January 18, 2013, A Magical 8 day western

[MedicGoofy]

I don't do Facebook so I hope someone would be kind enough to share the following info over there so all the bases are covered. The following info can be useful to non-fish extender peeps, too.

SHIP YOURSELF A PACKAGE TO THE SHIP!

For anyone flying into Houston and concerned with baggage fees, good news! You have the option of shipping yourself a package on the ship! Here's the scoop: Items which may not be shipped include water, food or luggage. Any of these items would be returned. Any packages shipped must be received at the address below by 3:00pm the day prior to sailing (January 17th). Please include Name, Sail Date, Ship, Stateroom Number, and Package Contents on the exterior of the box. Address your package as follows:

Ship Name/Guest Name/Sail Date Stateroom Number
C/O Intercruises Shoreside and Port Services
2109 Post Office Street, #318
Galveston, Texas 77550

Again, be sure to include a detailed packing list of everything inside your box. I've always done this by using a ziplock that I creatively taped to the exterior of our box so the zippered opening could still be accessible. Worked great! Remember, no food, water, or luggage! I've shipped myself packages on 2 of the 3 Disney cruises I've taken out of Port Canaveral and it worked great. I timed my shipping so my package arrived 3 days prior to sailing vs. the day before just to be safe. Your package will arrive at your stateroom similar to how your luggage will. I've also been sure to mention to my stateroom host upon meeting him/her to be looking for it for me.


EMBARKATION DAY MEET-UP!

Even if you aren't in the fish extender group you're welcome to come introduce yourself. We've set a meet for 3:00 p.m. on embarkation day in the Promendade Lounge (Deck 3, Aft).


Has anyone on the FB group discussed any other meets??? If so, can someone post that info here??? If not, would anyone be interested in setting a couple time & places for maybe the at-sea days?

Thanks for this info on shipping!!! I was starting to get a bit worried about what I was going to do with all the stuff. This will be so much easier And seeing as it comes right to your room, can't complain with that.....

My only question is, is it ok if the package arrives earlier than 1 day prior to the sailing. Mine would be coming from Canada (unless I can get to the US just before the cruise, would be cheaper). If it's there like, 5-7 days prior to cruise, is this OK??

Thanks so much

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Thanks so much for the heads up about the dine & play for second seating. I called DCL and we are on the waiting list for main seating, but the rep on the phone also let me know about the dine & play.

Question for those with school age kids. What are you telling your kids schools the reason for their 6 day absence from school (so soon after the holidays) is? I'm stumped and feeling guilty.

Also, we are staying at the Harbor House the night before. Please let me know if there are any meet-ups planned there. Thanks.

We homeschool now so no problem with an excuse. Our boys were in public school up thru 6th & 8th grade and we pulled them for 6 days for WDW trips several times. We never gave an excuse other than what we actually were doing. We figured it'd be near impossible for our boys to NOT talk about it either before or after. We'd get busted. Plus, we just didn't feel right telling our kids to fib after a lifetime of preaching the importance of honesty. Ya know? We let the teachers know as early as possible (months ahead). Most of the time we'd also talk to the principal and assistant principal. We pointed out that we wanted to be honest vs. claiming a death in the family, etc. because it's the right thing to do. If it was unexcused that was fine. Both boys kept their grades up. Most teachers were excited for the kids, said things like "Take me with you!" and "Family time is just as important as books." I agree, family is just as important. We always left it up to the teachers if they wanted the kids to work ahead, take work home during the trip, or make up work after. We offered to do whatever is easiest for THEM. As a homeschooling mom, I can say that puting together work packets aside from the regular lesson plan is time consuming and a PITA. I sorta feel bad about all those years now. I wish we'd brought each teacher a peace offering/thank you gift. It didn't seem like that big of a deal but now I know it really is a lot of work.

Thanks for this info on shipping!!! I was starting to get a bit worried about what I was going to do with all the stuff. This will be so much easier And seeing as it comes right to your room, can't complain with that.....

My only question is, is it ok if the package arrives earlier than 1 day prior to the sailing. Mine would be coming from Canada (unless I can get to the US just before the cruise, would be cheaper). If it's there like, 5-7 days prior to cruise, is this OK??

Thanks so much

I'm not sure off the top of my head how long the cruise before ours is. I would think having it arrived after the sailing before ours departs would be optimal. But then if the package makes it to the ship early I'm sure it'll still be on the ship when we get there. Ya know? There was a thread recently by someone who was over-cautious and sent theres a couple weeks early. It was on the ship but not with the usual stuff so it took a lot of searching and multiple requests to get someone to find it. They didn't get their box until the morning after embarkation. Yikes! I would be rolling around in the floor crying!

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Howdy, y'all! All the FE activities is getting me sooooo stoked for our cruise! Can ya tell?! I'm like a postin' fool!!! We need to pick up the traffic here! Talk to me, people!

So this morning I booked my little family a 90 minute jet ski tour for 9:30 with Fury Water Adventures in Key West. We have 2 skis for 4 people (you can do up to 3 people per jet ski) for a total of $210. Not bad at all considering it would be $100 more for 30 minutes less on Castaway Cay. There's a 24 hour cancellation policy for a full refund so on our WDW day we'll check the weather and cancel the jet skis if it looks like the weather won't be good for a water activity. Our boys (15 & 16 yro) can drive them as long as one of us is on the back with them. They'll love that! I can't wait to do some more shopping in Key West! I'm itchin' in my britches to get to the Lilly Pulitzer store!!!

What's everyone else got planned? What are you looking forward to?!

 

[onescrappymom]

Thanks so much for the heads up about the dine & play for second seating. I called DCL and we are on the waiting list for main seating, but the rep on the phone also let me know about the dine & play.

Question for those with school age kids. What are you telling your kids schools the reason for their 6 day absence from school (so soon after the holidays) is? I'm stumped and feeling guilty.

Also, we are staying at the Harbor House the night before. Please let me know if there are any meet-ups planned there. Thanks.

We notified the teacher a few months ago that we were going on a Disney Cruise after the holidays and that our DD9 would miss school during that time. I also called attention to the fact that she would only be missing 3 1/2 days of school due to the holiday weekend and additional teacher work day. Her response was "have a great time" and that she would have her work for her when she gets back and will have a week to complete. I'm good with that We will also find some learning activities during the week based on the concepts they will be covering while we are gone.

The absence will be unexcused but she's a great student and rarely misses school so I don't see that as an issue. I figure she's in 3rd grade and there won't be too many more years of being able to miss school for travel so we have no regrets about our decision to travel during the school year. I've also heard a little thank you gift for the teacher is appreciated since it's such a pain to get together all the work and grade late, etc. and communication is always appreciated.

We are at Harbor House too on Thursday and would love a meet up!

18 days! 18 days!

 

[couturegirl]

Thanks so much for the heads up about the dine & play for second seating. I called DCL and we are on the waiting list for main seating, but the rep on the phone also let me know about the dine & play.

Question for those with school age kids. What are you telling your kids schools the reason for their 6 day absence from school (so soon after the holidays) is? I'm stumped and feeling guilty.

Also, we are staying at the Harbor House the night before. Please let me know if there are any meet-ups planned there. Thanks.

We tell our school the truth also. They just put the kids (kinder and 3rd grade) on extended leave of absence and give us a homework packet for the kids to complete while we're gone. Their absence is approved and they get credit for "being there" as long as they do the homework, and they usually have to keep a journal too. We've done it before a couple times and it all works out. The big problem is just getting the boys to do the homework on the cruise! lol

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Oh my gosh! I just remembered reading a thread fairly recently about families in Texas who will withdraw their kids from their schools and sign the forms to homeschool for extended vacations. Then, after they return, they re-enroll the kids in public school. A few people even said the schools told them to do it! In Texas the homeschool laws are super-lax. When you withdraw your kids you sign a form that says you will teach your kids math, language, history, and citizenship. Not even science. There's no reporting anything to anyone. Nothing. If the school district requests info on what you've been doing you should have records to show but there's no standardized testing or anything. Because the laws are so lax this is possible. I personally wouldn't have done that when my boys were in public school. No way. But I found it fascinating that some of the schools were telling parents to do this.

 

[full quiver]

Hey! How do we see the roll call sheet? Also does anyone know what nights are formal, pirate, and so on?

I am traveling with dh and our 5 adventurous children! Prayers welcome.

 

[Sparrow78]

Is it too early to start packing! DH says it is. Haha, however, he's working nights the rest of this week so when DD goes to bed I know what I am going to start doing! Good thing we have a spare room to hide stuff in because she still doesn't know!

 

[kriswin1]

We homeschool also. I too want to start packing. My 'what to bring' list is so long, this board has so many great tips and ideas of what to take.

 

[Our 2 Princesses]

I think it's definitely NOT too early to start packing! Since my dh and dds are home this week, we started washing and packing some of our clothes. I figured we may as well get some of the packing done before it gets busy here again with them going back to school/work. Besides most of the clothes we are packing can't be worn in this awful weather we've been getting! Happy packing!!!

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Hey! How do we see the roll call sheet? Also does anyone know what nights are formal, pirate, and so on?

I am traveling with dh and our 5 adventurous children! Prayers welcome.

We don't really have a formal roll call sheet. The majority of the group action I think is on a facebook group. I don't facebook but maybe someone else can post you a link. I know it's buried somewhere in this thread but I'm not sure where. We are having an embarkation day meet at 3 in the Promenade Lounge. After that there's no set meets. We really should come up with more, tho!

Formal night is generally the night of the first at-sea day. So, it'll be the 2nd night onboard. There was an 8-night for Christmas and there will be 1 more before ours. Hopefully those folks will give more info on the timing of things when they get back.

Is it too early to start packing! DH says it is. Haha, however, he's working nights the rest of this week so when DD goes to bed I know what I am going to start doing! Good thing we have a spare room to hide stuff in because she still doesn't know!

I say go ahead and start packing! You still haven't told your DD?? Oh fun!!! Our oldest found out before Christmas but the youngest was surprised on Christmas morning. Of course with teens it's not near as exciting, no jumping around and screaming. Definitely some happy going down, tho. Here's our video:

http://youtu.be/db79UCJao1s

We homeschool also. I too want to start packing. My 'what to bring' list is so long, this board has so many great tips and ideas of what to take.

Yaaaaaay for homeschoolers!!! Woot! We bought our liquor to take with us last night...does that count for getting started packing??? LOL!

I think it's definitely NOT too early to start packing! Since my dh and dds are home this week, we started washing and packing some of our clothes. I figured we may as well get some of the packing done before it gets busy here again with them going back to school/work. Besides most of the clothes we are packing can't be worn in this awful weather we've been getting! Happy packing!!!

Heck yeah! Get some help while ya can! I've got my travel box that I'm forever dropping little things into that need to go with us when we travel. That's the extend of my packing thus far. I did go buy a formal dress yesterday. Yay!

 

[full quiver]

Thanks Sweetpee! I guess we will find out soon.

 

[gramfrog]

Hi! For those who are going on their first Disney cruise of longer than three nights, don't worry about the "formal" night. It is an opportunity for the family (or the girls in the family LOL) to dress up in any 'fancy' or semi-formal dresses or outfits that may be in your closet (from that Vegas trip or New Year's Eve) . Or not. About not quite a quarter of the ship dresses very fancy for that dinner on the second or third evening, and most diners are still in day dresses or nice slacks. I think we saw a total of a dozen tuxes on the big Fantasy ship... If you want to buy yourself or your daughter a new formal or semiformal, great! But totally not necessary. Formal night dress is NEVER mandatory! Personally, I am not comfortable on stilts (aka stilettos) on a ship gently rolling.... Hope that helps!!!!

 

[Sparrow78]

Sweetpee, love the video. hahaha your son is so stunned too funny.

She doesn't know because we had to cancel last year 3 days before because I had a tubal pregnancy that ruptured.

We asked her before Christmas if she wanted to go and she says "mama, I don't think so. If we have to cancel again my heart would be broken" so we decided to keep it a secret until we fly out! We are just going to tell her we are going on a holiday and I have a scheduled call for the morning of.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Sweetpee, love the video. hahaha your son is so stunned too funny.

She doesn't know because we had to cancel last year 3 days before because I had a tubal pregnancy that ruptured.

We asked her before Christmas if she wanted to go and she says "mama, I don't think so. If we have to cancel again my heart would be broken" so we decided to keep it a secret until we fly out! We are just going to tell her we are going on a holiday and I have a scheduled call for the morning of.

I remember you mentioning you had to cancel before but not why. Sorry to hear the why part. I can definitely see why you're keeping it a secret to the very end and I don't blame you one bit. Are you going to video her reaction? I'd love to see! Yep, I'm nosy-rosy!

 

[Sparrow78]

Totally will video her reaction! Tonight she says, mama when can we go on a plane and holidays again, why did you have to go back to work today? Haha gosh I want to tell her! However, freaking out a little too because we just found out I am pregnant again (can you say ironic timing!) a little afraid

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Totally will video her reaction! Tonight she says, mama when can we go on a plane and holidays again, why did you have to go back to work today? Haha gosh I want to tell her! However, freaking out a little too because we just found out I am pregnant again (can you say ironic timing!) a little afraid

Awwww....first of all, I'm with your little girl on the going back to work part. That's always the part of vacations I hated most, when everyone went back to work & school after. Broke my heart. It's not quite so bad now since the boys homeschool but it still stinks when the hubby has to go back.

Wow! Very ironic timing, indeed! Congrats to you! Hopefully everything will work out this time around. Like I was telling a friend yesterday who's fighting with infertility, what's meant to be will. You gotta trust your journey.

 

[Our 2 Princesses]

Totally will video her reaction! Tonight she says, mama when can we go on a plane and holidays again, why did you have to go back to work today? Haha gosh I want to tell her! However, freaking out a little too because we just found out I am pregnant again (can you say ironic timing!) a little afraid

Congratulations! Hope everything goes wonderfully for you. Have fun telling your little girl!

 

[full quiver]

Totally will video her reaction! Tonight she says, mama when can we go on a plane and holidays again, why did you have to go back to work today? Haha gosh I want to tell her! However, freaking out a little too because we just found out I am pregnant again (can you say ironic timing!) a little afraid

Yay! Congrats on your pregnancy!

 

[full quiver]

Hi! For those who are going on their first Disney cruise of longer than three nights, don't worry about the "formal" night. It is an opportunity for the family (or the girls in the family LOL) to dress up in any 'fancy' or semi-formal dresses or outfits that may be in your closet (from that Vegas trip or New Year's Eve) . Or not. About not quite a quarter of the ship dresses very fancy for that dinner on the second or third evening, and most diners are still in day dresses or nice slacks. I think we saw a total of a dozen tuxes on the big Fantasy ship... If you want to buy yourself or your daughter a new formal or semiformal, great! But totally not necessary. Formal night dress is NEVER mandatory! Personally, I am not comfortable on stilts (aka stilettos) on a ship gently rolling.... Hope that helps!!!!

We usually never dress up; however, figured we may this time.