February 18, 2012 Western Caribbean

[Nicsmom]

OOOH! The Walt Disney Suite! That must have been nice to see!

It was very nice. Lots of bedrooms and bathrooms. Huge living room and dining room, piano. They had all kinds of special party food and drinks which I believe were "free". It's very hard to book this suite. Maybe we'll get lucky and a Diser will be in the suite for our cruise and invite us for drinks.

 

[jasec2]

That would be nice! One time when I parents were cruising on RC ( I believe) there was a problem with their room and they were upgraded to a suite with a butler. Sure it's nothing compared to the disney suite but they were pretty impressed with it!when my husband and I cruised to Hawaii for our honeymoon we had a balcony for the first time and loved it. It was so nice to sit out there and watch the world go by. We are traveling with our two young children so I didn't want a balcony on this trip because I was too nervous about them.

 

[Pixi Stix]

My family, me, DH, DS(16 at time of cruise), DS(10 at time of cruise) will be joining you on the Magic in February. This will be our second DCL cruise. Our first was an Eastern (St. Thomas/St. Croix) in October 2009 on the Magic and we are looking forward to the Western itinerary. I did not participate in an FE exchange on our first cruise, but would like to this time if there is enough interest.

 

[msnoble]

Welcome to all of the folks who've joined over the last couple of months! I have been a little absent from this thread, trying to get ready for our trip to Alaska on the Wonder next month

I would be happy to organize an FE group for this trip--although right now I am *still* trying to figure out my FE gifts for next month Unless of course Cindy (jestersgypsy) wants to spear-head the organization, in which case I'm happy to step aside It is also fun to have a meet-up on the afternoon of embarkation day for folks from the Disboards, and I'd be happy to set that up as well.

Thoughts?

Maureen

 

[jasec2]

I would be up for an FE and meet. Not sure how inventive my FE gifts would be with my two little ones helping but it would be fun! Enjoy your Alaska trip and we can figure it out when you get back. When do you go?

 

[msnoble]

Hi Jessica--
We are on the Aug. 16th Alaska cruise, so almost exactly 6 months before this Western Caribbean cruise. We are really excited! I think I have my FE stuff all lined up--I'm keeping it very basic and light weight, since we're flying all the way out to Vancouver. I went kind of overboard with the FE stuff on my first cruise, but that FE group was smaller and so it wasn't such a big deal. Really anything is great--the fun is really in the delivering of your trinkets and then coming back to your own room and finding the pockets of your own FE contain some surprises

As far as a meet-up for this cruise, there is a really nice "secret deck" on Deck 7 Aft (all the way at the back of the ship)--and I thought it would be fun to have everyone who may be interested meet there around 3 or 3:30. It's especially a great chance for the somewhat older kids to make some connections before heading to the club/lab/Edge/Stack. I know on other meet threads folks have also created closed or private groups on Facebook to be able to share photos and other details in a somewhat more secure setting than the DISboards (though nothing is ever truly private on the internet!). I'd also be happy to set up a private group like that if lots of folks here are on Facebook and have an interest.

Hope everyone has a great weekend, and is enjoying summer so far!
Maureen

 

[Nicsmom]

Hi Maureen,

Thank you for volunteering to organize the FE. I've just recently learned about the FE. It sounds like a lot of fun. I do have a few questions about it though. Do you make/buy one gift for each cabin? person in the cabin? There's a thread out there that shows what other cruisers have done. Some of the gifts are for children and others are for adults.

I also like the idea of meeting. If we meet at 3ish, would we miss the "sail away" party? I think my son would want to see Mickey. Are you thinking a quick meet and then walk over to the party?

You must be so excited to be going on the Alaska cruise...right around the corner. We're going to Disney for a few days in August...makes waiting until February a little easier.

Thanks again!!

 

[jasec2]

Hi Maureen,
Have fun in Alaska. My Aunt is there right now and loves it. Everyone who has gone there has really loved it so I am sure your cruise would be wonderful.
That would be nice about the private FACEBOOK page thing. No clue how to set it up so if you could do it , that would be nice! I am an Facebook so we can see who else is there as well. I would love to see pics from Alaska so that would be a greta way to see them as well.

 

[jestersgypsy]

Happy Summertime to DISBoard friends!!!!

The weather here is between 90 to 100 degrees here!

Maureen, I hope you have a fabulous time on the Alaskan Cruise! I want to hear all about it when you return!!! It does not matter to me whether you or I spear head the FE Exchange...since you started the thread for this cruise, you decide Either way, the most important thing is for everyone interested to list the names of the people in the cabin and the ages of the kids along with what they are into, candy they like, etc....It makes it easier to formulate a plan of attack!

Until next time,

Cindy

 

[pmbunny]

Hi there! We recently booked our cruise for Feb. 18. It will be our second Disney cruise. Thought I'd come on here and see if I can get to know others before we go We used our DVC points, and with leaving on President's Day weekend, the kids will only miss 4 days of school, instead of 6. Our oldest son (will be 18 come October) isn't real keen on missing school, but since he's a senior, won't have many more chances to come along on these big family vacations. We've got 4 other boys, ages (at time of cruise anyways) 17, 14, and 13.

We live in Michigan's upper peninsula, and I have to tell you, I am already looking forward to a nice warm cruise mid February!
-Robin

 

[nboicepardee]

Happy to see a fellow New Yorker getting out of the snow in February! Our girls are basically the same ages, so I'm sure if they are in the Lab/Club we will run into each other!

We had to cancel the cruise this year. My husband wasn't able to get away from work that week. Have a great trip!

 

[pmbunny]

Our oldest son (will be 18 come October) isn't real keen on missing school, but since he's a senior, won't have many more chances to come along on these big family vacations. We've got 4 other boys, ages (at time of cruise anyways) 17, 14, and 13.

-Robin

Guess I should have said 3 other boys... We've got a total of 4 all together

 

[jasec2]

4 boys! God bless you! I have two ( alot younger than yours though- 2and 4) but they drive me crazy!! Love them to pieces though.

 

[jasec2]

We had to cancel the cruise this year. My husband wasn't able to get away from work that week. Have a great trip!

Sorry to hear that! Maybe next year??

 

[Pixi Stix]

Welcome pmbunny! I have three boys and at the time of the cruise they will be 19, 16 and 10. Only the 16 year old and 10 year old will be on our cruise (my oldest just does not like the idea of being on a boat in the middle of the ocean). I teach kindergarten and I know how you feel about the kids missing days of school. It just happens that we are out the whole week for winter break. We did an Eastern on the Magic in October 2009 during our fall break and it was great. I'm hoping cruising in winter will be just as fun. Of course I was very sea sick the first two days and hope not to repeat that this time! Anyway, it's nice to know there will be some teenagers around my son's age.

 

[jasec2]

ok, we are just about at the 6 month mark. I think I am driving my husband crazy with how excited I am about the cruise! This is our first vacation with our boys and our first real vacation in years. Just had to share my excitement!!

 

[Pixi Stix]

I am so excited too! I keep checking here every couple of days to see if anyone else has posted. I am going to surprise my boys with the cruise so it's hard keeping it to myself. They are very suspicious though because I have been searching excursions and looking at old navigators. Can't wait!

 

[jasec2]

Hi Pixi Stix-
I think my family thinks I am nuts! I keep going on the boards, making magnets for the door and coming up with different t-shirt designs! Our boys will be 3 and 4.5 at the time of cruising and this is our first trip together. My parents are coming too so we have connecting rooms. We haven't gone too many places since we had the boys so this is a big deal to me. Can't wait!!!
Jessica

 

[rubbergypsy]

just booked this cruise today with my disney vacation club points. it will be my 2nd magic cruise. we did eastern in 2009. we have also done 2 3 night wonder and 1 4 night wonder. we are a group of 7 and all vacation club members. it will be me, Liz and my dd 11 my friend Debbie and her dd 15 dd12 ds 9 qnd my other friend Kay. 3 staterooms in all. we all did this in 2009 and had a great time. we all also participated in a fe exchange and that was a lot of fun.. looking forward to seeing more on this thread.

 

[Pixi Stix]

Welcome rubbergypsy!

I also cruised on the Magic in October 09. We were on the Eastern October 10-17. Were you also on that one?

Only six months two days to go! Can't wait!

Dena