January 3, 2011 - 5 night Bahamas Sailing

[Georgia3]

Wonkadeb, we are in the first seating. We have a 4 year old in our group. In the past, we have had one adults bring the kids to the club during dinner. We would get them if it was a show they wanted to see when we were done with dinner. Sorry.

 

[FLWIDisneyFan]

We received our Cat 5 GTY as soon as we paid in full for this cruise. It surprised me because our other two experiences with GTY (Cat 12 and Cat 10) were consistant with the 45-50 days before the sail date.

 

[mazz1]

I have a suggestion for the FE. Why don't we count on 20 people being in the exchange (we are at 16 or 17 now). If we go over the 20 we split into 2 groups. That way people can prepare early, keep expenses under control and keep the exchange open longer. Just a thought.

i did suggest a while ago that if we get to certain numbers we spilt into two groups but i don't think it went down well

i'm a little worried last time i had to buy for 9 rooms but somehow ended up with 26 bags of gifts and spent well in excess of £90 ($135) also my gifts filled one holdall and this time i have a transatalantic flight to worry about too, i know it's been suggested i buy one gift per stateroom but not sure how to accomodate the children this way (last time i did each child a goodie bag and then a joint one for the adults in the stateroom

i know i will figure it out, i have some ideas to keep the costs more reasonable this time if i'm definitely buying for 20 rooms but i will be the first to admit it would be easer for me logistics wise if the list was split into two groups ?

 

[lakehead92]

i did suggest a while ago that if we get to certain numbers we spilt into two groups but i don't think it went down well

i'm a little worried last time i had to buy for 9 rooms but somehow ended up with 26 bags of gifts and spent well in excess of £90 ($135) also my gifts filled one holdall and this time i have a transatalantic flight to worry about too, i know it's been suggested i buy one gift per stateroom but not sure how to accomodate the children this way (last time i did each child a goodie bag and then a joint one for the adults in the stateroom

i know i will figure it out, i have some ideas to keep the costs more reasonable this time if i'm definitely buying for 20 rooms but i will be the first to admit it would be easer for me logistics wise if the list was split into two groups ?

I too would be in favour of splitting us into two groups, especially that we still have more people joining. The cruise is a huge expense already for some people. So to spend another 100.00 could be tough for some people.
Participating and having fun is the important part.

 

[Silverfox97]

i did suggest a while ago that if we get to certain numbers we spilt into two groups but i don't think it went down well

i'm a little worried last time i had to buy for 9 rooms but somehow ended up with 26 bags of gifts and spent well in excess of £90 ($135) also my gifts filled one holdall and this time i have a transatalantic flight to worry about too, i know it's been suggested i buy one gift per stateroom but not sure how to accomodate the children this way (last time i did each child a goodie bag and then a joint one for the adults in the stateroom

i know i will figure it out, i have some ideas to keep the costs more reasonable this time if i'm definitely buying for 20 rooms but i will be the first to admit it would be easer for me logistics wise if the list was split into two groups ?

I wouldn't go that far - it's not that it didn't go down well, it's just that some people said they don't mind delivering to everyone, and some want it split up. Here's what was said back on page 5 of our thread:

Well............We are happy to deliver to everyone However, we are driving from Tampa, and we do not have to worry about packing stuff for a flight, so we have lots of room!

You could always scale back your gifts. On our last 5-night cruise, there were 12 participating staterooms (13 including ours), and it was awesome to see the look and excitement on my DD's face when there was something in the FE, which was about twice a day! A lot of the FE participants did a stateroom gift vs having gifts for adults and different ones for children.

Anyone else want to weight in? That is just our family's 2 cents!

I tend to go a little overboard on the shopping. I like that my FE gifts take up alot of room on the way down because then I have that room for all stuff I purchased.

We could go 2 groups. Say, oh, 8-10 rooms in each group (if we get that many) and give everyone the option to participate in both groups. ??? So if you only want 8 staterooms, participate in group 1. If you want 16 staterooms, participate in groups 1 and 2. That's just an example-- hopefully I explained it right

I know that there are a lot of people from far away on this cruise (UK, Canada). Speaking only for our family, we are from Tampa, so packing space is not an issue, as we aren't really limited since we just have a 1 hr 40 min drive to the port. Everyone does their FE gifts differently - we gave a CD to each stateroom last time for the adults, and a bag of goodies to each child. I, for one, am scaling back, as I was, let's see, more generous than most people (not all), and I learned my lesson. It's meant to be a fun thing to add to the cruise, not a time and money consuming problem. Really, you could go out and buy clearance christmas candy, throw it in a zip lock bag, and pass that out. You are thinking, "wow, that seems cheap"? Well, that would be better than some of the stuff we got. Now, I am not at all complaining, I am just simply saying that everyone does FE to varying degrees. By all means, please don't spend $100 if you don't have the money!!

I think mommyofthreeboys has the best idea. If you want to deliver to say, 10 rooms, then be in group 1. You would just deliver to the people in that group. If there are enough people that want to deliver to everyone, then we would be in group 2, and we would deliver to everyone in both group 1 and group 2. What does everyone else think?? So far, we have 3 people that want to split it up and 1 (myself) that will happliy exchange to all rooms. Let's get a poll going

 

[Silverfox97]

Participating and having fun is the important part.

Please don't spend $100+ if you can't afford it!!

On another note, they closed the "Kids Sail Free in Verandah staterooms" for our cruise, and it doesn't look like it's very booked still. C'mon Florida Resident Rates!!! I have a feeling that if they release Florida Resident/Cast Member rates, we will see more cruisers on our thread and possibly joining our FE exchange.

 

[lakehead92]

My post may have been misunderstood.
I am happy to be part of the FE group and will be delivering to the entire list.

I just seconded the splitting of the groups so it could help others if they required it. If it would/could help out others on our cruise then why not. The idea of choosing to do the group 1 or entire group would be a good idea perhaps.

I wouldn't want anyone to not particiapte because they thought the group was too large as well. That would be sad. And I would hate it if the fun wasn't it it for others if they found that doing it for so many people was hard to do economically.

Please everyone...do what you can afford. It will keep it fun for you and everyone else if there is no pressure.
hmm...did any of that make sense.

I am excited to see my kids faces when they find things in our FE each day...I am so excited to surprise them with everything at christmas.

 

[Elangen]

I was just coming back to post that we want to participate in the FE. I see there has been some convo about it. We are willing and interested in exchanging with everyone but encourage everyone not to go overboard! This should be fun, not stressful or too expensive.

so, add us pls.

me-Erin
dh-Kyle
dd Keira(5)
ds-Rhys (2.5)

I have our room already...havent participated on these boards much yet though so, I feel sort of funny, do I just post it here? I will PM Silverfox.

 

[Elangen]

I guess I will PM you after I post 7 more times. lol.

 

[Elangen]

Can I just say I am so freakin' excited for this trip. My first cruise was on RC 5 years ago. Loved it, but my dd was about 6 months old. Im totally looking forward to a vacay with the kids, since I generally work too much, and they will be thrilled that it is disney.

So, aside from the classic princesses etc, do the cruises have any Handy Manny or Phineas and Ferb ? that would just take the cake....

 

[Elangen]

I wasnt worried about the weather until I saw some posts about it. Im pretty sure it will be warmer than it is here (I live in the rockies) in January, but, Im hoping we get at least a little bit of true sunshine.

 

[Elangen]

I am wanna-be crafty. But, lack any time or sewing skills. I think my FE will have to be either ordered from Etsy, or a true glue gun work of art. Hmmm, decisions decisions....

 

[Elangen]

I contacted a limo/town car service for transport from the airport to the port (hmmm, Im going to have to remember which one...). We will have to fly in the day before, and stay the night. I would love to do the Hyatt, but I cant justify it for just one night. Econo lodge, here we come. Well, something cheap. Not sure what yet. The town car service was almost $100 cheaper for our family of four, and I will make use of the grocery stop.

Im waiting on a good deal for flights. Too bad ds is no longer a lap child. Though its too long of a flight for me to have considered that anyway.

 

[Elangen]

Am I boring everyone? Well, maybe you will all be glad to see more posts in our thread.

Disney costumes are $10 off at disneystore.com

I was hoping they would be even more on sale. Maybe after halloween? but, I still need to get the kids a costume anyway, maybe I should pull the trigger...but they cant decide what they want to be.

 

[Elangen]

Our room will be right next to an elevator. Im a bit worried about our FE being messed with (stuff taken, or the whole thing stolen). Anyone have any thoughts? I wonder if I can rig a bike chain to it. lol.

 

[mommyofthreeboys]

I am wanna-be crafty. But, lack any time or sewing skills. I think my FE will have to be either ordered from Etsy, or a true glue gun work of art. Hmmm, decisions decisions....

You don't HAVE to be crafty! That's what makes it so fun! I went to Dollar store and bought every little Disney type thing I could find. Bubbles, pens, playing cards, tatoos, etc...then I put it in little bags with candy. It was fun.

Since it's only DH and I this time, I think I am going to make a gift for each stateroom. That's my intentions anyways.

 

[mommyofthreeboys]

I contacted a limo/town car service for transport from the airport to the port (hmmm, Im going to have to remember which one...). We will have to fly in the day before, and stay the night. I would love to do the Hyatt, but I cant justify it for just one night. Econo lodge, here we come. Well, something cheap. Not sure what yet. The town car service was almost $100 cheaper for our family of four, and I will make use of the grocery stop.

Im waiting on a good deal for flights. Too bad ds is no longer a lap child. Though its too long of a flight for me to have considered that anyway.

We are also flying in the day before and still don't have our flights booked. I need to make the final payment (next week) before I book flights. I've been looking for about 2 months now and they are staying right at $180 each. I'm sure as soon as I book them, the price will go down.

I'm going to do a one way rental each way.

 

[wonkadeb]

As for a FE, do we have to make or purchase a professionally made beautiful looking FE like I have seen in the posted photos, or can we fashion something a little more rudimentary?

 

[mommyofthreeboys]

As for a FE, do we have to make or purchase a professionally made beautiful looking FE like I have seen in the posted photos, or can we fashion something a little more rudimentary?

Up to you! It can be a garbage bag! Seriously, I've seen a reusable bag used before. I don't think anyone will judge ya so whatever you come up with is fine.

 

[Silverfox97]

I am excited to see my kids faces when they find things in our FE each day...I am so excited to surprise them with everything at christmas.

By far, that is the BEST part. My DD 3 1/2 would RUN to the room to check the FE. After her nap, she would run to the door and ask us to open it to check the FE. Not that I don't like to see an adult gift in there

As for a FE, do we have to make or purchase a professionally made beautiful looking FE like I have seen in the posted photos, or can we fashion something a little more rudimentary?

On our last cruise, someone used a Buzz Lightyear christmas stocking, as well as a Stitch one. They weren't christmas-y at all; they were just stockings. Someone else had a sachel, which was pretty cool.

It can be a garbage bag!