KC's Western PRE trip report

[King Charming]

I'm having such a good time with this. Even though it will probably rain 2-3 inches today and a tornado touched down less than 5 miles away (very minimal damage), today is a good day. This morning marked the 6 week milestone of leaving for the port. I went online and found out my tax refund should arrive in less than 3 weeks. The mail came and brought notification # 1 (of 2) from the IRS. This officially announced I was in line for the "Economic Stimulus Act of 2008". It also said that in addition to the $600 each for DW and I, an additional $300 per kid is included. Since I've filed my taxes for last year already, I need do nothing and the "stimulus check" will be in the mail sometime in May. The refund check arriving three weeks out should give us plenty of time to buy the necessary "pre cruise" items and dovetails neatly into our timeline. Receiving over 5 grand from Uncle Sam within the next 75 days has taken all the pressure off meeting the still rising expenses. Maybe I'll be able to leave my collection of Grumpy T-shirts at home. DW bought me a different one on every trip she made during 2006, so I have quite a few. Writing this has turned into a very enjoyable hobby, which is the reason I have wondered off-topic so often and with such verbosity. Thank you for putting up with my opinionated long-windedness and meanderings.

 

[King Charming]

Extra funding will not be available this year. DW finally talked with the plumbing co. about their (lack of) website. She could tell they were not too happy with the cost (who ever is?) prior to this conversation, so wasn't too disappointed when they backed out. And I don't blame her for not reducing her price, especially since they didn't even seem interested in negotiating. Even after a second estimate, they must be in deep denial about the cost and time involved. I run into that situation in my work also when I write proposals for a new deck. Some folks find out that the estimate and what they are willing to pay are very different numbers. Even though I used to be the one who wanted it all for next to nothing, the advancing years have also brought the wisdom that "you usually get what you pay for" and/or "cheap isn't always good". It is just as well since the next "planned" family vacation is starting to look like early Dec 09. Oh, how nice, just in time for my parks to empty out and get all dressed up (again)! What's that dear, you want WHAT?!?

 

[Hypermommy]

Well.... let's see...............

 

[King Charming]

What a disaster the local tux rental scene is, at least for me. I wanted to see what was available locally, and at least give them a shot. We also needed measuring, so I drug eating machines #1 and #2 along. At the first place, "S" in mall 1, the guy seemed confused, wouldn't measure us unless we rented from them, and wanted to charge us one and a half times the normal rate because we would have the clothes during 2 weekends. The other place "T" in mall 2 quickly measured us and set us all up in some fine threads, for only $ 475!! (w/ tax). He kept saying "it's included" meaning the choice of vest, cuff links, etc., then handed me an itemized bill. Ouch! At both places they looked at me kind of funny when I made my counter offer of 100 bucks per suit. I wonder how much money walks out the door (of ANY business) because they can't (computer won't let me) or are unwilling to move off of a price point. Since I'll soon have the money, I might have gone as high as $ 115 each for the satisfaction of trying them on before we left and getting the colors that we wanted. It seems that these mall places are more geared for the weekend events and are priced as such. They did have a great selection of tie and vest combos though. The online place offers on-board delivery/pick-up of a classic tux, meaning no packing, pressing, or late fees. The fact that we will all match is good, as is an on-ship tailor who can adjust/replace/make right any problems. At less than a hundred bucks each, I'm glad I walked from the mall stores empty handed.

 

[King Charming]

That takes care of the men's clothes for formal night very nicely, and the coat and pants only will get worn again on semi-formal night. Long sleeve white shirts and individualized red ties (to sorta match DW's dress) complete the outfits. I've only got to shine our shoes twice and re-press a few things to remove the stress of dress-up nights from Hypermommy and have us three guys looking like a million dollars. This makes the tuxes more cost effective since we get the use out of the fancy clothes (and manditory photo ops) twice, while only packing shoes, socks, and 3 shirts & ties. Sorry about that DW, I know how jealous you'll be on this one.

 

[King Charming]

Knowing in advance that it will take about an hour before dinner for the various photos in front of the different backdrops, on three different nights (don't forget pirate night), has got me thinking we might could use an hour by hour itinerary. I'm sure our attitude (and therefore the pictures) will be better if we plan in advance for wasting an hour or so on these. Not a rigid schedule of course, but something we could use to ensure we don't close down the bar if we have an early day tomorrow. Or for when certain people need to get back to the room and start dressing for dinner. Or if, after getting on-board, we find we want to cut short an outing ashore for a show or something. Making sure there is time for each family member to do what is important to them; be it sunrises, shooting hoops, swimming, or character photos, AND making sure there will be no time conflicts with others, is easier if a plan has been hatched out. It will be quicker to make changes or fill in the blanks each morning after looking over the navigator the prior evening. We will have a good idea what the kids expect, and more importantly, where they are likely to be when they don't show up as planned. Yes, 2-way radios are planned for, hopefully loaned from a fellow Scouter. Thats right, another list! First it was the packing list and cost spreadsheet with estimated and actual expenditures, then the timeline.Then I asked that the cost sheet receive columns for date purchased and how; cash or credit. Now another "get ready" list to come up with. No problem says a grinning DW as she whips out her laptop and opens her cruise folders...

 

[King Charming]

I like writting this all out in a "word" document weeks before it is posted because of the spell check (I'm a horrible speller) and the grammatical editor that checks for senence fragments and other dreadful uses of American English. I have been known to butcher a phrase or two, sometimes intentionally. Just becuz I finished book learnin at kollege don't make me no not smart person who kant rite goodly enough. It's quite obvious I wasn't an english major so the help is appreciated. Better yet is the ability to go back and edit what has been written. Though hard to believe, I really have deleted many wordy-wanderings and edited other extraneous babblings in an effort to be more concise. I do hope the humor shines throughout.

 

[conny264]

Hi KC
Can´t wait to meet you all in 2 weeks.We will be with you in Tulum.
Just a small tip from someone who has already done 2 cruises.
Don´t overplan!!!
It´s a cruise,sit back,relax and go with the flow.From reading your report I get the feeling you´re stressing yourself too much.
Although it´s a fun read,so keep going.

See you soon
Conny

 

[King Charming]

I've run across something in my exploring that has me baffled. It is those "beach clubs" that offer an "all inclusive" stay. You pay a flat fee to use the facilities, a higher fee to peruse the buffet and bar. What has me wondering is, didn't these folks JUST get off a ship that has a large majority of these same amenities? With the exception of having a waiter, what is the attraction? Why not stay on the ship and enjoy the relative emptiness? My poker buddies said that since I am so used to doing things for myself, (when I can't sweet-talk DW to do it), that I was missing the point. The purpose for some is to have a completely pampered experience beginning the minute the ship leaves Florida. The guys are right, I don't get it. I thought the purpose of a vacation was to go out and DO something. Oh, yeah, and give Mickey my money. Hey, don't get me wrong, I really LIKE lying around, I guess I just don't want to pay to be able to do it. Yes, we really are all different.

 

[King Charming]

Another factor that I'm sure I'm ignoring is the difference in the cost of living and taxation. I'm sure I won't be spending 20-25 bucks for a T-shirt like in "the parks", and it's highly doubtful I'll be spending half of that either. Aside from an afternoon in TJ Mexico (fun) with DW, and a trip to Niagara Falls (fun) as a kid, the only other time I've been out of the country was a six week stint in Panama (not fun) during a canal flare-up in the mid 70's. It struck me as odd back then that we could buy American beer cheaper than American soda (on the air base) at a third of the "normal" American prices, so far from home. I've heard the Brit's chuckle about exchange rates here, and I haven't considered the value a dollar can buy in the Caribbean countries. Maybe the shopping tab won't be so bad after all. Sure dear, whatever you want.... EXCEPT THAT!@!

 

[King Charming]

Happy happy Joy joy! I just checked refunds-dot-com or whatever the IRS site is and got updated info. Seems they have confirmed my refund amount and said the check will be mailed in 10 days! So I'm assuming they processed it and again found no glaring errors. Maybe one year soon I'll opt for the direct deposit option, but the timing of this years refund saved the day.
Baa humbug! I just checked NASA's web site and the shuttle launch (STS 124) scheduled for 4/24 has been moved back a month. STS 122 was late going up, messing up the original schedule. I would assume they need several weeks to test the installation of STS 123's work on the 1st phase. STS 124 is a follow-up mission to install phase 2 of a 3 stage assembly of the new Japanese section of the International Space Station. BTW, did you know that when it is completed, the space station will be the third brightest object in the sky? The Delta rocket launch (4/22) has also been moved back to May. The only fireworks we will see will be shot from the ship.

 

[Hypermommy]

Hi KC
Can´t wait to meet you all in 2 weeks.We will be with you in Tulum.
Just a small tip from someone who has already done 2 cruises.
Don´t overplan!!!
It´s a cruise,sit back,relax and go with the flow.From reading your report I get the feeling you´re stressing yourself too much.
Although it´s a fun read,so keep going.

See you soon
Conny

Hi Conny,

I'm not sure I'd call it stress... just the joy of anticipation and figuring everything out. Oh, and by the way... just wanted to let you know the reason he's not answering on here is he's just focusing on plowing through with what he's written. I've read ahead and it is great (although he wouldn't let me read the part about the birthday package until he posted it here). But he's reading and appreciating everyone's point of view.

Less than 2 weeks now!!! We'll be doing the single digit happy dance soon!!!

 

[King Charming]

As I'm not going to be a return cruiser, that verandah stateroom keeps calling to me. See, there it is again, and just how DID it learn my name? Even with Uncle Sam (indirectly) paying the associated cruise costs, I still can't justify the big leap in cost. But until they sell out of them, I'll keep my fingers crossed. The very few cruise websites that even list Disney's Magic show that these cat 5 rooms are still available, but not how many. It's the only category listed too. Therefore I'll keep checking so the dream can remain alive for another day.
I've decided that it is near impossible to figure out when the ship is full verses how many rooms are left. I've heard that Disney will not allow late bookings for a third or fourth person in your room if the ship is at capacity. Some places say 1750 guests, others say 2400 guests. Returning cruisers have reported that they were told there were 2800 guests on their cruise. If all 875 staterooms have two people each, the 1750 would be the minimum. If the average per room is 3, that's over 2600 people. Being a family oriented vacation, I would assume most folks would bring along a kid or two. I only bring this up because if they have to stop selling rooms because the upper cat rooms all have 5 or 7 persons in them it would be nice to know there are 6 or 8 balconies available IF "the price is right". So my guess is that 2675 is the "magic number"; anything above that number means I stay put, below that means I have a chance at my up-grade. With the quickness that the rooms filled up, my dream is on life support. Go right ahead sweetie, what's a few more dollars?

 

[Hypermommy]

There ya go... now that's the right frame of mind for a vacation! Just keep humming that song... "making memories, making memories...."

 

[King Charming]

It's time to get real about some of these expenses listed on my sheet. The first one is booze. My thinking now is to bring a couple kinds of beer, a bottle of wine, and two bottles of champagne. The first bottle of bubbly for kicking off the cruise, the other one for DW's Bday. DW said don't forget the sangria either. She's not too wild about champagne, but I love it. I will not pay a "corkage fee" (don't they EVER put that big white gloved hand in their OWN pocket?); instead we will get it from our cooler and take it up on deck to enjoy there (since we won't have a balcony). However, expecting to spend only 75 bucks on ship-board grog is unrealistic for two people who know how to bend an elbow. I'm thinking that will probably only cover the "drink(s) of the day" cost, (for each of us), and DW keeps making plans to meet with the girls to go out for Bahamas Mamas; deck walking is their euphemism. I'll most likely buy the first few beers at the bar, and only resort to raiding the cooler if I want to do some "repetitive drinking". Another liquor cost is the bottle or two of Mexican Tequila I'll want to sip from and bring home duty free. Maybe buying a Cuban cigar or two in GC would be nice. Doubling this number (tripling?) will be much closer to reality no matter what I bring along to smoke or drink.
The ship photo package entry was to cover the minimum deal, but I'm sure to want character pics also. Bumping this up another $50 is reasonable for what I expect to buy.
We went over the four hundred dollars for dress clothes. Although I was darn close to estimating the cost of each formal outfit, the semi-formal attire included shirts & ties for the guys and another dress for DW. Then there were extras like dress shoes and "accessories" (whatever she means by that) which will bring this cost in at over $600.
The fish extender costs also slightly exceeded expectations, but since it is such a cool tradition to receive trinkets from strangers, I can only smile about this one.
The dog boarding charges went from $150 to $250, but with tax it will be closer to $270.
The kid's allowance issue finally got figured out. I knew 50 bucks would not cover it, but also hadn't realized how seldom I had been doling it out. (Yes, Hypermommy has a spreadsheet for that too.) All told, each kid has over a hundred bucks in their allowance account. So they shouldn't be hassling me until at least Castaway Cay.
New spreadsheet items that finally showed up were postage (from Hell and CC), and Friday night's meet n greet dinner at 7pm.

 

[Hypermommy]

"Accessories"... girls, shall we let them know what we mean or just keep it to ourselves. Keep it to ourselves, of course. Just give me that credit card, King Charming, and trust that I'll look mah-velous.

 

[MassDisLovers]

Accessories are very important to us girls, right Denise??? KC should be happy that he has 2 sons! My DH has 2 daughters to accessorize! The shoes, oh the shoes.......we have pink ones and black ones and shiny sequined ones and flip flops and Birkenstocks and sneakers .........

 

[King Charming]

I don't know if we can afford to wait these last five weeks for this trip if the true costs are going to grow/become apparent by an average of HUNDREDS of dollars a WEEK! I was afraid this was going to happen when the first $1500 got gobbled up so quickly, but accepted this as normal expenses when I realized I could afford it. Gee, just because I said I wanted to be able to take full advantage of this opportunity, it didn't mean that the opportunity should take such complete advantage of me. I am still in denial about spending thousands of dollars on this. It is SO much easier to think of it in terms of accepting charity from a rich uncle than spending that much of our own money. After all, the cruise was free, why shouldn't everything else be free too?

 

[King Charming]

With these up-dates, the spreadsheet has balloned to over 4 thousand dollars. It just isn't fair to do this to a fellow. I remember saying I could deal with a headache of this sort, but now I'm beginning to wonder; is there truly an end in sight? Every time I get used to a number, it increases! Will I disembark this ship at port poorfarm? (Will a Disney tram at least take me back to the van?) In an effort to regain my sanity, some of the expenses need to be axed. First on the chopping block was the underwater cameras. Since only 20 bucks was allotted, photo processing for two cameras obviously wasn't included. Rather than put up with yet another item bumped, POW, it's gone. Glow in the dark necklaces are cool, but not necessary. So too the line item for watches and candy/snacks. The kids can ask someone what time it is, and stop at a buffet before the shows. Even though this is only 75 bucks off the total, I can at least pretend I really DO have (semi) control over these ever climbing outlays of funds. And now that I've (again) exceeded my comfort level for spending, it will be much easier to tell that nagging verandah to hush up and go away.

 

[King Charming]

After such a pathetic attempt to rein in the costs, I gave DW one last chance to save us hundreds of dollars before placing the tuxedo rental order. Man, talk about a puffy lip. Response number one came quick enough; I already bought my dress. That's alright, you deserve nice things says I. But, but, but think of all the memories. Another predictable come-back when I (routinely) suggest holding out on Mickey. With all we will be seeing/doing, they won't miss it I reply. Besides, if we skip dress-up night, you won't need that hair appointment you wanted. Now the "pitiful little ole me" look is used. Even though she knows there is a good chance I'm pulling her leg, after topping $4K, she also knows I've reached the end of my rope. But, but, but for my birthday? Sweetie, I say, this whole adventure is your birthday. She had her ace well hidden, and played it now. We will use Mom's money for it! Of course we will, just like we used it for passports, or was it the excursions we used it for? Hey, as long as it doesn't cost ANYTHING, why not? If only I had come to the realization how handy that money would turn out being weeks ago, I could have gotten a "don't worry, be happy" sticker to wear. Since "the Mic" didn't include coupons in the cruise docs, the tuxedo rentals were $87.50 each.