January 14th 2006 Magic Western.............

[CPM]

I'd thought the official start time would be 12:01 a.m. on Oct. 1st, but I've since read on this board that it's actually 3:01 a.m. in this part of the country. AARGH!! Guess that makes it officially a new day for those in the Pacific time zone, so we're all on equal footing. 'Cept for the 3 a.m. part.

Okay, exactly when is our date to be online? Anyone know?
I'm a CC member. I know it's any day now.

 

[cookleitz]

We're right along with y'all. Myself, DH, DS, FIL and MIL. My parents were supposed to go as well, but they decided to add on to their house and buy a new boat We took this same sailing this past January and are hoping this one is much better.....it can't be worse. We missed Grand Caymen and Castaway Cay and hubby's grandmother passed away while we were gone. We're looking forward to a GREAT trip!

Chris

 

[CPM]

We took this same sailing this past January and are hoping this one is much better.....it can't be worse. We missed Grand Caymen and Castaway Cay and hubby's grandmother passed away while we were gone. We're looking forward to a GREAT trip!

Chris

YIKES!! I hope so. We went January 9th last year & it was perfect sailing. Lets hope it is again.
So anyone know when we go online?

 

[Chrisva]

WHOOO HOOO we are at 90 days..... If you are a CC member you can make your ressies.... Dh did at 3 am.....

 

[CPM]

I did it at the crack of 3:00 am. It must have been busy because the site was experiencing problems at 3:05am. They were pretty much sold out this morning. We were trying to get a group reservation for Tuesday. We got all different times.
Anyone want a Tuesday at 7:00 for 4, for a swap? We need 8:30.
I was also able to get a brunch & a high tea.

 

[cookleitz]

I was up in the middle of the night and got online, only to find an error message on the website. Got the same at 630 and 830 and now again at 230. I called Disney and was told that I just have to keep trying back. Ugh! I guess if all doesn't work out, we'll do the boarding shuffle again in January for our ressies.

Happy Sunday to all!

Chris

 

[cookleitz]

Got it all done this afternoon.....spa, Palo, & Flounders. I'll wait and book shore excursions when MIL and FIL are eligible so that we can coordinate our schedules.

How many of you travel to Orlando the day before the cruise and stay overnight? Have you noticed that hotels at the airport have limited availability? Any suggestions on a nice, clean, safe, reasonably priced hotel near the airport? We stayed at the Crowne Plaza last year for $65 a night and their rates are up over $200 this year.

Thanks!

Chris

 

[CPM]

Chris,
It's probably because it's a holiday weekend. We are going directly to PC the night before. Ibooked a Hampton Inn months ago there.

 

[missminniemouse]

We were gone for the weekend. Got home last night and managed to get everything we wanted, including Palo on the night we wanted. I feel pretty lucky. On Friday I made my dining arrangements at WDW for the 2 days before the cruise. Got everything I wanted there as well. Now I've just got to wait until the end of the week to make our dining plans for at WDW for the couple of days after the cruise. DH has a meeting at Coronado right after the cruise, so our trip got extended by a few days...Hurray! the kids and I get to play for 3 extra days while DH goes to his meeting. Everything is falling together for this trip. I really think all the pre-planning will make it a very relaxing time for our entire group.

 

[goofymama]

Yes, you have to pay before you book Palos. My TA called today about it.

This ship is almost full, so not sure about upgrades.

How do you know that the ship is almost full? Is there a way to find out?

Now that were inside 3 months, I am really getting excited about this trip!!! anyone else?

 

[CPM]

How do you know that the ship is almost full? Is there a way to find out?
:

A TA I know told me. I'm assuming it has something to do with what inventory of cabins are available.
I also noticed a while back that that week was taken off web travel sites.
Prices are also extremely high, another hint.

 

[cookleitz]

We've got vacation fever here too.....which isn't hard to catch as it gets cooler and cooler here in Indiana. I feel so relieved to have spa, Palo and Flounders booked. I haven't booked any shore excursions yet - still doing a little research. When we went last year, we didn't book any excursions because Trevor was just 17 months old and we just weren't sure how he'd do. We're considering the Island Tour on Cayman. We plan to do the Old Towne Trolly on our own at Key West. We'd like to do a beach in Cozumel....any suggestions? DH and FIL want to parasail on CC, so I'm planning to wait until FIL can book excursions so that they can go together.

Chris

 

[2munchkins]

Yesterday I received our trip planning materials from Disney - I assume because we paid off the cruise about a week ago - and surprise, surprise!!!

The letter that came with the materials said 'welcome back' and that we could make our ressies as of October 16th. Well, we have never been on a Disney cruise before and have been waiting until the 31st to make our ressies. Someone screwed up, and to our advantage for once! So last night I made our ressies for Palo dinner and brunch (couldn't get an option for High Tea), the Stingray Encounter at CC, and registered my 2 DDs in the kids club! I am so excited! To me, this makes the trip seem 'real'!

I wanted to ask all you repeat cruisers, how long do you spend in Palo for the dinner? The ressies have a two-hour time period. Can you finish earlier? We have a 6:30 ressie but want to make the 8:00 show. Can we do this? We really don't want to switch to another day. It's just DH and I, and we aren't slow eaters. If we tell our server, will he be able to accomodate us? Thanks!

 

[goofymama]

Yesterday I received our trip planning materials from Disney - I assume because we paid off the cruise about a week ago - and surprise, surprise!!!

The letter that came with the materials said 'welcome back' and that we could make our ressies as of October 16th. Well, we have never been on a Disney cruise before and have been waiting until the 31st to make our ressies. Someone screwed up, and to our advantage for once! QUOTE]


Hmmm, they must have gotten our ressies swapped becaues I am a repeat cruiser, have not received any materials from Disney and could not book online immediately (until a CM figured out that they didn't have me as a repeat and she changed it immediately).

Congrats on getting to book earlier than you anticipated!

As far as Palo, I'm not sure. It was a long dinner, but I bet you could rush it a little bit if you told your server that you really want to make the show.

 

[clarys930]

Is anyone here traveling onthis cruise with any teens? We are traveling with 3 children and one being 14 and he is not thrilled about going so I am hopeing for him to meet someone else cruising with us. And by the way HOW EXCITED are we that there is 75 more days til we sail away!!

 

[CPM]

Is anyone here traveling onthis cruise with any teens? We are traveling with 3 children and one being 14 and he is not thrilled about going so I am hopeing for him to meet someone else cruising with us. And by the way HOW EXCITED are we that there is 75 more days til we sail away!!

Glad you found us!!
My teen won't come with us @@.
We will have our 9 year old son with us.
It won't be long now!!

 

[karabeunso]

Hello everyone...

I can't believe we will be sailing in just two and a half months!

Few questions -

Is anyone traveling with a toddler? My dd turns 2 this Saturday. I've noticed a lot of talk about potty training before the cruise...is there something I should know about kids that aren't potty trained? It's got me a little concerned. She has just started going on the potty every now and then but I highly doubt she will be completely trained by Jan.

Also, if you have cruised with toddler in the past, did you take them along on any shore excursions? If so, which ones?

Has anyone tried to book any shore excursions for Cozumel? I can get online to book for the other ports, but not Cozumel...I'm guessing it was because of the hurricane that just hit?

If you are on shore and want to take a taxi somewhere, what do you do about a car seat for your child?

Has anyone used Flounder's, and how was your experience?

Um...I think that's all for now.

Looking forward to getting to know you all...I was on the boards a couple of months ago but now that it is getting closer, it's all I can think about!

 

[cookleitz]

We traveled with our 17 month old son in January and he'll be along again in January at 29 months. Trevor's not potty trained (with little to no hope of that happening before January!), so we'll spend our time in the splash and play area of the Mickey Pool.

We didn't do shore excursions with Trevor this year, but plan to take him on the Grand Cayman Island Tour in January.

We used Flounders twice on our last cruise and were very pleased with the quality of care provided. We requested that Trevor be put to bed, fully expecting that when we picked him up at 930 that he'd still be awake, and he was fast asleep. We liked having the opportunity to take Trevor into Flounders during their open play hours, as it helped him to be familiar with the facility.

This isn't advertised widely either - but if your child is not old enough for the Oceaneer Club, you can still let him/her participate in the activities as long as you accompany them. We did a few things in the Club this past January with Trevor (story time in the tree, craft) and he loved it. It was nice for my husband or I to have a place to take Trevor to play while the other did something else.

We're excited about this trip. I'm the "travel agent" for our group, so I've been busy putting together packing info, making everyone's shore excursions, etc.

Chris

 

[Smitty]

This is our 4th cruise, 1st western. Alot of us! Myself, my wife, and three girls (7,6,2.5) My brother and wife + 3 kids (8,6,2) Grandma and Grampa

 

[katedrew94]

DH and I are coming too