February 19, 2011 Magic Western - Presidents of the Caribbean!

[Kris10luvsDisney]

And now for something completely different:

who among us are early risers (like me)

anybody expecting to do excursions? which ones?

when will you be booking hotel stay (IF you are arriving early)?

which decks are we scattered among?

Hello everyone!

I have been MIA for a little bit...my kids sports schedules have started again and I seem to have no time for my DIS fix!

Our kids don't tend to sleep late EVER, so I imagine we will be early risers. We have done this itinerary before on Princess, but this is the first time with the kiddos so we are planning on taking advantage of the shore excursions.

We are flying down on the Thursday before the cruise and staying 2 nts at WDW, then we will take their bus to the port.

Our cabin is on deck 7, we are booked in a Cat. 9A

p.s. we are almost under 300 days until our cruise!!!

 

[eggarstevens]

Great to hear someone will be taking control for us..this will be our first time , and this really sounds like a great little extra for everyone
Chris (33) Kristin (33) May (6) Morgan (3)
keep us updated if this will be just for kids, or for kids and adults so we know how to buy gifts!!

 

[DENISEES]

I think the kids will get the most out of the FEs but maybe some little things for the grown ups too?--- so maybe the adults can get a little something along the way--not every day or however it goes---- like for the kids....I am saying this only bc I found some cute things for us adults...(adult beverage oriented!)..but I dont think we have to do an "official" adult FE unless we all want to? up to you all though.....just let me know how many lists I have to make!----also have to get working on my FE huh??? I have seen some great ones on the boards - and even though I am quite the "Martha"- I cant sew so I will try to be as crafty as possible.....

 

[wcw57]

DENISE: Works is part of Microsoft office package.....it allows you to make charts with columns and stuff....very hi-tech to those of us old-timers



On this chart I humbly suggest you arrange it by room # (so they will appear in numerical order) and then by name and then age and then (if adult) if participating in adult FE (which I will not)....be creative, be smart and be cool.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE VOLUNTEER WORK! I SALUTE YOU!!!!!

I will buy you a hot dog when we get on the ship.

maybe people will tell me who has:
1-cruised before (# of times)
2-cruised with disney before (# of times)
3-are cruise virgins
4-are DCL virgins


I am a pure virgin....I DID take the Staten Island Ferry once....does that count?

hope you all have a great weekend.......I go now to paint my spare bedroom.

 

[maronvin]

We are pure cruise virgins - first cruise ever!! So excited! Thank you to denisees for taking on the job of FE director - I was going to volunteer tonight, but you beat me too it!!
We are early risers and are looking forward to shore excursions. We have heard from others that the Dolphin excursion is a lot of fun. Haven't had much time to look into the excursions b/c of work and the kids schedules - planning to do that on my off time this summer, but would love to hear any suggestions you all might have

 

[The Bad Witch]

OK thanks to Denise for volunteering for the FE director! I'll give you my info as soon as you get set and let us know.

Our stateroom is 7545. We've NEVER cruised before despite DH begging me to do so. I've always been leery but then we had kids, fell in love with Disney all over again and thought this was a perfect opportunity to "do" Disney again without the parks. I've never heard one person tell me that they didn't have an amazing vacation on a Disney Cruise. We're so excited!

As far as excursions go....other than biking around CC, I don't have anything planned at this time. I seriously wanna lay my butt on the beach and soak up the sun and the beautiful scenery. I'm open to amazing suggestions but again, cant see myself venturing out too far into the country as far as Mexico goes.

 

[wcw57]

Maronvin: is this really vin or the lovely DW? I'm guessing wifey since vin works year-round (i think) for county.....by the way, which yard?

bad witch: thanx for the info...i'll be starting cruise virgin list soon.

mexico is OK so long as you're not near the U.S. boarder BUT it still is a big poop hole which does nothing (little) to discourage the boarder-war problems.....not political, just fact


I, personally, am not one to sit on a beach for very long....us sweaty people don't like getting coated with sand like so much shake & bake chicken

I DO plan on doing a lot of stuff on the boat.....On CC I would like to take my DGD (Little ZuZu) on the big hot wheels lookin' thing out in the water

My DD LOVES to roast by the pool.....you'll know her by the coach handbag look by the end of the cruise

maronvin: names and ages of friends who will be cruising with you? Long Islanders?

hope all are well



look at our tickers!

WE'LL BE BUSTING THROUGH THE 300 MARK SOON!!!!!!!!!!

YEA!

 

[maronvin]

Bill,
You hit the nail on the head...that was the DW. You can tell by the font, I can't do anything fancy like that and your right I have to work during the summer.

Our friends are Keith and Dawn and they have a DS, Nick who will be 9 and DD, Brianna who will also be 9. And yes they are another group of Long Islanders.

So when is the pre-cruise party?

 

[wcw57]

vin: work at the yaphank yard...we know a few people there......

wow! pre-cruise party?

that will be tough because of the proximity to the holidays, i think.....HOWEVER, january is a looooooong month.....

if i remember correctly, there are a LOT of LI'ers, some upstaters, and out-of-towners. NYC seems to be the logistical answer IF someone were to try to arrange such a thing....seems to me, vin, that your DW was ready to volunteer for the FE director position and now has nothing to do....

thanx for the info regarding your friends

 

[Kris10luvsDisney]

we will most likely be taking a direct flight from Albany NY to Orlando...does anyone suggest spending the extra money to fly in the night before and staying at a hotel? also, has anyone used a limo for transfers instead of the Disney bus? would be intrested to hear from mroe experienced cruisers on both subjects!!! Thanks

and I already started picking things up for the FE..so lets keep the intrest alive!!

wcw57---we decided to book directly through DCL for now..if we find a better deal, we can always transfer the reservation. the folks in Texas just seemed a little sketchy and I didt want to risk it

Before I had kids I worked as a travel agent and I would def. recommend going a day early if you can. With the crazy NY winter weather, there is nothing worse than being stranded in an airport and not making it to port in time to meet the ship. I can't tell you how many times I had clients who missed getting to the ship and had to meet up with it later in the itinerary. Not a fun way to start your trip!

As far as shore excursions I would like to take my kids to see the turtle farm in Grand Cayman. I'd also like to do Stingray city, but with them being only 8 & 5 at time of sailing it might be a little overwhelming for them. We may just try to see the stingrays at CC. Anyone have any suggestions for kid friendly Key West sights?

 

[wcw57]

kid friendly in Key West? a lot depends on what your kids like....a LOT of Key West is shops and BARS....

I personally liked the tour train/trolley....pay, get on and off as you wish, buy kitschy touristy souvenirs, get back off at starting point.....do a google search and see where the trolley goes.

avoid hemingway museum with the kids....
there was a shack-type restaurant made from corrugated steel where you write your names on the wall....burgers and fries and fried conch...very cool.

not sure if we'll be there for sundown but there is the big festival (crazy) at Duvall Street (I think) and that's a LOT of fun

other than that, at Key West there are a LOT of BARS!

 

[travisx4]

Denise
I have not been on the boards for awhile and I can see you took on the FE project. If you are overwhemled by it let me know. We have done these in the past and it is now old hat. The only tough part was keeping track of cruisers changing cabins on embarkation day. For you NY'ers we went into the city on Good Friday to visit the MOMA. Ended up walking throughout the city as it was a beautiful day. We went to Rockefeller center, times square, Gramercy park and walked up Park Ave. I still do not know how anyone deals with the driving there.

For the ports. Not much to do in Key West. Walk around the shops and wait for the sunset at Mallory square. We did the trolley last time and we all thought it was quite expensive and boring. For Grand Cayman we went to Stingray City by jetski's. We had a great time. You spend about half an hour at the site and then head over to Run Point beach. Lot's of jetski time and some great sites. For Cozumel I am thinking on heading over to Chakabaub state park. You can swim with the dolphins there and some tablemates raved about doing this the last time.

 

[Kris10luvsDisney]

kid friendly in Key West? a lot depends on what your kids like....a LOT of Key West is shops and BARS....

I personally liked the tour train/trolley....pay, get on and off as you wish, buy kitschy touristy souvenirs, get back off at starting point.....do a google search and see where the trolley goes.

avoid hemingway museum with the kids....
there was a shack-type restaurant made from corrugated steel where you write your names on the wall....burgers and fries and fried conch...very cool.

not sure if we'll be there for sundown but there is the big festival (crazy) at Duvall Street (I think) and that's a LOT of fun

other than that, at Key West there are a LOT of BARS!

I know Key West & kids shouldn't be in the same sentence...lol I know what I would like to do if they weren't with me!! (parked at a bar on Duval St. people watching) I thought I had read that you could rent bikes and toot around town for a few hours. My kids love to bike ride, but the thought of my DS biking in Key West is a little scary! We may just take a few hours to walk around get some souvenirs, take a picture at the buoy thingy and hopefully we will get to take in one of those famous sunsets I keep hearing so much about!

Thanks for the heads-up on the museum Bill. I think we will skip that for this visit

 

[mdezot]

We were finally able to convince DH to let us book a cruise....and so here we are.

Monique=37
DH Mike=38
DS=Jacob 10 at cruise time
DD=Elise 9 at cruise time

We are all first timers and would also appreciate any info/ suggestions.
Booked Deck 5

 

[wcw57]

MDEZOT:

WELCOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
cool1:


where on deck 5 are you....we're in 5518 howdy neighbor



i have a nephew who lives in Boston...doing grad work at Northeastern....he's pretty brainy....gets it from my side of the family

 

[travisx4]

Monique

What part of Mass. are you from? We are in the Taunton area.

 

[mdezot]

Good Morning,

We are about 45 minutes from Boston. We took the kids into the city to see their first game at Fenway Tuesday night. ( Please do not hate us New Yorkers we have friends that like the Yankees).

We actually live much closer to Providence- Right down the road (rt 44) from Taunton.

We are really excited about coming. We have taken the kids to Disney several times but DH needs a break from the parks. He said when you know where every bathroom is without a map it is time for a break. lol

We are booked in room 5013. I did a search and it said that some people request that room so I hope it is a good one. Not that I have anything to compare it to. I like that it is right down the hall from the oceaneer's lab. That should be convenient. My kids are all excited to have some kid fun without us....should I feel upset?

I have questions about FE's. If our kids participate- do we distribute things to everyone everyday....or only 1 day?? What kinds of stuff is involved. Would I need another bag to get this stuff home??? TIA Monique

 

[wcw57]

ATTN: FELLOW CRUISERS!!!



WE ARE OFFICIALLY THROUGH THE 300 DAY MARK!!!!!!!!!!!! ))


you may now resume your regularly scheduled celebration

 

[wcw57]

wow.....2 days and no activity

 

[vavalynn2]

I have been away from the thread for some time. Seems like a lot of planning going on. We (DH and I) just returned from a week in central Florida- half the time with family, the other half at WDW! We had a great time!!

So now that we are back I took out the Feb 19th cruise folder. So far, there is not much in it- just my reservation and two car rentals- one to port, one from port.

Flights seem to be outrageous , so we will wait and see what happens.

I know this will sound crazy- but we are upstate new yorkers and boston fans. My family loves the yankees so it always makes baseball season difficult.

Lastly, I am glad to see we are past the 300 day mark!