Jammin' to Jamaica - Aug 30 2014 ~ Fantasy ~ 7-Night Western

[KJTY]

Thank you!

 

[LiseG]

KJTY

Scott, Kat, DD11 Mikayla, DD6 Makenzie and DS4 Tyler

Can't wait to meet you all. Are you celebrating any special occasions on this cruise?

Are the ages of you children the age they will be on the cruise? There is also a special thread for the kids to meet KIDS ONLY - Aug 30 2014 ~ Fantasy ~ 7-Night Western

 

[LiseG]

Hi all,

We are the Rothschild's. This will be my DH (Scott) and my (Kat) 6th cruise. Our children DD11 Mikayla, DD6 Makenzie, and DS4 Tyler will be with us. We have two connecting cabins #6586 & #6584. I have never participated in f.e. Can someone please explain the rules to me?

Hi Kat,

It's fun coming "home" and finding goodies in your FE. My daughter, Sabrina, always loves pulling little treasures out of her FE pocket. We did FEs when she was 9 and 12. This cruise she'll be nearly 13. Like last fall, she'll help me shop for the other tweens

Here's my take on an FE (Fish Extender) gift exchange. I hope some other folks will chime in to add what I missed

• Participants sign up through the DISboards cruise thread. The organizer(s) keep a list of names and ages for each participating cabin. Sometimes more details are captured.
• Each participanting cabin needs an FE with one pocket per person in the cabin (family of 4 = 4 pockets). Each pocket is labeled with an individual cruisers name (so the right adult/kid gets the gift). FE's come in all styles and can be made or purchased (check eBay or etsy)
• Once on the ship, FE participants hang their FE on the hook adjacent to their cabin door. On the Wonder/Magic that hook is a fish... thus the origin of the name Fish Extender.
• Sometimes the organizer assigns each cabin a specific day, so gift delivery is spread out throughout the cruise. More often it's random.
• Generally each cabin gives a gift to each person in the other participating cabins. Some give multiple gifts. Gifts are usually age specific / appropriate (coloring books, snap bracelets, magnets, photo album, etc.).
• Sometimes a family gift is given to the parents and individual gifts to the kids (holiday ornaments, baby toy).
• Some cruisers make their gifts; others buy items. (Check DCL current rules before making food items.)
• Sometimes gifts match the theme of the cruise (Halloween, Pixar, etc.) or ports of call.
• Some cruiser bring gifts that represent their town, state or country (Australian koala clippies, Boston Baked Beans candy, etc.).
• Many are Disney, tropical or pirate themed.
• Some gifts are very simple. Others are very elaborate.

There are a number of threads dedicated to making an FE and FE gifts on the DISboards. Here are a couple active FE links:
Fish Extenders? Homemade FE gifts - Part 2

Some people make it complicated. I like to keep it simple. Either way, it's fun to think of little things to give and helps keep the cruise excitement going for the long months before the cruise. Of course, it's fun to see the gifts you receive.

You can see the FE list on the first post of our thread. I hope you want to join. I'd be happy to add you to the list.

Lise

 

[KJTY]

Yes this is the ages that they will be on the cruise. My Cousin and her family are now staying in the cabins with us. So I am adding the Malone's to our cabins. Frank and Sue and their DS 8 Dominic. He will be 8 at the time of the cruise. It is thier first cruise. I am debating on the FE. How is it going to work? Does everyone get one day to give to everyone else?

 

[ja_rule_lover420]

i cant wait

 

[sweetlovin']

i cant wait

53 weeks

 

[KJTY]

Wow I didnt know there was a meet already.. we going on our first cruise on sept. 1 on the dream and planning on re booking for these cruise. My two brother in laws family want to go now. So its an excuse for me to cruise again..hehehe
It well be me, dh , ds 13, dd 7 and the second fam has a dd 14 and ds 9, third fam has a dd 3 and ds 5.. have you guys started a fe already?? Any new Yorkers?

We are from New York.

 

[SosaDisneyFamily]

We are from New York.

What part, we in the city next to central park on the eastside.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Were they offensive or rude or just not your type of people?

I had not my type of people for most of the table when I was with other single parents. The parent with the 9yo was ok and they were all pleasant enough, just no one I would buddy up with.

It was a mother and her adult daughter. The mother didn't speak any english. The daughter was nice but there really wasn't a way to have conversation when obviously she couldn't ignore her mother.

 

[sweetlovin']

It was a mother and her adult daughter. The mother didn't speak any english. The daughter was nice but there really wasn't a way to have conversation when obviously she couldn't ignore her mother.

Oh yeah, that isn't easy. I find in general, people are friendly, but there are very who I really enjoy. Then again, 3 days isn't very long and those are the only cruises I have done. Also, so far, I have never managed to actually meet up with anyone from the threads. I met a couple from Michigan that befriended Sam and I when we were doing the sea lions. We really liked them, but didn't see them the rest of the cruise.

On the Feb cruise, i ran into a girl I went to high school with. She was on the FB thread, but I knew her. So when we ran into each other on the elevator, she hopped in with me and rode up to our floors together. That was the only time I saw her.

I really think the 7 day cruises will be different as far as getting to know people. 3 days just isn't enough time to bump into people more than once.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Usually I see the people from the meet up threads about once. In our Sept 2012 week long cruise, there were 3 ladies I knew from here for a number of years through the Food & Wine threads. We hung out one afternoon at the bar, I went to Palo Brunch with them and an activity afterwards, and they were also at our Cognac tasting. I think that's the most I've met up with someone on a cruise but we also had met a few times at Disney previously. That trips entire focus was on relaxation and checking mentally out of life for a week as our jobs were straining at the time. We hope to be more social with others this time around.

I know you are concierge with me. You'll probably see my husband and I on the sun deck or lounge. Hopefully you'll say hi.

 

[ja_rule_lover420]

Do they have wine tasting? Or anything like that?

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Do they have wine tasting? Or anything like that?

They have wine tastings, champagne tastings, beer tastings, martini tastings, tequila tastings, whiskey tastings, cognac tastings and a mixology class and chocolate tasting. These range from $10 to $25 per person.

I have some reviews of some in my old trip reports.

 

[KJTY]

What part, we in the city next to central park on the eastside.

We live in Bensonhurst.

 

[SosaDisneyFamily]

We live in Bensonhurst.

Cool, my son use to go to bensonhurst to train at tsmma school but they move to bay ridge. (Mixed martial arts school)

 

[Smartiewdw]

Well decisions have been made, a cruise must be had . I haven't been on the boards since the Wonder's first panama canal cruise! So I guess I'm back on the boards. Anyone planning on going on this trip that was on the Wonder January 2011 Panama Canal?! I'm going to have to catch up on postings, but at least it's always nice to know that when my girlfriend says "It's over a year away is it really worth being excited and planning now?" I can say "I"m not the only one!"

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Well decisions have been made, a cruise must be had . I haven't been on the boards since the Wonder's first panama canal cruise! So I guess I'm back on the boards. Anyone planning on going on this trip that was on the Wonder January 2011 Panama Canal?! I'm going to have to catch up on postings, but at least it's always nice to know that when my girlfriend says "It's over a year away is it really worth being excited and planning now?" I can say "I"m not the only one!"

Welcome! I always wanted to do a Panama Canal cruise but I'm not at the point in my career where I can take 2.5 weeks or so off in a row without giving up every other trip for 1.5 years.

 

[sweetlovin']

Usually I see the people from the meet up threads about once. In our Sept 2012 week long cruise, there were 3 ladies I knew from here for a number of years through the Food & Wine threads. We hung out one afternoon at the bar, I went to Palo Brunch with them and an activity afterwards, and they were also at our Cognac tasting. I think that's the most I've met up with someone on a cruise but we also had met a few times at Disney previously. That trips entire focus was on relaxation and checking mentally out of life for a week as our jobs were straining at the time. We hope to be more social with others this time around.

I know you are concierge with me. You'll probably see my husband and I on the sun deck or lounge. Hopefully you'll say hi.

When my kids changed cruises, I moved out of concierge. Looking back, I should have kept it. At the time, I booked concierge because Julie's birthday was that week. When it was Sam and Julie couldn't go for her birthday, I decided to move down from concierge. It saved me a little bit of money, but it would have been smarter to keep what I had. Oh well.

My first time being concierge will be Thanksgiving week 2014. I booked that with all of my kids since I really don't like cooking and I have no family near me. So, Happy Thanksgiving to me

 

[sweetlovin']

Well decisions have been made, a cruise must be had . I haven't been on the boards since the Wonder's first panama canal cruise! So I guess I'm back on the boards. Anyone planning on going on this trip that was on the Wonder January 2011 Panama Canal?! I'm going to have to catch up on postings, but at least it's always nice to know that when my girlfriend says "It's over a year away is it really worth being excited and planning now?" I can say "I"m not the only one!"

Welcome to the group!! Julianna would really like to do a Panama Canal cruise. She wants to ride the camels in Mexico. I would have taken her, but it is always smack in the middle of school.

YES!! It is over a year away and completely worth planning now. You are not the only planner among us If you don't plan it, it won't happen

 

[Dis_Yoda]

When my kids changed cruises, I moved out of concierge. Looking back, I should have kept it. At the time, I booked concierge because Julie's birthday was that week. When it was Sam and Julie couldn't go for her birthday, I decided to move down from concierge. It saved me a little bit of money, but it would have been smarter to keep what I had. Oh well.

My first time being concierge will be Thanksgiving week 2014. I booked that with all of my kids since I really don't like cooking and I have no family near me. So, Happy Thanksgiving to me

I must have missed that earlier about your changes.

That sounds like a great thanksgiving.

Our thanksgivings are very boring. With my husband being a retail manager that does extremely popular black friday sales, he tends to have to go to work around 9PM Thanksgiving Evening. As our families live farther away, we just take ourselves to Cracker Barrel for breakfast & relax the rest of the day. I then don't really see him until after January 1st. (Its also a reason it worked out well this past year when I moved to Naples a month before him)