February 7, 2009 Western early check in!

[deedeedubbs]

Hi Everyone! I was active on the this thread for a short time a while ago and then our Disney Cruise plans became very shaky so I had to stay away :. It was too painful to think we might not be going with everyone. I'm happy to say that as of 3:30 pm today WE ARE SAILING ONCE AGAIN!!!

I haven't had time to catch up with all the new additions since I left. Have any dis meets been set or fish extenders or kid meets?

I look forward to getting to know you all over the next 3 months!
Dee

 

[MyLove4Disney]

Hi Everyone! I was active on the this thread for a short time a while ago and then our Disney Cruise plans became very shaky so I had to stay away :. It was too painful to think we might not be going with everyone. I'm happy to say that as of 3:30 pm today WE ARE SAILING ONCE AGAIN!!!

I haven't had time to catch up with all the new additions since I left. Have any dis meets been set or fish extenders or kid meets?

I look forward to getting to know you all over the next 3 months!
Dee

Welcome back, No the thread is still very quite but is starting to be more active. On Page 10, I created a list of all that have stated they were coming with some of their stats. Take a look and give me an update of yours and I will edit. That way if anyone want to work on fish extender exchanges, etc. There will be a lot of information available.

 

[deedeedubbs]

Thanks MyLove4Disney! You actually did a great job and did include much of our info for the cruise.

I believe I saw others share some of this data with you:

Home Location->Prospect, CT
DCL Home Location->tentatively 6556 (hoping for an upgrade again!)
Is this your 1st DCL cruise or other->2nd cruise, 1st was 4 day Bahama 2/10/08
Arriving in Florida When->Saturday the 7th
Staying where the night before cruise->CT, we're driving straight through from home
Who’s Traveling->2 adults dd9 ds6

I'll be checking in daily for new info and new people!

Take care everyone,
Dee

 

[princess sparkle p]

That was a great cruise, I'm getting very excited about this one as well.
Glad to see there will be other adults only on this group. It will be me and DD24 and myself, so I consider myself sort of traveling without children. Well we will have to meet up at Beat Street, we usually end our evening there, it is always so much fun there.

I have no idea how it would be to take a cruise with young children, I will have to wait until my DD gets married and has children, but it probably won't be anytime soon. I CAN wait though the two of us are having a lot of fun now. She has plans for a performing career first.

Well looking forward to meeting you

Sounds like a plan. We love the comedy acts and performers in Rockin' Bar D at night. They are great! We saw some of the acts from DCL on America's Got talent and Last comic standing this past season. DH and I squealed at the same time because we recognized them.

I am a little nervous doing the western since we have only done the eastern up to now. I love the extra sea day and I don’t know that I am all that excited about the western islands. I could spend the entire cruise on the ship and be very content.

On the 2/08 cruise we took by parents and same DBIL with us. DH and I were celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary. We had a great time and really enjoyed sharing the experience with my parents.

We actually re-booked onboard and were given our room assignment then. I wonder if that will prevent us from any chance of an upgrade…we can always hope!

I wonder when we will know who our cruise director is. I am sure someone has it tentatively figured out I just have not looked on the boards.

Only 82 days and counting!!!

 

[pgsahm2]

Welcome back Dee! I cannot imagine what it's like to book a trip and then potentially have to cancel it. Yikes!

I'm anxiously awaiting Christmas morning now. I made up a treasure hunt for our boys to open to find out about the cruise. They are going to be so surprised and excited. But maybe not as excited as me! lol

It's funny because my in-laws are going with us and they always come over on Xmas morning along with my parents. We cook a big breakfast for the family and then we exchange gifts. Well, since MY parents are not going on this cruise with us my MIL was being courteous and asked if we NOT tell the boys that morning that they will be joining us for the cruise. I thought that was very sweet of her, because she doesn't want to hurt my parents' feelings since they will sorta be left out. So, not only will we be surprising the boys that morning with the cruise but we'll have to wait to surprise them a few days later when we announce that their grandparents will be going too! They will love having extra family around.

Has anyone added on the $99 cruise deal to their current cruise? I had our travel agent add the code so we'll get the vouchers. I do wonder how much it's truly going to cost though. I can't imagine the port charges are THAT much considering the total price of the port charges for the Western, and that's 3 ports versus one that you pay for on the 3 nighter. I'm hoping we can get a bunch of the family to go with us in December 09 for the 3 night. For us it would be cheap, cheap. And for those that don't have the vouchers it's still fairly cheap. I saw the cheapest rate on vacationstogo at $349 a person. Then we could all celebrate Christmas early next year! Anyhow, that's still way off, but I'm hopeful that things will work out.

Well, I'm off to put my boys on the scool bus. Have a great day! Let's start some chatter. Should we do a fun questionnaire of some kind to get to know one another more? I'd be glad to come up with some questions!

 

[deedeedubbs]

Welcome back Dee! I cannot imagine what it's like to book a trip and then potentially have to cancel it. Yikes!

I was crushed at the thought of cancelling and then overjoyed with actual tears when we learned it was on again!

I'm anxiously awaiting Christmas morning now. I made up a treasure hunt for our boys to open to find out about the cruise. They are going to be so surprised and excited. But maybe not as excited as me! lol

How wonderful of a surprise for your family. You are the creative, make every moment extra special -type aren't you?

Has anyone added on the $99 cruise deal to their current cruise? I had our travel agent add the code so we'll get the vouchers. I do wonder how much it's truly going to cost though.

What is this $99 cruise deal thing? Is it like an onboard credit or something very different?

 

[deedeedubbs]

Should we do a fun questionnaire of some kind to get to know one another more? I'd be glad to come up with some questions!

Sounds like fun...I'm in!

 

[Michellepooh]

I'm glad to see some more action on this thread. I'm getting so excited for our cruise!!! My DS4 asks everyday when we can go on the Mickey Boat.

What is everyone's favorite thing about Disney Cruises? Or, if it's your first cruise, what are you most looking forward to? I love hearing the ship's horn while relaxing on Deck 4 in a big, comfy chair while drinking a Konk Kooler!!! Now that is relaxation!

 

[deedeedubbs]

Most favorite thing? Uhmmm...there were so many and I expect going on a short 4 day vs a 7 with two days at sea I'll have many more!!!

I loved being pampered. I loved all the wonderful "surprises"...big and small. The Mickey Mouse shaped ketchup, special times with each of my children alone, going back to the room and having a special tea with Mickey Mouse ice cream with my DD9, driving up to the port and seeing the ship for the 1st time, getting a #2 boarding pass, the look on my kids' faces when Tinkle Bell and Jack Sparrow sneeked into cabin and left gifts for them upon our arrival and then decorated our cabin door, oh my goodness...I could go on and on and that is just the 1st day! Oh and yes...hearing the beautiful "When you wish a upon a star"...I really teared up for that the 1st time.
-------------------
Dee

 

[pgsahm2]

Dee, check out this link for more information on the $99 Bounceback...

After only experiencing one 3 night cruise in the past, I'd have to say my most favorite thing is pretty close to what Dee described. It's just magical and special overall. There is really nothing I can put my finger on and say why it's that way, it just "is". lol I loved our last cruise and I know I'll love this one even more.

For the newbies, only 5 more days until the 75 day mark. Make sure you do your bookings then!

 

[pgsahm2]

Well, I guess in order for us to get to know one another a bit more I will attempt a fun questionnaire. I would love for our group to be as active as the other groups are on the Meets board!

So just for fun here are some questions to answer when you have a few minutes.

1. Tell us about yourself and your family. Hometown, occupation, kids' ages, grandchildren, etc. Anything that you feel is relevant to share.

2. Do you travel often? Name some of the places you've been. Which is your favorite?

3. Which of the upcoming ports on our Western cruise are you most looking forward to and why? Please share if you've been there before.

That's enough to get us started. I'll share my answers later. I have to get the kids off the school for the day! Yay!!!

 

[Michellepooh]

Guess I'll go first! I'm from a small city in northeast MA, near the NH border. I have 2 boys, one is 4 and the other will be 4 months when we cruise. I used to be a teacher, but now I'm a stay at home mom. DH is a firefighter in our city. We travel a lot!!! We own 3 weeks of timeshare, and own DVC as well. Our favorite places to go are DCL, WDW, and Aruba. This will be my 10th Disney Cruise, my 3rd Western. We don't really do much in the ports, we prefer to be on the ship on port days because it is much less crowded.

 

[Paxton's Mom]

Hi-I'm Dawn and cruising with me will be my DH, my DD9 (4th grade)and my mom (celebrating her 60th b-day while on board). We live in St. Paul, MN and no, it doesn't snow here all the time! (Enough though that we like to get away for a week in the winter.) I work as an assistant to an independent financial advisor and my husband is a logistics manager for IKEA.

I don't know if we travel "a lot", but let's just say that I never let a vacation day go unused. We usually take one "big" vacation each winter, a week in Florida or California. We love Disney, can't stay away for very long! Then we supplement with long weekends away to Wisconsin Dells each June and the North Shore (Lake Superior) each October. Might seem boring to some, but we keep going back to the same places over and over, just because we like them so much. I did venture out-of-the box a little with an awesome 10 day trip to Hawaii in September, no family, just a girls trip with my college friends to celebrate our 40th b-days. Can't wait to go back, I want to share it with my family. I also had the opportunity to visit New York with my friends this year and would like to take the family there too. Oh, hubby and I like Vegas too, we try to fit that in once every few years. (Now if only I could win the lottery to support my travel habit!) Impossible to pick a favorite.

We've been on two cruises. One week long western (non-Disney) before our daughter was born and a four-day Disney a couple of years ago. My mom and my daughter begged us to re-book while onboard, so now here we are. We choose Western because I have always been interested in visiting Key West, plus DH and I enjoyed the sting ray thing at Grand Cayman (10 years ago now!) and thought it would be fun to do with our daughter. And the turtle farm is supposed to be really cool now, so we're planning on seeing that too.

Less than 80 days to go. Can't wait!

 

[deedeedubbs]

Thank you Pgsahm2 for starting the questions

1. Tell us about yourself and your family. Hometown, occupation, kids' ages, grandchildren, etc. Anything that you feel is relevant to share.

I'm Dee. I'm 29 years old for about 13 years now and still holding . I'm the PTO prez for our schools during the day and consult for Pampered Chef at night. My DH is wonderful and I love him in spite of the fact he is not a Disney Fanatic like myself, he humors me! He works at Sikorsky making helicopters and loves it. I have a DD9 and DS6 who I'd have to say I'm grooming perfectly as future Disney Fanatics. We live in small town named Prospect, CT. I'm from the NJ shore originally and still consider myself a Jersey Girl after 14 years of living in CT.

2. Do you travel often? Name some of the places you've been. Which is your favorite?

Not as often as we'd like now that I have a family. I am a Navy Brat and did live in Sicily for two years when much younger. When I was single I was lucky enough to go on a cruise where we visited 6 Eastern Caribean islands in 7 days, then Bahamas 2X, Turks and Caicos with friends, Canada with Mom and Dad, Pa all the time, up and down New England and then in a former life as a Corporate Trainer I traveled to San Diego, Puerto Rico, Denver, parts of Georgia, North & South Carolina, Minnesota, Michigan, Illinois, etc...MY family does travel to Florida for 2 weeks every Feb since 2004 or '05.

My dream locations if I won the lottery are New Zealand, Antartica, Iceland, the major national parks of USA, and a camera safari in Africa somewhere, finally I'd love to sail the world

3. Which of the upcoming ports on our Western cruise are you most looking forward to and why? Please share if you've been there before

I remember seeing swimming with the rays on the Travel Channel and wanted to do it ever since so Grand Caymen and I want my kids to experiece seeing the ruins in Cozumel (the full day long excursion to the mainland) and I can't wait for Disney's Island which I would pay to stay there for the whole week alone.

4) even though you didn't ask..."YES!" I do tend to not know when to stop typing or talking

 

[DizNutDad]

1. Tell us about yourself and your family. Hometown, occupation, kids' ages, grandchildren, etc. Anything that you feel is relevant to share.
We are DVC members for 3 years now. And I have become officially addicted to all things Disney. I can't get enough info. We live in Central Pennsylvania, but I am originally from Philadelphia. I work at a TV station. Our family of 4 will be making this our first family cruise. My wife was pregnant with our DD9 during our 4 day RC cruise and we now have a DS4 as well. They know nothing about this trip yet. We are waiting for about 5 more weeks to surprise them.


2. Do you travel often? Name some of the places you've been. Which is your favorite?
We are not big travelers, although we'd love to be. The lottery would help us out on that front too. When I was a kid we did the 4day/3night land/cruise deal on the Oceanic cruise line. Maybe it all started then. We love Hawaii (Maui), WDW and Vegas.


3. Which of the upcoming ports on our Western cruise are you most looking forward to and why? Please share if you've been there before. Castaway Cay has gotten such great reviews. It seems like a really great day.

I think the kids would love to have some pals figured out prior to the trip. It would be great to get them pen pals via email. Let me know if there are any DD9 (or so) and DS4 takers on that and we can eventually get them together.

 

[pgsahm2]

My turn!

1. Tell us about yourself and your family. Hometown, occupation, kids' ages, grandchildren, etc. Anything that you feel is relevant to share.

My testosterone driven family lives in Virginia. Dh and I still live in our hometown (and are high school sweethearts to boot! ) with our three boys. B is 9, C will be 7 next month, and D will be 3 about a month after our cruise. And yes, their names really are B-C-D!

Dh works for a pharmaceutical company and I'm a full-time mom. Depending on the time of year we are heavily involved in whatever sport is offered by the rec league. We just finished up tackle football and now we have a break until spring when baseball starts.


2. Do you travel often? Name some of the places you've been. Which is your favorite?

The older I get the more I want to travel. Dh and I married fairly young and didn't really have the chance to travel prior to starting our family. So now it's catching up with me and I'm itching to see the world. Dh has been to Germany twice on business trips (his family is Czech and German heritage so it was like going home for him) and loved it a lot. He has promised to take me there one day. As for myself I haven't been too many places. Growing up my family took car trips and traveled to Canada once, and various states up and down the East Coast. Last year we went to Disney with the two older boys and took a 3 night cruise. That was my first plane ride too!


3. Which of the upcoming ports on our Western cruise are you most looking forward to and why? Please share if you've been there before.

I think Cozumel interests me a lot as it's in a foreign country. I've never been to Mexico so it sounds so exciting when I say "I'm going to Mexico!" But Key West intrigues me too because of it's unique lifestyle and culture.

I also have a tendency to not know when to stop typing and just shut up...

Thanks to everyone who's answered so far. I like reading more about you!

One thing I realized is there are sure going to be a lot of 9 year old girls on this trip! lol My poor 9 year old boy won't know what to do with himself!

 

[deedeedubbs]

I'm loving the info everyone is sharing! I'm getting excited buterflies in my tummy just thinking of the cruise and all the nice people that we are going to meet. By the way...it was so nice of all of you to book your cruise just so that you could vacation with me.

one quick addition...my DD9 would love to have a pen pal. My DS6 would also but it would need to be more parent driven.

 

[brinalyn530]

ID - brinalyn530
Home Location – Maryland
DCL Home Location – Me and DS8 7628, DMom and DDad 7631
Is this your 1st DCL Cruise – My DS8 and I were on a land and sea 3 day in January of this year, but it was way too short! This will be my parents 1st cruise of any kind.
Arriving in FL – Friday the 6th, staying at the Radisson that night
Who’s Traveling – Me, of course !, DS8 (third grade), DMom, and DDad

1.Tell us about yourself and your family. Hometown, occupation, kids' ages, grandchildren, etc. Anything that you feel is relevant to share.

My DS8 and I were fortunate enough to be able to move recently (which is why I’ve been so quiet for so long – that probably won’t happen again ) so now our hometown is Damascus, MD. I am in HR for a recycling company and absolutely love my job. I am a single mom of one so I have no one to share my Disney obsession with – my son just tolerates it for now because he has no choice . My brother came with us in January on the land and sea vacation, but he is away at college now so he will not be joining us, however, I did manage to convince my parents to come along with us on the Magic.

2. Do you travel often? Name some of the places you've been. Which is your favorite?

We do not get to travel much, although we have had a few nice vacations in the past few years. We (my DS and I) do try to get to the beach in the summer, we discovered Myrtle Beach this year and we will not be going back to Ocean City (MD) ever again! The whole family went to WDW in 2006 (which officially began my Disney obsession!), the three of us did the land and sea this year, and we get to be on the Magic for 7 days in just a few months! Before I had my DS I was fortunate enough to travel to Oregon (where I lived for about 6 months), Washington state, most states along the East Coast, Vegas (which was technically after my son was born, but I digress), and England (which was amazing, but that’s for another board!). My dream is to be on a transatlantic cruise and/or a Mediterranean cruise, but after buying the new house and seeing the dates and prices for 2010, that’ll have to wait a few years .

3. Which of the upcoming ports on our Western cruise are you most looking forward to and why? Please share if you've been there before.

Actually I’m most looking forward to being on the ship again! I was too exhausted after being at the parks for four days to really enjoy the little bit of time we had on the ship. Castaway Cay day was really the only relaxing day of the whole trip, but then you had to hurry back on the ship to get ready for dinner and pack which kind of ruins the relaxation part! We are going to do the dolphin thing on Cozumel for my DS so I guess I’m pretty excited about that, and of course, lounging on Castaway Cay is right at the top of my things to do on the cruise list!

I think it’s a great idea for the kids to get talking before the cruise – I know my DS can be a little shy, and didn’t really want to go to the clubs the first time around because he didn’t know anyone there. Is anyone savvy enough to set them up with a chat/blog/whatever page so they can introduce themselves and chat (while we all monitor it without them knowing !)? I’m not unfortunately…

Also, I am super excited to get the fish extender exchange going – please let me know if you all are interested. And did someone say DIS Meet? I am definitely there!

I guess you should probably add me to the list of talkers ! Sorry, I’ll let someone else have a turn now…

 

[3-MER]

1.Tell us about yourself and your family. Hometown, occupation, kids' ages, grandchildren, etc. Anything that you feel is relevant to share.


It is myself, DW and DD age 12. We are from NH. I am a Safety Engineer. Really love everything Disney! Own DVC at SSR.


2. Do you travel often? Name some of the places you've been. Which is your favorite?

Work has offered a lot of travel options. The family vacation is Disney, Washington DC, and anyplace else that may be fun, but Disney is tops

3. Which of the upcoming ports on our Western cruise are you most looking forward to and why? Please share if you've been there before.

This is our first cruise, so it is all very exciting. I am looking forward to CC.This should be a great experience, and the boards have offered a lot of valuable info. Looking forward to the cruise!

 

[cdnstitchfan]

Wow, I don’t look at the disboard for two weeks and wouldn’t you know it, the conversation starts to pick up....

My turn...

1. Tell us about yourself and your family. Hometown, occupation, kids' ages, grandchildren, etc. Anything that you feel is relevant to share.
There is me and my DH and DS18 and DS15 going on the cruise. As well my brother and his family has decided to join us, we are very excited to have them with us, they have never cruised before. We are from and still live in Calgary, Alberta. Both my husband and I work and we really enjoy our jobs.

2. Do you travel often? Name some of the places you've been. Which is your favorite?
We have been lucky enough the last few years that we have been able to do a winter holiday every Feb. This will be our second Disney Cruise. The first one was in Feb 2007, we loved it and just had to online. Feburary 2008 we visit Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. I have been to Beijing, China and just recently my husband and I just returned from Cuba, which was our first vacation without the kids. I don’t have a real favourite yet, we love trying new places. We do love cruising thou!!

3. Which of the upcoming ports on our Western cruise are you most looking forward to and why? Please share if you've been there before.
The port I am looking forward to most is Castaway Cay!! We have been to Cozumel before, we found it really crowd, as there was alot of cruise ships in port that day. Then again it has been a few years since we were there.

We are very excited to get back on the Magic...