Hey! July 30th, 2005 cruise to Mexico DISfriends!

[lwilliam]

Tell us about yourself.
I have nothing to say....that's a first!.....but i enjoy everyone's
comments. Please, keep talking.
Groundhog day......does everyone know about our PA groundhog?
Another six weeks of winter.....
Our family does not watch alot of football, but we are also rooting
for our 'home team" Fly, Eagles, Fly (that song is driving me NUTS!)

 

[jlawall]

Who's watching the BIG GAME?! Go Eagles!!

 

[LynnTarrant]

Sorry everyone life here has been a little busy, a very close friends wedding, it was a wonderful occassion and they are now off on Honeymoon. Please spare a little thought for them on valentines day as he is in the RAF and will be flying out to Irarq for a 4 month tour on the 14th Feb!

Hi Kathy it's just my hubby 52 and I 44 on the cruise. Living in the UK a Disney trip was a bit out of reach when we were younger, in 2003 we made our dream come true and we've been back to orlando and on a DCL cruise since then. We get 2 doses of the mouse this yearone west coast and one east coast. So dreams do come true and good things come to those that wait

 

[littleowensmommy]

I'm here, thanks for asking. I've been busy trying to get a couple of other trips organized.

We're taking the kids on a Spring Break ski trip to Keystone, CO. It will be their first time on skis. I've enrolled them both in ski school for the week. I hope they enjoy it. I haven't been skiing in 8 years so I'm sure I'll be quite sore for a few days.

We bought into DVC last summer at SSR. As my DH pointed out at the time, "I see no end to Disney in our foreseeable future". We're taking our first trip to HHI courtesy of DVC in June. We're bringing my aunt and uncle with us.

Next is the California trip...Coronado, Disneyland, Disney Cruise! We used to live in Coronado and think of it as home. We're actually scheduled to move back there in the Summer of 2006. My husband is a Navy doctor. He plans to retire from active duty at the conclusion of his next tour at San Diego Naval Hospital and then practice in the San Diego area.

We want to visit WDW as much as we can before the upcoming move since travel to/from FL is much easier/cheaper from VA than CA. So we're going to buy PAPs with the DVC discount and add the DDE when we use DVC points in Oct at SSR. We're really excited to go to "MNSSHP". We're all going to dress up as the characters from "The Incredibles". In fact, our DS ("Dash") will turn 6 in March and my DH is dressing up as "Mr. Incredible" at his like-themed party. He has previously appeared as "Sully" from "Monsters, Inc." and "Woody" from "Toy Story".

We're going back to WDW again in Dec and again with DVC. My DH won't be joining us on that trip. I'll be traveling with 2 girlfriends and our respective 6 children. The primary focus of this trip is "MVMCP" and "The Osborne Family Spectacle of Lights". I love Christmas...especially Christmas lights. Our house won our neighborhood 1st Annual Holiday Lights Competition this year. I'm already plotting bigger and better for next year, much to my DH's chagrin.

In June 2006 my DH and I will celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary. We've already booked Disney Cruise #4 for the 24 June special itinerary with 2 stops at Castaway Cay. (We'll rebook that cruise while we're onboard DCL this summer to take advantage of the 10% discount and OBC.) We'll be at SSR for the week before that cruise. 2 other families are scheduled to join us. Our plan is to close on our house here and move our household goods before departing for WDW and then head for CA at the conclusion of the cruise.

Our impending reentry into the San Diego real estate market will put a severe damper on our subsequent vacation budgets so I've scheduled as much as I can before abject poverty reigns...the price of living in paradise.

More you ask...OK, OK...

My likes...in no particular order...Jimmy Buffett, Bruce Springsteen, reading, knitting, travel, cooking, shopping (a dislike of my DH), movies, theater, the Boston Red Sox and the NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS! (I'm originally from Rhode Island). Before becoming a stay-at home mom when my DS was born in 1999, I worked in student affairs at a medical school for nearly 10 years.

My dislikes...also in no particular order...thyroid cancer which I battled and successfully defeated in 2002; smoking, which has claimed the lives of my DH's parents and will eventually kill my dad as well; rambling on and on...so I'll end here.

Looking forward to getting to know you all.

Kathy

 

[lwilliam]

when we saw the itinerary, 2 stops at CC, we immediately booked -
now we are not sure about the timing of the cruise - week before
school starts....i'd rather go another time but we got a GREAT deal
for that week.
Kathy, congratulations on defeating the cancer - I'm so happy for
you.
Go EAGLES (may this be the only difference of opinion we encounter)!

 

[LiserAnn]

Kathy - we love Coronado! We vacation there usually once a year at the Loews Coronado Bay on the strand. We love the area. I was a contract manager at an aerospace company during my career days (I'm a stay at home mom also) and I handled all Navy contracts, so I spent A LOT of time at North Island...love Coronado!

Yes, buying back in SD will set you back quite a bit, as I'm sure you know! The housing market has just gone absolutely bonkers here in CA. I can't understand how young people can make it if they want to buy a house. Our old house in Orange County was TINY -- 1200 square feet on a 4000 square foot lot and it sold for $550K!!! That's so ridiculous! I feel sorry for people who want a decent sized house. Anyway, looking forward to meeting you and everyone else on our cruise. By the way...awesome on beating cancer!

Lisa

 

[jlawall]

Geez, Kath. I hope you're not too disappointed on Sunday.... b/c the

GREEN TEAM IS GOING TO WIN!! (I hope)


Thanks for the detailed introduction......our ship will be rockin'

 

[jfis1020]

Geez, Kath. I hope you're not too disappointed on Sunday.... b/c the

GREEN TEAM IS GOING TO WIN!! (I hope)


Thanks for the detailed introduction......our ship will be rockin'

Do I sense a little competition here???

In the end we are all Disney fans though!!!!

 

[littleowensmommy]

Lisa,

I've never met anyone who didn't love Coronado. It is truly a very special place. There is such a sense of community. We can't wait to be back. We sold our house there when we were transferred to Virginia in 2002. BIG, HUGE mistake. We'll partially bridge the gap when we sell our VA house which has also appreciated significantly, but we'll have to downsize by 33-50% from our current digs. This move doesn't make sense to anyone except those who know Coronado. It'll be worth it.

JoAnn,

I have complete faith in the Pats. A friendly wager perhaps...margaritas?

 

[LiserAnn]

It is truly a very special place. There is such a sense of community.

That's exactly how I feel everytime I'm in Coronado! That's why we keep going back. Our favorite time of year to be there is during 4th of July weekend. The Navy Seals put on such a great show, so worth paying the hotel premium to be there. Too bad you sold your house , but who knew the market would be so crazy?!?! Believe me, I get why you'd downsize to go back! How long did your family live in Coronado for?

I'm not a big football fan, but I'll be happy to just join in on the "marg" part :

 

[jlawall]

I'm totally in on the "Margarita Challenge!!!"

In Philly's defense...in my lifetime, I think we made the SB once (24 years ago), so basically the thinking around here is....WE BETTER WIN THIS TIME B/C WHO KNOWS WHEN WE'LL BE BACK!! Sorry, it's been a lonnnnnnnnnnnnnnggggggggggg time in comin'!!

Again, I would be happy to participate in some kind of margarita celebration perhaps in one (or all) of the Mexican ports next summer. We could discuss the game and who should of won, who did win, who might win or anything we can think of while looking at the blue-green water, etc......

 

[jlawall]

Oh yea, BTW, I lost 2 more lbs. this week at WW It's kind of a minor miracle!

 

[jfis1020]

Way to go jlawall!! A successful diet is small losses at a time!! You are doing great!!!

Did you guys see Shirley's recommendation of a gift basket place? She called CA and talked with these people about doing them and told them everything she does! She's something! Anyway the website for those interested is www.hillsideflorist.com

Are any of you planning on ordering baskets? I am torn....... I want to, but could just save my $$ for those excursions. I really want to do the dolphin excursion and Randi's horses, so I am on the fence. I got the kids and DH oa basket on the last cruise, and they thought it was great!!

I am getting excited for spring. I love baseball.......pitchers and catchers report in 8 days! We'll be heading for spring training before you know it!!

 

[LiserAnn]

jlawall: Awsome on your weight loss!!!

jfis1020: I checked the website out that Shirley suggested and at the moment they didn't have anything of interest to me other than fruit baskets, so if that doesn't change, won't be spending the money on baskets. We'll see what they come up with later.

Hope everyone is having a good weekend!

 

[pclare]

Hi all, I have been a lurker here (except one previous post last summer ) and was wondering if anyone can tell me how noisey the cabins are? We are booked for the July 30 sailing with 2 class 4 cabins (there are 6 of us, 3 adults, dd 15, ds 11 and ds 6 at cruise time) but are concerned about space and noise. We have requested any upgrades to suites but I am doubful it will happen. So if any of you previous cruisers can offer some insight I would sure appreciate it.

Thanks
Pauline

 

[LiserAnn]

Welcome Pauline! This is our first DCL cruise so I don't have any insight regarding noise but www.dcltribute.com has a noisy room list. However, all the rooms on the list are on deck 2 and deck 1.

You can do search with just your room number to see if anyone has made comments about your specific rooms in the past or you post a thread on the main cruise page and ask if anyone has any information about your specific rooms. Everyone is here is very helpful and responsive.

Lisa

 

[littleowensmommy]

Hi Pauline,

I've cruised in a Cat 4 before. You'll have no problem. Since all Cat 4's are located on Deck 8 along with all of the suites there are far less staterooms than say on Deck 2. Less staterooms = less passengers=less noise. A friend of mine tried to book a Cat 2 or Cat 3 for any West Coast sailing one day after the sailings were announced and they were all gone! Since there are 6 people in your party, you would need a Cat 1 or Cat 2 suite since the Cat 3 only sleeps 4 or 5. There are only 2 Cat 1's and 2 Cat 2's on the ship.

Kathy

 

[lwilliam]

Keep on lurking, please.
JoAnn congrats on the weight loss - I'm having a really slow time
with it, up one, down one - it is so frustrating! I was doing so well this
weekend until last night, when I ate every piece of junk food in the house
during the Super Bowl.
Ah, JoAnn about the Super Bowl......."we lost" - did you notice - I have
no more to say about that matter.
jifis1020: football over, baseball around the corner, baseball meaning
summer, summer =(equals) meeting everyone in California!
I do wish we had a Shirley in California - I wanted to do something
for our son who will be 19 the day we sail - but a fruit basket, NOT!
here is a funny - my DH told the family last night, due to our
BIG trip this year, there will be NO birthdays celebrated this year - I asked
him if I couldn't just give him a list of things I would have liked - unacceptable!

 

[jfis1020]

Funny you mentioned the no gifts thing! We agreed not to spend a lot on each other for Christmas, and I obliged, but DH bought me digital camera!! I needed one! I felt kinda dumb afterward though!

Jenny

 

[jlawall]

Sorry, so depressed about the loss...oh well, Spring is around the corner!!

I had a little SB setback of my own but I'm back fighting the good fight..... Hang in there all, at least we have good motivation!