From WDW to DL With Love - January 06, 2011 part 4

[LindaBabe]

GOOD Morning, Happy Cruisers!

Also - I think I told you that youngest DS got officially engaged earlier this fall. And if not - he did! We are meeting her folks and brother (one I already know as they are all students at Alma College) in Frankenmuth this weekend. That should be fun - ant that is not sarcastic. I am looking forward to meeting them. We will all be together for the first time.

Congratulations on another wedding in the family! You have SUCH a nice looking bunch!

I did get myself an amazing cocktail dress yesterday on the 70% off rack at Macy's. I love the dress (and the fact that I can wear it). It's also very packable, unlike some of the other dresses I've gotten lately.

GOOD Job, Jen! Guess I need to go to Macy's

Since I have today off of work - I finally made our final reservation. We are staying at the Residence Inn, Cape Canaveral on the 4th & 5th and have also reserved our car too. So now that I've finally taken care of that, if there are any get togethers near the port we would love to join in.

Joyce

We're staying there the 5th.

I will have a new camera for this cruise. I love my little Samsung compact camera, but I came aross its limitations during the Transatlantic cruise. I have been eyeing the Panasonic Lumix FZ38 for a couple of years now, but never quite got around to buying it. It is my birthday yesterday day and Graham had decided to get the camera for me. Bless him, he stood in the camera shop and could not remember which one I wanted. So he gave me the cash to buy it. I had noticed that I can get the newest model (Panasonic Lumix FZ45) for a little less on Amazon than the FZ38 costs in the stores around here. So he paid the money back into his account today and then I ordered the camera using his credit card yesterday evening and it has already shipped today. Hopefully it will be here by the end of the week. I have the perfect opportunity over the weekend to give it a test run.

I had to work yesterday and had a rather exciting day. Those of you that have followed the Dubai saga, well, we have lift off. I had spoken to HR in Dubai on Monday and I was promised that they would make arrangements for me to do the written assessment here in Manchester and were supposed to get in touch with me the following day. Of course, that did not happen. I started to get rather frustrated with it all. Yesterday morning I had a call from one of our managers before my alarm had even gone off. She did not say much, just that we had heard from Dubai and could I please bring my passport to work as they needed some information. When I got to work, I saw that they had scheduled my written assessment for that morning. They also wanted a copy of the passport so that they could get started on making arrangements for flights and accommodation for me to come over to Dubai for more assessments and an interview subject to me passing the written assessment. Well, the assessment was easy. It covered what I do in my day to day work. My manager emailed it back and within a couple of hours I got a response that I had passed and they now formally invited me to come to Dubai from November 20th to 22nd for the next stage of the application process. I am just waiting for my confirmation for flights and the hotel now, but I am getting rather excited.

Corinna

Congrats on the interview!!!!

I have an older Lumix and love it! Doesn't fit in my pocket but it's been a terrific camera.



I find I'll need to pack early - may be having houseguests from Australia for the holidays. OYE! The timeline just got shortened!

Happy Day, All!

 

[granmaz]

I had to work yesterday and had a rather exciting day. Those of you that have followed the Dubai saga, well, we have lift off. I had spoken to HR in Dubai on Monday and I was promised that they would make arrangements for me to do the written assessment here in Manchester and were supposed to get in touch with me the following day. Of course, that did not happen. I started to get rather frustrated with it all. Yesterday morning I had a call from one of our managers before my alarm had even gone off. She did not say much, just that we had heard from Dubai and could I please bring my passport to work as they needed some information. When I got to work, I saw that they had scheduled my written assessment for that morning. They also wanted a copy of the passport so that they could get started on making arrangements for flights and accommodation for me to come over to Dubai for more assessments and an interview subject to me passing the written assessment. Well, the assessment was easy. It covered what I do in my day to day work. My manager emailed it back and within a couple of hours I got a response that I had passed and they now formally invited me to come to Dubai from November 20th to 22nd for the next stage of the application process. I am just waiting for my confirmation for flights and the hotel now, but I am getting rather excited.

Corinna

Oh, that is so very exciting Corinna. Wishing you all the best!!!

 

[orlandothebeagle]

Corinna, thats VERY exciting, not even very long to wait either!!

 

[JenKatt]

Thanks everyone for the congrats on the weight loss. I can't believe it's me in the mirror right now....

SOooo, hmmm, let's see. I'm a critical care nurse and love it, but I REALLY am looking forward to this long break. My mom is an RN also, although she's retired.

Stephanie

Another member of the tribe! I'm a NICU nurse by trade, but now work in informatics (finishing my Master's in the spring) and my Mom is also a nurse (and her Mom too). My Mom knew Florence (Nightingale). No really, her and Flo use to have a cup of coffee together. It's the only way I can wrap my head around her being a nurse (and an active one) for 45ish years. She's taught the last 20 years, but up until the last few months, still taught clinical.

 

[glindamood]

I know you've already received some replies, but I wanted to add my two cents for the Shellac manicure. I'm a nurse and I've actually been able to wear it for a full two weeks before it starts to chip away. I'm getting mine done the morning before the cruise. Fuschia here I come!

Stephanie

Is that not the BEST stuff ever? Not that I would tell my tech but I would pay more just to have 'nails' for those few weeks. They need to do this on the ships.

GOOD Morning, Happy Cruisers!



Congratulations on another wedding in the family! You have SUCH a nice looking bunch!


I find I'll need to pack early - may be having houseguests from Australia for the holidays. OYE! The timeline just got shortened!

Happy Day, All!

Thanks Linda! I will see if I can't get some pictures with my new camera (that I am undecided about keeping) when we go. It is supposed to be nice Saturday so hopefully I can get some good shots of everyone.

Well, another day closer. My vacation starts 5 weeks from today and we fly 5 weeks from tomorrow. To be honest - I am ready. Guess it helps that I will be company for Thanksgiving (I do have to take two pumpkin rolls though) and our Christmas will be in Florida and pared down. I am not going to decorate the house so that takes a huge chunk of time out that I can use for other things - like packing.

Have a grand day everyone.

 

[granmaz]

Thanks everyone for the congrats on the weight loss. I can't believe it's me in the mirror right now....

I know that feeling and you can't help glancing in shop windows too can you? I used to avoid that, but not now!!!

 

[dolphingirl47]

Congrats, Corinna! We're excited for you, too. Can't wait to hear how the next stage of the application process goes. You'll "ace" it. Will your DH get to accompany you on this trip?
Shirley

Unfortunately not. It is going to be a very intense few days and it would just not be fair on him. I have not got the flight details yet as it is a three day holiday in Dubai at the moment and they arrange my flights and hotel, but I assume that I will leave at 1:30 PM on Saturday, which will get me into Dubai at 00:25 AM Sunday morning. I then will try to get a few hours sleep. I assume the assessment day will start at 8 or 9 AM and probably go on for most of the day. I am hoping to meet up with people from the Transatlantic Cruise, who live in Dubai, for dinner. The next morning, I assume that I will be on the 7:55 AM flight back to Manchester. The flight to Dubai is 7 hours and coming back nearly 8 hours. So it is a lot of flying for one day. I should get upgraded to Business class as I am on duty travel, but if Graham came along, he would have to fly in economy.

Well congrats Corrina - I hope the next phase goes smoothly. What an awesome place to try out your new camera!

Don't forget the Land's End 30% sale ends today along with the free shipping.

And congrats to 3mmm as well. Pretty awesome.

Well, my day is toast. My brain is dead and I have had the most rotten luck with a project at work but it will be OK - it just WILL.

So have a great evening. I think I will go buy myself a new bathing suit!

Thanks for the good wishes

No, they are Marie and William (Bill) Taylor. It will be interesting to see if my mom recognizes anyone from the TA cruise.

Stephanie

OK. One of our table mates from the Transatlantic really wants to do this cruise, but her husband does not want to. I know that she was hoping that she could convince one of her adult kids to come with her.

I have an older Lumix and love it! Doesn't fit in my pocket but it's been a terrific camera.

I know that they do compact versions of the Lumix as well now, but the one I am getting is one of the larger Bridge or hybrid versions and therefore won't fit in my pocket either. The reviews are fabulous and I think I will have lot of fun with this. With a bit of luck, it might even arrive tomorrow. It was tracked this morning at a distribution centre nearby. I will be somebody who takes multiple cameras on vacation from here on in. I will bring both the Lumix and my little Samsung on this cruise. I will undoubtedly get better pictures with the Lumix, but for situations where i just want the camera "just in case" like in the dining room, the Samsung will be better. We are also going to Disneyland in Fall when we are doing our Mexican Riviera cruise and a compact camera is much better suited to this.

Corinna

 

[Happy Goofy]

It seems like there will be a few of us in that area on the 5th - maybe we can get a meet and greet together.

 

[dolphingirl47]

****Reminder **** Jewellery Workshop

Most of these are still open, but I will close them on November 22nd. I need to order the supplies and with the Christmas mail always being chaotic, I don't want to cut this too fine. The kid's workshop is full.

Workshop 1 (4 places available)

Pirates, Princesses and Fairies

We will make three different items: a key chain, a cellphone charm and a bag charm. They will have a pirate, princess and pirate theme respectively. Cost per person will be GBP15 for the materials.

Workshop 2 (3 places available)

Formal Night Jewellery

Would you like to make your own jewellery for formal night. Here is your chance. We will work with memory wire to make a choker, bangle and pair of earrings. You choose the main colours. Cost per person will be GBP15 for the materials.

Workshop 3 (5 places available)

Linked crystals (advanced). For this workshop you need to have some previous experience and you need to be comfortable with opening and closing jump rings. We will work with Swarovski Crystal connectors plus jump and split rings. It would also be helpful if you had your own tools as you might need to finish this off later. You will be able to make a matching set consisting of necklace, bracelet and earrings. Cost per person will be GBP25 for the materials.

I know there was a lot of interest. If you want to take part please send me a PM with the workshop you are interested in in the subject line.

Corinna

 

[granmaz]

Unfortunately not. It is going to be a very intense few days and it would just not be fair on him. I have not got the flight details yet as it is a three day holiday in Dubai at the moment and they arrange my flights and hotel, but I assume that I will leave at 1:30 PM on Saturday, which will get me into Dubai at 00:25 AM Sunday morning. I then will try to get a few hours sleep. I assume the assessment day will start at 8 or 9 AM and probably go on for most of the day. I am hoping to meet up with people from the Transatlantic Cruise, who live in Dubai, for dinner. The next morning, I assume that I will be on the 7:55 AM flight back to Manchester. The flight to Dubai is 7 hours and coming back nearly 8 hours. So it is a lot of flying for one day. I should get upgraded to Business class as I am on duty travel, but if Graham came along, he would have to fly in economy.

I know that they do compact versions of the Lumix as well now, but the one I am getting is one of the larger Bridge or hybrid versions and therefore won't fit in my pocket either. The reviews are fabulous and I think I will have lot of fun with this. With a bit of luck, it might even arrive tomorrow. It was tracked this morning at a distribution centre nearby. I will be somebody who takes multiple cameras on vacation from here on in. I will bring both the Lumix and my little Samsung on this cruise. I will undoubtedly get better pictures with the Lumix, but for situations where i just want the camera "just in case" like in the dining room, the Samsung will be better. We are also going to Disneyland in Fall when we are doing our Mexican Riviera cruise and a compact camera is much better suited to this.

Corinna

When you call it an assessment in Dubai, what does it entail? Do you have much preparation to do for it?

I want a new point and shoot camera, and the Lumix ones keep coming out best. However I want one with a viewfinder, and they don't have them.

 

[dolphingirl47]

When you call it an assessment in Dubai, what does it entail? Do you have much preparation to do for it?

I want a new point and shoot camera, and the Lumix ones keep coming out best. However I want one with a viewfinder, and they don't have them.

I have no idea what it will entail. I know that part of it will be an interview, but have no idea if this will be individual, group or both. All I know is that it will take place on Sunday. I am hoping that I will get some idea about what to expect before I leave.

When I applied for my present position, I had to go through some psychometric testing, do two group exercises to see how I work as part of a team; a role play and a written assessment. I have already done he written assessment so it is likely that this would not be part of the assessment day. Whatever it will turn out to be, I think it will be a long and intense day.

One of my colleagues has a compact Lumix and loves it. If the time comes to replace my compact camera, I will likely get a Lumix compact as well. My dad has a Sony Cybershot, which has a view finder and he loves it. For me, the absence of a view finder is actually a plus. I rather work with the screen.

Corinna

 

[3mmm]

So much for quietly adding our room to the list - Thanks, Jeff!!

Thanks everyone. It is exciting. We stayed in the Roy on the Magic once and with 5 kids it couldn't be any better - four kids in one room, each with their own bed and the last one on the murphy bed. Everything else is icing on the cake.

Yes we will do the room tour. Was going to quietly add us to that list closer to the time.

We've been quiet because we do not like to post personal info on a public site, like names, rooms, hometowns, schools, travel plans, etc. We set those standards for the kids and we try to abide by them too. Not paranoid, just cautious. I've been organizing my FE gifts and I decided it was only fair to let you all know our room number so you can get organized too. It is already on the FE spreadsheet that some of us got last week.

Finally resolved the big question as to whether or not to put names on the FE. In the past, we didn't. This time we are going to put the kids' first names. Now I have to order it.

Happy planning!!

 

[tinkryansmom]

3mmm that is exciting!! We, too, have the same issues regarding names, etc. We decided this cruise to use first names on our FE also.

Speaking of, anyone order from gradysmom on ebay?? I paid for 2 FEs and 2 pillow cases - but still have not received them. Just wondering how long it took to get if you ordered.

Corinna - I may have missed this - your Dubai adventure sounds exciting! What type of work do you do?

Today setting up our rental car from LA home - talked to DCL yesterday regarding the flight info page and asked if her computer showed a stateroom for us as mine did not.

Nope. She said could be up to 2 weeks before departure. NOOOOO!!!!
I am hoping for 45 days out. She also said the crystal ball and magic mirror were not working so she was sorry she just could not help me.

Danggit.

 

[Tigfanjeff]

So much for quietly adding our room to the list - Thanks, Jeff!!

Thanks everyone. It is exciting. We stayed in the Roy on the Magic once and with 5 kids it couldn't be any better - four kids in one room, each with their own bed and the last one on the murphy bed. Everything else is icing on the cake.

Yes we will do the room tour. Was going to quietly add us to that list closer to the time.

We've been quiet because we do not like to post personal info on a public site, like names, rooms, hometowns, schools, travel plans, etc. We set those standards for the kids and we try to abide by them too. Not paranoid, just cautious. I've been organizing my FE gifts and I decided it was only fair to let you all know our room number so you can get organized too. It is already on the FE spreadsheet that some of us got last week.

Finally resolved the big question as to whether or not to put names on the FE. In the past, we didn't. This time we are going to put the kids' first names. Now I have to order it.

Happy planning!!

I just said things were updated

Given the choice, I think the cat 2 actually worked out better for us with the floor plan. We'll see how it ends up. It's a real shame the dream won't have any 2 br staterooms.....

 

[dolphingirl47]

3mmm that is exciting!! We, too, have the same issues regarding names, etc. We decided this cruise to use first names on our FE also.

Speaking of, anyone order from gradysmom on ebay?? I paid for 2 FEs and 2 pillow cases - but still have not received them. Just wondering how long it took to get if you ordered.

Corinna - I may have missed this - your Dubai adventure sounds exciting! What type of work do you do?

Today setting up our rental car from LA home - talked to DCL yesterday regarding the flight info page and asked if her computer showed a stateroom for us as mine did not.

Nope. She said could be up to 2 weeks before departure. NOOOOO!!!!
I am hoping for 45 days out. She also said the crystal ball and magic mirror were not working so she was sorry she just could not help me.

Danggit.

I have ordered from gradysmommy quite regularly and we do chat from time to time. I know that she is poorly at the moment. A needle broke off and embedded itself in her finger. The last time I chatted to her, she was not able to work as she was in too much pain following some minor surgery to have this removed. Over the years I have ordered 3 Fish Extenders and 5 pillowcases from her and she is an absolute pleasure to work with.

I am a team leader for a big international airline that has its headquarters in Dubai. At the moment I work in the European Reservations Centre, which is in Manchester, UK.

Corinna

 

[rocknspots]

A few Napa Valley updates:

Cocoa got her stitches out yesterday and is doing well. Still on soft food and no playing with toys but hopefully this is our only bout with this horrible disease. Cocoa sends her thanks for all the prayers and pixie dust. So do I.

Camera input... I bought myself a Nikon D5000 earlier this year for the WBTA. The pictures are awesome. I have 2 lenses for it. I also took a tiny Kodak 12 mp that we used when we didn't want to lug the big boy around. Both have their pros and cons. We'll take both again this trip.

We arrive in Orlando on Jan. 5th. Would love to get a room at the Airport Hyatt. Still waiting for that to happen. But the good thing is that's all I have left to do except pack. I'll do that around New Years.

Congrats to all who have things to celebrate and my thoughts are with those who are going through some of life's troubles.

Jackie

 

[LimoFam5]

Somehow I missed this post...my bad, sorry about that!
To answer your questions, we were on the Magic for the Oct. 24-31 cruise last year. It was a great time to cruise! We got off the ship and then went to the Halloween Party at WDW
We live a little further east than you...we live in Hemet. I do, however, work as a consultant for WestEd and am often at the site in Los Alamitos. In fact, I am going to be there on Thursday and Friday this week
So, I guess it's not a completely small world, but some pretty close meetings! Maybe we will get to meet on this cruise!

Have a great day!
Melissa

Your right not a completely small world BUT when you LOVE Disney it seems to get smaller and smaller especially when you are these boards.....seems like someone is always only a hop skip and a jump away......

We too did Mickeys Halloween Party at WDW following our cruise. It was soooo much fun!!!!

 

[LimoFam5]

I'm looking forward to meeting Des and Suzan on Wed evening.

I so love going to Disneyland during the work week!!!!! And everything will be decorated for Christmas,
I LOVE this time of the year!!!!![/QUOTE]


WOW SUMETO you are really close to Disney........I cant imagine living THAT close. As it is we can hear the fireworks everynight at our house I cant imagine how loud it is for you. I always wondered what people who lived LITERALLY right down the street from Disney thought of the nightly noise.

Anyway..... HELLO

 

[granmaz]

A few Napa Valley updates:

Cocoa got her stitches out yesterday and is doing well. Still on soft food and no playing with toys but hopefully this is our only bout with this horrible disease. Cocoa sends her thanks for all the prayers and pixie dust. So do I.


Jackie

So pleased Cocoa is doing well. Hope she continues and is soon back to her normal self.

 

[rotary2808]

I just said things were updated

Given the choice, I think the cat 2 actually worked out better for us with the floor plan. We'll see how it ends up. It's a real shame the dream won't have any 2 br staterooms.....

We've been in both the Cat 1 & 2 & I'm still not sure which layout I prefer. I do like the location of the second bedroom in the 1 since it's closer to the light of the verandah.

And I don't understand why they didn't do a 2 bdr on the Dream/Fantasy. Granted all the suites are connecting, but still. Even the Cat. 1 is a giant 1 bdr. I can't wait to see real life pics next year to see what those spaces really look like.