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

[momssurprise]

We did Disney transfers on our other cruises, what do you do with your luggage when you just show up at the port the morning of?

Also, if I upgrade at the port is that better/cheaper than upgrading from home? Do we know how full the ship is? I saw 85% mentioned a month or so ago on this thread? Will they lower prices as time gets closer? Should I check regularly?

So darn excited!!!!

 

[Hmorale]

We were on the Magic for Christmas last year. They had an official tree lighting ceremony early in the cruise. There was caroling on Christmas Eve by the crew. There was a Mass that we attended in the Walt Disney Theater on Christmas Eve. There may have also been a Mass on Christmas morning. Santa did visit the ship on Christmas morning. He took pictures with all the kids in the Atrium. There was also a huge offering of Christmas cookies, hot chocolate (I think?), hot cider (again, I think?). That's all I remember off the top of my head. I think BigAwl has a list on the first page of this thread.

Thanks for the insight! I am getting so excited! I want everything to be perfect!

 

[jgura]

I bought our cabin X-Mas tree last night! If you have a Garden Ridge store (I think it is a TX chain) they have some fun "disposable" $6.00 trees. I would say it is 2' tall and narrow. I bought ours in nautical blue and we are going to decorate it cruise/beach theme.

I'll have to somehow put a picture of it on our cabin door since we are celebrating with disers this year instead of family.

AG Dolls: my daughters want to bring their dolls too. Have you ran across the matching girl/doll cruise dresses? Very tempting. I just don't see how we are going to fit everything in our suitcases, let alone the cabin.

 

[Dagny]

I bought our cabin X-Mas tree last night! If you have a Garden Ridge store (I think it is a TX chain) they have some fun "disposable" $6.00 trees. I would say it is 2' tall and narrow. I bought ours in nautical blue and we are going to decorate it cruise/beach theme.

I'll have to somehow put a picture of it on our cabin door since we are celebrating with disers this year instead of family.

AG Dolls: my daughters want to bring their dolls too. Have you ran across the matching girl/doll cruise dresses? Very tempting. I just don't see how we are going to fit everything in our suitcases, let alone the cabin.

Where are you from in TX? We were just talking about bringing an xmas tree with us on the ship - naturally, I am trying like heck to figure out where that is going to fit in our luggage

 

[jgura]

Hello, we live in Austin! I grew up in Arlington and have many friends in the N. Dallas area. At least the tree does not have to make a return trip

 

[eve adkins]

I bought our cabin X-Mas tree last night! If you have a Garden Ridge store (I think it is a TX chain) they have some fun "disposable" $6.00 trees. I would say it is 2' tall and narrow. I bought ours in nautical blue and we are going to decorate it cruise/beach theme.

I'll have to somehow put a picture of it on our cabin door since we are celebrating with disers this year instead of family.

AG Dolls: my daughters want to bring their dolls too. Have you ran across the matching girl/doll cruise dresses? Very tempting. I just don't see how we are going to fit everything in our suitcases, let alone the cabin.

I got my daughter a matching dress for her and her bitty baby!! So cute..appliqued' with the ship and her name. The shops name is stitches and bows. She sells on Etsy and Facebook. I got my daughters dress and the matching doll dress for $24.95. She makes matching Minnie mouse dresses too. Super nice lady. Tell her Eve sent you. (p.s. she's a huge Disney Cruise fan).

 

[Lolobellica]

Looking forward to meeting all of you! We have a 4 year old daughter, and I am hoping she gets lots of playmates on this trip!!

 

[Liz Arjay]

FYI: Last year I found that those battery operated lights eat through batteries at a very quick pace. Bring lots! Also, I kind of have it in the back of my mind somewhere that some people were asked not to plug in their lights because it was a fire hazard. My memory might be a bit hazy on that, though, so bring those at your own risk.

I bought our battery operated lights at Michael's. They also had really neat tiny ornaments for little table top trees.

The Santa line was super, super, super long. It went from the Atrium, down the hall by Lumiere's, past the lounge and all the way back to Parrot Key. It took a good long time to get to the front of that line.

The Mass on Christmas Eve at 11:15 PM was a Catholic Mass. It was really special to attend that Mass with so many of the cast and crew there for worship as well. There was also a Catholic Mass on Christmas Day. I'm pretty sure they did something non-denominational, too.

I checked with DCL and they said there will be a Priest on Board to celebrate Mass on Christmas Eve and on Christmas morning.

 

[HFC1969]

Mike - she is too cute! I watched this video and the other ones where you met her and they were so much fun to watch. Can't wait to meet all of you.

Thank you so much...

We are doing our fall cleaning.. Alot of stuff from the Russia trips is still not properly put away. One of my jobs is to upload the movies to youtube before I put the CDs in the fire safe.

Vika is so excited about the trip.. This one is really gonna cost me... Pappa is a sucker for his

Days til vaca...​

72​

 

[BBQMommy]

Hello Lolobellica!

My DD5 turns 6 the day we leave Port Canaveral. Happy to see some more of the younger set onboard

Happy Wednesday --->
Caryn

 

[Liz Arjay]

According to the DCL website: Seasonal and celebratory lighting strings are prohibited due to safety concerns. I think DCL is not only concerned about fire hazard but also the electrical draw. This was talked about recently on the main board but I can't find it now. If you are going to do lights, I would suggest battery operated ones. I don't know if I am going to mess with lights or not. I think I am just going to do a few decorations and then enjoy the ones on the ship.

I don't like the sound of "fire hazard" on a ship! We will stick to holiday magnets, stockings and window clings - things that pack flat. Only tiny presents this year. I'll have to hang out under the atrium tree to get my Christmas fix. I'm sure the common area decorations will be gorgeous. And it will be a relief to not have to decorate the house for once....

 

[Liz Arjay]

GREAT PICTURES! It is so nice to put faces to names on the boards.

DWTS was very entertaining. I agreed with your picks. I also thought Tony's partner ( the reality star from The Hills) was breathtaking. My DH was and always will be a marine. I teared up. Loved it. Situation has to go (even though I give him an A for effort).

I also appreciated the confirmation of dates and website information.
LeiLani,you rock. Thanks again.

My DH is a Marine also! Will yours be wearing his dress blues on formal nights?

 

[StJohnfamily]

Pam, we should make a few gym dates in the morning. This will help motivate me. Running is not a option for me anymore, but I would not mind doing a few laps with you around deck 4. At the gym, what exercise equipment do you use?
I prefer the treadmill and the elliptical.

It is a date!! I love having the movitation as well. I know what you mean about running. I am not fast at all, but can't quite figure out the correct way to do speed walking. I usually do the elliptical and the treadmill as well at home. I have done the spinning class on board before.

 

[StJohnfamily]

Hi Jill, My DD is 9.
Couldn't sleep, so trying to catch up on the thread. Love how you can really get a sense of folks' personalities. What a fun group.

A little panic'd abt getting everything ready for such a long trip -- and in secret.

Hope to tell you I'm officially booked sometime tomorrow.

I hope you join us. It is going to be a fun time. I have a DD9 as well. We were trying to keep it a surprise, but she found some paperwork I left on the counter and guessed we were going to Disney World and on a cruise. Our whole family is so excited!! We are trying to figure out all of our excursions right now.

Can't wait to hear what you decide.

 

[momssurprise]

Because we just booked I'm late even thinking about ports of call. Does the 2010 Passporter have info about the special ports we will be visiting? Or am I better off just spending time on Cruise Critic? It's been 5 years since we've cruised -- so perhaps there are even better sites out there I should know about?

 

[momssurprise]

My DH is being so suspicious. I sure hope he's not tipped off. I guess I need to tone down the over the top grins.

 

[momssurprise]

Well, I just ordered it on Amazon. I'll let you know!

 

[BBQMommy]

I know it is hard to control those grins

We've been using the 2010 Frommers Caribbean and Caribbean Ports of Call as well as just looking on the DCL website as far as excursions.

Caryn

 

[3princessMommy]

Booked and paid this afternoon; booked our flights as well. I have a good friend who lives in Cocoa who is going to pick us up from MCO. And she lives on the beach, very near the port. Will make for a fun first night before we embark! Last time we stayed at the MCO Hyatt and that was nice b/c it was so easy.

Question - will the system let me reserve Palo's dinner for two different nights? I reserved on for the St. Maarten night, but would like to do it again later in the cruise. Didn't want to just try it for fear I'd lose the first ressie.

Am I a scrooge if I don't bring Christmas decorations? That stresses me out a bit. Not sure why b/c we "go Griswold" on our house. Maybe b/c DH is the Griswold in the equation...

3princess, we can get worms and things in the states, too, and you are still exotic!

My DD is still American Girl crazy. Can't decide if I should get her a Just like Me doll for Christmas and pack it with some kind of matching Disney outfits. Of course the dolls are taking over her room and now she also wants Felicity and Elizabeth b/c they are being retired. She has 6 already. But she never really asks for anything else...

DDs love American Girls. Although, the deal we had when we started buying them was that they wouldn't get any more if they didn't take excellent care of the dolls. (THEY'RE EXPENSIVE!!!!!! ) Unfortunately, I routinely find them on the floor without clothes, etc. So, we aren't really getting any more for the time being.

We did Disney transfers on our other cruises, what do you do with your luggage when you just show up at the port the morning of?

Also, if I upgrade at the port is that better/cheaper than upgrading from home? Do we know how full the ship is? I saw 85% mentioned a month or so ago on this thread? Will they lower prices as time gets closer? Should I check regularly?

So darn excited!!!!

We will try to upgrade at the port to connecting verandahs if they are available. If not, we'll stay put. I'm a little concerned about our cabins being right across from the laundry...

On one of our previous cruises we were contacted about a month prior to sailing to upgrade our cabins for a reduced rate. If they offer that again - we'll snag it in a heartbeat! (Our TA says it's only a DCL offer to selected guests at random, you can't ask if it's available. )

Looking forward to meeting all of you! We have a 4 year old daughter, and I am hoping she gets lots of playmates on this trip!!

Our DD3 will turn 4 right after the cruise. She loves the club and is very friendly. She'll be very excited to pal around with your little one.

My DH is a Marine also! Will yours be wearing his dress blues on formal nights?

My dad is retired Air Force and will be wearing his mess dress on formal nights. Not the same uniform, but there will be someone else in military uniform.

So not the best birthday a girl could ever have - got up at 4am to start working on VIP visit, no presents arrived due to extended mail delays from the U.S., and everyone at work forgot - but the kids sure are having fun decorating the cake in the kitchen!!!! (I think I should be , very )

 

[Lolobellica]

We are booked on the following excursions:

• St Thomas certified divers excursion
• Guadalupe certified diver's excursion
• Castaway Cay glass bottom boat
• Castaway Cay stingray excursion.

Anyone else on those???
My DD's actual 4th birthday is Dec. 30th, so it sounds like our kids are the exact same age.