February 7, 2004 Eastern

[Cyberkashi]

Annie,

which day(s) are high tea on this cruise?

 

[Annie12345]

I believe High Tea is on all of the sea days...

HADD

 

[Cyberkashi]

I just noticed your tag line about Fidelio. My DH really likes him a lot. We both thought he was a riot. You should have seen him the night I left him a large tip with the request to play "Sweet Transvestite" from the Rocky Horror Picture Show.

 

[disneygal58]

Happy Ten Week Countdown!
By Florida standards it is a bit chilly at the moment - got "down" to high 40s last night and will only make it up to the low 70s today. I find it amusing to watch co-workers buddle up in hoods and mittens when the temps drop below 65. La di da.
I must begin working off the holiday pounds so that I can justify the cruise fare.
Have a magical day,
Dawn Hope

 

[JenGang]

Hello everyone!

DH just found this board a couple of days ago so I thought I'd finally say something instead of just being a lurker. My name is Jen. Our family is going on this cruise and we are SOOOO excited. It's our first cruise ever so we're not even sure what all to expect. our DD's are Kaele (10yo) and Beth (7yo). We haven't even told them about the cruise yet because I just know they'll drive me insane once I do tell them. LOL I think I'm going to tell them on Christmas Day.

Anyway, I do have a question for those of you that have been on a Disney cruise before. I know I've heard that the reservations for Palo fill up quickly. Do you know how quickly they fill up? We're not going to be getting to the ship until probably about 2pm on departure day so I'm a little worried about not being able to get a table. Any advice is appreciated.

 

[Cyberkashi]

Hi Jen,

This will be our third cruise on the Magic. We also have a DD age 7 who will be on the cruise.

Palo fills up FAST!!! You may have a challenge getting a reservation. The usual strategy is to divide and conquer for the Spa & Palo reservations--each spouse taking on one of the reservation lines.

BTW, we are looking to coordinate dining room seating with another, compatible family. We have Late seating, our daughter is a LATE nighter, and are looking for a family whose kids (preferably daughters) eat dinner with the family and then like to stay up LATE in what my daughter calls "the Kid's Nightclub"--the child care area. Let me know if you are interested.

-- Jami

 

[JenGang]

We are also late seating for dinner. I'm sure that Kaela and Beth would be happy to know that there is someone their age to sit with at dinner. Of course I have no idea how we'd go about doing that since it's our first time.

And that us such a bummer about Palo. I'm betting we won't manage to get reservations. I was hoping to get in either on Weds. night or Thurs. night. It's actually our anniversary on the 11th (Thurs.) but I thought since Thurs. is the formal dinner night that we'd try for Weds. I'm just thinking it would be fun to see everyone all dressed up so I'm not sure I want to miss that. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to pretend that everyone is all dressed up and celebrating our anniversary with us. LOL

 

[Cyberkashi]

Jen that's great about dinner seating--we much prefer to arrange with a family in advance, if possible. So your girls are late-nighters too? If you email me at JBorman@Comcast.net with your reservation number I will contact DCL to get our dinner seating linked together.

You should of course try for Palo's, but as you know, the reservations are exceedingly quick to fill and waitlist. BTW, if you contact DCL, and tell them it is your anniversay, they will sing and bring a cake to the table at no extra charge.

-- Jami
JBorman@Comcast.net

 

[JenGang]

Jami,

At the risk of sounding like a bad parent, no, our girls aren't normally real late nighters. I'm just forcing them to be that week since DH and I are late nighters. I'm sure they won't mind though since they'll be having so much fun. Do you still want to sit with us? LOL

And I know my friend who is a travel agent and booked our cruise for us did tell them that it's our anniversary so I know that's taken care of.

Oh, another question, is it worth it for the kids to buy the unlimited soda thing? My girls aren't huge soda drinkers so I was thinking it might not be but if the cost of sodas is a lot, maybe we'd be better off doing that???

And I'll e-mail you privately with our confirmation #.

 

[Cyberkashi]

Personally, I think the soda is a waste of money (around $35 pp.?) You get free soda at all meals anyway. I dont like DD to get so much sugar, and they don't serve sodas in the kid's clubs. You have to drink quite a lot to make it worthwhile. Also, last Feb. when we went, they had a free coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and lemonade bar that was open most of the day.

BTW, I got your email. Sitting with another family will be great. I will try to connect with Disney this week and link the reservations. I will let you know if/when I am successful. On our first cruise, a couple of years ago, they put us at a table with 9 Spanish ladies who didn't speak English. We requested a transfer (I can't understand why they paired us in the first place!). They accomodated us, but when you start making switchies on the ship, the selection for dining partners is chancy.

On vacations my daughter can easily stay up to 1:30 am.

I'm sure she will be a suitably bad influence on your girls and get Beth engaged in evening activities in the kid's area. At night they show movieis until the kid's club closes. The kid's also have access to the computer area. My daughter usually watches the late movies and then parks herself at a computer game. She was often the last one in the club at the end of the evening.


-- Jami

 

[disneygal58]

Hello,
Welcome Jen and family to the boards and to the most amazing vacation experience. If I can asssit you in any way with your planning - I live a half hour from the Port and am a frequent visitor to Disney World - please don't hesitate to ask. In fact if anyone would like me to send their children postcards from Disney, I'd be happy to oblige.
Just curious - I have noticed the the cost of cabins on your particular cruise is about $400 more than surrounding dates. Do you think that something special might be going on?

Take Care,
Dawn

 

[JenGang]

I sure hope your DD does make Beth feel more comfortable since she will have a "friend" that she'll at least be eating every evening meal with. She doesn't have any problems meeting people but she is a lot more shy then her sister. Kaela on the other hand will no only be making friends with every kid on the ship but she will have every adult charmed too. LOL

And I kinda figured the unlimited soda thing would be a waste but it's good to heard that from someone else that has been on one of these cruises before.

 

[JenGang]

Thanks for the welcome Dawn! I'm not 100% sure why our cruise is a little more pricey but I'm going to just take a guess that it's because the Monday after the cruise is President's Day. I didn't even realize that until after I booked but I do know that airfare coming back to MN was really started to get picked over and was getting VERY expensive. Then when I got my 2004 calender and started writing days on it that my girls are off school, I discovered the holiday. All I cared is that I was going to be on the cruise for my anniversary. LOL

And I may take you up on your offer to send my girls postcards when it gets a little closer to the cruise.

 

[Cyberkashi]

Jen,

I know that Jazmyn will try to help Beth feel more comfortable. She is very empathetic and naturally focuses in on any kid who feels a little shy or left out. And Jazi would love to have a "best friend" on the ship whom she can share activities with. There are an amazing number of kids on the cruise--even in the middle of the school year--and a kid can feel lost if they don't make some connections.

Admittedly, Jazi may be a little less focused on others than usual on a trip like this, but she knows her way around the kid's club and the ship (not that she is allowed to go out alone) and that knowledge adds a lot to her confidence and focus.

Additionally, we are doing a "back-to-back". That is where you take two consecutive Disney cruises without getting off the ship. The week that we meet you will be our second week on board. I'm sure Jazi will be happy to share with Beth how to make the most of the week's special events--which will be repeated this week of the trip.
:happy1:


-- Jami

 

[Annie12345]

Welcome Jen and family.... We have a 10 year old DD as well and she is a social butterfly. This is our second Disney Cruise and she loved the first one... There's nothing not to love!

Dawn - we just received notification from Dreams Unlimited that our cruise price went down by $750 for our category - I'm not sure why, but it was a wonderful surprise for us...

It sounds like we are going to have a fun group... looking forward to seeing everyone soon....

Have a Disney Day,
Ann

 

[JenGang]

Thanks for the welcome Annie! If your DD is a social butterfly, I'm sure her and Kaela will have no problems getting along. Kaela doesn't have a shy bone in her body. Her biggest problem is that she's 10yo going on 25yo! Way too mature for her age. LOL

 

[kcashner]

We're also sailing on the 7th for my daughter's 13th birthday. It will be our 10th trip on the Magic, I think it is the 3rd or 4th Eastern cruise. We'll do a week at Dis World also.... The big thing is that she can't wait to be allowed into the TEEN program.

I really don't think the soda thing is worth the money. You get pop free at all meals (in the sit down restaurants), and really don't "need" it in between. You can always get iced tea, milk, lemonade, fruit punch, hot chocolate free.

We frequently do this week because of the birthday. The weather can be anything from 85 and wonderful to much cooler...we've only hit one cool week on the Magic, but it has happened several times at DW. There's just no way to predict. If you're doing any park time, bring at least one long sleeved outfit.

Palo reservations do fill quickly, but they also have "no-shows." Make your reservation as soon as you get on the ship. Then, if you can't get a reservation, get on the wait list and keep checking. Even the evening you want, someone may be a no-show and you might get in.

The reason our cruise has increased in price is that it is getting more full. Disney has a system of controlling prices based on how full a cruise is and the length of time till the sailing. They just adjust the "early booking" discount.

My experience with the kid programs has been generally good. If my DD makes a friend, then she loves the programs. If she fails to hook up with a buddy (or the worst case, she and another girl made friends, then the girl was told that she had to hang with her cousins, not a stranger), I start to hear that the programs are "boring." That translates "I don't have a good friend there." We always travel "off season" (except the first time) and have never had a problem with over-crowding in the school aged programs.

I'm game to field any questions that I might be able to answer. In general, we've sailed on the Magic twice a year since the inaugural sail. We sailed on 2 other ships previously....and Disney has them all beat!
Kathryn

 

[Annie12345]

Hi Kathryn - Welcome Aboard...

I thought I'd start a list of cruisers and I'll try to keep it up to date. If you would like to add names instead of just saying DH, DD, etc., that would be great and I'll update regularly:

1. Disneygal58: Dawn Hope; DD - Erin (18); DMom; Dsister
2. Annie12345: Ann, DH - Randy; DD - Jaclyn (10)
3. sbatty: Susan, DH, DD (4); DS (5); MIL; FIL
4. tink&cinderella: Mom; DC (51/2); DC (21 months)
5. mrsdon: Debbie & DH
6. Zellda: DH & DW
7. DebiLL: Debi; DH; DS (12); DD (10)
8. beryl1657: DW; DH; DS (8); DD (5); and friends
9. lotsofboys: DW; DH; DS's (10) - twins; DS7 and DSister; DS (17); DS (13); DD (10); Mom and Dad
10. cyberkashi: Jami; DH; DD - Jazmyn (7)
11. Jengang: Jen; DH; DD - Kaela (10); DD - Beth (7)
12. kcashner: Kathryn; DD (13)

So far, for High Tea, I have
Disneygal 58; sbatty; and cyberkashi who have expressed interest...

HADD!!
Annie

 

[JenGang]

Thanks for putting together that list Annie! If you want to add that my DH's name is Joe, that would be great.
Thanks Bunches!

 

[JenGang]

I forgot to say in my last post that I would definately be interested in joining everyone for High Tea but I'm not sure how DH would feel about going. I'll check with him and let you know if I'd be solo for that or not.