Jan. 22, 2012 - 4 day Dream Cruise!!

[mom2faith]

**UPDATE**

I started this some time ago and as plans changed forgot to keep it up and let everyoen know we will not be on this cruise after all. I noticed that on page 6 there is a new FE sign up. Here is the link:http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=42400871&postcount=85
I am so sorry I did not update this sooner!! Take care everyone and enjoy the cruise!!!


Fish Extender Information
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here is what we have been waiting for! Our Fish Extender information thread!! This is where you will find some of the informaiton for the FE Exchange. However, for privacy concerns, specific details are not going to available here. Gina is working on an online webpage that can be pasword protected. Between her, and myself, we are going to ensure that we are not advertising that 5 year old Suzy will be in cabin 1100. Hope everyone understands and respects that!! Once Gina has things up and running, we will share the password with members of our group only.

What is a Fish Extender?
Basically it is an on ship exchange of small gifts, souveniers and momentos. It allows all of us to have an item we owuld like to share with the group and at the same time collect unique and fun items from others!!

Here is a great DIS link regarding FE's.
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1219607


If you are interested please PM belle1627 the following information:
Screen Name
Your Name
Names and ages of all other passengers in your cabin or group
Cabin Number (if you know it)

Is there a minimum/maximum?
There is no minimum or maximum you have to contribute, but please keep in mind that you are committing to making a purchase for each and every cabin in the group. You can do one small item per person or one large family gift or a combination of both, but you will be comitting to doing this for all travellers in the FE group.

If the FE group gets too large, we will split it into two groups. This will have to be determined at a later time.

Please do not commit unless you are willing to participate by sharing as well. This is supposed to be for fun and we do not want any hurt feelings.

Is there a cut off?
In order to allow all travellers a chance to make their purchases, please note that you must be signed up as a member of the FE exchange no later than Dec. 15, 2011. This will allow just over 1 month for everyone to complete their contributions. There will be no late additions.
This is to allow anyone who is special ordering or handcrafting items enough time to ensure they include everyone.

Anything else?
Have fun! Enjoy sharing trinkets from your part of the world or special cruise momentos!!
Please see these threads for ideas of past FE gifts. I know it gave me some great ideas!!

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1980639

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2473209[/COLOR][/COLOR][/I]

 

[belle1627]

deleted

 

[belle1627]

ignore

 

[belle1627]

deleted

 

[mom2faith]

Hello there

I checked the main page of the 2012 dream meets and saw that this cruise didn't have one so I too started one. Then I went to post the link and found yours lol. So I added this link to mine in case people see that one.

So glad there is another Dis-er on board. I am sure there will be many as time gets closer. Can't wait to start the FE planning etc!!!

This will be our 3rd Disney cruise, one on the magic (7 day Eastern), and the EB Transatlantic which was Heavenly. I am so excited to cruise the Dream. Can't wait to try out that AquaDuck!!!

It is my hubby and I (I too like to think I am 21) tee hee, our 2 children ds (13at sailing) and dd (10 at sailing). We just booked today. We are doing a Carnival 7 day cruise prior so it will be b2b cruises. The carnival is with extended family who are not Disney people that is why we are on Carnival. Never cruised with them but my extended family loves them so we are trying them. We figured since we are already there we might as well cruise the Dream too. In between we are using points (DVC) and staying a Vero (then I can do my laundry) We booked a balcony, can't remember the cat. will have to ask hubby. Can't wait to get to know everyone!!! We are from Canada.

Gina

Hi Gina,

Where are you from? We are from Saskatchewan and cannot wait to NOT be in the cold next year!! This -23 crap is wearing a little thin!!

Amy

 

[belle1627]

We are from Ontario. So cool that two Canadians got the ball rolling!!! It's been about -8 to -10. Ugh, not a fan of winter.

Nice to meet you Amy!!

Off to dd dance (always a taxi driver)

Gina

 

[belle1627]

Just looked at you siggy, looks like we were at the world in 2008 and 2009 the same time, doing DDP. Love that free dining.

 

[belle1627]

Had to dig us out of page 3. Hope your weekend is going well. We got a good dumping of snow, yuck but the sun is shining which always makes a difference.

Have a good day!

 

[IrishCowboy]

I have added your thread to the cruise meet list

 

[Spart02]

Hello! We are also anxiously awaiting our January 2012 cruise! My husband and I did a Carnival Cruise many years back, but none of us have done a Disney cruise! We cannot wait!
Traveling on the cruise will be (ages everyone will be at time of cruise):
Myself: age 33
Husband: age 35
Son: age 12
Son: age 8
Daughter: age 4
Grandma
Grandpa

We are all from Des Moines, Iowa.

I look forward to meeting all of you and perhaps doing the Fish Extender thing as well!

-Kelly

 

[mom2faith]

Hello! We are also anxiously awaiting our January 2012 cruise! My husband and I did a Carnival Cruise many years back, but none of us have done a Disney cruise! We cannot wait!
Traveling on the cruise will be (ages everyone will be at time of cruise):
Myself: age 33
Husband: age 35
Son: age 12
Son: age 8
Daughter: age 4
Grandma
Grandpa
Our room:
Room #9588
Category 04A - Deluxe Family Oceanview Stateroom with Verandah

Grandparents are staying in an inside stateroom on the 9th deck as well.

We are all from Des Moines, Iowa.

I look forward to meeting all of you and perhaps doing the Fish Extender thing as well!

-Kelly

Welcome!!

I will absolutely get an FE going closer to the date. I should ear mark a few "empty" posts for future planning!!

Amy!

 

[mom2faith]

As we gather up more DISers I will keep this updated. It will be a good place to keep the planning a bit organized.

ROLL CALL

*Ages of children are at time of sailing.

mom2faith - Amy, DH, DD7

belle1627 - Gina, DH, DS13, DD10

spart02 - Kelly, DH, DS12, DS8, DD4, Grandma, Grandpa

"Ginger" - Ginger, DH Bill 40 something, DD15,DBIL Dan 49, DSIL Sharry 43, DN Kaity 16, DN Hannah 15, DN Adam 6, DBIL Rick 37, DN Justin 17
DN Jessica 10, DSIL Beth 31, DSIL Pat 47, DBIL Scott 40, DSIL Shiree 31, DN Katie 9,DN Sara 8


PLANNED MEET

Details to be determined closer to sailing.

 

[mom2faith]

Here is what we have been waiting for! Our Fish Extender information thread!! This is where you will find some of the informaiton for the FE Exchange. However, for privacy concerns, specific details are not going to available here. Gina is working on an online webpage that can be pasword protected. Between her, and myself, we are going to ensure that we are not advertising that 5 year old Suzy will be in cabin 1100. Hope everyone understands and respects that!! Once Gina has things up and running, we will share the password with members of our group only.

What is a Fish Extender?
Basically it is an on ship exchange of small gifts, souveniers and momentos. It allows all of us to have an item we owuld like to share with the group and at the same time collect unique and fun items from others!!

Here is a great DIS link regarding FE's.
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1219607

What can I do to join?If you are interested please PM me the following information:
Screen Name
Your Name
Names and ages of all other passengers in your cabin or group
Cabin Number (if you know it)

Is there a minimum/maximum?
There is no minimum or maximum you have to contribute, but please keep in mind that you are committing to making a purchase for each and every cabin in the group. You can do one small item per person or one large family gift or a combination of both, but you will be comitting to doing this for all travellers in the FE group.

If the FE group gets too large, we will split it into two groups. This will have to be determined at a later time.

Please do not commit unless you are willing to participate by sharing as well. This is supposed to be for fun and we do not want any hurt feelings.

Is there a cut off?
In order to allow all travellers a chance to make their purchases, please note that you must be signed up as a member of the FE exchange no later than Dec. 15, 2011. This will allow just over 1 month for everyone to complete their contributions. There will be no late additions.
This is to allow anyone who is special ordering or handcrafting items enough time to ensure they include everyone.

Anything else?
Have fun! Enjoy sharing trinkets from your part of the world or special cruise momentos!!
Please see these threads for ideas of past FE gifts. I know it gave me some great ideas!!

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1980639

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2473209


Below is the FE Role Call so far. Again, PM me if you would like to add your name(s).

*Childrens ages are at time of cruise

FE ROLL CALL
mom2faith - Amy, DH, DD7

belle1627 - Gina, DH, DS13, DD10

spart02 - Kelly, DH, DS12, DS8, DD4, Grandma, Grandpa

"Ginger" - Ginger, DH Bill 40 something, DD15,DBIL Dan 49, DSIL Sharry 43, DN Kaity 16, DN Hannah 15, DN Adam 6, DBIL Rick 37, DN Justin 17
DN Jessica 10, DSIL Beth 31, DSIL Pat 47, DBIL Scott 40, DSIL Shiree 31, DN Katie 9,DN Sara 8

 

[belle1627]

Kelly and family!!

Looks like our boys are around the same age, my ds, Jacob (he likes to be called Jake), loved Ocean Quest on our last cruise. The Edge on the Dream looks amazing so I am sure they will have fun. DCL is amazing, you will love it!!!!!

The FE will be fun and more work now that the ship is so much bigger but looking forward to it. We live in Canada but my dh is American. Some of his family is from Iowa, small town called Boone. He was raised primarily in MN. So so far we are all familiar with snow!! So can't wait for the sun!!!

Gina

 

[Spart02]

Hello Gina! Nice to meet you! It's great to see other kids my boys' ages on here already. My oldest is so excited about the Edge! He's still very young at heart, so it's hard to think of him hanging out in the Edge. We keep teasing him that he's going to meet his first girlfriend there! He'll be a young 12...just turned 11 yesterday. My other one is super excited about the kids clubs offerings. I see him hanging out more with my 4 year old daughter and being her protecter, but we'll see!

Boone is only about 40 minutes from our house, at the most. We have been there a few times! Small world!

So I take it all of you fly to Disney? We're driving, as we usually do for our trips. It sounds painful, but it's usually a breeze. I think we'll be looking for accomodations near the port with free parking once the trips gets a little closer. That way we can get a low boarding number the next morning.

-Kelly

 

[mom2faith]

Kelly,

We stayed at La Quinta Oceanfront in Cocoa Beach - LOVED IT!! It was beautiful, large clean rooms, and literally right on the beach! (And less than 10 min away from port)

DD6 speaks of that often (and we were only there the 1 night), as far as she is concerned, a cruise and that hotel are a package deal!

We did not park there, but I do know it was available and there was a $4 per person shuttle fee. We just parked at the port.

Oh, and we do fly from Saskatchewan and then rent a car. We have yet to take ME - although I hear that is part of the experience!

Your youngest boy will be just a year older than DD at sailing. But, knowing my girl, it is your baby she will take under her wing at the clubs - LOL!! She loves little princesses!

 

[mom2faith]

Just looked at you siggy, looks like we were at the world in 2008 and 2009 the same time, doing DDP. Love that free dining.

Gina,

In 2009 I kept track of what we ate and WOW!! We saved a ton!! Even if we had paid for the DDP, we would have come out on top!! With a little girl who loves her characters, this is the way to go! We had a character meal every second day (at least!).

You have gone so often, I am jealous! But, I would love your input on some ADRs closer to the trip. We want to try new things (but keep a few favorites).

I see you are DVC. Very nice! We have looked into it, but right now it does not suit our needs. Every time we go we say it is the last one for a while, and then we get a PIN....

I am experiencing the January Blues here today and obsessing over our cruise. I really wish it was THIS year - a whole year away seems far too long!

Talk to you soon!

Amy

 

[belle1627]

Hello Gina! Nice to meet you! It's great to see other kids my boys' ages on here already. My oldest is so excited about the Edge! He's still very young at heart, so it's hard to think of him hanging out in the Edge. We keep teasing him that he's going to meet his first girlfriend there! He'll be a young 12...just turned 11 yesterday. My other one is super excited about the kids clubs offerings. I see him hanging out more with my 4 year old daughter and being her protecter, but we'll see!

Boone is only about 40 minutes from our house, at the most. We have been there a few times! Small world!

So I take it all of you fly to Disney? We're driving, as we usually do for our trips. It sounds painful, but it's usually a breeze. I think we'll be looking for accomodations near the port with free parking once the trips gets a little closer. That way we can get a low boarding number the next morning.

-Kelly

It is a small world (can't get much smaller than Boone lol) We went shopping in Des Moine when visiting his Aunt.

My son will be just 13 at time of sailing but he is young at heart as well. My dd, Jenna is so excited about the lab/club. They both love spending time there.

We fly but did drive once. We actually fly out of Buffalo as it is cheaper then flying from Toronto and it is only a two hour drive. When we drove to WDW, we did it non stop, it was about 21-22 hour drive, oh what fun!!

We too like to get a low boarding number. On our first trip we ending up going to Nassau (due to weather, it wasn't orignally a stop), so we are thinking of skipping it this time and just enjoying the ship.

Gina

 

[belle1627]

Gina,

In 2009 I kept track of what we ate and WOW!! We saved a ton!! Even if we had paid for the DDP, we would have come out on top!! With a little girl who loves her characters, this is the way to go! We had a character meal every second day (at least!).

You have gone so often, I am jealous! But, I would love your input on some ADRs closer to the trip. We want to try new things (but keep a few favorites).

I see you are DVC. Very nice! We have looked into it, but right now it does not suit our needs. Every time we go we say it is the last one for a while, and then we get a PIN....

I am experiencing the January Blues here today and obsessing over our cruise. I really wish it was THIS year - a whole year away seems far too long!

Talk to you soon!

Amy

Our first DDP I kept track too, well over $1000 was spent on food!!! As for DVC, we actually bought a resale contract and saved a ton and were able to buy a smaller contract, we have since added on and we love it!!!! This year we are planning a trip to California in June, and using our DVC points to stay at the Grand Californian. Although we are going to DL it is only part of our trip. We are driving the coast and staying along the way.

I have yet to get a pin, ever!!!

At least we can start planning and talking about the cruise which is exciting and make it go by faster.

You have a long way to go, that for sure. How long does it take?

My dd, Jenna, loves the fairies now, is out of princesses now. I am so glad that we took her when she was little so she could experince it. It is so magical, isn't it!!!

Gina

 

[mom2faith]

We too like to get a low boarding number. On our first trip we ending up going to Nassau (due to weather, it wasn't orignally a stop), so we are thinking of skipping it this time and just enjoying the ship.

Gina

We are plannig to stay on the ship at Nassau as well. We really did not enjoy it in November. If we do get off it will be to do the Pirates Museum which is very close to the dock (actually we would've walked right by it on the way to the straw market, ut we did not notice it).

We had no idea about the "Low boarding number" this last year and now we are planning to do that. We were #8 and it was soooo hard watching all those people get on while we waited!! But there were tons of people after us as well.

We also did not know about the lunch buffets on boarding day. I did not spend as much time researching the cruise as I should have. So we ate burgers by the pool This time we are hitting one of the buffets! (Whatever the Dream version of Parrot Cay is, is that Enchanted Garden?)

So what dining/show times did you ladies select?

We did Early Dining/9:00pm show. Feels late for the show, but we did not want to do the 5:00pm one as we would have had a rushed day.

Well, back to work for me. Trying to stay warm in the -26C weather today. (Tomorrow it is supposed to be -41C when we wake up)