July 28, 2007 - "Rome-ancing the Mouse Cruisers" -11 days! Part 2

[jlawall]

Since I'm trying to build up my posting number as it's starting to embarass me....I wanted to say that we went to Disney World last week for two of my children's birthday and it was GREAT. It doesn't matter how many times we go it's still a fantastic place. This will only be our second cruise and our first trip to Europe and when I read all the posts and all the information it's making me nervous....we're from a small place and we're going to such a big place....yikes! This site has been a huge source of info though, thank you to all of those who have put so much effort into it.

Lucky you!!!

 

[jlawall]

www.piratequiz.com

Sorry I had to put this on again...it's so cute!!

My pirate name....

Iron Jenny Rackham

A pirate's life isn't easy; it takes a tough person. That's okay with you, though, since you're a tough person. You have the good fortune of having a good name, since Rackham is one of the coolest sounding surnames for a pirate. Arr! (Personally, I think that I am a boring pirate.)

 

[jlawall]

Less than 60 posts to go...................

 

[eeyorelvr10]

In my quest to find more things to write about (how does she do it?).....I think it's time to start a packing list...............help me out, guys!!

Letter sorter /fish hanger?
Surprises to put in the fish hangers
Glo necklaces
Sack of items from our hometown
Toilet paper or wipees or Charmin seat covers
Euros?
Formal/semi-formal wear
Pirate outfit
Bathing suits
Sweatshirt
Lanyards (Kyla only)

What else?

OMG! A Bathing Suit! I so forgot to include this!

This is very sad..........it's what happens when someone comes down with Helenitis...............

Hi everyone, I've only got 2 little posts on this whole gigantic site, sorry state of affaris. Anyway, I know that this has been covered but the site is so huge that I don't know where to go to look so I'm going to be lazy and just ask again. First of all I see on page 1 the listings of the hotels that people are staying in, is that the most updated list? Next, I'm booked into the Barcelona Center and I don't see anyone else staying there so I'm wondering if maybe it's not centrally located....does anyone have any knowledge of this hotel? and one more thing we're arriving in Barcelona on the 24th ( very long flight originating in the Cayman Islands, I am DREADING that part of the trip with 3 kids!) and I see posts about transfers , taxis etc.
and what a busy place the BCN airport is, so my question is this .....what the heck should I do to make my family's life the easiest after flying for 14 hours to get ourselves to our hotel?????

Hey Islandmomof3 - sorry - can you tell us your name again? I'm horrible with names. So when you all see me address you by name - its because I'm trying to commit your names to memory.

Anyway, no worries - just jump in and post and join the fun. We have all asked these questions before. We are flying in on the 26th from California. We leave at 5:50 pm on the 25th and I'm assuming we'll get to the hotel around 7 pm the next day. I'm hoping to stay up a little bit and then adjust to local time. If you have a chance, you might want to backtrack about 40 pages back and skim. We've touched just a little on it and I'm sure that we'll touch on this more and more as we get closer to the cruise.

Some of the tips have been to adjust our watches as soon as we get the plane to change to our destination time. If you have a stopover adjust to that time. Melatonin is a natural sleep aid that you can take. Ummm, noise-reducing headphones, eye patches, and the general consensus is to avoid alcohol for the adults. I'm sure you'll have some other responses soon.

Talk to you later - feel free to just type a ? when you have a question.

Later - must go and pick up my lost dogs! I'll explain later.

 

[Aurora1959]

AND THE CURRENT QUEEN OF MULTI-QUOTING IS:

WHEW! And the title goes back to Carrie - Aurora1959 - just cause she's her fav princess!

66! Had to double check on the count - give or take some - wow - and to think - not only is this her 2nd week but she got tagged too!

Now, the challenge is whether you remember why you got tagged?

I suspect that Helen or Andrew will have an easy time topping that. It's super easy when you have been away for 4 or 5 days.

I recall both quotes, but it does seem like a while ago.

Any other teachers on our cruise?

---------------------------------------------------------
Ask any teacher, you folks in the office are the best! We couldn't do it without you!!!!

I may not be a teacher, but I am in my son's class so often that the teacher says i could be one. I love to help out with fun science projects and other tidbits. today - i helped 21 3rd graders make Ice cream. They thought it was the greatest thing in the world.

As for the office staff...Well when my son first started at this school 5 years ago, the office staff was rude and incompetent. Since then, every member of that staff has been fired or moved to another school. This new staff is the best i have ever seen. I think they could run the school if needed.

Not to mention, the one secretary that used to be a RN, is credited with running to my son's class yesterday to check on him. I'm glad she is there, and has that background.

In my quest to find more things to write about (how does she do it?).....I think it's time to start a packing list...............help me out, guys!!

Letter sorter /fish hanger?
Surprises to put in the fish hangers
Glo necklaces
Sack of items from our hometown
Toilet paper or wipees or Charmin seat covers
Euros?
Formal/semi-formal wear
Pirate outfit
Bathing suits
Sweatshirt
Lanyards (Kyla only)

What else?

And just think - you havent even listed your day clothes or toiletries

Here is a list of items that I have gathered from reading lot of threads. Of course not all of it is for each of us.

• passport holders
• fanny pack
• hydration pack (for the excursions), doubles as a daypack.
• camera, extra batteries, extra memory card
• lysol wipes (for the airplane, hotel, stateroom, excursions, anything else)
  I'm not a germaphobe, but i really don't want to catch something on the plane from the previous passenger. I read that it is really easy to get sick from your flight, and not have symptoms of course until you are on your cruise and have spread it. I understand that Disney does a better job than others about cleaning each stateroom, but i understand that there are easy things that get missed. I just don't want to ruin our TOAL on some stupid stomach virus or head cold. Which is why i am also bring a small arsenal of meds.
• hand sanitizer
• chapstick (new environment, your lips can get chapped easy)
• host of meds for the just in case (advil, sudafed, pepto, etc)
• a book (new HP for us), it's for the airplane
• sport bottle (easy to refill with water) (this is on the maybe list for me)
• ziploc bags (When we go to DL, we always pack some ziplocks in my fanny pack. Anytime the kids have some left over food, like chips, etc. I just store it in the bags for later. If by chance you are doing something where water or sand damage could be a problem, you can protect it in a bag. They take up little space in your bag.)
• DH's pillow case. He has a horrible time sleeping away from home. I heard this could help. I figure it's worth a try.
• notebook (computer type or paper and pen) to journal your trip
• postcards - to send home
• autograph book and large(fat) pen
• over the door shoe organizer (i understand this is useful in the bathroom to hold items)
• list of people you intend to buy gifts for. include info about each person to help you pick out their gift. also bring their addresses incase you decide to mail them a postcard or their gift
• address book - esp for the teens/tweens to get addresses for pen pals
• sun hat
• sun block
• extra duffels for extra stuff on way home
• ipod
• copy of airport layouts (in preferred language)
• list of phone numbers and reservation numbers for air, hotel, excursions (if on your own), etc
• parking at the airport? something to write down where you parked and store in your wallet.
• phone numbers of all credit card's your are taking with you. (so you can call to cancel if they are stolen) Usually number is on the back of the card, but if it is stolen, you wont know it. Hint - DONT write down the card number. If your card is stolen, they can look you up by name and personal info. Of course, since we will be in europe, you will have to find a way to call from a Disney phone. Or - you might want to call your cc company and ask, if it is stolen on day 1, will you be responsible for any charges between then and you reporting it. It would suck to be freaked out for the entire cruise, better to know where you stand.
• highlighters - to highlight the things you want to do each day?
• and of course a printout of disers, their staterooms, etc

LALALALALALALALA - Am I talking to myself tonight?

OKAY, I will tell a pirate joke and then go to bed.

What kind of socks does a pirate wear?

okay, since you guys are laughing so hard at the first joke...how about:
Why did the small pirate not go to the movies?

This is very sad..........it's what happens when someone comes down with Helenitis...............

Since I'm trying to build up my posting number as it's starting to embarass me....I wanted to say that we went to Disney World last week for two of my children's birthday and it was GREAT. It doesn't matter how many times we go it's still a fantastic place. This will only be our second cruise and our first trip to Europe and when I read all the posts and all the information it's making me nervous....we're from a small place and we're going to such a big place....yikes! This site has been a huge source of info though, thank you to all of those who have put so much effort into it.

Don't worry it's a big trip, but just treat it like a normal trip by plane across the country. You wont know exactly what is going to happen, but at least you will have the advantage of reading all the trip reports from the people before us.

 

[captaincrash]

This is getting really complicated!! What kind of trinkets do people put into your fish extenders? I'm the kind of person who would be worried that no one would give us anything and I'd look like a big fool.

We had a TON of goodies from the 11 nite southern cruise. AND frankly, it was HUGELY entertaining to see what showed up everyday. We donated some goodies for just the kids on the cruise and our DIS neighbors brought candy bags with mass printed labels affixed saying who they were from. A couple of evenings I walked the ENTIRE ship with my stoller and my neighbor wit thier stroller - as we used the strollers to carry the goodies we were dropping into the fish extenders.

We found we were phtographing every extender as we walked the ship - then it was taking so lojng that we eventually stopped because there were SO MANY. At one point it was something like 2 or 3 AM and we were still at it as we started late and ships security was shadowing us the whole time to ensure we were not up to "no good".

So... don't be shy. Get or make a creativfe fish extender... make a fun magnetic door sign and do indeed bring a couple of zip ties. On the southern sailing one generous DIS neighbor made fish extenders for anyone on the sailing who wanted one ... by hand! Of course a nominal charge was requsted to cover materials and postage - which was indeed minimal .... so a lot of folks had similar fish extenders.

I did not read much from your sailing - but is anyone running a secret mickey function? I thought that was a fun diversion. ANd what of a Mickey Ice Cream Eating Speed challenge? That was MY event...and I hosted it with personalized Bubba Mug trophies and award certificates signed by the ships' captain for EVERYONE who participated! I brought a P-touch label maker to personalize the trophies. Working with the front desk proved easy for this private function - and the Mickey Bars were free of course! Some of those pictures are posted on my photo slide show.

It may seem complicated ... but you get out of it what you put into it... and I would strongly encourage you to do the fish extender and perhaps think of something you'd like to share with the group as fish extender goodies. HOW big is the group anyways? How many cabins?

Anyways... bon voyage folks for the voyage!

 

[Aurora1959]

Hey Islandmomof3 - sorry - can you tell us your name again? I'm horrible with names. So when you all see me address you by name - its because I'm trying to commit your names to memory.

Anyway, no worries - just jump in and post and join the fun. We have all asked these questions before. We are flying in on the 26th from California. We leave at 5:50 pm on the 25th and I'm assuming we'll get to the hotel around 7 pm the next day. I'm hoping to stay up a little bit and then adjust to local time. If you have a chance, you might want to backtrack about 40 pages back and skim. We've touched just a little on it and I'm sure that we'll touch on this more and more as we get closer to the cruise.

Some of the tips have been to adjust our watches as soon as we get the plane to change to our destination time. If you have a stopover adjust to that time. Melatonin is a natural sleep aid that you can take. Ummm, noise-reducing headphones, eye patches, and the general consensus is to avoid alcohol for the adults. I'm sure you'll have some other responses soon.

Talk to you later - feel free to just type a ? when you have a question.

Later - must go and pick up my lost dogs! I'll explain later.

I agree - we have been talking about tips for easy travel about the last 100 pages. I know that i am personally a control freak that can't handle it if I don't know what is going on. I don't necessarily have to be the one in control, I just like to know what to expect. I hate the 'OK, now what do we do?' feeling. So for me personally, I like to plan things out as much as possible. I always have a back up too. And I understand that things happen, and you can't possibly plan out every detail. But I have an autistic son, so I have to be able to tell him ahead of time what to expect. (to some degree)

OMG - You have to tell us what happened with the dogs. I just can't imagine anything having happened to them. Please update as soon as you can. In the meantime, i will give my two a great big

 

[jlawall]

I agree - we have been talking about tips for easy travel about the last 100 pages. I know that i am personally a control freak that can't handle it if I don't know what is going on. I don't necessarily have to be the one in control, I just like to know what to expect. I hate the 'OK, now what do we do?' feeling. So for me personally, I like to plan things out as much as possible. I always have a back up too. And I understand that things happen, and you can't possibly plan out every detail. But I have an autistic son, so I have to be able to tell him ahead of time what to expect. (to some degree)

OMG - You have to tell us what happened with the dogs. I just can't imagine anything having happened to them. Please update as soon as you can. In the meantime, i will give my two a great big

My biggest fear for this trip is that I've scheduled us for too much........we have excursions booked in every port.........we just don't want to miss anything but I also don't want to miss out on the fun ship activities!

 

[jlawall]

And just think - you havent even listed your day clothes or toiletries

Here is a list of items that I have gathered from reading lot of threads. Of course not all of it is for each of us.

• passport holders
• fanny pack
• hydration pack (for the excursions), doubles as a daypack.
• camera, extra batteries, extra memory card
• lysol wipes (for the airplane, hotel, stateroom, excursions, anything else)
  I'm not a germaphobe, but i really don't want to catch something on the plane from the previous passenger. I read that it is really easy to get sick from your flight, and not have symptoms of course until you are on your cruise and have spread it. I understand that Disney does a better job than others about cleaning each stateroom, but i understand that there are easy things that get missed. I just don't want to ruin our TOAL on some stupid stomach virus or head cold. Which is why i am also bring a small arsenal of meds.
• hand sanitizer
• chapstick (new environment, your lips can get chapped easy)
• host of meds for the just in case (advil, sudafed, pepto, etc)
• a book (new HP for us), it's for the airplane
• sport bottle (easy to refill with water) (this is on the maybe list for me)
• ziploc bags (When we go to DL, we always pack some ziplocks in my fanny pack. Anytime the kids have some left over food, like chips, etc. I just store it in the bags for later. If by chance you are doing something where water or sand damage could be a problem, you can protect it in a bag. They take up little space in your bag.)
• DH's pillow case. He has a horrible time sleeping away from home. I heard this could help. I figure it's worth a try.
• notebook (computer type or paper and pen) to journal your trip
• postcards - to send home
• autograph book and large(fat) pen
• over the door shoe organizer (i understand this is useful in the bathroom to hold items)
• list of people you intend to buy gifts for. include info about each person to help you pick out their gift. also bring their addresses incase you decide to mail them a postcard or their gift
• address book - esp for the teens/tweens to get addresses for pen pals
• sun hat
• sun block
• extra duffels for extra stuff on way home
• ipod
• copy of airport layouts (in preferred language)
• list of phone numbers and reservation numbers for air, hotel, excursions (if on your own), etc
• parking at the airport? something to write down where you parked and store in your wallet.
• phone numbers of all credit card's your are taking with you. (so you can call to cancel if they are stolen) Usually number is on the back of the card, but if it is stolen, you wont know it. Hint - DONT write down the card number. If your card is stolen, they can look you up by name and personal info. Of course, since we will be in europe, you will have to find a way to call from a Disney phone. Or - you might want to call your cc company and ask, if it is stolen on day 1, will you be responsible for any charges between then and you reporting it. It would suck to be freaked out for the entire cruise, better to know where you stand.
• highlighters - to highlight the things you want to do each day?
• and of course a printout of disers, their staterooms, etc

I have to look this over thoroughly and add it to my list! Any other suggestions all??

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

Hi everyone! I started to post, and that thing called "life" took me away, but I'm back for a few minutes before I have to hit that rack.

After I posted, I went and walked the dog...the weather has been so awesome. When I read the post about Sandra's sons friend....it brought back such memories.....I guess it overwhelmed me. The VA Tech shootings are so raw right now for so many of us here in VA. Everyday, we get mail from VA Tech (as Daniel will be a freshman in the fall), all about security and updates...so very sad.

Yesterday as well, on of my BF found out her 45 year old sister had passed, totally unexpected. She was crying so hard....so sad. I will be traveling to Fort Washington PA for the funeral on Sat. My PA friends...anyone close to this town?

I'm sorry you had such a rough day. I hope today was a little easier for you.

welll....

CONGRATULATIONS!

Did anyone figure out the 3 signed documents we are suppose to bring for checkin? someone in their trip reports said with online checkin there are 3 documents we are suppose to bring. I only remember the cruise contract. Guess I'll have to go check.

I took a cursory look, and started to fill them out, but I don't think I finished. I haven't printed anything out yet.

Geez, not much live reporting going on. I think everyone is blogging. unless I'm reading the wrong thread.

I know what you mean. What do they think they're doing by keeping us waiting to read about all of their experiences! hmph! (where's that toe-tapping smiley)

Did anyone see how people's luggage were getting picked up and transferred to the Magic? Someone mentioned that it was being picked up at 8am. but didn't mention if they were leaving luggage in the hallway, taking it down to the Disney desk (my preferred method), or waiting in their room for someone to come knock on their door to collect luggage. Ok, I'm getting way too deep into this, I can see.

Sorry, I have no idea. We're handling our own luggage on the way to the ship.

After working long days all week, DH calls me on Friday to say that things are not going as well as he would like, and he will be working very late Fri night, and all weekend. OK - so i didn't really want to be w/o him, but if he's not here, he can't stop me!
So directly after baseball practice I went to the store, bought the paint and started on the bathroom. I decided to get fancy with it and do some ragging, so it took up most of saturday too. Spent some time with the kids, and a friend, took them to see Pirates, bought a new BBQ, assembled it. Mowed the lawns, cleaned the house, etc. Pretty busy weekend.

I wasn't on vacation, but I was too busy to be posting.

No kidding! You keep really busy!

West coast is best! Ok, so I really can't say that, I've never been to the east coast. It's on my list of things to do, but hasn't happened yet. Keep flying right over it.

I won't argue with you there.

OK - well there are a ton more pages to read. And a sports fest that I need to help on. I'm a little worried about my youngest son. Yesterday while watching a movie at school, with nothing in his mouth, he started choking. Teacher said he turned blue and wasn't breathing. Needless to say, I flew at about 80 mph the 35 miles it is from work to home. I even passed a cop on the way, didn't even care. He's fine, I actually think he choked on his own saliva. But, I want to be close to home anyway. I didn't tell him that was why I was staying home today, no need to panic him. So, I'm off to the school. I'll catch up again later. Another 30 or 40 pages to read.

Wow, that's scary. He's okay now, right?

"A special note to this trip for those that will be cruising later on, and I think other trips as well, is to bring toilet paper. You will not find it on these side trips"...read this today!!!

Yikes........ewwww.........

That's really true about the toilet paper. Every bathroom i've been in around here hasn't had it and usually doesn't have a seat either. I'd keep a pack of kleenex or baby wipes at the very least in your backpack!!

We go camping a lot, and I have found toilet rolls in travel size encased in plastic. Some supermarkets have a section with travel sized shampoos, lotions, and such - they'd be with those. I think I'll get some more. I also take baby wipes (use them for all sorts of things -wiping off makeup & stuff) and put them in ziplock sandwich bags so they are easy to carry.

Hey all - Capt Crash posted a slideshow on Post #4579 on page 306 that has a link to a slideshow from our 11-Nighter last Sept. The show has 121 images but the last 50 or so are what you are all interested in.

The first couple are from St. Thomas I think. Then about image 55 or so you have some shots of Fish Extenders and door decorations as well.

As someone said - yes the frowns on tape on the door but magnetic sheets works well. What I do is I print up a sheet of photo paper and or put one in a protective sheet and attached the magnetic sheet to the door. Some people go all out.

HEE HEE HEE - you'll find a picture of me and DH in here also. It was taken at our DISmeet breakfast in Parrot Cay. Someone organized a time and we all had breakfast to 'meet' some of the other DISsers we may not have had a chance to meet. It was actually fun. Anyway, I'm wearing a red tank top and a patriotic Mickey pin on my shoulder. Don't laugh anyone - I actually like it. I have made a conscious effort to start being in pictures and its getting easier.

So as I mentioned before - those that have the advantage in the contest are those with embroidery skills or creative minds - you should have seen the winner on our cruise - not a space was left untouched. Don't think its in the picture slideshow but at least you now get an idea!

Oh yeah - did I see someone post that they were making a map of DIS cabins? This really helps in making 'deliveries' to our "Fish Mail" Trust me - not only will the kids enjoy it but you the adults will be looking in the mail every time you enter the room

Oh yeah - since that group was awfully big - we had what we call designated floor monitors on each floor. Nothing much was involved, just that they posted a list of all DIS cabins and of any changes if changes were made, they made it on their level. There were a lot of changes and upgrades at the last minute so this came in handy. Those that didn't advise of an upgrade missed out on goodies and those that took over their cabins were probably wondering - what is this and who keeps dropping things off in my fish holder!


WARNING! I would suggest that you take those cable ties or those zip ties to anchor your fish mail down. Sometimes they do have a tendency to 'swim' away. I came across this note hanging where the owners were asking to have their fish extender brought back. Someone had taken it down. (I was making deliveries and saw the note) Well the next day I was dropping off a Secret Mickey present when I saw the 'wayward fish' on the other side of the ship in a doorway -very far from home. The good news is that I was able to 'guide' the fish back to its rightful hanging place. It was then anchored into place!

Great story! Thank you for the slideshow & all the tips. I actually went to a couple of shops looking for those fish hanger thingies, and no luck. I'll keep trying.

Oh nothing really big - some examples we've gotten was a postcard, a small baggie with pieces of candy such as a roll, a mint. etc. Small and easily taken care of. Some UK'ers actually brought a postcard from their region, which was really neat actually - one had a receipe for some sort of.......biscuit/scone? We even got a deck of pirate playing cards. Someone dropped off a tiny rubber duckie with a ribbon stating the name of the DIS. Just small things. Others like me gave away big things that we ended up having to ship to the terminal. But one creative person ended up giving a roll of lifesavers with a picture of the Wonder and the caption on it - kinda like those chocolate Hersheys given out at baby showers with a new cover? Small things - one person even had a menu which was torn up and glued to a small wooden back that they turned into a magnet - the menu was from a previous pirate night and had the look of an old map? That was pretty ingenious. I took to getting some, inexpensive trinkets from ports such as a stamp, a postcard, something that I could easily get w/o having to carry. It was more for the fun.

I gave away a small water bottle holder (which took up lots of space and I ended up having to mail over 300 to the terminal at the last minute ) We however aren't that big and REMEMBER: This is voluntary - NO ONE IS REQUIRED! ITS FOR FUN!

Again - another hint - go to Big Lots, Claire's or Dollar Tree if you want to participate - IT IS NOT REQUIRED! IT IS FOR FUN! PLEASE NO ONE FEEL LIKE YOU ARE OBLIGATED!

On my part - I have experienced this and love the idea of 'mail' its fun so I do it. Again, be smart - don't carry anything you have too unless you want too, small, inconsequential things are good. Heck even a small candy from home is good. I saved my life saver covering in the hopes that if I ever get to scrapbook - I can incorporate it into the page!

I love this! I already have a couple of ideas.

Hi,

Does anyone know approximately how many rooms/ people are participating in the fish extenders? I love the idea but don't want to get caught short of whatever I dicide to bring.

Sandra

We should start a list

AND THE CURRENT QUEEN OF MULTI-QUOTING IS:

WHEW! And the title goes back to Carrie - Aurora1959 - just cause she's her fav princess!

66! Had to double check on the count - give or take some - wow - and to think - not only is this her 2nd week but she got tagged too!

Now, the challenge is whether you remember why you got tagged?

Queen of the multi-quotes.

Hi everyone, I've only got 2 little posts on this whole gigantic site, sorry state of affaris. Anyway, I know that this has been covered but the site is so huge that I don't know where to go to look so I'm going to be lazy and just ask again. First of all I see on page 1 the listings of the hotels that people are staying in, is that the most updated list? Next, I'm booked into the Barcelona Center and I don't see anyone else staying there so I'm wondering if maybe it's not centrally located....does anyone have any knowledge of this hotel? and one more thing we're arriving in Barcelona on the 24th ( very long flight originating in the Cayman Islands, I am DREADING that part of the trip with 3 kids!) and I see posts about transfers , taxis etc., and what a busy place the BCN airport is, so my question is this .....what the heck should I do to make my family's life the easiest after flying for 14 hours to get ourselves to our hotel?????

I think one of the best things you can do is stay calm, and your family will be calm. Barcelona is used to a lot of tourists. There will be people who speak English who can help you. After you get your luggage, grab a taxi and have them take you to your hotel. I've done this in Madrid, and although it was a busy airport, we didn't have any trouble.

Since I'm trying to build up my posting number as it's starting to embarass me....I wanted to say that we went to Disney World last week for two of my children's birthday and it was GREAT. It doesn't matter how many times we go it's still a fantastic place. This will only be our second cruise and our first trip to Europe and when I read all the posts and all the information it's making me nervous....we're from a small place and we're going to such a big place....yikes! This site has been a huge source of info though, thank you to all of those who have put so much effort into it.

From Disney World to the Disney Cruise - how exciting. I bet your family will have a fantastic time.

I suspect that Helen or Andrew will have an easy time topping that. It's super easy when you have been away for 4 or 5 days.

And just think - you havent even listed your day clothes or toiletries

Here is a list of items that I have gathered from reading lot of threads. Of course not all of it is for each of us.

• passport holders
• fanny pack
• hydration pack (for the excursions), doubles as a daypack.
• camera, extra batteries, extra memory card
• lysol wipes (for the airplane, hotel, stateroom, excursions, anything else)
  I'm not a germaphobe, but i really don't want to catch something on the plane from the previous passenger. I read that it is really easy to get sick from your flight, and not have symptoms of course until you are on your cruise and have spread it. I understand that Disney does a better job than others about cleaning each stateroom, but i understand that there are easy things that get missed. I just don't want to ruin our TOAL on some stupid stomach virus or head cold. Which is why i am also bring a small arsenal of meds.
• hand sanitizer
• chapstick (new environment, your lips can get chapped easy)
• host of meds for the just in case (advil, sudafed, pepto, etc)
• a book (new HP for us), it's for the airplane
• sport bottle (easy to refill with water) (this is on the maybe list for me)
• ziploc bags (When we go to DL, we always pack some ziplocks in my fanny pack. Anytime the kids have some left over food, like chips, etc. I just store it in the bags for later. If by chance you are doing something where water or sand damage could be a problem, you can protect it in a bag. They take up little space in your bag.)
• DH's pillow case. He has a horrible time sleeping away from home. I heard this could help. I figure it's worth a try.
• notebook (computer type or paper and pen) to journal your trip
• postcards - to send home
• autograph book and large(fat) pen
• over the door shoe organizer (i understand this is useful in the bathroom to hold items)
• list of people you intend to buy gifts for. include info about each person to help you pick out their gift. also bring their addresses incase you decide to mail them a postcard or their gift
• address book - esp for the teens/tweens to get addresses for pen pals
• sun hat
• sun block
• extra duffels for extra stuff on way home
• ipod
• copy of airport layouts (in preferred language)
• list of phone numbers and reservation numbers for air, hotel, excursions (if on your own), etc
• parking at the airport? something to write down where you parked and store in your wallet.
• phone numbers of all credit card's your are taking with you. (so you can call to cancel if they are stolen) Usually number is on the back of the card, but if it is stolen, you wont know it. Hint - DONT write down the card number. If your card is stolen, they can look you up by name and personal info. Of course, since we will be in europe, you will have to find a way to call from a Disney phone. Or - you might want to call your cc company and ask, if it is stolen on day 1, will you be responsible for any charges between then and you reporting it. It would suck to be freaked out for the entire cruise, better to know where you stand.
• highlighters - to highlight the things you want to do each day?
• and of course a printout of disers, their staterooms, etc.

Great list! Thank you.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

We had a TON of goodies from the 11 nite southern cruise. AND frankly, it was HUGELY entertaining to see what showed up everyday. We donated some goodies for just the kids on the cruise and our DIS neighbors brought candy bags with mass printed labels affixed saying who they were from. A couple of evenings I walked the ENTIRE ship with my stoller and my neighbor wit thier stroller - as we used the strollers to carry the goodies we were dropping into the fish extenders.

We found we were phtographing every extender as we walked the ship - then it was taking so lojng that we eventually stopped because there were SO MANY. At one point it was something like 2 or 3 AM and we were still at it as we started late and ships security was shadowing us the whole time to ensure we were not up to "no good".

So... don't be shy. Get or make a creativfe fish extender... make a fun magnetic door sign and do indeed bring a couple of zip ties. On the southern sailing one generous DIS neighbor made fish extenders for anyone on the sailing who wanted one ... by hand! Of course a nominal charge was requsted to cover materials and postage - which was indeed minimal .... so a lot of folks had similar fish extenders.

I did not read much from your sailing - but is anyone running a secret mickey function? I thought that was a fun diversion. ANd what of a Mickey Ice Cream Eating Speed challenge? That was MY event...and I hosted it with personalized Bubba Mug trophies and award certificates signed by the ships' captain for EVERYONE who participated! I brought a P-touch label maker to personalize the trophies. Working with the front desk proved easy for this private function - and the Mickey Bars were free of course! Some of those pictures are posted on my photo slide show.

It may seem complicated ... but you get out of it what you put into it... and I would strongly encourage you to do the fish extender and perhaps think of something you'd like to share with the group as fish extender goodies. HOW big is the group anyways? How many cabins?

Anyways... bon voyage folks for the voyage!

Wow, such great ideas! I'm not sure how many cabins we have. I have an excel sheet and am up to over 165 people, and I don't even have everyone down yet.

My biggest fear for this trip is that I've scheduled us for too much........we have excursions booked in every port.........we just don't want to miss anything but I also don't want to miss out on the fun ship activities!

I'm hoping we have enough down time. I haven't scheduled anything for Olbia, and just afternoons in Marseille & Villefranche, so we should be relaxed by the end of the cruise ... hopefully.

 

[kyla]

OKAY, I will tell a pirate joke and then go to bed.

What kind of socks does a pirate wear?
















































ARRRRRRRRRRgyles

 

[kyla]

This is very sad..........it's what happens when someone comes down with Helenitis...............

I hope LynnTarrant puts this in her daily summaries.

 

[kyla]

.....what the heck should I do to make my family's life the easiest after flying for 14 hours to get ourselves to our hotel?????

Disney Transfers

But then you need to stay at a Disney hotel. Grand Marina is right there at the end of the LaRamblas. We're getting in at about 10pm and Disney promised to pick up up at the airport and get us to our hotels

 

[kyla]

My biggest fear for this trip is that I've scheduled us for too much........we have excursions booked in every port.........we just don't want to miss anything but I also don't want to miss out on the fun ship activities!

Thats me. Go go go and we end up being in a rush. I tried to space it out this time, but I just want to see everything! Is that so bad?

 

[kyla]

Any lurkers out there? Come on show yourself.

 

[kyla]

I think I just got hit by the tag fairy!

OMG, I'm smelly!

No, no I'm not!

 

[kyla]

Ok, I was just thinking about that category 12 again. I heard you take an elevator down to deck PP (as in Peter Pan). Take a right and straight on to morning to Never Never deck.

 

[kyla]

 

[kyla]

I'm