June 19, 2004, anyone yet???

[randytenn]

One big tip on Downy Wrinkle Release - use the original bottle. Don't try to use a different sprayer. We did that on a trip to New Orleans, and the bottle didn't "mist" the spray enough, and it ended up staining my shirt. I was really miffed!

 

[sweetpea3470]

I USE THE WRINKLE RELEASE FROM A STORE WE HAVE AROUND HERE CALLED FAMILY DOLLAR. IT WORKS JUST AS GOOD AS DOWNEY & ABOUT HALF THE $$. ONLY MY OPINION.

 

[WRH3MD]

Hi folks, here is a list of a few things we've learned that help. If some of this stuff is intuitively obvious, forgive me.

1. black Sharpie to mark the tags DCL give you to claim your luggage. ie "Harden 1 of 8" pieces that is. It makes them easier to spot for the handlers.

2. extension cord. Believe it or not when you have more than one hair dryer going before dinner it helps as there are few sockets in the room.

3. Batteries, yeah batteries.

4. Sunscreen, yeah sunscreen.

5. Ladies: be prepared for those unexpected events. My wife leads me to believe the selection of such fem hygeine products on board is thin. (No pun intended.

6. Speaking of which, you can literally get on the ship and a week later get off whithout needing cash once. Based on experience however there is one place you will definitely need a few quarters: The ladies room on Castaway Cay. This came as a surprise to dh.

7. A small fan, maybe, as the luggage allows. For reasons not clear the AC in the staterooms sometimes isn't working well and the room can get warm.

8. Drivers license. Carrying a passport on and off the ship may get cumbersome and you'll need pic ID everytime you leave the ship. That is if you have a passport. You don't really need one.

9. Leave the tux and shirts and suits in the plastic bag that they come back from the laundry in. For some reason it helps prevent wrinkles. At least it did for me.

These are a few that I can think of off hand. Hope these help a little. If I think of others I'll add them.

Cheers, Wes

 

[Corl4]

Hi everyone!

Hope everyone is having a great holiday weekend. We are recuperating from an all-nighter at the post-prom party. DH and I were chaperones and had a great time but pulling an all-nighter now is much different than when we were in college!!

I have a tip to add to Wes' list. We always take an over the door shoe holder. I comes in great for storing film, gum ( can't by it on the ship, in WDW or at the airport), keys, sunglasses, snacks, room cards, ect.....it works especially great if you have an adjoining room since you can hang it over that door!

Looking forward to 4 more day of school and DD's graduation on Friday. Once this week is over, I'll really get in high gear for the cruise!

Have a good one!

Beth

 

[DoomBuggieDriver]

Hi everyone,
It's been too busy at work and I've let things slide. Now it's time for the anxiety attacks! Denise, do you have Debbie's number for concierge ? (we're in a category 3) I was going to wait until we boarded to make the brunch ressies, but I might as well do it now as it's about the only thing I really would like to do with my DH on one of the sea days. Of course it can't clash with the Character Breakfast day, because gosh knows I can't miss that. (My DH & DDs will want to, but tough-they are going and it will be fun.)

And as for those docs, they aren't here yet, so I will dash off a e-mail to my TA and hope they arrive soon. I want to boogie to the doc dance too!

We never go anywhere, so I have no idea how much to pack for clothes. I prefer to go light and do a wash once if I have too. How many of what are you all bringing? I know we'll each have a formal outfit that can be tweaked up or down for the formal/semi-formal nights. At least two bathing suits each is obvious. But I was just wondering about how many shorts, shirts etc. you find are practical. Do you find a suitcase each plus a carry-on is too much or just right? Ugh.

Since you are all making magnetic door decorations I will have to also. My DDs and DH will flip- ha to them.
I'll have to think up something original.

Let's see, what else am I forgetting.......I have the basic meds, sun screen, and toiletries already packed, along with the snorkeling stuff we'll probably use once, and the soft-side cooler I expect to use a lot.Does anyone ever bring pop-up sun shades things for the beach, or is that going just a bit too far.......?

Hey congratulations to all the grads out there! What a feeling that must be. You must all be exhausted with the parties and proms and festivites going on. ENJOY!

Well, I will go check out some more threads to crank myself up another notch. I will never get to sleep tonight.
Kathy

 

[WRH3MD]

Hi Kathy, figure one nice outfit for dinner for 4 nights. One night is Mexcialifragilistic and you'll need a flowered, hawaiian shirt and shorts certainly informal and two formal nights. We go formal both nights, I'm not dragging that tux down there just for one night. Except for bathing suits virtually the rest of the time you can be in shorts and a t-shirt and if you plan to wash you may get away with two or three changes there. There were days at sea when we got up, put on a bathing suit to got to buffet breakfast (A wrap for the ladies and a t-shirt for the men) and go to the rainforest in the afternoon after a grueling day at the quiet pool and not shower or get dressed until we were ready for late dinner. We consistently overpack and we never learn. Better you take one extra outfit than be caught one short. Wes

 

[aliwas]

Just wondering about shows and dinner coordination, we have late seating, is there time after the show to go get dressed for dinner, or should we wear our dinner clothes to the show? What time do you usually get through at late seating?

 

[TootyJane]

Originally posted by aliwas
Just wondering about shows and dinner coordination, we have late seating, is there time after the show to go get dressed for dinner, or should we wear our dinner clothes to the show? What time do you usually get through at late seating?

Aliwas, You should have plenty of time to get back to your room to change for dinner.

As far as what time you get out of the dining room for late seating -- that's going to depend on your server. We always choose late seating. When we've had a good server we've been out of the dining room by 9:45pm. On our last cruise our server had several large tables so we usually didn't get out of there until 10:20-10:30pm. If it's any help, we always let the kids leave the table to go do activities, clubs, etc. They usually don't want to eat dessert much less stick around with us. HTH

 

[WRH3MD]

A lot of times when you have early seating, the servers are pressed to get you out to make room for the next seating. Late seating has the advantage of not feeling rushed. With few exceptions our servers haven't minded us lingering around the table to finish off a bottle of wine or an after dinner drink, or just chat. Sometime our kids stayed with us but most of the time they bolted for places elsewhere. Good food, relaxing environment and good company, what more could you ask for? Wes

(Oh yeah, I know a good cigar and a congac on deck 10. Or a snooze on the heated lounges in the Rainforest. Or a morning walk around deck 4 as we slow down to approach Key West. Or seeing my family all decked out in formal gear. I could go on and on. You'll see...)

 

[aliwas]

Thanks for the info, has anyone ever done the Reef Snorkle and Shipwreck in Grand Cayman? Is the water pretty calm? We are all getting excited, but I have to go to a conference next week in New Orleans and thinking about packing for that and then coming home and washing and re-packing has me somewhat frazzled . Hopefully everything will go smoothly in the transition!!

 

[WRH3MD]

Hi Aliwas, our kids, both teenagers, did the shipwreck snorkel on Grand Cayman and enjoyed it. They saw a lot of fish around the wreck. Wes

 

[magicalfam5]

HI . How's everyone doing? Called DCL today to check on my on board credit that my TA was supposed to give me (she told me she was doing it 2 weeks ago) and they couldn't find it anywhere. I'll have to call my TA tomorrow. She's not that bright so I thought I'd check. School is ending this week for my kids, so my days won't be as busy.
Kathy, my kids want to know if your DD's still want to e-mail each other. Haven't heard from them in a while.
Talk to you all later!
~Judy~

 

[randytenn]

One other tip I wanted to share (and forgive if this borders on TMI), is that we pack about twice as much underware as we would on a normal vacation.

The reason being is that you go on shore excursions, you walk, you sweat, you go on deck, you swim, and then you come back to the room to change for dinner. You want clean stuff to put on. That equates to at least two pair per day.

Last time, we ended up doing laundry during the trip. This time, we are just bringing extra.

 

[msdisney53]

Kathy,
I've been fighting a miserable cold since Friday and just got a chance to read your post. If you still need it Debbie's direct line is 407-566-7411.

I think everyone has what the need for ths trip. DH picked up his suit from the tailor today and I think maybe one more pair of shorts for my DD and some sunscreen and the packing can commence. DH swears we aren't going to over pack this time. LOL

Rose, how did you make out with your id? trying to get all the school stuff organized so it doesn't creep up on me. Finished my IEPs and narratives
just report cards left.

When is everyone getting to the port?

Denise

 

[Corl4]

Hi everyone!

msdisney53....what do you teach? I'm a K-2 reading specialist with only 2 more days of school left! Sounds like there will be lots of teachers on board. We'll have to toast the end of another school year!

We plan on getting to the port by 9:30. We'll be at the Marriot Courtyard in Cocoa Beach the night before and hope to be at the port early. It would be nice to put a face with all the names while we are all standing in line....any thoughts on how we could do that?

To all you teachers out there...have a great end of the year!

Beth

 

[albeers]

Hi Denise,

We are leaving Universal at 9:30AM with a grocery stop. We should arrive at port about 10:30 - 11:00AM. I think it takes about one hour. If not, could someone please verify drive time????



Alan

 

[WRH3MD]

Hi all, we will be in OKW Friday. By tradition we eat at Japan in Epcot Friday night, get up and go to Olivia's for breakfast and leave at about nine. That gets us into the terminal parking lot between ten and ten-thirty. My dd turned eighteen and she wants to try out Pleasure Island with her brother Friday night. Lord knows when they'll get in. As long as they're at Olivia's Saturday AM. We will leave for Fla Thursday and stop in Savannah. Hard to believe we depart two weeks from tomorrow. Already starting to pull stuff together, memory sticks, batteries, socks...Agree with the tip on underwear. I tried wearing them into the hot tub to rinse them out but got so many looks I stopped the practice and now pack two pair per day They usually won't let you into the terminal before ten. That gives them time to get evrybody who just got off out of the terminal. For those of you, like me, taking a lap top, they will want you to turn it on like at an airport. Beware of forgotten sharps in your carry on luggage. It will be xrayed and I've seen them fuss over even nail clippers. They take the security just as seriously as they do at airports. Lastly pick up a bottle of your favorite hooch on the way. It's cheaper than on the ship. Cheers, Wes

 

[DoomBuggieDriver]

Wow,
Thanks for all the tips folks. I still can't believe this trip really this close. Got some great news today-my Dad's cancer is at barely detectable levels and hasn't metastasized anywhere, and the oncologist says he'll see him in 3 months for a routine check. Now I can go on this trip without worrying. I work with him in our family business, and I was concerned he might have to start up some treatments that would leave him feeling lousy and without me around to pick up the slack. Anyway, now I feel like I can really finish the packing plans and get out of Dodge!

So I will plan a couple formal outfits; four night of nice outfits and a crazy Jimmy Buffet style outfit for the Mexicali-whatever night. Maybe I'll buy that in Key West and have the outfit be a souvenier of the trip.

Has anyone checked out Ron Jon's surf shop in Cocco Beach? I was thinking of picking up an extra bathing suit there-again, a practical souvenier. I understand it's open 24 hours.

Well I have to go crash-it was another long day at work. I just got home at 10pm and have to be in again at 8. But knowing this trip is just around the corner makes it that much easier!
Looking forward to seeing you all soon.
Kathy

 

[DoomBuggieDriver]

Oh- I forgot to add "Hi Judy!"
Hope all is well with your family. Sorry A & E haven't been writing lately. They both have been caught up in some projects for school and the sports schedule. School ends for us the day before we leave, and I have kinda put the pressure on them to make the best of the last couple weeks to finish on a strong note.

At the beginning of the e-mail exchanges I would let them know when a note came in from your kids, but then I eventually left it up to them, so I didn't know they had slacked off. I just looked and your e-mail isn't on our old mail list and wasn't bookmarked to the address book, so that may be the problem too. Send another note when you have time, and I'll be sure to follow up. I know A is getting a little nervous about the whole trip, but she's more shy and quiet anyway. E is pretty excited, and is usually up for making new friends. It will be interesting to see if they take to the "clubs" or would rather stay around us, or a combination of both.

Looking forward to meeting everyone on Sat. at 10pm on Promenade-that's right, right?

Kathy

 

[magicalfam5]

Hi everyone! We won't be getting in till 10:00 a.m. Saturday. Looks like we're the only ones flying in that day. I found these boards months after I booked everything. Next cruise I think we'll fly in the day before. I'm guessing we'll get to the port sometime after 11:00. Thanks for the tip on the underwear. I'll be packing more for everyone. I think if I was seen wearing them in the hot tub, people would be jumping off the ship!!
Kathy, I'll have the kids write today (no school for them today) DD is also shy and quiet. I think by talking to your DD before we cruise is helping her. DS is the more outgoing one.
Can you believe how close it's getting!!!!!
~Judy~