June 30, 2014 WONDER Alaska cruise meet

[She Taz]

Our family of 3 (DD 5yrs old) will be there. We will be the ones all bundled up. Hope it won't be too cold. Coming from Honolulu, Hawaii.

We will be in shorts and tee shirts I'm sure. Winter has been pretty cold in north eastern Alberta this year. Even Alaska has been warmer.

 

[WRUNDELL]

You won't be the only ones. We are from Miami, FL! Will have our coats on too!!

 

[Disneydebbie1]

I am wondering who is coordinating our FE Group. There is a discussion on our Facebook page about FE and it was mentioned that the person coordinating may have changed sailing dates. I am new to FE but would be willing to help if we need it. At the moment it looks like we may need to merge this and Facebook lists onto a single list. Thoughts? The current Google doc does not have names for personalized gifts, favorite characters, or allergies to help with gift selection. Hope to hear about how our group should be organized!

 

[She Taz]

Welcome to the the Fish Extender Exchange Group for the June 30, 2014 Disney Wonder Alaska Cruise!

Hi

My name is Darla and I am organizing the fish extender group for our cruise. If you have posted in the previous spreadsheet please forward your information to this group as the other spreadsheet is not being updated. We have been posting a lot of information on our Facebook page.

If you'd like to join, please post the following information and be sure to subscribe to this thread to receive updates:

-- DISboard username
-- Cabin # (if you know it already)
-- Family Last Name (helps with personalizing family gifts)
-- First names of those participating, ages of kids in cabin and whether boys (B) or girls (G)
-- Favorite Disney character for each of the people in your cabin, if any (this helps if people make gifts specific to the people in the room)
-- Any special cruise celebrations
-- Any food allergies, etc

As families join, I'll post a master list of our group. That way, you can go back to that entry at anytime to see who all is in our group. The week after our cut-off has passed, I will make a spreadsheet of all the info., organized by deck for convenience, and either post it to Google Docs or you can PM with your e-mail so I can send it to you.

For those who are new to this fun cruise experience, the Fish Extender itself is a pocket panel you hang from the fish shaped hook outside your stateroom. These can be homemade or you can purchase them on sites like Etsy, you can also find some pictures on Google or DIS forums. Families that join the FE group hang the Fish Extender outside their cabin and then exchange little gifts with others participating in the group by putting little gifts in each others extenders.

It's a ton of fun, not just for kids, and you can either give one gift to each cabin, or a gift to each person in the cabin. You can give gifts a few times throughout the cruise or just once. No real set rules, just exchange and have fun! Gifts can be homemade or store bought. That's part of the fun . . . the variety of gifts that everyone brings!

All gifts should be delivered between the cruise leaving port on Monday June 30th and early evening on Sunday, July 6th. That will give people time to still be able to pack their bags on Sunday (they usually have to be outside cabin doors by 10:30 that evening) before we leave the ship on Monday morning.

Our group will close Wednesday, April 30th (2 months prior to sail date). This allows people plenty of time to order, make, assemble, personalize, etc their gifts. Thank you!!

If we see an outstanding response from willing participants we may divide the total list into smaller groups of 15 - 20 cabins per group. By doing this it is less running around from stateroom to stateroom so you may enjoy your vacation and not spend the entire time running around like crazy looking for different rooms. Plus it is less gifts to make or buy and less that you have to worry about packing and traveling with.

Darla

 

[OttawaMumTo2]

Hello everyone! I am completely new to the dis boards, so please bear with me! Our family (me, dh-44, ds-16, dd-13) will be going with my parents (71 & 67) as well as my brother (42) his wife (44) and their son (9). With the exception of my parents (and me on a 2-nighter) none of us has ever cruised before. I am very excited!!

My family has been to WDW twice and my parents, brother and I went in the 70's!!

I would like to participate in the FE swap. I will also look up the FB group. Can't wait!

Please let me know if there is anything I need to know!

 

[OttawaMumTo2]

We booked back in October 2013 but this is the frist time I got on here to look. We are cruising to celebrate the end of the school year and competitive dance season for DD (9), it'll her DH and I. We are excited to cruise out of Canada since we're Canadian.

Has anyone arranged a FE group? or Facebook group?

Thank you.

Nice to see there will be someone else from our neck of the woods! My parents also live in Ottawa, but my brother and his family live in Victoria.

 

[DVCNuts]

Just a reminder that we have an active Facebook group, if you would like to participate.

I have created a Facebook group for this cruise. We have done this a bunch of times, and it really is a lot of fun.

Click here to join the Disney Wonder 6/30/2014 Cruise to Alaska FB Group!

After you click the link to join, an admin (me or someone else) will accept your request. You will then be able to invite your friends and family who are cruising with you.

See you on FB!

Jerry

 

[calihannah]

We're joining in on this cruise -- booked onboard on a previous cruise to Alaska Don't know why I didn't find the cruise meet thread before now!

Glad to see there's an FE planned! We love doing FEs and have on all of our DCL trips so far. Info below

We're a family of 4 -- me (Hannah), DH (Craig) and two girls who will be 7 and 3.5 at the time of the cruise. I'll celebrate my birthday on board for the 4th consecutive year Anyone else have early elementary girls? My DD7 is really shy but loves the clubs in spite of that.

Info for FE:

-- DISboard username: calihannah
-- Cabin # (if you know it already): 7096
-- Family Last Name (helps with personalizing family gifts): Mestel
-- First names of those participating, ages of kids in cabin and whether boys (B) or girls (G): Hannah (adult), Craig (adult), Rebecca (girl, 7), Ally (girl, 3.5)
-- Favorite Disney character for each of the people in your cabin, if any (this helps if people make gifts specific to the people in the room) Hannah: Princess Anna, Craig: Olaf, Rebecca: Aurora and Izzy, Ally: Cinderella
-- Any special cruise celebrations: Hannah's birthday
-- Any food allergies, etc: none!

 

[GrtWtNorth]

Another victim... I mean cruiser. Just me and DD6.

I anyone else looking forward to Palo brunch and dinner? Dining alone doesn't bother me, but I would love to mix it up with friends with common interests. We might even snag a couple extra meals as Disney allows one reservation per state-room, but if we're all in different staterooms...

I'm going to have to study up on the Fish Extender stuff. I'm giving myself a bit of a challenge by trying to surprise my daughter the day of our cruise. She knows we're visiting friends in Vancouver, riding a boat through the harbour, then heading to Vancouver Island for salmon fishing and camping. And if she asks which boat, I'm going to point out the Seabus right beside the cruise ship terminal.

DISboard username: grtwtnorth
Cabin: 6628
Family last name: Rawson
Family first names: Brian (40), Tora (girl, 6)
Favorite Disney character: Brian likes Wreck it Ralph (but looks like chubby Mr. Incredible), Tora likes Ariel (but looks like Vanellope von Schweetz)
Celebrations: DADDY'S 40th BIRTHDAY (months before sailing) and kiddo's 6th birthday (days before sailing)
Food allergies: None

 

[She Taz]

We're joining in on this cruise -- booked onboard on a previous cruise to Alaska Don't know why I didn't find the cruise meet thread before now!

Glad to see there's an FE planned! We love doing FEs and have on all of our DCL trips so far. Info below

We're a family of 4 -- me (Hannah), DH (Craig) and two girls who will be 7 and 3.5 at the time of the cruise. I'll celebrate my birthday on board for the 4th consecutive year Anyone else have early elementary girls? My DD7 is really shy but loves the clubs in spite of that.

Info for FE:

-- DISboard username: calihannah
-- Cabin # (if you know it already): 7096
-- Family Last Name (helps with personalizing family gifts): Mestel
-- First names of those participating, ages of kids in cabin and whether boys (B) or girls (G): Hannah (adult), Craig (adult), Rebecca (girl, 7), Ally (girl, 3.5)
-- Favorite Disney character for each of the people in your cabin, if any (this helps if people make gifts specific to the people in the room) Hannah: Princess Anna, Craig: Olaf, Rebecca: Aurora and Izzy, Ally: Cinderella
-- Any special cruise celebrations: Hannah's birthday
-- Any food allergies, etc: none!

You're added to the FE.

 

[She Taz]

Another victim... I mean cruiser. Just me and DD6.

I anyone else looking forward to Palo brunch and dinner? Dining alone doesn't bother me, but I would love to mix it up with friends with common interests. We might even snag a couple extra meals as Disney allows one reservation per state-room, but if we're all in different staterooms...

I'm going to have to study up on the Fish Extender stuff. I'm giving myself a bit of a challenge by trying to surprise my daughter the day of our cruise. She knows we're visiting friends in Vancouver, riding a boat through the harbour, then heading to Vancouver Island for salmon fishing and camping. And if she asks which boat, I'm going to point out the Seabus right beside the cruise ship terminal.

DISboard username: grtwtnorth
Cabin: 6628
Family last name: Rawson
Family first names: Brian (40), Tora (girl, 6)
Favorite Disney character: Brian likes Wreck it Ralph (but looks like chubby Mr. Incredible), Tora likes Ariel (but looks like Vanellope von Schweetz)
Celebrations: DADDY'S 40th BIRTHDAY (months before sailing) and kiddo's 6th birthday (days before sailing)
Food allergies: None

Love your Disname. You've been added to the FE list.

Darla

 

[GrtWtNorth]

Anyone else have early elementary girls? My DD7 is really shy but loves the clubs in spite of that.

DD6 pretends to be shy for the first 5 minutes, buy it's just an act. She's an only child, but still a social butterfly. If your daughter can say two sentences about Lego Friends, My Little Pony or Princess Ariel, they could be BFFs before dinner. Our cabin is also in the vicinity of the aft stairwell, a deck below yours and on the starboard side. Feel free to drop by on your way to the kids club.

 

[GrtWtNorth]

Our family of 3 (DD 5yrs old) will be there. We will be the ones all bundled up. Hope it won't be too cold. Coming from Honolulu, Hawaii.

Aloha and welcome to the Great White North. ;-)

The temperatures will seem cool, but in the normally sunny and calm summer weather, it will be comfortable. But if there's strong winds coming from the north or west, it can be biting cold. It's rare at that time of year, but not unheard of. As a precaution (and to avoid cruise ship prices), you might want to have a backpack stuffed with windbreaker jackets and pants, and maybe a fleece to layer on top of your normal clothes.

In the ports, it may also be cool (10 C / 60 F) in the mornings as you start your day, but by afternoon it could get warm (24 C / 75 F). You will want to be able to unzip or layer down if you're spending the day outside exploring Alaska.

And if you're visiting a glacier, be aware that it will be much colder there than the surrounding area. While I can't speak for the Alaskan glaciers, I am lucky to have mountain glaciers in my neighbourhood. At the Columbia Icefield during a typical summer day, the visitors centre parking lot might be 20 C / 68 F, while out on the glacier a couple miles away, the air temperature is about 5 C / 41 F. It was a unique and fun experience for me and my then 4-year-old, but very few visitors dressed in summer clothes want to spend more than 20 minutes walking on a giant ancient ice cube.

While you might be more worried about the cold, I'm more curious about how you're going to cope with all our sun. Vancouver gets +16 hours of daylight each day in June and July. Juneau gets around 19 hours. Plus before sunrise and after sunset, there are couple hours of "dusk". Putting kids to bed while the sun is still shining is a normal-but-challenging summer ritual for most Canadian families, but may be an intimidatingly foreign task for yours.

 

[Disneydebbie1]

Hi Great White North!

You make an excellent point about the length of days in the summer. I saw on one of the many Facebook groups a recommendation to bring a few old fashioned clothes pins it keep the drapes closed at bedtime. The rooms do darken nicely but the drapes don't always lay right to block all the light. This might be a helpful tip for families traveling with children. Maybe eyeshades, too?

Looking forward to my 3rd Alaskan adventure on the Wonder!

 

[jannisdisney]

Hey,
I am not so great at these forums - but am great at planning and taking Disney Cruises
Can someone tell me if there is a fish extender list still open for the June 30 2014 Wonder sailing in Alaska? We want to participate!!!

DISboard username: jannisdisney
-- Cabin # (if you know it already): 7030
-- Family Last Name (helps with personalizing family gifts): Chang/McReynolds
-- First names of those participating, ages of kids in cabin and whether boys (B) or girls (G): Jannis McReynolds (adult), Stuart Chang (adult), Lauren Cahng (14 G), Emily (16 G)
-- Favorite Disney character for each of the people in your cabin, if any (this helps if people make gifts specific to the people in the room) Emily - Anna from Frozen, Lauren Sleeping Beauty
-- Any special cruise celebrations:
-- Any food allergies, etc: peanuts
Thanks
JannisDisney!

 

[She Taz]

Hey, I am not so great at these forums - but am great at planning and taking Disney Cruises Can someone tell me if there is a fish extender list still open for the June 30 2014 Wonder sailing in Alaska? We want to participate!!! DISboard username: jannisdisney -- Cabin # (if you know it already): 7030 -- Family Last Name (helps with personalizing family gifts): Chang/McReynolds -- First names of those participating, ages of kids in cabin and whether boys (B) or girls (G): Jannis McReynolds (adult), Stuart Chang (adult), Lauren Cahng (14 G), Emily (16 G) -- Favorite Disney character for each of the people in your cabin, if any (this helps if people make gifts specific to the people in the room) Emily - Anna from Frozen, Lauren Sleeping Beauty -- Any special cruise celebrations: -- Any food allergies, etc: peanuts Thanks JannisDisney!

You've been added to the spreadsheet.

Darla

 

[calihannah]

DD6 pretends to be shy for the first 5 minutes, buy it's just an act. She's an only child, but still a social butterfly. If your daughter can say two sentences about Lego Friends, My Little Pony or Princess Ariel, they could be BFFs before dinner. Our cabin is also in the vicinity of the aft stairwell, a deck below yours and on the starboard side. Feel free to drop by on your way to the kids club.

We'll keep an eye out She really is totally shy, so I can encourage and cross my fingers. She will be much happier once she makes a friend -- she has usually made one friend by like day 5 or 6, lol. Her little sister (3.5) will be in the club with her for the first time, too (usually in the nursery up to this point), so I should be grateful that the 7yo is shy, right?!

 

[Tinkerbell.RN]

Welcome to the the Fish Extender Exchange Group for the June 30, 2014 Disney Wonder Alaska Cruise!

If you'd like to join, please post the following information and be sure to subscribe to this thread to receive updates:

Add us in please!

-- DISboard username Tinkerbell.RN
-- Cabin # (if you know it already) Will let you know
-- Family Last Name (helps with personalizing family gifts) Crosman
-- First names of those participating. 2 adults (Matthew and Beth) 2 girls 14 (Sarah) & 16 (Megan)
-- Favorite Disney character for each of the people in your cabin. Mine varies. Minnie works for me, though and Mickey for my husband (I'm not sure what his actual favorite is.) Sarah likes Tinkerbell. Megan likes Alice and others (Both also like Once Upon a Time with Megan and her friends being a bit addicted. She likes Ruby/Red in that one.)
-- Any special cruise celebrations: 25th Anniversary (July 1)
-- Any food allergies, etc None

Forgot about Frozen until I read back. The whole family likes Frozen. The girls in it remind me a lot of my 2 daughters! So, anything from Frozen works for the favorites for all of us as well!

 

[She Taz]

Add us in please!

-- DISboard username Tinkerbell.RN
-- Cabin # (if you know it already) Will let you know
-- Family Last Name (helps with personalizing family gifts) Crosman
-- First names of those participating. 2 adults (Matthew and Beth) 2 girls 14 (Sarah) & 16 (Megan)
-- Favorite Disney character for each of the people in your cabin. Mine varies. Minnie works for me, though and Mickey for my husband (I'm not sure what his actual favorite is.) Sarah likes Tinkerbell. Megan likes Alice and others (Both also like Once Upon a Time with Megan and her friends being a bit addicted. She likes Ruby/Red in that one.)
-- Any special cruise celebrations: 25th Anniversary (July 1)
-- Any food allergies, etc None

Forgot about Frozen until I read back. The whole family likes Frozen. The girls in it remind me a lot of my 2 daughters! So, anything from Frozen works for the favorites for all of us as well!

I've added you to the spreadsheet.

Darla

 

[Comcam]

Just made the final payment for this cruise last weekend! I can not wait to go. This will be our first cruise and first time to Alaska.