Magic Christmas Cruise 2010 (Dec 18th - 29th) - PART II

[thegales]

Hi! I am new to this forum and not sure if I'm posting correctly. We are the John and Elizabeth who have requested access to the Facebook page. We are sailing on the Christmas cruise with our 3 kids (16, 15, and 13), and Mom and Aunt. We can't wait! I would like the kids to participate in the secret santa, and am interested in communicating with fellow cruisers!

Welcome to the DIS, and to our thread. I will accept the Facebook requests when I get home tonight. As a reminder, we are trying to keep most of the postings about the cruise here on the DIS, and not on Facebook, to help new people find us and be part of the group. The FB page is if you want to make other connections, or post things you don't want in a public forum.

Please be sure to check out page 1 of this thread. BigAWL has done a great job of keeping all the relevant information updated. Are the three kids boys or girls? Have you cruised before? With DCL?

 

[Liz Arjay]

Thanks for the welcome!
I am not sure how to respond directly (I am very clueless with internet) so hope you see this. My kids are 16 (son), 15 (son) and 13/nearly 14 (daughter). This will be our 3rd cruise. The first was 3 days, the 2nd was a 7 day Eastern Caribbean, and now the 11 day. Pretty soon we will just move onto the ship permanently! My boys are on Facebook but my daugther is not. I am interested in having them make connections with kids their age before the cruise - especially my daughter as she will be 1 month too young to go to The Stack. I hope they can participate in the Secret Mickey gift exchange - that will be so much fun! We are very, very excited about this cruise - we have loved every minute of our past cruises.
Liz

 

[BBQMommy]

Hello John and Elizabeth! Great to see you here

Chris - My advice is to go with your gut. I'd think about your possible schedule for the next few years and see if this is the best time for you to do the PC cruise. If you think you could do one next Summer or Winter and might be able to do both this Holiday cruise and the PC next year -- woo hoo!
I wouldn't want you to pass up your dream vacation and regret it and have that tarnish the trip you took instead. The pros and cons are not little - money, vacation time, and time off from school. Go with your gut.

Caryn

 

[DVC4US]

Thanks for the welcome!
I am not sure how to respond directly (I am very clueless with internet) so hope you see this. My kids are 16 (son), 15 (son) and 13/nearly 14 (daughter). This will be our 3rd cruise. The first was 3 days, the 2nd was a 7 day Eastern Caribbean, and now the 11 day. Pretty soon we will just move onto the ship permanently! My boys are on Facebook but my daugther is not. I am interested in having them make connections with kids their age before the cruise - especially my daughter as she will be 1 month too young to go to The Stack. I hope they can participate in the Secret Mickey gift exchange - that will be so much fun! We are very, very excited about this cruise - we have loved every minute of our past cruises.
Liz

Hi Liz,

Maybe we can find a way for our DDs to 'talk' to each other before the cruise. Even though DD will be able to go into The Stack she still likes to meet other teenagers to hang out with.

If your DD really wants to go to The Stack and she is only one month from turning 14 I would talk to the counselors when you get on the ship. Sometimes they will make exceptions especially since she has two older brothers who will be in The Stack. In 2008 on the Wonder(when Stack age was 13) DD & her friend were 12 but we talked to the counselors in The Stack and since they had been on several cruises before and were entering into Jr. High they let them into The Stack for that cruise.

 

[3PrincessGrandma]

Please help me make up my mind. My family is going on either this cruise or the Panama Canal Cruise on January 6, 2011 and I can't decide which to do. I really want to go through the Panama Canal and have wanted to since watching the Love Boat 30+ years ago, but the FL resident rate is offered for your cruise.

Should I wait to see what is offered for PC? It seems very slow booking and there are cabins available in every category. We would have to take our son out of school for 2 weeks and burn 2 weeks vacation early in the year. But I want to go throught the PC.

On the other hand, the Christmas cruise is avaialble now. I've been to all the islands except Guadalupe (and maybe Martinique but not sure). So it's nothing really new. I have 2 weeks vacation left for 2010 and the kid will miss only 2 days of school.

Compelling arguments either way.....I can't decide but don't want the FL resident rates to disappear if I wait......

Can anyone convince me one way or the other? Thanks,

Chris

Difficult decision! We would love to have you on our cruise.
We have been on multiple cruises (different cruise lines). Our best cruise by far was my retirement cruise through PC on Princess. We so enjoyed the canal. Problem you have is taking son out of school. Can you get his teachers to give you homework geared to the PC and ports? We took our daughter out of school for a Caribbean cruise to see Halley's comet. She did a special report on it to make up for missing school. I know how hard it is to decide. We waited until the "final payment date" to really make up our minds because we had done the Baltic in June at the last minute. Decisions, decisions.

 

[disneycruising]

Hi! I am new to this forum and not sure if I'm posting correctly. We are the John and Elizabeth who have requested access to the Facebook page. We are sailing on the Christmas cruise with our 3 kids (16, 15, and 13), and Mom and Aunt. We can't wait! I would like the kids to participate in the secret santa, and am interested in communicating with fellow cruisers!

Welcome

 

[disneycruising]

Please help me make up my mind. My family is going on either this cruise or the Panama Canal Cruise on January 6, 2011 and I can't decide which to do. I really want to go through the Panama Canal and have wanted to since watching the Love Boat 30+ years ago, but the FL resident rate is offered for your cruise.

Should I wait to see what is offered for PC? It seems very slow booking and there are cabins available in every category. We would have to take our son out of school for 2 weeks and burn 2 weeks vacation early in the year. But I want to go throught the PC.

On the other hand, the Christmas cruise is avaialble now. I've been to all the islands except Guadalupe (and maybe Martinique but not sure). So it's nothing really new. I have 2 weeks vacation left for 2010 and the kid will miss only 2 days of school.

Compelling arguments either way.....I can't decide but don't want the FL resident rates to disappear if I wait......

Can anyone convince me one way or the other? Thanks,

Chris

It really is a personal choice. Only you now that will really work for your family.

You didn't say how old your kids are and if missing school is going to be a 'big' problem. If your kids are younger missing school is really not a big deal. But if they are oldesr it can be harder to miss so much school. I am personally a big believer in 'true' life lessons. Our children will learn a lot more about the world by actually 'visiting' places, then by reading about it in a book.

I have done the panama canal cruise. I did take my kids out of school for 2 weeks to do this. At the time they where 5, 7, 9 & 11. My DS was in first grade and his teacher sent a 'bear' with him, that he had to keep a diary for. This was the greatest thing ever. We took pictures of my DS & the bear in every port. My son is now 12 and still has the "bear's diary" in he dresser drawer. It is great to go back and look at what we did!. I wish all the teachers would do this.

Just my 2 cents--We love the Panama Canal Cruise & enjoyed MOST of the ports we went to. But, the Panama Canal Cruise is nothing like doing the Caribbean Cruises. Some of the port can be pretty seedy. If you have ever been to Mexico...you will understand. The weather is also different...much cooler. Especially in January... is might be pretty cold. I can remember having sweatshirts on for most of the cruise and we went in May. My DH has no desire to do 'any' Mexican ports again, once was enough for him.

 

[3princessMommy]

Difficult decision! We would love to have you on our cruise.
We have been on multiple cruises (different cruise lines). Our best cruise by far was my retirement cruise through PC on Princess. We so enjoyed the canal. Problem you have is taking son out of school. Can you get his teachers to give you homework geared to the PC and ports? We took our daughter out of school for a Caribbean cruise to see Halley's comet. She did a special report on it to make up for missing school. I know how hard it is to decide. We waited until the "final payment date" to really make up our minds because we had done the Baltic in June at the last minute. Decisions, decisions.

Sorry Mom, but the only thing I remember about Halley's comet is Dad dragging me out of bed at 3am and getting terribly sea-sick the next day when I woke up! I did a report????

 

[clukas]

It really is a personal choice. Only you now that will really work for your family.

You didn't say how old your kids are and if missing school is going to be a 'big' problem.I have done the panama canal cruise. I did take my kids out of school for 2 weeks to do this. At the time they where 5, 7, 9 & 11. My DS was in first grade and his teacher sent a 'bear' with him, that he had to keep a diary for. This was the greatest thing ever. We took pictures of my DS & the bear in every port. My son is now 12 and still has the "bear's diary" in he dresser drawer. It is great to go back and look at what we did!. I wish all the teachers would do this.
.

Thanks everyone for the input. We are no closer to a decision but based on the comments I understand why I can't decide. There are too many pros anc cons on each side. The one factor that could make it an easy decision is not available yet......whether there is going to be a reduction in price on the PC cruise. If they keep it at the same price (which is way too high) we are going on the Christmas cruise. I'll feel bad for those who paid full price, but so it goes. (I actually held a reservation for the PC cruise from the first day until last week, when final payment was due.)

Just FYI, my two boys are 6 and 4, so I only have to take the older out of first grade, the younger is in preschool. The first thing I asked his teacher is if she would mind him being out for the cruise. She said it would be no problem and suggested keeping a journal. I like the Teddy Bear idea and could make it fun with pictures for the class when he returns.

The only other concern I have about the Christmas cruise is how do children react to not waking up on Christmas morning and going down stairs to rip open presents. (I know this is not everyone's tradition, belief, etc. just curious for those with younger kids who celebrate Christmas)....I can just imamgine being brought on Dr. Phil in 20 years and having my children blame me for not spending a traditional Christmas at home!!! (It's a joke)

If DCL would just cooperate and give me an idea of the PC pricing, this would be easy. I love the idea of just going on both cruises and trust me I considered it. Maybe DCL will announce a 2 for 1 special.......go Christmas, get PC free!!

Thanks again everyone........stayed tuned.

 

[colkath2005]

I have been on 2 previous christmas cruises.

On the first one i bought a good amount of presents for the kids, it was difficult to keep them secret and get them ready for christmas morning. In the morning they opened the presents then were more interested in what they could do on the ship.

The second one i told them they could chse a present after the vacation and they would have 2 smaller presents each to open christmas day. This time they spent more time playing with the presents they got and had a present to look forward to when we got home.

Asking them what they got they can name the 2 presents but not the others from the first christmas cruise.

Some people celebrate before/afterwith a traditional meal/gifts etc some are happy to say the cruise is the gift. Everyone is different.

 

[decked out]

Is there a John and Elizabeth cruising who are asking for the access to the Facebook page?

I also have Vicki K., Jeanne O., Joan S., Pamela S.J., and Richard B. with older requests that I have not been able to match to disboards names.

John = decked out
Elizabeth = Liz Arjay
Yes we are going on the cruise, we just learned of/joined the forum and would like to join the FB group also. Thank you.

 

[decked out]

Please help me make up my mind. My family is going on either this cruise or the Panama Canal Cruise on January 6, 2011 and I can't decide which to do. I really want to go through the Panama Canal and have wanted to since watching the Love Boat 30+ years ago, but the FL resident rate is offered for your cruise.

Should I wait to see what is offered for PC? It seems very slow booking and there are cabins available in every category. We would have to take our son out of school for 2 weeks and burn 2 weeks vacation early in the year. But I want to go throught the PC.

On the other hand, the Christmas cruise is avaialble now. I've been to all the islands except Guadalupe (and maybe Martinique but not sure). So it's nothing really new. I have 2 weeks vacation left for 2010 and the kid will miss only 2 days of school.

Compelling arguments either way.....I can't decide but don't want the FL resident rates to disappear if I wait......

Can anyone convince me one way or the other? Thanks,

Chris

You can't beat the FL discount and it is nice to not miss school. Then you have to make your way back from the Pacific Ocean, and that probably cancels any savings from a good deal. The 11-day holiday cruise seems like a one-of-kind trip, even though the canal is compelling. You know what they say about a bird in the hand... or maybe do both!

 

[ReggieB]

The second one i told them they could chse a present after the vacation and they would have 2 smaller presents each to open christmas day. This time they spent more time playing with the presents they got and had a present to look forward to when we got home.

That's pretty much my experience with my DS. I think he was in 2nd Grade when we surprised him with the Christmas cruise, he didn't know until we left for the autotrain.

Took a small little tree (fake) and some decorations, so we had some of that going on in our stateroom. For presents I just took a big (huge!) stocking and filled it with little things, so he had lots to open, but not a lot to cart back and forth. I also took a little gift for each of our servers, and our stateroom host (some British candy) That was very much appreciated, which was nice.

I believe they do have a Christmas service onboard also.

We all loved the trip, so are super excited to take this super long cruise.

Sorry I have been quiet recently! I got sucked into our school library helping get things going for the new school year. Have booked our flights, and also our night at the Hyatt on the 17th. Look for the loud British kid in the pool, I did promise him some swim time that night.

By the way, I'm still trying to decide if I should sign up for the FE. I have in the past made magnets and surprised other Disers by putting them on their doors. I am so bad at packing, I need to have a good think and see how much space I can save for FE things! My husband is super shy, and was a bit taken aback by how friendly I already was with a bunch of folk on that Christmas cruise, so I'm not sure how much participation I will have in meets, however I'm very happy to say hi when out and about, and have a quick chat. We had a fab brunch at Palo with some Disers on our last Christmas cruise.

Still trying to work out shore excursions. Need to hurry up with that.

Anyhoo, that's my ramble for today! Will be back a bit more frequently from now on.

 

[BBQMommy]

Hello Reggie!

That magnet idea sounds wonderful (especially to one who will have a nekkid door ...)

We are bringing 3 stockings for the cruise. I am toying with the idea of a tree from Shirley, but will likely not. I think it is great that Santa spends Christmas Day on the boat having a vacation himself after his tiring night (I know I read it somewhere, I don't think I made that up ...)
I went to our local mom-n-pop toy store and got Silly Putty and a Slinkie and gyroscope and little old fashioned toys like that for her stocking.

Caryn

 

[decked out]

Hi. We are new to the forum. We have already learned a lot here and look forward to being a part of the group.

This will be our third Disney cruise (and our third cruise period). Up until about two years ago, we didn't even consider cruising as something we would do. We were sort of coerced into a 3-day Wonder cruise, and have been hooked ever since. We also have a Dream cruise booked next labor day.

My wife (Liz Arjay) and I have three teenagers, sons 16 and 15 and a daughter 13. Grandma (my mom) and my 80 yr old aunt will also join us on this cruise. It is going to be our first Christmas away from home and without Santa visiting our house. We are very excited about the cruise and are avidly counting down.

We look forward to sharing the experience with everyone and are counting down the days!

 

[3PrincessGrandma]

Thanks for the reminder. Guess I better get the Christmas stockings out to bring. Think we are driving but don't want to load the car too much. Thanks, Joann, for the door name magnets on our Baltic cruise. They will be in the suitcase
And, yes, you did a report on Halley's comet and in spite of the sea sickness, you performed that night in the talent show!
Nice idea to bring small Christmas gifts for stateroom host/hostess and servers. Need to keep my eyes open for something.

 

[ISCHARCM]

I have to say you all are fantastic... You have room to pack trees and presents and decorations and your clothes for an 11 day cruise???!!!! I'll be doing good enough just to pack my clothes.

 

[cjjr6892]

Is there a John and Elizabeth cruising who are asking for the access to the Facebook page?

I also have Vicki K., Jeanne O., Joan S., Pamela S.J., and Richard B. with older requests that I have not been able to match to disboards names.

Hey there. Jeanne O here. Hope this helps you match my name.

 

[colkath2005]

Now i am thinking of stateroom host/server gifts and what decorations i want to pack/buy for the stateroom.

Time to make a new list.

I usually buy the gifts when we get to florida otherwise its a lot to bring over on the flight (plus excuse to go shopping ). Am bringing the FE gifts with me this time as i wanted some British gift to give out.

At least we leave early Dec for our flight so we dont have to put up/take down decorations at home. I have sorted our outfits for the plane, formal for me but not the boys, pirate night clothes are sorted. I am going to begin making more lists i think, i love my lists

 

[HFC1969]

92