June 16, 2013 - 4 night Dream

[Madzac]

Maybe we should do a check in? Who is here lurking/reading along?
Who is going on the cruise?
Have you cruised before with DCL or other?
Where are you from?
Are you thinking about any excursions at this point?
What are you most excited about?

We are here lurking along!
There will be six of us going, DH and I and our four children, DD11, DS8, DS5 and DD who will be a new 2 then. We are staying Cat 9B on deck 2.

This is our first cruise as a family. I did a carnival cruise years ago when I was in college.

We live in Iowa... and are tired of snow and cold!

We are not planning any excursions. I am not sure if we will even get off the boat in Naussau. There is so much to do and so little time.

We are excited about everything! My kids havent even seen the ocean! I am excited to see the ship, the shows and the dining experiences.

And maybe we should add... are you interested in Fish extender exchange... we are!

 

[Hazelwoodfamily]

We are here lurking along!
There will be six of us going, DH and I and our four children, DD11, DS8, DS5 and DD who will be a new 2 then. We are staying Cat 9B on deck 2.

This is our first cruise as a family. I did a carnival cruise years ago when I was in college.

We live in Iowa... and are tired of snow and cold!

We are not planning any excursions. I am not sure if we will even get off the boat in Naussau. There is so much to do and so little time.

We are excited about everything! My kids havent even seen the ocean! I am excited to see the ship, the shows and the dining experienc




And maybe we should add... are you interested in Fish extender exchange... we are!

Myself , DH , DS12 will turn 13 on trip, DS 51/2
Sailed on Carnival once

From Texas
Will do something in Nau not sure what
Excited to see how Disney does a cruise
Yes, to FE

 

[indyshelley]

Count us in for the FE!!!! Should we start a count?? I am going to start researching excursions....any suggestions?

 

[indyshelley]

Ok, yes....I forgot to check in

My name is Shelley, and I will be travelling with my husband of 12 years, Greg, my daughter Macy (8), my girlfriend Gretchen and her son Xavier (8)....Macy and Xavier have been besties since preschool .

We are from Indianapolis where it is currently pelting some freezing rain. Neat.

First time cruisers.

Have not planned any excursions yet.

Most excited about not being at work and seeing the ship for the first time as you drive toward Port Canaveral and the Pirate Party!!! Macy is most excited about the ice cream bar. Seriously, she is losing her fool mind over this.

Most nervous about fitting into my bathing suit in less than 4 months.

 

[avarysmommie]

Officially checking in!

I ordered my FE this week and started planning my gifts so we are definitely in for this.

Our cabin will be me, my DH, 6yo DD (she will be celebrating her 7th bday on board!), and 3yo DS.

I doubt we will do any excursions, and we might not even get off in Nassau.

Can't wait for this vacation!

 

[Madzac]

So since we are down to almost 3 months should we start a formal list for the FE? I have never cruised before, but have been lurking around a lot and think I know what we need. I am happy to be in charge of making the list. It would be nice to get a count going so we can start planning what we are going to give. I havent really put much thought into it yet since I am unsure of numbers and ages, etc. There are some people who posted once on the thread and havent again.

For those of you who have done this before, do you set a date where you need to sign up by?

Lets start by gathering info: please PM me or you can email me at tln1@mchsi.com If anyone has suggestions on anything different we should do let me know. I can put it into a spreadsheet and when it is closer to done email or PM it out to you all.

Here is what we will need so please put this in your PM or email:
DIS board name
Cabin number(s)
Adult number and names
Kids number and names/ages/sex
Any allergies or special med conditions we should take note of
Any special celebrations on cruise
First cruise Y or N

I will see what I can do about compiling an initial list here then. Thanks all!

 

[Madzac]

Ok so I started a google doc spreadsheet... so send me your info! I will add it as I get it!

Here is the link(only have me on there so far!) https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AoC5XAvFmWNQdDA3a3JHMDZWZUhTUDBNTERvbVE0TVE#gid=0

 

[Madzac]

One more thing and I will stop... if your whole family is divided in two cabins but are one group for the FE let me know that. If you are traveling with others or separate families and they will have a FE on their door too let me know so I can set the spreadsheet up to reflect that. For example our family of 6 is in two cabins but we will have one FE.

 

[indyshelley]

Thank you Madzac for doing all that work!! We are definitely IN and I will be PMing you with all of the info but....I don't know what cabins we are in yet?? I dont think we do....where do I find this info? I booked through Disney with final payment due April 2. Do I get my cabin number then or am I overlooking something?

 

[Madzac]

I added Hazelwoodfamily and avarysmommie to the list!

indyshelley- our travel agent picked our cabins when she made our reservation so that we would be next to each other. I know she said in some categories you could get a gty where they will assign your cabin number closer to. Did you book yourself or with a TA? I would say if you arent sure, just send the rest of the in!

 

[indyshelley]

Ok....sending you what I know. I booked online with Disney and just have a gty for my category of navigators verandah...Thanks!!

 

[Madzac]

I just added lambermm, thank you! Indyshelley, I am not sure if you sent me the info yet, but I didnt get it. Mandy had a request to add a column of where you are from...

Right now there are four families on the list, plus indyshelley!

What do you guys think, should we set a date where people need to be signed up by to participate? I wouldnt want to shut anyone out, but not sure when everyone is going to start planning what they will give.

 

[Hazelwoodfamily]

I just added lambermm, thank you! Indyshelley, I am not sure if you sent me the info yet, but I didnt get it. Mandy had a request to add a column of where you are from...

Right now there are four families on the list, plus indyshelley!

What do you guys think, should we set a date where people need to be signed up by to participate? I wouldnt want to shut anyone out, but not sure when everyone is going to start planning what they will give.

I want to start planning as soon as possible so I can do a little each month. What about end of March? We are from Texas

 

[avarysmommie]

I want to start planning as soon as possible so I can do a little each month. What about end of March? We are from Texas

End of March or ten families, whichever we get to first?? I'm kinda stressing about buying, packing, and delivering for more than 10...

 

[Madzac]

I don't think we will have more than 10 but I think that is a very reasonable limit. So 10 families or April 1? Whichever comes first.

 

[PorterFam3]

Our family would like to participate in the FE but I am concerned because we are on the concierge level. Anyone know if others can get to our room? I have a cool FE ready to go but now I am questioning....this is our first cruise.

 

[Madzac]

Porterfam3, welcome! I have no idea the answer to your question... might be a good one to post on the main cruise board?

 

[lambermm]

Just checking in. It has been a little quite. I am getting so excited for this cruise. I am starting to put together my to-do list of everything I want to do/make/bring. I am not sure how I am going to pack everything . I am going to try and not overpack if that is possible. We are doing Disney beforehand so this may be a challenge. I am thankful that we are staying a Bay Lake Towers so I can wash everything before we head to the cruise that will help the overpacking situation.

Hope everyone is doing well!

 

[Madzac]

I too have a feeling I am going to overpack... what with clothes for each day and for dinners. Ugh! Getting so excited though. I was super excited to log into my reservation the other day to find out our wait list request for main dining was granted! What a relief with a 2 yr old!

I have not heard from anyone else on the fish extender exchange. There were several on this thread that seemed interested that havent posted again or what have you. I hate to shut them out, but I know several of you really want to get moving on gifts too. Right now we only have 4 families. I am fine with it being small, but do you all think we should wait a little longer to close the list, or just go with the four families?

Again, for anyone lurking along or who hasnt been checking in, we would love to have you participate in the FE exchange if you are interested! Its going to be a fairly small group. Please PM the info that was listed earlier in the thread or if you are new and cannot PM email it to me at tln1@mchsi.com Please post here after you do and double check our document to make sure you have been added. As of right now we set April 1 as the deadline, but we will see what everyone thinks.

Here again is the link to the list: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AoC5XAvFmWNQdDA3a3JHMDZWZUhTUDBNTERvbVE0TVE#gid=0

 

[Hazelwoodfamily]

I am fine waiting a bit longer. I am really getting excited for the trip.