February 2, 2008 Eastern early check in

[Gina]

Wahhhh... I have been diligently trying to avoid all the germs at work, but they finally caught up with me Friday. I have been religiously sucking on zinc lozenges every three hours, and the symptoms are definitely not as bad as they could be, but I'm so sleeeepyyy... And my brain feels like it's coated in molasses. This weekend was crunch time, and I didn't get half of everything done that I needed to!

Sorry for the whining... I guess it could be worse, and I could have gotten a cold *next* Friday!!

I know some of you folks are leaving over the next few days to have a little pre-vacation vacation... Have a safe trip, and we'll see you onboard!!


-gina-

 

[Perdie]

Dan and I apent the weekend packing and we are ready to go!!!!!

Not quite sure how we are going to make it through a 9 hour plane ride on Wednesday with all the excitement brewing....but at least they are showing Ratatoille as one of the movies!!!!

We can't wait to get to the World and then onto the Magic!!! We leave in 2 days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OK, and yes it does mean I am only a week away from turning 30
But I think hanging with Goofy and the gang will help me forget

See you all on Saturday!

 

[bostontochicago]

Gina- I hope you feel better! I am so sorry to hear you are sick, this is a crazy week ahead without feeling all run down to start it! Well, atleast you have been preparing for months, and probably are not running around like a crazy person these last few days. I will be thinking of you - maybe take some Zinc, it always works like a charm for me!

 

[jblb1020]

Hello All! My husband and I and our two children have been on this cruise for the last two years!! I am sad to say that we will not be joining you all this year and I will be in a Disney Depression next week. I just wanted to wish you all a great cruise and I hope one of you will be doing a cruise report when you get back so I can hear all about it!! HAVE A SAFE TRIP AND TELL MICKEY WE SAID HELLO!!

 

[Gina]

Gina- I hope you feel better! I am so sorry to hear you are sick, this is a crazy week ahead without feeling all run down to start it! Well, atleast you have been preparing for months, and probably are not running around like a crazy person these last few days. I will be thinking of you - maybe take some Zinc, it always works like a charm for me!

Aww, thanks! I've been hitting the zinc hard, believe me. And I wish I could say I wasn't running around like a crazy person, but thanks to one of my textbooks not arriving on time I am 8 chapters and 2 assignments behind in my British Culture class. This weekend was not only supposed to be spent packing and getting ready, but catching up and getting ahead with school stuff. Instead, I was in bed most of the time. :faint Luckily it's pretty slow here at work this morning, so I'm trying to work on the assignments right now.

I'm pretty sure that what I need is a large amount of coconut rum, to kill the germs from the inside out.


-gina-

 

[christmas]

Gina,

I am sorry you are not feeling well, I hope you get better before we leave. This is the worse week to be sick because there is sooooo much to do. We didn't even get to go to a mardi gras parade this weekend because of packing. Hope to see everyone soon.

noel

 

[LisaSp]

...and we are Florida bound on Friday! WOO HOO!! I have about 10,000 things left to do on my list, but the adrenaline will make me productive!

 

[Chariandlee]

Lisa,

We are flying to florida out of Balto. on Friday as well. If you see a family at BWI with about a million suitcases that would be us. Have a safe flight.

Chari

 

[LisaSp]

Lisa,

We are flying to florida out of Balto. on Friday as well. If you see a family at BWI with about a million suitcases that would be us. Have a safe flight.

Chari

Southwest or AirTran? We are flying AirTran and will have way too much too!! Are you staying at CI&S Fri nite? We are!! Have a safe flight as well!

Lisa

 

[Gina]

Gina,

I am sorry you are not feeling well, I hope you get better before we leave. This is the worse week to be sick because there is sooooo much to do. We didn't even get to go to a mardi gras parade this weekend because of packing. Hope to see everyone soon.

noel

Thanks, Noel! I swear by the zinc, and it seems to be working it's magic. I'm feeling better now, my cough is even fading, and it has only been 3 1/2 days. Now I just have to hope that my sense of taste returns by Saturday! LOL (Side effect of the zinc)


Chari ~ I'm glad we won't be the only ones looking like we're moving to the Caribbean! Two big suitcases, two rolling pilot cases, a soft attache, and a big straw bag -- for two people. But I've never been one for that packing-light stuff... Heck, the snorkel gear alone takes up half a big suitcase! If I ever go backpacking through Nepal or something, I'll pack light.


-gina-

 

[Chariandlee]

Southwest or AirTran? We are flying AirTran and will have way too much too!! Are you staying at CI&S Fri nite? We are!! Have a safe flight as well!

Lisa

Lisa,

We are flying Airtran at 2:00. I am not sure what CI&S is. We are staying at the Sheraton Suites about a mile from the Orlando airport. This is our first cruise and I was a little lost when planning it. I figured we would stay at that hotel and then take the shuttle back to the airport the next morning to catch our transfer to the port.

Chari

 

[Chariandlee]

Chari ~ I'm glad we won't be the only ones looking like we're moving to the Caribbean! Two big suitcases, two rolling pilot cases, a soft attache, and a big straw bag -- for two people. But I've never been one for that packing-light stuff... Heck, the snorkel gear alone takes up half a big suitcase! If I ever go backpacking through Nepal or something, I'll pack light.


-gina-[/QUOTE]


Gina,

I hope you are feeling better by Saturday. I feel for you with the luggage. We have 2 adults and 2 kids and we have 5 suitcases to check and we each have a carry-on bag for the plane. Maybe I should take some rope so I can tie the suitcases over the balcony on the ship because I have no idea where we are going to put all of them.

 

[Gina]

We are staying at the Sheraton Suites about a mile from the Orlando airport. This is our first cruise and I was a little lost when planning it. I figured we would stay at that hotel and then take the shuttle back to the airport the next morning to catch our transfer to the port.

Chari

That's what we're doing, Chari! We're staying at the Wingate Inn near the airport, and plan on getting back to the airport in time to catch that first bus to the terminal. Maybe we'll see you in line!


-gina-

 

[LisaSp]

We will beat you--our flight is 11 am! CI&S is Country Inn and Suites at Cape Canaveral. As far as luggage goes, we will be checking at least 5-6 bags plus the kids each have a rolling suitcase carry on and I have a backpack!! Ack!

 

[Chariandlee]

That's what we're doing, Chari! We're staying at the Wingate Inn near the airport, and plan on getting back to the airport in time to catch that first bus to the terminal. Maybe we'll see you in line!


-gina-

Gina,

Exactly what time does the first bus leave the terminal?

Chari

 

[Chariandlee]

We will beat you--our flight is 11 am! CI&S is Country Inn and Suites at Cape Canaveral. As far as luggage goes, we will be checking at least 5-6 bags plus the kids each have a rolling suitcase carry on and I have a backpack!! Ack!

I am sooo glad to hear that other people have tons of luggage too. I feel like I am taking wayyyyyy more clothes than we have ever taken on a trip before.
We usaully take vacations to all-inclusive resorts and it doesn't seem like we need to pack as much "dressy clothes" for that. Not to mention the pirate costumes for the kids and my daughters Cinderella dress.

 

[LisaSp]

I am a notorious overpacker, as is my DH. But I just want to be prepared and I *refuse* to do laundry on the ship! I actually do try to not overpack for this type of trip, but somehow we still will end up with at least 5 bags. Then my mom gave me the idea to pack a duffel bag full of all of our shoes--ya know, shoes can be heavy and weigh down your other bags (potentially making them over the 50 lb limit), but a bag full of just shoes probably will not approach 50 lbs. So if I do the shoe bag, I am looking at a strong possibility of 6 checked bags. Oh well.

 

[Smooch]

Good to hear I'm not the only one with packing problems! How many pairs of flip-flops does a 9 year old really need????? The realization of how fast she is growing up really hit me hard when she tried to pack more clothes and shoes than I did.

Someone mentioned snorkeling gear - I found it easier to just pack the masks & snorkels; leave the fins at home because they are huge and heavy. It's easy & cheap to rent comfortable fins but a well-fitting mask is a must and I have a problem with "used" snorkel mouthpieces.

I'm still debating whether or not to bring a carseat or rent one. DS3 is a maniac so the 5 point harness will keep him in his plane seat..plus then I won't have to rent one for the car. It is another huge item to drag along through the airports though.

 

[Gina]

Someone mentioned snorkeling gear - I found it easier to just pack the masks & snorkels; leave the fins at home because they are huge and heavy. It's easy & cheap to rent comfortable fins but a well-fitting mask is a must and I have a problem with "used" snorkel mouthpieces.

Yah, I know, but DS and I love our respective fins and are used to hauling all the stuff around. But I DID just remember, at 3am while I was busy coughing and not sleeping, that I forgot to pack my shoes for formal night!! So it would have been a toss-up between the snorkel fins or the pink Mickey Crocs with my sparkly black dress.



Chari ~
I was told the first bus leaves at 10am, but I am holding out hope that it will leave sooner. We're going to get boarding group #93 or something. BUT... there's an excitement in taking the DCL bus that we wanted to experience again after renting a car the past couple of times, so that's our trade-off.


-gina-

 

[christmas]

I am glad to know I am not the only one to overpack. With 2 adults and 2 kids we need alot of stuff. We are driving to the cape on Friday and are staying at the radisson at the port within one mile. I hope we can see the ship from the hotel.

Gina glad you are feeling better.

noel