January 15, 2011 - Magic

[sopandbass]

We are cruising this week also - so looking forward to this cruise! It's been 5 years since our last DC - I'm totally looking forward to the pampering

Our family includes:
DH Doug
me Shari
DD Sarah (16)
DS Nick (14)

Welcome Doug, Shari, Sarah and Nick!



Have a great time planning and getting ready for the trip!

 

[vassello]

Thanks!!

 

[weavers1995]

With the fish exchange....what is the protocol for our group? This is our family's first time doing it so I want to make sure we are set! Do we give out goodies each night? Will we have day that are set aside for us to pass out the goods? Just starting to get things together and I want to make sure I am doing what I need to do! We will know the ages and the genders too, right?
Thanks so much!
Amy

 

[Belle091507]

WOW! I'm happy to see more people have joined this group in the last little while Imagine my surprise when i finally checked in last night after reserving my activities

My DH is even on here! (Melino)

Our kids are really small so no pen pals for us but as my DH said the scavenger hunt sounds like fun! Still trying to decide if we can do the FE we are only allowed 1 suitcase each and the baby doesn't get one so i will let you know before dec 1!

We are staying at the CRB the night before and the night after the cruise but no plans to visit the park. Next vacation we will definatly have to change this!

I was surprised we were able to book Palo dinner and brunch but i REALLY wanted to try hight tea and that wasn't available (even with 3 sea days i was dissapointed) but i guess because it's only one sitting that it is very limited. FIngers crossed i that i can book it onboard

Any one else getting giddy about the trip?

Now that i booked all my spa appointments i better start saving or DH will have me head! lol

 

[Belle091507]

Flight booked , Pre-crusie hotel booked , rental car booked , Palo Brunch booked , St. Maarten - snorkel / beach excursion with independent party booked , St. Thomas - probably go to St. John on our own .....what to do now, seems kind of early to start packing

I told my DH that we should start packing the kids stuff, he looked at me like i was crazy! It makes sense to me, i was putting all their summer stuff away as we are most definatly in fall so instead of putting it away and looking for it later i wanted to pack now...i'll see if i can wait a few more days before i cave!

We are using babies travel lite for my youngest anyone have any recomendations or have used them before?

 

[croppincolburn]

Belle091507 You must have been the person who ended up with the reservation for brunch I was trying to get. When I hit save (or whatever) it came back that it was not available. I'll try when we board.

The St John Island Tour was already gone. :-( I think ds7 will like Coral World better anyway.

 

[Belle091507]

Belle091507 You must have been the person who ended up with the reservation for brunch I was trying to get. When I hit save (or whatever) it came back that it was not available. I'll try when we board.

The St John Island Tour was already gone. :-( I think ds7 will like Coral World better anyway.

Hello!

I just checked and brunch is still available on day 6 at 1030 That's what was available when i booked at midnight too so give it a try if it fits into your plans!

I wanted the st john tour also but it was full...might just go to the beach at st thomas with the kids as DH and i have already visited st thomas! Good luck!

Melissa

 

[googie]

Hello DIS mates:
This is first cruise for our family. Will be on the Magic 1/15 and super excited. We are young grandparents with GD (6) who is now ours FT and forever. Will hope to find other kids her age to help her out since she is still adjusting. How does the FE work? Will it help locate kids her age. How do you join? Thanks for your guidance.

 

[harrowgirl]

We are just getting ready to book the Jan 15 cruise - just waiting on a couple things to firm up the details.

DH and I (35) will be travelling with DD, who will be 2 1/2 and DS, who will be 7 months. It will be our first cruise with the kids. We did a Disney cruise for our honeymoon 7 years ago, and have done a Med. cruise with Celebrity.

We will also be travelling with my BIL/SIL, and my niece, who will be 18 months. MIL and FIL are also coming, and possibly my other BIL/SIL.

Like I said, we are firming up the details. We are trying to determine the best way to get to and from the port, and whether we want/need to have carseats for the 2 youngest kids (I think DD needs her carseat for the plane?).

I haven't had a chance to go through all the posts yet - that is my next task!

So excited!

 

[Belle091507]

We are just getting ready to book the Jan 15 cruise - just waiting on a couple things to firm up the details.

DH and I (35) will be travelling with DD, who will be 2 1/2 and DS, who will be 7 months. It will be our first cruise with the kids. We did a Disney cruise for our honeymoon 7 years ago, and have done a Med. cruise with Celebrity.

We will also be travelling with my BIL/SIL, and my niece, who will be 18 months. MIL and FIL are also coming, and possibly my other BIL/SIL.

Like I said, we are firming up the details. We are trying to determine the best way to get to and from the port, and whether we want/need to have carseats for the 2 youngest kids (I think DD needs her carseat for the plane?).

I haven't had a chance to go through all the posts yet - that is my next task!

So excited!

Welcome!

My DD and DS will be the same ages as yours! We are flying as well but we don't need a car seat for DD they say if we purchase a seat for DS instead of having him in our lap then we would use his car seat We are on DCL transport because with 2 adults and kids under 3 free it worked out cheaper but if you are 3 adults or more i hear it's much cheaper to rent a town car or stretch limo! Good luck and have fun planning and ask any question you want on the boards, everyone is very helpful!

Melissa

 

[Belle091507]

Hello DIS mates:
This is first cruise for our family. Will be on the Magic 1/15 and super excited. We are young grandparents with GD (6) who is now ours FT and forever. Will hope to find other kids her age to help her out since she is still adjusting. How does the FE work? Will it help locate kids her age. How do you join? Thanks for your guidance.

Welcome!

Not sure about the details of the FE as this will be our first DCL trip but i'm sure your GD will meet lots of kids her age in the kids club! The dinning room is another great place as i hear DCL tries to pair up families with kids around the same age

Also if we organize a cruise meet for the first day she will be able to meet kids of fellow DIS members!

Only a few more months until we set sail!

Melissa

 

[mahux]

Hi Googie,

our daughter will be 5 1/2 and would be so happy to have a friend, especially to hang with in the kids club. Not sure how we would go about meeting up but I think we are going to sign up for the fish extenders and scavenger hunt so perhaps we can meet then?

 

[mahux]

Oops - sorry for the double post!

 

[mahux]

Okay, total newbie at this

Would love to join the FE - please count us in!

Also, looking for buddies for our two: son is 7 1/2, daughter is 5 1/2.

cheers!!!

 

[accola]

Welcome everyone

With the fish exchange....what is the protocol for our group? This is our family's first time doing it so I want to make sure we are set! Do we give out goodies each night? Will we have day that are set aside for us to pass out the goods? Just starting to get things together and I want to make sure I am doing what I need to do! Amy

The frequency of gifts will be up to you and based on what you're thinking you might do. Assigning a night for different people to deliver probably isn't necessary - and sometimes when you need to do something on a certain day it takes a little away from being on vacation and enjoying your time. If the list isn't too big it isn't too much work to deliver a little something here and there throughout the cruise if you choose. However, keep in mid that as the list gets larger it could become a little more work to deliver each day, although our kids really like delivering the gifts. We typically will deliver something a couple times for the kids during a cruise - maybe once for adults, but it also depends on what you put together as your gift. If the list really gets large, we can talk about splitting it up a little.

We will know the ages and the genders too, right?
Thanks so much!
Amy

Yes, as it gets closer I'll send a Private Message to all participants requesting additional information - including an e-mail address (there is a limit to how many people you can send a PM to at one time), names of adults, childrens names, ages and also cabin number along with any special things being celebrated (i.e. anniversary, birthday).

Hello DIS mates:
This is first cruise for our family. Will be on the Magic 1/15 and super excited. We are young grandparents with GD (6) who is now ours FT and forever. Will hope to find other kids her age to help her out since she is still adjusting. How does the FE work? Will it help locate kids her age. How do you join? Thanks for your guidance.

There is a posting I'll have to find that describes the FE. In general - near the cabin doors there is a fish on the wall for mail that might be delivered to you on the ship. The Fish 'Extender' is many times made out of fabric with a few pockets in it that hangs from and extends the capacity of that Fish. People signing up to be in the FE group are committing to provide a little present / surprise for other people on the list by putting something in their FE during the cruise. The kids get pretty excited to come back to the cabin and see if anything is in the Fish Extender (who doesn't like getting present ) I don't know that the FE will get her to meet too many kids - sometimes we've run into people at their cabin when delivering, many times we don't (sometimes we're trying to be quiet so it's a surprise).

For meeting other people, you've come to a good place (Cruise Meets thread) to see who else has children the same age as your GD.

 

[accola]

From Page 2 of the Cruise Meets:

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to welcome all the new people to this cruise meet. It is great to have more people joining us. I wanted to share a little bit about what I know of the FE exchange since I saw that there was some questions. There is a fish outside of every cabin (it is used for the crew to deliver notes and information to you) but at some point people began making fish extenders and they are used for the FE exchange. The FE exchange is basically everyone that participates would give gifts to the other families involved in the exchange, these gifts get left in the pockets of the FE. It is fun, my children always get so excited when we would return to our cabin and they would find little goodies it adds to the MAGIC of the cruise. Like a previous poster said you can buy FE's on ebay or make your own. These are the directions I used to make mine a few years ago.

You need 1/4 yard of fabric, iron interfacing, wide double fold bias tape, and a 3/8" dowel 8" long.

Pockets are 11" X 5 1/2"
Back is 32" X 8"


Cut out backing and pockets then iron on interfacing.
Sew bias tape on top of pocket
pleat once on each side and pin bottom of pocket so that it is 8" wide.
baste, then pin bias tape on bottom and sew on
Pin pockets on backing and sew bottom of pocket to backing
Pin and baste around entire outside of project.
Pin then sew bias tape around outside edge of whole fish extender
fold top over leaving room for you dowel at top and sew along the inside of bias tape down each side to secure.


I hope that helps. Let me know if anyone wants more info I will be happy to share anything I know about this.

From Page 3:

Hello all! I am not sailing with you (I followed another thread here. . . ) and thought I would share with you the FE Tutorial I put together for our cruise:

http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=28549569&postcount=61

Enjoy!!

 

[Eric Julie and Hailey]

The St John Island Tour was already gone. :-( I think ds7 will like Coral World better anyway.

It's pretty easy to go to St. John on your own. Take a taxi to Red Hook -- then the ferry to St. John -- then a taxi to the beach. Leave yourselves 90 minutes to get there and 2 hours to return -- you'll have PLENTY of time. Just watch the ferry schedule for the return. This is also far cheaper than the official tours.

It's worth the effort. St. John is stunning.

 

[croppincolburn]

the St John was an island tour no beach stops. I guess there are some ruins besides the nature in the national park. I'll keep watching to see if people cancel. I can do without another boat anyway. So I'm happy.

I appreciate everyone's suggestions and help! I know we will have a great trip no matter what we end up doing.

 

[sopandbass]

It's been a hectic couple of weeks but when things get to be a bit much, I remember that we'll all be sailing in the warm sunshine on a lovely ship with great service and time for relaxation and lots of fun very, very soon. Can't wait!!!

I'll put together a list soon for people who would like the Scavenger Hunt sheets. I'll look through posts and see who's expressed an interest.

Are we planning an organized meet of any kind? Maybe for the kids if the adults aren't interested in meeting? I'd be willing to work on that if others would like to do that. Maybe all the kids that are pen pals will plan their own thing.

Have fun dreaming and planning for the cruise!!

Sharon

 

[croppincolburn]

mahux, I have a 7yo son. He'll be 7.5 end of the month. I'm sure he'd love to have a friend to play with.