue, etc. Not that I'm suggesting everyone start using this as the "psychiatrist's bench," but it was nice to know a few folks (esp. those with little ones whom I can introduce to my little guy) beforehand. Since it was our 1st cruise with our DS, I was very apprehensive about putting him in the Oceaneer's Club with a whole bunch of strangers. Afterwards, I wrote a huge article about how awesome it was and that parents need not worry. While I stayed with him on most occassions, the few times I didn't, I had to literally pry him out kicking and screaming.

Question for you vet Dreamers ... what were the restaurant rotations? I'm assuming Fantasy will be similar?? My guess is there'll be plenty of posts in March & April with these type of inquiries for those who sailed on Fantasy.

As I'm looking out my gloomy, rainy window at my office (yes, I'm shirking a bit. Too hard to concentrate with both Thanksgiving and this cruise on my mind), I sooo want to go to a warm, sunny spot elsewhere.

Ok, enough daydreaming. Have a good one, folks!

 

[kyla]

fellow Fabulous Fantasy Fiesta-goers....
my 17 y.o. DD, Victoria, is having surgery tomorrow. Through 6 months of nausea, dabilitating pain, and multiple medical procedures, we have finally determined that her gall bladder aint working and must come out.
Pixie dust welcomed! We're hoping that this finally puts an end to the agony she has been in this year, and puts her in good standing to be healthy for the cruise!

Hope the surgery went well and your daughter is feeling better. I didn't know that a gall bladder causes nausea. I was having pains and nausea and the docs thought gall bladder but once they xrayed, they decided not. They never did figure out what my problem was. Luckily it went away.

 

[kyla]

Question for you vet Dreamers ... what were the restaurant rotations? I'm assuming Fantasy will be similar?? My guess is there'll be plenty of posts in March & April with these type of inquiries for those who sailed on Fantasy.

Just got back from 10 days in Hawaii and back in cold cloudy Portland. So now I can concentrate on the cruise.

Ok, on the Disney Dream the dinner rotation was Animator Palates (Fantasy is going to be different than the Dream); Enchanted Garden and Royal Palace.

 

[aseyrick]

I really hate to do this, but we had to change our cruise dates to May 12 because my husband just found out that his semi-annual international conference is scheduled for the last week of April. I do wish all of you tons of fun and hope to see you on another cruise!!

Take care,
Annabel

 

[ThePhantomsGirl]

I really hate to do this, but we had to change our cruise dates to May 12 because my husband just found out that his semi-annual international conference is scheduled for the last week of April. I do wish all of you tons of fun and hope to see you on another cruise!!

Take care
Annabel

Sorry to see you go! Have fun on the cruise you do go on!

 

[aseyrick]

To you as well!!

 

[taswira]

Well, Annabel - Now we're losing our bubbly party starter! What will we do to inspire activity on this thread?

Have a good one!

 

[cruisevirgin]

This is my first cruise and am very excited to participate in the FE exchange. I would be happy to volunteer to organize the FE if I know exactly WHAT I'm organizing! How often to people exchange? Do you exchange with only one family, or more than one? If someone fills me in, I am quite organized and could set us up.

How do people contact me? Do I set up an e-mail? Do people exchange with like-aged children?

 

[o&smom]

This is my first cruise and am very excited to participate in the FE exchange. I would be happy to volunteer to organize the FE if I know exactly WHAT I'm organizing! How often to people exchange? Do you exchange with only one family, or more than one? If someone fills me in, I am quite organized and could set us up.

How do people contact me? Do I set up an e-mail? Do people exchange with like-aged children?

Welcome! Welcome! Welcome! How exciting for your first cruise! This will be my families' 3rd - all on Disney. This will only be our 2nd time with FE, but I will let you know what I know. Every room signed up for the FE exchanges with everyone. Some people do one gift per room and some people do a gift
for each person in the room. It is entirely up to you. Check out the FE thread here on disboards for lots of great ideas. From what I experienced on our last cruise, the organizer makes sure that there is an updated list of all FE participants (which is already on our great cruise site). She also had a planned meeting time for all cruisers to meet at one of the lounges which was
fun. It is also important for us to pick a cut off date about a month before the cruise so that we all can plan and pack the gifts.

Marni

 

[taswira]

Welcome to our new cruisers!

cruisevirgin - Thank you for volunteering to organize the FE! If you are certain you want this responsibility (I'm only saying that because it is your first cruise and first FE experience - lol) then after you sign up on our cruiser list on our cruise website, I will edit it to note that you are the FE organizer.

o&smom - Thank you answering cruisevirgin's inquiry about the FE. I have never participated so was hoping someone with experience would reply.

Happy Holidays to all!

 

[krhardy]

Merry Christmas to all our fellow cruisers!!
I hope everybody has a restful day tomorrow!

I've been dreadful about checking in here...can't believe how close we are.
Victoria (my DD) has recovered beautifully from her surgery (yeah!)...she is still hammering out her diet-what she can eat and how much of it and when she should avoid certain foods. But, she woke up the very next day already feeling better than she had in over a year even though she was in pain. She feels well enough to have taken-and passed with flying colors-her drivers test yesterday. Looks like we'll be in great shape for the cruise!

Time to kick the planning into high gear.

 

[ThePhantomsGirl]

Merry Christmas everyone! Happy Holidays and I wish everyone a very happy day for whatever you celebrate!

Our cruise IS getting close. I haven't quite kicked into high gear for it yet because Shari and I are both going on the Dream 2/2/12. However, I am really, really looking forward to this April cruise. It will be a 7 day cruise after all!

 

[cruisevirgin]

Taswira, I have already signed up on your site! I am Hali, with family Todd, Ainslie and Kendra. Put me as the organizer and I'll arrange it.

Welcome! Welcome! Welcome! How exciting for your first cruise! This will be my families' 3rd - all on Disney. This will only be our 2nd time with FE, but I will let you know what I know. Every room signed up for the FE exchanges with everyone. Some people do one gift per room and some people do a gift
for each person in the room. It is entirely up to you. Check out the FE thread here on disboards for lots of great ideas. From what I experienced on our last cruise, the organizer makes sure that there is an updated list of all FE participants (which is already on our great cruise site). She also had a planned meeting time for all cruisers to meet at one of the lounges which was
fun. It is also important for us to pick a cut off date about a month before the cruise so that we all can plan and pack the gifts.

Marni

 

[taswira]

Taswira, I have already signed up on your site! I am Hali, with family Todd, Ainslie and Kendra. Put me as the organizer and I'll arrange it.

Okay, thank you, I just did that. However, I know that you need to have made at least 10 posts on the Dis before you are able to private message anyone. I don't know if they will be able to contact you before that or not.

 

[cruisevirgin]

Thanks Taswira, I didn't know about the minimum number of messages before a private message can be sent. I'll post a few more over the next few days!

Okay, thank you, I just did that. However, I know that you need to have made at least 10 posts on the Dis before you are able to private message anyone. I don't know if they will be able to contact you before that or not.

 

[cruisevirgin]

It sounds like we'll have to pack an extra suitcase just for FE stuff!

Ok, I actually read through this entire thread and am surprised to see how short it actually is when we're only 6 months away from sailing!! Any idea why? Don't get me wrong, the comments re: the 20 servers sitch doesn't sound too bad to me.

Tad bit about us ... we've been on 5 cruises, 1 of which was the Magic last November (also W. Caribb), and we were hooked. We would've been on the same cruise this year except I found an awesome deal on a vacation in Mexico, so we went that route instead. Glad we did. It was absolutely amazing. With that said, we're all itching to get back on another DCL cruise. What better way to scratch that itch than on their newest ship??

Anyway, we're from St. Louis. (Yes, home of the World Series Champs!!) We'll be celebrating my birthday + our anniversary (which was also on my birthday). We're soooo excited! (esp. our 4-yo DS who cried when we left Mexico and still said that he rather go on the Disney cruise).

Someone had some questions/concerns re: FE (fish extenders). The last cruise we were on I think we had close to 60 participants. While it seemed like a large number, it was so fun to come back to your room each day and get surprised by whatever goody(ies) left in your FE. Frankly, that was 1 of the biggest highlights of our cruise! Note - it doesn't necessarily have to be huge. The gifts ranged from Disney-inspired handbags to custom luggage tags to bookmarks to pirate tatoos and little treats for the kiddos. The super neat ones have something from their home town or something hand-made with the cruise date and/or logo sewn, ironed, printed on. It's amazing how creative and crafty some of these folks can get. I kept everything from our last trip in a box, and my DS and I still go through it occassionally. Plus, my DS had a blast delivering the goodies. We'd deliver to a deck each day so as to not take up too much time.

Anyway, we're looking forward to meeting everyone in 6 months. Take good care & Happy Thanksgiving!!

Annabel

 

[cruisevirgin]

Has anyone ordered the CD of photos? It's listed at $300 which seems really high to me. Are there really that many pictures taken on the ship?

 

[o&smom]

It sounds like we'll have to pack an extra suitcase just for FE stuff!

Remember to go with what you are comfortable with. Especially as this is your first cruise. FE gifts are entirely up to you and can be one per cabin or per person. On our first cruise we gave candy to all of the kids and a personalized photo album to each cabin. My favorite thread for FE gifts is the "handmade FE gift" thread. I find it easiest to access by googling handmade FE gifts instead of searching the Disboards.

Marni