January 11, 2014 Eastern Cruise

[breesf]

Hey there breesf! I read your blog and I'm very excited for you! This is our family's 2nd Disney cruise and we can't wait. I thought I'd share a few tips with you that we wish we had for our first cruise... Participate in the Fish Extender exchange (see previous posts). We didn't know about it on our first cruise but loved the creativity we saw displayed around other peoples cabin doors (plus our daughter, 4 at the time, was a little disappointed she wasn't getting surprises too). Bring a sweater or sweatshirt and hair ties - it can get really windy on the ship. Don't use the internet or your cell phone on board unless you really have to - it can get really expensive and you won't get the bill until after the trip is over. You will have "Wave phones" in your room which are little cell phones provided by the ship that you can use for communication with others on the ship. Just let friends and family know you will check messages at port (and give family the cruise contact info in case of emergency - Disney will then track you down). Take advantage of the photo packages offered - it seems really expensive at first but it is totally worth it. There are a zillion photo ops and trying to pick and choose which ones to buy is not easy. If you do the big package, you get them all plus a CD. That could end up being hundreds of pics. Also, some of the Character greetings for popular characters happen twice during the cruise (photo op!) so if you miss the first one, there might be a second later in the cruise. There are staff assigned to you for the duration of the trip - you'll become friends with them before the end of the cruise. By the 2nd or 3rd day they will know your likes and dislikes and anticipate them for you (expecially at meals - after the 3rd day our waitress brought me my favorite desert and drink every time plus whatever I ordered just in case). Ask for extra "Navigators" (Daily newsletters letting you know about the next day's events) so you have a copy you can fold up and carry with you and an extra for memory sake (scrapbook, etc.). Also, this DIS group for this particular cruise also has a facebook page - search for Disney Fantasy Cruise January 11-18, 2014 - That's all I can think of for now, but I'll let you know if I think of anything else. As a side note, my family and I are pretty private people, and although we will totally read your blog, and we'd love to meet you on the cruise, but we'd really appreciate it if you did not post pics of us online. Thank you!

Hi lbrogdon! Thank you so much for all of your awesome tips, they are going to really help us out! I didn't even think about how windy it would be (silly me!). I just requested to join the facebook page you mentioned, it's amazing how many ways we can connect with all the people who will be on this cruise! My bf and I would love to meet you guys and thank you in person for the advice. Only 57 days to go!

 

[Jessica Sloan]

Yay!! My family would love to meet you all!! We can't wait!!

 

[KerriRoss]

Hi Brittany, I really enjoyed reading your blog! So nice to see that Disney Cruises are for young couples too! My DH (26) and I (22) and on this cruise as well and it is also our very first Disney Cruise! We are extremely excited. We are going to participate in the Fish Extender as it sounds like a lot of fun

 

[KerriRoss]

Thanks for the great tips!! I am going to bring lots of extra hair ties!

 

[bulldog42]

Fish Extender List
1. Bulldog42
DH Scott, DW Alana
Stateroom 2513
*Scott and Alana will be celebrating their 15th Wedding Anniversary*

2. been2marceline
DH Ted, DW Karen, DD Alex (18 going on 25)
Stateroom 12524

3. Princess Bree
DH Brian, DW Brenda
Stateroom 9060

4.wilkeliza
DGF Elizabeth, DBF Maxwell
Stateroom 7022

5.Remocat
DH Tim, DW Erin, DD Corinne (11), DS Will (8)
(Ages at time of sailing)
Stateroom number 9176

6.Sailingsisters
Dsis Margaret, Dsis Debbie
Stateroom 6570

7.notso
DMIL Martha, DFIL Jim, DW Lorin, DH Mark
Stateroom# 11002
*Jim will be celebrating his 70th birthday*

8.notso
DM Lane, DD Laney (age 7), DD Harper (age 3)
Stateroom# 11000

9.Ispst8
DH Phil, DW Lauren, DD Zoe(age 3), DD Piper(age 11mth) Ages at time of sailing
Stateroom #?

10.hersheytrio
DH ?, DW ?, DD ?(age 14), DD ?(age 6), DS ?(age 6)
Stateroom #?

11.missminniemouse
DH David, DW Mary
Stateroom# 8100

12. DW Jessica, DH Charlie, DS Charlie (age 8), DS Maxwell (age 6)
Stateroom# 8546
*Celebrating DS Charlie's birthday*

13. DW Lana, DH Shawn, DD Addison (age 6)
Stateroom# 6592
*Celebrating Addison's birthday*

14. FLMommy79
DW Krista, DH Marlin, DMIL Ruth, DS Nathaniel (age 3), DS Nicholas (age 1)
Stateroom# 8014

15. Shercara
DW Sherri, DH Phil, DS Nick (age 24), DS Jake (age 19)
Stateroom# 8600
*Celebrating Phil's Birthday*

16. Jeepgirl90
DW Jen, DH Mike, DD Brianna (age 6), DD Gabriella (age 3)
Stateroom # 8554

17. lbrogdon
DW Laura, DH Jeff, DMIL Gwen (or Mimi), DD Serenity (age 5)
Stateroom # 5156

18.Cookefamily
DH Dave, DW Jessica, DS Parker (age 13), DD Ariana (age 10), DS Kingston (age 6)
*Kingston will be celebrating his 6th birthday*
Stateroom # 6626

19.Rossfamily
DH Clayton, DW Kerri Anne
Stateroom # has not been given yet

 

[lbrogdon]

Welcome Kerri! You're gonna have so much fun!

Brittany - I didn't see you on the Fish Extender list. Are you and your BF going to do the fish extender gift exchange? If so, you may want to let Alana (Bulldog42) know before the list hits it's max!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend!

 

[lbrogdon]

Alana - Thank you for keeping us updated on the FE list! You're awesome!!!

 

[Princess Bree]

Ditto to that! Thanks Alana! What is the max, by the way? Or are you just cutting off as of Dec 1st?

 

[Jessica Sloan]

The max is 20 staterooms and the cutoff is Dec 1st.

 

[breesf]

Hi Brittany, I really enjoyed reading your blog! So nice to see that Disney Cruises are for young couples too! My DH (26) and I (22) and on this cruise as well and it is also our very first Disney Cruise! We are extremely excited. We are going to participate in the Fish Extender as it sounds like a lot of fun

Hi KerriRoss! I'm glad you liked my blog! It's great to know there's another young couple sailing with us, do you have your stateroom assigned yet? Ours is #5688. We are going to pass on the Fish Extender experience for our first cruise but I'm definitely interested for the next one!

 

[breesf]

Welcome Kerri! You're gonna have so much fun!

Brittany - I didn't see you on the Fish Extender list. Are you and your BF going to do the fish extender gift exchange? If so, you may want to let Alana (Bulldog42) know before the list hits it's max!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend!

Hey lbrogdon! We decided not to participate in the FE for this cruise, but are certainly interested and may try it another time! Thank you very much for asking!

 

[momandson2013]

Hi please don't mind me. I'm just trying to get a few messages in so I can PM

 

[lbrogdon]

Hey lbrogdon! We decided not to participate in the FE for this cruise, but are certainly interested and may try it another time! Thank you very much for asking!

No problem. Didn't want you to miss out if you were interested.

 

[KerriRoss]

Hi KerriRoss! I'm glad you liked my blog! It's great to know there's another young couple sailing with us, do you have your stateroom assigned yet? Ours is #5688. We are going to pass on the Fish Extender experience for our first cruise but I'm definitely interested for the next one!

It is so nice to see other young couples on this cruise! I was thrilled. We do not have our stateroom number yet because my husband booked a guarantee room (I think that's what it is called) so we won't find our stateroom about 40 days until the cruise. We booked a room with a verandah, that's all I know

 

[breesf]

It is so nice to see other young couples on this cruise! I was thrilled. We do not have our stateroom number yet because my husband booked a guarantee room (I think that's what it is called) so we won't find our stateroom about 40 days until the cruise. We booked a room with a verandah, that's all I know

Gotcha! Well we would definitely love to have a drink or something!

 

[Jessica Sloan]

53 days!

 

[KerriRoss]

Gotcha! Well we would definitely love to have a drink or something!

That would be great! We should plan a meet time, maybe closer to our cruise day (54 days!!! week!) so I don't forget!

 

[KerriRoss]

Hi everyone, my husband and I could use your help! We are flying into Orlando the night before the cruise and are trying to figure out the best place to stay the night as well as ground transportation. Any suggestions? We were thinking about going straight to Port C and staying the night there. That way we wouldn't have to worry about the hour drive the day of the cruise. Anyone have any recommendations or suggestions? Any help would be great!

p.s I tried booking at any of the Disney Resorts, but they are all full.

 

[luv2cruisedisney]

p.s I tried booking at any of the Disney Resorts, but they are all full.

It is Disney marathon weekend. I am sure the whole area is going to be swamped and very expensive.

I would vote for heading to PC and then taking a shuttle from the hotel to the ship in the morning

 

[disneybride96]

Hi everyone, my husband and I could use your help! We are flying into Orlando the night before the cruise and are trying to figure out the best place to stay the night as well as ground transportation. Any suggestions? We were thinking about going straight to Port C and staying the night there. That way we wouldn't have to worry about the hour drive the day of the cruise. Anyone have any recommendations or suggestions? Any help would be great! p.s I tried booking at any of the Disney Resorts, but they are all full.

We have stayed at Country Inn & Suites at PC. It is nice and they have a parking/shuttle deal which is pretty convenient. If you are renting a car, the Hertz location is right in front of that hotel and they also do a shuttle to the port. We are flying into Tampa the day before and staying with my sister in law. Good to have Florida resident relatives!